Hunting Party!

Needlenose may not be cut out for the big leagues.

=Marvel UK issues #229=

Writer: Simon Furman Pencillers: Andrew Wildman Lettering: Stuart Bartlett Cover: Jeff Anderson


 * Characters: Needlenose, Spinister, Octopunch, Stranglehold, Bludgeon, Snarler
 * Originally published: 5th August, 1989

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. 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.

Errors

 * 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. I can't even count the number of things that don't make sense there.
 * How, exactly, did Needlenose even get a CHANCE to try out for the Decepticons' elite fighting unit?

Items of note

 * 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.