Unite for the Universe issue 1

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Unite for the Universe »
"The Secret of Project: Unite" "Ambition Instigated' ユナイド計画の秘密 動き出す野望 (Unite Keikaku no Himitsu) (Ugokidasu Yabō)
Publisher	TakaraTomy
First published	October 30, 2010
Written by	Simon Furman
Art by	Guido Guidi
Colored by	Tommaso Renieri
Continuity	Live-action film series
Packaged with	Starscream

Starscream and Bludgeon don't like each other very much.

Synopsis

Chapter 1: The Secret of Project: Unite

Megatron orders Bludgeon to bring him the results of N.E.S.T.'s Unite weapons project, promising Bludgeon the command of the Decepticon forces on Earth if he succeeds in his mission. Soundwave provides the relevant intelligence. Starscream is less than happy about Bludgeon obtaining control of Earth's forces and airs his grievances to Megatron, citing his "service" during Megatron's absence. Megatron, however, makes it very clear that he is in command, and rebukes Starscream's ambitions. Starscream's cunning isn't down for the count, though, and he makes plans to assure Bludgeon's failure.

At the Hida Mountains in Nagano Prefecture in Japan, Bludgeon leads a Decepticon force consisting of Mindwipe, Brakedown, and Dirge to infiltrate the N.E.S.T. Advanced Research Facility, the headquarters of Project: Unite. However, their stealth fails when the humans manning the facility receive a warning from an anonymous source of nearby hostiles. Ratchet and Brawn arrive on the scene, and Bludgeon realizes he's been played by the obvious suspect—Starscream.

As Bludgeon is occupied, Starscream swoops in, blowing a hole in the facility, only to reveal the weapon Project: Unite was developing... Optimus Prime, with Jetfire's parts! Project: Unite has made Jetfire's sacrifice against The Fallen a permanent power upgrade for Optimus Prime. Scared out of his wits, Starscream retreats and is noticed by Bludgeon. Infuriated at the betrayal, Bludgeon orders a retreat, only for Ratchet to blast the nearby ice, causing a collapse and avalanche that buries the Decepticons. Optimus Prime congratulates the other Autobots on winning the battle, but notes their vigilance must never be shaken.

Chapter 2: Ambition Instigated

At the Hida Mountains, a robotic fist erupts out of the snow. It's Bludgeon. And he is angry.

At the Nemesis, Starscream eulogizes the defeated Bludgeon, finishing just as Skystalker arrives in response to a memo-stream promising power. Starscream explains the opportunities offered by Project: Unite, showing the effects of Jetfire's modified corpse on Optimus Prime. Starscream explains that the process could be applied to the Decepticons, granting them even more power. However, he has no material to harvest, so Skystalker agrees to obtain some with the help of Ravage.

At the N.E.S.T. N.B.E. Resource Redistribution Plant in Toronto, Canada, many Decepticons lie dead, awaiting a fate of smelting. Just as Ironhide is about to drop Sideways's bisected corpse into the smelting vat, the humans maintaining the vat note that the previous Decepticon dropped in the vat, Wildfire, is resisting the process. Just as Ironhide tells the humans to open up the vat, so he can "take care of it the good old-fashioned way", he is suddenly attacked by Skystalker.

Meanwhile, Bumblebee is driving into the N.E.S.T. Divisional Headquarters in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Inside, the sneaky Ravage attacks Bumblebee.

In Toronto, Skystalker ignores the damaged Ironhide and teleports back to Decepticon base along with the corpses of Sideways and Bonecrusher. Ravage also flees the Divisional Headquarters, leaving behind a nano-virus to infect N.E.S.T.'s systems. Bludgeon is on site to witness Ravage fleeing, silently telling him to run back to Starscream—the two of them have unfinished business.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

• This comic is in two parts, clearly originally intended to come split between two different releases. According to author Simon Furman, he penned five mini-comics for inclusion with Takara products; these are obviously the first two, and the next two included with the Masterpiece edition of Bumblebee. The fifth chapter found a home in Transformers Generations 2011 Volume 1, which also reprinted the preceding four chapters. The reshuffling of the material is evidently due to the cancellation of the Unite for the Universe Jet Power Optimus Prime and Megatron figures, who would presumably have come with a comic each. The cancellation of Prime, in particular, makes the first of these comics a touch on the amusing side, since it's entirely based around promoting an unreleased figure.

• Bloemfontein was the site of a NEST facility in one of Furman's Titan stories.

• An original Decepticon named Wildfire is invented solely to be an off-panel corpse that presents a minor inconvenience to the N.E.S.T. smelting crew.

Errors

• Brawl's remains are among those waiting to be recycled. However, in Revenge of the Fallen, his parts are seen at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss.
• Sideways's corpse is shown to be a mostly-bisected car... but in the movie, he also exploded after being sliced through.
• Not so much an error, but... Bonecrusher was killed two years prior. They're only now getting around to getting rid of his corpse?.....then again.
• Brakedown was killed in Nefarious but appears in this comic.

Real-life references

• Songs and audio clips uttered by Bumblebee include:
  • "Going Underground" by The Jam
  • "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash
  • Terry Malloy's famous "I coulda been a contender" line from On the Waterfront

Covers (1)

Advertisements

• Transformers new series coming soon!

Reprints

• 2011 — Transformers Generations 2011 Volume 1

External link

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Unite for the Universe translation at the Allspark (archived, images defunct)