Comic Info
Comic Name: Deathlok: The Demolisher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Charlie Huston
Artist: Lan Medina
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2011
Deathlok: The Demolisher #1 Variant
Reprints Deathlok: The Demolisher #1-7 (January 2010-July 2010). War is hell…but it is profitable and popular. With Roxxon’s Battlezone TV show as one of the world’s must-see-TV broadcasts, Mike Travers has won the hearts of the people as he advertises Roxxon’s products. When Mike’s gung-ho technique to battle leads to the death of Mike and his commanding officer Luther Manning, Mike and Luther discover themselves locked inside of a machine called Deathlok the Demolisher. Deathlok is a tool for Roxxon, but Travers and Manning have other plans.
Written by Charlie Huston, Deathlok: The Demolisher is a Marvel Comics limited series which was published under the Marvel Knights imprint. The collection features art by Lan Medina.
Deathlok was created in the ’70s but surged to popularity in the 1990s when comic books and Marvel began their renaissance. I have a soft spot for Deathlok, but honestly, I didn’t enjoy reading Deathlok much. Much like Iron Man, I have problems with the computer/mechanical aspect of the character, and Huston’s Deathlok does a lot to return to the original concept of Deathlok (aka the ’70s version).
Deathlok: The Demolisher #7
The problem with this collection is how Huston tells the story. I think he is probably trying too hard to be edgy and tells the story in a really staggered and stylized way. As a result, the comic is very jargony, wordy, and filled with #### to cover up the swear words of the tough talking soldiers…it kind of makes you wish that the series had just been released under the MAX imprint.
The core story isn’t bad when it is boiled down. You have the two different ideas on battle, a world where death and destruction is popular, and a main character who is trying to discover who or what he is. This is pitted against the corporate bad guys (a la RoboCop) and for the most part plays out as you’d expect (Godwulf and his followers are the only wildcard in the story that doesn’t really get developed enough). Huston also spends a lot of time developing supporting characters, but then doesn’t give them the “respect” of a death that feels rewarding (like Hellinger, Devereaux, or Ryker).
Deathlok: The Demolisher is a rather quick read, but it isn’t a very satisfying one. I think if Huston had tried to tell a more traditional Deathlok story without trying to stylize it so much, it would have turned out better. Marvel included a version of Deathlok in Uncanny X-Force in 2011 and relaunched a new Deathlok in Original Sins in 2014.
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