People Power!

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Get... in... me... belly!
People Power!
Publisher Marvel Comics
First published March 1988
Cover date July 1988
Writer Bob Budiansky
Breakdowns José Delbo
Finishes Dave Hunt & Don Hudson
Colorist Nel Yomtov
Letterer Bill Oakley
Editor Don Daley
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

A small band of Autobots take Optimus Prime's consciousness to Nebulos to have a new body built for him, but encounter some potentially deadly challenges.

Synopsis

Just rude, really.

On the planet Nebulos, an alien jet attacks the Gardens of Eternal Peace and Harmony Macrobiotic Restaurant. The jets splits into the bickering Decepticons Dreadwind and Darkwing, who each discharge a transformable humanoid passenger. The two bio-engineered Nebulans, Hi-Test and Throttle, confront the maitre d' and demand a dozen of the restaurant's best entrés.

Meanwhile, the Steelhaven arrives in orbit over Nebulos. Its crew, Goldbug, Slapdash, Joyride, and Getaway, journey to the surface and meet with the Nebulan scientist, Hi-Q, at his research facility. Hi-Q is reluctant to help them in their mission to construct a new body for Optimus Prime, though not because he's unwilling.

Hi-Q explains that after the departure of the Transformers from their world Brothers in Armor!!, he and his former partner Hi-Test were charged with preventing the Transformers from ever returning. Under his direction, a bomb was detonated, tainting all fuel sources on the planet so as to be poisonous to any Transformers. Hi-Q's success drove the jealous Hi-Test to quit, however.

When Darkwing and Dreadwind arrived looking for Scorponok's crew, they soon found themselves victim of this poisoning, and lay dormant for a time. Hi-Test recruited the thief Throttle to steal Hi-Q's research into what he called the Powermaster process, allowing a bio-engineered Nebulan to serve as a replacement power source for a poisoned Transformer. Hi-Test and Throttle undergo the necessary alterations, and partner with the two Decepticons, reviving them. A major side-effect is that in order to generate the energy the Nebulans must consume huge quantities of food, and many of Darkwing and Dreadwind's attacks are to secure supplies. Hi-Q has thus far been unable to devise a way to stop them.

Goldbug says they can stop the rampaging Decepticons, but Hi-Q reminds them that they, too, will be poisoned if they partake of local fuel resources. Goldbug is adamant that they at least stay and complete their mission, despite the danger to themselves. Hi-Q says that he, his staff, and his facilities are at their disposal... but that he will not be saddened when the Autobots inevitably fall.

Darkwing and Dreadwind, meanwhile, attack the Council of Peers at Koraja, determined this time to find out what happened to Scorponok's crew. The Autobots hear of the attack and come to the rescue, only to get soundly trounced by the Powermaster-enhanced Decepticons.

Returning to the lab, the steadily-weakening Autobots complete Optimus Prime's new body with Hi-Q's help. Even though he will only live a short while in his poisoned body, Prime's mind is transferred into the body. He can now combine with a new trailer component, granting him greater power than ever before -- an upgrade he can't wait to use in the next game! Goldbug despairs; even restoring him to life hasn't convinced Optimus that he's not just a computer simulation.

But suddenly Prime is struck by pain as the poisoned fuel kicks in. He realizes that since he can feel pain and potentially die, he must be alive... and thanks Goldbug for freeing him from the living death of the disk for a few precious moments of life. Hi-Q is struck by the realization that the Autobots are both alive and as noble as any Nebulan he's met. He volunteers to save Optimus by undergoing the Powermaster process himself. Three of his staff eagerly agree to help out Joyride, Getaway and Slapdash. Only the pacifist Kari refuses to participate, but luckily, Goldbug is quite fuel efficient and has plenty of fuel reserves left.

Some time later, Darkwing and Dreadwind have coerced the location of the Autobots from the Nebulans, and move to attack Hi-Q's lab. They are met by the rejuvenated Powermaster Autobots, however, who can now match them shot for shot. The entry of Optimus Prime into the battle causes it to end very quickly; the Decepticons crash and burn. Hi-Q confronts Hi-Test, pointing out what his petty jealousy has caused: the return of war to Nebulos. The Council has already sentenced Hi-Test and Throttle to exile from Nebulos; they rejoin their partners and rocket off to parts unknown.

Goldbug prepares to depart alone in the Steelhaven; the Powermaster process has inextricably tied the Autobots and the Nebulans together, and the robots are now bound to the world of their partners. But Kari points out that Nebulos may not be a suitable home for the binary-bonded Nebulans anymore. Hi-Q realizes she's right -- their presence endangers the planet. The Autobots and their new partners all say a sad farewell to Nebulos.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Nebulons

Errors

  • The Nebulan capital city of Koraja appears radically different than it did in the Headmasters miniseries; the new version of Koraja is both much larger and more overtly high-tech than the miniseries' version.
  • Despite being on Nebulos, the Gardens of Eternal Peace and Harmony Macrobiotic Restaurant that Dreadwind and Darkwing attack at the start of the story has "RESTAURANT" written across the entrance in English.
  • Is it really plausible that a humanoid could power a full-size Transformer, particularly one with high fuel demands required by flight capability, via the contents of their stomach?

Items of note

  • Goldbug is the only Autobot who ends up not needing to become a Powermaster, thanks to his high fuel efficiency.
  • Which is convenient, since Kari, Hi-Q's fourth assistant, is a staunch pacifist who refuses to fight alongside the Autobots.
  • Goldbug says Optimus Prime looks identical to how he remembered, but there are a few minor changes made to his character model to make it look more like the toy, including hip wheels, no gas cans on his legs, and smokestacks that protrude from inside of his shoulders instead of attached on the outside.
  • The letters page of the US printing confirmed a second 4-issue Transformers Universe to be released in the summer of 1988, which was seemingly canceled at the last minute due to declining sales. As a result, starting with issue 47 Universe profiles were occasionally included in issues of the ongoing series, allowing Marvel to maintain the per issue page quota while also reducing production costs.

References

  • Slapdash, Joyride, and Getaway all made their first non-speaking appearances in the previous issue, in which the narration described them as being charged with guarding the Optimus Prime disk on board Steelhaven.
  • Hi-Q explains the steps that the Council of Peers took to keep invading robots off Nebulos after the final issue of the Headmasters miniseries.

UK printing

  • In the Grim Grams for issue #176, Grimlock declines to answer a puzzle involving guessing the identity of a Dinobot who transforms into a T-Rex, hates Blaster, and answers the letter page.
  • Issue #177 featured an updated Transformers A-Z entry for Optimus Prime.
  • In the Grim Grams for issue #177, Grimlock states he doesn't believe that an appearance by an issue of Transformers on long running UK soap Coronation Street could be considered an honor.

Covers (3)

  • U.S. issue 42 cover: battle royal by José Delbo and Dave Hunt.
  • UK issue 176 cover: Darkwing and Dreadwind by Kev Hopgood; the image of Dreadwind from this cover was reused as part of the first "Dread Tidings" masthead during the character's stint on Marvel UK letters page.
  • UK issue 177 cover: Optimus Prime cover by Jeff Anderson proclaiming the character's return. This image would later be cropped and used as the character portrait in the info block on future UK covers.

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