The Empire Strikes Back Monthly #144
"Starfire Rising!" delivers a quietly devastating tale from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, where a humanoid robot flees his creator’s lab, donning a human face and clothes in a desperate bid to live among people. As he confronts the cruelty and indifference of humanity, his disillusionment leads to a haunting moment of truth—when he removes his disguise, his creator offers a final, piercing observation. The story’s emotional weight is matched by Ditko’s expressive art and Simek’s precise lettering, making this a standout in the Marvel UK run.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
A humanoid robot escapes his creator's lab with an artificial face and clothes in order to live among humans as a man. He is so disillusioned with human beings inhumanity to their fellows that he removes the mask and allows his creator to bring him back to the lab. His maker says to him "You must have known you could never have passed for human for long." to which the robot replies to the startled engineer "Has the thought never occurred to you that no robot would want to?"
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).