Transformers Comic issue 9



'''Say goodbye to the future. The Autobots loose - evil triumphs - and YOU no longer exist!'''

Transformers #9 was published by Titan Magazines in February 2008.

Magazine Credits
Editor: Steve White Designer: Danny Preston Deputy Editors: Den Patrick Publishing Manager: Darryl Curtis

Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1

 * Script: Simon Furman
 * Art: Simon Williams
 * Inks: Lee Bradley
 * Colors: Kris Carter
 * Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft

A happy ending. One where Sam's desperate gamble with the All Spark had succeeded, and everyone lived - Mikaela Banes is sure in some universe, that ending happened. But not in this one. Here, Sam died that day and the Decepticons have won!

Bumblebee and Mikaela drive through the conquered Denver - a Decepticon base looms over the city, drone soldiers walk the streets & patrol the skies, and Mikaela is unsure if they can get through without being detected. Bumblebee says they have to - "we have to find him" or it's all for nothing. When he says he'd prefer it if she wasn't in danger, she angrily reminds him she's proved herself in combat - and "this is for Sam!".

At the Decepticon base, Megatron oversees the All Spark's power gradually cyberforming Earth into a new Cybertron. A new era of Decepticon supremacy is among them, ruined only by the remaining free nations of Earth threatening a nuclear strike on Decepticon-held territory. Megatron calls Dropkick and tells him to send Starscream and Dreadwing to deal with this threat.

Meanwhile, six Autobots have arrived on the moon, under the command of Skyblast. They're waiting to hear from Ironhide & Bumblebee before they go in - all they have going for them, Skyblast says, is the element of suprise. So it's a pity that they're being monitored by the Decepticons and Starscream knows they're there...

Back in Denver, Bumblebee and Mikaela prepare to raid a Decepticon tunnel. While the Autobot takes on its guard Swindle, Mikaela disables the tunnel entrance's automatic failsafe mechanism. Following that (and Bumblebee accidentally almost squishing her with a falling Swindle - "my bad"), they head down the tunnel to their objective - Optimus Prime! Unfortunately he's offline, possibly dead, and frozen like Megatron once was. And worse, Megatron knows they're there and is off to deal with it personally...

Articles & features

 * Character Profile: Scorponok
 * How to Draw Starscream feature: unlike the previous How To Draw's, this teaches kids how to do a comic page of Starscream action. The sequence is him transforming from jet mode and landing.
 * Top Gear: Promotion of and a chance to win Transformers Top Trumps, a Top Trumps pocket guide, and sweatbands. Yes, the same sweatbands that were free last issue.
 * Poster of the cover image.
 * Star Screams: Letters and art from readers, answered by Starscream.

Free Gift

 * "Free Transformers Playing Cards!" (regular cards with a TF back to them) and a plastic box for them.

Reprints
Reprinted stories are only a portion of their respective issues.
 * Transformers: Movie Prequel, part 3c (7 pages)
 * Beast Wars: The Gathering, part 3c (7 pages)

Items of note

 * Skyblast's team are Arcee, Elita-One, Armorhide, Longarm and what looks like a slightly off-model Strongarm.
 * Skyblast himself has off-model colours and is unnamed, so it could possibly be an off-model coloured Air Raid - as Skyblast has been in the comic before, it's being assumed that this is him until proven otherwise.
 * To be more annoying, the Decepticon drones in Denver include what appear to be purple Dreadwings while a non-drone Dreadwing works for Megatron, 'and what appears to be a comic-original model of ground-troop drone.
 * This is the first alternate universe fiction in Movie continuity.
 * The All Spark can alter planets.
 * Ironhide is involved in resisting the Decepticons and is in contact with Cybertron's Autobots.
 * Mikaela Barnes has seen combat on multiple occasions by this point. She's experienced and seems old friends with Bumblebee. She also wears awesome body-hugging spy clothes because Titan love us.
 * The "remaining free nations" threatening Megatron with nukes are, according to the Next Issue page, members of NATO, so they're presumably France and the United Kingdom.
 * Starscream likes Transformers toys because they spread the Decepticon message; his favourite character is Starscream and he talks to himself for intelligent conversation; he's previously had an F-15 mode ala Generation 1; he'd like to work again with the G1-toon Seekers; and the idea of Jazz being given the letters page makes them threaten to napalm the entire town of Farlington.
 * Some of the kids writing into Star Screams have really big Transformers toy collections!

Errors

 * The Beast Wars strip recap refers to the Megatron/Magmatron battle as being "epic". Well, "Megatron smacked him a few times so Mags cheated" wouldn't be as impressive looking...
 * Yes, Megatron on the cover does appear to be a direct copy of the Megatron stock photo. This may just be an honest mistake by the cover artists, assuming they had to be that on-model.