Origin

The Axe of Lies started as a normal axe that George Washington used to cut down his father's cherry tree. Although legend says he could not tell a lie, George did in fact blame a neighboring farmer who was feuding with his father. George continued to use this axe in war and ritual until it evolved into a deadly totem. It was now enchanted to cut through the greatest truth.

Creation

The Axe of Lies first appeared in Redcoat #2 by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch

Major Story Arcs

The Great Fire

The axe was tracked down by infamous American traitor, Benedict Arnold. Arnold was an immortal and assumed the role of Grand Architect of the Founding Fathers. He planned on conjuring "The Great Fire" to burn America and give him a fresh country to start over with. To do so, he needed to use the axe for three ritual bloodlettings on an immortal. Arnold used the only other immortal he knew of: Simon Pure.

Arnold posed as an ally of Simon, helping him avoid the agents of the Founding Fathers who were armed with the axe. He continuously set Simon up to be cut, but Simon had a new ally that could outthink Arnold, a teenaged Albert Einstein. Einstein secured the axe and cut himself, stopping the curse and saving Simon's life.

Before he could do so though, the door to hellfire cracked open long enough for Arnold and his enforcers to be burned. This caused the boat they were on to sink, trapping Arnold and the Axe on the ocean floor.

Return of Benedict Arnold

In the early 1900s, construction on the New York harbor disturbed the ship that was pressing Arnold to the sea floor. Once freed, he resurfaced with the axe in hand. He eventually made it to Boston, where Simon had settled down. He took the name Simon Plum, got a job as a tailor, and started a family. Arnold approached Simon peacefully. As a sign of good faith, he promised Simon that he would make his wife and children immortal.

This was all a ruse to distract Simon on a wild goose chase. While Simon searched for Founding Fathers members who had what they needed for the ritual, Arnold used the Axe of Lies to kill Simon's family. Simon lashed out on Arnold, beating him mercilessly and eventually throwing both Arnold and the Axe into some wet cement. He held Arnold down and then collapsed construction scaffolding on top them, where hopefully they stayed buried forever.