Scud: The Disposable Assassin
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Scud: The Disposable Assassin (published from 1994 to 1998) is a humorous, hyperkinetic science fiction comic by Rob Schrab about a world in which you can buy weapons out of vending machines, the most popular of which are intelligent robots that kill a specified target and then self-destruct.
The protagonist of the series is Scud, an average Heart Breaker Series 1373 model assassin. On his first mission, he is sent to kill Jeff, a rampaging female mutant with mousetraps for hands and an electrical plug for a head.
During the mission, Scud glances in a mirror and sees the warning label on his back explaining how he will explode upon completion of his mission. Realizing that he doesn't want to die, instead of killing his opponent, he shoots off Jeff's arms and legs, then takes her to a hospital to ensure their mutual survival. To pay Jeff's outrageous medical bills, Scud is forced to become a freelance mercenary and assassin.
The last issue, #20, leaves the series with a cliffhanger of epic proportions. However, it is unlikely it will ever be concluded, seeing how its production company, Fireman Press Ltd, was dissolved after a falling out between series creator Rob Schrab and a business partner over rights. Schrab has stated that he would enjoy using a television series to conclude the storyline, though.
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[edit] Influences and recurring themes
As the book itself is heavily influenced by movies and popular culture (Star Wars and The Godfather are referenced throughout), each issue is dedicated to a movie director or actor, while each issue lists a suggested casting for each character (for example, John Malkovich for Scud). Later issues also have suggested soundtracks to go with key moments.
[edit] Characters
- Scud - The robotic protagonist. One of a series of mass-produced assassins, Scud will self-destruct if his mission is completed.
- Sussudio - A freelance bounty hunter hired to bring Scud in after he bails on an assassination assignment and goes rogue. She later becomes his love interest.
- Drywall - Scud's bizzare young sidekick whose body contains an unlimited amount of storage space, which holds everything from weapons to furniture. His speech can only be understood by beings without souls (such as Scud).
- Oswald - A previous Scud model who had his self-destruct module removed. Oswald has been known to help out Scud from time-to-time. He is modelled after a rabbit, and can use his ears as weapons.
- Tony Tastey- Scud's first client as a freelancer, who eventually becomes the leader of the Cortese family cyborg mafia, which stars in the spin-off "La Cosa Nostroid" series.
- Jeff - Scud's very first assignment, a piecemeal monster with a plug for a head, mousetraps for hands, a squid strapped to her chest, and a mouth on each knee. All of her lines of dialogue are ripped from pop culture sources. She has demonstrated the ability to assimilate animal parts and mechanical devices for use as weapons. If she dies, Scud will self-destruct. Later in the series, it is revealed that Jeff is the last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, since Scud killed off the other three before they could hatch in the first issue of the series.
- Voodoo Ben Franklin - Scud's second assassination target in the series and one of the principle villains, Voodoo Ben is a reincarnation of the famous founding father, hellbent on controlling the world of organized crime. Ben commands an army of zombie people and dinosaurs, in addition to the forces of Hell later in the series, after Ben becomes a pawn of System, the Lord of Hell.
- System - Brother of Drywall and supreme ruler of Hell, System was created along with his brothers to be the ultimate collection agent for Hell, harvesting as many treasures for Lucifer as humanly possible. However, System went rogue, deciding that the entire universe needed categorization, and has since been working to collect everything in existence and bring about the apocalypse.
- Mess - The first prototype collector built for Lucifer and something of a failure. Mess resembles a walking collection of filing cabinets. He was collected into System, along with his creator and Lucifer, in Drywall's origin issue.
- Captain Jack Jones - When first introduced in the series, Jones was running a prison colony in the middle of a remote desert. This colony set the stage for Scud's first successful assassination attempt, during which he managed not only to decimate the prison personnel, but would later destroy the entire base by crashing an airship into the cliff on which it was based. Jones would later be hired by the mysterious Spidergod to use his remaining forces to track down Scud.
- Spidergod - A real mystery in the Scud series, Spidergod is a businessman who has little presence in the comics, but seems to be a big player. Spidergod is the one behind the original hiring of Scud to take out Jeff and would later bring in Captain Jack Jones and his military forces to capture the Scud. The exact reasons for this are never explained.
- Horse - A transdimensional being that resembles a large children's rocking horse, Horse arrives to whisk Scud and Sussudio away from the battle between Voodoo Ben and Captain Jack Jones, seconds before the two are about to be annihilated. Horse transports the two around seemingly at random, appearing and disappearing at various times without any real given explanation, though Scud offers a few of his own. It is assumed that while the Eggs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse used are the means to travel from Heaven to Earth, Horse is the way to move from Earth to Heaven, though this is never stated outright.
[edit] Spinoffs
Several comic book series were published by Fireman Press, all of which take place inside the Scud universe. These include:
- La Cosa Nostroid - Chronicles the rise and fall of Tony Tastey as he takes over the cyborg mafia. As he eliminates his enemies, he becomes increasingly paranoid and starts to kill off his allies and friends. Ended on a cliffhanger note. 9 issues released.
- Drywall: Unzipped - The origin of Scud's multi-zippered sidekick (one-shot).
- The Drywall and Oswald Show - The continued adventures of Drywall and Oswald. 2 issues released.
- Scud: Tales from the Vending Machine - An anthology of sorts, with each issue about a different Scud model. Each issue is created by a different creative team, including artists such as Trent Kaniuga (Creed), Jim Mahfood (Clerks), and Doug TenNapel (creator of Earthworm Jim). 5 issues released.
[edit] Collections
Scud: The Disposable Assassin has been collected in trade paperback form. These include:
- Heavy 3PO - reprints #1-4
- Programmed for Damage - reprints #5-9
- Solid Gold Bomb - reprints #10-15
- The Yellow Horseman - reprints #16-20
[edit] Other media
Scud: The Disposable Assassin inspired two video games, Scud: The Disposable Assassin (1996) for Sega Saturn and Scud: Industrial Revolution (1997) for PC. Both received mixed reviews.
Scud was optioned as a possible movie from Oliver Stone's production company, but the option has long since lapsed.
