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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Script- Simon Furman Art- Jeff Anderson Letters- Annie Halfacree Colour- Tony Jozwiak Editor- Ian Rimmer synopsisCyclonus and Scourge wreck havoc upon their new environment, whilst the Autobots spy upon their enemies, believing them to be responsible for the disappearance of their leader. In doing so, they bear witness to a less than amicable meeting of Decepticon leaders separated by 20 years. Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Emirate Xaaron makes the decision to send Ultra Magnus to Earth to investigate the fate of the Creation Matrix, putting Operation Volcano at risk, much to the chagrin of Impactor. Dave So issue 79 is officially part 1 of the story, as issue 78 was merely the prologue. Opinions on the cover? Kev That cover is a blatant toy advertisement, in a comic that is essentially a blatant toy advertisement. Worked on me though. Probably still would. Dave It actually looks like a picture that someone would put on ebay to show the toys they are selling. All that's missing is the price tags above their heads. Kev Ha, ha! Totally. Looks like Robin Smith hadn't received the character model sheet for Galvatron yet, as he's still a little bit off here. How much were you for those toys back in '86? Like £15? Dave Yeah, they probably were about that price. The first page is a great splash page.  "Highway to the Danger Zone!" Kev Yeh, I like this opening splash page of Cyclonus and Scourge. Unlike Robin Smith, Jeff Anderson has clearly had some character model sheets in the post since last week though, as they now look much closer to their animated selves. Dave It's got great colours, good narrative, and very energetic. We also get the reference, straight from the film, to the song by Spectre General on the first panel on the 2nd page, "Nothing can stand in their way." Kev Oh yeh! Good catch, Sir. That's close enough for jazz. I wonder if that was deliberate. That's some nice prose by Furman as well. I always liked those little bits that he slotted in there. Even if it was just a quick lead into a little character bio for these two future Decepticons. And Anderson’s renderings of the American landscape, with the train lines, the gas station, even the clothing of the locals, really sold me on the American setting when I was a youngster. Dave That is an excellent panel on the top of page 2. Something to put the Punisher in envy for mass destruction.  "We won't be denied. We know that time is on our side. We've got the passion and the pride. We won't be denied." Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, Furman and Anderson are really trying to sell us on the destructive power of these augmented future Decepticons. Dave Yeah, I love this scenic setting. It really is a location issue. It has such a strong appeal to it, even the dude with pink overalls on. Scourge kind-of reminds me of a 'Star Wars' land speeder with a roof on top. Kev He does actually, yeh. I always thought he looked like a hovercraft. Which used to confuse me as to why he was able to fly. Through space no less. “Then, when Uni--” Furman is doing a bang-up job of drip feeding little bits of info about the wider storyline of, not only 'Target: 2006,' but also the movie as well. I loved how this unfolded, as a kid. Dave Those first 3 pages are great at illustrating how destructive and efficient the power of the Decepticons can be. Kev Particularly these three newbies. Furman is really ramping up the threat level with them. Dave Cyclonus and Scourge make a good tag team. Kev They really do. They become more and more of a comedy, double-act, as time goes on. Dave We wouldn't have seen the movie back then until it got released on VHS at some point in 1987. Kev I pestered my dad into taking me to the cinema to see it. At the Vic. Which I'm sure he was absolutely thrilled about. Dave I can't remember if I saw it in the cinema, now. Kev I still have fond memories of it. Particularly walking through the town after it, high as a kite on sugar and adrenaline, to get to the bus stop for the bus back to Menzieshill. Dave I think the scenery is superb in this issue, they have really picked a visually appealing story compared to the drab cover. Kev I genuinely think Transformers is responsible for the image of America, as being a wide open, expansive landscape, I had in my head as a kid. Dave It's a bright and colourful, and I know I overuse the word "cinematic," but it applies to this. Kev No, no. I agree. It's a term I use way too much as well, but I think its use is justified here. Dave And how the Autobots are instantly recognisable against it is great also. I also like the fact that, even as robots, they are whispering to each other on the bottom panel of the 3rd page.  "I'm never gonna dance again." Kev The character designs of the Transformers, particularly the first few years of the toy line, are really spot-on. I like the idea of Galvatron just chilling out in Cyclonus’s cockpit, in gun mode. Dave I just thought the aerial stuff was great. And round about the same time as ‘Top Gun,’ as well. I like that Galvatron panel. It adds a comedic element to things. Kev It's quite amusing, eh? That's a good point about 'Top Gun.' It might have influenced the flight scenes here. Galvatron talks about them testing their new modes, but I’m pretty sure Cyclonus and Scourge have tested their new forms already by this point, in the movie. Dave That panel on top of page 4, of Ironhide's face, is so human looking, and I love the pure red image. Red, being a colour not often associated with the good guys, necessarily.  "Guilty feet have got no rhythm." Kev I love Ironhide in this. And I think a lot of that has to do with Anderson making him look so human and relatable. With just enough reflection of light on his face to remind you that it is shiny and metallic. Dave That bottom panel on page 4 is also excellent, I love it. An aerial view that, as a kid, would really get your imagination going. It would put you right in the mood for an adventure there. Is this not set in the middle of the movie? Kev Yeah. Around about the middle. I always liked how Furman often had the Autobots bickering. Especially in times of stress, such as their leader disappearing into thin air. It just made them seem more real. Dave I find the whispering stuff quite funny. It adds another little comedic touch. As if their voices are the only things that would make them stand out and not be seen. Kev Ha, ha! Yeah. Not the fact that they are giant robots and are generally painted in bright, primary colours. Dave Again, there is a fair bit of dialogue in these first four pages with the, "last week on Transformers," narrative reminding us of the previous issue, but with the story continuing at the same time. Kev Yep, Furman uses this as a way of giving us one of his recaps. Dave Coming back to the artwork, which is brilliant, I’ve noticed that none of the variety of colours used are overpowering any of the others. Kev Yeh. It's gorgeous. This is cracking work by Tony Jozwiak. And it was painted, I believe. Dave It looks painted, yeah. The top panel of page 5 is the classic military line up image of the Decepticons.  Registration class at Decepticon High. Kev Yeh, with the ol' Constructicons. This mention of Omega Supreme is interesting, as over the years, a lot of fans have pointed this out as a bit of a plot hole. Dave Was it? Kev Yeh, in that, why didn’t the Autobots just sic him on Galvatron? Although not exactly a foolproof explanation, but I was always under the impression that Omega Supreme’s primary function was to protect the Ark, so he may have been reluctant to leave it unattended and unprotected whilst he faced off against Galvatron and co. Dave I wonder if they had seen the movie by this point, or were just going on what info they had for writing purposes? Kev If I remember correctly, I think Furman said he was working off a version of the script. Which was what caused the discrepancy between the movie taking place in 2005, and this being set in 2006. Hey, it's the start of a story about a timeline getting messed up. There's room for a discrepancy or two. Dave I guess when Transformers are constructed they were given a "whisper mode," like some of our favourite 80s TV and film machines. I know 'Blue Thunder' had a whisper mode, but that was a helicopter that couldn't talk. K.I.T.T. did as well didn't he? And he was a talking car. Kev 'Blue Thunder' definitely had a "Whisper Mode." Have you watched that movie recently? Dave I have. It is still great. The TV series sucked. Kev It's excellent, isn't it? I was floored by how well it's held up, last time I watched it. Yeh. I was never into the TV series as much. 'Airwolf' was probably the better helicopter television series. Dave 'Airwolf' was class. I had an 'Airwolf' toy, a game for my ZX Spectrum, the lot. I was pretty much a superfan. The ZX Spectrum game could be infuriating at times, but was fairly easy to complete. You had a Commodore 64 and Mike had an Amstrad. Or was it the other way round? Kev We had the Commodore 16, to start with in our house, which was useless for games, but then we upgraded to a ZX Spectrum 128k, with the built-in tape loader. Yeh, Mike had the Amstrad, with the green screen, like ‘The Matrix.’ If I remember correctly. What was the toy like? Dave It was a fairly big toy, I loved it. And unlike ‘The Centurions’ toys, it didn't break after a couple of uses. Kev Those bloody arms on those 'Centurions' figures, man. Fantastic toys. Just those bloody arms. Dave Yeah, "Power Xtreme! Ahh shit! The arm’s come off again!” I think we tried Blu Takking the arms back on, but it didn't really work. Those damn toys cost a fortune for replacements. Kev Yeh, they were not cheap. I think my dad got me to choose a position for the arms, and then Superglued them back in. Dave Yep the superglue was the next stage, then you didn't move the arms for risking them falling off again  Modest too. Kev Nope. You're right, that was the last resort. Dave As collectables these days, I can't imagine these toys being worth much. As does anyone in the history of ever owning them still have one with an arm that hasn’t fallen off? Kev Probably not, no. Which means the ones WITH intact arms are worth a small fortune, I bet. Not to mention the ones that are still mint on card. Dave That would probably be a small number I think, of unused ones. Anyway, I suppose we better get back to the task at hand….. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, enough nostalgia. Back to a comic from 25 years ago..... I much prefer the silver on Galvatron, as opposed to the all purple. But that’s because I was a comic book and a toy kid, as opposed to a cartoon kid. The cartoon was a little bit harder to come by over here. I think it was on Sky by this point. Dave I like the silver Galvatron too. Did you have Sky at this point? Actually, 35 years ago. That hurt to write that. Kev Jeez, yeh! 35. I wiped 10 years out of existence with that mistake. No. We never had Sky. We did get cable for a bit, years later. Dave Those 35 years have taken their toll on my mind. Haha. Kev Ha, ha! Mine too, apparently. Dave One of the reasons I mentioned ‘Centurions’ earlier, was that this issue puts me in mind of them, with the aerial stuff of Cyclonus and Scourge, and the blue colour scheme, which is the same as Ace McCloud. Haha! Ace McCloud! You’ve got to love the names these characters had. Kev Definitely. Ace McCloud! Jake Rockwell, and Max.....? Dave Ray? McCloud is suitable for the air, Rockwell works for the ground and Ray? Not very sea-like. Unless you count a stingray. Kev Or a manta ray.  Like a dog, catching its reflection in a mirror. Dave I think for our casting of a remake, Mr. Rockwell would be an ideal role for Jon Bernthal. Kev Absolutely. Who would you go with for the other two then? Dave Not sure yet. Any ideas? Actually, Clayne Crawford for Ace. I've seen a few things with him in them. He's a terrific actor. Kev Zach Efron for Ace McCloud? Dave Efron certainly has the looks and charisma. Kev Is Crawford not insane, and an absolute nightmare to work with though? He probably would be class in the role though, yeh. Dave I don't think he is as bad as he is made out to be. That just leaves Ray? Kev '80's Tom Selleck would've been perfect for Max. No tash growing required. Dave I think Max Ray was based on Selleck. Kev That'd make perfect sense actually, yeh. Dave Actually, I think Efron looks more like the cartoon version of McCloud than Crawford, but age-wise, isn't Ace meant to be a bit older? Kev I think he might have been meant to be a bit older, yeh, you're right. Fuck it. Put a moustache on Denzel for Max. I like him in everything. Dave Actually, someone along the lines of a Denzel type actor is not a bad idea. I wonder if Rami Malek would be an interesting casting choice? Kev That's a good shout. He's donned a tach before. Dave Malek is a terrific actor. Okay, so now we just need to convince a major studio of this, and then we have a Centurions movie or TV series on our hands. Kev Just pitch it to Netflix. They commission everything else. Dave Simple as that. If only. Dave I like how Galvatron and Megatron both have this massive gun attached to their arm. We are now getting into the, ‘mine-is-bigger-than-yours,’ leadership, power battle here. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, those panels of Galvatron and Megatron, face to face, are some gorgeous work by Anderson and Tony Jozwiak. They’re actually telling you everything you needed to know about the two of them. In fact, the whole of this sixth page is excellent. Galvatron looks like a handsome, albeit evil, bastard, and that choice of shot for the fifth panel, is amazing. Although, he makes a critical error here by telling Megatron that it is Galvatron that rules supreme in his time. Megs was never going to take that well now, was he? “Just one of the many improvements made by Unicron. A pity such a powerful and resourceful being must--” Furman, again, slowly opening up the story. Drawing you in with the questions this raises, and the intrigue it helps to foster.  Oh, Galvatron. You handsome bastard. Dave Megatron’s arm gun, on page 6 panel 1, looks like they have put a giant telescope on his arm the wrong way round. Kev Ha, ha! That's exactly what it was. It was just the scope from his gun mode. Dave Megatron and Optimus are both not taking any chances with this time travel stuff, and the COVID masks are worn 24/7 now. Kev Nope. No chances taken at all. Optimus is even travelling to a different dimension, to avoid it. Although, would that still come under a travel ban? Kev I know, right? Anyway, back to ‘Target: 2006,’ again..... Galvatron is lying through his teeth here. He has no intention of using the Constructicons to “destroy” the Autobots, he’s talking about Unicron. Although, to be fair to him, he does say “enemies.” He doesn’t specify WHICH “enemies.” So technically, he's not lying, really. Dave Haha! It’s two devious leaders playing a game of mind manipulation. Both are not short in the ego department either. Particularly Galvatron with his, "I am the ultimate Decepticon" statement. Kev It really is. But only one of them is fully aware of the fact that he knows exactly how the other one thinks. I love that second panel on page 7, with Megatron placing his fusion cannon on Galvatron’s midsection.  Are you a gun in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me? Dave And the giant question mark thought bubble of Galvatron on that panel is good as well. Kev Yeh. Galvatron is wondering what on earth is going on. If that was done today, that thought bubble would probably have a giant "WTF" in it instead. Dave I know Megatron has shot him with his fusion cannon, but it just looks like he’s switched on a torch and blinded him. Kev Ha, ha! It really does. It'd be a good tactic though, disorientate your opponent. I like Galvatron’s response to it as well. Just a nonchalant, “I take it that’s a no.” This is another clue to Galvatron’s true identity here, the way he panics when Cyclonus and Scourge threaten to kill Megatron. “No! Have you lost your minds. Megatron must not--cannot--die!” Dave I like that Scourge even has a robotic goatee beard. That’s a nice touch. Very distinguished looking. Kev Whereas Cyclonus is clean shaven. He’s the baby-faced one. Dave Nice triple team effort here as Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus do a number on Megatron. Kev Yeh, this is a well planned, well executed tactical manoeuvre. Dave Page 8 is very kinetic. There’s lots of nicely paced action, and that shoulder-block by Scourge is great. Kev This shows an interesting side to Galvatron here, before he begins his subsequent descent into madness, over the next hundred plus issues, or so. Dave Yeah, then Laserbeak lands, and sits on his shoulder, like a pet would. It's the human touches to these characters that made Transformers what it was. That's why the movies by Bay sucked. He couldn't grasp that. Kev Yep. Other than Optimus, and maybe Megatron and Bumblebee, none of the other Transformers in those Bay movies had anything like even a second dimension to their character. Dave That was it. And they were not easily identifiable as characters either. They were all too clunky looking. Kev And mostly silver, or grey. Dave And then Galvatron takes charge of the Constructicons. Kev Yeh, we get yet another clue to Galvatron’s true identity here. “Ah, Lazerbeak. Appearances may be deceiving to some, but not you, eh?”  Typical pet. Loyalty easily bought. Dave That "Galvatron’s rules" panel, at the bottom of page 9, is excellent. Could he not have just written that on the walls somewhere? Galvatron rules. Kev Ha, ha! 'Decepticon Grafitti' comes after this story. Dave More thought bubbles, as these damn robots have internal feelings as well. Kev Ha, ha! Yep. We get a lot more of Ironhide's internal monologue, and his feelings, in a couple of issues time, as well. And now we’re back to Cybertron to round this chapter out. Also, Furman cleverly, ramps up the tension by giving us a deadline and a countdown for Operation: Volcano. “There can be no delay--no postponement! The traps baited--it happens in ten cycle’s time...or not at all!” Dave Furman has certainly maintained the narrative throughout the issue, and this second last page is packed full of it. It is a nice change of location, and still top class artwork. Kev Yeh, I always thought that Furman used the real estate of the 11 page, UK strip, format extremely well. The pace was generally up tempo, and it was always engaging as a result. And after the big reveal of the "New Leader" for the Decepticons at the end of last issue, we now get the reveal of his Autobot counterpart at the end of this issue. It’s a cracking splash page. Again, anyone’d think they were trying to sell you toys. Dave Yeah, the last page finishes on a cracker as well, as Ultra Magnus is presented here. I suppose, as a reader at the time, this would just whet your appetite for the movie even more.  You, Ultra Magnus, have a habit of announcing yourself, you narcissist. Kev Ha, ha! That's true. As well as trying to sell you toys, it's definitely trying to sell you a movie ticket as well. Dave The angle of viewing him upwards adds to how imposing a character he is. Kev Yeh, definitely. Magnus is a big bot, alright. You can feel the inevitable showdown between him and Galvatron, just looming on the horizon. What did you think of this "first" part then? Dave Actually, I do recall this issue now. This was probably the first issue that would have got me into Transformers. It has such a visual appeal, and it’s a nice story. The storytelling is straightforward, but it's still entertaining and enjoyable, with Furman's trademark of short, quick, bursts of action. All in all, I would say this issue is superb. What are your thoughts, Sir? Kev I'm loving it. I honestly don't think I could ever not love it. It’s such a huge part of my childhood, and it’s just ingrained in me. Anderson's art, with Jozwiak's colouring, is just great to look at, and Furman is slowly putting all the pieces of his story together, like a jigsaw puzzle. I can just feel the tension, and the excitement, ramping up all over again. It just takes me back to being 9 years old, when those toys, and this comic, were essentially my whole life. Dave It is probably a great example of what a Transformers story should be. It is so upbeat as well. Especially when placed next to what we’ve recently looked at. Including ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ and ‘Soul of the Hunter.’ Kev Definitely. It's a nice change of pace from suicide and restless souls, eh? That's a really good point as well, man. I haven't ever really considered before that a big part of the reason I enjoy it so much is probably not just the nostalgia, but how upbeat it is too. Dave I suppose, when you look back at that time in your life, you were living in a child's world, with only a child's concerns, wanting to see the film and get the toys. It was Transformers mania and it had a hold on you. Kev Exactly. And to paraphrase that wrestling guy, "It was real to me, dammit!" Plus, I think it was this story that made me a comics lifer. They just got their claws into me with this story, and they've never let go since. (D) & (K) Next: 'Construction Time Again!' 
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