The Hunting Party (Marvel)
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| File:TFuk229.jpg Oh slag! | |||||||||||||
| "The Hunting Party" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | 30th July 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | 5th August 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Art | Simon Coleby | ||||||||||||
| Letterer | Helen Stone | ||||||||||||
| Cover | Geoff Senior | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
Needlenose may not be cut out for the big leagues.
Synopsis
Deep in enemy territory, the new Mayhem Attack Squad is being put through their paces by their field captain, Spinister. One member, Needlenose, is sweating oil bullets at the thought of combat. He sees his fellow Mayhem recruits as way out of his league, and can't even begin to imagine matching up to them in battle. Lost in his own fear, Needlenose panicks when an Autobot jumps out at him, and only survives thanks to Spinister shooting down his opponent. As the enemy begins to pour out of the shadows, Needlenose is overwhelmed with fear and flees the scene of the battle. Spinister sees his cowardice, and knows that the official punishment for abandoning a fight is execution. Still, he thinks there's some promise to the young warrior, and darts after Needlenose, in the hopes of shaking him out of his state before anyone else notices what's happened. He gets the idea of faking distress against an opponent, hoping that Needlenose isn't so far gone that he'll just leave a fellow Decepticon to die rather than pick up his gun and fight back. Spinister's gamble pays off, and Needlenose comes back shooting to "rescue" him from his attacker.
The solid light simulated combat session ends, as Snarler arrives and demands a report on the Mayhems' status. Spinister covers for Needlenose and declares them all fit for duty, and ready to hunt down the deserters Carnivac and Catilla.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons |
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(Solid light simulations)
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Notable quotes
"No... No! This isn't right! The Autobots are supposed to be the good guys, and yet they're attacking mindlessly... Cold-bloodedly! It's only a matter of time before we're out-numbered and slaughtered! I'm outta here!"
- —Needlenose, seemingly forgetting that he's in a solid light simulated training session.
Errors
- How, exactly, did Needlenose even get a CHANCE to try out for the Decepticons' elite fighting unit?
Items of note
- In Decepticon training sessions, at least, the Autobots have their own region of the Decepticon-controlled Cybertron called Slaughter City, where they hang their enemies' bodies on the walls in effigy. Whether this reflects a real-life place on Cybertron isn't 100% clear.
- The five new Mayhem Attack Squad members make their present-day debuts in this issue. Bludgeon and the two Pretenders had previously appeared in an alternate future during Aspects of Evil!
- This issue follows on the events of UK #219–222 and continues in #237–239.
Reprints
- This story was reprinted in the Transformers Annual 1992 with additional colours by Euan Peters. It was the only one of that Annual's colour reprints that was not included in the Winter Special 1994.
- The original black and white version was reprinted in the Titan Books trade paperback "Way of the Warrior" in 2005.
