To say V is responsible for a lot of killing throughout Cyberpunk 2077‘s story would be an understatement. Alongside dispatching swathes of gang members, corpo-owned armies, and more, V comes face to face with some truly brutal foes, none more memorable than Arasaka’s head of security, Adam Smasher.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077]From the moment he first appeared during the Arasaka heist, Adam Smasher was built up to be an intimidating foe, sporting so much cyberware that he is essentially a full cyborg, and is described as a “Night City legend” by Jackie Welles. A braindance sequence from the perspective of Evelyn Parker furthers his reputation, showing his towering size from close up, with V explaining that they could feel Evelyn’s fear at that moment. Combined with the later reveal that Adam Smasher was responsible for the death of Johnny Silverhand, it was always clear that players would be engaging in combat against him at some point.
Unfortunately for those who played Cyberpunk 2077 before its 2.1 update, when the time came to fight Adam Smasher toward the end of the game, it was a somewhat underwhelming boss fight that could be beaten by most builds with minimal effort. This has since been overhauled significantly to incorporate elements of the character seen in the anime Cyberpunk Edgerunners, such as his Sandevistan upgrade, which lets him slow down time and makes him appear to move at a lightning-fast speed to other players as he relentlessly pursues them with an onslaught of attacks, making him a far more formidable opponent and worthy of his reputation.
After defeating Adam Smasher, players have the choice to kill him or leave him, as he kneels slumped on the floor. The majority of people seemed to take this option, either to avenge Johnny Silverhand, or another ally whom Smasher killed moments prior. However, there’s a theory that Adam Smasher could return in Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel, codenamed Project Orion, regardless of what action players took.
The only biological components of Adam Smasher that are left are his brain and spine which are encased inside a durable biopod. As theorized by Virmire_Survivor on the LowSodiumCyberpunk Subreddit, Adam Smasher’s biopod may not have been situated in the most obvious spot on his body, meaning players may have left it completely unharmed even if they thought they killed him.
Virmire_Survivor’s theory suggests that the one part of Adam Smasher that still looks vaguely human – his head – is merely a diversion, encouraging players to target it as a weak spot, naturally assuming the brain is located in the head as it is in basic human anatomy while ignoring the true location of his biopod entirely. Most gameplay footage of players choosing to execute Adam Smasher after their boss battle by aiming for his head suggests this tactic may have worked. Instead, Adam Smasher’s chest is the most heavily armored part of him, and with so many modifications done to his body over the years, it’s more feasible that his biopod has been completely moved and is stored there instead.
If so, there’s a strong chance Adam Smasher may have survived Cyberpunk 2077 and could return in Project Orion after repairs are done to his body, potentially making him look even more machine than human due to the damage done to his head. The character is one of the most recognizable in the Cyberpunk franchise, so even if that game doesn’t follow V’s story, this theory would give CD Projekt Red the option to have him return to unleash more brutality on a different group, much as he did in Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
Source: Virmire_Survivor/Reddit