Mortal Combat! Twenty Thousand Meters in the Sky
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 Kano, Liu Kang, Raiden, Johnny Cage... | |||||||||||||
| "Mortal Combat! Twenty Thousand Meters in the Sky" 死闘! 上空2万メートル
(Shitō! Jōkū 2 Man Meter) | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Kodansha | ||||||||||||
| Published in | Comic Bom Bom | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | July 1999 | ||||||||||||
| Script | Shōji Imaki | ||||||||||||
| Artist | Shōji Imaki | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Beast Wars manga | ||||||||||||
Stampy is thrust to the forefront when an Angolmois capsule is found on a frozen planet.
Synopsis
When an Angolmois capsule is detected on Greengard, Longrack relates the legend of the Yggdrasill, which provides for eternal greenery on the planet. Break is elated at the description of Greengard, having tired of hot planets like Luxor. However, his illusions are shattered when the Gung Ho reaches Greengard and reveals it to be a icy planet. Break is furious at this revelation, to the bemusement of Big Convoy, who would have considered it ideal for a penguin like Break.
In the mission to find the capsule, Big Convoy chooses Stampy to be the field leader, to the surprise of the Maximals. Break and Longrack fume over not being chosen for leadership, but Cohrada offers support to Stampy. The Maximals set out, but Big Convoy elects to stay on the Gung Ho, where he is expecting the Predacons, who warp to the planet on the Dinosaur. There, they are surprised to come right to Big Convoy's face. The Maximal pulls out the Big Cannon and takes a shot at the Dinosaur, barely missing. The Predacons are elated at Big's apparent bad aim till the ship is soon enveloped by an avalanche. Magmatron is unfettered and leaps out of the Dinosaur, cutting up the Gung Ho and beginning a battle with Big Convoy on the ship's hull.
The Maximal team has found the location of the Angolmois—on top of the tallest peak on the planet. They begin climbing, an exercise they are not enjoying. Stampy, however, is finding the task easy, as he can hop up the mountain of ice and is used to the climate from living on his snowy homeworld. The Maximals are soon attacked by Archadis, a Predacon mercenary who uses his ability of flight to its fullest extent to attack the land-bound Maximals.
Elsewhere, Big Convoy and Magmatron are battling, with Magmatron taking every opportunity to prevent Big Convoy from drawing his Big Cannon. He pulls out a multitude of tricks, such as using his Seasaur head to strike at Big Convoy and separating his Skysaur component from his body. The Predacon makes vague allusions to Big Convoy's birth that confuses the Maximal.
On the ice mountain, all of the Maximals transform. However, Stampy refuses to, being scared out of his wits. Even still, he warns the others to not use their firepower, as the resulting shocks could cause an avalanche. Archadis revels in his flight and notes that Stampy is the leader of the rope that connects all of the Maximals—take him down and the rest follow. Stampy, in his despair, recalls his mother's words, that rabbits were not given fangs or strength, but received strong hind legs to jumper higher than everything else. Using his legs, Stampy performs the "Stampy Moonsault" on Archadis, blasting him off. The Maximals reach the peak and find the capsule surrounded by ice. Breaking through the block causes something!
Big Convoy grapples with Magmatron, both hands full and unable to reach his Big Cannon, as his foe mocks him, telling him he has nothing and nobody to fight for. Big Convoy disagrees—he has his Big Cannon, and uses his mammoth-mode trunk, part of the cannon itself, to reach around and pull the weapon's trigger, blasting Magmatron off into the horizon. The Gung Ho speeds to the other Maximals, where it is revealed that Greengard has reverted to being an paradise—the tall mountain was Yggdrasill itself!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Wow, is the next planet so good? Because Luxor is the most horrible place, I can't stand want burning heat anymore! Hey Big Convoy, the next planet is PARADISE, right?"
"...... I guess so"
"(After arriving Greengard) DAMN YOU!! What kind of PARADISE is this!!"
"Isn't it a paradise for a penguin like you?"
- —Break is extremely to see that the planet isn't what he expects and gets mocked by Big Convoy for being a penguin.
"Comparing to a stupid penguin and a coward giraffe, you are more suitable to be a leader."
- —Cohrada tells Stampy that he is a better leader than the other two.
"I'm pity for you not having such beautiful feathers like me, especially you, a bird that CAN'T fly!!"
- —Archadis mocks Break, who is a penguin.
"Like you said, I am always alone, so I never trust anyone —except for My Cannon."
- —Big Convoy
Notes
- Judging by the ability he displays near the end of the issue—actually being able to move and control his cannon through apparent mental command—it could be that the Big Cannon is part of Big Convoy, rather than just his weapon, akin to Optimus Prime's relationship with Roller and Combat Deck. That said, the gun is plugged into his back at the time, so it may only apply because of that. Nonetheless, it's the only instance in any fiction to explore the ramifications of the common Beast Era design philosophy that sees intrinsic beast mode components winding up on weapons, rather than on the robots themselves.
- Longrack is surprised to learn that Break has acrophobia, while Heinrad mocks Break for it. Break replies it is because he is a bird unable to fly, which he is not proud of.
- It is revealed that Stampy's home plant is a cold environment.
- Archadis' visor is removable.
- The currency used in this continuity is "Gold" as Mamgatron pays Archadis 1 million gold per Maximal.
- Archadis possesses a dagger called "Ryūsei Kochō Ken" (龍星古鳥剣, "Dino Star Ancient Bird Sword"), hidden in the mouth of his beast mode.
- Many toy gimmicks of Big Convoy and Magmatron's can be seen in their battle.
Real-world references
- The issue features some references from Norse mythology. For example, Yggdrasill takes its name from Yggdrasill, the "World Tree", while the planet Greengard is named in a manner similar to "Asgard" and "Midgard".
Trivia
- Archadis mocks Break, referring to the fact that penguins are birds that can't fly. However, it is debatable whether an Archaeopteryx, which Archadis is, can fly or only glide, not to mention its uncertain scientific classification of being a bird.
