Transformers Annual 1985
The Transformers Annual 1986 was published in the UK by Marvel Comics Ltd. in association with Grandreams Ltd. in December 1985
ISBN 0-86227-331-5
Pages: 60
List Price: £3.25
Synopsis
Decepticon Introduction
The first two-page spread of the annual. Shows the box art with accompanying introductory text of the main Decepticon cast; Megatron, Starscream, Ravage, Skywarp, Soundwave, Rumble and Laserbeak.
Autobot Introduction
Two page Autobot roll-call as printed in Issue 1 of the comic, introducing all of the 1984 Autobots.
Plague of the Insecticons! (Part 1)
Optimus Prime, Prowl and Warpath travel to Washington DC to engage in peace talks with the President. Shortly after they begin talking, some bizarrely coloured Insecticons arrive and attack the humans while posing as Autobots.
Once the Insecticons have convinced the humans that the Autobots are hostile, they leave for the city. Prowl and Warpath give chase while Optimus Prime departs to find the source of the attack.
Missing in Action (Part 1)
Tracks travels on a reconnaissance mission to Greater Portland, where he encounters and is critically wounded by Rumble in an alleyway behind Woolworth's. Left to go off-line, Tracks converts to vehicle mode and is found by a young hooligan named J.D., who decides to use Tracks as a getaway car in the robbery he's about to participate in.
J.D. and his partner-in-crime, Mark, take Tracks to New York to continue their crime spree where Tracks' Autobot symbol is recognised by a young boy named Danny. Meanwhile, Prime hears of Tracks being used as a getaway car and sends Inferno, Grapple and Hoist to retrieve him.
And There Shall Come...A Leader! (Part 1)
The Decepticons are staging a final assault on Iacon. Xaaron campaigns the Council of Autobot Elders to relinquish command of the Autobot army to a warrior, Optimus Prime.
Elsewhere Bluestreak and Fusion make their way to Prime with a delivery of shatter bombs, only to find the expressway's been wrecked!
Missing in Action (Part 2)
After seeing the Autobot symbol on Tracks' hood, Danny follows the drivers into a bank to tell them what they were driving, only to find they're robbing the bank. Inferno, Grapple and Hoist arrive on the scene, and the sight of three giant robots causes J.D. to inadvertently set off the timer on the bomb he was holding.
The Autobots are thrown to the ground as the front of the bank is blown outwards. Upon hearing of the hostages inside, they begin to evacuate the building and get everyone but Danny clear. Inferno ignores the fact he is 30 foot tall and enters the burning building, shielding Danny with his heat-resistant body. Danny is taken to the hospital, J.D. and Mark are taken by the police, Tracks is brought home and given a lecture by Optimus Prime.
And There Shall Come...A Leader! (Part 2)
Bluestreak manages to jump across the wrecked expressway, leaving Fusion to meet his end at the lasers of a Cybertronian Laserbeak clone.
Meanwhile, in a command post in Iacon, Xaaron informs Prime he now has full control of the Autobot army as Megatron advances on Iacon. Prime stalls the Decepticons on a bridge as Gears and Windcharger set up the shatter bombs on the support struts, when they finish Prime orders the Autobots to route, leaving Gears to detonate the bombs and destroy the bridge.
Prime is plucked from the air by Windcharger, while the Decepticons are crushed under thousands of tons of metal. Sadly Megatron was unharmed.
Bumblebee is stuck on-base with Prowl monitoring news channels for Decepticon activity, complaining about being excluded from combat missions. Prowl spots a small piece of metal in the background of a news report, instantly recognising it as a piece of Ravage's hide. What a clever chap Prowl is.
Bumblebee and the Jumpstarters convince Prowl to go to South America, where the report originated, and investigate. After wrecking a military roadblock and wrestling with a Boa Constrictor, they discover Megatron has a secret crystal mine, mining for ultra-rare crystals which can be imbued with artificial intelligence, creating Megatron an army of soldiers! He also has a human expedition team held hostage.
Bumblebee attacks the mine-fortress alone, somehow avoiding Starscream, Thrust and Dirge's fire power. The Jumpstarters manage to shoot down Starscream causing him to crash into the mine, destroying it instantly.
Megatron escapes, leaving the lone Bumblebee unscathed, and tells him there's a bomb in his fortress where the humans are held prisoner. Bumblebee saves them in the nick of time.
Plague of the Insecticons! (Part 2)
Prime's hunch about the Insecticons being controlled pays off, as he finds Ravage commanding them from a distance.
As Prime confronts Ravage, Ravage commands Bombshell to inject Optimus with a Cerebro Shell. Elsewhere, Kickback blows Roller into pieces, causing Prime to double over in pain just as Bombshell fires. The cerebro shell misses Prime and is inserted into Ravage instead.
The Cerebro Shell takes effect immediately, and Ravage falls under the mental control of Bombshell. Unfortunately, Bombshell himself was under the mental control of Ravage. The resultant mental void leaves Ravage, quite literally, without a mind of his own.
Prime and Warpath head home having not explained what happened to the President. Prime tells Warpath he wouldn't have understood, and they may never be able to make peace with the humans. The President however saw through the Decepticon plan all along, but trusted the Autobots to come and explain. They didn't. The annual ends with the President vowing never to make such a mistake again. That's what happens when you "trust, but verify."
Errors
Plague of the Insecticons!
- The Insecticons are coloured in a hybrid of their G1 and Diaclone colour schemes; Shrapnel and Kickback have brown legs and red chests, Bombshell has brown arms and a red chest.
- Warpath is coloured green in one panel, and silver-grey in another.
- Prime's smokestacks frequently disappear, sometimes alternately.
Missing in Action!
- Tracks has a gold hood in robot mode.
- Rumble is taller than Tracks.
And There Shall Come...A Leader!
- Megatron is consistently coloured gold.
- Soundwave has Mirage's head.
Hunted!
- Thrust uses his "sonic boom" to cause an avalanche.
Items of Note
- This was the first annual, published for Christmas 1985. Due to the 1985 print date in the cover it is frequently mistakenly referred to as the 1985 annual, however annuals are always printed at the end of the year before.
- The Annual contains 8 one-page puzzles and a two-page game.
- Rumble is red and black, lending more credence to FIBRIR
