Panini Armada issue 4
From Transformers Wiki
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| "No Way Back!" & "Tales of the Mini-Cons... Into the Lion's Den!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Panini | ||||||||||||
| First published | July 17, 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Artist | Lee Sullivan ("Into the Lion's Den!" only) | ||||||||||||
| Penciler | Andrew Wildman ("No Way Back!" only) | ||||||||||||
| Inker | Bambos Georgiou ("No Way Back!" only) | ||||||||||||
| Colorist | Junior Tomlin | ||||||||||||
| Letterer | Neil Porter | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Panini Armada comic | ||||||||||||
The comic book Panini Armada issue 4 contains multiple stories or features.
Contents |
Panini Armada issue 4
Contents
- No Way Back! (comic, 7 pages)
- Awaken the Mini-Con! (Puzzle Page)
- Data File #7: Hot Shot
- Protect The Space Bridge! (Colour Sector)
- Megatron Power Poster
- Demolishor's Combat Training! (Puzzle Page)
- Win Demolishor!
- Data File #8: Jolt
- Tales of the Mini-Cons... Into the Lion's Den! (comic, 7 pages)
- Mini-Con Robo Race! (Activity)
- Hot Shot's Hot Mail!
Free Gift
- Disc Blaster
A red spaceship shaped launcher that fires either an Autobot branded or Decepticon branded silver plastic disc.
No Way Back!
Optimus Prime attempts to send the Mini-Cons to Cybertron for safekeeping.
Synopsis
Despite the misgivings of both the humans and the Mini-Cons, Optimus Prime has decided to send Sparkplug, Jolt, Longarm, High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock to Autobase: Cybertron for protection rather than allow them to be drawn into their war with the Decepticons.
However, Megatron has no intention of letting his ambulatory joy-juice slip through his fingers, and attacks the temporary space bridge the Autobots set up. In the confusion, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis temporarily trick Megatron into believing the Mini-Cons had exited through the gateway — believing that without them Megatron would leave Earth. When he boasts that he has no intention of leaving until he's enslaved every Mini-Con lost on this world, the concealed Sparkplug has had enough. He Powerlinks to Optimus Prime, declaring his intention to stay and fight with the Autobots. Jolt and Longarm do the same.
Seeing no more tactical advantage in fighting, Megatron destroys the Autobot space bridge, trapping the Mini-Cons on Earth, here, and retreats. He will capture them another day.
Credits
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils: Andrew Wildman
Inks: Bambos Georgiou
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Lettering: Neil Porter
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
- "History has taught me not to use these Mini-Cons as weapons... We must learn from our mistakes."
- - Optimus Prime doing his being wise thing.
Errors
- Grindor, standing nearest the Space Bridge, vanishes in the long shots.
Items of note
- Earth is said to be "nearby" Cybertron. Though this description could be simply on a more cosmic scale, it is still rather unusual.
- This time Sparkplug attaches to Optimus' right shoulder when they Power-link.
- Exclamations of factions, e.g. "Decepticons!" now come with the appropriate symbol in the word bubbles. This never happens again.
Into the Lions' Den!
The Autobot-allied Mini-Cons attempt to free their Decepticon brethren.
Synopsis
Sparkplug, Longarm, and Jolt sneak into the Decepticon base at Silver Ridge, North Dakota. They evade the Decepticon defenses (not built to keep Mini-Cons out,) and locate Leader-1, Crumplezone, Blackout, and Swindle, reasoning that any Mini-Con would prefer to join them rather than the Decepticons.
Unfortunately, this reasoning is faulty. These four Mini-Cons are quite happy to be on what they perceive as the "winning side" and Leader-1 orders their capture, eagerly anticipating the reward he will get from Megatron. Jolt jolts Crumplezone, enabling the Autobot-allied Mini-cons to escape. As they reach the surface, the find an Autobot Shuttlecraft waiting, with Rad inside. He apologizes for not keeping their mission a secret, but is forgiven by Jolt who declares that those guys and the Decepticons deserve each other!
Credits
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils: Lee Sullivan
Inks: Lee Sullivan
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Lettering: Neil Porter
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Mini-Cons (Autobot) | Mini-Cons (Decepticon) | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Sorry Sparkplug... I know you said to keep this quiet, but hey -- this really wasn't the brightest idea you've ever had!"
- —And when Rad says it... you know it was a dumb plan.
Errors
- Jolt explicitly states that they are dropping by in the middle of the night, but the coloring of the scene indicates it is day.
- Immediately after escaping from the mine, Jolt continues Longarm's dialog from the previous panel. (Both lines are probably Jolt's, since he serves as the counterpoint to Sparkplug's view in this story.)
- Sparkplug is drawn without his little horns.
Items of note
- The events of this story (break-in to the Decepticon base, rescued by their human backup whose nerve breaks) are loosely analogous to Dreamwave's Armada #6 and Armada #7, albeit with many elements removed.
Hot Shot's Hot Mail!
"Why all the DECEPTICON DRAWINGS? [-] don't forget - they HATE all living things! And that includes YOU!"
- - Hot Shot bemoans readers' admiration of his enemies.
"My visor has got built in night-vision scopes and a thermal imaging mode connected to my weapons systems!"
- - Hot Shot explains to a reader what his visor does.
Notes
- While this issue is cover dated August the 13th 2003, it actually went on sale on July the 17th.
