The Enemy Within!

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This article is about the Marvel UK story. For the unproduced Dreamwave issue, see The Enemy Within.
« The Transformers (UK) #13–17 »

What have you done with the real Sideswipe?
"The Enemy Within!"
Publisher Marvel Comics
Cover date 9th March – 17th May 1985
Script Simon Furman
Art John Ridgway (13) & Mike Collins (14–17)
Colours Gina Hart
Letters Richard Starkings
Editor Sheila Cranna
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

Brawn and Starscream both fall foul of their friends.

Synopsis

After challenging Megatron's authority and being savagely reprimanded, Starscream plots Megatron's downfall. He plans to attack humans indiscriminately until the Autobots come to their defense. This will force the other Decepticons to come to his aid, and together they will destroy the Autobots, proving that Starscream's methods are superior to Megatron's. Unfortunately, Ravage overhears Starscream's plotting and rushes to tell Megatron, but he is spotted, and Starscream attacks him and leaves him for dead.

"Ravage's ALIVE!"

At the same time, in the Ark, the Autobots are moving a heavy piece of machinery when it slips, and a short-circuit shocks Brawn, knocking him unconscious. After his recovers, he begins to act strangely before eventually violently attacking Sideswipe and then abandoning the Ark.

The Best Laid Plans...

Some time later, as Starscream attacks US Air Force Base Oregon Four-Alpha, the other Decepticons discover the badly damaged Ravage, who reveals Starscream’s treachery. Enraged, the Decepticons race off, and capture Starscream during his attack. Starscream demands his right to trial by combat.

Brawn, meanwhile, has gone on a rampage in the small town of St. Petersburg, believing their cars to be enslaved robots... and when the immobile vehicles just sit there, he throws a wobbly and smashes them.

Crime...and Punishment!

The Autobots try to subdue Brawn but are overwhelmed, only winning due to an ambush by Red Alert. The Autobots, unwilling to harm him in battle, use a neuro-tranquillizer to keep him down and take him back to base. Megatron, unwilling to let Starscream off so easily, plans to take advantage of the situation and suggests to Optimus Prime that they allow Starscream and Brawn to fight each other. Desperate to redeem himself, the now repaired Brawn agrees.

Trial...and Error!

The two battle, unaware that Megatron has stationed Ravage nearby with orders to blast Starscream if he wins the battle.

Endings...and Beginnings!

The battle goes against Brawn, and it appears that he has been destroyed. Following his orders, Ravage blows Starscream out of the sky, gaining revenge on him. He then lets the other Decepticons believe that it was the Autobots who attacked Starscream, motivating them to get behind Megatron and attack the Autobots.

Unknown to the Decepticons, Brawn was not destroyed. Instead, Mirage projected a hologram showing his death while the real Brawn was taken to safety: the same electric shock that harmed Brawn boosted Mirage's hologram powers!

Back at the Decepticon fortress, Megatron is preparing to launch an all-out attack on the Autobots.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans

Quotes

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

  • The odd character model used for Sideswipe throughout issue #13 (and indeed on the cover) bears a striking similarity to that used for Gears in the famous center-spread 'roll call' sequence in US issue #1 (right) - note especially the designs of the face, chest, and the shoulder-wheels.

Continuity errors

Continuity notes

  • Like "Man of Iron" and "Raiders of the Last Ark", this strip was originally printed between "The Last Stand" and "The New Order" but is set in some vague time before the Autobots and Decepticons were deactivated after Shockwave's arrival. The Robot War features run in issues #22, #36 & #63 of the comic place both this story and "Raiders of the Last Ark" (which it says immediately follows) between "Prisoner of War!" and "The Last Stand". Robot War was a bit cheeky in ignoring that "Last Stand" directly follows from "Prisoner", claiming Sparkplug Witwicky returns to the Ark after "Raiders".
  • Megatron cites Spider-Man as an example of how the humans may be useable.
  • Brawn runs someone off the road and they have a fiery crash. No one ever says that he's been pulled out alive...
  • First appearance of OBTV News.

Real-life references

  • The first panel of part three's seventh page, in which Starscream shoots down a human military jet, is an homage to Roy Lichtenstein's painting, Whaam!, complete with sound effect.

Other trivia

“ If someone had told me back in 1985 that I'd still be writing TF in 2002, I'd have laughed. ”

—Simon Furman, Altered States Q&A... and he's still doing it in 2014!

  • This was the first Transformers to be written by Simon Furman. He has gone on record as saying that he does not think much of this early work and does not wish to see it reprinted, which may explain the story's absence from the Titan Books reprints. It was since reprinted in IDW Publishing's The Transformers Classics UK Volume 1, where Mike Collins says he thinks Furman "hit the ground running".

Back-up Material

Issue #13:

  • Backup strips:
  • Machine Man - "Kill Me or Cure Me" Part 4
  • Chromobots
  • Matt and the Cat

Issue #14:

  • Backup strips:
  • Machine Man - "Kill Me or Cure Me" Part 5
  • Chromobots
  • Matt and the Cat
  • Fact File: Humph (star of Matt and the Cat)

Issue #15:

  • Backup strips:
  • Machine Man - "Arms and the Robot" Part 1
  • Robo-Capers
  • Chromobots
  • Planet Terry
  • Matt and the Cat
  • Tales from the Fact Files - "Trapped Beneath the Waves!"

Issue #16:

  • Backup strips:
  • Machine Man - "Arms and the Robot" Part 2
  • Robo-Capers
  • Chromobots
  • Planet Terry
  • Matt and the Cat

Issue #17:

  • Backup strips:
  • Machine Man - "Arms and the Robot" Part 3
  • Robo-Capers
  • Chromobots
  • Planet Terry
  • Matt and the Cat
  • Tales from the Fact Files - "The Truth about Alcatraz"
  • Fact File: Soundwave


    • Covers (15)

    • Issue #13 - Let's get rrready to Frrrenzy!
      Issue #13 - Let's get rrready to Frrrenzy!
    • Issue #14 - "With a mind like yours, I'd try the land crab."
      Issue #14 - "With a mind like yours, I'd try the land crab."
    • Issue #15 - Either Starscream has shrunk, or Brawn has grown.
      Issue #15 - Either Starscream has shrunk, or Brawn has grown.
    • Issue #16 - Geronimoooo!
      Issue #16 - Geronimoooo!
    • Issue #13 cover: Brawn giving Sideswipe a suplex, by John Ridgway.
    • Issue #14 cover: Brawn & Optimus Prime, by Mike Collins.
    • Issue #15 cover: Starscream vs. Brawn, by Mike Collins.
    • Issue #16 cover: Brawn vs. Starscream, by Mike Collins.
    • Issue #17 - Is it just me, or is Megatron going bald?
      Issue #17 - Is it just me, or is Megatron going bald?
    • Collected Comics #4
      Collected Comics #4
    • Issue #308
      Issue #308
    • Issue #309
      Issue #309
    • Issue #313
      Issue #313
    • Issue #314
      Issue #314
    • Issue #315
      Issue #315
    • Issue #316 - Colour your own Transformers!
      Issue #316 - Colour your own Transformers!
    • Issue #313 cover: Shockwave's troops, by Stewart Johnson and Robin Bouttell.
    • Issue #314 cover: Scorponok vs Shockwave, by Andrew Wildman and Robin Bouttell.
    • Issue #315 cover: Circuit Breaker vs Scorponok, by Andrew Wildman and Robin Bouttell.
    • Issue #316 cover: Scorponok, Shockwave and Prime are transported to Cybertron while the Neo-Knights watch, by Andrew Wildman.
    • Issue #317 - Emirate Xaaron impersonates Sunstorm.
      Issue #317 - Emirate Xaaron impersonates Sunstorm.
    • Best of Starscream
      Best of Starscream
    • The Transformers Classics UK Volume 1
      The Transformers Classics UK Volume 1

    Reprints

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