Dinobot Hunt!

Part 3

Issue 49, 22 February 1986.

Written by: Simon Furman
Art by: Will Simpson
Colours by: Stuart Place
Letters by: Mike Scott
Cover art: Geoff Senior

Plot: Soundwave, Scavenger and Skywarp arrive in Old River Valley in pursuit of more Dinobots. They find a torn-off Decepticon insignia and a battered Laserbeak. Laserbeak reports: Two human farmers were trying to chase Slag after he wrecked their ranch. Soon enough, D-team - Ironhide, Jetfire and Jazz - arrived. As they went to find Slag, Greg (one of the humans), angered Slag by shooting him in the head with a shotgun. As Ironhide distracted him, Jetfire leapt on and subdues Slag. (Laserbeak notes that it would be good to return Jetfire to the Decepticons, as he's performing well.) Laserbeak was discovered and injured in the scuffle, and that's where Soundwave found him. The Decepticon insignia was from Jetfire, who as yet hasn't undergone the right of the Autobrand due to time pressures.
Soundwave reflects that capturing Slag was non-essential (which is good, because they didn't do it). All they have to do is locate Grimlock and victory is assured. Either way, of course, the three Autobots they took captive last issue are all for the chop.
Back at the Ark, C-team radio in. Sideswipe's had the crap kicked out of him, and-- the transmission goes dead.

Brill!: Ironhide improvises, blocking off the burst of flame from Slag's mouth by stuffing Laserbeak in it!

Wicked dialogue: Jazz dips an entire sentence in Earth slang: 'Heck, those dudes are way out of their depth - and how! We'd better burn rubber and get over there - pronto!' Ironhide: 'If all that meant they're in trouble and need our help quickly, I agree!'

Naff dialogue: Soundwave finishes taunting the captive Gears, Windcharger and Cliffjumper: 'Isn't that so, my beauties? Ha, ha, ha, ha!' I think being a chief supervillain is really getting to the poor guy.

Miserable glitches: Much as we liked it, was it really so hard for Ironhide to understand what Jazz said (Transformers do often use very Earth-colloquial language to start with)? Maybe he just values good grammar, no matter the origin.
Greg's brother's neckerchief disappears as his Greg is carried away on Slag.
I don't think much of Jetfire's reassurances to the farmer. After Greg was leaping off horses, riding an angry charging Dinobot, shooting it in the head, getting whipped around, smacked about, grabbed and thrown, I'd really be surprised if he could ever walk again. Or, y'know, live. Could the family sue the Autobots over this? (Or maybe GB Blackrock?)
Laserbreak's getting confused. First he says he'd like to get Jetfire back onside, then a few pages later, he changes his position because he's anxious to see the 'turncoat' die.
And shutting himself off might have saved Laserbeak's mind, but shouldn't his body be a bit more damaged? Slag's breath's pretty hot, y'know.

Back-up strip: Iron Man.

Notes: This story would later be reprinted in issue 7 of Transformers Collected Comics.
Slag, at least, is reponsive to colour in emotional terms. Seeing the red Ironhide makes him more angry. (Kind of like what doesn't happen in bullfighting. But you know they knew that, right? (wink))

Comments: Yee-ha! Let's round us up some big robot Triceratops! This issue's a bit interesting, as we get to see the Decepticons at work in a manner other than attacking stuff or making inadequate plans. Using Laserbeak as a narrative device made this episode more interesting than it may have been to simply see the Autobots grab Slag. It also meant we could see both plot threads unfolding naturally. (Imagine how many scene-changes it might have had without the idea that we were really in one the whole time.) The humans were - well, annoying. They did let the piece down a bit.
Not only is Ironhide's little trick effective, but we see something else come from it - the idea that a Transformer can survive all kinds of nasty injuries if they shut themselves down first. (No doubt this could also be used to explain all kinds of returns from the dead.) This would make sense, I suppose, as it might block any potential power-surges that might further damage systems. Of course, they'd probably have to spend a fair amount of time in the workshop getting their body back into shape, but that's better than being recycled, right?