Havoc 08

⭐ Issue Number 8 - Dated 31st August, 1991 ⭐

METAL MEN  ●  FIERY FIENDS  ●  COSMIC COMBATANTS!

"Is there nothing we might say, Cimmerian, that might persuade you to accept our offer?"

☆ Deathlok: The Brains of the Outfit:

Part Seven ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Wright

Like almost every lonely hero in Marvel comic-dom has done at some point in time, Deathlok retreats to the rooftops to mull over his life choices - including the ones that were made for him by his unscrupulous employers.

His conclusion is one befitting the tragic tone that's been present from the beginning, but it's still pretty extreme.

But before he takes direct action in the hope of preventing the men who played God with his brain from committing similar atrocities to other employees in the future, he's got one more personal matter to attend to.

Without going into detail, the strip got me nostalgic for Milton Bradley's wonderful HeroQuest board game, even though it doesn't actually feature in the comic.

What does feature is a scenario in which Deathlok gains new insight about his own situation whilst trying to impart wisdom to another. It's a classic literary device — the hero ultimately taking his own advice — but when it's done correctly, as it is in the scene in question, it's as powerful as ever. Taken as a whole, The Brains of the Outfit: Part Seven is arguably the best the strip ever got in Havoc's pages.

Havoc 07

⭐ Issue Number 7 - Dated 24th August, 1991 ⭐

BONE-CRUNCHING KEVLAR-CLAD ISSUE!

"Call them off. This one is personal."

There's no Conan the Barbarian strip in Issue 07, which means slightly more available page count for some of the others. Personally, I like Conan, but the format works better with four serialised works instead of the usual five.

☆ Deathlok: The Brains of the Outfit:

Part Six ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Wright

First up is Deathlok, who doesn't benefit from the situation much with just seven pages of story.

The human brain that's housed within the cybernetic shell continues to converse with, and attempt to control, its machine parts. In a way, it's like an inner-narrative device but with two different personalities, both of whom have a distinct way of perceiving, interacting, and responding to the world around them (and any threats that arise).

There's a scene that I felt was reminiscent of one in Todd McFarlane's early Spawn comics, but an internet search revealed that Spawn didn't appear on shelves until the following year (May 1992), so the thinking was reversed.

Havoc 06

⭐ Issue Number 6 - Dated 17th August, 1991 ⭐

CYBERNETICS  ●  BARBARITY  ●  FANTASY  ●  VENGEANCE!

"[T]ell me that thing’s a big harmless garbage truck."

++ Negative. Object identified under MAINFRAME file as ALL TERRAIN ATTACK VEHICLE. ATAV’s firepower sufficient to destroy this unit. ++

☆ Deathlok: The Brains of the Outfit:

Part Five ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Wright

In the previous issue it seemed like Deathlok's inner-conflict would be exceeding the outer one for some time to come, but the drama of that situation was either short-lived or simply pushed to the backburner for a while,

Issue 06's instalment begins in anguish, but mostly it's an action scene that's played out on paper. In a movie screenplay it would probably say something as simple as: D-Lok attempts an escape; there's much shooting. It would then be left up to the filmmaker(s) and storyboard artist(s) to construct the scene. I know it's a comic and not a film, but the two things can be similarly summarised: Deathlok attempts an escape and there's much shooting.

Beyond that, the human element in the cyborg strives to communicate with and influence the machine half. But asking a killing machine not to kill can result in the whole being vulnerable to attack, so some creative thinking is required - which is yet more action scene content.

Havoc 05

⭐ Issue Number 5 - Dated 10th August, 1991 ⭐

FIVE LETHAL WEAPONS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

"We really could use your help in figuring out what happened in the cemetery."

☆ RoboCop: Murphy's Law: Part One ☆

Script: Alan Grant | Art: Sullivan / DeMulder / White

There are some new cops on the streets of Old Detroit and they aren't upholding the same law as RoboCop; in their programmed eyes, he's the enemy. RoboCop finds himself outgunned but not, as they say, outwitted.

His years on the street as Officer Alex Murphy give him a certain edge, leading to an opening that mere machine thinking would probably overlook. Once again the human and machine parts of the RoboCop play their part.

Speaking of which, there's an interesting contrast between the two, as each views a tragedy in different terms.

And there's a moment of self-doubt, something that a machine wouldn't have. The tech guys would probably want to eliminate such things, seeing it as some kind of glitch in the programming, but it's a measure of the humanity that's still present inside the metallic shell; i.e. the essence of Alex Murphy, the part of the character that makes him more relatable than he might otherwise be.

Havoc 04

⭐ Issue Number 4 - Dated 3rd August, 1991 ⭐

SPECIAL DESTRUCTION, RUIN AND MAYHEM ISSUE!

"Be candid with me, barbarian! In all the travels of which you've told me, have you ever tasted a more exquisite example of the vinter's art?"

☆ Deathlok: The Brains of the Outfit:

Part Three ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Wright

The three-panels that open part three of the story are a fine example of how art and dialogue working together can convey much more than each one could alone. It sets an idyllic scene and then turns it successfully on its head.

Thereafter we get to see the Deathlok cyborg in a real combat zone for the very first time, doing precisely what it was that he was constructed to do, albeit for purposes that have more in common with unethical mercenary excursions than any kind of military led liberation. He may be the "ultimate war machine" like his makers claim, but he's a also a commodity for sale to the highest bidder.

The cyborg's enhanced abilities allow him to run faster than normal and target enemies from a faraway distance without the need for external equipment, and his targeting up close is precise, too, but the Frankenstein nature of his two parts also has an influence on how things turn out.