Box (comics)
Encyclopedia
Box is a superhero
from Canada
. He was featured in Marvel Comics
publications, notably Alpha Flight
.
. He was a brilliant engineer and mechanic, who lost both his legs. He created a remote-controlled robot which he called Box as a play on his own name. James Hudson
saw Bochs' potential. He helped him with the construction of Box and recruited Bochs into Gamma Flight
, a training program for the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight
, which was led by Hudson as Guardian
. Bochs quickly graduated to Beta Flight
, a group for more advanced superhero trainees, but the Canadian government severed its links with Alpha Flight shortly afterwards and Beta Flight and Gamma Flight were cancelled. Some members of Beta Flight joined Alpha Flight, while most Gamma Flight-members were recruited by Jerome Jaxon
, an old enemy of Hudson, to join Omega Flight
, a criminal organisation. Bochs was approached as well and joined Omega Flight, but with the intention to destroy it from within. When Jaxon discovered this, he took Box's controlling helmet and had the robot attack Guardian. During the battle Guardian managed to damage Box and the feedback killed Jaxon, but the damage sustained during the battle caused Guardian's suit to explode later.
Bochs returned to work on Box, but felt partly responsible for Guardian's death. Another friend of Guardian, Madison Jeffries
met up with Bochs. Jeffries had the mutant
ability to shape metal, plastic and glass with his mind. Together they vastly improved upon the original Box design. Now the controller no longer wore a helmet, but physically merged with stronger and bigger Box. Bochs wanted to use Box to hunt down Delphine Courtney
, an android working for Jaxon and the leader of Omega Flight for its part in Hudson's death, but Box was needed elsewhere: Walter Langkowski alias Sasquatch
's body had been taken over by the Great Beast Tanaraq and Snowbird
was forced to destroy the body. Alpha Flight managed to save the his soul and projected it into the armor. Bochs tried to find a new body for him, but failed and Langkowski's soul left Box. Bochs controlled Box once again and joined Alpha Flight as an official member. Aurora
expressed a romantic interest in Bochs, who returned her affection, but Aurora's fickle nature caused him much stress.
During one mission underwater, Bochs emerged too fast while merged with Box and was suffering from decompression sickness
. He was unable to leave Box and started to panic that he could never touch Aurora again. Jeffries' brother Lionel alias Scramble
, who could shape flesh and bone with his mind, not only separated and healed Bochs from his decompression sickness, he also restored Bochs' legs and gave him an athlete's body. Lionel did not tell Bochs though that he had used dead human bodies as material for Bochs' legs and new body. During this time, Langkowski's soul briefly took over Box again before settling down in the body of the recently deceased Snowbird. Langkowski had been Aurora's lover before Bochs and she left Bochs for him again. Bochs was bitter (though he had some amusement when he found out that Langkowski could not use Snowbird's shapeshifting to turn into a male). Feeling betrayed by Aurora and with his legs starting to decompose, Bochs went insane. Madison Jeffries took over Box to prevent the amount of damage Bochs could do, but this only increased the sense of betrayal that Bochs felt.
Bochs left Alpha Flight and went to Lionel Jeffries, hoping that he could restore his legs again. Lionel, who also turned out to be insane, merged with Bochs and they formed Omega, who combined Lionel's powers with Bochs' genius. Madison Jeffries in Box fought Omega and during the fight, Bochs' personality came to its senses again and started to rebel against Lionel. In the end, Madison was forced to kill Omega, including Bochs.
Box has superhuman strength (which was increased with every improvement Roger Bochs and Madison Jeffries made on the armor) and durability. The improved Box also had the ability to fly and had a wide array of sensors and detecting equipment. Both Box robots possess high levels of superhuman strength, with the newer version being considerably stronger.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was featured in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
publications, notably Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
.
Fictional character biography
Roger Bochs was born in Moose Jaw, SaskatchewanMoose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...
. He was a brilliant engineer and mechanic, who lost both his legs. He created a remote-controlled robot which he called Box as a play on his own name. James Hudson
Guardian (Marvel Comics)
Guardian , also known as Weapon Alpha and Vindicator, is a fictional character, a Canadian superhero in the who was the leader of Alpha Flight. He was created by John Byrne, and first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #109 which was co-plotted by Byrne and his long-time collaborator Chris Claremont...
saw Bochs' potential. He helped him with the construction of Box and recruited Bochs into Gamma Flight
Gamma Flight
Gamma Flight is the name of two fictional Canadian teams of superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Flight tier level:They first appeared in Alpha Flight vol. 1, #1 ....
, a training program for the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional superhero team published by Marvel Comics, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. Created by John Byrne, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 ....
, which was led by Hudson as Guardian
Guardian (Marvel Comics)
Guardian , also known as Weapon Alpha and Vindicator, is a fictional character, a Canadian superhero in the who was the leader of Alpha Flight. He was created by John Byrne, and first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #109 which was co-plotted by Byrne and his long-time collaborator Chris Claremont...
. Bochs quickly graduated to Beta Flight
Beta Flight
Beta Flight is a fictional superhero team owned by Marvel Comics that exists in that company's Marvel Universe. Along with Gamma Flight, Beta Flight is one of the "minor leagues" of the Canadian team Alpha Flight. Originally, Beta Flight was the intermediate level team. Members are more...
, a group for more advanced superhero trainees, but the Canadian government severed its links with Alpha Flight shortly afterwards and Beta Flight and Gamma Flight were cancelled. Some members of Beta Flight joined Alpha Flight, while most Gamma Flight-members were recruited by Jerome Jaxon
Jerry Jaxon
Jerome “Jerry” Jaxon is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Jerome Jaxon first appeared in Alpha Flight #2-3 , and was created by John Byrne....
, an old enemy of Hudson, to join Omega Flight
Omega Flight
Omega Flight is the name used by three teams of fictional characters with superpowers in the Marvel Universe, one of the few Canadian teams published by an American comic book company. Omega Flight first appeared in the pages of Alpha Flight as a supervillain team...
, a criminal organisation. Bochs was approached as well and joined Omega Flight, but with the intention to destroy it from within. When Jaxon discovered this, he took Box's controlling helmet and had the robot attack Guardian. During the battle Guardian managed to damage Box and the feedback killed Jaxon, but the damage sustained during the battle caused Guardian's suit to explode later.
Bochs returned to work on Box, but felt partly responsible for Guardian's death. Another friend of Guardian, Madison Jeffries
Madison Jeffries
Madison Jeffries is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the . He first appears in Alpha Flight #16 and was created by John Byrne.- Publication history :...
met up with Bochs. Jeffries had the mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
ability to shape metal, plastic and glass with his mind. Together they vastly improved upon the original Box design. Now the controller no longer wore a helmet, but physically merged with stronger and bigger Box. Bochs wanted to use Box to hunt down Delphine Courtney
Delphine Courtney
Delphine Courtney is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe, an enemy of the super-team Alpha Flight.-Publication history:Delphine Courtney first appeared in Alpha Flight #7 , and was created by John Byrne....
, an android working for Jaxon and the leader of Omega Flight for its part in Hudson's death, but Box was needed elsewhere: Walter Langkowski alias Sasquatch
Sasquatch (comics)
Sasquatch is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:Dr...
's body had been taken over by the Great Beast Tanaraq and Snowbird
Snowbird (comics)
Snowbird is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 , and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:...
was forced to destroy the body. Alpha Flight managed to save the his soul and projected it into the armor. Bochs tried to find a new body for him, but failed and Langkowski's soul left Box. Bochs controlled Box once again and joined Alpha Flight as an official member. Aurora
Aurora (comics)
Aurora is a fictional character, a Canadian superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the twin sister of Northstar and the former lover of Sasquatch. She has also been in a relationship with Wild Child....
expressed a romantic interest in Bochs, who returned her affection, but Aurora's fickle nature caused him much stress.
During one mission underwater, Bochs emerged too fast while merged with Box and was suffering from decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
. He was unable to leave Box and started to panic that he could never touch Aurora again. Jeffries' brother Lionel alias Scramble
Scramble (comics)
Scramble , also known as Scramble the Mixed-Up Man, was a Marvel Comics supervillain and Canadian mutant. Specifically, he was an enemy of Alpha Flight, but for a brief time he was alternately their ally...
, who could shape flesh and bone with his mind, not only separated and healed Bochs from his decompression sickness, he also restored Bochs' legs and gave him an athlete's body. Lionel did not tell Bochs though that he had used dead human bodies as material for Bochs' legs and new body. During this time, Langkowski's soul briefly took over Box again before settling down in the body of the recently deceased Snowbird. Langkowski had been Aurora's lover before Bochs and she left Bochs for him again. Bochs was bitter (though he had some amusement when he found out that Langkowski could not use Snowbird's shapeshifting to turn into a male). Feeling betrayed by Aurora and with his legs starting to decompose, Bochs went insane. Madison Jeffries took over Box to prevent the amount of damage Bochs could do, but this only increased the sense of betrayal that Bochs felt.
Bochs left Alpha Flight and went to Lionel Jeffries, hoping that he could restore his legs again. Lionel, who also turned out to be insane, merged with Bochs and they formed Omega, who combined Lionel's powers with Bochs' genius. Madison Jeffries in Box fought Omega and during the fight, Bochs' personality came to its senses again and started to rebel against Lionel. In the end, Madison was forced to kill Omega, including Bochs.
Powers and abilities
The original Box was a robot which was controlled by human wearing a special neural interface helmet. The upgraded version of Box is a unique construct: it can't operate on its own and its controller doesn't wear it, but has to phase into the Box and merge with it. The controller feels a psychic bond with Box and can feel the damage done to Box as pain. If a person remains merged with Box for too long, he may be bonded to the armor permanently.Box has superhuman strength (which was increased with every improvement Roger Bochs and Madison Jeffries made on the armor) and durability. The improved Box also had the ability to fly and had a wide array of sensors and detecting equipment. Both Box robots possess high levels of superhuman strength, with the newer version being considerably stronger.
Other users of Box
- Jerome JaxonJerry JaxonJerome “Jerry” Jaxon is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:Jerome Jaxon first appeared in Alpha Flight #2-3 , and was created by John Byrne....
, who stole the controlling helmet of the original Box from Bochs. - Walter LangkowskiSasquatch (comics)Sasquatch is a fictional character, a superhero in Marvel Comics' universe. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 and was created by John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:Dr...
aka Sasquatch, who, after the Great BeastGreat BeastsThe Great Beasts are fictional villains of supernatural origin, originally created as antagonists for the heroes of the Marvel Comics series Alpha Flight.-Publication history:...
Tanaraq took over his body, became a disembodied spirit, which resided in the armor for a short time. - Madison JeffriesMadison JeffriesMadison Jeffries is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the . He first appears in Alpha Flight #16 and was created by John Byrne.- Publication history :...
, who completely changed the look of the armor and used his own powers to constantly change and adapt the armor.
External links
- Box I at AlphaFlight.net
- Box III at AlphaFlight.net
- Box IV at AlphaFlight.net
- UncannyX-Men.net Spotlight On Box I