Planetfall (Movie)

« Transformers: Movie Prequel
"Planetfall"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	October 13, 2007 (online); October 16, 2007 (in Target stores)
Story by	Chris Ryall, Michael Ritchie, and Michael Verrecchia
Script by	Chris Ryall
Art by	Don Figueroa (p. 1–9), Andrew Wildman (p. 10–22)
Colors by	Josh Burcham
Letters by	Robbie Robbins
Edits by	Ted Adams
Continuity	Movie continuity

The Decepticons leave Cybertron in pursuit of Megatron and the AllSpark.

Synopsis

On Cybertron, war rages, the Autobots fighting to keep the AllSpark from the clutches of the power-hungry Megatron. In the midst of battle, the Decepticon leader suddenly detects the artifact and departs to retrieve it, while dispatching the faithful Blackout to reinforce their troops fighting at Tyger Pax. Word of Megatron's mission beats him there, with Brawl delivering the news to Starscream's team, who have just finished clearing out a building of Autobots. Starscream, barely hiding his own ambitions of power, insists that they head to the AllSpark's location to "support" Megatron, but before they can depart, Blackout arrives on the scene. Starscream questions why Megatron's "hound" has left his side, but before Blackout can answer, a glowing object streaks up into the sky from a short distance away—the AllSpark has been ejected from Cybertron! Tempers flare as the Decepticons argue over their next move, but the decision is made for them when they see Megatron rocket up out of the atmosphere: they too must follow the AllSpark into space.

As Cybertron, deprived of the AllSpark, begins to wither, Starscream's cadre of troops depart the planet in protoform mode, guided by Blackout's ability to sense Megatron's location. Time passes, and eventually the Decepticons make on the distant world of Earth, in Afghanistan's Khyber Pass. Regrouping, they quickly realize that they cannot detect the precise location of either Megatron or the AllSpark itself, but before they can make further plans, they are confronted by an armored personnel carrier driven by the planet's natives. Wreckage quickly blasts the vehicle and assumes its form for his new alternate mode, and the Decepticons set out for the military base which they have detected nearby, hoping to learn more about Megatron's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the base's commanding officer receives word of the APC's destruction, and quickly concludes that the same alien lifeforms that destroyed the Mars probe have arrived on Earth. With communications to the outside world being jammed, the base's personnel prepare to repel the invaders by themselves, gearing up with experimental new weaponry. The waiting troops are momentarily surprised to see their own APC returning to base... but quickly find that it is flanked by a squad of enormous mechanical beings!

The subsequent battle is furious, with Blackout and Brawl scanning new alternate modes from human vehicles, while a sadistic Barricade toys with his opponents, briefly claiming that he's a double-agent there to help them. However, the skirmish takes a turn in the humans' favor when they unleash a localized-EMP rocket launcher and successfully disable Wreckage. Barricade begins to realize that the humans have been studying Cybertronians, a suspicion that is confirmed when Blackout begins remotely accessing their computer systems, discovering encrypted files that seem to reference Megatron. Before he can recover further information, the base shuts down its own computers with another EMP.

When the dust finally settles on the battle, all the base's personnel have been killed, although a murderous Bonecrusher is eager for more bloodshed on a far grander scale. Blackout, meanwhile, announces to his comrades that he also learned of another nearby military base where he can resume his information gathering, and sets out alone for the country of Qatar. Watching him go, Starscream cautions his remaining troops: the fates of Wreckage and seemingly Megatron prove that Earth's inhabitants are more than capable of fighting back, and when the Autobots inevitably enter the fray, the Decepticons will find themselves fighting a war on two fronts. Little does he know that elsewhere on Earth, Bumblebee is already hot on the trail of the AllSpark...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"You will stay put until we know what happened."
"'Know what happened'? Is he a bit slow? I feel it, and so must all of you. That was the AllSpark!"

—Blackout and Barricade

Notes

• This was one of two free prequel comics released by IDW in cooperation with Target (both books originally had no title other than Transformers: Movie Prequel on the cover, the same as IDW's full-length prequel mini-series). In printed form, it was released as a Target exclusive pack-in bonus with the DVD release of the movie; however, it had already been made available online on Target's website three days before the DVD's release. Both Target-exclusive comics were later reprinted by IDW as part of the Transformers: Movie Prequel Special one-shot, where this story was given the title "Planetfall".
• Like its predecessor, the comic ties into Target's Robo-Vision promotion, with several panels throughout the issue featuring a red "targeting HUD"-style overlay and hidden codewords that can be revealed with a clear red plastic Robo-Vision Decoder, similarly to the Tech Specs of the Generation 1 toyline. Codewords from the issue include "TFGAMER" and "ANIMATED", and could be used to unlock content on Target's Robo-Vision promotional website. These Robo-Vision effects were removed for the Movie Prequel Special reprint of the story, except for one on page 16 that was overlooked.

Continuity notes

• While it ties directly into the events seen on Cybertron in Movie Prequel #1, the second half of this comic totally contradicts issue #4. There, Starscream, Blackout and Barricade arrive on Earth by themselves in 2003, landing in the United States of America, versus this issue's account of seven Decepticons landing in Afghanistan, seemingly in 2007. In addition to IDW's Chris Ryall, who wrote for the main Movie Prequel series, the story for this issue is attributed to Hasbro employees Michael Ritchie and Michael Verrecchia, perhaps suggesting that this "alternate take" originated with them.
• Future fiction in IDW movie continuity would generally lean towards the "Planetfall" version of events:
  • Flashbacks in The Reign of Starscream #1 show the Decepticons stopping off on Mars, as seen in Movie Prequel #3 (albeit with more characters present), but then retells the "Planetfall" account of their arrival on Earth, including Wreckage's defeat. The timeframe is unclear—the Decepticons encounter Beagle 2 on Mars, suggesting the mini-series' 2003 date, but subsequent narration also implies these events happen mere days before the movie's 2007 events. Additionally, Starscream's narration presents the discovery of Megatron on Earth as a surprise, in contrast to "Planetfall" having Blackout directly track him there.
  • A few months later, Alliance #1 would reiterate the "Planetfall" version of events, while also declaring that the arrival took place at least four months before the events of the movie.
• Though never directly stated, Bargam Airbase must presumably be operated by Sector Seven, given the commanding officer's familiarity with the N.B.E.s.
• Years later, Ask Vector Prime would retcon the soldier who EMPs Wreckage into being Dark of the Moon character Sergeant Cahnay, with his actions here described as earning him a spot in NEST.

Errors

• On page 2, panel 3, both speech bubbles should be attributed to Megatron, but the first is erroneously given to Blackout.
• The land-bound Bonecrusher, Brawl and Barricade making planetfall in Afghanistan raises questions about how they made it to the United States for the events of the movie.
• On page 12, panel 2, it seems likely that both speech bubbles are misattributed. Bonecrusher's line about sensing a military installation is presumably intended for Wreckage, who does additional scanning and detection on the next page, while Brawl's line thirsting for violence is in turn meant for Bonecrusher, as confirmed when Wreckage responds to him in the next panel.
• Given how Starscream addresses his response, Bonecrusher's question on page 22, panel 2 is actually meant for Barricade.

Other notes

I'll just recycle my own art for the last panel.

• This is one of two known fictional appearances of Scorponok's robot mode.
• The final panel of this story is a composite of the first and last panels from page 6 of the previous Target-exclusive comic, "Interlude", also drawn by Andrew Wildman.

Cover

• Megatron and Starscream with Robo-Vision effects, art by Don Figueroa.

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External links

• "Planetfall" available at Target's website in PDF form