First Encounter!
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the Armada comic story. For the Armada cartoon episode, see First Encounter. |
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 Beware the wrath of Poorly Drawn Optimus Prime! | |||||||||||||
| "First Encounter!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Panini | ||||||||||||
| First published | April 24, 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | May 21, 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Scripters | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Pencillers | Jon Mitchell | ||||||||||||
| Inkers | Bambos Georgiou, Martin Griffiths | ||||||||||||
| Letterers | Neil Porter | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Panini Armada comic | ||||||||||||
The comic book Panini Armada issue 1 contains multiple stories or features.
Contents |
Panini Armada issue 1
Contents
- First Encounter!, Part 1 (comic, 8 pages)
- The Transformers Have Landed! (cyber-puzzle)
- Data File #1: Optimus Prime
- The Wild Bunch! (Colour Sector)
- Ultimate Conflict! (Power Poster)
- Ultimate Competition! (Toy Giveaway)
- Megatron Masterclass! (How to draw Megatron)
- Data File #2: Sparkplug
- First Encounter!, Part 2 (comic, 6 pages)
- Decepticon Decoder! (cyber-puzzle)
- Friends Reunited! (cyber-puzzle)
- Hot Shot's Hot Mail!
Free gift
- Sticker book and stickers
The concurrently released Generation One Collector's Sticker Album by Cards Inc. and one packet of stickers. This also included a pull-out Armada themed poster for foil stickers depicting toy box art to be attached to.
First Encounter!
The Autobots, Decepticons, and the Mini-Cons are introduced and all arrive to Earth.
Synopsis
On Cybertron, Optimus Prime, Hot Shot, and Red Alert are embroiled in battle with Starscream, Cyclonus, and Megatron. Despite being powered by Swindle, Starscream still finds himself shot at by Optimus using his trailer. Annoyed, Megatron removes Starscream's Mini-Con, noting how he frequently wastes the "awesome power of Mini-Con augmentation". Starscream wants another crack at the Autobots, but Megatron reveals that the enemy has disappeared.
Hot Shot doesn't particularly like retreating. Optimus points out that they were no match for the Decepticons without Mini-Cons, explaining that if the Mini-Cons hadn't left Cybertron, the Autobot would've lost the war a long time ago. Red Alert wonders what happened to the Mini-Con vessel, while Optimus hopes to never find out.
On Earth, Rad and Carlos are exploring the remains of an alien civilization inside a cavern. While they are in the cave, Billy and Fred cause a cave-in; in the ensuing confusion, Rad and Carlos inadvertently activate a computer, allowing it to send a signal to Cybertron. Alexis arrives at the blocked entrance just in time to see Rad, Carlos, and a mysterious robot in the entrance after the blockage exploded. The robot tries to speak to the surprised teenagers, but is unable to translate to English fast enough before Megatron arrives. Megatron provides the translation: "We come in peace." However, he adds that he does not.
Megatron notes the primitive planet's amount of raw resources, promising to strip it down. To make a quick getaway, the mysterious robot transforms into a copy of Rad's bike, speeding away from Megatron. An irritated Megatron figures that signal may have also reached the Autobots, when Optimus Prime stops him in mid-sentence. Megatron finds it easy to bat Optimus around, pointing out that he still possesses Leader-1. In the meantime, the teenagers are introduced to other Mini-Cons who woke up thanks to the signal: Sureshock, Grindor, Sparkplug, Longarm, Jolt, and High Wire, the robot who they already met. Sureshock explains the history of the Mini-Cons: they were natives of Cybertron, living in peace along with the Transformers. That is, until the Decepticons rounded them up and retooled them to serve as sources of destructive power. They escaped, but their ship was damaged en route, crash landing onto the Moon and scattering the Mini-Cons all over Earth. By their accounts, they were deactivated for four million years.
They refuse to get involved in the conflict once more, and stand idle as Optimus gets beaten by Megatron.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Mini-Cons | Humans |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"If we could be talked to death, Starscream... you might have a case!"
- —Optimus Prime comments on the efficacy of the Decepticon war machine.
"...'We come in peace'. Which, by the way, I do not!"
- —Megatron interrupts High Wire's English lesson.
"We were rounded up, re-tooled... and used to lay waste to the world."
- —Sureshock explains the Mini-Cons' plight.
Errors
- On page 22, Sparkplug is said to have great "manourveabilty".
- On page 25, Megatron refers to his faction as the "Decepicons".
Items of Note
- This issue contains no credits for the colouring job.
- The "Cybertronian" that High Wire speaks in two panels is actually Japanese katakana. It romanizes into nonsense.
- A panel showing the Decepticons "re-tooling" a poor Mini-Con is based on a scene from the first issue of Dreamwave's Armada comic. While Dreamwave's scene featured Dirt Boss, Panini has him coloured like a generic.
Hot Shot's Hot Mail!
- The letters page already exists. Is this from kids who saw a preview or did Panini make it up? Let's check with Richard O'Johnson (uhuhuh), Daniel Whitwicky, and Terry Henry amongst others...
Notes
- While this issue is cover dated May 21st 2003 (a Wednesday), following the disparity between cover dates and actual print dates for subsequent issues, we can work out it actually went on sale on April the 24th (a Thursday, the day of the week every new issue hit shelves).
