Search for the Berserker Staff

Search for the Berserker Staff
Previous	Skirmish at Conjunction's Casino
Next	Rescue of Hannah Hutchins
Date	November 2013
Location	Trillemarka National Park, Norway Seville, Spain Ireland
Result (Outcome)	S.H.I.E.L.D. obtains the Berserker Staff.
Combatants
S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson's Team
Norse Paganists
Commanders
Phil Coulson
Jakob Nystrom Petra Larsen
Casualties
-
-

"If you want to defeat a god, you must become one."

―Jakob Nystrom^[src]

The Search for the Berserker Staff was a conflict sparked by a group of Norse Paganists that searched for an Asgardian relic and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s race to prevent them from obtaining it.

Background

"My first love on this planet was Ireland. There was a monastery, and the monks gave me a nice, warm place to sleep, some soup and some mulled wine."
""Near God.""

―Elliot Randolph and Phil Coulson^[src]

Centuries ago, an Asgardian named Elliot Randolph left for Earth. He became fascinated with the planet and decided to stay. Not wanting Asgardian weapons to fall into the wrong hands, Randolph cut his Berserker Staff into three pieces and spread them across the continent of Europe. He hid one inside a tree in the Trillemarka National Park, one in a crypt, and one in an Irish church. Upon touching the staff, the user would be infused with hatred, making them very strong.

By 1546, Randolph would fall in love with a French woman and tell her his story. Unbeknownst to him, her brother was a priest and wrote down his story, marking him in legend as "The Warrior Who Stayed." People throughout the centuries searched for the staff.

Thomas Ward looking up towards Grant Ward

Grant Ward had a troubled childhood. One day, his older brother Christian, threw his younger brother, Thomas, down a well. Christian told Grant that if he gave Thomas the rope, he would be down there with him. Thomas pleaded for Grant to pass him down the rope until he finally did. Their parents blamed Grant for the incident. Throughout his life, Grant would bury the memory deep inside him.

In 2008, Melinda May was on a mission in Bahrain when she was forced to kill a little girl who was a danger to everyone. This traumatic experience changed her.

Thor fighting Malekith

In November 2013, the Second Dark Elf Conflict brought Thor to Greenwich to battle the Dark Elves. The arrival of more Asgardians caused the Norse Paganists to grow in popularity. Leaders, Jakob Nystrom and Petra Larsen became even more obsessed with finding the Berserker Staff.

Search

First Piece

"What you're feeling, don't fight it. That rage, it's already inside of you. Don't be afraid of it. Don't hide from its power. Embrace it. Embrace it!"

―Jakob Nystrom to Petra Larsen^[src]

Leaders of the Norse Paganists, Jakob Nystrom, and Petra Larsen deciphered the legend from an ancient manuscript about the Asgardian "Warrior Who Stayed" and located the first piece of the legendary Berserker Staff in Norway. Utilizing the strength-enhancing properties of the staff, the pair led their followers into rioting in Oslo which caused twenty people to be injured, three critically.

Norse Paganists leaving a message in Oslo

Their action drew the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Coulson's Team was assigned to stop the Norse Paganists and retreat the staff. The team consulted a professor of Norse mythology, Elliot Randolph who previously helped them in case with Thor's hammer. It was he who took them about the powers of the staff. They also learned that the staff had been broken into three parts, which sparked a race between the hate group and Coulson's team to find all three pieces.

Second Piece

"We found one promising location with Viking relics — El Divino Niño. A church built on the ruins of an 8th-century crypt built on Roman ruins from 206 B.C."

―Melinda May^[src]

Meanwhile, Paganists discovered that the second piece was located in Seville, Spain. The piece was recovered by Randolph, but Paganists managed to steal it. During this search Grant Ward picked up the staff and was subjected to its effects. Professor was taken into custody by Phil Coulson, and under interrogation, discovered that Randolph was the original Berserker that first wielded the staff. Randolph also revealed the location of the third and final portion of the staff, which was in a monastery in Ireland.

Third Piece

"I am not afraid of you."

―Petra Larsen to Melinda May^[src]

Elliot Randolph led Phil Coulson's team to the church in Ireland where the final piece was hidden, explaining to them how the monks of the church had kept a vow of silence to protect his secret. Before they could find the staff piece, however, they found that the Paganists and Nystrom stabbed Randolph through the heart with a staff piece. He believed he could ascend to godhood by killing a "god."

Melinda May uses the Berserker Staff

Ward picked up the staff, making him see his past at the well. He used this hatred to attack Nystrom and the crew of Neo-Norse Pagans, Coulson called upon Jemma Simmons to try and find a way to save Randolph's life, although Simmons was unsure how to deal with an Asgardian body. Coulson grabbed Randolph's heart and physically pumped it, managing to keep him alive long enough for his advanced Asgardian physiology to heal itself. Ward fell to his knees in hate and tiredness. Melinda May picked up all three pieces of the staff to take out the Paganists, not letting the anger get the best of her.

Aftermath

"Can we give you a lift back to the university?"
"Well, you know, with Europe's new fascination with all things Asgardian, I'm wondering if it's time to start over somewhere else."

―Phil Coulson and Elliot Randolph^[src]

Afterward, S.H.I.E.L.D. took the Berserker Staff into its possession, and Elliot Randolph decided that given Europe's new fascination with all things Asgard it was perhaps time for him to move on.

Ward sat with May and asked how she was able to hold all three. May said it was because the memory that she saw, is what she sees every day.

During the raid of the Fridge, the staff, along with many other items retrieved by S.H.I.E.L.D., was taken by Hydra. Kaminsky used it against Coulson's team when they were ambushed in the Barbershop Headquarters.