In the near future an innocent man is transformed into a strange half-human cyborg. Enraged at the injustice, he sets on freeing the world from the clutches of the evil corporations that run the show in this strange alternate future.Sound like Robocop? Yeah, I think so, too.
But it’s not, it’s the story behind Deathlok the Demolisher who exploded onto the comics scene in 1974 in the anthology series Astonishing Tales. Created by comic vets Rick Buckler and Doug Moench (who went on to work on many comics including Batman for the Distinguished Competition), Deathlok was a super hero tale with a difference. In many ways, it anticipated the 1980’s with its cyberpunk tales of corporate greed and the obsessions with technology and human frailty that birthed the aforementioned Robocop.
Deathlok traveled back in time and met up with both Captain America and Spider-Man but was essentially a loner. Given that his goal was to rewrite history, I can’t say that I’m surprised he didn’t find many friends.
There have been many other iterations of the character over the years when Deathlok came back into vogue in the 1990’s and who can blame that decade for loving him? He’s a great visual with that red uniform and his undead face is very evocative of Jonah Hex while the computer-zed half of his persona keeps him the perennial oddball.
In the Jim Krueger/Alex Ross series Paradise X, Deathlok appeared and was seen to be talking back to his computer half which is constantly feeding him data while to onlookers it seemed the partially dessicated cyborg had lost his mind. It was pretty amusing but also a dark kind of joke. Deathlok cannot escape his fate and is doomed to remain in his half-robot body for all eternity… thanks to the wonders of modern robotics.Deathlok is a lovely blend of sci-fi and horror elements with a healthy dose of super heroics to keep things interesting. Yet again, a nice little dose of Marvel Comics‘ second birth known as the Bronze Age.
Sometime comic book darling Brian Michael Bendis recently unearthed Deathlok and blew some dust from his joints to includse the character in his New Avengers series. It’s a smart move and a sign of Bendis‘ age at the same time. Deathlok is a superb character who is tragic and hilarious at the same time.
Here’s hoping that there will be more to see of him in the future.
