EXCLUSIVE IDW First Look: ‘Crashing’ character designs

Get to know Gordian, Herakles, Rex Glassman, and Piper McNally from September’s ‘Crashing.’

July 6, 2022

Announced in June, IDW’s Crashing is melding superheroes and the emergency room from creators Matthew Klein and Morgan Beem. It’s out this September, with preorders going on right now–more order info below, or navigate here. Courtesy of IDW, we’ve got an early look at character designs for the series, which features recovering addict Rose Osler who is one of a handful of doctors in the United States who specialize in treating “Powered individuals.”

So what’s Crashing about?

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Less than ten years into her rehabilitation, recovering addict Rose Osler is one of a handful of doctors in the United States who specialize in treating “Powered individuals,” human beings imbued with a range of incredible—and according to some, fundamentally dangerous—superhuman attributes. Amid a sudden, rising wave of violence and chaos apparently provoked by these Powered citizens, Rose struggles to balance the ghosts of her past with the mounting pressure of her professional responsibilities, all while fighting to hold her strained marriage together and avoid the lure of getting high.

“One of the things that really excites me about this project is that all our characters—and especially Rose, our main character—are flawed,” says Beem. “They all have a lot of strength but also a lot of genuine weaknesses. They make mistakes, sometimes huge ones, but they keep going. They learn to forgive others, and especially themselves. I love that because it’s something that I feel all of us can relate to.”

The characters in the designs below from left to right are Gordian, Herakles, Rex Glassman, and Piper McNally. Check out each design, along with commentary on each from the writer Matthew Klein, below!

EXCLUSIVE First Look: 'Crashing' character designs

FAR LEFT
Character name: Gordian

Who is he? The big bad of the series! Morgan took the lead with this one. We both knew that we wanted a character didn’t look as physically threatening since his powers are manipulative and mind-based. There’s something even more intimidating about a big bad who looks like a person you could beat up. You tend to underestimate that kind of villain at first glance. What I love about Gordian’s design, besides the fact that his mask is TERRIFYING in its simplicity, is that like anyone with true power, there’s no sense he has to illustrate it right up front. Truly powerful people know they have power and don’t feel the need to flaunt it. And that makes for a compelling, chilling, force of evil. Get to know Gordian, Herakles, Rex Glassman, and Piper McNally from the upcoming IDW series ‘Crashing’

MIDDLE LEFT
Character name: Herakles

Who is he? Gordian’s right-hand man who never throws away his shot (sorry, I’m a bit of a “Hamilton” nerd). When Morgan first asked for a list of people that I thought of when writing these characters, for Herakles it was WWE superstar Roman Reigns. A smooth operator who could charm you with his smile and absolutely smash you a second later. Morgan really took that inspiration and embellished in the best way possible. He’s still grounded with his facial expressions and yet is much more larger-than-life than his mentor/employer.

MIDDLE RIGHT
Character name: Rex Glassman

Who is he? Every great villain requires a great hero and Rex Glassman fits the bill. Rex is the Powered savior of Boston who is a force for equal rights and protections for the city’s extra-abled citizenry. He at first glance fits in with the billionaire philanthropist archetype that we all know and love but his power set is a bit more classic Superman-esque. Except he’s political. Actively so. He’s fighting more for hearts and minds rather than big alien monsters. Those kinds of threats don’t exist, yet, as far as they know, in this world. Like Gordian, Rex is a zealot but his cause is righteous. I thought Morgan did such a wonderful job of bringing the charisma to life. I think I told her originally my inspiration was Idris Elba circa “The Wire”.

FAR RIGHT
Character name: Piper McNally

Who is he? Rex Glassman’s ward and sidekick. Piper’s an orphan and as our leading lady, Rose, first meets him there’s reason to believe that he’s struggling with the same kind of inner demons as she is. He’s been in the foster system. Piper’s been plucked into a life that’s completely outside the scope of anything he ever envisioned. Plus, he now has a massive responsibility being Rex’s teen face to the Powered movement. Did he ask for all this? No. What kind of stress does that put on someone? He’s driven by a need to prove himself worthy of the spot he’s in. And when you put that much pressure on someone so young they can turn to substances for help. In many ways, Piper is Rose’s reflection and their story parallels each other in very affecting ways.

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Penguin Random House for the 3 Crashing #1 covers: