Deathlok #2 (August 1991)

Back in October of last year, I took a look at the first issue of the Michael Collins Deathlok's ongoing series. And since February is Black History Month, not to mention that I love lesser-known characters, I thought it would be an opportunity to give Mr. Collins a bit more spotlight. 

For those who are not familiar, allow me to give a primer. Michael Collins was the third Deathlok, and the second to hail from the mainstream Marvel Universe. Yes, the first one, Luther Manning, was from an alternate post-apocalyptic universe. The second Deathlok was John Kelly. First appearing in Marvel Comics Presents #62 (September 1990), and created by Dwayne McDuffie, Gregory Wright, and Jackson Guice, he was made into the second Deathlok thanks to the body of the original being reverse engineered by scientists at Cybertek Systems, a subsidiary of the Roxxon Corporation. He would cross paths with the Michael Collins in the future and eventually become known as Siege. But those are stories for another day.

Michael Collins was once an ordinary man, a scientist working for Cybertek Systems. He discovered the company's work on the Deathlok program, and he was turned into one as an attempt to silence him. However, as it goes in these stories, Collins was able to reassert himself and take control of his new cyborg body. He even managed to force his internal computers to put in a "no-killing" parameter in line with his pacifism. It has led him on a quest to find his human body and hopefully become normal again.

So, where do we go from here? What new adventure did this new Deathlok stumble into? Let's find out in Deathlok #2!

The cover is a Denys Cowan piece.

The story begins not with our man Mikey, but with a rather interesting pairing of characters: NYPD cop-turned cyborg Misty Knight, and the X-Men's resident gadgeteer genius Forge. They're fighting a robot. Of course, being one of the X-Men, fighting robots is nothing new to Forge.

The robot manages to capture Forge (must have a bit of Sentinel tech in it). Misty is able to get a shot in that blows the robot up, but results in the two getting knocked out.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Isn't this Deathlok's book? Where is he right now?" Well, don't you worry, he's just surfing the 'Net. He's looking for any clues to the location of his human body. So far, no luck. It's during his search that he hears a call from Misty asking for help. The two agree to meet up. Mike brought his roommate Jesus, but she's not willing to discuss anything in front of him. That's because unlike them, Jesus is not a cyborg.

"I've been planning to get the Swiss Army upgrade."

She's looking for him because someone has been capturing cyborgs (or "cybernets" as Misty calls them). Mike doesn't see the issue, but Misty points out that if she could find him, so could whoever is doing the capturing. And her point is proven when another capturebot shows up and wrecks her car.

"Target's vehicle destroyed. Name of major Polish city obtained."

She ain't getting that rental deposit back. I'm not making a joke; she actually said the car was a rental. Deathlok fights the capturebot and manages to destroy it. The two head back to Knightwing Restorations to rest and recuperate. The two discuss being cyborgs but also being Black cyborgs. Before he was turned into Deathlok, Michael's best friend in college was a white guy. They were close, but there were places their friendship could not go. Presumably thanks to the sliding timescale in that case. Misty said she's been accused to of being more comfortable around mutants and cyborgs than her own people. Deathlok uses a quote to sum it up.

It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness...two souls, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

It's from W.E.B. Du Bois's essay collection The Souls of Black Folk. Michael's father made him read it quite a bit as a boy. Misty assures Deathlok that one this is all over, she'll help him find his body. The two find the remains of the capturebot. They have to repair and reactivate it to learn more about it. They do so, and round two has begun!

It's a rough fight, but they're able to triumph thanks to Deathlok taking control of the robot's systems. They ride the robot to its home base.

Whoever designed this taxi needs a boot to the brain.

The two sneak around and find that the mind behind the capturebots not only have gotten Forge, but also Bushwhacker, Ruby Thursday, Ultron, Machine Man, and Jocasta. 

Huh. The latter three are not cyborgs. They're actual robots. They have no organic parts. Why are they here?

Misty is understandably panicked. As we've seen in the Avengers' stories, Ultron is one of the most dangerous villains in the MU. If this mastermind could catch him, the two are in way over their heads. They're going to need heavy-duty help. Deathlok is like, who could do this?! The answer reveals themselves. 

...it does make sense Doctor Doom would be the mastermind. I mean, Doom and Ultron have crossed paths before, in Daredevil #275 (December 1989). Either way, Misty and Mike are in really big trouble.

I enjoyed this comic. My favorite scene in this comic is the conversation between Misty and Michael over their experiences being cyborgs. McDuffie uses Misty and Mike to make a very fascinating connection between their being cyborgs to being Black in the United States. The two feel trapped between multiple worlds, not just for their skin, but also their being part-robotic. It's also different for them in other ways. Misty can seem just like a normal person at first glance because she only has a cybernetic arm. The rest of her is all human (in the biological sense). Michael is not. His brain is in a body that's not his own. Also, Misty's comfort with passing as a regular human contrasting to Michael's vow to never be comfortable in his Deathlok body is also a good way to show individuals will also have their own ideas about these things.

I admit, I got a good chuckle out of Michael telling Misty that he can only eat what the comic implies to be Ensure. Poor poor Mike. 

Denys Cowan's art brings a nice bit of grit to the table. His rendition of Deathlok is especially nice. He does a great job making the cyborg look rather inhuman. 

I think I have said this before, but I think this series is rather underrated. Yeah, when people think of 1990s Marvel, they think of the X-Books, and bad stuff like The Crossing, but there were still hidden gems in that decade, especially in the early part of it. This was one of them. If you want to read this for yourself, i recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Deathlok: The Souls of Cyber-Folk. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!