comics: The Transformers UK guide:

issue nr: 065 series: The Transformers UK cover date: 1986-06-14 writer: Simon Furman penciler: Jeff Anderson inker: Jeff Anderson colorist: Tony Jozwiak Autobots/Maximals featured: Optimus Prime, Hotspot, Hound, Wheeljack, Superion, Ratchet, Grimlock, Snarl, Slag, Swoop Decepticons/Predacons featured: Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Ravage, Menasor Neutralists/Aliens/Humans featured: Donny Finkleberg Locations featured: Oregon and Eastern Wyoming, USA, Cybertron and Outer Space

Story synopsis
A live TV transmission from a coal mine in Eastern Wyoming begins, with Robot Master announcing the main event, namely, the battle for the title of ‘Commander of the Decepticons!’ First he introduces the rest of his ‘commentary team’ – to his left is the Decepticons’ communications officer Soundwave, who was instrumental in bringing the two contenders together, and to his right is the Decepticon spy Ravage, Robot Master’s ‘minder.’ The pleasantries over with, he introduces the match – ‘Defending Champion’ Shockwave Vs ‘Ex-Title Holder’ Megatron, and tells them to “take it away!”

And with that, Megatron and Shockwave charge at each other, and engage in battle.

Shockwave swings a punch at Megatron, but he’s held back and misses, giving Megatron time to knock Shockwave to his feet and tell the usurper that there is only one true leader of the Decepticons. He follows this my throwing a tank at the current leader, who knocks it aside. Shockwave then reminds Megatron that the last time they fought, Megatron met with a crushing defeat. He lunges at Megatron, pushing him down and avoiding a fusion cannon blast as he does so. He warns Megatron to surrender, to which the ex-leader shouts “Never!” and trips Shockwave to the ground with a kick. There, Shockwave punches back, and the match continues…

Watching from the sidelines is a rather sullen Soundwave, along with Donny Finkleberg (still dressed up as Robot Master). Soundwave finds the whole situation humiliating, and had hoped that an alliance between the two leaders could have been forged. Alas, the advent of the Special Teams changed all that, leading to a rushed and volatile meeting. Soundwave, depressed, hopes the Autobots have not found out what is going on...

But at the Ark, Hound brings the TV broadcast to Optimus Prime’s attention. The Autobot leader confirms that he is aware of the situation, and is having Bumblebee monitor the scene in case it escalates. For the moment he is prioritising the development of the Special Teams. Wheeljack has already prepared a schematic of Superion, though Prime admits that the actual secret of combination still eludes them.

Suddenly the Ark alarm goes off, and it’s coming from the medical bay where the comatose Dinobots currently are. Prime runs to the med bay, fearing the worst, and meets Ratchet on the way, who is similarly concerned. But the two Autobots step inside to see that all the Dinobots are now awake! Ratchet asks Grimlock if he’s feeling okay, to which the Dinobot leader replies by punching him in the face and telling him to get lost! Ratchet turns to Prime and surmises that Grimlock is feeling fine and dandy…

Back in Wyoming, the titanic contest continues. Shockwave shoots at Megatron, and Megatron ducks and returns fire, narrowly missing Shockwave. The two Decepticons stare at each other, waiting for someone to make the next move.

Soundwave realises that the fight is at a stalemate, and decides its time to put a stop to it. Finkleberg advises him against it, telling him that they’ll probably kill Soundwave without a second thought, and offers him a cigarette. Soundwave simply spits at the human, and heads off.

Soundwave shouts to Megatron and Shockwave that enough is enough. However, the duelling Decepticons are outraged and storm over to Soundwave together to sort him out. Soundwave seizes on this to point out that the two can agree on something after all, and reminds them that they share a common goal – the total annihilation of the Autobots. He suggests that they both lead the ‘cons for a time, utilising both Shockwave’s logic and Megatron’s hands on approach - the one whose policy results in the greatest number of Autobot casualties will be named sole leader at the end. Megatron and Shockwave eventually agree to abide to the joint leadership temporarily, and now pleased, Soundwave then disrupts the TV signal so that they can discuss the matter further…

At the Ark, Prime and Hound watch as static fills the screen. Prime is disappointed to not be able to hear what else the ‘cons are planning, but decides that with the secret of the Special Teams in the Autobots’ possession, and the Dinobots back in action, they are ready for anything.

Meanwhile in deep space, an electrical signal with an encoded message sent from Earth emerges from warp space, and heads towards the planet of Cybertron!

Remarks
The Rematch! Precisely what the fans have been waiting for… Shockwave and Megatron, and this time, to the end?

This issue offers us some amusing satire, as Robot Master introduces the Megatron/Shockwave clash with all the gusto of a boxing announcer at a World Heavyweight title bout. We get a supposed commentary team of Soundwave and Ravage, though Soundwave really is more of a Don King figure here, “instrumental in bringing these two great fighters together,” while Shockwave is the Defending Champion and Megatron the ex-title holder.

Of course, this brings up some uncomfortable questions. Why does Megatron get the home advantage (at his current abode at the coal mine)? Who’s idea was it to film the fight? Where the hell did Robot Master suddenly get a camera crew from? And worst of all, doesn’t the whole thing botch up the entire Robot Master concept? Here Shockwave and Megatron are seen fighting for the Decepticon leadership title, when previously the point of using Robot Master was to blur the lines between Autobot and Decepticon. The fight then dissolves into Soundwave reminding the two leaders, live on TV (!) that their goal is to destroy all of Autobot-kind. So much for the ruse of both factions being under the control of a loony terrorist…

Other than the main event (which it would have been nice to see more of), this issue seems to be used to tie up various loose strands and realign the comic’s focus to upcoming themes. So we have the above leadership contest, the reawakening of the Dinobots, a reminder of the message to Cybertron, and evidence that work has already started on the Special Teams. Considering this is the third part of Second Generation, it feels a little off that the Special Teams take a back seat this issue. And Buster disappears completely. It’s pretty much an epilogue to the last 7-issue arc, with plenty of action, but pretty muddled around the edges.

The Dinobots’ comeback is a nice surprise, though it’s kicked off with some lumpy exposition, and their actual activation isn’t explained, but at least a forthcoming Annual story goes into more detail about this. The actual outcome of the Decepticon leadership fight is another twist – a Joint Leadership not being the outcome most readers would have expected upon picking up this issue. It has to be said that its Soundwave that steals the issue, with some great dialogue and infectious characterisation. The glimpse of Cybertron at the end seems tacked on unnecessarily (the UK team pre-empted a US story in similar fashion at the end of issue 32), but it still provides the reader with something of a momentous feeling – this is the first sight of present day Cybertron since the Transformers woke up back in issue 1.

This issue contains quite a few humorous moments – Ratchet getting slapped by Grimlock, Soundwave ‘spitting’ at Donny (an in-joke – see trivia), and Megatron and Shockwave’s panto-esque reaction to Soundwave’s intrusion. I like the bit where Shockwave seemingly kicks petulantly at the dirt during Soundwave’s speech as well.

Artist Anderson and colourist Jozwiak always make a good team. This marks Anderson’s proper debut doing art for the strip, and his Transformers tend to have a reassuring look as if the characters had walked straight out of the cartoon, his designs being quite traditional in that way. Sometimes his art can lack real energy or drama (the splash page where Shockwave and Megatron initially clash is particularly lacking), though he manages to build momentum as the fight progresses. It’s a shame Jozwiak opted for blue instead of yellow for Shockwave’s eye though.

This issue was reprinted in Collected Comics 10, as well as the Titan trade paperback ‘Second Generation.’

Character development
Megatron and Shockwave both prove to be stubborn, and go about the fight convinced of their own superiority and right to command the Decepticons. Megatron offers, “On your knees, usurper – fall! There’s only one true leader of the Decepticons… and it is… Megatron!” whilst Shockwave says, “It would seem… that the time since our last battle has dulled the memory of your crushing defeat at my hands. Otherwise you would realise… the futility of further struggle.” Shockwave is ‘generous’ enough to offer Megatron a quick death as well: “Surrender and I will make your death swift and merciful.” However, Megatron makes it clear that he does not surrender. Soundwave actually describes how, “neither was willing to listen to reason,” and that they were, “evenly conceited.” Soundwave is, however, able to eventually sway the two of them with his logic and get them to agree to a joint leadership.

Soundwave finds the whole idea of the televised fight humiliating: “Pathetic! Scrabbling around in the dirt like a couple of mechobots for the amusement of the fleshlings! Hardly conduct befitting the most lowly Decepticon, let alone our two leaders!” It would seem that for the moment Soundwave is the only one thinking about the best interests of the Decepticon cause, instead of being bogged down by personal vendettas (and after his personal successes as leader during the Dinobot hunt, he has every right to be disappointed by the actions of the Decepticons’ two leading lights). He’s also not happy because he engineered the meeting in the first place, initially hoping that, “a peaceful and profitable alliance could be arrived at between the two of them.” It would seem that Soundwave is quite the diplomat, and possibly even had influence on the decision for Megatron to lie low for awhile until a suitable time for a meeting could be arrived at.

Finally Soundwave’s patience is stretched to the limit, and he exclaims: “This is hopeless!” He boldly marches in and halts the contest, putting his neck on the line. Soundwave finishes up with a speech that is hugely effective, uniting both Decepticons momentarily and convincing them of the advantages of a shared leadership: “Can you not think of another common enemy on which to vent that anger – that power? Though your methods and priorities differ, there is still one goal that unites all Decepticons – the total annihilation of Autobotkind! If you cannot agree which one should lead, why not both of you lead for a time? Shockwave advocates a waiting game, Megatron one of all-out attack. Logic verses action. Why not try both methods? The one whose policy results in the greatest number of Autobot casualties leads. It’s as simple as that.”

Also, Soundwave spits at Donny Finkleberg. Says it all really.

Optimus Prime is mainly concerned with starting construction on the Special Teams, though he makes sure the Shockwave/Megatron fight is monitored in case it escalates. On hearing the Ark alarm he fears the worst for the Dinobots, and goes running to the Medical bay. By the end of the issue he’s in confident mood: “With the Dinobots active and the secrets of the Special Teams solely in our possession… we are ready for anything they can throw at us!”

Grimlock seems his usual self. When he wakes up he whacks Ratchet before saying: “Since when have you or any other Autobots cared what happened to us Dinobots?”

Ratchet takes the punch from Grimlock in his stride. Probably because he’s been on the receiving end of one of his slaps before (issue 32).

Donny Finkleberg gets into character once more, and in front of the cameras as Robot Master he’s every inch the showman. He seems to enjoy the spectacle, and cheers Shockwave, no doubt wanting to get his own back on Megatron, but by issue 71 he realises that he’s worth a lot more to Megatron than Shockwave. He gives Soundwave a ‘friendly’ warning when the Decepticon considers stopping the fight, but Donny’s rather patronising offer of a cigarette as a ‘last request’ results with him nearly getting spat on. He finishes by telling Soundwave to, “keep your head down.”

Trivia
‘Mechobots’ are some kind of lifeform.

Donny Finkleberg now has a camera crew to film his Robot Master scenes, as well as the fight. Perhaps they were flown in especially (or kidnapped?) to cover the event.

Bumblebee (not pictured) monitors the Decepticon battle from a distance.

Wheeljack has prepared a schematic of Superion. Superion eventually makes an appearance in the ‘flesh’ in issue 90, after the Autobots steal the combination process in issue 71. Between now and Superion’s proper debut, he will lose the ‘mouth’ design seen here (and previously to this issue).

The Dinobots were in Medical Bay One. It has an alarm that sounds throughout the Ark when they wake.

The Dinobots’ time in a coma-like state was covered in the 1987 Annual story, Victory (which was actually released some time after this issue). There it is explained that if they remained stuck in stasis their brain modules would eventually burn out. Whilst it is not explained in this issue what makes them wake up, it seems the answer is probably psychological. In Victory they dreamt of continually losing battles, with the story finishing, “Give them victory – or give them death!” Its possible that battling, and defeating, their own personal demons allowed them to return to reality. They are also back to normal and no longer suffering from the primal rage that gripped them during the Dinobot hunt.

Though Shockwave’s power is apparently second only to Megatron’s (according to the Transformers Universe), this issue sees a stalemate between the two leaders, instead of a clear Megatron victory. Perhaps Megatron wasn’t fired up enough.

Soundwave is bizarrely shown able to ‘spit’, which he does at Donny, even though his mouth plate is still visible. Presumably the liquid is oil of some kind. The scene is actually an in-joke – Soundwave was the supposed letter answerer of the UK comic at the time, and had the habit of adding the suffix ‘puttup’ after any Autobot name (or even the word ‘Autobot’ itself) that was uttered in his replies.

This issue marks the start of Megatron and Shockwave’s reign as Joint Commanders of the Decepticons, which comes to an end in issue 71.

The issue concludes with the message from Soundwave (sent in issue 36) about to reach Cybertron. It takes the form of a “stream of electromagnetic pulses,” that emerge from warp space. Cybertron itself is said to be in, “a galaxy far, far beyond our own.” To be such a huge distance away, Cybertron could well be warping through space itself, or at least travelling at half the speed of light.

Memorable quotes
“Get your clammy paws away from me Ratchet!” Grimlock, pretty grouchy in the mornings.

“Puttup! Poisons and premature death do not interest me!” Soundwave, spitting at Finkleberg after being offered a cigarette.

“That’s enough! Let this debacle cease now – before our enemies all die… laughing!” Soundwave.

reviewed by: spiderfrommars