PROFESSOR BERGER PROFESSOR BERGER
Real Name: Berger (first name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human;
pre-modern and modern eras
Occupation: Archeologist
Group Membership: Presumably some archeological society (such as the Society for American Archeology)
Affiliations: Beast (Hank McCoy), Cable (Nathan Summers/Nathan Dayspring Askani'son), Clarity (and his agents Greg and Lea), Sheik Hamid, Key (Lachlan Patterson), Professor Henry Oxton, Wall (Mick Patterson), Phoenix (Jean Grey)
Enemies: Azazel, Undying (Aentaros, Lothan, Semijan, Tiamet, Vaudois)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
mobile in terms of his archeological career
Education: At least the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in archeology; possibly a masters or Ph.D equivalent
First Appearance: Cable II#79 (May, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: Professor Berger is knowledgeable about archeology.
He can operate a laser cutting device.
He was wise enough to respect
local superstitions, and he was resourceful enough to figure out how to
get information out on Azazel without drawing its attention.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8"-5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 150-170 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair:
Brown (The main image presumably represents some odd lighting making
his hair appear blond, as it is consistently brown otherwise)
History:
(Cable
II#79) - Professor Berger followed his associate Professor
Henry Oxton to the lair of Azazel on
Mt. Sinai.
(Cable
II#80) - As Oxton watched, Berger used a laser device on the gate, which failed to scratch the surface of
Azazel's gate. Noting approaching armed locals (led by Sheik Hamid), Berger advised Professor Oxton that they had a more serious problem that required his immediate attention.
(Cable
II#80 (fb) - BTS) - Oxton and Berger made peaceful arrangements with Hamid and his men (see comments).
(Cable
II#80) - Feeding Oxton and Berger in his tent, Hamid
advised them that great, powerful,
and evil genii -- represented by a circle in a circle, a mind within a
mind -- still existed in the cavern and that their seal was on
the door. He further told them that those behind
the door were demons and that they were Undying.
(Cable
II#81) - Outside Azazel's lair, Oxton
told Hamid how he did not understand how the doors had remained secret
for thousands of years. 
Hamid replied that Azazel, the "Lord of the Undying," guarded their privacy and killed any who attempted to speak of this location and that many had perished with his dread name on their lips. In response to the name Azazel, Berger related how in the Book of Enoch, that was the name given to the leader of the fallen angels called the Sleepless Ones. Berger added that Azazel was also referred to in that tome as "the star fallen from Heaven."
Oxton dismissed this all as nonsense, and he contacted Hafia (see comments)
and prepared to relate
his findings. Berger suggested that they achieve some
distance from the site before broadcasting news of their discovery,
just in case, but Oxton refused, defiantly stating afraid of some
ridiculous
superstition. However, as soon as he stated the word Azazel he
immediately died but was left
standing, "solid as a stone statue."
Berger considered that at least
Oxton had died happy, which was a better end than most, although he was
not sure what to tell the authorities.
After Hamid confirmed that Azazel had guarded the gate for at least a hundred generations, Berger correctly reasoned that Azazel would not have an appreciation of the internet and related terminology. Berger sent out jpg and wav files detailing his findings while putting on a bit of a show, stating that he was not taking printing any photos or writing anything down, and that no one would know that he was standing outside a lost tomb in the middle of the Sinai Desert. He continued that it would be impossible for him to tell the world about this tomb that had remained untouched for thousands of years and that he was just wasting time uploading these sound and picture files onto his web page: "It's not like anyone could hear what I am saying. Or come locate me."
With Oxton tied into the back of
his jeep, Berger departed with Hamid, who asked how he planned to
outwit Azazel. Berger replied to give him a few days and he was was
sure something would turn up.
(Cable
II#82 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Berger uploaded information about the gate being virtually indestructible.
(Cable
II#82 (fb) - BTS) - Clarity located Berger's file on his site and learned the approximate location of Azazel's gate.
(Cable
II#82 - BTS) - Clarity's agent Greg reported this information to Cable.
(Cable II#83) - Presumably having received communication from Key and/or agents of Clarity, Berger informed Hamid -- as they stood by Azazel's gate -- that he should prepare a welcoming committee, as it appeared some friends -- a man named Cable and his associates -- were going to be arriving in a few hours. He added, "Life's about to get interesting."
(Cable II#84 (fb) - BTS) - Cable arrived alongside X-Men associates Beast and Phoenix and new allies Key and Wall (who had previously been under the control of the Undying's Semijan).
(Cable II#84) - Berger was surprised to learn from the new arrivals' assessment that the mountain was artificially-created. After Key had opened Azazel's gate, Cable advised Berger that there was no reason for him to come with them, as it was going to get messy in there. Berger replied, "You just. Risk missing the biggest archeological discovery of the millennium? I'm going."
Entering, the group appreciated
that they were within a spaceship, which Berger examined with interest.
After Key determined that Azazel's name mean, in the language of its
creators, "scorekeeper," Berger questioned what this meant, but further
discussion was interrupted by the awakening of the Undying's hosts that
had been kept in stasis aboard Azazel.
Berger stood behind Hamid as he fired his handgun against the Undying's hosts.
Via information downloaded from
Azazel, Key related the history of the Serayn and the Undying. As
Berger noted that they could not kill the creatures or they would just
be unleashed into new bodies, Beast further advised that these ancient
lifeforms that had been in stasis were rapidly decaying in the
atmosphere: These forms would not last more than a few minutes,
after which the Undying would inhabit new bodies.
Having gained control of Azazel, however, Key
adjusted the settings: Azazel would now only be able to transfer the Undying into cockroaches;
and not just for 10,000 years but until the last cockroach on Earth
died.
Comments: Created by Robert Weinberg, Michael Ryan, and Andrew Pepoy.
I don't know why he wasn't given a
last name. Even Clarity's agent Greg, who accessed Berger's website,
referred to him as an "archeologist named Berger."
While eating with Sheik Hamid,
Oxton called him "my friend." There was no explanation of the
transition point between Hamid's men holding Oxton and Berger at
gunpoint to Oxton and Berger sitting in Hamid's tent while eating and
discussing matters. It may be that Oxton and
Hamid knew each other before, but it also may be that he was just being
friendly/polite/respectful and that Oxton and/or Berger were able to
negotiate peaceful relations.
I don't know if Hafia is meant to be a person or a group or something else?
Googling it, I get Hafia as the name of a town and
sub-prefecture in the Labe Prefecture in the Labe Region in
northern-central Guinea...which is all the way on the north-west side
of Africa, with Egypt being on the east side.
Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel, and would
be much closer than Hafia, so perhaps it was a misspelling. It seems a
little odd to be calling for a city, but perhaps there is some base
there. It would remind me of astronauts contacting NASA, "Houston, we
have a problem..."
Hafia is
apparently an Arabic female name. Nevertheless my first thought would
be the Israeli city. It could be the Haifa headquarters of an
organization he's calling.
--David Zuckerman
Berger is also pictured in two
images in the Azazel profile, showing his and Oxton's discovering the gate and the
laser being used against it.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Professor Berger should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Cable II#79 (May, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#80 (June, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
Cable II#81 (July, 2000) - Robert Weinberg (writer), Michael Ryan (penciler),
Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mark Powers (editor)
First posted: 11/04/2023 (but it must have been overwritten, and so it was re-posted on 11/13/2023)
Last updated: 11/13/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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