Optimus Prime and Megatron's Racetrack Recon!
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| "Optimus Prime and Megatron's Racetrack Recon!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster | ||||||||||||
| First published | August 29, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Ryder Windham | ||||||||||||
| Illustrator | Patrick Spaziante | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | EarthSpark continuity | ||||||||||||
| ISBN | ISBN 1665937866 ISBN 978-1665937863 | ||||||||||||
| Price | $5.99 | ||||||||||||
A day at the races lands Bumblebee and the Terrans in hot water with G.H.O.S.T.
Synopsis
[edit]At G.H.O.S.T. headquarters, Agent Jon Schloder informs Optimus Prime and Megatron that they’ll be observing an out-of-town racetrack for signs of Bumblebee, who’s been illicitly competing in races ever since the end of the Transformers War. On the way to the racetrack, Megatron remains doubtful regarding G.H.O.S.T.’s policies of imprisoning Decepticons, but Optimus reminds him that the organization is their best chance at one day achieving peaceful relations between humans and Transformers. Megatron asks if Prime would really go through with arresting Bumblebee, but the Autobot leader replies that it won’t come to that, as Prime specifically left Bumblebee on the Malto family farm, with instructions to watch the Terrans.
On the farm, Bumblebee does his best to teach the kids about Cybertronian history, but Nightshade and Mo point out that they already know most of the history lessons Bumblebee’s trying to teach them. Jawbreaker asks if Bumblebee can teach them about Cybertronian sports; when Bumblebee explains that he used to live near a speedway, Hashtag is reminded of an amateur car race happening that day. After some negotiating, Bumblebee agrees to sneak over to the speedway, but only so that the kids can watch the race. Using a nearby horse trailer, Hashtag tows the other Terrans to the racetrack.
Unbeknownst to Bumblebee and his charges, Alex and Dot Malto aren’t at the Witwicky Botanical Gardens like they said they were—instead, Dot and several dozen undercover G.H.O.S.T. agents are here to keep an eye out for any potential robots in disguise, and Dot brought Alex along as a surprise gift. Soon, Dot sees Optimus and Megatron arrive—along with Agent Schloder, who announces that he’s just seen a familiar yellow car pull into the parking lot.
In the parking lot, Bumblebee and the Terrans take in the race while doing their best to maintain a low profile. However, Robby spies their parents’ minivan, and Bumblebee sees their mom approaching them, alongside Optimus, Megatron, and Schloder. Worse yet, Hashtag picks up G.H.O.S.T. comm chatter and reports that they’ve just closed the exits. Twitch has an idea, and transforms to drone mode and flies off just as the G.H.O.S.T. agents surround Bumblebee.
Alex arrives just in time to convince Schloder that “Bumblebee” is really his car, and G.H.O.S.T. reluctantly calls off the search. Dot demands to know what they’re doing at the racetrack, and Bumblebee takes the blame for the entire misadventure. However, Robby points out that Dot and Alex said that they were going to the gardens, and Alex laughs. Optimus suggests that they all stay to watch the race, and everyone cheers.
Featured characters
[edit](Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Terrans |
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Notes
[edit]Continuity notes
[edit]- G.H.O.S.T. is still an active peacekeeping force on Earth, while all five of the Terrans possess alternate modes, which would date this story to some time after the events of "A Stygi Situation" but before the season finale.
- Bumblebee's propensity for entering human races was a plot point in the episode "Security Protocols".
- While proposing various history lessons, Bumblebee attempts to tell the story of how the Transformers came to Earth and Megatron’s decision to join Optimus Prime, both of which came up in “Secret Legacy, Part 1”.
- Hashtag’s alternate mode is specifically referred to as a "news van".
