Child's Play (issue)

This article is about issue #35 of the Marvel US comic. For the episode of the Generation 1 cartoon, see Child's Play (episode).

« The Transformers (US) #35 » « The Transformers (UK) #141–142 »
When a problem comes along, you must whip it!
"Child's Play"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Shipping date	August 25, 1987
On-sale date	September 15, 1987
Cover date	December 1987
Script	Bob Budiansky
Pencils	Don Perlin
Inks	Ian Akin and Brian Garvey
Colors	Nelson Yomtov
Lettering	Jack Morelli
Editor	Don Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

A group of children stumble into the middle of a Transformers battle.

Synopsis

A group of four small children are playing in a rail yard, but their play is interrupted when one of them sees a police car: the Protectobot Streetwise. The Protectobots are transporting Blaster to the Ark to be tried and executed for treason. The grim task is likewise interrupted when Blades discovers that the Combaticons are nearby. Groove transports Blaster to a safe hiding place while the other Protectobots investigate.

While the Protectobots and Combaticons battle, Sammy discovers Blaster. As the nearby battle threatens the children, Blaster convinces Robin to remove a mode lock that prevents him from transforming out of his tape deck mode, so that he may be able to protect them.

When Bruticus stuns Defensor, Blaster steps in to confront Bruticus himself, telling the giant robot that he no longer has allegiance to the Protectobots, who are holding him prisoner. Bruticus forces Blaster to prove his loyalty by killing one of the human children. Blaster points his rifle, and pulls the trigger. Sammy immediately cries out in pain, and collapses.

As Bruticus examines the child's fallen form, Blaster knocks him out with a massive electrical shock from a downed powerline. Sammy then gets up, having only played dead, knowing that Blaster would not really have hurt him, but understanding Blaster's need to convince Bruticus that Blaster had no loyalty to the humans.

Hot Spot chooses not to arrest Blaster, realizing that to do so would be to go against his own principles. The mode lock is instead attached to the Combaticon Blast Off, enabling Blaster to treat the children to a ride in space. No sooner do they achieve orbit than Blaster and the children find themselves fired upon. The Ark is spaceworthy once again, and Grimlock is using it to make sure Blaster is brought to justice!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
First Aid (6) Streetwise (7) Blades (8) Groove (9) Blaster (10) Wheeljack (11) Grimlock (12) Cosmos (13) Beachcomber (14) Powerglide (15) Hot Spot (16) Defensor (23)	Brawl (17) Swindle (18) Vortex (19) Blast Off (20) Onslaught (21) Bruticus (22)	Jed Lindley (1) Sammy Wainwright (2) Allan Silver (3) Robin Lindley (4)	Daisy (5)

Quotes

"By the Prime Matrix itself, I swear that no harm will come to Daisy, small one, or any of you!"

—Blaster pledges on his honor to protect a teddy bear and its human companions

"Well done, Autobot. You surprised me -- I didn't think you were brave enough to do it!"
"Killing defenseless humans isn't my idea of bravery, Bruticus -- but then what would a Decepticon know about bravery, anyway?" [zaps him with downed powerlines]

—Bruticus gets his comeuppance from Blaster

"These humans mean a lot to you."
"If we can't protect the weakest among this planet's natives, we're no better than the Decepticons, Hot Spot."

—Hot Spot and Blaster

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• The third panel on page 4 has an asterisk with no corresponding footnote. Presumably this would have been to remind readers about events in issue #32.
• On page fourteen, Defensor taunts himself about the ineffectiveness of his fireball cannon. Obviously, this dialogue box should have pointed to Bruticus instead.
• Page 21: Blaster's speech balloon spells Hot Spot's name as one word.
• The checklist for Marvel comics released has the description for this issue as "Hey, look! British Transformers!" This would have described the previous 2 issues.

Continuity errors

• Though set in the 1980s, the story depicts a rail yard with steam locomotives and wooden boxcars—both items that disappeared from common use decades earlier.
• Why are the Protectobots wandering down dirt roads and through rail yards on their way back to the Ark? Are they lost?
• For that matter, there doesn't appear to be any objective behind the Combaticons' ambush besides "shoot some Autobots", nor any reason for the Protectobots to walk right into what they already suspect is an ambush.
• The Autobots have been working for months to build a geothermal generator as an independent power source... but as soon as they get it working, they immediately take off into space, leaving it behind!

Continuity notes

• Blaster's gun ran out of energy, and he was arrested, in "Used Autobots".
• The Autobots working to repair the Ark has been a running background plot since issue #2.

Real-life references

• The issue is set in northern California; the Ark's location is in rural Oregon.

UK printing

Issue #141

• Back-up Transformers story: "Love and Steel!"
• Other strips: Robo-Capers

Issue #142

• Back-up Transformers story: "Brothers in Armour!"
• Other strips: Robo-Capers
• In Grim Grams, Grimlock attempts to clear up the confusing timeline between the main UK series and the Headmasters backup stories and suggests that those accursed mistake-prone Stubbies also infected the producers of The Transformers: The Movie.

Other trivia

• According to Marvel's original solicitations, this story was intended for publication in issue #33, while a two-part reprint of "Man of Iron" was meant to be printed across issues #34 and #35. In practise, "Child's Play" was delayed to this issue, #35, and "Man of Iron" was bumped up to start in #33; there must've either there was a delay in this story's production, or it was decided to move it to after "Man of Iron" to avoid a long break after its cliffhanger ending.
• The US cover for this issue makes a radical stylistic choice in colouring the two merge groups in block colours. The result is very striking, but has been criticised for being 'lazy'. The UK cover for issue #142, similarly depicts Bruticus hitting Defensor with a train but renders the two of them in full colour.

Bot Roster

• Autobots: 31 active, 6 Throttlebots captured by RAAT, 14 in repair bay. (51 total)
• Decepticons: 34 active; 10 offline. (44 total)

Courtesy of my...

• Blades fires a target-tracking, armor-piercing rocket at Vortex.
• Bruticus is packing a sonic stun-gun, though its shot is deflected by Defensor's force field.
• Defensor retaliates with his fireball cannon.

Covers (3)

• US issue #35 cover: Bruticus whipping Defensor with a train, by Frank Springer, Ian Akin, and Brian Garvey.
• UK issue #141 cover: Brawl, by Lee Sullivan.
• UK issue #142 cover: Bruticus whipping Defensor with a train, by Dan Reed and Robin Bouttell.

• 
  US issue #35 - Crack that whip!
• 
  UK issue #141 - Brawl doesn't understand the concept of going around things
• 
  UK issue #142 - When a problem comes along...

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US

• M&M's - inside front cover
• MPC Model Kits - between pages 4 & 5
• American Comics - between pages 5 & 6
• East Coast Comics - between pages 9 & 10
• Oxy acne products - between pages 12 & 13 (2 pages)
• The Fall of the Mutants - between pages 15 & 16
• Bullpen Bulletins and checklist - between pages 19 & 20
• Various Comic Dealers - between pages 20 & 21
• Marvel subscription service
• Chips Ahoy! cookies - inside back cover
• TSR Top Secret/S.I. RPG (back cover)

UK

????

Reprints

• Transformers: Treason TPB cover: Defensor, Sky Lynx, Wheeljack, Grimlock and half of Ratbat, by Andrew Wildman.
• Treason hardback cover: Bruticus, Blaster, and Robin Lindley, by Stewart Johnson, Andy Lanning & Chris Blythe.
• Classic Transformers Volume 3 cover: panels from this issue, "Spacehikers!" and "People Power!".
• The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3 cover: Bumblebee, by Guido Guidi.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 9: Toy Soldiers cover: Searchlight by "unknown"/Ratbat by Don Perlin & Jim Fern.

• 
  Treason TPB
• 
  Treason hardback
• 
  Classic Transformers Volume 3
• 
  The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3
• 
  Definitive G1 Collection: Vol. 9: Toy Soldiers