War Zone

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Yes this is the only colour he was available in...
"War Zone"
Publisher	Fleetway
First published	October 1994
Cover date	("off sale") November 1994
Script	Simon Furman
Pencils	Robin Smith
Inks	Bambos
Colours	Gill Whelan
Letters	Peter Nicholls
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Megatron shows off his new abilities.

Synopsis

Optimus Prime is weakened after his battle with Bludgeon, so tries stalling for time whilst the other Autobots respond to his signal, but Megatron sees through the ruse immediately. His power has been boosted immensely and Prime is soon subdued.

Elsewhere, Grimlock slowly recovers after being defeated by Megatron. He had come to Earth to warn Prime about new Decepticons but wound up being taken out by old ones. He summons his fellow Dinobots.

In the ruins of London, the Stormtroopers have heard of a fight and are eager for some real action, hoping for Autobots. But then on their telescopic vision they see Megatron about to crush someone. As he is no longer their leader and may be about to destroy Bludgeon they charge in and attack, unwittingly saving Optimus Prime. The battle soon draws in other Decepticons, with the Skyscorchers leaving the Autobots, who rapidly come to the conclusion Prime is in danger.

The Stormtroopers, Skyscorchers and Firecons attack Megatron while Optimus Prime tries to rise. He is suddenly helped up by Grimlock, Snarl and Slag. Wanting payback, they go into action against both Megatron and the other Decepticons. The arrival of Jazz, Sideswipe, and Skram turns the tide and Megatron is concerned about his energon reserves so he orders Starscream to extract him. He plans to return.

Optimus Prime calls a halt to the battle and tells the Autobots to round up the prisoners and leave as soon as possible before the humans launch an indiscriminate counter-strike. He goes to deal with Bludgeon but finds the Decepticon leader has escaped.

Grimlock tells Prime that there are bigger fish to fry. He has discovered that, while the Autobots were offline, a "whole new generation of Decepticons arise!" Later at Autobase on an asteroid, Grimlock explains how the new Decepticons have spread all over the galaxy, colonising worlds and turning them into little Cybertrons. The Dinobots had caused problems and run into the leader, Jhiaxus, and barely escaped. Grimlock proposes an immediate huge strike but Prime says to wait until he gives the order. Privately, he wonders if this is at the root of his visions of an apocalypse or if it is something else...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Cybertronian
Optimus Prime (3) Grimlock (4) Skram (12) Jazz (13) Sideswipe (14) Snarl (17) Slag (18)	Megatron (1) Bludgeon (2) Rage (5) Drench (6) Aquablast (7) Hydradread (8) Hawk (9) Tornado (10) Terradive (11) Sparkstalker (15) Flamefeather (16) Starscream (19)	Jhiaxus (20)

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• Everyone is drawn and coloured in their Generation 2 modes. Because the Dinobots were only released in a single colour each in the UK this means Grimlock is now blue, Snarl dark red and Slag green where they were once grey. This became especially noticeable when the comic later moved over to reprints of the Marvel Generation 2 comic, complete with their colours.

Continuity errors

• All characters are given their European toy names—e.g. "Hawk" not "Eagle Eye".
• The term "Decepticon" is used consistently for the Cybertronians.

Continuity notes

• The teams shown reflect the toys available in the UK and so Sludge and Swoop are not present.
• Optimus Prime asks Megatron: "How did you get out? Skydive reported our spacecraft, the Ark - and all aboard her - destroyed." This suggests that something similar to the events of "All or Nothing!" took place in the Fleetway Generation 2 comic continuity.
• Similarly Megatron states his new body was created with help from human scientists, again suggesting something similar to "Realignments".
• Conversely Grimlock has discovered the Cybertronians independently of Optimus Prime, which is not how events panned out in the American "War Without End!".
• The Decepticons show little respect for Megatron, with Tornado sneering to his face that he's past it, but they do show quite a lot of loyalty towards Bludgeon. Pity for Bludgeon that these 'Cons weren't around later...
• During the Generation 1 comics, the Firecons never had the chance to go up against Slag. This issue finally sees the Dinobot and a Firecon trade their flame throwers.

Other trivia

• The issue had a competition to win a complete set of all the Generation 2 toys then on sale. To enter readers had to find a number of Autobot insignia hidden in the artwork and send the correct number in.
• The inside front and back covers are gatefolds, containing profiles of Piranha, Jazz, Starscream, and Blitz. All are illustrated with the relevant package art.
• Another gatefold on the centre pages contains a "Giant Battle Game!" in which the Autobots and Decepticons race from opposite sides of the board to capture the Warworld in the centre.
• The issue came with a set of free stickers.
• In 2014, art from this issue would decorate a large plastic cup sold at Walmart for a dollar.

Covers (1)

• 
  Issue #2

• Issue #2 cover: Blue Grimlock, possibly by Robin Smith.

Reprints

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 91: Generation 2 Part 2 (August 12, 2020): Silverbolt, by Dreamwave Productions and Jhiaxus smashing Optimus Prime, by Geoff Senior

• Primarily a collection of the U.S. Generation 2 issues 7–12.
• Bonus material includes an article about Derek Yaniger, an outro by Simon Furman discussing the working of Generation 2 concepts into IDW's Regeneration One, small-scale scans of "War Zone", a cover gallery (including the Titan trades) and an intro by Furman.

• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection Vol. 91: Generation 2 Part 2