Target: 2006

« The Transformers (UK) #78–88 »
They have better things to do tonight than die!
"Target: 2006"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Script	Simon Furman
Art	Jeff Anderson (78-79, 81, 87), Ron Smith (82), Geoff Senior (83-84, 86)
Pencils	Will Simpson (80, 85, 88)
Inks	Tim Perkins (80, 85, 88)
Colours	Tony Jozwiak (78-81, 85, 87), John Burns (82), Gina Hart (84,86,88)
Letters	Richard Starkings (78,82-85,88), Annie Halfacree (79-81,86-87)
Editor	Ian Rimmer
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge travel back in time with a plan to destroy Unicron.

Synopsis

It took 1.21 jiggawatts to get this image

Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge travel back to 1986 from 2006 to escape Unicron. The time travel device causes three Autobots - Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet - to be displaced to a holding dimension. Ironhide, Jazz and Hound go to spy on the Decepticons, certain that they are to blame for their leader's disappearance.

Galvatron usurps command of the 'local' Decepticons from Megatron, burying his former self and Soundwave under a rock fall. Then he takes the Constructicons off to begin building a giant laser cannon. The cannon will fire upon his return to 2006, destroying Unicron.

On Cybertron, the Matrix Flame, the embodiment of the Creation Matrix, is extinguished as Optimus Prime is removed from this reality. As a result Autobot resistance leader Emirate Xaaron sends Ultra Magnus to Earth to hunt for the missing Autobot leader and the Creation Matrix, despite him being a crucial part of Operation: Volcano, an Autobot plan to lure the Decepticons' most vicious killers into the open and destroy them.

On Earth Jazz is captured by Galvatron and tortured to provoke the Autobots into making a hasty attack. Unwilling to interrupt his mission, Ultra Magnus refuses to accompany his fellow Autobots.

File:2006-1.jpg

Galvatron indulges in his passion for S&M.

The Autobots are humiliated by Galvatron and decide they need help. So they dig Megatron out from the rock fall and ally themselves with him. Under Megatron's leadership they successfully capture Scourge and plan to exchange him for Jazz. Starscream, seeking to gain power for himself betrays Megatron and the Autobots to Galvatron.

Galvatron tricks the Autobots by unleashing a remote controlled Jazz at the exchange, inflicting yet another defeat on them. While the exchange is underway Megatron attempts to destroy Galvatron's weapon but is surprised by Starscream and knocked unconscious.

Come and 'ave a go if you think you're 'ard enough.

Back in 2006, Unicron realises what Galvatron is planning and takes mental control of Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr and sends them back in time to sabotage Galvatron's plan. In 1986 they tell Ultra Magnus that Optimus Prime’s disappearance is related to Galvatron and he agrees to help them send him back to his own time.

Ultra Magnus attacks Galvatron and the two battle each other, keeping Galvatron distracted while Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr prepare their plan. Once they are ready they use a remote controlled Skywarp, disguised as Starscream, to destroy Galvatron’s weapon.

Enraged, Galvatron destroys “Starscream”. Knowing that Starscream is not destined to die until 2006 he becomes convinced that he had travelled back in time to a dimension other than his own and that nothing he achieves here will affect his future. He reluctantly decides to abandon his plan and returns to 2006 where he is punished by Unicron.

Satisfied with himself, Unicron returns Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr to the future. Once Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge return to their own time, Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet return.

Ultra Magnus returns to Cybertron only to find that he is too late, Operation: Volcano has begun. The leader of the Wreckers, Impactor, dies saving Xaaron’s life, but the plan comes to nothing as Megatron contacts Cybertron and orders the Decepticons to abort their attack and return to their headquarters for transport to Earth.

Cybertron: The Middle Years!

Included in issue #83 was a short text history of Cybertron during the years Optimus Prime and Megatron's crews were lost on Earth. It chronicled the rise of Trannis, the fall of the Council of Autobot Elders, the establishment of the Autobot resistance under the leadership of Xaaron, the fall of Trannis at the hands of the Wreckers, and the rise of Trannis's successor Straxus.

Featured Characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others	Facsimile Constructs
Optimus Prime (1) Prowl (2) Grimlock (3) Sludge (4) Slag (5) Snarl (6) Swoop (7) Emirate Xaaron (9) Skater (10) Impactor (11) Autobot traitor (13) Roadbuster (14) Ratchet (15) Jazz (16) Bumblebee (17) Wheeljack (18) Ironhide (19) Hound (20) Gears (23) Smokescreen (33) Whirl (35) Ultra Magnus (36) Grapple (37) Jetfire (38) Mirage (39) Hoist (40) Trailbreaker (41) Tracks (42) Brawn (43) Topspin (52) Rack'n'Ruin (53) Twin Twist (54) Broadside (59) Springer (60) Sandstorm (61) Kup (65) Hot Rod (66) Blurr (67)	Shrapnel (12) Megatron (21) Starscream (22) Galvatron (24) Scourge (25) Cyclonus (26) Bonecrusher (27) Hook (28) Scrapper (29) Mixmaster (30) Long Haul (31) Laserbeak (32) Soundwave (34) Fang (56) Frenzy (57) Thundercracker (58) Shockwave (63) Skywarp (69) Thrust (70) Blitzwing (71) Octane (72) Macabre (73) Ramjet (74) Bombshell (75) Dirge (76) Astrotrain (77)	Joy Meadows (8)	Piano Transformer guy (55) Unicron (62)	Dirge (44) Kickback (45) Octane (46) Thrust (47) Shrapnel (48) Bombshell (49) Blitzwing (50) Ramjet (51) Starscream (68)

Errors

• It is implied that Galvatron builds his weapon on the site of the future Autobot City so that when the weapon fires in 2006 it will destroy Autobot City and Unicron. He states it will be "hidden underground", but it's not mentioned how it'll get underground - we could be charitable and assume there is a way, but why would the Autobots build their city where they know a slag-off great cannon was buried?
• On page 5 of issue #81, Jetfire's backpack suddenly disappears for a single frame.
• On the first and last pages of issue #82, the Octane facsimile construct is mis-colored as Blitzwing.
• The Autobots do not use Omega Supreme. This would normally be an item of interest and not an error, except that we are reminded that Omega Supreme exists, that he is powerful enough to kill lots of Decepticons, and Smokescreen actually says "Now there's a thought! Why not sic Omega on them?" (referring to the Constructicons, Megatron, Soundwave and Laserbeak when it is assumed they are involved in the disapperance of Prime, Prowl and Ratchet) in Part 1. No reason is ever given why they don't use him against Galvatron and he is not shown in any scenes in the entire story.
• Part 4 has the Wreckers training against nine facsimile constructs that represent the "deadliest killers". Then, the final part establishes Operation: Volcano will kill the ten deadliest killers - while the art only shows nine of them (Astrotrain turns up but doesn't seem to have been expected by the others). Did the tenth just decide to have a lie-in?

Items of note

• This is the epic Transformers story that everyone remembers from the UK comics. Events in this story cause ramifications over the next 150 issues.
• Ladybird Books would borrow the premise of this story for their 1986 books.
• The Movie was originally planned to take place in 2006 but was changed to 2005 very late in production by which time Target 2006 had already been given a title. As a result, all of the UK comics future stories were set twenty years in the future of the 'real' year.
• Galvatron time jumps just at the point in the Movie after he says "Decepticons, to Earth."
• According to Galvatron in issue #78, Earth has a weather control system as of 1995. Our Earth is clearly behind schedule.
• This story has it that Unicron's physical form can be destroyed by weapons technology (albeit really powerful weapons) and not just the Matrix - Unicron himself refers to the cannon being able to destroy him. The idea of Unicron being defeatable by Transformer weaponry has never turned up again.
• The character designs for Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge in issue #78 are based on the toys rather than the Movie look as the issue was designed before the artist got to see the Movie designs.
• For this story and all future appearances Galvatron would appear in his grey and purple toy colour scheme rather than the Movie's predominantly purple colour.
• Simon Furman reused issue #78's sequence with Emirate Xaaron and captions about the Autobot movement going literally underground almost verbatim when he took over the US strip some years later.
• The drawing of Galvatron on the cover of issue #84 is a slightly altered tracing of his character model.
• The fate of Optimus Prime and the other Transformers who disappear is revealed in #100's "Distant Thunder!"
• In terms of story chronology, this is the fourth UK "future" story centering on the movie cast. It's preceded by the Shockwave segment of "Aspects of Evil!". The next story, chronologically, is "Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!" and the subsequent titles.
• Chapter subtitles:
  • Issue #78—Prologue
  • Issue #79—Apocalypse Then...Now!
  • Issue #80—Construction Time Again!
  • Issue #81—Defeat!
  • Issue #82—Wreck and Rule!
  • Issue #83—The Devil You Know...
  • Issue #84—Trios!
  • Issue #85—Prisoners of War!
  • Issue #86—You Haveta Ask?!
  • Issue #87—Back to the Future!
  • Issue #88—Aftermath!

Back-Up Stories

Issue #78:

• Hercules — "Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 1
• Robo-Capers

Issue #79:

• Hercules — "Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 2
• Robo-Capers

Issue #80:

• Hercules — "Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 3
• Robo-Capers

Issue #81:

• Hercules — "Whom the Gods Would Destroy!" Part 4
• Robo-Capers

Issue #82:

• Hercules — "...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 1
• Robo-Capers

Issue #83:

• Cybertron: The Middle Years! (see above)
• Hercules — "...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 2
• Robo-Capers

Issue #84:

• Hercules — "...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 3
• Robo-Capers

Issue #85:

• Hercules — "...Not Just Another Galactus Story!" Part 4
• Robo-Capers

Issue #86:

• Spitfire and the Troubleshooters — "Beginnings" Part 1
• Robo-Capers

Issue #87:

• Spitfire and the Troubleshooters — "Beginnings" Part 2
• Robo-Capers

Issue #88:

• Spitfire and the Troubleshooters — "Beginnings" Part 3
• Robo-Capers

Reprints

• Reprinted as a Trade Paperback by Titan Books in August 2002. A hardback version with an exclusive cover was made available at the Transforce 2002 convention in the UK. However, the convention version was misprinted, with the final eight pages of the story appearing in reverse order. Titan offered a free replacement, but many fans kept the original — partially because of the novelty, but mostly because they had just got it signed by Simon Furman.
• Reprinted in 5 parts by IDW in 2007 as part of their Generations series, with nearly 100 variant covers.
• The IDW reprints were then inevitably collected in a TPB, released January 2008.
• Parts 5 and 6 were reprinted as a single comic book issue as a pack-in (erroneously) included with Universe Ratbat vs. Springer. (It was supposed to be packed in with the Roadbuster vs. Dirge set, which was "Target: 2006"-themed.) This printing altered two uses of the word "damn" to "darn," a word more friendly to American children.

Covers (34)

• UK issue #78
  UK issue #78
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  UK issue #79
• UK issue #80
  UK issue #80
• UK issue #81
  UK issue #81
• UK issue #82
  UK issue #82
• UK issue #83
  UK issue #83
• 
  UK issue #84
• 
  UK issue #85
• 
  UK issue #86
• 
  UK issue #87
• 
  UK issue #88
• 
  Titan Target: 2006 TPB
• 
  Titan Target: 2006 HC
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #1 A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #1 B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #1 RI-A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #1 RI-B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #2 A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #2 B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #2 RI-A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #2 RI-B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #3 A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #3 B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #3 RI-A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #3 RI-B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #4 A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #4 B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #4 RI-A
• 
  'IDW Target: 2006 #4 RI-B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #5 A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #5 B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #5 RI-A
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 #5 RI-B
• 
  IDW Target: 2006 TPB

• UK issue #78 cover: Prowl, Ratchet & Optimus Prime disappearing into limbo, by Alister Pearson.
• UK issue #79 cover: Galvatron and Ultra Magnus, by John Higgins.
• UK issue #80 cover: Ultra Magnus arrives, by John Stokes.
• UK issue #81 cover: Galvatron stands over vanquished Autobots, by Will Simpson.
• UK issue #82 cover: the Wreckers, by Phil Gascoine.
• UK issue #83 cover: Scourge being blasted, by Robin Smith.
• UK issue #84 cover: Galvatron & Unicron by Phil Gascoine.
• UK issue #85 cover: Jazz is possessed by Galvatron, by Robin Smith.
• UK issue #86 cover: Ultra Magnus fighting Galvatron, by Robin Smith.
• UK issue #87 cover: Galvatron poses by his weapon, by Phil Gascoine.
• UK issue #88 cover: the Wreckers, by Geoff Senior.
• Titan TPB cover: Galvatron in shadow, by Geoff Senior.
• Transforce Titan hardcover: Galvatron shoots at Ultra Magnus by Lee Sullivan.
• IDW issue #1 cover A: Galvatron, Scourge & Cyclonus arrive in 1986, art by Nick Roche, colors by Rob Ruffolo.
• IDW issue #1 cover B: Galvatron, Scourge & Cyclonus arrive in 1986, by Jeff Anderson.
• IDW issue #1 Retail Incentive cover A: sketch of cover A, by Nick Roche.
• IDW issue #1 Retail Incentive cover B: panels of UK issue #78, by Jeff Anderson.
• IDW issue #2 cover A: Cyclonus & Ultra Magnus fight by Hound's prone body, by Nick Roche, colors by Rob Ruffolo.
• IDW issue #2 cover B: Galvatron's ultimate weapon, by Will Simpson colors by Tony Jozwiak.
• IDW issue #2 Retail Incentive cover A: sketch of cover A, by Nick Roche.
• IDW issue #2 Retail Incentive cover B: panels from UK issue #81, by Jeff Anderson.
• IDW issue #3 cover A: the Wreckers, art by Nick Roche, colors by Rob Ruffolo.
• IDW issue #3 cover B: Wreck & Rule!, by Ron Smith.
• IDW issue #3 Retail Incentive cover A: sketch of cover A, by Nick Roche.
• IDW issue #3 Retail Incentive cover B: panels from UK issue #82, by Ron Smith.
• IDW issue #4 cover A: Brawn choked by a zombie-controlled Jazz, by Nick Roche, colors by Rob Ruffolo.
• IDW issue #4 cover B: Galvatron riding Ultra Magnus, by Geoff Senior.
• IDW issue #4 Retail Incentive cover A: sketch of cover A, by Nick Roche.
• IDW issue #4 Retail Incentive cover B: panels from UK issue #86, by Will Simpson.
• IDW issue #5 cover A: Ultra Magnus versus Galvatron, art by Nick Roche, colors by Rob Ruffolo.
• IDW issue #5 cover B: Starscream is obliterated, by Jeff Anderson, colors by Tony Jozwiak.
• IDW issue #5 Retail Incentive cover A: sketch of cover A, by Nick Roche.
• IDW issue #5 Retail Incentive cover B: panels from UK issue #88 by Will Simpson.
• IDW TPB cover: reuse of IDW issue #5 cover A.