Transformation: Death Comes to America.

11/11/2016

In the week of a disastrous US election, at least we have black humour from a giant monster going around wrecking the States.

Plus, Igunaus won't have a monkey made of him and the Micromasters meet their greatest foe: A lift.

It's the perfect read for once you've built your fallout shelter in my look at ISSUE 235!

15 Comments

Ryan F

11/11/2016 06:41:01 pm

I see they billed part 4 of King Con as part 3 by mistake. Editorial has gone down the pan since Furman left!!!

Yeah, I quite like King Con, too.

As for all the coincidences in Deathbringer, I kinda assumed that it was the Primus planting suggestions in the Autobots minds (Why don't you read up on Deathbringer today? Ask Prime where the Matrix is?), manipulating events to ensure the showdown in Edge of Extinction.

Hey, if Unicron can tell the Autobots where to build their city in T:2006, Primus ought to be able to do the same sort of thing, right?

SII

11/11/2016 06:43:33 pm

So, Stuart... feeling confident about getting this project completed before nuclear armageddon, or not? Eek. Maybe we could just knock him down a hole, as James Roberts did to Sentinel Prime?

So, this issue. Micromasters: ugh. Deathbringer: yay! As you say, such a dark concept with the Matrix still being in Prime's old, dead body somewhere out there. The thought that, in order to recover it, the Autobots would have to go rummaging through the twisted remains of their heroic and beloved leader (even if they do now have Floppy Prime) - ouch. In a link to the cartoon, it gives me Dark Awakening vibes (chills, to be more accurate).

And would you really want Ratchet operating on you? Can't spot the Matrix, can't spot Minimus Ambus, will re-model and rename you on a whim (spoilers)... And he's the best they have? Yikes!

Burstingfoam

11/11/2016 08:21:24 pm

One question. Just one.

Did the ultimate Furman story come about because Furman realised his massive plot hole at the heart of the conclusion of Time Wars - that Optimus couldn't use the power of the matrix as he no longer had it?

Stuart

11/11/2016 08:33:55 pm

You...just blew my mind.

Tigerbread

11/11/2016 10:27:17 pm

No, no, it's fine, When Ethan Zachery copied Prime''s mind to floppy, he unknowingly took the matrix remnant that's linked to Prime's mind and put it on the disk as well (there's no way Prime''s mind could fit on a floppy without the power of the Matrix to make it happen). When Prime was rebuilt, the Matrix remnant came with him. Prime then used the last of the Matrix remnant to get out of limbo during Time Wars, simple.

John D.

12/11/2016 01:20:07 am

What a cool response Stu! I had the same "wooooaaah" when I read Burstingfoam's point. I have checked back and I can see he/she (last week has taught me not to be sexist chassis-obsessed pig) raised it as a comment on issue 204 - but everybody missed it!!

Stuart

12/11/2016 07:07:01 am

That's blown my mind twice I managed to miss that previous comment!

Burstingfoam

12/11/2016 08:38:32 am

Sorry to repeat a comment - but I so adore Time Wars (probably more than its actual quality merits) that this just niggles me more than it should. Good save by Tigerbread, though.

I shall keep my gender a mystery.

Tetsuryu

12/11/2016 08:53:50 am

Speaking of contrivances, I think the Trump-Deathbringer connection is strenuous at best; after all, everybody knows Sentinel Prime is the one who wants to make Cybertron great again. I mean, look at his TR toy! It's freakin' orange!

Also King Con is one of those issues I actually had as a kid and my impression was always that Roadhandler knocked the lightning rod off the building, and Iguanus got zapped trying to grab it, not the other way around.

Tim Roll-Pickering link

12/11/2016 06:07:05 pm

Forgive me if my memory of King 'Con! is playing tricks but I though the Decepticon plan was to turn the whole of Manhattan Island into a giant energy conductor, killing the humans in the process. So a rather bigger threat than just the Decepticons getting some energy (Which just adds to the confusion about just who "Scorponok" actually is at this stage.)

I hadn't realised Incredible Hulk Presents was separate from yet another planned Action Force title. This suggests someone in either Marvel UK or Hasbro UK blamed the smaller format of Action Force Monthly (and any distribution problems it created) rather than the actual property not being popular enough. Just when did the penny drop?

From recollection it was common to see pictures of the Ultra Magnus toy with the white robot pictured along with both the vehicle and super-robot modes (though not the base mode of the trailer that everyone forgets) without it being clear that white robot is the core of the super one. Hence repeated confusion. The reverse problem came with Powermaster Optimus Prime whose smaller robot form was usually left out of the pictures.

Some of the quiz questions are messy - is the "only other Dinosaur Transformer" at this point Trypticon, Snapdragon, Slugfest or Overkill? Only one was released in the UK but I suspect he's not the answer they're looking for. But overall this is a terrible competition for the annual new readership drive.

This part of Deathbringer (is this the last multi-part-under-one title UK story, bar Perchance to Dream which had separate chapters) is mainly exposition but manages to get everything set up quite well. But it's going to be about a year and a quarter before this gets referenced back to - you can almost feel Furman's frustration at how long this set-up is going to be left dangling.

Ralph Burns

20/11/2016 05:37:38 am

I was stupidly excited by Micromasters at the time so enjoyed King Con. Reading it back as an adult...was not a good idea. I wept.

SPECIAL TEAMS!

Snowkatt link

21/4/2017 09:07:54 am

The problem I have with the conceit that the matrix was hidden in prime's body is...
Well, PRIME WAS BLOWN UP !!

He was blown to bits.
So even if he hid the matrix reaaaal well, Ratchet still had to put him back together and had to come across a strange glowing bauble, he never saw before and go : "oh well what the hell" and put the damn thing back.

That just doesn't work.

Felicity link

23/11/2019 08:07:05 pm

The police assuming the Micromasters are humans in costumes makes me wonder if O’s father could pass for a Micromaster. If not, maybe a Nebulan?

I don’t have the issue handy but IIRC Mudslinger shoulder-checked the device and that knocked the lever down.

It is frustrating that something as important as the Matrix, whether it’s a computer program or a physical object, could get lost so easily. But at least they got some stories out of it. I hope they learned their lesson from this and made contingency plans for next time. Is there a next time? Does the Matrix survive the big battle with Unicron?

Federal Way, Washington! The home of famous used car salesman Cal Worthington and his dog Spot! “Federal Way, the only way, open ’til midnight every day.” I wonder if Stacy liked the stories with Big Steve and Cobra Commander.

Good to know there was an explanation for that weird pointy-headed guy who appeared in one panel in a flashback in the US issues.

Snowkatt

18/8/2020 12:37:29 pm

No, the marix doesn't survive the big battle with Unicron.
It's emptied by Prime in Unicron's maw and the wave of matrix\Primus power causes Mr Nicron* to explode.

Taking Prime and the matrix with it.

Only, the damn thing is back in G2. Same as it always was and they never explained how that worked out.

Maybe the Last Autobot made it out of Hi-Q.

(* That came from a spoof insurance agent letter, where Prime tried to get compensation for damages incured by a Mr Nicron and Miss Meg A tron, I read years ago )

Felicity

23/11/2019 08:09:40 pm

PS: In case I can’t find it later and add the correction to the proper comments section, I realised last night that I was wrong about Thunderwing being a Lord and Straxus not being one; it’s also “Lord Straxus.”

Transformation: Death Comes to America.

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