SYSTEM CRASHSYSTEM CRASH
MEMBERSHIP: Bitmap, Infomorph, Killobyte (Lester), Killobyte (Joey), Steel Collar, Technospike, Wirehead
PURPOSE: Fomenting chaos and gaining power via manipulation of information through the internet
AFFILIATIONS: Baron Strucker, Hydra (including Cirrus & Tavist);
formerly Cobol Charlie, Knowbot, Sinclair
Spectrum;
briefly joined forces with Silver Sable and
the Intruders (Fin, Lightbright, Man-Eater, Paladin, Sandman)
ENEMIES: Avengers, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Genesis Coalition, Iron Fist (Daniel Rand'Kai), Knowbot, Kathy Malper, SHIELD, Silver Sable
BASE of OPERATIONS: Formerly the New York Botanical Gardens, the Bronx, New York
ALIASES: Silicon Pirates
FIRST APPEARANCE: Daredevil I#326 (March, 1994)
HISTORY:
(Daredevil I#331 (fb) - BTS) - The members of System Crash were
all apparently information hackers who were branded as criminals
for the activities, which took them down the road of becoming
real criminals.
The origins of System Crash are unrevealed.
(Daredevil I#326 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to improve the public perception of Hydra's threat, Baron Strucker employed System Crash to take control of the information highway and cause mass chaos.
(Daredevil I#331 (fb) - BTS) - Baron Strucker employed the cyber-criminal Knowbot to search for nodes for the National Security Agency's local Line Eater. A Line Eater being the technology with which the government could--via clipper chips in each phone, fax, and computer--access information on any computer, effectively eliminating privacy, secrets, etc. Strucker wished to gain the Line Eater that contained the specification for the Clipper, from which they could encrypt data from everyone's computers, making everyone able to hide their data from everyone else. He intended this to sow seeds of mistrust, and cause the government to enact Gestapo techniques to gain information. This, in turn, would lead to anarchy, from which Hydra would emerge supreme.
(Daredevil I#326) - Killobyte was assigned to
protect Knowbot as he was accessing Line Eater information from
the justice department. Knowbot's intrusions were discovered, and
the justice department sent Captain America to investigate.
Killobyte held off Captain America until Knowbot had completed
his data transfer, after which Killobyte sacrificed himself,
electrocuting both him and Knowbot to prevent Knowbot from
revealing who his client was.
Strucker reiterated his plans to System Crash.
(Daredevil I#327) - System Crash worked with high-tech grifter Cobol Charlie, blowing up the Staten Island Ferry and killing 33 people. The Avengers rescued the victims and worked to contain the damage. Bitmap then slew Charlie to prevent him from exposing System Crash's involvement. Claiming to be part of a group called the Silicon Pirates, System Crash took credit for the bombing. The Pirates claimed to be performing terrorist acts in order to gain free access to the information highway for everyone. Killobyte's body and technology were examined by a coroner and by SHIELD, Wirehead and Steel Collar stole Killobyte's body and costume despite Captain America and Bellevue security's efforts to stop them.
(Daredevil I#328) - Wirehead took over the operating systems of the Empire State Building, allowing Hydra agents to take over the whole building. Hydra snipers began firing at the crowd below and any helicopters flying above. Daredevil and Silver Sable and her Wild Pack infiltrated the Empire State Building, and Daredevil located and fought Wirehead who used a hostage in order to escape.
(Daredevil I#329) - The "Silicon Pirates"
took credit for the Empire State Building assault. Infomorph,
Steel Collar, and Technospike broke into Rand-Meachum. They were
confronted by Captain America, Daredevil, and Iron Fist, and
Steel Collar and Technospike fought them while Infomorph took
Knowbot's form and began downloading Rand-Meachum's hard drive.
Iron Fist neutralized the power source Technospike was drawing
from to attack them, but the three criminals nonetheless escaped
with the hard drive. Daredevil and Iron Fist found part of a rare
plant that the criminals had left behind.
Strucker met with the brother of the deceased
Killobyte, convincing him to take up his brother's role as the
new Killobyte.
(Silver Sable#25) - Strucker led System Crash to Bosnia, where they attacked the Genesis Coalition to prevent them from further besmirching Hydra's name. They worked alongside Silver Sable's Intruders (Fin, Lightbright, Man-Eater, Paladin, Sandman), and then teleported away after the Genesis Coalition was defeated.
(Daredevil I#330) - Steel Collar and Killobyte
assaulted National Guardsmen, further the myth and the scare
about the Silicon Pirates' terrorist plot. They were fought off
by Daredevil and Gambit, but escaped nonetheless.
Technospike learned that the threat of the
Silicon Pirates had caused the National Security Agency to pull
the New York Line Eater out of the internet so it couldn't be
used to hack into the system. With the Line Eater out of the way,
Technospike announced that they could now enter the system
without being discovered. However, they remained unable to get
through the encryption on the data Knowbot had stolen, so they
targeted Knowbot's ally, Sinclair Spectrum. Bitmap confronted
Sinclair within the Tombs Prison.
(Daredevil I#331 (fb) - BTS) - Bitmap broke Sinclair Spectrum out of prison, though he tore his casing in the process and began to leak his liquid contents.
(Daredevil I#331 (fb) - BTS) - System Crash and/or Hydra sank a Circle Line tour ship in the Hudson River, and the Avengers and the Fantastic Four came to the rescue.
(Daredevil I#331) - Infomorph repaired Bitmap's casing, and Strucker revealed his plans for the Line Eater to Sinclair, who agreed to help the decrypt Knowbot's data. Daredevil--via the rare plant he had obtained--tracked System Crash to the New York Botanical Gardens, where he and Captain America engaged the villains. The two heroes were overpowered, and Infomorph adopted Daredevil's form. While Sinclair reporting learning the Line Eater's locale, Daredevil escaped and prepared to attack System Crash anew.
(Daredevil I#332) - Daredevil forced System
Crash's location from Hydra member Simon Valk and he assaulted
System Crash's ship. With Captain America's aid, Bitmap was
dumped into the water surrounding Liberty Island, and Technospike
and Killobyte were still in their ship when it crashed into the
waters.
Meanwhile, Sinclair joined Wirehead, Steel
Collar, and Infomorph in locating the Line Eater within New
Jersey's Liberty Science Center, where Daredevil and Captain
America confronted them. Captain America destroyed Wirehead's
armor and Daredevil took out Informorph with Captain America's
shield. Steel Collar took Sinclair hostage, allowing her to be
perceived as an innocent victim forced into serving System Crash.
Though Daredevil realized Steel Collar was faking, he agreed to
not have Sinclair prosecuted if Steel Collar released her. He did,
after which he blew himself up.
COMMENTS: Created by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Bill Oakley.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Name unrevealed
He originally was of normal human dimensions, but has shrunken over the years, possibly from losing some of his liquid form. His dwarfish form actually consists of a liquid held together by a containment suit that gives him human features.
He was knocked from System Crash's ship by Daredevil into the waters around Liberty Island.
He can reshape his liquid form to assault others. He was interested in any woman he could get close to.
--Daredevil I#326 (327-329, Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
Name unrevealed.
She exists as a sometimes two-dimensional form that acquires data on other beings and then can adapt their forms and physicalattributes (and in some cases their knowledge and skills) . The process is not entirely under her control, as Daredevil once forced her to take on some of the thoughts of a hive of insects, which left her severely disoriented. She took the forms of Captain America, Daredevil, Knowbot, and Baron Strucker, and in the latter case Strucker communicated to the rest of the team through her.
She was defeated by Captain America and Daredevil and presumably turned over to the police or SHIELD.
--Daredevil I#326 (327-329, Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
Joey (last name unknown)
He wanted to be like his brother Lester, and when Lester left Hydra, Joey adopted his role as Killobyte. He watched over Infomorph as he hacked the data on the Line Feeder. When Captain America arrived, he held off the hero until Knowbot had completed his data transfer, after which Killobyte sacrificed himself, electrocuting both him and Knowbot to prevent Knowbot from revealing who his client was. His body and technology were taken to Bellevue and were to be examined by SHIELD, but Wirehead and Steel Collar stole Killobyte's body and costume despite Captain America and Bellevue security's efforts to stop them.
He used a weapon that gave off lethal electrical currents.
--Daredevil I#326 (327
Lester
The brother of Joey, he had served as Killobyte for some time, but he then left Hydra, and Joey replaced him as Killobyte. After Joey was killed, Strucker convinced Lester to resume the role, though he said that he was only doing it for Joey.
He was in the System Crash ship when it crashed into waters around Liberty Island.
--Daredevil I#329 (Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
Steel Collar
Lee
An immense cyborg, he regretted his lost humanity more than any of the others and he sought to turn Sinclair Spectrum from a similar path. He really hated it when others referred to him as a robot, and he frequently complained about this. In the end, he made certain that Sinclair would not be charged for her involvement with System Crash, after which he blew himself up.
--Daredevil I#326 (327-329, Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
He seemed to enjoy his role the most, particularly in using his abilities to hurt others. He wore a pair of arm weapons that channeled electricity through cables released from his wrists, kind of like the Constrictor. He could also hook up to larger power sources to deliver more effective attacks.
He was in the System Crash ship when it crashed into waters around Liberty Island.
--Daredevil I#326 (327-329, Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
He wore a helmet that made the world around him appear as if he were in a video game. He viewed the world through his Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). He obeyed the narrations of the "dungeon master," and he could choose weapons from the game arsenal, materializing weapons (usually maces, swords, etc.) of pure energy as needed (sort of like Annex). He definitely thought that things were all just a game, and he several times earned Strucker's wrath for behaving inappropriately. He was greatly saddened when Daredevil destroyed his helmet, cutting him off from the MUD. Defeated by the heroes, he was presumably turned over to the police or SHIELD.
--Daredevil I#326 (327-329, Silver Sable#25, Daredevil#330-332
|
(Daredevil I#331) - Cirrus and Tavist were Hydra agents on patrol for Baron Strucker and System Crash when Daredevil and Captain America knocked them both unconscious. --Daredevil I#331 |
images:
Daredevil I#326, p17, panel 4 (Kill-O-Byte)
last page (System
Crash)
#328, p14 (Wiretap face)
p19, panel 1 (Wiretap
body)
#329, p1, panel 5 (Silicon Pirates logo)
p4-5 (Technospike)
p7 (Infomorph face)
p20, panel 5 (Infomorph
& Bitmap body/side)
#331, p6, panel 1 (Bitmap face)
p8, panel 6 (Steel
Collar unmasked)
p18 (team in action)
#332, p6, panel 1 + 3 (Killobyte successor)
Silver Sable#25, p23, panel 4 (Steel Collar's form most clearly
seen)
Daredevil I#331, p15, pan3 (Cirrus and Tavist)
Daredevil I#326 (March, 1994) - by D.G.
Chichester (writer), Scott McDaniel (penciler), Bill Oakley (inks),
Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#327 (April, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer),
Scott McDaniel (penciler), Hector Collazo (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#328 (May, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer), Sergio
Cariello (penciler), Ariane (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#329 (June, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer), Scott
McDaniel (penciler), Hector Collazo (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Silver Sable#25 (June, 1994) - by Gregory Wright (writer), Steven
Butler (penciler), Pam Eklund (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Daredevil I#330 (July, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer), Scott
McDaniel (penciler), Hector Collazo & Rankin (inks), Ralph
Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#331 (August, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer),
Scott McDaniel (penciler), Hector Collazo (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#332 (September, 1994) - by D.G. Chichester (writer),
Scott McDaniel (penciler), Hector Collazo (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 10/29/2005
Last updated: 07/23/2019
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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