Toy Soldiers!

	; Mommy! I want one of those giant orange toys!
	"Toy Soldiers!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	October 1987
Cover date	February 1988
Writer	Bob Budiansky
Penciler	José Delbo
Inkers	Ian Akin & Brian Garvey
Colorist	Nel Yomtov
Letterer	Bill Oakley
Editor	Don Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

The biggest black mark on the Predacons' hardcore reputation.

Synopsis

Ever since Grimlock took the Autobots off Earth, the Decepticons have been running wild. They staged daring daylight raids on a chemical plant, absconding with liquid oxygen fuel, and a construction site, brazenly stealing building materials. Because of this, Triple-I has come under heavy bureaucratic fire for failing to fulfill their mission objectives and keep the robots contained. Director Forsythe is becoming increasingly more demanding of results from his top man, Walter Barnett, and the Autobot captives under their control. However, the Throttlebots' professed ignorance of the raids, and their repeated explanations about the two different factions of Transformers, fall mostly on deaf ears. Barnett has seen the Transformers in battle against one another, but despite his suspicions that the captives are telling the truth, he finds himself unable to convince Forsythe and the higher-ups of this fact.

"I can't take this kinda pressure,
I must confess one more dusty road, it would be just a road too long..."

Matters only get worse after Forsythe makes a public declaration that Triple-I will execute their Transformer prisoners in retaliation for any future attacks by the robots. Naturally, the Decepticons jump at the humans' offer to kill six Autobots for them if they just go ahead and steal some more energon. Before Barnett can convince Forsythe of anything, the next raid takes place and Forsythe becomes unable to go back on his promise for any reason, due to political concerns. In desperation, Barnett comes up with a way to save the Autobots by removing their individual brain modules and placing each one in an electronic toy car. Thus, the Autobots' empty shells are destroyed the next morning at a public (and rather gruesome) execution by car-compactor, yet the Throttlebots survive hidden away in Barnett's briefcase. Now fully committed to helping the Autobots, Walter Barnett begins making plans with Goldbug to reconnect him to his fellow Autobots.

Back at Triple-I, Ratbat and the Predacons stage an assault on the base to confirm the Autobots' deaths. Forsythe and his men try in vain to fight back, but are easily brushed aside, or just annihilated. As Razorclaw and Ratbat examine the crushed cubes, though, they determine there is no sign of the Autobots' brain modules, and Ratbat begins tracing the scent of their fuel to finally track down and exterminate their prey. Forsythe is finally forced to admit he was wrong about the existence of the factions. Good going, dude.

In Portland, Oregon, Walter Barnett has brought Goldbug to the Witwickys' garage. Due to his past history with the Autobots, Goldbug believes Buster is the only human who can safely approach the Grimlock-commanded Ark unmolested. With his father's consent, Buster and Barnett take the family pick-up truck for the journey. After they leave, though, Ratbat and the Predacons arrive to "question" Sparkplug about the Autobots, and tear his garage down around him. On their way to the Ark, Goldbug and the other Autobots begin to run low on power, having used up too much juice from their batteries. Stopping off at a local mall, Buster and the Autobots are stalled long enough for the Decepticons to catch up to them, and the Predacons begin tearing the place apart.

A comical melee ensues, with the Predacons attempting to pounce on the little toy Throttlebots, and failing miserably. Ratbat, meanwhile, pinpoints Buster with his senses, and begins personally stalking the human to take his revenge for past encounters. After Barnett manages to crash a security gate down on Ratbat, however, he tells Buster to get away while he collects the rest of the Autobots. Buster is able to recharge Goldbug using batteries from his boom box, and then grabs his old friend and tosses him and the stereo back in the pick-up truck to hightail it to the Ark. At Mount St. Hilary, however, they find the volcano deserted, and the space ship gone. Goldbug and Buster manage to hook up an intergalactic tranceiver, and begin broadcasting a distress call for the Autobots of Cybertron. But, they are soon interrupted by Ratbat, who snuck aboard the pick-up hidden inside Buster's stereo. He crushes Goldbug in his claws, and begins to advance on Buster...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Goldbug (14) Searchlight (15) Freeway (16) Wide Load (17) Rollbar (18) Chase (19)	Divebomb (1) Rampage (2) Tantrum (3) Razorclaw (4) Headstrong (5) Hook (6) Scrapper (7) Long Haul (8) Scavenger (9) Bonecrusher (10) Blitzwing (11) Ratbat (24)	Forrest Forsythe (12) Walter Barnett (13) Stevie Barnett (20) Charlene Barnett (21) Sparkplug Witwicky (22) Buster Witwicky (23)

Quotes

Goldbug: "What do you want from us now, Barnett? You've captured us, drained our fuel, taken us apart, put us back together -- what else is left?"
Barnett: "I must ask you... again... about the increase in attacks --"
Searchlight: "Someone make a withdrawal from your memory bank?! We already told you -- we don't know!"
Freeway: "It's your problem, not ours!"

— the Throttlebots are pretty fed up with the humans.

"These Autobots are machines, Barnett! Do you think they care for others, like people do?"
"No. Based on what I've seen, they care much more."

—Forsythe and Barnett

Ratbat: "I've picked up the fuel scent of the Autobot brains."

—Don't ask Ratbat how he knows this particular scent.

"I'll get you, fleshling! I'll drink your fuel with a steel straw!"

—trapped by a security grate, Ratbat sputters ineffectually

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

On page 2, Hook tells Scrapper to keep loading girders onto Long Haul, but Scavenger is drawn instead.
Like in his previous appearance in issue #32 (in which he only appeared in robot mode for a single panel), Goldbug is consistently given his toy color scheme on pages 4, 5 and 7 in this issue (an entirely yellow/golden body with a blue head), contrary to his standard Marvel color scheme, which is identical to his original Bumblebee color scheme (yellow head with blue hands, forearms and thighs). Once he gets rebuilt in a new body (identical to his Goldbug body that gets destroyed in this issue) in issue #40, he is once again given his default Marvel color scheme.
Searchlight's head is drawn a bit generically, but it appears to be Chase's head design, based on their incorrect character model sheets.

Continuity errors

Mixmaster is inexplicably absent from the Constructicons, who are described in the narration as a "quintet".
Blitzwing carries both Long Haul and his stolen cargo back to base in a net. In addition to the incredible awkwardness of a jet with a laden dump truck suspended from a net, wouldn't it make more sense to just carry the cargo itself?
It's not clear just what is holding the Throttlebots in place. Though drained of fuel, they have the power to transform on command, and they can gesture and look around in robot mode.
There is no need for Ratbat to confirm for the humans that the Autobots and Decepticons are two warring factions, especially as RAAT have just - to the best of their knowledge - executed six Autobots for him.
Twice in one scene, Forsythe is saved by the old "don't waste your energy on him" trope (energy in the most literal sense, since it's fuel auditor Ratbat.) In both cases, it would not have cost the Decepticons any significant energy to kill him.
The battery case on Buster's tape player is inexplicably opened by pushing one of the cassette player controls—rewind, fast forward, change batteries. While this conceit allows Ratbat to hitch a ride and thus provides a bang-up cliffhanger, TAPE PLAYERS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!
Goldbug seems to have forgotten that he's rather on the outs with current Autobot leader Grimlock - he is happy to be returning to the Ark and doesn't seem worried about having to deal with Grimster at all!
Why would the Autobots leave behind something as presumably useful as an intergalactic transceiver? (typo'd as "tranceiver")

Continuity notes

Divebomb gives the command to "roll out"... to the Predacons. This continues an increasingly bizarre trend of forced use of the phrase.
Walter Barnett is apparently a genius with micro-electronics and comparative xeno-biology/technology. Yup. Move along now.
While being crushed, Rollbar's body is drawn with the damage he sustained from RAAT's attack in #32.
Spike Witwicky is mentioned for the first time in this issue.
Goldbug's radio S.O.S. is picked up by the Autobots of Nebulos in Headmasters #4, and is the catalyst for that cast of characters joining the main series next issue.
At Grimlock's behest, the Autobots repaired the Ark and left Earth behind in US issue #35.
Goldbug and the Throttlebots were captured by RAAT in US issue #32.
Buster and Sparkplug recall first meeting Bumblebee in US issue #2.
Buster disrupts Ratbat's Wash and Roll scheme in US issue #31.

Real-life references

Somebody who looks like Clark Kent appears on bottom of page 3.
Buster and Barnett attempt to find batteries at Radio Shed, a parody of Radio Shack.
The Predacons raid a chemical plant in Huntsville, Alabama.
The half-built office building the Constructicons ransack and demolish by stealing its steel girders was in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
Triple-I meets somewhere in Oregon; the Witwicky home is located, as always, in Portland.
Ratbat paraphrases Mark Twain's famous quote on his own misreported death: "perhaps the report of the deaths of these Autobots is greatly exaggerated, Razorclaw."

UK printing

Issue #154

Back-up strips: Action Force - "Slaughter" and Combat Colin
In Grim Grams, Grimlock blames the Stubbies for not clearly showing he never intended to harm the Spacehikers, and explains how "The Legacy of Unicron!" clears up why Headmasters takes place in the present, even with future Decepticons Cyclonus and Scourge appearing it.

Issue #155

Back-up strips: Action Force - "Slaughter" and Combat Colin
AtoZ: Hook and Hot Spot
In Grim Grams, Grimlock explains that Gears has two mottos, that having good art all the time would spoil people and that he believes the UK origin, as seen in "The Legacy of Unicron!", trumps that of Season 3 of the US cartoon.

Other trivia

And he shot him in the back!

Buster manages to pull Stupid Human Trick #1—never carry around a tape player without fully checking it for foreign cassettes or glaringly obvious insignias.
Razorclaw actually guns down a human on-panel. Bloody hell!

Bot Roster

Autobots: 34 active, 6 bodyless Throttlebots, 11 in repair bay. (51 total)
Decepticons: 33 active; 11 offline. (44 total)

Covers (3)

US issue #37 cover: the Predacons attack Buster and the Throttlebots, by José Delbo, Ian Akin, and Brian Garvey.
UK issue #154 cover: crushed Throttlebots, by Bryan Hitch.
UK issue #155 cover: the Predacons and Buster, by Bryan Hitch.

US issue #37 - The Grand Prix continues to get even more gimmicky.
UK issue #154 - Pff, that's not a real mode.
UK issue #155 - Here here, nice kitty...

Reprints

Transformers: Treason TPB cover: Defensor, Sky Lynx, Wheeljack, Grimlock and half of Ratbat, by Andrew Wildman.
Treason hardback cover: Bruticus, Blaster, and Robin Lindley, by Stewart Johnson, Andy Lanning & Chris Blythe.
Classic Transformers Volume 3 cover: panels from this issue, "Spacehikers!" and "People Power!".
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3 cover: Bumblebee, by Guido Guidi.
Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 9: Toy Soldiers cover: Searchlight by "unknown"/Ratbat by Don Perlin & Jim Fern.

Treason TPB
Treason hardback
Classic Transformers Volume 3
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3
Definitive G1 Collection: Vol. 9: Toy Soldiers

Personal tools

Views

Toy Soldiers!

From Transformers Wiki

Contents