History Comicbook / DeathsHead

Death's Head is a robot mercenary created by Creator/SimonFurman and Geoff Senior for the Creator/MarvelUK imprint of Creator/MarvelComics. He was originally intended as a minor throwaway character for the licensed ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel Transformers]]'' series, but the creators decided that he had too much potential to limit him to a single story.

Death's Head is a Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook character created by ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel Transformers]]'' comic scribe Creator/SimonFurman and Geoff Senior. He was originally intended as a one-shot throwaway character for [[Creator/MarvelUK Marvel UK]]'s ''Transformers'' series, but proved [[AuthorAppeal sufficiently intriguing during creation]] that the original script was rewritten so he would survive.

The decision to keep him as an ongoing character also meant that he appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics, prior to his first published appearance in ''Transformers'', [[AshcanCopy to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel]] rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

Death's Head's second published appearance was 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 [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor (then in [[Creator/SylvesterMcCoy his seventh incarnation]]) shrank him to human size and sent him off through time, leading to a confrontation with ''ComicBook/DragonsClaws'', a 82nd century elite troubleshooter squad. Though nearly destroyed in battle, Death's Head was recovered and rebuilt by a [[MrFixit tinkerer]] named Spratt. After settling his score with Dragon's Claws, Death's Head (with Spratt in tow) left to resume business as a [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]].

His appearances have included crossovers with the [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 G1 Transformers]] (in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel''), ''Series/DoctorWho'' (in the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strips), the ComicBook/FantasticFour, ComicBook/SheHulk, and ComicBook/IronMan 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.

* TrueNeutral: Death's Head, Freelance Peacekeeping Agent. He'll do anything as long as he's paid, and paid well.
-->''...I didn't care about their cause in the slightest. If the king had hired me, I'd have happily killed the rebels!''

** WordOfGod is that this is modeled after a RealLife British politician, though Simon Furman refuses to reveal who it is.

The decision to keep him as an ongoint character also meant that he appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics, prior to his first published appearance in ''Transformers'', [[AshcanCopy to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel]] rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

Death's Head's second published appearance was 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 [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor (then in [[Creator/SylvesterMcCoy his seventh incarnation]]) shrank him to human size and sent him off through time, leading to a confrontation with ''ComicBook/DragonsClaws'', a 82nd century elite troubleshooter squad. Though nearly destroyed in battle, Death's Head was recovered and rebuilt by a [[MrFixit tinkerer]] named Spratt. After settling his score with Dragon's Claws, Death's Head (with Spratt in tow) left to resume business as a [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]. Prior to all that, however, Death's Head appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics [[AshcanCopy to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel]] rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

Death's Head's second published appearance was 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 [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor (then in [[Creator/SylvesterMcCoy his seventh incarnation]]) 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 [[MrFixit 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 [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]. Prior to all that, however, Death's Head appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics [[AshcanCopy to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel]] rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

His appearances have included crossovers with the [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 G1 Transformers]] (in ''ComicBook/TheTransformers''), ''Series/DoctorWho'' (in the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strips), the ComicBook/FantasticFour, ComicBook/SheHulk, and ComicBook/IronMan 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.

* AnArmAndALeg: Lost an arm to [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Galvatron]] at one point.

* SpinOff: From the Marvel UK [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]] series.

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as Death's HeadII, [[ComicBook/DeathThree Death Wreck, and Death Metal]]. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

Death's Head is a Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook character created by ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic scribe Creator/SimonFurman and Geoff Senior. He was originally intended as a one-shot throwaway character for [[Creator/MarvelUK Marvel UK]]'s ''Transformers'' series, but proved [[AuthorAppeal sufficiently intriguing during creation]] that the original script was rewritten so he would survive.

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as ComicBook/DeathsHeadII, [[ComicBook/DeathThree Death Wreck, and Death Metal]]. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

* BerserkButton: Death's Head insists on being called a "freelance peacekeeping agent"; people who call him a BountyHunter never do so twice.

* HeroicComedicSociopath: As long as he's paid, anyway.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Death's Head is willing to improvise weapons from whatever is at hand, including furniture, barbecue skewers, and doors.

* MrFixit: Spratt is competent with a toolkit, but not to the level of a GadgeteerGenius.

* RoboticPsychopath: He is severely lacking empathy, understanding of people and has terrible control over his impulses.

-->"You’re not one of those guys who has a code against killing 'except for robots'? I hate those krypto-fascists."

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as ComicBook/DeathsHeadII, [[ComicBook/Death3 Death Wreck, and Death Metal]]. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as Death's Head II, Death Wreck and Death Metal. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

* SpinOff: From the Marvel UK [[ComicBook/TheTransformers comic book series.]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deaths_Head_4492.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[-Don't get mad -- kill something, yes?-] ]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Death's Head I]]
!!Death's Head I

Death's Head a Robot bounty hunter (or rather, as he calls himself, a "freelance peace-keeping agent"), that got his start in the UK Transformers comic series. Eventually, he later on made his way into mainstream Marvel comics and has had different incarnations. He has recently resurfaced as a bounty hunter capturing alien fugitives for SWORD.

----

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Death's Head II]]
!!Death's Head II
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deaths_Head_II_7569.jpg]]

Death's Head II was originally a cyborg named Minion, created in 2020 by AIM scientist Dr. Evelyn Necker to protect the organization from a vague psychically predicted threat. In preparation, Minion was sent to assimilate the knowledge and personalities of the 106 most deadly individuals in the galaxy, killing them in the process.

The original Death's Head was one such target; after assimilation, however, he overwhelmed Minion's programming before it could take out its final target, Reed Richards of the ComicBook/FantasticFour. Calling itself Death's Head II, the Minion cyborg proceeded to have various adventures as a traditionally heroic (and less amoral) figure.

----
!! Death's Head II exhibits the following tropes:

* ArchEnemy: Charnel, the corpse of the original Death's Head possessed by Baron Strucker IV.
* ArcWelding: With the 3.0 versions. See, during ''Planet Hulk'', several 3.0 style Death's Heads were working for Hulk, and he brought them to Earth in ''World War Hulk''. A few months later, in the ''Nova'' tie-in for ''Secret Invasion'', it turned out some of those 3.0s had wound up in the care of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and one Doctor Evelyn Necker, who was later shown to be working on her own little secret project for AIM...
* AssimilationBackfire: As noted in the description, trying to assimilate the mind of the original Death's Head was what turned Minion into a new Death's Head.
** In the ''What If?'' story Death's Head escapes their initial encounter, and Minion proceeds to successfully kill and assimilate Reed Richards. After Strucker merges with Minion and becomes Charnel, Death's Head combats him by pushing him far enough to tap into all available resources, which includes the mind of Reed Richards. Because Reed's recorded mind also retained his morals and willpower, it manages to stall Charnel just long enough for Death's Head to finish him off.
** Death’s Head II is later on the wrong end of this with at least a couple of the previously absorbed personalities. The plot of the ''Battletide II'' series is kicked off by the assimilated sorcerer Bezial escaping, and the ''Death’s Head II & the Origin of Die-Cut'' series involves Czorn Yson regaining his individuality and escaping into a new body (although much of that tends towards TeethClenchedTeamwork after the initial shock).
* UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks: What he evokes huge build, unnecessarily built arms, generic stances, dark and edgy dialogue. Pretty much the whole set.
* {{Crossover}}: Frequently crossed over with the ComicBook/XMen during his second volume.
* FlawedPrototype: Death Wreck, introduced in the ''[=Death3=]'' series, plays this role for Death’s Head II.
* HeroicBuild: Not necessary heroic, but very stocky.
* HotScientist: Evelyn Necker.
* InNameOnly: Most fans of the original Death's Head felt that Death's Head II was ''not'' the same character -- he was not written by the original writer, exhibited none of the mannerisms and personality quirks of the original, and ended up as a generic DarkerAndEdgier InvincibleHero. The backlash was so great that the ''original'' creators of Death's Head, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior, wrote ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54 for Marvel just to show ''their'' take on what should have happened instead.
** Oddly, the handful of appearances he has had post-2000 have shown him lapsing back to old speech patterns and profit-oriented thinking. Given the amount of time travel in his backstory, some fans theorise that these stories show the original Death's Head before his fatal encounter with Minion.
** It's not just a fan theory in S.W.O.R.D. - not only is it set before Death's Head was shrunk to human size, but it's even set before his Transformers appearances - Beast suggests that instead of 'Bounty Hunter' or 'Personal Recovery Specialist', Death's Head should call himself a 'Freelance Peacekeeping Agent'. Death's Head likes the term.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: Death's Head II's right arm can shapeshift into different weapons as needed.
* {{Sidekick}}: Tuck, an artificial human from the planet Lionheart.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: Death's Head II is the collected personalities and knowledge of the personalities he's assimilated, with the original Death's Head being the most dominant.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Tuck.
* TemporalParadox: Necker's project to develop a protector against the predicted threat to AIM directly results in the creation of said threat as Baron Strucker IV fuses himself magically with the remains of the original Death's Head and becomes Charnel. ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54 played a variation of this, as Death's Head survives, but Strucker then fuses himself with Minion instead, preserving the paradox.
* SuperiorSuccessor: Death Metal, introduced in the ''[=Death3=]'' series, plays this role for Death’s Head II.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Not Death's Head II, but his creator, Dr. Necker, during ''Revolutionary War''. In her appearances in ''Nova'', she'd been a surprisingly benevolent mad scientist (due in part to having the hots for Richard Rider). In RW, she attacks both Death's Heads.
** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in the 2019 ''Death's Head'' miniseries, where she goes after original Death's Head (alongside the ComicBook/YoungAvengers), serving as the main antagonist for the series.
* WolverinePublicity: Death's Head II was ''very'' popular in the UK market for a while.
[[/folder]]

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as Death's Head II, Death Wreck and Death Metal. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/Darkhawk'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

** Death’s Head II is later on the wrong end of this with at least a couple of the previously absorbed personalities. The plot of the ''Battletide II'' series is kicked off by the assimilated sorcerer Bezial escaping, and the ''Death’s Head II & the Origin of Die-Cut'' series involves Czorn Yson regaining his individuality and escaping too a new body (although much of that tends towards TeethClenchedTeamwork after the initial shock).

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsDeathsHead]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deaths_Head_4492.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[-Don't get mad -- kill something, yes?-] ]]
[[VerbalTic Describe Death's Head here, yes?]]

->"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 Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook character created by ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic scribe Creator/SimonFurman and Geoff Senior. He was originally intended as a one-shot throwaway character for Marvel UK's ''Transformers'' series, but proved [[AuthorAppeal sufficiently intriguing during creation]] that the original script was rewritten so he would survive.

Death's Head's second published appearance was 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 [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor (then in [[Creator/{{Sylvester McCoy}} his seventh incarnation]]) 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 [[MrFixit 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 [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]. Prior to all that, however, Death's Head appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics [[AshcanCopy to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel]] rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

His appearances have included crossovers with the [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 G1 Transformers]] (in ''Comicbook/TheTransformers''), ''Series/DoctorWho'' (in the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strips), the ComicBook/FantasticFour, ComicBook/SheHulk, and ComicBook/IronMan 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.

Death's Head has been redesigned and spun off several times by Marvel UK, most notably as Death's Head II, Death Wreck and Death Metal. In 2005, Simon Furman returned to the character by creating Death's Head 3.0 for ''Amazing Fantasy''. In 2009 Death's Head I appeared in the S.W.O.R.D. mini-series penned by Kieron Gillen. In March 2011, issue #33 of Marvel UK's ''Marvel Heroes'' featured "Hulk vs. Death's Head," written by Ferg Handley and Simon Furman. In 2013, Death's Head I reappeared as a supporting character during two storylines of Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run, and again as an antagonist of Jeff Loveness' ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' run. In 2018, he showed up in the ''ComicBook/InfinityCountdown: ComicBook/DarkHawk'' mini-series and in 2019 he got a limited series of his own.

----

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Death's Head I]]

!!Death's Head (the original, yes?) exhibits the following tropes:

* AnArmAndALeg: Lost an arm to [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Galvatron]] at one point.
* ArchEnemy: Many, most notably Big Shot, who became AxeCrazy in his vendetta against Death's Head.
* BerserkButton: Death's Head insists on being called a "freelance peacekeeping agent"; people who call him a BountyHunter never do so twice.
* BlackComedy[=/=]DeadpanSnarker: Death's Head's preferred form of wit, usually delivered with a BondOneLiner after completing his latest assignment.
* CranialProcessingUnit: Death's Head can continue to control his body even after being decapitated. In ''Death's Head II'' issue #1, he gets "assimilated" by being stabbed in the head.
* {{Crossover}}: Going by the stories, Death's Head has encountered the Franchise/{{Transformers}}, [[Series/DoctorWho the Seventh Doctor]], and the mainstream Marvel universe (both present and future). Best to just chalk it up to the multiverse...
-->'''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 Creator/DCComics.
* DeathIsCheap: During an appearance in ComicBook/IronMan, he is stuck inside a self-destructing superweapon, and isn't shown making it out. He shows up in a different title a few months later, [[UnexplainedRecovery completely intact]].
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Death's Head stands as one of the few beings to ever walk away from a battle in the center of the mind with ''Unicron'', even after provoking him repeatedly.
* TheDogBitesBack: When he was hired by a group of rebels to assassinate an oppressive king, Death's Head discovers he was actually set up by the King and expected to die in an ambush. Death's Head proceeds to kill the palace guards and the King -- completing the original contract.
-->''Rule One: Always honor a contract but never trust a client!''
* EqualOpportunityEvil: For a given value of evil ([[EvilPaysBetter bad guys tend to pay better]]), but he does not discriminate in who he goes after or who hires him.
-->''Rule Two: Make no concessions for age, size, or gender.''
* EverythingIsRacist: A RunningGag during his crossover with ComicBook/IronMan. He repeatedly accuses Tony Stark of being [[FantasticRacism prejudiced against robots.]]
* FantasticRacism: He's not fond of organic life. Upon learning that ComicBook/DarkHawk is actually a human piloting an android body:
-->'''Death's Head''': I assumed you were a superior mechanoid life-form. Instead, you're little more than a grim reminder of a fate worse than death, yes?
* [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]
-->"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."
* [[FutureMeScaresMe Future Me Annoys Me]]: Doesn't think too highly of his 'successor'.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: After being rebuilt by Spratt and the Chain Gang, Death's Head swaps his original green outfit to his better-known blue outfit seen today. But then again, he was never that heroic to begin with.
* GrandTheftMe: Forms part of his origin story.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: As long as he's paid, anyway.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Death's Head is willing to improvise weapons from whatever is at hand, including furniture, barbecue skewers, and doors.
-->"Skilled warrior is only out of ammo when room is empty, yes?"
* InsistentTerminology: "Freelance peacekeeping agent," yes? Not a mistake anyone will make twice if I can help it, right?
* LawEnforcementInc: The self-described "Freelance Peacekeeping Agent" Death's Head.
-->"In the name of extreme profit, you are under arrest."
* LetsYouAndHimFight:
** Occurs in ''Death's Head'' #10, when an UpperClassTwit manipulates Death's Head and Iron Man 2020 to fight each other while he bets on the outcome.
** Occurs again in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' #338, when Death's Head is hired to investigate a temporal anomaly and runs into the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Thor.
** And in Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/IronMan'' run. First time was gladiatorial combat, second was because Death's Head was being controlled.
* LosingYourHead: In their first encounter, ComicBook/IronMan 2020 decapitates Death's Head in battle. Annoyed, Death's Head used his headless body to beat up Iron Man and work off his aggression.
* {{Magitek}}: Death's Head was created with a mixture of technology and magic, originally intended as a replacement body for his creator.
* MindRape: Was on the receiving end of this from Unicron in ''Transformers'', and Rigellian Recorder 451 in ''Iron Man''.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: ''Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk'' gives him a mouth full of fangs, complete with GoldTooth.
* MrFixit: Spratt is competent with a toolkit, but not to the level of a GadgeteerGenius.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: 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.
-->''Rule Three: Never kill for free, but it pays to advertise!''
** This goes so far that when he was told he had to save his future self he ''refused'' at first because he doesn't do jobs for free. After a bit of convincing, he settled for doing it as "life insurance".
* RoboticPsychopath: He is severely lacking empathy, understanding of people and has terrible control over his impulses.
* RocketBoots: What he uses when he needs to move around the battlefield, or leave it.
* SamaritanSyndrome: Averted; on the rare occasions when Death's Head acts altruistically, he either has an ulterior motive or {{Lampshade}}s himself for "being soft".
-->"Universal peace sounds like a worthwhile endeavor, [[EvilPaysBetter but the bottom line is the bottom line. Daddy's got a tax bill]]."
** This point is hammered home at the end of ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54, after [[spoiler:sacrificing the ComicBook/FantasticFour and several other Marvel heroes in a fight to the death against Minion/Charnal]]:
--->"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?"
* SecondLawMyAss: He obeys no organic, and likes very few of them.
* {{Sidekick}}: Spratt.
* SkullForAHead: Though it's more robotic and alien than most examples.
* SpinOff: From the Marvel UK [[ComicBook/TheTransformers comic book series.]]
* SwissArmyAppendage[=/=]SwissArmyWeapon: Death's Head has several different weapons that he can swap his right hand with. His most common ones are a mace, an axe, a blaster, and several different types of missiles.
* TimeyWimeyBall: The first incarnation has made numerous appearances after Death's Head II came into being, including the two meeting (and fighting) each other. The chronology of the appearances from his perspective is anyone's guess. To quote Creator/KieronGillen: "If you can't bring back a time-traveling dimension-skipper, who can you bring back?"
* UnexplainedRecovery: Death's Head surviving a collapsing superweapon in ''Iron Man'' wasn't adequately explained the next time he appeared in ''Revolutionary War'', though he mentioned something about "backups".
* VerbalTic: Death's Head often uses terse sentences, and ends most of his sentences with questions, and more frequently with "Yes?", "Right?" and "Eh?"
** WordOfGod is that this is modeled after a RealLife British politician, though Simon Furman refuses to reveal who it is.
* WeCanRebuildHim: After being nearly destroyed by the Dragons Claws, Death's Head was taken in by the Chain Gang and rebuilt by Spratt.
* WhatIf: To address the personality change of Death's Head II, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior wrote ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #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 HeroicSacrifice against Minion's OneWingedAngel form before destroying him personally.]] Simon Furman has said that writing the story was "deeply satisfying and cathartic".
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: He gets annoyed when organics treat intelligent robots like they are just unfeeling machines.
-->"You’re not one of those guys who has a code against killing 'except for robots'? I hate those krypto-fascists."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Death's Head II]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deaths_Head_II_7569.jpg]]

Death's Head II was originally a cyborg named Minion, created in 2020 by AIM scientist Dr. Evelyn Necker to protect the organization from a vague psychically predicted threat. In preparation, Minion was sent to assimilate the knowledge and personalities of the 106 most deadly individuals in the galaxy, killing them in the process.

The original Death's Head was one such target; after assimilation, however, he overwhelmed Minion's programming before it could take out its final target, Reed Richards of the ComicBook/FantasticFour. Calling itself Death's Head II, the Minion cyborg proceeded to have various adventures as a traditionally heroic (and less amoral) figure.

!! Death's Head II exhibits the following tropes:

* ArchEnemy: Charnel, the corpse of the original Death's Head possessed by Baron Strucker IV.
* ArcWelding: With the 3.0 versions. See, during ''Planet Hulk'', several 3.0 style Death's Heads were working for Hulk, and he brought them to Earth in ''World War Hulk''. A few months later, in the ''Nova'' tie-in for ''Secret Invasion'', it turned out some of those 3.0s had wound up in the care of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and one Doctor Evelyn Necker, who was later shown to be working on her own little secret project for AIM...
* AssimilationBackfire: As noted in the description, trying to assimilate the mind of the original Death's Head was what turned Minion into a new Death's Head.
** In the ''What If?'' story Death's Head escapes their initial encounter, and Minion proceeds to successfully kill and assimilate Reed Richards. After Strucker merges with Minion and becomes Charnel, Death's Head combats him by pushing him far enough to tap into all available resources, which includes the mind of Reed Richards. Because Reed's recorded mind also retained his morals and willpower, it manages to stall Charnel just long enough for Death's Head to finish him off.
* UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks: What he evokes huge build, unnecessarily built arms, generic stances, dark and edgy dialogue. Pretty much the whole set.
* {{Crossover}}: Frequently crossed over with the ComicBook/XMen during his second volume.
* HeroicBuild: Not necessary heroic, but very stocky.
* HotScientist: Evelyn Necker.
* InNameOnly: Most fans of the original Death's Head felt that Death's Head II was ''not'' the same character -- he was not written by the original writer, exhibited none of the mannerisms and personality quirks of the original, and ended up as a generic DarkerAndEdgier InvincibleHero. The backlash was so great that the ''original'' creators of Death's Head, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior, wrote ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54 for Marvel just to show ''their'' take on what should have happened instead.
** Oddly, the handful of appearances he has had post-2000 have shown him lapsing back to old speech patterns and profit-oriented thinking. Given the amount of time travel in his backstory, some fans theorise that these stories show the original Death's Head before his fatal encounter with Minion.
** It's not just a fan theory in S.W.O.R.D. - not only is it set before Death's Head was shrunk to human size, but it's even set before his Transformers appearances - Beast suggests that instead of 'Bounty Hunter' or 'Personal Recovery Specialist', Death's Head should call himself a 'Freelance Peacekeeping Agent'. Death's Head likes the term.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: Death's Head II's right arm can shapeshift into different weapons as needed.
* {{Sidekick}}: Tuck, an artificial human from the planet Lionheart.
* SplitPersonalityMerge: Death's Head II is the collected personalities and knowledge of the personalities he's assimilated, with the original Death's Head being the most dominant.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Tuck.
* TemporalParadox: Necker's project to develop a protector against the predicted threat to AIM directly results in the creation of said threat as Baron Strucker IV fuses himself magically with the remains of the original Death's Head and becomes Charnel. ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54 played a variation of this, as Death's Head survives, but Strucker then fuses himself with Minion instead, preserving the paradox.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Not Death's Head II, but his creator, Dr. Necker, during ''Revolutionary War''. In her appearances in ''Nova'', she'd been a surprisingly benevolent mad scientist (due in part to having the hots for Richard Rider). In RW, she attacks both Death's Heads.
** Taken {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in the 2019 ''Death's Head'' miniseries, where she goes after original Death's Head (alongside the ComicBook/YoungAvengers), serving as the main antagonist for the series.
* WolverinePublicity: Death's Head II was ''very'' popular in the UK market for a while.
[[/folder]]
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Death's Head is a Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook character created by ''[[Comicbook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comic scribe Creator/SimonFurman and Geoff Senior. He was originally intended as a one-shot throwaway character for Marvel UK's ''Transformers'' series, but proved [[AuthorAppeal sufficiently intriguing during creation]] that the original script was rewritten so he would survive.

* {{Crossover}}: Going by the stories, Death's Head has encountered the {{Transformers}}, [[Series/DoctorWho the Seventh Doctor]], and the mainstream Marvel universe (both present and future). Best to just chalk it up to the multiverse...

* EverythingIsRacist: A RunningGag during his crossover with Comicbook/IronMan. He repeatedly accuses Tony Stark of being [[FantasticRacism prejudiced against robots.]]

* TimeyWimeyBall: The first incarnation has made numerous appearances after Death's Head II came into being, including the two meeting (and fighting) each other. The chronology of the appearances from his perspective is anyone's guess. To quote KieronGillen: "If you can't bring back a time-traveling dimension-skipper, who can you bring back?"

** Taken {{Up to Eleven}} in the 2019 ''Death's Head'' miniseries, where she goes after original Death's Head (alongside the ComicBook/YoungAvengers), serving as the main antagonist for the series.

* MindRape: Was on the receiving end of this from Unicron.

Death's Head's second published appearance was 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 [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]]'s TARDIS. In defense, the Doctor (then in [[Creator/{{Sylvester McCoy}} his seventh incarnation]]) 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 [[MrFixit 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 [[BountyHunter Freelance Peacekeeping Agent]]. Prior to all that, however, Death's Head appeared in the one-page story "High Noon Tex" in several Marvel UK comics to ensure the character rights remained with Marvel rather than ceding to Creator/{{Hasbro}}.

-->'''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 Creator/DCComics."

--->"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?"

* FollowTheLeader: Death's Head II's design is clearly meant to invoke the Creator/RobLiefeld style popularized during UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.
** You'll also be forgiven if you mistake Death's Head II for a Franchise/{{Predator}} at first.
** Death's Head II also served as the launching pad for several NinetiesAntiHero superheroes, such as Death Wreck, Die Cut and Death Metal.

[[folder: Death's Head I]]

* InNameOnly: Most fans of the original Death's Head felt that Death's Head II was ''not'' the same character -- he was not written by the original writer, exhibited none of the mannerisms and personality quirks of the original, and ended up as a generic DarkerAndEdgier BoringInvincibleHero. The backlash was so great that the ''original'' creators of Death's Head, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior, wrote ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' #54 for Marvel just to show ''their'' take on what should have happened instead.