The Last Soldier (comic story)
Summary
Halber is down so Elphon, the last of her kind, shoots the tank creature. The Doctor finds it, too, is in suspended animation. But this one is made up mostly of bone. Another tank creature cannot move as fast as it used to and feels age catches up with us all. The Doctor concurs. Elphon appears and is sick of the fighting. She will no longer fight by the rules and sets her weapon to kill the last of the tank creatures. The tank thing is a general and has seen enough conflict. He tells her to shoot him if she must. The Doctor tells them there is more to this war than meets the eye. He talks Elphon out of shooting. The war is over and the Doctor asks them to shake hands as a sign of peace. The contact transforms them. It was a battle of the sexes. On this world, the last male and the last female who survive the war are able to pass on their genetic material to the next generation. Everyone seems to wake up, all are unharmed. The war lasted so long they almost forgot the rules. Soon they will give birth. The Doctor says, “We’ll pop back in 9 months, I’m sure Martha would love to be the midwife.” Martha hopes they will not start fighting again. She gets enough of that in hospital on a Saturday night
The Doctor tells Martha he does not know where they are, the planet does not have a name, and books about places off the beaten path do not even list this planet. He suggests they call it Martha. The planet area they are at is a colorful park littered with trees, benches, paths, and bushes. The Doctor does not think he’s visited anywhere as devoid of life as this…and he says he’s been to Basingstoke on a Sunday. They find a purple humanoid shaped creature that is made of living metal and seems to be either dead or sleeping, like a machine that’s been switched off, dormant. Something red eyed watches them from a dark corner. The creature was born, not constructed, he tells Martha. It is not carbon based life though. Two more arrive and hold large cannon sized guns on them. The Doctor tells the pair that holding his hands up and waving one hand is considered a provocative gesture on Tuzeema, the people there have guns in the palm of their hands. The two seemingly female beings are soldiers Elphon and Halber. They say they are the last of their kind. Over decades their kind have fought in the Great War with rules, weapons can only stun not kill. A strange, giant mud like creature with giant cannons on its hands and holes on its bodies rolls at them on tractor like treads, firing. It hits one of the soldiers and puts her out, saying it has terminated one target. The next hit zaps the Doctor… Characters
References
to be added
Notes
- The DWAM comic strip adventures were very much aimed at a younger audience and the artwork and colours was bold and bright reflecting the tone of the magazine..
- Self contained one part stories were the norm in the early issues later being expanded to two-parters.
Original print details
- Publication with page count and closing captions
- DWA Issue 34 (6 pages)
- DWA Issue 35 (6 pages)
Continuity
to be added
Timeline
- This story takes place after DWAM: Minus Seven Wonders
- This story takes place before DWAM: Signs of Life
External links
