Prime Directive issue 1

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	The Transformers: Generation 1 #1 {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; ('')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
Publisher	Dreamwave Productions}}
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First published	April 4, 2002}}
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Cover date	April, 2002}}
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Writer	Chrislock}}
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Penciler	Patimus Prime}}
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Inker	Robonus}}
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Colorist	TheRealT!}}
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Letterer	Dreamer Design}}
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Editor	Hot Rog}}
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Graphic design	Paulceptor}}
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ist}}{{#if: \| by}}	}}
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Continuity	Dreamwave continuity}}
Chronology	Modern era}}
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{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Lazarus has weapons for sale while Spike learns that he can't escape his past.

Synopsis

In a South American jungle, two rebels are on night patrol. Manny grouses at his friend for lighting a cigarette and possibly giving away their position, but his friend is more interested in relieving himself. The pair are both swiftly dispatched by a metal giant.

In Cleveland, Ohio, Spike Witwicky prepares for work and is being handed his hardhat by Daniel when General Hallo from the United States Army stops by. Hallo introduces himself as the head of a department concerned with developing war technology, and informs Spike that he's been granted a leave of absence from his job so that he can help the army. When Spike inquires as to what happens if he turns down the offer, Hallo simply says that it is not an offer.

Up in the wasteland of Canada's northen territories, Lazarus and a hooded "freedom fighter" named Bishop are carried across the snow in a jeep. Lazarus has a business proposition for Bishop, but they must continue on foot. As they do so, the "jeep" transforms to stand guard behind them. The party finally reaches Lazarus's bunker, and Bishop's hood is removed, allowing him to see the "goods".

Spike waits in the Pentagon, reading a news story commemorating the Ark II disaster. As he's about to go in to the meeting, Larry the janitor cautions him that nothing is as it seems in this place. General Hallo and Spike discuss the Ark II disaster which claimed the lives of Sparkplug Witwicky and the other humans who had volunteered to travel to Cybertron. However Hallo has news for Spike — although the Transformers were all believed to have been destroyed in the ship's explosion, the military has recent footage of Megatron razing a rebel encampment in South America.

Megatron himself, at that moment, is being viewed by Lazarus and Bishop. Lazarus explains that all of the Transformers have been fitted with a control mechanism which gives him complete control over them. Megatron responds to verbal commands, until Lazarus commands the Decepticon leader to kneel before him. Lazarus dismisses this as a minor bug, but after they leave, Megatron's eyes glow ominously.

Hallo and Spike travel to Area 24, where Hallo asks if Spike will help them with their own Transformer. As Spike realizes what this means, they enter a hanger which houses Optimus Prime.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Hound (8)

Optimus Prime (9)|

{{#if:* Hound (8)

Optimus Prime (9)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Hound (8)
Optimus Prime (9) }}{{#if:* Megatron (1)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Megatron (1)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:* Manny (2) "The Pisser" (3) Spike Witwicky (4) General Hallo (5) Lazarus (6) Bishop (7)\|	Humans }}{{#if:\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Megatron (1) }}{{#if:* Manny (2) "The Pisser" (3) Spike Witwicky (4) General Hallo (5) Lazarus (6) Bishop (7)\|	Manny (2) "The Pisser" (3) Spike Witwicky (4) General Hallo (5) Lazarus (6) Bishop (7) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Errors

None yet identified.

Quotes

"I have seen the future of warfare, Mister Bishop. I have seen its evolution. Imagine a soldier who himself is the perfect weapon. A soldier who need not hold a gun because he himself is the gun. Or better still, something so much more powerful. A soldier not hindered by his humanity, for he has none. A solider with the ability to transform at will from warrior to weapon... from weapon to warrior in the blink of an eye. This is the evolution of warfare."

—Lazarus

Items of note

Not counting the preview issue released the previous month, this issue was the first mass-released Transformers comic in nearly a decade. With 119,251 ordered copies for April 2002, it topped Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts<ref name="diamondapril">ICv2 reporting on Diamond's charts for April 2002</ref>, an accomplishment repeated by several of the following issues. In addition, this issue saw a second and even a third printing run due to high demand.
The final page of the issue serves as a dramatic reveal of the Transformer that the U.S. forces have found. Since the collected volumes present this image on the opposite side of the preceding page, with no page-flipping required, this loses a lot of the dramatic impact.
Following the story is a 2-page fictional news article entitled "Reliving the '99 Ark II Tragedy—What Happened?"
James Raiz, Alan Wang and Kenny Li created a large lithograph that contained over 600 characters from multiple Transformers continuities. Each issue of Prime Directive came in two cover variants, Autobot and Decepticon, and each variant of each issue had a 2-page center spread which was 1/12 of the lithograph. Split up, it was 4 issues wide by 3 issues high.