FinishesñYap
SYNOPSIS
Toshiro returns to Splinter HQ and sees Archie, Prof Stringfellow, and Homer. He needs guns. Prof tells them he worked for Marduk for 15 years. The Prof, Arkoff, and Marduk worked to make pilots for the mobile combat armor. Hotachi and Quan were some of these clones. Marduk wanted to create a perfect army of soldiers. These were to be mindless slaves under control of Marduk. The clones age at the same rate as we doña baby brigade. Archie calls them the infantry. Cuda helped Marduk grow an army in South America, trained from birth as warriors. The Rat Packs are experiments Marduk has done on human beings. Marduk kills crickets. Clones and rat mutants set up an organ for Marduk. John and someone named Billy go with Toshiro who kills rat mutants. Others follow. Toshiro puts one clone to sleep and makes the other open the door, then knocks him out. There are humans and clones in tubes with umbilical cords tied to them. There are duplicates of world leadersññto substitute for the real ones. One clone sounds an alarm while another is tied up. One frame near here has what appears to be the Seaview Computer from VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. The good guys gun down a lot of clone boys as the firing charge is set to blow the place up. Marduk tells his surviving clone that the ones that brought the place down and killed the duplicates should have a party, "Because tomorrow they all die." Sunnyside Street: Father Tuck asks if the streets will be safe now. Toshiro thinks from the Rats anyway. Toshiro asks Marianne to come with him. He has to ask her something.
A SCREAM IN THE KNIGHT: by Marty Pahls
Simon is chased by giant toads in the underground. Other boys, half naked, await their fate, tied up below as a frog moves to eat some of them. Almost lights out in the East Quad: they hear Cuffy's screams. Alex wakes everyone up. Some boys don't goóóthey play chess and piss off or something like it. Yue knocks over the knight and they get Cuffy out. They find computer print outs that Vokra dropped: Simon is to be transmuted into the body of a giant toad. Cuffy fills in the rest of the story. The boys raid the office of Vokra and see Simon on the computer screen. The others start to remember Simon. Ned is one of the boys. One says this is like WEIRD SCIENCE comics. Giant toads drag Simon before Vokra. Vokra tells him, "I am Arkoff!" Vokra wonders what to do with the chained up boysóóboiling in oil, the rack, the hot pinchers, food for the giant toads he made giant size. Vokra makes one rag wearing boy bind Simon. In return the boy will not be fed to the toads. The boys find spears and swords in an old storeroom. Yue accidentally set off an alarm as they start the rescue. Arkoff threatens the boys who are free not to cut the other's bonds...one pull of a lever and all will be blown to perdition!
Toshiro and his band visit Splinter headquarters and ask to for guns to use against Marduk's forces. There Professor Stringfellow reveals the relationship of Marduk, Arkoff, and the Naganata space battleship and generally recapitulates the entire plot. A very important issue for understanding this complex storyline. After getting the weapons, Toshiro and his forces penetrate to Marduk's secret laboratory and blow it sky high. The issue ends with Marduk vowing that "tomorrow they all die"!
The back up story Splinters continues. In issue 20 the plot begins to unravel as Simon discovers Vokra's underground torture chambers. Imaginative and humorous tortures.
Issue 20 has pencils by Barry and inks by Guang Yap. Really nice art. The inside front cover has a beautiful stipple drawing of a "clone warrior". This issue also has a great moody cover by Barry.