Death's Head: Difference between revisions

{{quote| "His name is Death's Head. He kills people for money. If you're one of his targets then that's all you're going to know about him; if you're thinking of hiring him then be warned -- he's expensive and he ''always'' collects on his debts!"}}

Death's Head is a [[Marvel Comics]] [[Comic Book]] character created by ''[[The Transformers (ComicMarvel BookComics)|Transformers]]'' comic scribe Simon Furman and Geoff Senior. He was originally intended as a one-shot throwaway character for Marvel UK's ''Transformers'' series, but proved [[Author Appeal|sufficiently intriguing during creation]] that the original script was rewritten so he would survive.

To ensure the character rights would remain with Marvel instead of Hasbro, Death's Head's first published appearance was in the short backup story, "High Noon Tex" (1987). Death's Head first appeared canonically in ''Transformers UK'' #113 (May, 1987) when he was contracted by various Transformers to assassinate members of the opposing faction. During a battle between the Transformers and Unicron, Death's Head fell into a time portal and crashed into [[Doctor Who (TV)|the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor shrank him to human size and sent him off through time, leading to a confrontation with the Dragon's Claws, a futuristic militia group. Though nearly destroyed in battle, Death's Head was recovered and rebuilt by a [[Mr. Fixit|tinkerer]] named Spratt. After settling his score with the Dragon's Claws, Death's Head (with Spratt in tow) left to resume business as a [[Bounty Hunter|Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]].

His appearances have included crossovers with the [[Transformers]] (in ''[[The Transformers (ComicMarvel BookComics)|The Transformers]]''), ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' (in the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine (Magazine)|Doctor Who Magazine]]'' comic strips), the [[Fantastic Four]], [[She Hulk]], and [[Iron Man]] 2020. He starred in a ten-issue comic book series in 1988, along with a graphic novel (''Death's Head: The Body In Question''), assorted stories in ''Strip'' magazine, and several reprint compilations.

* [[Black Comedy]]/[[Deadpan Snarker]]: Death's Head's preferred form of wit, usually delivered with a [[Bond One -Liner]] after completing his latest assignment.

{{quote| ''Rule One: Always honor a contract but never trust a client!''}}

{{quote| "Anyway, client's money is good, eh? Beyond that, I don't care who I kill. Who they are, what they've done, doesn't concern me."}}

{{quote| "Skilled warrior is only out of ammo when room is empty, yes?"}}

* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: Many of the crossover stories cannot be reprinted due to licensing conflicts, most notably with ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' and ''[[Transformers]]''. The various reprints usually explain these omitted stories as missing archival records.

* [[Law Enforcement, Inc.]]

* [[Let's You and Him Fight]]: Occurs in ''Death's Head'' #10, when an [[UpperclassUpper Class Twit]] manipulates Death's Head and Iron Man 2020 to fight each other while he bets on the outcome.

* [[Only in It For Thethe Money]]: This is Death's Head's primary motive; he considers revenge to be unprofitable, and selfless heroism to be a weakness. When he does perform "good" deeds, he'll justify it in terms of profit or reputation, such as taking down a rampaging mechanoid for free before a large crowd for the publicity.

{{quote| ''Rule Three: Never kill for free, but it pays to advertise!''}}

{{quote| "It's strange, this hero thing. Whole lives devoted completely to helping others. For no financial reward whatsoever. Struggling ceaselessly against impossible odds, risking almost certain death to help those in trouble. I...I just hope it's ''not catching,'' yes?"}}

* [[Second Law, My Ass]]

* [[Shared Universe]]: Going by the stories, Death's Head has encountered the [[Transformers]], [[Doctor Who (TV)|the Seventh Doctor]], and the mainstream Marvel universe (both present and future). Best to just chalk it up to the multiverse...

{{quote| '''Geoff Senior:''' "He really was the ultimate intergalactic, time and space hopping, hitch-hiker of the Marvel Universe playing a role kind of similar, in some respects, to [[Lobo]] in [[DC Comics]]."}}

* [[What If]]: To address the personality change of Death's Head II, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior wrote ''What If...'' #54, "What If Death's Head I Had Lived?" In it, {{spoiler|Death's Head survives Minion's attack with an emergency teleportation device. He rebuilds his body into a larger, more heavily-armed form, then recruits various Marvel heroes in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] against Minion's [[One -Winged Angel]] form before destroying him personally.}} Simon Furman has said that writing the story was "deeply satisfying and cathartic".

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