“The Two-Faced Terror, Part I”
First print date: July 29 1978
Prog appearance: Starlord Issue 12
Writer(s): John Wagner
Artist(s): Carlos Ezquerra
Total episodes: 4
On the planet Paprika (yeah
) Johnny and Wulf are waiting for the transport back to take their captured prey with them when they are advised by the local police chief of bigger fish they could fry. Seems a local hood called Billy Joe is wanted for a big reward. Johnny however has had enough of this desert planet and is not that greedy: he just wants to get back home. The chief, however, is in the pocket of their captive, a man called Spiro, and is obviously trying to divert the two bounty hunters' attention from the man who effectively pays his wages, or at least supplements them. While Johnny and Wulf wait, some local toughs decide to try their luck, thinking they can take out the two of them, but Johnny demonstrates his speed with the gun that helps earn his living by throwing a coin into the air, and while the punks are watching that he shoots and melts their guns, leaving them looking helpless and stupid.
It's the same all over: everyone wants to shoot the Strontium Dogs. Just before this latest “challenge”, a kid shot Johnny with a toy gun, but it's a safe bet that when he grows up this kid is going to want to take on a real Stront with a real gun. Realising they're going to be bothered like this as long as they hang around, Johnny decides they may as well look up this Big Joe, and they head off to where the chief has told him the crook can be found, a place whose name does not conjure up images of idyllic bliss: the Big Dusty.
Quotes
Local 1: “Stinking Strontium Dogs! Why don't you leave him alone?”
Local 2: “Yeah! Curl up an' die, Stronty!”
Spiro: “If they get me off planet I've had it. Do something, Chief! I've paid you enough for protection!”
Chief: “Keep your mouth shut, Spiro! I'll see what I can do, but those Strontium Dogs are dangerous customers to play with!”
Male punk: “He melted our guns!”
Female punk: “He cheated us!”
Johnny: “Go home to your mummy, punk. Don't bother me again!”
Cop: “They're headed out to the Big Dusty, Chief.”
Chief: “Good! They've taken the bait. You're safe, Spiro: they're never coming back for you. Because there's nothing Big Joe likes better than collecting Strontium Dog badges!”
Johnny: “Sooner or later you always make a mistake. If some big-time killer doesn't get you some two-cred punk with a home-made laser will!”
Letter of the Law
Once again, though they're on the side of law and order, Johnny and Wulf find they have no friends in law enforcement, although this time it's more a case of self-preservation and greed that motivates the police chief: if the two bounty hunters leave they take the Chief's cash cow with them, and he's not above steering them in the direction of what is obviously not only a notorious criminal but also a cop killer, or at least a killer of Strontium Dogs. Wouldn't be surprised to find there's no enforceable penalty for such a crime!
Show no mercy?
Not so much mercy, but this episode does serve to demonstrate that though they make their living hunting down criminals, Johnny and Wulf are not, unlike popular belief would have us think, always looking for the next score. Like any other man, Johnny gets tired (Wulf probably doesn't know the meaning of the word!) and here he decides initially just to kick back and wait for the transport off-world. Fate has other plans for him, though.
Messages
No real message as such, but like we saw in the first story, kids are schooled in and encouraged to display hatred and bias and prejudice towards Strontium Dogs. From the kid with the toy gun to the swaggering punks who have real weapons, everyone wants a piece of the mutant; could be seen as a rite of passage.
Houston, we have a problem!
Not really as such, but it is a little silly how concerned Wulf gets when Johnny feigns being shot by the kid. Any of us would do something similar if “shot” by a child, but Wulf looks as if he actually
believes the kid has shot his partner. Then again, I suppose given the hatred against them that they encounter everywhere they go, it might not be stretching credibility
too much to consider the possibility that the kid could have been using a real gun. Meh, I think it's unlikely, and I think Wulf should have shaken his head knowingly, or smiled grimly.