The Pretenders become significant characters later on. Well, they were the main gimmick of the toyline for two years.

 

We-ell, four of the little buggers did. Landmine and Cloudburst get their focus pair of issues, Skullgrin gets a star turn, and Iguanus gets to play King Kong before being killed off for real until Furman forgets, but Grimlock has been a bastard to bigger names than Waverider, and Submarauder basically has a short lived job as Zarak's taxi.

Bomb-burst, Bugly, and Finback never do anything of significance out of the cast herd, and I actually don't think Sky High, Groundpounder, and Splashdown even appear again.

Herein lies the problem, of course; there's twelve of the little buggers, being introduced in a story which is already reintroducing Optimus Prime, beginning Goldbug's quest to restore him, and introducing Optimus to the upcoming new Decepticon leader and recounting the story of their first clash. It's fitting, incidentally, that Optimus and Scorponok clash in a duel, both virtually physical and strategic, and that Scorponok shows respect from the off, for his new rival.

For the Pretenders, however, it's unfortunate.
The last time Budiansky had to write in a herd, he brought them in over a four issue mini-series; some still lost out, but many were treated decently. Prior to that, the Special Teams came in over three issues (with a break for the Battlechargers). Here, twelve Pretenders are introduced in one issue, and they aren't even really the focus of it.

Oh, and Florid Marylebone is still undergoing repairs, meaning that he's too useless to take part in the story this week. Brainstorm was certainly right to prioritise fixing up Goldbug.

 

Pretenders in Masterforce sort of make sense (the human ones, anyway); Transformers being able to move amongst humans freely (and not as cars) is probably a good idea. I wish a tack like that had been explored.

 

Japan is the only environment where the Decepticons disguised as kaiju blend in with the environment!

 

I was referring more to the likes of Thunderwing, Bludgeon, Octopunch, Stranglehold, Starscream, Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee. Those are Pretenders too.

 

True, but not that particular group of characters; none of that little gaggle showed up until Simon Furman had taken over. It was Bob Budiansky's writing approach to the Pretenders- and, specifically, to the six he introduced with very little enthusiasm in this particular issue, that the comments referred to.

I agree, incidentally, regarding DJ Convoy's point there; it's a substantial misstep, and a clear missed opportunity, that the Pretenders aren't shown to shrink when entering their shells, to make them into meaningful disguises.

There is nothing that would have been harmed by this- "Monstercon from Mars" would still have worked perfectly well, had Skullgrin been a non-gigantic monster, "Guess Who the Mecannibals are Having for Dinner" doesn't significantly depend upon the Pretenders' size- since either they shrink, or Cloudburst pulls an Astrotrain, to transport them anyway- the opening scene with Optimus Prime actually looks more as if they shrink- and indeed, the scenes in Grand Central Station would probably work *better* if Landmine and Cloudburst and the rest of the inhabitants were in scale with Hi-Test, Throttle, and Berko, and "Recipe for Disaster" would function perfectly well if the Femaxians were not conveniently Transformer-scaled giants.

 

I concur. The Pretenders work much better as a concept if one doesn't have to ignore the fact that virtually no one would actually be fooled by giant humans or not react to giant monsters attacking.

Hopefully no one minds me jumping in 15 pages into the thread....I only found it recently.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks! 

So, "Pretender to the Throne". It's been awhile since I've read this issue. Optimus Prime, and his assumption that he's simply a character in a computer game, was easily the most memorable part, with the Pretenders being entirely interchangeable and forgettable (at least in this issue). It's also one of the most transparent cases of "buy my toy" syndrome in the series. One can definitely tell that poor Bob Budiansky is getting a little tired of having to plug a never-ending stream of new toys at the expense of continuing to develop the existing characters/toys, and it's hard to blame him. At this point, there's already 148 characters, and the number will only increase from here. That being said, Scorponok's "flesh and metal mixing together in a manner unimagined by all but ME!!! Only my genius made it possible!" line is hilarious just for how over-the-top it is. That being said, given the already-established problems with the Pretender concept as it is depicted in the issue, one may reasonably question his claim of genius, at least as regards tactics and understanding basic human psychology (which is especially bizarre since part of him IS human, so he ought to have a general understanding of how humans think). Then again, it apparently works, so who knows.

The next issue is the Grimlock/Blaster leadership duel issue, right?

 

Its easier these days as we get the same characters being sold at multiple price points and are often recolored as themselves. So instead of introducing a whole bunch of new characters, they would only have to introduce a few and tell us why Bumblebee feels the need to have numerous different color schemes.

 

# 40 Pretender to the Throne

Optimus Prime is back, but he thinks he’s a computer game. As we’ve seen before (and as Megatron suspected), Ethan Zacharry stored Optimus on a floppy disk. Ever since he’s slowly got more and more access to Optimus his mind and memories and now uses him as the lead character in computer games. Hoping to unlock more of Optimus and restore him fully, he contacts Sparkplug, which is overheard by Spike. The newly rebuilt Goldbug goes to Earth. This results in Optimus going on a computer game mission: infiltrate the Decepticons. Thus the Autobots learn that the Decepticons have a new suggroup: Pretenders. To counter this they create six of their own and lead by Optimus they fight off the Decepticons. It does not have the desired effect, because Optimus still believes he’s a computer game.


Delbo continues as artist and I have no complaints. His clean style works. It’s not very exciting, but there are few errors (Goldbug is missing his back piece when we first see him assembled, but maybe he’s not quite finished, because it is there in every other panel). Colours are also clean. Of course, the depiction of Optimus his computer world is a bit convenient realistic – complete with him apparently looking through a screen at the Decepticons. Storywise, although obviously part of a larger whole (it follows from the issue in which Optimus died, and it will very obviously be continued), this is very much a self-contained little story. And that’s the strength of this issue. Thus Optimus is also well written and far more relatable than he has been before in Marvel.

I will admit, I’m hugely biased. I utterly dislike Optimus Prime, was glad he was gone from the series, so I was not happy to see him return. And in a way I suspect Budiansky possibly felt the same, since I remember reading that killing Optimus in the comics was his idea so he could develop other characters and tell a story he felt was more interesting. Now Optimus is shown to be still alive and has to be brought back in the series. (Preview: what we would get, the Powermaster Optimus, I did really like, but then he’s very different than what we got before.) That said, Optimus is a lot better in this issue than before. Maybe it’s the smaller scale of his role: he’s more active and involved here. (I do object to Optimus being the best strategist (then what’s the point of Prowl, Smokescreen and many others) and that the Autobot pretenders only win thanks to his guidance.)

And then there are the Pretenders. Optimus his part is very clearly at the cost of their introduction, when it should be their story. It may be their story in name, but outside of their introduction and the idea behind their gimmick, we get nothing. And honestly, I think the concept of disguise as presented here, is ridiculous. Sure, giant monsters can work, but a) monsters still stand out and b) they’re the same size as a TF, so I doubt either Autobot or human would simply shrug it off as non-threatening. Likewise, Autobot Pretenders being TF sized humans dressed fully in armour... No, it’s dumb. Not that I’m crazy about the incredibly shrinking TF’s that “transform” from a suited human to a TF in Masterforce, but at least size wise it makes more sense. Later explanation (shown here, but barely mentioned) that the suit provided a radio-controlled back-up so there are effectively two fighters, makes more sense, as does the notion of the Pretender suit being a sort of armour. (I was confused in the 80’s, because in Europe we only got three Pretenders on each side, so why did we get six per side here?!? It wasn’t until the internet that I learned that the USA got more.)


All in all, for me a pretty forgettable story. Especially after the great The Headmasters and before that the Blaster/Goldbug arc in the main series.

 

TransFormers Marvel US #41 is live to discuss!
Better spot the Shingo!
“Totaled!”
Roll out!

 

Ironically I suppose...

(Megatron: How ironic...
Starscream: Oh shut up.)

Ahem. Ironically, I suppose, the Pretenders may actually represent a slightly more realistic view of scientific advance than usual; in that they dismally fail at what they're trying for, and waste a lot of resources in the process, but along the way, important discoveries are made during the process.

The development of Pretenders as a disguise technology clearly fails; these twelve are experiments and are either the wrong form or the wrong size to blend in. Perhaps later attempts to furnish them with size-changing technology simply didn't work- maybe that technology's incompatible with organic shells, making it a dead-end. That the later Pretenders; Bludgeon, Stranglehold, Octopunch, and so on, all have near Micromaster-sized inner robots, suggests that this may have been used as an attempted workaround, only to find that the process itself adds enough mass to the body to make it a failure. Bludgeon's unique appearance may indeed stem from horrific side effects engendered upon the shell by attempting to workaround this.

However, at the same time, it's realised that they now have a process for fitting small, inoffensive Transformers with large exo suits of bulky power armour directly controlled by their nervous systems; that those same secondary nervous systems in the shell can be used, with a little modification, to make the shell into a custom fitted (and thus more effective), mobile C.R. chamber- as Megatron's lab will eventually use on Starscream, Jazz, Grimlock, and Goldbug, and indeed, that, once you either discard the 'organic' side or, at least, reduce it to mere cosmetic decoration, there's no reason why this exo suit shouldn't be capable of transformation in its own right- Thunderwing.

 

Issue #41: Totaled
-The cover does a good job at representing the content of the issue: a huge fight with as many characters as Budiansky and Delbo can squeeze into the story.
-Good job, Autobots! You wasted all your resources giving the Pretender characters useless giant human pretender shells, and now you can't rebuild Optimus!
-The first panel is an obvious callback to Prime's death scene from issue 25.
-Grimlock sitting around in T. Rex mode, wearing his crown and ordering the Dinobots around like servants, is amusing.
-Hi, Grimlock. I'm Fortress Maximus, and I've brought new toys with me!
-Wow, Grimlock just socked Ratchet. I forgot that happened.
-Ratchet's grin on learning about Fortress Maximus being bonded with Spike is great. It's so smug.
-Grimlock constantly getting Fortress' name wrong (no doubt intentionally) is a highlight of the issue.
-Wow, the Veritable Voltage Harness looks....really weird. It doesn't really look like a torture device so much as it looks like a crazy exercise machine. It's good to see the return of Blaster, though.
-Apparently the Pretenders were also more important than repairing Fruitloop Multipuck. That being said, Grimlock v Blaster is way more interesting from a narrative standpoint than Grimlock v Fortress Maximus, so I can see why Budiansky benched Fruitloop.
-Blaster is understandably grouchy about his situation. His dynamic with Goldbug is still handled really well, and I like how he convinces Blaster to take Forktounge Maxiface's place in the leadership duel by appealing to his desire for revenge.
-AAAH! IT HAS A MOUTH! (I don't know why, but Delbo's habit of drawing Soundwave with a mouth really creeps me out.)
-Ratbat's strategic ability is impressive.
-And now for some huge splash panels featuring as many characters as Delbo can draw. Most of them are block-colored, and I think at least one or two of them aren't supposed to be there. I counted, and there's about 68 characters drawn in four panels. Also, Omega Supreme is WAY smaller than he used to be.
-The Dinobots are clearly enjoying the fight WAY too much (although their dopey smiles are kind of endearing).
-Hey! It's Sunstreaker! He hasn't appeared since issue #9, and hasn't been operational since the first mini-series. Also, Prowl and Ironhide are back on their feet. This probably won't last too long...
-It's nice to see Onslaught doing tactical stuff. Also, here comes another splash page, this one featuring about 23 characters. The panel immediately following adds six more, as the (miscolored) Constructicons free the casualties of issue #19 from the Ark.
-Yet another splash page, this one of a battle, follows, featuring 20 guys, including what looks like 2 Wildriders judging from the basic silhouettes. (Maybe the other one is Breakdown or Dead End.)
-Ouch. Poor Brawn. Back from the dead, and his only role is to get blasted in this huge battle full of so many characters that everyone blends into the chaos.
-Decepticon fuel accounting? Ratbat, I know you love your job, but surely the fact that you're saving energy isn't the most important part of this battle.
-I like that Budiansky makes an effort to have sound not traveling in space, so everyone's presumably talking via radio. It even plays into the plot, since Grimlock and Blaster don't know that the Autobots are being attacked because they can't hear the sounds of the battle.
-That being said, Vortex also shouldn't be able to use his rotor blades in space, but he is. Oh, well. You can't win 'em all.
-Good to see that Blaster and Grimlock both realize that their duel is less important than saving their fellow Autobots. Grimlock's revelation that he wasn't a good leader is also nice to see, even if it apparently comes out of nowhere.
-Buster getting in a jab at Ratbat when the ship goes haywire is pretty funny.
-This comic has so many characters....
-Budiansky has clearly decided that Fullstrength Motleypuss is less interesting as a leader than Optimus Prime, so if he has to plug one of the toys, it's going to be the guy who's been around since the beginning, not the complete newbie.
Overall Thoughts: Goldbug, Grimlock, Ratchet, Blaster, and the Dinobots are handled quite well, as is Ratbat. Everyone else is basically crowd-filler (and that's one enormous crowd!) The art is generally pretty good, given the massive number of characters in this issue. Soundwave's mouth is the only thing that really bugged me. As an issue that was primarily composed of two dramatic fight scenes, it works fairly well, and it also successfully brings the Blaster/Grimlock story to a conclusion (so that we can sell Pretenders and Powermaster Optimus Prime toys). It's also nice to see the Decepticons score a fairly impressive, albeit incomplete, victory, as it reiterates the fact that they are a serious threat. Grimlock is easily the best part of the story, though...he's hilarious in this issue.

 

Well, that's why we would get the Underbase Saga in order to clear the space (problem was that it still got crowded pretty quickly despite the massive amount of casualties there).

And yeah, José Delbo's art is always pretty good, I think that what happens is that his depiction of the character models is a bit too literal. He obviously had to use the designs that were published in the TF Universe mini-series, but there were some oddities. Soundwave's design in that profile looked like he had a weird sort of mouth, so Delbo always drew him with one. Same with Starscream, one side of his helmet was covered by one of his shoulder pads, and that resulted in the infamous "Van Gogh" Starscream, where only one of the helmet's "ears" was drawn. Again, I believe time constraints may have played a role in this, so I kinda let it slide.

 

Grimlock is great in this issue. I loved his jabs at Fort Maxes name.
Grimlocks last minute change of heart is rather sudden, but looking back at this issue now I’m going to personally head canon that Grimlock has wanted to abdicate command but his ego wouldn’t allow him to. Once Blaster stood up and fought back, it allowed him to say, “Ok Blaster me just dumb old Grimlock you right.”
Hey, it works.

 

For some reason, when Grimlock bawls "Never!" about a human commanding Autobots, in response to Foghorn McDonalds' revelation of his identity, Ratchet's "Looks like never is now" response is not only a rather badass line from the perennially put-upon medic, but also something of a 'hell yes' moment- finally, Grimlock's getting a reckoning.

Very telling to see Figwit Molybdenum still incapable of fighting Grimlock. I also get the oddest feeling that Goldbug has taken effective command of the Steelhaven as the power behind the throne here.

Grimlock is a puzzle here and no mistake. With hindsight, on this read through, it's actually striking to see how late in his tenure as leader, this turn to "Me dumb king dino" happens - Grimlock before this has seemed brash, rude, aggressive - but also cunning and authoritative. It's only here that he's written as a fool; perhaps to allow for the easy change of heart.

Of course, too, with hindsight, Grimlock wasn't a failure. He got the Ark fixed and flying.

"But he left Earth to the mercy of the Decepticons!"

"Unlike certain Big Red Lorries, Grimlock wasn't responsible for bringing the Decepticons to Earth, was he? He vastly increased the safety and chance of survival of his Autobots by giving them an orbital safe haven."

"But he ignored the Autobot Code and left innocents in danger..."

" Those innocents were mostly in more danger from being caught in the human /Autobot / Decepticon crossfire that was making the war unworkable, than from Decepticon raids, anyway; especially as the Decepticons followed the Autobots into space, leaving Earth safe anyway; or it would have been, if Goldbug and Fromage Massif-Centrale hadn't gone and stupidly brought more Decepticons to Earth to replace the old ones. "

"You can't argue that running away from a planet of innocent organics so that your enemies drop trying to conquer it and chase you is "saving it".

" Well, it was no stupider than when Galen did it. "

 

What's sad about this issue is that, realistically, this is the end of Uncle Bob's Blaster. I think he shows up briefly as a part of Autobot High Command (?) in issue 48 or so... and that's it. The insurgency storyline has been going for over a year and this is it... a bit of a damp squib. Really, a poor ending to the whole Grimlock as leader story in general. Again, Grimlock veers wildly from not caring about humans to being, essentially, cartoon Grimlock. "Me sorry, Blaster."

My online handle for over twenty years has been "DJ Convoy" largely due to Uncle Bob's depiction of Blaster (and the fact that "Blastimus Prime" sounds pretty lame). I wish Blaster had gotten a touch more comeuppance. I wish Grimlock had to deal with the consequences of his reign of leadership ( even if it was more effective than you might remember, as Swerve pointed out).

 

Also, poor Drag Strip and Blitzwing!

 

Yeah, his change of heart in this issue isn't particularly convincing or in-character.

And then he gets killed in the Underbase saga and doesn't really appear again until after the Unicron battle. Poor Blaster.