Hard Boiled
From Transformers Wiki
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 Thankfully doesn't depict the siege of a hospital. | |||||||||||||
| "Hard Boiled" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | March 18,2015 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | February 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | John Barber | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Marcelo Ferreira,Livio Ramondelli(pg 18) | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Nikos Koutsis,Livio Ramondelli (pg 18) | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Chris Mowry | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Hedgecock | ||||||||||||
With time ticking away for Piggy Island, the Autobirds and Deceptihogs have their hands full with a deranged Galvatron Pig, and an EggSpark-powered Starscream!
Contents |
Synopsis
With theAutobirdsandDeceptihogssurrounded by ever-growing legions ofEggbotsand "Terror Towers",it isSoundwave Pigwho formulates a plan of action. The group's transformation from birds and pigs to 'bots, he realizes, is being sustained by theEggSpark,which is in turn draining power from the island. As the island's energy grows less and less, it begins to convert to metal, and the birds and pigs grow weaker in turn, causing evenOptimus Prime Bird's flair for dramatic speeches to falter.Megatron Pigsuggests they simply let the island die, thus depriving the EggSpark of its power source and letting everything return to normal, but Optimus and the Autobirds resolve to uproot the EggSpark, separating it from the island.
While the majority of the Autobirds and Deceptihogs—save for the unstableGalvatron Pig,tied up after his recent rampage—run the gauntlet of Eggbots and Terror-Towers in order to reach the EggSpark,Bluestreak Birdand the threeMinion Pigs(now kitted out with some armor and weapons of their own) are sent to recover a "secret weapon" that is key to the team's plan. Unfortunately, the Minion Pigs, inspired by all the changes they have seen their friends and enemies undergo, choose this moment to finally grow some spines. Abandoning Bluestreak Bird to be buried underneath a collapsing Terror-Tower, they regretfully decide to leave their island to die in order to escape King Pig's tyranny—but before they get very far, they realize that acting in such a mean, treacherous way isexactlywhat King Pig would do. Turning back, they free Bluestreak Bird from the tower wreckage, and after tearfully offering their apologies, they all resume their mission together.
Meanwhile, the Autobirds and Deceptihogs reach the huge fortress-wall surrounding the EggSpark, but are unsure of how to get through it until Drift Birdlives up to his true nature and uses his explosive powers to just blow a huge hole in it. While everyone is focused on that, however, Galvatron Pig breaks his bonds and starts attacking everyone again, clobbering Bluestreak Bird just as he/they and the Minions return with the "secret weapon" —Heatwave Bird's giant slingshot! While everyone desperately tries and fails to fight their way past the insane Galvatron Pig to recover the dropped slingshot,Starscream Pigtakes advantage of their distraction to seize the EggSpark for himself! Suffused with its power, he grows to a gigantic height and immediately becomes a new target for Galvatron Pig, but before the assuredly-destructive battle can begin, Soundwave Pig andGrimlock Birdmanage to restrain Galvatron Pig, givingBumblebee Birda chance to speed past and grab the slingshot. Vaulting over the huge Starscream, he ensnares the traitorous Deceptihog in its rubber band, and catapults both Starscream Pig and the EggSpark into space. Warped away by the last of the EggSpark's power, Starscream reverts to his original Minion Pig form... and crashes through the window of theAutobotspacecraft.
With the EggSpark removed from the island, everything returns to normal, including the birds and pigs, who revert to their original forms. An angry, exasperated King Pig and his men slink off, while the birds settle down to relax... failing to spot one final still-functional EggBot, which zaps a nearby cactus and turns it into a robot...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Quotes
"Nothingis hopeless... not when you havehope,Megatron Pig. "
"What? That makeszerosense. "
"Hm. Yes... myinspiring speechesseem to be... running dry. "
- —Optimus Prime BirdandMegatron Pig
Soundwave Pig:"Thatis theanswer!"
Megatron Pig:"Yipe!"
Optimus Prime Bird:"Yikes!"
Megatron Pig:"Don'tdothat! "
Soundwave Pig:"I had anidea!"
Megatron Pig:"Well,clear your throatfirst, or something. "
"Our king saysjump,we say— "
"—Well, we say, 'We don't havelegs.' "
"Then wejump anyways!"
- —TheMinion Pigs
"The EggSpark might be draining Piggy Island'senergy—but when all that power is channeled intoone pig,you'll see... thepigismightierthan thesword!"
- —Starscream Pig
"If you want to knock something down... your best bet is abird!"
- —Bumblebee Bird
Notes
- The issue's regular cover depicts Jazz Bird in a body different from the one he sports in the story. Whereas his in-story body is based off "Generation 1"Jazz,the one he sports on the cover is based off of theJazzfrom thelive-action film series.
- Grimlock Bird also sports a different body on the issue's cover, his based off of his "Grey-Slam" body from the Angry Birds Transformers video game.
Transformers references
- The idea that Piggy Island is converted into metal as its power is drained seems to owe something to theGeneration 1 cartoonepisode "The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2",in which thetitular keyturned organic matter into metal by "de-energizing" it.
- As Galvatron awakes, he quotes Megatron's famous line fromThe Transformers: The Movie:"I still function." Later, he declares "All fall down!" which is apretty common turn of phrase,but has seen somespecific Transformer usagein the past.
- Starscream Pig seizing the power of the EggSpark and turning into a giant is evocative of several past Starscream schemes, like whenGeneration 1 Starscreamgained the power of theUnderbaseinissue #50of theMarvel comic,or whenCybertronStarscreamwas embiggened by thesparkofPrimusin theCybertroncartoonepisode "Starscream".
Real-life references
- Galvatron Pig channels theIncredible Hulka lot, aping his catchphrases: "Galvatron Pig smash puny birds!" and "Galvatron Pig strongest there is!"
Other notes
- This issue was originally solicited for release in February 2015, but ongoing delays to IDW books caused by port closures on the west coast of America saw it pushed to March.
Covers (2)
- Regular cover:The Autobots and Deceptihogs look on in horror as Starscream Pig has the EggSpark in his clutches, byMarcelo FerreiraandNikos Koutsis
- Subscription cover:Autobirds and Deceptihogs byGuido Guidi
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