Death’s Head Review: What If #54: What if Minion Had Not Killed Death’s Head?

The final appearance of Death’s Head (for a dozen years, at least) came in the pages of the ‘What If’ series. The old creative team is reunited – Simon Furman writer and Geoff Senior artist – with Janice Chiang letters, Sarra Mossoff colourist and Rob Tokar editor.

The cover, also by Senior, is big and brash: an over-muscled Minion goes toe-to-toe with a spikey-armoured Death’s Head. Beneath them are items from fallen Marvel heroes: Captain America’s shield and War Machine’s helmet. The caption asks, “What If … Death’s Head I had lived”, which does the job, although I would have added a question mark, and using a big, thick Roman numeral does immediately make you assume it means “Death Head II” (which makes no sense).

It’s a strong image – both protagonists are tearing into each other – although nothing like as gory as some of the Death’s Head II covers. Minion’s blade looks to be doing no more than surface damage to Death’s Head’s face, while the mechanoid’s fist appears to be punching into pink jelly, rather than flesh. Death’s Head’s legs are also bent at an impossible angle, just to fit them into the frame.

Manhattan 2020. In film-noir style, Dr Necker is walking through a dark, rain-streaked alley in a hat and trenchcoat. She rendezvous with Spratt, who introduces her to Death’s Head, rebuilt after his near-death at the hands of Minion. We are treated to a full splash page of the mechanoid’s third uniform, which mostly consists of enormous arms, extra guns and lots more spikey bits. His head is unchanged and looks quite small atop this titanic construction.

Necker reveals that Minion has (somehow) become a liability for A.I.M. and offers him the chance for revenge. Though angry at Necker for setting Minion after him, Death’s Head is prepared to listen – but not for free. As Spratt reminds him, there’s no profit in vengeance.

The narrative is picked up by Uatu the Watcher, who reveals this prologue to be a ‘What if’. He recaps the story of the Death’s Head II limited series, then speculates what would happen if Death’s Head had teleported away a split-second before Minion killed him.

In this universe, Minion forgets about the escaped Death’s Head and goes on to assimilate and kill his next target, Reed Richards. However, without Death’s Head’s body for Strucker to possess, there can be no Charnel, so Minion is left waiting for a threat that never materialises. Instead, Strucker lures Minion into a trap and possesses him instead. There follows a classic sci-fi monster-attack sequence where Minion/Charnel destroys an A.I.M. installation.

This brings us up-to-speed with the prologue: in a shipwrecked freighter that serves as an atmospheric office, Spratt is counting out Necker’s money as Death’s Head accepts the contract. He requests use of a time machine and a really big gun.

Travelling back to 1992, Death’s Head convinces the grief-stricken Fantastic Four Three to help him, since all that remains of Reed is now trapped in a killing machine. Using similar powers of persuasion, he recruits Captain America, War Machine, Luke Cage and Namor to his cause. Necker is impressed at gathering so much power for free, which Death’s Head attributes to his understanding of the ‘super-hero mentality’.

We jump straight into a full-on superhero dogpile on Charnel. They land some good hits on the creature (I especially like Sue Richards’ nasty method of creating a force-field inside Charnel’s body, then popping it), which concludes with Thing dropping a building on him.

Of course, this has only succeeded in making Charnel mad! Having adapted to the attacks, he fights back, killing the heroes in quick succession (once again, a special mention for his means of dispatching War Machine – a narrow blade configuration through the eye slits).

Death’s Head has so far remained on the sidelines, allowing the superheroes to sacrifice themselves, so Charnel is worn down (something Necker views with admiration). He now steps forward, toting a gun the size of a Buick, and blasts Charnel. He follows up with an attack that uses everything in his arsenal, including gouging Charnel with his tusks. Though outmatched, Death’s Head goads Charnel that he is too thuggish to access any of his 105 personalities to win the fight.

Charnel takes the bait and taps into Reed Richard’s intellect to ensure maximum suffering for Death’s Head. Before he can strike the final blow, he freezes, allowing the mechanoid to decapitate him. The escaping energies cause Charnel to spectacularly explode.

In a neat reversal, Death’s Head is left holding Minion’s skull. He explains to Necker and Spratt how he tricked Charnel into giving control to Reed Richards’ personality and ponders the nature of heroism, “Struggling against impossible odds, risking almost certain death to help those in trouble … I just hope it’s not catching, yes?”

It’s a fitting swan-song for the character. Death’s Head is allowed to show off his sardonic, cool, ruthless personality for the last time, as well as being granted a plausible victory against his nemesis, using cunning rather than brute force. And at the story’s end, he finds himself no wiser or nobler, with just a shrug for fallen comrades and an eye for the next paycheck.

Furman admitted that he found writing this to be a “deeply satisfying and cathartic experience”. Aside from sparing his creation at the expense of its successor, it does give him the chance to demonstrate how he would have written the all-superhero brawl against Charnel. Though hardly original, I liked the battle. There were some nicely inventive ways for the heroes to attack (and get killed) by the monster (compared with the fairly blunt methods used in 2020 Vision) and Death’s Head stays in character as a cynical manipulator. It could be argued that Minion is also in character as a superpowered machine that can’t be beaten by any other Marvel superhero, even some of the greatest, which may also have been Furman’s point.

Though clearly favouring Death’s Head, Furman does a good job of working with the established story: Strucker’s grudge against A.I.M. is maintained (and expanded upon, given we actually get to see Charnel destroy some installations in this version) and the inclusion of Reed Richards as target #106 is good continuity. It also makes for a satisfying twist: Death’s Head gives Reed’s personality control over Minion, just as Reed gave Death’s Head control over Minion in the ‘true’ story.

Senior’s artwork is very good, though a long way from his best and perhaps his art isn’t suited to the reduced colours of the US print. His depiction of movement and action is still great, however, so there is plenty to enjoy in the explosive, brutal slugfest against Charnel (although I wasn’t convinced by the squishy pink-gore of the cyborg’s insides). Charnel’s attack on the A.I.M. installation is also very well handled – single-frame depictions of the sudden assault that match the pace of the text and keep the attacker out of view until the final reveal.

Death’s Head’s new look is a parody of the fashion for big guns and big muscles, but Senior keeps the augmented mechanoid looking formidable, rather than ridiculous. Compared with the bloody and overly-detailed work of the Death’s Head II series, the artwork already seems to be out of step with its contemporaries, but it’s certainly no worse for that.

The What If #54 was republished ‘Death’s Head Volume 2’.

Death’s Head Review: Doctor Who Monthly #173: Party Animals & The Incomplete Death’s Head #1-12

For this, I’m attempting the rather-ambitious goal of thirteen issues in one review. The Incomplete Death’s Head series was published around the launch of Death’s Head II. It reprinted most of the original mechanoid’s tales, and was given a framing story featuring Minion and Tuck.

The Doctor Who Monthly #173 was published two years earlier. It has practically nothing to do with Death’s Head, except for its puzzling inclusion in the ‘Death’s Head Volume 2’ collection. It only really makes sense when it was retroactively included in the framing story, which is why I include it here.

The framing story of The Incomplete Death’s Head was written by Dan Abnett, pencils by Simon Coleby, inking alternated between Simon Coleby and Neil Bushnell, lettering was either Annie Parkhouse or Gary Gilbert, colour David Leach, and the editor was John Freeman (also credited with the ‘plot’ for issue 1, so I guess this was his idea).

The cover to the first issue is by Liam Sharp and Hank Kanalz, and it’s quite a good one. Minion poses dramatically (behind him, Tuck just poses) and examines a glowing sphere that contains a portrait of Death’s Head. The real treat is that the sphere is a cut-out circle and the cover opens, like a pop-up book, to reveal the rest of Death’s Head facing many of his enemies: Mayhem, Big Shot, Plaguedog etc. Everyone is charging towards the mechanoid and, though I have my usual reservations about the way Sharp depicts movement, the whole image would make decent poster art.

The story begins with Minion and Tuck unexpectedly transported to a mysterious, hi-tech location. We later discover this is Maruthea – an ‘impossible’ space station in the centre of the space-time vortex. Quickly defeating the robot guardians, they discover they are in an archive dedicated to the original Death’s Head.

With one panel, the Pyra and Lupex origin is swiftly covered (the omission of the actual story is odd, but the high standard of that story’s artwork might have been ruined in this format) and move on to the next step: Death’s Head was stolen, programmed to be a bounty hunter, and set up in business where he ran into the unfortunate Tex.

Minion plugs himself into the archive to learn more, and a missing piece is added to the Death Head story: he was stolen again and sent to a parallel universe (i.e. The Transformers universe) where his size was considerably increased. To circumvent copyright, the computer screen shows a poor quality image of Death’s Head fighting an off-colour Galvatron. The story concludes that, during this robot war, Death’s Head was caught in the gravitational well of a collapsing planet and accelerated into the Crossroads of Time (not exactly matching the original story, but perhaps easier to explain in the limited space).

After viewing his adventures with The Doctor and Dragon’s Claws, Minion is intrigued to know more about Death Head, since without that dominant personality he would never have gained his own free will. He is suddenly blasted by electrical feedback and his mind is pulled into the cyberspace of the archive.

The consciousness of Minion then meets the consciousness of Death’s Head, which has materialised within cyberspace. Over the course of the series, they both review the past adventures of the freelance peacekeeping agent, peppered with moments of action (such as when the memory of Big Shot comes alive and attacks) to keep things interesting.

In the real world, Tuck is attacked by the creator of the archive: Hob. The diminutive robot valet survived the explosion of the Dogbolter Temporal Rocket, but his master went missing. Obsessed with finding Dogbolter, and rebuilt in mechanical-spider form, Hob created the archive to study Death’s Head (although he is ignorant of the Minion incarnation). His apparent hope is to trap Death’s Head and The Doctor, in the hope that they can be made to find his master.

As Hob has Tuck in his clutches, and Minion watches helplessly, the actual Death’s Head and The Doctor both arrive at Maruthea, which segues into the Doctor Who story ‘Party Animals’ (Gary Russell script, Mike Collins pencils, Steve Pini inks, Glib letters, John Freeman editor)...

The Seventh Doctor and Ace arrive at Maruthea to join the birthday party of a satyr named Bonjaxx. The party is a crowded scene of every character the artist can imagine (ranging from a Sontaran to Captain Britain to Star Trek’s Worf to Bart Simpson). The Doctor is told that someone is looking for him, and he wonders if it is Death’s Head, who is sat alone, drinking a cocktail with a little pink umbrella.

He is then met by another eccentrically-dressed chap with a female sidekick. They chat to each other, amiably and enigmatically, as a massive brawl erupts around them. After a comment about the First Law of Time, they step into their respective TARDIS’ and reveal the not-too-surprising truth that The Doctor has just met a past/future incarnation of himself.

And back to the framing story, Hob joins the brawl and faces off with Death’s Head. Watching from cyberspace, the virtual Death’s Head points out that his past self might actually be in danger, since causality means nothing in Maruthea.

With The Doctor gone, Minion fears that Hob will vent his frustration on Tuck. Death appreciates looking out for his partner, and admits that, given the chance, he would have tried to save Spratt (probably the nicest thing he’s said about his deceased sidekick). He offers to shunt the cyborg back into reality on the condition that he doesn’t let Hob kill him (presumably because he wants to save himself for the pleasure of being killed by Minion later on).

Minion leaps back into life and attacks Hob, severing the arm that held Tuck captive. He then teams up with the real Death’s Head and the pair make short work of blasting, then slicing, Hob into pieces.

In the aftermath, Death’s Head makes some quick deductions about the cyborg who moves like him and shares his name, and decides that Minion cannot be allowed to live. Before violence starts, Death’s Head is zapped and falls to the ground. The Doctor has returned to blast him, once again, with The Tissue Compression Eliminator (which has been modified into a Deus Ex Machina device, since it knocks Death’s Head unconscious and wipes his memories of the whole encounter).

Confronted by Minion, The Doctor confesses that he was the one who sent Death’s Head into The Transformers universe, trying to bring out his capacity for good by shaping his adventures. He was also the one who brought Minion and Tuck here, so they could conclude the unfinished business with Hob. Minion appreciates the save, but dislikes being manipulated, and so warns The Doctor against doing so again (and, continuing the theme of Minion being tougher than any other comic character, The Doctor meekly accepts). Minion and Tuck return to their own time, while The Doctor helps Death’s Head back to his feet.

As a way of reprinting the old Death’s Head titles (although I’m not sure I believe the promotional rhetoric that Death’s Head II was so amazingly popular that audiences demanded to know more about his namesake), this was nicely done. Like a compilation episode of a long-running sitcom, the framing story gave Minion a good little adventure, and even filled in some of the blanks of Death’s Head’s backstory.

Minion and Tuck still in ‘tough guy and sidekick’ mode, although space is limited to give them much more scope for character. Their initial wisecrack responses to the archive reports – commenting like Beavis & Butthead – get a little tired, but once danger kicks in, things improve. I like how some reprints are used to support an argument – such as the She-Hulk episode about time-travel – rather than have the characters passively watch them.

Having Minion speak with the cyberspace ‘ghost’ of Death’s Head was a nice touch. It’s interesting that Minion only took the mechanoid’s personality, not his memories, and it helps to give them different perspectives. And I still think that Abnett writes the first Death’s Head better than he does the second one.

Coleby’s artwork gets stronger as the series goes on. The initial line work is fairly thin and insipid to begin with, but does improve once Bushnell’s inks add some depth and atmosphere to the panels. Everyone has over-emphasised guns, muscles and blades, even by Minion’s standards, but that’s nothing new. I did like the nightmarish creation of Hob: a mechanical-spider with his little round head as an angry nodule on the end of his Alien-esque tongue.

Story-wise, it was a clever move of Abnett (or Freeman) to bring Hob back into the narrative, since Dogbolter was one of the more obvious loose threads of the series. Hob’s logic about capturing Death’s Head in order to find his master is a little skewed, but I’m happy to give him some crazy-robot leeway. It also gives a good reason to bring in The Doctor and the short story of Maruthea.

As for ‘Party Animals’, unless it figured into a large narrative about The Doctor’s future self (and I don’t think it did), I couldn’t really see the point. Aside from the glimpse of a future Doctor (and given they had free rein to create anything, a middle-age man in a dapper jacket is hardly original), there’s no drama or resolution in this story. The artwork is functional, although it tries too hard to capture Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, and Collins clearly had fun in depicting a diverse range of characters.

Generally that story felt like a bit of end-of-term silliness , and only just manages to fit into the wider narrative. It’s surprising that this made it into the republished volume – since it’s hardly a Death’s Head tale – whereas the more significant framing story did not.

I’m also not convinced by the final reveal: that The Doctor has been manipulating Death’s Head’s life – as far back as sending him to hunt Transformers. Apart from its very implausibility, Death’s Head’s career has hardly been a positive one – that’s part of his appeal – and making him the puppet of The Doctor somehow undermines his story.

Next week: Furman’s revenge – as we visit a parallel universe that asks: What if Minion Had Not Killed Death’s Head?

The Doctor Who Monthly #173 was republished ‘Death’s Head Volume 2’.

Death’s Head Review: Death’s Head II – The Wild Hunt #4: 2020 Vision!

The fourth and final chapter of Death’s Head II – The Wild Hunt was created as follows: Dan Abnett, story; Liam Sharp, pencils; Andy Lanning and Liam Sharp, inks; Helen Stone, colours; Peri Godbold, letters; and John Freeman editor.

After some previously mediocre covers, this one is a treat. In a wraparound cover, the Charnel monster is fighting Minion, Tuck, Necker and an assortment of Marvel heroes. Charnel looks menacing (and recognisable as the original Deaths Head), the bursts of gunfire and magic give some vibrant colour to the image, and everyone is strongly portrayed. Even the caption, “The Final Battle!” adds to the drama.

A couple of complaints: some the combatants – notably Minion and Rhino – don’t seem to be facing their enemy. It could be argued that they’re manoeuvring or flanking, but it doesn’t look very dramatic. Another problem is that Liam Sharp elected not to draw Charnel’s legs, settling for a brief outline that is coloured the same as the background, and so makes him look like a floating torso.

We begin in ‘The New York Wasteland’ of 2020. Not the 2020 we saw last issue, but a new future that will come to pass with Charnel ascendant. Four of Earth’s heroes – Spider-Man, Daredevil, Dr Strange and the Punisher – have adapted to this tough world (mainly by adding lots of guns and pouches to their uniforms and, in Spider-Man’s case, growing a pony tail).

The Punisher’s War Journal narrates the captions: the defeat of Thor’s people by Charnel means they have no hope for victory. They are attacked by hordes of featureless demon-drones and then by Charnel himself – who is now in the form of a giant red spider-creature. Daredevil and Dr Strange are quickly killed, but Spider-Man manages to swipe a disc from Charnel’s chest before his is also slain. The Punisher is offered mercy if he returns the disc, but he flings it away to safety. In a rare moment of subdued storytelling, we see only a distant explosion with the caption: “Punisher’s War Journal ends.”

The disc is collected by former-villain Rhino and brought to the bunker of this era’s Avengers: Wolverine, She-Hulk, The Scarlet Witch and Captain America. Mister Fantastic, who has been trapped in a shapeless putty form, outlines the plan: the disc is a time-travel device and they will travel back to 1992, when Charnel first appeared and was at his weakest. The five remaining heroes time-jump and Reed wishes them luck.

In a New York shopping mall, 1992, Minion arrives with Tuck and Necker. They have armed themselves with a couple of enormous guns and, continuing the strange fashion decisions, Minion has exchanged his peasant tunic for a leather bolero jacket. Minion is being flippant about the impending confrontation with Charnel, which irritates Necker and causes Tuck to defend it as ‘just his way’.

Minion is suddenly attacked by the 2020 Wolverine, stabbing him through the stomach before he breaks off a claw against Minion’s multi-purpose arm (that would be his unbreakable claw – and it’s mentioned in the story that this Wolverine still has his adamantium). Wolverine seems merely bemused at this, and Captain America calls for a truce.

The protagonists soon compare notes, and conclude the quasi-Oedipal running gag that Dr. Evelyn Clarice Sarah Necker shares a middle name with Captain America’s mother. They realise they all want the same result, although the Avengers are fighting to end their future, while Minion is trying to protect his (and can’t see the appeal of their self-sacrifice).

Charnel materialises – the Strucker/Death’s Head hybrid that destroyed A.I.M. – quickly clobbers the Scarlet Witch, kills She-Hulk and bats away Rhino. Minion faces him, and they both sense their connection with the original Death’s Head – before Charnel blasts him too.

Wolverine leaps in, then Captain America and then, walking from the fires like the liquid Terminator, Minion re-joins the fray. Necker retrieves Rhino, who sheds a tear for She-Hulk, and Tuck revives the Scarlet Witch, who hits Charnel with her hex power. Unexpectedly, Charnel drains her hex energy and uses it to transform himself into the unstoppable juggernaut of 2020. His awesome power is demonstrated as he effortlessly annihilates Captain America, Wolverine and Rhino.

In a desperate effort, Minion leaps at Charnel and attaches the 2020 time-travel disc next to the 1992 version already on Charnel’s chest. With one final hex bolt from the Scarlet Witch, both discs are activated – one set for prehistory, the other for the thirteenth century – and Charnel is torn apart. Minion claims to be an expert in dealing with split personalities.

With Charnel destroyed, the 2020 Scarlet Witch happily fades from existence. When Necker tries to take Minion home, he refuses, saying he doesn’t believe she ever intended to pay him, or that the future A.I.M. now has the means to do so. Angrily destroying her gun, he claims that the entire mess was her fault and she should consider the blood on her hands.

Stealing a truck, Minion and Tuck drive away, as the present-era Avengers and Fantastic Four arrive. In no mood to explain, Necker time-jumps away. The final page has Minion’s truck, pursued by a Quinjet, Fantasticar and what appears to be The Hulk, as he promises Tuck, “action, adventure and heinous intrigue – and that’s just on the subway. Whatever happens – I can promise it won’t be dull!”

And so ends the Death’s Head II limited series. Having lined up all the pieces in the previous issues, Abnett delivers a solid tale. The action was handled well, and that’s pretty much all there was for this story.

Taking the series as a whole, I was less impressed. The idea is a sound one: title character is created to battle an destructive evil force and, after a few turns in the road, eventually defeats him. As an introduction/origin story it could have worked very well, especially as the original Death’s Head (or at least parts of his body) are worked into the final battle.

The problem is that, after four issues, I am still no closer to know anything about Minion. In the first issue, he was a blank slate; and in the second issue, a blanker one. By the final two issues, there was no trace remaining of the Death’s Head personality, but nothing had replaced it. He haggles relentlessly over his fee in issue three, but seems uninterested in payment by issue four. He scorns the suicidal heroism of the 2020 Avengers, but then joins in anyway. Flippant wisecracks are fine as a trait, but every character needs a motivation beyond simply moving to the next page.

The way he defeats Charnel is neatly done (although the idea that Minion is an expert in ‘split personalities’ doesn’t bear close inspection) and the time-disc as a MacGuffin is well-played. It might have worked better if Charnel had been in his original form – and very obviously composed of two halves – but it’s a good ending (and conjures up the intriguing possibility that Death’s Head’s original body has been banished somewhere in prehistory…)

As I mentioned previously, the story arc of confronting and defeating Charnel more properly belongs to Necker. Although she takes a back-seat in this issue, and quickly departs the scene before we can properly register if she has learned anything, or is remotely upset at having lost her project.

Tuck actually manages to do less this issue than previously, and it’s made no clearer why Minion needs or values her as a sidekick. The one interesting point is when Tuck tells Necker that his attitude is ‘just his way’ – having a partner who can understand his jumbled personalities would be an asset, except we have no reason to believe that she knows Minion any better than Necker, or has any sway over him.

In terms of storytelling, the switch to an alternate future is unexpected (although less so than the Robin Hood planet). Alternate apocalyptic futures can be fun – everyone gets to look a bit meaner and be killed at random – and Abnett does well with it (although from a visual point of view, I’m not sure if ‘meaner’ translates to ‘add more pouches’).

Sharp’s artwork is probably the best it’s been so far – he seems to do leaping better than running, and the all-action nature suits his style. In terms of character design, both versions of Charnel are suitable horrific (I preferred the unholy hybrid original to the larger ‘alien queen’ version) and there’s plenty of gore, magic, gunfire, explosions and shattered scenery filling the pages. There is also a surprisingly touching display of emotion on Rhino’s face as he mourns She-Hulk.

Some of the character costumes are more questionable. Most of the future superheroes wear a vertical stripe from chest to crotch, which gives unity but does look peculiar and turns Captain America’s star into a comet. Rhino’s seems not to be wearing the all-over suit that gives him his powers (certainly his arms are bare) and everyone seems to be tattered and bandaged, in modified uniforms, except for the Scarlet Witch, who has a pristine version of her original costume.

Despite his healing factor, Wolverine is among those wearing bandages, and the scene where he breaks off a claw is an example of the writer trying a little too hard to make Minion the toughest-hero-of-them-all. Which, to me, sums up the whole problem with Death’s Head II.

Next week: Death’s Head meets Death’s Head II meets Doctor Who – I’ll be looking at the framing story of The Incomplete Death’s Head as it connects with the Doctor Who story ‘Party Animals’.

Death’s Head Review: Death’s Head II – The Wild Hunt #3: Outlaws!

The third instalment of the Death’s Head II limited series kept the same creative line-up: story by Dan Abnett; pencils by Liam Sharp; inks by Andy Lanning; letters by Peri Godbold; colours by Helen Stone; and the editor was John Freeman.

The front cover competes with the previous issue for non-action. Minion and Tuck – a feisty redhead wearing a skimpy costume, some large tattoos and a number of blades – are posing in a forest, doing nothing but looking directly ahead with grim expressions. Minion is wearing a medieval tunic and bearskin cloak which, considering he doesn’t need to wear clothes, looks like a terrible disguise or a strange affectation. The captions tell us “On the run in the far future … Death’s Head and Tuck are partners in crime”. As we don’t know who Tuck is, and the swords and trees don’t look too futuristic, this doesn’t add much.

As with last issue, the back cover has a better idea, but a worse execution. Minion is off-centre and awkwardly posed, duelling swords with a muscled opponent who is almost standing behind him. Tuck and Dr Necker (one of whom we don’t yet know, the other we wouldn’t recognise) are in the background, and the caption promises, “Swords, sorcery and big guns!”. The image looks like an interior panel and looks like some speech balloons have been removed.

The story begins in 3442AD on the forest planet of Lionheart. An unseen narrator explains how a caravan train (drawn by dinosaur beasts, rather than horses) is travelling warily though the forest. As feared, they are attacked by swashbuckling bandits led by Minion – who is calling himself The Hood.

Inside one of the wagons, a group of nuns suddenly produce weapons to “Lock and load – and blow those stinking robot outlaws apart!” (none of them actually have guns – which we learn are prohibited on Lionheart – but I guess the gag took precedence over story consistency). The Mother Superior gets the drop on Minion, but is stabbed in the back by another nun, who throws off her wimple to reveal Tuck in disguise. She has been tracking The Hood for months and wants to join the band.

In the aftermath of the battle, Tuck gives her reasons for joining with some heavy exposition: the King of Lionheart is fighting a crusade light years away, while the corrupt authority exploits the people to enrich themselves. ‘The Hood’ and his band are the only ones fighting back. Minion explains that his band of cybernetic outlaws are united by the laws that forbid artificial sentients, not by any high ideals. Tuck reveals that she is also artificial – a replicated organic – and deserving of a place in the band (forgetting that she wanted to join for a cause that Minion doesn’t apparently believe in). Minion gruffly relents.

Back in 2020, Spratt – now sporting a broken nose – and Baron Strucker V are working to repair the original Death’s Head. Strucker notes that the damage was too extensive to be repaired by 2020 technology (which does explain why the technically-able Spratt would need extra help). Spratt also notices that Strucker’s tools are sorcerous ingredients, so the Baron clearly has a non-scientific solution in mind.

Returning to 3442 and the citadel of Lord High Protector Roderick, an indolent, boastful noblemen. Roderick is flirting with his harem when he hears news of The Hood’s recent attack. He gives orders to fetch ‘Major Oak and the Huscarls’ before returning his attention to one of the woman. She removes her veil to reveal “Lady Evelyn Clarice Necker of Aym”, dressed in a Princess Leia slave girl costume, and continues her odd running gag about sharing a name with Roderick’s mother.

In the outlaw’s camp, Minion and Tuck share a fireside moment as he recaps the past two issues. He has been in Lionheart for a year and, contradicting his earlier cynicism, claims to be enjoying the life of a popular hero.

The peace is broken by the sudden attack of Major Oak, the muscled opponent from the back cover, and his Huscarls. As the Merry Men are slaughtered, Necker and Roderick watch from the sidelines. Necker discreetly changes back into her A.I.M. uniform and knocks Roderick unconscious.

Minion – his arm configured for a sword – duels with Major Oak and proves his superior fairly effortlessly. While Oak keeps coming back at him, Minion is relaxed enough to make fun of his dialogue. Oak gains a brief advantage and, in one of the issue’s good jokes, tells Minion to “Prepare to meet thy maker”. He is then shot in the back by Necker (who decided to violate the anti-technology laws in style, by brandishing an enormous gun).

The outlaws decimated and royals neutralised, Necker tries to reassert control over Minion’s programming. When that fails, she offers payment and they haggle for the space of a page (which is fairly laboured, but I guess the point was to show, in addition to his unparalleled fighting skills, what a hard negotiator Minion is). Tuck insists on coming along and all three time-jump away.

Moving to 2020, Spratt is horrified to see that Baron Strucker has merged his own body with the remains of Death’s Head, becoming a mechanical-sorcerous hybrid. He claims he will seek revenge on A.I.M. for spurning his family line. The terrified Spratt tries to run, but is killed with a mere spark from Strucker’s eye. Towering over Spratt’s corpse, Strucker quotes Revelation and re-names himself ‘Charnel’.

Minion, Tuck and Necker leap into A.I.M. headquarters, presumably some time later, as Charnel has already visited and killed everyone. The place is a grisly mess of skeletons, fused together with magic. Using the time tracker, Necker discovers that Charnel has gone back to 1992, where he will threaten the timeline and their very existence!

There were some exciting pages prior to this cliffhanger, but for me, the rest of the issue fell flat. Minion is thrown into a Robin Hood homage, and given a new sidekick, with no real reason for either. Playing around with different genres is fine, but not when the central character is so ill-defined. The story ends where it could have ended last issue: an independent Minion being coerced by Necker. And while the Charnel sub-plot was good, the whole issues feels like filler: written to meet the demands of a four-part series, when there was only enough story for three.

After allowing some leeway for his jumbled-up personalities, I’m still no closer to getting a handle on the Minion character. The ascendency of the Death’s Head personality – promised at the end of last issue – is nowhere to be seen. While prompted to action by good deeds and/or the promise of money, he doesn’t seem motivated much by either. In battle and at rest, everything is met with a smart-alec/tough-guy response which just makes it seem as if Minion is bored.

The addition of Tuck does little to open up Minion, as they don’t have any chemistry. Her hero-worship gives no edge to their relationship, and since Minion doesn’t seem to care either way, it also lacks the comedy of Death’s Head’s exasperation with Spratt. Maybe Tuck is going to turn out to be Charnel-kryptonite, justifying a whole issue to get her into the story (although since she’s usually depicted striking a pin-up stance, I’m guessing her reasons for inclusion are otherwise).

It’s not a good issue for Dr. Necker either. Adding a whole year to the story not only robs her quest of its desperate urgency, but makes her seem incompetent. With little to do but show up and hire Minion, Necker is reduced to cheesecake poses in Roderick’s harem. Her comment to Roderick that time-line archives were very precise about this period is an odd one: a) for someone trying to infiltrate the royal court, b) considering the date is over 1400 years after Necker’s own time and c) raises the question of, if she was so well-informed, why did it take a year to find Minion? I don’t think it has an explanation, other than Abnett couldn’t be bothered to make sense of it.

This seems to be a problem for whole of Lionheart. There’s nothing wrong with having a futuristic Robin Hood setting with cod-dialogue, but the writer has to take it seriously. I like a good pun (and even a bad one), but having a road that leads from ‘Finder’s Keep’ to ‘Loser’s Weep’ is just painful to read. Characters lapse from medieval-speak into “Give me a break” and “Pronto”; Minion makes a huge deal of mocking the expression “Beshrew me” – it feels like Abnett has created this world, wants us to buy into it, but then makes fun of it anyway.

Sharp’s artwork has gone back a step from last issue. Things are looking too dark and too detailed, as if it has been shrunk down from a larger format. For an issue filled with swordplay and swashbuckling actions, the depictions of action still need a lot more energy. Also, the dinosaur-steed are almost cartoonishly poor.

The one solid thread is the Strucker sub-plot. It’s a well-trodden irony, but I like that A.I.M. inadvertently created the very threat they tried to avoid. The depiction of Strucker/Charnel is very good – Sharp seems to improve when he’s being less literal – and the scene of death at A.I.M. is wonderfully macabre. His journey back to 1992 is a bit contrived – why would Charnel endanger his own creation when he could just go forward to conquer? But it does give the heroes something to chase after.

And finally, RIP Spratt. He wasn’t always my favourite sidekick (although, as this issue shows, there are worse options), but it was fun whenever he got under Death’s Head’s metallic skin to irritate him. The little scavenger deserved a better end.

Next week: an epic conclusion from an apocalyptic future! The Marvel superheroes take on Charnel in “2020 Vision”!

P.S. There's a great overview of the entire history of Death's Head in Starburst's interview with Simon Furman. I especially liked the letter of congratulation from Stan Lee after Issue 1 was released.

Death’s Head Review: Death’s Head II – The Wild Hunt #2: Reed Richards Dies Tonight!

The Death’s Head II series continues: Dan Abnett, story; Liam Sharp, pencils; Andy Lanning, inks; Helen Stone, colours; Carolin Steeden and Peri Godbold, letters and a new editor in John Freeman.

The front cover is a close-up of Minion, seemingly frozen as green energy crackles off him. Behind him stands a grimacing Reed Richards, and behind him stands Dr Necker, warning that “He’s the Minion construct, Richards … I programmed him to kill you! Let him go, while you still can!”. It’s not much of a cover – everyone looks very static, as if they’re in a queue, and the addition of the Human Torch flying in the background looks like an afterthought. There also is the caption “Death’s Head fights for control of Minion’s mind”, which makes the cover busier than an average panel.

The alternate cover on the back is a better idea: Minion stands over Richards and bats away The Thing as he intones, “Subject 106 Reed Richards … prepare for assimilation!”. For readers familiar with the language of the first issue, it’s a powerful threat and even the obligatory caption – “Minion vs The Fantastic Four” – is more direct. However, it’s not as well-rendered as the front. Minion isn’t large or central enough, his multi-function arm looks a bit stubby, and Thing appears to be performing a jumping jack, rather than getting thumped. So a split decision for which is the best cover.

Inside, we begin with an atmospheric bit of narration: “New York 1992. Thousands of lost souls come to the city every day, driven by their own needs and desires.” An electrical bolt hits the street with a ‘Kzzzaak!’ and from the smoke appears “Minion. Four hundred pounds of laser-machines cybernetics. Three centimeters of aligmented molybdenum armor. Two megawatt high-yield plasma fusion weapon. One consuming obsession … Reed Richards dies tonight!” It’s a good opening and, intentionally or not, reminds me of Death’s Head’s arrival in 8162.

Moving to an upscale restaurant, Reed Richards is waiting for Sue to arrive as he is being attended by a classic French waiter (who looks similar to John Cleese playing a classic French waiter). He is joined by Dr Necker, carrying a large gun and wearing what appears to be a combat bikini and WWI gas mask. She introduces herself as Evelyn Necker, prompting an odd exchange whereby Reed mentions Evelyn was his mother’s name and Necker affirms that she is not his mother.

They are interrupted by arrival of Minion and Reed wonders if this robot is connected to Doom (prompting a ridiculously unnecessary footnote, explaining who Dr Doom is). Without hesitation, Necker opens fire until her gun is confiscated by Richards. He censures her for endangering innocents with a firefight and they both retreat from Minion’s attack (in a nice detail in the corner panel, a patron of the restaurant is wounded – justifying Reed’s stance and it’s not something that gets shown often in comic brawls).

Richards and Necker commandeer a taxi and flee. Minion charges after them, although the pavement slabs break under his acceleration and throw off his aim. In the cab, Necker explains that Minion is programmed to kill Richard and steal his intellect – and won’t stop until it does. She also reveals that Minion has been disobedient ever since he assimilated Death’s Head.

Interlude to the battle-damaged ruins of AIM headquarters, 2020. Posing as clean-up crew, Spratt is rescuing the ruins of the original Death’s Head. He conducts a silent (and quite moving) conversation with his deceased partner in the captions, then reveals he has a plan to resurrect him.

Back in New York 1992, the other members of the Fantastic Four have noticed the disturbance at the restaurant. The pursuit still ongoing, Necker lobs a grenade that knocks Minion off a bridge, but also shreds the taxi’s tyres, causing them to bail out of the resulting explosion.

Having arrived safely at the Four Freedoms Plaza, Reed deduces that Minion’s malfunctions are due to Death’s Head being a mechanoid. Instead of just downloading his instincts, as with his organic targets, Death’s Head downloaded himself entirely, and now his consciousness is battling Minion’s internal systems for control of the body. Believing that the Death’s Head of his acquaintance will be more amenable to reason, Reed’s solution is to help Death’s Head win that battle.The Thing shows up in the Fantasticar, then faces off with Minion to allow Reed and Necker to escape. The two trade a couple of punches, but Minion quickly proves superior and throws Ben off the bridge and onto a passing boat.

Outside the building, Minion appears behind Human Torch,unceremoniously punches him out, and gains entrance. He charges at Reed, who shoots him with a burst of tachyons. Minion topples, his neurons scrambled, and all his personalities begin to regroup.

As predicted, Death’s Head gets his act together first and causally states, “No-one needs to die, yes?” He wanders over to a computer and downloads the mainframe, effectively getting all of Reed Richards’ knowledge without killing him. “Fair exchange, yes? You save my consciousness, I save yours.” and with that, he time-jumps away.

Still trying to gain control over her project, Necker also time-jumps. The rest of the Fantastic Four arrive in time for a fairly unoriginal gag where Sue notices the lipstick from Necker’s good-luck kiss on Reed’s cheek.

Ending with ‘interlude two’ (more of an epilogue now, surely?), Spratt has teamed up with a cybernetics man named Baron Strucker the Fifth. Strucker immediately punches him in the face, then tells the unconscious Spratt that he will use Death’s Head’s body to have revenge on A.I.M.

This issue was a straightforward romp and fairly enjoyable. There is some nice characterisation, a fair bit of action and a good undercurrent developing. The main drawback is that very little of this seems to benefit the title character.

Despite his impressive entrance, Minion is the adversary of the story, a problem to be overcome. He is single-minded in his pursuit of Reed, and his ‘scrambled programming’ means he only speaks in basic operating terms. The result is that he shows even less personality that in the previous issue.

The de-scrambling at the end of the issue does mean that Minion’s evolution is moving forward and that Death’s Head is now apparently in control. He is also far more formidable that his predecessor – dispatching Thing and Torch with ease (and while the Torch fight was funny, it was also a bit of a waste). Although since a character can always be as powerful as the writer needs him to be, that’s not so impressive as I found it to be in 1992 (and not being able to run on paving slabs seems something of a design flaw).

The story actually belongs to the more flawed Dr Necker, and is better for it. The “Come with me if you want to live” device is played out nicely between herself and Richards, two scientific minds working on a common problem, but with very different moral perspectives.

I enjoyed Necker’s rationale that, as he was from the past, Reed was ‘dead anyhow’, which justifies sending Minion back to assimilate him. Although, once again, the 2020 setting seems too close to the present for this – even if Reed had died in the intervening years, he would still have seemed like a ‘real’ person. But this amorality gives Necker some good contrast – while technically working for the villains, her dedication to preventing A.I.M.’s destruction is heroic. Her genius-level intelligence is balanced by a certain lack of foresight, meaning she is always improvising to avoid (or chase after) Minion, and it makes for a fun trip.

There are some inconsistencies with the story: it makes sense that Death’s Head’s robotic personality would scramble Minion’s programming, but why would chasing after Reed Richards be viewed as a malfunction – wasn’t he the next target on the list anyway? It’s explained that Death’s Head’s motivation is to hunt (which is only partly true, as The Body In Question made clear), but then Minion’s main drive is to assimilate, so this seems like splitting hairs.

Also, Necker wants Minion to obey her orders, but she also wanted him to assimilate Richards, so her concern for Reed’s survival is a bit inconsistent. It could be argued that she is prepared to forgo Richards’ assimilation in return for regaining control of Minion, but this never seems to be her motive. The story ends where it begins: with her chasing Minion through time.

The first interlude is well done – and it was nice continuity for Abnett to bring in Spratt. His plan to resurrect Death’s Head is intriguing, and actually quite moving (more so than most of his other appearances). The close-up of Spratt’s face shows a real sense of loss for his partner.

The closing interlude is more ham-fisted: it’s odd that Spratt needs a “good cybernetics man” when he himself rebuilt and improved Death’s Head the last time around. And since Baron Strucker V plans to have Spratt help him, punching him unconscious just so he can monologue his evil plan seems ridiculous melodramatic.

The artwork is an improvement this issue. The characters are all well-rendered, and there is now a consistent look for Necker. Sharp is easing up on overcrowding scenes with needless clutter, although there are still too many unnecessary scratchy lines for my taste. The rainstorm and various bursts of smoke and electricity are nicely atmospheric.

The biggest let down, once again, are the depictions of movement. All the characters have a tendency to look awkward, particularly when running, which is unfortunate in a chase story.

Next week: We meet Minion and his Merry Men as Death’s Head II turns “Outlaw!”

Death’s Head Review: Death’s Head II – The Wild Hunt #1: Mergers and Acquisitions

The year is 1992 and, several years after his last appearance, a new Death’s Head series is being put together by Simon Furman and Geoff Senior. Unfortunately, the new editor-in-chief of Marvel UK cancels those plans and opts for a complete reinvention of the character. Death’s Head II became quite a stalwart of the US-style titles, but I’ll just be looking at the introductory limited series that saw the end of the original mechanoid.

The story was by Dan Abnett, pencils by Liam Sharp, inks by Andy Lanning and Bambos Georgiou, colours by Helen Stone, letters by Peri Godbold and the editor was Steve White. And the editor-in-chief who, according to Furman's notes, did away with Death’s Head, was Paul Neary.

The cover makes no bones about what’s about to happen: Minion, a formidable cyborg with horns, a skull-mask and a multi-purpose right arm is holding what remains of Death’s Head’s noggin. The speech bubble “Death’s Head is completely terminated, yes?” competes with the caption,” The Death of Death’s Head” for stating the obvious, but the speech does hint at some kind of rebirth. It’s a straightforward, bold and gory (from a robotic sense), with some good detailing – although the artist appears to have lost interest in finishing Minion’s lower torso, and settled for some criss-crossed lines.

There is also an alternate version on the back cover: a full portrait of Minion battling Death’s Head while a woman with a green unitard, eyepiece and flaming pink hair watches from the background. I think they made the right choice for the front cover. Minion is well-rendered and dominant (although his feet disappear into nothingness), but even with Death’s Head stooping awkwardly, Minion is proportionally too big. Both look as if they are posing, rather than actually fighting. The woman – who we learn is Dr Necker – appears too small and uninvolved in the scene. Finally Minion’s speech bubble, “When I absorb your consciousness, Death’s Head … I shall be all you were, and more!” is a tad melodramatic, although it is at least different from the caption: “Meet the new Death’s Head cyborg”

We begin in an alien landscape: ‘Tyler’s World’. Death’s Head has infiltrated the futuristic fortress of Wilson Tyler, an old acquaintance and his current target. His inner monologue is narrated in the captions as he abandons all subtlety and dives into combat with Tyler’s guards.

After a bloody brawl (during which he manages to lose most of his armour and appears curiously bare), Death’s Head moves for his quarry, silently gloating over the three million bounty:“Think I’ll show Tyler the check before I retire him. That way, even if he gets to heaven, he’ll be jealous and won’t enjoy it.”

Instead he finds another mound of dead bodyguards and Tyler strung up and pleading for his life. The perpetrator is Minion, and he completes the execution by ramming his arm-device into Tyler’s head: “Subject 103 – Tyler, Wilson. Instincts assimilated.”

Death’s Head confronts Minion, who brushes him aside, claiming to have another appointment – “but after him – you’re next!” He teleports away, although Death’s Head has placed a tracking beacon on him.

Minion reappears in a laboratory of Advanced Idea Mechanics, 2020AD. He is a project being developed by Dr Necker, who notes disapprovingly that he is displaying signs of humour and flippancy. Minion quickly teleports off after his next target as Necker reports to the A.I.M board.

We learn that the Minion project – to create a super-warrior with access to over a hundred assimilated personalities – was conceived after A.I.M. had a precognitive warning that some nonspecific threat would destroy the company in the near future. Necker is confident that Minion will be formidable enough to deal with any threat.

Which segues to Minion’s next target: a four-armed brutish alien named Lehdrox. The barbarian is torturing Phaedra, an oracular alien, for information. Minion leaps in and, after some heavy brawling, kills his opponent. “Subject 104 Lehdrox, K’Vant. Instincts assimilated.” As she vanishes, Phaedra thanks her saviour, calling him ‘Death’s Head’. Minion is surprised, but also teleports away. Moments later the actual Death’s Head teleports in, tracking Minion. He has exchanged his usual armour for a trenchcoat and locks onto his quarry’s location.

Back at A.I.M. headquarters, Minion is readying himself for the next jump. Death’s Head bursts through the ceiling and shoots Minion, claiming to want revenge for being cheated of the bounty on Tyler.

Minion reveals that Death’s Head is his next target and charges. He proceeds to tear the mechanoid apart in the space of a page. On his knees and helpless, Death’s Head can only plead “No!” as Minion decapitates him with a “Yes!”

He plunges his blade through the robotic head. “Subject 105 Death’s Head … Instincts assimilated.” Minion suddenly staggers under the force of a systems overload, as the technicians report that something has gone wrong with the implant. Minion recovers and teleports after his next and final target, now with an added inflection to his speech: “I’ll be back, yes?”

Dr Necker panics at this turn of events and resolves to chase after Minion. She takes off most of her clothes (for no obvious reason) and asks the technician to identify the last target. “A human named … Reed Richards.”

Full disclosure: the first time around, I didn’t take much to Death’s Head II, only buying the limited series and a few initial issues of the run. But I haven’t read them since then, so I’m approaching this limited series with fresh eyes.

This is a curious issue, part-introduction and part-handover. The opening is a nice parallel with the original Death’s Head series: the mechanoid stalking through the rafters of a fortress, the captions revealing his dry humour.

Abnett does a very good job of capturing Death’s Head’s character and I enjoyed the deadpan humour of the narration. He uses exclamation marks sparsely – and in comics, where everything seems to get over-punctuated, that helps to set the tone.

Having done so well with the character, it’s a real shame that it’s thrown away by Death’s Head's motives for hunting Minion. One of the cornerstones of his character (from High Noon Tex onwards) was that he never saw any profit in revenge. And yet Abnett has him do exactly that: tracking Minion to avenge the loss of his bounty, charging forward in what proves to be a fatal miscalculation.

What makes this so sloppy is that the motive is unnecessary. There are two other solid reasons why the protagonists must fight: 1) Death’s Head is on Minion’s hit list 2) Minion has threatened him, making a pre-emptive strike perfectly plausible.

It’s difficult to judge Minion’s character at this stage. Beyond a swaggering tough-guy persona, he doesn’t display much of a personality (which, given he has access to 103 of them, is surprising). But the assimilation of Death’s Head is inevitably going to be a significant factor in his development, so I’ll wait and see what comes.

The only other character – Dr Necker – is the one I found the most interesting. Aside from Death’s Head’s abortive revenge trip, she is the only one pursuing a strong motive: to complete the Minion project and prevent a future threat. Even when Minion malfunctions and vanishes, the impetus for the next issue seems to be her chasing after him.

As for the general plotline, it’s basically a series of Minion’s assimilations. Having Death’s Head discover Minion across a heap of newly-slain is a nice way to show his potential danger, yet keep an air of mystery about him (it would have worked better if Death’s Head himself had not just killed a whole bunch of the same bodyguards). The Lehdrox assimilation is an enjoyable enough brawl, although nether combatant had much personality.

During his fight with Death’s Head, Minion revealed that the mechanoid was his next target, as if this was supposed to be a surprise. Of course, everything from the series title, to the hype, to the front cover tells us that one is going to kill the other – not to mention Minion himself pointing this out 10 pages earlier. However, the repetition of “Instincts assimilated.” makes for a nice build-up.

Sharp’s artwork is strong, and owes a lot to the Rob Liefeld-style that emphasises guns, muscles and lots of them (it’s even Liefeld-esque in the avoidance of drawing feet). The detailing is good, and there’s some decent imagination in the alien scenes and characters. The robotic innards are particularly gory, although the colouring doesn’t do much to bring this out. The panels can look very crowded, however, and a lot of the movement postures seem awkward.

In terms of the characters, Death’s Head is rendered well, although his eyes are narrowed and hooded, rather than the traditional round optics and oblong eyebrows. Shedding his traditional cape, back-shield and body armour does make him look much diminished – although perhaps that was the intention. From one page to another, I found the rendering of Necker to be pretty inconsistent (possibly as a consequence of two different inkers).

As for the title character, Minion’s design seems to be a hybrid of Predator and The Alien, with the Terminator-1000’s liquid metal arm and elements of the original Death’s Head thrown in. This certainly conveys a sense of invincible menace, although seems too extra-terrestrial for A.I.M. Also, this invincible cyborg seems extremely advanced technology for just 2020AD. Since time-travel is a given here, maybe the project should have been shunted a few centuries into the future.

The biggest problem I find is that, as Minion’s face is something of a hockey-mask, it’s difficult to express any emotion or reaction through it. Still, if Death’s Head managed with a couple of eyebrows, there’s always hope…

Next week: Round 3 with the Fantastic Four in “Reed Richards Dies Tonight!”