Transformers Comic issue 24

2009-04-29T12:48:27Z

81.153.210.79: /* Megatron's Revenge */

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[[Image:Tf mag 24 2009.JPG|right|250px|thumb|'''"PAY YOUR LICENSE FEE!"''']]

'''The Autobots Are All Dead...'''

''Transformers Universe #24 was published by [[Titan Books|Titan Magazines]] in April 2009.''

==Magazine Credits==
*'''Editor:''' [[Steve White]]
*'''Designer:''' [[Danny Preston]]
*'''Deputy Editor:''' [[Den Patrick]]
*'''Contributing Editors:''' Natalie Clubb, Andrew James and Ned Hartley
*'''Publishing Manager:''' [[Darryl Curtis]]

==Contents==
===Revolution Part Two===
*'''Script:''' [[Simon Furman]]
*'''Pencils:''' [[Andrew Griffiths]]
*'''Inks:''' [[Gary Erskine]]
*'''Colours:''' [[Digikore]]
*'''Lettering:''' [[Jimmy Betancourt]]/[[Comicraft]]

In the [[Decepticon Heartland]], a triumphant [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] informs his chosen generals that [[Transformers Comic issue 23|the Autobots have all been killed by their own allies]]... now, with Starscream's human puppets poised to mess up any retaliation, it's time to take their [[drones|drone]] armies and retake the Earth!

In Falls Church, [[Virginia]], all [[Mikaela Banes]] can do is watch the news report on the Autobot's destruction and break down crying...

On Interstate I-71, [[Hardtop (Movie)|Hardtop]] leads a force of ''three thousand'' drones towards Cincinnati, smashing traffic out of the way. The local police have no military support coming and have been told to not engage while the government attempts a diplomatic solution. Even the [[Pentagon]] and army chiefs are freaking out: flashpoints are right down the eastern seaboard, Baltimore is reported overrun, and [[Theodore Allen|the President]] still won't sanction action. It's too late already, as the presence of so many civilians rules out the bulk of air and ground offensives. [[General Seward]] bitterly realises half the country will be conquered by nightfall, and Earth's only hope was blown up yesterday...

But as the [[Payload (Movie)|Payload hordes]] advance, one robot stands in their way...

'''MOTHERFRAKKING [[Stockade (Movie)|STOCKADE]].''' He informs a bored and unimpressed Hardtop that he and the New Decepticon Militia will not allow Earth to be ruined like Cybertron was. Hardtop responds by shooting him at pointblank range, at which point Stockade ''punches the ground hard enough to cause a tremour'' and calls in [[Storm Surge]], [[Overcast (Movie)|Overcast]] and [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]] to strafe the enemy. Overcast quickly identifies the "fulcrum drone", and [[Fracture]] heads in to hit in with a strange frequency.

[[Image:HardtopStockade_Titan24.JPG|left|320px|thumb|"That's a nice head sculpt you got there... be a ''shame'' if something were to ''happen to it''..."]]

Hardtop orders his superior drone force to open fire, only to notice they're all aiming at ''him''. Stockade menacingly walks forward, explaining how the drones have been taken over, and calmly asks Hardtop what ''shall'' they do next...

Back at the Heartland, Starscream freaks out as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] informs him that Hardtop has defected, that [[Mudflap (Movie)|Mudflap]] appears to have as well, and nearly a third of the drones are gone. It's [[Decepticon Civil War|civil war!]] Starscream gibbers to himself over the failure, and as he does [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] appears on every comm-screen, calmly informing the desperate general that his only option is to ''let him out'' and live again...

On Cybertron, the Autobots are ''not'' dead after all and are preparing for to make their move. [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]] admits he doesn't trust Stockade not to renege on his end of the deal, but he's their best hope of ending the horror once and for all...

{{-}}

===Megatron's Revenge===
*'''Script:''' [[Robin Etherington]]
*'''Art:''' [[John McCrea]]
*'''Colours:''' [[John Burns]]
*'''Lettering:''' [[Andrew James]]

[[Image:Afterburn_GOOOOOMPH.JPG|right|250px|thumb|[[Robin Etherington]] is gone, and he took safety with him...]]

On the heels of his home invasion, [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] destroys [[Afterburn]] right in front of [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]! He laughingly informs the grief-stricken Autobot that Afterburn was merely a drone unit, built by him in Sumdac's lab, as a test and a spy. He never ''really'' had a Spark and was following orders... which Bumblebee now knows about, and thus must ''die''!

Luckily, the other Autobots have overheard Bumblebee's cry for help and arrive engage Megatron. ''Un''luckily, Megatron quickly flattens both [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], making some truly atrocious puns as he does so. [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] and [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]] are able to knock him down, but Megatron calls in reinforcements—and [[Lugnut]], [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (?!) arrive to worsten the odds!

As the Autobots and Decepticons duke it out, Starscream gets an idea... Meanwhile, an enraged Bumblebee engages Megatron personally for killing his friend Afterburn, only to get smashed out of the base. He seems about to die... when [[Sari Sumdac]] arrives and uses her [[Key]] to charge him up again! Megatron is momentarily taken aback and then finds the other Autobots have taken down his men...

At which point, Starscream shoots down a large crane so it falls on both the Autobots ''and'' Megatron. While Megatron isn't offline like he'd hoped, he's damaged enough that Starscream is able to "save" him and take charge, causing Megatron to believe he's changed his ways and put him in temporary command of the Decepticons until he recovers... which Starscream hopes will take some time (probably time enough to finish the job).

The Autobots dig themselves out to find they're injured, their base is destroyed, and the Decepticons have escaped. There's nothing good to show for the battle. Optimus tells Bumblebee he's a hero for challenging Megatron like that, and not to worry about that drone Afterburn—after all, he wasn't a real bot.

But he was real to Bumblebee...

{{-}}

===Articles & features===
* Mystic Megatron's Horror Scopes
* Web World: Puzzles themed on [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]].
* Bumblebee's Way Past Cool Reviews: Video game reviews.
* Top Gear: Transformers competition and product placement, as well as other competitions.
* The Purple and the Red: Colouring page, where you colour in the cover to [[Transformers Comic issue 20|#20]].
* Star Screams: Letters, art and photos from readers, answered by Starscream..

===Free Gift===
* "'''2''' FAB FREE GIFTS!!!" - a Movie-themed pencil and eraser set, and Animated-themed note set.

===Reprints===
''Reprinted stories are only a portion of their respective issues.''

* [[Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin, part 4a]] (12 pages)
* [[The Ascending|Beast Wars: The Ascending part 4a]] (10 pages)

==Errors==
* The "Previously" bit for Revolution makes it out that Starscream ''already'' conquered Earth.
* Blackout's helicopter form is coloured like [[Evac (Movie)|Evac]].
* Starscream appears to punch his ''own'' head off something. What he's meant to be doing is unclear.
* Why is (Animated) Starscream working with Megatron?! He's still on the run! And Megatron would ''ever'' think he's changed?!
* [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] appears to have vanished from the Autobot base between issues.
* Optimus actually ''warns'' Megatron that the crane's about to fall on him...
* Top Gear talks about [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] for a competition that's not for Oil Slick or shows Oil Slick.

==Quotes==
===Revolution===
"Surely there's hope. There's ''always'' hope." 
"''Hope''? Our last best hope was ''blown'' to kingdom come yesterday."
:—'''Random General''' does not get much comfort from '''Seward'''

"I cannot, will not stand by and see this world ravaged by ''our'' war, lest it share the inglorious fate of once-proud ''Cybertron''. There has been too much killing, too much carnage. Either withdraw... or face our righteous ''wrath''."
:—'''Stockade'''

"Drones—roll right ''over'' this sad, delusional, sermonising sucker." 
"''I warned'' you..."
:—'''Hardtop''' and '''Stockade'''

"They're ''ours'' now. That's the trouble with drones. They're so... interdependent. So here we are, Hardtop. Just ''you''... and ''me''. What shall we do ''next''?"
:—'''Stockade''' is scary

"No-no-no-''no''. It was mine, all mine, and now—" 
"''Ours''. How many times must I tell you, Starscream. There is no you. ''Only us.''"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron'''

===Megatron's Revenge===

"Erm, buddy? Do you need a little help?." 
"*being shot at* ''Do you really need to ask?!!''"
:—'''Bulkhead''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"It'll take more than your little cannon to deflect ''my'' aerial attack!" 
"Yes, you're right... ''It'll take my whole '''arm'''! Hahaha!''"
:—'''Prowl''' versus '''Megatron's puns'''

"Thank you, Lord Megatron, and I wish you a quick recovery! (But not ''too'' quick! ''Ha''!)"
:-'''Starscream'''

"I'm ''no'' hero, Prime. I couldn't even save Afterburn." 
"You ''are'' a hero, Bumblebee! Now come on, we've got a lot of ''work'' to do. Don't spend any more time worrying about that ''drone''. After all, he wasn't a ''real'' bot. *walks off*" 
"He was real to ''me''."
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Optimus'''

===Star Screams===
"Welcome back, my beloved troop of parasite-riddled, hairless simian fleshsacks."

Teacher: "[Reece] regularly brings in drawings of Transformers for me... every month Reece rushes into class to show me the latest edition..." 
"This is a classic example of influencing one's superiors with Decepticon propaganda. Well done, Reece... you are to be commended!"

Reader: "My family never let me watch [the film]—they don't like Transformers." 
"Jacob, what you are experiencing from your family is called 'repression'... in much the same way we Decepticons fight for the All Spark, I fear you must fight for the TV remote. Small acts of sabotage are perhaps a better way to go than an all out assault. Try taking the batteries out of the remote every now and again. If that fails, seize the bathroom using units of main battle tanks, and hold the toilet to ransom. When your parents are bursting with coolant and have nowhere to go, then you negotiate..."

Reader: "[G1 Starscream] was way cooler than you. You are a bit dull by comparison... you should try not to be so boring..."
"'Dull by comparison' indeed. Seeing as you live in Croydon, one can only assume you are an expert in 'dull' and 'boring'... I've already drawn up plans to dig up the entire town so I can bury nuclear waste there—although I'm sure there's plenty of mutants there already."

"I recently discovered the human body is comprised of water by as much as 60%. Frankly, I'm amazed you've evolved as far as you have... Urgh."

==Items of note==
* The sudden enlarged number of reprint pages, after the reprinted #1's were stretched to ''four'' issues, indicate the decision to end the current run at #25 instead of #26 was a late one.
* The Decepticon's have switched bases between issues.
* Starscream's chosen generals are [[Thundercracker (Movie)|Thundercracker]], Hardtop, Mudflap, [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]], and Blackout.
* Falls Church appears to be where Mikaela permanently lives these days.
* Fracture's switching of the head drone is presented as something she can ''naturally'' do, or at least can broadcast frequencies of that nature. Odder than that, ''Storm Surge can fly in boat form!''
* Stockade was ''so'' going to crush Hardtop's head with his bare hands. No wonder he defected!
* Unless he's dead after all, Mudflap's defection is a nice little use of his tech spec bio.
* Blackout and Starscream appear unaware of who Stockade is.
* The Autobots seem to be working on Cybertron's innards, which #20 stated where quite similar to the Transformers' own. Hmmm...
* Afterburn's death is amazingly nasty-looking for an Animated script, and the most graphic Transformer killing since the first issue's decapitated Dreadwing's and severed legs.
* So if Afterburn was only a drone, how ''did'' he know all that anti-viral stuff before?
* Having no Spark doesn't seem to have prevented Afterburn from being sentient, which begs the question of what a Spark ''does'' give.
* Animated Megatron is... not ''quite'' talking the way he does in the cartoon, being a far more "bwahaha!"-ing hammy villain.
* With the Decepticons knowing about the Autobot base, Starscream in temporary command, Swoop around etc, the Animated strips appear to have been planning to ''diverge'' from the cartoon continuity rather than play in the gutters of it.
* Unfortunately, Bumblebee and Afterburn's [[Animated Comic issue 2|main interaction]] wasn't the big friendly matey-mates dynamic that Bumblebee's reaction makes it seem like.
* Even more unfortunately, due to Optimus walking off in the panel, his last words to Bumblebee read less like he's trying to comfort and keep his distracted, and more that he's going "shut up, you pussy!"...
* Note for Americans and other foreigners: Croydon does indeed have a reputation of being a boring dump.

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Transformers Comic issue 24