Rhythms of Darkness!
Template:Comicnav In an alternate future with Galvatron victorious, several Autobots fight in a last ditch attempt to retake Earth.
Synopsis
Galvatron and the Pretender Monsters arise from the Atlantic Ocean into a destroyed New York, complete with a deactivated Rodimus Prime strung between the two towers of a fallen World Trade Center.
Elsewhere, a rebel group of surviving Autobots and humans, including Spike Witwicky, race to destroy a Decepticon fortification before the government launches nuclear weapons, which would only have their energy be siphoned and make Galvatron unstoppable. Cyclonus and Scourge are attacked by Getaway. The Autobots then continue their attack, losing on their side Crossblades, Guzzle, Getaway, and Chainclaw with Scourge and Runamuck being casualties of the Decepticon side.
Galvatron enters the fray and destroys Cyclonus for being weak. However Spike claims 'victory' when he scales the Decepticon fortress and erects an American flag, as a signal that America is still fighting. The nuclear launch is aborted at the final second as Galvatron takes aim at the iconic flag. Suddenly Hook, Line, and Sinker appear and attack Galvatron, dragging him back through time. The Autobots use this to boost their morale and press on their attack.
Credits
Script: Simon Furman
Art: Jose Delbo
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Colors: Nelson Yomtov
Lettering: Jim Massara
Editor: Don Daley
- Originally published: June, 1990
Major characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
|
Errors
- None yet identified.
Items of note
- This was the only issue in the Marvel U.S. series that dealt with an alternate reality, a subject that would later become commonplace in Transformers lore.
- In the early 2000s, this issue was the object of an infamous eBay auction in which the seller claimed that certain panels of the comic could be seen as prophetic warnings about the 9/11 attacks. While being dismissed by many it did share many uncanny parallels. The countdown time of the missile attack is the exact time the first plane impacted the south tower & the 2nd & 9th letters of the words Cybertron, Lord of the light gods & Primus do almost spell New York, however most of this is open to interpretation and all fans jumped on the bandwagon of dismissing this.
- Galvatron says that Cyclonus is a "being forged in the fires of Unicron himself," which is in line with the animated movie, but in strictly U.S. stories, he and Scourge were first seen on Cybertron serving under Scorponok. The Marvel UK stories explained this using time travel. This is the only time in the U.S. stories that any reference is made to Cyclonus and Scourge being created by Unicron.
- Of all the Autobots that have existed, only 7 survived up to this point. They are Prowl, Inferno, Jazz, Crossblades, Getaway, Guzzle, and Chainclaw. By the end of the issue only Prowl, Inferno, and Jazz were still alive.
- This issue is notable for its high percentage of Furmanisms.
Covers
- U.S. cover: Victorious Galvatron by Jim Lee
- UK issue 298 cover: Galvatron emerging in the New York harbor by Stewart Johnson
- UK issue 299 cover: Galvatron before a dead Rodimus Prime by John Marshall and Stewart Johnson
- UK issue 300 cover: Autobots attack by John Marshall and Stewart Johnson
- UK issue 301 cover: Autobots victorious by John Marshall, Stewart Johnson and Robin Bouttell
Advertisements
- None yet identified.
