"Wall of Death" is the 12th original comic story published in Thunderbirds The Comic, and second based on an original story. It was published as a three part adventure in issues 37 to 39, with four pages in each part.
The story acts of a sort of sequel to Move - And You're Dead, with the plot concerning the newly built San Miguel hydro-electric dam, located at the same site when the San Miguel Bridge stood before its destruction five years earlier.
The story would be the first of a handful written by Simon Archer, who is better known as Gerry Anderson's original biographer. Later in 1993, Archer would die in a car accident, bringing his Thunderbirds contributions to an abrupt and untimely halt.
Synopsis[]
It's John's birthday, and Scott and Gordon make a suprise trip to Thunderbird 5 to celebrate. Meanwhile, the newly constructed San Miguel dam is pushed to its limits after several months of heavy rainfall cause the reservoir to hit capacity. With the village of San Miguel holding annual celebrations just downstream of the dam, it's imperative that the dam can hold back the water so as to not inundate the town. However, the sheer volume of water proves too much to handle, and the dam wall begins to fracture. With Scott and Gordon still onboard Thunderbird 5, Alan is forced to confront his past by leading the rescue efforts, where five years earlier he was held captive and almost lost his life...
Characters[]
Alan remembers the events of Move - And You're Dead
(in order of appearance)
- Alan Tracy
- Grandma Tracy (flashback)
- Jim
- Mike Kelly
- Scott Tracy
- John Tracy
- Gordon Tracy
- Jeff Tracy
- Virgil Tracy
- Brains
IR Equipment Used[]
Trivia[]
John Glenn's bust
- The story takes place on John's birthday. Scott and Gordon make a suprise visit to Thunderbird 5 to celebrate with John, leaving Alan back on Earth. Interestingly, it is said to be Gordon's first time onboard TB5, meaning it must take place before Ricochet, when Gordon is seen helping the repairs on the satellite.
- As the story is also explicitly stated to be five years after Move - And You're Dead, it seems to imply that at least five years separates both television episodes.
- A change of pilots: the rescue unfolds while Scott and Gordon are up on the space station, and so Alan takes up command of both Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 4. Virgil also takes the controls of Thunderbird 1 while Alan is preoccupied with the rescue.
- A bust of John Glenn is seen in the Tracy Villa, the astronaut which John Tracy was named after.