Surrender!

Prime finds his cajones, and Zarak finds his soul.

=Marvel US issue #71= (Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #311-312)

Script: Simon Furman Art: Andrew Wildman Inks: Stephen Baskerville Lettering: Rick Parker Colors: Nelson Yomtov Cover: Andrew Wildman
 * Major characters (in order of appearance): Optimus Prime, Kup, Scorponok, Soundwave, Bludgeon, Shockwave, Starscream, Ravage, Mindwipe, Triggerhappy, Runabout, Runamuck, Galvatron II, Quickmix, Xaaron, Hook, Line, and Sinker, Hot Rod
 * Originally published: October, 1990

Synopsis
Several million years ago, Optimus Prime is on the front lines defending the city-state of Iacon. An Autobot soldier tries to tell Prime they are being overrun, and have no choice but to surrender. Optimus does ask the soldier for the white flag, but only to bind his wound. He then pimp-slaps the whiny ponce and tells him to get outta his army. Well, not really, but he should've. Anyway, Optimus Prime then leaps out of the foxhole and charges the Decepticon battle line shouting "Never Surrender!"

Which leads us to the ironic jump-cut, and Powermaster Optimus Prime kneeling in the rain, in the garbage atop the Decepticon base, surrendering his crew to Scorponok. Naturally, the Decepticon leader is all to happy to accept, and commands his soldiers to divest the Autobots of all weapons and toy gimics. Kup is in no mood to go quietly, but Prime insists its the only option. In his own mind, however, Optimus is just as worried about his decision as Kup.

Scorponok, meanwhile, is having a ball. His warriors were less than pleased with his recent leadership decisions, especially taking Starscream under his command and then losing him. Now, though, it seems he's once more back on top...as long as he breaks his word to Optimus Prime and reneges on their potential alliance against Unicron.

In the meantime, Shockwave and Starscream's insurrection army has grown, and Scorponok's present "victory" over all the Autobots have pushed up their plans considerably. With some leisurely applied peer pressure and threats of death, Mindwipe and Triggerhappy are officially inducted into the Decepticon auxillary group, and the strike plan begins.

Hours later, Optimus Prime is being guarded in his cell by Soundwave, and dreams of an alliance with Scorponok seem to be turning to ash before his eyes.

Things are doing little better on Cybertron. Galvatron and Unicron's heralds have reached the planet and begun sowing discord in his name, starting with Emirate Xaaron's Autobase. Quickmix convinces him to take the turbo-lift into the sewers and flee for safety, to form another Autobot rebellion one day if need be. Quickmix and the others remain behind to deal with the attackers.

On Earth, Optimus has had enough of waiting, and slams Soundwave through a wall before making his escape. He breaks free Kup and Hot Rod for assistance, but Kup has had enough, and demands Prime give them a good reason why any Autobot should listen to him now. Still, he wouldn't be Optimus Prime if he couldn't make up an impassioned speech on the spot, and Kup agrees to go along.

Nearby, in his war room, Zarak is beginning to regret tarnishing his honor by rolling over on Prime as he did. His musings are interrupted by Prime and his Autobots bursting in on the scene. Once again, Optimus attempts to get through to Zarak about the severity of their situation, and this time he succeeds. The alliance is about to be sealed with a handshake when Shockwave and his warriors bomb the base, leaving all inside for dead.

On Cybertron, Xaaron is on the run. The sewers provide him no safe passage. The might of Galvatron is on his trail, and there is no escape...

Items of note

 * Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl and Wheeljack are shown in Prime's flashback.
 * A Transformers Universe profile for Punch and Counterpunch is found after the main story.