Transformers Comic-Taschenbuch issue 4

« Transformers Comic-Taschenbuch #4
Wait they could have just reused the original covers this whole time?
Publisher	Condor Verlag
First published	1991
Editor	Wolfgang M. Biehler
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity
Price	4 DM

Contents

Transformers in Action: "ARK, please respond...!"

Optimus Prime debriefs his men, berating them for relying too much on their blasters and not any of their other abilities; they have told the humans they reject violence, but are showing the opposite. When one Action Master protests that they have little time to think strategically in combat, Prime points out that in the Action Masters's last battle, if he'd not fired in a panic but alerted the other Autobots they could have collectively backed the enemy into a corner.

To prove his point, Prime shows computer simulation of past battles. In the first, Goldbug acts rashly and ends up injured, while Quickmix has Pretenders and the Rescue Patrol distract the Decepticon while he uses his freezing blaster instead of energy blasters to capture him. In the second, Decepticons have captured holidaymakers at Pacific Beach and Dreadwing and Airstriker have the hostages at gunpoint; the Mega Pretender leader asks Optimus what to do, instead of using the Pretender's hologram projectors for diversion or creating an electromagnetic force field. He shows more and more strategies, arguing the Autobots need to use 'soft defence' strategies rather than force an arms race that the Decepticons will follow suit with and that can only lead in Earth being destroyed.

The computer simulations also show Optimus making a mistake, which led to him getting surrounded by the enemy! He urges his soldiers to think before firing.(source)

Reprints

• The Transformers (Marvel US) #31 - "Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom"
• The Transformers (Marvel US) #32 - "Used Autobots"
• The Transformers (Marvel US) #33 - ""Man of Iron" Part 1 & 2"
• The Transformers (Marvel US) #34 - ""Man of Iron" Part 3 & 4"

Notes

• The story introduces an Autobot team named the "Predabots". A group of the same name appeared several decades later in comic stories published by IDW.
• The story also introduces a Decepticon named Airstriker.
• Seriously? The mere fact that the Autobots use computer simulations is treated as top secret information? And the mere knowledge of this fact will allow the Decepticons to adjust their tactics and take away the Autobots' advantage?
• Optimus Prime's policy behind insisting on "soft defense techniques" is a thinly-veiled criticism of the nuclear arms race and the "deterrent" policy that were prevalent during the Cold War. Remember, writer Robert Mann had grown up in West Germany, the country that would have become a potential battleground had the Cold War ever become hot. Mann therefore argues that the arms race would inevitably lead to disaster, because both sides would just keep upgrading their weapons even more until they finally felt the need to actually use their Weapons Of Kill Everything. However, it could be argued that the alternative Mann presents, refraining from any sort of violence and exclusively using strategies instead of weapons, doesn't really work in combat either. After all, even the best teamwork by itself won't do much against enemies who shoot lasers! One might almost get the impression that Robert Mann really doesn't understand combat…
• Ladies and gentlemen, we might have a first here! German Optimus Prime, the perfect infallible leader who always perfectly strategizes and constantly criticizes all his troops for their rash actions, finally admits being guilty of the same errors. Mark that day in your calendars, my friends!

Errors

• When Optimus Prime criticizes Goldbug's actions based on his computer simulation, there is a quotation mark missing when Optimus's direct speech resumes in the German version.
• It appears Robert Mann was not aware of what exactly "Pacific Beach" is, since the text gives it a definite article, specifically one with a female grammatical gender. The only way for this to even make grammatical sense in German in the first place would be if the word "Stadt" ("city") had been omitted, which would justify both the article and its gender, but even that makes no sense since there is no separate city named "Pacific Beach". While the name could alternatively refer to a district of San Diego or a census-designated place in Washington State, according to German grammar rules, both options would dictate that its grammatical gender should be neutral, without an article.

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