Axel Brodie Axel Brodie , known in Japan as Austin O ' Brien is a student hailing from West Academy who enters Duel Academy in the third year . A battle - hardened and efficient mercenary , he is introduced as Thelonious Viper ' s right - hand man , but later joins with Jaden Yuki ' s group after escaping from the prison Viper placed him in when his usefulness had ended . Design . Appearance . Unlike most students , Axel does not wear a school uniform , instead sporting a red tank top and black sleeveless vest and pants . He wears a gold pendant of unknown origin around his neck . He is one of the only characters of African descent in the franchise . Voice / Mannerisms . In the Japanese version , he occasionally speaks in English , and uses the word , " " sōten " " ( 送達 ) when sending monsters to the Graveyard to activate the effects of his " Blaze Accelerator " cards , thereby " dispatching " them . In the dub , Axel speaks in a voice imitative of . The character he is named after , Axel Foley was played by Murphy in the " " films . Abilities . Axel wields a retractable Duel Disk resembling a gun which can be stored in a holster at his waist . The disk can function as an actual gun , albeit one that fires cards . In the past , he trained extensively with his father ( a mercenary ) on jungle terrain , learning the art of survival . During his time at West Academy , he adapted these skills to the performance of life - threatening wire stunts to master his drawing technique . Biography . Unlike the other overseas champions , Axel and Thelonious Viper do not leave their cabins for the duration of the journey to Duel Academy . The two of them do , however , meet to discuss matters in private . Shortly after the beginning of the third year , Viper orders Axel to engage in a Survival Duel with Jaden Yuki . While Viper regards him as his " long - cherished hope , " he does not care whether Axel claims victory or is defeated ; his true interests lie in the realization of Jaden ' s full potential as a Duelist , so that his Bio - Band s may absorb all his Duel energy . Before Axel has the opportunity to confront him , he is approached by Syrus Truesdale , who he takes hostage in order to gain Jaden ' s cooperation . During the Duel , he is reminded of one of his father ' s teachings by Jaden ' s determination and spirit : although he is a " dog of battle , " he must also protect his own life and be a passionate and burning warrior . He resolves to facing Jaden on his own terms , which Viper considers traitorous , but ultimately allows himself to be defeated in order to complete his mission . Unsettled by the differences between the Survival Duels of West Academy and those taking place on the island , Axel searches Viper ' s hideout , discovering that he is operating out of the abandoned lab where Wheeler was trained . Arriving there moments after the Duel between Chazz Princeton and Adrian Gecko , he demands that Viper reveal his true intentions for coming to Duel Academy . When the man refuses and insults his father , Axel attacks him , but is locked in a pit for his insolence . He eventually escapes and assists Jaden and company in reaching Viper . He is later found alive after having seemingly been crushed under a facility door . Axel joins Jaden and the others in a mission to rescue Jesse Anderson from the alternate dimension . After Jaden becomes The Supreme King , he and Jim Crocodile Cook team up to oppose him . Upon witnessing Jim ' s defeat , Axel is alarmed by the king ' s strength and lack of remorse , and runs away scared from the castle with the Eye of Orichalcum in tow . Deeply disturbed , Axel tries to hide from the king , but after encouragement from a village that resists him - as well as Jim ' s sacrifice - Axel defends the village from the Supreme King ' s Army and one of the Supreme King ' s lieutenants , thus becoming a local hero . He then teams up with Aster Phoenix , Zane Truesdale , and Syrus and assaults the king ' s castle , bypassing The Duelists of Death and challenging Jaden to a Duel . The Duel ends up as a stalemate , but Axel is able to lift the King ' s influence from Jaden with the Eye of Orichalcum at the cost of his own life . He is later discovered to be alive , and held prisoner with everyone else who died in the Duel Monsters Spirit World in an alternate dimension by Yubel . He was returned to Duel Academy by Jaden after Jaden ' s and Yubel ' s souls fused . At the beginning of the fourth season , he returns on a mission from Industrial Illusions , and saves Atticus Rhodes from Yusuke Fujiwara . He later gives Jaden information about Yusuke , telling him that Yusuke had been missing from Duel Academy . After Jaden ' s Duel with Atticus , he appears to help Jaden from Honest . He later investigates Domino City after its population begins to disappear under Trueman ' s attack . He later falls into a trap and Duels Trueman , but only to lose after succumbing to visions of a fire that his family was trapped in when he was a kid . Axel disappears and his parents forget that he ever existed . He is revived after Jaden defeats Nightshroud and was last seen at the graduation ceremony held at Duel Academy . Manga . Axel appears in the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! GX " manga along with the other Overseas Champions , although this time he is from the American Duel Academy . Deck . Axel uses a " Volcanic " Deck , focusing on inflicting large amounts of Burn damage . He initially focuses on using his " Blaze Accelerator " and " Tri - Blaze Accelerator " along with his " Volcanic Shell " and " Volcanic Scattershot " to inflict large amounts of damage whilst also fueling his Graveyard with monsters for " Firewall " , also using " Burial from a Different Dimension " to return his removed from play monsters to the Graveyard . He also uses this strategy in conjunction with his " Volcanic Hammerer " to inflict additional damage . Axel uses cards like " Fire Trooper " , " Soul of Fire " and " Draw Blast " to also inflict large amounts of damage . His Deck is spearheaded by " Volcanic Doomfire " which he uses in combination with cards such as " Volcanic Mine " to inflict huge amounts of damage .