Dan Dare revived from suspended animation after two hundred years to find himself in a different world. The Mekon had also survived but otherwise the cast was different, as was the tone of the strip (heavily influenced by the punk movement, as was much of "2000 AD") and the personality of the title character. Written by Kelvin Gosnell and then Steve Moore, the strip was initially illustrated by Massimo Bellardinelli, whose Dare owed nothing to the original apart from the wavy eyebrows. After 23 issues in this format the strip took a break for a month and then returned in a revamped
Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future also known as Treens, (which he can shoot but which shoot back), floorguns (which can be destroyed by jumping on them) and wall guns (which can usually be destroyed by shooting them). Any enemy contact or getting shot will cause Dan to lose energy. If it reaches zero, Dan is "captured" and returned to a prison cell from which he then escapes, however it is some distance from most of the accessible parts of the complex and also causes lost time. Should Dan fire too much, his gun will run out of ammo (which can be replenished by collecting ammo