DEATHLOK the DEMOLISHER
Real Name: Luther Manning
Identity/Class: Extradimensional / alternate reality (Earth-7484) human cyborg
Legal Status: Citizen of the USA (Earth-7484), legally dead
Occupation: Adventurer;
former Colonel in the US Army, mercenary assassin, Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent
Group Membership: Formerly CIA, the "Heralds", Project: Alpha-Mech, US Army,
Affiliations:
(Earth-7484) Pelops,
Redeemers, Linc Shane, Lord Tantalus,
Dr. Wilcox,
formerly CIA, Teresa Deveraux,
Godwulf,
Manning, Luther clone-CIA version,
Timestream, Mike Travers
(Earth-616)
Blackwulf (Lucian), Captain America (Steve Rogers),
Daredevil, Deathlok (Michael Collins), Devil-Slayer,
Falcon (Sam Wilson), Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, Professor Louis Kort, Luther Manning,
Mr. Fantastic,
Nth
Command, Peacekeeper, Siege, Stark
International, Thing, Tunnel Dwellers;
formerly the Brand Corporation,
Nth
Command, Roxxon, Harlan Ryker, S.H.I.E.L.D.
(Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division)
(Earth X) Annihilus, Blastaar, Luke Cage, Mac, Monster
Android, Peter Parker, Redwing, Sasquatch, Venom, X-51
(other) formerly the
Bangers, Guardians of the Galaxy,
Justice Peace;
see Heralds
Enemies:
(Earth-7484) Julian Biggs and his men, cannibals, Dr.
Commonhate, "Cubists,"
Death Machine,
Doomsday Mechs, Nina Ferry, Grissom,
Hellinger,
Hugo,
Luther Manning clone-CIA
version,
Luther Manning clone/ Doomsday Mech, mutants,
Omni-Computer, Peters, Red Skull (Johann Shmidt),
Simon Ryker,
Strake,
Timestream,
Trouble-Shooters, War-Wolf, Dr. Wilcox
(Earth-616) Brand Corporation, Bushwacker, Cult of
Vera Gemini,
Devourer (Mayan), Fixer (Paul Norbert Ebersol), Walter Jenkins, King of the Sewers and
his agents, Luther Manning, Mentallo (Marvin
Flumm), Nth Command, Mr. Parker, Roxxon Corporation, Harlan Ryker,
S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate);
formerly Deathlok (Michael Collins), Devil-Slayer, Falcon,
Nick Fury, Impossible Man, Invisible Girl, Cory Payne, President of the United
States (POTUS), Siege, Thing
(Earth X) Celestials, Watchers;
formerly Annihilus, Blastaar, Monster
Android
(other) Bangers, Justice Peace, Satyrnin and her warriors,
Time
Variance Authority
Marital Status: Marriage terminated as Manning is believed to be legally dead
Known Relatives: Janice Manning Travers (former
wife), Richard Manning (son);
Though not related, he might be considered the predecessor of
all of the Deathloks listed under clarifications
Aliases: The Demolisher
Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan (Earth-7484)
Base of Operations: Mobile;
last seen in the sewers on Earth-616;
formerly New York area of Earth-7484;
formerly X-51's moonbase and Attilan, Earth-9997 (Earth X);
Brand Corporation facility, Earth-616
Education: Military academy graduate
First Appearance: Astonishing Tales#25 (August, 1974)
Powers/Abilities: Deathlok's artificial musculature and steel enhanced skeleton grant him enhanced human physical abilities, including strength (he could initially lift 2 tons), speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. He can make a standing high-jump of 20', and a broad jump of 27'. His artificial right hand can crush a revolver, and is durable enough to be punched through a steel door 3-inches thick (provided he is sufficiently braced). He can run at 42 mph. His milli-pore oxygen/waste filtration-enhanced cardiovascular system gives him approximately five times normal human endurance. The reaction center of his computer/brain are about 100,000 times as efficient as a normal human's, giving Deathlok a practical reaction time 20 times as fast as human.
Synthetic bone, muscle, and organs have been surgically joined to the still-functioning remains of his human body. His spine and pelvis, plus the major bones of his legs and arms have been replaced by surgical grade stainless steel (some of which was later replaced with an unidentified metal). His entire right arm is artificial: steel bone, core-less helical motor-driven muscle, and synthetic flesh. Gimballing ball-and-socket joints fill his knee, hip, and shoulder sockets. Ratchet-lockable coiled-springs have been implanted in his legs. His spine has been girdled by articulated flat-springs to reinforce the mechanical coupling of his spine to his pelvis. Half of his skull is replaced by a metal exo-skull. The superficial layer of his skin is composed of long chain polymer with integrated metal-affinity polymer.
His left eye is artificial and has
(had) three
interchangeable optical elements that can be slid into place by cybernetic
command. The first is a 7 power telescopic lens with a 5 degree field of view,
which sees at 1,000 feet what the unaided eye sees at 140 feet. The second is a
30 power microscopic lens which can focus over a range of 3-inches to 27-inches.
The third is an image intensifier in the infra-red region of the spectrum (3,964
Angstrom Units) with a miniature scanning IR laser array that acts like a small
searchlight to enable him to see in total darkness. These optical elements all
focus on a full-color (except while in the infra-red mode which looks like black
and white TV) imaging surface, only 1/4 inch, with a resolution comparable to
his organic eye.
His vocal cords have been replaced by a speech synthesizer,
his left ear by an audio pick-up.
All of his brain but the cerebrum, certain parts of the medulla oblongata, and parts of the hypothalamus, have been removed and replaced by computer micro-chips containing the majority of memories and knowledge possessed by his human brain. When he was first reconstructed, his computer/brain was programmable through a cartridge slot in his right arm. This has since been removed.
Despite his bionic parts. Deathlok is still
subject to certain human limitations and needs. Because his respiratory system
is mostly intact, though enhanced, he still needs to breathe air to oxygenate
his organic parts. He must ingest foodstuffs to nourish his digestive tract and
organic components, and he also must defecate waste products. However, his major
source of power if a small heavily-S.H.I.E.L.D.ed nuclear powered thermo-electric
generator, which is located near his spleen and needs re-fueling every 8.3
years. Because part of his brain is still intact he needs to sleep periodically.
A side-effect of the drug which inhibits his body's immune-system's normal
rejection of non-organic parts is to slow his cell-division rate to the point of
ineffectiveness. As a result, wear and tear, as well as cumulative
cell-rejection of his non-organic parts, will eventually cause major destruction
of his organic parts, necessitating their replacement. His systems were
initially projected
to remain active for 30 years.
He is no longer capable of physical reproduction, as he lacks
both the equipment and the fuel.
He is of gifted intellect and is a
brilliant military strategist and formidable hand-to-hand combatant, being
proficient with knives, daggers, handguns, and laser pistols. His own knowledge,
skills, and thought processes are computer augmented; these are integrated to
the point that volition is often the result of computer heuristic algorithms
rather than conscious free will. He has advanced computer-enhanced hunches
(statistical interpretation of seemingly unrelated phenomenon) and pattern
recognition. Despite this, his thoughts also exist independent of the computer
system, effectively granting him two personalities. While the computer can make
recommendations and perform advanced functions at his request, Manning's mind
almost uniformly remains in control of Deathlok's actions and functions.
Nonetheless, Manning maintains an antagonistic attitude towards the computer,
generally responding to it with hostility.
Initially, Deathlok had a third personality, which seemed
almost to manifest his id, as stream of consciousness ramblings. This was
eventually revealed to be an implant placed by Simon Ryker, which served as a
bug to track his position.
His costume is composed of woven metal-mesh
of considerable durability. He is traditionally armed with a portable 150
watt/second helium-neon laser pistol, with a 1/2 inch exit beam capable of
boring through 1/2 inch stainless steel in 1 second. He also carries a 9"
throwing dagger, which is magnetized to stick to his leg.
At one point Deathlok possessed one of Godwulf's Time
Gauntlet's enabling him to travel through time. It is not know whether he still
possesses this, or whether it still works.
Over time, Deathlok underwent significant
modification. He is probably somewhere between Class 10-25 strength. Certain
parts wore down and/or became nonfunctional, requiring replacement. Some, if not
all, of the steel in his body has been replaced with a metal that could not be
identified by Earth-616 scientists of the modern era. For a time he could
generate jet thrust from his feet to fly.
Later in his life, he had modular limbs, easily replaced when
damaged. His left hand is usually replaced a a bladed, ballistic, or
energy-discharging weapon, and some of the units can even morph into other
forms. At some point following his Earth X adventures, his computer systems
became inactive.
Height: 6'4" Weight: 600 lbs. (see comments) Eyes: (organic) Brown, (artificial) red Hair: Gray-brown
Distinguishing Features: Much of his body is composed of armored cybernetic implants. The remainder of his organic body is composed of slowly decaying flesh, which gives off a rotting odor.
History: Deathlok is from a divergent Earth (Earth-7484).
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok)
- Luther Manning enlisted in the US army.
This occurred in the late 1970's A.D. of the Earth-7484 reality
(or, if the dates are topical, @ 4-6 years prior to Operation: Purge) .
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - Manning rapidly rose through the ranks to become colonel.
(Captain America I#288 (fb) - BTS) - Roxxon's Nth Command succeeded in
Operation: Purge, banishing all of the super-heroes to extradimensional realms
where most, if not all, were instantly killed.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Red Skull secretly funded and
directed Roxxon's Nth Command in these efforts.
This occurred in 1983 A.D. of the Earth-7484 reality, and it
represents the point of divergence from Earth-616
(or, if the dates are topical, @ 4-6 years after
Manning joined the army)
(Captain America I#288 (fb) - BTS) - Roxxon then staged a coup on the USA, which resulted in mass chaos and no clear victor.
(Captain America I#288 (fb) - BTS) - War broke out in the Middle East, followed by more wars across the globe.
(Astonishing Tales I#35 (fb) / (Captain America I#288 (fb)) -
BTS) - Explosions from an unknown
source destroyed Manhattan and a dozen other American cities. Ryker had most of the people of Manhattan relocated
to Long Island, which became the new metropolis.
It is unclear whether more people were killed in the initial
blast or in the emergency mass evacuation.
(Captain America I#288 (fb)) - BTS) - Eventually the military wrested control of the chaos in the USA, but violence still continued on a massive level and their control remained tenuous. A number of separate factions struggled for control, including the CIA and other splinter groups.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe
Edition#3: Deathlok) - Together, Harlan (Hellinger) and Simon Ryker
spear-headed Project: Alpha-Mech, designed to build armies of cyborg
super soldiers. The Project was under the direction of the CIA, and
performed with the aid of major contractor Rockwell International,
Manned Armor Division; IBM Corp; Federal Systems Division; BASF Corp.
Though employed in this endeavor by the CIA, each of the
Rykers had their own agenda; Simon wished to use the cyborgs to take control of
the USA (and then the world). Hellinger, however, saw perfection in the cyborg
form, in contrast to the chaos of humanity. He planned to use the army of these
warriors, whom he referred to as Homo Ascendant, to exterminate humanity, and
replace it with semi-lobotomized cyborgs under his control. This would rid the
world of the chaos and "shades of gray" he hated, and replace it with a species
which worshipped order.
(Astonishing Tales I#35 (fb)) - Project: Alpha-Mech established the body-banks, where all organic waste was recycled.
(Astonishing Tales#27 (fb)) - During a war-games training session, Col. Luther Manning shared his frustrations with his friend and fellow soldier Mike Travers. They were visited by Captain Simon Ryker (see comments), who punished them for their irreverence by sending them into war maneuvers without helmet or gear.
(Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#27 (fb)) - While on the obstacle course, Mike Travers saved Luther Manning's life from a bomb.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) - BTS) - Ten minutes later, however, Luther Manning had half of his face and all of his right arm blown off by a concussion bomb.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #2 (fb) - BTS) - Manning lost his "best friend" during the war.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS) - Wishing to preserve Manning's knowledge and experience, Simon Ryker chose him to be part of Project: Alpha-Mech in the event that he did not survive surgery.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)) - Luther Manning died on the
operating table, but, as per Simon Ryker's orders, the doctors kept a portion of
his brain alive. As the doctors pronounced him dead, they raised their
objections to Simon Ryker, who threatened them with court martial if they
continued to complain.
This occurred in 1985 A.D. of the Earth-7484 reality (or,
if the dates are topical, @ 2 years after Operation: Purge).
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS - not in this issue that I see) - Manning was left in stasis for five years, part of Project: Alpha-Mech's body-banks, while his wife and friends were told he was dead.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)
/ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - Harlan Ryker was part of a quartet of scientists and
surgeons (Jim, two others; ?Dr. Wilcox? and two others) to convert Manning into the cyborg warrior Deathlok the Demolisher.
The process took weeks complete.
This occurred in 1990 A.D. of the Earth-7484 reality (or,
if the dates are topical, @ 7 years after Operation: Purge).
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok - BTS) - Hellinger took Project: Alpha-Mech and broke away from the military. Hellinger continued to advance his process, converting himself into a cyborg. He also continued advancing his Alpha-Mechs.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)) - Simon Ryker, alongside Nina Ferry, oversaw Deathlok's training.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok demonstrated tendencies toward rebellion against his built-in computer; in his last two missions, he four times disregarded programmed orders, once defied a direct order, and twice acted counter to programming.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS / Astonishing Tales#26 (fb) - BTS) - Simon Ryker had Deathlok brought in for examination and questioning. After receiving injectable sedation under Peters' direction, Deathlok was placed in a power siphon.
(Marvel Fanfare I#4/2) - In an effort to restore their control over Deathlok, a group of scientists, including Hugo and Dr. Commonhate, subjected him to illusions of his past existence, including his wife Janice and his former pet Collie. He resisted the illusions, becoming more angry with Ryker and his men for using his cherished memories against him.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)) - Alongside Peters, Ryker
prepared to question Deathlok regarding the nature and reasons for his
rebellion.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb)) - Although Peters assured Ryker that Deathlok was heavily sedated and would be helpless, they were both very surprised to hear Manning's voice, revealing that his personality had reasserted itself and taken control of Deathlok's form. Deathlok then reversed the flow of the power siphon, enabling him to break free from the restraints and escape.
(Astonishing Tales#26 (fb)) - In the process of escaping,
Deathlok smashed Simon Ryker's head into a computer panel, knocking loose a
panel in the back of Simon Ryker's own cyborg head. Deathlok found Mike Travers,
who showed him that he was still being programmed by the card Ryker had
implanted in his forearm. Deathlok destroyed the card and escaped in a
helicopter with Travers, and Ryker swore vengeance on the both of them.
Deathlok was initially somewhat enamored of his new form until Mike revealed to him how he had actually died and been reanimated by technology. When they landed the helicopter, cannibals swarmed over them, while agents of Ryker then escaped with Mike aboard the helicopter.
(Astonishing Tales#25 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok became a
mercenary, hoping to earn enough money to pay to have his brain transplanted
into a normal human form.
Deathlok took a contract from Julian Biggs to kill Curtis Giles and his associate. Unbeknownst to Deathlok, Simon Ryker was Biggs' immediate superior, and Ryker believed the two men to merely be out to stop Project: Alpha Mech.
Deathlok and Simon Ryker were both unaware that Biggs was an agent of Hellinger, and that the two men were two of the trio who had aided Hellinger in the construction of the Deathlok cyborg (when was this revealed?).
(Astonishing Tales#25) - Deathlok killed Curtis Giles and his associate then sought out Biggs, surprising him by knowing his base's location, and then killing several of his enforcers when they tried to stop him from directly confronting Biggs. Deathlo similarly fought his way past Biggs' security devices. Upon being confronted, Biggs refused to pay him, and Deathlok attacked him, battering him into pieces and revealing him to be another cyborg (or just a robot). Simon Ryker then taunted him, transmitting through Biggs' form, and telling him the men he killed were out to stop Project: Alpha-Mech. Ryker told him he would never allow him to have a brain transplant (to return to human form).
(Astonishing Tales#26) - Deathlok traced the helicopter that had abducted Mike Travers to a storehouse for black market meat. There he defeated (and possibly killed) a sniper (possibly Peters, and certainly one of Ryker's agents who had abducted Mike) who attacked him, after which he fought his way into the storehouse and overpowered Ryker's agents, forcing them to reveal that Travers was being held in the Statue of Liberty. Traveling there, he defeated more of Ryker's agents and broke into a cell, which contained Simon Ryker and his cyborg warrior War-Wolf, whom Ryker then claimed was Travers.
(Astonishing Tales#27) - Ryker set the War-Wolf on Deathlok, who found himself unable to fight back against what he believed was his best friend. As a result, Deathlok was pummeled, and War-Wolf yanked Deathlok's vital life-line from his body. When Deathlok's defeat seemed imminent, Ryker revealed that War-Wolf was not actually Travers, and also lied again, telling Deathlok that Travers had died in the process of trying to turn him into a cyborg. Angered by this insult, Deathlok rallied and destroyed the War-Wolf, though they both fell from the statue in the process.
Though weakened by the energy leeched from his lifeline,
Deathlok was pleased to learn that the third voice in his head, the
stream-of-consciousness one, had been removed in the process; his computer
system revealed that voice to have been an implant used by Ryker to trace him,
and the computer had then neutralized it.
Deathlok then returned to his former house to tell his wife, Janice, that he was still alive, but he fled after realizing that she didn't believe him and thought he was only a monster. Devastated, Deathlok left Janice (along with the son he had never seen) and tried to kill himself with his laser gun, but crushed the gun after finding that his computer prevented him from killing himself.
(Astonishing Tales#28) - Disgusted with his entire existence, Deathlok tore the flag insignia from his costume. Salvaging a number of firearms from an armory in the park, Deathlok wandered around the rubble that used to be he and Janice's favorite spots. Eventually he was attacked by a group of cannibals, and he took out of his frustrations on them, beating them savagely. After they all had fallen he was confronted by a tank (actually the "Death-Machine, cybernetically directed via Nina Ferry, controlled by the Omni-Computer; during his battle against it, Deathlok encountered Linc Shane, a revolutionary opposing Ryker, who had assumed Deathlok to still be Ryker's agent. However, as they were both in jeopardy from the tank's assaults, Deathlok and Linc teamed up to escape it. Eventually they were cornered against the Northern wall of the city.
(Astonishing Tales#30) - Deathlok protected Linc from the
tank, but as just as they had nearly escaped, Linc was slain by other agents of
Ryker, the Trouble-Shooters. Deathlok went after the killers, but was again
forced to flee before the tank. The Trouble-Shooters pursued him as well, but he
eventually dropped them all. In addition, he fashioned a crossbow out of
scrap material and launched a girder into the tank, destroying it.
Meanwhile, Mike Travers escaped from Ryker's cell and began
tracking down Deathlok.
(Astonishing Tales#31) - Travers caught up to Deathlok, but their reunion was brief once Travers revealed that he had married Janice after Luther Manning had been declared dead. Deathlok stopped short of killing Travers, but told him that he would kill him if he ever saw him again. Deathlok then followed a helicopter, intending to steal it, and he walked in on criminals killing Summers, an agent of Quartuccio, who allegedly held the final living surgeon who had created Deathlok. Deathlok killed (or severely injured) the criminals, but the leader of the group took off in the helicopter.
(Astonishing Tales#32) - Deathlok shot out the helicopter's stabilizer blades, causing it to crash, though softly enough for the pilot to survive. However, by the time Deathlok caught up to the fleeing criminal, he had already been killed. Deathlok fought his killers, lobotomized human drones, eventually knocking out a support beam and collapsing the subway on them when they threatened to overpower him by weight of numbers. Deathlok opened the briefcase the criminal had carried and found it filled with counterfeit money.
(Astonishing Tales#33) - Deathlok repaired the downed helicopter and used its pre-programmed destination to head towards Long Island, to one of Simon Ryker's estates. There he first met Harlan Ryker (Hellinger), who claimed to be Simon's prisoner and to be dying of radiation poisoning, as well as Hellinger's Luther Manning clone. Harlan revealed himself to be the surgeon who had created Deathlok (though he didn't tell him that he was the mastermind, and that the third surgeon Deathlok had been seeking was another man altogether). Hellinger also told Deathlok that he had been secretly assisting him, and that Simon's prisoner, Nina Ferry, was the key to Ryker's destruction (though Michael Travers had already freed Nina). Hellinger showed Deathlok his arsenal of advanced weaponry, from which Deathlok picked a new laser pistol. Hellinger convinced Deathlok to strap a briefcase containing a bomb to his wrist, promising it would be released from him upon reaching the base of the Provisional Revolutionary Army, where Travers was allegedly being held. Upon overpowering some of the Army and reaching the castle, however, the cable failed to release, leaving Deathlok stuck with the bomb with only a few seconds until detonation.
(Astonishing Tales#34) - As time ran out, Deathlok shoved his
cybernetic arm (and the bomb and briefcase it held) through an armored door; it
exploded and destroyed his arm, incapacitating, but not killing him. Wearing an
exoskeleton, Mike Travers carried Deathlok to CIA headquarters, where his arm
was rebuilt (and he was further restored from the injuries he had suffered
battling War-Wolf). Teresa Devereaux, head of the CIA, introduced herself, and,
after some argument (and some control programming), Deathlok agreed to work with
them against Simon Ryker. Deathlok then flew another helicopter to Ryker's base,
where he overpowered Ryker's men and confronted Ryker himself. Ryker's body was
inert due to his mind being transferred into the city-wide Omni-Computer, and
Deathlok was introduced to another Luther Manning clone, this one containing the
mind of Dr. Wilcox, the last of the three surgeons to have worked on Deathlok.
After assaulting Ryker's form and being nearly destroyed by
defense mechanisms, Deathlok coerced Wilcox / Luther Manning clone to hook
Deathlok up to the Omni-Computer, too. There he was confronted by the virtually
all-powering Simon Ryker, now the Saviour Machine.
Meanwhile, Hellinger prepared to transform his Luther Manning
clone into the first of the Doomsday-Mechs.
(Astonishing Tales#35) - Ryker explained the reasons for his actions, but Deathlok saw him for the paranoid control-freak that he was. The two battled, but Wilcox then transferred them both back out of cyberspace and into the real world. Initially Ryker and Deathlok's minds were swapped, but this was rapidly reversed, though Ryker was driven insane by the rapid series of changes his mind had been forced to endure. The CIA arrived and stopped Deathlok from killing Ryker. With his CIA mission accomplished, Deathlok was able to remove the programming circuitry the CIA had implanted. Deathlok intended to leave the group behind until they revealed Hellinger's continued threat, as his Doomsday-Mech made its way to CIA headquarters to kill them. In addition, they showed him that Wilcox's mind was being rejected from the Luther Manning clone, and they prepared to transfer Deathlok's mind into the clone, restoring him to human form. However, while the clone gained the original Manning's mind, the process had merely copied it, and Deathlok continued to exist, unchanged.
(Astonishing Tales#36) - The Doomsday-Mech attacked CIA headquarters, assaulting the Manning clone, and Deathlok attacked it.
(Astonishing Tales II#36 - BTS / Marvel Spotlight#33 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf clandestinely caused the Doomsday-Mech to vanish before it could destroy Deathlok.
(Astonishing Tales#36 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok apparently agreed to continue to work for the CIA, who designed an Exact Medical Replica (EMR) of him, which was linked to the original's cyborg functions. With this they intended to monitor his systems for failure while he was out on assignment.
(Marvel Team-Up I#46) - While seeking to take out the mutants and cannibals who had been running rampant since Ryker's downfall, Deathlok encountered the time-traveling Spider-Man of Earth-616. Seeing Deathlok preparing to fire on a group of seemingly normal people, Spider-Man (of course) assumed Deathlok to be the villain and stopped him from shooting them. The mutants ("The Cubists") then attacked them both, and Spider-Man and Deathlok had to team-up to survive their assault. After the mutants left, Spider-Man and Deathlok were attacked by Strake and Grissom, a pair of snipers who still served Ryker. Spider-Man was less than pleased when Deathlok slew the snipers, but they were then confronted by the regrouped "Cubists." The two made short work of the unorganized mutants, after which Spider-Man used the time machine to head back to Earth-616.
(Astonishing Tales#36) - Deathlok went out on assignment to locate remaining agents of Simon Ryker within the former New York subway system. These men had no idea Ryker was no longer active. While Deathlok fought them, he was joined by Godwulf, who used the subways as his base to oppose and sabotage the efforts of Ryker, etc.
(Astonishing Tales#36 / Marvel Spotlight I#33 / Marvel
Two-In-One#27 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok attempted to follow Godwulf to learn more
about him, but Godwulf transported him across time and dimensions back to
Earth-616, before Operation: Purge had occurred, to briefly hide and protect him from Hellinger.
When Deathlok was transported out of the Earth-7484
dimension, his contact with the EMR was severed, and the CIA, as well as the
Luther Manning clone, believed him to have died.
(Marvel Spotlight I#33) - Deathlok arrived at New Grace Hospital, where he was mistaken for a demon by Devil-Slayer, who attacked him. Deathlok fought back, meeting resistance also from agents of Vera Gemini's Cult (disguised as hospital workers). He also encountered Cory Payne, whom he briefly mistook for his own lost wife, Janice. Eventually Devil-Slayer transported them both into a pocket dimension and assaulted Deathlok with an anti-matter mace. Deathlok convinced Devil-Slayer that he was not a demon, and the two returned to Earth, where they were assaulted by the Cultists. Teaming up, they drove off the Cultists, after which Deathlok was pulled through time again.
(Marvel Spotlight I#33 / Marvel Two-In-One#27 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf attempted to return Deathlok to his proper time almost immediately thereafter. However, this plan backfired, since Hellinger had monitored Godwulf's displacement of Deathlok. Not knowing exactly who Godwulf was or what his motivations were, Hellinger decided to return Deathlok to his proper time to find out. Independently, Godwulf also attempted to return Deathlok to his proper time. Neither got Deathlok, since the modern era Earth-616 villain Mentallo learned of Deathlok's existence by eavesdropping on Spider-Man's thoughts, and his partner the Fixer used a Doctor Doom-style time machine to bring Deathlok back to the modern era of Earth-616. Godwulf lost track of Deathlok due to this.
(Marvel Two-In-One#26) - Deathlok appeared before the Fixer and Mentallo as they opposed the Thing and Nick Fury.
(Marvel Two-In-One#27) - The Fixer and Mentallo duped Deathlok
into assaulting the Thing and Fury. They then brought Deathlok back to their
base, where they managed to implant a control device that to override Deathlok's
own computer brain. They then sent him to assassinate the incoming President of the
United States (POTUS) at his inauguration. Though unable to resist his
programming, Deathlok decided to come out of hiding and attack the POTUS in
plain site so that the heroes might be able to stop him. He shot the POTUS with
a control device, after which the Thing and the Invisible Girl defeated him
(though he only fought back hard enough that the heroes might be forced to kill
him). However, Reed Richards had summoned the Impossible Man to impersonate the
POTUS (aided by some make-up), and the device had had no effect on him.
The Fixer refused to remove his control device from Deathlok.
(Marvel Two-In-One#28 (fb) - BTS) - S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division)'s scientists failed to disengage the Fixer's mind-control device from Deathlok's cerebral cortex.
(Marvel Two-In-One#28 (fb) - BTS) - Stark International's scientists failed to disengage the Fixer's mind-control device from Deathlok's cerebral cortex.
(Marvel Two-In-One#28) - Reed Richards failed to disengage the mind-control device as well. He then sent the Thing to bring Deathlok to Professor Louis Kort, London's foremost specialist in both cybernetics and bio-genetics. Their initial efforts were interrupted by an attack by the Piranha.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#30 - BTS) - Kort worked his hardest to save Deathlok.
(Marvel Two-In-One I#31 - BTS) - Kort saved Deathlok from dying, though Deathlok had to remain in a capsule for another 60 days.
(Marvel Two-In-One#34) - Professor Kort successfully freed Deathlok from the control device, though he was still left in a stupor. S.H.I.E.L.D. then arrived and took Deathlok into their possession.
(Marvel Two-In-One#54 (fb) - BTS / Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Deathlok was stolen from a S.H.I.E.L.D. depot by agents of Roxxon.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok / Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Deathlok was placed under the supervision of Earth-616's Harlan Ryker at Brand Corporation, an agent of Roxxon's Department M (for "Mutagenics"). Based on Deathlok's systems, Ryker built an entirely robotic simulacrum of Deathlok.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - Ryker's robot was turned over to Roxxon's Nth Command for testing.
(Marvel Two-In-One#53 - BTS) - Less than a month later, Thomas Lightner proceeded with Operation: Berserker, sending the Deathlok robot to assault the Thing to prevent him from interfering with their Nth Command efforts within Project: PEGASUS.
(Marvel Two-In-One#54 - BTS) - The Deathlok robot attacked the Thing, but was forced to flee when Quasar and other security agents approached. Within Project: PEGASUS' "Pit" (where federal energy project's radioactive materials were stored and contained for eventual disposal), the Deathlok robot began construction of a Nth Projector, but as Quasar approached he was forced to attack him to prevent the device's discovery. The Thing soon arrived alongside other security agents; faced with defeat and capture, the Deathlok robot activated its self-destruct mode, containing an explosive device. Quasar shattered the robot, and the robot further terminated its own remains to prevent them from searching its programming.
(Captain America I#286 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok) - Ryker continued to work on the original Deathlok, restoring to fully functional status and reprogramming him to serve them.
(Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Ryker and his team began working on a Deathlok cyborg of their own. Rather than merely duplicate the existing version, they studied its systems and began working on improvements.
(Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Once reassigned to Cybertek, Ryker utilized existing technical advancement data to design his own Deathlok cyborg. This cyborg was later activated by the mind of John Kelly, and later Michael Collins.
(Captain America I#288 (fb)) - Nth Command stepped up their plans for Operation: Purge, intending to use Deathlok the Demolisher in their assault on Washington.
(Captain America#288 (fb) - BTS) - Godwulf was approached by the CIA created Luther Manning clone (the one with Deathlok's memories and computer link-up). The clone stated that he theorized that Deathlok might still be alive in another era. Godwulf believed him.
(Captain America I#286) - Godwulf sent the surviving Luther Manning clone back and across time to Earth-616, just days before Operation: Purge. Manning tracked Deathlok to the seemingly abandoned Brand Corporation facility, where he was observed and joined by Captain America. The two invaded the facility, but Deathlok then appeared and shot the Manning clone through the chest.
(Captain America I#287) - Deathlok overpowered Captain America, but he was then drawn to the dying Manning clone; upon contact, the clone restored Deathlok's memories. Deathlok then turned on the Brand Corporation agents, freeing Captain America and then blowing up the facility. After burying the clone, Deathlok returned to the New York subways to be picked up by Godwulf's transport device, and Captain America dove through the portal as well, both arriving in Earth-7484 at Deathlok's base.
(Captain America I#288) - After Captain America was caught up on the history of
Earth-7484, they met up with Godwulf's Redeemers and prepared for an assault on
Hellinger to stop his plans to destroy all humanity and replace them with his
Homo Ascendant Doomsday Mechs. Captain America convinced Deathlok that he could
be the symbol to rally the people of his world to a better existence. Captain
America, Deathlok, Godwulf, and the Redeemers assaulted Hellinger's base. Only
Captain America and Deathlok made it to confront Hellinger, who used his power
to control robots to make Deathlok attack Cap. Still, Deathlok's humanity
resisted Hellinger; he had only delivered a stun blast to Captain America, and
he turned on Hellinger, blasting him repeated through the chest, destroying him.
Godwulf and his Redeemers then rejoined them, and they made
an alliance with Deathlok to help rebuild their world.
This occurred in 1993 A.D. of the Earth-7484 reality (or,
if the dates are topical, @ 10 years after Operation: Purge).
(Captain America I#289 - BTS) - Captain America returned to Earth-616, where he foiled Nth Command, preventing Operation: Purge from occurring in his reality.
(Deathlok II#32 (fb)) - Godwulf led Deathlok
and the Redeemers on a mission to oppose Timestream, a foreign
monarch, who was at the time unidentified to all others involved.
They successfully destroyed his command center (from which he had
launched his cyber-tank army), but all of the Redeemers were
killed in the struggle. Deathlok and Godwulf were the only ones
to make it out alive on their side. Timestream survived as well
The retaliation for this mission led to massive nuclear attacks
from three sides. After learning that Godwulf had been
withholding information from the others, Deathlok separated from
Godwulf.
(Daredevil I#336 (fb) - BTS) - Lord Tantalus of Earth-7484 was soundly defeated and rehabilitated for the good of his people. Pelops was still alive in that reality, as well.
(Daredevil I#337 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok fought beside Tantalus "in a world that didn't deserve the service we gave it."
(Marvel Fanfare II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok failed to lead his people to a better future.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok learned that the Red Skull had directed the re-creation of the Nth Command's technology, leading them to a second attempt at Operation: Purge in Earth-616.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1) - Deathlok traveled back to Earth-616, outside the Brand Corporation facility, but his arrival was detected by S.H.I.E.L.D., whose agents investigated and confronted him. He prepared to attack them to prevent them from interfering with his mission, but his systems suddenly shot down, and he was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
(Daredevil I#336 (fb) - BTS) - While in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, the Demolish periodically ranted aloud about his past life. These were recorded and saved in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. Amongst this information was his past involvement with Lord Tantalus and Pelops of his reality.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1 (fb) - BTS) - S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, led by Mr. Parker, seized control of Manning's brain, keeping Deathlok inert aboard their Helicarrier, while they performed numerous repairs and upgraded his technology, though they did find certain metals and components that they could not identify.
(Marvel Fanfare II#1) - Deathlok regained control of his
systems and broke free, armed with new jet boots and other weapons added by
S.H.I.E.L.D.. He broke free from the Helicarrier, defeating the Falcon and other
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process. Meanwhile, Justice Peace (an agent of the
Time Variance Authority) met with Captain America, convincing him to stop
Deathlok from changing certain conditions. Captain America teamed up with the
Falcon and confronted Deathlok back at the Brand facility. Deathlok fought to
destroy the Purge technology present there, but Cap and the Falcon obstructed
his progress until he convinced them of what he was trying to do.
Justice Peace arrived just before Deathlok revealed the Red
Skull's involvement in Operation: Purge, and Captain America revealed that the
Red Skull had been killed in Earth-616 and was no longer a threat (he got
better, of course). With the Purge technology destroyed, Captain America and the
Falcon convinced Justice Peace not to kill Deathlok, but to instead return him
to his own reality. Justice Peace warned him that his reality's Red Skull was
still alive and active.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #1 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok was
recruited by X-51,the Machine Man of Earth-9997 (a.k.a. Earth X), and taken to
X-51's reality.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #1) - On the moon in X-51's reality, Deathlok was
introduced to the robot's other "Heralds", likewise recruited from other
timelines: Hyperion (Earth designator unknown), Spider-Girl (Earth designator
unknown), Killraven (Earth-691?), Bloodstorm (Earth-1298?/Earth Mutant X), and
Iron Man (Earth-8410/ Earth 2020). The final recruit was Logan, the Wolverine
from Earth-811 (Days of Future Past); as Deathlok was introduced to him, 'Puter
annoyed it's cyborg host when it made a negative comment regarding the mutant.
X-51 explained to his recruits about how the Celestials of
this reality had created superhumans as anti-bodies to protect Celestial Eggs
within planets, with the Watchers overseeing their development, and that the egg
within this Earth (Earth X) had been destroyed. Then the robot espoused his
belief that alternate realities had been created by the manipulations of
Mephisto, seeking to avoid final judgment at the end of time, and that all the
other Earths were thus still endangered by their own Celestial Eggs; he had
brought the
diverse heroes there to send them to warn those other Earths of this threat.
Deathlok's 'Puter continued to make comments distracting him from the briefing,
but he went along with X-51's plan to send them to other timelines to warn the
Reed Richards native to those worlds.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #2 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok agreed to aid X-51 in exchange for X-51's promise to silence the computer that continually tormented his thoughts.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #1) - Deathlok was paired with Killraven and sent to a world ruled by the tyrannical Satyrnin, a hostile world where only those trained for war might survive long enough to carry out the mission. Within seconds of arrival, the pair were attacked by the tyrant's guards. The two heroes opened fire, though Deathlok commented that 'Puter recommended they surrender in order to be taken to Satyrnin. Killraven replied to this suggestion by asking the cyborg when he had last surrendered. "Never"; and the two heroes continued shooting.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #2) - Deathlok and Killraven
surrendered to Satyrnin's forces, and they revealed to her the reason for their
visit. However, as the Celestial Egg wouldn't threaten her world for another
1000 years, she was unconcerned with it; in fact, she was mostly just interested
in romancing Killraven.
Deathlok and the other "Heralds" (except Killraven) were
brought back to the moon of Earth-9997, where the other Watchers had arrived,
intending to execute Uatu for having revealed the existence of the Celestial
Egg, which had resulted in the Heralds' mission.
(Paradise X: The Heralds #3) - Guided by X-51, Uatu unwittingly showed the Heralds (joined by Killraven) how they could save their own worlds from the Celestial Eggs. When the Watchers prepared to take action against Uatu, the Monoliths transported the Watchers to all of the alternate Earths containing Celestial Eggs, which made the natives of those realms aware of the Celestial Eggs, which essentially ensured that humanity would eventually destroy these Eggs. X-51 then brought the Heralds to Attilan, promising to grant each of their wishes in turn.
(Paradise X#1) - Deathlok was present alongside the other Heralds on Earth X as Spider-Girl's wish was fulfilled by bringing her to meet that world's Peter Parker. However, Spider-Girl unwittingly attacked Earth X's Venom, assuming her to be a villain.
(Paradise X#2) - Deathlok watched as Spider-Man broke up the fight between Venom and Spider-Girl. Learning the truth, the two girls embraced, after which Spider-Girl revealed that in her reality she was the daughter of the Spider-Man clone.
(Paradise X#3) - Deathlok and the other Heralds attended the wedding of King Britain to the Inhumans' Medusa, where Bloodstorm met up with Earth X's Storm, who agreed to a blood transfusion to cure her vampirism.
(Paradise X#6) - Deathlok accompanied the Heralds as they arrived outside of the Baxter Building while Redwing battled Annihilus, Blastaar, and the Monster Android. Things escalated into a battle against the Guardians of the Galaxy as well. Meanwhile, Wolverine confronted the Wolverine of Earth X, detailing their "origins" (or the freaky, weirdo Earth X version, which is the goofiest thing in a whole goofy series. Maybe true for Earth X (an alternate Earth), not true for the Days of Future Past (a divergent Earth)). The Heralds' Wolverine joined with Earth X's Peter Parker, Venom, and Luke Cage in bringing the fight to a halt, capturing both the Negative Zoners and the Guardians.
(Paradise X#7) - Reed Richards prepared to try to resolve two
major problems; he sought to restore death to Earth X in a controlled fashion,
to end the existence of those suffering in constant agony. At the same time,
souls who passed from Earth X were sent into "Paradise" in the Negative Zone of
that reality, which expanded the anti-matter core of the Negative Zone and
threatened its inhabitants' existence. Reed plotted to slow the expansion of
Paradise via Pym Particles, and he organized an army, including the Heralds,
Guardians, and Negative Zoners, plus
Peter Parker, Venom, Luke Cage, Mac, Redwing, and Sasquatch.
However, Earth X's Mephisto released Jude the Entropic Man,
sending him out to the world to kill all he encountered.
(Paradise X#8) - Narrowly escaping Jude, Reed gathered his army (even further expanded), and they prepared to invade the Negative Zone.
(Paradise X#9) - X-51 summoned Deathlok back to his moonbase, where the robot told him the origins of the Earth X Ghost Rider (Blaze), after which he showed him a new body which could be his.
(Paradise X#10) - X-51 continued to reveal the history of Earth X to Deathlok until the Guardians of the Galaxy, alongside Killraven and Iron Man 2020, returned. Killraven was sent back to his reality, satisfied by the history of the Guardians, which told him that at least in one reality Earth would be liberated from the Martian Masters. Iron Man 2020 intended to travel to the Guardians future (which was before the Badoon had been defeated), where he would use radiation to push humanity towards mass mutation so that they could more easily overthrow the Badoon.
(see comments)
(Deathlok II#32 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok's computer crashed, leaving him without any of its scanning capacities, etc.
(Deathlok II#29/2) - At some point, he gave up the alias of Deathlok, calling himself only the Demolisher from then on.
(Deathlok II#29/2) - The Demolisher pursued a pair of
scavengers who attempted to steal his pack. He crippled them and left them
behind for the cannibals to feed on. He was then confronted by Timestream, who
promised to restore his humanity and his world to him. Before the Demolisher
could respond, Timestream pulled him through a temporal portal. Neither man
realized that they had battled on opposite sides in the conflict that led to the
massive nuclear war years before.
These events occurred in 2011 A.D. in the Earth-7484
reality (or, if the dates are topical, @ 28 years after Operation: Purge).
(Deathlok II#29/2) - Timestream's return to Earth-7484 triggered a timeflux that was discovered by Godwulf.
(Deathlok II#31) - The Demolisher was introduced to a number
of Timestream's cyborg warriors (the Bangers), including Luther Manning of
Earth-616, within whom Timestream had generated a temporal warp that had morphed
him into a duplicate of the original Deathlok the Demolisher's form. Timestream
tricked the Demolisher (though he remained skeptical) into believing that this
altered Luther was the Demolisher's own past self. After Timestream demonstrated
his power by turning one of his cyborg's back into her fully human form and
altering her memories, the Demolisher agreed to join Timestream.
Pursuing Timestream's goal of preventing Captain America from
stopping Operation: Purge, the Demolisher joined Timestream, Manning-616, and
the Bangers in traveling into the past of Earth-616, as Captain America and the
Luther Manning clone approached the Brand facility (@ Captain America I#286).
They intended to replace the original Deathlok the Demolisher with Manning-616,
who would then be pulled forward to Earth-7484 to confront Godwulf.
(Deathlok II#32) - Godwulf led Deathlok (Michael Collins) and
Siege to stop Timestream, the Demolisher, etc., from interfering with the past
of Earth-616. Collins tore off the Demolisher's right arm, and Timestream was
forced to lead his agents away to plot anew. The Demolisher rebuilt himself from
the other damaged or dead cyborgs, but since he didn't fully trust Timestream,
he was reluctant to tell him the rendezvous location from which Godwulf would
pull Deathlok forward to Earth-7484 (@ Captain America I#287). The
Demolisher eventually convinced himself that aiding Timestream might restore all
of his allies who fell in the past wars, and so he directed him to the Fordham
Road Subway Station.
Again, however, Godwulf, Deathlok (Collins), and Siege
thwarted Timestream's plot. Manning ambushed and defeated Siege, but Timestream
cast Godwulf and his allies into the literal timestream itself, but Godwulf used
his time-warp technology to transport Timestream and his allies there as well.
(Deathlok II#33) - The recent interaction between Godwulf and Timestream had exacerbated the Demolisher's suspicions, and when Manning-616 blindly defended Timestream, the Demolisher realized that Manning-616 was not his past self at all. Still, as he was dependent on Timestream to escape the literal timestream, the Demolisher continued to assist him. They had another conflict with Godwulf, Manning, and Siege, during which the Demolisher could have slain Deathlok (Collins), but he hesitated, allowing Siege to knock him away. When Deathlok (Collins) ripped out Manning-616's power cable to no effect, the Demolisher was certain that he had been duped.
(Deathlok II#34) - Following Timestream into the past of
Earth-7484 shortly before Operation: Purge, the Demolisher then forced
Timestream to reveal his origins. The Demolisher and Timestream quickly realized
that they had fought each other in the past, and the Demolisher blamed
Timestream for destroying their world. Timestream's Bangers defeated the
Demolisher and left him for dead, but he was recovered by a pair of tunnel
dwellers. They guided the Demolisher to the tunnel to Nth Command in
exchange for his slaying several sewer rats on which they could feed. The
Demolisher met up with Deathlok (Collins), joining forces to oppose Timestream.
While Timestream sought to kill his own younger self (knowing
the Time Variance Authority would then terminate that reality due to its many
disruptions), the Demolisher, Deathlok (Collins), and Godwulf opposed him and
his cyborgs. The Demolisher skewered Timestream, but his time-powers restored
him. Deathlok (Collins) finally neutralized Timestream by turning the Nth
Projector on him. Godwulf convinced the Demolisher not to kill the younger
Timestream, and he asked the Demolisher to return to their time with him and
work together again. The Demolisher instead stole one of Godwulf's Time
Gauntlets, using him to get as far away from Godwulf as possible.
(Daredevil I#335 (fb) - BTS) - The Demolisher returned to the modern era of Earth-616.
(Daredevil I#336 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking refuge from the normal civilians, the
Demolisher lived within the sewers, working alongside and protecting a group of
Tunnel Dwellers, including Joshua, the former Peacekeeper.
Eventually, however, the Demolisher abandoned his new allies.
(Daredevil I#335) - While the behemoth known as King revived the Mayan monster the Devourer, the Demolisher watched from a distance. He tried to tell himself that he was not a hero and that it wasn't his problem anymore. However, when Daredevil battled both the Devourer and the mercenary Bushwacker, the Demolisher felt the need to get involved. Frustrated at having his peace disrupted, he aimed his weapon at Bushwacker, threatening to slay him.
(Daredevil I#336) - The Demolisher assisted Daredevil against both Bushwacker and the Devourer. King led his servants to attack Daredevil as well, but then Peacekeeper arrived and added his Tunnel Dwellers to the struggle, aiding Daredevil and the Demolisher. Morphing his gun into some unknown weapon, the Demolisher blasted the Devourer, transforming it into a puddle of bubbling ooze. When King tried to assault Daredevil, the Demolisher held him off at gunpoint.
(Daredevil I#337) - The Demolisher was still with the Tunnel Dwellers when
Blackwulf (Lucian) confronted them, wishing to learn how his father, Lord
Tantalus, could be rehabilitated. Just then the tunnels began to explode, caused
by explosives left there by agents of Walter Jenkins. Daredevil, who had forced
Jenkins to reveal the locations of the explosives, shared this information with
Peacekeeper, the Demolisher, Blackwulf, and the Tunnel Dwellers, and they worked
together to disable them. The Demolisher prepared to sacrifice himself to save
the others from a large batch of explosives, but Blackwulf stopped him,
redirecting the blast. The Demolisher joined the others in digging through the
rubble to find Daredevil, though the hero had already managed to defeat King and
deactivate the last of the bombs.
With the conflict over, Blackwulf questioned the Demolisher
about how Lord Tantalus could be rehabilitated, but the Demolisher told him that
he didn't know what the differences between the two realities' Tantalus was,
that their fates were already set, and that anything else he told him would just
make it worse.
With that, the Demolisher wandered back into the depths of
the tunnels, declining Blackwulf's offer to start anew alongside his allies. The
Demolisher said he had to sort out himself before he could work with anyone
else.
Comments: Conceived, plotted, and drawn by Rich
Buckler, with significant input/modification by Doug Moench.
Details of Deathlok's conception and development are given in
the back of Astonishing Tales#25.
I have placed the events in this order, b/c
certain changes have taken place in the "older" Deathlok (such as the
destruction of the computer portion of his brain) and his overall appearance
that are markedly different than the earlier versions seen. There is a nearly 18
year gap in his history that can otherwise be filled by subsequent adventures.
Info from the Earth X series should not apply to any other
reality unless specifically confirmed outside of the Earth X stories. However, I
see no reason that characters from alternate worlds can't travel to Earth X,
since the Earth X characters interacted with Earth-616 and other realities'
characters in Avengers Forever.
X-51 makes some comment about not using time travel
technology to get the Heralds, but they're not all from the same time period,
and some of them have a sliding timescale like Earth-616, while others don't.
I'm not taking that rule as hard and fast.
The problem seems to be that everyone who writes a story
about Deathlok since 1983 seems to think that the story in Captain America
I#286-288 was the last time the character was seen.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#3: Deathlok
entry specifies him as being a Colonel, and then a sentence later names MAJOR
Simon Ryker as his superior. Ryker must have had some unspecified clout to be
Manning's superior.
There are a couple of direct discrepancies from the original
stories in that entry, and I have not tried to squish them all into continuity.
If the Captain was Navy then his rank is the same level as
an Army's Colonel; then who was giving the orders would come down to seniority.
http://www.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/personal/faculty/pocock/ranks.htm
--Loki
Some 1970s stories listed Deathlok's
timeline as taking place in the past of Killraven's timeline, both of which were
in the past of the Guardians of the Galaxy's timeline. Killraven and the
Guardians' still seems to be the same, as far as I can tell, but I don't think
Deathlok's fits. Deathlok's history has been shown 18 years past the battle with
Hellinger, which was supposed to have occurred in the early 1990s. That would
place his most recent events AFTER 2001 in his timeline, and there was no
evidence that his reality had been conquered by the Martian Masters.
The idea that Deathlok and Killraven inhabited the same
timeline was supported by George Olshevsky in The Official Index to Marvel
Team-Up for the issues featuring Deathlok and Killraven, pace Defenders I#26.
Aside from this, during the System Bytes crossover, in Guardians of the Galaxy
Annual#2, a flashback showed that a counterpart of Deathlok existed on
Earth-Guardians of the Galaxy, though probably of Michael Collins (since Collins
appeared in the Daredevil Annual that tied into the System Bytes Crossover.)
--Per Degaton
And the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe confirms
repeatedly that they are not the same timeline. Now be silent.
--Snood
In New Avengers#33, the Owl revealed a captive Deathlok/Luther Manning that he had stolen from SHIELD. The Hood took it from him, then sacrificed it (blew it up) rob Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. This thing had the appearance of Deathlok of 18 years ago. When briefly released from stasis, it growled. Then they blew it up. There is absolutely no reason for this to be Deathlok the Demolisher. I'd suggest another replica...perhaps even the Deathlok Exact Medical Replica.
Topical or not?
The whole sliding timescale accounts for the dickering around about what year Deathlok gave Captain America for the disappearance of all the metahuman heroes. In the actual dialogue, Deathlok says "Back in 1983". Some have extrapolated that the sliding timescale may not exist for Earth-7484, so the reference to 1983 by Deathlok may serve as an absolute reference, not a topical one; however, Captain America said in response "Impossible! This is 1983!". Since due to the sliding timescale, 1983 is now in the pre-modern era for Earth-616, and thus the Fantastic Four, Avengers, etc. were not even around back then, Captain America would have been puzzled by Deathlok's saying that Operation: Purge took place in that year. After all, with 1983 in the pre-modern era, Roxxon would not have had any metahuman adventurers to hunt down! In any event, Captain America would not have reacted with the sense of urgency to what Deathlok said that he did show, had the reference to 1983 been an absolute reference.
Similarly, Godwulf's noting in his account of his origin that he joined Roxxon in the mid-1970's remains a topical reference.
--Per Degaton?
I'll have to disagree with this argument. Earth-7484 could well have a sliding time-scale, if the timeline paralleled that of Earth-616. However, there are a number of examples where while events parallel those of Earth-616, the time scale does not slide with it (or at least not in that era). For example, Earth-MC2, the timeline of Spider-Girl, is supposed to take place in the modern era, and while most of what occurred on Earth-616 occurred there as well, the era of Spider-Man took place some 15-20 years in the past. It's still a sliding timescale, but it is set 15-20 years different from Earth-616. In another example, in what I've identified as Earth-1961, @ Fantastic Four Annual 1998, the Fantastic Four's space flight was fixed in time at 1961. Thus when someone from Earth-616 traveled to that realm in 1998 (part of the modern era of Earth-616), 37 years had elapsed since the flight.
So, there's not really any evidence one way or the other, and Earth-Deathlok could be either an alternate timeline, or an alternate future, meaning his activities would have taken place @ 5-8 years from the current events in the MU. I personally prefer to make it an alternate timeline, with the events of Earth-616 having slid past it. That way if the timeline's visited again, real time will have passed and there might be significant changes. This is consistent with what has been shown, as the Deathlok the Demolisher recruited to act in Deathlok II#29, 31-34 had lived for 18 years beyond the events of his last interaction with Captain America.
Ah, well. Dorcas Farcas.
--Snood
I don't believe that Satyrnin seen in
Paradise X is Sat-Yr9, deposed by Captain U.K. - that slight spelling
variation, plus the fact she is still ruler of her reality, is enough to
distinguish her as likely being a dimensional counterpart.
The reason I have a question mark next to Bloodstorm's home
reality is that X-51 didn't use time travel to recruit her, so this would be the
Bloodstorm
from some years later than the one Havok worked alongside when he went to Earth
X, and thus might not be from the same timeline.
--Loki
I see those both as possible interpretations. The only one
(TO ME) who is clearly not the normally seen counterpart is Hyperion, who is
definitely an alternate future version, long after the deaths of the rest of the
Squadron Supreme. I'd rather use the existing characters than make other
counterparts, unless the information directly contradicts this.
--Snood
The cerebrum is not only the source of higher intelligence, but it is also the site of most memory storage. OHotMU I#3: Deathlok lists this as the cerebellum, which actually functions to coordinate motor function. The R-complex (Reptile complex) actually refers the medulla oblongata, which is the most primitive part of the brain, and controls the respiratory, cardiovascular, and other autonomic functions. The hypothalamus controls the 4 F's: feed, fluid, fatigue, and...sex.
Note: In the whole body schematic, they have carpal and tarsal
reversed. Carpal should refer to the wrist, tarsal to the ankle. We got this corrected for the OHotMU A to Z hardcover profile
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe lists Deathlok the Demolisher as 395 lbs., and I followed that example in the FF Encyclopedia. However, the original series in Astonishing Tales repeatedly lists him as over a quarter ton, and more specifically, 600 lbs.
Some of Astonishing Tales#28, including the title and several pieces of graffiti, is derived from the Doors' song, "Five to One."
The POTUS in Marvel Two-In-One#27 is Jimmy Carter, but that is obviously a topical reference.
I know the events of Deathlok II#29-34 are confusing, and I've detailed them as clearly as I can. You probably need to get the issues yourself to fully understand them.
The Heralds:
It was eventually revealed that not all of the Heralds were
whom they were initially thought to represent. Spider-Girl was not her exact
counterpart from Earth-982, and Hyperion was from a much darker future than
Earth-712.
At any rate, the Heralds are:
At the end of Ka-Zar the Savage#34 (October, 1984)
there is a back-up story that has Ka-Zar going to the Land of Cancelled
Heroes. There is a ton of cameos from chacters whose books were
cancelled including Deathlok.
--Paradox Factor
Thanks to Loki for supplying the info for Paradise X: The Heralds#1, since my copy has vanished within the depths of my comics vault. Loki also points out that he deliberately worded X-51's explanation to the Heralds to as what he BELIEVED to be the story of the various timelines, not the actual truth.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Deathlok the Demolisher should be distinguished from:
images:
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition, p42 Deathlok main
image
p43, cybernetic systems (2)
p44, gun
Captain America I#286 cover (face)
p3, panel 2 (Manning face (actually the clone)
Deathlok II#29; second story, p7, panel 1 (later Deathlok profile)
Deathlok II#31, last page (later Deathlok straight-on)
Deathlok II#32 cover (later Deathlok face)
Astonishing Tales#25 (August, 1974) - Rich Buckler & Doug Moench
(writers), Rich Buckler (pencils), Rich Buckler, Klaus Janson, Al
Milgrom & Mike Esposito (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales#26-27 (October-December, 1974) - Rich Buckler &
Doug Moench (writers), Rich Buckler (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Roy
Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales#28 (February, 1975) - Rich Buckler (writer/artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Astonishing Tales#30 (June, 1975) - Rich Buckler & Doug Moench
(writers), Rich Buckler, Keith Pollard & Arvell Jones (pencils), Al
McWilliams (inks), Len Wein (editor)
Astonishing Tales#31 (August, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Rich
Buckler & Keith Pollard (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Len Wein
(editor)
Astonishing Tales#32 (November, 1975) - Rich Buckler & Bill Mantlo
(writers), Rich Buckler, Keith Pollard & Bob McLeod (artists), Len
Wein (editor)
Astonishing Tales#33-35 (January-May, 1976) - Rich Buckler & Bill
Mantlo (writers), Rich Buckler (pencils), Klaus Janson (inks), Marv
Wolfman (editor)
Astonishing Tales#36 (July, 1976) - Rich Buckler (writer/pencils), Keith Pollard (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#46 (June, 1976) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Spotlight I#33 (April, 1977) - David Anthony Kraft (writer),
Rich Buckler, Mike Nassar & Arvell Jones (pencils), Klaus Janson
(inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One#26-28 (April-June 1977) - Marv Wolfman
(writer/editor), Ron Wilson (pencils), Pablo Marcos (#26-27) & John
Tartaglione (#28) (inks)
Marvel Two-In-One#30 (August, 1977) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), John Buscema
(penciler), Pablo Marcos (inker)
Marvel Two-In-One#31 (September, 1977) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Ron
Wilson (penciler), Sam Grainger (inker)
Marvel Two-In-One#34 (December 1977) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Ron Wilson (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks)
Marvel Two-In-One#53-54 (July-August 1979) - Mark Gruenwald & Ralph
Macchio (writers), John Byrne (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Roger
Stern (editor)
Marvel Fanfare I#4 (September, 1982) - David Anthony Kraft (writer),
Michael Golden (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Captain America I#286-288 (October-December 1983) - Jean-Marc DeMatteis
(writer), Mike Zeck (pencils), John Beatty (inks), Mark Gruenwald
(editor)
Deathlok II#29 (November, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#30 (December, 1993) - Scott Benson (writer), Kevin Hopgood (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#31-34 (January-April 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin
Kobasic & Anthony Williams (#34) (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom
Brevoort (editor)
Daredevil I#335 (December, 1994 - February, 1995) - Gregory Wright
(writer), Tom Grindberg (pencils), Don Hudson (inks), Ralph Macchio
(editor)
Marvel Fanfare II#1 (September 1996) - Jamie Campos (writer), Robert
Brown, Bruce Jones & Scott Kolins (pencils), Mike Witherby, Justin
Bloomer & Scott Kolins (inks), James Felder (editor)
Paradise X: Heralds#1-3 (December, 2001 - February, 2002) - Jim Krueger
& Alex Ross (writer), Steve Pugh (pencils/inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Paradise X#1-2 (May-June 2002) - Jim Krueger & Alex Ross (writer),
Doug Braithwaite (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Paradise X#3 (August 2002) - Jim Krueger & Alex Ross (writers),
Doug Braithwaite (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Paradise X#6-8 (December, 2002 - February, 2003) - Jim Krueger &
Alex Ross (writer), Doug Braithwaite (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks),
Mike Marts (editor)
Paradise X: Ragnarok#1-2 (March-April 2003) - Jim Krueger & Alex Ross (writers), Tom Yeates (artist), Mike Marts (editor)
Paradise X#9-10 (May-June 2003) - Jim Krueger & Alex Ross (writer),
Doug Braithwaite (pencils), Bill Reinhold (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
New Avengers#33 (October 2007) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Leinil
Yu (artist), Molly Lazer (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
New Avengers#35 (December 2007) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Leinil
Yu (artist), Molly Lazer (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
First posted: 04/11/2005
Last updated:
03/08/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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