Some day, there'll be an alternate reality where the Decepticons don't win and we'll all die of shock.
| Titan Transformers Comic > Issue # 9 | |
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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
Contents[]
Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1[]
- Script: Simon Furman
- Art: Simon Williams
- Inks: Lee Bradley
- Colours: Kris Carter
- Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft
A happy ending, one where Sam's desperate gamble with the All Spark had succeeded, and everyone lived... Bumblebee is sure in some universe, that ending happened. But not in this one. Here, Sam died that day, and the Decepticons have won!
And yet Ronald Witwicky still didn't notice aliens existed.
Bumblebee and Mikaela Banes drive through the conquered Denver. A Decepticon base looms over the city, drone soldiers walk the streets and patrol the skies, and Mikaela is unsure if they can get through without being detected. They have to - she knows "we have to find him," or it's all for nothing. When Bumblebee says he'd prefer it if she wasn't in danger, she angrily reminds him she's proved herself in combat and that "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 upon 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 and Bumblebee before they go in. All they have going for them, Skyblast says, is the element of surprise. 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 the former Sector 7 base and 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 Draws, 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)
Quotes[]
Strip[]
"A happy ending. Somewhere, I'm sure, there is one. In some other reality... we lived happily ever after on our new home - Earth. Somewhere... but not here."
- —Bumblebee sets the scene (abridged)
"Eh. The six of us versus a whole legion of Decepticons - how's that work again?"
- —Longarm knows what happened to the cast of Rhythms of Darkness
"Phew! That was too- *Swindle falls down right next to her* close!"
"Oops. My bad."
- —Mikaela and Bumblebee
Star Screams[]
"Personally, I'm glad you haven't seen the Michael Bay Autobot propaganda machine."
"To answer your question, Joe, my favourite character is also Starscream - because the only person I can trust is myself, whilst all those around me are complete imbeciles. My idiot allies ask why I talk to myself, and I have to remind them that it's the only way I can guarantee intelligent conversation."
"The second 'movie' will be more of a documentary-style affair. It will chart how I, Starscream, brought a group of Decepticons to Earth and succeeded where Megatron failed."
"I would be overly grateful if you could have Jazz answering Mech Mail..." (Reader from Farlington)
"Jazz? JAZZ?! Did you not see the film: He was ripped in half! Besides, what would we call the letter column? Jazz Club? All That Jazz? Oh no, not on my watch, young Tom. Be grateful I don't fly down to Farlington and napalm the entire town for such a disgraceful suggestion."
Items of note[]
- Skyblast's team are Arcee, Elita-One, Armorhide, Longarm, and Strongarm.
- The Decepticon drones in Denver include a comic-original type of ground-troop drones.
- As well as purple Dreadwing drones, this comic also shows a sentient, non-drone Dreadwing on equal rank with Starscream. This Dreadwing has his toy's colours.
- This is the first alternate universe fiction in Movie continuity. It bears several similarities to previous alternate-reality story Rhythms of Darkness - a human/Autobot resistance, a deactive Prime, and America conquered by the Decepticons with remaining nuclear powers planning a strike.
- The All Spark can alter planets.
- Ironhide is involved in resisting the Decepticons and is in contact with Cybertron's Autobots.
- Mikaela Banes 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. He's previously had an F-15 mode ala Generation One (take that continuity!) and he'd like to work again with the G1-toon Seekers.
- Some of the kids writing in to 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 sound as impressive...