Transformers Comic issue 19

« Transformers (Titan) #19 »
"Ah, just ignore him. He'll go away."
Publisher	Titan Magazines
First published	4 December 2008
Editor	Steve White
Deputy editor	Den Patrick
Designer	Danny Preston
Publishing manager	Darryl Curtis

Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?!

Contents

Return to Cybertron: Part 3

Poor Overcast never got the hang of spaghetti.

Unicron is transforming Cybertron into a new form—causing the planet to turn hostile to every Transformer on it! In the face of Autobot criticism, Stockade can only say he had to do something to stop Cybertron dying. Bumblebee points out the something just made everything worse!

Both factions flee as the giant transmitter dish comes crashing down, trapping Ironhide underneath it. The Decepticons have no idea what to do, with Incinerator helpfully raising morale by pointing out they're all going to die. As Storm Surge and Fracture return, Stockade announces they're going to ignore the Autobots. Their priority now is to find a way to communicate with Unicron and convince him to work with them for the betterment of Cybertron! (SPOILERS: This won't work) Arcee and Armorhide take advantage of the grace period by helping free Ironhide, while Bumblebee hopes the Autobots on Earth picked up his distress signal from last issue...

Back at Savannah, Georgia, the entirety of the Autobots are preparing to take the Straxus spacecraft to Cybertron to sort out the situation and secure the Nucleon, leaving only Camshaft Evac's team behind to continue putting plasters on the apocalypse. Mikaela Banes is swiftly bussed from Hilton Head Airport to the Field Bivouac by Ratchet, being told she's being left behind to watch over the place—a situation that very much interests her puppet master Starscream...

As Unicron begins forming a maw on Cybertron, Stockade makes an impassioned, patriotic plea to him about the great things they could achieve if they worked together. Unicron responds with a bored "shut up you tart!" and zaps him, and after seeing this Ironhide believes the only thing left is to destroy Cybertron!

All sense of scale was the first thing to be devoured!

The Straxus prepares to leave the Sol System, but just as they pass Saturn, Unicron warps in! He shoots the ship down and starts looking for something to eat—sighting Earth...

And on Earth, the Decepticons have just walked in to the Savannah base and prepare to reconquer the United States! (Merry Christmas, humans!)

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Articles & features

• Top Gear: promotion of and competitions for the Animated Nintendo DS game, as well as various DVDs.
• How To Draw: Bonecrusher, attacking a city.
• The Many Faces of Megatron: sequel to The Many Faces of Optimus Prime, and following on from the first half in Animated #2.
• Star Screams: Letters, art and photos from readers, answered by Starscream.
• Poster of the cover, with Optimus Prime off and more Unicron-eating-Earth action.

Free Gift

• "Free! Lenticular Notepad and pencil!"—and a very familiar notepad it is too...

Reprints

Reprinted stories are only a portion of their respective issues.

• Megatron Origin, part 2c (6 pages)
• Beast Wars: The Ascending part 2b (8 pages)

Quotes

Strip

"Cybertron was dying in slow, agonizing increments. Without the AllSpark it was a husk, a shell. I had to do something."
"You did something all right."

—Stockade gets no sympathy from Bumblebee

"Um, Ratchet, the light was red."
"So?"

—Mikaela and Ratchet

"Why waste time and energy on yet another protracted battle with the Autobots... when we can walk right in and simply take what we want."

—Starscream has been studying six sigma

"Unicron—hear me! I am Stockade, he who summoned you from across the great void. And this... this is Cybertron—the greatest planetary body in the known universe. We are one now, a living symbiotic entity. Together... there is nothing we cannot achieve!"
"Foolish, impudent speck! You are less than nothing to me. I am UNICRON, the Great Devourer. You have given me physical shape and form, nothing more. And I shall reward you... WITH DEATH!"

—Stockade's "talk to UNICRON" plan sucks

Star Screams

"If there is one thing we like to hear more in this comic than generations of fans in the same family, it's fans of the fairer gender taking an interest in battling 'bots. That Megan shed tears at my villanous demise [in Armada] shows that she is indeed worthy of the title, 'Simpering Minion, First Class'."

"Then again, [White and Patrick] mutter quite a bit; perhaps I should feed them more regularly? And being hunched in their cages probably doesn't help their posture..."

"It amazes me that you mentally challenged milk-feeders managed to get so lucky as to halt our plans for world domination..."

To a 17-year-old girl: "When consulting the human English dictionary, I find that cute means 'attractive or pretty in an endearing way'. I'm not sure how this word relates to me..."

Notes

Continuity notes

• Stockade is entirely focused on Cybertron, continuing to show no malice or interest towards the Autobots. Also note he saves Overcast.
• The Transformers show no prior knowledge of Unicron, while Unicron himself refers to the Decepticons as having given him a physical form. What this means for Unicron in this universe - was he meant to have a different origin to his usual? Did he lose his old body down the side of the sofa? - is still unknown.

Transformers references

• The Straxus is a homage to... Straxus.
• Similarly, Optimus refers to the apocalypse on Earth as a "war within".

Real life references

Letters page notes

• Armada fans pop up.

Production notes

"Sorry, Unicron, you're just not a draw anymore."

• The preview of the cover in #18 showed a stock photo of Optimus instead of a drawn Optimus, and the poster has no Optimus at all; the implication is the cover was originally going to have just Unicron, with Optimus added on later so a recognisable character would be on, and someone thought at the last minute that a photo-Op with a drawn Unicron would clash. The preview cover also shows less of Unicron...
• The "Previously" section for The Ascending, here and in the next issue, refers to Shokaract as "the ghost of Unicron": while is fudging the truth quite a bit, but at least provides an explanation for kids wondering what the heck a Shokaract is (which is more than The Ascending did!).
• More fun with artist changes: Incinerator's upper body, head, and hands look very different; Divebomb's jet-mode bits look different; Storm Surge's shoulder blasters have turned into jet engines; Arcee's head has changed; Longarm looks like a totally different guy; and Mikaela's hair style and jeans just changed. Oh, and Starscream's secret base looks totally different. Must have redecorated.

Errors

• Camshaft has been in charge of the specialist team since it arrived and Optimus talked directly to him last issue... so why's he now saying Evac's in charge? He did this in #16 too, does Evac just like to delegate?
• The Straxus is piloted by Longarm... who was with the other Autobots. Who brought it to them?