The Last Autobot?

	; Standing upon the lips of giants.
	"The Last Autobot?"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	April 1991
Cover date	June 1991
Writer	Simon Furman
Penciler	Andrew Wildman
Inker	Stephen Baskerville
Colorist	Nel Yomtov
Letterer	Rick Parker
Editor	Rob Tokar
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

This article is about the comic story originally published in The Transformers (Marvel US) #79. For the IDW issue, see The Last Autobot. For a list of other meanings, see Last Autobot (disambiguation).

Fortress Maximus replaces Ultra Magnus as Galvatron's personal punching bag.

Synopsis

The Ark has come crashing down to Earth, and unleashed a new horror on the planet. Spike Witwicky finds himself the only available Autobot to deal with the threat, despite his reluctance. After visiting the scene of the crash and finding the cooling corpses of Galvatron's human victims, Spike finds he has no other choice but to combine with Fortress Maximus once again.

On Cybertron, we find the planet completely devoid of Transformer life, as the Decepticons have left to plunder other worlds and the Autobots have gone to stop them. Organic life, on the other hand, still exists on the world, in the form of Hi-Q and the Neo-Knights. It seems the Nebulan's apparently crazed ravings finally got to the Knights, and convinced them to break out of their life pod and stay behind on Cybertron when the Autobots blasted off. With the planet breaking apart around them, however, they are beginning to suspect they're going to die on a planet not their own. Just when they're ready to give in to depression, though, Dynamo's planetary power taps into Cybertron's essence, and begins to lead them to the Last Autobot, who will prove to be the planet's salvation.

Meanwhile, the Autobots are pursuing the Decepticons through space, following the signal beacons Grimlock left on their ships, and collectively wondering just how much damage the 'Cons could have done. Well, the answer is: A lot. On the planet Klo, Bludgeon's forces have destroyed and conquered an entire civilization and its populace within a matter of two days. The conquest came and went with ease (only one casualty, Sparkstalker, who was injured by Cindersaur's fire), but Bludgeon is restless. Sure, destruction is good for the soul, but what they need is a challenge. As it so happens, Krok has detected Grimlock's homing beacons, and the Decepticons begin to prepare... for visitors.

Back on Earth, Spike finally places his control helmet on, and undergoes the binary bonding to join with Cerebros and Fortress Maximus. Once he does, however, Fortress Maximus completely suppresses Spike's mind to assume complete control over their combined form, as he simply does not trust the reluctant human to give it his all. As he catches up with Galvatron, the crazed Decepticon is trying to organize his thoughts, the crash having jumbled his mind and memories. One shot in the back from Fortress Maximus, though, and he goes completely 'round the bend. A raging berserker, Galvatron attacks Maximus with a manic fury, even going so far as to tear out his opponent's circuitry with his teeth. Fortress Maximus is unable to defeat the Decepticon on his own, and so he makes peace with Spike, and the two of them truly join minds, and manage to successfully fight back and defeat Galvatron, sending him to the bottom of a frozen lake.

On Cybertron, the Neo-Knights have indeed found the Last Autobot, and prepare to awaken him from his slumber...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Nebulans
Fortress Maximus (3) Prowl (10) Silverbolt (11) Nightbeat (12) Grimlock (13) Cerebros (26) Last Autobot (29)	Galvatron (2) Snapdragon (14) Dreadwing (15) Quake (16) Horri-Bull (17) Squeezeplay (18) Fangry (19) Crankcase (20) Battletrap (21) Bludgeon (22) Octopunch (23) Stranglehold (24) Krok (25) Shockwave (27) Megatron (28)	Spike Witwicky (1) G.B. Blackrock (4) Dynamo (5) Thunderpunch (6) Circuit Breaker (7) Rapture (8)	Hi-Q (9)

Quotes

"He knew, didn't he? Prime, I mean. When I handed back the control helmet, relinquished control of you—he knew one day it would come to this, that I would return to finish what I started."
"Optimus Prime is...wise. He saw in you what you hide from yourself. We two are irrevocably bonded, by science...and by purpose. We both do what we know we must!"

—Spike and Fortress Maximus

"At last! Now, Decepticon, no more indecision, no more weakness... I am in total control! And I am coming for you!"

—Fortress Maximus, finally deciding to stop being a pacifist.

"Not this time, my deranged friend! Before, perhaps, you could have bested me. But now that we function as one -- that has changed! Spike's doubt, my desperate need to act after so long out of the war -- these things are no more! We are Fortress Maximus, We are the last Autobot -- defender of Earth. And you... you are history!"

—Fortress Maximus, finally getting his act together and defeating Galvatron.

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

TBD

Continuity errors

TBD

Continuity notes

There was meant to be a proper quest to find the Last Autobot, and his presence would be felt for more than just one issue; cancellation blew that.^[1] Some of the ideas were recycled into War Within: The Dark Ages.^[2]
Megatron's final appearance in the Generation 1 comic, in this issue, is simply as a dead-seeming hand protruding from under a pile of debris, a pool of Transformer fuel in the palm.
This would be the second death by ice that a Galvatron would experience at the hands of a Headmaster. In The Headmasters episode, "The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg", the Headmasters imprison him in an icy grave.
Fortress Maximus has lain dormant in the Ark since issue #51, making this the second time Spike abandoned him. It wouldn't be the last time.

Real-life references

TBD

UK printing

Issue #329:

Back-up strips: Machine Man - "Victory" and Combat Colin
AtoZ: Fortress Maximus

Issue #330:

Reprint Transformers story: "The Big Shutdown!"
Other strips: Combat Colin
"The Big Shutdown!" was reprinted in colour. It was coloured by Euan Peters.

Other trivia

A Transformers Universe profile for Fortress Maximus is found after the main story.
The Last Autobot search would obviously have taken longer if the comic wasn't ending. Originally, some of the Autobots would be the ones doing the search instead of the Neo-Knights and it would take them down through the planet, learning some uncomfortable new things about Primus's work.^[3]
The letters page for this issue features a letter begging for the return of Optimus Prime and the Godzilla comic. One of those would be forthcoming, the other, not so much.