Conrad Josten is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by writer

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the '' Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled '' Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts,'' and ''Superman.'' Early lif ...

and artist

Mark Bagley Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957) is an American comics artist. He has worked for Marvel Comics on such titles as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thunderbolts (comic book), Thunderbolts'', ''New Warriors'', ''Venom (comic book), Venom'' and ''Ulti ...

, the character

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in '' Thunderbolts'' #16 (May 1998). Josten is known under the

codename A code name, codename, call sign, or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in ...

Smuggler. He wears a costume that grants him access to the Darkforce Dimension.

Publication history

Conrad Josten debuted in '' Thunderbolts'' #16 (May 1998)'','' created by

and

Fictional character biography

Conrad Josten is the youngest of the four Josten children born to farmers living outside

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. After his second oldest brother

Erik The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

becomes the supervillain Power Man and is arrested, Conrad leaves home and changes his name. Conrad later joins the

Redeemers The Redeemers were a political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruction Era that followed the American Civil War. Redeemers were the Southern wing of the Democratic Party (Unite ...

as Smuggler, utilizing a special suit that can harness the Darkforce. The group battles the Thunderbolts, who later disband and give their Colorado headquarters to the Redeemers. Smuggler and the Redeemers are later seemingly killed by

Graviton In theories of quantum gravity, the graviton is the hypothetical elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitational interaction. There is no complete quantum field theory of gravitons due to an outstanding mathematical problem with re ...

. He survives by escaping into the Darkforce, but is trapped there before

Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...

frees him.

Powers and abilities

The Smuggler wears a costume that enables him to manipulate energy from the Darkforce Dimension. He can reshape and elongate his body, conceal himself within shadows, and use them for teleportation. Furthermore, he is able to strangle victims using Darkforce energy drawn from their own shadows.

References

External links

Smuggler
at Marvel.com * {{Thunderbolts Comics characters introduced in 2001 Fictional characters from Madison, Wisconsin Fictional characters who can manipulate darkness or shadows Fictional characters who can stretch themselves Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics characters who can teleport