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Dark Star

From Transformers Wiki

The name or term "Dark Star" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, seeDark Star (disambiguation).
« The Transformers(US)#50 »
« The Transformers(UK)#208–210 »
MarvelUS-50.jpg
Fred HembeckThe PunisherDeadpoolStarscreamKILLSthe Marvel Transformers Universe!
"Dark Star"
Publisher Marvel Comics
First published November1988
Cover date March1989
Writer Bob Budiansky
Penciler José Delbo
Inker Dave Hunt
Color Nel Yomtov
Lettering Rick Parker
Editor Don Daley
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

The end of the Underbase Saga... and the Transformers?

Contents

Synopsis

Prologue

Out in the vacuum of space, theUnderbasetravels ever closer toEarth.It is so powerful that its merely grazing the atmosphere of a planet will extinguish all life upon it.

Chapter One

On Earth, theAerialbotsare the first to respond to the alert beacon triggered byBuster Witwicky.Seeing the responsible party, they quickly radio back to theArkandFortress Maximus.A fullAutobotresponse battalion arrives within a matter of minutes.Spikeis reunited with his brother only to find him on the brink of death. He places Buster within a heating unit in Fortress Maximus's chest to fight off the effects of exposure and frostbite. As the Autobots gather their wits enough to question the situation at hand, though, they are treated to a full scaleDecepticonattack, asRatbatandScorponokhave detected their approach.

The following battle is quick and merciless, and comes to a stop only when Ratbat ends up confronting Fortress Maximus and his own former prisoner, Buster. Buster outlays whatStarscreamtold him before departing, and makes Ratbat see reason about putting his feud with the Autobots on hold until the larger issue can be dealt with. The various faction leaders agree to work together and make a space-worthy craft to hunt down Starscream.

Chapter Two

At the edge of space, the most treacherous Decepticon of all leaves his star cruiser to bathe directly in the light of the Underbase's powerful knowledge and knowledgeable power. Before he absorbs much, however, he is blasted out of the way byOptimus Prime,manning the guns on theisland starship.Unfortunately, that momentary exposure was enough to supercharge Starscream, and he manages to grab hold of the entire star cruiser he stole and toss it straight through the island ship, leaving the combined armies crippled and stranded in space, and the Decepticons in particular without any means of star travel from then on.

Chapter Three

For some reason, Starscream chooses to let them live, drifting helpless in the vacuum of space. He also chooses to return to Earth and attack it instead of chasing down the Underbase to fulfill his lust for power. He also announces in advance the exact set of cities he plans to assault. Clearly, the "knowledge" part of the Underbase takes awhile to set in.

Optimus Prime enacts Plan B and summons theArkto pick them all up and speed back to Earth ahead of Starscream. As the factions begin splitting into teams to cover Starscream's previously identified destinations, Optimus makes the stunning announcement that he will stay aboard the Ark and not confront Starscream. The Decepticons quickly dismiss this as pure cowardice, and leave for Earth in disgust.

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"Never again shall you take up catalog space that could be devoted to my magnificence!"

InNew York City,Tokyo,andBuenos Aires,Autobots and Decepticons alike confront Starscream one after another and in groups, but ultimately he slaughters them all. The only difficulties he runs into are thePretendersand those who arebinary bonded,as the organic outer shells and bonding prove somehow resistant to his destructive energies. As the battles continue, both Ratbat and Scorponok become suspicious that Optimus Prime's alleged cowardice might actually be greed to capture the Underbase for himself, and abandon their respective battles to return to the Ark and confront him.

Aboard the Ark, Optimus Prime andHi-Qare guarding Buster Witwicky, while constructing a rocket with reflective panels, designed to catch the Underbase and change its course. Buster makes the mistake of radioing his brother during the battle, though, and Starscream realizes the potential threat an absent Optimus Prime poses to him. He takes off for space to intercept the Autobot leader and the Ark.

Chapter Four

Ratbat and Scorponok arrive on the Ark and confront Prime. After Scorponok blasts Prime and annihilates Ratbat, he heads off to reach the redirected Underbase on his own. Optimus manages to replace hisPowermasterengine in time to go after Scorponok, and physically drags the two of them out of the Underbase's path. Starscream arrives just in time for the Underbase to hit him instead of Earth. The combined power of the Underbase mutates Starscream until he is overwhelmed with power, and is obliterated.

In the aftermath, Optimus Prime explains to Scorponok that he learned his lesson about the Underbase millions of years ago. He arranged for the reflector rocket and for Buster's "ill-timed" radio message to Fortress Maximus in order to lure Starscream back out into space, where he would surely try to take all of the Underbase's power and destroy himself. TheCybertronianleaders part in peace, but Scorponok makes it clear that the war will begin anew, tomorrow...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Nebulans

Quotes

"Oh beautiful light -- illuminate my brilliance with your own! Bathe me in your glorious, galaxy-shattering glow! For I am yours, and you aremine-- and no one can stop our union... least of all,the Transformers!"

—Starscreamcourts the Underbase


"Come to me, my priceless beauty! Blind me with your awful light! Thrill me with your darkest secret!Fill me with your unholy power! Give yourself to me!! "

—Starscream's wedding night


"You have dared tostrikeme, Transformers... and for that affront you shall pay most dearly -- I sentence you to drift in interstellar space for all eternity, until you return to thecosmic dustfrom which you came! "

—Starscreamcontinues to wax grandiose


Ratbat:"Bah! The Autobots have aweaklingfor a leader, not a warrior! "
Scorponok:"The Autobots have exactly who theydeserve!... "
Optimus Prime:If only I could believe that, Scorponok, if only I could believe...


"He... he wiped them out --allof them! "
"Our plan allows for casualties, Fortress Maximus."
"But they wereliving beings."
"Yes, theywere.I suggest we begin Phase Two. "

—Fortress Maximusis a lot more upset by Decepticon casualties thanSoundwaveis


"But it wasIwho rediscovered [the Underbase]! And it isIwho willpossessit! I go now to meet mydestiny!"
"I think not, Ratbat -- you go to meet yourmanufacturerinstead! "

—Ratbatmeets his end, courtesy ofScorponok


"Optimus Prime and Scorponok -- you shall be the first to feel my new power! I shall disintegrate you utterly and scatter your atoms across the galaxy! I shall -- AIGGHH!!"

— the fully-Underbase-empoweredStarscreammakes a grand entrance, and - seconds later - a grand exit.

Notes

Production notes

  • After the reduction in page-count of the last few issues, this 50th anniversary issue is a bumper "double-sized" 38 pages.

Artwork and technical errors

  • Some of the artwork is copied directly from "Totaled!".This includes:
    • The entire sequence of Cerebros and Spike transforming out of their respective head modes.
    • The background shot of Prowl under attack from Scorponok
    • Grimlock cutting a Decepticon in half as Fortress Maximus considers a cease-fire.
  • Once again,Fortress Maximus's Autobots are completely absent from the first half of the issue, most notably from the Autobot-Decepticon battle; only the older toys are shown getting their tails handed to them.
  • Cerebros' name is misspelled as "Cerebro" during the Cerebros transforming shot.
  • Page 11:
    • Panel 2: Fortress Maximus has only 3 fingers on his left hand. Ratbat could havepossiblyeaten it off panel...maybe.
    • Panel 3: Optimus is shown as being taller than Fortress Maximus and Scorponok. Fort should be quite a bit taller; Scorponok atleastequally tall. Behind them, Hoist is the same height as Fortress Maximus.
  • Page 16: the characters are in outer space and should be communicating by radio, but Optimus and Ratbat have standard speech bubble leaders instead of the zig-zag version.
  • Page 33, panel 1: Scorponok is block-colored gray, but with a red antenna - it should be orange.
  • Page 35, panel 4: Scorponok is missing one of his head antennas.

Casualty Notes

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"Kill 'em all; let Hasbro sort 'em out."
Skalorjetfiredie.jpg
DarkStar-Jazz.jpg
MarvelUS50 blaster dies.jpg
  • This issue features the biggest battle toll of any issue, including the battle withUnicron.The confirmed casualties are:
  • There's much evidence that there were even more casualtiesoff-panel:
    • After this issue, almost nothing but binary-bonded or Pretender characters appear in the story; many non-organic characters such as theProtectobots,Insecticons,Coneheads,MonsterbotsandCombaticonsare never seen again (within the G1 series). Many fans assume that this meanseveryonewithout an organic enhancement was destroyed.
      • Given how busy the narrative is destroying other characters, it's perhaps unsurprising that most of the Targetmasters, Headmasters, etc. don't actually appear in the big finale battle.
    • Powerglideand Perceptor are both confirmed deactivated in "Yesterday's Heroes!".
    • "On the Edge of Extinction!"shows that a variety of Autobots were on life support, includingSkids,Wheeljack,Prowl,SunstreakerandIronhide.
  • The Marvel UK stories ran with this idea, showing more casualties:
  • Bob Budiansky's reasoning for the mass murder was that he needed a big end for the story, he had too many characters, and Hasbro wouldn't care about characters that didn't have toys for sale. And hey, they weren't getting any panel-time these days anyway, "so they were already just about dead".[1]
  • Prime refers to the casualties as "destroyed", but later issues make it clear that at least some of them could be repaired. The Dinobots, Jazz, Goldbug, Blaster and Silverbolt are all revived later in the series. Ratchet is also seen working to restore Omega Supreme and others. The task of repairing them all will haveconsequencesvery shortly.
  • Soundwave is explicitly blasted by Starscream, but apparently either survives unscathed or is promptly repaired, as he soon appears in later issues. This is never explained (he has no organic components to ensure his survival), other than Soundwave is BADASS!
  • This is clearlySlingshot's worst day ever. He gets left behind by his fellow Aerialbots when they go pick up Buster, is ionically disrupted by Astrotrain, transforms intojet modeonly to get strafed by a Decepticon flying patrol, and finally is fried battling Starscream. Some people just can't catch a break.
  • The Seacons get axed 3 issues after theirdebut appearance(though Marvel UK had them appearing sooner). EvenNemesis Breakerlasted longer than that.


Continuity errors

  • Starscream (and Ratbat) both state that nobody present could travel from the wreckage site to Earth. Astrotrain and Omega Supreme are both present; their comic incarnations lack the unlimited deep space travel capabilities of their cartoon iterations, but both are space-flight capable and - with enough time - could eventually return to Earth.
  • The next issue showsSeasprayamong the survivors, though by the time "The Greatest Gift of All!"saw print, he is shown and referred to as deactivated.

Continuity notes

  • This issue is double-length in honor of its milestone issue number. Accordingly, it also cost 50 cents more than a standard issue.
    • To accommodate this extra length, the UK comic printed the story across three issues instead of the usual two.
  • Optimus Prime returns to the US cover corner box, although it's his original form as it appeared on issues #5-29. This image of Prime will remain in the corner box for the next 25 issues.
  • Starscream's actions would inevitably haunt the Decepticons for some time when he was reborn.SeveralDecepticonswouldactuallydesertin various continuities, because Starscream was among them.
  • With Ratbat's demise, Scorponok is now in charge of all the Decepticons of Earth. Since most of them were wiped out in this issue, it's not much of a promotion.

Real-life references

  • In the battle in New York, Starscream declares "The Power Cosmic is mine!" The Power Cosmic is well known in the Marvel Universe as the power wielded byGalactusand his heralds, and the power Starscream gained from the Underbase is certainly comparable.
  • While New York and Tokyo are obvious symbolic targets because of their high populations, Buenos Aires makes Starscream's list because that's where artist Jose Delbo hails from.
  • Most of the New York battle occurs on and around the Brooklyn Bridge. In Buenos Aires, Starscream flies overAvenida Nueve de Julioand lands atop the city's famousObelisco de Buenos Aires(and later hurls it at Fortress Maximus.)

Bot Roster

  • Autobots: Of 80 active, 31 are confirmed offline and 22 will later be confirmed survivors, leaving 27 MIA, presumed offline. (80 total)
  • Decepticons: Of 71 active, 26 are confirmed offline (including Soundwave who is soon shown active again) and 20 will later be confirmed survivors; leaving 25 MIA, presumed offline. 4 previously offline/missing. (75 total)

Courtesy of my...

UK printing

Issue #208

Issue #209

  • Back-up strips:Action Force- "Desperate Moves" andCombat Colin

Issue #210

  • Back-up strips:Action Force- "Desperate Moves" andCombat Colin

Covers (4)

  • US issue #50 cover:Starscream supreme, byJosé DelboandDanny Bulanadi.
  • UK issue #208 cover:Starscream bathing in the Underbase, byAndrew Wildman.
  • UK issue #209 cover:Starscream on the attack, byGeoff Senior.
  • UK issue #210 cover:Scorponok, having just blasted Prime, by Andrew Wildman.
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    US issue #50- He may be powered up, but he's still only got one ear.

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #208- Starscream needs to learn to share his toys.

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #209- Sure Prime, sure...

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #210- Mummy, what's the bad man doing?

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US

  • Ultra Games - inside front cover
  • Top Gunremote controlled airplane - between pages 4 & 5
  • Nintendo Game and Watch - between pages 5 & 6
  • Studio 4 Home D.J. Machine - between pages 7 & 8
  • Capcom1943video game - between pages 8 & 9
  • American Comics - between pages 32 & 33
  • East Coast Comics - between pages 33 & 34
  • Bullpen Bulletins and checklist - between pages 35 & 36
  • AcclaimWrestlemaniavideo game and other WWF games / Quickshot joystick - between pages 36 & 37
  • The West CoastAvengers#42–46:Vision Quest
  • X-Men,Alpha Flightand theNew MutantsinThe Asgardian Wars
  • Epyx 500XJ joystick - inside back cover
  • Nintendo games:Bubble Bobble,Renegade,Sky Shark,Operation Wolf(back cover)

UK

Issue #208

Issue #209

  • Pretenderstoys - page 9
  • Weetabix Corgi cars promotion - back cover

Issue #210

Reprints

  • (thumbnail)

    Dark StarTPB

  • (thumbnail)

    Dark Starhardback

  • (thumbnail)

    Classic TransformersVolume 4

  • (thumbnail)

    Best of Starscream

  • (thumbnail)

    The Transformers Classics,Vol. 4

  • (thumbnail)

    Definitive G1 Collection Vol. 13: City of Fear

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