2000 AD and Starlord #123
Prog 123 of 2000 AD and Starlord carries the first episode of 'The Order of Knights Martial,' the two-part story that marks the debut of Deadlock — the mystical, Khaos-worshipping robot knight who would become one of the most philosophically distinctive characters in the entire ABC Warriors roster. At this point in the recruitment arc (the fifth installment of the new series), writer Pat Mills was methodically assembling his 'Mek-nificent Seven,' and Deadlock's arrival gave the team its supernatural, morally ambiguous wildcard, deepening the strip's thematic range well beyond straight action-adventure. The prog also sits within the historically brief 'and Starlord' co-branding window — running only from prog 86 to prog 127 — making it a tangible document of the moment when two IPC titles were sharing a masthead before 2000 AD fully re-established its independent identity.
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The ABC Warriors strip was created by Pat Mills and launched in prog 119 (June 1979), growing directly out of the Ro-Busters strip that had transferred to 2000 AD when Starlord was cancelled and merged into it in late 1978. Art for the opening episodes was divided among Kevin O'Neill, Mike McMahon, and Brendan McCarthy — O'Neill handling the debut installment and returning for the Deadlock-introduction episode in prog 123, with Brett Ewins completing part two in prog 124. The series was conceived as a prequel of sorts to Ro-Busters, returning to Hammerstein's wartime years and following his mission to recruit a squad of specialist robots, with each two-part story introducing a new team member within the wider Volgan War mythology Mills had been building across multiple 2000 AD strips including Invasion!
Trivia · 8 facts
- Prog 123 contains the first appearance of Deadlock — Khaos-worshipping robot mystic and wielder of the Ace of Swords — as confirmed in the official 2000 AD story index.
- The story in this issue is 'The Order of Knights Martial' part 1, the fifth episode of the original ABC Warriors series written by Pat Mills, with art by Kevin O'Neill on part 1.
- The ABC Warriors strip itself debuted four issues earlier in prog 119 (30 June 1979), introducing the team concept, Hammerstein, Joe Pineapples, and Happy Shrapnel; Mongrol was recruited in progs 121–122 immediately before this issue.
- The ABC Warriors were designed as atomic, bacterial, and chemical warfare robots — soldiers built for the Volgan War, a conflict Pat Mills had previously depicted in Invasion! (featuring Bill Savage) and Ro-Busters.
- Prog 123 was published during the short-lived 'and Starlord' co-branding period (progs 86–127), reflecting the 1978 merger of Starlord into 2000 AD; the Starlord name was dropped from the masthead just four issues later with prog 127.
- Judge Dredd stories from this period (progs 116–154) were later collected by Rebellion in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 03.
- The full original ABC Warriors run (progs 119–139, including this issue) was later collected in Rebellion's ABC Warriors: The Mek Files 01 trade paperback.
- Several artists contributed to the early ABC Warriors episodes, including Kevin O'Neill, Mike McMahon, Brendan McCarthy, Dave Gibbons, and Carlos Ezquerra — O'Neill having been unable to meet all his original art deadlines, requiring the others to step in across the run.
Cast · 9 characters
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Father Earth and his cadre blow up Mega City 1's geothermal planet, creating a volcano.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).