Vandroid #4

Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: May 28, 2014

Vandroid's been captured and readied to have his memory core dumped and wiped by bad guy techs at Dick Daniels' Metrotech warehouse. With Keener out of the picture, all looks bleak for the V-man...that is, until the turncoat Taylor discovers that his old pal Chuck may have left some defenses behind in his creation…

[HEAVY SPOILERS DETECTED BELOW]

This sub-routine kicks in and prevents them from wiping Vandroid's memory but not from downloading all his specs. Regardless, the V-man awakens and isn't pleased at the prospect. Bodyguards haul Daniels away and Taylor hightails it for safety right before the “Vanettes” burst in, with Crystal driving Chuck's special van and the other female androids pitching in on the fight. They grab the wounded Vandroid and escape, to fight another day.

Daniels is upset but Taylor informs him that, with the information they were able to retrieve from Vandroid, they can now begin human experimentation with “volunteers” from Daniels' V.A. hospitals. Meanwhile, Vandroid recuperates and gets some freak on with Crystal who knows he's just a version of her old husband but that's the best part of him in there. For his part, Vandroid begins to question why he needs the trioxidyne at all, with Crystal chiming in that maybe it was like Chuck's human addictions, it just snuck its way into his programming but he doesn't really need it.

Vandroid then remembers seeing an inordinate amount of the chemical at Daniels' warehouse and realizes the villain's going to weaponize it all. But then there's a knock at the door and it's Taylor, trying to charm his way back in. He, Vandroid and Crystal all go for a walk, with her being optimistic about this development, not really being aware of the extent of Taylor's duplicity. As he's leading them to a secluded portion of a park it's Vandroid that has the memory refresh and knows Taylor to be a threat.

But it's too late - the trap is sprung! In the ensuing action, sadly, Crystal is killed but Keener shows up and dispatches the evil clown assassins of Taylor. He explains that he's actually a Federal agent, having been working undercover at Metrotech because of investigating Daniels as a chemical weapons dealer. He'd apparently been wearing a bulletproof vest earlier and just played dead in order to escape from that warehouse. After burying Crystal, that's the last straw for Vandroid who wants to destroy Metrotech entirely so they all make plans - Vandroid, Keener and the Vanettes - to tackle Daniels' fortress of a production facility/warehouse/corporate offices. They begin their assault, only to find that Taylor has had time to perfect his trap and his use of android information on a new group of his own “Vandroids.”

Tommy Lee Edwards and Noah Smith keep the fun rolling here yet again, maintaining the consistent look and feel of something very retro yet still making it seem fresh as well. Dan McDaid gets to continue here as well, helping that consistency but, now, getting even more elements like crazed female androids to play with visually as well. Just a damn fun series, this Vandroid...