Bonebreaker is difficult to mistake for anybody else. His upper body rises out of a tracked mechanical chassis, which makes the first impression something between a biker and a…

Bonebreaker is difficult to mistake for anybody else. His upper body rises out of a tracked mechanical chassis, which makes the first impression something between a biker and a small armored vehicle. It is an outrageous design, but it also tells you what kind of group the original Reavers are. These aren't clean, matching robots rolling off an assembly line. Their machinery has been built into people with different looks, different weapons and very little interest in subtlety once the shooting begins. Bonebreaker leads the original gang. Their operation depends on more than firepower: a distant base, stolen wealth and access to Gateway's portals let them rob somewhere far away and retreat before ordinary distance becomes a problem. His equipment makes him look prepared for a much larger fight than a bank's staff could possibly offer. That imbalance is part of the introduction. The Reavers have used extraordinary machinery and a captive person's power to make ordinary people easy targets. The X-Men change that in #229. Suddenly the gang is dealing with people who can strike back, and Bonebreaker's imposing appearance doesn't keep the operation from falling apart. He escapes with Pretty Boy and Skullbuster rather than holding the town against them. There is something fitting about a character with that much built-in machinery still needing somebody else's help to get away. The gang's freedom of movement comes from Gateway, not from the weapons and tracks they have installed in themselves. Bonebreaker supplies the first Reavers lineup with its most unmistakable silhouette. The debut also shows the limit of that silhouette. Looking like a one-man war machine isn't the same thing as being ready when the victims stop being defenseless.