Shatterstar

Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) is a fictional mutant superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''The New Mutants'' #99 (March 1991), after which he became a member of the superhero team X-Force. He later became an employee of X-Factor Investigations, a private detective firm starring in the series ''X-Factor''. In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Shatterstar as #29 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".

Shatterstar is an unusual character among Marvel's mutant superheroes in ''X-Men'' books in that, although a human mutant, he was raised in an alternate dimension known as Mojoworld with no knowledge of his origins. When he arrives on Earth he has little understanding of Earth relationships, customs, and culture. At the time of his introduction, he largely conformed to 1990s comics trends: an emotionally closed off, brutal, macho warrior. Subsequent writers, such as Jeff Loeb, later attempted to show the character's adjustment to human norms and his development of close friendships on Earth, and in particular with his teammate Rictor. An early mystery about the character concerned his strange similarities to the mutant hero Longshot, which was later resolved in a 2010s storyline that explained he was the son of Longshot and Dazzler, sent a century back in time by a future Shatterstar. Paradoxically, his DNA was then used to genetically engineer the creation of Longshot.

Since 2007, the character has been portrayed as an outgoing pansexual superhero in an on-off relationship with his superhero colleague Rictor. His creators Nicieza and Liefeld criticized the development, having previously depicted the character as asexual since their initial creation in 1991. ''X-Factor'' writer Peter A. David introduced the romantic pairing with Rictor, building off of fan desire to see the characters together in a gay relationship. The character has since been prominently featured by Marvel as an example of LGBTQIA representation, portrayed by writers as a "swashbuckling, enthusiastic" figure, in contrast to his earlier stern and taciturn appearances.

Shatterstar made his live-action debut in the 2018 film ''Deadpool 2'', with the real name of Rusty, and portrayed by actor Lewis Tan, who will reprise the role in the 2024 film ''Deadpool 3'', set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Publication history

Shatterstar first appeared in ''The New Mutants'' #99 (March 1991), and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. He also appeared on a pin-up bonus cover in ''The New Mutants Annual'' #6 (July 1990) as part of a 'Vision to Come', predating his appearance in ''The New Mutants'' #99.

Since his debut Shatterstar has mainly appeared in the original ''X-Force'' title, with some issues devoted solely to him. In 2005, the character was featured in his own limited series, ''X-Force: Shatterstar''. Shatterstar became a member of X-Factor in ''X-Factor'' #45 (August 2009).

Shatterstar also starred in a 5-issue solo-run in 2018 titled ''Shatterstar''.

Fictional character biography

Shatterstar comes from the planet Mojoworld (about a century in the future, as opposed to the Mojoverse, which co-exists with the contemporary Earth dimension, making him a time traveler as well as a dimension-hopper), which is ruled by the alien tyrant Mojo. There, Shatterstar was created to be a slave; he claims to have had no parents, only a "gestation chamber". He was genetically engineered to have enhanced physical capabilities so he could serve as an arena gladiator.

Shatterstar learned the arts of battle as a warrior in arenas on Mojoworld, where he participated in combats staged for Mojo's television programs. He developed a strong sense of honor and pride as a warrior, to combat the constant violence and death in his life. Eventually he escaped and joined the Cadre Alliance, the rebel group that sought to overthrow Mojo's dictatorship. From there, he learned the Cadre's language and began taking part in missions.

On one of these missions, Arize sent him back in time to Earth to find the X-Men and get their assistance in defeating and overthrowing Mojo. He did not find the X-Men though. Shatterstar was either teleported or traveled back in time to Earth at the point just before Cable reorganized the New Mutants into X-Force. At first, he battled Cable, Domino, and the New Mutants, but after they talked with him the mutants aided him against the Imperial Protectorate. With Cable's assurance that they would help him defeat Mojo (though with the use of time travel it was not urgent that they leave anytime soon) Shatterstar became a founding member of the new team, X-Force.

With X-Force on their first mission, Shatterstar battled the Alliance of Evil, and first encountered the New Warriors. He battled Night Thrasher and Silhouette. With X-Force, the New Warriors, Moira MacTaggert's "Muir Island X-Men" team, and X-Factor, he battled Proteus.

X-Force's next mission involved attacking the Mutant Liberation Front base, where Shatterstar battled Reaper. With X-Force and Spider-Man, he next battled Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut. With X-Force, he battled the Toad's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Later Shatterstar discovered, to his bewilderment, that he also had the memories of an Earthling named Benjamin Russell. 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

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