Relationship Journey

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship begins as of X-Force (1991) #14, published on September 1, 1992. With Rictor turncoating Weapon P.R.I.M.E. and joining X-Force instead, Rictor and Shatterstar begin said relationship on rocky ground, implied to be due to Rictor’s choice to abandon his other team in favor X-Force, something of which Shatterstar finds dishonorable. The two are shown to butt heads several times, at least once over Rictor’s brash attitude, in which Shatterstar threatens to crush his throat after Rictor tries to attack him (X-Force #25), and another time when Rictor becomes enraged at Shatterstar’s odd TV-watching habits (X-Force #26). However, Shatterstar is also seen treating Rictor like any of his other teammates in battle, carrying around an unconscious Rictor when he could’ve left him behind (X-Factor #84), and taking orders from Rictor in the field in numerous issues. Rictor also quickly takes to calling Shatterstar by the team-decided nickname of ‘Shatty’ by X-Force #19.

Over time though, the two gradually lose animosity and often pair off together, seemingly as friends. When asked, X-Force’s writer Fabian Nicieza stated the pairing was for practical purposes: Cannonball had Boom Boom, Warpath had Siryn, Cable had Domino. This left Rictor and Shatterstar loose without a common partner, so it was decided to write the two in conjunction to help them from being left in social limbo (re: Cerebro Podcast’s Adam-X episode). Throughout the events of X-Force, we see Rictor prioritize Shatterstar’s safety over Wolfbane’s (X-Force #16), Rictor convince Shatterstar into going to the club with him alone (X-Force #43), evidence that Shatterstar enjoys mimicking Rictor’s speech + listening to music with him (X-Force #35), Shatterstar learn Spanish solely so he can speak to Rictor in private (X-Force #34), and of course, Shatterstar’s social meltdown when Rictor announces his intention to leave the team in X-Force #45. This is naming only a few instances in many, as the two have many scenes solo to them.

It’s important to contrast these two’s own dynamic towards their other romantic interests as well. Previously, Rictor had been shown an exclusive interest in women, as far as kissing Boom Boom in X-Force #26 and Wolfsbane in X-Factor #84. He plays a machismo bravado in the way he flirts with women at times, and feigns an over-the-top crush when it comes to Boom Boom. One wouldn’t doubt his affections for women, and he didn’t have much pointing towards his feelings towards Shatterstar until his untimely announcement to leave the team in X-Force #45. At the time, his decision could be written off as his dislike of telepaths and Cable in general, but in the context of him being closeted as is now canon, his decision becomes much more profound. Why else might Rictor fear being telepathically connected to the team if he wasn’t hiding something like his sexuality? Regardless, X-Force isn’t shy about reminding readers that much of Rictor’s personality is bravado in the series — Moonstar points out as much in X-Force #34 that he covers anything real about himself behind his macho persona, and Warpath reiterates similar in X-Force #35.

In comparison, Shatterstar displays over and over again a distinct lack of interest in women. Feral comes onto him several times starting in X-Force #5, but Shatterstar is oblivious to her flirting. Similar happens in X-Force #26, where Siryn attempts to flirt with Shatterstar, and he tells her to find someone else who would be physically receptive. In X-Force #30, it is revealed he has a wife, but he explains he has no romantic inclination for her, as it was an arranged marriage for future gladiators. His words imply he is incapable of romantic feelings or emotion from his time on Mojoworld — this is elaborated on in X-Force #43 after Rictor brings Shatterstar to a club. Here, after being uncomfortable for most of the scene, Shatterstar flees the club after a woman puts her hands on him in a sexual way. Afterwards, he explains to Rictor that he is not capable of the emotions needed for sexual relationships, much less romantic ones. Most readers, at the culmination of this, would assume Shatterstar does not like anyone at all, or just specifically women. The latter was equally as popular due to the subtextual writing of friends and foes alike calling him names associated with gay men. Neither is his case helped by his intensely androgynous design at the start of X-Force, even by the standards of men with long hair being more common in the ‘90s.

A running theme of early X-Force is the commonality of characters referring to Shatterstar as ‘pretty boy’. Innocuous on its own, some villains and teammates began stepping into the territory of homophobic comments after a while: the aforementioned queer subtext for Shatterstar. Although these things may not have been written with the intention of queer subtext, given X-Force’s writer Fabian Nicieza had made it plain his intention was for Shatterstar to be a blank slate to explore sexuality in the comic, this was likely purposeful. The trend starts in X-Force #4 when Juggernaut refers to Shatterstar as a ‘Pansy’, and continues up to X-Force #30, where Arcade refers to Shatterstar as a ‘Fruit-Loop’. By issue #20 of X-Force, Shatterstar is referred to as a ‘Lipstick Pretty-Boy’, and for the first time, someone steps up to defend Shatterstar over the comment — Rictor catches the villain by the shoulder, and professes, “No need to get personal is there, G.W.?” Again in #23, Feral says she can smell Shatterstar’s “Lipstick and blush, pretty boy!”. This also invites Rictor to tell her to shut up. Shatterstar does not correct anyone after the first few times of clarifying his name as Shatterstar, and Rictor is the only character to ever take offense on his behalf at the name-calling.

Coupling these two things, Shatterstar is easily to be read as queer in one way or another, whether that be as aromantic and asexual, or gay. As with the former, Rob Liefeld expressed asexuality was his original writing intention when making Shatterstar, but Shatterstar’s other co-creator, Fabian Nicieza, had a different intention when writing Shatterstar. Nicieza had intended for Shatterstar to think he was in love with Rictor while exploring his sexuality, and be used to tell teens reading that it was okay to have a gay friend (re: Cerebro Podcast’s Adam-X episode). This does not come to fruition under Nicieza, as he leaves the book after X-Force #43.

Nonetheless, the aforementioned club scene in X-Force #43 is a pivotal part to why many fans enjoy the nature of Rictor and Shatterstar's relationship. As it is canon now, Rictor is a gay man and explains that it was something he always knew during X-Factor (2005). His time during X-Force is easily read through a lens of his repression, hence why we see him kiss two women without their permission and then immediately drop all pretense of pursuing them romantically. This issue establishes a profound dichotomy in their relationship to sexuality: Rictor knows what he is and pretends otherwise, while Shatterstar does not understand what he is feeling, and is seeking Rictor out to help him.

It is just after X-Force #43, in which Shatterstar confesses his issue with romance and sex, that Rictor then proclaims he needs to leave the team — coincidentally, this is also when Cable announces his intention to telepathically link everyone in the team as well. While Rictor has a dislike of telepathy, it is easy to read this scene as him fearing the team might discover his sexuality while they are all linked. Shatterstar, unfortunately, does not take the announcement well, resorting to begging Julio to stay, as far as calling Rictor by his first name. Earlier in the book, Rictor had expressed that only his mother is allowed to call him by his first name and exploded on Cable for daring to call him Julio earlier in the series. He says nothing of Shatterstar calling him by the name. In Cable #22, the issue where Rictor officially leaves, Shatterstar begs consistently throughout the book for Rictor to stay, and when he does not, he grieves to the point of allowing himself to be shot.

Shatterstar remains in a foul mood for the additional issues after Rictor's departure. In X-Force #49, he laments missing Julio again after turning down a woman asking him to dance, and then runs into a gay man being assaulted. Although this is not the only time older comics had a hero beating up homophobes, as evidenced in the Green Lantern (1990) plot line where Kyle Rayner does the same, it is significant this scene is given to Shatterstar. In the Green Lantern story, Kyle reiterates he is not gay, but there is nothing wrong with being homosexual and homophobia is wrong. Shatterstar’s scene is offhand without a moral reiteration, and comes immediately after his comments of missing Rictor and rejecting a woman.

It is at this point that it becomes clear that X-Force's new writer, Jeph Loeb, intended to write Shatterstar’s feelings for Rictor clearer than the previous writers. In X-Force #56, it directly states it on page: Shatterstar views Rictor as more than a friend. So as not to be misconstrued, this is paralleled with Siryn's feelings for Warpath, who canonically had romantic feelings for one another since the beginning of the book.

Rictor finally returns to the team in X-Force #59, claiming he did so entirely for Shatterstar’s sake (who Cable had been keeping locked in the Danger Room due to his unstable mind). Shortly after, Shatterstar and Cable are then separated from the majority of the team by the villain Mojo which causes Rictor to have a meltdown of emotions that Shatterstar was in danger.

The two then officially leave the team in X-Force #70 – together. Rictor decides he wishes to go take down his family in Mexico, and Shatterstar states he will leave with him. These two are not seen again until the X-Force 1999 Annual, which covers part of their time in Mexico. In this annual, we see Rictor reject the idea of him and Shatterstar having separate rooms despite the free offer, and then they are both drawn shirtless together in the morning.

After this period of time, it's important to address that X-Factor (2005) retroactively retconned – or at least confirmed – that Rictor and Shatterstar started their relationship during their time with X-Force in X-Factor #49 and again in X-Factor #200. However, many details about their relationship during this time are vague. At what point of X-Force did they get together? Was it before or after Rictor left the team? Was it during their trip to Mexico? And – most important of all – when and why did they break up?

See, as of Shatterstar’s 2005 solo (X-Force: Shatterstar), Rictor is nowhere to be found. Shatterstar is closed off, fighting in order to feel something, and reverted emotionally. He had, at some point, split off from Rictor. This leaves a major gap in their relationship that fans like to dig into. What was the reason for their breakup? Who was the one that called it off? This becomes a running theme in their relationship, keep this fact in mind.

As we close out their X-Force story, I find it important to note that their underhand relationship was something the fans had noticed in the writing and were hopeful of, not a machination of Peter David in 2009. In fact, here's a handful of entries from the back of X-Force (1991) and early X-Factor (2005) issues about one or both of their sexualities:

X-Factor (2005) [which I will be shorthanding as XFI to avoid confusion with Krakoan X-Factor] is when we first start seeing a direct change in Rictor’s sexuality. Much of these two's relationship came through as one-sided on Shatterstar’s part in X-Force, primarily because Rictor left the book for a period of time. However, despite Rictor sleeping with Wolfsbane in the XFI #21, he does directly imply to Multiple Man he's fine with sleeping with men in XFI #14. In fact, immediately after Rictor says this, Multiple Man references Shatterstar in the same vein. At the time, it was presumed from then on that Rictor was bisexual.

Rictor’s theoretical bisexuality is reaffirmed when Longshot and Monet kiss in XFI #36, and Multiple Man and Strong Man are uncertain of which person Rictor would be jealous of.

And then… Shatterstar appears at the very end of XFI #43! He is mind-controlled by a villain named Cortex and attempts to kill Rictor (and co.). He briefly has control of himself returned, and at the end of XFI #45, Rictor and Shatterstar finally kiss as the first on-page MLM kiss between two superheroes in Marvel.

In XFI #49, Rictor reaffirms that he and Shatterstar had been involved romantically before, predating his recent relationship with Wolfsbane. Shatterstar then clarifies he had been in his homeworld for some time, but he decided to return because he missed Rictor. Again, it begs the question of what happened between them in Mexico? This is never answered. However, in contrast to X-Force which teeters between defining Shatterstar as asexual or homosexual, he kisses Val Cooper just after kissing Rictor and professing he returned to Earth for him. From then on Shatterstar is flirtatious with everyone, not just Rictor. The writer Peter David clarified the development was Shatterstar was now bisexual and ‘like a kid in a candy store’. When fans pushed back that the trope of flirty bisexuals wanting to sleep with other people even while in a relationship was a harmful stereotype, David instead stated Shatterstar was bisexual and polyamarous. No writer has clarified a new sexuality since, although Shatterstar has not had any other love interest except Rictor. He has strictly only flirted with other characters.

Nonetheless, Rictor does not take well to Shatterstar’s persistent flirting with other characters, and is often seen scowling in the background or outright pulling Shatterstar away from people. His grievances aren't addressed until XFI #207. Shatterstar protests he is only trying to gain new experiences, but he is also incapable of internalizing anything with other people if he is not with Rictor. Because Rictor is at a very low point in XFI – he'd lost his powers and was severely depressed enough he attempts to commit suicide twice during the run – he accepts the answer Shatterstar gives him. This does not stop him from getting upset in future issues when Shatterstar hits on more people.

By XFI #207, the two are shown to have sex and discuss figuring out their relationship. While they embrace, a pregnant Wolfsbane opens the door on them. This carries over to the next issue, where Wolfsbane accuses Shatterstar of mind-controlling Rictor into sleeping with him. She then convinces Rictor that she is pregnant with his baby, upset that he is involved with a man. Although Rictor takes the news well, Shatterstar is silently upset and starts picking numerous fights throughout XFI #209, much to the concern of the team. In XFI #210, Rictor finally clarifies he's gay and also learns he's not the father of the baby. Wolfsbane comes to accept Rictor is gay by XFI #213, and Shatterstar finds a fascination with Wolfsbane being pregnant since it is not common on Mojoworld.

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship remains stable for the rest of the run, often acting as god-fathers for Wolfsbane's child, Tier. In XFI #259, the two end up transported to Mojoworld of the past by Mephisto, and it is there Shatterstar is cloned to create Longshot. They then jump forward in time and discover Dazzler in labor who gives birth to baby Shatterstar. The comic ends, implying they are the ones who take baby Shatterstar 100 years in the future to be put into slavery. Because of the open-endedness of this story, and because it involves great moral conflict regarding erasing Dazzler's memories, it is a popular choice to examine their relationship with. It means Rictor was always integral to Shatterstar’s existence as a time paradox, as he needs to be present to help Shatterstar teleport. XFI had introduced a new power to Shatterstar’s repertoire, which was teleporting. The caveat is he needs an anchor he has a ‘connection’ to, though what the requirement is to have a connection to him is never made clear. Rictor is one of the few people he can use as an anchor.

At some point between the end of X-Factor (2005) and the start of Iceman (2017), Shatterstar and Rictor break up once more. It is not explained why, but while on a date with Iceman in Iceman #11, Rictor expresses he'd much rather get back with Shatterstar.

However, by New Mutants: Dead Souls (2018) Shatterstar and Rictor are once again back together and living with one another. Just a few months later, they rubberband back to being broken up for the beginning of Shatterstar (2018). This third break up is given a little more detail to explain the cause: Rictor breaks up with Shatterstar because he thinks Shatterstar is bored in their relationship. Rictor had settled down and opened a bar, and Shatterstar had become a landlord. Rictor had thought he was chaining Shatterstar to a normal life and Shatterstar himself wasn't putting effort into their relationship anymore in his own complacency.

Shatterstar and Rictor appear on course to get back together by the end of the run. Issue #5 also proved that Rictor can hijack Shatterstar’s teleportation power no matter where the other is to portal him directly back to Rictor, something unique to them both.

After the end of Shatterstar (2018), it is unclear whether the two return to dating, but they are deliberately back on good terms. This stasis is abruptly jeopardized during the Age of X-Man event in 2019 where Rictor is presumed killed with all of the X-Men. They end up trapped in a false reality where relationships are illegal. In this reality, Julio runs a theater that plays illegal romance films, paralleling a foundation of his relationship with Shatterstar having been watching television with the other. Leah Williams, the writer of Rictor’s Age of X-Man segment, confirmed Rictor runs the movie theater because it was an integral part of his background with Shatterstar. He feels comfortable in the role of showing stuff to others through TV – that is, to be a guide like he had once been for Shatterstar. On the other side, Shatterstar in 616 believes Rictor to be dead and joins X-Force during the X-Force (2019) run. There, he is brash and overly violent from having just lost Rictor, and Cable had also recently been killed by his younger counterpart which drives a wedge in Shatterstar’s emotions further. Shatterstar regresses to his old ways without Rictor to ground him: a violent gladiator whose purpose is fighting and death.

When the Age of X-Man event ends, Rictor returns to 616 only to find Shatterstar gone. He believes Shatterstar has ghosted him and that they were finally broken up for good. His powers regress, and he is unable to stand on the ground anymore without fear of causing earthquakes. In Excalibur #3, he is deep in another one of his depression cycles until Apocalypse brings him to Krakoa.

In the absence of Shatterstar, Rictor develops romantic feelings towards Apocalypse. After Apocalypse leaves Rictor to be with his wife instead, this triggers another meltdown from Rictor, affecting a downturn of his attitude for several issues up into the Hellfire Gala. Unfortunately, during all this time Shatterstar had been trapped in the Mojoverse which was discovered in X-Factor (2020) #3 but unbeknownst to Rictor. He'd gone to the Mojoverse after the events of X-Force (2019) assuming he no longer had a purpose on Earth with Rictor dead, and traded his services as entertainment for Mojo in favor of slaves being freed on Mojoworld (re: podcast GateCrashers with Leah Williams). He had not been ghosting Rictor – he had been trapped, and none of X-Factor thought to inform Rictor. It is not until X-Factor #9 that Shatterstar is freed, and he was only freed because X-Factor needed him to solve a prophecy to slay the Morrigan (who was inhabiting Siryn). After he does so, the Morrigan grants him a boon. He is connected to Rictor through their red string of fate, and discovers his lover had been alive all this time.

This culminates in Excalibur #21. Shatterstar appears during the Gala having just slayed the Morrigan to surprise Rictor. Rictor, thinking Shatterstar had ghosted him all this time, becomes upset at Shatterstar’s casual show of romance. By the end, they appear to make up, and Shatterstar joins Excalibur, back in a relationship with Rictor.

In Knights of X #3, Rictor finally directly says he loves Shatterstar on page, and Shatterstar says the same in return. In the same conversation, Rictor also addresses his feelings for Apocalypse, of which Shatterstar dismisses Rictor's concerns. He professes that, given his flirty past, it would be wrong of him to judge.

Since then, the two appear to be in a stable relationship, but time will only tell. They have many gaps in their history despite how intertwined they are, and their constant off-screen make-ups is what makes them popular among many fans. They are messy, co-dependent, and have ample room to explore. It makes them realistic compared to many of the other queer couples Marvel pushes nowadays that don't have major conflict or the wiggle-room for fan-content these two do. Hopefully they do finally stay together in the years to come!