Crater Critters

Hoooooobgoblins. Hoooooobgoblins. What'cha gonna do with those hoooooobgoblins.

A secret shipment from the Decepticons carries an infection that threatens Decepticon and Autobot alike.

Marvel US issue #29

(Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #123-124, Generations #10)

Script: Bob Budiansky
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Ian Akin and Brian Garvey
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Colors: Nelson Yomtov
Editor: Don Daley

• Major characters (in order of appearance): Goldbug, Blaster, G.B. Blackrock, Ratbat, Astrotrain, Octane, Blitzwing
• Originally published: June, 1987

Synopsis

Believing that they can better fight the Decepticons on their own, Goldbug and Blaster seek information from G.B. Blackrock that might lead them to Decepticon activity. Blackrock tells them of a mysterious meteor that crash landed in Northern Arizona. The Autobot pair goes to investigate.

The meteor was a space frieghter sent by the Decepticons from Cybertron as part of a secret scheme to steal Earth's energy, but the freighter pilot did not contact Cybertron upon arrival as planned. Ratbat sends the Triple Changers Astrotrain, Octane, and Blitzwing to investigate. They arrive on Earth near a crater caused by the crash, and frighten away a group of scientists who had planned to study the "meteor." The Decepticons find the freighter, but learn only to late why the freighter crashed: the pilot has been infected with Scraplets, a group of tiny Transformer-like robots who can change into innocent-looking nuts, bolts, screws and the like, but which attach themselves to mechanical lifeforms and replicate quickly, causing great damage to the larger robot.

One of the scientists, Charlie Fong, doesn't scare away easily, and when he meets Goldbug and Blaster, they work out a plan to get to the crater and find out what's going on. When they arrive, they are quickly attacked by the Decepticons, and Goldbug and Fong are separated from Blaster. Although Goldbug is able to escape infection from the Scraplets, Blaster is not so lucky.

Although Blaster, noting that the Triple Changers are weakened more by the Scraplets than he is, wishes to fight the Decepticons with Goldbug's help, Goldbug is convinced by Fong that Blaster's only hope now is to find a cure for the Scraplets. Fong proposes taking a crushed Scraplet out of the crater for experimentation, and Goldbug reluctantly agrees. As Goldbug leaves the crater, Blaster, believing himself abandoned, swears revenge. Goldbug pauses out of guilt, only to become infected himself. Now he has no choice. He and Fong must find a cure, or they are all lost....

Errors

• Halfway through this issue, Goldbug is finally drawn as Goldbug, where previously he was Bumblebee with Goldbug's head. After the switch, Goldbug's windows on his chest randomly appear and reappear.

Items of note

• In this issue the little Autobot Scrounge, is seen in a flashback. Scrounge is shown carrying a rifle -- he never used a gun in his original appearance.

• This issue features the debut appearance of the Decepticon Triple Changers.

References

• On page 5, Blaster remembers the sacrifice of his friend Scrounge, from The Smelting Pool!.

• On page 6, Blackrock mentions "some suspicious activity in the Caribbean lately," no doubt the Decepticons at their new base of operations, where they relocated to in Gone But Not Forgotten.

UK Printing

• UK issue #123 features a Triple Changers cover drawn by artist Lee Sullivan.

• UK issue #124 features a cover drawn by Will Simpson. There is a Scraplet on the cover, whose details are based exactly on the one seen one Blaster's chin in the US cover.

• While this was the Triple Changers' debut story for the US market, the Decepticon and Autobot Triple-changers were both introduced way back in Target 2006 in the UK.