Infiltration issue 0

The Transformers: Infiltration #0 »
Freeze man, before I pop a cap in your afterburner.
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	October 19, 2005
Cover date	October 2005
Written by	Simon Furman
Art by	E. J. Su
Colors by	John Rauch
Letters by	Tom B. Long & Robbie Robbins
Edits by	Chris Ryall
Continuity	IDW continuity
Chronology	Infiltration

A young woman steals an item from a businessman that turns out to be more than meets the eye.

Synopsis

At a bus station in Phoenix, Arizona, young Verity Carlo is picking her marks when she spies a high-end palmtop PC in use by an anonymous businessman. Unknown to all, he's being tracked by someone, or something, in the guise of a black sports car.

Using a stolen ticket, Verity hops onto the same Los Angeles-bound coach as the businessman and while he's napping she lifts his palmtop. Helped along by a rancid bagel, Verity feigns illness and is left at the side of the road. The coach takes off, followed closely behind by two seemingly normal sports cars.

Verity sticks out her thumb at the next car and is picked up by an intense young man, Hunter O'Nion, who is rather self-conscious about his last name. Hunter takes a sudden detour and the pair discover that Verity's coach has been run off the road by two sports cars. Everyone's okay, except that the businessman whose palmtop Verity stole is missing.

After lots of prodding by Verity, Hunter reveals that he's an internet alien conspiracy theorist tracking down reports of giant machines in the area. She just finishes a laugh at his expense when the two are scanned and attacked by a blue fighter jet.

Hunter's van is destroyed, but he and Verity are saved—by the smiling driver of a suspiciously well-armed ambulance...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Ratchet (8)	Runabout (3) Runamuck (4) Starscream (5) Thundercracker (7)	Stoker (1) Verity Carlo (2) Hunter O'Nion (6)

Notes

Continuity notes

• As this is our intro to this new universe, it's told heavily from a human point of view. This also ties into the story's heavy emphasis on concealment and disguise.
• The Transformers are shown to have concealed heavy artillery in their alternate modes. This will often be used in subsequent issues—the fight scenes in the next two issues are primarily done in vehicle mode.
• First appearances: Runabout, Runamuck, Thundercracker, Starscream, Ratchet, and our two human heroes.

Transformers references

• The use of Ratchet and Thundercracker as primary characters in this introduction to IDW's continuity may homage early stories of the Marvel Comics continuity. Specifically, Ratchet was the lead protagonist in Bob Budiansky's first story arc for the US comic book. Thundercracker, meanwhile, served as a main antagonist (or the main antagonist, depending upon the version and the coloring) for the first original story appearing in the Marvel UK comic, "Man of Iron".
• Further, the emphasis on Transformers remaining disguised in alternate modes, even throughout battles, also seems to homage Man of Iron. Other than Starscream's shadowed back, no Decepticons are seen in robot mode in this issue, similar to how only alt-mode Decepticons appeared until the very end of the Man of Iron storyline.

Real-life references

• Ratchet's holomatter driver states, "If you want to live, come with me," in a reference to the T-800's similar statement to Sarah Connor in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Verity made fun of this in issue #1. Simon Furman would later be the author on a Terminator-based comic series called Terminator 2: Infinity.

Errors

Six fingers on each hand, six toes on each foot, a healthy baby girl.

• After identifying herself as "Verity Carlo" in the narrative text, the character identifies herself to Hunter as "Verity Carter". An internal justification could be that "Verity Carter" is an alias she uses to prevent Social Services tracking her down, but when Ratchet asks for her name in issue #1 she answers with "Verity Carlo".
• When Verity points her knife at the duffel bag on the bus, her right hand has six fingers. Also, when Verity whips out her dual mace spray attack, she has six fingers on each hand.
• Hunter must possess both superhuman vision and nerves of steel to be able to see there is no pilot inside Thundercracker's cockpit as the Decepticon jet passes overhead.

Other trivia

• The issue features a welcome page by Chris Ryall (as ChrisCharger), a 3-page interview with author Simon Furman, and 2 pages of sketches from artist E. J. Su, including a 1-page writeup.
• Cover A features Jazz with his original Porsche 935 hood/chest, but when actually seen in the comic, he transforms into a current-model Porsche 911 (aka 997).

Covers (8)

• 
  Infiltration #0 cover A - Eat lead, dig?
• 
  Infiltration #0 cover B - Could it be? Respecting scale???
• 
  Infiltration #0 cover C - Forget Megatron, every girl in the city's got some serious cleavage!
• 
  Infiltration #0 cover D - Still function now, Megatron?

• Infiltration #0 cover A: Autobots, by E. J. Su.
• Infiltration #0 cover B: Decepticons, by E. J. Su.
• Infiltration #0 cover C: Megatron in city, by James Raiz.
• Infiltration #0 cover D: Optimus Prime fighting Megatron, by Milx.

• 
  Infiltration #0 BotCon 2005 exclusive cover - Come on, Archer, finish the cover!
• 
  Infiltration #0 Gatefold Incentive cover - Totally cool, totally not in this comic! Yet.
• 
  Infiltration #0 Retailer Summit Exclusive (Boston) cover - Well, that's just Prime!
• 
  Infiltration #0 Retailer Summit Exclusive (Fort Wayne) cover - Pissed he won't be in the book for another 6 months.

• Infiltration #0 BotCon 2005 exclusive cover: Optimus Prime sketches wraparound cover by Aaron Archer and assorted Hasbro artists
• Infiltration #0 Gatefold Incentive cover: Shockwave wraparound cover by Ed McGuinness
• Infiltration #0 Retailer Summit Exclusive (Boston) cover: Optimus Prime face by E. J. Su
• Infiltration #0 Retailer Summit Exclusive (Fort Wayne) cover: Megatron face by E. J. Su

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Reprints

• The Transformers: Infiltration TPB (September 13, 2006) ISBN 1600100104 / ISBN 978-1600100109
• The Transformers: Infiltration Manga TPB (November 29, 2006) ISBN 1600100198 / ISBN 978-1600100192
• The Transformers: The Premiere Collection Volume 1 HC (December 5, 2007) ISBN 1600101186 / ISBN 978-1600101182
• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume One HC (May 26, 2010) ISBN 1600106676 / ISBN 978-1600106675
• The Transformers: Phase One Omnibus TPB (September 10, 2014) ISBN 1631401130 / ISBN 978-1631401138