Death Wreck is a 1993 comic book limited series, published by the Marvel UK imprint of Marvel Comics. It's written by Craig Houston and illustrated by Stewart Johnson and Martin Griffiths, with color art by Phil Elliott.
Set in the shared Marvel Universe, it's the first solo series to star the titular Death Wreck, a lumbering cyborg who was first introduced in Death³.
Death Wreck is the prototype for the Minion cyborgs created by the villainous Dr Necker. As he was hastily constructed on a limited budget, his body is cobbled together from whatever Necker could obtain, including the transplanted brain of a homeless alcoholic.
However, Death Wreck vanishes from Necker's lab shortly after he's activated, dragged into the future by the villainous Burgen. In 2099, Burgen fears that he's about to be executed by Death's Head II, the cyborg bounty Hunter who's hunting him down. But before he went rogue, Death's Head was originally Minion, Necker's creation - and if Burgon can ensure that something happens to the Minion prototype, Necker would never have been able to create Death's Head at all...
Death Wreck contains the following tropes:
- The Alcoholic: Death Wreck himself. His brain was transplanted from a homeless alcoholic, and he's easily distracted mid-fight when there's booze to be had. It's generally played for laughs.
- Beauty to Beast: When Burgen's first seen in 2099, he's a stocky, blank-eyed, grotesque figure. The final issue introduces a younger version of him, in 2085 - muscular, handsome and The Ageless, kept in peak condition by the 'gene pool', his scientific fountain of youth. Then Olivia kicks him into the pool, Dr. Necker shoots the machinery controlling it, and the Burgen who emerges from the frothing liquid is the warped version previously seen...
- Big Bad: The 2099 version of Burgen is the primary villain and responsible for everything that happens. The cyborg bounty Hunter Death's Head is trying kill Burgen, and Burgen's forces aren't strong enough to fight him off. But Burgen does have basic time travel technology - and if he can change the past by destroying Death Wreck and his creator Dr. Necker, Death's Head will never have been created.
- Covers Always Lie: The second issue's cover shows Death Wreck in a hail of bullets from a futuristic gunman. His opponent only appears on the final page of that issue, and the two don't fight until issue three. Death Wreck spends the second issue dealing with cops, actors and gangsters in the past.
- Funetik Aksent: Often used for Death Wreck himself. It's also combined with a distinctive angular font in his Speech Bubbles.Death Wreck: haybud!…c'mon… gimmeeadollaforradrink!…c'mon…wundolla?
- Make Wrong What Once Went Right: Burgen intends to briefly take Death Wreck to 2099, then send him back to 2018 with a large bomb. It'll detonate, Death Wreck and Necker will both die, and Death's Head II will never have been created - so won't be hunting down Burgen in 2099. His plan swiftly goes wrong, though...
- Speech Bubbles: Death Wreck speaks in the usual white oval bubbles, but his dialogue’s in an angular font (and a Funetik Aksent).
- Tap on the Head: In the final issue, Olivia knocks Dr. Necker unconscious with a punch to the face after Necker threatens to disassemble the unconscious Death Wreck.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Dr. Necker recovers Death Wreck and downloads his memories, she decides that the simplest thing to do is disassemble him. After all, she no longer needs a prototype. Olivia intervenes before Necker can actually do it, though.
- You Just Ruined the Shot: The first issue ends with Death Wreck falling backwards through time and ending up in an old west gunfight. Except that it's actually a film set, of course.
