Sasquatch

Origin

Walter Langkowski is from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Langkowski went to Pennsylvania state University on a football scholarship where he met Bruce Banner and shared thoughts on physics and gamma radiation. Banner would encourage Lankowski to peruse his research. Langkowski played American Football with the Green Bay Packers for three years during which time he married and had a son with an actress called Veronica. Being a multi-millionaire freed Langkowski from many constraints and he persuaded his dreams of being a scientist by getting a Ph.D in Physics from MIT and then going on to get a teaching position at the McGill University in Montreal.

During his time as a Professor of biophysics Langkowski sunk about a million dollars of his own money into Gamma radiation research motivated partly by a desire to help his old friend Bruce Banner who by now had become the Hulk. The research lead to an alienation with his wife who left and took his son with him. Langkowski became involved in science for Department H a relatively new government department making equipment and offering scientific advise. Langkowski met and befriended James MacDonald Hudson who arranged the funding and provided Langkowski a small Arctic lab to allow the scientist to continue his research into gamma radiation.

Langkowski wanted to recreate under controlled conditions the accident that turned Banner into the Hulk. After a lot of checks Lanknowski did his experiment on himself, bombarding his body with gamma rays with the effect that he turned into a huge, 10 foot tall, orange furred beast who rampaged around before calming down and transforming back into a human. Langkowski believed that he had acquired powers similar to the Hulk but that he could control his transformation simply by willing it (though transforming caused him a great deal of pain at first); Langknowksi attributed the orange fur to the location of the lab, reasoning that the Aurora Borealis might have had something to do with it. Langkowski named his bestial identity after the Sasquatch of Canadian myth.

In actuality, Langkowski had shattered an inter-dimensional barrier with the sear amount of power he had put out; for brief moment he had made contact with entities known as the Great Beasts. Langkowski’s body was fused with the essence of the Great Beast Tanaraq and when he transformed he was effectively becoming the Beast but with Langkowski’s mind in control. James Hudson offered Langkowski a position on the Alpha Flight superteam he was putting together. Langkowski accepted and received training from fellow Shape-shifter the mystic Snowbird.

Creation

Sasquatch was created by John Byrne and Chris Claremont. Sasquatch first appeared in the Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #120 (4/1979) written by Claremont, drawn by Byrne (pencils) and Terry Austin (inks). Claremont and Byrne co-plotted the storyline together.

Major Story Arcs

Alpha Flight

During the early days of Alpha Flight Langkowkski struck up a good relationship with Puck and Heather Hudson, a jealous-distrusting relationship with Northstar, and a romantic relationship with his sister Aurora. The team worked together on various missions such as their confrontation with the X-Men trying to bring Wolverine back home and fighting alongside Rom to destroy Dire Wraiths. Sasquatch would battle the Hulk and the Wendigo.

However Langkowski began to have serious problems keeping his bestial nature in check; nearly losing it once when Aurora flirted with some construction workers and actually losing control while fighting the Super Skrull and another time nearly killing Northstar. Langkowski consulted Shaman about the problem but he could find no physical problem with the doctor concluding it must be magical or psychological. For a while, Sasquatch was cured of the problem when Loki created a paradise in the snows, but Langkowski and others rejected the God’s gift as the price was too high.

During a mission to defeat Calibur things came to a head as Snowbird (who was on a mission to destroy the Great Beasts) attacked Sasquatch, the rest of the team moved to intervene but Langkowski was no longer in charge, Tanaraq was in charge. Snowbird explained what Walter had done in the Arctic before taking on a Sasquatch form herself and ripping out Langkowksi’s heart. However, Alpha Flight did not give up on Walter as Snowbird had only destroyed his physical form, and Alpha Flight went to the Realm of the Great Beasts to rescue his soul. They accomplished their goal, but since Walter’s body was destroyed, his soul was forced to inhabit Roger Bochs‘ Box armor.

Wanda Langkowski

Langkowski tolerated being in the Box armour but he wanted out and back into Aurora’s arms. Boch and Langkowski searched the inter-dimensional Crossroads for a mindless body and they found the Savage Hulk who trashed the lab leaving the team to think they had lost Langkowski for good. They moved on but for Langkowski he found another body in the form of Smart Alec a villain from Alpha Flight’s early days whose mindless body was available. Langkowski took him over and returned to the world via Shaman’s medicine pouch, only to find several months had gone by. Before he could digest any of that however the Sorcerer Pestilence, using Snowbird’s recently deceased body, crashed into Alpha Flight’s HQ in Sasquatch form and a huge battle took place. Langkowski transferred to the Box armor and helped beat down the villain and then as Smart Alec’s body had been crushed transferred himself to Snowbirds Sasquatch form.

Despite being host to a Male soul however when Langkowski transformed back it was into the form of a woman. Taking the name Wanda Langkowski, there was a fight to get him/her legally recognized as alive. Veronica Langkowski claimed Walter’s fortune as laid out in his will. A courtroom battle took place and she won partly due to the Dreamqueen‘s influence. The Dreamqueen stoked Langkowski’s identify crisis and brought him/her under magical influence. Sasquatch was forced to steal Talisman’s coronet of power, but before it could be delivered, Snowbird’s mystical form returned Langkowski to a male form breaking the Dreamqueen’s spell and giving Langkowski the manhood he wanted.

Once again orange-brown as Sasquatch instead of white, Langkowski returned to active duty with Alpha Flight. Sasquatch battled Llan the Sorcerer, the People’s Protectorate, the Combine, Namor and Atlantis and fighting with the Avengers, he helped play a part in the cosmic fight during Infinity Crusade. As Langkowski was now definitely a man, he also regained his fortune.

Post Alpha Flight

Alpha Flight disbanded during a wave of anti-Super/anti-Mutant hysteria in Canada and Walter left for Antarctica to continue his research on gamma radiation at Project Michelangelo. An important project on Gamma Radiation was crashed by Deadpool which resulted in a near critical meltdown averted only because Sasquatch and Deadpool teamed up to stop it.

Langkowski came across the nearly dead body of Guardian in the snows of Antarctica. This set in motion a chain of events that led Langowski to gather the members of Alpha Flight outside the revived Official Team. He’d never been invited to join them and they were being mind controlled by hidden figures in Department H. The two teams clashed but eventually the corrupt Department H was brought down. Alpha Flight was reassembled with the core members mostly staying and a new Beta Flight formed.

Sasquatch would be the only escapee when Alpha Flight was captured by the alien Plodex. Langkowski recruited a new team consisting of Nemesis, Major Mapleleaf II, Puck II, Yukon Jack and Centennial to take on the alien threat. Except it was not a threat and the core team departed Earth to take the hatched Plodex home. After a time travel/alternate universe adventure, the team continued to protect Canada.

The Collective comes

After M Day, a threat arose called The Collective, a gestalt of the powers lost by mutants the world over absorbed into one Alaskan mutant called Michael Pointer. Out of control The Collective made its way across Canada and tore through Alpha Flight killing Major Mapleleaf, both Pucks, Shaman, Vindicator, and her husband Guardian. Sasquatch was the only survivor.

Omega Flight

After the SuperHuman Registration Act passed in the United States, a flood of super-humans crossed the US/Canadian border to escape the Act and the Civil War. This caused the Canadian government to ask Langkowski to form a new team to control them. Since Alpha Flight was gone, the Canadian government didn’t have the resources. Working through a Canadian Secret Intelligence Service Agent called Jeff Brown and using SHIELD resources, Langkowski formed Omega Flight consisting of USAgent and Arachne plus Michael Pointer, who was forced to wear a version of Guardian’s suit to control his mutant abilities.

Sasquatch would battle a powered up Wrecking Crew who savagely beat him before his team-mates arrived. The Crew took Sasquatch to the Realm of the Great Beasts where their extra power was coming from at the time. This lead to Sasquatch being possessed by Tanaraq again and a Horde of Demons being let loose on Canada. Beta Ray Bill and Talisman joined Omega Flight in battle. Beta Ray Bill took Shaman’s medicine pouch into the open Portal with Pointer sealing it behind him at his own request.

Later USAgent would leave and shortly after Norman Osborn would tempt Pointer away, marking the end of Omega Flight.

Chaos War

Langkowski continued to battle for Canada and during the Chaos War crisis was seen fighting the battle for Canada. During the events of the Chaos War, many deceased characters from the Marvel Universe where brought back to life by an ancient God for a short period of time. This included Walter’s perished teammates from Alpha Flight. However, when the evil god was defeated, the resurrected teammates remained alive. The group re-assembled again and started working as Alpha Flight once again, with renewed strength and Walter happy they got a second chance in life.

Alpha Flight Returned

Most members had a difficult time returning from the dead, especially James and Heather when they learned they no longer had custody of their child Claire Hudson. However also happier times where there when Walter attended the (first) gay wedding of his teammate Northstar.

Immortal Hulk

Some months later, Walter joined Puck and his Alpha Flight Base crew in finding the resurrected Hulk, but was hurled into the nightmare-filled events in which Bruce Banner found himself. During his search and intended apprehension of the Hulk, Walter was killed by General Fortean. His body was kept in suspended animation up until another colleague of Alpha Flight Base, Doc Samson, whom himself was killed and escaped the Below Place, managed to return back to life, in the body of Walter. At first, the team of the Alpha Flight Base thought Walter had returned, but Doc Samson soon let them know that it was him, controlling Walter’s body, turning it into a green Sasquatch.

In Sasquatch’s body, Samson would quit over the leadership of Henry Gyrich and would return to Shadowbase, where he originally was sent to the Below Place, with members of Gamma Flight. He was looking for his body, however, it was missing. Walter had taken it over after returning from the dead and hitchhiked away from Shadowbase.

He eventually showed up at the Baxter Building after the Hulk used the Forever Gate to get to the Below Place without dying. Without Hulk’s unique energy signature, Reed lost the connection to the Below Place. Luckily, Walt showed up at the perfect time to use his own gamma signature on the gate, thus saving the Hulks from being stranded there.

Powers

As Sasquatch, Langkowski possesses high super human strength, but just how high depends on the writer. On certain occasions, he has been shown feats of strength rivalling the Hulk (such as lifting a navy destroyer or holding back a DC-10 jet at take off speed!) Therefore, Sasquatch could potentially be ranked among the strongest superheroes in the Marvel Universe. Sasquatch has taken on powerhouses like Hulk, Hercules, Colossus, Juggernaut, and Thing – usually inconclusively.

In addition to strength, he has very high endurance, due to a healing factor. He has sharp claws, his claws are sharp enough to cut through materials such as stone, wood, flesh and even some types of metals. Sasquatch also has superhuman senses, agility and stamina. His Sasquatch form is 10 feet tall and weighs 2000 lbs, while his Human form is still highly athletic and strong due to his football years, though he is past his best. Sasquatch has a thick coat of orange fur that prevents him from danger in the cold weathers of Canada.

Langkowski is also a brilliant scientist, specializing in radiation. Unlike the Hulk, he retains his intellect in his Sasquatch persona.

Alternate Realities

Earth-1610 (Ultimate)

It was revealed that Sasquatch is Rahne Sinclair. She’s having her appearance of a wolf drastically changed into a large beast as a result of the use of the mutant growth hormone, Banshee. She was a member of Alpha Flight.

Rahne still can revert to a more human appearance when she powers down. Later, she was injured by Nightcrawler, who, while trying to teleport her away, seemingly teleported part of her arm off.

Earth-1298 (Mutant-X)

Sasquatch is part of the Alpha Flight team that opposed Havok‘s team. .

Earth-3470 (Exiles)

Exiles version of Sasquatch from Earth-3470 was not Walter Langkowski, but Heather Hudson (no relation to Earth-616 Heather Hudson).

When the Exiles get split up thanks to a vampire version of Union Jack. Heather ends up trapped in a world with Morph and a very feral Wolverine. It is re-vealed that she was once married to her universes Wolverine and had to kill him when he was sent into a feral rage.

She was freed of Tanaraq, and is now on mission control for the Exiles.

Earth-58163 (House of M)

Walter defended the House of Magnus against attack, he looks too similar to Earth-616 powers.

Earth-2149 (Zombieverse)

Zombified Sasquatch, and others from Alpha Flight, attack the Xavier Institute, and are battling several X-Men. Sasquatch fought Wolverine.

When Magneto turns up, and used his magnetic powers, blasts metallic debris through Alpha Flight’s heads, presumably killed them.

In Other Media

X-Men: The Animated Series(1992-1997):

Sasquatch appears in the episode “Repo Man” as a member of Alpha Flight. He and the rest of the team are sent to capture Wolverine and bring him to Vindicator, as Vindicator wants to do scientific experiments on Wolverine to discover the secret of Adamantium.

At the end, the Alpha Flight and Sasquatch leave Wolverine in peace. He was voiced by Harvey Atkin.

The Incredible Hulk: The Animated Series (1996):

In the episode “Man to Man, Beast to Beast,” Bruce Banner goes to Canada to ask Dr. Walter Langkowski for help in curing his condition. Langowski, believing he has found a way to remove the Hulk from Banner (and cure himself in the process), prepares an experiment. However, when a young child named Taylor appears, Bruce transforms into the Hulk to save him, destroying Walter’s lab in the process. Enraged, Walter transforms into the Sasquatch, and battles the Hulk. The two have a fierce battle, which only ends when Taylor falls through the ice and nearly drowns. Walter is filled with remorse over having nearly caused the boy’s death, and heads into the wild to be alone. Walter was voiced by Peter Strauss, while Sasquatch was voiced by Clancy Brown.

Video Games

• Doppelgängers of Sasquatch appeared as enemies in the Capcom beat-em-up game Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems.
• Sasquatch was featured as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad online.

Merchandise

• In the 90s, ToyBiz produced a Sasquatch figure as part of a two-pack with Vindicator for the Alpha Flight line.
• Eaglemoss Publications released a two-pack featuring Sasquatch and Puck as part of the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
• ToyBiz produced a Marvel Legends figure of Sasquatch for the Apocalypse Build-a-Figure wave.
• Bowen Designs produced a Sasquatch bust.
• Sasquatch was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
• Diamond Select produced a Sasquatch Minimate as part of a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Alpha Flight box set, which also included Aurora, Snowbird and Shaman.
• Sasquatch was later the subject of a Build-a-Figure wave from Hasbro, which could only be completed after purchasing the entire wave (Deadpool, X-23, Cable, Domino, Deathlok and Paladin).