Writer – Jack Kirby
Artist – Jack Kirby
Inker – Mike Royer
Colours – Petra Goldberg
Letters – Mike Royer

This is it!  The final battle between X-51 and Ten-For.  Machine Man finally decides to leave the costume party he was attending to deal with Ten-For when he sees the Autocron fleet nearing Earth, something that he now finds incredibly hard to ignore.  After a massive battle between the two, X-51 finally gets the upper hand and Ten-For stands defeated, something a long time in the coming.  Such as it is though, the threat of the invading fleet remains and something has to be done about it.  The battle in this book between hero and villain is fierce and looks great as only the King can draw it.  Near the end of the book, X-51 either shows a real mean streak or some of that cold robot logic comes into play when he nukes the fleet with the body of Ten-For.  Of course, it was a necessity, but it seemed out of character as X-51 has been built up as a good guy looking to find a peaceful existence.  Perhaps being chased by the cops and the government is finally taking its toll, a perfect example of the persecution he has been facing during the first handful of pages in the book where Colonel Kragg and his men attempt to take Machine Man out.  There is still a healthy dose of the ludicrous though, including more of the costume party and a scene with a cab driver, which was probably supposed to be somewhat of a serious moment but really, was not.  It would be nice if Mr. Jack Kirby could leave this stuff out of the book but there is a reason for everything and perhaps a little lightheartedness was called for given the seriousness of the rest of the story.  Again, perhaps it is due to the passing of time but there is a lot in this title that has lost its punch so to speak, unlike other books by Kirby such as Kamandi that remain as great today as when first released.  The next issue blurb states, ‘America versus Machine Man!’  If anything, it sounds quite intriguing.

3 out of 5