Transformers Comic issue 2.13

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Three lions on a shirt...
Publisher	Titan Comics
First published	20 May 2010
Editor	Steve White
Deputy editor	Den Patrick
Publishing manager	Darryl Curtis
Price	£2.50

Decepticons 1, Autobots 0!

Inside Out!

• Script: Simon Furman
• Art: Jon Davis-Hunt
• Colours: Hi-Fi Design
• Lettering: Den Patrick
• Continuity: Revenge of the Fallen (sequel)

In Bloemfontein, South Africa, most people are paying attention to the final of the 2010 World Cup at Free State Stadium. But at the local NEST maximum security holding facility for captured Decepticons, Bludgeon is paying attention to getting out. Brakedown is paying attention to needling the dangerous killing machine, mocking him for being beaten by a cadet and mocking the idea he let himself get caught. Bludgeon, however, releases Scalpel from a hidden compartment to slice through his locks, and points out that there's nowhere better to recruit a Decepticon splinter faction than a jail full of angry, murderous mechs...

As Bludgeon is set loose, declares war on humanity, and begins to spring his fellow prisoners, NEST calls in the Autobots Wideload, Smokescreen, and Brawn, who are on post. While they're en route, the liberated Brakedown hurriedly tries to apologise to Bludgeon... only to find out he was let go so he could be murdered, as an example to any other dissenters!

The Autobots take up positions: Brawn warns things will get ugly, while Smokescreen realises the Decepticons will be disabling the clamps that restrict their weaponry and alt modes. The group of five Decepticons breaks through the walls and Wideload is immediately sent flying towards the stadium. With back-up ten minutes away, Brawn orders Smokescreen to take cover behind him, as he can take more punishm- wait, no, he takes damage too and Smokescreen is smashed backwards into the stadium by an irate Lockdown. Brawn tries futilely to stop Bludgeon but to no avail, about to get killed... when Bumblebee, Springer, and Gears arrive to save him!

But that done, they inform him that Optimus has ordered them to allow the Decepticons to leave: there are too many civilians around. Brawn protests, pointing out the human media will just see them letting the enemy go, whatever their reasons, but Gears tells him that they have no choice. Their pride is not worth more than human lives.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Smokescreen (7) Brawn (8) Wideload (9) Gears (14) Springer (15) Bumblebee (16)	Bludgeon (1) Reverb (2) Brakedown (3) Scalpel (5) Tankor (10) Dead End (11) Skywarp (12) Lockdown (13)	Football spectators (4) NEST members (6)

Quotes

"Time I was getting out of here."

—Bludgeon

"Imagine for a moment that you wished to build your own splinter group of Decepticons. Where better to start a recruitment drive... than in a holding pen full to bursting with embittered captives?"

—Bludgeon

"You're.... going... back... to... your.... nice... warm... cells..."
"I think not."

—Brawn pushes through Bludgeon's cannonfire

"Whatever our reasons, it'll look like we lost. Or worse... that we were scared."
"I know. But when it comes to saving lives we have to shelve our pride. Sometimes, Brawn, the hardest thing of all... is doing nothing."

—Brawn and Gears

Errors

• While six matches were played at Blomfontein's Free State Stadium, the World Cup final was played at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium.
• The shot of the Decepticon gang is... confusing, as Reverb is the wrong colour and Bludgeon's line is given to an identical but differently coloured tank. Who that tank should be is not clear; it could be Tankor but the colour is wrong there too.
• Lockdown is gold with blue car parts, which makes it initially tricky to tell it's him.
• We never see Optimus play football like the cover promises! :(

Notes

• Having Decepticon prisoners online is odd, but seen before. The former was even seen in a story where a Bludgeon escaped!
  • Similarly, G1 Bludgeon has also become a Decepticon leader.
• Bludgeon's gang includes Reverb, Lockdown, Skywarp, a grey-and-purple tank that we assume must've been Tankor, and Dead End (we can't see him here but he has to escape). Reverb will turn out to have quit later on.
• Scalpel was blasted to scrap in the official movie adaptations Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel) Revenge of the Fallen issue 2, but his death wasn't in the film itself. So he's alive here! Yay!
• South Africa is established as a NEST member-state.
• Furman's Nefarious #2 also introduced Brakedown, only to kill him. Guess no one likes Brakedown!
• Smokescreen is shown as being alive and not dead, not the first time Titan's clashed with IDW's 'official' Movie comics.

Contents

Articles and Features

• Get Shirty: Design your own Autobot and Decepticon football T-shirts!
• The Beautiful Game: brief quiz about the World Cup, with a bonus "find Barricade" challenge
• Way Past Cool: game reviews.
• Bumblebee's Guide: The Solar System. Various facts about Mercury by Bumblebee, as well as five hidden Bumblebees to find.
• Competitions.
• Poster of the cover.

Free gifts

• "FREE! Stationery!"

Law and Disorder

"I wasn't 'destroyed' in the first film, merely inconvenienced. So there! Anyone who says different sucks coolant."

—Barricade

"What is it with you people and Unicron? He's the destroyer of worlds, the infinite darkness, he ushers in the end times, I tell you. THE END! And you want to see him in a movie, as a piece of sideshow entertainment? I despair, I really do."
"Hmmmm, I think I'm going to have to agree with 'Cade on this one ... Unicron is the dark lord of the TRANSFORMERS; he's like Simon Cowell, George Bush and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, all rolled into one..."

—Barricade and Ironhide paint a grim picture

"Devastator can be anything from six, seven or even nine separate 'bots! However, I blame those pitiful minions, White (Editor) and Patrick (Deputy), for this oversight, and have reduced their beer rations accordingly."

—Barricade

"Is there going to be a third TRANSFORMERS movie?"
"Gemma, there is a thing called the internet. If you use it, and perhaps a search engine.."

—A teenaged fan and Barricade

Starscream's Stars

"CANCER (22 JUN - 22 JUL): The Stars have promised that your special someone is just around the corner. Well that's great but which one? Can't the Stars give you a reference from the A-Z, just so you know where to be at the right time? And what time should you be there anyway? The Stars aren't actually being of any help."

"VIRGO (23 AUG - 22 SEPT): Oh, now the Stars are moaning because they're saying you don't appreciate their help."

"LIBRA (23 SEPT - 23 OCT): You have defriended the Stars from Facebook."

"SCORPONOK (24 OCT - 21 NOV): The Stars have deleted your number from their mobile."

"PISCES (19 FEB - 20 MAR): Run into the Stars at McDonalds. It all gets a bit awkward but there are apologies and hugs. Stars give you their mobile number again."

Errors

• Contents page forgets to mention The Beautiful Game quiz.
• Ironhide capitalises the "r" in rex.

Notes

• The comic blatantly ties into the contemporary 2010 World Cup. That starts in June rather than May though, so #13 is a bit early. This story was originally meant to be in #14, the June issue. [1]
• Barricade and Ironhide cover the number of Decepticons in Devastator (however many Dev wants), whether the three Arcee robots are sisters (they're not), and who the Buffalo MPV Decepticon was (Ironhide isn't sure but says he's just a Bonecrusher imposter). Those guys like it tough!
• Ironhide also mentions a new, never seen character, Sideswipe's brother Sunstreaker
• The comic got so many entries for the Build A Bot competition that it's still printing some of the honourable mentions!
• This is the first time Starscream's Stars told a narrative.