Make a Surprise Attack on the Super Weapon Base!
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| "Make a Surprise Attack on the Super Weapon Base!" 超兵器基地を奇襲せよ!
(Chō Heiki Kichi o Kishū Seyo!) | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Comic BomBom | ||||||||||||
| First published | October 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | November 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Manga | Shōji Imaki | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Beast Wars manga continuity | ||||||||||||
Reinforcements arrive in the form of Hyper Convoy Star Upper, but is the Maximal what he says he is?
Synopsis
[edit]Intergalactic boxer Star Upper makes his way toward Gaia, responding to a Maximal distress call. There, he's determined to finally make a name for himself.
The Gaia-bound Maximals have uncovered a Predacon super weapon base. With Lio Convoy still away on a personal training mission, they've called in Convoy-class help from Maximal HQ. Star Upper arrives driving his spacecar through the roof of the Maximal Gaia base. He brushes off questions about his proof of Convoy status by claiming to be from the secretive Hyper Convoy Brilliant Special '98 rank. As someone involved in covert missions, he can't afford to carry a Matrix around...
Star Upper leads a direct assault on the base, where his nonstrategic tactics earn praise from the rest of the crew, fed up with Lio Convoy's usual caution.
At the base, the team are ambushed by Predacons led by Gigastorm, the powered-up saurian evolution of an Angolmois-infused Megastorm. The base itself is revealed to be a false facade designed to trap the Maximals. The group is forced into a losing battle.
As the Maximals fall around him, Star Upper admits to his shameful ruse. However, only Tasmania Kid was listening! Kid implores Star Upper to fight on as their last hope, then passes out from his injuries.
Newly inspired, Star Upper transforms into battle mode and lays out Gigastorm with a "Star Upper" uppercut—a near-light-speed punch of nearly infinite mass!
The Maximal victory is cemented by the arrival of Lio Convoy, who has returned from his training mission. Recognizing Star Upper from the latter's intergalactic boxing career, Lio Convoy nevertheless keeps the Maximal's secret in thanks for saving his team. Star Upper, having fled in terror from his title match, resolves to return to his athletic career with renewed vigor, going on to take the championship title.
After the commotion, the Maximal Gaia base is visited by Magnaboss, the intended reinforcement. Other than Tasmania Kid, the team regards the new arrival with caution. Surely he's a fake!
Featured characters
[edit](Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons |
|---|---|
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Notes
[edit]Continuity notes
[edit]- Bigmos and his team (Bigmos-tachi) are mentioned as the ones who got the Lio Convoy Unit the intel on the Predacons' new missile base. Bigmos and Tonbot last appeared in "Demolish the Superdreadnought Tank!" and will again appear in "All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet!" along with Mantis. It follows that those three are the whole of the Insectron team in the comic series.
- Lio Convoy's solo training mission continues from the previous chapter, prior to which he took off to learn to control his power over Angolmois Energy, having nearly succumbed to its intoxicating power a chapter earlier.
- Though not yet established, Galvatron has also taken leave of the Predacons to prepate the artificial planet Nemesis above Gaia, leaving command of the planet-bound forces to Gigastorm. Galvatron will reveal his whereabouts and lack of knowledge of on-planet events during this timeframe in "All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet!".
- Aside from two group-shot panels in "All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet!", the two panels in this chapter's ending gag mark Magnaboss's sole appearance in the manga. His individual components are never shown (though his introductory caption makes it clear he is still a triple-combiner), and his fate following the battle on Nemesis is unknown. Don't forget to buy the toy, kids!
Transformers references
[edit]- Until his fight with Gigastorm, Star Upper could no longer transform due to a combination of limited experience transforming and the trauma he experienced when he felt it necessary to run from an important boxing match. Transformation paralysis was introduced in the early years of the brand, but this is the first time the condition is psychological instead of physical.
Real-world references
[edit]- The number in Star Upper's made-up rank refers to the year of the chapter's publication.
Trivia
[edit]- Before passing out, Tasmania Kid appears to cough up blood (no, not that Blood) onto Star Upper's boxing glove. Er, maybe it's Energon. Or oil.
- Data File-006 is dedicated to Starupper.
