Distant Thunder!

« The Transformers (UK) #100 »
Carlsberg don't do Transformers covers, but......
"Distant Thunder!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	7th February, 1987
Cover date	14th February, 1987
Script	Simon Furman
Pencils	Will Simpson
Inks	Tim Perkins
Colours	Steve White
Letters	Annie Halfacree
Editor	Ian Rimmer
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	1987, flashbacks 1986

Hiding in the Dead End, Prime seeks to keep Outback's spirits alive by telling him the story of what happened when he disappeared into another dimension...

Synopsis

On the run from the Wreckers, Optimus Prime takes the injured Outback to the Dead End region of Cybertron in the hope that he can recover from his wounds. Unfortunately, Outback continues to weaken, and grows despondent over his fate, but Optimus Prime tells him to never abandon hope, and, to raise his spirits, begins to recount the tale of another time when he triumphed against seemingly insurmountable odds...

Months earlier, the arrival in the present day of the future Decepticons Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge results in Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet being shunted from Earth into another dimension. The trio find themselves in a strange, techno-organic world, and soon become embroiled in the conflict between two of the local biomechanical races: the peaceful cat-like Cloran, and an army of invading ape-creatures led by the evil Zenag, seeking to seize control of the Cloran's territory. The Autobots lend their aid to the Cloran and force Zenag and his minions to retreat, but soon, Zenag returns to make Prime and his men an offer: if they will refrain from interfering in his efforts to slaughter the Cloran, he will give the Autobots a device that will allow them to return home. Naturally, Prime refuses, and another fight between the Autobots and the ape-creatures breaks out. Zenag's army fights with such ferocity that it soon becomes apprent to Prowl and Ratchet and only lethal force will stop them, but Prime refuses to countenance the killing of an enemy unless there is no other alternative.

As the battle rages, Shockwave, Frenzy, and Thundercracker materialise nearby, having been displaced into the dimension by the arrival of a trio of future Autobots in the present. Observing the fight, Shockwave orders the Decepticons to wipe out the creatures, which they do with ruthless efficiency. Prime is appalled at their vicious tactics, but cannot refute Shockwave's conclusion that is it logical for the Autobots and Decepticons to work together to escape this dimension. Prime recounts what the Autobots have been through, and Shockwave promptly declares that if Prime won't make a deal with Zenag, he will. Prime cautions Shockwave the deceitful Zenag cannot be trusted, comparing him to Shockwave himself... a comparison that makes Prime begin to realise how familiar this all feels.

Shockwave, Thundercracker and Frenzy meet with Zenag, who promises to give them the device if they will destroy the Autobots. The Decepticons agree and quickly launch an attack, but are tricked when the Autobots appear to succumb to Frenzy's sonic attacks, when in reality, they have shut down their audio sensors, and are feigning defeat in order to get the drop on their opponents. Blindsided, the Decepticons are quickly beaten, whereupon Optimus Prime tries to convince Shockwave of his belief that they are all being manipulated somehow, pointing out how the scenario of a peace-loving race coming under attack from a remorseless killer race seeking to extend their power into neighbouring territories is an all-too-perfect carbon copy of the Transformers' own war. Suddenly, Zenag appears and demands Shockwave destroy the Autobots, but Shockwave, given pause by Prime's words, declines and suggests Zenag do the job himself. Zenag proceeds to attack Optimus Prime, who refuses to fight back, but stops short of actually killing him, again calling upon the Decepticons to finish the job. They turn him down once again, so Zenag presses his attack, tearing a gouge in Prime's side, but still Prime will not defend himself. In his thoughts, Prime worries if he has made the right choice, but, as Zenag makes once final lunge towards him, he reminds himself that fighting must always be the last alternative.

Zenag's claws pass harmlessly through the resolute Optimus Prime, as both his attacker and the entire world around him fade away, revealed as illusions. The six Transformers awaken in a black, empty void, with strange blob-like creatures attached to their heads. Frenzy tears the blob off his head, and almost rips it to pieces before Shockwave stops him. Ratchet analyses one of the creatures and deduces that it is a parasite that feeds off emotions—especially violent emotions—which they cultivate by sculpting telepathic illusions to provoke violent reactions from their victims. Optimus Prime adds that, given time, he believes that the creatures' illusions would have become physical reality—punctuating his statement by revealing to all assembled the very real wound Zenag tore in his side.

As Prime finishes his story, he realises that the tale may have inadvertently contained the solution to their current predicament. A moment later, the Wreckers burst into Prime and Outback's hiding spot, ready to kill Prime, who they mistakenly believe to be a Decepticon in disguise. Broadside asks if Prime has any last words; Prime responds by saying he will not beg for his own life, but asks for them to spare Outback. The brave little Autobot was only injured as a result of Optimus choosing to fight back against the Wreckers in the first place; taking his own advice from his story, Prime now realises that fighting must always be the last resort, and refuses to take up arms against the Wreckers any longer, happy to accept his own death if it will lead to Outback's safe repair. Suddenly, Emirate Xaaron and Ultra Magnus enter. Having grown suspicious they were not hunting a Decepticon impostor at all, Magnus has summoned Xaaron to help verify Prime's identity—and the heartfelt speech he has just heard is all the proof Xaaron needs to know that the 'bot in front of him is the real leader of the Autobots. He steps forward and welcomes his old friend Optimus home.

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Others
Whirl (1) Springer (2) Sandstorm (3) Optimus Prime (4) Outback (5) Twin Twist (8) Roadbuster (9) Ultra Magnus (10) Guardian unit (11) Ratchet (12) Prowl (13) Broadside (21) Xaaron (22)	Megatron (6) Straxus (7) Shockwave (14) Frenzy (15) Thundercracker (16)	Cloran victims (17) "Techno-ape" warriors (18) Zenag (19) Limbo parasites (20)

Quotes

"Wh-what happened? Where are we?"
"One minute we're at our coal mine base on Earth, and the next... we're not!"
"Questions which have—at present—no possible answer and statements that are so circuit-numbingly obvious are wasteful in the extreme."

—Shockwave doesn't like narratively helpful exposition from Frenzy and Thundercracker

"How could you?! These creatures fought with tooth and claw and you met them with lasers, blasters and sonics. I suppose that's a Decepticon's idea of a fair fight! All this lost life...such a waste...such a terrible, terrible waste!"

—Optimus Prime

Frenzy: "Looks like that device is ours. Who'da thought it would be that easy!"
Shockwave: "Quite. Any last words, Autobot?"
Ratchet: "Yeah...Ever been had?"

"It is easy to fight. But then, the easy path isn't always the right one. These years of warfare have conspired to blind me to the alternatives. As an Autobot... no. As a thinking being, to fight must be the last alternative."

—Optimus Prime

"I had thought that my death would grant Megatron his greatest victory—not so! I fought back against my fellow Autobots. I dragged this innocent victim into my personal war. That is Megatron's greatest victory! I almost missed the wisdom of my own words when I told Outback that to fight should be the last resort. I will fight you no longer, Wreckers. All I ask is that you spare Outback. If, as a result of my death, just one Autobot life is saved, then it will not have been without meaning and the real victory will be mine!"

—Optimus Prime

"I have listened carefully to your little speech 'Decepticon', and I have just one thing to say...Optimus—welcome home, my friend!"

—Xaaron knows the real McCoy when he sees it.

Notes

Production notes

Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred....

• "Distant Thunder!" is an extra-long strip produced specially for the super-sized 100th issue of the comic, clocking at 19 pages instead of the usual 11. This makes the whole comic 32 pages long instead of the regular 24, but the price was not increased, remaining at 32p.
• The issue sports a special wraparound hand-painted cover by top-tier Marvel UK artist Alan Davis, who had made his name working on Captain Britain earlier in the decade, and who by this point in his career had made the jump to Marvel US, working on the exceedingly-hot-at-the-time X-Men titles. The Transformers production staff half-jokingly asked Davis to do a cover for the 100th issue, not expecting him to say yes—but he did! It's possible Davis's decision was motivated by the fact that his son was a Transformers fan; the cover is credited not just to Alan Davis, but to his son Thomas Davis as well.

Continuity notes

• Following a series of teases in previous issues, this story finally reveals exactly what happened to Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet when they were displaced into limbo by the arrival of the time-travelling Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge in issue #78. Shockwave, Thundercracker, and Frenzy arrive partway through the story, following their own displacement in issue #84 by the arrival of Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr.
• The "Dead End"—the name by which the slums of Polyhex are better known—previously appeared in issues #66-67 (US issue #17).
• Ratchet uses his laser scalpel to get the drop on Shockwave. The visual appearance of this gadget and the mechanism by which it deploys out of Ratchet's forearm (pictured at right) is based very precisely on the way it was drawn by artist William Johnson in issue #26 (US issue #8).
• The wound Optimus Prime sustains in his side was seen being treated by Ratchet in issue #89 (US issue #21), in the first hint towards the events of this story. This injury is a notable point of a discontinuity between the US and UK stories; in the US comic, Prime was wounded during the Autobots' attack on the Decepticons' Wyoming base in US issue #19 (UK issue #71), but due to the extended gap between the UK printing of that story and the scene of Prime being treated, the UK comic was forced to edit the scene in issue #89 and identify the wound as a different one he had sustained during his time in limbo, that just coincidentally happened to be in the same spot at the one had suffered earlier.
• Emirate Xaaron was last seen in issue #88. This is his first interaction with Optimus in the weekly comic, but the pair were shown to be old acquaintances in the story "And There Shall Come...a Leader!" from Transformers Annual 1985.
• Despite later appearances by the Wreckers, this is Whirl's last appearance in the main Marvel UK timeline.

Real-life references

• The manner in which Prime defeats Zenag—turning his back on him and refusing to fight him, resulting in his claws passing harmlessly through him (right)—is lifted directly from the climax of the 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which heroine Nancy defeats Freddy Krueger in the same way.

Artwork and technical errors

• Alan Davis looks to have been referencing The Transformers Universe in drawing at least some of the cover; Trailbreaker appears with the outdated character model used in that book (with two hands and no shoulder accessories), as does Wheeljack (no shoulder fins), and Soundwave is coloured in American-series purple, rather than the toy-accurate blue the UK comic would otherwise consistently use. These aren't strictly errors, of course; what are errors are Prowl having a blue helmet instead of white, Megatron's Decepticon symbol being uncoloured, and the fact that Buzzsaw is coloured like Laserbeak.
• Page 1, panel 3-4: Per last issue, Outback's wound should be on his left side, as it is on panel 2 of this page. However, for panels 3-4, it has jumped to his right side (right). Also, Outback is missing the panel on his chest with the "crosshairs" design in panel 4.
• Page 2, panel 4: Springer and Twin Twist's colours are swapped.
• Page 8, panel 2: All speech bubbles and caption boxes during the "dream" portion of the story are tinted a pale yellow; Frenzy's "GNNNK!" in this panel is missing the effect, appearing regular white.
• Page 15, panels 1 and 3: Optimus Prime's thought balloon and Zenag's cry of "CURSE..." are also missing the pale yellow tint they should have.
• Pages 15–16: Frenzy is drawn with small individual eyes instead of his normal visor.
• Page 17, panel 1: Ratchet's forehead crest is red instead of white.
• Page 18, panel 5: Optimus Prime's head is uncoloured white.
• Page 19, panels 3-4: Outback's wound is missing entirely.

Back-up material

• Back-up strips: Action Force ("Improvisation on a Theme," Part 2) and Robo-Capers
• Other features: "Over 100 Transformers toys to be won—free!" Entrants are challenged to identity fifteen marked characters on the issue's cover (see image at right); five winners receive both Rodimus Prime and Wreck-Gar toys; ninety-five runners up get an Autobot Mini-Vehicle. Unfortunately, a production error resulted in only fourteen characters being marked: Jazz, Bumblebee, Trailbreaker, Ramjet, Ravage, Brawn, Soundwave, Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Wheeljack, Megatron, Prowl, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw. The error was apologised for when the results of the contest were published in issue #115; lists of fourteen were accepted, but enterprising kids sent in lists of fifteen by identifying one of the other, unmarked robots on the cover, who include Bonecrusher, Headstrong, and Thrust.

Other trivia

• Curiously, this issue marks Whirl's last "present-day" appearance in the series; he will be consistently absent from the Wreckers when the team reappears in future issues, only reappearing in the tragic-alternate-future story, "Peace," in Transformers Annual 1989.

Foreign Localization

• Swedish

• Title: "Avlägset muller" ("Distant Rumblings")

• Bizarrely, this story was never published in Swedish until the 2021 hardcover collection I siktet: 2006, the original 1989 summer special instead publishing Ancient Relics! and leaving the story arc unresolved. Even more bizarrely, ads for following issues in 1990 used artwork from this issue.

Cover

• Issue #100: A big Transformers brawl, by Alan Davis

• 
  Issue #100

Reprints

• 
  Collected Comics #13 (Marvel Comics, 1989)
• 
  Transformers: Prey TPB (Titan Books, 2004)
• 
  Best of UK: Prey #3 regular cover
  (IDW Publishing, 2009)
• 
  Best of UK: Prey #3 RI cover (IDW Publishing, 2009)
• 
  Best of UK: Prey TPB (IDW Publishing, 2010)
• 
  The Transformers Classics UK Volume 3 (IDW Publishing, 2012)
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection, Vol. 7: The Harder They Die (Hachette Partworks, Ltd. 2017)
• 
  Transformers: I siktet 2006 (Ades Media, 2021)

Reprint notes

• Both Titan and IDW's reprints of this issue are sourced from the Collected Comics version of the story. The Titan reprint ends with a tag that reads "CONTINUED IN COLLECTED COMICS #14" instead of "NEXT: FALLEN ANGEL!" as the original issue did, while the IDW reprint tries to paper over this incongruity by erasing the contents of the tag entirely, leaving a blank yellow box. Coming from the same source, both also sport some noticeable signs of degradation not present in the original issue, perhaps most notably a series of white streaks at the top of page 16.