Alliance issue 1

« Transformers: Alliance #1 »
Been there, done that
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	December 17, 2008
Cover date	December 2008
Written by	Chris Mowry
Art by	Alex Milne
Colors by	Josh Perez
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Edits by	Denton J. Tipton
Continuity	Movie continuity

As the Autobots clean up after Megatron's Mission City rampage, old enemies begin to resurface.

Synopsis

Four months before the Mission City "incident", two F-22 fighter jets fly over the Nevada desert, escorting a US Air Force cargo plane to a secret Sector Seven base. Agent Salazar is delivering Wreckage for the purpose of conducting research. After explaining Wreckage's story to Professor Vine, Salazar oversees the beginning of experiments conducted on Wreckage.

One month before the "present" time: In the aftermath of the Mission City battle, Ironhide, Captain Lennox, Technical Sergeant Epps and a few other soldiers track down and destroy the AllSpark's creations. Meanwhile, Ratchet is reattaching Bumblebee's leg. Sam and Mikaela are watching on when Sam is suddenly hit by a soda can. Dispensor attacks them, but Ratchet nonchalantly stomps him into pieces. Optimus Prime asks Lennox for a favor, helping them leave the city before humans he doesn't consider trustworthy show up. After placing the remains of Jazz in a truck trailer Prime can haul, the Autobots set out to leave the city. Lennox gives Ironhide his cell phone so Sam can call Epps when they have left the city.

Shortly afterward, Agent Simmons and his fellow Sector Seven agents show up to retrieve the remains of the fallen Decepticons and the AllSpark's creations. Simmons asks Lennox for Sam's location, but Lennox claims Sam just disappeared. Simmons wants to recruit Lennox and Epps for Sector Seven, but Lennox would prefer to return home to his wife and daughter. Just then, Epps's cell phone rings. Sam informs then that they have left the city, but because of the bad connection, he's yelling into the phone, loud enough for Simmons to hear him as well. Lennox asks Simmons for a vacation before he agrees to accept the offer.

The next morning, Simmons is in the Sector Seven facility in Nevada, overseeing the arrival of the Decepticons' remains. He informs the scientist that he has received orders to dump the robot bodies into the ocean, so they only have one month to conduct their research. The scientist replies that Wreckage has not been active since Salazar shut him down a few weeks earlier, and now Salazar is dead. Simmons suggests calling Lennox in case Wreckage doesn't wake up.

One month later, Lennox and Epps have a secret meeting with Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Ironhide (according to Optimus, Bumblebee continues his assignment as Sam's guardian). The Autobots mention having been followed by a police car, which Lennox suggests might have been Barricade. Lennox informs Prime that the Decepticons' remains are about to be dumped into the ocean, and they want the Autobots to escort the transport. Unbeknownst to them, however, they are secretly being spied on by Barricade, who transmits his newly gained information to Starscream, who has recently returned to Mars. Though unsure whether Barricade might end up betraying him as well, Starscream decides that the opportunity of disposing of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Wreckage all at the same time would be too good to ignore.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

Captain Lennox: "Nice. Showing off a bit, aren't you?"
Ironhide: "Just showing you humans what real firepower is, that's all."
Captain Lennox: "Well, next time try not to burn our faces off, okay?"
Ironhide: "Target neutralized. Sorry about your faces."

—After destroying the X-Box 360 Y-Box robot.

Ratchet: "This substance is loaded with stimulants and ingredients that are harmful to your human structures. Absorption could lead to decay of necessary formations in your oral cavities, as well as increased weight gain."
Sam Witwicky: "Thanks, Ratchet. I'll, um...we'll be careful."

—Ratchet on the health hazard posed by canned soda.

Seymour Simmons: "Ah, Captain Lennox. Long time...no talk. Still want to point a gun at me?"
William Lennox: "Well, my short-term memory still works. What do you think?"

—No love is lost between these two.

Robert Epps: "Man, you should've seen it! There was a soda machine, and a game system, and a steering wheel that—"
William Lennox: "He gets it, Epps."

—And there was a tank, and a helicopter, and an F-22...

"Look. I'll cut to the chase. I want you both. No, not in that kind of way."

—Simmons, eloquent as ever.

"Captain Lennox, it's Sam! Ironhide told me to call you! It's a bad connection right now so I hope you can hear me!"

—YES, SAM! CAPTAIN LENNOX CAN HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!

William Lennox: "You're late. Stopping to take soil samples again, Ratchet?"
Ratchet: The mineral deposits contained in them are most interesting, Captain Lennox."

—Ratchet, not getting a joke.

Notes

Continuity notes

• What happened to all the Sector Seven troopers? In the movie, they were loyally under Lennox's command on the Autobots' side, but here they've conveniently vanished so they can't report to Simmons.
• Dreadwing was decapitated by Starscream at the end of the final isssue of The Reign of Starscream.

Transformers references

So do we, Epps. So do we.

• One of the F-22 pilots uses the call sign Leader One.
• The Y-Box robot hides inside a rather familiar looking van, which Ironhide promptly blows up.
• Optimus Prime's holo-driver is in the likeness of Peter Cullen.
• Optimus Prime leaves Mission City hauling a trailer similar to that of his G1 namesake.
• The bulldozers and cranes used to clean up the corpses of the Decepticons bear a resemblance to the alt modes of the Constructicons.
• On the final page, resting on the arm of a chair behind Starscream, is the severed head of Dreadwing. Others have done this.

Real-world references

• Probably to avoid licensing fees, the X-Box 360 robot is now a "Y-Box", and Dispensor no longer dispenses Mountain Dew, but rather "Mountain IDW".
• On page 6, a comic book store also features an "IDW" sign.
• Lennox's phone number is (555) 555-1984.

Errors

• Why are Lennox and Epps's cell phones working again? What happened to the total communications blackout from the movie?

Other trivia

• Both Lennox's and Epps's cell phones look like Highline 1070.
• The comics cover A collage strangely sports Arcee.

Covers (8)

• Cover A: Character collage; art by Alex Milne & colors by Josh Perez.
• Cover B: Wreckage and Sector Seven; art & colors by Josh Nizzi.
• Retailer Incentive Cover: Wraparound character collage; art by Alex Milne & colors by Josh Perez.
• Mania #100 Cover: The first issue of the Australian reprinting of the story. With a tiiiiiny little bit of Milne art on the cover.
• Mania #101 Cover: Second issue of the Australian reprinting of the story.
• Mania #102 Cover: Third issue of the Australian reprinting of the story. Front cover features a tiny bit of Milne art, while the back cover is a reprinting of IDW's Cover A
• Mania #103 Cover: Fourth issue of the Australian reprinting of the story. Front cover features no TFs at all, while the back cover is a reprinting of IDW's Cover A... again.
• Mania #104 Cover: Fifth issue of the Australian reprinting of the story. Front cover features a shout-out about the Transformers comic.

• 

  Mikaela's always sporting cleavage... and we ain't complaining!

• 

  Yo guys, don't turn around.

• 

  Must fit... more... into... cover!

• 

  Mmmm-mmm tasteful.

• 

  Potter!

• 

  Talking to Lennox, showing off his hologram. Optimus is ANGRY

• 

  Oh god... there's still more of issue 1 to go...

• 

  Is it sad that I'm starting to like these cover compositions?

Advertisements

• Alliance #2
• The Reign of Starscream TPB
• Astounding Space Thrills
• G.I. Joe comics
• Spotlight: Optimus Prime 3-D
• Maximum Dinobots
• Speed Racer: The Next generation
• Pirat Tales
• Ghost Whisperer: The Muse
• Angel: Smile Time (back cover)