ROAD WARRIORS
Membership: Grafik
Purpose: Street gang, supporters of Cassie Merrick
Affiliations: Marko, Cassie Merrick, unnamed benefactor
Enemies: Blood Brothers, Celestials, Machine Man
First Appearance: X-51#10 (May, 2000)
Powers/Abilities: The Road Warriors were originally an ordinary motorcycle gang, equipped with knives, chains and handguns. After being transformed by the unnamed benefactor into cyborgs, they could release blasts of energy, absorb other mechanical devices into themselves, making themselves larger and more powerful, possessed superhuman strength, flight, and could release blasts of energy which could transform adults into children.
History: (X-51#10)- The Road Warriors were directed by Cassie Merrick to destroy the Blood Brothers street gang, in order to strengthen her hold over the underworld of Central City. They managed to capture one of the Blood Brothers, Izzy, and strapped explosives to his chest, leaving him at the Blood Brothers' hideout in an attempt to destroy the other Blood Brothers. However, the Blood Brothers escaped the trap, and the two gangs fought. The Blood Brothers' leader Nemo fled to a swamp, with Grafik and other Road Warriors in hot pursuit, but they were driven off by the arrival of Machine Man.
Cassie Merrick was disappointed in the Road Warriors for their failure, but was then approached by a mysterious man offering to grant the Road Warriors greater power. He used Celestial technology to transform three of the Road Warriors (including Grafik) into cyborgs, and they set off to the police station where some of the Blood Brothers were being held so that they could kill them. However, Machine Man intervened to stop them.
(X-51#11)- The Road Warriors fought Machine Man, who was aided by Nemo of the Blood Brothers. The police began to set the Blood Brothers free from the station, but one of them, Loc, was killed by Grafik. Grafik was then knocked into one of the other Road Warriors, who absorbed his cybernetic powers into himself, making Grafik human. The Road Warriors fired a blast of energy at Nemo which missed him, but struck four policemen, transforming them into children. Grafik was furious to find himself human again, but the other two Road Warriors refused to follow his orders, and now considered him their enemy. Machine Man continued to battle them, but they began to absorb more machinery, joining cars into themselves, and finally joining together into a single, hideous entity, and attempted to absorb Machine Man into themselves. However, Machine Man and the Road Warriors were spirited away by the Celestials, who apparently destroyed the two remaining Road Warriors.
Comments: Created by Joe Bennett, Karl Bollers and Bob Wiacek.
X-51#12 was a text-story issue, with accompanying pictures, which retold the complete story of Machine Man up to that point, then quickly synposized the defeat of X.E.R.O. and A.I.M. Strangely enough, despite all the space to elaborate in that issue, no explanation for the mysterious benefactor was given.
Since the benefactor was apparently using Celestial technology, perhaps he was a Deviant? Maybe even someone from the Damocles Foundation?
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CLARIFICATIONS: Grafik was the leader of the Road Warriors. He was transformed by the unnamed benefactor into a cyborg, and joined the Road Warriors in attempting to kill the captured Blood Brothers and battled Machine Man, killing Loc of the Blood Brothers during the clash. However, one of the other Road Warriors absorbed his cybernetic powers, turning him back into a normal human. Grafik was saved from being killed by the other Road Warriors by Nemo of the Blood Brothers.
--X-51#10, 11 Marko was Cassie Merrick's bodyguard. He was transformed by the benefactor into a cyborg, and became loyal to him. Under the benefactor's direction, he apparently slew Cassie Merrick.
--X-51#10, 11
Marko's cybernetic form was very similiar to Machine Man's. Cassie Merrick was a crimelord in Central City who helped fund the Road Warriors, and directed them to wipe out the Blood Brothers. She formed an alliance with the unnamed benefactor when he proposed to make the Road Warriors into cyborgs, but was disgusted when the Road Warriors mutated into cybernetic monstrosities. The benefactor had her bodyguard Marko apparently kill her.
--X-51#10, 11 The unnamed benefactor was a mysterious man who supplied technology evidently taken from the Celestials to transform the Road Warriors into cyborgs. He also transformed Cassie Merrick's bodyguard Marko into a cyborg, and apparently had him kill Merrick.
--X-51#10, 11 Images taken from:
First Posted: 08/29/2004 Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
The Road Warriors should not be confused with:
X-51#10, page 20, panel 3
X-51#11, page 19, panel 1
X-51#11, page 12, panel 4
X-51#11, page 15, panel 6
X-51#10, page 15, panel 2
X-51#10, page 17, panel 2
Appearances:
X-51#10-11 (May-June, 2000) - Karl Bollers (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Last updated: 06/10/2014
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