Who Killed Adam Smasher? V, and the Ending Decides How

V killed Adam Smasher. In Cyberpunk 2077, V beats him on every ending route that goes into Arasaka Tower, unless he kills V on the secret solo run, and you can then finish him or leave him. Which allies are in the fight depends on the ending you chose. Neither of the other main tellings finishes him: he walks away from Edgerunners, and the tabletop books leave his last fight undecided. (Cyberpunk 2077; Cyberpunk: Edgerunners; Cyberpunk RED)

Who kills Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077?#

V does, but the fight changes with your ending. It comes on The Devil, The Star, The Sun, Temperance and the secret ending. There's no fight on the suicide ending or Phantom Liberty's The Tower, because V never storms Arasaka Tower on those. The Cyberpunk Wiki gives four versions, and in all of them Adam Smasher shows up because intruders are closing on the Mikoshi access point or, on one route, the CEO's office. (Cyberpunk 2077)

• Aldecaldos route (The Star or Temperance). Smasher finds V, Panam Palmer and Saul Bright at the Mikoshi access point. Saul lands a shot on his chest, and Smasher crushes Saul's head in return. V and Panam then fight him and win. (Cyberpunk 2077)
• Rogue route (The Sun or Temperance). Smasher stabs Rogue Amendiares through the sternum, and she sets off a grenade against his chest, which kills her and injures him. He then fights V (with Johnny's engram in control) and Crispin Weyland, and loses. (Cyberpunk 2077)
• Hanako route (The Devil). Smasher stands in front of the CEO's office as a last attempt to protect Yorinobu. The wiki says V fights him and he is defeated. If V saved Takemura in Search and Destroy, he fights alongside V. (Cyberpunk 2077)
• Solo run. If V and Johnny go in alone on the secret suicide run, Smasher intercepts V before the Mikoshi access point. The wiki says V either beat him or died to him, taking Johnny too. (Cyberpunk 2077)

The "V with Johnny" and "V with Takemura" answers you'll see online are about different endings, so both can be right for their own route. For a rundown of what each ending does after the fight, see every Cyberpunk 2077 ending explained.

Is Adam Smasher dead after the fight?#

It's your call. The wiki lists his date of death as 2077 and marks it dependent, meaning it follows your choices. Its route summaries all say "defeated" rather than "killed". Once he's down, V can finish him or leave him, and neither option changes the ending. In the wiki's quote list Smasher tells V that sparing him was human, and that mercy is disgusting. (Cyberpunk 2077)

My read is that "defeated" is the safest word. The game treats the fight as the boss kill, but whether he ends up dead is down to what you do once he's beaten.

Who else has tried to kill Adam Smasher?#

• David Martinez, 2076. David loses. Smasher blasts him out of Arasaka Tower, tears his cyberskeleton apart and shoots him in the head. Smasher is alive when the series ends. (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)
• Morgan Blackhand, 2023. The two launch at each other on the tower roof as the nuclear device goes off, and the wiki says the outcome was never determined, though Smasher is alive afterwards. (Firestorm: Shockwave; Cyberpunk RED)
• Johnny Silverhand, 2023. Johnny shoots at Smasher in the Soulkiller labs to cover his team's escape and Smasher cuts him in half with an auto-shotgun in the tabletop version. Smasher goes on to the roof. See how Johnny died. (Firestorm: Shockwave; Cyberpunk RED)

Canon Notes#

Where to go next#

If you're wondering how he got through the 2023 blast in the first place, see whether Adam Smasher survived the nuke. For his whole history, start with the Adam Smasher profile.