External Forces!

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"External Forces!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	25th August 1990
Cover date	1st September 1990
Writer	Simon Furman
Pencils	Pete Knifton
Inks	Pete Venters
Lettering	Julie Hughes
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity/Earthforce

Starscream and Soundwave fight as the true plotters are revealed...

Synopsis

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

Starscream returns to the Decepticon base and attacks Soundwave, demanding to know why he hired the assassins. Soundwave denies doing so and, via a prerecorded message to allow him time to fight, explains that, although he had ample reason, if he had wanted Starscream dead he would have either made it look like an accident or employed professionals—employing amateurs is not his method. Starscream agrees, and they ponder who would benefit the most if one or both died. But before they can think further, the base is invaded by Bludgeon, Octopunch, and Stranglehold. They have been sent to kill the survivor, but realise they can now charge double.

Outside, a squad of Autobots observes the new arrivals and realise it complicates their plans to capture Starscream alive. However, this is at odds with the plans of two further arrivals—Megatron and Shockwave!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Ironhide (6) Grimlock (7) Prowl (8) Sludge (9) Slag (10) Swoop (11)	Starscream (1) Soundwave (2) Octopunch (3) Bludgeon (4) Stranglehold (5) Megatron (12) Shockwave (13)

Quotes

"The Louisiana Bayou and Starscream announces his return to the Decepticon base...[Starscream explodes through the base wall]...in his own subtle style!"

—The Narrator gets sassy.

"Why, Soundwave? Why did you try to kill me?"
"I didn't. But as I will shortly be too busy defending myself to make a speech about it...here's one I prepared earlier!"

—Starscream and Soundwave

"Well, looky here! We're being paid to kill whoever survived! Guess we get to charge double!"

—Bludgeon loves his job.

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• Despite knowing that a furious Starscream will come after him, Soundwave is not wearing his shoulder cannon.

Continuity errors

• TBD

Continuity notes

• When Prowl gets frustrated with Grimlock, he literally thinks of a brick.

Real-life references

• TBD

Other trivia

• TBD

Back-up material

• Additional Transformers story: "Kings of the Wild Frontier."
• Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Into the Breach" and Combat Colin
• AtoZ: Trailbreaker and Trypticon

Cover

• Issue #285 cover: Starscream prepares to destroy Soundwave, by Stewart Johnson.

• 
  Issue #285

Reprints

• Transformers: Fallen Star : Megatron and Shockwave fight at Memphis Airport. Cropped from the cover of issue #277, art by Stewart Johnson.
• 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.

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