Target: 2006

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The name or term "Target: 2006" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Target: 2006 (disambiguation).

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"Target: 2006"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	Prologue: 6th September Part 1: 13th September Part 2: 20th September Part 3: 27th September Part 4: 4th October Part 5: 11th October Part 6: 18th October Part 7: 25th October Part 8: 1st November Part 9: 8th November Epilogue: 15th November, 1986
Cover date	Prologue: 13th September Part 1: 20th September Part 2: 27th September Part 3: 4th October Part 4: 11th October Part 5: 18th October Part 6: 25th October Part 7: 1st November Part 8: 8th November Part 9: 15th November Epilogue: 22nd November, 1986
Script	Simon Furman
Art	Jeff Anderson (#78-79, #81, #87), Ron Smith (#82), Geoff Senior (#83-84, #86)
Pencils	Will Simpson (#80, #85, #88)
Inks	Tim Perkins (#80, #85, #88)
Colours	Tony Jozwiak (#78-81, #85, #87), John Burns (#82), Gina Hart (#84, #86, #88)
Letters	Richard Starkings (#78, #82-85, #88), Annie Halfacree (#79-81, #86-87)
Editor	Ian Rimmer
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	1986/Original future (2006)

The mysterious disappearance of Optimus Prime heralds the appearance of three super-powerful Decepticons from the future, led by Galvatron. With new arrival from Cybertron Ultra Magnus at their side, the Autobots find themselves forced to ally with Megatron against this new foe... but what is the secret their enemy is hiding, and what does he want in 1986?

Synopsis

Prologue

Optimus Prime and Prowl track down the errant Dinobots, but the team refuse to disclose the details of their recent adventure and simply depart, against Optimus's orders. The pair have no choice but to head back to the Ark, though Optimus, frustrated by the Dinobots' pig-headedness winds up indiscriminately knocking over trees in his anger, until Prowl reins him in.

It took 1.21 jiggawatts to get this image.

Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Autobot resistance leader Emirate Xaaron arrives at the resistance's subterranean headquarters beneath Iacon for a meeting with Impactor, leader of the commando team the Wreckers, about their major upcoming mission, Operation: Volcano. Impactor is wary, given the operation's high danger level, but Xaaron assures him that the new Autobot soldier Ultra Magnus will be operational in time to take part. "Volcano" involves luring the Decepticons into an ambush by staging a phony meeting of Autobot resistance chiefs, and the trap has already been baited by Wreckers member Roadbuster, who has deliberately "leaked" news of the meeting to a known traitor. The traitor is captured by the Insecticon Shrapnel in Polyhex, and gives up the information in exchange for his life—though Shrapnel kills him anyway.

Back on Earth, Optimus Prime addresses the Autobots on the reason for their fight and the importance of protecting humanity when he, Prowl, and Ratchet, are suddenly wracked by pain and disappear in an explosive flash. The distraught Autobots believe their leader dead, and across the galaxy, on Cybertron, that fear seems verified when the Matrix Flame, tied to the Creation Matrix within Optimus Prime, sputters and goes out!

But all is not what it seems, as, concurrently with the three Autobots' disappearance, three new arrivals materialise at a cereal farm in Oregon. When the farm's owners come to investigate, the new arrivals demand to know the year, and are delighted to hear it is 1986. Galvatron and his lieutenants Cyclonus and Scourge have arrived from twenty years in the future... and the past will tremble before their might!

Part 1: "Apocalypse Then...Now!"

"...I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it."

Deal with this.

With Galvatron aboard Cyclonus in his shrunken pistol mode, the Decepticons test out the destructive capabilities of their "new forms", destroying first a locomotive and then a gas station. Cyclonus and Scourge muse how easy it would be to conquer the planet, but Galvatron reminds them that the reason they have come to the past is to prepare for the future, and orders them to seek out Megatron.

Suspecting Decepticon involvement in the disappearance of Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet, Jazz leads a team of Autobots on a spying mission to the Decepticon base. As they watch, Galvatron and his lieutenants arrive and introduce themselves to Megatron and the other Decepticons. Soundwave scans their minds to confirm that they are, indeed, Decepticons, but something blocks him from scanning deeper. A wary Megatron asks if they work for Straxus, but Galvatron scoffs at the notion, revealing that he is the Decepticon leader of 2006. Though he recognizes that Megatron is skeptical of his fantastic claim, Galvatron requests that the present-day Decepticon leader trust him, and temporarily surrender command of the Constructicons to him. Unsurprisingly, Megatron responds by blasting Galvatron point blank with his fusion cannon. Cyclonus and Scourge are about to retaliate in kind, until a panicked Galvatron reminds them that Megatron cannot be allowed to die. Instead, they bull-rush Megatron and Soundwave, positioning them for Galvatron, who transforms into his cannon mode and blasts the quarry wall, collapsing it and burying the pair under an avalanche of rock. Laserbeak proceeds to perch on Galvatron's shoulder, causing the future Decepticon to cryptically remark about the bird's ability to see beyond his outward appearance. The Constructicons quickly fall into line, and at Galvatron's command, they all depart the base. Jazz and Hound secretly trail them, while Ironhide keeps watch at the Decepticon base, and Smokescreen reports back to the Ark.

On Cybertron, Xaaron has decided that investigating the dying out of the Matrix Flame must take precedence over Operation: Volcano. Though Impactor is furious at the news, the decision has been made: Ultra Magnus must travel to Earth!

Part 2: "Construction Time Again!"

Anything you can do, I can do better.

Jazz and Hound follow the Decepticons to northern Oregon, and watch as Galvatron instructs the Constructicons to commence building a mysterious structure. Unsure if the massive machine is a weapon or a power transmitter, they are at least sure that it is dangerous, as it incorporates so many solar panels that it will be capable of generating enough power to "level a small planet". The pair are about to pull out and return to the Ark with this news, but are suddenly ambushed by Cyclonus, who disables Jazz with one shot. Hound, on the other hand, he takes his time with, gleefully recalling as he pummels the Autobot how, in his former life, he too was once left broken and near death, as Hound now is. But where someone or something named "Unicron" was responsible for healing Cyclonus's wounds and recreating him into the being he is now... for Hound, there shall be no such reprieve!

Nearby, Ultra Magnus arrives on Earth via Spanner's unstable prototype space bridge. Fighting his way through the pain and disorientation caused by the transit, he recalls Impactor's fury at the disruption of the Operation: Volcano timetable, and remembers that he has only five Earth days to get to the bottom of the Matrix Flame mystery and set things right on Earth. Following the sound of battle, he arrives just as Cyclonus is about to finish Hound off, and shoots the Decepticon's gun out of his hand before he can pull the trigger.

Cyclonus initially mistakes the Autobot for the Magnus of his future era, thinking that he has followed them back through time, and though he is relieved to realise his error, he still believes Magnus's arrival must be reported to Galvatron. Cyclonus hurls the wounded Hound at Magnus, buying himself enough time to transform and fly off. With Hound too injured to return to the Ark under his own power, Ultra Magnus transforms to his car carrier mode and transports the stricken Autobot back to base.

Upon hearing the unexpected news of Magnus's arrival on Earth, Galvatron quickly concocts a new scheme. Knowing that with time and Magnus on their side, the Autobots may genuinely be able to threaten his plans, he resolves to trick them into acting in haste...

Back at the Ark, Grapple gets to work repairing Hound, who briefs the Autobots on the threat of Galvatron. Jetfire wants to investigate immediately, but Ultra Magnus insists that solving the mystery of Optimus Prime's disappearance is of paramount importance. Jetfire doesn't quite buy Magnus's story, but before they can have a full argument about it, they are interrupted by Smokescreen, who calls them into the monitor room. On the screen is a communication from Galvatron, revealing that Jazz is his prisoner, and goading the Autobots to come and get him!

Part 3: "Defeat!"

Galvatron indulges in his passion for S&M.

Jetfire and Smokescreen fall for Galvatron's bait and are ready to rush into action to save Jazz, but Hound disagrees with their tactics; he's seen the future Decepticons in action, and knows they need Ultra Magnus's help if they want to stand a chance of beating them. The less-than-trusting Jetfire reluctantly acquiesces, and instructs Hound and Ironhide to invite Magnus along on the rescue mission... but much to the Autobots' frustration, Magnus refuses to accompany them, remaining insistent that his priority on Earth is to learn the truth about what has happened to Optimus Prime.

The Autobots launch their attack on Galvatron's construction site, but are almost immediately ambushed by Scourge and Cyclonus, leaving Mirage the first casualty of the battle. While Jetfire takes to the skies to engage Cyclonus in a dogfight, Scourge comes in for a landing, knocking out Brawn and Wheeljack as he does so. The rest of the Autobots all gang up on Scourge, their combined might apparently enough to overcome his great strength. Jetfire, likewise, seems to get the better of Cyclonus, and rejoins the rest of the Autobots, pulling Ironhide, Smokescreen, and Tracks away from the fight with Scourge to join him in going after Galvatron.

Ironhide saves the life of Megatron. Such heroic nonsense will always be Ironhide's flawed creed.

The quartet proceeds to corner Galvatron at the base of his massive machine, but the Decepticon leader is completely unfazed. Cooly, he indicates the Constructicons, standing nearby, yet taking no action. A moment later, Scourge and Cyclonus reappear, completely unharmed, having faked their own defeats and subdued the other Autobots in the interim. Galvatron stands, completely unprotected... and demands that the Autobots open fire on him. They do so, unleashing everything they've got... but "everything" isn't enough to even put a dent in the super-powered Decepticon's armor. Galvatron laughs in the face of the feeble attack, then physically, savagely beats every single one of the Autobots into submission with his bare hands, but stops short of ending their lives, deeming them not even worth killing.

Beaten and broken, the Autobots limp back to the Ark, realizing that they truly are helpless before Galvatron's power—just as the Decepticon desired. Without someone to lead them, Ironhide realizes they have no chance at all, and so he undertakes the unthinkable: he returns to the Decepticons' base and digs the unconscious Megatron and Soundwave out from under the rocks burying them!

And, back at the Ark, a distracted Grapple fails to notice a blinking light on one of the ship's stasis chambers... as somebody inside punches their way out of it!

Part 4: "Wreck and Rule!"

On Cybertron, the Wreckers run through a simulation of Operation: Volcano using facsimile constructs of their Decepticon opponents. Impactor uses his harpoon to take out Shrapnel, whose electrical powers he subsequently employs to dispose of Octane. While Whirl draws enemy fire, Rack'n'Ruin eliminate Thrust. Topspin handles Bombshell and Blitzwing, but is almost taken from behind by Dirge and Ramjet, before his Jumpstarter partner Twin Twist ambushes them from below. Finally, Roadbuster finishes off the remaining Decepticons... then points out that, in the actual battle, without Ultra Magnus to guard their flank, they will be overrun by Decepticon reinforcements. The Wreckers all agree with the sentiment voiced by Twin Twist; Volcano has turned into a suicide mission, and it's no longer their fight. Impactor concurs with his men, and leaves to inform Xaaron the team will be pulling out of the mission.

Twin Twist, Whirl, and Roadbuster retire to the faction-neutral black market speakeasy Maccadam's Old Oil House to relax with a drink, but it's a glum affair; they realise calling off Volcano is the logical course of action, but still feel bad about it.

The depressing mood is broken when a Decepticon bully named Fang bursts into the Oil House and brutally attacks a piano Transformer for playing music he doesn't like. Roadbuster holds back an angry Twin Twist, telling him it "isn't their fight," but hearing his own words repeated only galvanized Twin Twist to action. Finished beating on the piano, Fang dares anyone in the crowd to challenge him... and Twin Twist takes up the call, smashing Fang to bits with one double-handed punch. Defending an innocent Transformer against an unprovoked Decepticon attack acts as an epiphany for the Wreckers, who agree that they must continue to fight, no matter what.

In the meantime, Impactor meets with Xaaron to relay his news. Xaaron agrees that if Magnus is unable to return on time, then withdrawing would be the right thing to do, and might lead to an Autobot victory later on... but the Emirate also muses about how it will look if Volcano is aborted and Ultra Magnus does return to Cybertron on time. Impactor grudgingly takes the hint, and returns, slightly embarrassed, to tell his men Volcano is back on. When he asks for volunteers to take part, to his surprise, the entire team takes him up on the offer, and another combat rehearsal begins.

Part 5: "The Devil You Know..."

In the Ark, Starscream awakens and breaks out of his stasis chamber. After deactivating Frenzy and Thundercracker's chambers so that they too will soon awaken, he follows the sound of raised voices, and is stunned by the sight he sees: Megatron and the Autobots working together, putting together a plan to take on Galvatron! As the unseen Starscream eavesdrops, Megatron and Jetfire argue over who will lead the mission; Jetfire only agreed to the alliance on the basis that Megatron's role would be advisory, but Megatron insists he be in command. Realizing that an alliance is their only hope of victory, given that they were all beaten by Galvatron individually, Ironhide steps in to call for a vote, and the Autobots all agree to follow Megatron's instructions in the short term. Intrigued at the prospect of a being powerful enough to defeat both the Autobots and Megatron, Starscream sneaks away to seek out Galvatron in hopes of allying with him.

Hound brings news of the Autobots' alliance with Megatron to Ultra Magnus, who cannot believe they are going through with it, and berates Hound for making a deal with the devil in the name of rescuing Jazz instead of helping him learn the truth about Optimus Prime's disappearance. Hound believes they have time to do both, but Magnus angrily disagrees; calming himself and apologizing for his outburst, Magnus finally explains the ticking clock that's hanging over his head, as he must complete his work on Earth and return to Cybertron to participate in Operation: Volcano. Hound understands, but still intends to accompany the others to rescue Jazz; Magnus cautions him to watch out for Megatron, who he believes is just as bad as Galvatron.

At the Portland Iron and Steel Foundry, Scourge arrives to steal raw materials for Galvatron's weapon. As he tears his way into the central storehouse, sending human workers fleeing, he grumbles about the lack of decent opponents to fight—but he soon gets his wish as his advanced sensors detect Trailbreaker, Brawn, and Tracks on the other side of the storehouse wall. Scourge opens fire with his acid ray, shooting through the wall and disabling Trailbreaker, but is caught off-guard when the rest of the Autobots appear behind him. Having thought the Autobots broken, Scourge soon realizes that someone has organized them, and finds himself forced to take refuge among the shelves of the storehouse itself. Though a well-placed blast costs Scourge his gun, he is able to collapse a shelf of sheet metal onto Smokescreen and Ironhide, and hurl one of the sheets at Grapple, impaling him. Unable to contact Galvatron for assistance due to his communications being jammed, Scourge opts for the better part of valour and smashes his way outside, but before he can transform and flee, Megatron blasts him into submission and takes him prisoner.

At Galvatron's base of operations, Jazz fights through the pain of his torture to hurl insults at Galvatron, dubbing him "just like Megatron." Galvatron is amused by Jazz's claim, but makes one small correction: Galvatron is not "like Megatron"... Galvatron IS Megatron!

Part 6: "Trios!"

Oh, bugger.

On Cybertron, Impactor is ambushed by the Triple Changer team of Springer, Broadside, and Sandstorm and tagged with an inhibitor claw that renders him unable to transform. His close-combat skills prove insufficient to defeat the trio, but, determined to survive so that he can take part in Operation: Volcano, Impactor fights on. He manages to make a break for it, but Springer's prodigious leaping power allows him to outpace the Wreckers leader, and strike him down as he tries to run. Impactor waits for his opponents to deliver the final blow... but it doesn't come, as the Triple Changers simply depart, leaving Impactor with two things: a communicube, and the assurance they'll see him back at the Wreckers' secret base, Debris. The cube activates, relaying a communication from Xaaron, who reveals that the three Triple Changers the confused Impactor just got done fighting are actually Autobots he has drafted in to take Ultra Magnus's place on Operation: Volcano, and the ambush was staged to convince Impactor of their fighting prowess. Knowing that he's been outmaneuvered, a frustrated—but convinced—Impactor crushes the cube.

Back on Earth, Galvatron delights in relating his origins to Jazz. In his future, Twenty years from now, he explains, Megatron and Optimus Prime will have their final battle on the very spot Galvatron's weapon now occupies. Left badly wounded, Megatron was ejected into space by the ever-treacherous Starscream... where his broken body was found by the enigmatic planet-sized being known as Unicron. The monster planet offered Megatron a simple choice: serve him or die. Megatron chose the first option, and was upgraded into his new form: Galvatron. Discovering he was a slave to Unicron's will, able to be instantly, painfully punished for any indiscretion, Galvatron determined to be free of Unicron's influence, and travelled back in time to 1986, where Unicron could not reach him. Upon Galvatron's return to 2006, the weapon he has built here in the past will fire, destroying Unicron. Galvatron is about to tell Jazz his ulterior motive in selecting the weapon's construction site, but before he can, Cyclonus arrives to interrupt;

It's just a jump to the left...

he has returned from scouting the steel foundry and reports that Scourge has been taken by the Autobots. Additionally, he encountered Starscream in the vicinity, but rather than accept his offer of an alliance, Cyclonus simply beat out of him the information he now shares with Galvatron: Megatron is currently leading the Autobots! Jazz is amused by the irony of Megatron fighting Megatron and begins to laugh before an enraged Galvatron knocks him unconscious.

Shockwave returns to the Decepticon's Wyoming base, but is confused to find only Frenzy and Thundercracker present. Having only just arrived themselves after awakening in the almost-deserted Ark, they can't explain where the other Decepticons are—but the threesome soon find themselves with more pressing concerns to deal with, as, just like Optimus Prime, Ratchet, and Prowl before them, they are suddenly wracked with pain, and disappear in a flash of light. Their disappearance is connected to the arrival in the present day of three more time-travellers: a trio of Autobots from Galvatron's future of 2006 named Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr. But as they arrive, they feel a malevolent laughter echoing in their subconscious, spanning time and space... a laughter that is also heard by Galvatron, and which fills him with fear...

Part 7: "Prisoners of War!"

This is bad comedy!

Galvatron performs a test-firing of his super-weapon, choosing as his target the Decepticons' old spaceship, which has been in a cloaked orbit of Earth for four million years. As Cyclonus and Starscream—whose offer of an alliance has been accepted by Galvatron in the interim—look on, the ship is successfully obliterated, so Galvatron sets the cannon to recharge, after which he and his men can return to their own time. Cyclonus reminds Galvatron that the time has come to carry out the prisoner exchange they have arranged with the Autobots—Scourge in return for Jazz—and Galvatron grins at the prospect, remarking that Starscream has a key role to play in the procedure. Starscream is visibly ill at ease among the future Decepticons, and concerned by the destruction of their old ship, but Galvatron soothes his worries, even apologizing for the beating Cyclonus gave him earlier. At Galvatron's direction, Starscream transforms and flies off, which affords Cyclonus the opportunity to ask Galvatron why they need Starscream at all. The future Decepticon leader explains that Cyclonus is missing the delicious irony; Starscream thinks that by aiding Galvatron, he is ensuring a future for himself as Decepticon leader... when in reality, in 2006, Galvatron is the reason Starscream has no future!

Back at the Ark, with only twenty-two hours remaining before the launch of Operation: Volcano, Ultra Magnus laments his failure to locate any trace of Optimus Prime. His despair is interrupted by the arrival of Kup, Blurr, and Hot Rod, the latter greeting Magnus by genuflecting and speaking of the "power of the Matrix" within Magnus, before Kup hauls him to his feet with a whispered reminder that Magnus does not have the Matrix at this point in history. As Magnus and the future Autobots compare notes, Kup explains the key principle of time travel—a traveller must displace another being of comparable mass into interdimensional limbo to clear the way for their arrival. Realizing that it was the arrival of Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge that caused the disappearance—or rather, the "displacement"—of Prime, Ratchet, and Prowl, Magnus immediately speeds off to confront the Decepticons before the three future Autobots can say a word to stop him.

While the Autobots meet with Galvatron to perform the prisoner exchange, Megatron and Soundwave exploit the future Decepticon's absence from his camp to sneak in, examine the super-weapon, and round up the Constructicons. Only Cyclonus seems to be left standing guard; Megatron engages him while Soundwave attacks from behind, knocking Cyclonus out. The two Decepticons believe themselves victorious, but are unaware they have been duped into a trap—

they are caught off-guard when Starscream suddenly reappears to ambush them, blasting them both and knocking them offline.

At the prisoner exchange, Jetfire blusters about how the Autobots could have defeated Galvatron as easily as they beat Scourge, but Galvatron shuts him down by revealing he had anticipated their trickery, and telling them about the trap left for Megatron. Furthermore, Galvatron proves that the Autobots aren't the only ones capable of pulling a double-cross when he produces a device that, with the press of a button, reactivates Jazz's unconscious body. But Jazz's mind is not his own—he is under Galvatron's remote control! With the Autobots unwilling to fight back for fear of harming their comrade, the zombified Jazz mercilessly takes them all out one after the other, as Galvatron watches and gloats.

Shortly, Galvatron returns to his camp just in time to stop Starscream from acting against his orders and killing Megatron, knocking the treacherous Decepticon out. With all his enemies defeated, it looks like there's nobody left to stand against Galvatron... that is, until Ultra Magnus arrives on the scene!

Part 8: "You Haveta Ask?!"

Magnus offers Galvatron the choice to return to his own time by choice, or by force. Galvatron responds by opening fire on the Autobot, but Magnus dodges his blast, which singes the super-weapon instead. To avoid any further damage to the weapon, Galvatron attacks Magnus with his bare hands—a furious assault that quickly has Magnus on the ropes despite his own great strength. As they fight, Kup—watching the battle from afar with Hot Rod and Blurr—contacts Magnus over his internal communications sensors, informing him that the future Autobots have a plan that will send Galvatron back to 2006, but that Magnus must draw the Decepticon away for an hour or two while they set up their scheme.

The scariest knee in the Solar System.

Magnus dazzles Galvatron with his headlights, giving him an opening to transform to vehicle mode and drive off, but—just as planned—Galvatron gives chase, grabbing ahold of Magnus and climbing onto the roof of his trailer.

With Galvatron still clinging on, Magnus barrels down a human highway. Smashing through a barricade, he veers onto an off-ramp leading to an incomplete overpass, then slams on his brakes hard just before he reaches the edge. Galvatron's momentum carries him forward, hurling the future Decepticon over the edge of the overpass and into the ground below—but it's not enough to take him out of the fight for long, as he quickly recovers and blasts the overpass out from under Magnus's feet, bringing the Autobot down to his level. Evading fire from Galvatron's laser cannon mode, Ultra Magnus is nearing defeat, and is forced to enact a last, desperate gambit, grabbing a nearby fuel tanker and hurling it at Galvatron just as he opens fire once more. The tanker is hit by Galvatron's shots and explodes in a massive fireball, setting the whole surrounding area ablaze. For a moment, there is no sign of the two Transformers... and then, the silhouette of a victorious figure appears amid the flames, dragging his defeated opponent along with him. Unfortunately, the victor... is Galvatron!

Part 9: "Back to the Future!"

Great Scott! This is heavy!

Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr successfully lay the groundwork for their plan, recovering the inoperative Skywarp from the Ark and painting him to look like Starscream, setting up explosives on Galvatron's super weapon, knocking out Scourge and Cyclonus, then withdrawing with the body of the real Starscream to watch from their vantage point nearby. Presently, Galvatron returns with the defeated Ultra Magnus, and when he finds his lieutenants unconscious, immediately pins the blame on the conspicuously absent Starscream, just as the future Autobots intended. Next, they intend to detonate the explosives on the super-weapon, but before they can, the persistent Ultra Magnus drags himself toward Galvatron, unwittingly entering the blast radius and forcing the Autobots to stay their hands.

Not far away, Jetfire and the other Autobots are recovering from their attack at the hands of the remote-controlled Jazz, whose lobotomized body now stands motionless nearby. Smokescreen is determined to take the fight to Galvatron one more time, but Jetfire considers it hopeless given how many times they have failed against him. Smokescreen rebukes Jetfire, warning that Galvatron must be stopped now before he can use his time travel to strike again, at any moment, in the future or the past.

He done blowed up real good.

Refusing to give up, the battered Ultra Magnus tackles Galvatron, but is beaten back down and tossed aside by the Decepticon, which inadvertently moves him out of the explosive's blast radius. But once again, just before the trio can detonate the bombs, Smokescreen, Jetfire and their group show up and get between Galvatron and the fallen Magnus. Unable to wait any longer, Kup triggers the explosives anyway, hoping that the Autobots will have the sense to get clear. The bombs detonate the weapon's power core, tearing it apart and burying Galvatron under the flying shrapnel.

Minutes later, Galvatron bursts out of the wreckage, demanding to know who is responsible. Through a combination of remote-control and a concealed speaker, the future Autobots send the repainted Skywarp in to pose as Starscream and take credit for the act. Galvatron, overcome with rage, opens fire and destroys him. Once the red mist clears, Galvatron realises the enormity of what he has done. In the future of 2006, it is only thanks to Starscream jettisoning Megatron into space that Galvatron is even created... but if—as he has incorrectly been duped into believing—he has killed Starscream here, now, in 1986, then that future can never come to pass, meaning that he cannot be in his past, but in a parallel timeline, where no action he takes here will have any bearing on his future. Taking the revelation in his stride, Galvatron silently uses a hand-held device to transport himself, Scourge, and Cyclonus back to 2006, just as Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr planned... leaving the victorious future Autobots wondering what to do with the real Starscream!

Epilogue: "Aftermath!"

Peering back in time from 2006, Unicron reviews the fallout of Galvatron's failed plan. It turns out that Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr were his agents, snatched from future Earth, placed under subliminal mind-control, and sent back in time to foil Galvatron's scheme. Now that the three Autobots have returned the offline Starscream to cold storage, they too have returned to the future, all memory of their time in the past erased by Unicron. As a parting act, before returning his attention to events in his own time, Unicron implants the suggestion in Smokescreen's mind to one day build the first "Autobot City" on Earth on the site of Galvatron's weapon complex. But though both Unicron and the Autobots have emerged triumphant in their own ways, Ultra Magnus suddenly realizes where he has failed: his five days are up, and Operation: Volcano is about to begin... without him! Unable to wait for Optimus Prime's reappearance from limbo, he hurriedly departs for Cybertron.

On Cybertron, the trap that is Operation: Volcano has been baited: at the Imperial Amphitheatre, Emirate Xaaron gives a speech to twenty-two "Autobot resistance chiefs," who, in reality, are expendable facsimile constructs designed to lure the Decepticons in—not that the Insecticon spy Kickback knows that, as he surreptitiously observes the speech, then flits off to alert the Decepticons. The Wreckers, hiding nearby, detect his departure and ready themselves to face ten of the deadliest killers the Decepticon forces have, with or without Magnus.

Against all expectations, however... the attack never comes. Back on Earth, Laserbeak cuts Megatron and Soundwave free of the wreckage of Galvatron's super-weapon, and Megatron, thirsting for revenge, immediately contacts Cybertron to demand that all operations be ceased and focus instead be placed on reactivating the space bridge so that the Insecticons can be sent to Earth. The news is relayed to Dirge, leader of the impending attack, by Astrotrain; Dirge is furious, but can hardly disobey Megatron's orders. Not so the ambitious thug Macabre, who was already planning to go against Dirge's orders to take Xaaron alive, instead intending to make his name by killing the Autobot leader. While the other Decepticons head home, Macabre pushes ahead with the mission alone, and arrives at the amphitheatre just as a confused Impactor is informing Xaaron that the Decepticons have turned back. Macabre draws a bead on Xaaron and opens fire... but at the last second, Impactor spots him and pushes Xaaron out of the way, taking the shot in his place. The other Wreckers gun Macabre down, but it's too late for the fatally-wounded Impactor; with his final words, he tells Xaaron that he is content with his fate if it means Xaaron will live, appoints Springer leader of the Wreckers in his place, and dies in Xaaron's arms.

On Earth, Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet have returned from limbo. Prime delivers a speech to his battle-weary troops lamenting the losses they have suffered, but assuring them that, by working together and continuing to fight for good, the Autobots will always prevail.

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks; characters with a * also appear as facsimile constructs.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
Optimus Prime (1) Prowl (2) Grimlock (3) Swoop (4) Slag (5) Snarl (6) Sludge (7) Xaaron (12) Skater (13) Impactor (14) Autobot traitor (16) Roadbuster (17) Ratchet (18) Jazz (19) Bumblebee (20) Wheeljack (21) Ironhide (22) Hound (23) Gears (28, see "Errors") Trailbreaker (29) Matrix Flame priest (30) Smokescreen (34) Whirl (43) Ultra Magnus (44) Grapple (46) Jetfire (47) Mirage (48) Hoist (49) Brawn (50) Tracks (51) Topspin (56) Rack'n'Ruin (57) Twin Twist (61) Springer (66) Broadside (67) Sandstorm (68) Hot Rod (71) Kup (72) Blurr (73) Sideswipe (78, see "Errors")	Shrapnel* (15) Megatron (24) Starscream (27) Galvatron (31) Scourge (32) Cyclonus (33) Long Haul (35) Mixmaster (36) Scrapper (37) Hook (38) Scavenger (39) Bonecrusher (40) Laserbeak (41) Soundwave (42) "Life Spark" (45) Dirge* (52) Kickback* (53) Thrust* (54) Octane* (55) Bombshell* (58) Blitzwing* (59) Ramjet* (60) Fang (63) Frenzy (64) Thundercracker (65) Shockwave (70) Skywarp (74) Macabre (76) Astrotrain (77)	Rick (8) Tony (9) Joy Meadows (10) Buster Witwicky (25) Sparkplug Witwicky (26)	Centurion (11) Piano Transformer (62) Unicron (69) Autobot resistance chief F.C.s (75)

Quotes

"Ah, Laserbeak! Appearances may be deceiving to some, but not to you, eh?"

—Galvatron drops a hint about himself as Laserbeak perches onto his shoulder

"Autobots—I'm gravely disappointed. You come and visit me unannounced and then—to add insult to injury... You leave something behind you! Feel free to pop round and pick him up anytime!"

—Galvatron

"Defeat. A nasty, ugly word that leaves a nasty, ugly taste in the mouth."

—Ironhide

"We hit with everything we'd got. Thermal charges, high density lasers, staser bolts, fracture rockets...everything.
"And he just stood there...AND LAUGHED!"

—Ironhide recounts a failed attack on Galvatron

"With the chance of Magnus returning to Cybertron in time being so slim, you have made the right decision. No-one can blame you for dropping out. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just an idle thought really, not worth mentioning."
"Xaaron—unless what?"
"Well, it occurs to me that if Magnus doesn't return in time, history will judge you as having made the right decision... perhaps even one that would later give the Autobots their victory. You'd be a hero! However... if Magnus was to get back to Cybertron in time and you weren't ready..."
"Enough, enough! I get the picture... (You wily old buzzard!)"

—Xaaron plays Impactor like a harp

"I only agreed to this insanity on the condition that yours was purely an advisory role. I'm in command here!"
"Oh, really? In that case, perhaps you would like to lead the next strike against Galvatron. It certainly couldn't turn out to be any more catastrophic than last time."

—Jetfire and Megatron

"Until, at last, a victor emerges from the conflagration... AND IT IS GALVATRON!"

—The narration drops a bomb

"Does your pathetic Autobot Code demand sacrifices? Must I destroy you to stop you?"
"Yes."

—Galvatron pummels Ultra Magnus

"Tell your leader that someday, Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime will fight side-by-side!"

—Ultra Magnus ain't wrong!

"You - ack! - always were... a wily... old... buzzard..."

—Impactor's last words

Notes

Production notes

A sinister plot device looms.

• "Target: 2006" was conceived to promote toys from the new 1986 product line—in particular, the so-called "New Leaders" Galvatron and Ultra Magnus (right)—by tying in with the The Transformers: The Movie. The idea was seized on by Ian Rimmer as a way of using the movie to promote the comic to even more people, following the successful cross-media synergy the comic had employed in its promotion of the Special Teams a few months earlier. In defiance of the clear separation that had existed between the comic and animated series up to that point, "Target: 2006" presented the events of the movie as taking place in the future of the comic's timeline, and featured the film's cast of characters travelling back in time from a point during the film's events to interact with the present-day comic cast.
• This was all made possible by the fact that US writer Bob Budiansky was not going to be featuring the movie's cast or its future setting in the monthly American series, so the UK team had free reign to use them as they saw fit. Before this point, the UK-original stories had simply latched onto characters where they could, weaving between the gaps in the US material, but with the opening up of this whole new world, an entire UK-original ongoing storyline took shape, spanning over one hundred subsequent issues, as the future setting and characters became one of the most distinctive elements of the series. "Target: 2006" wound up being just the first of what fans would later refer to as the Marvel UK "epics": the extra-length "tentpole" serials that formed the backbone of this ongoing narrative, with stories set in both the future time period (including a handful of stories set before "Target: 2006" that fill in the backstory of the "future" timeline) and the present day, and with time travel between the two.
• Context is important to fully understand the way "Target: 2006" tells its story. Though The Transformers: The Movie had been released in the United States a month before "Target: 2006" began, the film wouldn't arrive in UK cinemas until a month after the serial concluded. As such, the whole story is really a "mystery box" to hype kids up for the upcoming film, obliquely teasing and drip-feeding information about its events (Galvatron's origins, who and what Unicron is, Ultra Magnus gaining the Matrix, Starscream dying at Galvatron's hands) which won't have the same effect on anyone reading the story today, years later, with full knowledge of the film's events. That being said, the story was written using not the finished film for reference, but an earlier revision of its script, which leads to certain incongruities; most notably, the finished film is set in the year 2005, not 2006. The series would stick with this date even after the film had been released, advancing the future setting in parallel with the real-life calendar (stories published in 1987 took place in 2007, stories from 1988 took place in 2008, etc.).

Continuity notes

• Following the events of the previous story, the Dinobots are revealed to have formally ceded from the Autobot ranks, disobeying Optimus Prime's orders and marching off on their own. This brings their status into line with the US stories; there, they had previously ceded in US issue #19, but that was edited out for the UK reprint.
• Emirate Xaaron makes his first appearance in the regular weekly comic, following his introduction in the 1985 Annual story, "And There Shall Come...a Leader!" The establishing shot of Iacon seen in the prologue is directly based on the city as it appeared in that story, and the narration notes that Autobase is located beneath the Celestial Temple also featured in it, from which Xaaron and the other councilors ruled.
• Though the landscape doesn't match, the flashback shown during Optimus Prime's speech in the prologue seems to depict the events of US issue #2, as Starscream captures Sparkplug Witwicky while Prime and Megatron fight in the background.
• The story doesn't specify at what precise point during The Transformers: The Movie Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge embark on their trip back through time. As it falls after Galvatron has been tortured by Unicron at least once, but at a point when Kup, Hot Rod, and Blurr are still on Earth (from where Unicron spirits them away), that allows us to position it after the destruction of Moonbase Two, but before Galvatron's attack on Autobot City: right after Galvatron orders "Decepticons, to Earth!"
• With both Optimus Prime's and second-in-command Prowl's disappearance (right), Autobot leadership falls to Jazz. Though the comic has never really indicated that Jazz possesses such clout in-story, this is in-keeping with the Autobot Who's Who published in issue #53, which identified him as a member of high command. Likewise, when Jazz is captured by Galvatron, Jetfire inherits command from him, also in accordance with that same Who's Who, despite Jetfire being a very recent addition to the Autobot ranks.
• Smokescreen recalls Omega Supreme's first time in action, in which he took out half-a-dozen Decepticons, as seen in US issue #19. The Autobots subsequently took these Decepticons' offline bodies into custody, and it is from this captivity that Starscream, Thundercracker, and Frenzy escape during this story. However, regarding Omega, see "Continuity and plotting errors," below.
• Both Megatron and Xaaron reference Straxus, the Decepticon leader on Cybertron featured in US issues #17-18. Straxus appeared to die in the latter of these; Xaaron says in the epilogue he is "gone," but in Part 1, Megatron speaks of him as if he were still alive, as future UK storylines will indeed reveal him to be.
• As the Autobots do not yet possess the ability to free travel between Earth and Cybertron in US issues, Ultra Magnus is specifically noted to make his trip to Earth via a dangerous, unstable prototype of the space bridge (right) designed by the scientist Spanner, who featured in US issues #17-18. Evidently Xaaron's Autobots recovered the prototype from Spanner's lab at some point after he was taken prisoner by the Decepticons and developed the finished space bridge for them.
• When the Autobots launch their attack on Galvatron's forces in Part 3, Mirage is the first to be taken out, and does not appear again throughout the story. Though he is not explicitly included in the list of Autobot casualties at the end of the serial, this would mark his final appearance in the comic until the many inactive characters were reactivated several years later, indicating his injuries put him on the offline list, reflecting his (unexplained) inactive status in concurrent US stories.
• The Decepticons' "deadliest killers" are made up of the Decepticons who appeared in Straxus's service in US issues #17-18 (the "conehead" jets and the Insecticons from the 1985 toy range). "Target: 2006" adds the Triple Changers (who will not appear in US stories for almost another year) to their ranks, and comic-original character Macabre, who only appears in the epilogue.
• The Decepticons' spacecraft was previously and only seen in issue #1, but see "Errors."
• As the story comes to a close, Jazz and Trailbreaker are placed on the injured list to match their status in the US storylines; however, see issue #93.
• Similarly, Starscream is returned to cold storage to match his US status, but Frenzy and Thundercracker are not. This ultimately doesn't matter very much, as the pair will never do anything of significance in either the US or UK comic again.
• The fate of Optimus Prime and the other Transformers who disappear is later revealed in issue #100.

Transformers references

• Part 3 sees Ironhide, last of the Autobots to fall, lying at Galvatron's feet as the Decepticon leader aims his cannon at his head (right). Is it a deliberate reference to Ironhide's fate at Megatron's hands in the upcoming movie?

Real-life references

• Part 1, "Apocalypse Then... Now!", takes its title from the 1979 movie, Apocalypse Now.
• Part 2, "Construction Time Again!", takes its title from the 1983 album by Depeche Mode.
• Part 9, "Back to the Future," is of course named after the 1985 movie of the same name.

Continuity and plotting errors

• "Target: 2006" is pretty careful about precisely which present-day characters appear, with so many different cast members having recently gone offline between both the US and UK storylines. However, with such a huge cast, a few errors were bound to creep through: Gears appears in both the prologue and Part 3, and Sideswipe shows up in a single panel of the epilogue, when both those characters were offlined in issue #50.
• Despite Smokescreen suggesting they do so, no reason is ever given for why the Autobots do not unleash Omega Supreme on the Decepticons, and Omega does not appear on-panel during the story. Over thirty years later, writer James Roberts intended to provide a retroactive explanation for this goof in his IDW Publishing series Lost Light, which would have revealed that Omega could not be called up to action because he had been knocked offline due to having his energon drained by a dimension-hopping Rewind, who had jumped into the Marvel universe from the 2005 IDW continuity as part of a complex ongoing sub-plot. This story never saw the light of day due to the comic ending earlier than planned.
• Ultra Magnus's clock shows how much time is passing over the five days. About twenty-three hours elapse between Magnus's arrival in Part 3 and the start of Part 5, which is fine, but then, by Part 7, a further seventy five hours have elapsed. Though there's a more significant lapse of time between Parts 6 and 7 than there is between other chapters (with the Autobots and Decepticons arranging a prisoner exchange and Starscream being brought aboard by Galvatron all off-panel between installments), it does not feel like three whole days have gone by. Further, from there, the remainder of the story has to take place over a full day, but the sky never changes colour and nobody comments on the day changing.
• In Part 2, while recounting his origin (right), Cyclonus claims that he was recreated from a Decepticon named "Life Spark." No such Decepticon has ever been heard of before; in fact, this line is a result of writer Simon Furman misinterpreting a revised version of Cyclonus's bio, which was in turn based on an early version of the script for the movie, in which Cyclonus was created from the "life spark"—that is, the bodliess lifeforce—of a long-dead Decepticon, not from a Decepticon actually named "Life Spark." In Furman's defense, though, the wording of said bio is very unfortunate.
• Part 3 concludes with Ironhide uncovering a still-unconscious Megatron and Soundwave and kneeling next to them. In part 5, however, a flashback to this scene instead shows Megatron busting out of the rubble during Ironhide's rescue attempt and throttling him.
• Part 6 explicitly dates the events of "Target: 2006" to October 1986 (the future Autobots key the date "11th October 1986" into the time machine, which was the publication date of the... previous issue, so that was probably a goof). However, the story immediately following this one, a reprint of US issue #21, takes place on 4th July, and is not edited to change this fact.
• The epilogue explicitly states that the Wreckers will be going up against "ten" of the Decepticons' deadliest killers, which fits in theory (three coneheads, three Insecticons, three Triple Changers, and Macabre, pictured at right, makes ten)... except the art shows only nine of the characters, with Astrotrain arriving to deliver a message, rather than to take part in the attack. If he wasn't the tenth, who was?
• Speaking of these killers; perhaps not an error, but it's certainly odd to see Dirge leading the group, when one of their number, Shrapnel was presented as a high-ranking officer in US issues #17-18.
• Galvatron screams that Ultra Magnus will "kill them both this way!" as he threatens to careen off of an unfinished overpass. Even if he doesn't want Ultra Magnus to die so as to not disturb the past, he shouldn't be worried about death, given that he survived a point-blank blast from Megatron's fusion cannon as well as the combined assault of several Autobots with no apparent damage.

Artwork and technical errors

Prologue

Uh... what are you doing, Xaaron?

• The yellow details on Optimus Prime's pelvis are uncoloured throughout this issue.
• Page 2: Prowl's hands are coloured blue-black on this page, instead of white.
• Page 4: It seems as if artist Jeff Anderson intended for Impactor to have a long, narrow, arm-mounted gun on his left arm; there's a yellow greeblie attached to his shoulder in panel 3, and in panel 4, a yellow gun barrel awkwardly extends past his fist (right). This weapon would disappear in Anderon's subsequent renderings of Impactor during "Target: 2006," but other artists would reference these panels when drawing the character, misinterpreting Anderson's apparent intent and rendering it as being in Impactor's hand; in Part 2, Will Simpson draws Impactor with an ordinary gun held in his hand, while in Part 4, Ron Smith reinterprets the barrel as a kind of baton or club Impactor wields in battle. Also, Impactor's got a hand-held gun in an ankle-holster on his right leg... but he doesn't have a hand on his right arm, so he's not going to be able to draw it!
• Page 4-5: Here and throughout "Target: 2006," Shrapnel appears with the early colour scheme seen in US issue #18, which gives him a silver face with a visor, purple boots, and solid purple arms. With the exception of his boots, these features make him look more like his action figure, and match how he looks in the animated series, but they weren't used on his finalized Marvel character model, seen in later issues. At intermittent points during the story, however, he does have black biceps like those used on his final Marvel model; they appear in this chapter on page 4, panel 6.
• Page 6, panel 4: Starscream's helmet and forearms are white instead of blue, and the red stripes on his wings are missing. His left "vent ear" is coloured red, like the exhaust intakes on either side of his head, instead of the same colour as his helmet, and his cockpit canopy is grey instead of orange.
• Page 8, panel 3: Trailbreaker's legs, poking in from off-panel, are coloured yellow.
• Pages 9–11: On these pages, and these pages only, Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge are drawn based on their toys, as the completed character models had not yet been made available to the artist. In fact, the finished models would never make it into the comic; for the rest of "Target: 2006," and all of their future appearances in both UK and US comics, the future Autobots and Decepticons are drawn based on early character designs and colour schemes that wound up being further revised for the finished film. All the characters are affected in some way by this, but the most notable one is Galvatron, who appears in the mostly-grey colour scheme also used for his toy, versus the predominantly purple colours seen in the film and animated series.

Part 1

• Throughout this chapter, Megatron's Decepticon symbol is off-center, a recurring error first seen in US issue #3 that results from misinterpreting some poor perspective drawing on his character model.
• Also throughout this chapter, and indeed, the whole first half of "Target: 2006," Cyclonus has an entirely purple body and silver head (see right) a very early colour scheme devised for a protoype version of the toy, seen in the Toy Fair 1986 catalogue. The back half of the story uses corrected colours closer to the released toy, starting from Part 5.
• Galvatron's got something similar going on; per his finalized colour model, his whole "belt buckle" should be red, but for most of "Target: 2006," it's only the square in its center that's red (which is accurate to his toy), with the rest of it being the same silver-grey as his body. In this chapter, however, the red square is consistently missing!
• Laserbeak is consistently coloured with an orange beak in this chapter; it's a quirk derived from his toy's package art, but it's not part of the toy itself, nor should he have it here, as it's not part of his standard comic colour model.
• Page 4: Jazz has orange vents in his cheekguards that aren't normally there. They disappear later in the issue.
• Page 5, panel 1: As with past UK stories, proper colour models still don't seem to be have been available for the Constructicons at the time of "Target: 2006," as they continue to be coloured in random, inconsistent applications of their basic purple-and-green all through the serial. Most notable in this panel are Scrapper's purple payloader bucket, and Hook's purple head and crane arm (right).
• Page 6: Galvatron's shoulder pylons are purple instead of grey on this whole page.
• Page 7: Galvatron's pylons are still coloured purple in panels showing him from behind, but the correct grey in panels showing him from the front. The consistency of this error would suggest it was present on the colour models colourist Tony Jozwiak was referencing.
• Page 8: Soundwave's arms are solid blue on this page; his forearms should be white. Additionally, his shoulder cannon disappears in panel 2, and his normally-yellow eyes are left white (right).
• Page 9, panel 4: Mixmaster's right arm is coloured purple instead of green like his left; it looks as if Jozwiak mistook it for Bonecrusher's torso, who's standing right behind Mixmaster (right). Of course, that's still wrong, as Bonecrusher's torso should be green, but like we said, nobody in the UK has figured out how to colour the Constructicons correctly yet.
• Page 10: Impactor has two hands, instead of a harpoon in place of his right. Also, his hands switch from their correct yellow to an incorrect purple in panel 6.
• Page 11: Ultra Magnus's chestplate is coloured white instead of blue; this was presumably the result of an early version of the Magnus figure which featured this colour difference (photographs of which appear on his toy packaging) being used as reference. Additionally, his eyes are the same colour as the rest of his face, instead of the dark blue they will be on his finalized Marvel colour model. Barring instances noted below, these errors persist for the entirety of "Target: 2006."

Part 2

• Pages 1–2: Jazz says the Constructicons have "almost covered the whole crater" with solar panels, but we can see that less than half the crater is covered.
• Page 3: Due to artist Will Simpson using the toys' package art for reference (as he often does), Jazz now suddenly has his shoulder-mounted missile launcher (right). The weapon wasn't included on his character model, and so, as a rule, wasn't part of his standard appearance in the comics.
• Pages 3–5: Ultra Magnus's missiles are miscoloured white instead of red on pages 3, 4, and 5.
• Page 3, panel 6: The outside of Ultra Magnus's leg is coloured white instead of blue, making his legs solid white. This extends to his feet, as well; they should actually be coloured solid blue, but throughout the entirety of "Target: 2006," are instead incorrectly rendered with the same two-tone half-blue, half-white colour scheme as the rest of his legs.
• Page 7, panel 6: Ultra Magnus's missile launcher is miscoloured blue instead of white, and there's no missile in it.
• Pages 9–11: As in past issues, Jetfire is once again coloured in the early, outdated colour scheme seen in US issues #11-12, with all-red wings. He will have this colour scheme for most of "Target: 2006," appearing in his correct colours only in Parts 5 and 7. Here, he's also visibly missing his Autobot insignia on pages 9 and 10, and when it does show up on page 11, it's incorrectly coloured in Decepticon purple.

Part 3

• Throughout this chapter, Wheeljack is coloured in the early colour scheme originally seen in issue #31, with red shoulder fins instead of white, and missing the red details on his torso.
• Page 2, panel 6: Jetfire's Autobot symbol is again coloured Decepticon-purple (right).
• Page 3, panels 2 & 4: Jetfire is missing not just his symbol, but his backpack and his wings as well.
• Page 5, panel 3: Grapple's thighs are orange instead of black.
• Page 6, panel 2: Gears's helmet is blue instead of red.
• Page 7, panel 2: Brawn's legs are coloured silver like his arms and head, instead of their correct olive green.
• Pages 9–10: As in Part 1, Galvatron's missing the red from his "belt buckle" again. Also, his thighs are consistently grey instead of purple.
• Page 11: Soundwave is missing his shoulder cannon.

Part 4

• Page 1:
  • Panel 1: The Octane facsimile construct is mis-coloured as Blitzwing. Kickback's got a very reddish-orange chest and antennae, instead of their normal yellow and also has a visor instead of individual eyes; technically this is how he should look, per his finalized character model, but in his other Marvel appearances, he's drawn to the specifications of an earlier model with individual eyes. These errors repeat in the recreation of the panel on page 11, panel 5.
  • Panel 2: Impactor is coloured in a colder, more blue-r shade of purple here than he is in the rest of the issue, and he's drawn with visor-goggles instead of individual eyes.
• Page 2, panels 2-3: Shrapnel again has the black biceps of his finalized Marvel colour model, while otherwise being in an early colour scheme (see "Prologue" errors).
• Page 3: On this page and throughout the issue, the top of Thrust's conehead is red instead of grey (right). On this page specifically, though coloured their correct grey/black in panel 1, on the rest of the page, Thrust's forearms are red. Additionally, his arm-guns have red stripes on them, when they should be entirely red the full length of their barrels.

Part 5

It's like an orange on a toothpick.

• Throughout this chapter, Starscream remains in the incorrect colour scheme seen in the prologue, with a silver-white helmet and forearms. Page 2 reveals the raised, curved jet housing on the backs of legs are red instead of white.
• Page 2: Trailbreaker's radio jammer is coloured green, as if it were a part of the background.
• Pages 5–6: Ultra Magnus is absolutely colossal, with his head alone being about the size of Hound's whole torso. Additionally, his eyes are yellow in this chapter, when they're normally the same silver-white as the rest of his face (right).
• Page 6, panel 1: Rack'n'Ruin are coloured grey and purple. It's not block-colouring, like the other figures in the background of this panel; they're a variety of distinct shades.
• Pages 7–8: As previously seen in issue #62, Tracks is again coloured using his toy packaging art as reference, meaning he has a black face instead of a red one. His missile launchers are also blue instead of white.
• Page 8, panel 3: Hoist's shoulder-fins are green instead of orange.
• Page 10, panel 2: Grapple's thigh is orange instead of blue-black.
• Page 11, panel 2: Galvatron's shoulder-pylons are purple instead of grey, and he's gained a red stripe across the top of his torso. His thighs are also grey instead of purple again.

Part 6

• Throughout this chapter, Broadside is coloured almost entirely grey, with only a few small red and blue highlights. Per his finalized Marvel colour model, his head and arms should be blue, and his legs red, among other parts of him.
• Galvatron continues to be in the incorrect colours seen in the previous chapter, with purple shoulder-pylons and a red stripe on his torso. This chapter, we can also see that his belt is entirely red, which is neither accurate to the toy nor to his finalized Marvel colours.
• Like other characters in "Target: 2006", the three future Autobots all appear in early colour schemes that do not match either the finalized Marvel colours that will be seen in future issues, their toys, or the movie itself. Blurr and Kup make use of various shades of aqua-blue-green (when their finalized colours will make them various shades of blue and grey), while Hot Rod is mostly a pinkish-red, versus the dark fuchsia the comics will later use. His boots switch from cartoon-accurate grey on Page 9 to also being pinkish-red with white feet on page 11.
• Thundercracker's got a grey face inside a blue helmet (right); per his standard Marvel colours, his face and helmet should both be blue-black. Same goes for his forearms and boots, which are also coloured grey here. Additionally, his eyes are yellow instead of red, and his pectorals are grey instead of white.
• Page 9, panel 6: Blurr's chest colours are inverted; his windshield is coloured grey and his abdomen is a pale blueish-green, but it should be the other way around.
• Page 11: Of course, here, Blurr's entire torso is bright green, so whatever.

Part 7

Is there room in this pocket for a little spare Chang?

• Tony Jozwiak's watercolour colouring on this issue is a bit iffy compared to his other work on the serial. Excessive metallic swirling and darkly saturated colours (particularly greys and purples) lead a lot of figures to bleed together and for the detail and composition of individual panels to become lost. Previously seen colouring errors continue and/or return; Galvatron's thighs are grey instead of purple, Brawn's legs are grey instead of green, and Track's face is still black instead of red.
• Starscream's colours get even more messed up this issue; though his forearms are now the correct blue, he continues to appear with a white helmet and cockpit canopy, and his "pecs" are now blue (like they have been in the US series prior to this point), while the rest of his shoulder/chest intake assembly is red.
• Hot Rod's got pinkish-red boots and feet in this chapter.
• Page 1: The Decepticons' spacecraft is drawn based on its appearance in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1," rather than how it looked in the first issue of the comic itself (right).
• Pages 2–3: Galvatron is missing the red square on his belt buckle; it's correctly coloured in later pages of this chapter.
• Pages 5–6: Galvatron's shoulder-pylons are purple instead of grey again. They're coloured correctly in the rest of the issue.
• Page 6: For this page only, Cyclonus snaps back to the incorrect colour scheme from earlier chapters, with an all-silver head.
• Page 6-7: Soundwave is missing the yellow border around his chest door, except for in the second panel of page 7.
• Page 8, panel 1: Blurr's helmet is silver-white, like the background behind him, instead of blue.
• Page 9, panel 1: Jetfire's right wing is solid red; his left is coloured correctly (white with a red stripe).
• Page 10: Despite not being coloured this way anywhere else in the issue, the circular details on Starscream's shoulder intakes (based on stickers on his toy) are coloured yellow and white on this page. The colours are reversed from the actual toy: white circles on a yellow background, instead of vice versa. In panels 4 and 6, only the front panels of his pecs are blue instead of the whole things (right).
• Page 11: Ultra Magnus's right hand is blue instead of white. The outsides of his right leg and both feet are white instead of blue.

Part 8

• For this chapter, Ultra Magnus has the correct, dark-blue eyes of his finalized Marvel colour scheme, which don't appear anywhere else in "Target: 2006."
• Galvatron's ever-changing colours have changed again; this chapter, his shoulder pylons are red, and he's got an entirely red belt (right).
• Page 4, panel 2: ...except in this panel, where his pylons are the correct grey.
• Page 5, panel 6: The side portions of Ultra Magnus's chestplate are the correct blue here, but the rest of it is still the incorrect white it is throughout the serial.
• Page 6, panel 6: Hot Rod is entirely pinkish-red, spoiler, face, and all. Blurr's got the green torso from Part 6, page 11 again. Kup's face and helmet are the same shade of grey both here and on the next page; his face should be lighter.
• Page 7, panel 4: The sides of Ultra Magnus's chestplate are now red.
• Page 8, panel 3: Now they're blue again.
• Page 11, panel 3: Robot anatomy gets the better of artist Geoff Senior in this iconic panel (in the synopsis, above); Ultra Magnus's arms are positioned for maximum drama, but they don't appear to actually be connected to his body in any way that makes sense.

Part 9

• The illustration of Galvatron on this issue's cover is directly copied from his character model.
• Recurring colouring errors: Galvatron's thighs are consistently coloured grey instead of purple; Starscream is still coloured as he was in Part 7, with a white helmet and canopy and blue pecs; Track's face is black instead of red; and Jetfire's back in his early colour model with solid red wings.
• Jozwiak has trouble keeping his colours consistent on Blurr through this issue; in some panels, his face and windshield are a (toy-accurate) greenish-blue, but in others, they're just straight-up green (right).
• Page 3:
  • Panel 1: Save for his chest door and eyes, Soundwave is coloured solid blue.
  • Panel 5: Broadside gains a lot of the red detail that was missing from his appearance in Part 6, but his helmet's still solid grey, instead of blue with red ears.

Epilogue

• Broadside's still got a grey head and arms on the cover and interior of this issue.
• One last time: Galvatron's got grey thighs; Starscream's got a white helmet and canopy and blue pecs; Jetfire's got solid-red wings; Laserbeak's got an orange beak; and Tracks has grey missile launchers and a white face.
• In the realm of new consistent colouring errors, like Thrust in Part 4, the tip of Dirge's conehead is blue instead of grey.
• Page 4: Ultra Magnus's missile launchers are coloured: solid blue in panel 4, solid red in panel 6, and solid yellow—miscoloured as if they were part of the block-coloured Smokescreen in the background—in panel 6.
• Page 7: Magnus's missile launchers are now coloured: solid red in panel 3, and solid white in panel 5.
• Page 8:
  • Panel 1: Shrapnel's helmet is white instead of black. Also, he and Bombshell are different colours; he's a greenish colour, and Bombshell is blue, when they should both be the same shade of blue-black.
  • Panel 5: The "and" is missing from Impactor's cry of "Wreck and Rule."
• Page 11, panels 1 and 6: The wheels on Optimus Prime's hips are coloured red instead of black (right).

Time-travel and parallel universes

Time travel can be confusing, and the resolution of "Target: 2006" hinges on that. Here are a few points (and potential errors?) to consider while reading this adventure:

• Galvatron's not being uncharacteristically merciful when he spares the Autobots' lives; he actually can't kill them, because doing so will alter history. Not that they know this!
• The story plays out as if the Autobots have "tricked" Galvatron into thinking he is in a parallel dimension by having him kill Skywarp instead of Starscream (right)... but since Skywarp was also alive during The Transformers: The Movie, doesn't that mean that his death in 1986 would still split the timeline, just like Galvatron thinks Starscream's has? And that Galvatron really is in a parallel dimension? Of course, later issues of the series will reveal that Skywarp's not actually dead, so this question solves itself...
• ...except the longer the comic's run continues, the more events occur that make it almost impossible for the movie to take place in the comic timeline's future—with the most prominent being that Unicron eventually arrives in 1990, sixteen years early, firmly relegating the "movie future" to a parallel timeline from the main one. Whether this was always the case, and Galvatron actually jumped timestreams to get to this version of the past, or whether his arrival in the past is the event that caused the timelines to split, we'll leave you to ponder for yourself...
• ...but consider this last little thing. It's implied that the site Galvatron chooses to build his weapon will be the site of the future Autobot City, so that when the weapon fires in 2006 it will destroy both the city and Unicron. Obviously this never happens, so this isn't the reason the timelines diverge, but if Galvatron had succeeded in his plans, he would have left the Autobots knowing there was a slag-off great cannon buried under there. So why would they have ever gone on to build their city on top of it? Timeline altered!

Other trivia

• Aside from all the movie-related stuff, "Target: 2006" is also famous for introducing two of, if not the, most famous UK-original ideas, which between them have gone on to appear in almost every major iteration of the Transformers franchise virtually unchanged in concept: Maccadam's Old Oil House, the Cybertronian watering hole where all factions are welcome (right), and the down-and-dirty Autobot commando unit, the Wreckers. The Wreckers' ranks are different in every continuity, of course, but here, along with comic-original characters Impactor and Rack'n'Ruin, they are made up entirely of characters from both the 1985 and 1986 toy ranges chosen specifically because they were not appearing in the US comic; the Autobot Deluxe Vehicles, the Jumpstarters, and the Autobot Triple Changers. That the Deluxe Vehicles weren't even available in UK toy stores evidently didn't matter to Simon Furman!
• Ladybird Books would borrow the basic premise of this story (Optimus Prime disappearing and Ultra Magnus coming from Cybertron, and Galvatron travelling back in time to usurp Megatron) for their 1986 books "Galvatron's Air Attack" and "Decepticon Hideout."
• This story's entire premise is rooted in what should rightly be an incorrect belief: Galvatron thinks that the omnipotent Unicron can be destroyed by the cannon he creates, when the Matrix is stated by the film to be the "one thing, the only thing" that can stop Unicron. Unicron's dialogue on the subject is vague enough that it's unclear if the story is written from the position that Galvatron is right, but certainly, future stories would thoroughly abandon the idea that conventional weaponry would be enough to destroy Unicron.
• According to Jeff Anderson's website, the splash page of Galvatron, Scourge, and Cyclonus in #78 was evidently stolen by parties unknown along with another piece of artwork. If you see it, won't you be a doll and contact him or Simon Furman?

Back-up material

Issue #78:

• Back-up strips: Hercules ("Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 1) and Robo-Capers

Issue #79:

• Back-up strips: Hercules ("Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 2) and Robo-Capers
• Free Gift: Part 1 of a 2-part "New Leaders" poster, featuring Ultra Magnus (right)

Issue #80:

• Back-up strips: Robo-Capers and Hercules ("Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 3)
• Free Gift: Part 2 of a 2-part "New Leaders" poster, featuring Galvatron (right)

Issue #81:

• Back-up strips: Robo-Capers and Hercules ("Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 4)
• Fact File: Ultra Magnus (right). Rather than a reprinting of his Universe profile, as with past Fact Files, this original write-up provides Magnus's backstory, revealing that he was built over the course of several years to boost the Autobot rebels' morale by giving them an inspirational figure to look up to, and was brought to life by the Matrix Flame. It describes his shoulder-mounted weapons as neutron missiles, a detail that appears to originate from an early character model for Magnus where they were labelled as "nutron missiles".
• Free Gift: Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars sticker album and a pack of stickers

Issue #82:

• Back-up strips: Robo-Capers and Hercules ("...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 1)
• Free Gift: Another pack of Secret Wars stickers

Issue #83:

• Back-up strips: Robo-Capers and Hercules ("...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 2)
• Other features: Cybertron: The Middle Years!, a text piece detailing the history of Cybertron following the departure of Optimus Prime and Megatron's crews, covering the rise and fall of Decepticon warlord Trannis (a UK-original character first mentioned in the "Target: 2006" prologue), the sacking of Iacon, Xaaron's formation of the Autobot rebel network, Trannis's assassination by the Wreckers, and Straxus's rise to replace him.

Issue #84:

• Back-up strips: Hercules ("...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 3) and Robo-Capers

Issue #85:

• Back-up strips: Hercules ("...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 4) and Robo-Capers; Hercules concludes this issue.
• Other features: Hercules pin-up

Issue #86:

• Back-up strips: Robo-Capers and Spitfire and the Troubleshooters ("Beginnings," Part 1); Spitfire and the Troubleshooters begins this issue.

Issue #87:

• Back-up strips: Spitfire and the Troubleshooters ("Beginnings," Part 2) and Robo-Capers; Swoop appears in this issue's Robo-Capers in a rare example of "real" Transformers featuring in the strip.
• Fact File: Galvatron (right). A companion piece to Issue #81's Ultra Magnus Fact File, featuring art from issue #1 of the comic book adaptation of the movie. As with Ultra Magnus's profile, details from Galvatron's character model were carried over into the text, such as being equipped with a laser targeting computer and his robot mode weapon being a proton rocket cannon.

Issue #88:

• Back-up strips: Spitfire and the Troubleshooters ("Beginnings," Part 3) and Robo-Capers; this issue's Robo-Capers features Optimus Prime introducing Transformers who "didn't make the grade."

Foreign Localizations

Swedish

• Title: I siktet: 2006 ("Target: 2006")

• Cyclonus' monologue in Part 2 is changed to mention his Spark being taken by Unicron.
• Similarly, Galvatron's threat at the beginning of Part 8 is changed to mention tearing Magnus' Spark Chamber out.
• Impactor's description of Xaaron is changed to "Sly old Turbofox".
• The chambers that the deactivated Decepticons are stored in are named as CR chambers.

Covers (11)

• Issue #78: Prowl, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime disappearing into limbo, by Alister Pearson.
• Issue #79: Galvatron and Ultra Magnus, by John Higgins.
• Issue #80: Ultra Magnus arrives, by John Stokes.
• Issue #81: Galvatron stands over vanquished Autobots, by Will Simpson.
• Issue #82: the Wreckers, by Phil Gascoine.
• Issue #83: Scourge being blasted, by Robin Smith.

• 
  Issue #78
• 
  Issue #79
• 
  Issue #80
• 
  Issue #81
• 
  Issue #82
• 
  Issue #83

• Issue #84: Galvatron and Unicron, by Phil Gascoine.
• Issue #85: Jazz is possessed by Galvatron, by Robin Smith.
• Issue #86: Ultra Magnus fighting Galvatron, by Robin Smith.
• Issue #87: Galvatron poses by his weapon, by Phil Gascoine.
• Issue #88: the Wreckers, by Geoff Senior.

• 
  Issue #84
• 
  Issue #85
• 
  Issue #86
• 
  Issue #87
• 
  Issue #88

Reprints

• 
  Collected Comics #15 (Marvel UK, 1990; reprints prologue and Parts 1–2)
• 
  Transformers: Target: 2006 TPB (Titan Books, 2002)
• 
  Transformers: Target: 2006 hardcover (Titan Books, 2002; Transforce 2002 exclusive)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #1 Cover A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints prologue & Part 1)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #1 Cover B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints prologue & Part 1)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #1 Cover RI-A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints prologue & Part 1)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #1 Cover RI-B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints prologue & Part 1)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #2 Cover A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 2–3)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #2 Cover B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 2–3)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #2 Cover RI-A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 2–3)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #2 Cover RI-B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 2–3)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #3 Cover A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 4–5)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #3 Cover B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 4–5)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #3 Cover RI-A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 4–5)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #3 Cover RI-B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 4–5)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #4 Cover A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 6–8)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #4 Cover B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 6–8)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #4 Cover RI-A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 6–8)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #4 Cover RI-B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 6–8)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #5 Cover A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Part 9 & epilogue)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #5 Cover B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Part 9 & epilogue)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #5 Cover RI-A (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Part 9 & epilogue)
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 #5 Cover RI-B (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Part 9 & epilogue)
• 
  The Best of Simon Furman (IDW Publishing, 2007; reprints Parts 3 & 8
• 
  The Transformers: Target: 2006 TPB (IDW Publishing, 2008)
• 
  Pack-in with Universe Ratbat vs. Springer (Hasbro, 2008; reprints Parts 4–5)
• 
  The Transformers Classics UK Volume 3 (IDW Publishing, 2012)
• 
  Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection, Vol. 6: Target: 2006 (Hachette Partworks Ltd, 2016)
• 
  Transformers: I siktet 2006 (Ades Media, 2021)

Reprint notes

• Marvel UK intended to reprint all of Target: 2006 in Collected Comics #15-18, but after the first issue was released, those plans were abruptly curtailed when the master artwork for the next three parts was lost in the mail. With only days to go, Marvel had to quickly put together a new version of issue #16, printing different stories instead, and later issuing an explanation and apology on the editorial page of issue #276. Hinting at the original intent, Collected Comics #16 still re-uses issue #84's cover (right), despite its content being unrelated.
• The hardback edition of Titan's graphic novel collection exclusive to the unofficial UK convention Transforce 2002 was misprinted, with the final eight pages of the story appearing in reverse order. Titan offered a free replacement, but many fans kept the original—partially because of the novelty, but mostly because they had just got it signed by Simon Furman.
• The reprint included with the Universe Ratbat vs. Springer two-pack wasn't actually supposed to come with that set. Rather, it was meant to be included with the "Target: 2006"-themed Roadbuster vs. Dirge set, while Springer and Ratbat were supposed to be packaged with War Within: The Dark Ages #2, but the two comics were accidentally swapped. This printing altered two uses of the word "damn" to "darn", to be more friendly to American children.
• At some point, CardsOne, a company that deals in vintage comics, trading cards, and collectibles, acquired a large stock of unsold copies of IDW's Target: 2006 #3 Cover B, and sold them via Dollar Tree stores during the Summer of 2014.