Transformers Comic issue 2.8
From Transformers Wiki
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 And the Good Lord said... let there be cover art! | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Titan Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | 31 December 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Steve White | ||||||||||||
| Deputy editor | Den Patrick | ||||||||||||
| Designer | Danny Preston | ||||||||||||
| Publishing manager | Darryl Curtis | ||||||||||||
| Price | £2.70 | ||||||||||||
Don't mess with the Twins!
Contents |
Back-to-Back
- Script: Simon Furman
- Art: Jon Davis-Hunt
- Colours: Hi-Fi Design
- Lettering: Den Patrick
- Continuity: Revenge of the Fallen (Prequel)
At the Decepticon base on Phobos, Soundwave tries to beat the location of the Tomb of the Primes from Ransack. But still, the elderly bot says he will only give this information to the Fallen: Soundwave, he snarls, is an ignorant fool unaware of the true scale of things. The commander almost kills Ransack for this, before Starscream points out the Fallen might be unhappy if they vape one of his Seekers. Starscream believes he can "loosen" Ransack's tongue, but the Seeker merely mocks them for believing that, just because the Fallen is currently incapacitated, they have freedom of action.
Speaking of action, Skids and Mudflap decide to make their attack run on the base, out for revenge on Soundwave for all he's done to them. Do they need a plan? Why bother, random explosions worked for them so far! The Decepticons are surprised and angered to find themselves under attack, and Ravage leaps to rend and tear. Luckily, this time the twins are ready for him and use the power of ducking; an electrical bomb is placed on the kitty as he's in mid-air, disabling him.
Soundwave and Starscream, however, remain unimpressed and swiftly put an end to the attack. Starscream finally gets a chance to kill Mudflap for the humiliation on Cybertron, but the twins' attack has given Ransack the opportunity to shoot Starscream in the back and flee. He threatens to grass Soundwave up to the Fallen, and the Decepticons hurriedly chase after him to prevent this. The twins, not knowing what any of the big talk is about, have only a moment to enjoy their victory when they see what's coming: the Decepticon army on Cybertron, coming in to land. The Phobos base is just a staging area for an attack on Earth, where the drones had been intending to go all along — and the twins are in their way.
The twins prepare to die, speaking their final words and preparing to take out as many drones as possible...
When Optimus Prime arrives with an Autobot strike force! They've followed the twins and swiftly obliterate the Decepticons, until the survivors simply surrender. Mudflap remarks that the main Decepticons have fled... and is shocked when Ironhide believes him. Ironhide apologises to the twins, admitting the Autobots were wrong about them and their loyalties; without the twins, they'd never have known about this base. He welcomes them to the Autobot Earth division at long last.
Skids wonders if they should mention the Fallen again, but Mudflap says not to bother. What will be, will be...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Quotes
"You have no idea. None of you! Because he is currently incapacitated or restrained, you have some illusion of free will. There is none. We serve the Fallen. THAT IS ALL."
- –Ransack
"We got a plan?"
"Meh. Why change the habit of a lifetime?"
- –Skids and Mudflap
"We're under attack!"
"No? Really?"
- –Starscream informs Soundwave of the blatantly obvious
"You drive... I'll carve!"
- –Sideswipe while riding Ironhide
Errors
- The "Previously" section claims the twins genuinely defected and that they brought Ransack to the Phobos base. It also refers to the Matrix as "the key to the creation of the TRANSFORMERS", probably confusing the film Matrix with the G1 one.
- Ransack is coloured wrongly, just like last issue. Grindor has his usual miscolour today, but then gains his proper colour scheme for one panel.
- There's a daytime sky... on an airless moon.
- Arcee turns up in her original form, instead of her ROTF one.
- Starscream's optics are light blue in color, like an Autobot's, rather than the usual red or bright orange they normally are.
Notes
- Soundwave is revealed to have been diverging a bit from the Fallen's orders, taking advantage of the master being absent. It's not explicitly stated but it's strongly hinted that Soundwave wants the Matrix for himself.
- Soundwave and Starscream are still working for the Fallen in the film, so I guess Ransack never made it!
- The purple generic drones from #2.1 appear. In a nice bit of consistency, they turn up in transition forms... so all their jet bits are missing. (They're also now all grey.)
- Sideswipe's more bloodthirsty side turns up here. He also paraphrases Mikaela Banes.
- I bet the twins felt like a right bunch of tits when the Fallen turned up for the film!
Contents
Articles and Features
- Welcome to Earth: Starscream asks Decepticon arrivals simple questions about the planet Earth. "If you answered all these questions correctly, you're clearly an illegal Autobot sympathiser."
- Character Profile: Jetfire
- More Than Meets The Eye: puzzles.
- Bumblebee's Busy Day: more puzzles, themed around Bumblebee having a mission.
- Competitions for books and games.
- Transformers competitions to win Deluxe toys and the third All Hail Megatron trade paperback.
- Sideswipe's Armoury: article on the helicopters used by the United States military in the film.
- Way Past Cool: reviews of games.
- Law and Disorder: Letters, art and photos from readers, answered by Barricade and Ironhide.
- Starscream's Stars: Comedy horrorscope.
- Poster of the cover.
Free gifts
- "Disc Launcher!" (again)
Reprint
Ending the All Hail Megatron reprints earlier than #1 had claimed, this little ditty is the first edited reprint since the Marvel UK days. And what an edit! In order to wrap things up, chunks of three issues are used:
- Ten pages from #6. We have the scenes of Kup and Jazz at the start and the discussion of the importance of the Matrix, and Megatron's scenes in Israel.
- Ten pages from #7, with all of Jazz's flashback and the Autobot's driving off.
- Four pages from #9. Ratchet informs us Prime may die, Sideswipe does his page of angst, and Prime returns. But notably, the first page is a merger of panels from three separate pages (9, 15, and 16) now it looks like Ratchet is coming in to say Prime might not survive, the Autobots discuss this for a panel, and then Sideswipe tells us "Prime is dead" before starting his rant, with "Prime" edited in where he previously said "Sunstreaker".
Then we're told buy the trades at Forbidden Planet to see what's next, kids!
It's a bit messy but just about hangs together. Unfortunately, Sideswipe's "Prime is dead" dialogue (being an edit of "Sunstreaker is dead") makes it sound like Prime committed suicide. And then he mentions Sunstreaker being dead... which never happened (cos those pages were never reprinted). It also looks like the Autobots all went on a drive for... some reason, then magically appeared back in their base. It also means the Swarm have been mentioned several times as being a horrific scourge on Cybertron... but we never see them at all. (And Prime gets better a minute after we were told he might die, but that happened in the full All Hail Megatron #9 too...)
As Titan promised in #2.1 that All Hail Megatron would run for 12 issues, this is likely an emergency fixer-upper rather than something planned.
Law and Disorder
"Excellent! That knuckle-dragging thug, Ironhide, isn't here. Maybe I'll get to do a whole issue by myself..."
"Sorry I'm late ... you weren't going to start without me, were you?"
"Oh, no, of course not. As if I would do such a thing."
- —Ironhide and Barricade start as they mean to go on
"You are labouring under the misguided notion that we TRANSFORMERS breed like you mammals. We don't. It's disgusting. The idea of crawling out of a jelly-filled sack in a pond is revolting. Or am I thinking of frogs?"
- —Barricade
"Nice work, Charlie, we always enjoy well-drawn pictures. Especially if they're pictures of Autobots."
"Yes, because, only an Autobot would need that kind of validation from a 12-year-old..."
- —Ironhide and Barricade
"I myself will be paying Mr. Michael Bay a visit to submit my script [for the third film] and audition for the part. The script will be attached to the end of the proton cannon pressed to Mr. Bay's temple. I suspect I'll get the part."
- —See, Barricade will be in the third one!
Starscream's stars
"LIBRA (23 SEPT - 23 OCT): Nothing says 'stop meddling in my business' like a punch in the face. Just saying..."
"AIRES (21 MAR - 19 APR): The alpha male in a pack of wolves will see you as a threat to his superiority, but, to be honest, he's giving you way too much credit there."
"TAURUS (20 APR - 20 MAY): Deep inside you, there's a little Autobot trying to get out. That's what you get for eating Skids whole, Devastator."
Errors
- According to the contents page, Megatron has "command of a mighty arm".
- The All Hail Megatron mash-up credits Guido Guidi on art and Josh Burcham on colours. This ignores Robert Deas, Emiliano Santalucia, and E. J. Su.
- Jetfire's profile claims the Fallen imprisoned his fellow Primes. Since the Fallen's profile in #3 claims they sacrificed themselves, this doesn't quite add up.
- Barricade says that a cycle is a day, which is wrong (that's a solar cycle).
- The TAURUS Zodiac says that Devastator ate Skids. In the film, he ate Mudflap.
Notes
- Last issue's cover preview for this issue showed a stock photo cover. Thank Primus that didn't happen! The Next Issue section says #9 will be a stock photo; fingers crossed that's wrong too!
- The first volume, coincidentally, also had stock photo covers until its eighth issue...
- "Welcome to Earth" asks us what Earth's main export is. The answer is "ex reality-TV contestants".
- Ironhide and Barricade also make reference to Ultron, a Marvel Comics villain.
- Jetfire's profile page has five Wheelies hidden in it as a puzzle.
