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| Box | |
|---|---|
 Box (middle) charges into battle alongside hisAlpha Flight teammates. FromAlpha Flight #36 (July 1986). Cover art byMike Mignola. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Alpha Flight #1 (Aug. 1983) (as Box) Alpha Flight #11 (June 1984) (as Roger Bochs) |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Roger Bochs |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Alpha Flight Beta Flight Gamma Flight |
| Notable aliases | Omega |
| Abilities | Mechanical genius, Ability to phase into the Box-armor and merge with it As Box: Superhuman strength |
Box (Roger Bochs) is a fictionalsuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, specificallyAlpha Flight, of which Box was a member. He first appeared inAlpha Flight #1 (Aug. 1983).[1]
Roger Bochs was born inMoose Jaw,Saskatchewan. He was a brilliant engineer and mechanic who lost both of his legs. He created a remote-controlled robot which he called Box as a play on his own name.James Hudson, seeing Bochs' potential, helped him construct Box and recruited him intoGamma Flight, a training program for the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight, which was led by Hudson asGuardian. Bochs graduated toBeta Flight, a group for more advanced superhero trainees, but the Canadian government dissolved Alpha Flight, and Beta Flight and Gamma Flight were cancelled.
Most Gamma Flight members are recruited byJerry Jaxon, a disgraced former employer of Hudson, to joinOmega Flight. Bochs joins Omega Flight with the intention to destroy it from within.[2] However, Jaxon attacks Guardian by wearing Box's controlling helmet. Guardian overloads Box, and the feedback kills Jaxon. The damage sustained during the battle causes Guardian's suit to explode.[3]
Bochs returns to work on Box, but feels partly responsible for Guardian's death. Another friend of Guardian,Madison Jeffries, meets Bochs.[4] Collaborating, and because of Jeffries'mutant ability to shape metal, plastic and glass with his mind, they significantly improve upon the original Box design. It is no longer controlled by a helmet. Instead, the user physically merges with the Box armor.[5]
Bochs wants to use Box to hunt downDelphine Courtney, an android working for Jaxon and the leader of Omega Flight, for its part in Hudson's death, but Box is needed elsewhere: the body of Walter Langkowski (aliasSasquatch) has been taken over by the Great BeastTanaraq, andSnowbird is forced to destroy his body. Alpha Flight projects Langkowski's soul into the Box machine.[6] Jeffries uses his powers to turn Courtney inside-out, destroying her. In the aftermath, Bochs tries to find a new body for Langkowski, but fails, and Langkowski's soul leaves Box.[7] Bochs controls Box once again and joins Alpha Flight as an official member.[8]
Bochs and Jeffries use Courtney's remains to reconstruct Guardian's battlesuit, allowing Hudson's widow Heather to becomeVindicator.[9]Aurora expresses a romantic interest in Bochs,[10] who returns her affection, but Aurora's fickle nature is extremely stressful for Bochs. During an underwater mission, Bochs surfaces too fast while merged with Box and suffers fromdecompression sickness, preventing him from leaving Box.[11][12][13] Madison Jeffries' brother Lionel (also known asScramble), who can shape flesh and bone with his mind, separates Bochs from the Box armor and restores his legs.[14][15] Lionel does not tell Bochs, though, that he used dead human bodies as material for Bochs' legs and new body. During this time, Langkowski's soul briefly inhabits Box again before ultimately settling in the body of the recently deceased Snowbird.[15] Langkowski was Aurora's lover before Bochs, and she leaves Bochs for him again. Feeling betrayed by Aurora and with his legs starting to decompose, Bochs goes insane. Madison Jeffries inhabits Box to prevent the amount of damage Bochs can do, but this only increases the sense of betrayal that Bochs felt.[16]
Bochs leaves Alpha Flight and goes to Lionel Jeffries, hoping that he can restore his legs again. Lionel, also insane, merges with Bochs and they form Omega, who combines Lionel's powers with Bochs' genius intellect.[17] Within Box, Madison Jeffries fights Omega. During the fight, Bochs comes to his senses again and starts to rebel against Lionel. Madison is forced to kill Omega, which kills Bochs alongside it.[18]
The original Box is a robot which is controlled by a human wearing a specialneural interface helmet. The upgraded version of Box is a unique construct: it cannot operate on its own and its controller does not wear a helmet. He has to phase into 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, they risk being 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.
