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On the Edge of Extinction!

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"On the Edge of Extinction!"
Publisher Marvel Comics
First published December1990
Cover date February 1991
Writer Simon Furman
Artist Geoff Senior
Colorist Nel Yomtov
Letterer Rick Parker
Editor Rob Tokar
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

Unicron drops by for a light lunch.

Contents

Synopsis

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How do the physics of this even work?!

WithUnicronlooming over the planetCybertron,the assembledTransformersflee in a blind panic. TheDark Godrips into the planet's surface, sampling its metal (andBrainstorm) and declaring it "succulent".

Primus—still possessing the form ofXaaron—urgesOptimus PrimeandScorponokto calm their warriors and unite them in battle against the Chaos-Bringer, but even the two leaders are overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of their foe. Primus himself initiates an attack on Unicron—but the dark god sees through what is essentially a ruse, and destroys Xaaron.

Galvatronblasts Unicron at full power; while it does virtually no damage, it does what Galvatron had hoped—inspires the Transformers to stand and fight. Soon a planet-wide battle is raging; many Transformers are killed in the fighting, most notably Scorponok, who makes a final stand to live up to his legacy as aDecepticonwarrior. TheNeo-Knightsalso attempt to engage, but their powers are no match for Unicron, andCircuit Breakerremains catatonic, despiteG.B. Blackrock's attempts to revive her.

Reinforcements arrive in the form of theArk,which is filled withAutobotsreactivated by theNucleonretrieved byGrimlock.Grimlock has the ship sideswipe Unicron, damaging it and forcing them to abandon it in flight.

As Optimus Prime struggles to keep hisPowermasterbond from coming apart, the taintedCreation Matrixsuddenly arrives at Cybertron, with the possessedThunderwingat its core. The Matrix confronts its old foe, Unicron. But with its virtuous nature stripped away, the Matrix no longer has any advantage over Unicron, who unleashes a power burst that tears Thunderwing limb from limb and devastates the surface of Cybertron. As the blast passes, Prime spots the Matrix.

Tiring of the battle, Unicron reverts to his planet mode and prepares to devour Cybertron entirely. But as he begins, he is blasted by the revived Circuit Breaker, who pours every bit of her power at him in an insane rage. The distraction gives Optimus Prime enough time to reach the Matrix. His mind free from doubt, he reclaims it, purges it of darkness, and plunges it—and himself—into Unicron's maw. Overloaded with "terrible, wonderful life", Unicron explodes while the survivors on Cybertron's surface look on in awe.

Some while after the battle,BattletrapandRunaboutare walking somewhere on Cybertron. Runabout goes to investigate some movement in the shadows. He is promptly snatched underground by aclawed handand, as observed by a hiddenHi-Q,devoured.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Nebulans Misc

Quotes

"Hypothesis... I--I havenohypothesis. This isbeyondanalysis,beyondlogic. My vast data grid simply... cannot compute. However, I believe I can give an accurate probability projection. I am 100% certain that Cybertron, and every Transformer on it, isdoomed!"

—Shockwave


"Duh-do...something!Brainstorm,you're the clever one... tell uswhat to do!"
"I -- No No No No No No No No No"

—CloudburstspursBrainstormto take on a god with firepower


"I'll rip you to pieces with mybare claws,tear your circuits out with myteethand spit your diodesbackat you!Die, Unicron -- DIE!"

—Scorponok's final stand


"Erm, Grimlock.... was that wise? I mean, we've all just come out of a state close to death, reanimated by an untested andhighly unstableform of energy. Perhaps we should -- "
"Shouldwhat?!Haveholiday?Putfeetup? We Autobots, Wheeljack -- we fight, not worry about health! And now we kick Unicron's tail acrossuniverse!"
sigh"Maybe deactivation wasn't so bad after all!"

—WheeljackandGrimlock,still not seeing eye to eye40 issues later


"Huuuu--Puh-Prime?Did -- Did...kuh... I do...good?"
"Yes old friend... you did good."

—Scorponokshares his final words withOptimus Prime


"I tire of thesegames... It is time tofeast!Theendcomes, Transformers. Eternal black night descends. You are about to become one with the great void... Ienvyyou -- "

—Unicronreturns to planet mode to devour Cybertron in one go


"Today we end a battle begun eons ago. I thought you created us todie,Primus -- to perish in your place. But now I understand. You created us to carry onafteryou are gone! You mustdie,Primus -- so thatallmight live! "

—Optimus Prime's last words before plunging the Matrix -- and himself -- into Unicron's maw


"You see what I mean,Battletrap?I sort of thought coming so close to death myself wouldchangeme, make me abetterrobot. I thought I'd come out here today and want toembracelife. In fact I really want todestroy something!"

—Runaboutphilosophizes

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

  • There are, of course, the errors ofscaletypically associated with the supposedly planet-sized Unicron.
  • On the first page, when Unicron sinks his claws into Cybertron's surface, the back half of his hand is colored orange like his "sleeve".
  • The AutobotPretendershad their shells confiscated back on Earth by Scorponok's Decepticons when they surrendered in issue#71.Last issue after all the Transformers were teleported to Cybertron by Primus, the Autobot Pretenders were without their shells. This issue they are wearing their shells, without explanation; the story doesn't leave much if any time for them to be retrieved from wherever the Decepticons stashed them.

Continuity errors

  • When Primus is killed while inhabiting Xaaron's body, it'sScorponokwho screams out Xaaron's name in shock and Optimus who calls out for Primus (despite being an old comrade of Xaaron's). Perhaps it is not an outright error and more of a creative choice, but still a bit odd.
  • Among hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of Transformers... Circuit Breaker's the only being on the planet who can manipulate electricity?Shrapnelhadn't been seen in donkey's years and may have beenlong dead,so this isn't as jarring as it could have been.

Continuity notes

  • The grand battle with Unicron concludes a storyline that began way back in issue#60.
  • The imagery of Unicron's internal systems (Page 4) is based on similar views in opening scenes ofThe Transformers: The Movie.
  • Likewise, Galvatron uses his cannon as a means of propulsion, an idea first seen in the animated movie.
  • Grimlock's reinforcements were fueled with Nucleon in the previous issue.
  • Grimlock's (shown) reinforcements are the same cast asEarthforce,more or less.
  • Unicron recalls the destruction of Thunderwing and the Matrix in issue#66.
  • Most of the surviving Transformers, includingSoundwave,Prowl, Wheeljack,Blaster,Bumblebeeand Jazz show up in theAction Mastersline. While most never transform after this issue, Prowl clearly retains his ability to do so.
  • While Primus is outright said to bedead deadity dead,thelater retconof the Primus/Unicron plan would say he isn't.
  • Cybertron continues to be drawn based on the cartoon model, a convention that started around issue #71.

Furminated

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Everyone's all likeOh Galvatron, you're so dreamy, you were the one who opened fire on Unicron,but Brainstorm shot first!
(thumbnail)
You're misfired.
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Flathead.

This issue's high body count brought Furman's reputation for mass carnage to US readers. Casualties in this issue include:

  • Brainstorm, skewered on Unicron's fingernail and devoured
  • Xaaron, blasted to cinders by an optic blast
  • Cloudburst, exploded after colliding with Unicron's fire-breath
  • Highbrow, crushed between Unicron's hands
  • Finback, vaporized when the gun battery he's on explodes; Misfire is caught in the shockwave as well and never seen again.
  • Hardhead and Bomb-Burst, crushed under Unicron's foot
  • Joyride and Waverider, slagged by an optic blast
  • Scorponok, melted by fire breath
  • Thunderwing, shredded by Unicron's power-burst explosion;Mindwipeis among those caught in the shockwaves
  • Unicron, blown apart by the energies of the Matrix
  • Runabout, eaten by Demons
    • Joyride and Mindwipe show up alive and well inGeneration 2.Quake, who was with Joyride and Waverider when they were blasted, is not shown getting hit—and is fine just a couple of issues later.
  • The next issue's opening page would reveal several more deceased Transformers:Apeface,Sureshot,Hosehead,andRunamuck(who nevertheless appeared inGeneration 2long enough to die again.) Prime's gruesome fate would be revealed as well, as he was still within Unicron during the explosion.
  • Ironically, many of the casualties here are Transformers who managed to survive theUnderbase Saga.Even more ironic is the fact that they die just as the casualties of the Underbase Saga are revived and brought back into the story.

UK printing

Issue #319:

Issue #320:

  • Other strips:Machine Man- "If This Be Sanctuary?!" andCombat Colin
  • AtoZ:Squeezeplay

Issue #321:

  • Other strips:Machine Man- "If This Be Sanctuary?!" andCombat Colin
  • AtoZ:Siren

Issue #322:

  • Other strips:Machine Man- "Rime of the Ancient Wrecker!" andCombat Colin
  • AtoZ:Kup
  • Once again, theMachine Manstory was previously printed, starting way back in issue#35

Other trivia

  • Billed as an "anniversary" issue despite not being a year after anything in particular, this issue was double-sized and ended up beingGeoff Senior's final contribution to the MarvelGeneration 1series. Way to go out with a bang!
  • Transformers Universeprofiles forFangryandSqueezeplayare found after the main story.
  • The "next issue" blurb plays on Grimlock's reprimand to Wheeljack, quoted above.
  • The closing narration plays on the intro blurb that has been running on the book's opening page since issue #62.
  • This was the last Dutch Generation 1 comic printed byJunior Press.
  • It was also the last Polish Generation 1 comic printed by TM-Semic.
  • In the credits, editor Rob Tokar and editor-in-chiefTom DeFalcoare jointly credited as "Certainly Doomed".

Bot Roster

  • At this point, the story has left the isolated battlefield of Earth, and the Earth Transformers are no longer a distinct group. However:
    • Of 34 active Autobots:
      • 8 are confirmed killed in this issue and next
      • 13 are later confirmed as survivors
      • 13 remain MIA
    • Of 28 offline and 24 presumed offline Autobots, 7 are confirmed reactivated, leaving 45 MIA
    • Decepticons: of 28 active or rogue, 7 are confirmed killed in this issue and next, while 11 are eventually confirmed as survivors. Nothing is heard of the 50 confirmed and presumed Underbase casualties.

Covers (5)

  • US issue #75 cover:Unicron devouring Cybertron, byGeoff Senior.
  • UK issue #319 cover:recolored version of US cover, byRobin Bouttell.
  • UK issue #320 cover:Unicron destroying Xaaron, byStewart Johnson.
  • UK issue #321 cover:Optimus Prime and the defeated Scorponok, by Stewart Johnson.
  • UK issue #322 cover:Prime entering Unicron with the Matrix, by Stewart Johnson.
  • (thumbnail)

    US issue #75- Cybertron - with delicious crunchy filling!

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #319- UK Cybertron - strawberry flavoured.

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #320- I can hear the fangirls crying...

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #321- "Wasn't me guv, it was that big orange guy with horns."

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #322- Come on, howawesomeis this?

Advertisements

US

  • Cocoa Puffs cereal - inside front cover
  • Capri Sun fruit drink - between pages 4 & 5
  • CAPCOMMegaMan 3for Nintendo Game - between pages 5 & 6
  • NBA Hoops basketball trading cards - between pages 7 & 8
  • CAPCOMDestiny of an Emperorfor Nintendo - between pages 8 & 9
  • ArcadiaSilver Surferfor Nintendo - between pages 32 & 33
  • TSRDungeonboard game - between pages 33 & 34
  • Marvel subscription service - between pages 35 & 36
  • Complete Guide to Nintendo Video Games- between story and Fangry profile
  • Transmissions
  • Ultra GamesSki or Diefor Nintendo - inside back cover
  • LJNThePunisherfor Nintendo (back cover)

UK

????

Reprints

  • (thumbnail)

    Transformers: End of the RoadTPB
    (Titan Books, 2002)

  • (thumbnail)

    Transformers: End of the RoadHC
    (Titan Books, 2003)

  • (thumbnail)

    The Best of Simon Furman
    (IDW Publishing, 2008)

  • (thumbnail)

    Best of Transformers: Eye of the Storm
    (Titan Books, 2008)

  • (thumbnail)

    Classic TransformersVolume 6
    (IDW Publishing, 2010)

  • (thumbnail)

    The Transformers Classics,Vol. 6
    (IDW Publishing, 2013)

  • (thumbnail)

    The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 18: Edge of Extinction
    (Hachette Partworks, 2017)

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