To a Power Unknown!
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 Well I'm damned if I can see what's supposed to be happening! | |||||||||||||
| "To a Power Unknown!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | September 1986 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | 1987 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Ian Mennell & Wilf Prigmore | ||||||||||||
| Art | Will Simpson | ||||||||||||
| Colours | Josie Firmin | ||||||||||||
| Letters | Annie Halfacree | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Sheila Cranna | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
A mysterious force causes the Autobots and Decepticons to change sides!
Synopsis
In Pinewoodsville, USA, a group of Autobots is forging relationships with humans, when an energy blast hits them and makes them aggressive. Similarly, a group of Decepticons is attacking a town when the energy blast hits them and makes them, well, nice!
When both groups have recovered, they track the source of the energy blast to the United Kingdom and a group from both factions sets off to find the source, each group believing the other is to blame for it. On a patrol, Starscream spots Optimus Prime in truck mode and attacks him. As he unleashes a missile, another energy blast strikes the Transformers, reversing their personalities again. Starscream wonders why everyone can't be friends and the Autobots travelling inside Prime (including Jazz, Mirage, and Prowl) see Prime as useless and try to attack him.
As the effects of the blast fades, Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to leave and find the source of the blast as Starscream comes in for the kill. Prime is a sitting duck, but Starscream is forced to pull out of the attack with a systems failure, leaving Prime to realise that maybe the Decepticons are not the source of the blast. Badly injured, Optimus finds shelter in an old railway tunnel.
The source of the energy blast is in fact PARD, developed by the British as a weapon to abort attacks by making the attacker attack themselves. But a traitor, Zeke Heilmann, tries to steal the core of PARD, inadvertently releasing a blast that both Jazz and Starscream feel. Jazz, slightly damaged by the blast, homes in on the research lab. Running out carrying the core of PARD, Heilmann sees the Porsche as an escape ticket and jumps in. Jazz lets the human think he's in control for the moment.
In the meantime, Starscream is forced to land nearby after an encounter with the Red Arrows. Hellman thinks the landing plane is for him and runs towards it and climbs in. Starscream takes off. Jazz, transformed by this stage, fires a heat seeking missile at Starscream as the Decepticon plans to use Heilmann to make PARD affect only Autobots. Starscream plans to outrun the missile with his hyperblast but his systems are still scrambled and he transforms instead, meaning Heilmann and the core of PARD are destroyed by Jazz's missile as the main heat source. Jazz and Starscream battle until being interrupted by the Red Arrows.
The Autobots, now fully restored, bring a badly damaged Optimus Prime back for Ratchet to repair.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
Artwork and technical errors
Continuity errors
- The Autobots are able to fly.
- When Starscream attacks the Autobots after the energy blast reverses their personalities, why do they not attack Starscream back before starting on Optimus Prime? It is hard to imagine Megatron or Starscream attacking their own before an Autobot.
- Starscream receives a broadcast mentioning "Gary Davis", which ought to be spelled "Davies" (see references).
- How come Starscream is no longer a heat source after he transforms? (This sort of thing will happen again.)
- During Jazz and Starscream's fight they are shown barely a couple of metres apart firing at each other, but neither takes any damage. Time for some weapon upgrades and some shooting practice, guys....
Continuity notes
- Jazz mentions that the Autobots have to save fuel "after that sky jump over the ocean". This implies that the Autobots can fly (or at least jump) considerable distances, but it uses a lot of energy.
- Jazz totally kills a human. Admittedly not a particularly nice human, and it's collateral damage rather than on purpose, but still.
Real-life references
- Starscream's errant video scanner tunes in to Coronation Street, Doctor Who, and Gary Davies's BBC Radio 1 show.
Other trivia
Covers (2)
-
Transformers Annual 1987 -
The Transformers Classics UK Volume 2
- Transformers Annual 1987 cover: Prime and other early Transformers, by Barry Kitson.
- The Transformers Classics UK Volume 2 cover: Centurion, Professor Morris and his neural relay link, Soundwave, Shockwave, Megatron, Buster's battlesuit, the Overlord and Nightstalker, by Andrew Wildman.
