Linkage Part 9

« The Transformers Legends of the Microns #9 »
"Linkage" Part 9
Publisher	Columbia Music Entertainment
First published	25 December 2003
Written by	Hirofumi Ichikawa
Art by	Hirofumi Ichikawa
Continuity	Armada cartoon
Packaged with	Legends of the Microns 9

The Super Stunt Team begins to unlock the Mini-Cons' full potential, but their foes haven't given up yet!

Synopsis

Redline hands over the last two Mini-Con storage panels in his storage compartment to Stella so she can safeguard them while he undergoes the "evolution" with Combusta. Using the Master Key, gleaned from scans of Midship and the Fixer Bugs, the two finally unlock their full potential, tapping into the vast power well given by their creator.

The Aqua Raider Team's Freeboot and Bilge board the Mini-Cons' ship, only to find it's been cleaned out and left as a decoy while the real work occurs on the nearby uninhabited Hawaiian island. Sunburn alerts them to the energy surge caused by the evolution, and all three move in to attack. But against the newly super-enhanced Combusta and Redline, they stand no chance at all.

But the Speed Chaser Team in Magnawing mode have one more gambit: They arrive with the metal casket, which blasts open to reveal a hideous new Transformer, Ravenus!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Our enemies—those "upgrades" we encountered in India—have absolute loyalty toward the Mini-Cons' fate. In exchange for being thus mentally controlled, their systems have no access restrictions to their power controls! Ironically, the foes who threaten us have provided the best of tidings. Their very existence was a clue to the Master Key!"

—Redline exposits a big "up yours" to his creator.

Notes

• This comic was available only with the ninth volume of the Legends of the Microns DVD in Japan, along with the exclusive Bilge toy. Later pressings of the DVD did not include either.

Transformers references

Suddenly, I have a refreshing mint flavor!

• This issue explains how the Autobot-allied Mini-Cons in the cartoon got all glowy and super-powered, which was completely unexplained in the show.
• Redline references the original intent for the Mini-Cons' creation, yet the creator is still unnamed. As with other plot points, the mystery is due to the cartoon episodes that reveal the answer not having been released to DVD yet.

Trivia

• Another four-page comic. This one is text-heavy too, but also puts that text over a decent amount of action.
• See? Only two Mini-Con storage panels left! A little bit of continuity going on with the panels there.
• Bilge is the only member of the Aqua Raiders so far unnamed in the comic, but since the comic came with the Bilge toy...

External links

• "Official" Linkage mini-comic translations (archived)