Plague of the Insecticons!

Summary

=Marvel UK Annual 1985=

Writer: Simon Furman Pencillers: Jeff Anderson, Collins Art: Dan Reed Lettering: Starkings Colors: Hart Editor: Cranna


 * Characters President of the United States, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Warpath, Sharpnel, Kickback, Bombshell, Soundwave, Megatron, Ravage, Roller


 * Originally published: December 1984

Synopsis
Anxious to forge better relations with the humans on Earth, Optimus Prime approaches the President of the United States with a view to forging an alliance. The President agrees to meet him and Optimus Prime, Prowl and Warpath travel to Washington DC to visit the President at the White House.

Unfortunately an unscrambled phone call between the secret service and the army is intercepted by Soundwave. Unwilling to allow the Autobots to ally with the humans, Megatron decides to awaken the Insecticons from stasis.

Just as Optimus and the President meet, the Insecticons attack the humans making war cries in the name of the Autobots in an attempt to discredit them. Then Bombshell announces that they are going to attack the city, making it appear as though he was receiving an order from Optimus Prime.

Enraged, the army attack the Autobots, who make their escape and pursue the Insecticons. They arrive in the city to find the Insecticons causing untold destruction. They engage them in battle, but struggle to hold their own.

Noticing that the Insecticons are acting very uncertainly, Optimus Prime deduces that they are being remotely controlled by an outside agent and sends Roller to take part in the battle while he locates the source of the control signal.

He eventually discovers Ravage, who has been controlling the Insecticons until they get used to their Earth forms. In an attempt to defeat Optimus Prime, Ravage sends a mental command to Bombshell to attack, but the signal is too strong and is also picked up by Kickback. As Bombshell dives at Prime, Kickback attacks Roller who is an extension of Optimus.

The attack on Roller causes Prime to double up in pain, making Bombshell overshoot his target as he fires his cerebro shell. The shell hits Ravage and causes him to become under the mental control of Bombshell, who in turn was under the mental control of Ravage, leaving them both inert unable to think for themselves.

Having defeated the enemy, Prime decides that the Autobots should simply leave as he believes that the humans would not listen to them now. The President believing that the Autobots had been set up is disappointed when they don’t return and explain and decides that he misjudged their honourable intentions and vows not to make the same mistake again.

Errors

 * Was it really a good idea to take Warpath, whose alt mode is a tank, to a peace conference?
 * It isn't clear what becomes of the Insecticons and Ravage at the end of the story, either they escaped or where captured but it is never revealled which.

Items of note

 * The President is drawn in the likeness of Ronald Reagan.
 * The origin of the Insecticons shown here is at odds with their later appearances in the Marvel comic continuity such as The Smelting Pool!, The Bridge to Nowhere!, Target 2006 and Aerialbots over America! which shows the Insecticons a being on Cybertron. As a result this story is usually not considered to be canon.