Starting Over!

« The Transformers (UK) #261 »
First he wants "old-fashioned" Decepticons, then he complains when he gets them. Prick.
"Starting Over!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	10th March 1990
Cover date	17th March 1990
Writer	Simon Furman
Art	Staz
Letterer	Stuart Bartlett
Cover	Stephen Baskerville
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity/Earthforce

Prowl and Wheeljack find the good old days aren't as old as they thought...

Synopsis

These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel continuity. See Earthforce for details.

On a mountain in the Arizona desert, an unseen figure orders Soundwave, Drag Strip and Dead End to start the countdown on a small rocket to bring the Autobots and humans to their knees.

It's not just fans who dislike gimmicks.

Below, Prowl and Wheeljack are investigating reports of Decepticon activity. They bemoan how in their day things were simple, but since being revived Perchance to Dream, they find the new era chaotic with Transformers with little men for heads or guns, with outer humanoid shells, with little men for engines, Double Targetmasters, Micromasters and more. It all confuses Prowl, who wishes for some good old-fashioned Decepticons.

He is not disappointed when the Autobots encounter a patrol made up of Mixmaster and Long Haul. The two Constructicons give a good fight but are soon subdued. Wheeljack wonders what they were doing out here, and Prowl spots the mountain. They climb to see what is happening at the summit.

The sign of a true super-villain is their ability to give lengthy expositions.

At the top, they don't find the Microheadtargetmaster with a Pretender shell that Wheeljack was expecting, but instead Megatron! The ex-Decepticon leader is about to launch a rocket that will release gases to trap the Sun's heat and raise the Earth's temperature, making it easier to generate Energon. He is unconcerned that the side effect will be global warming, melting the polar ice caps and widespread flooding. Prowl and Wheeljack whisper that they have to stop Megatron, despite facing overwhelming odds and certain death. "Just like old times!"

As Wheeljack knocks out the two Stunticons, Prowl leaps forward on the attack...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Prowl (5) Wheeljack (6)	Megatron (1) Drag Strip (2) Dead End (3) Soundwave (4) Mixmaster (7) Long Haul (8)

Errors

• Prowl and Wheeljack talk of many developments as though they've been offline during them. However, both were deactivated during the Underbase Saga, by which time Headmasters, Targetmasters, Pretenders and Powermasters had all been established.

• Prowl mentions the Double Targetmasters. However, this particular gimmick was never shown in the comics, although several of the robots appeared without Nebulan companions.

Items of note

• Prowl states that Megatron is no longer Decepticon leader. Subsequent issues will demonstrate a bitter Decepticon Civil War in process.

• This story continues the process of the UK comic going "back to basics" and focusing more on the earliest Transformers, in line with the Classic rereleases in the European toyline at the time.

• However, it also contributes to the general continuity nightmare that is the Earthforce storyline. Megatron's return after the events of "Skin Deep" is not explained.

• Has/Tak has since actually developed a Transformers toy that is both a Headmaster and a Targetmaster, as well as (sort of) a Micromaster. No Pretender shell, though an earlier toy did combine that with the Headmaster gimmick.

Real-world references

• The dialogue on the cover of this issue may be a reference to the opening credits of '70s Western television series Alias Smith and Jones, which contained a nearly identical exchange.

Reprints

• This story was reprinted in the Titan Books trade paperback "Earthforce".