A secret shipment from the Decepticons carries an infection that threatens Decepticon and Autobot alike.
Marvel US issue #29
(Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #123-124)
Script: Bob Budiansky
Pencils: Don Perlin
Inks: Ian Akin and Brian Garvey
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Colors: Nelson Yomtov
Editor: Don Daley
- Major characters (in order of appearance): Goldbug, Blaster, G.B. Blackrock, Ratbat, Astrotrain, Octane, Blitzwing
- Originally published: June, 1987
Synopsis
Believing that they can better fight the Decepticons on their own, Goldbug and Blaster seek information from G.B. Blackrock that might lead them to Decepticon activity. Blackrock tells them of a mysterious meteor that crash landed in Northern Arizona. The Autobot pair goes to investigate.
The meteor was a space frieghter sent by the Decepticons from Cybertron as part of a secret scheme to steal Earth's energy, but the freighter pilot did not contact Cybertron upon arrival as planned. Ratbat sends the Triple Changers: Astrotrain, Octane, and Blitzwing, to investigate. They arrive on Earth near a crater caused by the crash, and frighten away a group of scientists who had planned to study the "meteor." The Decepticons find the freighter, but learn only to late why the freighter crashed: the pilot has been infected with Scraplets, a group of tiny Transformer-like robots who can change into innocent-looking nuts, bolts, screws and the like, but which attach themselves to mechanical lifeforms and replicate quickly, causing great damage to the larger robot.
One of the scientists, Charlie Fong, doesn't scare away easily, and when he meets Goldbug and Blaster, they work out a plan to get to the crater and find out what's going on. When they arrive, they are quickly attacked by the Decepticons, and Goldbug and Fong are separated from Blaster. Although Goldbug is able to escape infection from the Scraplets, Blaster is not so lucky.
Although Blaster, noting that the Triple Changers are weakened more by the Scraplets than he is, wishes to fight the Decepticons with Goldbug's help, Goldbug is convinced by Fong that Blaster's only hope now is to find a cure for the Scraplets. Fong proposes taking a crushed Scraplet out of the crater for experimentation, and Goldbug reluctantly agrees. As Goldbug leaves the crater, Blaster, believing himself abandoned, swears revenge. Goldbug pauses out of guilt, only to become infected himself. Now he has no choice. He and Fong must find a cure, or they are all lost....
Errors
TBA
Items of note
- References to other Transformers continuities/issues:
- On page 5, Blaster remembers the sacrifice of his friend Scrounge, from The Smelting Pool
- On page 6, Blackrock mentions "some suspicious activity in the Caribbean lately," no doubt the Decepticons at their new base of operations, where they relocated to in Gone But Not Forgotten.