Adam Smasher is a character in the Cyberpunk universe with rich history and lore. In previous years, he was involved in the Corporate Wars. While these are only referenced offhand in Cyberpunk 2077, they are important to Night City’s history and to understand why the city is the way it is.
Still, Adam Smasher and his past with Arasaka are only mentioned minimally throughout Cyberpunk 2077‘s story, despite him being the final boss of the game. His involvement largely focuses on the fact that he killed Johnny Silverhand, but his story with Night City’s most notorious corporation goes much deeper.
Though he only ever had a small amount of humanity, Adam Smasher was born sometime between the end of the 20th century and early 21st century before he became a full cyborg. He sold his soul to Arasaka after he was fatally injured by RPG blasts, but because he never cared for his human side to begin with, Smasher agreed to have most of his body replaced with cyberware, similar to Lizzy Wizzy’s backstory, who also began losing her humanity. Smasher spent the rest of his days repaying his debt to the corporation.
As a monster that is more machine than he is man, he became a highly valuable gun-for-hire and became a rival of Morgan Blackhand, another hitman that was seemingly meant to have some involvement in Cyberpunk 2077‘s story. Smasher craved civilian casualties and destruction in his contracts, which led to his involvement in the Fourth Corporate War, a notable point of context as many Night City citizens fear another Corporate War may be on the horizon.
It was during the Fourth Corporate War that Smasher brought Johnny Silverhand to Arasaka, effectively ending his life, and though it’s not currently known what happened to Smasher between the end of the war and 2077, it’s likely that he continued to do Arasaka’s dirty work before eventually becoming Yorinobu Arasaka’s personal bodyguard.
Despite Adam Smasher being a major player in the Cyberpunk universe, his actual history is mentioned very little in 2077. Johnny mentions that Smasher had killed him, but that’s about it. His appearance in the game operates almost as a simple callback to veteran Cyberpunk tabletop fans.
The first time Smasher is seen in Cyberpunk 2077 is in Evelyn Parker‘s braindance, an imposing and terrifying moment. Afterward, Jackie Welles mentions that he’s a “Night City legend,” though not much other context is given. Between this moment, Johnny Silverhand’s memories of nuking Arasaka Tower, and the final fight boss fight with Adam Smasher, not much context for the monstrous cyborg or what he’s been up to since the 20s is given. This makes that decision at the end of the final fight, where V can spare Smasher or finish him off, all the more interesting.
Seeing that he was working with Arasaka in the 2020s and still is in 2077, it’s likely that he’s been working for Arasaka the whole time to help the oppressive corporation keep power in Night City. But what about his rivalry with Morgan Blackhand? Similarly, after the Fourth Corporate War, Blackhand’s existence is unknown. It was previously thought that Blackhand would play a role in the game. Back in E3 2018’s gameplay demo, Morgan Blackhand could be chosen as a role model alongside Johnny Silverhand in character creation.
Could this mean that Smasher was meant to play a larger role in Cyberpunk 2077‘s storyline? Though CD Projekt Red has denied large chunks of content were cut, it looks like at least Blackhand was either cut from the main game or was pulled away for DLC. It’s possible Adam Smasher’s story could be reserved for DLC as well, but for veteran Cyberpunk fans hoping to find out what the cyborg has been doing for the last few decades, his story is anticlimactic.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development for a late 2021 release.
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