Transformers Comic issue 2.11

« Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen #11 »
Rarrrr! I'm a monstaaaa!
Publisher	Titan Magazines
First published	25 March 2010
Editor	Steve White
Deputy editor	Den Patrick
Designer	Danny Preston
Publishing manager	Darryl Curtis
Price	£2.75

We are all just food for... DEAD END!

Spare Parts!

• Script: Simon Furman
• Art: Jon Davis-Hunt
• Colours: Hi-Fi Design
• Lettering: Den Patrick
• Continuity: Revenge of the Fallen (sequel)

Jolt, Dune Runner, and Rollbar are on a survival exercise in Death Valley, looking for a town "that doesn't exist on any map", running only on their reserve power. Both Jolt and Dune Runner aren't too happy with the area, with Dune Runner noting that there's something wrong about it. Possibly it's the ravenous decomposing horror that's spotted them and roars that it needs parts...

An irritated Rollbar tells them it's a survival exercise, it's meant to be hard: they need to stop acting like the raw cadets they are and start acting like proper Autobots. Dune Runner is having none of it, pointing out they're going to be cadets for a long time: they all arrived on Earth after the great battle against The Fallen, and Ironhide's crew can handle the mopping up of the remaining Decepticons. But while he thinks they're surplus to requirements, Rollbar is determined that they're going to prove themselves to be Autobots anyway! While Dune Runner is dismissive of Rollbar's enthusiasm and their chances of finding their objective, the truck knows where to go: he did some research before coming, and leads the other three to an old, abandoned mining town. (The decomposing fiend follows...)

Their task now is to find the emergency recharge pack in town before their reserves give out. (Dune Runner will be glad to get it and leave this creepy place!) Jolt swiftly finds the pack, happily noting that he can find any power source... but the undead monster finds him as well! One horrified scream later and the monster makes his way towards the other cadets, tearing into Dune Runner. Rollbar finds Jolt, his left arm torn off at the shoulder, but the wounded 'bot orders his comrade to go help Dune Runner instead. As the monster tears an arm off the other cadet, screaming about a need to rebuild, Rollbar whallops him so hard the creature's neck bends back...

And then he hits Rollbar flying! His rotting arm has shattered in the process, so he plugs Dune Runner's severed arm into its place. But he needs more, and Jolt knows that, with them running on empty, they've only got one chance against this rotting fiend... and so he uses every bit of energy in the recharge pack to charge up his electro-whips and finally puts the monster down! The battle done, Dune Runner wants to put the creature down; Rollbar disagrees, saying they're going to act like Autobots. Instead of killing him, they're going to take him back to Diego Garcia.

Two days later, Ratchet calls the cadets in with answers. It turns out the half-dead Decepticon is called Dead End, and the Decepticons built him with an experimental regeneration circuit that should have repaired combat damage automatically. Instead, it drove Dead End mad and ate away at his molecular cohesion; with his core programming running, he was driven to desperate extremes to keep himself together. By getting Dead End to Ratchet, the cadets saved his life and showed their commitment to being Autobots. In Ratchet's book, they've got what it takes!

Quotes

"So what you saying, Dune Runner? We should just give up? Not me. Uh-uh. We show them what we can do. And keep showin' 'em!"

—Rollbar

"PARTS... SPARE PARTS!"

—Dead End

"We should put it out of its misery."
"No, we shouldn't. Cadets or not, we're Autobots — let's start acting like ones."

—Dune Runner and Rollbar

Errors

• It's presented like Jolt was also a dude who came to Earth after the second film. Now, we know he didn't have many scenes but c'mon, guys...
• That's not a Decepticon Ironhide and Sideswipe are 'cleaning up', it's Hoist! (This could be a twisted G1 homage rather than meant to be the movie-verse Hoist)

Notes

• On the Transformers Comic Facebook page, a solicit for the issue says that Dead End was cast out by Megatron after he was released from stasis on the Nemesis and it was clear he'd gone wrong. This is never stated in the issue itself, but is pretty implicit since he's wondering around on his lonesome, muttering as he dies that he "MUST... OBEY... MUH-MEG...". (Bizarrely, the solicit says the story takes place in Alaska and that Depthcharge is in it...)
  • This indicates Megs is experimenting on the hatchlings.

"His pain tastes nice."

• The war on Earth is explicitly stated to be considered over, reduced to a clean-up operation.
• Dead End is based on his Deluxe class toy, and is given a fearsome set of fangs that his toy doesn't have. When Ratchet saves him, his face turns into the toy's mouth.
• When Dead End attaches spare parts to himself, they change colour to match his other parts.
• Ratchet looks disturbingly happy when talking about the regeneration unit that almost killed poor Dead End!

Contents

Articles and Features

• Cover Versions: A colouring page version of the cover (well, the poster).
• Gallery of Glory: A collection of runner-up entries from #9's "Build a Bot" competition. Two are Animated style, yay!
• Puzzles: includes a wordsearch for monster names to go with the strip.
• Competition for horror books.
• Law and Disorder: Letters, art and photos from readers, answered by Barricade and Ironhide.
• Starscream's Stars: Comedy horrorscope.
• A cut-out little stand, showing either Autobots or Decepticons depending on which side you show. There are targets drawn in for you to use your Watch Blaster on!
• Poster of the cover, with its original background instead of whirling gears.

Free gifts

• "FREE! Watch Blaster/Disk Shooter WATCH!" — a fake wristwatch that fires Transformer-adorned disks.

Law and Disorder

"...when we started this letters column I could have happily ejected you into the nearest star, but now I'm getting to like you."
"No you're not. Stop saying that."

—Ironhide and Barricade

"Look, I'm not defecting to the Autobots. I mean, it would be nice to hang out with other 'bots who transform into cars, but I just can't!"

—Barricade

"I like this [Decepticon jack o'lantern] because two days after this photo was taken, the whole thing probably rotted and collapsed. Quite a fitting visual metaphor for the Decepticons, huh?"
"I prefer to think of it as a shining beacon of artistic talent and human ingenuity, from a loyal supporter of the Decepticon cause."

—Ironhide and Barricade

"Well done, Thomas, keep up the good work and we'll be sure to spare you and your family when we take over this wretched, unbearably wet planet."

—Barricade

"You're little more than a mobile phone with a personality, who overcompensates for his shortcomings with overly large cannons."
"The cannons are great though, aren't they?"

—Barricade and Ironhide

Starscream's Stars

"VIRGO (23 AUG - 22 SEPT): Lay your cards on the table when faced with a problem. Of course they're tarot cards and you just picked 'Death'."

"SAGITTARIUS (22 NOV - 21 DEC): The sun has put a smile on your face. That's because Megatron has used a giant magnifying glass to burn one on."

"AQUARIUS (20 JAN - 18 FEB): The only way you'll walk in Megatron's shoes is when he stomps on you and you end up like toe jam between his claws."

"TAURUS (20 APR - 20 MAY): Wow. It turns out you're a Decepticon, not an Autobot. That would explain all the dreams you have about conquering helpless planets and then you wake up crying."

Notes

• We get the oversized card covers with cutaway gifts again. The price goes up to £2.75.
• This is the first time that the puzzles and competitions have been given some resemblance to the events of the strip!
• Ironhide thinks Jolt got "quite a bit of screen time for a new kid on the block". He's wrong.