Pretender to the Throne!: Difference between revisions
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|caption=The Decepticons look uglier than I remember. | |caption=The Decepticons look uglier than I remember. | ||
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] | |publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] | ||
|date=January 1988 | |date=January [[1988]] | ||
|coverdate=May 1988 | |coverdate=May 1988 | ||
|writer=[[Bob Budiansky]] | |writer=[[Bob Budiansky]] | ||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
{{featuredcharacters | {{featuredcharacters | ||
|c1= | |c1= | ||
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] (2) | *[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] (2) | ||
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (5) | *[[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (5) | ||
* [[Grapple]] (6) | *[[Grapple]] (6) | ||
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (7) | *[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (7) | ||
* [[Brainstorm]] (15) | *[[Brainstorm]] (15) | ||
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (16) | *[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (16) | ||
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]] (17) | *[[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]] (17) | ||
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] (18) | *[[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] (18) | ||
*[[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] (27) | |||
* [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] (27) | *[[Cloudburst]] (28) | ||
* [[Cloudburst]] (28) | *[[Waverider]] (29) | ||
* [[Waverider]] (29) | *[[Groundbreaker]] (30) | ||
* [[Groundbreaker]] (30) | *[[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]] (31) | ||
* [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]] (31) | *[[Splashdown]] (32) | ||
* [[Splashdown]] (32) | |||
|c2= | |c2= | ||
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (9) | *[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (9) | ||
* [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (10) | *[[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (10) | ||
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (13) | *[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (13) | ||
* [[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] (21) | *[[Iguanus (G1)|Iguanus]] (21) | ||
* [[Bomb-Burst (G1)|Bomb-Burst]] (22) | *[[Bomb-Burst (G1)|Bomb-Burst]] (22) | ||
* [[Submarauder (G1)|Submarauder]] (23) | *[[Submarauder (G1)|Submarauder]] (23) | ||
* [[Skullgrin]] (24) | *[[Skullgrin]] (24) | ||
* [[Bugly]] (25) | *[[Bugly]] (25) | ||
* [[Finback]] (26) | *[[Finback]] (26) | ||
|c3= | |c3= | ||
* [[Ethan Zachary]] (4) | *[[Ethan Zachary]] (4) | ||
* [[Carla]] (8) | *[[Carla]] (8) | ||
* [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] (11) | *[[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] (11) | ||
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (12) | *[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (12) | ||
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (14) | *[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (14) | ||
|h4=[[Nebulan]]s|c4= | |h4=[[Nebulan]]s|c4= | ||
* [[Vorath]] (19) | *[[Vorath]] (19) | ||
* [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]] (20) | *[[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]] (20) | ||
|h5=Others|c5= | |h5=Others|c5= | ||
*[[Mechabot]]s (1) | *[[Mechabot]]s (1) | ||
| Line 79: | Line 74: | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
* The computer game in which Prime fights includes the "Mechabots" as the good guys, the "Bombasticons" as the bad guys, and "[[Hyper-Fax]]" (or possibly "Hyperfax") as the land/city/planet that Prime fights to defend. | *The computer game in which Prime fights includes the "Mechabots" as the good guys, the "Bombasticons" as the bad guys, and "[[Hyper-Fax]]" (or possibly "Hyperfax") as the land/city/planet that Prime fights to defend. | ||
* Goldbug's original body was destroyed by [[Intelligence and Information Institute|Triple-I]] in issue [[Toy Soldiers!|#37]], and he was rescued by the Autobot Headmasters in issue [[Trial by Fire!|#38]]. | *Goldbug's original body was destroyed by [[Intelligence and Information Institute|Triple-I]] in issue [[Toy Soldiers!|#37]], and he was rescued by the Autobot Headmasters in issue [[Trial by Fire!|#38]]. | ||
* The Autobots manage to replicate the innovative and unprecedented Pretender creation process ''really'' quickly... | *The Autobots manage to replicate the innovative and unprecedented Pretender creation process ''really'' quickly... | ||
* Goldbug comments that he is well-known for his optical prowess on page 9, but experiences an optical malfunction on page 25... | *Goldbug comments that he is well-known for his optical prowess on page 9, but experiences an optical malfunction on page 25... | ||
* In this story the internet is portrayed as a series of tubes. | *In this story the internet is portrayed as a series of tubes. | ||
* Though it is not entirely clear, the Autobots and Decepticons that became Pretenders in this issue have apparently been part of Fortress Maximus and Scorponok's crews the whole time, keeping a very low profile. | *Though it is not entirely clear, the Autobots and Decepticons that became Pretenders in this issue have apparently been part of Fortress Maximus and Scorponok's crews the whole time, keeping a very low profile. | ||
* Scorponok's mind gets uploaded into the computer system. It only speaks of one mind, and it is unlikely they could upload an organic mind into the system, so Zarak was probably left behind. | *Scorponok's mind gets uploaded into the computer system. It only speaks of one mind, and it is unlikely they could upload an organic mind into the system, so Zarak was probably left behind. | ||
* Decepticon Pretenders display the ability to [[flight|fly]] in their shells. | *Decepticon Pretenders display the ability to [[flight|fly]] in their shells. | ||
* Virtual reality Optimus Prime transforms and drives around without his [[Combat Deck (G1)|trailer]] (and [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]). | *Virtual reality Optimus Prime transforms and drives around without his [[Combat Deck (G1)|trailer]] (and [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]). | ||
===Errors=== | ===Errors=== | ||
[[Image:Pretendertothethrone-landmine.jpg|right|250px|thumb|We won't even go into the issue of how these things can walk and stuff when they're completely hollow.]] | [[Image:Pretendertothethrone-landmine.jpg|right|250px|thumb|We won't even go into the issue of how these things can walk and stuff when they're completely hollow.]] | ||
* Goldbug claims to have seen Prime's body launched into the Earth's sun for burial. When the funeral bier is launched in "[[Funeral for a Friend!]]", Bumblebee/Goldbug is not listed among the Autobots present, presumably because he is still a pile of parts, due to events in ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''. (Although this problem doesn't apply to the UK printing, which didn't include the crossover.) Also, we learn later in the series that the bier was not launched into the sun in the first place. | *Goldbug claims to have seen Prime's body launched into the Earth's sun for burial. When the funeral bier is launched in "[[Funeral for a Friend!]]", Bumblebee/Goldbug is not listed among the Autobots present, presumably because he is still a pile of parts, due to events in ''[[G.I. Joe and the Transformers]]''. (Although this problem doesn't apply to the UK printing, which didn't include the crossover.) Also, we learn later in the series that the bier was not launched into the sun in the first place. | ||
* Landmine's shell is drawn with multiple segments opening up to release his inner robot form. However, the opened sections are non-contiguous, meaning his robot limbs would have to detach in order for him to exit the shell. | *Landmine's shell is drawn with multiple segments opening up to release his inner robot form. However, the opened sections are non-contiguous, meaning his robot limbs would have to detach in order for him to exit the shell. | ||
===UK printing=== | ===UK printing=== | ||
* UK issue #162 included the free gift of a Pretenders sticker on the cover. | *UK issue #162 included the free gift of a Pretenders sticker on the cover. | ||
* In [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|Grim Grams]] for issue #162, [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] attempts to explain why the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]] exist if [[Transformer]]s don't know about the existence of [[water]] and expounds on his extreme distaste for being called "Grimmy Babes".<ref>[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=190&page=9 Issue #162's Grim Grams at transfans]</ref> | *In [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|Grim Grams]] for issue #162, [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] attempts to explain why the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]] exist if [[Transformer]]s don't know about the existence of [[water]] and expounds on his extreme distaste for being called "Grimmy Babes".<ref>[http://transfans.co.uk/comics_guide_detail.php?id=190&page=9 Issue #162's Grim Grams at transfans]</ref> | ||
===Covers ( | ===Covers (7)=== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:MarvelUS-40.jpg|'''US issue #40''' - Hey look, its THOSE GUYS who have been here the whole time HONEST! | |||
File:MarvelUK-162.jpg|'''UK issue #162''' - Tutankhamun eat your heart out! | |||
File:MarvelUK-163.jpg|'''UK issue #163''' - Thus starts the 'so WHICH way do they open?' debate | |||
File:Titan-MaximumForceSC.jpg|'''''Maximum Force'' TPB''' | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
* '''US issue #40 cover:''' Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst, by [[José Delbo]]. | *'''US issue #40 cover:''' Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst, by [[José Delbo]]. | ||
* '''UK issue #162 cover:''' Cloudburst emerging from his shell, by [[Jeff Anderson]] and [[Dave Elliott|David Elliott]]. | *'''UK issue #162 cover:''' Cloudburst emerging from his shell, by [[Jeff Anderson]] and [[Dave Elliott|David Elliott]]. | ||
* '''UK issue #163 cover:''' a variation of the US cover, by [[Lee Sullivan]]. | * '''UK issue #163 cover:''' a variation of the US cover, by [[Lee Sullivan]]. | ||
*'''''Maximum Force'' TPB cover:''' Scorponok, a [[Targetmaster]] gun, the ''[[Steelhaven]]'' and half of Skullgrin's head by [[Andrew Wildman]] | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:Titan-MaximumForceHC.jpg|'''''Maximum Force'' HC''' | |||
File:Classic Transformers Vol3.jpg|'''''Classic Transformers'' Volume 3''' | |||
File:TFClassicsVol4.jpg|'''''The Transformers Classics'' Vol. 4''' | |||
</gallery> | |||
*'''''Maximum Force'' Hardback cover:''' Skullgrin by [[Peter Snejbjerg]] | |||
*'''''Classic Transformers'' Volume 3 cover:''' Panels from US issues [[Child's Play (issue)|#35]], [[Spacehikers!|#36]] and [[People Power!|#42]]. Art and pencils by José Delbo, pencils by [[Don Perlin]], finishes by Dave Hunt & [[Don Hudson]], inks by [[Ian Akin]] & [[Brian Garvey]], colours by Nel Yomtov. | |||
*'''''The Transformers Classics'' Vol. 4 cover:''' [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Starscream]] by [[Guido Guidi]]. | |||
===Advertisements=== | ===Advertisements=== | ||
* None yet identified. | *None yet identified. | ||
===Reprints=== | ===Reprints=== | ||
*2004 — ''[[Transformers: Maximum Force]]'' | *[[2004]] — ''[[Transformers: Maximum Force]]'' | ||
*2009 — | *[[2009]] — [[Classic Transformers Volume 3|''Classic Transformers'' Volume 3]] | ||
*[[2012]] — [[The Transformers Classics, Vol. 4|''The Transformers Classics'' Vol. 4]] | |||
==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
Revision as of 13:53, 14 July 2013
| |||||||||||||
 The Decepticons look uglier than I remember. | |||||||||||||
| "Pretender to the Throne!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | January 1988 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | May 1988 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Bob Budiansky | ||||||||||||
| Penciler | José Delbo | ||||||||||||
| Inker | Dave Hunt | ||||||||||||
| Colorist | Nel Yomtov | ||||||||||||
| Letterer | Bill Oakley | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Don Daley | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
Optimus Prime lives... sorta; the Pretenders are created by Scorponok.
Synopsis
Since Optimus Prime's destruction, Ethan Zachary has been using the copy of Prime's mind he had saved on a floppy disk at that time to play video games. Although Prime is sentient and able to converse with Zachary, he believes himself to be nothing more than a computer game character.
In an attempt to convince Optimus Prime that he is more than this, Zachary tries to phone Buster Witwicky, but ends up talking to his father, Sparkplug. Embittered by recent events,[1] Sparkplug rants at Zachary, then hangs up.
Fortunately, Spike Witwicky bugged his old man's apartment and overhears the mention of Optimus Prime. He, Goldbug, and Brainstorm, on board the Steelhaven, discuss the possibility that Prime might be alive, and Goldbug travels to Earth to investigate. Goldbug traces the phone call to Alternate Reality, Inc., Zachary's computer game company.
Zachary and Goldbug meet, compare notes, and surmise that sending Optimus Prime on a mission might help him understand that he is more than a program. They send Prime into the computer of a genetics lab that has been seized by the Decepticons. There, Optimus learns about the experiment by Headmaster Decepticon leader Scorponok to create the Pretenders. Copying the data from this experiment, Prime returns to Goldbug and Zachary, but his computerized presence does not go unnoticed. While Goldbug and Zachary transmit this data to the spacecraft above, thus creating Autobot Pretenders, the Decepticon Pretenders trace Prime back to Zachary's software company and launch an attack. The computerized Prime coordinates the Autobot Pretenders' successful defense of the company's headquarters, and the Decepticons are repulsed. However, this experience does nothing to convince Prime that he is a real, living robot.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Nebulans | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Notes
- The computer game in which Prime fights includes the "Mechabots" as the good guys, the "Bombasticons" as the bad guys, and "Hyper-Fax" (or possibly "Hyperfax") as the land/city/planet that Prime fights to defend.
- Goldbug's original body was destroyed by Triple-I in issue #37, and he was rescued by the Autobot Headmasters in issue #38.
- The Autobots manage to replicate the innovative and unprecedented Pretender creation process really quickly...
- Goldbug comments that he is well-known for his optical prowess on page 9, but experiences an optical malfunction on page 25...
- In this story the internet is portrayed as a series of tubes.
- Though it is not entirely clear, the Autobots and Decepticons that became Pretenders in this issue have apparently been part of Fortress Maximus and Scorponok's crews the whole time, keeping a very low profile.
- Scorponok's mind gets uploaded into the computer system. It only speaks of one mind, and it is unlikely they could upload an organic mind into the system, so Zarak was probably left behind.
- Decepticon Pretenders display the ability to fly in their shells.
- Virtual reality Optimus Prime transforms and drives around without his trailer (and Roller).
Errors
- Goldbug claims to have seen Prime's body launched into the Earth's sun for burial. When the funeral bier is launched in "Funeral for a Friend!", Bumblebee/Goldbug is not listed among the Autobots present, presumably because he is still a pile of parts, due to events in G.I. Joe and the Transformers. (Although this problem doesn't apply to the UK printing, which didn't include the crossover.) Also, we learn later in the series that the bier was not launched into the sun in the first place.
- Landmine's shell is drawn with multiple segments opening up to release his inner robot form. However, the opened sections are non-contiguous, meaning his robot limbs would have to detach in order for him to exit the shell.
UK printing
- UK issue #162 included the free gift of a Pretenders sticker on the cover.
- In Grim Grams for issue #162, Grimlock attempts to explain why the Seacons exist if Transformers don't know about the existence of water and expounds on his extreme distaste for being called "Grimmy Babes".[2]
Covers (7)
-
US issue #40 - Hey look, its THOSE GUYS who have been here the whole time HONEST! -
UK issue #162 - Tutankhamun eat your heart out! -
UK issue #163 - Thus starts the 'so WHICH way do they open?' debate -
Maximum Force TPB
- US issue #40 cover: Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst, by José Delbo.
- UK issue #162 cover: Cloudburst emerging from his shell, by Jeff Anderson and David Elliott.
- UK issue #163 cover: a variation of the US cover, by Lee Sullivan.
- Maximum Force TPB cover: Scorponok, a Targetmaster gun, the Steelhaven and half of Skullgrin's head by Andrew Wildman
-
Maximum Force HC -
Classic Transformers Volume 3 -
The Transformers Classics Vol. 4
- Maximum Force Hardback cover: Skullgrin by Peter Snejbjerg
- Classic Transformers Volume 3 cover: Panels from US issues #35, #36 and #42. Art and pencils by José Delbo, pencils by Don Perlin, finishes by Dave Hunt & Don Hudson, inks by Ian Akin & Brian Garvey, colours by Nel Yomtov.
- The Transformers Classics Vol. 4 cover: Starscream by Guido Guidi.
Advertisements
- None yet identified.
Reprints
- 2004 — Transformers: Maximum Force
- 2009 — Classic Transformers Volume 3
- 2012 — The Transformers Classics Vol. 4
Footnotes
- ↑ "Toy Soldiers!" and "The Desert Island of Space!", most notably.
- ↑ Issue #162's Grim Grams at transfans
