Paul Norbert Ebersol was a child prodigy with such great mechanical aptitude that he took apart and repaired an alarm clock at age 3. By 10, he had built a small electric automobile; by 13, a relatively complex robotic arm -- both from readily available spare parts. Dropping out of high school due to a lack of interest, Norbert was fired from several jobs because of his air of superiority and unorthodox approach to simple tasks. Seeking a challenge, he turned to the planning and execution of technologically assisted crimes. He found that such activities not only stimulated his intellect but provided him with new raw materials to create even more advanced technological devices. Plus, as a criminal, he could command the respect he always felt he deserved.
Norbert escaped from prison and teamed with his partner Mentallo, together they captured Nick Fury and attempted a takeover of the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. base. However, Iron Man arrived and took them out with a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.[6] His connection with THEM was revealed; which was a subdivision of Hydra. At this time it was revealed he had been appointed chief of the Hydra Science Division.
The two criminals escaped again and tried to get their revenge on S.H.I.E.L.D. They captured the Thing and tried to steal Time Platform from the Baxter Building. They planned to bring Deathlok from his alternate future to the present. Mentallo controlled Deathlok's mind and had him try and assassinate the President, but they were stopped by Fantastic Four and arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.
They were freed again by Baron Karza of the Microverse who had taken control of Hydra. He was freed to create the living machine intelligence Computrex. However, the machine was defeated and destroyed by the Micronauts.
They then aided Professor Power in the plan to transfer Professor X's powers to Mentallo, but they were defeated by Spider-Man. He attempted a raid on the Northwind Observatory, to steal Bruce Banner's inventions, but was taken down by Captain America.
Norbert broke into the Avengers Compound in an attempt to steal one of Iron Man's Armor but was stopped by the combined efforts of Iron Man and Ka-Zar.
The Fixer became one of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil before the siege on Avengers Mansion. He tried and failed to come on to the female Yellowjacket several times during the endeavor. Fixer was one of the Masters captured when the remaining Avengers and reservists retook the mansion.
Fixer was overpowered by the Super-Adaptoid, who changed places with him. Using his identity he escaped prison. The real Fixer was discovered by the Avengers in the Adaptoid's former confinement tube on Hydro-Base. He tried to win over Yellowjacket again by breaking her out of custody but was unsuccessful.
The Fixer broke into AccuTech but found Iron Man and Rhodey waiting for him but he took them out with a pair of electrically charged bolas. The Fixer then attacked Barstow Electronics where he set off charges, which exploded injuring dozens of workers. Iron Man arrived to stop him and when the Fixer fired his weapon at Iron Man his armor absorbed the blast, re-channeling it into his reverse magnetic array and sending it back at the tank. The machine is crushed and the Fixer is trapped inside, unconscious.
Mentallo along with the Fixer hired a host of supervillains to attack the Hulk. However, the Hulk was locked in an arm wrestling match with the Thing. The villains tried everything from laser fire to power tools, but nothing could interrupt their arm wrestling match. They even dropped a bomb on the bar, but all this succeeded in doing is destroying the bar and all of the furniture.
Fixer and Mentallo were among the inner circle of the New Enforcers. When Spider-Man took down their outer circle of minions and henchmen, the true leaders of the Enforcers remained at large.
When most of Earth's heroes, including the Avengers and Fantastic Four, seemingly died battling Onslaught, Ebersol joined forces with Baron Zemo. To gain the trust of the populace, the villains led the world to believe they were new heroes known as the Thunderbolts. During a battle with the Elements of Doom, Norbert was seemingly killed. However, he'd downloaded his conscious to his Tech-Pac and thus created a robot copy of himself.
The robot lived for a while believing itself to be the real Norbert, but Zemo had taken the original organic body of the Fixer to his hideout in Brazil and tried to revive Ebersol. Unfortunately, the battle between Scourge and Zemo (before Scourge killed the robot Techno) interrupted the regeneration. Fixer emerged surrounded by government agents and had to rely on his Tech-Pac for mobility.
Since the CSA held to codes to his Tech-Pac, Fixer was forced to work for them. He was reluctantly put into the Redeemers team but survived the massacre by Graviton and was part of the Thunderbolts team that went to Counter-Earth under the command of Zemo.
When the Thunderbolts returned to Earth, they tried to save the world by removing all transformed power, but unfortunately, this led to Moonstone going insane and during the following fight against and alongside the Avengers, Fixer saved his skin and fled.
Deadpool tried to save Cable’s life. After obtaining a Techno-Organic alien from M.O.D.O.K., Deadpool tracked down the Fixer in hopes that he would be able to fix Cable.
During the Civil War and the implementation of the Superhuman Registration Act, Fixer became a registered hero.
At the Commission on Superhuman Activities facility in Portland, Oregon, Fixer and Abner Jenkins, tested the new MACH-V suit. But were interrupted by Songbird who crashed in. Songbird told them about the corruption left behind by Osborn and that it was up to them to make it right. Fixer expressed his doubts about helping a wanted fugitive, especially since it took a lot of hard work to obtain this job but Jenkins asserted that they had to help her and offered Songbird their assistance. She gave Jenkins a goodbye kiss before leaving. As they are on the run from Scourge, they made it to Yankee Stadium but it was crawling with H.A.M.M.E.R. goons. They then stole an M-RAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicle) to make their escape. Unfortunately, a chopper blasts them to the side of the bridge. They both make a risky jump from the vehicle before it is destroyed. Luckily, they are saved by MACH-V, while Fixer takes down the chopper. Later, Fixer informed both Widow and Songbird that the Fury Osborn shot was a Life Model Decoy.
After Norman Osborn's dismissal as head of H.A.M.M.E.R., Steve Rogers replaced him and re-instated the Thunderbolts program. The Raft prison was completely repurposed to house the increasing flow of supervillains. Thanks to MACH-V and Fixer, a dampening field was set up against any superpowers; the guards had obscuring armor and shock tech that worked only for them; and genetically engineered jellyfish with a deadly nerve toxin placed half a mile around the island. Former Thunderbolts Fixer, Mach-V, and Songbird were given senior status with the team being led by Luke Cage. As well as working with the Thunderbolts, Fixer had also been seen working with Baron Zemo.
Fixer created a force field to secure a group of prisoners who escaped from the Raft after the Juggernaut destroyed it when he became Kuurth: Breaker of Stone. Fixer spent most of his time with the team running tech support and staying behind at the Raft; which was the home of the Thunderbolts headquarters. Fixer eventually became discontent with his position and tired of constantly being neglected and not allowed to come along on missions.
He escaped together with several other inmates who were members of the Thunderbolts. Due to a failure of the teleportation technology of their tower (caused by Man-Thing), the tower began to move in time as well as in space. They ended up in World War II teaming up with the Invaders to battle the Nazis. The next ended up in Victorian London. They went even further back in time ending up in King Arthur's court in Camelot.
They eventually bounced back to the time of the original Zemo-lead Thunderbolts team of which Fixer had been a member. After his younger self began accessing Fixer's files and enraged Fixer by berating him for becoming inactive and lethargic, Fixer killed him in a fit of rage by activating the self-destruct on his gear.[49] This began to cause a collapse in reality which forced Fixer to assume his younger self's place. His appearance was altered to resemble his younger self and his aging was halted. To prevent the past from being altered, his memory of everything after the time they had returned was removed as well; just like the other past Thunderbolts.
When the rest of the team returned to the present, they told Songbird and Mach-V that Paul was dead, having sacrificed himself to save the timestream.
At an unspecified time, Fixer was freed from the time loop and brought into existence again by the sentient Cosmic Cube known as Kobik, who had been used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to create the facility known as Pleasant Hill, a small town where supervillains got altered by Kobik into model citizens. Kobik felt various of Nobert's former teammates miss him, so decided to bring him back as an inmate of Pleasant Hill. Norbert was then transformed into a mild-mannered car mechanic named Phil. However, Nobert subconsciously began to create different unusual kinds of equipment, until he found himself having created a machine to restore his memories. He then found Baron Zemo, who had been transformed into a man named Jim and restored his memories as well. Fixer aided Zemo in his takeover of Pleasant Hill but escaped during the standoff between Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Pleasant Hill prisoners, ending up with The Winter Soldier, who had been running undercover work at Pleasant Hill.
Fixer became one of the new Thunderbolts led by The Winter Soldier, alongside longtime partners Moonstone, Atlas, and MACH X, along with the living cosmic cube Kobik. After witnessing Kobik's immense power, Fixer, who didn't see her as a person but merely a tool, began a scheme with Moonstone to take out The Winter Soldier and Kobik, while also gaining their freedom again,[56] but Kobik understood what they were trying to do and messed with their heads so they'd have a tea party instead.
A week later, Moonstone realized she had a gap in her memories and, after talking to Norbert about it, the two confronted Kobik. Frustrated about the kid, this led Fixer to betray Bucky alongside Moonstone and Atlas and let Kobik be apprehended.
Hydra's leader Baron Zemo and Mayor Fisk came up with a plan to deal with the Punisher once and for all. Along with other villains, Fixer was approached by Zemo to join a new incarnation of the Thunderbolts. He was introduced at a press conference with the other members as Citizen V pronounced that they will end the Punisher's reign of terror and restore order to New York City.
