Savage Dragon #100

The Choice
June 2002
22 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Reuben Rude & Abel Mouton: Colors
Josh Eichorn: Has Spent the Last Ten Years Driving in the Slow Lane in a Blue Civic with A Brown Door and His Left Turn Signal Blinking.
PIN-UPS:
Bruce Timm: Pin-Up (Dragon)
Frank Cho: Pin-Up (Dragon & Smasher)
Frank Miller: Pin-Up (Dragon)
Carlos Pacheco: Pin-Up (Dragon & Freak Force)
Marc Silvestri: Pin-Up (Dragon)
Art Adams: Pin-Up (Dragon & Variants)

Heroes

Dragon
Image Universe:-
The Special Operations Strikeforce
– Herakles
– Beast Boy (Joins)
– Earth Girl (Joins)
– Feezle (Joins)
– Fever (Joins)
– Horridus
– The Kid Avenger (Joins)
– Kill-Cat (Joins)
– Lightning (Joins)
– Max Damage (Joins)
– Mighty Man IV
– PowerHouse (Joins)
– Rapture (Alternate) (Joins)
– Rubber Guy (Joins)
– Smasher (Alternate) (First Appearance)
– SuperPatriot (Joins)
– WarHawk
Savage World:-
The Eternal Youths (Disbands)
– Big Lug (Quits)
– Charisma (Death Issue)
– Cowbloke (Death Issue)
– Lovechild (Quits)
– Might (Death Issue)
The Gods
– Herakles
– Armstrong
– Golden-Boy
– Heimrokk (First Appearance)
– PowerHouse
– Seela (First Appearance)
– Thor
– Zeek
– The Residents of God Town
The Liberty League
– Battle Tank
– Mighty Man II
– SuperPatriot
The Underground Freaks
– Rock
– Beast Boy
– Feezle
– The Shrew
– Widow
Barbaric
Dart
Horridus
Mako
Ricochet
She-Dragon
Rita Medermade
Star IV
Vanguard

Supporting Characters

Image Universe:-
Chicago Police Department
– Lt. Frank Darling
– Sgt. Alex Wilde (Quits)
– Officer Amy Belcher (She-Dragon) (Joins)
Jon Day
Malcolm Dragon
Rex Dexter
Savage World:-
Captain Frank Darling
Jennifer Murphy
Angel Murphy
Sam Haze
Wally

Villains

The Monster Master (First Appearance) (Death Issue)
The Sky-Riders (Some Die)
The Grokks (Some Die)
Flash Mercury
The Nixed Men (Disbands)
– Fade (Death Issue)
– Lightning Bug
– Sub-Human (Death Issue)
– Super-X

Summary

Dragon arrives in Washington, DC with Alex Wilde where he witnesses the revamped S.O.S. involved in a training session. He has a tough time dealing with the fact that Jennifer Murphy has married Herakles and has not even met him in this reality. Dragon also wonders if there is any real need for him to remain on his original Earth as there is precious little left for him to do. Alex takes him elsewhere in Complex One, allowing for Dragon to finally be reunited with his son, Malcolm.

The father and son conversation is not an easy one. Dragon finds it difficult to explain why he has not been able to help raise him as the subject of alternate timelines is a confusing one. He does his best to recite his history to Malcolm but when he mentions how Rapture was killed, Dragon’s son refuses to accept that this revelation is the truth. He still believes that his mother is alive and raising him, unaware that she is a duplicate from another reality. Malcolm simply declares that he hates his father and demands that he leave him alone.

Alex berates Dragon for his decision to tell the truth to his young son as they pair return to Chicago and visit the police precinct. Frank Darling has had a laid back couple of years and has put on a great deal of weight. He reveals that the Chicago Police Department no longer had a need for super-powered officer but had one anyway, completely unaware that this Dragon was not the genuine article as he claimed a head injury that occurred during the raid on the Covenant of the Sword fortress had led to memory lapses, explaining away any mistakes he made with his stories. The former She-Dragon has returned to the police force and even married Howard Niseman after her powers had been removed.

A call comes through to inform Dragon that the portal back to the other reality had reopened up early in Rex Dexter’s laboratory. He races there with Alex and goes against her wishes by passing through the portal, believing that it would have only been opened early if his friends there were in trouble. Dragon arrives and discovers that the Liberty League is protecting She-Dragon and the Eternal Youths who are under attack by the Gods and the Sky-Riders.

Flash Mercury arrives on the scene with the Nixed Men after having been dispatched by the Creator to claim revenge upon Dragon. The leader of the Sky-Riders is named the Monster Master and he announces that his forces allied themselves with Rakkum so that they could bring back DarkLord. Herakles watches as his forces are overpowered by the villains and departs, vowing to return with reinforcements to complete their mission.

The Sky-Riders force their prisoners to open up a portal for DarkLord to pass through but as Dragon destroys the machinery, it is not DarkLord that emerges. Alex arrives on this Earth as the portal closes down but the Monster Master moves to strike her down for preventing his master from returning. Star leaps into action with Rita Medermade and his throwing stars impale the villain in the throat. Alex mistakenly assumes that Star is her late lover Chris Robinson.

As the action heats up further, Battle Tank collapses from yet another heart attack and he is protected by SuperPatriot. A monster kills several members of the Eternal Youths and Nixed Men before Herakles returns with an airborne God Town and an army of Gods, backed up by various heroes. The Sky-Riders are quickly defeated and their monstrous minions disposed of. Sam Haze reports on the whole incident for the television.

The Gods depart with the surviving members of the Eternal Youths as the aftermath is dealt with. Dragon checks up on She-Dragon who lost many friends during the carnage but the heroine assures him that she is fine and walks off alone. Dragon apologizes to Alex as she knows that he would not have returned to their original Earth and that they would never have seen one another again. Alex learns from William Jonson that his predecessor as Star may still be alive. She informs Dragon that she is going in search of Chris to get a second chance at happiness with a man she loves.

Dragon returns to the crater where Jennifer Murphy and he once lived and celebrates his birthday as it is ten years since he had been first discovered in a burning field. He laments the fact that despite the world calming down over the past two years, he has been unable to locate his missing girlfriend. Dragon is pleasantly surprised when he is confronted by Jennifer and Angel. The mother and daughter have finally returned to Chicago and are horrified by the fate of their home.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
The End
2 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Chris Eliopoulos: Inks & Letters
Eric Stephenson: Colors

Heroes

Super-Tough (Retirement Issue)
Young-Tough

Summary

April 23, 1982. At the Ft. Heaton Military Base, an experimental weapon is being transported to its test site. The deadly Nega-Bomb is a massive security risk and the veteran hero Super-Tough is enlisted to offer some protection. He and his teenaged sidekick are together on their final mission together as Young-Tough prepares to head into the big leagues as part of Youngblood. There is no action to be had on this emotional occasion and Super-Tough reveals that he is a little disappointed.

Super-Tough ultimately opts to retire from heroics and moves to a ranch in Wyoming. Young-Tough goes onto a successful hero career and eventually takes his mentor’s codename. Due to the lack of an explosion from the Nega-Bomb, a series of domino effects occurred that altered the progression of events in the world. The massive extent that these two relatively minor heroes had on the Earth was nearly impossible to predict. Super-Tough faded away from the public spotlight and Young-Tough never went onto become the mentally unstable vigilante Mace.

BACKUP STORY

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
The Power of Mighty Man
8 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Jerry Ordway: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Eric Stephenson: Colors

Heroes

Dragon
Mighty Man (Death Issue)

Supporting Characters

Ann Stevens
Dr. Larry Bradford
Billy Berman

Summary

May 17, 1992. Robert Berman transforms into his super-powered identity in a supposedly abandoned alleyway. A flash of light reveals the presence of a photographer and Mighty Man is quick to take a hold of this man and threaten to kill him should he reveal his secret identity to the world. Mighty Man quickly realizes that he would not have been a hero if he murdered a helpless civilian and he reluctantly allows the man to flee, warning him of the potential consequences of his actions.

Later, the Chicago Voice newspaper prints the article revealing the secret identity of the World’s Mightiest Man and a worried Robert Berman knows that his time is coming to an end. The elderly man did not realize that it was in fact his grandson Billy Berman that tipped off the photographer. His grandfather is indeed attacked in his home as he had planned and a group of young thugs brutally beat him in his mortal form before stabbing him.

Robert Berman is raced to Hillman Hospital where he is cared for nurse Ann Stevens who maintains an almost constant vigil over him. Eventually, the injuries claim the life of the superhero and he reaches out for his grandson one last time. Billy is not present and his nurse attempts to comfort him, unaware that the powers of Mighty Man had been transferred to her. Billy Berman was enraged by the apparent loss of those immense powers and had to be led away by orderlies.

With no Nega-Bomb, CessPool was never created and a phone call to Ann Stevens was not made. The young woman did not accidentally discover her new form. Dragon soon arrives and becomes Chicago’s premiere superhuman defender. Years later, when the world was invaded by the Martians, the devastation is more severe. Mighty Man’s participation in that war was vital and Earth suffered without his presence. Larry Bradford is reunited with his college sweetheart while caring for the wounded and they both end up moving back to Kansas City, Missouri.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Breaking Point
6 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Bill Sienkewicz: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Reuben Rude & Abel Mouton: Colors

Summary

August 9, 1993. With the Dragon loaned out to New York City to deal with several murders of elderly people by a superhuman killer, events in Chicago spiral out of control. A breakout in Stronghold Penitentiary prompts a hasty response by the police department, including their latest recruit, the former Detroit vigilante known as Dart.

The Vicious Circle is fleeing en masse to freedom and the non-powered Dart is no match for them. She is joined by the hero Star but his arrival could not turn the tide of the conflict and BodyCount is able to shoot Dart. Mighty Man had originally made his return here but this was not to be and the costumed crime-fighters are left to fend for themselves.

Wreckage takes advantage of the wounded nature of Dart and prepares to rape her. Mako sees what is about to happen and intervenes, killing his compatriot in a swift but savage fight. He then gathers up the injured woman and flees the Vicious Circle for fear of retaliation. The pair arrives on an unnamed island in the Coral Sea where Mako reveals that his sister had been raped years ago and he could never stand by and see such a thing happen to someone else. His wounds finally overcome him and he passes out, worrying Dart about his condition.

Meanwhile, Star has been left with numerous broken bones and is taken to Hillman Hospital to receive medical treatment. Peter Klaptin stops by to visit his bodyguard and fires him for allowing him to be caught and exposed as a black man, effectively ruining his scheme to pose as Star. The delusional singer then storms off with the intention of ensuring the public still believes that he is the true Star.

BACKUP STORY

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
A Turn for the Worse!
3 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Bruce Timm: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Reuben Rude & Abel Mouton: Colors

Heroes

Rapture

Supporting Characters

Brian Louis Leroy Walker (Death Issue)

Summary

September 12, 1993. For killing several of her friends, Rapture pays a visit to her pimp. A desperate Brian Walker pleads for his life but his former employee is in no mood for mercy and she grabs him by the genitals. She then emits a lethal discharge of electricity that instantly kills the man. Without the existence of CessPool, who would have been created by the original Nega-Bomb explosion, Barbaric and Ricochet would not meet the Dragon and join the police force. Ricochet would not have encountered Rapture and changed events so that Rapture killed Walker in self-defence. This meant that Rapture would commit murder and be forced into the life of a fugitive.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Losing Control
8 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Tim Townsend: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Matt Tyree: Colors

Heroes

Freak Force (Disbands)
– Dragon (Quits)
– Horridus (Quits)

Supporting Characters

Lt. Frank Darling

Villains

The Annihilators (Disbands)(Joins the Vicious Circle)
– CyberFace
– Animal
– Bloop
– Bulldozer
– DeathMask
– The Demolisher
– Dung
– Flatline
– Inadequate Lightning
– LowBlow
– MindWarp
– Shard
– Ultimatum
The Vicious Circle
– OverLord (Death Issue)
– Animal II
– Blue Don (First Appearance)
– BrainiApe
– Bud Ugly
– Cutthroat
– Fever
– PowerHouse
– RoadBlock
– Roughneck
– Scrag
– SkullFace
– UnderMind
– Vein

Summary

October 3, 1993. The Annihilators are a rival gang of super-freaks to the Vicious Circle and they have been preparing for a raid on their rivals to seize control of them. Dragon is sent to apprehend the Annihilators and is accompanied by Horridus, the first two members of the ill-fated Freak Force. The two heroes are mercilessly beaten and then thrown out to the cowering police officers nearby. This then frees up the Annihilators to pursue their ultimate goal.

The Annihilators confront the Vicious Circle in their headquarters, interrupting a speech where OverLord had been berating his minions for failing to eliminate his enemies. CyberFace dismisses the posturing of OverLord and makes physical contact with his old friend. His powers enable him to control his armor, leaving OverLord trapped within his own battle-suit. The whole Vicious Circle is gathered together to ask for their verdict regarding OverLord’s fate. They vote for him to be killed and CyberFace accepts their decision, executing his prisoner with his own weaponry.

Those villains that had been loyal to OverLord break away from the main Vicious Circle and are left there when Chicago suffers massive amounts of destruction. Without a full roster of Freak Force in this reality, the Annihilators succeeded in their goals. This meant that CyberFace never suffered his first death which allowed him to remain in full control of his mind and powers. The villain could then go on to reach his full potential.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Possessed
11 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Mike Royer: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Matt Tyree: Colors

Heroes

Dragon
Fon~Ti
Star (Peter Klaptin) (Death Issue)

Supporting Characters

Chicago Police Department
– Lt. Frank Darling
– Detective William Jonson
– Officer Alex Wilde (Death Issue)
– Officer Howard Niseman
– Officer Rita Medermade

Villains

Horde (Death Issue)
The Wicked Worm (Death Issue)

Summary

November 30, 1994. Dragon has become possessed by a leech and was tearing through the city of Chicago, destroying everything in his way. Peter Klaptin sees this event as an opportunity to cement himself into the minds of the public as the true secret identity of Star. Unfortunately for him, he was still inept at fighting and is punched in half by the mind-controlled hero.

The Chicago Police Department are forced to try and bring down their superhuman colleague. Frank Darling has his left arm torn off before Alex Wilde is buried under a fallen building. Dragon was not stopped by Mace in this reality as the vigilante never existed in that guise. This means that Dragon’s rampage continues and thousands of people are killed. Dragon is eventually summoned to the hiding place of Horde to become his first loyal slave.

Dragon’s healing factor finally fends off the leech’s venom and he rejects Horde’s commands, punching him hard enough to release Fon~Ti. The sorcerer retaliates against the Wicked Worms by killing all but one of them. He departed and leaves the surviving leech in Dragon’s custody so that it can confess to his guilt, ultimately leading to its execution via the electric chair.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Invasion, Or: I’ll Take Manhattan
6 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
John Beatty: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Matt Tyree: Colors

Villains

The Cosmic Cops (Death Issue)
CyberFace
The Vicious Circle
– PowerHouse
– Bloop
– Dataman
– DeathMask
– Gateway
– LowBlow

Summary

November 30, 1994. While Chicago is being single-handedly destroyed by the Dragon, another city is at the mercy of super-powered individuals. The Cosmic Cops have arrived on Earth and they seal off the whole of New York City with a protective force-field. Due to the lack of existence of Freak Force on this Earth, it is left to others to save the day. A portal is opened up by Gateway as members of the Vicious Circle pass through.

Dataman performs some tests and confirms to CyberFace that he will need breathing apparatus in order to survive in the Cosmic Cops’ flagship. The villain is teleported inside the alien vessel and with a single touch; CyberFace is able to take complete control of the spacecraft. He uses the alien technology to kill every single one of the Cosmic Cops. CyberFace lowers the shield around the city and announces to the Vicious Circle that they will take New York as their new home.

BACKUP STORY

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Love Story
10 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Terry Austin: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Matt Tyree & Val Staples: Colors

Heroes

Dragon

Supporting Characters

Jennifer Murphy
Angel Murphy
Jon Day

Villains

Arachnid

Summary

Not long after his possession, Dragon is targeted and viciously beaten by the Fiend and left broken in an industrial smokestack. He is visited in hospital by Jennifer Murphy whom he had recently aided in clearing her name when she had been framed for a series of murders. The couple realize that they have feelings for one another and they begin dating. As Rapture and Dragon never really met, they would not date and eventually have a child, freeing Dragon up for a different relationship.

Over the next few months, Dragon and Jennifer fall in love and move in together. Dragon goes missing for a few days and when he returns he has a strange story to tell. He had dreamt about God and The Devil and when he awoke, the threat of the Fiend was over for good. Dragon eventually comes to be accepted as a father by Angel and a family unit is soon formed.

Angel is later abducted by Arachnid, who wishes to keep her as a friend rather than feast upon her as he would usually do with a child. Jennifer catches up with Arachnid and delivers a devastating punch that scares the villain off. Dragon prepares to carry out an assassination attempt against CyberFace on behalf of the government. With danger levels rising, Jennifer decides that Chicago is no place for her to safely raise her child. She leaves Dragon a note informing him that they have left him but will return if he can get the city safe again. It is then that the Martians attack and utterly destroy their home, leaving it a huge crater as the entire world suffers massive devastation.

Unable to bear living with a man whose existence is so dangerous, Jennifer Murphy opts to leave her boyfriend. She takes her daughter with her and the two leave Chicago behind, to begin a new life somewhere hopefully more safe. Dragon is distraught by this but does not have time to mope around as the Martians attack and leave his home a crater in the ground…

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Martians Attack!
6 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Bob Wiacek: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Matt Tyree & Val Staples: Colors

Heroes

The Deadly Duo
– Kill-Cat
– The Kid Avenger
Liberty & Justice
SuperPatriot

Villains

The Martians (Death Issue)

Summary

April 12, 1997. The Martians have targeted the Earth as they see the ever-growing number of super-freaks a potential future threat to their existence. They cause worldwide devastation, mainly due to Mighty Man not being active in this reality. The United States government dispatched their mind-controlled pawn SuperPatriot to takeout the alien stronghold in Detroit, Michigan. This failed when the hero was captured and his children decide to carry out a rescue mission.

Liberty & Justice decide to reveal themselves to their father for the first time and encounter the Deadly Duo during their mission. The heroes join forces to infiltrate the Martian fortress but are captured, causing Liberty to be repeatedly raped by Martian volunteers. Her allies escape and liberate Liberty but before the Kid Avenger can blow up the fortress (and inadvertently destroying Detroit as he did in the other reality), another enters the fray.

CyberFace utilizes the technology stolen from the Cosmic Cops to get him close enough to the Martian headquarters. He defeats them in a similar manner to how he exterminated the Cosmic Cops, taking their equipment for his own use whilst turning the murdered aliens into robot drones. Liberty would become pregnant and she gives birth to her son, Damien DarkLord.

Backup Story

NOTE: All back-ups are set in the Savage World
Life’s End
6 Pages

Credits

Erik Larsen: Story & Art
Walter Simonson: Inks
Chris Eliopoulos: Letters
Reuben Rude & Abel Mouton: Colors

Heroes

Dragon (Death Issue)
Image Universe:-
Dragon
Smasher (Corpse Only)

Villains

Damien DarkLord (Death Issue)
Image Universe:-
Damien DarkLord

Summary

May, 2000. Damien DarkLord has murdered numerous innocent people purely to gain the attention of Dragon. He explains to the hero that they inhabit but one reality in a multiverse and that they must sacrifice their lives in order to save the planet. Damien is going to transfer his mind with that of a counterpart in another reality. He apologizes for any inconvenience he will cause but another Dragon already exists on the other Earth and so he must die.

Dragon has his mind sent elsewhere just as he crushes the skull of Damien into powder. His mind arrives on the other Earth but the body he comes to inhabit is incinerated by the Damien of that reality. In the aftermath, the deceased Damien is consumed by fire as Dragon’s mind from the other reality arrives in his counterpart’s body…

Backup Story

The Savage Tales Celebrity Roast
1 Page

NOTE: This story takes place outside of regular continuity

Credits

Nick Derington & Brian Blake: Writers
Nick Derington: Art

Heroes

Dragon
Kill-Cat

Villains

The Vicious Circle
– BrainiApe
– LowBlow
– Neutron Bob
– Nuke Rage
– Octopus
– OpenFace
– PowerHouse

NOTE: This issue features COMIC BITS by Chris Giarrusso
NOTE: This issue features DESPERATE TIMES by Chris Eliopoulos