BHOC: SHOGUN WARRIORS #9

The various assorted issues of SHOGUN WARRIORS have all mostly blurred in my memory after so many years. It was a title that I liked, and which I bought regularly all throughout its 20 issue run. But it wasn’t an especially deep series, and its essential structure, which amounted to robots battling giant kaiju-style monsters every issue, tended to not be especially memorable on an individual level. But the series was always entertaining and gave me the reading value that I wanted for my forty cents, and so I never wavered from it. The fact that it was a toy tie-in series, something that would eventually begin to devalue a comic series in the yes of my small crowd of comic book reading friends, hadn’t yet completely taken hold either, so there wasn’t any stigma attached to following it, as there might have been a few years later on.

SHOGUN WARRIORS was based on a toy line, whose individual pieces had been imported from Japan. Originally, they belonged to a number of different lines, or were merchandise attached to separate anime. But in the States, they were all lumped in together as a single marketing entity. As the television limited series Shogun was the strongest association most in America had of anything Japanese, the name SHOGUN WARRIORS was applied to the line. In the comics, it fell to writer Doug Moench and artist Herb Trimpe to come up with a backstory for the assorted robots and their ongoing battle against giant monsters. As far as I can tell, the history used in the comics wasn’t ever directly carried over into any of the other merchandising for the toys. But Moench did a solid job with it, and I never questioned any of it as a reader of the time.

The story in this particular issue focuses primarily on Dangard Ace, piloted by oceanographer Ilongo Savage (a somewhat unfortunate name in retrospect.) Last time, Savage and his associate Judith were exploring an undersea site where a meteor had crashed down. But it turns out that the meteor contained a massive creature called the Starchild. Ilongo calls back to the Sanctuary of Light for an assist, and Dr. Tambura is able to teleport Savage’s robot Dangard Ace to the area. Unfortunately, Dangard is too large to fit inside the cavern that Savage and Judith are in, so Judith is forced to act as a decoy, momentarily drawing the Starchild away so that Ilongo can board the robot and intercede.

Savage is able to do so in time to rescue Judith from the colossal beast, but he finds that Dangard Ace’s munitions cannot penetrate the creature’s hide–he’s unable to do the thing any damage. What’s more, the Starchild is attracted to its attacker, causing Dangard to have to soar skyward in an attempt to stay out of the Starchild’s grasp. Growing bored with this fight, the Starchild changes direction, heading instead for the shore and the oceanography center that’s situated there. While he’s still concerned about moving into grappling position with the beast, Savage has no choice, and so Dangard Ace body-checks the thing, preventing it from smashing into the center. I have to say, of the three main robots in this series, Dangard Ace is the one that Trimpe seems to have the toughest time anthropomorphizing. In most of these shots, the robot is stiff and lifeless, like a posed action figure rather than an active giant robot.

After a brief interlude with Combatra’s pilot Genji Odashu, who is on trial for the loss of the top secret jet prototype she was flying when she first got involved with the Followers of Light and their struggle, Dangard Ace continues its fight against the Starchild. While the oceanography center has been saved, the monster is headed inland into Madagascar, towards populated areas. Dangard tries to hold it off, but the Starchild unleashes a new power: the ability to breath flame. So now the civilians in the area are in even greater danger as the Starchild unleashes a torrent of fire all around him. Meanwhile, Raydeen pilot Richard Carson is questioned by a couple Men in Black about his involvement in Raydeen’s recent battle with the Cerberus monster. Neither Richard nor his lady friend Deena are quite clear on who these government spooks actually are, but Carson regrets not having been more circumspect about using Raydeen.

Back in Madagascar, the battle between Dangard Ace and the Starchild reaches a pivotal moment. A building has been weakened by the Starchild’s flame attacks and threatens to collapse with dozens of people still inside it. Ilongo is forced to use Dangard to prop the building up physically, even though doing so makes him a sitting duck target for the Starchild. But rather than continuing its attack, the Starchild instead begins to undergo a strange metamorphosis. It becomes a flying dragon in its final form and takes off for the sea, with Dangard unable to pursue it until all of the people are out of the collapsing building. So it’s a big L for Savage and Dangard Ace–and what’s more, Ilongo has the curios impression that the Starchild was only testing Dangard.

And as the issue wraps up, we cut back to Japan, where Genji is facing sentencing for her crimes of espionage. She’s refused all along to provide any answers, not wanting to reveal the secrets of Combatra and the Followers of Light, but this has just made her look all the more guilty. But before the worst can happen, the courthouse is rocked by explosions. Racing outside, Genji is startled to see a gigantic five-fingered hand-creature floating in the sky, each one of which’s fingers is a lizardlike beast head. Genji uses her pendant to call the Sanctuary and summon Combatra, but that conflict will play itself out next month. Because this is were our story is To Be Continued.