Block 109 is the first album of its namesake Alternate History comic book series, published in 2010.
The story takes place in 1953. The tide of World War II has turned against Germany. The Wehrmacht, the Waffen SS and the New Teutonic Order are desperately struggling against Soviet forces in the city of Marienburg, Pomerania, the bastion of the New Teutonic Order and the last line of defenses on the path to Berlin — basically Stalingrad on the Vistula. Meanwhile, the Hochmeister Zytek follows his own agenda...
Contains examples of:
- Allohistorical Allusion: The battle of Marienburg echoes the battle of Stalingrad in this alternate universe, up to the nickname "Cauldron".
- Always a Bigger Fish: The Wehrmacht and SS forces in Marienburg repel a Soviet tank assault. Then the Soviet unleash their Walkers and Siberians. Suddenly, the Panzermann shows up
◊, crushes some Siberians and tanks, and tears the Walker's arms off. The Panzermann is then destroyed by Soviet attack aircrafts. - The Ark: The Block 109 bunker. Zytek gathered 6000 chosen ones in this sanctuary, allowing them to survive his planned apocalypse.
- Badass Longcoat: Zytek wears long coats.
- Bears Are Bad News: The Siberians wear bear pelts.
- The Berserkers: The Soviet Elite Mooks called "Siberians". They wear bear pelts, throw themselves into fights with Unstoppable Rage and slaughter their enemies with Wolverine Claws.
- Board to Death: After disposing of Heydrich, Zytek gathers the other major Nazi leaders in the Third Reich's command room so he can kill them all in one fell swoop for their crimes against humanity.
- Chekhov's Gun: The man who shot Hitler has a "109" tattoo on his wrist. As Zytek dies, we can see it again on his wrist.
- Civil War: The final battle between the SS and the Teutonic Order in Berlin is basically this.
- Colonel Badass: The Oberst piloting the Panzermann.
- Cool vs. Awesome: Soviet mechas and Siberian berserkers Vs. German mechas.
- Death Seeker: Zytek, because he lost the woman he loved and their child.
- Depopulation Bomb: The Nazis wiped out 70 per cent of the world's population by nuclear fire. There are less than 800 million humans on Earth in 1953. And even less after Zytek's final nuclear attack.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Zytek, when he was Himmler's dragon.
- Dragon Ascendant: Zytek. He replaced Heinrich Himmler after the latter's "accidental death" in 1947 (it's implied that either Zytek himself or Heydrich was behind it).
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Otto Skorzeny, who was something of a Memetic Badass of real life World War II, is unceremoniously killed by Slashed Throat after he boasts that he's the local SS commander to a member of the Teutonic Order.
- Dual Wielding: Zytek wields two sabers in the battle between the New Teutonic Order and the SS.
- Elite Army: The New Teutonic Order serves as this for Germany, overtly .
- Elite Mooks: The Soviet Siberians, who are unstoppable berserkers with Wolverine Claws.
- The End of the World as We Know It: At the end of the first album Zytek ensures that the major powers of the world will be knocked back to the Stone Age to end the cycle of violence that already destroyed the world.
- Faking the Dead: Zytek, during the SS assault on Berlin.
- Final Solution:
- 14 million Jews were killed in this universe.
- This Holocaust and many others caused by the Nazis prompted Zytek to prepare a Final Solution against warmongering humanity itself in the hope of ceasing the escalation of violence once and for all.
- Gatling Good: The Soviet Walkers' weaponized arm. The other arm is a rocket-launcher.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Miller, in the Marienburg subway. He was bitten so he's condemned to become a ghoul and chooses to stay behind his squad, facing the ghouls with his axe and enabling the others to escape.
- Zytek dies defending Block 109 from SS forces, at the end.
- Historical Domain Characters:
- Reinhard Heydrich. Has become Reichsführer of the SS and plots to depose Zytek.
- Henning von Tresckow. Becomes Zytek's most trusted right-hand.
- Otto Skorzeny. Ends up killed by a Teutonic soldier in the station of Marienburg.
- Humongous Mecha / Mini-Mecha / A Mech by Any Other Name: German Panzermensch vs Soviet Walkers.
- In Medias Res: It is the first published album, but the last chronologically.
- Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: Somehow, there are functioning mechas in the late 1940s-early 1950s.
- Interservice Rivalry: Himmler created the New Teutonic Order, which upset Heydrich. There is basically a rivalry between the SS and the New Teutonic Order, which culminates in the destruction of the former by the latter.
- Lowered Recruiting Standards: As the war against USSR caused an increasing lack of Cannon Fodder, the Wehrmacht and the SS allowed non-Germans and women to join its ranks.
- Macross Missile Massacre: Charged with The Virus and nuclear warheads. It is Zytek's scheduled Last Stand against the Soviet Union.
- Mole in Charge: Zytek was first recruited by the anti-Nazi Admiral Wilhelm Canaris before the war to infiltrate the Nazi Party. Zytek's decision to assassinate Hitler ended up creating an even worse war than he feared, but he was eventually able to ascend to leadership of the Third Reich so he could dismantle it from within.
- More Dakka: The battles in the "Cauldron", including the trailer.
- Nemean Skinning: The Siberians wear bear pelts, with the head's pelt as a hood.
- No Place for Me There: When Lisa accuses Zytek and his men of being monsters for trying to destroy what remains of the world while declaring themselves the chosen few fit to survive, Zytek explains that he has no intention of saving his own skin and deserves to die for what he has been part of.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Zytek's words to the remaining Nazi leaders seconds before the Board to Death.But don't worry, gentlemen. I'm not here to judge you. But to condemn you!
- The Purge:
- Hermann Göring, Joseph "Sepp" Dietrich, Martin Bormann, Rudolf Hess and many other Nazi officials were arrested by the Gestapo and hanged after Hitler's assassination in 1941. Joseph Goebbels was spared, thanks to his propaganda talents.
- A second one occurs in 1953. Zytek uses the New Teutonic Order to execute all the remaining Nazi leaders, including Heydrich, for what they've done to humanity, and annihilates the SS while they are on a meeting board.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Panzermensch's eyes turn red when said mechas are activated.
- The Reveal: As Zytek dies, we can see the "109" tattoo on his wrist. It was him who killed Adolf Hitler in 1941.
- Shout-Out: This part◊ is a reference to Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade.
- Sinister Subway: The subway of Marienburg is populated by ghouls.
- Splash of Color: This album's visual style is a mix of this with Real Is Brown and Deliberately Monochrome. Blood spatterings are always red.
- Sword and Gun: What Zytek uses against the SS in the final assault.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: In addition to his plans of massive Macross Missile Massacre on the USSR with V6 cruiser missiles charged with The Virus, Zytek also planned a nuclear attack, just in case. It turns out he has planned to use it against warmonger humanity anyway.
- Too Dumb to Live: The Panzermann pilot in the trailer. Taking a cigarette break outside of his mecha is not a good idea, especially when Soviet snipers are lurking around.
- Urban Warfare: The importance of the battle of Marienburg in this universe can be compared to Stalingrad in real life.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zytek. Deeply appalled by the atrocities the Nazis had brought to the world, his way of saving the world is by wiping out (most of) the world in nuclear fire while saving six-thousand people he handpicked to repair the world anew. Although Zytek is only limiting the damages to the cities and seats of government while sparing isolated populations in Asia and Africa.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: By the end Zytek has no more use of the SS and purges its leadership for the crimes they committed (The Holocaust went even further than it did in Real Life, killing 14 million Jews instead of 6). He also executes hundreds of scientists who worked on his secret project once it's complete.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Caused by The Virus (which is a Synthetic Plague).
