Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!
From Transformers Wiki
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 OR MAYBE JUST A HUG! | |||||||||||||
| "Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Hasbro | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | 1985?[1] | ||||||||||||
"Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!" is one in a series of mail-order flyers included with Generation 1 toys, offering various Transformers and G.I. Joe vehicles via exclusive mail-order. Its story content follows directly from previous flyers.
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Synopsis
Seeking to expand the newly-formed Secret Transformers Autobot Rescue Squad, Overdrive sends a message to potential recruits (apparently within the U.S. military, judging by the tail-end of the message). It begins, "Earthlings: THE S.T.A.R.S. need your help now!" He explains that the reinforcements from Cybertron (of which he was a part) had helped the Autobots overcome what had been desperate odds against the Decepticons. But the Decepticons want revenge, and they're building fortresses all over the planet from which to strike anew. Some of the fortresses have been found, but Optimus Prime wants human allies in place before the Autobots mount their assaults. So Overdrive's audience is invited to join S.T.A.R.S. and is treated to these "top-secret plans":
An assault on a Decepticon fortress will begin with the Omnibots using Time Warriors to synchronize their attack to the minute. Racing onto the scene in car mode, they will deploy their missile systems. And... presumably they will fire the missiles, but the plans end there without saying so. One would hope that they had strategized beyond that point, and Overdrive just didn't want to reveal any more "top secret" information. But whatever the case, he switches gears with a quote from Optimus Prime: "Earth allies like you are desperately needed! We must thwart the forces of evil now!"
Overdrive touts the benefits of joining S.T.A.R.S., such as receiving:
- A Transformers Command Center, from which the recipient can "command" their "own Earth sector"
- A S.T.A.R.S. iron-on patch, the display of which will ensure "instant respect from Autobot allies"
- A poster
- A S.T.A.R.S. membership card with "a magical picture that changes from Autobot to Decepticon"
- And an Autobot Tech-Spec Manual with information about Cybertron and the Transformers.
"Be one of the S.T.A.R.S.!" Overdrive lamely insists.
His message then takes an interesting and revealing turn, segueing into the subject of G.I. Joe. "And don't forget", he adds, "while you're battling for the S.T.A.R.S., the G.I. Joe Mobile Strike Force is fighting other battles in other places." He encourages his audience to use vehicles such as the Manta ("for your G.I. Joe amphibious missions"), Polar Battle Bear, and JUMP Jet Pack in its battles against Cobra. He also mentions the Heavy Artillery Laser, Wolverine, Field Light Artillery Cannon, and even the Cobra H.I.S.S.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans |
|---|---|
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Notes
- For unknown reasons, Hasbro just this once offered G.I. Joe toys in the same flyer with Transformers and allowed the reader to use either Robot Points or the Joe-equivalent Flag Points.
- Within the fiction, some of the other S.T.A.R.S. recruitment material is explicitly aimed at children, as exemplified by young Johnny. However, the way the G.I. Joe content is worked into this message, it sounds very much like this is an attempt to recruit from the ranks of G.I. Joe.
- This is one of the most explicitly-metatextual flyers in the S.T.A.R.S. continuity, wherein the entire text is clearly presented as a message from a Transformer to the reader in a way that brings the reader into the fiction.
- The Transformers available for order are the Omnibots and Time Warrior.
