Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven; Earth name: Benjamin Russell) 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), 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. 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 similarities to the mutant hero Longshot, which was later resolved in a 2010s storyline that explained Shatterstar is the son of Longshot and Dazzler, sent a century back in time by his future self. Paradoxically, his DNA was then used to create Longshot. Since 2007, the character has been portrayed as an outgoing queer superhero in an on-off relationship with his superhero colleague Rictor and in 2009, shared the first same-sex kiss in a mainstream Marvel Comics publication. One of his creators, Liefeld, criticized the development, having previously depicted the character as asexual. His other creator, Nicieza, stated his intention was to use Shatterstar as a blank slate to explore sexual identity. X-Factor writer Peter 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, also known as Rusty, appears in Deadpool 2 (2018) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), portrayed by Lewis Tan.
Creation Liefeld spoke on the character's creation: "I went into my files and found the original source of my inspiration for SHATTERSTAR. Carl Pott's [sic] original sketch for Longshot had the white costume and the Eye Tattoo - Art Adams played with a version of this himself back in 1984. Knowing that Shatterstar was from Longshot’s reality, I fashioned this first look after the original un-used design, albeit with longer hair. This is why you listen to the experts, not wannabe revisionists."
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 self-titled five-issue miniseries in 2018.
Fictional character biography Shatterstar is an artificial human from Mojo's planet Mojoworld a century in the future who was genetically engineered to serve as a gladiator. 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 sends Shatterstar back in time to Earth to find the X-Men and get their assistance in defeating and overthrowing Mojo. However, he does not find the X-Men. 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 battles Cable, Domino, and the New Mutants, but after they talked with him, the group aids 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 becomes a founding member of the new team, X-Force. Later Shatterstar discovers, to his bewilderment, that he possesses the memories of the human Benjamin Russell. Soon afterwards, Mojo imprisons Cable and Shatterstar and transforms them into digital images for one of his television programs. In the course of the show, Shatterstar is mortally wounded in combat. Spiral teleports Cable and Shatterstar back into reality, where they regain their true forms. Spiral brings Cable, Shatterstar, Longshot, and Siryn to the Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane in Rutland, Vermont. There, Spiral directs them to the bedside of one of its patients, a mutant named Benjamin Russell who has been in a coma since his powers had emerged and appears identical to Shatterstar. Longshot transfers Shatterstar's soul into Russell's body, causing it to take on his appearance. Restored to peak health and full consciousness and feeling "whole" for the first time in his life, Shatterstar resumes his work as a member of X-Force.
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