MECHA-SHAN

Real Name: Unrevealed - part of name may be Shan

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-81916) human cyborg

Occupation: Autoduelist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: The Harpies, Randy, Slim, the Vikings, Waucedah Wendigos

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: The Rolling Tiger

Base of Operations: Mobile across the former United States of America

First Appearance: Car Warriors#2 (July 1991)

Powers/Abilities: Mecha-Shan was a cyborg directly connected and built into the body of his heavily armed and armored vehicle, the Rolling Tiger. He had a cyber eye linked to external sensors, and depended on his vehicle to survive, as he only retained most of his head, his upper right torso and his right arm. To feed he had to have food dropped into a hatch on the side of the vehicle, which was then liquidized for him to consume. He had a hatch on the right-hand side of the car which he could extend his remaining human hand out of if needed, such as when he needed to pay to use a toll bridge, but general his body was fully contained, hidden from view and protected by his vehicle's armored exterior.

   The vehicle mounted a concealed variable fire rocket pod with targeting laser and laser guidance link, and a concealed gauss gun, all front, with a concealed Spear 1000 minedropper with proximity fused napalm mines mounted below. There was also a hi-res targeting computer. The Rolling Tiger had a fireproof spoiler, active suspension, heavy duty shocks, heavy duty anti-lock brakes, overdrive and jump jets. The armor was a composite of laser-reflective metal and fireproof plastic, with fireproof component armor around the power plant. It's maximum speed was 120mph, or 140 with overdrive.

  

  

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: (biological) 50 lbs.; (including vehicle) 6,581 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: None

  

 

History:
(Car Warriors#1 - BTS) - In the year 2012 A.D. a grain blight wiped out much of the world's food supply, and the resulting famine triggered societal collapse. Walled fortress towns had sprung up, each one desperately hoarding what food they had from any who might attempt to steal it. The roads between towns became increasingly dangerous, as those driven by desperation to travel were targets for heavily armed raider gangs. By 2023 the former United States of America had suffered Civil War and sundered into several smaller Free States, and by 2037 it had become common for those who still used the roads to both arm and armor their vehicles, and autodueling had become a popular sport.

   In 2037 Fort Delorean on the upper peninsula of the Michigan developed a super grain dubbed Virunella that could beat the blight, but vested interests who were making money controlling the world's remaining food supplies didn't want food to become less scarce, so they did everything they could to make getting any Virunella shipped out of For Delorean. Aware that if they could get one carload to Lansing then the hydroponic labs there could make enough Virunella to seed all the midwest, in 2038 the Deloreans figured the best way to get drivers to take the risk driving five hundred miles of the baddest road in the world was to hold a race with a massive cash prize for the first person to deliver the seed.

 

(Car Warriors#2 (fb) - BTS) - Mecha-Shan was a cyborg who had been built into the body of his vehicle, the heavily-armed Rolling Tiger. He considered the roads his jungle. Hearing of the Delorean run, he decided to participate more to prove himself and let the world know he was the best than for the prize money. He believed it would be his greatest challenge.

 

(Car Warriors#3 (fb) - BTS) - He had a lot of support from the West Coast (see comments).

 

(Car Warriors#2) - While driving along the remains of the US2 east of Troy, Montana two raiders tried to ambush him. Mecha-Shan's computer reported his sensors had detected an incoming explosive projectile, which he easily evaded, and after dodging a couple of further shots he returned fire with a volley of missiles, obliterating them, then continued on his way to Lansing. As he left Michigan and approached his destination he stopped at a diner with a charging station to fuel up, ordering a half hour charge along with three soyaburgers and a chocolate milk shake. When the waitress brought the food out he opened a side hatch and ordered her to drop in all the food together, so it could be blended for his digestion. Curious, the waitress asked him if there was actually anyone inside, and he confirmed there was, stating his mantra "Mecha-Shan is the Rolling Tiger. The Rolling Tiger is Mecha-Shan. We are one." Still intrigued, she asked him if he ever got out or wanted to stretch his legs, so he told her he would show her how he stretched his legs, and sped off at high speed.

 

(Car Warriors#3) - Mecha-Shan joined the other racers at the starting line, with the contestants to go from Lansing to Fort Delorean, where they would load up with Virunella for the actual race on the return leg. His mysterious nature intrigued the news crew commenting on the contest. The drive to Fort Delorean was uneventful, as all the prospective raiders knew that hitting the return run would be far more lucrative. Once at the Fortress town, Mecha-Shan parked up, quietly watching the rivalries and interactions of the other drivers as the milled around their vehicles in the parking area.

 

   After a couple of days to rest and repair, the race began. Local raiders the Waucedah Wendigos managed to eliminate a few vehicles during the first couple of hours, but Mecha-Shan gunned down with ease all that tried to target him. Around hour five of the race an explosion took out the Dollarville Overpass on Highway 23 just as the lead car, driven by Crawdaddy Lapointe was heading across it. He managed to brake in time to avoid going over the newly created drop, but several cars close behind were unable to stop and a huge pile-up slammed some vehicles over the edge while others exploded, leaving the overpass an inferno. Unconcerned and unharmed by the flames, Mecha-Shan drove through the fire at high speed and used his jump-jets to easily clear the gap.

 

   At hour nine Mecha-Shan and many of the other surviving cars reached the Mackinac Bridge and paid the five hundred dollar toll to cross. However, shortly after they crossed and entered Mackinaw City the gathered racers were confronted by the region's most dangerous gang, the Vikings, blocking the road in front of them.

 

(Car Warriors#4) - A running battle ensued as the racers fought to get past or round the Vikings. For Mecha-Shan and the Rolling Tiger the Vikings' bikers proved no challenge, but they also had a tank. Undaunted Mecha-Shan drove straight at the sloped front of the vehicle, racing up it like a ramp as he dropped impact mines and napalm clusters down on it. The tank exploded just after Mecha-Shan cleared it, but the angle of his landing was off, and he crashed nose first into the ground at high speed, causing him to bounce and pinwheel upside down, the Rolling Tiger shattering into fragments leaving the human parts of Mecha-Shan detached from the remnants of his car, separated from his life support mechanisms to rapidly expire on the road.

  

Comments: Created by Chuck Dixon, Steve Dillon and Phil Winslade.

   While any of the other racers might be considered enemies in theory, I've only listed people who attacked him or intended to. Contestants who just tried to outdrive him aren't counted.

   The newscaster in Car Warriors#3 mentions Mecha-Shan has a lot of support from the West Coast. It's unclear if this means he actually had some West Coast backers behind his cybernetic vehicle, or if it was just a lot of fans or bet-makers from that region.

   The race must have taken place in the first couple of months of 2039, as Mecha-Shan was driving there in 2038 in issue#2, but #3 and 4 confirms the year to be 2039. In real life I suspect the writer just lost track of what year had been said in the prior issue, since there's zero mention of either Christmas or New Year.

  "Drive offensively. The right of ways goes to the biggest guns." Car Wars (not Warriors) was a tabletop vehicle combat simulation game originally released by Steve Jackson Games in 1980 (or 1981 - online sources vary). It was inspired by Alan Dean Foster's 1971 short story Why Johnny Can't Speed, in which a grieving father used a heavily armed vehicle to pursue the reckless driver who killed his son. Originally a purely combat game, it didn't take long for roleplaying elements to be added, creating the backstory the comic uses. There were six Car Wars game books released between 1986 and 1987, and a trilogy of novels released in 1992, 1994 and 1999 respectively. As far as I know however, none of the characters depicted in the comic appear in these. Conversely, there's no reason to assume that all these stories don't occur in the same reality. The comic included game stats for some of the vehicles seen in the comic, including Mecha-Shan: The Rolling Tiger.

   This profile was completed on 09/06/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent Car Warriors.

Profile by Loki.


CLARIFICATIONS:
Mecha-Shan has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Car Warriors#2, p4, pan1 (main image, Rolling Tiger)
Car Warriors#2, p4, pan2 (Mecha-Shan)
Car Warriors#4, p9, pan1 (top view of Rolling Tiger)
Car Warriors#4, p10, pan3 (driving up the front of the tank)
Car Warriors#4, p11, pan1 (crash landing)
Car Warriors#4, p11, pan3-5 (dying in the wreckage)
Car Wars game advert
Car Warriors#4, p30, pan1 (game stats for Rolling Tiger)

Appearances:
Car Warriors#2-4 (July-September 1991) - Chuck Dixon (writer), Steve Dillon (pencils), Phil Winslade (inks), Marie Javins (editor)

First Posted: 09/11/2026
Last updated: 09/06/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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