A Smattering Of Smashers

 

There's no doubt that comics have had no shortage of recycled character names over the years, the circumstances varying depending on whether it was thought there would be potential sales reader interest in introducing another character who had taken on the name of a previous hero or villain. The short list of examples would include Captain Marvel... Thor... Spider-Man... Dr. Strange... Captain America... and on the villain side, so far we've taken a look at some Slashers and a few Crushers.

And since villains are known for choosing names for themselves that imply the threat they pose, what's another name that tends to be at the top of the list for bruisers who want their reputation to precede them?

THAT'S RIGHT, they're

Something Daredevil thought he was pretty good at, until he ran into a brawler who laid claim to the actual name.

Have no fear for Daredevil--he did nicely against the Smasher in round two, once he'd remembered he knew how to duck.

Over in Invincible Iron Man, we ran across a whole group of Smashers, a little militia following the plan of an embezzler to shut down a Stark Industries factory on a Pacific island. The problem isn't truly solved until the identity of their ringleader is discovered--but as for the Smashers, Iron Man is more than capable of doing a little smashing of his own.

One Smasher that X-Men readers were introduced to along with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard was one of their many members, who in this scene polished off the Angel:

Like many of the Guard, the Smasher tended to blend into the ranks and receive little attention on his own--that is, until Vulcan, the Omega-level mutant and brother to both Cyclops and Havok, took on the entire Guard in a battle that claimed the life of the Smasher (for starters).

From the Shi'ar galaxy to the old west, we turn to the Two-Gun Kid, who as lawyer Matt Hawk faced one of Hunk Hondo's strong-arms named Smasher--but later returns as the Kid to settle the score.

In 1954, we learned that a construction site foreman should know not to push his weight around and criticize his workmen, to the point where a wrecking ball operator fatally exacts his vengeance.

In Daredevil... wait a minute... hasn't DD already faced the Smasher? Well, artist John Byrne serves up another for him (a hireling of Death's Head), this time in Los Angeles:

"I better take him to Death's Head--maybe he'll want the creep. But I don't know why!" Ouch, Daredevil--glad you weren't conscious for that smackdown.

There were some Smashers who preferred to make the noun a part of their full name, depending on their mission statement. Take Flag-Smasher, who despised patriotism and all of its symbols, human or otherwise.

Whereas "Smasher" Kreel (I hope that's a nickname, and not just his parents being short-sighted) doesn't care a whit about patriotism--just the stolen chemicals he and a buddy are transporting, a heist foiled by the Falcon and his "pigeon," Redwing.

You've no doubt guessed correctly that Kreel readily gives up the name of his buyer--a gent name Mister Hyde, in a story we'll see play out in a separate post.

Over in Iron Man, it would be War Machine (Jim Rhodes) who would face the Atom-Smasher, a foe who was out to eliminate any sites or machinery that made use of nuclear power, along with their impediments.

And even the Golden Age Captain America fell into this category:

Spider-Man's first large-format magazine would introduce the wall-crawler to the Smasher, a story that would later be adapted for his monthly mag in full color.

And finally...
No--it can't be! Another Smasher facing Daredevil??

Aside from Daredevil not being injured in the slightest after a huge piece of rubble impacts with his chest, we're all probably scratching our heads further by the fact that the story has both the Smasher and DD confusing Death's Head with Death-Stalker, a foe that DD faced most recently in the previous issue and who has never had a Smasher on his payroll. That seems our cue to bring an end to a smashing rundown of (mostly) villains whose reputations, as it turned out, didn't cut much ice with their opponents.