Flag-Smasher

The Flag-Smasher is the name used by several characters in the Marvel Universe.

Flag-Smasher (Karl Morgenthau)

Main Article: Karl Morgenthau

Karl Morgenthau was the son of a wealthy Swiss banker-turned-diplomat. As a youth, he accompanied his father on his diplomatic missions to various countries, never living in the same place for more than a year. Although he learned to speak several foreign languages fluently, the constant readjustment to new environments hampered his social growth. Consequently, he felt like an outcast and became too introverted to form many friendships. While living in Tokyo, Morgenthau began to study martial arts, and at fifteen earned his black belt in karate. At the age of nineteen, he followed his father, who had become a delegate to the United Nations, to America and enrolled in Columbia University. He intended to major in political science and follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a diplomat. However, when his father was trampled to death in a riot outside the Latverian embassy, the young man's goals changed. He felt that his father had pursued the goal of world peace and unity far too passively. He would spread the message using the only language he felt the world would respond to, the language of violence. Employing his vast inheritance to finance his mission, Morgenthau contracted certain unrevealed parties to supply him with an arsenal of experimental weaponry. He then fashioned himself the costumed identity of the Flag-Smasher and returned to New York to begin a campaign of terrorist assaults on symbols of world separatism such as national flags and embassies. Through these random strikes he hoped to convey the message that nationalism is an outmoded concept which tends to promote disunity among the family of man. Learning that the hero Captain America was going to make a public speech, Flag-Smasher held the crowd of hundreds attending the press conference hostage, forcing them to listen to his anti-nationalistic rhetoric. When the confrontation turned physical, Captain America overpowered the Flag-Smasher. (Captain America v1 #312)

Flag-Smasher (Guy Thierrault)

Main Article: Guy Thierrault

Flag-Smasher (LMD)

Main Article: Life Model Decoy

A Life-Model Decoy modeled after U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M.'s leader Flag-Smasher was programmed by Dr. Erik Selvig to stage a hostage situation in Manhattan on behalf of Steve Rogers, whose past had been rewritten by a Cosmic Cube to secretly serve Hydra. Together with other alleged U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. members, the Flag-Smasher raided a gala being held by Senator Thomas Herald, in order to supposedly call the attention of the two Captains America, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson to try to convince them to join his radical left-wing cause. (Captain America: Sam Wilson v1 #14)

Notes

• The concept of the Firebrand was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary where it made its first appearance in Captain America v1 #312 (December, 1985).

Alternate Versions

• In Spider-Verse v1 #2 (2015), an alternate version of Karl Morgenthau appeared in the world designated as Earth-138 in the Multiverse. This version came to be known as Captain Anarchy where he was part of Spider-Man's army where they battled against President Osborn.

In other media

Television

• In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Flag-Smashers appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a terrorist movement that was headed by Karli Morgenthau where they opposed the world governments and wanted Earth to return to the time before 'the Blip'. Instead, they wanted a world without borders and stole supplies in order to give it to people that were struggling for food. The Flag-Smashers came to be involved with the Power Broker who gave them superhuman abilities through a restored Super-Soldier Serum but Karli along with her compatriots left his employ.

Video games

• In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Flag-Smasher appeared in the setting of the Facebook video game.

Appearances

• Captain America v1: (1985)
• Venom:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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