Issue(s): Deathlok #6, Deathlok #7
Cover Date: Dec 91 - Jan 92
Title: Similar Machines: "Fathers' anguish" / "Men or machines?"
Credits:
Gregory Wright - Writer
Denys Cowan - Penciler
Mike Manley - Inker
Sara Mossoff - Assistant Editor
Tom Brevoort - Editor

Review/plot:
These are the first issues that Gregory Wright writes by himself, and they have a noticeably grittier subject matter than the previous stories, even before we get to the fact that it's a Punisher team-up. Wright has Deathlok hanging around the schoolyard where his son Nick is hanging out with a friend when some gangsters show up to do a drive by shooting, slaying several of the kids. Deathlok steps in before his son is killed. Deathlok apprehends the gangsters without killing, and learns that one of the kids on the playground is a drug dealer that was scamming their boss. It will ultimately turn out that Nick's friend is the drug-dealer, and that Nick has been helping him distribute the drugs. Nick is supposed to be 8 years old at this time, so this is a pretty dire situation. Wright reminds us that Deathlok's family was white collar and suburban...

...and that almost feels like an attempt at lampshading, as if Wright knew that people would object to the idea of doing this story with a family that, in the mini-series, went out of its way to avoid putting Deathlok's family in a 'ghetto" situation even though they were black.

The drug-dealer kid is not black, and even though he's been scamming his bosses, they keep him alive because he "looks like an honor student" and is good at making friends. So he's a very successful drug-dealer, and the gangsters just move him from school to school. And his bosses roll up to Silvermane, who takes a personal interest in things once Deathlok interferes.

Deathlok is much stronger than Silvermane...

...and of course Silvermane's human side is an 80 year old man.

So Deathlok tries to stop Silvermane without destroying "his old man organs" (which seems like such a snarky modern way of phrasing things).

But the death of the children attracts the attention of the Punisher, and he has no compunction about killing. He's also not aware that Nick and his friends are on the train that Silvermane and his goons are escaping on, so Deathlok attacks him to stop him from opening fire.

Note that Deathlok hesitates when the computer asks if he should relax his own non-killing parameter. Since his son is endangered, these issues are all about contrasting Deathlok with the Punisher and seeing if Deathlok does have a breaking point after which he would be willing to kill.

After Deathlok and Punisher resolve their misunderstanding, they reluctantly agree to work together, with Deathlok being disgusted by the Punisher's methods, which he likens to what the computer side of him would do on its own.

Silvermane, meanwhile, transfers to a more powerful cyborg body. He's also got robots guarding his base.

Despite the previous arc on this title, Deathlok doesn't seem to try to find out if they are sentient before destroying them.

Eventually it comes down to the breaking point. Does Deathlok relax his no killing parameter? And he does.

The computer winds up finding a way to rescue Nick without killing (thanks in part to the fact that Silvermane tries to use Deathlok's gun, which doesn't work for anyone but him). But the fact remains that Deathlok told the computer to save his son "by any means necessary". And when the Punisher subsequently kills one of Silvermane's goons, Deathlok tells him that it was the right choice "this time".

Silvermane gets away.

Punisher is aware that Deathlok is Nick's father. And Nick recognizes the "do what's right, not what's easiest" phrase that Deathlok uses as something that his father has said, so he asks Deathlok if he's his father. Deathlok tells Nick that his father asked him to look after him.

Some nice contrasts from Wright. I think Denys Cowan's art might be holding this series back. As much as i can appreciate where he's coming from, the art still looks rough and scratchy. Storywise, i see the point in examining Deathlok's no killing parameters, but i am hoping that the story starts moving forward after this. I actually don't think it's great that Deathlok doesn't admit to Nick that he's his dad; the kid seemed willing to accept it, and if you believe that Nick going astray is in part thanks to his father's absence, knowing that he's still around would seem to be a positive thing. I have to admit that i'm "genre-familiar" so the idea of learning that a loved one has been put in a cyborg-corpse hybrid is something i think i could handle. I suppose for civilians, even Marvel universe civilians, it is something that could make someone hysterical. I also think Deathlok should be more actively focused on his mission instead of lurking around his kid's playground. At this point Deathlok has resources with SHIELD, the Fantastic Four, and others. Mr. Fantastic dropped hints that he knew who Deathlok was, which is something that Deathlok ought to at least get closure on. Someone, somewhere, ought to be able to help him find his body, or do something with his current body so that he can present himself to his family, or something.

I guess don't mind me. This is a problem i always seem to have when the set-up for a book involves some long term tragic or pressing problem and the main character(s) never seem to do anything about it, because in reality the storytellers just want to use the current status quo for storytelling purposes.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Silvermane resurfaced in Web of Spider-Man #79-80 and since then he's found a way to synthesize the blood that he needs.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I don't really think Michael did anything wrong- there's a difference between using lethal force if it's the only option and always using lethal force like the Punisher. But I guess that's the point- Michael is too pacifistic to be a hero.

Imagine the kind of damage the Punisher could do in Deathcok's body.