The Origin And History Of Deathlok The Demolisher

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The origin and history of the Marvel Comics character, Deathlok The Demolisher, and an overview of the theme this character personifies is explored.

[@MrWarwolf6]

I always loved this character. I particularly liked the ongoing internal dialogue he had with his computer. The tension between Manning’s emotion driven quest to reclaim his humanity vs the logic based pragmatism of his internal computer was a terrific idea. Set in an apocalyptic wasteland of 90’s America this comic was one of the early precursors of near-future sci-fi that later became popular. I agree that it’s initial run was uneven but I thought that the ideas it embodied were compelling.

[@pspicer777]

MrWarwolf6 Mr. W. I wrote my comment before reading yours. Seems like we both have similar perspectives, and that we enjoyed the same aspects of the comic. Those were the days ... Be well Mr. W.

[@SyzygyD]

I agree, but it wasn’t fully fleshed out. I liked the internal dialogue between the “‘puter”, Michael Collins, and the third, the psychotic, each in their own stylized word balloon. Back in the day, I began but never finished a poster for myself based on the second issue cover art.

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

Yes! Great character. I was like a kid in a candy store when I realized what they were doing on Agents of Shield. And his appearances were decent. But they never quite did it for me. And they used the 'astonishing' version of his costume (I believe that's it's germination point, could be wrong) instead of the classic look which I loved. But that show did do other things well enough. Like nerfed graviton

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

@@pspicer777 that makes 3 of us, brothers!

[@adolphsanchez1429]

I love the character of Deathlok and wish Marvel would make a film with the character.

[@davewrighteous5408]

Given the plot descriptions of those early issues and Buckler's apparent tailoring of narrative to fit what he wanted to draw, this books SCREAMS Image Comics, but around 20 years too soon.

[@thecrimsonghostakathefiend7508]

Deathlok was before Robocop

[@chapelpluto4484]

Way before

[@davidcrespo5977]

I always say that😎

[@hyperionsupreme551]

That may be true, but I have no doubt that the creators of RoboCop, especially the 2014 Reboot, drew a lot of inspiration Deathlok's back story.

[@robnokes8465]

What about his appearance in maximum carnage?

[@thecrimsonghostakathefiend7508]

@BOARDROOM-BULLY - THE BOSS WITH NO LOSS didnt say that it was

[@thebagonline2113]

Marvel should have made a story in which Deathlok gets an assignment from Roxxon and the Government, in which he has to pursue and capture Marvel's Machine Man, who is basically always running from the Gov. Idk I just think it would be awesome to see Deathlok and Machine Man story.

[@Gigas0101]

A good way to make Dethlok work is to embrace his obsolescence opposed to re-contextualizing his original "fear of technology" motif. He's an old model cyborg from a dead-end project to make a mechanical super-soldier, so why not have him operate as a vigilante facing off against more modern and technologically advanced threats? You can keep the post-apocalyptic setting by putting him in Cleveland or Detroit, too.

[@JoshuaOfGrandRapids]

I never considered Deathlok a paranoid commentary on technology as much as I saw it as a profoundly American statement on the resilience of an individual for the sake of individuality's sake (regardless of suffering because what's more american than embodying a bloody battle for independence?) combined with a post-Vietnam distrust of military and country. But I also only had a cursory understanding of him, being I was eight in 1990. But, given the technophobic origins, I'd love to see him active on the Luddite subreddit in a day-in-the-life one shot...and I'm only half joking

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Yup, what you mention is also very true.

[@pspicer777]

Nice video, although I don’t know that I agree 100%. The idea of having integrated artificial intelligent computerized cyborg enhancements, is probably more relevant now than ever before. The tension between the human motivations and machine optimization for outcomes, could be intelligently melted for some very good stories.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

I would love to see Deathlok vs OMAC.

[@baronkarza2939]

hm I might cover that match up in my channel gonna put a pin on that idea

[@Redskyblueflame]

0:34 Unfortunately, this is true of most characters in the Big 2, especially B-list and C-list characters. Constant reboots in the faintest hope that one of them will eventually catch on with readers.

[@hyperionsupreme551]

I have no doubt that the creators of RoboCop, especially the 2014 Reboot, drew a lot of inspiration from Deathlok's back story. I seriously hope that the 2020 - direct sequel to 1987 original which is being scribed by Neill Blomkamp - will do the franchise justice and hopefully bring closure to the story of the character.

[@festo8756]

Hyperion Supreme Both characters are just a rehash of Frankenstein

[@jeremycline9542]

I suppose Bloodshot owes something to him as well.

[@JF-em6hr]

Couldn't be more thorough than this. Well done.

[@wildmansamurai3663]

Good channel, I subscribed.

[@UserNameMandatory]

I could have sworn there was a 90s or 80s made for TV movie using this character. Or something similar.

[@darioscomicschool1111]

Thank you!

[@SidewaysBurnouts]

Seems like more inline with Black Sabbaths Iron Man, which they wrote with no interest in the American comic. Could be like the Misfits and the Scarlett Ghost / EErie comics. I really wish Marvel would make an alternate timeline movie about Black Sabbaths Iron Man, which would be Deathloks 70s run done in a Madhouse japanese anime style like the animated Matrix cartoon. Its cool how in some stoned daze the idea of iron man could inspire sabbath, then sabbath could inspire Deathlok, then Deathlok shows up on an Iron Maiden cover. Full circle.

[@alexanderm3504]

That would be bad ass!!! I think Keanu Reeves for Deathlok would be badass

[@best9642]

I learned about D.L. After reading Spider-Man Team_Up. I was left with the impression that he wasn’t a villain or a hero, he was only trying to dodge and hide from the kids who were in some kind of Zombie trance. I am still not sure if he is a hero or a villain. However, this was a great video about the character.

[@tompuce84]

Love love love the show, thx!!

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

Until you showed the Luther Manning clone as a white man in this review, I had always thought he was unusual for being a black protagonist in the 70s. I hadn’t read any series since, and when I saw him as a black character in Agents of Shield, it just fit together. I’m surprised he was supposed to be white. Another cyborg character I enjoyed greatly was Tailgunner Jo. That series is well worth examining, as it’s an unusual parental relationship, and parts of the story were echoed in Sandman’s Cuckoo arc.

[@yeez13]

Didn’t Rick Remender have him as part of his Uncanny X-Force team/series? That was before the 2014 relaunch and a pretty significant part of his history to leave out iirc

[@heavyearly2232]

As a kid, my cousin, who lived next door, had a copy of Astonishing Tales 25, which I still think is a very cool book and character. I theorized at the time that the subsequent issues must not have been that great, as it didn't last that long. I bought and enjoyed the 90's re-boot. I got rid of most of my 90's comics, sadly....

[@Emannnen]

He looks like Cyborg and Deadshot together

[@Nerdsonearth]

I think Deathlok would work well in 2024. Imagine Luther merged with an AI that increasingly gains more and more knowledge, threatening Luther with increased irrelevance. His self-preservational humanity would push back hard and make for interesting stories. Also, you know, guns and explosives and stuff.

[@clydeosborne622]

Is Deathlok moonlighting as Eddie from Iron Maiden?

[@waffleless]

I think the technology paranoia has become more relevant than ever.

[@luciferfernandez7094]

I liked the 90’s series just because Denys Cowan’s art,

[@TheJohno95]

You pretty much nailed it. My friends and I used to always be trying to track those Astonishing Tales appearances down in used book stores and whatnot. When I got enough to read them, I just wasn't impressed. There is plenty of dudes getting shot....But that was about it. Cool covers, though!

[@MaximumRD]

Thanks for this, other than his interesting look I knew nothing of this character.

[@gandolphgandolphini]

There's a wonderful villian in the book Quantum & Woody named Beta Max who is essentially the cyborg you mentioned. A guy made out of outdated tech. Fax machines, boomboxes, reel to reel decks, pagers. He's great. I love the arch of Uncanny X-Force where X-Force work with Deathlok in some time hopping tom foolery.

[@sidemachine]

Strange Brain Parts, Forgive me if someone has asked you this already but, how do you feel about "Agents of SHIELD"'s version of Deathlok?

[@maxlethe3973]

I found the world interesting. And while there was too much exposition, the same plot point was often reiterated by three or four voices (Luther, puter, terminal eye, etc). I found the subtext compelling, the little things rewarding (the Doors lyrics). I found the characterization of deathlok to be fairly consistent. I read him as wanting to be able to look human instead of wanting to be human. I see the themes, tone, dark humor and satire in Dredd a few years later. I think this universe had the potential to come alive like the meg did...i really dug the astonishing tales run. I mean they foreshadowed the internet, the matrix, the terminator, etc...i think it was brilliant. I re read it last week and think it ages great. I could not possibly disagree more with you about this being poorly written

[@alexanderm3504]

Bad ass story, Keanu Reeves for Deathlok!!

[@smackroscoe]

“The artist just wanted to draw cool shit & innovative sequences”. So like all of Image comics.

[@wcclient1826]

Cool

[@ebenezerodame5166]

I love deathlok

[@joehuntley7756]

Deathlok is my favorite but I also like man thing they should make a movie with them

[@alcd6333]

This was a fantastic comic character, way ahead of its time. Very good storytelling, but the extremely dark theme was not accepted widely. Would make a film superior to Robocop.

[@spock_elvis]

BRAVO! BRAVO!

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Thank you! Thank you!

[@gregorblack5557]

DEF a major inspiration (mixed with Venom & Ghost Rider) for Spawn. Spawn fan at all?

[@scifiguy9000]

Wow, had no idea it was meant to be futuristic until now... I'm not sure if I asked you this, but do you review Manga in 'Overlord Comics', or just strictly comics?

[@StrangeBrainParts]

I have read some Manga, like Akira (of course) and Death Note, but not enough that I have a solid background in the various genres that Manga represents. I'm not saying I won't cover Manga in the future but, at the moment, I've no plans. Good suggestion, though.

[@quantumgigavsigmaraven1745]

Not bad ,nice to see some light on the character ,but no mention of his arc in uncanny xforce

[@darkgenix]

seen another deathlok video with more views, but i'm like nah. i'll watch the one that was here for 5yrs. you put in the work before him.

[@tommyt2926]

He shows up in maximum carnage

[@MahavishnuProject]

Rich Buckler told me that he sued Marvel and the Robocop producers, and said that they reached a settlement.

[@odysseuslaertiades1528]

I recently discovered your channel which contains many really interesting videos about superheroes, some of which I had never heard about. Am I allowed to make a suggeston how to make your videos even better? While describing superheroes you mainly concentrate on what is called the "in-universe perspective". Sometimes you raise questions of interpretation that are not really answered. It might be helpful to include more research on the comic creators/writers. Knowledge about their biographical background, their political opinions etc. might provide some clues for a better understanding of comic characters and stories.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

You are always allowed to make suggestions. I appreciate the advice. I would say, my approach has evolved since earlier videos like this one. There is a significant amount of research done in recent times, particularly in videos from 2020. Anything before that I would say I was finding my footing, so to speak.

[@riseofloganxlogan4230]

deathlok made from nintendo switch i can roll with that

[@upintheairstudio]

Do a video on Mark Hazzard: Merc!

[@DWNicolo]

Check out Electric Warrior the Doug Moench Deathlock reboot he did for DC Comics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Warrior_(comics)

[@pacotorres5968]

Hey buddy your kind of forget that deathlok almost did had a marvel max run ?

[@maemercado154]

I Hope Future Marvel New Comic Book Deathlok (Michael Collins or Luther Manning) 2021 issue #1-38 And Annual

[@NixXStorM]

I have the collector item one the silver cover and I got it random some guy on the street asking if I wanted it and now I have it didn't know who he was now I'm here

[@riseofloganxlogan4230]

deathlok one i have it to

[@jordanbaker1991]

That was An Angel giving you a holy artifact

[@kimfielding8010]

The smell of decay Till "Puter" takes over Marvel shelf life .......

[@beefgravystudios]

Why does Deathlok remind me of Death's Head?

[@maemercado154]

I Hope Future Marvel Movie Film MCU Deathlok

[@SKULLDUSTPRESS]

Pretty good overview, but you kinda lost me when you interpreted guys shooting each other in the face with guns as sexual. And I think a fear of technology theme is a good basis for a series, more now than ever.

[@bloodeagle6458]

Ya sounds like he has un resolved isuess with grown male figures

[@qwellen7521]

In art and culture, violence and sex are often duelling visual motifs.

[@oluhamilton2121]

Surface level NIHILISM, WHAT??

[@comixamples524]

You left out the 616 Luther Manning Deathlok.

[@jelucifer6094]

There gonna make this movie probably be out in 2025 to 2026

[@kforcer]

I love Gruenwald's run on Marvel Two-In-One but I never understood the dismissive way that Deathlok was destroyed in that issue. Great art by George Perez, great writing by Gruenwald but the way they killed off Deathlok just didn't work. I kept waiting for him to reappear in that title and get a more satisfying resolution.

[@jameshillison982]

You forgot about the series that came out in the late 80's or early 90's when he was a different name and a black guy that was a scientist and just woke up as deathlok and ended up fighting an army in south america and trying to find the guy in charge of it all and then trying to find the other scientist that helped make him. But i had no idea they remade him that many times.

[@anthonybakker2567]

That's "Cyborg" a Michael Crichton story.

[@alexanderm3504]

He was talking about the Luther manning version of Deathlok

[@basscot17]

He does say in the beginning that he'll only cover the first run, with Manning

[@ghrosenb]

Robocop ripped off Deathlok. I loved Deathlok. It's a mystery to me he's never become a more popular character.

[@evanbak2893]

Damn nice robot voice...

[@SidewaysBurnouts]

Before marvel was barking up the promoting war for profit tree.

[@djcjr1x1]

Homoerotic phalus blasts wow never saw that connection, guess most all early 90's comics were gay & I missed it!😆

[@alexanderm3504]

Call me crazy, but I think Keanu Reeves would play the perfect Luther Manning

[@gagecrawley6223]

The Deathlok design in Agents of Shield was shit. Absolute shit. The costume was just so bland and boring compared to the one in the comic, and has very little imagination put into it. I wish that we can somehow and someday place Deathlok in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To give him, the attention he so rightfully deserves. Because I believe there is more to this character, as others believe.

[@akwilson1676]

Cyborg the original.

[@PaulNtabuyeButera]

The distant future of ... 1990 !!!! 😅😂😂

[@daniellestroud9844]

600 yo

[@dharmakissoon]

i'm gonna name my rock band deathlok

[@titakristengco]

Boo Yee

[@r1g0r61]

learn how to focus your camera......i felt like i needed a SECOND pair of glasses.

[@StrangeBrainParts]

Hmm, you're right. I'm not sure why that occurred in places. I will keep an eye out for that happening in the future.

[@jordanbaker1991]

Your opinions weren't needed we can enjoy it how we want to just tell us what we need to know without all the fake intellectualism

[@markfrancis1210]

You sound angry and disgusted with this character, maybe you should read something else, like maybe Ghostrider?