Random Happenstance

I was waiting for my Death's Head to show up from Fed Ex, so we dug this one up, which I think I picked up twice lately but wasn't sure I had read? From 1992, Death's Head II #4, "2020 Vision!" Written by Dan Abnett, pencils by Liam Sharp, inks by Andy Lanning and Liam Sharp.

The 2020 of Earth-9939 is probably worse than that of either here or the traditional 616 Marvel universe, as Baron Strucker V has taken over the body of Death's Head and become Charnel. I may have forgotten how that boiled down, as Death's Head's personality ended up one of like 104 in the "Minion" and took it over to become Death's Head II; and his old sidekick Spratt might have been deceived and later killed by Strucker. Punisher leads a suicide run against Charnel; to steal his time-travel doohickey, so Captain America and the remaining heroes can try to go back to 1992 and stop Charnel. Meanwhile, in 1992, Death's Head II, Tuck, and Dr. Necker are at an abandoned mall purchased by A.I.M; awaiting the menace from the future. They have a brief scuffle with Wolverine--breaking one of his claws!--before Cap settles everyone down, since he knows DH II wasn't the big threat.

Charnel arrives, in a body still half-resembling the original Death's Head; and plans on setting up shop there to create the crap future the other heroes had just come from. DH II doesn't really understand why they'd commit suicide like that: either Charnel kills them, or they wipe out their timeline by killing him. Still, he admires Wolverine's fighting spirit; but things go south when Charnel drains the Scarlet Witch's power, and shreds Wolvie. DH II has a last-gasp plan: using two time-jumpers and a Scarlet Witch hex, he sends Charnel to the past and the future, splitting him in two. (He'd be back!) The heroes disappear, as their timeline ends; and Death's Head II gives Dr. Necker an earful: her actions had led to nothing but death, and he wasn't her "Minion" anymore. (As typical for a lot of these I've read, Tuck and Dr. Necker are drawn entirely too similar! Also, a coloring plate seems to have shifted on the second-to-last page, leaving everything in a magenta tone.)

DH II and Tuck split in a stolen semi, while a scowling Dr. Necker sees the Avengers from the present arrive, and leaves rather than talk to Cap. The Fantastic Four and Avengers both take off after Death's Head II and Tuck, as the miniseries ends. A regular series was forthcoming, but they would guest in Warheads first.