Shatterstar

The subject of Shatterstar’s sexuality has long been a topic of debate. Until just very recently, he has never been officially linked to another character romantically. Many fans have attributed this to the fact that he had originally been introduced as an a-sexual character. Having been born and raised as an imprisoned slave, he had never been exposed to social interaction with others in any form. All he knew was training, fighting, and survival, and for quite some time Shatterstar was quite okay with that.

However, this started to be an issue for him almost immediately after joining X-Force’s ranks. The women on the team were gunning for him from the get go; Feral continuously harassed him for attention, Siryn had developed a fairly large crush, and even the taken Tabitha was constantly complimenting his good looks. The comments were easy for Shatterstar to brush off, but he appeared to grow anxious and uncomfortable whenever the flirting would get physical. Feral was the worst offender for this, and it usually led to the two of them fighting. Shatterstar tried to make it clear that he had zero interest in her, but the woman was persistent.

Eventually Feral left the team, but that only opened up the door for Siryn. When she hit a low point in her alcoholism, Shatterstar became a target for her flirting and this time it was laid on thick. Theresa would wait until he was half clothed and involved with his work outs to approach half dressed herself and offering him sexual favours. Again, Shatterstar would turn her down. This led to some tension between him and Warpath, and it was just following the latest incident with Theresa that ‘Star revealed to Jimmy his thoughts on the topic for the first time.

Shatterstar: Why do you persist in making yourself miserable by tending to her needs?
Warpath: Oh, you noticed, huh? I don’t know—I guess unhappiness is all I really know, so I’m happy when I’m happy. You too, huh?
Shatterstar: Quite honestly, I’ve never given it much thought.
Warpath: What do you give thought to?
Shatterstar: Things I can control. My body, my strength, my skills.
Warpath: ‘Star, if all you have is yourself, then you don’t really have all that much at all.
Shatterstar: Better, James, than wanting more than you can have…and getting nothing in return.

At this point (X-Force #25), Shatterstar is still only focusing on what he was born and raised to do; he’s still attempting to understand human behaviour and it shows. However, it was also around this time that he began hanging out with Rictor more. Over the span of the next couple of issues, the two are seen watching television, driving around together, and it’s revealed that Shatterstar learns Spanish. His reason for doing so is so that they can communicate together without anyone understanding them should their topics include ‘highly personal topics’ (X-Force #34).

After yet another change of headquarters, the team is finally placed in city where they can go out and have some fun. Rictor talks Shatterstar into attending a night club with him, and it’s here that we finally get a much more personal insight on Shatterstar’s intimacy issues. Most of the night he’s shown as being disgruntled while watching Rictor dance with women, and when he finally has enough he turns to leave. However, a woman grabs his arm and begins an attempt to seduce him. Shatterstar is clearly miserable, and when the woman feels him up he runs off in a panic. Rictor catches up quickly though, and Shatterstar shares this with him:

Shatterstar: …I have never been with someone…like that…in that way. I have never--
Rictor: ‘Star, that ain’t nothin’ to be ashamed of, dude. I mean, I talk a good game…but I never hit a home run either.
Shatterstar: No…I am not making myself clear. Until tonight, I had never even felt such stirring within me.
Rictor: Oh. Listen, you’re not from this planet—so maybe, y’know—that’s normal. Are you—I mean—do you have—what it takes?
Shatterstar: I was bioengineered to fully simulate physical human interaction. But no one bothered to instill the emotional requirements which I have learned are attached to such actions.

So as of X-Force #43 we know that Shatterstar is a virgin, and is now developing emotional and sexual feelings. Whether or not it was geared toward the woman feeling him up or watching Rictor dance is the question though, as it was not further elaborated on. This does, however, begin nixing the idea of a-sexuality.

Rictor ends up leaving on a trip back home to Mexico just after this issue, and Shatterstar is left to deal with his problems alone. Again he is repeatedly showed turning down advances from women, including one that came along when he revisited the dance club Ric had brought him to earlier. Immediately after turning her down, Shatterstar muses about how much he misses his friend until he stumbles on a gay bashing. He breaks it up and brushes off a few intended homophobic comments without concern. (X-Force #49)

The next big breaker came in the form of a narrative box in X-Force #56:

‘She has lost Warpath. He has lost Rictor. Both see these missing teammates as ‘friends’. Both too stubborn to admit that they may mean more than that’

This narrative box explicitly compares an established one-sided romantic relationship between Terry and Jimmy to Shatterstar’s with Rictor. It also was a fairly straightforward explanation regarding Shatterstar’s actions and feelings during the time Rictor was gone and when he came back. The two boys only got closer, and were much later in the series shown sharing a hotel room together in Mexico. Shatterstar had taught Rictor his native language for even more personal conversation, and they were both also shown sleeping in a room wearing only their underwear with one visible bed. (X-Force ’99 Annual).
By this point, it’s very heavily alluded that Shatterstar is leaning more on the side of homosexuality than heterosexuality. His relationship with Rictor, while ambiguous, is not only hinted with such panels and narratives, but much closer and tighter than any other relationship either boy has had in publication.

The struggles didn’t end though; during their time spent apart, Shatterstar was still exploring his emotional self. He mastered the arts of meditation and spent much more time training. Though he denied his emotions at times, it ended up being contradicted time and time again whenever he was reunited with his old team. This period of Shatterstar’s life (X-Force Volume 2, X-Force: Shatterstar, and X-Men: Civil War) was a jumping ground for most nay sayer’s arguments.

Of course, they were all proven wrong when Shatterstar and Rictor were finally reunited again in X-Factor Volume 3. Under mind control, ‘Star is seen attacking Rictor for unknown reasons, but the moment the control is broken, they immediately greet each other with a full mouthed kiss.

The action shocked Rictor's teammate and friend, Strong Guy, but Ric didn't seem uncomfortable with it. He explained to Guido that he'd been involved with Shatterstar long before he'd been involved with Rahne, implying that the boys had carried on a sexual relationship of some sort - mostly likely between the pages of X-Force. While this conversation clearly confirms Rictor's bisexuality, Shatterstar's status is up in the air. Being the butt end of slightly homophobic jokes and comments by Guido, 'Star appeared completely oblivious to the problem and ignored any comments regarding his sexual status. While most former clues indicated that he was not interested in females, he is - in fact - shown both embracing and kissing Val Cooper and Boom-Boom. Rictor and Shatterstar's official status as a couple is yet to be confirmed, but both are seemingly comfortable with their sexualities at long last.

Marriage

Technically, Shatterstar is listed as a ‘widower’ in the Marvel world. Before he was ever sent to Earth, Mojo had assigned him a ‘genetic bond mate’ (or wife) with whom he was to reproduce with. The pairings were meant to combine the best genetic material to constantly improve and contribute to the slave stock.

Shatterstar has never met his wife, Windsong. All we know about the woman was that she was a slave seeking freedom just like all the rest of the biped race. When Adam X made a sarcastic comment about the romance involved in such a relationship, Shatterstar simply replied that romance was never the intent and no emotions were involved. She was created for making his children and nothing more (X-Force 29 & 30).

Later on in X-Force #61, it was revealed that Windsong was dead. She has not been mentioned or brought up since, and excluding Adam X, the only people who are aware of the woman and her connection to Shatterstar are Cable and Rictor (who he told personally).