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What kind of birthday present do you get for an aggressive cyborg from the future? Well, you'd better get shopping - Marvel is preparing to celebrate Deathlok's 50th birthday.

Recently, Marvel Comics' executive editor Tom Brevoort announced that the company was working on a "Deathlok 50th anniversary project" for this year.

Originally planned to be named Cyborg, the character initially debuted as Deathlok the Demolisher before simply being known as Deathlok. Originally marketed as "the world's most offbeat superhero," Deathlok eventually segued into being less a 'superhero' and more a sci-fi soldier from the future, predating the Terminator, Cable, and various other characters with a similiar concept.

Deathlok's exact 50th birthdsy would be August 1, 2024, according to Marvel.com's listing of his first appearance: 1974's Astonishing Tales #25. The idea of a man brought back from the dead with 'Deathlok' technology has been something interwoven across the Marvel Universe over the years - with four major iterations of Deathlok across titles as varied as Fantastic Four, X-Force, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Iterations of the character have, of course, started in multiple short-lived ongoing Deathlok series.

Two iterations of Deathlok have appeared in the MCU, if you still count the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Angel alum J. August Richards played Mike Peterson, while the late Bill Paxton played John Garrett.

Marvel has not yet revealed details on their plans for the "Deathlok 50th anniversary project," so stay tuned for more.

Want more? Make sure you've read our list of all the best Marvel Comics stories of all time, and get ready for all the free Marvel comics coming as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day / Comics Giveaway Day events.