Life in the Slow Lane

« The Transformers (UK) #266 »
"Life in the Slow Lane"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	14th April 1990
Cover date	21st April 1990
Writer	Simon Furman
Pencils	Pete Knifton
Inks	Pete Venters
Lettering	Glib
Cover	Andy Wildman
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity/Earthforce

Will the Autobots lose to Megatron's Decepticons... or Shockwave's Decepticons?

Synopsis

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

Backstory!

On Route 43 between Jacksonville to New Orleans, a speeding motorist has been stopped by a cop who explains that, here in Louisiana, folks take things slowly. Suddenly, Jazz and Sunstreaker speed past and crash through a field. Sunstreaker is worried about his bodywork but Jazz reminds him that Skydive screwed up by using an open channel to report the location of the missing Decepticon satellite and, if they don't get there soon, the Decepticons will reach it first and Prowl's sacrifice will be in vain.

Some miles away, the satellite lies crashed. Prowl succeeded in stopping it from releasing Megatron's gas and triggering global warming, but the canisters of gas remain intact next to it—a prize to be captured by Megatron's Decepticons... or Shockwave's Decepticons! Megatron has dispatched Runabout and Runamuck to retrieve the gas, but Shockwave has sent Dead End and Drag Strip. All are determined to stop the Autobots reaching the gas. On arrival, the Decepticons promptly start fighting each other.

Moments later, Jazz and Sunstreaker arrive and are concerned as the Decepticons are between them and the canisters. Jazz is saddened as it means Prowl's sacrifice was in vain. But then a local man comes up to them and tells them someone wants to speak to them. They follow him and discover Prowl alive and well! Local residents have been helping patch him up and he's already neutralised the gas. He points out that, in Louisiana, life is taken at a slower pace and so suggests they sit back, have a rest and enjoy watching the Decepticons battle it out.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Jazz (3) Sunstreaker (4) Prowl (5)	Megatron (6) Runabout (7) Runamuck (8) Drag Strip (9) Dead End (10)	Motorist (1) Louisiana cop (2) Louisiana resident (11)

Quotes

"Blast it! Sorry Prowl. Let you down badly on this one, good buddy. You'd have got here first! Always lived life in the fast lane - guess you died that way too!"

—Jazz

"What's happened to you, Prowl? What happened to life in-?"
"The fast lane? You's in Louisiana now. Ease back, take your time. Enjoy life in the slow lane for a change!"

—A baffled Jazz and mellow Prowl

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• TBD

Continuity errors

• The Battlechargers are presented as Megatron's Decepticons. Their very last strip, not to mention the upcoming US strips, had them with Shockwave!

Continuity notes

• The Stunticons are Shockwave's Decepticons. In subsequent strips they're with Megatron but Motormaster was with Shockers in "Two Steps Back!", so they could have defected after this.
• This is the start of the Decepticon factional rivalry that will continue until "Internal Affairs!".

Real-life references

• TBD

Other trivia

• TBD

Back-up material

• Additional Transformers story: "Blood on the Tracks"
• Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Manoeuvring for Position" and Combat Colin

Cover

• Issue #266 cover: Jazz and Sunstreaker play Dukes of Hazzard, by Andy Wildman.

• 
  Issue #266

Reprints

• Transformers: Earthforce cover: Grimlock thumps a table — crop of the cover to UK issue #263, by Stephen Baskerville.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 20: End of the Road: Bludgeon (art reused from Dreamwave's More than Meets the Eye profiles) above an interior scene of Grimlock punching through Fangry (from US issue #80), by Andrew Wildman.

• 
  Transformers: Earthforce
  (Titan Books, 2005)
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 20: End of the Road
  (Hachette Partworks, 2018)