Smasher is the name of multiple different fictional characters appearing in

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s published by

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Publication history

Smasher first appeared in ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' #107 (October 1977-February 1978), and was created by

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...

and Dave Cockrum. A new Smasher, named Isabel Kane, appears as a member of the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

in the Marvel NOW! relaunch. Her name was originally given as "Isabel Dare", but the collected edition of her first appearance said her surname was "Kane". According to editor Tom Brevoort, this change was deliberate; he even stated that "Dare was a mistake in the first place," as the character was intended to be Captain Terror's granddaughter from her first appearance. Yet more Smashers, operating directly under Imperial control, appear in the 'Infinity' crossover.

Fictional character biography

The title of Smasher has been used by three different humanoid aliens who served in the Shi'ar

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

Vril Rokk

The first Smasher was Vril Rokk, who had a long, distinguished service with the Guard. He was also romantically linked with fellow Guardsman Plutonia. In ''Untold Tales of Captain Marvel'' — which takes place before his first encounter with the X-Men — Smasher, the Guard, Marvel and the Kree all meet. A small division of the Guard, Deathbolt, Smasher, Fang and Oracle had been selected to guard the personage of Deathbird, the current ruler of the Shi'ar empire. They allied, then fought with the Kree after the latter came to their assistance against a murderous attack from the Skrulls. They later are involved with a confrontation against the Brood. When Cassandra Nova was devastating the Shi'ar empire, Smasher was one of the few entities that managed to personally protect the empress

Lilandra Lilandra Neramani () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. She is the Empress, or Majestrix, of the Shi'ar Empire and shares a lifelong bond with the le ...

. Under protest, Smasher is ordered to travel to Earth to warn the X-Men about the threat Nova posed. He crash lands in a field full of cows. He does not make it to the mansion until well after the Imperial Guard, brainwashed by Nova, were attempting to kill the X-Men. His presence manages to convince the Guard to fight against Nova, although he and the others were swiftly defeated by her. Smasher is later killed by

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, a powerful mutant who attempts to conquer the Shi'ar empire.

Salac Tuur

Vril Rokk is soon replaced with another Smasher, Salac Tuur. The new Smasher was among the Imperial Guardsmen who attacked the Kree homeworld during the wedding of

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

and Ronan the Accuser. During the battle, Smasher was slain by the Inhuman

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construct ...

Third Smasher

The uniform and title of Smasher was passed onto an unidentified member of the original's race; however, this version of Smasher was soon killed by

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

during a raid performed by

Starjammers The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers have often appeared in the pages of the ''X-Men'' comic books. The Starjammers first appeared in ''X-Men'' #104 (Ap ...

and Guardians of the Galaxy. The Strontian

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

killed Smasher as a sign of defecting to

Izzy Kane

A new Smasher appears in the '' Marvel NOW!'' relaunch as part of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

's new

line-up. She joins the Avengers to help fight

Ex Nihilo (Latin for "creation out of nothing") is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist. It is in contrast to ''Ex nihilo ni ...

on Mars. She is revealed to be Isabel "Izzy" Kane, a college student and astronomer from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. After finding a pair of high-tech goggles that had been left behind in a cornfield by Vril Rokk when he crashed to the Earth to warn the X-Men about Cassandra Nova, Izzy becomes the new Smasher and Earth's first member of the Imperial Guard. Izzy is introduced to

by her grandfather Dan Kane, an acquaintance from World War II. As part of the Avengers, Izzy meets the Guardians of the Galaxy when their ship is ambushed and crashes into a mall's parking lot. When the source of mysterious seismic events was revealed to be A.I.M. Island, Smasher went to investigate along with

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

and

Sunspot Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sun ...

. When they arrived to the location, they were captured by A.I.M. Troopers. Smasher was chosen by Andrew Forson and Jude the Entropic Man to become his Messenger for the secret of the universe, that "Everything dies." Smasher is made to do so by Andrew Forson. She is later seen eight months in the future as seen in the '' Time Runs Out'' storyline having started a family with teammate Sam Guthrie. She later rejoins with an Avengers team headed by Roberto DaCosta and Thor. Their goal is to find the threat causing the slow death of the multiverse and to kill it. This brings Smasher in direct opposition with Captain America's group. Sometime later, Smasher is seen with Cannonball and their son on another planet discussing their future together, which leads to Cannonball deciding to quit the

U.S.Avengers ''U.S.Avengers'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring a traditionally patriotic-themed team of Avengers. It is written by Al Ewing and penciled by Paco Medina. It was released as part of Marvel NOW! 2.0.Betanco ...

so that he could be with his family full time. In the aftermath of the '' Secret Empire'' storyline, Smasher arrives on Earth and tells Sunspot that Cannonball, who was believed to be dead, is alive on another planet.

Monster

A new Smasher not affiliated with the Imperial Guard was introduced in '' Monsters Unleashed''. This version is a creation of

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that is composed of him and his five monsters Slizzik, Hi-Vo, Aegis, Scragg and Mekara. They come together to battle the Leviathon Mother when the Leviathon Tide invaded Earth.

Powers and abilities

Like his predecessors, Smasher could naturally absorb cosmic radiation from his environment in order to increase his strength to superhuman levels. Smasher wore special goggles called "exospex" that enabled him to "download" additional superhuman powers. Via the exospex, he could obtain "penta-vision" (a form of

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

vision), superhuman durability, even greater physical strength, and the ability to travel into hyperspace ("4-space"). Smasher was only capable of downloading one superpower at a time. Smasher wore small anti-gravity "flight patches" that enabled him to fly. Flight patches are standard issue for Imperial Guardsmen who lack the power of flight.

Inspiration

Several of the members of the Imperial Guard are at least partly based on members of the

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' team

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...

. Dave Cockrum (co-creator of the Guard) also had a long run as artist on the ''Legion''. Smasher is based on LSH member

Ultra Boy Ultra Boy (Jo Nah of the planet Rimbor) is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. He gained his powers after being eaten by an whale-like beast in space and being e ...

Other versions

X-Men: The End

In the alternate future of ''X-Men: The End'', Smasher is a veteran Guardian who is on duty when the plans of the series' main villain is revealed. He attacks with a small group of other Guardians. They are all slain, as a result, with Smasher's neck being snapped.''X-Men: The End: Book 3: Men & X-Men'' #1-2 (March–April 2006)

Star Trek/X-Men

Smasher also appears in ''Star Trek/X-Men'' #1 (December 1996). He and several other members of the Imperial Guard assist Deathbird in a mission.

In other media

Television

* The first Smasher appears in the ''

'' episodes "The Dark Phoenix" and "Fate of the Phoenix." He and the Imperial Guard had to fight the X-Men to determine the fate of Jean Grey after the destructions that the Phoenix Force did to some of the galaxies.

References

External links

* * * {{Avengers Articles about multiple fictional characters Avengers (comics) characters Characters created by Chris Claremont Characters created by Dave Cockrum Comics characters introduced in 1977 Marvel Comics aliens Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics extraterrestrial superheroes Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics male superheroes fr:Liste des membres de la Garde impériale Shi'ar#Smasher