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by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey   And we're back to Sellotape holding Dragon's face together. Cover date- November 1988 Price- 55p Writer- Simon Furman Artist- Geoff Senior Letterer- Annie Halfacree Colourist- Steve White Editor- Richard Starkings Managing Editor- Jenny O’Connor Published by- Marvel Comics LTD SynopsisMeanwhile... back at 'The 'Pool,' ex-Game team 'The Jones Boys' attempt to capitalise on the weakened, depleted state of 'The Evil Dead.' However their attempts to relieve Slaughterhouse and Nell of their loot hit a snag upon the arrival of a certain "freelance peacekeeping agent." Tearing the Claws away from their brand, spanking new, building site of a base in order to address this situation, N.U.R.S.E.'s true agenda begins to unfold and we finally get a glimpse of the head of the organisation. (K) Dave So, what do you make of the cover for issue 5? Kev It's okay. It's pretty functional, rather than inspired though. It does its job. What do you think of it? Dave Yeah, it has a very bland background colour again, so as not to distract the reader's eye from the central image of Death's Head vs Dragon and a bit of a tongue-in-cheek pun for a caption. Kev Yeh, man. Those word balloons on the covers again. As I've said before, I'm not a fan of them. Death's Head really is the featured star here, isn't he?  Strike a pose. Dave The opening image of Death's Head is pretty cool though. Shows him as the formidable, domitable force of this issue. And notice the mention of 'Dr. Who,' which he featured in? Kev Yeh. That splash page would've made a much better cover, in my opinion. Nice little name drop for 'Doctor Who' as well. Might've gotten people to check out his comic too. Although, the 'Doctor Who' comic probably didn't need the help. Dave I think the Jones Boys characters are quite comical. They're like a bit of a dig at the old, stereotypical redneck, with Cousin Rob and Bob actually both having the same name, just different abbreviations. That's funny. Kev Jeez. Y'know I'd never even noticed that. I've read this issue countless times, over nearly thirty years and it's taken you to point that out to me just now. Dave The artwork for them kinda reminds me of the gangs from the 'Mad Max' films and also the brightness of 'The Warriors' too. Both of which have been heavy influences on Senior's artwork throughout the series. Yeah, I never noticed that myself until five minutes ago, about the names. Haha. Kev Ah, the benefit of looking at it through adult eyes, eh? There's definitely a continuous influence of those films throughout the series, isn't there? I like the design of 'The Jones Boys' too. The pyromaniac gimmick is a quality one. They look unhinged. Like they're high on the fumes from the fuel, or something. Dave Death's Head's encounter with the Jones Boys gives us a good showcase of how formidable he is, and quite frankly, how he's a real menace of a character. AND just how deadly he is. Kev That opening scene really is a proper showcase for Death's Head, isn't it? Dave He's heavily armed, is Death's Head. That's some cannon he has AND detachable weapons. A real killing machine. Kev Oh yeh, Cousin's Rob's death, for example, is pretty brutal. Having his head smashed through the pipe like that and his lifeless body just being left to hang there. I also love how Death's Head takes out that Military Police helicopter, and Furman's dialogue is really amusing with the "Relax, Joe…this baby's so heavily armoured, it'd take…" Baroom!  "You wanna hang? Bring your throat. I got stools and a rope." Well, hands and a pipe. Dave Yeah, I like how he takes the helicopter and the Jones Boys out. As I said, a real killing machine. Death's Head also has that continuous habit of saying "Yes?" at the end of sentences. Kind of his character quirk. Yes? Kev The "Yes?" thing was his defining quirk in a lot of ways. Was this your introduction to the character? Or do you remember him from 'Transformers?' Dave It was. I can't remember him from 'Transformers.' I remember it was obviously a chance for Marvel to see how he would be taken to and as we know, that generally means a spin off is in the works ,"Yes?" Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, this is basically the comic book equivalent of a back-door TV pilot. The Claws are pretty much relegated to the background for this issue, whilst Marvel UK prime Death's Head for his own series. If I remember correctly, he was introduced in 'Transformers' the previous year and made an immediate and a huge impact. Dave This issue is another three part story. The first part is a bit of action with Death's Head, the middle part, the Claws at their new base with Stenson and the final part, back in The 'Pool for the climatic battle. Much like issue 2, it's a real action packed issue. What do you think? Kev Good catch with the structure. Classic three act. Yep, I agree. It's very similar to the second issue, what with the focus being more on the action set pieces and all. Plus, the action is fantastic, once again. Dave The middle part with Dragon trying to find out what N.U.R.S.E. is really up to and the final two frames with Stenson and Deller are intregal to the ongoing story in later issues with Tanya Dragon. Kev Definitely. Furman uses them to sew the seeds of what is to come and push forward with his main, ongoing plot, whilst we take a slight detour for Death's Head this issue. Dave Dragon being his last name obviously. Did they ever reveal what his first name was? As everyone, including his wife, calls him Dragon. Kev I don't think they ever did. I think that's it. According to his bio, when he was found as an orphan they named him 'Dragon' because of his fiery temper. So he's like Cher, or Madonna, or Adele.  Death's Head, buying up huge chunks of the NHS. Just like Richard Branson. Dave Interesting scene with Death Nell and Death's Head talking about the value of medicine in an age of disease and death, before it kicks off with Claws and Death's Head. A teaser to the future return of The Evil Dead. Kev I found that scene to be really interesting. Particularly in relation to issue three, where Starrick holds the livestock and agriculture in such high value, whereas here, Nell more or less says these are worthless and it's medical supplies that are the real currency. Dave Yeah totally, man. Similar to issue 3. Kev Is she's lying to Death's Head? Taking advantage of his lack of knowledge of where and when he is? Or is she being straight up? What do you think? Dave I think she's probably being sincere, as she realised he was not a direct threat. So she had no reason to mislead him. Probably figured it was a one off encounter, so no harm in telling him this. Also, she realised his potential from his earlier display with the Jones Boys that he could be a useful ally. Kev Yeh, they're definitely schemers are 'The Evil Dead.' Dave What did you make of the stand-off between Dragon and Death's Head? I think Furman is definitely making a trend of plenty of dialogue in action scenes now. Kev He definitely likes his characters to talk whilst they're fighting, that's for sure. Did you find the scene where Death's Head asked what planet he was on and what year he was in reminiscent of 'Terminator?' Dave Yeah, also the picture where he crawls out the fire and grabs Dragon's leg, the metallic hand image, straight out of the film, methinks.  "Nice night for a walk."  "Nothing clean, right?"  "Your clothes, give them to me. Now." Kev Definitely. That's a straight-up lift, isn't it? Speaking of Arnie vehicles, Death's Head's jaw is very similar to the 'Predator's' mandible. Dave True, man. Well spotted. Kev I like how in the scene at the new base, Stenson is trying to shine the Claws on, bragging about how much money N.U.R.S.E. is spending on them and Digit undercuts him by working out how small the figure actually is. $60,054 in 8162 must be the equivalent of about a tenner to us in 2017. Inflation's a killer. Dave Yeah, probably. The middle part and the last scene are integral parts of this issue, as they continue to carry the story onwards for future issues. Plus, we get a first, shadowy glimpse of Matron at the end. Kev Yes. I love the sort-of semi reveal of Matron as the big bad. The last end-of-level boss, so to speak. Dave I like that final frame. Very basic and empty, yet tells us about how N.U.R.S.E. works, in the dark, cast in shadows. Ruthless killers without any compunction. It's all business as usual to have a dead body lying in the office. Kev I was unsure whether the Jones Boy that N.U.R.S.E. kill in that final scene was the same one Mercy cut at The 'Pool or not. The emotionless killing of him hints at what happened to Starrick after issue three though, which I was also unsure of. Dave He was the survivor, I think. The same one as in the frame with Mercy and Dragon. Kev I thought Mercy callously slitting that member of the Jones Boys's throat and saying "So what!" when he tries to tell her the Claws are being used as N.U.R.S.E.'s bully-boys, ties into what you pointed out about her last issue as being a hardened individual. Still very much a vigilante and still very much ironically named. Dave Its an interesting stand-off between Dragon and Death's Head, as I do agree with Death's Head. What they are doing is essentially someone else's dirty work. Dragon has a more moralistic view point as opposed to Death's Head's cynicism and wit. Kev Dragon is starting to sound increasingly like he is either naive, or in denial by this point in the series, with his "we're legally appointed government agents" schtick. Death's Head definitely bursts his pompous bubble when he replies, "Ha! Government enforcers, peace keeping agents, bounty hunters-all mean the same thing, yes? All do someone else's dirty work for them and then pick up a pay cheque at the end of the week, huh? Only difference between you and me is that I own up to what I really am. Well sometimes anyway."  Oh, don't mind that smell. That's just Dragon's bullshit. In which he is a true believer. Dave Yeah, Dragon is getting a bit pompous here. Kev This also ties back into Dragon's moral dilemma from last issue, with regards to how Legris chewed him out for not fighting for anything other than a pay cheque. Dave Dragon like Steel is a man who lives by a code. His own warrior's code. Kev Do you think he is somewhat blinded by it? Dave It's as much of a weakness as it is a driving force, I think, so it can blind him. But when he knows he's right, it's what motivates his actions. It's a quality that many heroes can have and as a result, they find it hard to accept that they can be wrong in trying to be righteous. Kev It's certainly an admirable quality, but one that N.U.R.S.E. are clearly taking advantage of. Dave N.U.R.S.E. are exploiting this quality for their own means. They actually need a man like Dragon to use. Do you think the combined Claws would still have not been enough to beat Death's Head? As it looks like they had a lucky escape. Kev I'm not sure. If they were going to defeat him, it looks like it was going to take all five of them to do so. It's interesting that, here we are, at the halfway point of the series and we finally have confirmation that N.U.R.S.E. are essentially running an extortion racket on the ex-Game teams and using the Claws as a deterrent/punishment for non-payment. Dave I would say that this is a backseat issue for Dragon's Claws and it's a pilot issue for Death's Head. But it cleverly fills in the gaps with leads as to where future issues are going. Kev Death's Head is definitely the star here. But you're right, there's enough going on to advance the main plot, so as to not make it seem completely out of place. Dave The final two frames of issue 5 with Stenson and Matron remind me of the Cylons ship in the old Battlestar Galactica series of the 1970s, when Baltar was speaking to the Cylon Imperious leader, who was always high up, purposely perched in darkness, so we could not see him. I wonder if that was stolen/borrowed as well.  Just your average evening behind closed doors at No.10 Downing Street.  Deller shoulder injury number two. Kev I wasn't aware of that, myself. Chances are it's probably at least a reference to it, yeh. I find it really amusing that Deller gets his shoulder injured again. He's only just recovered from Slaughterhouse throwing a knife into it, then Death's Head shoots him in it. Ha, ha! I'm surprised he can use his left arm at all by the end of this series. Dave Yeah, Deller just always seems to screw up, doesn't he? Kev He's just a walking, talking target, in a baseball cap. The threat to Tanya and Michael in that last scene is very real. Considering N.U.R.S.E. just bumped off that Jones Boy out of fear of him revealing their dealings to Dragon and Stenson refers to Starrick in the past tense, we can assume Starrick met the same fate. This offers an explanation for what I was wondering about after issue three, as to why we never heard from him again. It's because he's dead. It would seem Tanya and Michael are living on borrowed time at this point. Dave Makes you wonder, if they have a habit of getting rid of people after they use them, were they planning on doing the same to Dragon's Claws after they outlived their usefulness? Kev At this point, it'd certainly be reasonable to assume so. You got any other points or topics you want to discuss about issue 5, 'Here's Death's Head?' I wonder if that title is a 'Shining' reference? Dave Yeah, casting Death's Head, as it's really about finding the right voice for this part. Kev Definitely. It'd have to be a CG Death's Head, wouldn't it? Any idea for a voice actor for him? Dave Yeah, definitely CG. I'm not sure for a voice for him. There could be a number of different vocal ranges he could have. Would his voice be harsh or softer spoken? As I think with his dialogue, it could go either way. So in effect, we'd need to find two different, potential actors, haha, then whittle it down to one. Kev Yeh, I know what you mean about the range of the voice. In my head, I hear it as quite softly spoken. Almost quintessentially English. So I'm thinking a proper, full-on Shakespearean actor for him. Maybe even someone like Kenneth Brannagh. Or Patrick Stewart. Dave For soft spoken, one of my considerations is a lesser known actor, Roger Guenveur Smith. Kev I'm not aware of him. What's he been in? Dave Seen him in King of New York, Deep Cover, Panther, earlier films of the 90s. Kev Ah, I recognise him, yeh. He's a very interesting choice actually. Dave Laurence Fishburne would also be a good, distinctive voice for him as well. Kev I like that. Yes. That's a good call too. Dave It's the power of the voice that you need for this part. Kev Definitely. It's going to all be in the voice, isn't it? Dave Yeah. Probably one the hardest parts to cast really. I think someone with a refined voice would suit him. After all, he is a refined killer. Kev Yep. And the only real casting call needed for this issue as well. You got any Jerry Springer style final thoughts?  Death's Head will return in 'Death's Head' #1. Dave Yeah, what do you make of the artwork in this issue? Kev I love it. I love Senior's artwork in general, but I think Dragon's Claws is my favourite work of his. Even more so than his work on 'Transformers.' And by this point in the series, he's really excelling himself. What about yourself? Dave Yeah, he still makes it very vibrant, eye-catching and I like the vast array of colourful characters that this story allows him to produce. As I said before, he has a great way of making each character distinctive and individual. Kev It really is stellar stuff. I agree, his character designs are absolutely superb. One thing that has just occurred to me, is that this issue almost marks a little break at the halfway point. From here on in, we're hurtling towards the conclusion. All the main players have been introduced by this point really. Dave Yeah, we are halfway through Claws now. From issue 6, the main story really kicks off. (D) & (K) Next: 'Craven Idols.'  "Oooh, Matron!"
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