Our last cover for G.I. Joe in this Transformers: Generation 2 read through, by William Rosado. I’ll miss some of these characters but it does mean the actual Transformers sequel series is about to begin. In fact, #142 of G.I. Joe and #1 of Transformers: Generation 2 went on sale on the same day (despite advice to the contrary inside this issue) so there’ll be two reviews today, you lucky lot. Let’s begin where we left off last month, though.
Scarlett was seemingly going up against the newly rebuilt Megatron all on her lonesome during the last issue’s cliffhanger but here that old pantomime adage, “They’re behind you!”, could’ve been used by Cobra Commander and Zarana. The title spread for this last crossover chapter, Final Transformations (with credits in the photo below) shows no less than six Autobots were somehow able to sneak up without anyone spotting them.
I was tempted to conclude that Scarlett must’ve known they were there and that’s why she was so adamant she could stand up to Megatron, but we clearly see her running away in surprise, just being missed by incoming fire so clearly she wasn’t in cahoots. The fact none of the human characters saw them until this exact moment is highly ridiculous but it does speed things along.
It’s a somewhat random selection of characters to bring back. Brawn hasn’t been seen since the early years of the original comic, we’ve an Autobot cassette without Blaster on the planet and some Special Teams members without the rest of their combining pals. Then again, looking at the range of toys available at the launch of Generation 2 Larry Hama could’ve been somewhat restricted with who he could choose from to show a good cross section of the range.
The robot illustrations have certainly gone up a notch since last month. Brawn in particular comes off really well in almost every panel he’s in. Megatron doesn’t fair quite as well on some pages as his proportions seem to change from one scene to the next, but they’re all suitably solid, definitely feel their size and the fights pack a punch. Megatron also shows off his new abs and opens a compartment in his torso to plop Dr. Biggles-Jones inside.
I’ve always found it particularly funny when comedic moments come courtesy of the mute and deadly Snake-Eyes
It’s a high-octane issue once more, the culmination of the last few months of storytelling but at least there’s a proper plot this month, with the attempted escape plan for Biggles-Jones. Unfortunately, we don’t get to find out the secret she told Scarlett in #141 that saw the Joe lay her life on the line for her, that’ll have to wait until I can read the rest of the G.I. Joe run. But whatever it was, Scarlett is easily able to convince her teammates to get on board with helping the Cobra member.
There’s also room for some of the trademark humour these characters imbue. I’ve always found it particularly funny when comedic moments come courtesy of the mute and deadly Snake-Eyes. Last seen surrounded in the hospital ward he does as he’s told, lets go of the person he’s fighting and turns to face the masses. Terror flows through them as they instantly recognise who they’re facing, and as he opens his arms to show no resistance… out falls a handful of grenades from his hands.
I love the moody silhouettes used on this page, ending with his attackers continuing the fight amongst themselves, unaware he’s long gone.
There are some properly dramatic moments here, some of which definitely wouldn’t have had the same level of impact with the readers who were introduced to these particular Cybertronian characters for the first time here. But for long-time Transformers readers there are plenty of shocks. Steel Jaw and Chase are both destroyed and Override is literally pulled apart by the all-powerful Megatron in the final scenes.
The need for writer Larry Hama to translate his own character’s speech continues with this funny moment involving Cobra Commander and Zarana, then in the background of the battle a teeny tiny human makes a brief appearance in a few panels here and there, including one where he mentions his internal sensors. Given where things were left at the end of the first generation of comics this must be Spike, the Headmaster companion of Fortress Maximus, the only Autobot left on Earth.
Scarlett provides some laughs of her own in her fight sequence against the Cobra top brass. Distracted by what’s happening with Megatron and the Autobots, she’s able to take them both on before the troops Cobra Commander has summoned even make it to the scene. Her quick witticisms are classic 80s action movie stuff and apart from that awful new costume she remains one of my very favourite characters in the franchise. (She’s recovered pretty quickly from her ordeal last issue though.)
After much more action with the Transformers themselves the plan to rescue Dr. Biggles-Jones before Megatron extracts her brain (to put it to use developing new world-destroying weaponry back on Cybertron) is put into play. Enlisting Storm Shadow and Spirit who disguise themselves as Cobra troopers, they steal a vehicle and Skydive deactivates himself on a timer! This means he can be sneaked past The Ark’s sensors (which would sound a warning alerting Megatron) and automatically be reactivated inside.
It’s a neat idea and one the humans actually came up with. The only problem is that Megatron, who is trying to use The Ark to get off Earth with the doctor, is standing right outside. Another distraction is needed and Override bravely puts himself forward for the job. He puts up a good fight but as mentioned above he comes to a particularly grisly end. His death at the hands of Megatron has a profound effect on the conclusion of the story, though.
Override’s bravery doesn’t go unnoticed by Biggles-Jones, who questions how a robot could exhibit such a thing. The rescue mission continues with her, Scarlett and Snake Eyes on the back of the Cobra vehicle with Megatron in hot pursuit, and he’s about to wipe them all out when Biggles-Jones jumps off and surrenders in order to save the others; “I can be as brave as a mere machine.”
Megatron ends up taking off in The Ark, where Spike has smuggled himself on board, and leaves Earth. Looking at the doctor in a cryo tube, he notices she’d put a virus into the rail gun he had installed in his body. He’d deactivated the virus of course (and planted one himself in the weaponry he gave Cobra as part of their deal) but he still admires her intelligence. He decides not to kill her but to find another way to use her instead. I’m glad she’s not dead. I’d never met the character before this crossover and she’s an interesting addition.
Before rounding things up, the usual Marvel Bullpen Bulletin harps on about their Hallowe’en parties but of interest to blog readers is the inclusion of Dan Abnett (The Real Ghostbusters) and Andy Lanning (The Sleeze Brothers) and I’m a bit jealous of the Americans reading the continuing adventures of the 90’s version of Deathlok after Havoc’s cancellation in the UK. Plus, mention of the Biker Mice From Mars reminds me of teenage mornings watching The Big Breakfast before school.
The letters page sees some differing opinions about the inclusion of Transformers in the comic. There are certainly some overly dramatic readers here, their anger coming across like social media posts from certain corners of the ‘net before that was a thing. And, “realistic”? Yes, Larry grounded his characters and the military stores were well researched, but they’re based on toys. There’s sci-fi aplenty, body cloning, mind-bending, super-human ninjas… but okay.
Having read #1 of Transformers: Generation 2 for today’s other review I’m glad this got such an open ending with Dr. Biggles-Jones because of a litte preview of things to come in that other comic today. But I’m going to miss the rest of them, as I did during the Transformers G1 Instagram read through when they were unceremoniously kicked out of that comic’s back up strip spot. But I know I’m only months away from reading the whole of Marvel’s series, so this has acted not only as a great introduction to G2 but also as a great piece of hype for taking delivery of that Skybound G.I. Joe set next year!
For now, it’s goodbye to the Joes and Cobra and onwards into the depths of space. To say what’s ahead is truly epic in scale is selling it short, and that’s only after reading the first issue so far. You too can pick up where this crossover left off in the second of today’s reviews. It’s a cliché to say it, I know, but it truly only has begun.
G.i. JOE 141 < > TRANSFORMERS G2 iSSUE 1
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