The 4,000,000 Year Itch!

« The Transformers (UK) #280 »
"The 4,000,000 Year Itch!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Cover date	28th July 1990
Writer	Simon Furman
Art	Jeff Anderson
Letters	Stuart Bartlett
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity/Earthforce

Every so often Slag goes berserk!

Synopsis

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

Prime.

All Transformers fight to control their savage inner selves, but most control them with emotional dampers. However, Slag was built without these and so constantly struggles to keep it at bay. Occasionally, he loses the struggle...

Swoop, Sludge, and Snarl struggle desperately to keep Slag under control as Grimlock tells them to keep him quiet. For Grimlock is showing Optimus Prime around Autobot Earthbase and, if he discovers Slag's breakdown, then it's dangerous for the Dinobot. The last time it happened was four million years ago on Cybertron when he wiped out his entire unit before the other Dinobots could get to him.

Grimlock insists on giving Optimus Prime a formal tour to prevent him finding out, whilst the others do their best. Prime keeps hearing minor noises, forcing Grimlock to come up with explanations. Luck plays its part too, distracting Prime at key moments. Eventually, Slag transforms and chases the other Dinobots through the base and burns their backsides.

Soon Slag collapses, the rage solved, whilst Optimus Prime heads off to settle down to business. Swoop expresses his relief that this only happens every four million years.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots
Slag (1) Swoop (2) Sludge (3) Snarl (4) Grimlock (5) Optimus Prime (6)

Notes

Continuity notes

• The Dinobots covered up the murder of an entire unit so their mate wouldn't get in trouble. Holy crap!

Real-life references

• The title derives from the film The Seven Year Itch.

Other trivia

• This particular quirk of Slag's was mentioned as one of his weaknesses in the Classics profile printed by Fun Publications, despite the UK material not being included in the backstory for that splinter timeline.

Back-up material

• Additional Transformers story: "...All Fall Down!"
• Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Cut and Freeze Dried" and Combat Colin
• AtoZ: Steeljaw and Superion

Covers (3)

• 
  Issue #280 - "I probably shouldn't have put the Liquid Heat in Slag's jockstrap!"
• 
  Earthforce - This court will now come to pieces!
• 
  Best of Grimlock - I'll tell you once again, who's bad?

• Issue #280 cover: Swoop tries to keep Slag from smashing through a door, art by ???
• Earthforce cover: Grimlock smashes something, art by John Marshall and Stephen Baskerville.
• Best of Grimlock cover: Grimlock broods, art by Klaus Scherwinski.

Reprints

• 2006 — Transformers: Earthforce
• 2010 — The Transformers: Best of Grimlock