Computer Warrior
Encyclopedia
Computer Warrior was a comic strip
series that debuted in Eagle
on 13 April 1985 (shortly after the comic merged with Tiger
) and ran for another nine years. The plot involves people playing real-life versions of computer games
.
and the incorporation of the Tiger, the Eagle launched a new strip called "The Ultimate Warrior". This was quickly renamed "The Computer Warrior" and was one of only two strips (the other being Dan Dare
) to last for the rest of the comics lifetime.
When the strip first appeared, Bobby Patterson's friend Martin French mysteriously disappears. Bobby Patterson receives a message in which Martin reveals that he had discovered a code to activate a real life facility on his computer, enabling him to literally enter the computer games realm and that his disappearance means that he has lost a game and is now trapped within the Nightmare Zone.
In order to rescue Martin, Bobby must practice on the games before using the code to play the games in the computer realm. A single loss would mean Bobby himself would also be trapped in the Nightmare Zone. The only way for Bobby to free Martin was to complete 10 games himself using the code. Bobby made great progress through the tests, including overcoming various real life problems with his mother and father. Once Martin himself had the chance to free himself by finding a secret tunnel in the Nightmare Zone where he met the computer who gave him one chance to escape, by completing without practice the game UggaBulla, but unfortunately Martin was not successful. Eventually Bobby, saw through all 10 games, many of them used by the Eagle comic itself as prize giveaways and promotions throughout the run. Martin was rescued and Bobby gained the title of Computer Warrior.
Due to the strip's popularity and a desire to continue it beyond the original concept it was then revealed that the purpose of the challenge was to find a champion to defeat the dark forces of the Nightmare Zone. The realm's ruler, the Computer Warlord, gathered together all qualified Computer Warriors and eliminated them one by one (banishing them to the Nightmare Zone) in a series of tests to find the 'Ultimate Warrior'.
As before, each test was the successful completion of a popular computer game of the time. Bobby made friends and enemies amongst the other Computer Warriors as the tests went on, but eventually Bobby emerged triumphant and became the Computer Warlord's champion; the other Computer Warriors being freed from the Nightmare Zone.
The Computer Warlord then set Bobby 5 more tests to defeat the Nightmare Zone creatures once and for all. In the final test the Nightmare Zone creatures picked a champion to defeat Bobby, his evil self! Finally, Bobby defeated this last enemy and the Nightmare Zone creatures were trapped in a 'cube of holding' by the Warlord.
In future stories, Bobby defeated various Nightmare Zone creatures who refused to enter the cube and then became the Computer Warlord, the old one having died and bequeathing it to Bobby. Bobby then invited Eagle readers to take part in their own 'real life' games, with no danger of going to the Nightmare Zone!
Eagle then had another revamp and a new plot line was introduced. Bobby was summoned before the 'Council of Warlords' to be told he wasn't really a Computer Warlord, and demoted to just plain Computer Warrior. Then another Warlord named Baal explained that they too were being attacked by Nightmare Zone creatures and he needed a champion to defeat them. By this stage, the quality of the writing had dropped significantly and the strip was reduced to Bobby being set test after test after test to 'prove he was a champion' which lasted for the rest of the strip's duration. No effort was made to introduce any other plot except the eternal completion of video games.
The Eagle became a monthly comic in the early nineties and the Computer Warrior and Dan Dare became the only strips that weren't reprints. The Eagle eventually ceased production in January 1994 and the Computer Warrior storyline was quickly wrapped up. In the final video game test, Bobby played "Another World". When he successfully completed this, he was told by Baal that "no test had been too great" and he had now defeated the Nightmare Zone forces. How he achieved this was never explained. Bobby was returned to his home and told that all his adventures had taken place in seconds in the real world and he would no longer be needed. Bobby pleaded with Baal to come back but had to contend with himself that he would miss being the Computer Warrior.
For the first three years the writer was credited as "D. Spence" a pen-name used by Alan Grant.
for 8 and 16 bit computers.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
series that debuted in Eagle
Eagle (comic)
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
on 13 April 1985 (shortly after the comic merged with Tiger
Tiger (comic)
Tiger was a British comic magazine published from 1954 to 1985. The comic was launched under the editorship of Derek Birnage on 11 September 1954, under the name Tiger – The Sport and Adventure Picture Story Weekly, and featured predominantly sporting strips...
) and ran for another nine years. The plot involves people playing real-life versions of computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
.
Plot
In 1985, following the success of the film TronTron
-Film:*Tron , a franchise that began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron** Tron , a 1982 science fiction film by Disney, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor and David Warner...
and the incorporation of the Tiger, the Eagle launched a new strip called "The Ultimate Warrior". This was quickly renamed "The Computer Warrior" and was one of only two strips (the other being Dan Dare
Dan Dare
Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
) to last for the rest of the comics lifetime.
When the strip first appeared, Bobby Patterson's friend Martin French mysteriously disappears. Bobby Patterson receives a message in which Martin reveals that he had discovered a code to activate a real life facility on his computer, enabling him to literally enter the computer games realm and that his disappearance means that he has lost a game and is now trapped within the Nightmare Zone.
In order to rescue Martin, Bobby must practice on the games before using the code to play the games in the computer realm. A single loss would mean Bobby himself would also be trapped in the Nightmare Zone. The only way for Bobby to free Martin was to complete 10 games himself using the code. Bobby made great progress through the tests, including overcoming various real life problems with his mother and father. Once Martin himself had the chance to free himself by finding a secret tunnel in the Nightmare Zone where he met the computer who gave him one chance to escape, by completing without practice the game UggaBulla, but unfortunately Martin was not successful. Eventually Bobby, saw through all 10 games, many of them used by the Eagle comic itself as prize giveaways and promotions throughout the run. Martin was rescued and Bobby gained the title of Computer Warrior.
Due to the strip's popularity and a desire to continue it beyond the original concept it was then revealed that the purpose of the challenge was to find a champion to defeat the dark forces of the Nightmare Zone. The realm's ruler, the Computer Warlord, gathered together all qualified Computer Warriors and eliminated them one by one (banishing them to the Nightmare Zone) in a series of tests to find the 'Ultimate Warrior'.
As before, each test was the successful completion of a popular computer game of the time. Bobby made friends and enemies amongst the other Computer Warriors as the tests went on, but eventually Bobby emerged triumphant and became the Computer Warlord's champion; the other Computer Warriors being freed from the Nightmare Zone.
The Computer Warlord then set Bobby 5 more tests to defeat the Nightmare Zone creatures once and for all. In the final test the Nightmare Zone creatures picked a champion to defeat Bobby, his evil self! Finally, Bobby defeated this last enemy and the Nightmare Zone creatures were trapped in a 'cube of holding' by the Warlord.
In future stories, Bobby defeated various Nightmare Zone creatures who refused to enter the cube and then became the Computer Warlord, the old one having died and bequeathing it to Bobby. Bobby then invited Eagle readers to take part in their own 'real life' games, with no danger of going to the Nightmare Zone!
Eagle then had another revamp and a new plot line was introduced. Bobby was summoned before the 'Council of Warlords' to be told he wasn't really a Computer Warlord, and demoted to just plain Computer Warrior. Then another Warlord named Baal explained that they too were being attacked by Nightmare Zone creatures and he needed a champion to defeat them. By this stage, the quality of the writing had dropped significantly and the strip was reduced to Bobby being set test after test after test to 'prove he was a champion' which lasted for the rest of the strip's duration. No effort was made to introduce any other plot except the eternal completion of video games.
The Eagle became a monthly comic in the early nineties and the Computer Warrior and Dan Dare became the only strips that weren't reprints. The Eagle eventually ceased production in January 1994 and the Computer Warrior storyline was quickly wrapped up. In the final video game test, Bobby played "Another World". When he successfully completed this, he was told by Baal that "no test had been too great" and he had now defeated the Nightmare Zone forces. How he achieved this was never explained. Bobby was returned to his home and told that all his adventures had taken place in seconds in the real world and he would no longer be needed. Bobby pleaded with Baal to come back but had to contend with himself that he would miss being the Computer Warrior.
For the first three years the writer was credited as "D. Spence" a pen-name used by Alan Grant.
Games featured in the story
While the comic featured both fictional and real games, the majority of the titles were games published in the UK by U.S. GoldU.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
for 8 and 16 bit computers.
- Zyklon Attack (fictional)
- Wizard of WorWizard Of WorWizard of Wor is an arcade game from 1981 , developed by Midway. Other systems it was ported to include the Atari 800, Commodore 64, the Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and the Bally Astrocade as "The Incredible Wizard". The title of the game is often misspelled as "Wizard of War"...
(1983) - Pastfinder (1984)
- Rescue on Fractalus! (1984)
- The Great American Cross-Country Road RaceThe Great American Cross-Country Road RaceThe Great American Cross-Country Road Race is a racing game published in 1985 by Activision.-Summary:The game puts the player in the position of a driver of a high-performance car, racing across the United States while passing through its major cities...
(1985) - Ghostbusters (1984)
- Walls of Jericho (fictional)
- Desert Fox (1985)
- Psi 5 Trading Company (1986)
- Uggabulla (fictional)
- Silent ServiceSilent Service (video game)Silent Service is a 1985 submarine simulator computer game. It was designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers, and in 1987 for 16-bit systems like the Commodore Amiga...
(1985) - Kung Fu MasterKung Fu MasterKung-Fu Master, known in Japan as , is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published in Japan by Irem. It was later published in North America by Data East. The Japanese version was based on the Jackie Chan movie Wheels on Meals, known as Spartan X in Japan, and credited "Paragon Films Ltd.,...
(1985) - InfiltratorInfiltratorInfiltrator is a 1986 video game published by U.S. Gold/Mindscape. It was developed for the Atari 8-bit family, Apple II, DOS, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System and ZX Spectrum by Chris Gray Enterprises....
(1986) - GauntletGauntlet (arcade game)Gauntlet is a fantasy-themed hack and slash 1985 arcade game by Atari Games. It is noted as the first class-based multiplayer game. Released during the emergence of popularity of other role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, the game was a sensation, being one of the first true dungeon crawl...
(1986) - Express Raider (1987)
- World GamesWorld Games (computer game)World Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx for the Commodore 64 in 1986. Versions for the Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, SEGA Master System and other contemporary systems were also released...
(1986) - Ace of AcesAce of Aces (computer game)Ace of Aces is a computer game flight simulator developed by Artech Digital Entertainment in 1986. The game takes place during World War II and the player flies a RAF Mosquito long range fighter-bomber equipped with rockets, bombs and a cannon. Missions include destroying German fighter planes,...
(1986) - Metro Cross (1988)
- Impossible Mission IIImpossible Mission IIImpossible Mission II is a 1988 computer game for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Enterprise 64 and 128, Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS based PCs, Atari ST, Apple IIe with at least 128K, Apple IIc, Apple IIGS and Amiga computers, developed by Novotrade and published by Epyx...
(1988) - Side Arms Hyper DyneSide Arms Hyper Dyne, also known as Side Arms: Hyper Dyne, is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up originally released by Capcom as a coin-operated video game in The game was also released to the TurboGrafx-16, as well as to various home computer platforms. In Side Arms the player takes control of a flying mecha suit who...
(1988) - Black Christmas (fictional)
- Wizard Warz (1987)
- Battlefield 3000 (fictional)
- 4th & Inches4th & Inches4th & Inches is an American football computer game by Accolade. It was released for the Commodore 64 , Apple II , DOS , Amiga , Apple IIGS...
(1987) - Dream Warrior (1988)
- Blood of Dracula (fictional)
- Bionic CommandoBionic CommandoBionic Commando may refer to the following video games:* Bionic Commando , the original arcade game released in 1987* Bionic Commando , a 1988 NES video game, partly based on the arcade game...
(1988) - RoadBlastersRoadBlastersRoadBlasters is an arcade game released by Atari Games in 1987. In RoadBlasters, the player must navigate a sports car through 50 different rally races, getting to the finish line before running out of fuel.-Object of the game:...
(1988) - ThunderBlade (1988)
- The Deep (1988)
- Zak McKracken and the Alien MindbendersZak McKracken and the Alien MindbendersZak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a graphical adventure game, originally released in October 1988 , published by LucasArts . It was the second game to use the SCUMM engine, after Maniac Mansion...
(1988) - Forgotten WorldsForgotten WorldsForgotten Worlds, originally titled in Japan, is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up game by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated video game in...
(1988) - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game (1989)
- Slay Ride (fictional)
- Turbo OutrunTurbo OutrunTurbo OutRun is a arcade racing game released by Sega. It was released as a dedicated game, as well as an upgradable kit that could be installed on the original Out Run board.-Overview:...
(1989) - Black TigerBlack TigerBlack tiger may refer to:* Black tiger , a melanistic or pseudo-melanistic tiger* Black Tiger , a 1982 release by Y&T* Black Tiger , an arcade game developed by the Japanese company Capcom in 1987...
(1989) - CrackdownCrackdownCrackdown is an open world, third-person shooter video game for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America on February 20, 2007, and worldwide by February 23, 2007. Crackdown was developed by Realtime Worlds, and distributed by Microsoft Game Studios. It was conceived by Realtime Worlds...
(1990) - Dynasty WarsDynasty WarsDynasty Wars, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up arcade game released in 1989 by Capcom, based on a Japanese manga Tenchi wo Kurau and a reenactment of the battle between the Kingdom of Shu and the Yellow Turban rebels...
(1990) - U.N. SquadronU.N. SquadronU.N. Squadron is a 1989 side scrolling shooting game released for the CPS arcade hardware by Capcom. The game was released in Japan as and is based on the manga series of the same name, featuring the same main characters. Here, their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4...
(1990) - Time Warrior (fictional)
- ESWATESWATESWAT may refer to:*ESWAT Cyber Police , a 1989 scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Sega*ESWAT: City Under Siege, a 1990 side scrolling platform video game for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis video game console...
(1990) - Space Attack (fictional)
- MercsMercsis a 1990 top-down run and gun arcade game developed and published by Capcom for the arcades. It is the successor of Commando. It was followed by Commando 3 in , a downloadable game.-Gameplay:...
(1991) - Army War (fictional)
- Street Fighter 2 (1992)
- "Another WorldAnother World (video game)Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
" (1993)