The A.B.C. Warriors: 'Steelhorn', Part 2

NAME
The A.B.C. Warriors: 'Steelhorn', Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD & Tornado Prog 128

DATELINE
1 Sept 79

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
A.B.C. Warriors Book 1, ABC Warriors 01, Sam Slade Robo-Hunter (Volume 2) 07, A.B.C. Warriors Mek-nificent Seven and A.B.C. Warriors: The Meknificent Seven

SYNOPSIS
Hammer-Stein trails 'The Mess' and then decants him.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First meeting of the A.B.C. Warriors and their superior.

INFORMATION
Fireman wear Asbestos suits.

HAMMER-STEIN
He follows the trail of death and destruction left by the Mess and finds a file full of slaughtered A.B.C. Warriors. Hammer-Stein scrapes the Mess off the ground and takes him back to base where he pours it into a vacuum flask.

JOE PINEAPPLES
He is present when Hammer-Stein pour the Mess into a vacuum flask.

HAPPY SHRAPNEL
He is present when Hammer-Stein pour the Mess into a vacuum flask. After hearing Hammer-Stein's information about the slaughter of 'demobbed' A.B.C. Robots, Happy Shrapnel resists having a human superior officer.

MONGROL
He recognises the pained noises that the Mess makes as being similar to the noise he made when beaten.

DEADLOCK
He doesn't need to be briefed. Deadlock has read the Tarot and already knows what will happen and that their enemy will be the devil.

OTHER CHARACTERS
'THE MESS'
It attacks the manager of the demob centre who mocked Steelhorn. It sees itself in a mirror and screams. It writes 'I accuse' on the wall. The Firemen are called and they attack it as they would a fire, but the Mess gets into one of their Asbestos suits and kills him. It escapes down a sink and outside where it kills an military policeman. If it cools down it will lose its ability to move. Hammer-Stein scoops it up into his gun to keep warm and later pour it into a vacuum flask.

DEATHS
Three. The Mess consumes the manager of the demob centre, a fireman sent to get rid of it, a military policeman guarding outside.

BEST LINES
Fireman #1: "The Mess Is climbing into the sink...it's escaping down the plug-hole! Get down their after it, men!"
Fireman #2: "What? Down the plug-hole, Sir?"

WORST LINES
Fireman: "Glug! Glug! Glug!"

CATCHPHRASES
Happy Shrapnel says "Bzzz" once.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Firemen wear Asbestos suits, the negative health effects of asbestos were first noted in 1899 and the first documented asbestos-related death in 1906. Deadlock's Tarot card, The Devil represents being seduced by the material world and physical pleasures, being caged by luxury and living in fear.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script Robot: Pat Mills
Art Robot: Brendan McCarthy
Lettering Robot: Aldrich

REVIEW
Worth the price of entry for the full page panel of the death of the manager alone. The Mess looks great, but what should be a great twist for Hammer-Stein as he discovers that the humans don't have their best interests at heart is put to one side in favour of keeping the mysterious human officer storyline going.

Next Prog: Beat The Devil!