The ABC Warriors - Blackblood

Blackblood by S.M.S.

"Treacherous ex-leader of the rival Straw Dogs jungle robots..."

	"Who gains pleasure from torture and betrayal..."

		"...whose brain was operated on - to cut out the worst of his vices."

During the Volgan War, there was one name that could strike fear into the hearts of even the most battle hardened ABC Warrior: The Straw Dogs. Experts in jungle warfare and terror tactics, these guerillas were led by General Blackblood, named from the rumours that he drank the oil of dead ABC Warriors. Every bit as vicious and unrelenting as his troops, Blackblood oversaw the slaughter of thousands of humans and ABC Warriors alike.

'Behave!' by Simon Bisley However, he wasn't always this way. His creator, the Volgan scientist Dr Zakaroff, sought to create a robot warrior capable of treachery, but initially failed to do so with Blackblood. In desperation, Zakaroff turned to the occult, and used a mixture of black magic and science to harness the betrayal of two lovers he forced to torture each other. Blackblood went on to prove his newly discovered treachery by killing Zakaroff, but not before the good doctor shot out Blackblood's eye. He decided to leave the socket empty as a reminder of his greatest act of betrayal.

Realising his skills in guerilla warfare would be a valuable asset, Colonel Lash ordered Hammerstein to hunt down Blackblood and bring him in to join the original Mars mission - after he was put through surgery to remove the parts of his brain that held his worst vices. The Warriors caught up with Blackblood at the island of Bougainville, the scene of one of the Straw Dogs most notorious massacres, and it was down to Joe Pineapples to bring him down, leading to the hatred that Blackblood has carried for his colleague these many years. His hatred, however, also runs to his other comrades, and has manifested itself on more than one occasion. Not surprising as he's programmed to love treachery. His constant undermining of Hammerstein's leadership has lead to many confrontations between the two, and a healthy disrespect that has spanned the centuries.

After Mars, little is known of Blackblood's activities. He eventually turned up on the free robot planet of Mekka, where he plied a trade as a 'business man' under the name Bunyon Snipe, and even married an exotic dancer, Ruby Yum Yum Gluck. Unable (or more likely unwilling) to shed the habits of a lifetime, he was still living off the blood of other robots; the General was making himself a fortune selling addictive software, which robots would spend years or even centuries playing. It's also known that during his time on Mekka, he came into posession of certain negatives of his former comrade Joe Pineapples at a party, and was using them for blackmail purposes.

It was here on the free robot planet that Blackblood was forcibly recruited by Nemesis The Warlock into the newly re-formed ABC Warriors. Side by side with his former comrades, Blackblood helped The Gothic Empire turn the tide against the Terminators, before following Nemesis into the Time Wastes to find his son Thoth. He and the other Warriors went on to repair the damage done to the Black Hole Control Room by The Warlock's offspring, and save Terra from destruction.

During the mission, Blackblood yet again proved his treachery knew no bounds as he betrayed The Warriors to the Eternal Soldiers of Agartha, and assisted Deadlock in a sabotage attempt to stop The Warriors completing their task. It was during this foray into the Time Wastes that Blackblood lost his leg; he killed a road crew and took their road drill as a substitute.

'Mercy!' by Simon Bisley The Warriors stole Emperor Zallin's Tomb Ship and made their way to Gandarva to confront Nemesis, before Deadlock took them on to the planet Hekate, centre of the Khaos in the galaxy, to perform a ritual and spread Khaos throughout the Terran Empire. Once The Warriors succeeded, they renounced Deadlock's leadership and went their seperate ways. Blackblood set up an arms dealership, and even took on a pet dog, Spike. Hammerstein, rather foolishly, went to Blackblood for a service, only to find himself welded to a workbench, and used as a guinea pig for his former comrade's exotic array of weaponry. When Hammerstein was given the task of re-forming The ABC Warriors, Blackblood was the first to sign up. Although, maybe that had something to do with the choice Hammerstein had given him: die now or join up and die later.

His tongue as sharp as ever, Blackblood once again returned to the red planet to attempt to keep the peace between the human colonists and the planetary consciousness, Medusa. Now, as a civil war rages, more interesting opportunities for Blackblood's treacherous ways may arise...

Mek-Quake | Steelhorn | Nemesis the Warlock | Torquemada

In Memorium | Supporting Cast | Fields of Battle | The Armoury