Deathworld

"All lower creatures fear the power of the Ice Warriors!"

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 1980

Printed in: DWM 15-16

Featuring: Ice Warriors, Cybermen

Synopsis

The Ice Warriors trace trisilicate to the planet Yama-10, but they are not the first to arrive...

Verdict

Deathworld was a magnificent little comic strip adventure to continue my way through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel of backup stories! This was right up there in challenging the titular story for the best in the collection so far, I really was that impressed. I have had a rather tough today with work, very early morning rises from my daughter who then had a vaccination that overran considerably, so I needed something good like this. This really raised my mood! I was delighted enough to see that this was going to be an Ice Warriors story and the continuity with The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon in having them searching for trisilicate was terrific. I was a big fan of that and they were really keen on obtaining a source by venturing as far as they did to Yama-10! That planet being described as the titular Deathworld was fun and I thought the narration from the Fourth Doctor who bookended the story and introduced each part was really beneficial. It felt very much in character which was marvellous and given how this story ends for both the Ice Warriors and the Cybermen, you couldn't help but understand his smile! The cliffhanger at the end of part one with the Cybermen already being on the planet and claiming it under the Cyberman Empire was tremendous, even if it was wholly predictable in the best way possible. The artwork of the Cybermats was absolutely glorious in capturing the likeness that we saw on screen in The Tomb of the Cyberman which is undoubtedly the best design. It meant I knew who the metallic creatures being hinted at were and I was very excited for their arrival. I didn't know I needed it, but conflict between the Ice Warriors and Cybermen was fantastic! I loved the contrast between the two races and housing this battle on a world that had considerable heat was very intriguing. The Ice Warriors obviously don't react well to that so they were actually a little appalled by the Cybermen having resistance to the climate. I enjoyed that a lot, but the Ice Warriors had a plan of their own and that meant using ice alongside water to short circuit the Cybermen. They'd impacted the natural environment significantly and in typical Ice Warrior fashion, they plunged the planet into ice. The Cybermen being defeated there by the buildup was great and I thought the fate of the Ice Warriors in letting themselves be consumed by the ice and play the waiting game was fascinating. They're certainly a patient race but it's a lovely throwback to The Ice Warriors to showcase that they will just wait until thawing. It certainly shows how important trisilicate is! The line from the Doctor at the end about the ice being thick and the Ice Warriors underestimating that was really fun. I do think it was supposed to indicate that both races defeated one another, but I'm going to give this victory to the Ice Warriors! I think the story was really good and full of action for a worthy cause. A rare battle between two famous foes and I think the only thing that might have made it perfect was a few more of the letter s in the Ice Warriors dialogue. That would make things feel just slightly more authentic, but this is still very early days for the comic strips and I can't be complaining too much. A superb read! 

Rating: 9/10