The V.C.s

Infobox comics organization


imagesize=
caption=Cover to the first trade paperback, by Garry Leach
publisher=Rebellion/2000AD
debut="The VCs" - November 24 1979
creators=Gerry Finley-Day
type=Starship's crew
business=
organisation=y
organization=
base=
owners=Jupe
employees=Steve Smith
Hen-Sho
Ringer
Dwarf Star
Loon
fullroster=
subcat=
sortkey=PAGENAME|

"The V.C.s" was a future war series that appeared in the science fiction comic "2000 AD" prog 140 - 178 (1979-1980). Written by Gerry Finley-Day, the first episode was drawn by Mike McMahon who designed the craft and the main characters. The main series artists were Cam Kennedy, Garry Leach and John Richardson. Dan Abnett has recently finished the series at Book 5 with the help of artist Anthony Williams who has been working with Abnett on this for quite a while.

Characters

First Geek War

The original V.C.s were:

* Jupe, the crew's sergeant and ship's captain. Genetically engineered for life on the moons of Jupiter, giving him a huge physical presence and above normal strength. A hardened fighter, being blinded did little to dull his fighting edge and he was still capable of snapping a Geek's neck with his bare hands.
* Hen-Sho, the ship's 'missile man'; a native of Mars, which has been colonised by the Chinese. Hen-Sho has a highly evolved code of honour. A skilled martial artist, excelling in the use of the las-lance. While on a mission to locate the Geek homeworld in a stolen Geek ship, he was mortally wounded by shrapnel from a shipboard explosion. He evacuated Smith and Loon to the two remaining lifepods and died when the ship was destroyed.
* Ringer, the ship's pilot, born on an outpost orbiting Saturn. He takes an instant dislike to Smith and becomes his main adversary. An expert with the 'kill-disc', a Saturnian powered weapon capable of decapitating its target. He demonstrated this weapon's effectiveness on the Dishwasher, slicing his head off at short range. He took a las-beam meant for Smith and died seconds later.
* Dwarf Star, a mutant and the ship's port gunner. His family was attacked by the Geeks while on a colony ship bound for Neptune. The ship was attacked by the Geeks and was forced to make a jump to hyperspace to escape; but the hyperspace jump affected the colonists. Though the ship reached Neptune, Dwarf Star and his identical twin brother Midge were born deformed, with "no hair, strange eyes and mis-shapen faces". Smith was forced to fire on Midge's ship, killing Midge and souring relations between himself and Dwarf Star. Dwarf Star was flushed into space when a barrage from a Geek ambush force cracked open his gun turret.
* Loon, the ship's starboard gunner. Prior to joining the V.C.s, he spent six years performing garrison detail on the Moon for disorderly conduct, which left him mentally unstable. He had a tendency to giggle inanely; Loon was also prone to carrying a teddy bear (much to the annoyance of Dwarf Star) and occasionally stalking the corridors of the ship in a murderous rampage. He was strafed to death by a Geek fighter-craft on a moon above the Geek homeworld.
* Crick. Killed in action before the first series started.

They were joined by:

* Steve Smith. The main protagonist of the series. An 'earthworm' (derogatory term used by colonists for all those born on Earth) who signed on as a new recruit. Assigned to replace the late Crick, much to the chagrin of his new crewmates. During the assault on Geek space he retrained as a star-scout. He played a pivotal role in the first Geek War by destroying Geek High Command. General Moore promoted him to second lieutenant for his actions, and he rose to the rank of major between the first and second series. The effects of the first war gave him post-traumatic stress disorder and he was prone to hallucinations, haunted by visions of his dead comrades. By the beginning of the second series, his military career has finished and he works as a janitor, but when the second war starts he is quick to sign up again.

Other significant cast members included:
* Brother, the ship's computer. He controlled the ship's other systems, and interacted with the crew via a 'mouthpiece': an anthropomorphic avatar that originally resembled a court jester, but an ion storm damaged his personality tapes, turning him into a hippie. Following a three-hour flirtation with pacifism, Smith and Loon were able to persuade him to resume normal service. His avatar was redesigned to suit his new personality, but his behaviour remained erratic and his dialogue peppered with underground jargon.
* The Dishwasher. Members of the Diplomatic Corps were all called 'dishwashers' and were universally despised by the star-troopers. One unnamed member of this group took command of the Terran reprisal fleet sent to end the first Geek war. Sadistic, cowardly and arrogant, he quickly came to hate the V.C.s, and sought to kill them by sending them on a series of suicide missions that blinded Jupe; sent Ringer mad and claimed the lives of Dwarf Star, Hen-Sho and Loon. He aided the Geeks when they infiltrated his flagship, tried to kill Smith to cover his tracks, but was decapitated by Ringer's kill-disc.
* General Moore, second-in-command of Task Force Titan. A cyborg and experienced field officer of the Global Combat Corps, respected by all the star troopers. Forced to play second fiddle to the 'Dishwasher'. Later assumed command of the task force and proved instrumental, along with Smith, in wiping out Geek High Command.

econd Geek War

When the team was reformed new members included:

* Kali, the pilot from the Kuiper Belt.
* Ryx, the gunnery sergeant who takes the main turret. He was born on one of the Neptune colonies.
* Keege, the port gunner and one of the Geek sympathisers working with humans against the more militaristic members of their society.
* Tommy Hoff, the new starboard gunnery recruit occupying a similar role to Smith when he first joined the V.C.s
* Tycho, the new 'missile man' despite being a woman. Another new recruit from the lunar colonies but tougher (and madder) than Hoff

Plot

The strip is set in the year 2531. The Solar System is engaged in a war of survival against an alien species known as "Geeks". Steve Smith, a raw recruit, has just completed his training and signed on with the Global Combat Corps as a star-trooper, but is quickly thrown in at the deep end: he is assigned to the hard-bitten crew of a space patrol ship crewed by the V.C.s, or "Vacuum Cleaners" for short. The twist is that Smith is the only Earth-born crew member: the rest of the crew are all from colonies on the other planets of the solar system, often being physically adapted to alien evironments, and having little love for 'Ma Earth'. A major theme of this series is the antagonism between the crew (often racially motivated), particularly towards the "earthworm" Smith; and Smith's struggle for acceptance by the crew. Like many war stories, there is a high mortality rate amongst the main characters.

The V.C.s are regarded with contempt by the Earth-led high command, but are acknowledged as the best crew in the fleet. After a Geek armada attacks Earth and Mars a counter attack is launched against the Geek homeworld. Following a slight against a superior officer the V.C.s are detailed for the most dangerous missions. Much in the style of "The Dirty Dozen" this results in a high fatality rate and over the course of the series all of the V.C.s save Smith and Jupe are killed off. Ultimately Smith, the sole member of the original V.C.s who remains fighting fit, leads a heroic attack on the Geek homeworld that ends the war.

The VCs were revived in "2000 AD" in 2002 and are still active. The new series is written by Dan Abnett and initially drawn by Henry Flint, later replaced by Anthony Williams. In the new stories Smith, now a major, is a veteran of the first Human-Geek war who leads a squad of raw recruits when a new war breaks out between the two races just as Earth is on the verge of joining the Polity, a galactic alliance of species. It was later revealed that "The Polity" was behind both wars. At the end of Book V, the Humans finally negotiated a deal with the Geeks.

Alien Races

Human

Even though they are still considered a single species, the humans of the 26th century appear to be a race at the threshold of evolutionary divergence. They have spread to the rest of the solar system, colonising the many planets, moons and planetoids within the influence of their sun. A belligerent, persistent and aggressive species, they have risen to each challenge presented by their dozens of new homes, building stations, fortresses and cities wherever the space can be found, and even undergoing genetic treatment in order to better adapt to their worlds. A great deal of animosity that shares elements of both racism and national pride exists between the colonists and the humans that chose to remain on Earth. Smith, upon encountering the V.C.s, observed in his diary that his comrades were all 'half-castes', while his father, upon seeing Jupe on a vid-screen was surprised to see a 'real, live Jovian' and described him as an 'ugly-lookin' fish'. Conversely, the V.C.s, all colonists from different worlds, often used the term 'earthworm' to describe Smith and his compatriots.

By the time of the second war, humanity had even colonised the Kuiper Belt, tightening their grasp over their solar system.

Geek

Also known as "G'egeekajee", they physiologically tend to be upright and humanoid in outline, but all resemblance to humans stops there. They are a polymorphic species of r-strategists (prolific reproducers). Geeks have reptilian and insectoid characteristics. During the first war, they seeded asteroids with thousands of their young, kept dormant until given an activation signal, whereupon they turned into killers; each asteroid a little world full of an invasion force in waiting. These Geek young are usually controlled by means of sound waves, which can turn them docile or frenzied. During one encounter with a hive of Geek young, The V.C.s were almost overwhelmed until their computer, Brother, exploited this weakness and disoriented them with a sonic attack of his own invention.

This emphasis on controlled breeding pervades Geek culture. Many Geeks are predestined for one role or another; the circumstances of their creation generating specific physical characteristics. They are several different kinds or castes of Geek: the most common serve as soldiers, appearing identical to human eyes. A Geek general is recognisable by its swollen cranium, suggesting that it and others like it are bred for heightened intelligence and advanced tactical planning. Some Geeks are bred solely for the purpose of breeding, laying dozens of eggs at the moment of death.

The Geeks first became involved in human history when they waged war on humanity during the early 26th century. The resultant interstellar war affected every one of the burgeoning colony worlds in the Solar System held by the humans. Notable victories scored by the Geeks during this first space war included:

* An attack resulting in the destruction of Phobos Harbour and the Martian colony cities, including New Peking City, built on the peak of Olympus Mons.
* Attacking the Jovian colony on Ganymede.
* Destroying Smith's home city on Earth.

Trivia

The Geeks use the inner phonemes as abbreviations so the name they call themselves, "G'Egeekajee", becomes "Geek" and their name for humans, "Kajeek'Gedek'Ka'Aak", becomes "Eeek-Ek-Aak" (this means "murderous pink-skins of Earth") [Prog 1486]

Other races

The Polity

The Polity are an intergalactic superpower that have advanced technology such as the ability to freeze time. They start wars between other aliens for their own amusement. It is late revealed in "Mail Call" that they consider themselves to have evolved so much that they now believe that they are unable or unsuited to fight, they have to rely on mercenaries such as the Naxon to fight their wars. It is also revealed that any species within their empire are slave races. In the end, their spies informed them that the Humans were secretly negotiating with the Geek Apologist faction for a peace treaty. The Polity decided to sabotage the peace talks and enlisted the help of Naxon mercenaries to assassinate the Apologist leader.

Naxon

A "race of exterminators" according to Keege, they act as mercenaries to the highest bidder exterminating entire species. They have highly advanced military technology that can destroy an Earth ship with their shield at 100%. Contacted by "The Polity" during an extermination of the natives of 41 Hydra to assassinate a Geek ambassador to Earth, they were unsuccessful in their mission after the entire group perished and their leader killed.

Bibliography

They have largely appeared in their own eponymous strip in "2000 AD":

*"The V.C.s":
** "The VCs" (with Gerry Finley-Day and Steve MacManus as Ian Rogan (6); Art: Mike McMahon (1), Garry Leach (2, 5, 8-9, 14-15, 21-22 and 25-26), Cam Kennedy (3-4, 6,-7, 10-13, 16-20, 23-24 and 27) and John Richardson (28-32), in "2000 AD" #140-175, 1979-1980)
** "Peace Day" (with Dan Abnett and Henry Flint, in "2000 AD" #1300-1306, 2002)
** "Look on the Bright Side" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1327, 2002)
** "Escher's Well" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" prog 2003, 2002)
** "Shotgun" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1328, 2003)
** "Tickover" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1329, 2003)
** "Bystander" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1330-1331, 2003)
** "Green" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1332, 2003)
** "E & E" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1333, 2003)
** "M.I.A." (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1334, 2003)
** "Charon" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1335, 2003)
** "Down" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" prog 2004 #1371-1379, 2003-2004)
** "Old Soldiers" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1432-1441, 2005)
** "Mail Call" (with Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams, in "2000 AD" #1486-1495, 2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.2000adonline.com/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=vc 2000 AD profile]