Gladiator, warrior, hero! The man called Shatterstar has been many things. But one thing he’s always been is deadly! He’s not a man you want to cross, or you’ll learn that fact all too well. Shatterstar had found a new life…found peace. But with a simple act of violence, his world is turned upside down. Nothing makes sense anymore — except for a pair of double-bladed swords and a single path forward that guarantees bloodshed. And as Shatterstar’s past comes back to haunt him in the present, his future isn’t guaranteed! Sharpen your swords, True Believers, and get ready to fight! With lives hanging in the balance, Shatterstar is pushed to the brink by the life he thought he left behind and goes toe-to-toe with the only opponent with a prayer of taking him down: himself! COLLECTING: SHATTERSTAR 1-5
Tim Seeley is a comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Batman Eternal and Grayson. He is also the co-creator of the Image Comics titles Hack/Slash[1] and Revival, as well as the Dark Horse titles, ExSanguine and Sundowners. He lives in Chicago.
Shatterstar is now playing landlord for interdimensional refugees like himself. When they are kidnapped, he heads after the Grandmaster to get them back. Tim Seeley is an odd writer. He's written books like Revival and The Occultist which I absolutely loved. Then he's written stuff like this that just bored me to tears. The setting is basically more Mojo without having Mojo in the book. The narration is awful. It drones on and on and there is a lot of it. The art was solid though.
Another self-aware throwback title from Marvel, this time featuring everyone's favourite '90s rad-tacular upgrade of Longshot, SHATTERSTAR!
His power is that he's better than you.
The art was vibrant, the plot fairly nonsensical. Nothing to complain about, really, nor really to necessarily revisit. I guess the most noteworthy part is how matter-of-factly it presents the title character's sexuality. Hey, if you were genetically engineered to fight and die for the entertainment of others (as the book all-too-frequently reminds us) you'd probably want to take your pleasures where and with whomever you can, as well!
More mediocrity from the once called - House of Ideas. Actually insightful look at the past and future of Shatterstar... only it comes about 20 years too late! It's the 21 st century, we need better stories and less rehash of the same ol' stories. In addition it has some of my least like X-book characters, so I am biased against it with the like of The Grandmaster, Rictor and Mojo all appearing.. YAWN. A just about 4 out of 12.
Shatterstar has left his previous life of the gladiator pits behind him and now lives on earth as a Landlord. He has tenants form different earths all living here. Some people from his past hit his building while he was away and took all the tenants. Now it’s up to Shatterstar to cross the galaxies to rescue his people. The story was descent, nothing too crazy. The artwork looked real good tho. Got just a tad confusing a little after the halfway point but ended up having a solid ending at least.
Despite having read 20+ volumes of Peter David's X-Factor, most of which featured Shatterstar, a few months later I couldn't reliably have told you which one was him and which one was Longshot. Now, there were plot reasons for that, at least by the time David was finished with them, but even so, that plus being co-created by Rob Liefeld does not necessarily scream 'yep, this guy's solo book will be a good read'. True, it's written by Tim Seeley, which is probably why I grabbed it from some sale or other, but I'm increasingly realising how inconsistent my enjoyment of Seeley's stuff is. This, though? This isn't bad at all. Shatterstar is trying to back away from his origins as a genetically engineered weapon, and has set up as the live-in landlord/babysitter for an assortment of other cross-dimensional refugees. These run the gamut from a pug version of anarchist villain Flag-Smasher, to Tina from Earth-1218, "harshest of all realities" – "a world that followed strict rules of physics and logic. It lacked super heroes, alien invasions and interventionist gods". I mean, imagine how boring life there must be, eh? Now, I would have been happy to read the low-stakes domestic comedy miniseries set in that building, but alas, that is seldom the Marvel way – so instead the residents get kidnapped, or in one case killed, by Shatterstar's ex from his home dimension, heavy-handed media satire the Mojoverse. Meaning he has to enlist the help of his Earth ex, Rictor, and go off on a mission of rescue/vengeance. All of this woven around with a nice meta layer about precisely that, the way that superheroes get endlessly put through their paces in fight after fight, each one of which has to find some semblance of mattering through increasingly tendentious tactics to add human interest. It's all been said before, and probably better, but I'm a sucker for stories about living weapons learning to love (and indeed, for talking malcontent pugs) so I enjoyed it all the same.
I don't tend to review the comic books I read for a few reasons. Firstly, even the combined volumes are still a bit on the short side so sometimes there's not much to review. Secondly, even though they are short, they are frequently part of extremely long running series and thus the context for any one volume is kinda tied up often in a decade or two of other stories.
This is absolutely the case for Shatterstar, who has been knocking around since 1991 i think across various different series. Although his solo series is only five issues, I thought it did a fairly good job of distilling the key parts of his story and his general motivation. As I write this, I imagine there are hordes of comic book fans lining up fight me and tell me that I am wrong. Oh well.
The plot itself is pretty basic. In fact, I was thinking that it was almost the archetypal late 80s-90's action movie plot: the hero is retired and wants a quiet life, but his past catches up with him and now he must confront his past to save his friends/family/dog while simultaneously going on a bloody and rip-roaring revenge ramage.
There are two villains in this piece, who I kind of have issues with for different reasons. The first is Shatterstar's sort-of ex lover who (naturally) has some rather twisted views on the nature of their relationship (she and Shatterstar were basically bred for combat and not to have feelings, seeing such things as a weakness). The problem is that she is a new character created for this miniseries and thus her whole deal is dealt with within about four issues, so she doesn't really have the emotional/dramatic impact she probably should. That said, her relationship with Shatterstar is contrasted nicely with Rictor's (more on that later).
The second is her boss, The Grandmaster (played to perfection by Jeff Goldblum in Thor Ragnarok). He's quite a good villain in the sense of posing quite a bit of threat while still being interesting, and quite different in nature to the other main villain. My main problem is that I can only really see Jeff Goldblum's portrayal, which is simply so likeable that I don't really want to see him get killed off. Evidently The Grandmaster in the comics is more of a bastard (and meets a rather ironic end, in true 90s action movie style).
I mentioned Shatterstar's relationship with Rictor being a nice contrast to the villain earlier. Rictor has been a big part of Shatterstar's character development since his introduction so it was nice that it was acknowledged here. I know it was a sore point for some Shatterstar/Rictor fans that they had apparently rather abruptly split up after being together in the comics for nearly 10 years or so by this point. I don't know whether it was purely for this miniseries that they were split up or other things in the marvel universe (Rictor crops up elsewhere and offhandedly mentions that he and Shatterstar had broken up), but it does seem to be a fairly significant thing here. As such, it's a bit disappointing that it doesn't really dig into why they split up because it doesn't feel like there's much payoff for what seems like a significant plot point. At any rate, their relationship (in whatever state it may be) is pretty heartwarmingly portrayed and still plays a big role in the plot. I'm not sure if it's stuck - things have happened in the marvel universe since this miniseries and I have trouble keeping track of things.
I felt what set this miniseries aside from just being a (not unenjoyable) 90s action film pastiche was the digging into Shatterstar's personal motivations, and in particular, dwelling on how much he has developed from the original improbably ripped personalityless gladiator figure he was when he was first introduced. Shatterstar rarely got to be at the forefront of stories when in an ensemble cast so it is nice to see him have some focus, even if it is only for five issues.
More please?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3.5 Stars. Known to me from his time on X-Force in the 90's, this new Volume shows readers what Shatterstar has been up to. Landlord is his new title, and he runs a home for outcasts from alternate futures/timelines/dimensions. (Whoever came up with this idea is a genius!) But (because it is a comic, there always has to be a "but") when his tenants are abducted and taken to a gladiatorial planet where Shatterstar used to fight, and by his former lover and teammate Gringrave nonetheless, OF COURSE he has to run off to rescue them! Before I read this, the only thing I knew about Shatterstar was that he was on X-Force, came from Mojoworld, uses a double bladed sword, has a huge ponytail, and had an absolutely hilarious death in the Deadpool 2 movie. Now, I can add to that knowledge: he has a romantic relationship with Rictor, is the son of Longshot and Dazzler, and is an incredible fighter! (Example: there is a scene in this Volume where his swords are on the ground and he is able to kill his opponent by hugging them and throwing himself back on the sword so it would kill them while missing all his major organs! So cool...) I hope to see more from this character in the near future. Great, quick read. Recommend.
Shatterstar: intergalactic gladiator, genetically engineered and bred to kill for bloodthirsty crowds! He arrived on earth a rebel to overthrow the despot who enslaved him only to get stuck here. The result is a versatile character good for any type of story. You’re writing action? ‘Star is designed (and delighted) to give it to you. Comedy? His confusion about how earth (and people) work provides fish out of water anecdotes for days. Romance? He’s a Handsome, Brooding Alpha Male who also has zero experience with human relations.
Tim Seeley does a good job blending all three in the new 2018 Shatterstar series. ‘Star, having messed up AGAIN with boyfriend Rictor navigates life as a landlord for other wacky, time-displaced characters like himself until an old lover shows up to draw him back home to do what he does best: kick ass.
I should note that old-time X-Fans like myself will have to notice that Seeley has completely ignored about twenty years of Star's history. Apparently, instead of spending his youth living only for battle and thus being completely ignorant about sex/relationships, ‘Star had a long-term lover back in his slave days, a woman named Gringrave whose most interesting feature is her decorative Sailor Moon wig. He’s now obsessed with doing the lone wolf thing, even pushing boyfriend Rictor away deliberately, something he never did before.
But what the hell, X-continuity has always been a mess. Looking at Shatterstar as a stand-alone series I think it’s one of the better ‘Star-related stories Marvel has put out. I keep coming up with the word “fun." Have fun with this. Enjoy Shatterstar beating up bad guys, arguing with talking dogs, and making out with Rictor after intense battle. ‘Star is always worth checking out, especially when written in an adventure this, well, fun to read.
i actually really like shatterstar as a character (and his relationship with rictor), but this miniseries was frustrating in a couple of ways.
-what was the point of retconning and important part of shatterstar’s backstory to insert some weird OC ex-girlfriend when it’s important to his character development that he never experienced romantic or sexual attraction before coming to earth? -why go through all that retconning effort to make the villain a black woman who dresses weirdly like a sailor moon character? -why is shatterstar going by “ben gaveedra” when that’s a combination of two names that most likely have negative connotations from him? -why contrived rictor and shatterstar break-up? i know midnighter (2015-16) by steve orlando started with the iconic gay superhero couple being broken up so there was precedent. you are not midnighter (2015-16) by steve orlando, though. -why does shatterstar still look about 40 in the flashbacks even though he was a teenager during his time on x-force and was just a victim of liefield art?
like, there were a few good parts to this miniseries–some of the fight scenes were cool, the grandmaster was a fitting choice for a villain, rictor’s character design looked great, that bit about rictor and shatterstar having complimentary wavelength powers was excellent, the covers were amazing, and the present-day art was great–but there are so many parts of i’m just straight-up baffled by, especially just…everything about gringrave.
maybe that’s what i get from expecting consistency from a medium like comics, which by their nature are very piecemeal and collaborative, but it was just a weird read considering seeley references really specific stuff from x-force, like rictor introducing shatterstar to hip hop music, but other times just…writes over important established things?
First, I am grateful that someone took the time to read Shatterstar's Wikipedia page. He has previously suffered from Changing Writers Syndrome, so that was just one of many reasons why his parentage question went about 20 years before it was finally resolved. Here, someone read about Shatterstar's 90s origins, his time enslaved by Mojo, even his blink-and-you-miss-it arranged marriage with an obscure character named "Windsong." Hell, even the fact Shatterstar uses the name "Ben" is a nod to a confusing part of his origin story, based on the 90s storyline where Shatterstar's essence was transferred to the body of someone named "Benjamin Russel."
I am so, so grateful. Continuity is so important.
And it's all... Amazing.
From the next-best-thing-to-Exiles apartment building Shatterstar manages as landlord, to the fight scenes, to the not-too-saccharine romance between Rictor and Shatterstar? It's all amazing.
I just want to thank the writer for giving me this unexpected gift. Thank you so much.
This was, for the most part, typical Shatterstar fare what with the gladiatorial combat on TV and the Mojoworld flashbacks. But his enemy this time was the Grandmaster, and his supporting cast was pretty sweet (it includes Rictor, who I always like to see).
The best part about this story, bar none, is ‘Star’s reinvention as landlord of a Queens property that exclusively houses other-dimensional tenants. Most of these tenants are used as the macguffins for ‘Star’s battle against people from his past and the Grandmaster, but this is a fantastic idea. I want to read stories about this other-dimensional rent-controller apartment complex, and the people who live in it. The little bit we got in the first issue before it all kicked off was already wonderful. Seriously, Marvel, I want to read that series, and I want to read it now.
Overall a pretty nice and short story about Shatterstar. The art was quite good and the covers by Yasmine Putri were amazing, but the plot could have been a bit more interesting; though the main idea was good, I felt that the premise needed some more work, specially regarding Ben's tenants and his relationship with Rictor (but I'm glad they didn't forget how important it is).
Still, a nice and enjoyable story that works more if you already care about Shatterstar.
Really enjoyed this mini series. We get to see Shatterstar and Rictor working together again and trying to deal with those pesky feelings. Shatterstar proves he's more than just a killing machine. Great art with the 'then' artwork in a completely different style to the 'now' artwork so there is no confusion.
An interesting stand alone story that gives some insight into Shatterstar's history and rekindles his affections for Rictor. Love that he appreciated the title of Landlord and all the responsibilities that came with it. Good art and decent writing throughout, but nothing that really has lasting repercussions. Happy 30th anniversary Shatterstar!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Good comic. Not world changing (for me as a reader, as opposed to Crisis-level crossover comics but it's not that either). It's got a really cool set up of Shatterstar as a Landlord for extradimensional castoffs and outcasts. Good plot arc and art and character development. Worth the read.
I really loved this take on Shatterstar and enjoyed finding out more background on his character and what he’s all about. As a person who is semi new to his character (I just know him from XForce) it was great to get a deeper look. I loved the cleverness of him being a landlord as well.
I really liked this — a lot of my friends are into Shatterstar but this was my first real taste of his character and I am just really, truly a sucker for found family and ragtag groups of misfits tropes, so naturally I enjoyed the hell out of this miniseries.
Solid read! Loved seeing Shatterstar's history fleshed out a bit. Plus it's always nice to see his relationship with Rictor get acknowledged and touched on.