Captain America #286: Review

Oct 1983

J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck

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Story Name:

One Man In Search of...Himself!

Review & Comments

Rating:

Captain America #286 Review by Peter Silvestro (May 10, 2010)

Review: Deathlok the Demolisher was always a continuity nightmare, what with time travel and clones and robot doubles, rivaling DC’s Hawkman for incoherence. His every appearance was a challenge for the reader to puzzle out, especially since he hadn’t had an ongoing series of his own in years, so installments of his saga were stretched across an odd assortment of titles which only the most determined fan would pick up all of. Now it’s Captain America’s turn to host the cyborg in a tale that’s less than compelling, featuring the standard mediocre 80s art. And there’s more to come….

Comments: Part one of a four-part story. The Deathlok future is designated Earth-7484. Bernie’s sister Jeannie is called Nancy in the following issues. Buyer beware: the TPB CAPTAIN AMERICA : DEATHLOK LIVES contains only issues 286-288 and even then the material is edited and rearranged.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Captain America #286 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

From the dystopian future of 1991, scientist Godwulf sends a clone of Luther (Deathlok) Manning back to 1983 on an unusual mission: to find the original cyborg he was cloned from. Arriving on a crowded subway platform, the Manning clone panics and runs into the street, where he engages in a (non-fatal) gun battle with the police. Elsewhere, Captain America cuts short a training session with Nomad (Jack Monroe) to head out to Long Island to meet his girlfriend Bernie Rosenthal. Bernie meets Steve at the train station and they drive off toward her parents’ house, with Steve nervous about meeting them for the first time. Meanwhile, a weakening clone has tracked Deathlok’s emanations to a supposedly abandoned Brand Corporation facility, where he stumbles in front of Bernie’s car before disappearing onto the company grounds. When he hears the man mention Deathlok, Steve makes his excuses to Bernie and suits up as Cap to pursue him. He locates the clone in the factory and the man, recognizing Cap as someone he can trust, pours out his story. Moving further into the facility, they are attacked by Brand personnel and break through into the genetic labs. As the Manning clone demands to know the whereabouts of his quarry, he is suddenly shot in the back with a laser weapon: the real Deathlok the Demolisher has arrived….

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