Promoting this as the “loudest” book of the month is saying something in the 1990s. Or I should say it’s shouting something, eh?
The new Michael Collins Deathlok meets the original John Kelly Deathlock. Actually, it’s just Kelly’s consciousness, trapped in a computer. The Deathlok Computer (which is what the Deathlok character talks to all the time) killed Kelly when it could not control him.
So now there’s a three-way conversation in a single body between Collins, Kelly and the Computer.
Collins was a scientist who kind of became Deathlok by accident, whereas Kelly was a soldier who the military wanted to cybor-ize. And the computer is just trying to further goals of its programming, often impacted by the evil Roxxon corporation.
This three-way argument-in-a-body goes to Europe to stop the Ultimatum Corporation from creating its own army of cyborgs and Silver Sable, also located in Europe, helps him out. This leads to a cyborg war, in which Kelly pushes Collins to let his military training take over.
Over the course of the story, Kelly’s mind is transferred to a new cyborg body, Siege…
…Thus introducing a new cyborg.
Siege is basically Deathlok on steroids. And Deathlok already is steroidal enough.
Also, we learn that Michael Collins’ human body is intact, and SHIELD knew it all along, creating suspicion in Collins/Deathlok about Fury’s real motives in allying with him.
Lots of good external and inner conflict. I’m not sure that adding a new personality constitutes character development, but I’ll take it.
Not a huge fan of the cyberspace stuff…
Greg Wright was also writing Silver Sable at the time, and issues #11-12 unofficially continue this story. I say “unofficially” because they aren’t labeled part of Cyber-War but they clearly pick up the story.
A branch of Hydra operating under the sea and building super cyborgs, and therefore Siege wants to get his hands on them (he’s kind of like a Malcolm X for cyborgs). Sable hires Stingray for help when she, too, is recruited to get the ‘borgs.
Here’s the standard 1990s “pose shot” from issue #12:
The guy in green is Fin. He is part of Next Wave but eventually joins Sable’s team (as does Sandman).
He says his name’s not Fin, but he’s never called anything else, and as his teammates (Next Wave) note, he doesn’t offer a better one.