Devastation Derby!

« The Transformers (UK) #61–62 »
Constructicheerleaders
"Devastation Derby!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	Part 1: 10th May, 1986 Part 2: 17th May, 1986
Cover date	Part 1: 17th May, 1986 Part 2: 24th May, 1986
Script	Simon Furman
Art	Will Simpson
Colours	John Burns
Lettering	Mike Scott
Editor	Ian Rimmer
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	1986

Soundwave and the Constructicons attempt to abduct Buster Witwicky.

Synopsis

Part 1

"Buster, what did I tell you about drawing fanart? Not on the doors!"

In a junkyard, Soundwave trains Devastator to improve his combat performance after his disappointing first outing. Presently, Shockwave arrives with new orders for the group: to capture a human. Soundwave is incredulous at the thought of wasting Decepticon resources on so frivolous a matter, but Shockwave silences him by revealing that his particular human can be used against the Autobots... for Shockwave seeks the capture of their enemies' human friend, Buster Witwicky!

That night, at the Witwicky household, Sparkplug is brought running by the sound of Buster's screams: the boy has had a vivid nightmare, and in his sleep, has drawn the image of a huge, unfamiliar robot on his bedroom door. The experience leaves Buster rattled and unenthusiastic about accompanying his girlfriend Jesse to the annual demolition derby the next day, but Sparkplug encourages him to go enjoy himself, and Buster reluctantly acquiesces. Sparkplug has an ulterior motive, though; with Buster gone, his father is able to remove his bedroom door and take it to the Autobots, suspecting they may have some answers about what is plaguing him. A fascinated Wheeljack is able to identify the drawing as an "amalgam model" Transformer made up of multiple other robots—a technology only the Decepticons have thus far been able to master. At a loss to explain the phenomenon, a wary Optimus Prime orders a squad of Autobots to go with Sparkplug to the demolition derby and keep an eye on Buster.

At the derby, Buster seems to be in better spirits, and the Autobots enjoy watching the action. After Smokescreen demonstrates his facsimile construct driver for Sparkplug (accidentally releasing it while the man is sitting on the seat it pops out of), he decides he'd like to take part in the derby himself, and drives right into the midst of it with Sparkplug inside. His fun is short-lived, however: the Constructicons soon arrive, smashing their way into the arena and sending panicked people running everywhere. The Autobots transform for battle, but in response, the Constructicons combine into Devastator... the mere sight of whom causes Buster to have a fit and pass out!

Part 2: "Devastated!"

The Autobots engage Devastator in battle, with Ironhide and Tracks firing on him and Smokescreen getting under his feet and unbalancing him, while Brawn tries to find Buster and Jesse in the panicked crowd. He is beaten to the punch by Soundwave, who uses his mind-reading powers to determine what has befallen Buster, wanting him to be in "perfect condition" for delivery to Shockwave. Spotting the Decepticon communications officer and realizing that he must be after Buster, Sparkplug orders Smokescreen to make a beeline for him; a moment later, a well-timed blast of black light from Tracks blinds Devastator, buying Smokescreen the time to break away from the fight and take on Soundwave. In the short length of time it takes Smokescreen to reach him, however, Soundwave has completed his scan of Buster's mind, and been shocked at what he has found. He immediately apologizes to the Autobots for his "mistake" and orders the Constructicons to retreat with him.

The baffled Autobots radio the Ark, summoning medical assistance for Buster. Sparkplug would rather take his son to a human hospital, but when an ambulance arrives minutes later, he fails to realize that it is Ratchet before loading his son aboard. With Sparkplug protesting all the way, the Autobots return to the Ark with Buster, who begins to suffer another nightmare...

At the Decepticon base, Shockwave is incensed to learn that Soundwave has refused to carry out his orders. Before Shockwave blasts him for insubordination, Soundwave calmly explains his reasons: within Buster's mind, he saw a vision left by the Creation Matrix when it temporarily resided there... a vision that foretells the future evolution of the Transformer race!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"By the Matrix! Literally!"

—Soundwave discovers the secret within Buster's mind

Notes

Continuity notes

• This issue marks the first appearance of the Constructicons as a team since their debut in US issue #10, in which the less-than-stellar initial performance by Devastator that both Soundwave and Ironhide recall took place. Barring Scavenger, who appeared in "Dinobot Hunt!", they've been in off-panel limbo ever since, and the US series does not account for their whereabouts during the current period of instability that has seen the Decepticons break into two groups. "Devastation Derby" places them with Shockwave's group.
• Speaking of which, over in the US stories, Soundwave is not part of Shockwave's Decepticons. When last seen in US issue #15, Soundwave was with Megatron in Wyoming, having previously been undercover in alternate mode in a human electronics shop for some time. Conversely, when this story begins, Soundwave is already part of Shockwave's group; he is not surprised to see Shockwave, indicating that they have had an off-panel reunion prior to this. This will be clarified in issue #65, in which it is explained that Soundwave left Megatron to feel out Shockwave in advance of organizing a meeting between the two leaders.
• Shockwave's fixation on Buster comes about as the result of the preceding story, "Robot Buster!," the events of which Optimus recounts for Sparkplug.
• The Autobots use their facsimile constructs, introduced in US issue #14. Brawn and Ironhide are revealed to also have been equipped with them; having survived "Dinobot Hunt!" unscathed, these two Autobots remain active in the UK stories despite being on the injured list in the US ones.
• Regarding the base in which Soundwave meets Shockwave at the end of the story: The most recent US story made the anomalous claim that Shockwave had a "makeshift fortress," so it may be that; on the other hand, "Robot Buster!" reintroduced the original Decepticon fortress, so it might be that. It's also possible the UK comic intended for the original fortress and the makeshift fortress to be the same place.
• Soundwave reminds Shockwave that Buster's mind previously held the Creation Matrix, as seen in US issues #6-12.

Transformers references

• The "amalgam model" Transformer Buster draws is Superion, combined form of the Aerialbots. These characters are still quite some way from being introduced in the US stories, but readers of the UK series are likely to recognize the character from the special bonus comic, "The Special Teams Have Arrived", included with issue #54 a few months earlier.

Artwork and technical errors

• Shockwave's eye is purple instead of yellow throughout part 1 (right).
• Part 1, page 2, panel 3:
  • Long Haul's name is spelled "Longhaul."
  • In addition to Long Haul's abdomen being purple instead of green, all six of the Constructicons' heads are purple, when they should be blue-black. This continues into the next panel for Bonecrusher and Hook, but Long Haul's is corrected; they're then the right colour on the next page.
• Part 1, page 3:
  • Panel 3: Soundwave's eyes are uncoloured white instead of yellow.
  • Panel 4: There's a blank speech bubble coming from Soundwave. Presumably he was supposed to be yelling "WHAT?" or somesuch, interrupting Shockwave and leading into his dialogue in the next panel.
• Part 1, page 4: The tip of the marker Buster uses to draw Superion is left white, but it should obviously be black.
• A pair of strange speech bubbles appear on both page 6, panel 7 (Sparkplug exclaiming "OOOW!") and page 7, panel 1 (the ticket booth attendant going "YIII!"), in which the dialogue is printed type, rather than hand-lettering like the rest of the issue. This feels like it's connected to Soundwave's blank balloon from page 3 in some way (it too is a "starburst" balloon to indicate shouting), but it's not clear why these are rendered this way.
• Tracks's face is black instead of red throughout part 2, a coloration derived from his toy package art. Artist Will Simpson commonly referenced the toy art for his work on the series; it looks like colorist John Burns was following suit here.
• Part 2, page 6, panel 7 and page 7, panel 1: Soundwave's eyes are again uncoloured white.

Other trivia

• A poster singles out "Mike Mayhem" as one of the drivers at the demolition derby. No relation to Miles, we're fairly certain!
• Ironhide's transformation sequence at the end of Part 1 is drawn based on Ratchet's from US issue #7 (right)
• In issue #61's letters page, Soundwave shares his thoughts on the recent Robotix backup strip, remarking: "I have to admit my sympathies lie with the Terrakors."

Courtesy of my...

• Tracks blinds Devastator with a beam of black light.

Back-up material

Issue #61:

• Back-up strips: Rocket Raccoon ("Masque of the Red Breath," Part 4), Robo-Capers and Matt and the Cat. The first page of Rocket Racoon is misprinted, with the magenta and cyan inks switched. The third installment of the comic strip advert for Biggles also runs this issue.
• Fact File Interface: Devastator

Issue #62:

• Back-up strips: Rocket Raccoon ("The Book of Revelations," Part 1) and Robo-Capers. The advert for next issue is a whole page instead of the usual half-page, so Matt and the Cat sits this issue out; the fourth part of Biggles also appears.

Covers (2)

• UK issue #61: the Constructicons discuss Buster's fate, by Will Simpson.
• UK issue #62: Jesse cradles a prone Buster while the Autobots fight Devastator, by Robin Smith.

• 

  Issue #61

• 

  Issue #62

Reprints

• 

  Transformers: Second Generation (Titan Books, 2005)

• 

  The Transformers Classics UK Volume 2 (IDW Publishing, 2012)

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection, Vol. 4: Second Generation (Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2018)