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All Hail Megatron issue 1

2010-07-24T19:11:34Z

Andersonh1: narrowed down things to a more accurate description - "the people of America" is far too broad.

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[All Hail Megatron|The Transformers: All Hail Megatron]]'' #1
|prev=Maximum Dinobots issue 5
|next=All Hail Megatron issue 2
|seriesissue2=
|prev2=
|next2=
|image=AHM 01 CoverA.jpg
|caption=Gentlemen! Start your [[Personal canon|personal canons]]!
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 10]], [[2008]]
|coverdate=July 2008
|written by=[[Shane McCarthy]]
|art by=[[Guido Guidi]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Neil Uyetake]] & [[Chris Mowry]]
|edits by=[[Denton J. Tipton]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|All Hail Megatron]]
}}

'''On your knees, human scum, and bow before the great and glorious Megatron!'''

==Synopsis==
A brief flashback shows the war on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], its evacuation, and a battle on [[Earth]]. One year later...

In [[New York City]], a green construction vehicle nearly runs over some humans in Times Square. One of the men beats on his door, yelling that Long Haul is going to kill someone. He doesn't know how right he is. Much to the man's amazement, Long Haul transforms and joins the other [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] who have arrived. The crowd marvels at the giant robots, some thinking they are movie props. Scrapper makes a brief speech that they have come in peace, to Hook's confusion. Of course, this is all a joke and the Constructicons begin blasting into the crowd and street, blasting everything and everyone in sight. Mixmaster takes a moment to marvel at how fragile everything feels. Such a perfectionist...

The [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] make their grand entrance soon after. Skywarp mocks the humans, telling Starscream that the humans will really be terrified when Megatron arrives. Starscream bristles, taking pot shots into the crowd and claiming how he is the master of terror. Unfortunately for him, Megatron ominously makes his appearance mid-rant. Starscream instantly grovels, saying that their destruction of the city is going well. Megatron is far from impressed, showing them the true meaning of destruction as he takes out a skyscraper with one blast of his [[fusion cannon]]. He then tells Starscream to try and keep up with him. ''Touché...''

Fighter pilots are sent to intercept the [[Decepticon]]s, but they think it's just a joke... until they see the robots in person. Megatron stops an immediate retaliation by Starscream, wanting to let the humans get a few shots in first. Starscream is ''far'' from happy. Thanks to Soundwave, the missiles' guidance systems are easily scrambled and miss their targets. The machine guns, surprisingly, have no effect on them. Satisfied with his demonstration of power, Megatron then orders his crew to attack, which they do with gusto. As the human jets are decimated, one of the pilots, a man named [[DJ (G1)|DJ]], attempts to crash his fighter into Megatron, who just swats him away. Megatron walks through a blazing fire, laughing maniacally.

On Cybertron, the [[Autobot]]s are in a sorry state. Prowl delivers a message on a device to Jazz, who angrily throws it away. In the next room, a badly-injured Optimus Prime lies on an operating table while Ratchet works in the background...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (19)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (20)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (21)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (22)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (23)
* [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (24)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (25)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (27)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (28)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (29)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (30)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (31)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (32)
|c2=
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (1)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (2)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (3)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (4)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (5)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (6)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (7)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (8)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (9)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (10)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (13)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (14)
* [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (15)
* [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (16)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (17)
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (18)
|c3=
* [[Andy Reid]] (11)
* [[DJ (G1)|DJ]] (12)
}}

== Errors ==
* In the flashback panel on page 1, Jazz is missing his car doors on his forearms. It doesn't appear to be battle damage, and he has them later on in the present.
* Remember those [[Devastation (IDW)|big public Transformers battles]] and that [[Spotlight: Grimlock|giant dinosaur robot stomping around in broad daylight]]? Well, the people on the street in New York don't. The Air Force squadron say they thought the Decepticons were a hoax, though whether they meant the Decepticons in general—whom the Air Force ''[[Devastation issue 6|have seen]] and [[Devastation issue 4|bombed]]''—or this specific attack is unclear. Neither makes much sense. Next issue reveals that the Transformers ''were'' public knowledge, but everyone believes they were tools for [[Machination|a terrorist group]], which means the Air Force thinking they were a hoax and the people of NYC not recognizing them with fear ''makes even less sense.''
* In the real world [[continuity family]], there is no such rank as "commander" in the [[United States]] Air Force. Shane McCarthy is [[Australia]]n, and their national air force has a "wing commander" rank, so that might be a real-life explanation for the existence of the rank in this continuity. [[Chris Sarracini|This is not the first time this has happened]].
* DJ has a "soul patch" beard, which, in the real world continuity family, is not allowed for U.S. military pilots.

== Items of note ==
* '''Cameos:''' Flashback on Cybertron: [[Slingshot]], [[Brainstorm]], [[Headstrong]]; NYC citizens, fighter pilots, DJ's girlfriend, Meg (in picture).
* This series will not be touching on [[Facsimile Construct|Decepticon facsimiles]] or [[Ultra-Energon]], the two plot points key to the Decepticon invasion of Earth.<ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=4270&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45 Responses by Shane McCarthy at the IDW forums.</ref> Uh oh...
* The first page's snapshot-to-snapshot, bare-bones retelling of the Transformers backstory mimics the first page of 2006's [http://listencomics.blogspot.com/2005/11/my-erection.html ''All Star Superman'' #1].

[[Image:AHMSeekers.JPG|right|200px|thumb|F-22s were so 2007]]
* Lots of characters show up with new bodies!
** Prowl, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker are now in their [[Universe (2008 franchise)|''Universe'' "Classic Series"]] toy bodies.
** Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp are now in their ''[[Masterpiece]]'' toy bodies.
** Shrapnel and Bombshell have modified G1-esque designs, transforming into more bug-like insect modes.
** Cliffjumper's Earth mode is seen, which is essentially the same design as Bumblebee's, but adapted to turn into a sports car.

* Megatron, Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Jazz, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime manage to retain their unique-to-IDW bodies.
* The violence was toned down since the preview in "[[Focus on Decepticons]]"; the blood running down the sneaker and cell phone is missing from the bottom-left panel of page 6. This was at the request of [[Hasbro]].<ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=4270&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45 Responses by Shane McCarthy at the IDW forums.</ref>
* Note Thundercracker in the background of pages 8 to 10, looking a bit unhappy about the rampage.
* When July sales data came in, it turned out ''All Hail Megatron'' #1, the heavily-promoted new-reader-friendly jump-on point to draw in New Readers... had sold one copy ''less'' than [[Devastation (IDW)|Devastation]] #1 in the North American direct market.<ref>http://tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?t=34535&page=22 TFArchive.com's comic sales discussion thread</ref>
* Sideswipe is on speaking terms with Sunstreaker, [[Spotlight: Sideswipe|surprisingly]].

===Covers (5)===
* '''Cover A:''' Megatron with Prime's head on a pike; art and colors by [[Klaus Scherwinski]]. This art was also used for the volume 1 trade paperback.
* '''Cover B:''' Communist propaganda style of Megatron silhouette with the Seekers overhead; art and colors by [[Trevor Hutchison]]
* '''Cover Retailer Incentive A:''' Megatron closeup; art and colors by Klaus Scherwinski
* '''Cover Retailer Incentive B:''' virgin version of cover A
* '''Retailer Exclusive Cover:''' Megatron taking a picture with [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]], art by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Josh Burcham]]. The cover is an [[homage]] to [[wikipedia:Image:Killingjoke.JPG|the cover]] of ''[[wikipedia:Batman: The Killing Joke|Batman: The Killing Joke]]'' published by [[wikipedia:DC Comics|DC Comics]] in 1988.

<gallery>
Image:AHM 01 CoverA.jpg|I finally found a use for all those voice-changer helmets!
Image:AHM_01_CoverB.jpg|Velcom to Megatrongrad, comrade.
Image:AHM_01_RI_CoverA.jpg|Gaze into the face of doom.
Image:AHM_01_RI_CoverB.jpg|So badass, titles are not needed.
Image:Megatron_cam.jpg|Smile Batm-... I mean, [[Onyx Primal]]!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
* ''[[Transform and Roll Out]]'' DVD
* [[The Reign of Starscream issue 5|''The Reign of Starscream'' #5]]
* ''[[Best of UK: Time Wars]]'' #1
* ''Doctor Who: The Forgotten'' in [[IDWords]] section and separate ad
* ''Sparrow'' art books
* ''Journey: The Adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire''
* ''The Dreamland Chronicles''
* ''Spike: After the Fall''
* ''Galaxy Quest''
* www.collectiondrawer.com (back cover)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:All Hail Megatron 01}}
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 issues]]

Hunter O'Nion

2009-12-19T21:37:35Z

Andersonh1: /* Notes */

:''Hunter is a [[human]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] in the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Hunter ONion.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Yeah, and the first part is "Hoon-Tear". Alright.]]

If you crossed ''Scooby-Doo''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Shaggy with ''The X-Files''<nowiki>'</nowiki> Fox Mulder, '''Hunter O'Nion''' is who you'd get. With scruffy ginger hair, a green "Alien Death Ray" T-shirt and a VW Kombi van, you'd be forgiven for writing him off as some hippie slacker, but Hunter O'Nion (that's Oh-Nigh-On, not ''un-yun''; he's a little sensitive about his last name) is really a modern-day questing knight. He runs the ''[[Mechatopia.com]]'' website, a repository for information about the presence of gigantic extraterrestrial mechanoids on Earth, and is willing to personally scour the back-roads of continental North America for further evidence.

If there's one problem with Hunter, it's that he's not the most sensitive of people; also, in his drive to uncover the truth, he can get very blunt and direct when someone who may know more than they let on gets evasive—even if that someone has good reason to dissemble.

A chance encounter with [[Verity Carlo]] in Arizona, though, gives him more than he could have wished for: Not only does he achieve personal contact with an actual alien robot in disguise, he's dropped right into the middle of a covert war. The question is, now that Hunter's found his proof, what will he do with it?

==Fiction==
===IDW comics continuity===
Hunter's family was shattered when he was eight—his father died and his mother descended into alcoholism as a result. His sister left when she was old enough, while he stayed until his mother's death. The only thing that kept him going was "a dream of something else, something bigger". {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

{{note|Due to the emergence of ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'', the canonicity of the above information is in question; see [[#Hail and Farewell|Hail and Farewell]] below.}}

After picking up Verity Carlo in the North American desert, he was surprisingly thrust into the war between the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} After being rescued from a Decepticon assault by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], he offered assistance to the Autobots in an... "unofficial" capacity, spying on an abandoned Decepticon base before it was destroyed by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], under orders from [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Hunter saved Verity's life with the help of [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and at great physical risk. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

After this mission, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ordered that Hunter and the other humans be sent home. However, as the Autobots escorted them away from the Autobot base, a [[Machination]] assault team attacked. It appears that Hunter and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] were killed by the Machination {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}}, but upon examination of Sunstreaker's husk, Ratchet discovered that it was a fake. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Meanwhile, Hunter was being operated on by the Machination, his body becoming the host for mysterious implants. [[Abraham Dante]] presented Hunter to a pleased, mysterious, and damaged Transformer (later revealed to be [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]) who ordered mass-production to begin. Dante, gesturing to a wall of headless Sunstreaker bodies, implied that Hunter may still play a role in the Machination's "new world order". {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation5 THOK%21.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"I SAID 'OH-NY-ON', OKAY?"]]

The Machination subjected Hunter to an extensive regimen of brainwashing, after which Dante was informed that the boy was a blank slate, an organic machine that they could do with as they wished. Quality control for this process was apparently lacking, as Hunter was able to retain his own thoughts through a mantra of useless science fiction trivia. Skulking unseen through the Machination facility, Hunter was surprised to discover the severed but still functioning head of Sunstreaker, begging him for death! {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} In order to fight back against the Machination, Hunter submitted himself to the process of becoming a Headmaster, which Sunstreaker warned would hurt. A lot. (It did) {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}}

{{bigquote|We're-I'm... SUNSTREAKER! And I'm out!|Hunter comes to grips with his new abilities|[[Devastation issue 6|''Devastation'' #6]]}}

[[Image:HunterSkorponok.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Followed by tea time, nap time, play time, and bed time.]]
Hunter emerged a Headmaster, finding his physical abilities greatly enhanced, and immediately headed for one of the Machination's [[Sunstreaker clone]] bodies. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Just as a freshly restored Scorponok, head of the Machination, broke through a wall to kill him, Hunter was able to transform to Sunstreaker's head. The clone body attached the new head, transformed to vehicle mode, blasted a hole in the wall, and escaped. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

Hunter, now carrying all of Sunstreaker's mind, began running raids on Machination facilities in an attempt to track down Sunstreaker's real head. Unlike Scorponok, the pair still existed as distinct individuals, and were both set on breaking up their partnership once they found a way to set everything right. At one facility in Massachusetts, Hunter found data relating to "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]", and, hoping it would be a lead, they headed for Dallas. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Hunter later wondered if they shouldn't head for [[Fallon]] instead, given that's where the Dyno/Dinobots actually were, but Sunstreaker argues that by retrieving his head, they'll be able to disable all the Headmasters at once. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

[[Image:Hunter reunion.jpg|left|200px|thumb|And Hunter lived happily ever af—OH WAIT.]]

When they arrived in Dallas, seeing that the facility was far bigger than anything they had come across before, Hunter realized they needed a plan and forced Sunstreaker to sit it out while they watched and waited, citing that he was the more level-headed of the pair and that it was nice to just be Hunter O'Nion every now and then. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}} When the time came, he reconnected with Sunstreaker and barged into Machination Central to find his head (stopping to talk with a damaged Hot Rod and slagging a couple of his clones). Hunter disconnected after Scorponok found them and blasted a hole in Sunstreaker's chest. Reluctantly and remorsefully, Hunter severed the connection to Sunstreaker's original head, deactivating him. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}} Hunter, however, stayed conscious and survived the rest of the battle. He accompanied Sunstreaker aboard the ''[[Ark-32]]'', where the comatose Autobot was put into a [[CR chamber]] for heavy repairs. Sunstreaker's original head was reattached, and his battered body was rebuilt into a [[Sunstreaker (G1)#Universe (2008)|slightly different form]]. Ratchet claimed that "though physically separated, Sunstreaker's spark sustained him". Ratchet was able to minimize the mental link between Sunstreaker and Hunter, but he was afraid to try removing Hunter's implants, and the human was left feeling like half of himself was missing. However, he still enjoyed a happy reunion with Verity and Jimmy. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

[[Image:Hanging_Hunter.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Hope Bombshell at least got his name right.]]

Eventually Ratchet did successfully sever their link, but the Headmaster experience had left deep wounds on Sunstreaker's psyche. He turned his back on Hunter and never wanted to speak of the incident again. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} In fact, Sunstreaker eventually helped Starscream in a plot that, while intended to result in Megatron's death, had the side-effect of banishing the Autobots from Earth. Sunstreaker had hoped that all the humans would die under Decepticon rule, but Hunter's actual fate was arguably worse: He was victim to [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s experiments, half-dissected in a lab. Numerous cables streamed in and out of his torso; even his right eye socket had a tube coming out of it. His expression was of slack-jawed horror, and he looked very much like Sunstreaker did under the Machination's experiments. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} Somehow Bombshell was able to use Hunter's hybrid body to create a "hub" that helped the Decepticons find the Autobots and deactivate their defenses. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

When the Autobots returned to Earth and fought the Decepticons, Bombshell taunted Sideswipe by claiming to have toyed with Sunstreaker's mind using information gleaned from dissecting Hunter. After the battle ended with the Decepticons driven away, Sideswipe found Hunter in Bombshell's lab, still attached to the machinery and barely alive. Sideswipe turned off the life-support and allowed Hunter to expire. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}
{{-}}

====Hail and Farewell====
{{Note|Due to the abrupt cancellation of several related stories and the emergence of ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'', the following events cannot occur in the mainstream timeline, if they are [[canon]] at all.}}

Two years after meeting the Autobots and becoming a Headmaster, Hunter went back to his house with Sunstreaker. As Hunter gathered a few effects, he reminisced on his scattered, mostly-dead family, and on how much had happened to him. He had been to other planets, even another dimension. He'd fought Scorponok, allied with the Dinobots, and faced a planetary Decepticon invasion. And now he wasn't just Hunter; he had become one with Sunstreaker in both mind and body. As he converted back to Sunstreaker's head, he mused that it was true what they said about never being able to go home again. {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

==Notes==
* Even [[Nick Roche]] loved Hunter! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Nick Roche interview with Moonbase Two]</ref>
* As a character, Hunter was clearly meant for a bigger and better destiny than he ended up receiving. Writer and creator [[Simon Furman]] set him up as an audience-surrogate, the eyes through which the world of the Transformers was revealed. The affable young protagonist in over his head, Hunter's tale began to reflect the [[Wikipedia:Monomyth|archetypal heroic journey]], particularly the belly-of-the-whale experience of being kidnapped and experimented upon, which he escaped by bravely subverting his captors with his newfound powers and emerging as the first Autobot-human hybrid. A hint of Furman's designs was seen in the flash-forward "Hail and Farewell" [[Transformers: Mosaic|Mosaic]], which showed Hunter acknowledging that he and his world had changed irreversibly, listing a series of grand accomplishments, and achieving a literal and figurative union with his own elevated state. Unfortunately, all of this would be cut short (and the flash-forward entirely negated) by a [[Shane McCarthy|new writer]] who decided it would serve his story better<ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=6022&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=180&sid=4910c90465d86b81067d8be7c8a5c9f9</ref> to make both Hunter and his partner in mythic ascendancy die.

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onion, Hunter}}
[[Category:Comic-only characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Humans]]

Hunter O'Nion

2009-12-19T21:32:05Z

Andersonh1: /* Notes */

:''Hunter is a [[human]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] in the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Hunter ONion.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Yeah, and the first part is "Hoon-Tear". Alright.]]

If you crossed ''Scooby-Doo''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Shaggy with ''The X-Files''<nowiki>'</nowiki> Fox Mulder, '''Hunter O'Nion''' is who you'd get. With scruffy ginger hair, a green "Alien Death Ray" T-shirt and a VW Kombi van, you'd be forgiven for writing him off as some hippie slacker, but Hunter O'Nion (that's Oh-Nigh-On, not ''un-yun''; he's a little sensitive about his last name) is really a modern-day questing knight. He runs the ''[[Mechatopia.com]]'' website, a repository for information about the presence of gigantic extraterrestrial mechanoids on Earth, and is willing to personally scour the back-roads of continental North America for further evidence.

If there's one problem with Hunter, it's that he's not the most sensitive of people; also, in his drive to uncover the truth, he can get very blunt and direct when someone who may know more than they let on gets evasive—even if that someone has good reason to dissemble.

A chance encounter with [[Verity Carlo]] in Arizona, though, gives him more than he could have wished for: Not only does he achieve personal contact with an actual alien robot in disguise, he's dropped right into the middle of a covert war. The question is, now that Hunter's found his proof, what will he do with it?

==Fiction==
===IDW comics continuity===
Hunter's family was shattered when he was eight—his father died and his mother descended into alcoholism as a result. His sister left when she was old enough, while he stayed until his mother's death. The only thing that kept him going was "a dream of something else, something bigger". {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

{{note|Due to the emergence of ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'', the canonicity of the above information is in question; see [[#Hail and Farewell|Hail and Farewell]] below.}}

After picking up Verity Carlo in the North American desert, he was surprisingly thrust into the war between the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 0|Infiltration #0}} After being rescued from a Decepticon assault by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], he offered assistance to the Autobots in an... "unofficial" capacity, spying on an abandoned Decepticon base before it was destroyed by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], under orders from [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Hunter saved Verity's life with the help of [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and at great physical risk. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

After this mission, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ordered that Hunter and the other humans be sent home. However, as the Autobots escorted them away from the Autobot base, a [[Machination]] assault team attacked. It appears that Hunter and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] were killed by the Machination {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}}, but upon examination of Sunstreaker's husk, Ratchet discovered that it was a fake. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Meanwhile, Hunter was being operated on by the Machination, his body becoming the host for mysterious implants. [[Abraham Dante]] presented Hunter to a pleased, mysterious, and damaged Transformer (later revealed to be [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]) who ordered mass-production to begin. Dante, gesturing to a wall of headless Sunstreaker bodies, implied that Hunter may still play a role in the Machination's "new world order". {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation5 THOK%21.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"I SAID 'OH-NY-ON', OKAY?"]]

The Machination subjected Hunter to an extensive regimen of brainwashing, after which Dante was informed that the boy was a blank slate, an organic machine that they could do with as they wished. Quality control for this process was apparently lacking, as Hunter was able to retain his own thoughts through a mantra of useless science fiction trivia. Skulking unseen through the Machination facility, Hunter was surprised to discover the severed but still functioning head of Sunstreaker, begging him for death! {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} In order to fight back against the Machination, Hunter submitted himself to the process of becoming a Headmaster, which Sunstreaker warned would hurt. A lot. (It did) {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}}

{{bigquote|We're-I'm... SUNSTREAKER! And I'm out!|Hunter comes to grips with his new abilities|[[Devastation issue 6|''Devastation'' #6]]}}

[[Image:HunterSkorponok.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Followed by tea time, nap time, play time, and bed time.]]
Hunter emerged a Headmaster, finding his physical abilities greatly enhanced, and immediately headed for one of the Machination's [[Sunstreaker clone]] bodies. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Just as a freshly restored Scorponok, head of the Machination, broke through a wall to kill him, Hunter was able to transform to Sunstreaker's head. The clone body attached the new head, transformed to vehicle mode, blasted a hole in the wall, and escaped. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

Hunter, now carrying all of Sunstreaker's mind, began running raids on Machination facilities in an attempt to track down Sunstreaker's real head. Unlike Scorponok, the pair still existed as distinct individuals, and were both set on breaking up their partnership once they found a way to set everything right. At one facility in Massachusetts, Hunter found data relating to "[[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]", and, hoping it would be a lead, they headed for Dallas. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Hunter later wondered if they shouldn't head for [[Fallon]] instead, given that's where the Dyno/Dinobots actually were, but Sunstreaker argues that by retrieving his head, they'll be able to disable all the Headmasters at once. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

[[Image:Hunter reunion.jpg|left|200px|thumb|And Hunter lived happily ever af—OH WAIT.]]

When they arrived in Dallas, seeing that the facility was far bigger than anything they had come across before, Hunter realized they needed a plan and forced Sunstreaker to sit it out while they watched and waited, citing that he was the more level-headed of the pair and that it was nice to just be Hunter O'Nion every now and then. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}} When the time came, he reconnected with Sunstreaker and barged into Machination Central to find his head (stopping to talk with a damaged Hot Rod and slagging a couple of his clones). Hunter disconnected after Scorponok found them and blasted a hole in Sunstreaker's chest. Reluctantly and remorsefully, Hunter severed the connection to Sunstreaker's original head, deactivating him. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}} Hunter, however, stayed conscious and survived the rest of the battle. He accompanied Sunstreaker aboard the ''[[Ark-32]]'', where the comatose Autobot was put into a [[CR chamber]] for heavy repairs. Sunstreaker's original head was reattached, and his battered body was rebuilt into a [[Sunstreaker (G1)#Universe (2008)|slightly different form]]. Ratchet claimed that "though physically separated, Sunstreaker's spark sustained him". Ratchet was able to minimize the mental link between Sunstreaker and Hunter, but he was afraid to try removing Hunter's implants, and the human was left feeling like half of himself was missing. However, he still enjoyed a happy reunion with Verity and Jimmy. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

[[Image:Hanging_Hunter.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Hope Bombshell at least got his name right.]]

Eventually Ratchet did successfully sever their link, but the Headmaster experience had left deep wounds on Sunstreaker's psyche. He turned his back on Hunter and never wanted to speak of the incident again. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} In fact, Sunstreaker eventually helped Starscream in a plot that, while intended to result in Megatron's death, had the side-effect of banishing the Autobots from Earth. Sunstreaker had hoped that all the humans would die under Decepticon rule, but Hunter's actual fate was arguably worse: He was victim to [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s experiments, half-dissected in a lab. Numerous cables streamed in and out of his torso; even his right eye socket had a tube coming out of it. His expression was of slack-jawed horror, and he looked very much like Sunstreaker did under the Machination's experiments. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}} Somehow Bombshell was able to use Hunter's hybrid body to create a "hub" that helped the Decepticons find the Autobots and deactivate their defenses. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

When the Autobots returned to Earth and fought the Decepticons, Bombshell taunted Sideswipe by claiming to have toyed with Sunstreaker's mind using information gleaned from dissecting Hunter. After the battle ended with the Decepticons driven away, Sideswipe found Hunter in Bombshell's lab, still attached to the machinery and barely alive. Sideswipe turned off the life-support and allowed Hunter to expire. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}
{{-}}

====Hail and Farewell====
{{Note|Due to the abrupt cancellation of several related stories and the emergence of ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'', the following events cannot occur in the mainstream timeline, if they are [[canon]] at all.}}

Two years after meeting the Autobots and becoming a Headmaster, Hunter went back to his house with Sunstreaker. As Hunter gathered a few effects, he reminisced on his scattered, mostly-dead family, and on how much had happened to him. He had been to other planets, even another dimension. He'd fought Scorponok, allied with the Dinobots, and faced a planetary Decepticon invasion. And now he wasn't just Hunter; he had become one with Sunstreaker in both mind and body. As he converted back to Sunstreaker's head, he mused that it was true what they said about never being able to go home again. {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

==Notes==
* Even [[Nick Roche]] loved Hunter! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Nick Roche interview with Moonbase Two]</ref>
* As a character, Hunter was clearly meant for a bigger and better destiny than he ended up receiving. Writer and creator [[Simon Furman]] set him up as an audience-surrogate, the eyes through which the world of the Transformers was revealed. The affable young protagonist in over his head, Hunter's tale began to reflect the [[Wikipedia:Monomyth|archetypal heroic journey]], particularly the belly-of-the-whale experience of being kidnapped and experimented upon, which he escaped by bravely subverting his captors with his newfound powers and emerging as the first Autobot-human hybrid. A hint of Furman's designs was seen in the flash-forward "Hail and Farewell" [[Transformers: Mosaic|Mosaic]], which showed Hunter acknowledging that he and his world had changed irreversibly, listing a series of grand accomplishments, and achieving a literal and figurative union with his own elevated state. Unfortunately, all of this would be cut short (and the flash-forward entirely negated) by a [[Shane McCarthy|new writer]] who decided it would serve his story better to make both Hunter and his partner in mythic ascendancy die.

==References==
<references/>

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[[Category:Comic-only characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Humans]]