A Savage Circle

This article is about the comic issue. For the mobile game event, see Savage Circle.

« The Transformers (US) #78 » « The Transformers (UK) #327–328 »
Galvatron decided that the House of Mirrors wasn't to his liking.
"A Savage Circle"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	March 1991
Cover date	May 1991
Writer	Simon Furman
Penciler	Andrew Wildman
Inker	Stephen Baskerville
Colorist	Nel Yomtov
Letterer	Rick Parker
Editor	Rob Tokar
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Altered Images, redux.

Synopsis

We've heard of self-loathing but this is ridiculous.

Aboard the Ark, Galvatron sees his own past self before him, and snaps. In his insanity, he begins venting his rage on Megatron, unloading millennia of loathing on his former self. Megatron, meanwhile, is still recovering from his neuro-physio linkage to the Autobot Ratchet, and the Nucleon infusion which brought him back to life. As a result, he perceives Galvatron as Ratchet, and begins to fight back against his "Autobot oppressor". On the bridge, Shockwave and Starscream detect the conflict on their monitors, and head down to that level intent on vanquishing what they believe are weakened Autobots, just out of the stasis pods.

Rocketing away from Cybertron, Bludgeon and his Decepticons employ the strictest of scientific method in choosing their destination—Bludgeon blindly stabs a big map with his sword, and they decide to go after and conquer the world he skewered, Klo.

Back on the Ark, Ratchet has just fallen free of his stasis pod, the Nucleon effect having taken longer to revitalize him than Megatron or the other Autobots. He quickly realizes, though, that a psychic link remains between him and Megatron, as he begins to see through the Decepticon leader's eyes, and feel his pain from the battle with Galvatron. Around that time, though, Galvatron finally snags a clue and stops beating the life out of his former self. As he steps around the corner to collect himself, though, Starscream and Shockwave arrive and find the semi-lucid Megatron before them. Starscream reflexively shifts back into groveling boot-licker mode, but Shockwave snaps him out of it and sends Starscream on his way to locate any Autobots on the loose while he deals with Megatron. Before Ratchet's helpless eyes, Shockwave unleashes his cannon-arm's firepower on Megatron, and the feedback knocks Ratchet to his knees just as Starscream finds him in the maintenance bay.

I ahm Hakk, and this eez Frakk, yah, and ve're here to PUMP *clap* YOU UP!

On Cybertron, Prowl is regretting his choices which led to the Autobots being trapped on the dying planet. He gets a sudden shock when Grimlock arrives out of the blue with salvation: a set of Decepticon battle cruisers which he had secreted away millions of years ago just for such an occasion. Grimlock's foresight has now given the Autobots a chance to survive the planet's destruction and track down the Decepticons before they do any more damage.

Meanwhile, Hi-Q continues trying to convince the Neo-Knights that he is Optimus Prime reincarnate, and holds the key to Cybertron's salvation...

On the Ark, Ratchet astonishingly manages to hold his own against Starscream, decking the treacherous Decepticon with a single punch. And yet, with Megatron and Galvatron having reached an alliance and turned on Shockwave, Ratchet realizes that they are too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. With Starscream's unwilling help, he triggers an explosion in the Nucleon storage reactor, causing the Ark to spin out of control and crash down to Earth, just as it did four million years earlier...

Featured characters

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

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Nebulans	Others
Ratchet (4) Optimus Prime (5) Prowl (11) Blaster (12) Grimlock (13) Fixit (14) Wheeljack (15) Inferno (16) Ironhide (17)	Megatron (1) Galvatron (3) Starscream (6) Shockwave (7) Bludgeon (8) Stranglehold (9) Darkwing (10)	G.B. Blackrock (18) Dynamo (20) Circuit Breaker (21) Thunderpunch (22) Rapture (23)	Hi-Q (19)	Unicron (2)

Quotes

"So let's get this straight.... millions of years ago, even before we were stranded on Earth, you and the other Dinobots sneaked into a Decepticon spaceport and stole three battle cruisers. Just on a whim, perhaps?"
"Yep. See, we not much care for Prime's leadership, think he a bit soft in the head. You a lot like him, actually."

—Prowl and Grimlock going at it

"Oh, come on! This isn't the way it's supposed to happen! Sure, you're supposed to die, but you have to run around a bit first, fight back! What fun is this?"
"Fun? Fun?! How dare you? How dare you trivialize life and death! Is that all it's ever been to you, this war -- fun? How many, eh? How many have to die for you to get your jollies? How many?"

—Starscream pushes Ratchet's buttons and gets decked for it.

"Yes! As it was before, when Optimus Prime pressed that fateful button, crashing the Ark into Earth -- sacrificing our lives to stop the Decepticon menace -- so shall it be again! Events...have come full circle!"

—Ratchet gives a farewell speech

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• TBD

Continuity errors

• Contrary to what the Universe profile states, Repugnus first appeared years ago in the first issue of the Headmasters miniseries, along with his fellow Monsterbots.
• It may seem strange that Megatron calls Galvatron "stranger" given their past meetings in the UK comics (specifically "Target: 2006" and "Time Wars"). However, in Time Wars, the meeting was between the original Galvatron and the Megatron clone (killed in "Two Megatrons!"). In "Target: 2006" it was the same "original" Megatron as here, but a different Galvatron. So, Megatron should still recognise the Galvaton II here as Galvatron. In earlier times, this would have been fixed up in the UK printing, but no such change is made. Then again, given everything Megatron has been through and that he has only just stopped mistaking Galvatron as Ratchet, it's probably no surprise he still doesn't recognise him.

Continuity notes

• The second year Autobot Car Inferno finally makes his first official appearance in the regular Marvel US comic continuity in this issue, in a one-panel cameo. Inferno had previously appeared in the alternate-universe "Rhythms of Darkness!".
• Megatron and Ratchet each flashback to their joining from US issue #70.
• Ratchet's sacrifice of the Ark (and himself) nominally takes out four Decepticon leaders; Galvatron II, Megatron, Shockwave, and Starscream. Good for him...however, Galvatron survives the crash and immediately begins killing fleshlings. How successful Ratchet's sacrifice was at taking out the other three varies wildly from one divergent timeline to another. But that's okay, because sometimes his sacrifice is undone, too! (I hate quantum.)

Real-life references

• TBD

UK printing

Issue #327:

• Other strips: Machine Man - "Victory" and Combat Colin
• AtoZ: Pounce

Issue #328:

• Other strips: Machine Man - "Victory" and Combat Colin
• AtoZ: Repugnus

Other trivia

• It was while scripting this issue that Simon Furman learned the series would be cancelled.
• Transformers Universe profiles for Pounce and Repugnus are found after the main story.
• In the credits, editor Rob Tokar and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco are jointly credited as "Drifting Aimlessly".

Covers (3)

• US issue #78 cover: Galvatron, by Andrew Wildman.
• UK issue #327 cover: heavily recolored version of US cover.
• UK issue #328 cover: Galvatron and Megatron vs Shockwave, by Andrew Wildman.

• 
  US issue #78 - The one you've been waiting for - apart from all the other times it happened!
• 
  UK issue #327 - The addition of the Fiendish Feet banner really sells the issue
• 
  UK issue #328 - All together now: "Bad boys, bad boys..."

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US

• Ultra Games Operation C for Nintendo Game Boy - inside front cover
• Score baseball cards - between pages 4 & 5
• TAVAN G.I. Joe for Nintendo - between pages 5 & 6
• Acclaim Double Dragon III for Nintendo - between pages 7 & 8
• Mile High Comics - between pages 8 & 9
• The Science Fiction Book Club - between pages 16 & 17
• Spider-Man Trivia Game - between pages 17 & 18
• Bullpen Bulletins - between pages 19 & 20
• The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man limited series - between story and Pounce profile
• Transmissions
• Marvel subscription service
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal - inside back cover
• TSR Dungeons & Dragons RPG (back cover)

UK

????

Reprints

• Transformers: End of the Road TPB: Galvatron, Grimlock, Bludgeon, Prowl and half of Unicron, by Andrew Wildman.
• Transformers: End of the Road HC: Galvatron and generic Decepticons, by Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie & Chris Blythe.
• Classic Transformers Volume 6: A scrapbook of images from issues #76–80, all by Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville.
• The Transformers: Best of Megatron: Megatron, by Livio Ramondelli.
• Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular cover A: Action Master Grimlock smashes scenes from the collected stories, by Andrew Wildman and Jason Cardy.
• Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular cover B: Hi-Q writhes in pain with the memories of Optimus Prime, surrounded by The Last Autobot, Grimlock, Prowl, Ratchet, Galvatron, Fortress Maximus, Shockwave, Megatron and Bludgeon, by Guido Guidi.

• 
  Transformers: End of the Road TPB
  (Titan Books, 2002)
• 
  Transformers: End of the Road HC
  (Titan Books, 2003)
• 
  Classic Transformers Volume 6
  (IDW Publishing, 2010)
• 
  Best of Megatron
  (IDW Publishing, 2010)
• 
  Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular cover A
  (IDW Publishing, 2012)
• 
  Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular cover B
  (IDW Publishing, 2012)

• The Transformers Classics, Vol. 7: Ratchet, by Guido Guidi.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 20: End of the Road: Bludgeon (art reused from Dreamwave's More than Meets the Eye profiles) above an interior scene of Grimlock punching through Fangry (from US issue #80), by Andrew Wildman.

• 
  The Transformers Classics, Vol. 7
  (IDW Publishing, 2014)
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 20
  (Hachette Partworks, 2018)