Skin Deep
From Transformers Wiki
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 Me Grimlock no like taggers! | |||||||||||||
| "Skin Deep" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | August1989 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | Mid November 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Story | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Pencils | José Delbo | ||||||||||||
| Inks | Dave Hunt | ||||||||||||
| Colors | Nel Yomtov | ||||||||||||
| Letters | Jim Massara | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Don Daley | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
Why would anyone EVER rehire Starscream?
Contents |
Synopsis
Grimlockhas never been one to mince words—only metal. No sooner is he reactivated that he goes right for the kill, tacklingMegatronin his dino-mode. Still reeling from his recovery, though, he is easily dispatched by Megatron. TheDecepticonlaughs atRatchet's meager attempt at treachery, but the surgeon taunts him back with the assertion that his little mindless engine of destruction,Starscream,isn't quite as perfect as he'd like.
Before he can push the issue further, Megatron is interrupted byBumblebee,who manages to delay the fiend temporarily by blowing several neat holes in his chest. After catching up with Bumblebee and informingJazzof the extent of his newPretenderpowers, Ratchet takes off to deal with the situation on theArk.
Meanwhile onEarth,Starscream has begun to destroyScorponok's Decepticons in the glorious name of Megatron. AsOptimus Primefinally starts to wise up on everything that's been happening over the past few hours, Starscream sends his new, invincible Pretender shell to destroy the Autobot. AtZarak's bidding, the remaining Decepticons leap into the fray as well, only now on Prime's side.
TheAutobotshuttle has successfully redocked with the Ark, but even with the full allotment of Autobots available, they are having little success disarming the bomb. Their prisoner,Blackjack,is less than helpful, as he says the timing sequence simply cannot be stopped once it's begun. Knowing that they'd be unable to escape the blast radius in time, much less evacuate all their wounded from the medical bay and stasis chambers,Kupcontinues working on the bomb in a desperate attempt to bypass the booby-traps and disarm it.
OnCybertron,Megatron removes the threat of the Autobots by tossing each of them out through the side ofhis fortress,one at a time. Bidding hisPowermasterandMicromasterservants to go after the Pretenders and keep them occupied, Megatron devotes his time to searching out the missing Ratchet and whatever other little surprises the medic might have in store. At that moment, Ratchet is trying to make contact with the Ark, in the hopes of helping them with their little "exploding" problem.
The battle against Starscream is not faring very well at all, as he disables the last of the operational Transformers besides Optimus and Zarak. However, one of his earlier victims, the AutobotHot Rod,manages to regain his senses long enough to photon-blast Starscream's Pretender shell, and the impact is strong enough to send sympathetic waves of pain back to the owner. As Scorponok joins in, a circuit is completed, and suddenly Starscream's personalityshell programgives way, just as Ratchet intended. The whiny coward is back, and he quickly assesses the situation and begs Scorponok for lenience and sanctuary.
In his fortress, Megatron catches Ratchet fiddling with thetrans-time dimensional portal.Believing the Autobot is attempting to escape, he bats him aside and begins to gloat over the sprawled body that all his enemies will soon be dead. Ratchet corrects him, informing Megatron about the glitch he installed in Starscream's new software. Furthermore, as Megatron sees with his own eyes, Ratchet wasn't trying to escape, he was bringing the Ark's explosives to the fortress. Panicking, Megatron attempts to throw himself through the portal to safety, but Ratchet tackles him. Outside, the Autobots and Decepticons cease fighting as a sudden, massive explosion consumes the entire base, and apparently Ratchet and Megatron along with it.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Nebulans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Who?"
"I was going to say Goldbug, but it seems I'm back to being Bumblebee again! Ah, well, it doesn't matter! One or the other of me will blow big holes in you if you don't let Ratchet go!"
"Hah!"
[shoots big holes in Megatron's chest]
"He doesn'thearas well as he used to, does he? "
- —Megatronfinds thatBumblebeehas gotten a serious upgrade in the firearms department
Kup:"Getaway, ask the littlepunkhow to stop the countdown! "
Getaway:"I'vetried!But the "little punk" won't tell me! "
Blackjack:"Can'ttell you,can't tell you!Are you deaf, Autobot? Do you think I want to die? "
"Ohno,ohno!I'monlyfourmillionyearsold! I'mtooyoungtodie! "
- —Blurr
"Oh, and by the way, Iwasn'ttrying to escape! With Cloudburst's help, I locked onto the explosives Blackjackcarelesslyleft lying around the Ark -- and brought themhere!"
"NO!You've doomed usboth!"
"Well, as you demonstrated to me at the start of this whole affair, in the final analysis --I'm expendable!"
- —RatchetgivesMegatronsome long-due comeuppance
"This time --you stay dead!"
- —Ratchet's final sacrifice to stop Megatron
Notes
Artwork and technical errors
- Starscream is shown with only one of his helmet's exhaust port things. This is due to José Delbo'sconsistent misinterpretation of Starscream's profile art.
Continuity errors
- It's odd to hear Megatron refer to Bumblebee as "Goldbug", since Bumblebee only became Goldbug after Megatron disappeared in the space bridge accident. While Megatron did see Goldbug's deactivated body last issue, he didn't seem particularly curious about it, as at the time he was kicking Grimlock's head off and telling Ratchet to clear up that "mess". There's also something of aretconin play, as at the end of the last issue Bumblebee had already emerged from his Pretender shell, but seemingly reveals himself for the first time here.
- As the explosives could be sent into Trans-Time portal, and the Ark's shuttles could be used to evacuate, there's no clear reason the Autobots couldn't simply load the explosives onto a shuttle to get rid of them.
Continuity notes
- In an interesting nod to future stories, Bumblebee calls Ratchet "the best surgeon this side ofHydrus Four!"
- The fate of Ratchet and Megatron will be followed up on in US issues#69–70.
- Directly after this, in the UK continuity,DarkwingandDreadwindwould go toMaccadam's Old Oil Houseto drown their sorrows in the previously printed "Out to Lunch!"andStarscreamwould find his mojo again in the previously printed "Fallen Star!"
Real-life references
- The cover blurb is a play on the common Marvel excitement-builder "Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale!", originating with X-Men #42 and revisited on occasion. ( "Not an imaginary tale!" was a dig at DC Comics, who did "Imaginary Story" tales where big events like death, marriage etc could be played out for an issue) Future story developments would render the blurb untrue... just as they did for X-Men #42!
UK printing
Issue #249:
- AdditionalTransformersstory:"Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?"
- Other strips:G.I. Joe the Action Force- "The Lower Depths" andCombat Colin
- AtoZ:RazorclawandRed Alert
- With this issue the cover logo changes fromAction ForcetoG.I. Joe the Action Force.This had been explained as a merger between the European and American groups in a mini-comic given away with issue#245and reflected a change in the toyline packaging.
Issue #250:
- AdditionalTransformersstory:"The Greatest Gift of All!"
- Other strips:Combat Colin
- AtoZ:RewindandRumble
- Combat Colinis in afull-colour stripthat references the Transformers' party depicted on the cover.
- This issue also featured a competition where readers could win one of 30Micro-master pocket bases[sic]by identifying which six Transformers had been mixed up in the matter transmitter — they wereJetfire,Optimus Prime,Mirage,Onslaught,MegatronandHeadstrong.
Issue #251:
- AdditionalTransformersstory:"The Void!"
- Other strips:G.I. Joe the Action Force- "The Lower Depths" andCombat Colin
- AtoZ:RunaboutandRunamuck
Other trivia
- Transformers Universeprofiles for theSeaconsare found after the main story.
Bot Roster
- Autobots: 23 active as Ratchet is lost in an explosion; 8 rogue Micromasters; 1 in storage, 28 offline, 28 presumed offline. (88 total)
- Decepticons: 21 active as Starscream returns to the fold, 4 rogue Micromasters; 26 offline, 25 presumed offline, 4 offline/missing. (80 total)
Covers (4)
- US issue #59 cover:Grimlock vs the Micromasters while Megatron approaches, byJosé DelboandDanny Bulanadi.
- UK issue #249 cover:Longtooth's secret, byMario Capaldi.
- UK issue #250 cover:Christmascelebration, byAndrew Wildman.
- UK issue #251 cover:Red Alertand Kup, byGary Erskine.
US issue #59- Admit it, who fell for that one?
UK issue #249- Ooohhh, sparkly!
UK issue #250- Merry Christmas, everyone!
UK issue #251- This reminds me of the time...
Advertisements
US
- Trix cereal - inside front cover
- Star TrekV: The Final Frontierfigures - between pages 4 & 5
- NestléQuick merchandise - between pages 5 & 6
- NBC Saturday Morning Lineup:Kissyfur,Camp Candy,Captain N: The Game Master,The Karate Kid,Smurfs,The Chipmunks,Saved by the Bell,Alf Tales,Alf- between pages 7 & 8 (2 pages)
- Airwolfengine powered model helicopter - between story and Nautilator profile
- Mister Bubble - between Nautilator and Overbite profiles
- Star Signals and Checklist - between Seawing and Skalor profiles
- Duck Tales Magazine- between Skalor and Snaptrap profiles
- Marvel subscription service
- Chips Ahoy! cookies - inside back cover
- Lucky Charms cereal (back cover)
UK
????
Reprints
- Transformers: Primal ScreamTPB cover:Grimlock, Goldbug, Pretender Starscream, and half ofPrimus,by Andrew Wildman.
- Primal Screamhardback cover:Grimlock victorious over theSports Car Patrol,byDave Gibbons.
- Classic TransformersVolume 4cover:panels from US issues #59 and#60,pencils by José Delbo, inks by Dave Hunt and colours by Nel Yomtov.
- The Transformers Classics,Vol. 5cover:Prowl,byGuido Guidi.
- Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection:Volume 16: The Primal Scream:Optimus Prime by Guido Guidi above an interior scene of the Megatron vs Grimlock.
Transformers: Primal ScreamTPB(Titan Books, 2002)
Transformers: Primal Screamhardback
(Titan Books, 2002)
Classic TransformersVolume 4(IDW Publishing, 2009)
The Transformers Classics,Vol. 5
(IDW Publishing, 2012)
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 16: The Primal Scream
(Hachette Partworks, 2017)
