Deadlock (
anarchyrules) wrote2016-06-17 10:57 pm
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Everything you need to know about Deadlock
Name: Deadlock
Canon: ABC Warriors, a dark comedy series. It is one of several stories published in comics anthology 2000 AD. He shares continuity with the likes of Judge Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock, starting before Judge Dredd and lasting past Nemesis.
Synopsis:
In the far-flung future, mankind has produced intelligent machines to do their dirty work. These so-called ABC Warriors (due to their immunity to Atomic, Biological and Chemical warfare) fought and died for their masters, treated like slaves. When the Soviet Union was overtaken by a group called the Volgans, the world was plunged into war again. Deadlock was created to lead the Knights Martial, a group of specially designed robots meant to monitor the Earth from space and were given special authority to judge war criminals. Their isolation in space allowed them to discover dark secrets of the universe, becoming agents of Khaos, the all-powerful force of change. Deadlock, in particular, became a powerful mystic and was eventually recruited by the original ABC Warrior, Hammerstein, for a final mission- being sent to the new frontier, Mars, to clean up the planet.
After a member's tragic death, the ABC Warriors split up for several centuries before reforming and breaking up several times to... Increase the Peace! Spread the Word!
Appearance:
Deadlock is made to resemble a medieval knight, often with a wizardly twist. However, on closer inspection, it is clear he is no armoured man but a machine made in one's image. His voice is utterly terrifying and usually has some sort of special speech bubble to make that clear. Every now and then, he changes a few of his features, but the basics remain the same- especially his prominent facial ridge and grin like grating. The most common changes are colour, often swapping between dark green, gold and black, but he is occasionally seen in chrome. A few of his bodies have looked almost organic.
He's usually totally ripped. Where exactly is never divulged, but he has an inscription somewhere on his body from his war comrade Zippo, that declares 'IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HELL IS LIKE, FRAG WITH ME AND YOU'LL FIND OUT.' Despite age and damage, he copies it for every new body.
Personality:
Deadlock, as twisted as they are, has strong values. He is utterly devoted to Khaos, which he interprets as a literal god and actively worships. This paradox of disciplined commitment to doing whatever you want (often quoting Aleister Crowley with 'Do what thou wilt,' but occasionally adding 'so long as you harm no other') is perhaps purposefully confusing. He certainly comments that other people's bafflement at his ways is a sign that he's doing it right enough. Hypocrisy and outright lies seem to be part of his creed, such as declaring he finds leadership and organisations offensive while continuously placing himself in positions of authority. He has penned many great tomes yet sometimes claims he's illiterate.
He is often considered sinister, perhaps because most immediately connect order with peace, something Deadlock contends vehemently. As a true anarchist, he believes in freedom for everyone though they may consent to be controlled by another. He also believes that if you're a nasty little bastard with a taste for picking on those who can't defend themselves, you shouldn't complain when someone who doesn't like that (e.g. him) cuts your head off. His preoccupation with judgement and punishment is an inescapable part of his programming and design he has no hope to shake, nor any inclination to. For him, Khaos is freedom, equality and respect- both of oneself and others.
He mixes an effortless, relaxed manner with a mystical and formal air, often picking one to place more emphasis on at any given time as is appropriate (or inappropriate as he wishes). More often than not, he's out to help, but he firmly states he is neither good nor evil- just a force for returning things to their natural state of self-governance. Often thinking outside of the box, he always looks for a third option- impressive since he thinks in 1 and 0s. Sometimes he'll spend a great deal of time in solemn meditation. Sometimes he'll party hardy for literally months at a time. He is occasionally shown to have quite a sexual interest in biological beings or other robots. However, that may be just another one of his ways of messing with people- he occasionally points out the absurdity of sexual relations with robots to Joe Pineapples, famous robot lady killer or Hammerstein, hopeless mechanical romantic. Then again, he may mean that as a good thing.
Though he will never acknowledge it, some of the people who know him best have pieced together that beneath all the theatrics, he is covering for insecurity and his inability to accept his robotic nature. It's hard to be a complete anarchist with a belief in the natural order when your existence represents what you loathe most- a dull, lifeless imitation of a man, a product of mankind's jealousy of nature's power. Deadlock has a need to be a winner and, but more importantly, be seen as one. Image is important to him, and he is not above lying to look good. He wants everyone to think of him as the mysterious, unknowable badass and tries to cover up his shortcomings- for example after cowardly begging for mercy gets him taken to a critical location, he pretends that was his plan all along.
He is, however, a bit more sentimental than he'd like anyone to think. As much as he abuses or acts callously towards his friends, he is also a nurturer who wants to help people grow- to find themselves and think rather than do as they're told. Although not always particularly pleasant about it, he is also highly protective of youth, human or machine. Despite his often trying nature, it's quite telling that his comrades know they can rely on him no matter how abrasive or abusive he is to them. Even those he openly claims to (debatably truthfully) hate he cares for and consoles in hard times... though he may occasionally make light of them. The phrase 'Deadlock will know what to do!' comes up with alarming frequency, and he has been known to take a hit or two on behalf of his comrades. He seems genuinely horrified when he fails them.
Abilities:
He's a robot, he's a wizard, he's a swordsman. His various occult powers are rarely defined in concrete terms- instead he just sort of... does things. However, they're all definitely spells that take some focus and mumbo jumbo, rituals and gestures. Illusions, walking through walls, electric blasts, banishing beings into other dimensions, Deadlock has a trick for every occasion, and it's not common for him to do the same thing twice. Though a mighty mystic, he doesn't usually perform displays of massive destructive force. He prefers to find the thread to pull that will bring everything falling down instead.
He has a habit of using special cards to divine the past, present and future which he performs quite regularly- while usually, he draws conventional Tarot cards, sometimes he'll pull out something completely unique. His powers are often fueled by sacrifice or feeding his soul drinking sword, X-Calibre aka the Ace of Swords. He's also considered to be one of, if not, the best biker in the 2000AD timeline he's in and has used several cycles over the centuries. They're all hardcore.
Magic aside he's also a very capable psychic capable to reading minds, telepathically communicating across galaxies, sending surges of power to his allies, fiddle with memories, share experiences... you name it, if you can do with your mind he's probably done it a million times.
As a machine, he's pretty tough and can just be repaired if damaged. Like most ABC Warriors style robots, he gets smashed up and put together again all the time. He's pretty strong too but far outclassed by the bulldozer style contemporaries he fights alongside. He's quite handy with firearms though it's scarce to see him use one. If he does, it's almost always either a one-handed small gun or vehicle-mounted, but he is sometimes seen with a rifle. Upgrades have given him flight capability.
It doesn't come up much, but he's 'the same person' as Nemesis the Warlock. They started separate and became one at some point, but exist simultaneously. It's not elaborated on much.
Canon: ABC Warriors, a dark comedy series. It is one of several stories published in comics anthology 2000 AD. He shares continuity with the likes of Judge Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock, starting before Judge Dredd and lasting past Nemesis.
Synopsis:
In the far-flung future, mankind has produced intelligent machines to do their dirty work. These so-called ABC Warriors (due to their immunity to Atomic, Biological and Chemical warfare) fought and died for their masters, treated like slaves. When the Soviet Union was overtaken by a group called the Volgans, the world was plunged into war again. Deadlock was created to lead the Knights Martial, a group of specially designed robots meant to monitor the Earth from space and were given special authority to judge war criminals. Their isolation in space allowed them to discover dark secrets of the universe, becoming agents of Khaos, the all-powerful force of change. Deadlock, in particular, became a powerful mystic and was eventually recruited by the original ABC Warrior, Hammerstein, for a final mission- being sent to the new frontier, Mars, to clean up the planet.
After a member's tragic death, the ABC Warriors split up for several centuries before reforming and breaking up several times to... Increase the Peace! Spread the Word!
Appearance:
Deadlock is made to resemble a medieval knight, often with a wizardly twist. However, on closer inspection, it is clear he is no armoured man but a machine made in one's image. His voice is utterly terrifying and usually has some sort of special speech bubble to make that clear. Every now and then, he changes a few of his features, but the basics remain the same- especially his prominent facial ridge and grin like grating. The most common changes are colour, often swapping between dark green, gold and black, but he is occasionally seen in chrome. A few of his bodies have looked almost organic.
He's usually totally ripped. Where exactly is never divulged, but he has an inscription somewhere on his body from his war comrade Zippo, that declares 'IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HELL IS LIKE, FRAG WITH ME AND YOU'LL FIND OUT.' Despite age and damage, he copies it for every new body.
Personality:
Deadlock, as twisted as they are, has strong values. He is utterly devoted to Khaos, which he interprets as a literal god and actively worships. This paradox of disciplined commitment to doing whatever you want (often quoting Aleister Crowley with 'Do what thou wilt,' but occasionally adding 'so long as you harm no other') is perhaps purposefully confusing. He certainly comments that other people's bafflement at his ways is a sign that he's doing it right enough. Hypocrisy and outright lies seem to be part of his creed, such as declaring he finds leadership and organisations offensive while continuously placing himself in positions of authority. He has penned many great tomes yet sometimes claims he's illiterate.
He is often considered sinister, perhaps because most immediately connect order with peace, something Deadlock contends vehemently. As a true anarchist, he believes in freedom for everyone though they may consent to be controlled by another. He also believes that if you're a nasty little bastard with a taste for picking on those who can't defend themselves, you shouldn't complain when someone who doesn't like that (e.g. him) cuts your head off. His preoccupation with judgement and punishment is an inescapable part of his programming and design he has no hope to shake, nor any inclination to. For him, Khaos is freedom, equality and respect- both of oneself and others.
He mixes an effortless, relaxed manner with a mystical and formal air, often picking one to place more emphasis on at any given time as is appropriate (or inappropriate as he wishes). More often than not, he's out to help, but he firmly states he is neither good nor evil- just a force for returning things to their natural state of self-governance. Often thinking outside of the box, he always looks for a third option- impressive since he thinks in 1 and 0s. Sometimes he'll spend a great deal of time in solemn meditation. Sometimes he'll party hardy for literally months at a time. He is occasionally shown to have quite a sexual interest in biological beings or other robots. However, that may be just another one of his ways of messing with people- he occasionally points out the absurdity of sexual relations with robots to Joe Pineapples, famous robot lady killer or Hammerstein, hopeless mechanical romantic. Then again, he may mean that as a good thing.
Though he will never acknowledge it, some of the people who know him best have pieced together that beneath all the theatrics, he is covering for insecurity and his inability to accept his robotic nature. It's hard to be a complete anarchist with a belief in the natural order when your existence represents what you loathe most- a dull, lifeless imitation of a man, a product of mankind's jealousy of nature's power. Deadlock has a need to be a winner and, but more importantly, be seen as one. Image is important to him, and he is not above lying to look good. He wants everyone to think of him as the mysterious, unknowable badass and tries to cover up his shortcomings- for example after cowardly begging for mercy gets him taken to a critical location, he pretends that was his plan all along.
He is, however, a bit more sentimental than he'd like anyone to think. As much as he abuses or acts callously towards his friends, he is also a nurturer who wants to help people grow- to find themselves and think rather than do as they're told. Although not always particularly pleasant about it, he is also highly protective of youth, human or machine. Despite his often trying nature, it's quite telling that his comrades know they can rely on him no matter how abrasive or abusive he is to them. Even those he openly claims to (debatably truthfully) hate he cares for and consoles in hard times... though he may occasionally make light of them. The phrase 'Deadlock will know what to do!' comes up with alarming frequency, and he has been known to take a hit or two on behalf of his comrades. He seems genuinely horrified when he fails them.
Abilities:
He's a robot, he's a wizard, he's a swordsman. His various occult powers are rarely defined in concrete terms- instead he just sort of... does things. However, they're all definitely spells that take some focus and mumbo jumbo, rituals and gestures. Illusions, walking through walls, electric blasts, banishing beings into other dimensions, Deadlock has a trick for every occasion, and it's not common for him to do the same thing twice. Though a mighty mystic, he doesn't usually perform displays of massive destructive force. He prefers to find the thread to pull that will bring everything falling down instead.
He has a habit of using special cards to divine the past, present and future which he performs quite regularly- while usually, he draws conventional Tarot cards, sometimes he'll pull out something completely unique. His powers are often fueled by sacrifice or feeding his soul drinking sword, X-Calibre aka the Ace of Swords. He's also considered to be one of, if not, the best biker in the 2000AD timeline he's in and has used several cycles over the centuries. They're all hardcore.
Magic aside he's also a very capable psychic capable to reading minds, telepathically communicating across galaxies, sending surges of power to his allies, fiddle with memories, share experiences... you name it, if you can do with your mind he's probably done it a million times.
As a machine, he's pretty tough and can just be repaired if damaged. Like most ABC Warriors style robots, he gets smashed up and put together again all the time. He's pretty strong too but far outclassed by the bulldozer style contemporaries he fights alongside. He's quite handy with firearms though it's scarce to see him use one. If he does, it's almost always either a one-handed small gun or vehicle-mounted, but he is sometimes seen with a rifle. Upgrades have given him flight capability.
It doesn't come up much, but he's 'the same person' as Nemesis the Warlock. They started separate and became one at some point, but exist simultaneously. It's not elaborated on much.