Smasher is the name of multiple different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

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 ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to ...

'' #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 David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, and Mystique, as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. 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! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

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 Tom Brevoort () is an American comic book editor, known for his work for Marvel Comics, where he has overseen titles such as '' New Avengers'', ''Civil War'', and '' Fantastic Four''. He became Executive Editor in 2007, and in January 2011 was pro ...

, 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 The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree E ...

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 Cassandra Nova is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, Cassandra first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #11 ...

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 Vulcan, 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, macr ...

and

Ronan the Accuser Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #65 (August 1967). He is the Supreme ...

. 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. Constru ...

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 and

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team f ...

. 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 ''

'' 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 appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1 ( cover dated March 1941) from T ...

'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 n ...

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

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, 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: Wiscon ...

. 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

, 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

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 and Sunspot. 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 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 Kid Kaiju 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 X-rays (or rarely, ''X-radiation'') are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. In many languages, it is referred to as Röntgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered it in 1895 and named it ' ...

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

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

' 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 cent ...

. 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.

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 Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani-Summers) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dave Cockrum, she is usually depicted as a supervillain, an adversary of ...

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