Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?

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"Whoa. Shiny."
"Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	17th December1989
Cover date	23rd December1989
Writer	Simon Furman
Art	Staz
Letterer	Stuart Bartlett
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity(Marvel UK)
Chronology	1989(Flashbacks pre-Arklaunch)

Can Longtooth finally do the right thing?

Contents 1Synopsis 2Featured characters 3Quotes 4Notes 4.1Artwork and technical errors 4.2Continuity errors 4.3Continuity notes 4.4Real-life references 4.5Other trivia 4.6Back-up material 4.7Foreign Localization 4.8Cover 4.9Generics 4.10Advertisements 4.11Reprints

Synopsis

Cybertron—to the annoyance ofDoubleheaderandPincher,Longtoothis doing another death-defying charge on theDecepticons!The "fearless Longtooth" is beginning to grate on them, with Pincher stating he thinks Longtooth doesn't care if he's hit.

After the mission, they're called back toAutobasebyXaaronto be briefed on a mission involving theCreation Matrix.Longtooth is suddenly terrified, as he's not brave at all, but is secretly a selfish coward. Long ago, before theArklaunch, he was left alone after a battle that saw thousands die. He desperately tried to keepa comradealive solely because he was too scared to be on his own, butOptimus Primesaw this and believed Longtooth was being altruistic. With considerable effort, Prime broke off a fragment of Matrix energy and gave it to Longtooth so he could save his friend.

Instead, Longtooth gave in to temptation and kept the fragment, ensuring he would always have an "extra life" in case he was badly injured. His comrade survived purely by luck. Longtooth has since constantly thrown himself into battle out of guilt and with an in-built "out".

He barely listens to the mission briefing—to search for the lost Matrix—and on the way out, he sees a group ofAutobots,fresh from battle and mourning the death of their comrade, who had sacrificed himself. Unable to live with his actions anymore, he sends the Matrix fragment toEarth,where it can help the many deactivated there. "I canneverundo what's been done—that shame is mine to bear... "but now he has a chance to start over.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

Continuity errors

• Longtooth has a Pretender shell four million years ago, despite organic life being a shocking new concept in the firstTransformersissues. This is one of several stories that includes this contradiction, including "The Magnificent Six!".

Continuity notes

• This is Longtooth's debut, and he's presented as a selfish, cowardly loser—quite an odd thing for a character debut, but it's certainly more striking and memorable than his later hunting-a-whale.
• The heavy number of deactivated on Earth follows on from "Dark Star"as well as"Time Wars"and"Totaled!".
• Although this was written as a tie-in to "Matrix Quest",the storyline itself wouldn't actually kick off for another thirteen issues."Bird of Prey!"glosses over this by having Xaaron imply he'd been allocating resources to questing for the Matrix since even before"The Primal Scream",and thatYou Know Whohad only brought the matter to the forefront.

Real-life references

• The issue title seems to be a nod to the British telefilm and playWhose Life Is It Anyway?(Another possibility is the British-then-American improv seriesWhose Line Is It Anyway?,but this is remote as it had only been on television for a year when the issue was released, and the title more closely mimics the telefilm.)

Other trivia

• Longtooth's friend was not named in the story, but decades later the Facebook edition ofAsk Vector Primewouldretconhim to beClockwise,an Autobot mentioned inTransformers Comic-Magazin#19.

Back-up material

• AdditionalTransformersstory:"Skin Deep"
• 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.

Foreign Localization

Swedish

• Title:"Vems Livsgnista är det egentligen?"(Whose Lifespark is it Really?" )

Cover

• Issue #249 cover:Longtooth looks at his fragment of Matrix energy, byMario Capaldi.

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  Issue #249

Generics

As with most stories set on Cybertron (particularly those featuring flashbacks) this issue features some notablegenerics,not least Longtooth's unnamed friend.

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  Longtooth attends to his injured friend amidst a slew of dead generics.

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  A squad of generic Autobots mourn their fallen comrade.

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• The Punishercomic
• Beauty and the Beast"Portrait of Love" graphic novel
• Transformers#250Christmasissue
• Pretender ClassicsStarscream,Grimlock,BumblebeeandJazz(back cover)

Reprints

• Transformers: Way of the Warrior:Carnivac and Springer stand victorious over aLimbonightmare creature, bySimon Coleby.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection:Vol 19: Perchance to Dream:Megatron(from early IDW promo art), byGuido Guidiabove a retro scene of theBattlechargers(fromMarvel UK #255cover) byStephen Baskerville.

• 

  Way of the Warrior
  (Titan Books, 2005)

• 

  The Definitive G1 CollectionVol. 19(Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2017)