1985 Annual

Plague of the Insecticons!

Plot: A contingent of Autobots meet the President of the USA to try to convince the American people that the Autobots are peaceful. Suddenly, though, the Insecticons appear, claiming to represent the Autobots as they attack the humans. Megatron has sent them to discredit the Autobots, having learnt of the plan through a security leak. As the Insecticons attack Washington DC, Prowl and Warpath go to stop them while Optimus gets an idea to cut the bugs off at their source. Struck by an idea, though, Optimus sends his Roller unit off to intercept Prowl and Warpath. He's worked out that the Insecticons are being controlled by an outside source - in this case, Ravage operates them mentally. In the end of it all, Ravage accidentally has Bombshell blast him with a cerebro-shell, meaning that his mind is now a void waiting for his own mental commands, shutting down the Decepticon operation.

Brill!: The set-up for this scene might be a bit questionable, but who can't feel a shiver of determination as Prowl and Warpath resolve to save the city and the people, no matter their fate?

Britishisms: Only a minor thing, but I can't help but think the US President would be more likely to say 'truck' than 'lorry'.

First appearances: Warpath, overeager Autobot tank. Not to mention the Insecticons - Bombshell, Kickback and Shrapnel. (Kind of. But see below for more on this.)

Miserable glitches: As usual, Gina Hart's colouring techniques are lovely, but she's once more got a bit creative. The Insecticons are a curious purple, red and brown; and I always have to mention when Optimus has his blue woober or Megatron his gold shirt.
Warpath is white when Optimus realises the Insecticons are out to sully their name. (Hey, it's Slammer!)
Almost everyone present seems too ready to buy that the Insecticons really are working for the Autobots. Surely at some point in these loads and loads of secret communications, they warned that the Decepticons weren't beyond a trick like this? Besides, what did the military guys think, that it was part of the plan for three Autobots to attack in plain sight while the other three stood there and denied it?
Then, at the end we discover that the President had anticipated something like that happening. In fact, he believes the Insecticons were trying to work against the Autobots. He still trusts the Autobots over that, he says...but he says he won't be able to trust them because they didn't explain it to him themselves? What?? It would break the world for him to contact them first? Is it really worth jeopardising an understanding like this because he's a bit hurt the Autobots didn't tell him what he knew? (And that they didn't think he'd believe.)
When the text introduces each Insecticon, it implies that they're really showing off their stuff - and mentions Kickback being a master of espionage. He demonstrates what a great spy he is by flying over the city smashing up buildings?

Notes: The US President in this story isn't named, but the art suggests it's supposed to be then-current one Ronald Reagan. It looks a lot younger than he would have at the time, though. (Flattery, artistic style, or coincidence?)

Missing in Action

Plot: While on a reconnaisance mission in Greater Portland, Tracks is assaulted by Rumble and left deactivated. Optimus Prime sends Jazz to investigate. Meanwhile, Tracks is found by a young robber-to-be named JD, looking for a getaway car. JD and his friend Mark go for their robbery, but they mess it up and head off for New York. A week later, Cosmos tells Optimus of this, and he sends Inferno, Grapple and Hoist to after them. In New York, ten-year-old Danny Phillips, aware of Transformers from the news, comes across the dormant Tracks in mid-bank-robbery. He's taken hostage as the Autobot team also find Tracks. The robbers set off a bomb, setting fire to the bank and trapping Danny. Inferno rescues the boy, Tracks is retrieved, and they all go home.

Britishisms: Again, it's not really an indication of much, but finding stuff in Woolworth's (or even behind it) is a very British idea.

First appearances: Tracks, Hoist, Grapple and Cosmos - Autobots all. (But see below) And also Danny Phillips, Transformer fan.

Miserable glitches: It's not really a glitch at all, but I find the idea of a war council being called so that Tracks of all people could address it to be a bit amusing.
The illustration shows Rumble and Tracks as the same size (more or less). Artistic licence means I often let this stuff through, but these guys are supposed to be very different sizes. Rumble's a Mini-Cassette, and Tracks is an Autobot Car.
Optimus Prime compares that the evil of the Decepticons is automatically way worse than any humans. Doesn't that seem a bit cut-n-dry for someone who's supposed to be so wise?

Notes: A text story.

And There Shall Come...A Leader!

Plot: Cybertron, millions of years ago. Long before the Ark departed in issue 1. The Autobots are under heavy assault by the Decepticons, and the ruling council fears the Autobot nation doomed. A councillor named Xaaron pleads with the council to appoint a single leader to the military forces to give them better guidance. The leader? An Autobot named Optimus Prime.
Out in the battlefield, Optimus is forced to hold his ground, waiting for supplies while fighting a losing battle, until he receives the word that he's now in charge. He's still waiting for an armament supply, but Megatron decides to have his forces advance on Iacon's central dome. Optimus leads his Autobots to put up a brave fight, but things look bad. The shatter bombs meanwhile, have made it through, and the Autobots complete their plan to destroy the expressway the Decepticons now attack over. The other Autobots retreat, but Megatron and Prime are still there when it blows. Windcharger's magnets pluck Prime out of the wreck, but little do they know Megatron has also survived...

Brill!: Preparing to finish Prime off, Megatron remarks, 'Only one task remains...' Prime, who knows about the expressway plan simply replies, 'You're so right...' and then it blows out from under them.

First appearances: The Autobot Council of Elders here bring us Emirate Xaaron, a councillor who'll have a greater part to play as the war goes on.

Miserable glitches: Blue woober! Gold shirt!
All through the series, we'll have characters referring to Iacon's Golden Spires - they're so famous they'll even have their own exclamation, 'By Iacon's Golden Spires' and things like that. This story affords us a long shot of Iacon, and guess what? No spires! Great big dome, yes, but no spires!
There's a robot who's drawn everso like Ironhide who tells Optimus about Xaaron's communication, only he's coloured blue. But since a similar thing could be said about other characters with similar designs (eg, Prowl and Bluestreak), and this guy's never named, we'll be charitable and assume he's someone else.
On the other hand, the next page has Megatron turning to Soundwave who looks more like Mirage.
Mind you, he looks more like Soundwave than Gears looks like Gears over the next few pages. (Of course, Gears may have been rebuilt more than others by the Ark, but again, that rarely happens this way.)

Notes: This is the first 'Tale of Cybertron', and the groundwork is laid here for many later things in the series. Over coming stories, we'll be getting a quite well laid-out scene-setting for Cybertron, not just before the Ark left, but leading up to the war itself.

Hunted!

Plot: While most of the Autobots are out of the Ark, Bumblebee and Prowl catch video evidence of Decepticon activity in a South American Jungle. Taking Top Spin and Twin Twist to investigate, they confirm evidence of Ravage attacking a Dr John Butler. The Decepticons have taken up residence in the jungle, digging for rare crystals that could create Transformer intelligence. Megatron plans to use these to create a Decepticons army. Dr Butler's expedition had stumbled onto the mine, but Dr Butler himself had escaped. The Autobots fight the Decepticons, ruin the mine and save the humans, but Megatron lives to fight another day.

Naff dialogue: 'I'd advise you not to hinder my escape,' says Megatron, 'especially as I've planted a bomb in my fortress!' Oh, really, honey. That's nice.

First appearances: Top Spin and Twin Twist, the fast-transforming Autobot Jumpstarters. Also the Decepticon Strike Planes Thrust and Dirge. (But...wait for it... see below.)

Awkward Self-Introductions: You know.

Miserable glitches: Is Ravage's armour really so distinctive that a single small shard can identify him instantly, just from seeing it over a video screen?
The Decepticons we see Prowl firing at aren't the right colours for any of the foes he's supposed to be facing.
Everything in this story is on a Transformer scale, so is it really true to say that Bumblebee has 'extraordinary strength'?

Notes: A text story.
This tale is most likely apocryphal, but the crystals Megatron is digging for could have properties similar to either the Creation Matrix or the crystals used to store the Autobot minds in issue 53.

1985 Annual Notes: This is the first hardback annual spun off from the UK comic, and it would be an event towards the end of each year for some time to come. While later volumes would keep pace with the comic continuity, though, three of the four stories in this year's book plainly don't. Inferno, Tracks, Top Spin, Twin Twist, Thrust, Ramjet, Cosmos, Hoist, Grapple and the Insecticons are all seen as active Earth Transformers in these stories, when they won't appear for some time yet. Not only that, but the Insecticons are given a complete new origin story which doesn't match what we'll learn about them in issue 66. The other stories can't simply happen at some point yet to come, either - at no point over the comic's run are all of the players in place for the stories as they happen here. (Twin Twist and Top Spin don't come to Earth until issue 200, then they die only a short time later.) Most likely, this annual was mostly done to move sales of the toys - and most likely the weekly comic - along, and the attitude taken with the new characters was similar to that of the TV series, that they'd just pop up as if they'd always been there. It's unlikely that any of these stories were even intended to keep up with the ongoing weekly strip. The exception to this is And There Shall Come...a Leader!, which contains elements and characters (most notably Emirate Xaaron) that would continue to affect the running story. So most likely, it is in continuity.
Also included in the book are numerous activity pages.

Comments: It's obviously aimed a bit lower than usual, especially the text stories, but this book isn't so bad. Plague is actually fairly well put together, with a neat end to the plot, but the actual last page is a bit annoying. The two text stories do their job, but they're actually fairly easy to forget, and do kind of remind one of the Big-Look Picture Books that occasionally featured Transformers. Leader is the real icing, though, giving a nice 'origin' tale to Optimus Prime, and providing a rarely-seen (at this point) extended look at Cybertron and the Great War.