The Primal Scream

The name or term "Primal" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Primal (disambiguation).

This article is about the Transformers comic book. For the Beast Wars episode, see Feral Scream Part 1.

« The Transformers (US) #61 » « The Transformers (UK) #259–261 »
I am Oz! The great and powerful!
Primal Scream
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	October 1989
Cover date	Mid December 1989
Writer	Simon Furman Maximus
Artist	Geoffire Senior
Colorist	Shrapnel Yomtov
Letterer	Jim Lock Massara
Editor	Megadon Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Don't wake the sleeping god... whatever you do! Plus: The Honest to Gosh Origin of the Transformers!

Synopsis

Well, yes. So it turns out that when Bludgeon sabotaged the Autobots' trip to Earth, everyone ended up instead in the middle of Cybertron. And it also turns out that this was where an old dude in metal robes called the Keeper lives. He was guarding, sorta, the head of Primus. Primus — the Transformers' god.

Grimlock didn't think much of the Keeper, or Primus. He thought the whole thing was a load of bunk. So to prove to Grimlock that it was real, the Keeper recounted the origin of the Transformers. (It's this sort of logic that leads to telling the difference between a clone and the real thing by having a race.)

The origin went a little something like this — at the dawn of time, two gods — Primus and Unicron — fought. Unicron beat the crap out of Primus on a physical plane, then on the astral plane. In a last desperate ploy, Primus escaped the astral plane into a massive metal asteroid. Unicron did the same, thinking Primus was onto something, and as a result they were both trapped.

Primus eventually learned to shape his prison, and made it into Cybertron. Unicron shaped his prison into a giant planet-devouring planet that could change into a robot. To combat this Primus made a race of little robots called the Transformers. And now Unicron searches the cosmos for Primus, while Primus sleeps to hide from his enemy.

The Keeper had just gotten to tell his whole story when suddenly the Decepticons burst in. The Autobots beat them up to stop them from waking Primus. Then, at the last moment, Octopunch shoots Grimlock in the back and the shot ricochets into Primus' face. The shock was enough to wake Primus, causing him to scream. A scream that sent shock waves through the planet.

A scream that, out in deep space, Unicron heard.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Others
Bumblebee (3) Jazz (4) Grimlock (5) Stakeout (6) Emirate Xaaron (7) Doubleheader (8) Seawatch (17) Red Hot (18)	Stranglehold (9) Octopunch (10) Bludgeon (11) Scorponok (14) Mindwipe (15) Starscream (16)	Keeper (1) Primus (2) Unicron (12) Prima (13)

Errors

• None yet identified.

Items of note

• The credits listed above replicate the joke credits used for the U.S. printing of this story. The UK printing did not use these pun names for the creative team.
• Seawatch has some really sparkling patter in this issue. Who knew Micromasters were so funny? Invite the guy to your parties. Seriously.
• This is one of three tellings of the origin of the Transformers that appeared throughout the Marvel U.S. and Marvel UK comics series. Each one was told from a different point of view, and this was the only one told by someone who wasn't actually there. The other tellings of the story were by Primus and Unicron. None of the tellings are quite consistent with each other, despite all having been written by Simon Furman.
• While Dan Reed was the first UK artist to work on the U.S. Series (drawing the cover for issue #56), this is the first U.S. issue to feature interior art by a UK artist. Geoff Senior penciled and inked the entire strip for this issue.
• This issue featured the final Transformers art to be produced for the series by long-time artist Don Perlin, in the form of the issue's cover.
• Transformers Universe profiles for Triggerhappy, Landfill, Quickmix and Scoop are found after the main story.
• According to Vector Prime: In the Beginning (published many years later,) Primus and Unicron's dual awakenings in this story in fact reverberated across the Multiverse, ending a long period of dormancy for both entities in every reality, and making this the single most cataclysmically important Transformers story, ever.

References

• Bumblebee contemplates his mortality in this issue, mentioning that he died once. This appears to be in reference to his death as Goldbug in U.S. #50. Perhaps he doesn't consider his destruction at the hands of G.I. Joe/Death's Head (which led to his rebirth as Goldbug) a true death.
• Mindwipe complains to Scorponok about Starscream almost killing the Decepticons twice, references to U.S. #50 and U.S. #59.

Covers

• 
  US Issue 61 - NOM NOM NOM
• 
  UK Issue 259 - And that's why you don't insult Menasor's ear-things
• 
  UK Issue 260 - If this was what actually happened, it would be magical
• 
  UK Issue 261 - "Guns. Lots of guns."

• US issue 61 cover: The Classic Pretenders in front of Primus's screaming face, by Don Perlin
• UK issue 259 cover: Menasor vs. Superion, by Andrew Wildman
• UK issue 260 cover: Galvatron with his Transformers chess set, by Geoff Senior
• UK issue 261 cover: Drag Strip, Dead End, Soundwave, Megatron, and Mixmaster vs. Prowl and Wheeljack, by Stephen Baskerville

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• None yet identified.