Shatterstar

                                          
X-Force:

The X-Men had been detrimental in many previous victories over Mojo in Longshot’s time, so they were the only force the Cadre trusted. Shatterstar was propelled through time and space to enlist in their assistance, as the Cadre survived on their last legs against Spiral (the Executioner) and Mojo V (the ruler). He fell through a portal in the middle of the Danger Room, but instead of finding the X-Men he found Cable and X-Force.

During his encounter with them, soldiers from Mojo’s Imperial Protectorate followed him through and attacked. After a major scuffle they retreated, and closed the portal back to their time, thus leaving ‘Star stranded on Earth. And in return for X-Force helping him fight them off, Shatterstar agreed to join their ranks and fight for their cause -- so long as someday they go back to his time and defeat Mojo V.

At first Cable used him solely for his ability to go into a fight with no hesitations or restraints. Shatterstar was the member of the team known for ‘getting the job done’ and taking orders without protest. In the beginning, his biggest obstacles to overcome had mostly to do with adjusting to Earth life; he had to learn to count, tell time, and socialize with the others. The girls had been the first to warm up to him (mostly because of his ‘hunky’ looks), but eventually over time he developed a close friendship with Warpath and then, more notably, Rictor.

After finally opening up to the others, Shatterstar began to flesh out a little more. He started to let his team members train with him, shared the television (whereas before he tended to hog it), and even found himself going out on the town with Ric. And while he still declined to party or take up the advances of his female teammates, the young warrior had confessed to Rictor that he did want to work on becoming more sociable and the new found positive emotions he had began to feel since joining their ranks.

The emotional side of him was probably the more complicated aspect of his character. While many times he, Cable, and a number of his friends claimed that he had none, his stay with the team had eventually led to him both embracing and struggling with his feelings. Fear, sadness, happiness, and excitement were things that he was never allowed to really endure growing up, so he tended to get overwhelmed easily. Thankfully, his new found friendships helped make his confusion a little easier to deal with.

In retrospect, sometimes his naïveté toward his emotions placed him in awkward situations with the others, for example, when it was revealed that he had a wife. On his home world, a wife was no more then a second half used for genetic reproduction, so when he so easily shrugged off the fact that she existed, it left others a little thrown for a loop. He never actually knew the woman known as Windsong, and later in the series it had been revealed that she had died. However, it is unknown whether or not her genetic material had ever been bonded with Shatterstar’s.

Things took a turn for the worst for Shatterstar when his best friend Rictor left to return to his family in Mexico. Devastated and confused, the warrior attacked a machine gun wielding crook at the airport and got himself shot point blank in the chest. However, this incident wouldn’t only mark the first time Shatterstar really showed his true feelings for someone else, but it also began the sequence of events that led up to his identity crisis. For reasons unknown, his body did not begin the regeneration process as it normally did. And after a series of physical exams in the following weeks, the X-Man known as Beast began some tests to determine what the missing pieces were. During the testing it was discovered that Shatterstar shared Longshot’s genetic profile, and it was then that Beast fired off questions concerning ‘Star’s upbringing -- and that only baffled the warrior.

The confusion did not end there. Somewhere around this time Shatterstar’s memories had been presumably tampered with. The name Benjamin Russell kept surfacing, and after a brief possession by the mutant known as Tessa (later known as Sage), it was revealed that Shatterstar was very difficult to keep a psychic grasp on due to previous telepathic intrusions. His killer instincts began to 'diminish' and even 'Star himself began to question his own identity. It was at the Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane where Gamesmaster appeared and did a major number on Shatty’s mind.

Later, and after a growing amount of suspicion from X-Force, Cable finally turned and harshly interrogated 'Star about his identity. It was then that Rictor returned to the warrior’s life in an attempt to positively identify the source of the problem. While the boys attempted to reconnect, X-Force was ambushed by two members of Mojo’s Protectorate -- Gog and Magog -- which resulted in both Shatterstar and Cable being brought through time and space to Mojoworld. It was there that Mojo revealed the Cadre Alliance’s martyr was Shatterstar all along, and that he was the man destined to end Mojo V’s reign and unite both species. In an attempt to prevent his own death, Mojo transported 'Star and Cable to the battle arenas in a simulation exactly replicating the prophecy. Mojo led Shatterstar to him and managed to mortally wound him in battle. Luckily his life force was restored by the unpredictable Spiral, and Shatterstar was again reunited with X-Force. (For more on this situation, see the Benjamin Russell link below).

Afterwards, Shatterstar was more open and laid back than ever. He developed a very close relationship with Rictor, as well as a friendship with fellow team member, Siryn. Things seemed better for him then they had in months, and continued that way until Operation: Zero Tolerance saw him kidnapped and experimented on. During the tests, the scientists in charge of Shatterstar’s body revealed that his genetic makeup was strange and very inhuman, which was just another piece in the puzzle of his true identity (and also finally confirmed he had been an interdimensional alien all along; jeez).

Following Zero Tolerance, Shatterstar decided that he would rather live his life alongside his friend Rictor than go into hiding. When X-Force disbanded, Shatty followed Ric back to Mexico to live.