The ABC Warriors: 'Mongrol', Part 1

NAME
The ABC Warriors: 'Mongrol', Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD & Starlord Prog 121

DATELINE
14 July 79

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
A.B.C. Warriors Book 1, A.B.C. Warriors Mek-nificent Seven and A.B.C. Warriors The Meknificent Seven.

SYNOPSIS
Hammer-Stein reads up on Mongrol.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Mongrol and Lara.

INFORMATION
Zarnhem is a Volgan settlement. During the war it was subject to an airborne assault by robo-paratroopers.

Military Police, abbreviated to MP, have been nicknamed 'bogies by robots, and drive flying vehicles accordingly dubbed 'Bogey Buggies'.

Robo-Paratroopers' heads have special armour plating to protect them.

The Volg Secret Police use electro-raks to torture robots.

SERGEANT HAMMER-STEIN
He has been provided with a file on Mongrol and ordered to recruit him. He is determined to recruit Mongrol alone.

HAPPY SHRAPNEL
He listens to Hammer-Stein reading Mongrol's file.

JOE PINEAPPLES
He drives Hammer-stein and Happy Shrapnel toward Mongrol's location.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MONGROL
A Robo-Paratrooper. He participated in the airborne assault on Zarnhem. His plane was destroyed and he fell to Earth. His parachutes failed to open and his body was destroyed by the fall. His head remained functional and he lay in agony for a week. Lara rebuilds him using robot remains, but his electric motor won't start. Unable to move he is discovered by the Volg Secret Police and tortured on the electro-rak. The rak starts his motor and he kills the Volg police. When he discovers that they killed Lara, he buries her and set on a course of action: to kil Volgs and avenge her. The allies were afraid of Mongrol and tried to kill him.

He escapes, but is captured by Military Police. Mongrol destroys the police vehicle and allows the MPs to flee.

LARA
Her mother and father were shot by the Volgans for resisting. During the Volgan War she was a Battle-Comber. She and her aunt discover Mongrol's head following the airborne assault on Zarnhem and her aunt hopes to sell it to the Volgans. She rebuilds him from robot remains.

DEATHS
Six. The Volg Secret Police are all presumably killed by Mongrol, after they themselves killed Lara and her aunt.

BEST LINES
Happy Shrapnel: "Now lt's get this- Bzzz! - right, Sarge... Our new human officer wants you to form a special squad of ABC Warriors for a highly dangerous mission..."
Hammer-Stein: "That's right..."

WORST LINES
Ally (off): "Kill the metal freak! It's too dangerous to live!

CATCHPHRASES
Happy Shrapnel says "Bzzz!" and "Bzzzz!", while Mongrol says "Mongrol smush!" twice.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
A drogue parachute is designed to be deployed from a rapidly moving object in order to slow its descent, to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute. It was invented by Gleb Kotelnikov in Russia (1872-1944) in 1912.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Peter Knight

REVIEW
The art is mostly stunning, particularly Lara in death, but the story feels somewhat rushed.

See The Taming Of The Beast Next Prog!