Transformers '84 issue 0
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| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | August 21, 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | June 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Guido Guidi | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | John-Paul Bove | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Tom B. Long | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte and Tom Waltz | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
Privy to the terrible secret behind the doomed voyage of the Ark, an Autobot spy learns that war can tarnish even the most heroic figure....
Synopsis
Punch remembers...
Millions of years ago, war rages on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons: torn loose from its orbit, the planet hurtles through interstellar space, on a course that will take it directly towards the dangerous region of the galaxy known as the Stellae Cimeterium. Regardless of the danger, Optimus Prime and his Autobots continue their work on the Ark. The Autobot leader maintains that the real threat to their war-torn world is Megatron, whose Decepticon armies continue to gain ground—but Councillor Traachon disagrees, arguing that their planet must be saved. Optimus points out that a sufficiently powerful detonation on Cybertron's surface will nudge the planet towards Ursa Major as it passes that star, but his words fail to have the desired effect—Traachon demands to know why Optimus's forces are still pouring their resources into the construction of the Ark instead of saving their planet, but Prime says nothing...
As launch day draws near, Prime's handpicked crew of Autobots—his most elite and trusted warriors—prepare for departure on the Ark's first flight, to shoot down the oncoming field of meteors that threatens their world. Bumblebee is awestruck by the size of the ship, Sunstreaker and Jazz are excited at the prospect of a journey into the unknown, the impulsive Windcharger signed up at the first opportunity, Bluestreak wants a chance to get away from his homeworld, and Prowl is motivated by his sense of duty. Ultra Magnus will be staying behind, however, and Optimus informs the stalwart Autobot that, if something happens to him or his shipmates, then he trusts Magnus to assume control of the Autobots. Taken aback by Prime's apparent fatalism, Magnus wonders if the Autobot leader even intends to return... and, once again, Prime falls silent.
The Autobots are unaware that their plans have been intercepted by the Decepticon spy Ravage, who immediately reports his findings to the Decepticon headquarters. A jubilant Megatron congratulates his deep cover agent Counterpunch, whose report has just been corroborated by Ravage's spying. Megatron lays out his plan: once the Autobots have exhausted themselves clearing a safe path through the asteroid field, the Decepticons will strike!
His deception complete, Punch retreats to the wartorn Badlands , where he's met by Optimus Prime, and reports that Megatron has taken the bait. As the other Autobots board the Ark for its inaugural flight, and wonder what's taking their leader so long, Prime tells his double-agent that he's done well... but he has one last deep-cover job for his faithful spy. Prime lays out the full, terrible scope of his plan for the confused Punch: the Ark is a distraction: a juicy target of opportunity designed to lure Megatron and his most powerful underlings offworld. When they're inevitably boarded, Prime will deliberately crash the ship on a distant world, stranding them all—but leaving their homeworld free from Megatron's evil. But this plan hinges on no-one finding them, wherever they are in the universe; Punch's job is to make sure that no-one ever does.
When the Ark launches not long afterwards, Megatron and his Decepticon cadre attack, just as predicted. Optimus Prime pulls off his master plan without a hitch... and Punch's long game begins.
In the year 1017, a smaller but no less ferocious war plays out on Earth: The Viking Canute, king of England, is under siege in Stansham Castle by Godwin and his Vikings from northern France, who are intent on seizing the throne. Early one morning, their attention is drawn to a mysterious shooting star... a shooting star that's really the Autobot scout ship Mantlo, which makes an undignified crash-landing in the woods beyond. Occupants Cloudraker and Fastlane are unhurt, and, more importantly, undeterred from their mission: to find the Ark. The pair transform and race off... unaware that they're being watched by Punch; in his Decepticon persona, he's worked his way into a Decepticon cell that's been covertly following the two Autobots on their mission.
As the sun rises, Canute's men, led by Hakon, ride out to investigate the mysterious celestial omen. They're not the only ones interested, however: the two Autobots have been trailed by a Decepticon unit led by Wingspan, just as intent on locating the lost starship. While the lunkheaded Duocons race off to scout out the terrain around their reconnaissance post, Counterpunch takes the opportunity to fade into the background. As he does so, Wingspan crunches data and discovers the truth: the Ark exists here, buried on another continent... but before he can share the truth with his teammates, he finds Counterpunch pointing his rifle against the back of his head, and the Clone is swiftly executed.
Cloudraker and Fastlane watch as the two human armies clash outside of their ship, and despite their initial decision not to interfere, the sight of Hakon's grievously outnumbered forces up against the savage Vikings compels the two Autobots into action, and their intervention quickly turns the tide of the fight.
Back at their makeshift base, the Decepticons gather around Wingspan's dead body, and the two Duocons immediately suspect the two Autobots. The Autobot Clones are, of course, completely unaware of all this... which is why they're shocked when, after helping to trounce the primitive Vikings, they're taken by complete surprise by the Decepticon attack! Though Cloudraker is able to crush Battletrap with his gravity-rod rifle, he's badly wounded by a fusillade from Flywheels' jet half. Fastlane's sonic boom rifle temporarily takes out both Flywheels and Counterpunch, and Fastlane drags his wounded brother back to their vessel and loads him into the shipboard CR chamber. Neither of them realize that Counterpunch has found his feet... and, hating himself, he blasts their ship, sending the crippled vessel and its occupants hurtling into Stansham Castle.
From Cybertron to Earth, Punch remembers it all: his own betrayals and Prime's own guilt at having abused the trust of his men in the service of the greater good. The business of war is a dirty one, he admits... a business that ensures that even the most heroic 'bots of all have dark secrets to hide.
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | ||
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Quotes
"Wow! It's really something. There's never been a ship this big since... well, the era of the Titans!"
"Everything's big to you, Bumblebee."
- —Bumblebee and Prowl
"Counterpunch, Flywheels... let's get medieval on their afts!"
- —Battletrap goes Pulp Fiction
"Abominations?"
"Ehh, been called far worse."
- —Cloudraker and Fastlane
Notes
Continuity notes
Released to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the original Transformers comic that started it all, Transformers '84 marks a return to the Marvel Comics continuity, the first comic to do so since 2014's Regeneration One. While that series served as a straight sequel to the original 80-issue US comic, this issue is a prequel, tying into both the first issue of the series, and the first original story produced for the expanded UK version of the comic, "Man of Iron," which was reprinted in the US series in 1987. However, like Regeneration One, this story is designed to keep continuity only with the US series (though see "Errors" below for problems with that), and is not intended to fit into the larger continuity of the UK series.
- The coloring hews to many idiosyncrasies of the original Marvel comics, including Megatron's helmet being black, the Ark being silver rather than gold, Optimus Prime missing the distinctive silver stripe around his torso, and Soundwave being purple rather than blue.
- Several panels of the story are recreations of panels from the first issue of the Marvel series; Page 10, panel 2 recreates the scene of Ravage spying on Optimus's meeting with the elders seen on page 5, panel 5 of the original issue (including dialogue from the preceding panel 4); page 20, panel 2 recreates the Autobots blasting asteroids from page 6, panel 5 of the original (complete with an out-of-place Onebox component appearing as a piece of artillery mounted on the Ark's hull); and page 20, panel 3 recreates the Decepticons storming the Ark from page 8, panel 2 of the original. Optimus Prime's dialogue as he sets the Ark on its crash course is cribbed from page 8, panel 6 of the original.
- It is strongly implied that the two Autobot Clones will become the figures in "Man of Iron" myth recounted in the original story: the wounded Cloudraker will become the "Navigator", buried underground in hibernation, while his still-healthy sibling Fastlane will be remembered in local folklore as the eponymous "Man of Iron," who scared away the Viking armies of Godwin the Strongarm during his first appearance. Of course, neither the Navigator nor the Man of Iron looked like anything like Fastline and Cloudraker in the original story, but in what seems an effort to explain this away, the final shot of the pair shows chunks of Cloudraker's armor and paint torn away, revealing a white undercoat in line with the characters' appearance in the coloured version of the original Marvel story.
- The first encounter between the "Man of Iron" and humankind related in the original story concludes with a priest named Aethelric beseeching the Autobot to "return from whence he came." Given Aethelric's absence from this story, and the physical appearance of the Man of Iron in the original, we must presume these events happen after those seen in Transformers '84.
- The original "Man of Iron" story climaxed with an uncharacteristically cold decision by Optimus Prime to destroy the Man of Iron's ship, and the Navigator within. This issue seems to offer a justification for this, by revealing that he was acting in accordance with a millennia-long plan to prevent the Decepticons from ever endangering Cybertron again. In this context, the death of the Navigator is a much smaller price to pay than that of the entire crew of the Ark, which was Prime's original intention, and which was already weighing heavily upon him.
- The Council of Autobot Elders appear, led by the Marvel-original character Traachon. The block-colored generic councillors don't really match up to any of their prior appearances, however, so it's not clear if Xaaron or Tomaandi are among them.
- Ultra Magnus appears as a compatriot of Optimus Prime, who describes him as "Cybertron's greatest warrior," an appellation frequently used in the UK series. Prime further informs him that, if he fails to return, then he trusts Magnus to continue the fight, alluding to Magnus's role in UK continuity, which saw him leading the Autobot resistance on Cybertron alongside Emirate Xaaron for a spell. Cementing the above-mentioned observation that this story cannot actually be in UK continuity, however, is the fact that in that comic, Magnus did not exist at the time of the Ark's launch, having only been brought online shortly before the events of "Target: 2006," set in 1986.
- The Transformers in the Earth-based portion of the story were all from the 1987 lineup and had been missing from the Marvel US comics at the time: Punch/Counterpunch, the Duocons, the Autobot clones Fastlane and Cloudraker, and Decepticon clone Wingspan. (Well, technically the aerial halves of the Duocons showed up in one panel that year, and the complete Battletrap was seen a few years later, but still.) Interestingly, the US reprint of "Man of Iron" came out in mid-1987, shortly after the rest of the lineup had appeared. So if this issue were inserted at that point, it would fit right in as a rounding-out of the obligatory introductions. This also means the death of Wingspan and the retconning of the Autobot clones as other characters (who also died) had no narrative repercussions for the original continuity. However, all three did appear in Regeneration One, set after the original series.
- Who exactly occupied Stansham Castle at the time of Godwin's siege was not elaborated in the original Marvel story; this issue reveals that it was Canute, king of England.
- The countdown to the Ark's launch is measured in "breems," a semi-regular unit of timekeeping in the Marvel comics.
- Shot down by Counterpunch, Fastlane and Cloudraker's damaged ship winds up crashing into Stansham Castle, destroying one of the walls... evidently, the castle was abandoned shortly thereafter, as its contemporary appearance in the Marvel comic depicted it with the same collapsed wall.
- It might sound like a decent idea on paper, but Prime's plan—luring Megatron off Cybertron in the hope that they'll take the war with them—is doomed to fail; anyone who's followed the Marvel continuity will know that Megatron's absence leads to a power vacuum that numerous other Decepticon warlords scramble to fill. Eventually, this leads to the horrifically brutal reign of Straxus, who manages to turn Cybertron into an even worse place to live (as detailed in issue #17 of the Marvel comic), so... uh... good going, Prime?
Transformers references
- Bumblebee says there hasn't been a ship as big as the Ark since "the era of the Titans". In the original Marvel continuity, the term "Titan" had never been used, much less had there been an era of them. While there's no reason the concept couldn't be retconned in, it's presumably a little different from the IDW version clearly being referenced, since in the Marvel continuity, Metroplex and Trypticon seem to be more or less regular dudes who happen to be really big.
- Counterpunch meets with Prime in the ruined wasteland known as the Badlands; this geographical feature didn't appear in the original Marvel run, though Furman did use it as a setting in his Regeneration One comics.
- CR chambers are another non-Marvel invention, first appearing in the Beast Wars cartoon and going on to appear in a wide variety of other Transformers media.
- As the Autobots wait for Prime to board the Ark, Hound reminds Bumblebee that "[he's got] a lot of golden disks spinning," referencing the MacGuffin that appeared numerous times throughout the franchise, first appearing in the Beast Wars cartoon and going on to feature in many other cartoons and comics, including Regeneration One.
Real-world references
- Canute was indeed king of England at the time, and moreover he was overthrown at one point by forces including other Vikings. Immediately after Canute was crowned in 1014, a deposed English king who had been in exile in northern France invaded with the help of another Viking king, driving Canute back to his homeland of Denmark. This is the best match for the events of the comic, though the year is off. By 1017, Canute had returned with a vengeance, retaken the throne definitively, and ushered in a peaceful period of stable rule.[1]
- Canute's soldiers seem to be Christians, calling their enemies "heathens" and referring to the Autobots as "devilry". In contrast, Godwin's men are depicted as Norse pagans, calling the Autobots "Niflheim-spawned". In the real-world contemporary battle for the English throne, the distinction wasn't as stark as this might imply; all the major players were in fact Christian. However, Viking culture was still in the process of Christianization, and smaller groups did indeed hold varieties of beliefs as seen here.
- Fastlane's assessment that "the natives definitely fall into the restless category" paraphrases the famous line from the movie Island of Lost Souls, "The natives are restless."
- An irate Battletrap threatens to "get medieval on their afts", a slight modification of a line from the movie Pulp Fiction.
- The starship Mantlo is named after Bill Mantlo, who wrote the first and second issues of the original Marvel series.
- Punch's grim assessment of Prime's plan, "The needs of the many...", is of course a reference to Spock's famous line from The Wrath of Khan, though it was also spoken by Sentinel Prime, voiced by Leonard Nimoy, in Dark of the Moon.
Errors
- Optimus Prime speaks of Ursa Major as a star; in real life, however, this is the name given to an entire constellation, a grouping of multiple stars. Perhaps Prime just means that they'll be able to send Cybertron to a star within the constellation?
- Micromasters Erector and Crumble appear as workers on the Ark; as per original Marvel continuity, however, the Micromasters wouldn't come to exist until long after Prime's departure from Cybertron, as explained in issue #54 of the US comic and UK issues issues #232-233.
Other trivia
- The line-art takes heavy inspiration from the styles of the Marvel artists who worked on the original series. This is backed up by the colors, which evoke the look of contemporary printing via a somewhat limited palette, block coloring, and liberal use of Ben Day dots.
- It's not a Marvel comic without a good old-fashioned introdump, and we get an abridged one on page 8, where all of the members of the Ark crew stand around and talk about why they decided to join the mission.
- Not an error, per se, but for a comic that namechecks pretty much all of the other original members of the Ark from issue #1 of the Marvel comic and then some, Trailbreaker is conspicuous by his absence.
- Originally solicited for early August, this issue arrives two weeks late, arriving on August 21st.
Covers (1)
- Cover A: Optimus and Megatron have it out, by Guido Guidi
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