Shatterstar

This article is about the X-Men related character. For the Kree character, see Shatterstar (Kree).
Shatterstar
Shatterstar.
Art by Marco Santucci.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe New Mutants #99 (March 1991)
Created byFabian Nicieza
Rob Liefeld
In-story information
Alter egoGaveedra-Seven
SpeciesGenetically-engineered humanoid mutant
Team affiliations
Notable aliasesBenjamin Russell
Abilities
  • Superhuman physical attributes and accelerated healing
  • Enhanced cognition
  • Controlling frequencies of electricity and generate bioelectric vibratory shockwaves
  • Creating teleportation portals through his swords

Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) is a 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),[1] 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".[2]

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 Jeph 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.[3][4][5] 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 appeared in Deadpool 2 (2018) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), portrayed by Lewis Tan.

  1. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 322. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ^ Wheeler, Andrew (2013-02-14). "ComicsAlliance Presents The 50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  3. ^ Melrose, Kevin (July 3, 2009). "Liefeld 'can't wait to someday undo' Shatterstar development". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference WorkingMan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Quesada, Joe; Phegley, Keil (July 14, 2009). "Cup O' Joe". CBR.com.