Unite for the Universe issue 1
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| "The Secret of Project: Unite" "Ambition Instigated' ユナイド計画の秘密
動き出す野望 (Unite Keikaku no Himitsu) (Ugokidasu Yabō) | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | TakaraTomy | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Guido Guidi | ||||||||||||
| Colored by | Tommaso Renieri | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Live-action film series | ||||||||||||
| Packaged with | Starscream | ||||||||||||
Starscream and Bludgeon don't like each other very much.
Synopsis
Chapter 1: The Secret of Project: Unite
Megatron ordered Bludgeon to bring him the results of N.E.S.T.'s Unite weapons project, promising Bludgeon the command of the Decepticon forces on Earth if he succeeded in his mission. Soundwave provided the relevant intelligence. Starscream, however, was less than happy about Bludgeon obtaining control of Earth's forces and aired his grievances to Megatron, citing his "service" during Megatron's absence. Megatron in turn made it very clear that he was in command, and contemptuously dismissed Starscream's appeals for command. Starscream, being Starscream, did not take this rejection lightly, and began to make plans to assure Bludgeon's failure.
At the Hida Mountains in Nagano Prefecture in Japan, Bludgeon led a Decepticon force consisting of Mindwipe, Brakedown, and Dirge on a mission to infiltrate the N.E.S.T. Advanced Research Facility, the headquarters of Project: Unite. However, their stealth was compromised when the humans manning the facility received a warning from an anonymous source of nearby hostiles. Ratchet and Brawn arrived on the scene, and Bludgeon realized he's been played by the obvious suspect—Starscream.
With Bludgeon occupied, Starscream swooped in, blowing a hole in the facility only to reveal the weapon Project: Unite was developing... Optimus Prime, with Jetfire's parts! Project: Unite made Jetfire's sacrifice against The Fallen a permanent power upgrade for Optimus Prime. Scared out of his wits, Starscream retreated and was noticed by Bludgeon. Infuriated at the betrayal, Bludgeon ordered a retreat, only for Ratchet to blast the nearby ice, causing a collapse and avalanche that buried the Decepticons. Optimus Prime congratulated the other Autobots on winning the battle, but noted their vigilance must never be shaken.
Chapter 2: Ambition Instigated
At the Hida Mountains, a robotic fist erupted out of the snow. It was Bludgeon. A very angry Bludgeon.
At the Nemesis, Starscream eulogized the defeated Bludgeon, finishing just as Skystalker arrived in response to a memo-stream promising power. Starscream explained the opportunities offered by Project: Unite, showing the effects of Jetfire's modified corpse on Optimus Prime, and stated that the process could be applied to the Decepticons, granting them even more power. However, he had no material to harvest, so Skystalker agreed to obtain some with the help of Ravage.
At the N.E.S.T. N.B.E. Resource Redistribution Plant in Toronto, Canada, many Decepticons lay dead, awaiting a fate of smelting. Just as Ironhide was about to drop Sideways's bisected corpse into the smelting vat, the humans maintaining the vat noted that the previous Decepticon dropped inside, Wildfire, was resisting the process. Ironhide told the humans to open up the vat so he could "take care of it the good old-fashioned way" when he was suddenly attacked by Skystalker.
Meanwhile, Bumblebee drove into the N.E.S.T. Divisional Headquarters in Bloemfontein, South Africa where he was attacked by the sneaky Ravage.
In Toronto, Skystalker ignored the damaged Ironhide and teleported back to Decepticon base along with the corpses of Sideways and Bonecrusher. Ravage also fled the Divisional Headquarters, leaving behind a nano-virus to infect N.E.S.T.'s systems. Unseen by Ravage, Bludgeon bore silent witness, telling him to run back to Starscream, with whom Bludgeon's business was not yet concluded.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons |
|---|---|
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Notes
- This comic is in two parts, clearly originally intended to come split between two different releases. According to author Simon Furman, he penned five mini-comics for inclusion with Takara products; these are obviously the first two, and the next two included with the Masterpiece edition of Bumblebee. The fifth chapter found a home in Transformers Generations 2011 Vol. 1, which also reprinted the preceding four chapters. The reshuffling of the material is evidently due to the cancellation of the Unite for the Universe Jet Power Optimus Prime and Megatron figures, who would presumably have come with a comic each. The cancellation of Prime, in particular, makes the first of these comics a touch on the amusing side, since it's entirely based around promoting an unreleased figure.
- Bloemfontein was the site of a NEST facility in one of Furman's Titan stories.
Errors
- Brawl's remains are among those waiting to be recycled. However, in Revenge of the Fallen, his parts are seen at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss.
- Sideways's corpse is shown to be a mostly-bisected car... but in the movie, he also exploded after being sliced through.
- Not so much an error, but... Bonecrusher was killed two years prior. They're only now getting around to getting rid of his corpse?
- Brakedown was killed in Nefarious but appears in this comic.
Real-life references
- Songs and audio clips uttered by Bumblebee include:
- "Going Underground" by The Jam
- "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash
- Terry Malloy's famous "I coulda been a contender" line from On the Waterfront
