Transformers Valentine's Day Special
From Transformers Wiki
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| "Transformers Valentine's Day Special" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | February 12, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | February 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Patrick Ehlers | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Jack Lawrence | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Jake M. Wood | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 2019 IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
Glyph and her friend Tap-Out are two 'bots from entirely different walks of life, but will an expedition to a distant world bring them closer or drive them apart?
Contents |
Synopsis
Bookish and reserved, Glyph has lent her insight to the technical aspect of Cybertron's Xeno-Relations division for many years, but the data analyst has hoped to take a more active role in understanding other cultures throughout the galaxy, and so she's overjoyed when department head Nautica approves her proposal to study the native civilization on the remote world of SDS-359. Glyph's first port of call is her friend Tap-Out; formerly a respected gladiator, the pugilistic 'bot and his sparring partner Apeface have been reduced to performing exhibition matches in front of a bored crowd since Sentinel Prime's closure of the old arenas, and their latest bout ends prematurely after all two members of the audience walk out—followed not long after by Apeface, who warns Tap-Out that, on a planet where nobody cares about gladiatorial combat anymore, they're both out of a job.
Glyph bumps into Tap-Out just after this humiliation; already fed up and cranky, Tap-Out does his best to feign enthusiasm for Glyph's new career change despite his own bad luck. He's caught off guard when his friend reveals the real reason why she's come to him: preliminary research on her assignment reveals that the planet is above the minimum threshold of hostility, meaning that Cybertronian explorers are allowed to bring a 'bot along for security purposes... and so Glyph wants Tap-Out to be her bodyguard for the duration of the voyage. Tap-Out uses the flight to SDS-359 to keep in shape, training for whatever lies ahead; privately, however, he's not sure that he understands her work, and wonders why she would even bring him, a 'bot who primarily thinks with his fists, along on a mission that requires a gentle diplomatic touch.
As their starship touches down in the verdant forests of SDS-359 some time later, a welcoming party of tiny native mammals greet the two Cybertronians as they disembark. Tap-Out is pleased at their warm reception, but disappointed that the planet's idyllic, seemingly peaceful environment have left him with nothing to do. Glyph, meanwhile, approaches the natives and tries to greet them in their native tongue; her attempts at first contact go poorly, however, when the natives flee in terror from the two visitors! Glyph realizes that she's evidently misspoken the native language, but it's too late to make amends: the natives pull open a giant stone door and unleash a monstrous reptilian creature on the pair. Itching to fight, Tap-Out quickly steps up to defend his charge and takes out the beast with a single punch... and finds himself surrounded by cheering natives, celebrating his victory over their guardian!
Over the next few days, Glyph's xenolinguistic research stalls out; the natives refuse to engage with any of Glyph's attempts to understand their language, only reacting to shows of violence—shows that are in no short supply, as Tap-Out finds new fame amongst the aliens as he defeats one guardian creature after another. One evening, Glyph finally delivers her ultimatum to Tap-Out, now festooned in tribal symbols of adoration, as he returns from his latest fight: Glyph needs Tap-Out to try to talk to the aliens; evidently, he's doing something right that she can't emulate.
Uneasy and out of his element, Tap-Out approaches the village fire and hesitantly tries to open up a dialogue, but the moment he tries speaking their native languages, the creatures once more turn on their champion, pelting him with rocks and summoning another guardian... a guardian bigger than anything Tap-Out's yet faced. That's when Tap-Out hears a wild warcry, and watches in awe as Glyph hurtles to the rescue in her vehicle mode, snatching Tap-Out's club and using it to deliver a fatal blow to the creature! The pair finally embrace and admit that they're glad to be with one another, no matter what.
Some time later, Glyph composes her final xenolinguistics report, pleased to report that she and Tap-Out have finally been able to crack the secret of the native language and open communications with the aliens. By battling guardian beasts together and learning to trust one another, their mutual trust has been reciprocated by their hosts, who have welcomed them into the tribe. Language, Glyph reports, isn't merely based on arranging words, but on emotions and values; to truly communicate, one must first come to understand others, and understand that everyone is capable of trust, fear, hope... and love.
Their research done, Glyph and Tap-Out prepare to return to Cybertron, taking in one last sunset as they board their starship. Glyph asks Tap-Out if he's going to miss this beautiful world, but Tap-Out smiles and answers in the native language... as long as he has Glyph, he won't miss anything.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Cybertronians | Others |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"I'm sorry! This place was harder to find than the old arenas."
"That solves the mystery of why no one was in the crowd. It's not that I'm a has-been and my livelihood was delisted by Sentinel Prime. It's not that my partner bailed the moment we lost the audience. It's that the place was hard to find."
- —Tap-Out and Glyph
"Natives respond to shows of violence and little else...in fact, nothing else.... they worship him, which I know he likes. Strike that last observation."
- —An excerpt from Tap-Out's log
"You screwed up the translation."
"Yeah, well, you broke my club."
- —Tap-Out and Glyph
"I am glad to be here with you."
"I am glad to be anywhere with you."
- —Tap-Out and Glyph have a nice moment
Notes
Continuity notes
- Chronologically, this story appears to be set some time before issue #1 of the main Transformers ongoing comic; there's no mention of the burgeoning Ascenticon crisis and Nautica has not yet left with Sentinel Prime for their tour of Cybertron's outlying colonies. Glyph was previously mentioned in Transformers issue #11 as having decrypted some vital information related to The Rise, so presumably this will happen after she and Tap-Out return to Cybertron.
- Tap-Out glumly notes that Sentinel Prime has delisted "gladiator" as an allowed profession; this gels with dialogue in Galaxies issue #2, which established that gladiatorial combat as Megatron had known it during the Age of Expansion had been recently abolished.
- Despite the title, the story itself has nothing to do with the Earth holiday Valentine's Day aside from theme.
Transformers references
- Originally created for BotCon 2002 as part of the short-lived Expanded Universe toyline, Tap-Out and Glyph made their first fictional appearance in 2002's BotCon comic, which established that Tap-Out had worked as a bodyguard for the quiet linguist while stranded on an alien world. Their relationship in that comic was not expounded on beyond a single scene in which Tap-Out said a fond farewell to his compatriot; this issue reimagines parts of that Universe story to include confirmation that this version of the pair are (now) in a romantic relationship.
- Tap-Out's backstory, meanwhile, hews closer to the history of his Animated counterpart rather than his other Generation 1 iterations; like Animated, this version of the character is a boxer who trains with a punching bag, showing off his powerful uppercuts during his bouts with the native wildlife.
- Mudflap, a block-coloured 'bot based on Cybertron Mudflap, makes a cameo appearance on page three. Other passers-by on the same page resemble Energon Cliffjumper/Beachcomber and Inferno.
- In the same panel as Mudflap is someone who shares a head but not body with Cybertron Thundercracker.
- As she rescues Tap-Out, Glyph is shown to possess a retractable faceplate based on her original toy.
Real-life references
- One of the many guardians Tap-Out faces is drawn to resemble the Japanese movie monster Gamera.
Errors
- During the montage of Tap-Out's victories, Glyph's log incorrectly names the planet "SDS-356".
- Tap-Out's dialogue on page 12 reads "so much easier that hitting something", when it should be "than".
- On page 15, Tap-Out's face and body paint are miscoloured black, rather than pink.
Other trivia
- Backmatter for this comic includes a bonus backup story, "Open Comms", and concept art of both Tap-Out and Glyph by artist Jack Lawrence.
- This issue was originally solicited with a backup story written by Kate Leth and Cohen Edenfield,[1] but IDW issued a solicit update in late January 2020 that replaced their credits with one for Sara Pitre-Durocher, who produced the backup story ultimately included with the issue.[2]
Covers (2)
- Cover A: Glyph and Tap-Out share a moment, by Jack Lawrence and Priscilla Tramontano
- Retailer incentive cover: Cosmos pines, by Sara Pitre-Durocher
Cue the wah-wah guitar.
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