Editing Time Wars

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|''Transformers'' (UK)]] #199–205
|prev=Cold Comfort and Joy!
|prev2=Altered Image!
|next=Cold War!
|title="Time Wars"
|image=MarvelUK-202.jpg
|caption=Oh shit.
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|date=[[January 7|7th January]] 1989—[[February 18|18th February]] 1989
|writer=[[Simon Furman]]
|pencils=[[Dan Reed]], [[Robin Smith]], [[Lee Sullivan]], [[Andrew Wildman]]
|inks=[[Stephen Baskerville]]
|colours=[[Euan Peters]]
|lettering=[[GLOP]], [[Gary Gilbert|GLIB]], [[Annie Halfacree]], [[Peter Knight]]
|editor=[[Euan Peters]]
}}
'''The combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons must battle both Megatron and Galvatron to save the present and the future from a rift in space and time.'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story follows directly from the UK Annual stories [[All in the Minds!]] and [[Altered Image!]].}}
On New Years Day 2009, a time rift has destroyed the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]]  {{storylink|Space Pirates!}} and is now threatening to consume both Earth and Cybertron. Analysing the source of the disturbance, they find the source of the rift to be the year 1989. They correctly deduce that Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are somehow the cause. In an attempt to solve the problem, a small group of Autobots travel back in time to 1989.

In 1989, the rift is also threatening modern day Earth, causing natural disasters. An earthquake awakens Ravage, who has lain inactive since falling down a mine shaft.  {{storylink|Showdown!}} He attempts to escape back to the surface, but instead discovers the underground base of Galvatron.

Optimus Prime is giving a briefing to the other Autobots, in which he outlines his belief that the time storm is related to Galvatron. Meanwhile, outside the Ark, Highbrow is fretting over what to do with the head of Scorponok that he had captured.  {{storylink|All in the Minds!}} He wishes to end the threat of Scorponok, but is unwilling to kill him in cold blood. 

Before he can make a decision, he is attacked by the Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters in an attempt to recover the head. They capture the head, but before they can destroy Highbrow, the other Autobots come to his rescue and a major battle ensues.

In the midst of the battle, the future Autobots arrive, causing Optimus Prime, Hardhead, Highbrow, Blaster, Brainstorm and Snarl to be transported to the holding dimension as part of the time travel process. Thinking their friends have been killed by the newcomers, Fortress Maximus leads an attack on the future Autobots.

At the same time, a spacecraft from Cybertron arrives on Earth carrying the combined forces of the Autobot [[Wrecker]]s and the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. They have joined forces in an attempt to force Galvatron to return to his own time.

The Autobot battle is eventually stopped when Goldbug, who has seen the results of time travel before {{storylink|Target: 2006}} & {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} and believes the newcomers are friends, is injured. Using the Creation Matrix that resides in both Optimus and Rodimus Prime, the present and future leaders are able to communicate with each other and resolve the battle peacefully.

The Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad meanwhile enter Galvatron’s base and confront the future Decepticon. They are shocked to discover, however, that Galvatron and Megatron have now joined forces. The two of them soon leave the ranks of the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad decimated, forcing them to retreat and regroup.

Optimus Prime is explaining that the rift is caused by Cyclonus and Scourge being in the present because they bypassed the usual mass transfer system when they travelled back in time using Unicron's time portal. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} As a result, the balance of space time has been upset. The situation has been made worse by Cyclonus's death twenty years before his creation.  {{storylink|Dry Run!}} They deduce that if Cyclonus and Scourge are returned to the future, the rift will seal itself.

Galvatron and Megatron follow the Wreckers and the Mayhem Attack Squad and continue the battle outside, bringing the other Autobots into the fray. Galvatron has now become totally insane and is fighting blindly and slaughtering all in his path.

[[Image:MarvelUKTimeRift.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I guess we're not in Kansas anymore.]]
Scourge, who is beginning to have doubts about his alliance with Galvatron, decides to take action and flies to the Decepticon fortress to retrieve Cyclonus's body. There, he finds Shockwave in a state of mental breakdown after learning  {{storylink|Dry Run!}} that he is due to die at Cyclonus and Scourge's hands in 2008.  {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}} Unwilling to let Scourge take Cyclonus's body, he blasts the future Decepticon unconscious.

The battle with Galvatron is going badly and all are falling before him. Half his face has been blasted off in events that are different from how he remembers them as Megatron, pushing him even further from sanity at the same time as changing the course of history. Optimus Prime, trapped in the limbo dimension, can only watch through the Matrix link. As the Autobots continue to fall, however, he decides to take drastic action and uses the power of the Matrix to return to reality and confront Galvatron. However, because he is now in the same period as Rodimus Prime, also the bearer of the Matrix, the effects of the time rift increase.

Scourge, recovering, appeals to Ravage to get Cyclonus's body, and wanting the madness to end, he sacrifices himself by throwing himself into the rift. Ravage manages to convince Shockwave that because he has foreknowledge, he has time to prevent his fate. This snaps Shockwave from his mental decline.

Galvatron, still fighting madly, fights Optimus Prime to a standstill, but before a winner is revealed the time rift rips Galvatron apart. However, the rift continues to worsen as it needs Cyclonus as well. Just as the rift is about to rip the Earth apart, Shockwave arrives and throws the body of Cyclonus into the rift, causing it to close itself.

The future Autobots return to their own time, pledging to destroy all their time machines. Optimus Prime and Shockwave agree to a truce until they next meet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (6)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (9)
* [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (10)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (14)
* [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] (19)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (20)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (21)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]], [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (22)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (23)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]](24)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (29)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (30)
* [[Goldbug (G1)|Goldbug]] (31)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (33)
* [[Catilla]] (35)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (39)
* [[Twin Twist]] (41)
* [[Rack'n'Ruin]] (42)
* [[Roadbuster]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (1)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (2)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (3)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (4)
* [[Hun-Gurrr|Hun-Grr]] (5)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (12)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (18)
* [[Snapdragon]] (25) 
* [[Misfire]] (26)
* [[Weirdwolf]] (27)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (28)
* [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (32)
* [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] (34)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (36) 
* [[Battletrap]] (37) 
* [[Flywheels]] (38)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (40)
|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (8)
}}

==Errors==
[[Image:Timewars colourerror uk201.JPG|right|150px|thumb|The FortMax repaint we've all been waiting for!]]
*The first page of issue 201 was originally printed with the wrong colours. This was corrected in the subsequent [[Collected Comics (Marvel)|Collected Comics]] and [[Titan Books]] reprints.
*Scourge was pretty mad at Galvatron last time he saw him, to the extent that he was willing to kill him. How we get from that to the look of love he gives Galvatron in issue 200 is unexplained.
*What's left of the [[Wrecker]]s and the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], having been key characters for much of the story, simply disappear in the closing stages, shunted aside by the big names. The same happens to the rank-and-file present day Autobots such as [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Scattershot]].
*The "present" Autobots should recognise most of the "future" Autobots - [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], for example, are among their current forces on the Ark. Kinda lucky they didn't make the trip to Earth, really... They should probably recognise Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime (he looks just like Hot Rod, after all) as well, and maybe even [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]. (Similarly isn't it lucky that Scorponok didn't bring the present day Terrorcons with him?)
* Blaster appears in the 2009 timeline but neither does he travel back in time with the other Autobots nor is he present when the Decepticons storm Autobot City. It's lucky he didn't travel back in time as his 1989 incarnation is present as well.
*At least some of the present-day Autobots (such as Ironhide) should recognise the explosive effects of being shunted to limbo, so their immediate declaration that Optimus and company have been killed is a little hysterical.
*The nature of Goldbug's injury shifts all over the place - he's shot in the shoulder by [[Misfire]], but then has a critical chest injury by the time Magnus finds him. His dramatic turn done with, his life-threatening wound reverts to being a shoulder injury that [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] patches up in three seconds flat.
*Also Rodimus Prime isn't ''really'' Optimus Prime's future self. Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime in the same era should not cause a time disruption despite what the two Primes believe...yet it is caused by the two holding the Matrix simultaneously.  Though, Optimus doesn't have the Matrix, as it is with his other body on VsQs.  Head hurt yet?

==Items of note==
*This marks the end of the story arc that began 121 issues ago in "[[Target: 2006]]".
*This was the last of the UK comic's 'epic' storylines. By issue [[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire|213]] falling sales meant that the page count of the UK originated strip was reduced from 11 to 6. The constant threat of the comic's cancellation meant that [[Simon Furman]] kept the story arcs limited to a few issues at most.
*The present day Ultra Magnus was going to get a rematch with Galvatron here, but the upcoming switch to black-and-white strips forced Furman to wrap up everything in Time Wars; poor ol' Magnus got lost in the shuffle.<ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=42871</ref> Insult to injury, his 2009 incarnation is never seen after this strip and, considering the state the Decepticons were making of him, could have ''died'' with barely a mention!
*Cyclonus was killed in issue 189 "[[Dry Run!]]". The initial effects of the time rift were shown in issues 182-187 "[[Space Pirates!]]" with the destruction of the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]].
*Here Ravage recovers from his fall down a mine shaft after a battle with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in issue 72-73 "[[Showdown!]]" (US issue 20).
*The future Decepticons don't really add anything to the story. They just turn up, watch for a bit and then leave.
*The Wrecker/Mayhem strategy is laughable - they simply walk into Galvatron's base, arguing loudly.
*It's a recurring problem with the rotating artists on the UK comic, but the height of characters changes drastically over the course of the story. Fort Max goes from being a shade taller than Rodimus to almost half again as tall between issues.
*Galvatron actually starts off this story in a fairly sane state of mind (as he had in [[Altered Image!]]) By the end of it he's attempting to destroy every Transformer that exists and screaming his defiance at the universe itself. [[A Savage Circle| Hanging out with Megatron]] seems to have this effect on him (although to be fair, having half his face blasted off probably didn't help matters). 
*Finally, Galvatron stays dead. Hard to miraculously recover from being erased from history. Except that he [[Aspects of Evil!|does]], sort of.
*Where does [[Fracas]] go?
*During the first issue when humans are fleeing from the Terrorcons on New Year's Day 2009, a dropped copy of ''Dragon's Claws'' can be seen. This prediction of the title's longevity was optimistic as the real ''Dragon's Claws'' comic folded a few months into 1989; however just a few months before the real New Year's Day 2009 a trade paperback of ''Dragon's Claws'' was published.
*Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by [[Titan Books]] in July 2003.
* The future Autobots last appeared in "[[Space Pirates!]]".  Their story continues in the second segment of  "[[Aspects of Evil!]]", then "[[The Void! (UK)|The Void!]]".

===Covers (7)===
<gallery>
Image:MarvelUK-199.jpg|199 cover
Image:MarvelUK-200.jpg|200 cover
Image:MarvelUK-201.jpg|201 cover
Image:MarvelUK-202.jpg|202 cover
Image:MarvelUK-203.jpg|203 cover
Image:MarvelUK-204.jpg|204 cover
Image:MarvelUK-205.jpg|205 cover
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Marvel UK issues]]