Mystery of the Speedia 500
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| "Mystery of Speedia 500" スピーディア500の謎
(Speedia 500 no Nazo) | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | TakaraTomy | ||||||||||||
| First published | 2026 April 14 | ||||||||||||
| Manga | Hayato Sakamoto | ||||||||||||
| Color | Tai Koshii (1, 2, 3, 8, 18p), Gufu Kandagawa (4, 5, 6p), Tasuku Tajima (7p), Lebanon Sugi (9, 10, 21p), Usakomu (11, 12, 13p), Rakurai Tsunetaka (1, 14, 15, 16, 23p) Ricken (17, 18p), Yuki Ohshima (19, 20p), DAI-XT (24p) | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Kouji Nimura | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity and Micron Trilogy cartoon continuity | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | The End | ||||||||||||
Seeking a power source to save their universe, the Stunticons end up in a multiversal race.
Synopsis
Aboard Untite's ship, Bluebolt explains to Dark Amber Leo Prime that Lio Convoy's green color and his dark amber color is the result of exposure to righteous Angolmois Energy and malevolent Angolmois Energy, respectively, examples of the color changing phenomenon. Such color changes can come from all sorts of power ups, including those induced by Energon Matrices and forestonite during the G2 era. Forestonite has the same power as Energon Matrices, and this is why the veteran Stunticons have embarked on a journey to find more forestonite.
In the Nemesis, the Stunticons find a black hole, intending to go through to the other side. Dead End, ever pessimistic, doesn't mind the risk, what with the universe ending and all, while Wildrider relishes the thrill. Breakdown, on the other end, is terrified and not very good at hiding it. Drag Strip, on the other hand, is frustrated because this kind of space exploration isn't for him. He was built to be number one in racing, and none of this stuff interests him. After he crosses the line in insulting the other Stunticons, Motormaster shuts down the whining, pointing out that they got this important job thanks to their record as a former scout squad, but get violent when the dismissive F-1 racer brings up his leader's rivalry with Optimus Prime. Crossing into the black hole, the Stunticons and the ship are affected by the dimension's forestonite particles, inducing a G2-style color change in their bodies. In 2010, four Transformers had went into a black hole and experienced similar changes, but did not investigate why then. Now it is realized that it was the result of the presence of forestonite. The Stunticons spot a rift that's pulling them in, and they willingly decide to enter.
On the other side, they find the planet Velocitron during one of its many races. In the race, the New Decepticon Army attempts to use their rocket car to interfere with the racing Hot Shot, but he manages to escape their clutches with Cyber Key power, and the trio of malicious doofuses end up crashing and arrested by police. The scenario speaks to Drag Strip's inner soul as a racer. The Stunticons are brought before Flatline, who explains that Velocitron (Speedia to some) is now a destination of multiversal travel since the denizens of this universe began the Multiverse Space Bridge Initiative. Looking up their origin, Flatline determines the Stunticons to be from the G1 World during the G2 era and, despite Motormaster's protestations, impresses them into racers to help generate energy for the planet and marks them with the G2 Decepticon insginia. The doctor also gives them new livery to reflect their forestonite-granted abilities. When they're let go, Motormaster ignores the entire racing thing, wanting to get back to their actual goal, which upsets Drag Strip, who swears off the other Stunticons to race as much as he pleases. Motormaster doesn't appreciate the insubordination and walks off on his own to complete their mission to save their universe. Drag Strip runs into Hot Shot, and the two gas each other up for the next race.
In the next Speedia 500 race, many Transformers from different universes participate: Prowl and Wasp from the Animated World; Knock Out and Breakdown from the Prime World; Lockdown and Shadow Striker from the Cyberverse World; champion and leader of Velocitron, Hot Shot; and Drag strip from the G1 World. The other three Stunticons survey the race's spectators, figuring that they're all from worlds in their post-war era and decide to join the race. Elsewhere, Motormaster, figuring he should learn about this universe's history, runs into the Mini-Con Jolt, who offers to serve as Motormaster's guide.
The race begins and Breakdown manages to take out both Knock Out and the other Breakdown with his oil-leaking. Wildrider's swerving causes Wasp to peter out, and Prowl jumps on the reckless Stunticon, forcing both off the racetrack—Wildrider activates his anti-grav gear and the two career off into the sky. Dead End uses his fireball charge to rush through the Cyberverse racers, and Shadow Striker is forced to take care of a disassembled Lockdown.
In the "Shrine of Speedia", Jolt explains to Motormaster about his universe: after stopping the Grand Black Hole that threatened their world, they began the New Space Bridge Initiative to connect the scattered Transformer colonies. Motormaster, realizing that if this universe's denizens could save their world from destruction, the same could happen for the G1 World, is elated with hope. Jolt continues that the Space Bridge project developed into multiversal travel so that they could connect and collaborate with other universes. Motormaster speculates that his world could perhaps evacuate its population to those other worlds if needed. Spotting a display of the Ancients who began the original Space Bridge Initiative, Motormaster recognizes one of them as his rival on the road, Autobot Supreme Commander Optimus Prime!
In the race, Dead End continues careening out of control as a fireball. He muses that perhaps it's finally his time to go and thinks back to his good times with the other Stunticons before he's rescued by Breakdown. Their tearful conversation elicits applause from the crowd, and the two sit out the rest of the race. It's down to the final two racers—Hot Shot and Drag Strip—as they enter a tunnel. Hot Shot uses his Cyber Key power to speed ahead, but Drag Strip has a trick up his sleeve; using his G2 power of Shadowstrip of moving instantaneously in darkness, the Stunticon slips ahead of his opponent and wins the race. But just before he cross the finish line, Wildrider and Prowl crash into Drag Strip from the sky. Hot Shot rushes to help the hurt racer. Drag Strip doesn't appreciate the Autobot stopping the race just to help a fallen opponent, but Hot Shot points out that he did cross the goal already, even if his run ended in an accident. Hot Shot explains to Drag Strip that he had previously spurred help to win races, but that he was able to gain his first win with the help of his friends, just as Drag Strip had with his Stunticon comrades taking out the other racers (even if it's against the rules...).
Celebrations are interrupted when the Nemesis goes out of control and Metroplex is called in to handle the wayward ship. To defend their ride, Motormaster transforms into Menasor by himself prompting Drag Strip to declare that it's their duty to help their leader. The four Stunticons combine, finishing up G2 Menasor and allowing him access to all of their superpowers. With a ruby crystal as lens, Menasor fells Metroplex with the Container Laser Cannon. Before the battle can continue, Jolt rushes to stop the commotion, explaining to the giant Autobot the Stunticons' purpose in this universe. He has talked with their Primus, who has explained that such color changes have occurred in the universe that birthed this one—a dark fog generated by the dark god Unicron who was destroyed in the battles of that world. The Stunticons recognize this Unicron as different from the one they know and suppose that the dark fog must be a form of Angolmois Energy. The Nemesis, revealing its erratic behavior as the result of strange fog, crashes and a figure emerges from the spaceship. It reveals itself as Nemesis Prime! Looking from afar, a cycloptic figure is satisfied with this turn of events, noting that a giant energon star will reset this universe...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
Continuity notes
- This story makes extensive reference to the various kinds of color changing, noting it as the result of a variety of power ups, including the Car Robo Brothers acquiring their super modes from God Magnus's Energon Matrix and the G2 era recolors explained as a result of forestonite (the Transformers' coloration in the black hole in "The Killing Jar" is linked by this story indicating that it contained forestonite).
- The Stunticons were shown to start their journey to find new energy sources in the previous chapter. That story also features the mentioned unification of the Cybertronian population under the "Maximal" banner and the abolishment of the Convoy system.
- The black hole encountered by the Stunticons is either based on, or is the one that serves as the setting of the Generation 1 episode "The Killing Jar".
- Wildrider mentions the Stunticons participating in demolition derbies, as was shown in the Unite Warriors Offshot chapter for Menasor.
- Wildrider and Dead End are portrayed as friends, in reference to their appearance together in "The Burden Hardest to Bear".
- Drag Strip brags about being driven by the racer known as Mueller; he was indeed the driver of the F-1 formula car that became Drag Strip, as shown in "The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1".
- The rift the Stunticons encounter in the black hole is based on the rift that served as a plot point for part of the Energon cartoon.
- Drag Strip notes that he's changed his name; his original Takara name was "Drag Stripe" (ドラッグストライプ). It's been changed to "Drag Strip" (ドラッグストリップ) to align with Hasbro nomenclature and the name the Legacy toy is sold under in Japan. Menasor's name also changes in spelling (メナゾール to メナソー), but this goes unmentioned.
- Velocitron, here named both that and "Speedia", its original Japanese name, depending on the individual, was the setting of a good portion of the Cybertron cartoon. Hot Shot is noted as the planet's leader, which indeed happened in "Beginning", the final episode of the series. Also present are the planet's flying race announcers and a scanning computer from "Race".
- The New Decepticon Army makes a reappearance, sans Thundercracker, whose heart was never in the new group. The jet shows up later on a display screen with an Autobot insignia, indicating he rejoined them after the New Decepticons' crash on Mars in "Beginning".
- Hot Shot uses his Cyber Key, a power-up gimmick established in the Cybertron franchise.
- Flatline states that the new Space Bridge project set up in "Beginning" developed into a multiversal effort connecting different worlds, explaining the crossover of various characters in the previous "Velocitron Speedia 500" comics.
Transformers references
- Velocitron's police force is made up of officers based on Ransack's "Gasket Patrol Type" toy exclusive to Toys"R"Us.
- Flatline's nurse assistant is based on Thunderblast's "Chromia White Version" toy exclusive to the first printing of the ninth volume of Victor Entertainment's Galaxy Force DVDs. Her status as a nurse is due to the fact that the deco was based on Super-God Masterfroce medic Minerva. This deco was previously used for the new "Chromia" character and so we've elected to put the nurse on that page for simplicity.
- Flatline compliments the Legends World's system of labeling universes as simple and understandable by kids, a soft rib against the complex universal stream terminology established by Fun Publications' TransTech stories (and later utilized in Alternity).
Real-world references
- The group of Thunderblast, Crumplezone, and Ransack behave according to the trope established by the villainous Time Skeleton trio in Time Bokan, which went on to inspire many similar trios in later Japanese media.
