Autobots Fight Back



Autobots Fight Back is the third in the Ladybird Books series of Transformers storybooks.

Written by: John Grant Illustrated by: Mike Collins and Mark Farmer


 * Major characters (in order of appearance): Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Trailbreaker, Hound, Spike Witwicky, Sparkplug Witwicky, Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz

Summary
Dispatched to the Decepticon base on a spying mission, Bumblebee discovers that the villains’ construction of their space cruiser has been impeded by an inability to test their new ion-drive propulsion system due to the massive space requirements of the test rig required. Detected by Soundwave, Bumblebee flees, but is pursued by Ravage through woods and hills. Ducking around a bend, Bumblebee is able to stun his pursuer with a blast of bright light from his headlights, and makes good his escape, leaving Ravage to vainly attempt to pick up his trail. While searching, however, Ravage happens upon an abandoned mineshaft, providing the Decepticons with the perfect venue to build their propulsion system test rig.

Having reported to Optimus Prime on their enemies’ troubles, Bumblebee returns to the Decepticon base to learn more, only to discover it all but deserted. Trailbreaker and Hound use their tracking abilities to co-ordinate the Decepticons’ position, and with help from Spike and Sparkplug, the area is identified as an abandoned quarry. The Autobots are unsure of how to proceed, but when Spike goes grocery shopping with Ironhide, he learns of an impending car rally that will run right by the area the Decepticons are set up in. Optimus Prime arranges for Jazz and Spike to participate in the race in order to investigate.

On the day of the rally, Spike and Jazz split up after the race begins to avoid Jazz’s true nature being exposed to the Decepticons, and Spike finds and follows the mine’s rail tracks to the quarry. Meeting back up with Jazz at their objective, Spike has him contact Optimus Prime, and the pair then venture into the mineshaft itself, where they discover the Decepticons and their equipment. Soundwave detects their presence, but just then, Prime and the other Autobots burst into the tunnel via an airshaft, and a firefight ensues that plunges the tunnel into darkness. Spike has Jazz drive him back to the quarry, where he instructs the Autobot to push a train of mine cars down into the tunnel and alerts the Autobots so they can escape. The cars smash into the Decepticons and their machinery, collapsing the tunnel on the evil robots with a massive explosion.

Errors

 * As in Autobots’ Lightning Strike, Ravage is again referred to as a “canine,” when he’s feline in nature.

Items of note

 * The influence of More Than Meets The Eye is again felt upon the Ladybird continuity, as the main plot of this book revolves around repairing the Decepticons’ spacecraft, which crashed at the conclusion of the miniseries.
 * Sparkplug’s map confirms that the Autobot and Decepticon bases are in Oregon, as in most G1 continuities.