LUTHER
MANNING(in the process of being edited)
LUTHER
MANNING
(in the process of being edited)
Real Name: Luther Manning
Identity/Class: Human, mutated by temporal energy into a cyborg
Occupation: Warrior;
former soldier in the US
Army
Affiliations: Pawn of
Timestream (Henry Akai);
formerly allied
with Deathlok the Demolisher (Luther Manning) of Earth-7484 and Timestream's Bangers (extra-temporal
cyborgs);
limited relationship with Harlan Ryker and Simon Ryker;
former ally of Mike Travers
Enemies: Deathlok (Michael Collins), Deathlok the Demolisher, Godwulf
Known Relatives: Janice (wife);
he may or may not have
had a son named Richard
Aliases: Deathlok; Manning-616 (for the purpose of clarification in this profile)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
apparently died within the Timestream;
formerly Fort
Banning, Georgia;
possibly Philadelphia, PA
First Appearance: (Luther Manning) Deathlok
II#25 (July, 1993);
(as Deathlok) Deathlok II#31 (January, 1994)
Powers/Abilities: Manning was trained in various military forms of strategy and armed and unarmed combat. He was sufficiently skilled to hit almost any moving target by listening to the sounds of movement.
Luther Manning smoked cigarettes,
which would give him a characteristic odor and may have affected his
endurance somewhat.
His body was remade into a near duplicate of the original form of
Deathlok of the Demolisher of Earth-7484. As such he had superhuman strength
(Class 10), enhanced human speed, stamina, durability, etc. His
brain was most likely augmented by a computer which could allow
him to perform complex maneuvers and actions with precision
accuracy. He was also armed with an energy pistol, knives, and
various other forms of weaponry.
Unlike the Demolisher, however, he was not dependent on the nutrient tube connected to his chest, and severing this tube caused him no significant harm.
History:
(Deathlok II#33 (fb) - BTS) - Colonel Luther Manning claimed to
have done seven tours of duty in Viet Nam, one in el Salvador,
Iran, and the Persian Gulf (see comments).
.
.
(Deathlok II#25 (fb) -BTS) - Harlan Ryker offered Manning the chance to participate in Cybertek's syborg super-soldier (Deathlok project), but Manning declined.
(Deathlok II#25) - A year later...
(Deathlok II#25 (fb) - BTS) - Manning began having nightmares about Deathlok, allow he had no idea who that was. He even began seeing Deathlok's face in the mirror.
(Deathlok II#25) - Manning saw a psychologist (or psychiatrist?) at Fort Benning about his his nightmares
(Deathlok II#26) - Awakening from another nightmare,
Manning felt that perhaps the shrink (slang for psychologist) was right
and that he needed another breather. He wondered if what he was seeing
in his dreams was the Deathlok cyborg, but he also noted that that was
just Simon's brother Harlan's whacked out plan. He further considered
that Ryker had found another patsy who was running around in "that tin
can." But he wondered why he was dreaming about Deathlok...
(Deathlok
II#27) - Manning spent hours on the Fort Benning shooting range, trying
to take his mind off of his nightmares, but he found that firing at
stationary targets was no challenge.
The being Timestream suddenly appeared nearby, greeting Manning and telling him that he was not where he should be. Turning and aiming his weapon at Timestream, he told "Chuckles" that he was in a restricted area and insisted that he identify himself immediately. Timestream identified himself and told Manning that he desired his services. Stating that he neither knew nor cared what Timestream was talking about, Manning advised him that he had three seconds to tell him how he had gotten into the base.
Putting his arms up to show he was
not a threat, Timestream told Manning that he had made a mistake, as
Manning was not Deathlok in this zone and that he had been displaced in
time. Acknowledging that he had turned down the Deathlok project a year
ago, Manning asked what Timestream was talking about, and Timestream
told him that he was to be Deathlok, but that reality had been altered
and fate prevented. Applying some sort of chronological energy into
Manning, which rendered him unconscious, Timestream told him -- as he
vanished back into the timestream -- that they must be allied: "Worry not, Luther Manning...set right in time things will be."
(Deathlok II#27, 29, 31-34 ) - Luther Manning was serving in Fort Benning alongside his long time friend, Mike Travers. He was considering quitting the military to learn to do something other than kill for a living. Manning was confronted by the being Timestream, who originated from an alternate timeline (Earth-Deathlok), and who sought his aid in altering his own past. Timestream told Manning that he was meant to have become Deathlok, and then he infused him with a burst of temporal energy and told him that things would be set right.
Timestream returned a short time later and used his powers to place Manning within an internal time warp, which somehow shifted his form into a near replica of the original cyborg form of Manning's counterpart in Timestream's continuum--Deathlok the Demolisher. Timestream then inserted a program disk into the drive in Manning's hand, insuring his cooperation.
Manning then joined forces with Timestream and his band of
alternate dimensional cyborgs, a group which included Deathlok
the Demolisher. Timestream led them into the past of Earth-616,
and kill Captain America and Deathlok the Demolisher (during the
events detailed above for Captain America I#286+287), to prevent
them from stopping Operation: Purge (This was the point from
which Earth-616 diverged from Earth-Deathlok). Timestream's
agents were opposed by Godwulf--who was another native of
Earth-Deathlok--as well as Michael Collins--a then current
version of Deathlok on Earth-616, and Siege. These men
successfully delayed them long enough to allow that past era's
Cap and Deathlok to continue on with their mission.
Manning-616 then tried to replace the past era's Deathlok the
Demolisher, hoping that he would be transported to see Godwulf (@
Captain America#288)and could stop Cap and Deathlok at that
juncture. Manning-616 was stopped by Deathlok/Collins, who
enabled Cap and Deathlok to continue on to Earth-Deathlok.
Timestream then created a vortex that warped everyone into the
timestream itself.
Deathlok the Demolisher began to question Timestream's actions
and the truthfulness of his promises, but Manning-616 continued
to defend him. Godwulf's agents confronted them again, and
Manning-616 fought Deathlok/Collins again. Manning badly injured
Collins, despite Collins' form being more powerful, because
Collins was a pacifist at heart, and was reluctant to using
lethal force. Collins appealed to Manning's mind, allowing him to
throw off Timestream's programming. Feeling that he was trapped
in some horrible dream, Manning turned his own weapon on himself,
blowing a hole in his head.
With his death, Manning reverted to his human form. Justice
Peace, an agent of the Time Variance Authority, appeared and
promised to take Manning's body back to Earth-616 and see that he
got a proper burial.
Comments: Created by Gregory Wright and Kevin Kobasic.
Timestream duped Deathlok the Demolisher into believing that Manning-616 was actually his own past self.
At the time this story was
published, Luther Manning was most likely have been active in the
Vietnam War, but the sliding timescale makes that a topical reference.
Manning could certainly have been stationed in Vietnam, just not during
that war.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Luther Manning of Earth-616, should be distinguished from
The Timestream, the physical nexus of all time and dimension, as seen in Deathlok II#32, should be differentiated from:
Images:
Deathlok II#26, pg. 14, panel 6 (human form, upper profile, with flag on jacket)
#27, pg. 6, panel 1 (human form, firing range);
pg. 7, panel 3 (zapped by Timestream);
Appearances:
Deathlok II#25 (July, 1993) - Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Chris Wozniak (penciler; with Pete Garcia as penciling assistant), Brad Vancata, Al Vey & Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#26 (August, 1993) - Gregory Wright
(writer), Kevin Kobasic (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker; with Dave
Ryan as inking assistant), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#27 (September, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#29 (November, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok
II#31-33 (January-March, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic
(pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Deathlok II#34 (April, 1994) - Gregory Wright (writer), Kevin Kobasic
& Anthony Williams (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
Last updated:
01/07/2003
Last updated: 12/08/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com