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Quote1 Light pierces my eyes, and I've returned to the coliseum, the place where I was truly born. The place where a young boy once asked me if I was strong enough to shatter the very stars. Quote2
Shatterstar[src]

History

Origin[]

Shatterstar is the biological son of former X-Men Longshot and Dazzler; however, due to a temporal paradox, he was also responsible for the creation of Longshot. It was revealed that because of Mephisto's manipulation of Shatterstar by sending him back in time to the Mojoverse along with Rictor, Shatterstar was discovered and experimented on by Arize who created Longshot from his DNA. As Longshot was genetically extrapolated from Shatterstar's genes, Shatterstar was essentially Longshot's father. This created a paradox when Longshot years later impregnated Dazzler who then gave birth to Shatterstar. Longshot and Dazzler were mindwiped to forget the pregnancy and the Shatterstar infant was sent 100 years into the future by his own adult self in order to maintain the consistency of the time line.[12]

Mojoworld[]

Shatterstar learned the arts of battle as a warrior in arenas on Mojoworld, where he participated in combats staged for Mojo's television programs. It's assumed it was here he developed his strong sense of honor and pride as a warrior, to combat the constant violence and death in his life.

During his time in the arenas, Shatterstar formed a relationship with Gringrave, a popular female gladiator commonly known as the Smiling Executioner. Gringrave manipulated Shatterstar for her own ends, teaching him not to love or get attached to others, and live only for the thrill of the kill.[13][14]

Eventually, Shatterstar grew disillusioned with the idea of killing for sport. He escaped and joined the Blood Cadre Alliance, the rebel group that sought to overthrow Mojo V's dictatorship. From there, he learned the Cadre's language and began taking part in missions, one of which sent him back in time to find the X-Men and get their assistance in defeating Mojo.[15]

X-Force[]

All-New X-Men Vol 2 3 Marvel '92 Variant Textless

With X-Force

Instead of finding the X-Men, Shatterstar was transported back in time to Earth at the point just before Cable reorganized the New Mutants into X-Force. With Cable's assurance that they would help him defeat Mojo, Shatterstar became a founding member of the new team.[16] X-Force was also where he first met Rictor. Shatterstar and Rictor formed a close friendship. Shatterstar learned Spanish specifically to communicate privately with Rictor.[17] After an awkward trip to a nightclub, Shatterstar also confessed to Ric that he wasn't emotionally prepared for physical interaction, due to his upbringing on Mojoworld. Rictor vowed to help Star with his development.[18]

Later Shatterstar discovered, to his bewilderment, that he also had the memories of an Earthling named Benjamin Russell.[7] Soon afterwards, Mojo made Cable and Shatterstar his prisoners and transformed them into digital images for one of his television programs. In the course of the show, Shatterstar was mortally wounded in combat. Mojo's sometime ally Spiral teleported Cable and Shatterstar back into reality, where they regained their true forms. Spiral brought Cable, Shatterstar, Longshot, and the X-Force member Siryn to the Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane in Rutland, Vermont.[citation needed]

There Spiral directed them to the bedside of one of its patients, a mutant named Benjamin Russell who had no living relatives, had been in a coma since his powers had emerged, and, curiously, looked identical to Shatterstar. Longshot transferred Shatterstar's "uemeur," or soul, into Benjamin Russell's body, and the two became one. Apparently Shatterstar's body merged with Russell's as well, for the resulting body bore the starburst pattern that Shatterstar had around his left eye and his hair lengthened greatly. Restored to full health and consciousness, and feeling "whole" for the first time in his life, Shatterstar resumed his work as a member of X-Force.[19]

X-Force Shatterstar Vol 1 1 Textless

Shatterstar accompanied Rictor to the Richter home in Mexico to try and end Rictor's family's arms-dealing business.[20][21] Presumably they succeeded, though it's not known why they later parted.

Shatterstar was later in Madripoor, earning his money by fighting in arenas. He was sought out by Spiral, who had one of her agents make Shatterstar believe she wanted to kill him. With a fake quest, Spiral lured Shatterstar to an alternate universe she had conquered and ruled. On that Earth, Spiral had also killed most of that worlds heroes and mutants. That Earth's Shatterstar had been killed as well. He was found by that Earth's rebel forces, including Cable and some others he knew from X-Force. Together, they eventually defeated Spiral.[22] Upon returning to the mainstream Earth, Shatterstar was contacted by Cable, who requested that Shatterstar temporarily join him on a mission to defeat the Skornn. Shatterstar agreed, but first Cable wanted him to train with monks on Mount Xixabangma. After those monks were killed by Skornn's worshipers, Shatterstar was reunited with his old team and they eventually killed the Skornn.[23]

M-Day and Civil War[]

Following M-Day and the passing of the Superhuman Registration Act, Shatterstar teamed up with former X-Force allies Domino and Caliban to break The 198 out of the encampment set up for mutants on the grounds of the Xavier Institute. They took the escapees to a secret base provided to them by Captain America via Nick Fury. While fighting O*N*E he nearly killed Micromax, claiming that while there is no such thing as murder during war, he had only meant to disable him.[24]

X-Factor Investigations[]

At some unknown point, Cortex gained control over Shatterstar and sent him to attack his friends. While searching for Madrox, Rictor and Strong Guy discovered Father Maddox, a dupe of Madrox's, that had been living in New England as a priest. They decided to investigate further, hoping to find the whereabouts of Madrox Prime. Upon meeting Father Maddox, a masked man crashed through the window with swords ablaze. After a brief battle, the attacker was revealed to be Shatterstar, possessed by Cortex.[25]

Julio Richter (Earth-616) and Gaveedra Seven (Mojoverse) from X-Factor Vol 3 45 001

Rictor and Shatterstar kissing

Once Shatterstar was broken out of his trance-like state, and recognized Rictor, the two embraced one another and finally shared a kiss.[26]

Shortly afterwards Shatterstar transported X-Factor to Latveria, where he remained with Layla Miller and Doctor Doom for a while.[27] Layla and Shatterstar next appeared at Dublin Airport to save Terry Cassidy from Trask's Mutant Response Division.[28] After they escaped, the trio rejoined the rest of X-Factor back in New York City.[29]

Rictor and Shatterstar began a steady romantic relationship after Shatterstar's return though not without its difficulties. Rictor, having finally come to terms with his sexual identity, wanted a stable monogamous relationship with Shatterstar. Shatterstar, on the other hand, found himself interested in a more open relationship that would allow him to explore other sexual possibilities. The two resolved that they would work things out, and proceeded to make up both emotionally and physically. However, before they could get very far, the two were interrupted when a pregnant Wolfsbane barged in.[4]

Wolfsbane was pregnant with Hrimhari's child, although she led Rictor and the others to believe he was the father.[30] This lie did not last long as a brief encounter between Hrimhari and Shatterstar in Niffleheim cleared up the question of paternity.[31]

After the birth and abandonment of Wolfsbane's son, Shatterstar and Rictor volunteered (unsolicited) to accompany Wolfsbane in searching for her child.[32] The trio first traveled to Hel and receive a mystic amulet to locate the child, and finally found him in Sproul State Forest in Pennsylvania. Wolfsbane's son, Tier, was being tracked independently by both Darwin and Vanora but Shatterstar and Rictor were able to fight off attacks from both, and Tier escaped unharmed with his mother. Wolfsbane then chose to leave X-Factor and raise Tier with the aid and protection of Jack Russell, the Werewolf By Night.[33] Shatterstar and Rictor, however, returned to X-Factor Investigations in New York City.[34]

After Rahne and her son, Tier, returned to X-Factor to seek sanctuary from Darwin and other would-be assassins, all of X-Factor were transported to Hell. The Hell Lords vied to gain overall control by killing Tier, and X-Factor fought their demon armies to protect him. When Shatterstar attacked Mephisto to free Tier from a magical prison, Mephisto seemingly vaporised him, before doing the same to Rictor.[35]

After X-Factor[]

In fact, Rictor and Shatterstar both ended up going back in time and being transported to the Mojoverse. Shatterstar was again brainwashed into attacking Rictor - this time in a televised gladiatorial battle. Rictor managed to incapacitate Shatterstar, before escaping the arena with help from Mojoverse rebels, including the Longshot of this era. Whilst he was unconscious, Shatterstar was brought to Arize, who cloned him (and used some of his DNA to create Longshot). Shatterstar awoke in time to use his powers to escape an attack by Mojo and Spiral, and Shatterstar transported them forward in time. In this new time period, Rictor came across Dazzler giving birth to Shatterstar as a baby. Rictor and Shatterstar helped to deliver the baby, before Shatterstar erased Dazzler's memory. To maintain the timeline as it was meant to take place, Shatterstar then transported himself, Rictor, and his infant self forward in time again - by 100 years - to the period he grew up in.[12]

Shatterstar and Rictor somehow made it back to Earth and their own time, and joined their fellow mutants - including former teammates Strong Guy and Wolfsbane - in New Tian.[36] After New Tian was dismantled, Rictor told Iceman that he and Shatterstar were now on a break.[37]

Shatterstar rejoined the X-Men in New York to investigate signs that the Phoenix Force might have returned to Earth, checking the Manhattan sewers in a team with Dazzler and Strong Guy.[38]

Landlord of Manor Crossing[]

Julio Richter (Earth-616) and Gaveedra Seven (Mojoverse) from Shatterstar Vol 1 2 001

Rictor and Shatterstar try to navigate their newly separated status

Feeling unsure about himself and his relationship with Rictor, Shatterstar ended things between them.[39] Newly single, Shatterstar bought a property using the earnings he'd made and named it Manor Crossing. He offered the rooms to multi-dimensional refugees like himself and served as both landlord and protector to his tenants. When Shatterstar's tenants were kidnapped by the Mojoworld mercenary group the Death Sponsors and their leader, former ally Gringrave, Shatterstar vowed to bring them home.[6]

With help from Rictor, Shatterstar followed the group to the world of Horus IV, which was ruled by the Grandmaster. Grandmaster tasked Gringrave with the kidnapping, hoping to use a gladiatorial battle between the enemies to satisfy the Horuvians lust for bloody conflict.[39]

After Shatterstar killed Gringrave in revenge for her actions,[14] Grandmaster himself entered the arena, seeking to gain control of Shatterstar for all eternity. But Shatterstar refused to concede and defeated Grandmaster by teleporting them to Earth-1218, a world where super-powered beings do not exist and Grandmaster's god powers could not work. Shatterstar was then rescued by Rictor, who reached out across the universe to find him and bring him home.[40]

The Hunt for Kid Cable[]

Shatterstar was shocked when his former mentor Cable was slain while attempting to protect the time-displaced Iceman.[41] When it was revealed that a younger version of Cable was responsible, Shatterstar partnered with his former X-Force teammates to hunt down Kid Cable and have him answer for his crime. During the search, Shatterstar was turned into one of Ahab's mutant-hunting hounds and attempted to kill the time-displaced Jean Grey.[42] Shatterstar was subdued by Cannonball and freed of Ahab's influence.[43]

After Kid Cable returned the time-displaced X-Men to their timeline and disappeared, Shatterstar joined a newly reformed X-Force to resume their search for him. They found Kid Cable in the small nation of Transia, working with Deathlok to uncover how the country's military had gotten ahold of weapons from Kid Cable's future. Shatterstar and his team were forced to team up with Kid Cable when they were framed for the murder of the Transian president.[44]

Shatterstar struggled to trust Kid Cable and accept him as the real Nathan Summers,[45] but the pair worked together with the rest of X-Force to defeat the Transian military. They learned the military's futuristic weapons were being supplied by Stryfe through a time portal.[46] Strye took Kid Cable into the future through the portal and X-Force resolved to rescue both him and the kidnapped Rachel Summers. Shatterstar was prepared to give his life for the potentially one-way mission, feeling like there was little left for him since Rictor's presumed death.[47]

X-Force defeated Stryfe, rescued both Kid Cable and Rachel Summers, and found a way to return to their timeline. Shatterstar finally declared his trust in Kid Cable and forgave him for murdering the older Cable. Shatterstar also resolved to return to the present, stop seeking distractions, and instead focus on grieving Rictor properly.[48]

Krakoa[]

Shatterstar was of the many mutants that joined the mutant nation of Krakoa upon its creation. He was seen alongside many other Krakoans grieving Charles Xavier death at the hands of anti-mutant super-human criminals that had infiltrated Krakoa and killed many of its residents, including Xavier.[49]

Shatterstar as Mojoverse's top live-streamer

At some point, Shatterstar returned to Mojoworld, becoming the dimension's most subscribed and top-ranked live-streamer. However, Shatterstar began to feel trapped by the celebrity status he had created for himself. When fellow live-streamer Wind Dancer arranged for her own death to satisfy her fans, Shatterstar secretly informed the Krakoan X-Factor team so they could claim her body before Arize could produce a clone and force Wind Dancer to resume her stream. X-Factor were successful in their mission, but had to leave Shatterstar behind in Mojoworld. They promised to one day return and rescue him.[50] The team eventually made good on this promise coming back alongside the New Mutants and arranging the freedom of all mutants there. After this they recruited Shatterstar to defeat The Morrigan, freeing Siryn from her control.[51] He was then rewarded with memories of his past, which lead to him seeking Rictor out during the Hellfire Gala,[52] after which they sat on the coastline of the newly created Braddock Isle and caught up with one another.[53]

Excalibur[]

Reunited with Rictor, Shatterstar joined Excalibur in their battle against King Arthur in Otherworld.[54] He became one of Captain Britain's Knights of X and helped her to liberate Otherworld.[55]

X-Corps[]

Shatterstar and Rictor were two of the mutants recruited to X-Corps by Mirage following the Mutant Massacre at the Hellfire Gala. With the Krakoan Gates disabled, Shatterstar's teleportation became vital for quickly travelling across the globe.[56]

Attributes

Power Grid[69]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Master: Several Forms of Combat:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Single Type: Short Range:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Regenerative:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Superhuman:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Peak Human:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Learned

Powers

Shatterstar is a mutant,[57] the naturally born son of the mutant Dazzler and the artificially-engineered Biped Longshot.[12] As a result, he was born with many of the superhuman traits Longshot was engineered to possess, in addition to his own unique mutant abilities. Shatterstar also merged with Benjamin Russell, with whom he shares an unexplained connection. Russell was also reportedly a mutant.[58] Russell's mutant powers are unknown, but Shatterstar did not appear to gain or lose any abilities when the two merged. (Although his teleporting ability surfaced after he bonded with Russell, the two events happened 13 years apart and were not noticeably connected.[59])

  • Vibratory Shockwave Generation: Shatterstar possesses the mutant ability to channel powerful vibratory shock waves through his swords. This ability, called his "force of will", can function even when Shatterstar is not in physical contact with his swords.[62] However, Shatterstar rarely uses this ability as it tends to exhaust him, thus he prefers to depend instead on his martial prowess.[63]
  • Portal Creation: After Shatterstar returned from the Mojoverse, he demonstrated the ability to open an "X" shaped portal allowing him to instantly transport himself and others. This is accomplished by having a living "anchor", with whom he must have a connection, visualize their destination before opening a portal.[59] After this is done, Shatterstar must rest at least four hours before teleporting again, as he would otherwise risk the death of himself and anyone he is transporting.[64] Known anchors include Rictor,[59] Longshot,[64] and Layla Miller.[29]

Abilities

  • Excellent Strategist: Shatterstar is an excellent strategist.[65]
  • Mojoworld Martial Arts Mastery: Shatterstar has had extensive training in many forms of the martial arts of Mojoworld.[16]
  • Mojoworld Swordsmanship Mastery: Shatterstar is a master swordsman.[16]
  • Adaptability: Shatterstar is able to adapt and learn skills quickly.[65]
  • Intellect: Shatterstar is incredibly intelligent and can repair advanced technology.[2]
  • Multilingual: Shatterstar is fluent in English, German and Spanish.[17]

Weaknesses

  • Sending Vibrations: Sending vibrations through his sword exhausts him.[62]
  • Emphatically-Driven Teleportation: Shatterstar's teleportation, has the following limitations:
    • Anchor: According to Shatterstar, he needs another mind to envision the destination, which serves as an anchor. Additionally, the anchor needs to be someone Shatterstar is connected to. Without that, he would risk getting "lost between". As an anchor he can use Rictor,[59] Longshot,[64] and Layla Miller.[29] Later, Mirage and Captain Britain were added to this list.[5]
    • Focus: According to Shatterstar, he generates the energy for his teleportation, but he requires his swords to focus it.[59] The anchor should keep their focus on the target, otherwise the portal's destination would become unpredictable. If Shatterstar is distracted, then the portal would instantly collapse and if anything is going through it at the moment, it would be cut apart.[27]
    • Teleportation Shock-Wave: The energies released require that the teleport take place outdoors, or he risk blowing up whatever building he is in.[64]
    • Exhaustion: After a teleport, Shatterstar needs at least three to four hours to recharge his energies.[64]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Weapons

  • Shatterstar's Swords: Shatterstar's original swords were strong enough to severely injure Micromax, can be split into two swords and has a bioelectric current that makes it very hard for people besides him to wield it.[66] His latter swords retracted from wrist gauntlets hidden in the arms of his coat.[citation needed]
  • Throwing Knives: Shatterstar has been known to wield throwing knives.[citation needed]
  • Guns: Shatterstar is proficient with futuristic heavy arms blaster-type weapons.[citation needed]

Trivia

  • When Shatterstar was born he had blonde hair like his parents.[12]
  • Learned Spanish by watching television.[17]
  • In X-Factor (Vol. 3) #45, Rictor and Shatterstar shared the first explicitly romantic on-panel kiss between two male superheroes in mainstream Marvel comic book history.[67]

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. X-Factor #235
  2. 2.0 2.1 X-Force #20
  3. X-Force #5
  4. 4.0 4.1 X-Factor #207
  5. 5.0 5.1 X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #126
  6. 6.0 6.1 Shatterstar #1
  7. 7.0 7.1 X-Force #56
  8. X-Force (Vol. 2) #1
  9. X-Factor #216
  10. X of Swords Handbook #1
  11. Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe #1
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 X-Factor #259
  13. Shatterstar #2
  14. 14.0 14.1 Shatterstar #4
  15. New Mutants #99100
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 New Mutants #100
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 X-Force #34
  18. X-Force #43
  19. X-Force #5961
  20. X-Force #70
  21. X-Force Annual #1999
  22. X-Force: Shatterstar #14
  23. X-Force (Vol. 2) #16
  24. Civil War: X-Men #14
  25. X-Factor (Vol. 3) #43
  26. X-Factor (Vol. 3) #45
  27. 27.0 27.1 X-Factor #202
  28. X-Factor #205
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 X-Factor #206
  30. X-Factor #210
  31. X-Factor #212
  32. X-Factor #238
  33. X-Factor #242
  34. X-Factor #245
  35. X-Factor #256
  36. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #3
  37. Iceman (Vol. 3) #9
  38. Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #2
  39. 39.0 39.1 Shatterstar #2
  40. Shatterstar #5
  41. Extermination #2
  42. Extermination #3
  43. Extermination #4
  44. X-Force (Vol. 5) #1
  45. X-Force (Vol. 5) #2
  46. X-Force (Vol. 5) #4
  47. X-Force (Vol. 5) #7
  48. X-Force (Vol. 5) #10
  49. X-Force (Vol. 6) #2
  50. X-Factor (Vol. 4) #3
  51. X-Factor (Vol. 4) #9
  52. X-Factor (Vol. 4) #10
  53. Excalibur (Vol. 4) #21
  54. Excalibur (Vol. 4) #24
  55. Knights of X #1
  56. X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #123124
  57. X-Force #4
  58. X-Force #61
  59. 59.0 59.1 59.2 59.3 59.4 X-Factor (Vol. 3) #49
  60. 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 60.4 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #10
  61. X-Factor #200
  62. 62.0 62.1 X-Force #28
  63. New Mutants Annual #7
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 X-Factor #201
  65. 65.0 65.1 X-Force #39
  66. X-Force #76
  67. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24992
  68. X-Factor #200
  69. X-Factor Vol 1 200
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