Kup's Story!

« The Transformers (UK) #132 »
"Well Hot Rod, I guess you want to play with your new friend. I'll leave now."
"Kup's Story!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Cover date	26th September 1987
Writer	Simon Furman
Penciler	Dan Reed
Colorist	Steve White
Letterer	Annie Halfacree
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	Pre-1800 ("Hundreds of years ago")

A hero is reborn.

Synopsis

"They say the greatest tragedy of all is when a father outlives his son. I've never understood why that is; frankly, I can see an upside to it!"

Hundreds of years ago, the Autobot Kup has given up the fight. Suffering from an acute case of "combat fatigue", he can no longer fight the same way he once could in his youth. As a "retirement", Kup took to wandering the stars, alone in a spaceship, waiting for permanent deactivation to eventually take him.

His maudlin existence is suddenly shattered by a passing space conflict: two larger ships ganging up on a smaller one, playing with it like a cat plays with its food. Although he tries to tell himself it isn't his fight, Kup can not merely turn his back on the situation, and shoots down one of the pursuit craft. Feeling obliged to carry things through, Kup allows the pursuee to leave his damaged ship and come aboard, only to be surprised by a fellow Autobot beaming in, a young punk named Hot Rod.

Hot Rod has a compelling story about being sent on a fact-finding mission with his comrade Blurr by their leader, Fortress Maximus, and about how the murderous Tyroxians had taken them prisoner. He escaped, but Blurr is still being held hostage. Despite Hot Rod's pleas, however, Kup only agrees to take him back to Cybertron, and not risk his neck in foolish heroics. Thinking that is the end of it, Kup storms off to his private quarters, brooding about how Hot Rod seems familiar somehow...

Kup's reverie is interrupted by the ship's proximity alarm, alerting him to the fact that Hot Rod has changed their course and taken the ship back to Tyroxia, to rescue Blurr on his own. Admiring Hot Rod's idiotic heroism, Kup realizes the young Autobot reminded him of himself in his younger days. Spurred on by that knowledge, Kup goes down to the planet's surface and rescues Hot Rod and Blurr from their predicament.

Cured of his combat fatigue, Kup returns to Cybertron and the war with his new friends, eager to teach Hot Rod a thing or two about how a real warrior fights.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots
Kup (1) Hot Rod (2) Blurr (3)

Quotes

"If I try to help Hot Rod in my condition, I may just be condemning us both to death! But if I don't at least make an effort, could I ever live with myself again?!

—Kup

"You thought I was beaten, didn't you? Thought I was just a washed-up old has-been! You told me only a strong-willed person could make it back! Well, meet the strongest, sucker! I'm back, world! You hear me? Kup's back!"

—Kup

"Well, thanks for the double rescue...Now, if you'd just drop us off at Cybertron, old timer, Blurr and I can get back to winning the war, and you can get back to your retirement."
"Old timer? Pensioner? Listen, kid, I'm comin' with you. If they're lettin' punks like you fight these days...the Autobot army needs all the help it can get!"

—Hot Rod and Kup

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• TBD

Continuity errors

• TBD

Continuity notes

• This story predates the first modern appearances of the three Autobots, in Headmasters #1.

Real-life references

• TBD

Back-up material

• Backup Transformers story: "Ring of Hate!"
• Other strips: Spider-Man - "Children in Danger" and Robo-Capers
• The Spider-Man story was a special four page insert, warning children about "stranger danger". Written by Simon Furman, drawn by Barry Kitson and Dave Harwood, and coloured by Steve White.

Cover

• Issue #132 cover: Kup walks away from Hot Rod being crushed, by Dan Reed.

• 
  Issue #132: Turbo-revin' punk!

Reprints

• Transformers Collected Comics #9 cover: Shockwave and Robot-Buster, by Bryan Hitch.
• Transformers: City of Fear cover: Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers take on zombies, by Geoff Senior.
• The Transformers Classics UK Volume 4 cover: Rodimus and Galvatron fight whilst Scorponok squeezes Highbrow and Goldbug rides Wreck-Gar, by Andrew Wildman
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 10: Trial by Fire: Devastator (by Don Figueroa) and Weirdwolf (by ???).

• 
  Collected Comics #9 (Marvel Comics UK, 1988)
• 
  Transformers: City of Fear (Titan Books, 2004)
• 
  Classics UK Volume 4 (IDW Publishing, 2013)
• 
  Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 10 (Hachette Partworks, 2017)