Earthforce

Earthforce is a group of Earth-stationed Autobots in the Generation 1 continuity family.

Fighting crime in a never time!

Earthforce is the name of a cell of Autobots commanded by Grimlock and stationed on Earth to counter the rising threats of Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave, and Shockwave and their respective armies. Grimlock formed his group as a reaction to Optimus Prime's command regimen, which he interprets as weak and counterproductive to ending the Decepticon menace.

Earthforce's base of operations is in northern Canada. They get into lots of not-so-serious hijinks.

More importantly, it's the source of a huge continuity trainwreck in the latter issues of the Marvel Comics UK series.

Fiction

Marvel Comics UK continuity

Ratchet, Sunstreaker
Way before Groundbreaker
There was Huffer and Mirage
And Bumblebee in Spike's garage
I still kick it old school
Don't tell me that I'm so uncool
Or that I'm too absorbed
With 19, 19, 1984.

After Galvatron (uh, one of them) revived Prowl, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Sunstreaker, and Silverbolt on the Ark, intent on mind-controlling them, they rebelled and sealed Galvatron away in the Ark's medbay. Perchance to Dream As Unicron neared Cybertron, Optimus Prime dispatched Wheeljack and Prowl to the Arizona desert to investigate Decepticon activity. Musing about the simplicity of the old days, they stumbled across Megatron, the Constructicons, and the Stunticons, deep into a plan to detonate Earth's atmosphere and convert it into Energon. Starting Over!

Meanwhile, the Dinobots were ambushed by Shockwave, Starscream, Ravage, and the Battlechargers, demanding to know how Grimlock was able to revive them without using the Creation Matrix. In the middle of the Dinobots' retaliation, Optimus Prime interrupted them angrily, asking them to be mindful of the humans' civilization and to adhere to the Autobot Code. Two Steps Back!

Back on the Ark, Grimlock once again announced his dissatisfaction with Prime's leadership and threatened to take his Dinobots and leave the Autobots for good. Optimus Prime dismissed Grimlock's behavior as a tantrum, prompting a battle between the two that ended in stalemate. Conceding to Grimlock partially, Optimus Prime allowed Grimlock to be the Autobot Commander on Earth, so long as he played less rough than usual. A group of Autobots entered the room and announced that Prowl and Wheeljack had foiled Megatron's plan to detonate a deadly heat-trapping gas in Earth's atmosphere, but were in danger and needed backup. With Prime's blessing, these Autobots joined the Dinobots to form the Earthforce. Break-Away!

Ironhide and Bumblebee found and destroyed a partially-constructed duplicate Devastator, under construction because the Constructicons had lost the ability to combine. Desert Island Risks! Jazz and Sunstreaker, meanwhile, found that Prowl had neutralized the gas days ago and was enjoying the relaxed pace of south Louisiana. Life in the Slow Lane

Prowl later followed Megatron back in time to the era of the Underbase Saga, to stop him from recruiting the Seacons to his cause. Flashback! After few minor altercations Snow Fun! The Living Nightlights! and incidents Mystery!, several of the team managed to disrupt the Decepticons' Enclave, preventing their splintered enemies from uniting. The Bad Guy's Ball! They then joined up with the Survivors to help them back up Carnivac's solo attack on the Mayhem Attack Squad; they took the surviving Mayhems prisoner, and welcomed Carnivac into their ranks. Where Wolf?

Prowl decides who to pick next for his kickball team

The Decepticon Civil War continued, but Soundwave and Starscream both began working against their alleged commanders - Soundwave even had Megatron lured into an ambush. Secrets Bugged! They set up a clash between Megatron and Shockwave, then let the Autobots attack them while they took control of the Decepticon factions and united them into a single army under dual leadership (both plotting to backstab the other later). Internal Affairs! The Autobots fortified their headquarters, though a flaw in their design caused them to temporarily switch the defences off, The House that Wheeljack Built! thus leaving them vulnerable to a massed Decepticon assault. The Autobots foiled the plot, partly due to the Survivors' presence, and Soundwave took the opportunity to mention to the Decepticons "look how bad Starscream's plan was, clearly I should be in charge!". Divide and Conquer!

Optimus Prime came to Autobot Earthbase for an ill-timed inspection visit, just as Slag was driven to run wild by a cerebral circuit flaw, causing many hijinks as the other Dinobots struggled to keep his condition secret from the Autobot leader. The 4,000,000 Year Itch! Prime also inspected the base's "bodyshop", which was used to reanimate the long-inert Tracks (over Grimlock's violent protests). Makin' Tracks! After Prime's visit, the imprisoned Mayhem Squaddies managed to escape, viciously injuring Inferno in the process. Shut Up!

The Decepticon Civil War flared up again when Megatron & Shockwave put out a contract on Starscream's head, knowing he'd blame Soundwave and go after him - and either they or their assassins could finish off whoever remained and take control of their armies again. The plan failed when the Autobots got involved: Snarl had fallen ill with Corrodia Gravis and with Starscream as the only compatible Transformer who could provide Snarl with the needed circuit-boost, Grimlock was required to order his troops to protect Starscream from his enemies. Assassins External Forces! The Lesser Evil Eventually, Snarl's body gave out regardless, requiring drastic measures to save his life. Destiny of the Dinobots! Note: This story cannot happen if you consider Earthforce to happen in a Continuity that leads to the American G2. See the Continuity Section for more details.

When Bombshell implanted a cerebro shell to send Superion on a rampage, the Autobots recruited a human reporter to get the shell out. Inside Story! They gladly gave him a tour of their base and full interviews in gratitude, but another cerebro shell ensured that the story he wrote painted the Autobots in a negative light. End of the Road!

At some point, with the Matrix still lost and a Decepticon alliance ruined beyond repair, Optimus decided to search for the original site of the Underbase - having discovered it was linked into the centre of Cybertron and thus to Primus, they intended to use the site to tap into Primus' energies and use it as a substitute for the Matrix against Unicron. Six of the team were either called in or had already rejoined Prime's main force aboard the Ark, and were dispatched to the Acid Wastes to search. There they came into conflict with the mad Decepticon known as Megadeath. Facing up to personal demons, they defeated him and found the Underbase site. The Magnificent Six!

Continuity

Part of an attempt to help sell Europe's Classics line of reissues, the Earthforce stories, black and white backup material for the issue's "main" story, intentionally harken back to the simpler era of Transformers' early years. Although the stories were independent material, they often included tie-ins to the main story with references to such topics as Unicron approaching and Grimlock's attempts to revive his comrades. However, many of these tie-ins were referred to in advance of them actually occurring in the continuity proper. It appears to the reader that writer Simon Furman knew vaguely what was going to happen in the future of the comic, so he wrote these stories with references to these future events.

Simon Furman has since stated that a key part of the problem was that due to publishing deadlines, the altered format of the UK comic and the shorter US stories, he found that attempts to write UK strips tying into the concurrent US stories proved near impossible as the UK comic kept interrupting the US strips with reprints of old UK stories in order to widen the gap in publishing. This in turn meant that the UK stories often pre-empted upcoming surprises in the US strips. Consequently he abandoned efforts to tie the two strips together. He has since stated that even he finds it hard to place the Earthforce stories. Largely this has been considered a pseudocanon revelation that the Earthforce Saga as irreconcilable with the main Marvel Comics continuity. Based on these quotes, the stories were obviously intended to fit into the continuity, but any approach to make this a reality has problems. There are typically two ways fans use to look at the saga in their own personal canon: either it happens in an alternate reality or it happens in the mainline.

Alternate Reality Approach

This approach declares that the stories take place in the Movie timeline(but turned in a different direction by the fact that the Primal Scream is a multiversal singularity.Vector Prime: In the Beginning), and the Marvel Comics continuity is an alternate universe that was created as a result of the Time Wars. By splitting prior to the Underbase Saga, this theory solves nearly all problems with resolving character status and appearances. The only major problem with this approach is that it leaves a loose end with the Survivors. Before Earthforce started and when US-UK continuity was still around, there was a storyline of the Mayhem Attack Squad hunting down Decepticon defectors Carnivac and Catilla.The Hunting Party Bludgeon killed Catilla and an enraged Carnivac swore vengeance. But he got the vengeance... during the Earthforce stories, with the Earthforce cast playing a role in the final story Where Wolf? and Carnivac joining them afterwards. So... does this mean Carnivac didn't get his revenge in the non-Earthforce timeline? Or did he get it differently? Or was it pretty much the same (off-panel), but with the US cast instead of the Earthforce cast? One approach to tying up this loose end is to consider The Hunting Party and the Way of the Warrior storyline to also only happen in the Earthforce continuity.

Mainline Approaches

All other approaches involve integrating Earthforce into the Marvel Comics continuity. The goal would be a continuity that would encompass both Earthforce and the American G2. Several of the characters that appear in Earthforce are supposed to be dead or near to it in any such approach. There are several methods of resurrection offered during the course of the saga:

• Nucleon - Grimlock and the Dinobots are revealed to have been restored to life without the Creation Matrix. Shockwave, lacking a method of resurrection himself, tried to learn this method from Grimlock. While Nucleon is never once mentioned in Earthforce, a footnote specifies the details of Grimlock's method will be revealed in "an upcoming U.S. story."Two Steps Back! The only method of resurrection ever used by Grimlock in a U.S. story is Nucleon.The Price of Life! Nucleon can also heal the Aerialbots in the After the End of the Road! Approach, as that would follow Grimlock giving it to them prior to On the Edge of Extinction!
• Galvatron's Mind Probes - As an unintended side-effect, Galvatron's probes reactivate Autobots Prowl, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, and Silverbolt. It may also have resurrected the Aerialbots behind the scenes, although this is not implied.Perchance to Dream
• A "Computer programmed to recreate the deactivated warriors in their life pods" - No Transformers were explicitly stated to come back through this method. The fact that Optimus Prime had an expectation for it to work implies that somebody had been revived with it. This is very likely the method used to bring back at least some of the Aerialbots...assuming they were on the list.Makin' Tracks!
• The "ACU" - The previous computer possibly just fixes minds, but the ACU is shown to fix (or unfix) physical bodies. Tracks is shown to be rebuilt using this.Makin' Tracks!
• The Flashback Doorway - Not a way of bringing somebody back to life, per se, but the only method it is suggested the Decepticons had. Basically, Decepticons about to die would be rescued from death and taken offline in hiding until they could be collected and reactivated in the present. Potentially the Predacons, the Decepticon Triple Changers, and the Battlechargers are brought back this way. As all of these Decepticons ended up under Shockwave's leadership, it would make more sense that Shockwave used it to recruit the above members. This is something of a paradox with the Battlechargers, as they were shown prior to Shockwave having a method of resurrection. It is possible Megatron rescued all of the above and more (potentially including the Stunticons, the Constructicons, the Coneheads, and the Insecticons, all of whom are implied to be dead after the Underbase Saga but are not explicitly shown dying), but several of them defected to Shockwave's group. The defectors would have told Shockwave that Megatron had a method of bringing fallen soldiers back to life, and in an arms race Shockwave would try to also obtain a method of resurrection for himself.Two Steps Back! The Flashback Doorway is only depicted in an attempt to resurrect the Seacons, and Prowl causes it to fail. Megatron then loses possession of the Doorway.Flashback!

There are three common ways to attempt to integrate Earthforce into the mainline stories:

After the End of the Road! Approach

One common placement is to have the stories take place following the series proper. While this approach is plausible, it is not consistent with authorial intent. As such, there are several events which would have to happen without any implication as to how or why in the source material:

• Optimus Prime has somehow become a Powermaster again, even though he would no longer be able to bond with Hi-Q.
• Mindwipe has no opportunity to get kicked out of Scorponok's crew for trying to control him. The only possible explanation is that he has gone crazy (not the worst assumption based on his plan...).The Living Nightlights! In that case his ramblings could either refer to a former fight with Scorponok, or they could also be nothing more than ramblings.
• Unicron has somehow returned to life after his defeat in On the Edge of Extinction!. Apparently this resurrection occurred at least as far away from Cybertron as where he was when he heard Primus's cry, if not farther. Déjà vu!
• The Survivors manage to get back to Earth and form into a group again.
• The Ark is back in the air Perchance to Dream and down by G2Realignments.
• Bludgeon somehow lost his leadership, then he did not play a major part in a Decepticon Civil War (other than a single solicited assassination attempt), then ended up leader again. On the flip side, this could explain why Bludgeon seems to have his own island base,Cry Wolf! and it could also represent a subtle approach to the Civil War where one just sits back and feeds the in-fighting. Shockwave, a tactician, felt a "subtle takeover" would work well with Scorponok.Surrender! Maybe Bludgeon determined the same about these Decepticon factions.
• Highbrow and Cloudburst would need resurrected after the battle with Unicron.

The Gap Approach

The story takes place at a specific point in the series. That place is extremely specific -- between US#70-71. This placement puts Megatron out of limbo (although not in a whole lot better of shape)The Price of Life!. Galvatron has not arrived at Cybertron yet. Unicron is still has a "great" distance left until he gets to Cybertron. Shockwave has already recruited several members, but he has not yet revealed himself to Scorponok.Eye of the Storm! Grimlock has already acquired NucleonThe Price of Life! but has not yet implied he would bring any back with him. He has not felt any negative effects yet, either....All This and Civil War 2 Also, Surrender! leads directly into On the Edge of Extinction! without pause, so it must occur before then if at all during the series. This placement is the only logical placement that also seems to follow authorial intent.

For the story to fit here, one must infer that there is a larger gap between these two stories than is suggested in the material. Nothing in the stories themselves specifically implies or refutes the existence of a time gap. There are several problems posed by putting Earthforce into this gap (and just having a gap):

• Galvatron was specifically sent to Cybertron by Unicron.Eye of the Storm! It does not seem to fit into Unicron's plans for Galvatron to make a stop on Earth first. Additionally, if it goes against Unicron's plans why was Galvatron not punished? Also, how or when does he escape? Where are Hook, Line, and Sinker during all of this? There has also been some fan debate as to which Galvatron this actually is. That would also place Galvatron II in the same limbo as Hook, Line, and Sinker during this period (or a several month assault on Cybertron?).
• Megatron was in a coma on the Ark during this period with his mind bound to that of Ratchet(and that is the best state he is in to appear in Earthforce between US#59-80!). How does he escape, how is he repaired, and why is Ratchet not an issue?
  • As to his escape, it is possible that whenever Spinister and Needlenose broke free that they took him as well. Also, if Ruckus and Windsweeper escaped as well, their history with Megatron is one of respect making them likely to rescue him.The Flames of Boltax!The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire This does not explain how he was healed and had no problems with the link to Ratchet.
  • All three questions be explained by use of the time machine, but this directly conflicts with the link to Ratchet still existing in A Savage Circle It is possible the link to Ratchet only causes confusion in Megatron when Ratchet is online. Likewise starting with the G.I.Joe lead-in to Generation 2 it seems that Fixit is proven wrong about how the link between Ratchet and Megatron works.
• On the flipside, how does Megatron get reinjured and recaptured?
• The ability to use the Underbase site to defeat Unicron is explored.The Magnificent Six! Obviously this does not turn out to be a viable option in Surrender!.
  • This is not exactly a contradiction. The Magnificent Six! is a very open-ended story, and it does not paint a very optimistic picture. The word "desperately" comes up in the description of the mission. Optimus Prime does not think it is a slam dunk. He says, "If we could tap that source of energy, it may act as a substitute for the Matrix force..." The story ends with them arriving at the site. Their mission could fail for any number of reasons:
    • The Decepticons had occupied the area for at least 4 million years. They were obviously creating new warriors from somewhere, and they were never depicted having a Matrix Flame. It is possible they leeched the area dry.
    • The poisonous atmosphere or the inhabitants of the Acid Wastes may have corrupted the Primus energies, much like the Matrix itself can be corrupted.All Fall Down (issue)
    • The well or flow to it may have been blown up by the blast of tons of neutron bombs.
    • Seems like if you have access to his face you could tap into Primus's powers, too. Speaking of which, wouldn't these have been the same powers that Primus/Emirate Xaaron tapped into? How did that one turn out?On the Edge of Extinction!
  • Kup suggests Optimus Prime surrendered without pursuing other options.Surrender! At the very least, he attempted to harness the power of the Underbase site.The Magnificent Six! Perhaps this was a secret mission so as to not get anybody's hopes up?
• In "the Magnificent Six!" Prime also states that the "chances of an alliance with the Decepticons [are] wrecked beyond all hope of salvage." The source material actually provides all of the pieces that would explain this conclusion:

1. Optimus Prime was preparing to surrender to Scorponok in Eye of the Storm!
2. Shockwave prefered a "subtle takeover" of Scorponok's forces. He also knew that an Autobot surrender would strengthen the image of Scorponok.Surrender!
3. Mindwipe and Triggerhappy were working for Shockwave,Eye of the Storm! but Mindwipe's dialogue in the Living Nightlights! strongly implies he went back. This effectively makes him (and possibly Triggerhappy) a double-agent.
4. Mindwipe was kicked out of Scorponok's crew because he was using his hypnotic powers on Scorponok.The Living Nightlights!

Basically, this strongly implies that Mindwipe was preventing the surrender from happening as part of Shockwave's larger plan. Prime's leadership was already in doubt, and this would lead to further dissent in his ranks.The Price of Life! Prime searches for some other answer that may stop Unicron without the Decepticons.The Magnificent Six! In Prime's last attempt at surrender Scorponok accepts, mostly because Mindwipe was kicked out of his group.Surrender!The Living Nightlights!

• A large number of Decepticons who participated in Earthforce completely vanish between the Earthforce End of the Road and G2. By process of elimination, only Soundwave would be left to lead them. If they are still loyal to Soundwave, that would explain why none of them show up in G2 until The Gathering Darkness, which is when Soundwave first becomes active in G2. Soundwave still had a high rank in Scorponok's army,...All This and Civil War 2 implying he was a double agent throughout Earthforce. He would be the logical choice for the Decepticon who ratted out Mindwipe as well.The Living Nightlights!
• Grimlock and several members of the Earthforce team show up in "On the Edge of Extinction!" when the Ark arrives from Earth with reinforcements. Wheeljack mentions they are all freshly returned from near-death by Nucleon, but all of the characters were in good condition in their last Earthforce appearances. Not all of those pictured participated in the open-ended The Magnificent Six! which could have included more fighting. Where were several members of the Earthforce injured? Perhaps the others were injured when Hook, Line, and Sinker retrieve Galvatron from the Ark (assuming such an event happens), but there is nothing in the source material to support or contradict this idea. This attack would also lead into Grimlock's second trip to Hydrus Four (the one where he starts to feel the effects of the Nucleon), this time bringing proper equipment to transport Nucleon back to the Ark. The other Dinobots were also apparently damaged in the battle based on the dialogue on Hydrus Four....All This and Civil War 2
• Lord Zarak refers to Mindwipe and Triggerhappy as deserters who would come crawling back. Mindwipe was thrown out in Earthforce.The Living Nightlights! Perhaps it was specifically Soundwave that kicked him out without telling Scorponok. If Mindwipe eventually found that out, it would give him more motivation to later single him out in the fight....All This and Civil War 2
• While Bludgeon and the Mayhem Attack Squad are never established to know who hired them in External Forces!, they certainly would have seen Soundwave cooperating with the rebels at some point when they were trying to kill him! It may be their mercenary code prevents them from sharing information from other clients' jobs, even with Scorponok?
• Starscream acts like he was experiencing giving orders for the first time, although he was co-leader of the combined earth forces in Earthforce....All This and Civil War 2 Interestingly, in Surrender! he is established as a co-leader with Shockwave, maybe giving an insight into what kind of a truce it took to bring the two back together. Also interesting is that Starscream's recap in that issue covering from The Human Factor! onward does not contradict Earthforce or the gap.
• Not a problem, but Break-Away! would establish Crosshairs as surviving Lord Thunderwing's blast in All Fall Down.

Personal Canon Approach

The story is not one single story but several. Each piece can be accepted or rejected as the reader chooses. The order of the stories themselves may also change, too. The major drawback is that no consensus could be formed as to where to draw such conclusions. Some examples of this approach:

• Perchance to Dream could happen after the end of the series, while it can be assumed the rest occurs in the US#70-71 gap. Autobots in Perchance were revived for Earthforce by Grimlock using Nucleon. This would allow for the appearance of Galvatron without contradiction.
• Using a similar approach to "After the End of the Road", if your personal canon believes the story The Living Nightlights! is too contradictory, it can be removed.

Legacy

There are several references and nods made in later stories back to Earthforce, and if the Earthforce (or similar) events happen in continuity then there are many lasting effects:

"Me Grimlock no see Tracks. We have a chance!"

• Several members of the Earthforce team are shown joining the battle with Unicron. Though the presence of most of them could be explained by the need to push their Action Master toys (and it seems to be the only reason Blaster is there, as he was not an Earthforce character), the appearances of Skids, Ironhide, Silverbolt, and especially Sunstreaker are conspicuous, considering the Earthforce stories. (Sunstreaker's only prominent use in the Marvel Comics was in Earthforce. He was offline for most of it otherwise.)
• Assuming the Gap Approach, Earthforce seems like a logical step in the development of Grimlock as a leader. Without the stories he skips straight from the megalomaniac from Totaled! to a fairly serious (though unorthodox) leader in Still Life!. Spending time as a highly rebellious leader who is both stern and goofy makes it feel like his characters goes through a higher level of development.
  • Likewise, Earthforce was the first depicted time where Prowl and Grimlock worked closely together. Grimlock could only otherwise have drawn his conclusions while he was sitting around wasting time prior to Prime Time! (assuming none of the UK continuity happens!), or during the brief period between Second Generation! and In the National Interest. Prowl is never depicted as having a position on King Grimlock's "court"Spacehikers!Totaled! or exercising any authority during Grimlock's period as King. The dynamic between the two during and after Unicron suggests that a history exists between them.On the Edge of Extinction!Still Life!
• Escalation! seems to be an homage to Earthforce. All members of Earthforce are present except Carnivac(who wasn't officially a member to keep up his street cred), Wheeljack, Skids, Tracks, and Sunstreaker. None of those characters appear in G2 except for Wheeljack (who is mostly in the role of a science officer) and Tracks. For those who think missing five is significant, that still leaves seventeen out of twenty-two. Smokescreen may have been a fill-in, as he appears in a scene that otherwise had nothing but former Earthforce members. Ironically, he is killed because he is not acting as a unit with the rest of his group. Also, to nod to their Wrecker herritage (and because this is G2), several of the members die in this issue.
• Runabout and Runamuck showing up alive and established as working with Shockwave is consistent with Earthforce. In fact, they do not show up in the Marvel Comics continuity until immediately after Earthforce ends under the Gap Approach.Surrender! Without Earthforce there is no explanation, implicit or explicit, suggested for their return in the US comics. Of course, that doesn't prevent a mysterious return from the death for one later...Still Life!New Dawn
• The Decepticon line-up in Generation 2 after Megatron takes over (not counting Laser Rods, Rotor Force, and Darkwing, of course) very quickly morphs into almost the same one from Earthforce. Only the Combaticons, Frenzy, Thundercracker, and Skywarp did not appear in Earthforce, and only the latter two are alive without any kind of hint at an explanation.
  • Also, Wildrider definitely dies during Earthforce, and he is the only Stunticon who never shows up during G2.Secrets
  • Megatron explicitly fails to revive the Seacons in Earthforce, and they do not show up in G2.Flashback!.
  • Arguably, Octane dies during Earthforce and never reappears.Manoeuvres!. His death is not confirmed, and it is suggested his defeated corpse makes a cameo in G2.Total War!
  • The Predacons and Decepticon Triple Changers specifically died during the Underbase Saga, and they are all back alive both here and in G2 (except maybe Octane).
  • Dirge is still alive in G2, which is consistent with UK stories in general. Not very consistent with being Dirge, though!

Trivia

• According to the Prey trade paperback collection, Earthforce is stationed in northern Canada because Simon Furman really likes polar bears. This is why there's one drawn in nearly every establishing shot.