Last month’s competition caused a little bit of Havoc, with quite a few wild stabs in the dark to the question I set: What TV duo did I liken the pairing of human Michael Collins and the Deathlok computer to? Thankfully some of you had actually read the posts (or went looking instead of guessing) where I mentioned the simply unforgettable Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider. Congratulations Joseph Redmond of Cardiff, I hope you enjoy the first two issues of Havoc!
Up next are two doubles of a fan favourite comic, one that was a hit with blog readers when I read it (for the first time ever) a couple of years ago. Marvel UK’s Dragon’s Claws was created by Simon Furman and Geoff Senior of Transformers fame and it was simply incredible. What we have here are #4 in which the Claws find themselves facing off against two French armies after being sent to arrest a supposed terrorist group, and in the penultimate issue #9 Dragon et all are pitched against their nemeses The Evil Dead in the HQ of N.U.R.S.E.!
Just like the last handful of competitions you have 14 days to scour the blog for the answer to the following question:
Q – What was the name of the Claws’ pooch?
When you’ve got the answer (it’s on the blog, you just have to find it) you can either email it to me at oink.blog@icloud.com(all emails will be deleted after the winner has been selected, I don’t have a newsletter or anything like that), or use the contact form you can find on the right-hand side of your desktop screen or under this post on mobile. Your entry must be with me by midnight on Thursday 14th August 2025.
After this date I’ll contact the winner to ask for their postal address. Unfortunately, due to rising postage costs the competitions are only open to UK and Ireland readers. If you win I’ll ask if you could take a photo of you with your prize for inclusion in next month’s competition post. You don’t have to, but you do get to show off if you do.
Just for transparency, #4 has a bit of colouring-in on the cover and a small spine tear, and #9’s cover has come away from the spine a little.
There’s now a page on the site for you to see the previous competitions and winners if you’re interested on seeing what you’ve missed out on. As you can tell from the image at the top of that page I’ve a pile of doubles from various comics titles covered on the blog, so make sure you check back on the 1st of each month to see what’s next and good luck if you’re entering this time.
Well, this bold Derek Yaniger cover for #11 of Marvel US’ Transformers: Generation 2 would certainly have stood out on the shelves. And at least Starscream’s teeth are suitably horrifying instead of comically human-like for once. Simon Furman’sDark Shadows (pencilled by Manny Galan, inked by Jim Amash, coloured by Sarra Mossoff, lettered by Richard Starkings) begins with the traitorous Decepticon in a seemingly unstoppable position on the Warworld ship.
In fact, as the story develops we (and he) find out that he’s no longer simply on the ship, he is the ship! The Matrix has afforded him the power to meld with it, morphing corridors and walls and trapping the newly aligned Optimus Prime and Megatron is his grasp. Does he instantly kill them? Of course not, he has to boast and gloat first.
One of Jhiaxus’ troops by the name of Rook is concerned about his commander’s obsession with tracking down the Autobots and Decepticons. He’s seen this side of him before, back when he was the tyrant that Jhiaxus himself lamented ever being back in #3. Rook worries that Jhiaxus is somehow regressing evolutionarily and so decides he must speak with Leige Maximo. Finally! Well, next month it’ll be “finally”, as this is the only mention of the unknown character this issue.
Prime explains to Megatron how the Matrix has become corrupted by evil once more, much like it did with Thunderwing back in the Matrix Quest epic in the G1 comic. Between this and the ongoing similarity between the Starscreem here and the Starscream during writer Bob Budiansky’sUnderbase Saga several years prior, this usually highly original comic feels like it’s slipping back into familiar territory. But then this happened…
I’ll readily admit that if I hadn’t been holding this comic with both hands as I read it I’d have punched the air triumphantly upon seeing Megatron save Optimus Prime! Both were being flooded down a large vent, at the end of which is a huge fall into the plasma core of the ship. Megatron is able to stop himself and I fully expected him to let Prime fall, not out of hatred but because he’d be too busy saving himself. The fact he puts his own life at risk to save him and calls out to Prime to trust him reminds me very much of Transformers One.
The fact this comic was decades before that film just adds to the excitement and this must’ve been a huge moment for readers at the time. He can’t hold him for long though, so they agree he’ll swing him off to the side where Prime can grab hold of some dangling cables. But their plan doesn’t work. At least not as they intended. Prime misses the cables but then they move by themselves into a new position! The comic tries to play this out as a mystery, I guessed it was the Matrix. Was I right?
Ol’ Megs continues to get some of the best lines, like when he transforms into his tank mode to get himself free of the previous predicament and comes out with a perfect 90s action movie line, below. Optimus’ inner thoughts show an admiration for what he sees as Megatron’s instinctive and unselfish tactics, and he wishes this could be more than a mere alliance of convenience. This is a real revelation, to see these two characters in such a fresh way even all these decades later.
Prime then discovers the ship’s walls, corridors and doors are morphing as if to lead him somewhere, with his sneaking about possible because Starscream isn’t really the god-like creator he believes himself to be. Unable to concentrate on more than one thing at once and with Jhiaxus’ army attacking, Starscream must leave these two to their own devices. The ship itself appears to lead Prime right to where he needs to be.
The final page of the main strip ends with Prime trying his best to reason with Jhiaxus and explain what they’ve discovered about the Swarm, but it takes place over a communications signal that frustratingly keeps breaking up. Not that this really matters. Jhiaxus is too far gone and the cliffhanger (before the back up strip) sees him giving the order to pick out random targets on Earth’s surface and blow the planet apart.
This feels like the perfect time to shift to legendary Transformers artist Geoff Senior for part eight of Tales of Earth.
Wait a minute. Wasn’t it previously established that all of Earth’s cities were devastated by Skullgrin’s Decepticons and the Warworld? Even if San Francisco escaped, this paints a picture of a city without a care in the world. Oh well, discrepancy aside this raises the bar in terms of the threat Earth faces! This opening spread is very reminiscent of Judgement Day from Terminator 2, which had been released in the UK less than two years previous and was very much still in the public consciousness after its home release.
Being familiar with the film doesn’t detract from this opening scene. In fact, it adds to the feeling of the end of everything! Even Grimlock and Predacon leader Razorclaw concur, stating, “It over now. For us all. They did it… they dropped The Big One”. On board the Warworld Prime is devastated, heartbroken. He screams into the void but Jhiaxus orders another attack on another highly populated city, despite the fact his troops are all over the planet. But then, Earth’s salvation comes from an unlikely source: Starscream!
As the Warworld attacks Jhiaxus’ ship with all of its Matrix-powered might, it appears the Autobot trinket is tainting the Deception rather than the other way around, which means those scenes reminiscent of the Matrix/Thunderwing G1 story were a nice bit of misdirection. Starscream doesn’t care about us of course but he has an uncontrollable urge to save us. Doing so is even more important to him than the very thing he previously thought was the most important thing in the universe: himself!
I did laugh as Starscream yells out how he doesn’t want to be good. Prime realises it was him that was subconsciously helping all along within the ship, and he sees hope in the very essence of the thing he’s carried in his chest for millennia. However, suddenly, with only one page to go, the Swarm is here. The previous scene just suddenly stops to give us this cliffhanger.
This felt like a very sudden, very unnatural jump in the story, like the pages were running out and we needed a cliffhanger and, more importably, the Swarm needed to be in place for the final issue. I’m not saying that’s the case, after all we’ve learned how terrifyingly quick it is and how it’s impossible to see it coming. That’s the whole point of it after all. But I can’t help feeling a bit unsatisfied with how this absolutely superb chapter ended.
A necessary evil perhaps with only one issue left. It’s a bumper-sized one next month, with the promise of 36 pages of strip action. Given how things have escalated in the last couple of months, and how amazing this issue was, I have every faith Simon will pull off a satisfying conclusion for a comic cancelled way too early in its run. How he’ll do that I have no idea! We’ll find out together in five weeks on Sunday 31st August 2025.
It’s another issue without any of Derek Yaniger’s artwork inside but don’t lament, #10 of Marvel US’ Transformers: Generation 2 more than makes up for it. Not only with this fantastic image by Derek but also by welcoming back Geoff Senior for the back up strip. We’ll get to that in a bit. First, the escalation of events is clear from the cover and inside the comic the main 16-page strip Total War! doesn’t hold back.
Thanks to Starscream, the combined Autobot and Decepticon forces have been found and their defences bypassed. An epic battle breaks out at Autobase on Earth, which should be an exciting prospect, right? The thing is, despite writer Simon Furman’s electrifying script this may as well be taking place on any of the barren space rocks calling themselves planets we’ve visited throughout the series.
That’s a shame because in every other aspect penciller Manny Galan, inker Jim Amash, colourist Sarra Mossoff and letterer Richard Starkings are on sizzling form (with only the occasional silly elongated neck). Things kick off with what almost amounts to an all-out slaughter of their forces by Jhiaxus and his highly evolved troops. The dialogue between Optimus Prime and Megatron is natural, exciting and at times even funny. In fact, Megatron gets a lot of the best lines in the comic!
Elsewhere, on board the Decepticon’s now-shared Warworld spaceship things are going equally badly as Starscream forces his way on board. Even the silly human-shaped teeth glinting in his silhouette can’t ruin the moment for once. Yes, yes, I know I’ve whined on about them in recent months. I’ll forgive them this one time though, especially since by the end of the issue Starscream may have finally upgraded them to something more palatable. More on that below.
I know the characters are based on toys but for the most part depictions of our toys in our comics haven’t felt that way. Look at the brilliant (but criminally short-lived) Ring Raiders to see how tiny Matchbox planes were depicted, for example. But I must say, Manny’s very toy-like. Transformers when they’re in their aeroplane alt modes really pleases me. It takes me right back to the battles I’d wage in my childhood bedroom with my old Hasbro toys.
There are some nice interactions here which really play up to the characters’ strengths, such as Tracks and Manta Ray above, then the Predacons and Dinobots too! Not that Jhiaxus appreciates their strength in diversity, but then again given what his ultimate goal is of course he wouldn’t. His gall at the “adversity, guile and sheer bloody-mindedness” of his foes is fun to read before he dials things up and calls in his second wave. Yup, everything that went before was just the appetiser.
On the Warworld the troops sent up with Starscream discover the bridge has been abandoned and escape pods are leaving for the surface. They race off in pursuit, assuming Starscream is behind them. But this is Starscream, he has bigger and much more selfish plans afoot and heads off to find the Autobot Matrix of Leadership wired into the centre of the craft.
Back on Earth we get possibly one of my favourite moments in the entire G2 series. Even though Megatron is in his new form, the panel below still harkens back to the earliest days of Marvel UK’s G1 comic. The layout, angle and most of all the depiction of Prime. We also get another funny moment from Megatron, even if it’s also a bit frustrating because he’s never actually given us the reason behind his choice of second-in-command (beyond the comic following the new toy line).
Surely a fan favourite panel, right there!
Megatron does have a plan, though. In fact it’s revealed he had several back up escape routes when he walked into Autobase to form an alliance with Optimus. One such plan was a cruiser with an invisibility cloak parked right next door. Smart. However, while Prime is grateful he’s also very aware they’re still fighting for two very different sides. Retreating to the Warworld he wants to use it as a powerful communications tool to try to reason with Jhiaxus against the new threat, while Megatron sees it as the ultimate weapon. Time for a quick break between strips.
This month’s Bullpen Bulletin contains a few interesting snippets. In the border we find out The Iron Man of 2020 was to get his own mini-series. I really enjoyed this character when he appeared twice in the back up strip in Marvel UK’s Transformers. Former Transformers writer Bob Budiansky was now Special Projects Executive Editor and The Incredible Hulk comic really did sound like it was unmissable. Also, if you read the ‘Question of the Month’ column, the writer of the Alice Cooper comic (there was an Alice Cooper comic?) has a response which in light of this last year or so seems rather telling!
Then it’s straight on to the six-page Tales of Earth back up strip and that exciting moment of welcoming Geoff Senior back to Transformers. Again, this is a straight continuation of the main strip instead of a separate story but I’m not complaining. The whole issue has been action with great characterisation sprinkled throughout and that continues with these last half dozen pages. Jhiaxus’ troops are fired upon and quickly destroyed by incredibly powerful weaponry from the Warworld. But it was reported the ship was secured and in their control. Prime and Megatron witness this as they approach and Megatron continues with his quips.
The battle continues on the surface too and the Dinobots and Predacons are fighting side-by-side in what must’ve been a fan dream come true (even though the Predacons weren’t G2 toys). I particularly like the very Geoff-esque additions such as seeing Razorclaw’s leap, transformation and attack in one panel and Grimlock’s bandana and the ‘Big Grim’ on his arm! Brilliant stuff. Even just seeing the close up of Prime’s eyes drawn by Geoff brings back all the feels.
This is fantastic stuff. The interactions between the characters, the humour, the explosive action and of course elsewhere there are still knife-edge tensions between the usually opposing sides. For example, Razorclaw thinks Megatron’s new troops are enjoying fighting alongside the Autobots a little too much. It all builds up to what is ultimately a letdown of a final page.
Starscream has absorbed the power of the Matrix and melded with the ship. However, a fantastically rendered page by the legendary artist is let down by suddenly atrocious dialogue and an over familiarity with G1’s Underbase Saga, when Starscream absorbed the all-powerful database of information and became a similarly all-powerful entity. It’s the only disappointment in an incredible issue though.
It should come as no surprise to find the Transmissions letters page is chock full of complaints, anger and disbelief at the upcoming cancellation of the comic (announced in #8). While Simon’s response that it was always intended for the first 12 issues to form one story is completely understandable, I do believe the last couple of issues have seen a ramping up of events, perhaps moreso than he originally intended in order to complete as many stories and character arcs as possible.
That’s a rather silly (not to mention expensive) idea from reader Adam Edward Patyk! Not only would it be expensive for all the readers he’s asking to partake in his idea but he seems to have already spent a lot of money and all for nowt. The reply is interesting however, with retailers refusing to acknowledge the title was selling well and instead cutting orders. The curse of being a toy licence comic in the 90s. I’d also forgotten about the mysterious mention of the Leige Maximo way back in #4, so let’s hope that’s resolved over the next two months.
The only reason that final strip page was so disappointing is because every page before it was so perfect. The story, the characterisations, the dialogue, the action, the art… this would’ve been the best issue by far if it weren’t for that cliffhanger. But I’m still positive that the final two issues are going to be incredible and I can’t wait for Sunday 27th July 2025 for the penultimate chapter.
Well this second issue of Marvel US’s Transformers Generation 2 feels a heck of a lot lighter after the extra long strip (and 16 page advert in the middle) of last month’s premiere issue. The contents is also more like the UK comic than the previous G1 American title, with a 16-page main strip and a seven-page back up strip which was originally printed in a special mini-comic given away with toys for Halloween that year (1993).
The cover immediately tells us this issue will pick up from where the G.I. Joe crossover finished in #142 of their comic so I was excited going into this one, but absolutely thrilled to see the first two pages! Not only are favourite characters of mine, Scarlett and Snake Eyes right there in the very first panel of the story, but on the title page we see a team of artists were involved this time, including the simply wonderful Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville working alongside each other.
Inside The Ark, Megatron still has Dr. Biggles-Jones captive on his way back to Cybertron but Spike is also on board and sneaks off to find the rest of himself, namely Fortress Maximus. Not sure why Max has been left in his decapitated robot form (Spike was his HeadMaster companion) to protect the spaceship instead of his battle station form , but oh well.
Hot Spot is one of only two survivors of the battle with Megatron and Cobra, and realises the humans have access to advanced Cybertronian tech, unaware Megatron has made it unusable. Knowing humans can’t be trusted, he sets off to destroy it and I did laugh at Cobra Commander’s threat having to use a different word than “head” in the panel below. Then, is that Starscream Megatron is reactivating? Oh, this could be interesting.
Fortress Maximus seems to have slimmed down somewhat, but then again various artists in the original comic would draw him at different scales, although here he doesn’t even look like himself and more like a regular Autobot. (There’s also no mention of Spike transforming into Cerebros first, instead he just changes into Max’s head directly.) Skydive also joins in the fight and I’d completely forgotten he was lying waiting for his timer to ding and reactivate himself after G.I. Joe #142.
Look, I know this is a classic Transformers comic, and a new classic Transformers comic as far as I’m concerned, but that doesn’t change the fact my main highlight is the return of the Joes, especially Snake Eyes. They may only be on a few pages but when those pages are drawn by Andrew and Stephen you can’t blame me. I had no idea these characters crossed back over into this comic.
They aid Hot Spot but after the weapons are destroyed Cobra surrounds him; they want any Cybertronian technology they can get their hands on, no matter how. He ends up sacrificing himself and explodes(!), although from the art that’s not 100% clear until it’s mentioned later. Meanwhile, Spike and Fortress Maximus also seem to sacrifice themselves by entering the “antimatter stream” powering The Ark, allowing Skydive to rescue Dr. Biggles-Jones.
The ship explodes with Maximus on board, apparently taking Spike with him, although it appears Megatron was also destroyed and we know he’s not easily killed. Plus there was a new toy of him just out, so we’ll see who all return in a future issue. Then it’s on to the back up strip.
Light on plot but heavy on the action, character moments and throwing in a few laughs, it reads very much like one of writer Simon Furman’s monochrome strips from the latter part of the UK comic’s run. Anyone who followed along with my real time read through of the original comic will know this isn’t a complaint, far from it in fact. It’s a brill little strip, and to complete that UK comic flavour it’s even drawn by Geoff Senior (and kudos to Richard Starkings and John Gaushell’s letters below and Sarra Mossoff’s excellent colours).
Even Bumblebee and Bludgeon are back. It feels like the original comic had never been cancelled! On one of the planets Bludgeon and his Decepticons had randomly selected to terrorise, the Autobots have arrived. There’s an underground cache of advanced weaponry and Optimus Prime et all can’t allow them to fall into Decepticon hands, although there’s a hint within his thoughts that Prime actually wants them for himself, playing to the darker version of the character we saw last time.
Hot Rod has been sent down to activate some kind of auto-defence system to help them out, so when this monster appears Prime assumes it’s a hologram. He’s mightily impressed with Hot Rod’s capabilities, especially when its huge alien eyes take out one of Bludgeon’s minions. Then the young Autobot reappears, apologising for not being able to find anything to help in the battle, producing this funny moment from Optimus!
Confirmation then that they were also here to secure weaponry. They leave with the understanding they can’t go down that route again, as that would defy everything they stand for and recalls the war they fought for millions of years. The Next Issue caption mentions “Primal” and “Old Evils” and I still can’t shake the feeling of this leading to a path well trodden. Hopefully Prime’s speech is a hint in itself, that the story won’t simply be treading the same ground again.
To finish off with I couldn’t help but have my attention drawn to two of the advertisements in this issue. One is for a reissue of the original G.I. Joe 12” figure, which we knew as Action Man here in the UK, alongside a cool action figure version to sit among kids’ 80s toys. The other advert is for pants.
Not wishing to end the review on a bum note, I’ll just say how much I really enjoyed both stories this time. I’m not sure if it’s a one-off thing having two strips but I hope it’s something we can have at least once in a while over the next year (no spoilers please). Fingers crossed for more of the same on Sunday 24th November 2024 then. Actually, just typing that has made me realise my decorations will be up just in time for that next issue! Oh, now I’m excited.
With a cover by none other than the legendary Walt Simonson (Thor, Star Slammers, Jurassic Park) and Mark Farmer, the penultimate issue of Death’s Head contains no official warning that the comic was about to come to an end. There’s a bit of a hint on the editorial page which has a ’Next Issue’ panel in place of the usual subscriptions offers, not that readers at the time would’ve picked up on this as they’d have been too excited at the prospect of our Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent meeting Iron Man next month.
After a price rise last issue we got another one this month too, by 5p again. I remember the second half of 1988 and into 1989 my comics always seemed to be increasing in price, such were the struggles of an industry at a time when readerships were declining in the face of competition from television and computer games while production costs were soaring. Death’s Head would become a casualty of these changes soon enough but let’s enjoy the issue at hand first.
The editorial describes how last monthThe Doctor dropped off Death’s Head in the middle of Earth’s Dark Ages, which is actually 1989. Given writer Simon Furman‘s Dragon’s Claws took regular swipes at the 80s UK government (in the comic’s future vision of Britain) this could be more about accuracy than a quick joke. Simon is back after a month away from the comic and co-creator Geoff Senior finally makes a very welcome return as artist.
I didn’t even know the big rock guy is the leader!
As you can see The Fantastic Four are the special guests this month. I’ll admit this is the first comic featuring them that I’ve ever read. I’ve never seen an issue of theirs and never saw the cartoons as a kid or any of the movies, so I really am going into this blind. I didn’t even know the big rock guy is the leader! It starts off very light-hearted with The Thing and The Human Torch bickering in a very superhero way.
Clobberin’ Time continues new editor Steve White’s brief time behind the wheel, with regulars Louise Cassell and Annie Halfacree on colours and letters respectively. That title soon becomes tiresome though. I understand it’s The Thing’s catchphrase but he uses it so frequently I feel like shouting, “Okay, okay, I get it, kids are meant to be copying him!” at the pages. Perhaps this is keeping within character but it’s just so annoying. What is good is the funny moment this sequence ends with, where it looks like they’ve made up.
Meanwhile, up on the roof someone isn’t too happy at being dropped off in the wrong time again, much like how he ended up in 8162 in the first place, even if he did settle in there and made it his (lucrative) home. However, not only is he out of time he’s also in precisely the wrong place as The Fantastic Four’s security system automatically opens fire. I have to say for the good guys their security system is very much shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later. Although it does lead to a laugh or two thanks to Death’s Head quips and his long-running bad luck.
Their building is a bit naff though, as huge holes are blasted open and its roof is destroyed as the automated weapons try and fail to take down Death’s Head. You’d think their HQ’s walls would be a bit more secure, that they’d stand up to their own security. But it’s all a bit of daft fun so we’ll not get caught up in the details (this isn’t Twitter). Using his rocket boots to fly through one of the aforementioned roof holes he finds himself in what could be described as their garage, full of hi-tech gadgets and transport.
Convinced this level of tech on 1980s Earth could mean they’d have access to a time machine, Death’s Head thinks aloud, “Just hope they’re nice, sane, normal people…” when he gets a rock hard tap on the shoulder. Meanwhile, back in the Los Angeles of 8162 Spratt is still fighting with their pet vulture (see #5) and takes another phone call from the mysterious woman in previous issues who’s been proclaiming she’s his business partner’s love. This time we also see part of her attire.
I’m still none the wiser although I’m assuming she must be a known character, given how she’s slowly being introduced. The Evil Dead’s Death Nell? If you remember the identity of the caller please don’t tell me in a comment or on socials; no spoilers! Hopefully I’ll find out in our final issue. As for this special crossover event it boils down to The Fantastic Four’s not-so-fantastic security program going rogue and dispatching a hovering droid to see off everyone.
At the beginning of the issue Reed Richards is working on one of the computer chips powering it and he was interrupted by the infighting, inadvertently making a mistake and corrupting the programming. At least this is the suggestion that’s thrown out by Reed, it’s never actually confirmed. With their bickering and the over-zealous zapping at Death’s Head having destroyed a lot of the building, it goes into full defensive mode.
During a protracted fight between the team and their new visitor it becomes clear that Death’s Head’s supposed fighting back is a case of mistaken identity. It was actually the computer attacking them but they were too busy assuming it was Death’s Head that they didn’t see the obvious. Between these reactions and the way their system was programmed I don’t have much faith in this superhero if my first impressions are anything to go by.
Eventually they calm down and think rationally, realising they need to team up with this comic’s lead character when Reed and The Invisible Woman’s child is put in danger. With Death’s Head being a mechanoid and able to hack the system that’s trying to kill them, soon it comes down to our ruthless hunter of bounties (I didn’t say it), a paid assassin, a mech programmed for self-preservation, to rescue a child.
The droid has handcuffed itself to the young boy in his bedroom, coldly using him as a bargaining chip. Now, our anti-hero isn’t exactly known for being subtle. Clicking a laser cutter onto his arm to snap the connection to the boy he leaps into the room and actually ends up damaging the droid and setting off its self-destruct! For a brief moment we see the Death’s Head we’d expect to see if this were any adult human, but it appears there’s a glimmer of a soul behind the facade.
That third image says it all and with the constant countdown you can feel the palpable sense of desperation in that penultimate panel. Superb, exciting stuff that Geoff’s penmanship is just perfect for. This may be the printed page but somehow he’s always able to make his art feel so animated when the script calls for it. After the umpteen pages of fighting earlier in the comic, after the build up in the story prior to this, this is single-handedly the most dramatic and exciting moment.
The panic it sets off is key to what’s next, the story for our final issue
Yes, Death’s Head had to save the kid in order to gain access to their time machine but you can tell that’s not the reason he put his own life at risk. Ultimately though, this brave and heroic moment earns him the trust of The Fantastic Four and they set up their machine to take him back to 8162, a device that transports him in a green bar of energy from the feet up.
As he disappears, The Thing tells him that he had him all wrong, that the mech must be “what passes as a superhero in 8162”, to which Death’s Head tells him no, he was right all along. He then finally introduces himself by name and tells them what he does for a living…
This was a suitably funny final line for the character and the panic it sets off is key to what’s next, the story for our final issue. Back in the earlier days of reading Marvel UK’s Transformers for the blog’s Instagram the Machine Man of 2020 back up strip introduced a future-version of a certain main character in the publisher’s lineup. The hero’s identity had been completely taken over by another person. In the year 2020 Iron Man was no longer Tony Stark, he was Arno Stark.
No longer a hero, the Iron Man of 2020 was a mercenary-for-hire (which should make things interesting next month) and after being defeated by Machine Man he reappeared in a Spider-Man comic (also published in Transformers) when his family were held hostage by a killer and he had to travel back in time for the story’s resolution. The story ended in disaster, with Arno losing and seeing his city of the then-far future destroyed. His next appearance after that was in #10 of Death’s Head.
I knew Iron Man was to be the special guest star in the final issue but I had no idea it was this version and I’m super excited to see what happens. I really loved his two stories in Transformers. He was clearly the bad guy in his first appearance and for all intents and purposes was exactly the same when he returned. He was forced into a position of doing the right thing but in doing so went up against an actual hero, so young readers’ loyalties were tested. It made for fascinating reading.
I’m hoping for more of that kind of storytelling in Death’s Head next month. The pieces are certainly in place for an explosive finale and a suitably powerful send off for what has been a brilliant comic series. If it’s as good as it has been so far, and as good as those Iron Man of 2020 appearances were, then it’ll certainly take the edge off having to say goodbye. The final contract is on Monday 5th August 2024, right here.
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