Skywarp: blasts the power plant with machine gun fire.

Megatron: Is well aware of Starscream�s attempts to undermine his authority � but knows that his tactics are sound. Seems to favour Ravage at this point � sending him on a scouting mission and kissing his butt when he returns. Stays away from the power plant attack, communicating orders through Soundwave. Later, during the battle at Sparkplug�s, he does bugger all but donk Bumblebee in the chest until Prime intervenes. Transforms into his gun mode for the first time.

Ravage transforms (twice) into his cassette mode, first to record information on the power plant, and later to obtain information from Jessie, O and Buster.

Art: quite a few character poses taken directly from the model sheets here.

Bumblebee reveals to Buster and Sparkplug that his name is in fact a code name.

Thundercracker: uses his sonic boom to disorientate the workers at the power plant. It can be heard a hundred miles away �Action at last!�: he seems pretty eager to get going.

Laserbeak: Unleashes his laser cannons on the power plant.

Rumble: The �drum-like constructions in his body begin to roll�, transmitting low-frequency groundwaves through his feet, causing a small earthquake.

Buzzsaw: his beak slashes through concrete walls at the power plant: �Another masterpiece!� By his standards I would have thought it was more of a doodle really.

Frenzy: Uses his ultra-high radio frequencies to jam walkie-talkie transmissions at the power plant.

Soundwave: is used during the power plant attack to relay Megatron�s commands. Megatron sits safe up on a clifftop.

Sideswipe: uses his energy draining rocket back pack during the suburban battle with the Decepticons. Rushes into battle, darting off into the sky as soon as he transforms, where he blinds Thundercracker with his flare gun. Is established as brother to Sunstreaker.

Sunstreaker: uses his electron pulse gun. Is established as brother to Sideswipe.

Earth modes: Megatron transforms into a gun. Prime is a truck. Prowl: police car. Sunstreaker: Sideswipe: Jazz: Ratchet: ambulance. Bluestreak:

Optimus Prime: transforms into his earth mode for the first time this issue. Formulates a plan to make contact with the humans and exchange Cybertronian technology for the fuel they need. Asks the advice of his fellow Autobots. Blasts Laserbeak with his laser rifle. Protects the humans above all else; sets himself up for a blast from Megatron�s fusion cannon in order to free Sparkplug. Throws an engine at Megatron�s face. Uncharacteristically gives up and falls to his knees, low on fuel, when the Decepticons get away with Sparkplug.

Prowl: his logic centre predicts the path of his target so he can make a direct hit. Liberal: speaks of the humans� rights to their own fuel when Mirage suggests they just take what they need.

Ironhide: demands action! Gets frustrated that everyone�s standing around talking about getting fuel when they should be doing something.

The Decepticon jets are described as F-15s.

Mirage: Thinks it�d be a good idea to simply take what fuel the Autobots need, and gets in a huff when Prime decides otherwise, moaning to himself that the Decepticons will just take what they want rather than licking Earth butt. Maybe he�s on the wrong side, he thinks. In the battle, obeys Prime�s orders but: �I�d prefer to leave this mess and go retro-wing gliding on Cybertron!�

Ravage: uses his spy cassette mode to retrieve valuable information on the power plant and Sparkplug�s plans to create a compatible fuel for the Autobots. Invisibilises himself in the shadows so successfully that he can prowl around the power plant without being spotted despite being a giant jaguar robot.

Bumblebee: bit of a cutie here. Has a bouncy, informal personality and an eagerness to show and tell Buster all about his cause. Is put in charge of safeguarding Buster and Sparkplug during the battle.

Brawn: Stomps right in there and swats Ravage to one side with a little wisecrack.

Buster: Seems extremely sensitive and kind hearted, begging his dad with tears in his eyes to repair Bumblebee. His discontentment with the workaday life his dad would rather he lives rears its head when he jumps at the chance to visit the Ark: �This is the chance of a lifetime, dad! I�ve always dreamed something like this would happen to me!�

Sparkplug: probably the best character here is Sparkplug! I love his no nonsense reaction to everything � sure, he�s amazed, but on a real working class, nuts and bolts level. Keeps his disbelief largely to himself, but talks like he�s taking it all in his stride. Fixes Bumblebee and offers to create a compatible fuel for the Autobots. Is quite happy to let Buster zoom off to an alien spacecraft with a cheery �Be careful, son!� Is later caught right in the middle of the battle that takes place outside his garage, when the Decepticons arrive to take away the human with the secret of creating the fuel they need � he�s their target - and is kidnapped by Starscream.

Jessie: Hot.

�O�: Fat. They don�t do much really, besides be surprised at Buster�s talking car.

Humans!

Bystander during the battle: �I�m sure my insurance doesn�t cover this!�

Cop #1: �I don�t think we�ve got cells big enough to hold these big boys!�
Cop #2: �You want me to read �em their rights or do you want to do it?�

Great panels:

Splash page; p.2, panel 6: Ravage transforming; p. 4, panel 1: I love the way Springer draws transformations; p. 10, panel 7: Bumblebee transforming; p. 12, panel 2: Dunno why, but I just love that close-up of Bumblebee; p.14, panel 8: Autobots on the move; p.16, panel 3; big giant Optimus Prime; p. 18, panel 2: really sinister shadows, and looks at the panic on Buster and Sparkplug�s faces; p.19, panel 1: big old robot battle.

Quotes:

Skywarp: �The humans employ far better design standards on their machines than on themselves! What a backward world!�

Power plant worker #1: �No one will ever swallow this!�
Power plant worker #2: �Hey, I don�t believe it!�

Buster: �Well, it gets even weirder! I was at the drive-in movie with Jessie and �O� when all of a sudden we were rear-ended by the Beetle!�
Sparkplug: �Uh huh.�
Buster: �I got out of the car to talk to the Beetle�s driver, only there wasn�t anyone inside the Beetle!�
Sparkplug: �Uh huh.�
Buster: �Jessie and �O� got out too to check what was happening! A good thing they did � �cause that�s when our car was blown to pieces by three jet fighters!�
Sparkplug: �Uh huh.�

Sparkplug: �For crying out loud, son, it�s only a car! It�s made out of metal! It�s a machine! And machines don�t turn into robots and fight wars in movie drive-in lots! Especially one that�s leaking oil!�

Sparkplug: �Great! Just what I needed! A smart-mouth giant robot!�

Sparkplug: �I don�t believe I�m having this conversation!�

O: �Jess, Buster�s car just talked!�
Jessie: �I noticed!�

Buster: �Somehow it all didn�t seem this real back at the drive-in!�

Megatron: �After four million years, you haven�t changed � you still fight with your mouth! Perhaps this will halt your endless prattling!�
Optimus Prime: �Why do I persist in trying to reason with you, when the only language you understand is � violence!�

Review:

- Yomtov continually colours Jazz as Hound.

- More formative fun

- much like the first issue, really, in that the basics are there but a lot of what we�d recognize as being Transformers is still to come

- does a great job of conveying that these are gigantic alien robots: the big battle at Sparkplug�s is fantastic: I was eyeing up page 19 online for quite a while but someone else bought it in the meantime, the bastard. The whole scene is just great, with all these humans scampering around while the Transformers blow bit off each other. Check out the Decepticons strolling off with the power plant to Buster in the garage with Bumblee and Sparkplug; and the departure of the Decepticons right at the end: Great pacing, from big action scene to quiet lull � it�s almost movie-like, you can hear the music swell and crash to quiet on these cuts. There�s a real sense of awesome scale here that I really like, and while no one really gets hurt, there�s also a palpable sense of danger � Buster and his dad hiding in the car, wide-eyed and realising that, far from this being a jolly old adventure, they�re actually in serious trouble.

- The dialogue gets a bashing from some quarters but I like it � it�s real old-fashioned comic book stuff, and while it relies on captions and thought balloons that just quote from the character profiles, there�s some really likeable characterisation here, for Sparkplug especially.