Transformers Combat Data

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Bear in mind, that's not just a Cybertronian green-screen CRT - it's a Cybertronian green-screen CRT in Rodimus Prime's day.
"Transformers Combat Data"
Publisher	Hasbro
Cover date	1987
Art by	Mark Watts, possibly others

"Transformers Combat Data" is one in a series of mail-order flyers included with Generation 1 toys, offering various Transformers which had either been discontinued from the main line or had never been available in retail. A loose narrative involves some of them in a followup to the story from the previous flyer in the series.

Synopsis

Portions of this flyer are written in the second person, recruiting the reader into S.T.A.R.S. and suggesting that they should get personally involved in the battle. As with other S.T.A.R.S.-related material, we treat the flyer as though it exists within its own fiction.

C'mon, Warpath, at least try to hit him!

Rodimus Prime's hand is seen at a computer terminal, accessing combat data on a battle called "Digital Doom..." Where previously he had been narrating the story of that battle, it is unclear now how this new information is being presented. Nevertheless, the reader learns that Cliffjumper (who had not been seen in the previous depiction of the battle), Warpath, and Cosmos were ordered to retreat in order to avoid Thundercracker's "force field". Optimus Prime believed that the convoy's only hope of success was for the Mini-Autobots to get help.

Then quickly, Sylvester McMonkey McBean put together a very peculiar machine.

The reader is told that they need to "update" their "weapon systems and Transformers vehicles" to engage in the "action." Individual descriptions of Optimus and the Mini-Autobots are presented, as well as the Decepticons Megatron, Thundercracker, and Reflector. The reader is then given a hearty pitch to join S.T.A.R.S., with elaborate promises that had not been seen for some time. The price of membership has even been reduced, allegedly because of advancements in Transformers technology.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Cliffjumper (3) Cosmos (5) Optimus Prime (6) Rodimus Prime (1) Warpath (4)	Megatron (7) Reflector (8) Thundercracker (2)

Notes

• This continues a loose story that runs through a few years' worth of toy pack-in flyers. The micro-continuity, taken at face value, cannot fit within any known larger continuity; however, the "unreliable narrator" factor prevents any declarations on the matter.
• Unlike the previous flyer, this one tries harder to involve the reader as a part of the story. Unfortunately, it also brings up a temporal problem: The idea that S.T.A.R.S. recruits can contribute to the fight makes little sense if this battle is a thing of the past, the subject of Rodimus Prime's lecture. The other S.T.A.R.S. fiction seems to occupy a time period in the mid-1980s, so it's possible that the "Digital Doom" messages are being sent back in time from Rodimus's day in order to affect the battle's outcome. Or, more likely, the writers weren't investing much thought into their throwaway toy-ad copy.
• It's still unclear what Megatron and Thundercracker are doing to the Autobot convoy that's so disastrous. Thundercracker is described again as being able to "zap the power supply of his enemies," though elsewhere the Minibots are said to be escaping his "force field," which usually means something else.
• Items available in this brochure include:
  • Optimus Prime ($21.50 + 5 robot points or $25 without)
  • Megatron ($21.50 + 5 robot points or $25 without)
  • Thundercracker ($10 + 2 robot points or $11.50 without)
  • Reflector ($10 + 2 robot points or $11.50 without)
  • Cosmos ($3.50 + 1 robot point or $4.25 without)
  • Warpath ($3.50 + 1 robot point or $4.25 without)
  • Cliffjumper ($3.50 + 1 robot point or $4.25 without). Like the previous flyer, "Cliffjumper" is actually Hubcap. This time he's even drawn into the battle scene, still Hubcappy as all get-out! The toy's instructions showed both Hubcap and Cliffjumper.
  • S.T.A.R.S. membership, now reduced to $5.00 thanks to "a more efficient use of Transformers energy and technology".
• This lineup is identical to the previous flyer, but without the Autobot cars Mirage, Ratchet, Sunstreaker, and Wheeljack. It is unknown why they were dropped, as they would appear again in the next flyer.