Issue(s): Motormouth & Killpower #12
Cover Date: May 93
Title: "Unfinished business / The prophet"
Credits:
Andy Cartnel / Mathew Hyde - Writer
Richard Elson / Carlos Pacheco - Penciler
Ramon Rosanas / Oscar Jimenez - Inker
John Freeman & Jacqui Papp - Editor

Review/plot:
The final issue of Motormouth & Killpower has two short stories, neither by creators of any of the previous issues, or, for that matter, anything that we've seen before. Motormouth and Killpower will next appear in the Dark Guard mini-series, and the art team on the second story here does continue on to that series, although with a different writer (Dan Abnett). The bigger news is that that creative team is Carlos Pacheco and Oscar Jimenez. Pacheco in particular will go on to bigger things. In both cases this is their first work at a major publisher (Pacheco did short stories for smaller publishers in Spain prior to this). It's the first story that leads into Dark Guard, though.

The story starts with Death's Head suddenly appearing in front of a wounded police officer in London. The officer tells him that he was wounded in an incident in the slums known as "Cardboard City". The officer and a partner met Motormouth and Killpower, but then they were all attacked by a giant skeleton who is channeling homelessness.

Death's Head heads to that location, where Motormouth and Killpower are still fighting the skeleton.

Motormouth manages to kill the creature by blasting its brain with a gun (ok, so they're not exactly creative). Death's Head II says that it's an AIM construct called a Metamorph. He says he was hired to retrieve it for Dr. Necker.

That's actually pretty confusing from a continuity perspective. Death's Head II has basically been unavailable for the entirety of his ongoing series until issue #12. And in that story he was pursuing Necker to learn about his origins, and she got blown into space-time at the end. There was never a point where he was on friendly or working terms with her. Her next appearance is in the Death³ series, but that story takes place in 2021 and i'm not even sure if it's the version of Necker that we've seen on present day Earth. I guess Death's Head II is either lying to protect his true employer's identity or Necker managed to return to the present day and, er, hire Death's Head for a job? But i have no idea what the creators/editors intended.

Motormouth was in this area because she used to live here. But she's having memory issues, which turn out to be due to the Time Guardian. And we're told that all will be explained in Dark Guard.

Now for the story with Pacheco art. It's uh, not quite there yet.

Motormouth and Killpower wind up on a world where a Minotaur-shaped alien is posing as a god.

Killpower ends up killing him, resulting in new legends being created. Not much of a story. And if i didn't know what Pacheco will become, i have to admit i would have dismissed the art as a hot pile of garbage. Since i'm giving it another look, i think the main turnoff is in the clutter. That first scan is just a huge turnoff. Makes me not want to read any further. The faces are also kind of weird, but sometimes fun - the pure joy in Killpower riding the Minotaur is cute.

And the Minotaur itself is actually pretty cool. I'd still say the art is not ready for prime time, but hey, this is a back-up story in a cancelled Marvel UK title.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: See above regarding Death's Head II's comments about Dr. Necker.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A