Dawn of Darkness

How do the Autobots prove they didn't slaughter a group of Decepticons?

=Marvel UK issue #247=

Writer: Simon Furman Art: Geoff Senior Lettering: Glib


 * Major characters (in order of appearance): Bumblebee, Demons, Sparkstalker, Grimlock, Cindersaur, Ruckus, Jazz, Windsweeper, Emirate Xaaron, Seawatch, Fixit and Red Hot.


 * Originally published: 25th November 1989. Cover date ("off sale") 2nd December 1989.

Synopsis
The Demons attack Bumblebee who runs over to where the Autobots and Decepticons are fighting. Cindersaur spits a jet of flame at one of the Demons, who merely returns an even larger one, the flame engulfing the Firecon. The Autobots wonder how to tackle the Demon.

Meanwhile at Autobase Seaspray starts blabbering about how the Demons fed on the Decepticons' life-force, a point Emirate Xaaron finds interesting...

In the Underworld the Autobots fight the Demons with their blasters. The Decepticons discuss the situation and agree to help but it is to no avail - the Demons merely feed off the energy. Then Emirate Xaaron and Red Hot arrive with an artillery gun that fires pure energon. Xaaron's gambit works and the energon overloads the Demons who explode.

Xaaron explains that according to legend the Demons were the flipside of the Matrix's good creatures and were entombed by Primus. There may be thousands more below and if they attack again in force, "None of us will survive!"

Errors

 * This story takes place between the US stories "Skin Deep" and "Yesterday's Heroes!" However it was reprinted before them, and consequently pre-empted the ressurection of Grimlock, Jaz and Bumblebee, due to the US material being interrupted by reprints of old UK stories and thus throwing attempts to make the two strips tie into one another.

Items of note

 * The Demons would return again in the US story "Still Life!"


 * It's not clear if Cindersaur is dead or not, but he is mentioned as still function in the later US story "The Last Autobot?"

Reprints

 * This story was reprinted in the Titan Books trade paperback "Aspects of Evil".