History[]
Burt-1, better known simply as Burt, replaced the deceased Aaln-1 as 2000 AD editor Tharg's assistant editor and general dogsbody. Extremely loyal to Tharg, Burt was nonetheless very, very dim-witted, though his stupidity did have the advantage of making him the only one of Tharg's Droids totally immune to the powers of the Thrill-Suckers when they attacked Tharg's Command Module.
At one point Burt was shrunk so that he could work as Tharg's paperweight. Later on he was consigned to a drawer in a filing cabinet in a basement. This was partly to conceal the fact that his usefully dull brain was working as a repository for the psychic virus known as the Diss, which in small quantities caused things like clunky dialogue and spelling mistakes but in large quantities could wreak havoc.
Burt stored the Diss until the year 2016, when Tharg uploaded it to the web because "if there's one thing able to offer even more dull corners than Burt's brain, it's the internet." Judging by Tharg's remarks on the letters page, Burt is once more working as his right-hand droid.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers
Immune to Thrill-Sucker infestation.
Abilities
He's very dull.
Strength level
Rotund male droid with a sedentary job.
Weaknesses
Extremely thick.
Notes[]
Burt was (hopefully loosely) based on 2000 AD's then editor in the real world, Richard Burton.
Trivia[]
Burt appeared in a one-page humour strip (written by Matt Smith and drawn by Mike Collins) in the 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special.
Links[]
- Appearances of Burt
- Character Gallery: Burt
- Images that feature Burt
- Fan-Art Gallery: Burt
- Burt quotations