The final three issues of Gillis and Anderson's Strikeforce: Morituri run are some of their finest, as they go out on a high.
Strikeforce: Morituri #18 (1988)
Pencils: Brent Anderson
Inks: Scott Williams
The encounter with the monster Morituri has left Will (aka Scatterbrain) with his previously minor telepathic powers going into overdrive. He senses death all around him, a feeling that's hard to avoid when you're surrounded by Morituri. Meanwhile, a disillusioned Dr Tuomela prepares for the next batch of recruits, who Gillis ultimately wouldn't get to introduce. Tuomela is so horrified by how the Government have twisted his process, he wipes all his data and records from the database. Something that used to be believable before the internet and cloud backups.
The return of the stranded Hordian from a few issues back leads to an internal power struggle at the Horde's base in South Africa. My mileage for Horde politics varies, as they're kind of one note villains, regardless of who is in charge. The new, bloodthirstier Morituri finally mount a successful raid on this base where the Black Watch net their deaths. Will becomes overwhelmed by his now overreaching telepathy, rendering himself catatonic. It's a strong issue, shining a spotlight on a hitherto overlooked character and making him interesting, before suddenly removing him from the chessboard.
Strikeforce: Morituri #19 (1988)
Pencils: Brent Anderson
Inks: Scott Williams
Pilar (aka Scaredycat) is probably the most likable of the later generations of Morituri. Vivacious and kind, she reminds me a little of another Marvel cat woman, Tigra. Pilar's slightly out there attitude is revealed in her crush on pudding bowl haired Will, and her new agey beliefs. Before Will became sidelined for good, he told Pilar that she was next to die, a revelation that fails to phase her. She possesses an unwavering conviction in her belief in an atypical afterlife. Gillis didn't shy away from depicting religion with Jelene's Christianity and Pilar's Spiritualism, portraying their faith in an admirably positive and non-judgemental fashion. In a story that includes so much death, it would've been odd not to touch on what, if anything, lies beyond.
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| A beautiful scene all round. |
Strikeforce: Morituri #20 (1988)
Pencils: Brent Anderson
Inks: Scott Williams
In the previous issue we catch up with a pregnant Aline, who is hiding out with her partner Guy. It's 13 and a half months now since she took the process, her lifespan having been extended somehow by the presence of the foetus. They contact Dr Tuomela, who extracts Aline's baby to a futuristic incubator, giving it a chance to live. Without the baby, Aline soon dies, which spells the end of the first generation of Morituri.
Elsewhere, the new Morituri have one more mission against the Horde, which turns out to be a rather pyrrhic victory. Meanwhile, commander Yuri has uncovered Harold's recorder, where he dictated his memoirs to. Yuri listening to those resonant words proves an excellent framing device to go out on. Gillis and Anderson's run began with a hopeful, naïve Harold narrating, and appropriately ended on a more disillusioned and uncertain note. It's a melancholy, bittersweet and touching ending, everything I've come to except from this wonderful series.
Peter Gillis only walked away from a couple of series, Shatter (which only ran 2 more issues) and Strikeforce: Morituri, which ran for another 11 plus a mini. So why did he and Brent Anderson quit their baby? Essentially, Anderson had become disillusioned with Marvel's lack of promotion of the title and minor editorial interference. Sales were continuing to decline due to the aforementioned, plus the title's habit of killing popular characters and continually replacing them with less memorable ones didn't exactly engender fan loyalty. Anderson decided to quit around issue 10, just after the title went direct sales only. Gillis convinced him to stay on until #20, where the final member of the original team would die, giving some form of closure to their story arc.
According to Anderson, Gillis was amenable to remaining on the title, providing editor Carl Potts could find a suitable artist. Gillis handed him a shortlist, with Tom Yeates topping the list. Presumably the two couldn't agree on a new artist, as Gillis eventually decided to quit alongside Anderson instead. James Hudnall took over the writing, with Mark Bagley eventually coming on board as new artist.
Apparently Strikeforce: Morituri was planned as a 50 issue story, which would've introduced another two or three generation of Morituri. Gillis wanted to eventually introduce a cure for the process' time limit, which would have been found in Aline's baby, who may have had to be sacrificed to gain the cure. This could have raised some interesting moral implications. The series would've likely ended on a hopeful note, with the Horde's defeat.
What could've been may be fascinating, but clearly the series simply didn't have enough sales to limp on for another 30 issues. The first 20 are near perfection however, and remains one of the highlights of Marvel's classic 1980's decade.
Next I'll take a brief look at the aftermath of Morituri - failed revivals, adaptations and a bitter legal dispute.
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