Spotlight: Blaster

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<tr style="background-color:#e7d492;text-align:center;font-size:12px;"> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center"> <table width="100%" style="background-color:transparent">

<tr style="font-size:14px;"> <td class="tti_buttonlink">« </td><td align="center">The Transformers: Spotlight #11 </td><td align="right" class="tti_buttonlink">» </td></tr> <tr class="tt1_secondarynav"> <td class="tti_buttonlink"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="right" class="tti_buttonlink"> </td></tr></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center"> <img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/5/57/Spotlight_Blaster_a.jpg/230px-Spotlight_Blaster_a.jpg" width="230" height="348" border="0" /><br />The Voice </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center"> "The Transformers Spotlight: Blaster" </td></tr> <tr> <td>Publisher </td><td> IDW Publishing </td></tr> <tr> <td>Date published </td><td> January 23, 2008 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Cover date </td><td> January 2008 </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Written by </td><td> Simon Furman </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Art by </td><td> Emiliano Santalucia </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Colors by </td><td> Josh Burcham </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Color assist by </td><td> Andrew Elder, Liam Shalloo, Espen Grundetjern </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Letters by </td><td> Neil Uyetake </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Edits by </td><td> Chris Ryall and Andrew Steven Harris </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Continuity </td><td> IDW continuity </td></tr> <tr> <td>Chronology </td><td> Devastation </td></tr>

</table> Blaster attempts to foil a plot on his life.

Synopsis

Blaster was once an Autobot broadcaster under the stage name of "The Voice." However, it was long after he was thought dead that he was found by Ku'arn, captain of the Yar Star Trawler. This came as somewhat of a shock to Silverbolt, aboard the Autobot Orbital Command Hub. However, he was quickly taken aboard and repaired by Perceptor. The famous media personality was forced to admit that even he didn't know the circumstances of his near-death, his memories of the time just one big blank. Silverbolt tells Blaster that it was always assumed to be an inside job, as the proximity and precision needed could only have been pulled off by an Autobot.

Left to his own devices aboard the Command Hub, Blaster finds himself unable to escape the paranoia of what happened to him. Though he's greeted warmly by his fellow Autobots after his return from the dead, he can't help but wonder if one of them was the one that shot him. Worse still, he knows that they expect "The Voice," a persona he just can't muster anymore after his traumatic experience. He endeavors to catch up on the time during his absence, but his paranoia turns out to be justified as an unseen assailant takes another shot at him, then disappears into the corridors of the station.

Again the security monitors show nothing, Perceptor discovering that the assassin was using a sensor-jamming technology that prevented his identity from being discovered. Blaster decides to take matters into his own hands and bait the assassin—he goes to the broadcast station and announces that "The Voice" has returned, and will soon be transmitting live to all outposts. After the announcement, Blaster reminisces about his broadcasting days before preparing. He has Perceptor cross-reference the personnel rosters from his old orbital array with Autobots presently aboard the Command Hub. This yields four suspects: Mirage, Beachcomber, Inferno and Bluestreak. All four were within striking distance on the orbital array and were still aboard the Command Hub. Blaster admits that before the incident he would have trusted any of them with his life.

As the broadcast begins, Perceptor is interrupted in his monitoring by the assassin, who makes his way down the corridor to Blaster. Tossing a grenade into the broadcast station, he watches the blast doors seal off the breach, his grisly task seemingly accomplished. However, Blaster reveals that he was not actually in the broadcast station, and with disbelief, confronts the assassin—his old comrade Beachcomber. The normally pacifistic Autobot admits that he can't control his own actions, having been implanted with a cerebro-shell by Soundwave and Bombshell, and tasked with silencing Blaster.

Finally managing to override the control mechanism, Beachcomber collapses. Back in the repair bay, Perceptor expresses doubt he will ever recover, the act of defeating the cerebro-shell managed to burn out a significant portion of his neo-cortex. Blaster expresses anger at the whole affair and vows to find Soundwave so that he can ensure the last thing his Decepticon rival hears will be the sound of his voice.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

<table border="5" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" align="center" style="border:#800000"> <tr> <th style="background:#FFEEEE"> Autobots</th><th style="background:#EEEEFE"> Decepticons</th><th style="background:#FFEEB8"> Others </th></tr> <tr> <td style="background:#FFEEEE" valign="top">

• Blaster (1)
• Silverbolt (2)
• Perceptor (4)
• Nightbeat (5)
• Springer (6)
• Fortress Maximus (7)
• Trailbreaker (8)
• Bluestreak (9)
• Inferno (10)
• Beachcomber (11)
• Kup (12)
• Broadside (13)
• Jazz (14)
• Smokescreen (15)
• Mirage (19)

</td><td style="background:#EEEEFE" valign="top">

• Spinister (16)
• Trypticon (17)
• Predacons (18)
• Soundwave (20)
• Bombshell (21)

</td><td style="background:#FFEEB8" valign="top">

• Ku'arn (3)

</td></tr></table>

Errors

• In the flashbacks to the past where the Autobots are huddled, waiting for Blaster's broadcast, Broadside is colored tan instead of his usual gray.
• Maybe not an error, but Fortress Maximus's shoulder's design differs from the one seen in "Spotlight: Arcee".

Items of note

• Blaster was shown on the Command Hub during Stormbringer, which would have set this story as happening before then—however, Simon Furman has said that Blaster-looking figure was someone else all along...

• While Stormbringer initially presented Cybertron as being rendered uninhabitable following Thunderwing's rampage, Spotlight: Blaster shows it remained inhabitable long enough for Autobot & Decepticon forces to continue battling on it for a short time afterward. Whether this was a genuine attempt to grab territory (when you consider that, post-Thunderwing, it would be obvious Cybertron was dying) or simply an attempt by the Decepticons to kill Autobots is unknown.

• The Decepticons recovered from Thunderwing's rampage earlier than the Autobots.

• Bluestreak's color scheme, featuring a blue helmet with a yellow crest, is based on the character's original box art rather than his Generation 1 toy or character model, which feature a silver or gray helmet with a red crest.

Cameos

• Silverbolt's Hub crew and visitors: Kick-Off, Pincher, Searchlight, Gunrunner, Crosshairs, Downshift, Overdrive, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker, Inferno, Cosmos, Beachcomber, Dogfight, Backstreet, Override
• Autobots on Cybertron post-Thunderwing: Getaway, Kup, Huffer, Broadside, Jazz, Smokescreen, Landfill
• Decepticons on Cybertron post-Thunderwing: Divebomb, Headstrong, Rampage, Razorclaw, Trypticon, Spinister, Needlenose, Dreadwind, Darkwing

Covers (2)

File:Spotlight-blaster-cover-color.jpg

Blaster can JAM!

• Cover A: Blaster, classic look by Emiliano Santalucia and Jeremy Roberts
• Cover RI: Blaster, cassette-bots and rock band by Alex Milne and Josh Perez

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