The Human Factor!

Puny flesh creatures fight to protect a world that hates and fears them.

=Marvel US issue #68= (Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #302-305)

Script: Simon Furman Art: Dwayne Turner Lettering: Rick Parker Colors: Nelson Yomtov Cover: Dwayne Turner
 * Major characters (in order of appearance): G.B. Blackrock, Thunderpunch, Rapture, Dynamo, Starscream, Shockwave, Circuit Breaker
 * Originally published: July, 1990

Synopsis
In the aftermath of the RAAT debacle, G.B. Blackrock has been given carte blanche to assemble a new team to deal with Transformer related incidents. He has focused on gathering superhumans, people with a unique genetic quirk that gives them powers beyond normal men. His first two recruits, Thunderpunch and Rapture, are given special codenames and costumes to appeal to the public. Their first mission is to hunt down a third potential member, referred to as Mister X.

Unfortunately, Starscream wants Mister X too. He sees the human's power as a bottomless fountain of energy, giving him enough power to challenge and defeat Scorponok for leadership of the Decepticons. Starscream finds Mister X, Hector Dialonzo, just as Circuit Breaker is making her own pitch to him. She begins tearing his circuitry apart, but is struck down from behind by a mysterious assailant.

Blackrock's team arrives, and the resulting three-way fight between them, Starscream, and Circuit Breaker ends when Dialonzo calls time-out, and says he will listen to each proposal and then decide for himself. Starscream offers revenge against those who wronged him, Circuit Breaker offers adoration of the masses, but Blackrock simply offers the truth -- the chance to be branded either hero or traitor by the public, but to ultimately do what is right. Starscream naturally attempts to cheat, but is blasted by Rapture's dream-power and then ultimately brought down by the rest of the team. In the end, Blackrock extends his offer to Josie as well, and she accepts.

Sometime later, Starscream awakens to find himself eyes-to-eye with Shockwave, who has an offer of his own...

Errors

 * Thunderpunch and Rapture's costumes are colored incorrectly on the cover.

Items of note

 * This is the first appearance of the human super-beings who would join Circuit Breaker as the Neo-Knights.
 * The Air Strike Patrol is apparently killed off permanently here.
 * Blackrock makes the first official mention that RAAT was permanently shut down some time ago.
 * A Transformers Universe profile for Slapdash is found after the main story.