Man of Iron (issue)
The Autobots travel to England to track down the source of a coded Cybertronian signal...but the Decepticons aren't far behind.
Marvel UK issues #9–12
(Story was reprinted in: Marvel US issues #33–34)
Writer: Steve Parkhouse
Art: John Ridgway (1 & 2) & Mike Collins (3 & 4)
Colors: Gina Hart (1 & 2) & Josie Fermin (3 & 4)
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Editor: Sheila Cranna
- Characters: Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Sammy Harker, Jazz, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Bluestreak, Optimus Prime, Man of Iron, Navigator, Laserbeak
- Originally published: 12 January 1985 – 23 February 1985
Synopsis
The Decepticon jets attack the English castle at Stansham and plant an underground probe before leaving. Not far away, Sammy Harker, the son of the castle's curator is playing in the woods when he comes face to face with Jazz. Terrified he runs home, only to be followed by Jazz in his car mode.
Arriving home in shock Sammy tells his tale which makes his father think of the old legend of the Man of Iron. In the 11th Century the Man of Iron, a giant metal man was seen in the vicinity of Stansham castle on three occasions. He did battle with an attacking force using a "javelin of flame" before disappearing again. Sammy’s father then shows him a 900 year old picture showing the Man of Iron which Sammy thinks looks like the robot he saw.
That night Sammy is troubled by strange dreams of robots and jet fighters. Unbeknown to him, his dreams are part reality as Mirage visits his house and steals the picture of the Man of Iron.
The following day Sammy is intrigued to see a white Porsche parked outside his house. The Man of Iron picture is on the back seat. The door opens and Sammy gets inside, but as Sammy’s mother comes out the door closes and Jazz drives off with Sammy.
Jazz manages to calm Sammy and convince him that he will come to no harm. He is taking him to Optimus Prime. Along the way, Mirage, Trailbreaker and Bluestreak join them. Then they are attacked by Thundercracker who badly injures Trailbreaker before being shot down himself by Bluestreak.
They eventually reach the shuttle ship where Prime is waiting. He explains to Sammy that they have been tracking a signal from an ancient Autobot ship. He believes that the Autobots on Cybertron sent a rescue ship for them after they crashed on Earth only for the ship to crash itself. The Man of Iron is an Autobot who occasionally reactivates in an attempt to complete its mission. The Decepticons want to destroy the ship and its occupants and the Autobots are trying to stop them.
The army are investigating the Decepticon attack on the castle and digging at the point where their probe landed. Suddenly the ground shakes and the Man of Iron appears from a hidden door in the ground. Then the Decepticons attack and the Man of Iron is destroyed.
Jazz and the Autobots arrive and drive the Decepticons away, returning Sammy to his family as well. Prime decides that given the Decepticon menace they can't possibly consider returning to Cybertron and abandoning the Earth. He is equally unwilling to leave the rescue ship intact and orders Jazz to destroy it.
Deep inside the ship, Navigator lays unconscious waiting for the time when his attendant, the Man of Iron, will awaken him to complete his mission. That time will never arrive as above Jazz fires a missile that completely vaporises the ship and its occupant.
Errors
- The cover to the US reprint in issue #33 featured a mis-colored Megatron (complete with Decepticon faction symbol) being attacked by medieval knights. Megatron does not feature in the story and the 'Man of Iron' only bears a passing resemblance to him.
Items of note
- This is the first UK-originated story. The Man of Iron along with "The Enemy Within!" and "Raiders of the Last Ark" were used to fill the gap while waiting for new US material after the initial 4-issue miniseries.
- The story implies that all the Transformers names are code-names and that their real names would be unpronounceable
- When reprinted in Collected Comics #3, each issue/chapter was given its own subtitle. These were:
- "First Encounter"
- "Kidnapped!"
- "You've Got Friends?"
- "Battlefield Castle Stansham"
- The 'Man of Iron's' design seems to be based on a combination of Jazz and Megatron's body designs.
- Part 2 depicts a very surreal dream sequence with Sammy Harker dreaming about the Transformers.
- At the end of part 2 when Sammy is 'kidnapped' by Jazz in his car mode, a public service message was printed at the bottom of the page warning about the dangers of accepting lifts from strangers.
- The identity of the Skyraider responsible for the death of the Man of Iron is a bit confusing. The original art is black-and-white, but the color cover to the issue presents it to be Skywarp, which is supported by the in-story dialogue ("There's another one! It just seemed to appear from nowhere!"), suggesting use of his teleporting ability. When the story was reprinted in Collected Comics, however, the killer was colored as Thundercracker, which resulted in a quiz question in a later UK annual that named him as the do'er of the deed (although the previous issue's cover showed that Thundercracker was the jet shot down by Bluestreak in the third installment). And as if things weren't confused enough already, when the US reprint of the story was recolored, the killer was colored as Starscream!
- The timeframe of this story is open to question. It was originally published after "The Last Stand" and before "The New Order" when all the Autobots and Decepticons were deactivated. It is assumed to take place at some point during either "Prisoner of War!" or "The Last Stand".
- This story was originally published in black and white and was subsequently colorized for later printings.
US printing
- US issue #33 reprints UK issues #9–10.
- The box at the top left of issue #33 also features a Union Flag behind the image of Grimlock.
- "Man of Iron" was reprinted in US issues #33 & 34 as an emergency filler.
- The cover to the US reprint in issue #33 contains the following melodramatic statement — You won't believe it! Your eyes will bug out!! An explosive saga from the house of ideas!!!
- US Issue #34 reprints UK issues #11–12.
