ARTIE PACKER
Real Name: Artie Packer
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: State trooper
Group Membership: Police force of West Virginia
Affiliations: Brandy Clark, Steve Jackson, Rom
Enemies: Dire Wraiths, Thornoids
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: West Virginia, USA
First Appearance: Rom#5 (April, 1980)
Powers/Abilities: Artie Packer was a normal human who had received police training and could handle a firearm.
History:
(Rom#6 (fb) - BTS) - Steve Jackson and Artie Packer had been good friends since grade school.
(Rom#5) - Artie was one of the first police officers at the scene where Firefall (Stryker) had fallen. Several disguised Dire Wraiths drove up; two of their number, Agent Kraller and Dr. Sweet, took the damaged armor with them, declaring themselves to be from the government. Incredulous as his fellow officers, Artie was also shocked to see fierce bloodhounds with no eyes (actually disguised Wraith Hellhounds). The dogs sniffed out Rom, who had been hiding in the bushes with Steve Jackson and Brandy Clark, with the cyborg then rocketing away into the night.
(Rom#6) - Ordered not to talk about the incident, the next morning Artie chanced upon Steve and Brandy, and asked them what they would think if he said that he'd seen a flaming metal suit and eyeless bloodhounds. Wary about revealing what they knew of Rom, Steve dismissed the idea and Artie drove off.
(Rom#7) - Later that day, wishing nevertheless to speak to someone about what he'd seen, Artie went to Steve's garage and was surprised to see Steve trying to mend Rom's armor. Artie did not want to believe Steve's story of who Rom was and his mission against the Dire Wraiths, but came around when he saw a dead Hellhound in its true form and Rom's Neutralizer encased in a force field. Artie then helped Steve load the inert Rom into the patrol car and together took him to Brandy's lab in the hope of finding better technology to revive the cyborg. Artie closed the curtains to ensure privacy and so failed to see the seeding and growth of lethal Thornoids that had been dispatched by Dire Wraiths to kill Rom. Artie watched as the other two did their best to help the cyborg when the Thornoids smashed their way into the lab. Artie fired at the plants, but their spiked tentacles tore into him, leaving him bloodied and near death. The killer plants were destroyed and thinking Artie dead, Steve bent down and mourned the passing of his friend.
(Rom#8) - Rom was able to detect a spark of life still in Artie's body and he was rushed to hospital.
(Rom#9) - The doctor operating on Artie was a disguised Dire Wraith and made sure that the officer died. He told Artie's assembled friends that Artie had died on the operating table. Artie's corpse was passed to coroner Silas Lane.
(Rom#15) - At the rushed wedding of Brandy Clark and Steve Jackson (actually a Dire Wraith in disguise), one of the groomsmen commented that Artie should've been Steve's best man.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo (writer) and Sal Buscema (art).
He's actually named "Parker" in a text box on page 1 of Rom#7, but this changes to Packer for the rest of the story.
One of the police officers at the Firefall scene identified Steve and Brandy as the two carried aloft by Rom, yet Artie made no mention of this when he saw them the next day; evidently he was not in earshot.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Artie Packer has no known connections to:
images:
(without ads)
Rom#7, p8, pan5 (main image)
Rom#7, p13, pan4 (headshot)
Appearances:
Rom#5-9 (April-August, 1980) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (art), Jo Duffy (editor)
Last updated: 03/21/11
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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