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Games of Deception

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Gamesofdeception-cover.jpg
Hans plays with Lotte, Lotte plays with Jane.
"Games of Deception"
Publisher Fun Publications
First published June 27, 2007 (BotCon 2007)
July 18, 2007 (Diamond release)
Cover date Summer '07
Story Forest Lee, Pete Sinclair and Benson Yee
Writer Forest Lee
Pencils Alex Milne
Inks Alex Milne
Colors Drew Eiden and Josh Perez
Letters Junemoon Studio
Managing editor Pete Sinclair
Editor-in-chief Brian Savage
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

A crew of Autobots arrive on Earth in pursuit of Bug Bite, who seeks to take control of the Decepticons for his own purposes.

Contents

Synopsis

Orbiting above Earth, the Autobot ship known as the Graviton looks down. On board, Ultra Magnus, arriving on Earth for the first time, marvels at how uneven the planet looks. Huffer is grumpy at having to see the planet again, while Springer is glad to reconnect with Grimlock. Strongarm locates their target Bug Bite's ship near the moon, and with no life signs on board, presumes that they are on the planet, this checks out with the data Snarl had obtained from Monzo. Elita-One points out that they need disguises, and as Strongarm prepares them, Ultra Magnus tells Huffer to watch both Tyrannitron and Bug Bite's ship. On Earth, Dreadwind moans about his decision to leave Darkwing behind, feeling as though everybody else hates him. The chipper Bug Bite tells him he likes him, and that Hi-Test did too, to which the former Powermaster rebuffs, his former partner having allowed Grimlock to rip off his arms just to get away from Dreadwind. Weirdwolf, disembarking from their craft, annoys Thundercracker with his reemerged odd speech patterns, a side affect of separating from Monzo. Thrust informs Bug Bite that Soundwave has spotted them, just as planned.

Back at Autobase Prima, a damaged Rodimus is carried by Optimus Prime, as Bumblebee asks what happened. Prime orders for backup from Cybertron, and tells Jetfire to have Barnett keep his men away from the Decepticons. Prime orders Bumblebee to get Rodimus to a CR chamber, and then to review that data that Cliffjumper sent before disappearing. Grimlock sulks off, receiving a transmission from Springer, who tells him that some of Bludgeon's Decepticons are here on Earth, and seem to be arranging a meeting with Megatron's faction. Grimlock heads out to group up with his former crew, but unbeknownst to him, he is followed by an invisible Mirage.

Later, Starscream, Skywarp, and Ramjet head out to meet up with the Decepticon arrivals. Skywarp and Ramjet complain all the way, having just been damaged in the fight in South America, but Starscream tells them to shut up, arriving at their destination soon after. Thundercracker and Dirge show consternation at Skywarp and Ramjet still serving under Starscream even after he blew them up, but Starscream waves them aside, greeting Bug Bite. Meanwhile, an invisible Mirage, having lost Grimlock's trail, observes the meeting close by. Bug Bite tells the lead Seeker that he is here to discuss terms for a mutual alliance with Bludgeon's faction of Decepticons, wanting to meet Megatron personally. Starscream, ever scheming, tries to convince him to make terms with him, but Dreadwing, having spotted something in the infrared portion of his vision, riles up the Decepticons, causing them to spread out and search. Also observing them is Grimlock and his team; Grimlock is concerned that they have spotted Elita, but Springer assures him that she's too good for that. Starscream thinks that Bludgeon's crew is buggy, but Dreadwind finally finds what he saw, and blasts Mirage, turning him visible. Starscream prepares to execute the Autobot, but he and Megatron's other Seekers are blasted by their former comrades, rendering them immobile. Bug Bite explains that they've been shot with modified cerebro shells stolen from Bombshell, which he is using to build his own faction of Decepticons. The other Autobots, still watching nearby, have come prepared, with Perceptor having prepared a shell jammer for them. Bug Bite orders his newly expanded crew to take him back to Megatron, and has Mirage detained as a peace offering. Grimlock orders Swoop and Elita-One to follow.

At the Ark in the Northern Yukon, Megatron consults with Shockwave, who has been reduced down to a head. Shockwave does not have much data on Bug Bite, but knows that while he's smart, he's not brilliant, and relies on other's technology. Shockwave attempts to convince Megatron to let him have access to the computers to be of more assistance, but the former Decepticon leader is put back into storage before he can protest. Above, Swoop circles around, transmitting the coordinates to the others, while Elita prepares to take out Ravage. Bug Bite, entering the Ark, attempts to offer Mirage to Megatron, but is told to deliver his message from Bludgeon and get out before he is destroyed. Nonplussed, Bug Bite has his Decepticons fire the cerebro shells at Megatron and his remaining forces. Back outside, Elita loses track of Ravage, who attacks from above, impressed by Elita's stealth skills and Circuit-Su. Ravage fires a blast at her, but Elita uses the mimetic alloys in her armor to reflect the laser's light Ravage's sensitive optics, and knocks out the Decepticon cat. Megatron demands an explanations, but Bug Bite silences him with his cerebro shells, and explains to him that this universe, along with a few others, is responsible for much of the chaos and destruction that falls upon the fifteen quadrillion worlds in the multiverse. Strongarm manages to hack his way into the Ark, while Bug Bite continues his monologue inside, explaining he was from one of the worlds doomed by the actions of this world, and that Bug Bite seeks revenge on Megatron personally. As Grimlock's team enters the ship, Bug Bite tells him that he will use Megatron to destroy the Autobots, then kill all the Decepticons, and use the remains of them to go back and to repair what's left of his world. Megatron, however, has heard enough, and grabs Bug Bite by the throat, being immune to mind control. Bug Bite orders his slaves to protect him, but the Autobots activate the jammer, and Bug Bite's and Megatron's Decepticons attack one another. The Autobots join the fight, taking out Thrust and Dirge, recovering Mirage, and attempt to destroy the computers. Megatron orders Soundwave to hold them off. Weirdwolf is blasted in the chest by Megatron, while Dreadwind assaults the Constructicons. Thundercracker, seeing that he's on the losing side, joins in with Megatron's group, firing upon his former comrades. Bug Bite attempts to crawl away, but Megatron blasts the dimension traveler pointblank in the head, apparently killing him. With their primary target neutralized and the computers destroyed, the Autobots withdraw, as Megatron vows to kill them all. Later, Optimus Prime says his goodbyes to Grimlock, who has rejoined with his old crew to hunt down Bludgeon. Magnus tells Prime that it was good to see him, and Prime waves them off, wishing them luck in their hunt.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons

Notes

Continuity notes

  • This comic takes place after the end of this years storyline, "Crossing Over", which was only halfway completed when this was published.
  • The Graviton was first mentioned in Grimlock's profile in issue #13 of the Collector's Club magazine; it was one of the Decepticon ships he and the other Dinobots stole before the war, as established in issue #78 of the Marvel The Transformers comic.
  • With Classics ignoring both the UK comics and Generation 2, this is Ultra Magnus and Springer's first appearance in-continuity. Huffer was last seen before the "Underbase Saga" in Marvel The Transformers issue #41, while Snarl and Swoop were among the few surviving Autobots at the tail end of the series. Chronologically, Strongarm first appears in "The New World", for which there is a preview in the Diamond edition comic.
  • Chronologically, Bug Bite's appearance here comes after his appearance in "Withered Hope". Dreadwind and Weirdwolf were last seen with Bludgeon's Decepticons on Klo, while Thundercracker was destroyed by Starscream in issue #50 (an event alluded to here, which Starscream passes off as a "minor misunderstanding"). Thrust was another character who disappeared before the Underbase Saga, and his biocard places him among the casualties of Starscream's rampage. Dirge was offlined some time before that, having been blown up by Serpentor in issue #3 of the G.I. Joe and the Transformers crossover mini-series. The Seekers' convention toy bios stated they were among those recreated by Megatron only to leave, refusing to work with Starscream.
  • Bumblebee states that satellites detected a chunk of South America sinking; presumably, this was the sinkhole accidentally created by Devastator in "Crossing Over: Part 4".
  • Rodimus was injured back in "Crossing Over: Part 5".
  • Barnett's men engaged the Decepticons in "Crossing Over" parts one and two. Cliffjumper disappeared in part six, having gone through a space bridge portal with Skyfall, Landquake, and Breakaway.
  • Bug Bite mentions having taken the cerebro shell design from the Insecticon Bombshell, yet another character who disappeared in the run-up to the Underbase Saga. He has apparently since joined up with Bludgeon's splinter faction of Decepticons.
  • Bug Bite jokes that "everyone else has had a turn at commanding the Decepticons," referencing the tumultuous history of the faction in the comic.
  • Shockwave was among the Transformers who crashed in issue #78. Megatron's way of humiliating him, stripping him down to a head connected to wires, mirrors how Shockwave imprisoned Optimus Prime in the first arc of the comic. Also seen in Megatron's quarters is the prone body of Ratchet (who is still connected to Megatron, and crashed with the others on the Ark in issue #78), and Galvatron's cannon (which was still attached to him when he was frozen in ice in issue #79, meaning he must have broken free at some point before meeting Megatron again).

Transformers references

  • Snarl is in his Action Master body, with his partner Tyrannitron making his first appearance in fiction. Ultra Magnus and Swoop appear in their Classics bodies. Elita-One is a virtual redeco of Cybertron Thunderblast; she was later made into a toy at BotCon 2009.
  • Elita-One makes her debut in (a version of) the Marvel The Transformers continuity; she was an original character from the Sunbow The Transformers cartoon, and as such, did not appear in the original comic.
  • The most crucial thing about this sucker is that it strongly implies a GoBots crossover, which was made explicit in the semi-sequel, "Withered Hope" and kicked off an increasing number of GoBots pages on this site. In this, it's running with e-HOBBY's bat as the line planned a toy pack of GoBots infiltrating the Transformers; Bug Bite is among the toys in that pack, a white Bumblebee redeco.
  • Optimus has the others load up Rodimus in a CR chamber, confirming that the Autobots have also created the medical devices seen in the Beast Wars cartoon, after the Caretaker mentioned Breakaway having entered one in "Crossing Over: Part 6".
  • While Dreadwind moans about his infrared vision, he thinks he might have scraplets in his brain, metal-eating parasite introduced in the Marvel comic and seen throughout the franchise.
  • Elita practices Circuit-Su, a Cybertronian martial art that was mentioned in 1988 Pretender Bugly's tech specs.
  • Bug Bite mentions the fact that Megatron has "no known weaknesses" in his monologue; a line originally from his tech specs.

Real-world references

  • Elita-One has "mimetic alloys" in her skin that allow her to blend into the background, referencing the T-1000, the shape-shifting antagonist of the 1991 science-fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Errors

  • Not quite errors, but the difference in artists between this and "Crossing Over" can cause some confusion. Rodimus was damaged in "Crossing Over", but it seemed to be a minor wound; here's its treated as something he needs urgent attention for. Ramjet had an explosion go off in his face; he's colored as being slightly burned, but it's not readily noticeable.
  • The Graviton doesn't look anything like any of the ships from the Decepticon battle fleet it was stolen from.
  • In the second panel of the first page, Springer stands so close to Magnus that Springer's face appears buried in Magnus's arm.
  • On page 5, Starscream momentarily speaks in a different font.
  • Alex Milne also drew what appears to be the cartoon's Ark. Though the Ark is still smashed up beyond nearly all recognition, Milne's version still appears to use the cartoon's five rear exhaust ports (versus the four the ship had when it crashed) and the cartoon's rounded hull shape (versus box-like). It has been claimed by Pete Sinclair that these attributes are due to coloring or inking errors, and that Milne referenced the crashed Ark in U.S. #79 in his art.
  • Frenzy is really off-model in his one-panel appearance—he's block colored blue, he has a mouthplate, and the only detail that really identifies him is his guns on his back.
  • A dearth of commas in dialog makes for some bumpy reading. For example, on page 16, Bug Bite says, "Those of us who could fled, some seeking a solution."
(thumbnail)
Whoever he is, he's dead!
  • Not an error per se, but it's possible to mistake Dirge's deactivated form for Ramjet, as the light-on-metal gleam makes it look like a white head with a shadowed side, rather than the blue head with a metallic shine that's intended.
  • Strongarm's name is rendered as two words instead of one. Bug Bite has the opposite problem.

Diamond Edition

A slightly expanded version of the comic with a different cover was sold through Diamond, making the comic available through standard comic shops. It lacked the convention information, but added in its place:

Covers (2)

  • (thumbnail)

    BotCon cover

  • (thumbnail)

    Diamond Edition cover

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