The Road to Conflict (comic story)

The Road to Conflict
Main enemy:	Daleks
Main setting:	Skaro, sometime after the 20th century
Key crew
Publisher:	City Magazines
Editor:	Alan Fennell
Writer:	unclear authorship
Artist:	Ron Turner
Release details
Printed in:	TV Century 21 96-104
Release date:	19 November 1966 - 14 January 1967
Reprinted in:	DWCC 19
Format:	Comic - 9 parts - 9 pages
The Daleks comics
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The Road to Conflict was the final The Daleks comic story released by TV Century 21. It was written by David Whitaker and was intended to lead into the Peter Cushing feature film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D..

Summary

A human spaceship crashlands on Skaro. The Daleks see this as an opportunity to learn more of the "androids" from another world.

Plot

The human spaceship Starmaker crash lands on Skaro. The Dalek Emperor orders that the "androids" (actually humans) not be destroyed, that they might learn more about them.

The Daleks destroy the humans' ship. Only three people survive. They steal a Dalek ship and fly it back to Earth to warn them of the impending Dalek invasion.

After the Daleks search the remains of the humans' ship, they find a scrap of burnt paper with the directions to Earth. The Dalek Emperor declares "We shall conquer Earth!"

Characters

• Captain Flint Fleet
• Grant
• Jennie
• Tom
• Dalek Emperor
• Black Dalek
• Red Dalek

Worldbuilding

Daleks

• Jennie wonders if the Emperor is made of real gold.

Hydroponic force houses.

Dalek technology

• The Dalek City's hydroponic force houses, weapon shops and communication rooms are seen.
• The Daleks use Dalek Tunnellers to tunnel under the humans' force field.
• Several new varieties of hoverbout are seen, only one of which is identified as such.

Humans

• The humans put up force fields in a square around their ship to stop the Daleks attacking them.
• The polar ship Shackleton has reported there is not yet any sign of help from the International Rescue craft Thunderbird 4. The captain reports that it is impossible to save the personnel of Camp 21st Century unless a replacement reactor carried as cargo gets through.
• Reports coming in to the Fleet Street offices state that an enemy warship, believed to be from Bereznik, has been spotted off the Scottish coast. Its position is given as two miles outside British territorial waters. The World Navy and W.A.S.P. have been notified but their course of action is being kept secret at the moment.

Notes

• The description "next universe but one" comes from the stage play The Curse of the Daleks.
• Once again, "android" is used to refer to humanoid species.
• Starmaker uniforms go from blue to red as the story progresses.
• This was the last of the TV 21 Dalek stories. Alan Fennell says that the series had run its course. Had it continued, TV 21's placement of all published stories in the Century 21 universe might have led to an actual crossover.
• The story's end, with the Daleks planning to conquer Earth, was written to lead into Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D..
• Decades later, the series was continued in Doctor Who Magazine by its last artist, Ron Turner and his agent, John Lawrence.
• In 2009, Altered Vistas released an animated adaptation of this story.

Continuity

• The Daleks finally find Earth, which they have been trying to locate since COMIC: Legacy of Yesteryear.
• When Lodian and Yvric observed Earth, it was nine galaxies away. (COMIC: Legacy of Yesteryear) In the 25th century, Skaro physically enters the Sol system (COMIC: Invasion of the Daleks) and it is implied that Skaro has been in the Sol system in the distant past (COMIC: City of the Daleks) but this may only be Dalek propaganda.