From: visser@convex.com (Lance Visser)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics
Subject: Re: Deathlok - ?
Date: 8 Apr 92 00:13:50 GMT
Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

In <1992Apr7.022709.27960@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> klein@kira.egr.msu.edu (Jeffrey Klein) writes:

+>Just wondering, could someone summarize the origin and end of the
+>original Deathlok?  I have no clue.

	The original deathlok was created by Rich Buckler and featured
in Astonishing Tales 25-28,30-36 (AT) and Marvel Spotlight(I) 33. (MS) 

	The early stories are very confusing and its hard to get "one"
solid idea of a story out of them.  Briefly, Luther Manning (Military/CIA
Agent) gets blown up either on a mission or in some sort of training.  His
boss, General Riker decides to salvage the parts that remain into a 
cyborg killer.  Gradually Manning's mind comes back to the surface and
he breaks programming and flees Riker's control.  While he was "dead",
Riker's wife married his best friend. 
	The story is set in a bleak future "urban" environment in which
the CIA and military seem to play a large part in ruling.  There is this
thing called the omni-computer which serves as a kind of "big brother"
type survalence system.  General Riker turned out to be a cyborg.  He
was toppled from power in AT 35 by a sort of "coup" in which Deathlok
played a part.  Riker's "brother", Hellenger (another cyborg) was 
kept in check by Riker until Riker's fall.  Hellenger was to have played
a major role in the series had it kept going.



	In the last issue of AT, Luther Manning's brain was put into the
body of his clone.  But after the surgury, both deathlok and Manning
were still around.  Deathlok then got involved with what appeared to
be another Cyborg called Godwulf.  Godwulf threw him into the past (20th cent).
	The story continues in Marvel Spotlight #33 where deathlok fights
a character called devil-slayer.  Nothing really meaningful happens.
	Later on, in Marvel two in one 26-27, the fixer captures deathlok 
and puts him under some sort of brain control.  At the end of the issue
Deathlok has been put into a coma because of the brain control which only
the fixer can undo.  Thing goes on some sort of quest to europe to find
some scientist to undo the brian mine.  They find the professor, but deathlok
falls through the cracks story-wise.
	

	Mark Grunwald, self-appointed re-writer of marvel continuity 
did various things to the character in later issues of Marvel two-in-one
and in Captain America which were terrible and are not worth going over but
for a small summary:
	What happened is that Roxxon took deathlok and turned him into
a no-human-brain version.  That version was killed in an issue of Marvel
two in one.  Later, Deathlok <who was retconned not to have been killed
but confined by the Roxxin company> go back to deathlok's future and 
(badly) resolve all the dangling threads left from the original Astonishing
Tales series.
	I dont remember anything more being done with the original deathlok.
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