Pandora's Gift
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| "Pandora's Gift" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Fun Publications | ||||||||||||
| Published in | Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club #71 | ||||||||||||
| Writers | Jesse Wittenrich & Pete Sinclair | ||||||||||||
| Pencils | Dan Khanna | ||||||||||||
| Inks | Jake Isenberg | ||||||||||||
| Colors | Evan Gauntt | ||||||||||||
| Letters | Jesse Wittenrich | ||||||||||||
| Managing editor | Pete Sinclair | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Of Masters and Mayhem | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | 2020 | ||||||||||||
Secrets are revealed as the fight against Thunder Mayhem begins, with new arrivals coming in to level the playing field...
Synopsis
"Garry the Gorilla", rescuer of Spike Witwicky and a human family, reveals his secret: he can talk! Seeing how the humans aided each other when their bus crashed has instilled in him a vigor that he had thought lost, and he now helps them by carrying them out of the pit they have fallen into. Meanwhile, Metalhawk and his Pretenders fight with the malicious Thunder Mayhem, but it's a losing battle: the combiner isn't taking any damage at all, and has shattered Crossblades's rotor, sending him crashing into the ground and leaving him without use of his shell's alternate mode. Metalhawk pledges to hold the line while Vroom carries Crossblades away so he can repair himself, and though he doesn't relish the thought of fighting Thunder Mayhem single-handed, he is reinforced by "Garry", who "suits on" with an advanced suit of armor and weaponry; the gorilla claims to have fought Thunder Mayhem before, and knows how to slow him down. The giant demands to know the gorilla's identity, and he is happy to comply: leaving his shell, he reveals himself as one-time Autobot leader, Optimus Prime! The Mayhem Attack Squad had imprisoned Optimus and forced him to watch as they slaughtered Cybertron, then set him free in the hope that he would become a monster like them, but instead he retired to Earth to live out a peaceful life among its creatures. But humanity has given him new hope—hope of stopping Thunder Mayhem once and for all!
Thunder Mayhem is unimpressed, though, and effortlessly starts to crush Optimus in his fist. As the fight rages, Elizabeth helps the local authorities to evacuate the city's citizens, and advises them to tell the RAAT to hold back; they won't be able to do anything against a robot this powerful. Her allies don't want to let the titan destroy the city, but they won't have to, as long as Lisa can get a call of her own out. Elsewhere, Megatron sees Optimus fighting Thunder Mayhem, and muses on how they have always been drawn together; he thinks that Optimus may still be able to save this world... but Megatron cannot. As he makes to leave, though, he is confronted by the Mayhem Attack Squad's ally: Ramjet, who makes to drive his blade into Megatron's armor... but he is saved when Toxitron grabs a hold of the omnicidal Decepticon, his toxic secretions melting through Ramjet's living metal and turning his head into liquid slag. Toxitron's commander Impactor berates him, as Ramjet isn't the Wreckers' target... but no sooner does he say this than Ramjet's metal reforms, no worse off than before!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Wreckers | Others |
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Quotes
"Optimus Prime, you were here... this whole time. Our sparks always were drawn together. Two specks of light dancing in the dark. While Cybertron is dead — burned by flames inevitable as those two sparks danced and caught fire — perhaps you can save a world yet. You and these new Autobots. Your new Autobots. I... cannot. Although I always have your spark, I am alone. The last. And that weight... Optimus, you know that weight —"
- —Megatron writes love poetry
Notes
Continuity notes
- The Wreckers were on course for Earth in "Lively Pursuit".
Other trivia
- When Optimus Prime leaves his Pretender shell, it's shown to split down the middle like "classic" Pretender shells, rather than opening its "backpack" like the actual Pretender Optimus Prime toy does.
