Judgment Day!

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Weasels ripped my flesh! RZZZZZ!
"Judgment Day!"
Publisher Marvel Comics
First published September 1986
Cover date January 1987
Adaptation Ralph Macchio
Breakdowns Don Perlin
Finishes Ian Akin and Brian Garvey
Colors Nelson Yomtov
Lettering Janice Chiang
Editor Bob Budiansky

Galvatron attempts to hunt down and destroy Ultra Magnus and the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Synopsis

Galvatron and the Unicron-empowered Decepticons return to Cybertron, where Galvatron dispenses swift revenge upon Starscream as Starscream attempts to proclaim himself leader. As the other Decepticons see Starscream's ashen form crumble to the ground, they proclaim their loyalty to Galvatron.

Unicron devours one of Cybertron's moons, and earns Galvatron's wrath, having hoped that Cybertron and all of its moons would be given to him upon completion of the task Unicron had given him. But Unicron quickly makes clear that he has power to inflict great pain on Galvatron, even from a distance. Galvatron sets to his mission: find Ultra Magnus, the current keeper of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, and destroy them both.

Ultra Magnus and the Autobots, learning of the threat Unicron poses to Cybertron, leave Earth in a pair of shuttlecraft to attempt to help, but they are quickly intercepted by Galvatron and the Decepticons. Although they manage to escape, Kup, Hot Rod, and the Dinobots are separated from the others, and Ultra Magnus must sacrifice most of his ship to fool Galvatron into believing him destroyed.

Hot Rod, Kup and the Dinobots crash upon the surface of a strange alien world, where they are quickly captured by the Quintessons. After being thrown in a prison cell, they meet Kranix, the sole survivor of Lithone. He explains to the Autobots that the Quintessons serve to hunt down survivors of Unicron's attacks, and sentence them to death. After Kranix is executed, the Autobots are taken to face the Quintessons. Just as they are dropped into a pit of Sharkticons, Kup frees himself from his bonds, and frees his fellow Autobots, enabling them to fight back. They soon turn the tables on the Quintessons, who are last seen being chased away by their own Sharkticons. Wheelie, a refugee hiding from the Quintessons, offers the Autobots a ship that will enable them to get off the planet.

Unicron inches closer to Cybertron, devouring the second of its moons, taking Bumblebee and Spike along with it...

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Others

Notes

Differences with the film

The comic adaptation continues to be based on a slightly earlier version of the script than the finished film uses. Alternate scenes, details, and staging derived from the script include:

  • Unicron does not provide Galvatron with a ship, with Cyclonus instead serving as the new Decepticon leader's personal vessel. As established last issue, there are numerous Sweeps and members of Cyclonus's Armada.
  • The two shuttles which the Autobots use to escape Autobot City are explicitly stated to be newly-constructed.
  • While the finished film moves Moonbase Two's destruction up to right after the first one's, the comic keeps it in the same place as the script had it, following the conclusion of the Quintessa adventure.
  • There's an additional scene that furthers the "Ultra Magnus doesn't understand Perceptor's overdeveloped vocabulary" running gag, as Perceptor explains the dangers of taking off without warming up their engines first.
  • As the Autobot shuttles take off, Astrotrain swoops in to lead an attack on them. The Autobots escape by blasting an asteroid field, creating a screen of debris that covers their escape; a tactic Ultra Magnus picked up during a battle on Beta 4, which Galvatron angrily remembers.
  • The auto-combatant kicks Hot Rod in the butt, rather than punching him, then razzes him with a mechanical tongue.
  • The missiles the Decepticons fire at the Autobots are called out in dialogue as "moleculon missiles."
  • Kup "inverting polarities" involves bringing the shuttle to a dead stop, so that the moleculon missiles overshoot it and detonate a safe distance away. This was changed for the finished film to the shuttle zapping the missiles with some kind of scrambler beam.
  • Rather than crashing after taking hits from Cyclonus, as in the film, Kup and Hot Rod's shuttle is pulled down to Quintessa by a giant rocket-powered claw that shoots up from the planet's surface.
  • Hot Rod and Kup encounter and are captured by Sharkticons rather than Allicons.
  • The Quintessons are explicitly tied to Unicron, as Kranix explains that they hunt down those who try to escape his wrath.
  • While the finished film has Hot Rod and Kup's restraining bolts disappearing from around them as they fall into the Sharkticon pit, the script and adaptation depict Kup managing to escape his bonds and shooting Hot Rod free. However, see below.
  • Rather than a pool, the Sharkticon pit into which Hot Rod and Kup are thrown is a gladiator pit, and they fight the creatures there, since they don't have to use their vehicle modes to create a whirlpool and escape before they can thrown down with the beasts on dry land. (but see "continuity errors," below).
  • Spike doesn't swear!
Grimlock jumps his cue.

Other changes made to the story, usually in the name of condensing and simplifying it, which are not derived from the script include:

  • Galvatron and Starscream's final exchange ("Megatron? Is that you?" "Here's a hint!") is omitted, replaced instead with Galvatron very awkwardly recapping his origin.
  • The various scenes of the Autobots making a run for their shuttles when the Decepticons attack are all cut: Arcee, Hot Rod, and Daniel dodging fire; Blurr trying to get the Dinobots into a shuttle and Hot Rod and Kup having to take over; and Springer pulling Arcee aboard their ship when she gets left behind.
  • When Ultra Magnus get the idea to repeat the Beta 4 asteroid trick, Springer remembers it from that past battle. In the script, however, it was Kup who was part of that battle, thereby setting up the story he goes on to tell the Dinobots about Beta 4 and his encounter with the Ick-Yak there. The scene of Kup telling that story, however, is cut from the comic, so Hot Rod is not distracted by it; he simply loses to the auto-combatant fair and square.
Verily, I, Sludge, say unto thee. Forsooth!
  • The Quintessa adventure is massively truncated, to much negative effect:
    • Hot Rod and Kup land safely, so the scene of Hot Rod's battle with the giant squid is cut, and Kup is never in need of repair. However, in the script, when they are thrown into the Sharkticon pit, Kup is able to escape his bonds because his complaint that Hot Rod "left a piece out" when putting him back together turns out to be true, leaving him double-jointed enough to wriggle free. As the scene of Kup even needing repair in the first place was cut from the adaptation, the comic simply credits Kup's "instinct for survival" as the reason for his ability to slip his bonds.
    • The scene of Kup trying to placate the Sharkticons with the universal greeting is left out, thereby removing the necessary set-up for the greeting's use on Junkion, which still takes place in the next issue of the adaptation.
    • In a huge difference to both the film and script, Grimlock lands with Hot Rod and Kup and is captured and put on trial with them. The plot is completely unchanged by this, but the scene of the Dinobots exploring Quintessa and meeting Wheelie is cut (as is another scene of the Dinobots getting lost in the first place that was in the script, but which didn't make it to the finished film). Without Wheelie to guide them to the rescue, Sludge, of all characters, is required to deliver an excruciatingly overwrought speech explaining that the Dinobot saw the others get captured and stealthily followed them to the Quintesson palace.
    • Having been deprived of an introductory scene, Weelie appears out of nowhere once the fighting is over. The need to have him introduce himself and explain his deal in one speech bubble (the only line of dialogue he gets in the entire adaptation) means he doesn't get to talk in rhyme.
  • While the film intercuts the Quintessa scenes with scenes of the Autobots crashing on Junkion and battling the Decepticons there, the comic presents them as one unbroken run, rather than split the story over two issues.

Visual differences from the film, resulting from incomplete or outdated reference material include:

  • Starscream has no extra coronation vestments, lacking both his famous crown and cape.
  • The ship in which Jazz and Cliffjumper try to escape the moon is drawn using the model of a Lithonian ship (as seen in the finished movie, but not the comic) as reference. Also, it's upside down.
  • The auto-combatant bears only a loose resemblance to its animated counterpart.

Continuity and plotting errors

  • The abridged dialogue during Hot Rod and Kup's trial scene removes the Quintesson's warning that the Autobots will be "held in contempt of this court." However, Hot Rod's response—"I have nothing but contempt for this court!"—is retained, turned into a simple non-joke statement, lacking the set-up or emphasis in his delivery that makes it a pun.
  • In accordance with the script, as noted above, the Sharkticon pit is depicted as a gladiator pit when Hot Rod, Kup, and Grimlock are thrown in to it. However, earlier, when Kranix is tossed in, it appears as it does in the finished film, as a water-filled pit, though the script never describes it in this way even during this scene.
  • Spike refers to Unicron by name, but there's no way for him to know the monster planet's name, as Hot Rod and Kup have only just learned it from Kranix themselves.

Art and technical errors

  • Issue 1 was called "The Transformers: The Movie" on its cover, but this issue and the subsequent one are simply called "Transformers: The Movie", without a definite article. The indica for all three issues identify the series' title as "Transformers: The Movie Vol. 1".
  • Hot Rod's right arm is in a pretty crazy position on the cover; it seems like it's meant to depict a Sharkticon merely biting his forearm, but the art appears to show Hot Rod's arm phased through the Sharkticon's body and sticking out its mouth. Also, only the two Sharkticons being tossed about by Hot Rod and Grimlock have antennae.
  • Page 1:
    • Cyclonus's ears and Galvatron's fists are dark blue; they should be pale blue.
    • Galvatron's eyes are uncolored.
    • Compared to last issue, in which only six figures were visible in addition to Galvatron, Cylconus, and Scourge, there are now loads of new troops for the new Decepticons to command, with at least fifteen discernible silhouettes in the background.
  • Page 2, panel 2: Galvatron's body is dark blue instead of pale blue.
  • Page 4:
    • Panel 1: Jazz is colored like Cliffjumper, and Cliffjumper is colored like Jazz. After being colored like Bumblebee in issue #1, this means Cliffjumper is coloured incorrectly in both his appearances in the comic adaptation.
    • Panel 2: The shuttle seen being constructed in this panel doesn't look anything like the shuttles the Autobots used to escape in a few pages' time, which match the design of the ships seen in the finished film.
  • Page 5:
    • Galvatron's fists and helmet are colored dark blue instead of pale blue again for most of this page.
    • Panel 4: Springer's only suposed to be two shades of green—one light, one dark—but this issue adds a medium tone into the mix. In this panel, his torso is light instead of dark, and his left bicep is medium instead of light. His right shoulder pylon is light green instead of yellow.
  • Page 6:
    • Panel 1: Ultra Magnus's helmet and chestplate are colored pale blue (the same color used to shade his white parts) instead of the darker blue they should be (seen in this panel on his arms).
    • Panel 4: Hot Rod's nose is fuchsia instead of white.
  • Page 7:
    • The sides of Ultra Magnus's chestplate are red instead of blue.
    • Springer's cheekguards are consistently medium green, instead of the same dark green color as the rest of his helmet. In panel 1, his whole torso is mostly a solid mass of medium green.
    • Panel 1: The headrests of the seats Springer and Perceptor are sitting in are coloured green and blue respectively, as if they were parts of their bodies.
  • Page 8, panel 6: Ultra Magnus's helmet is white instead of blue. The top of his torso, just above his chesplate, is coloured blue instead of red.
  • Page 9: From this page, we can see that, like last issue, Hot Rod is still being colored to the specifications of an earlier model that omits the white thighs of his finished Marvel design, and makes his feet blue/black instead of white. His Autobot symbol is uncolored on this page, and in panels 2 and 3, his collar is a pale purple instead of the same fuchsia as the rest of his body.
  • Page 12, panel 4: Springer's cheekguards are still medium green instead of dark green, and his torso is mostly medium green, including portions of his light-green chestplate. His "abs" are yellow instead of dark green, and a fourth shade of green—a pale yellowish-green, used to shade his yellow should pylons—is used for his face and hands, which should just be light green.
  • Page 13:
    • Panels 2-3: Galvatron's torso and shoulders are solid dark blue.
    • Panel 5: The top of Ultra Magnus's torso is white instead of red. The headrest of the seat behind him has been colored the same red as his his body.
  • Page 14:
    • Panel 1: Springer's cheekguards, torso, and now shoulders are all again medium green. They're finally fixed for panel 2, but his face remains pale yellow-green throughout, instead of the same light green as his chestplate which it should be.
    • Panel 5: The foregrounded Hot Rod seems like he's meant to be block-coloured, but he's two colours instead of one: his head is dark blue, and his body grey.
  • Page 15-20: Throughout these pages, only the central panel of Grimlock's chest is colored yellow, when his whole chest should be yellow. The Dinobot leader is otherwise entirely block-coloured blueish-grey. Also, per Kup's finished Marvel color scheme, his the old Autobot's legs should be solid grey, but he is frequently coloured with either solid blue boots, or as having blue shins.
  • Page 16:
    • Panel 4: Kranix is missing the box on the center of his chest.
    • Panel 6: The top of Kranix's torso is now coloured pale maroon, but only on his left-hand side; the color fades out as it moves across his shoulders.
  • Page 19, panel 1: Kup has a solid blue face, helmet, and torso.
  • Page 20:
    • Panel 1: The Sharkticon in the foreground is missing its antennae.
    • Panel 6: Sludge's dino-mode head is grey instead of yellow.
  • Page 21: The Sharkticons' antennae appear and disappear from panel to panel. When seen from behind, the ridges that outline their bulging eyes are colored green, but they should be purple; it's the eyeballs themselves, only visible from the front, that are green. Swoop's dino-mode head is solid red (it should be white, with only his lower jaw and crest being red), and his wings are blue/black instead of white.
  • Page 22, panel 1: Sludge's dino-mode neck is missing the yellow portion on its upper half.
  • Page 23: Though colored blue on the previous page, Bumblebee's eyes are yellow on this one.

Cover

  • Issue #2:Hot Rod, Kup, and Grimlock fight the Sharkticons.

Reprints

Reprint notes

Marvel UK

  • All three issues of the mini-series were collected into one special for release in the United Kingdom. This reprint edits the date from 2005 to 2006, to keep continuity with the regular weekly comic's recent story "Target: 2006," which—working from an even older draft of the film than the one on which this adaptation was based—placed the events of the movie in that year.

IDW Transformers Classics

Like the regular monthly series, this mini-series also had its colors "remastered" for The Transformers Classics series of trade paperbacks, with varying degrees of success. The process was applied less thoroughly to these issues; notably, Hot Rod was not recolored into toy-accurate red-and-orange, nor was Soundwave changed from Marvel purple to toy-and-cartoon accurate blue, unlike in previous volumes.

  • Page 1: Cyclonus's ears are corrected from dark blue to light blue.
  • Page 6, panel 4: Hot Rod's nose is corrected from fuchsia to white.
  • Page 7, panel 1: Hard to fault anyone not being able to fathom Springer's colors in this one, but his correctly-coloured yellow shoulder pylon is changed to incorrect pale yellow-green.
  • Page 9: Careless remastering changes Hot Rod's already-incorrect pale purple collar to the same light blue used for the exhaust pipes on his forearms.
  • Page 12, panel 4: Springer's correctly colored light-green chestplate is changed to match his incorrectly-colored medium green torso.
  • Page 14, panel 2: Springer's rarely correctly colored cheekguards are changed to incorrect light green!
  • Page 16, panel 6: The maroon on the top of Kranix's torso is extended to span the width of his shoulders, though it shouldn't be there at all.

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