Before she was given power by Norman Osborn's Origins Corporation, Erin Cicero was a Staff Sergeant stationed in Symkaria. A botched military operation left her the sole survivor, and Cicero was afterward deemed mentally unfit to be trusted around others; paranoia caused her to believe everyone was the enemy. When officers were dispatched to a domestic dispute at her home in Fort Leigh, she gunned down three, thinking they were the same insurgents that slaughtered her unit. Once in custody, it was discovered Cicero killed her entire family, also believing they were the enemy.
General John Ryker liberated Cicero and transformed her with DNA from Zzzax to round out his team dubbed Gamma Corps: Black. She was to apprehend Lyra, A.R.M.O.R.'s newest agent and daughter of the Hulk (Bruce Banner), for genetic harvesting at Origins Corporation. Ambushing Lyra during an intimate moment with another A.R.M.O.R. agent, Axon brought down their aircraft and murdered Lyra's partner, leaving him a charred husk. Lyra escaped and apparently killed Gamma Corps: Black's member Morass, leaving Axon and Gamma Corps: Black's Aberration to flee into the desert. Her strength waning, Axon "fed" off an unwilling Aberration until an unsuspecting town with numerous civilians served as her dinner plate. After killing several humans to replenish her energy, Axon contacted General Ryker to request transportation, advising their mission was compromised by numerous witnesses; Ryker reminded her there were to be no witnesses. Forcing the townspeople out of their homes to be hostages, Axon watched Lyra kill Aberration before threatening to murder every person in town unless Lyra allowed her to absorb her gamma powers. Lyra submitted to Axon's demands to protect the innocents. Absorbing as much power as possible, Axon inherited Lyra's weakness, and once enraged, Axon became weak enough for a depowered Lyra to engage her. Outsmarted, Axon restored Lyra but depleted too much of her own energy in the process and was beaten. Even though Lyra was going to take Axon back to A.R.M.O.R. alive, General Ryker had her remotely terminated for failing her mission.
