Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski) is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe.
Publication history
He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.
Fictional character biography
Dr. Walter Langkowski is a member of Alpha Flight, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada of Polish Jewish origin and a renowned physicist, and a professor of both physics and biophysics at McGill University. He is also a former football player for the Green Bay Packers.
He possesses the ability to transform into a super-strong, orange-haired beast resembling the legendary Sasquatch. This transformation is triggered by willpower. In his transformed state, Langkowski has increased strength, stamina, and resistance to injury. He also has sharp claws and is able to leap incredible distances.
These powers were a result of Langkowski's self-experimentation with gamma radiation. In an attempt to become like the Hulk, Langkowski bombarded himself with a gamma ray projector at his laboratory near the Arctic Circle. As a proposed explanation for why he transformed into an orange instead of green behemoth (as gamma-irradiated persons are usually affected), Langkowski assumed it had something to do with the Aurora Borealis.
However, unknown to Langkowski, it was not the gamma rays that turned him into Sasquatch, but the fact that his lab equipment opened a doorway between our world and the "Realm of Great Beasts." When this portal was opened, a mystical beast called Tanaraq invaded Langkowski's body and granted him his powers. Langkowski had to learn to maintain his own personality and intelligence when in the form of Sasquatch, and was very successful for a time.
Alpha Flight
As a member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, Sasquatch battled the X-Men in an attempt to capture Wolverine. He later battled the Hulk, and then, alongside the Hulk, battled the Wendigo. Alongside Alpha Flight again, he battled the Great Beast Tundra. With Alpha Flight, Namor, and the Invisible Woman, he first encountered the Master of the World. He then battled the Super-Skrull. With Alpha Flight, he battled Omega Flight. Alongside Rom and Alpha Flight, he battled the Dire Wraiths. With Alpha Flight, he went on a mission with the X-Men and clashed with Loki. His Sasquatch form was eventually revealed as an incarnation of Tanaraq, who took control of Sasquatch, forcing Snowbird to slay Langkowski.
A new body and a new identity
After his death, Langkowski's teammates traveled to the realm of the Great Beasts to recover his soul, that is being preserved in what is called a "Phistash-Hasrak", but a preservation spell cast by Alpha's resident sorcerer, Shaman, failed to prevent Langkowski's body from crumbling to dust. Once there, they were attacked by the Great Beast Somon, who summoned the Great Beasts Tundra, Kariooq, and Tolomaq against them. Snowbird battled Somon, eventually forcing him to relinquish control of the other Great Beasts and causing them to battle one another. Forcing the now-weakened Somon to reveal to them the location of Walter Langkowski's spirit, Alpha Flight ventured to the Pit of Ultimate Sadness, located beneath the Great Glow-Globe of Phistash-Hasrak, where Somon explained that the souls of those who once inhabited the realm laid in torture. Within the Pit, Somon explained to Alpha Flight that, in order to enter the Pit's Well of Sorrows, they must sacrifice love, hate and power. Sending Aurora (representing love), Northstar (representing hate) and Talisman (representing power) into the Well, Alpha Flight soon realized the Well was a trap set by Somon. Snowbird quickly killed Somon and three trapped Alphans were reunited with the rest of the team. Shaman soon deduced from Somon's trap that no actual souls still remained within the Well of Sorrows but rather, the only wandering soul (Walter's) resided above the Well, within the Glow-Globe of Phistash-Hasrak. Containing Walter's soul within a globe of its own from his pouch, Shaman then transported Alpha Flight back to Earth, where they met with Heather Hudson and Box, In desperation, Shaman projected the soul into the robot exoskeleton of Box, who had arrived just as the Alphans returned to Earth. After some searching for an alternate form, Langkowski and Box's creator, Roger Bochs, eventually scanned a humanoid, nearly mindless body trapped in another dimension. However, when the pair projected Langkowski's soul towards this body across an interdimensional "fishing line", it turned out to be the Hulk, and Langkowski, unwilling to displace his colleague and friend Bruce Banner (despite Banner's pleas to the contrary), let his soul dissipate into the interdimensional void.
Sasquatch was subsequently brought back to life first by temporarily inhabiting the miniaturized body of Smart Alec, then by inhabiting the body of the then-deceased Snowbird. At first limited to transforming between Snowbird's (female) human form and a white-furred version of his Sasquatch form, he called himself "Wanda Langkowski" and fought to be recognized as legally alive. This body was later mystically altered to be identical to his original body by Snowbird's spirit. After this, his Sasquatch form returned to its original orange hue. With Alpha Flight, he first battled Llan the Sorcerer. With Alpha Flight, alongside the Avengers, and the People's Protectorate, he battled the Atlantean army, the Peace Corpse, and the Combine. Alongside Alpha Flight, he defended Her against the Consortium.
In 2005, Sasquatch assembled another incarnation of Alpha Flight in order to rescue the original team from an alien race known as the Plodex. Sales were poor, and the series was canceled with issue #12.
Surviving his team
Along with Major Mapleleaf, Puck (both Eugene Judd and Zuzha Yu), Vindicator, Shaman, and Guardian, Sasquatch fights The Collective. He is later revealed to be the only member of Alpha Flight to survive the attack. Following the events of Marvel's Civil War, Langkowski is recruited by the Canadian government to form a new team called Omega Flight. He goes out of control possessed by the Great Beast, Tanaraq, but manages to recover. He also forgives Michael Pointer for the indirect role he played in the destruction of Alpha Flight and apologized for forcing him into the role of Guardian. Sasquatch has gone to Wakanda, along with Wolfsbane, Thornn, and Feral. The group offers their assistance to Wolverine against Sabretooth. Feral is killed by Sabretooth and in the meantime, the villain Romulus forms plans of his own involving the group.
Chaos War
During the Chaos War storyline, Sasquatch makes a deal with the Great Beasts, bringing them to Earth so they can kill Amatusu-Mikaboshi. He alongside Snowbird, Northstar, and Aurora are reunited with a resurrected Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, and Marrina Smallwood.
Fear Itself
During the Fear Itself storyline, Sasquatch was seen helping Alpha Flight fight Attuma (in the form of Nerkodd: Breaker of Oceans) while saving people from the flood caused by Nerkodd. Once Nerkodd is defeated and repelled, Alpha Flight returns to their headquarters, only to end up betrayed by Gary Cody and his newly elected Unity Party. When in the custody of the Unity Party, Sasquatch's gamma energy is drained enough for him to revert to his human form of Walter Langkowski. At Parliament Hill, Walter is informed by Agent Jeff Brown that the concussions he had when he played football will cause him to act less human when he changes back into Sasquatch. Jeff also tells Walter that he will soon achieve Unity. Walter is later freed by Shaman who knocks out Agent Jeff Brown.
Sasquatch was seen with Alpha Flight when they come to the aid of Red Hulk when the Mayan Gods appear on Earth. Alpha Flight helps Red Hulk fight them with one of the battles putting Aurora, Sasquatch, and Snowbird in a coma.
Powers and abilities
In his Sasquatch form, Langkowski possesses superhuman strength and heightened endurance as well as a high degree of resistance to injury that enabled him to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk and survive (in an early appearance, Sasquatch fought the Hulk for "fun" in order to test the limits of his own strength). Sasquatch has proven sufficiently strong enough to pull a naval destroyer ashore for repairs, and to hold a DC-10 against the thrust of its engines and then hurl the plane over 1,000 feet backwards. He also has a healing factor.
Early in his career, changing from his human form into his Sasquatch form caused Langkowski extreme physical discomfort. To alleviate the pain, Langkowski recites a slow mantra which serves the same purpose as a yoga practitioner concentrating on his/her craft, to calm the body and to divorce pain from the physical body. Since taking over Snowbird's original body, he can now achieve his Sasquatch form with relatively little pain or effort.
Langkowski is a professionally trained scientist with a Ph.D. in physics and an extensive knowledge of physics. He is an expert on the effects of radiation on human physiology, and has experience dealing with many forms of experimental radiation and their mutagenic effects on life forms under controlled settings. As a former professional football player, Langkowski has highly athletic physical strength and endurance, though he is no longer in the peak condition of his life. Sasquatch is an above-average hand-to-hand combatant although he relies more on his great strength than formal combat skill.
Other versions
Unintelligible monster
An in-universe Sasquatch, this one a barely intelligent monster, appeared in Alpha Flight volume 2. Although his teammates believed this Sasquatch to be a highly degenerated Langkowski, it was an actual Sasquatch that had been captured by Department H. He was kept in control by the touch of the superpowered Murmur, though this was not always successful. This Sasquatch died in the final conflict with Department H's corrupt leadership and the Zodiac. Langkowski soon returned to active membership in Alpha Flight.
Exiles
A white-haired entity who seemed to be Walter Langowski joins the Exiles, an interdimensional team of heroes dedicated to fixing breaks in the timeline. It is soon revealed that she is a black woman named Heather Hudson, shocking the team who are familiar with versions of Walter.
Howling Commandos
In Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, a series published in late 2005 and early 2006, a new intelligent Sasquatch appeared. What, if any, connection this character has to Walter Langkowski or the Sasquatch from Alpha Flight volume 2, was never revealed.
Marvel Zombies
In the Marvel Zombies comics set in the universe of Earth-2149 the zombified Alpha Flight attack the X-Men and are eventually killed by Magneto. Sasquatch is seen in a panel of Marvel Zombies Dead Days attacking the X-Man Wolverine. He is killed alongside the rest of zombie Alpha Flight by Magneto in the next panel.
Ultimate Marvel
An Ultimate version of Sasquatch was referenced as killed off-panel during the Ultimate X-Men arc "Shock and Awe." Sasquatch makes an official appearance in the first part of the Ultimate X-Men's "Absolute Power" arc, as a member of Alpha Flight. Sasquatch, more savage than its 616 counterpart, appears to know Rogue and experienced her powers first hand, though Rogue does not recognize the character. The character is later revealed to be Rahne Sinclair, under the influence to the power enhancing drug Banshee, after reverting to her "powered down" form. Sasquatch is injured by Nightcrawler, who while trying to teleport her away, accidentally, teleports part of her arm off.
In other media
Television
- Sasquatch (along with other members of Alpha Flight) appeared in the X-Men episode "Repo Man" voiced by Harvey Atkin.
- Sasquatch appeared in The Incredible Hulk episode "Man to Man, Beast to Beast" with Walter Langkowski voiced by Peter Strauss and Sasquatch voiced by Clancy Brown. In that episode, Bruce Banner comes to Canada hoping to find his old friend, Dr. Walter Langkowski to get a cure for himself and get rid of Hulk forever, only to find that Walter has developed a bestial alter ego while using himself as a test subject to make a breakthrough in gamma radiation. After battling the Hulk, Walter/Sasquatch exiles himself to the wilderness when his actions put Hulk's friend, a small boy named Taylor, in danger.
Video games
- An evil doppelganger of Sasquatch appears in the video game Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
- Sasquatch appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
In popular culture
He was mentioned on the hit Canadian television show, Corner Gas. It was brought up in a fight between Spider-Man and Sasquatch, and Brent questioned whether it was a fight between Spider-Man and "any old Sasquatch, or the Sasquatch from Alpha Flight" citing "two completely different scenarios".
Notes
- A doppelganger of Sasquatch was created by Magus in Infinity War #1 and appeared in Infinity War #1, 5, Fantastic Four vol. 1 #369-370 and Wonder Man vol. 2 #15.
- Sasquatch was known as Susquatch in Hulk Comic #12
- A race of giant, hairy humanoids living in Canada are known as the Sasquatch race and were first seen in Alpha Flight vol. 2 #1, 6 and Generation X #58.
- In The Infinity Crusade it is revealed that Sasquatch is Jewish.
References
External links
- AlphaFlight.Net Alphanex Entry on - Sasquatch I
- AlphaFlight.Net Alphanex Entry on - Sasquatch II
- UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Sasquatch
- http://www.marvel.com/universe/Sasquatch_%28Walter_Langkowski%29