Walter Langkowski (Earth-616)

Early Life[]

Dr. Walter Langkowski grew up in British Columbia. He was an honors student at the University of Calgary^[10] before attending Pennsylvania State University on a football scholarship, earning a degree in physics. Walter met Bruce Banner while he was a freshman. Although they only worked with each other for one semester, Langowski decided to focus on gamma radiation research. He played a few years for the Green Bay Packers, becoming very wealthy. He then continued his graduate studies at M.I.T..^[11] He was appointed to McGill University in Montreal. He studied all he could on the Hulk after learning that he was a transformed Banner. Guardian provided additional funding for a research facility at the Arctic Circle.^[12]

Sasquatch[]

While on leave from the university, Dr. Langkowski began working on a gamma radiation experiment that could create a being like the Hulk, only under more controlled circumstances. Being bombarded by massive amounts of gamma radiation, Walter opened a Green Door to the Below-Place and turned into a huge creature.^[13] He then went on a rampage until being found unconscious by Snowbird. Shaman and Snowbird helped Walter learn how to keep his personality and intelligence in his bestial form. He assumed the closeness to the Aurora Borealis prevented him from turning green like the Hulk and other gamma-powered beings. He called himself Sasquatch noting the resemblance to the creature also called Bigfoot. After training in the Gamma and Beta Flight programs, he was accepted into Alpha Flight.^[12]

He continued to research and teach at Simon Fraser University when not adventuring.^{[citation needed]} Aurora became his lover,^[14] although her brash and flamboyant personality sometimes embarrassed the staid professor.^[12] At Aurora's request, Walter performed a procedure to modify her mutant powers and differentiate her from her brother.^[15]

Unknown to Langkowski, however, his original experiment had also opened a second Green Door to the Realm of the Beasts which linked him to the beast known as Tanaraq.^[13] The more he transformed, the more Tanaraq was beginning to overtake him, especially when he grew angry or felt pain. Snowbird was forced to transform herself into a similar form and ripped the beast's heart out, killing him. Alpha Flight traveled to the Realm of the Great Beasts to reclaim his spirit, Shaman sending it into the Box robot.^[16]

Walter and the Box robot's owner, Roger Bochs, immediately began to search for a new body. Eventually, they scanned a humanoid, nearly mindless body trapped in another dimension. However, when the pair projected Langkowski's soul towards this body it turned out to be the Hulk. Walter refused to enter the temporarily mindless Hulk and seemed to disappear.^[17] His spirit existed in the Crossroads of Realities for a time, but eventually entered the body of Smart Alec, who had been rendered mindless and stored in Shaman's pouch. When Snowbird's deceased Sasquatch body was possessed by Pestilence, Walter emerged from the pouch as Smart Alec, transferred his mind back into the Box robot, and battled Pestilence until his spirit vacated Snowbird's body. Walter then transferred his mind into the Sasquatch form and unthinkingly tried to transform Snowbird's Sasquatch body back into his own human body. Instead, he became a white-haired female version of himself, dubbed Wanda Langkowski.^[18]

After several months as Wanda Langkowski, Snowbird's spirit returned from the afterlife and extracted her godly essence from Sasquatch's form. This effectively turned him back into Walter and the orange-furred Sasquatch.^[19]

After Alpha Flight disbanded, Walter continued his gamma radiation research at Project Michelangelo in Antarctica. Deadpool attacked the base and caused the core to overload, endangering the entire world. Sasquatch and Deadpool teamed up to shut the down the core.^[20]

Department H captured an actual Sasquatch and forced it to serve Alpha Flight, assuming it was Langkowski with amnesia. When the creature was killed, Walter was assumed dead. Meanwhile, Walter found his former teammate Guardian in the snow of Antarctica and nursed him back to health. This led to Walter discovering that Department H was up to some shady activities. Walter reassembled the original Alpha Flight and confronted the new Alpha Flight. After Department H was exposed he rejoined the team.^[21]

When the rest of Alpha Flight were kidnapped by the Plodex, Sasquatch assembled an all-new, all-different Alpha Flight to rescue them. This team remained together after their first mission, and Walter led Alpha Flight for a time.^[22]

Alpha Flight with the exception of Walter perished battling the Collective. Walter helped organize a new team to defend Canada, Omega Flight.^[23][24] Once Omega Flight fell apart, and his original team returned from the dead, Walter rejoined Alpha Flight in service of the Canadian government. He immediately began a heavy flirtation with Aurora.^[25]

Tracking the Immortal Hulk[]

Sasquatch later became part of the Alpha Flight Space Program.^[26] As Langkowski spent more time in his Sasquatch form, he became susceptible to the influence of Brian Banner's spirit, who could use a conceptual "green door" pertaining to gamma mutates to possess them, resulting in Walter becoming progressively aggressive. When Alpha Flight's commander Captain Marvel brought to attention Sasquatch's behavioral issues, Walter reverted to his human form and decided to seek help from Bruce Banner, who was living off the grid at the moment.^[13]

Walter contacted reporter Jackie McGee, who was following Banner's trail,^[27] and joined her in her search. They reached a small town in Minnesota, and Walter was stabbed when he tried to break up a fight between two men. As he was being treated in his hospital, night fell, causing him to unexpectedly transform into Sasquatch and become possessed by the One Below All, disguised in the form Brian Banner. Bruce Banner had tracked down Jackie and Walter and confronted the possessed Sasquatch as the Hulk. He was able to put an end to Brian Banner's possession by draining Sasquatch of his gamma energy, with the secondary effect of Walter being depowered.^[28]

Walter was almost charged with murder for his rampage by Gen. Reginald Fortean. He was spared this fate when Fortean forced Captain Marvel to use the Avengers to apprehend Bruce Banner for him to save Walter.^[29] Hulk eventually escaped Fortean's custody. Fearful for Banner's safety, Walter formed Gamma Flight to keep track of Banner.^[30] Walter and Gamma Flight with reporter Jackie McGee found Banner as the Hulk at the site where the Gamma Bomb exploded. While Hulk fought Gamma Flight, the Absorbing Man absorbed the leftover gamma energy at the site, allowing the One Below All to plunge the entire state of New Mexico into its Below-Place along with Walter and Gamma Flight.^[31] Walter and Gamma Flight were returned to Earth when Hulk defeated the One Below All.^[32]

While continuing to track the Banner's movements, Walter and Gamma Flight found doctor and friend Doc Samson who revealed that the Hulk planned to wipe out human civilization.^[33] Later, Walter, Gamma Flight, and Samson traveled to a hotel in Reno, Nevada where a battle between Hulk and the U.S. Hulk Operations had erupted. All they found was the ruins of the Hulk Operations' War-Wagons and a large fleshy husk that used to contain Richard Jones.^[34]

Gamma Flight took the fleshy husk back with them for study. Wanting the husk back so Hulk Operations could continue to weaponize it, Gen. Fortean teleported himself to Alpha Flight's space station while wearing Redeemer Armor and incapacitated Gamma Flight's members but chose to kill Walter as punishment for the people he killed during his rampage in Minnesota before retrieving the husk.^[35]

One week after the attack, Walter remained dead while the rest of Gamma Flight fully recovered, a fact that confused Doc Samson. Puck said he wouldn't mourn for Walter since Alpha Flight members frequently experience "false alarms" with death. To prevent decomposition of Walter's body Puck ordered it to be placed in a suspended animation chamber, which the rest of Gamma Flight then used as a poker table.^[36][37]

His body was later taken over by Doc Samson's spirit so he could resurrect himself and warn Gamma Flight of the machinations of the Leader.^[38]

However, Walter's spirit was able to take over Doc Samson's body. He renamed himself Walter Samson as a result.^[2] He made his way to New York City and went to the Baxter Building where he aided the Fantastic Four in locating the Below-Place so they could use the Forever Gate to retrieve Bruce Banner and Jackie McGee.^[39]

Walter would later work with his old Alpha Flight teammate Marrina to help evacuate Canada's mutant population to planet Chandilar after the sweeping anti-mutant legislations that arose after the events of the third Hellfire Gala.^[40]

Seemingly those of Leonard Samson.^[2]

• Genius Intelligence: Langkowski is a professionally trained scientist with experience dealing with many forms of experimental radiation and their mutagenic effects on lifeforms under controlled settings.^[42][43]
• Athletics: As a former professional football player, Langkowski has highly athletic physical strength and endurance, though he is no longer in the peak condition of his life.^[12][43]
• Aviation: Walter can pilot the Alpha Flight Omnijet.^[55]
• Hand-to-Hand Combat: Walter is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant.^[43]

• Nearsighted: Walter requires glasses to give him 20/20 vision.

Walter developed a bag-like suit which allowed him to be carried in-flight by Aurora or Northstar in his smaller and lighter human form without being affected adversely by the friction caused by their high speed. He also briefly used an armor when Alpha Flight was asked to remove Juggernaut from Squid-Boy's home. The armor enhanced his strength and enabled him to lift 100 tons, it allowed him to fly via jet-pack and was equipped with unrevealed offensive weaponry.^[58][42]

• Alpha Flight Omnijet

• Alpha Flight #10 states that Walter and his ex-wife have a son. To date, this is the only reference to Walt ever having a son.
• Walter is Jewish.^[59][60]