Gustav Brandt German soldier Gustav Brandt served with the
French forces during the
Vietnam War. While in
Saigon, he met and fell in love with a
Vietnamese woman named Lua, and eventually had a daughter with her. However, Lua's brother Khruul was enraged with the
interracial coupling of his sister and a
European man. He and his men attacked Gustav and his family with flamethrowers. Lua was killed in the ensuing battle, and Gustav lost his eyesight. He and his daughter took shelter in Pama, where he was trained by the priests, but was forbidden to communicate with his daughter. Joining the
Zodiac Cartel, Gustav adopted the codename Libra, and served as a terrorist. Zodiac was infiltrated by Nick Fury, posing as Scorpio; Zodiac fought the
Avengers and escaped. Led by Taurus, Zodiac later attempted to kill all Manhattan residents born under the sign of Gemini as a show of power, but were thwarted by the Avengers. Taurus's faction attempted to kill the Zodiac dissident faction, but all twelve leaders were captured by the Avengers. Battling the
Avengers on several occasions, he eventually discovered that
Mantis was the daughter he had left in Pama, and turned himself in to the authorities. He then vanished mysteriously, later turning up in
Ho Chi Minh City, where the
Swordsman revealed to everyone Mantis' transformation into the Celestial Madonna. Libra then witnessed the marriage of Mantis and the Swordsman, and returned to prison shortly after. He did not stay in prison long, though, as he escaped and committed illegal acts alongside Zodiac once more. A new android version of Zodiac later appeared, led by Scorpio in a new android body, massacred the human Zodiac, and took over their criminal operations. After Zodiac's death at the hands of a
Life Model Decoy, Libra – now defining himself by his interest in the balance rather than continuing his criminal past – served alongside the Avengers briefly as they battled
Kang the Conqueror and
Immortus in the
Destiny War. His ability to sense the 'balance' of the universe helped
Rick Jones use the Destiny Force to summon seven Avengers from different points in the team's history who would be crucial to their victory in the current crisis; these included Captain America from his battle with the Secret Empire, Yellowjacket while unbalanced and amnesic, Hawkeye just after the Kree-Skrull War, Giant-Man and Wasp of the present, Genis-Vell of a few months in the future, and Songbird from an alternate universe. Although they appeared strange choices, each Avenger was selected from these particular moments in time thanks to Libra's subconscious awareness of the universal balance and the necessity of their future actions even when he was unaware of their roles, comparing his subconscious decision to being able to balance on a tightrope without being able to explain how to do so. He realised the purpose behind their selection in the final confrontation, even acknowledging that Hawkeye's presence affected his own decisions as he decided to participate in the final fight rather than just watch from the sidelines.
Android Zodiac Scorpio (Jake Fury) constructed the android Zodiac members, although his plan was thwarted by the
Defenders. The androids Libra and Sagittarius employed costumed criminals posing as the Defenders to create chaos in New York City.
Quicksilver employed the android Zodiac to attack the
West Coast Avengers, but the Avengers defeated Zodiac. Led by Scorpio in a new android body, the android Zodiac kills the human Zodiac and takes their criminal operations. They battle the West Coast Avengers, but are rendered inert after being transported to the dimension of the Brotherhood of the Ankh.
Thanos' Libra The third Libra is an unnamed female and member of
Thanos' incarnation of Zodiac. She and the other Zodiac members are killed when Thanos abandons them on the self-destructing Helicarrier, with
Cancer being the only survivor. ==Powers and abilities==