The Robo Machines, Story 2

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The Robo Machines
Story 2
RMStory2.jpg
Story 2
Publisher Fleetway Publications
Published in Eagle #157-172
First published March 29, 1985 - July 12 1985
Writer T. Tully
Artist K. Raymond
Page count 51 (17 x 3 page episodes)

News from the Earth-Wars...

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

The citizens of Robotron receive a news update from the battle on Earth, where the Renegades Cy-Kill, Tank, Fitor, Loco and Cop-Tur were defeated by a team of Security Forces troops consisting of Leader One, Hans-Cuff, Dozer, Truck, Rest-Q and Night Ranger, thanks to the help of their human ally Charlie Bampton. Tank, Fitor, Loco and Cop-Tur were all captured but Cy-Kill and the evil scientist behind the Renegades, Stron-Domez, escaped and remain at large, to the concern of some citizens. The pair have taken refuge in a disused railway station near London, where Cy-Kill is beginning work on Stron-Domez's latest plan - to turn the scientist himself into Zod.

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Cy-Kill finishes the modifications to Stron-Domez to turn him into the gigantic ferocious Zod. On emerging Zod witnesses that they have been witnessed by a scrap dealer named Alf Meeker. They realise he can be used to get material and find facilities for building further Robo Machines for the Renegades. However Zod's appearance creates a large spike on the Command Centre's sensors, alerting Charlie and Leader One...

Alf leads Cy-Kill to his scrap-yard while Zod follows by air. He comes across the Command Centre, which is on its' way to investigate the derelict railway station and decides to attack. His first pass causes considerable damage to the Security Forces ship so Royal-T and Carry-All are launched to defend the ship, much to Zod's amusement as he believes them to be Earth aircraft...

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Carry-All and Royal-T are able to distract Zod for a short while but their attacks do him no significant damage. His return fire sends Royal-T crashing down towards Earth, the Security Forces jet switching to his robot mode to trying to reduce the effects of the impact. Leader One watches the battle as repairs are made to the Command Centre; they are forced to withdraw towards space and Zod is unable to follow due to the damage inflicted. Royal-T meanwhile is found by schoolchildren, lying in a pool of leaking oil in the middle of a playground...

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Alf and Cy-Kill recruit a workforce of vagrants to build the first of Zod's planned Devil Invaders, Casmodon. Meanwhile Carry-All is still unable to contact the Command Centre and sets off to search for it in person before Royal-T expires from a lack of lubricant. He heads up into the sky above London and picks up signals - but it's not the Security Forces. Realising it must be Zod and Cy-Kill, he heads down to investigate...

Carry-All investigates the scrap-yard and is spotted on a scanner by Cy-Kill, who is sent by Zod to stop him contacting the Command Centre. Carry-All is able to hit Cy-Kill with one of his blades but mistakes a scrap Earth bike for the Renegade and is badly damaged by return fire. Before he can recover Zod appears and crushes the Security Forces robot in his jaws. Meanwhile inside the yard Casmodon is ready. Despite his huge injuries Carry-All is able to transmit a weak signal to the Command Centre, which heads towards the scrap yard...

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Zod marvels at Casmodon, the first of the Devil Invaders with which he plans to take over Earth, giving him a base for an invasion of Robotron. However Cy-Kill is growing weary of his creator and makes adjustments to the final circuits of Casmodon's brain. The activity is registering on the Command Centre, which is vectoring on on the dying Carry-All's signal. To avoid warranting attention Leader One leads the bulk of the Security Forces in separately, leaving Charlie and Scooter onboard the ship. However shortly after the main force leads Charlie's ESP warns him the Security Forces are facing something even more dangerous than Zod, and he persuades Scooter to drive him out to warn Leader One and the others.

Carry-All's signal finally stops but the Security Force Guardians have locked onto Alf Meeker's scrap-yard, and they switch to their vehicle modes as they approach the yard. Cy-Kill meanwhile is concerned that Carry-All might have had time to send a signal out, and Zod activates Casmodon. The workers try to escape and Casmodon kills them, greatly impressing Cy-Kill. Leader One then arrives ahead of the main Security Forces attack and is stunned to see Casmodon, who transforms and gives chase...

Cy-Kill and Alf look on as Casmodon pursues Leader One. The Devil Invader's firepower is enough to devastate nearby flats, blocking the path of Scooter and Charlie. Leader One is forced to land in the scrap-yard and just has time to broadcast a warning to his fellow Guardians before he is attacked by Cy-Kill, while the massive Casmodon transforms and begins to attack London.

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Casmodon wreaks destruction on a suburb of London, destroying buildings and crushing streets. Meanwhile Leader One is able to gain the upper hand in his fight with Cy-Kill, trapping the Renegade under a crane. However his energy reserves are low when Zod arrives but the other Guardians arrive and help. Their firepower disables Zod but Leader One tells his men they have other problems. They fly off towards London, where Casmodon looms over the city - the greatest challenge the Guardians have ever faced...

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The Guardians are stunned by the power of Casmodon. As they are unable to wait to bring up the firepower of the Command Centre due to the rising human casualties Leader One makes it clear the attack will be volunteers only - however, all the Guardians opt to take part. The make a combined assault on the Devil Invader and initially think they have beaten Casmodon but the smoke clears to reveal the monster is still standing. Casmodon switches fire to the Guardians, destroying Night Ranger with a single blast and then hitting Truck as well. Back at the scrapyard Cy-Kill has got free but abandons Zod, leading off to get a grandstand view of Casmodon destroying the Guardians...

Residents of London scatter as Casmodon continues to battle the Guardians. Turbo is nearly his next victim, getting buried by a falling building. He soon breaks out and is found by Leader One, who says their only hope is the weaponry of the Command Centre. Unbeknownst to them however the ship is unattended - Scooter and Charlie are nearby, still trying to reach the rest of the team. However they come across Cy-Kill attacking human cars and Scooter insists on confronting the Renegade, who plans to tear them apart...

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Cy-Kill chases Scooter through London; at Charlie's suggestion Scooter aims his blaster at the streets under the Renegade's feet, dropping him into the Underground, where he's struck by a train. They are unable to help the trapped passengers however as Casmodon is right on top of them; the Devil Invader's latest salvo injures Dozer. Leader One realises the Guardians are completely outgunned and orders a retreat to the Command Centre, hoping a weapon to fight Casmodon can be found on Robotron. However Casmodon transforms to vehicle mode and gives chase...

Casmodon spots Scooter and Charlie, capturing the human and stowing him in its' body as it pursues the Guardians. Scooter gives chase on the ground as the Devil Invader attacks Leader One, Turbo and the injured Dozer. Charlie's ESP enables him to locate Casmodon's change mechanism and prepares to wreck it just as the monster nearly shoots down Turbo and Dozer. Dozer urges Turbo to abandon him and save himself...

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Turbo disobeys Dozer's orders and refuses to abandon his comrade, even though it means staying and fighting Casmodon. Leader One, Hans-Cuff and Rest-Q try to provide cover but have little luck until Charlie, inside Casmodon, is able to smash the Devil Invader's change circuit, forcing it to transform in mid-air. Casmodon falls to the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing Scooter. Charlie is thrown out in the crash but seems injured and Scooter gathers him up, Cy-Kill tries to intercept the pair but is blasted by Leader One, who leads the Guardians away as the Renegades recover.

Hans-Cuff worries about Leader One's decision to abandon Earth but he argues that the Guardians will be wiped out without reinforcements. Cy-Kill meanwhile realises Casmodon is too damaged to continue the chase as sets off to attack himself. The Guardians meanwhile arrive at the Command Centre and begin to get ready to leave for Robotron, taking Charlie with them. Cy-Kill narrowly fails to intercept them as they go, announcing he will build an invasion force with human slave labour and invade Robotron...

...and that's a Robo Machine story for the future!

Featured characters[edit | edit source]

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Security Forces Renegades Humans Others

Quotes[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

Continuity notes[edit | edit source]

  • Tank, Fitor, Loco and Cop-Tur only appear in the news recap in the first chapter.
  • Carry-All and Royal-T are handwaved as being recently created onboard the Command Centre; they don't even bother with that for Turbo and Scooter.
  • Hans-Cuff swears in the name of "Marok" and Cy-Kill by the "shades of Naxos".
  • Due to the serial's abrupt end Falgos and Zarios would never be built, making their only appearance in a brief vision in the junkyard.
  • The death of Carry-All likely seals the fate of poor Royal-T, who's bleeding to death in a tunnel somewhere. Harsh.
  • The serial was curtailed hurriedly, leading to the highly unusual conclusion of the good guys running off and leaving Cy-Kill and Casmodon in control of Earth. For aspiring fanfic writers and/or John Barber the loose ends include: -
  • Casmodon requires repairs
  • Zod still being disabled in Alf Meeker's scrapyard, with the blueprints for Falgos and Zarios.
  • Leader One, Turbo, Scooter, Hans-Cuff, Rest-Q, the injured Dozer and Charlie are en route to Robotron in the Command Centre.
  • Truck was last seen being shot down near London; while it is likely he died it's not shown.
  • The same possibly goes for Royal-T, hidden and injured in a railway tunnel.
  • Considering the Robo Machine toy releases at the time the planned Devil Invader-beating weapon from Robotron was likely the Battle Suit.

Errors[edit | edit source]

Continuity errors[edit | edit source]

  • Ex-El is not included in the news recap or mentioned ever again. While this was clearly a deliberate choice it's still a gigantic plot hole.

Miscellaneous errors[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • The strip's week hiatus between stories was caused by the Eagle merging with another Fleetway weekly title, Tiger. Absorbing that comic's strips led to an internal reorganisation, including The Robo Machines now being in three-colour with red added to the black-and-white. The recap nature of the first chapter was partly to bring new readers who came over from the merge up to date with the storyline.

External Links[edit | edit source]