Ring of Hate!
A group of Autobots, tired of fighting an endless war, seek to escape by traveling to a world known for its peaceful ways. But their paradise won't last....
Headmasters issue #1
(Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #130-133)
Script: Bob Budiansky
Pencils: Frank Springer
Inks: Ian Akin & Brian Garvey
Lettering: Diana Albers
Colors: Nelson Yomtov
Editor: Don Daley
- Major characters (in order of appearance): Scorponok, Triggerhappy, Slugslinger, Skullcruncher, Fortress Maximus, Blurr, Hardhead, Highbrow, Kup, Hot Rod, Chromedome, Brainstorm, Gort, Lord Zarak, Galen, Krunk, Duros
- Originally published: July, 1987
Synopsis
Fortress Maximus took on the leadership of the Autobots on Cybertron sometime during the absence of Optimus Prime and his Earthbound troops. Much like Optimus Prime, Maximus reflected on the war itself, and decided that Cybertron wasn't worth saving. He took the Autobots and fled (among them including Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr, looking for life on a peacful planet. Maximus had been watching the planet of Nebulos for many vorns. It was peaceful, and exactly what the Transformers needed.
Many of the Autobot forces disagreed, but slowly they came around. The Steelhaven was constructed, launched as scheduled, and after travelling it landed on Nebulos.
Highbrow eagerly went about his task of finding the planet's inhabitants, where he found Gort and his lover engaged in what Highbrow called "a primitive form of communication." Gort panicked and, in his haste to fight off the monster for his lover, tripped and fell into a small pit. Highbrow passed a small holo-projector to the woman (containing Fortress Maximus' plea), and left.
In Koraja the next day, the Council of Peers tried to meet about the Transformers. Lord Zarak eagerly attempted to stir the Nebulans up into war. Galen disagreed, arguing that Nebulos had been peaceful for years and didn't need to start fighting again.
Blurr arrived in the small town, and began to speak of his desire to live in peace. However, Krunk, one of Lord Zarak's henchmen, used a magnetic gun to make Blurr's arm become attracted to the nearby statue. His arm knocked the entire thing over, causing a panic among the Nebulans. Galen and the Nebulans attacked the Autobot encampment, wounding many of the Autobots. However, none of them fought back, under explicit orders from Maximus to do no battle.
The next day, Fortress Maximus and the Autobots marched to the city, and threw their weapons down, begging for peace one last time. Zarak urged Galen to fire, but Galen refused. Fortress Maximus, Highbrow, Hardhead, Brainstorm, and Chromedome all pulled their heads from their body and placed them on the ground, rendering their bodies useless. Galen accepted the gift, taking the heads and ordering the Autobots to not be fired upon.
Errors
This mini-series in general is rife with miscolorings, mis-namings and misused character models. From the top:
- Cover - Fortress Maximus is mostly grey and brown, while Brainstorm is brown and dark green.
- Page 1 - Gort is in the line of prisoners.
- Page 2/3 - Third panel: Blurr's vehicle mode transforms into Crosshairs' robot mode. Fifth panel: Is that Fasttrack? If so, he should be gray.
- Page 4 - Sixth panel: Fasttrack again, but his colors are reversed.
- Page 5 - First panel: Cog is colored like Hardhead. Hardhead is colored like Cog. Hardhead's response sounds like he should have been Fortress Maximus. Third panel: Gasket and Grommet's vehicle modes are colored as Chromedome and Hardhead.
- Page 7 - Sixth panel: Why is Arcana there?
- Page 16 - Second panel has a green and yellow Spike/Galen.
- Page 18 - Second panel: Cerebros being here is kind of iffy.
- Page 19 - First panel: More Cerebros and Spike/Galen.
Items of note
- Advertised as part 1 in a 4-issue limited series.
- Although the series was billed as a monthly, ensuing issues would actually appear bimonthly.
