The nearly-indestructible spacesuit worn by the alien in
this story has a slightly different look than the normal
alien spacesuits. Notice that the chest nodule appears to be
centered rather than on the left side and larger than the
normal one.

In the last panel of page 3 of the story, one can just
barely see the indication on Straker's right arm that he has
the (hidden) flight pack's launch control stick in hand.
The top of panel 2 on page 5 of the story reveals that
Straker is leading the alien on a chase along the M23
motorway. This is an actual motorway near London which runs
into Sussex County, just as depicted within this story.
Page 5 of the story states that Straker is leading the alien
in a car chase at speeds of nearly 200 mph in SHADOcars!
The "Shadocars" article in the 1970
UFO Annual published by Polystyle Publications
reveals that SHADOcars are capable of speeds in excess of
200 mph.
Page 6 of the story reveals that Straker's SHADOcar has an
ejection seat for the driver. Do all SHADOcars come so
equipped?
What is the reason for the odd sky
background on the alien homeworld
seen in panel 8 of page 6 of the
story? Is it just an abstract
background used as artistic license?
Or is it meant to suggest something
about the alien world? Also, notice
that the buildings appear to be the
same ones seen on the alien
homeworld in the earlier-published
but chronologically-later story,
"Homeworld", though the latter story
has a normal-looking blue sky. A
similar shot is also seen later in
"The
Renegade". |
 |
 |
 |
Scene from
"Shock-Wave" |
Scene from
"Homeworld" |
Scene from
"The
Renegade" |
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Why would the aliens seemingly abandon the nearly-indestructible
spacesuit worn by the alien in this story? Sure, Skydiver 1 finally
killed the alien wearing it by shooting him with a missile packing a
powerful electron charge, but the suit was still pretty damn
effective against traditional handguns, SHADO Mobile gun mounts, and
the aliens' own weapons blasts!
Why was this story titled "Shock-Wave"? Is it a reference to the
electron charge of the Skydiver missile that finally takes out the
alien?
Back to UFO
Episode Studies