Transformers Annual 1986

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DANCING ROBOTS FROM SPACE!
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	September 1986
Cover date	1986
Compiled and Edited by	Sheila Cranna
Designed by	Steve Cook
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity
ISBN	ISBN 0-86227-331-5
Page count	64
Price	£3.50

The Transformers Annual 1986 was published in the UK by Marvel Comics Ltd. in September 1986.

Contents

• Front Papers: Dinobots
• This book belongs to
• "In the Beginning..."
• "To a Power Unknown!"
• Datafile: Optimus Prime
• "The Return of the Transformers"
• The Transformers Threeplay Quiz
• Datafile: Megatron
• "State Games"
• "Victory!"
• "The Mission"
• Who's Who: Autobot and Decepticon

Synopsis

Front Papers

Snarl was really fed up with the trekking through the snow.

Two page inside cover poster of the Dinobots, originally given away as an A2 poster in issue #28

"This book belongs to"

Page for the lucky owner to write their name. The page is filled out with the Autobot and Decepticon logos.

In the Beginning...

Subtitled The story of the Transformers ... So far, this is a text story recapping the history of the comic. Teen hacker Adam Reynolds logs into the Decepticon mainframe and reads an overview of the Autobot/Decepticon war.

To a Power Unknown!

A mysterious force causes the Autobots and Decepticons to change sides!

Datafile: Optimus Prime

Profile of Optimus, similar to the Transformers AtoZ and Fact File series that ran in the comic, but this was styled as if it was a file being accessed from a mainframe, to tie it into the "In the Beginning..." story.

The Return of the Transformers

Danny Phillips is obsessed with the Transformers having been rescued by Inferno in the previous Annual. While taking a walk, he wanders into an abandoned nearby power plant and finds a bunch of Decepticons.

The Transformers Threeplay Quiz

Eight questions, each split into three parts of increasing difficulty, all general franchise questions (eg: Who pressed the fateful button that sent the Ark hurtling towards Earth?). The answers are on the following page.

Datafile: Megatron

Profile of Megatron in the same style as the Optimus profile.

State Games

One of the more influential stories in the comics, this is a text story focusing on the early days of Cybertron, when Megatron was a gladiator in the Games.

Victory!

Following the events in "Dinobot Hunt!", the Dinobots dream about dying in battle while in a coma-like state.

The Mission

Text story wherein Jazz rushes to save Hoist, who had fallen down an abandoned human mineshaft while tracking the Constructicons in barren Alaska.

Who's Who: Autobot and Decepticon

Reprints of the Who's Who features from issues #48 and #53-54

Items of note

• The Optimus Datafile casually mentions that he intended to become a medical officer until the war broke out.
• Following on from the previous year's Annual, where most of the stories didn't fit in with the continuity, this Annual fares much better:
  • "Victory" fits between two weekly issues.
  • "State Games" fills out the backstory of Megatron.
  • The Quiz is taken entirely from the comic continuity.
  • but...
  • "The Return of the Transformers" contains quite a few continuity issues, however Jetfire does point out a plot hole present in "Crisis of Command!".
  • "To a Power Unknown!" is also difficult to place and features flying Autobots.