Issue 5, 17 November 1984.
Written by: Jim Salicrup.
Art by: Frank Springer (pencils), Kim DeMulder & Esposito (inks).
Colours by: Nel Yomtov.
Letters by: Janice Chiang & others.
Cover art: Couldn't be sure.
Reprinted from US issue 3.
Plot: Sparkplug is brught before Megatron and forced to give them the formula to convert Earth fuel for Transformer use. Buster and the Autobots decide to rescue him. Meanwhile, the people of Earth react to the various equipment and fuel raids of the Decepticons.
Wicked dialogue: After O hears that the Autobots must return to the 'Ark', he wonders: 'It's not going to rain or anything, is it?' Heh. Pillock.
Naff dialogue: Megatron: 'As long as I wield the power of my fusion cannon, my position of command is assured!' Oh, not actually leadership skills, then? The Autobots have a Matrix, and the Decepticons have a fusion cannon, huh?
As Jesse watches Buster go to save his dad, she thinks to herself, 'Buster's risking his life to save his father! I always knew he was sensitive! I didn't realise he was so brave!' Sheee, just shut up and have his baby or somethin', willya?
A motorcycle cop, after encountering the Autobots: 'Sarge always said if you put in enough miles, you'll believe a car could talk!' He did, huh? This...um...this the sort of thing Sarge says often?
Strange cliffju-- er, hangers: If the issue ends where I think it does, then we're left in suspense as Spider-Man wonders about his new clothes.
Miserable glitches: Well, of course, first we've got adventures in colouring: Starscream has settled down for this issue, anyway - but his 'metal waistcoat' parts are still blue (or maybe blue-meant-to-be-black, but either way they're not red). Rumble gains and loses his red bits on his arms (they keep turning black) - in fact, when he's pouring fuel out of his hand socket, his right upper arm is red and his left is black! Megatron has a pink pelvis and face as Sparkplug tells the Decepticons to pick on someone their own size. Oh, and a white insignia on his chest. Windcharger is presented to us in white and blue, not unlike Mirage. Ironhide has great splashes of white on him that shouldn't be there, as has Sideswipe. Ratchet actually seems to have more red on him than Ironhide (which would make him one scary ambulance).
Ratchet and Bumblebee have had major changes in character design, coming to look like the TV versions we know and love. (And Ironhide's changed back, too.) (I'm not always going to comment on design changes unless they're fairly major. Like these.)
Starscream decries Earth as 'backwards' because of machines being slaves so long. So, does every piece of non-sentient equipment on Cybertron get a vote, or what?
Starscream's missing the air-intakes on his shoulders in his close-up on the third story page.
Also on these pages, Skywarp has some amazing disappearing-reappearing arm guns. Actually, it could be Thundercracker - they're both coloured pretty dark in the panel where one has and one hasn't, but they've both got 'em later in the scene.
And also in this scene, between the second and third story pages, Megatron's fusion cannon significantly changes shape - from a 'barrels of doom' thing, to the more traditional shape, then back again.
Still on this scene! The caption lists Soundwave, Megatron, Frenzy and Ravage transforming in the panel at the bottom of the page. The actual panel contains all of these guys and Rumble. Considering the lengths they go to list every Decepticon here, that's a bit odd.
While Megatron is telling Rumble to pull his hand off, who should be there but Shockwave? Not only hasn't he been mentioned so far, but later issues will show that he can't be here now.
Fact-file: Megatron.
Back-up strip: Machine Man - Where Walks the Gods.
Notes: With this issue, the regular cartoon strip, Matt and the Cat began.
I'm actually (mostly) using the original US issue for this entry (or at least scans of it Liam has generously provided, and reprint material).
See issue 1's entry for reprint details of this issue.
Your Marvel-reading buddies still trying to tell you that Transformers ain't in the Marvel Universe? Point 'em here to Nicky Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Joe 'Daily Bugle editor' Robertson, and Spider-Man.
It's 1984 in the United States, so Russians are, of course, rotten. That's why the people in Washington are decent enough to admit they have no proof that the Russians are behind these mysterious robots, whereas all the Russians can say about the Americans is, 'They must be testing their Star Wars arsenal, comrade!'
Comments: Hmmm. Fairly so-so. I feel that this part of the story didn't need to take so long, but I'm not at all sure how.