The Transformers- 'Target: 2006' Retrospective Pt.5, '...The Devil You Know.'

by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey

---

​Script- Simon Furman
Art- Geoff Senior
Letters- Richard Starkings
Colour- Gina Hart
Editor- Ian Rimmer

---

---

Synopsis

Starscream awakens from his repair stasis pod, only to discover that, not only is he is onboard The Ark, but also that the Autobots have forged an uneasy alliance with the Decepticons, and taken Megatron as their leader.  Despite both his, and Ultra Magnus's misgivings about this arrangement, it proves to be an effective one, as they manage to capture Galvatron's lieutenant, the self proclaimed "deadliest hunter in the galaxy," Scourge.  Also, Galvatron's true identity is revealed.

---

​Dave
Issue 83 now, and another guest artist on the cover, Robin Smith this time.


Kev
Yeh, “Scourge is scrapped…...and not by an Autobot.”  What do you make of this cover?  I like it, myself.  I think it's good work by Robin Smith, with just enough of a hint of a fusion cannon to let you know that this is at the hands of Megatron as well.


Dave
Yeah, it's not bad as a cover.  I like the caption, and the use of blue really dominates the image.


Kev
Like a James Cameron movie.


Dave
Yeah, the James Cameron book of cinematography.  Obviously this issue is for you, what with it featuring the combo of Simon Furman and Geoff Senior.


Kev
Oh yeh!  This is the Transformers dream team.  This is like Jordan, Magic.....and Bird for me.  And boy are we starting with a bang.  Even that simple, opening panel of Starscream’s wide eyes is gorgeous.


Dave
Senior’s style of art on this first page is putting me in mind of ‘Dragons Claws.’  The figure in a shadow, the close up of the eyes, etc. etc.


Kev
Yeh, it definitely has a lot of the signature Senior elements to it, that's for sure.


Dave
I like how the first panel on this page, and the last panel on this page are similar.  Just a close up shot of the eyes.

"Say you won't leave me no more. I'll take you back again. No more excuses, no, no. 'Cause I've heard them all before."

Kev
It frames the page so well, doesn't it?


Dave
It does.  Senior’s style works well alongside Furman's writing.  The splash page is also good.  It's a bit confusing on the initial read, as we are led to believe that Starscream was going to be the focal point on the next page, but it is in fact Megatron.


Kev
I remember, at the time of reading this originally, turning the page and being confronted with that splash page of Megatron holding court over the Autobots, in the Ark no less, and barely being able to believe my young (at that time 20/20 vision capable) eyes.  I have to admit though, I can’t remember “...who triggered (Starscream’s) recovery” though.  I’ll need to come back to that.


Dave
As you read further into this issue, it's clear to see where the title of the issue, ‘The Devil You Know’ is derived from, and we get straight into the Autobots squabbling with Megatron.  As you said, this concept would have been something that would have taken you aback, them, technically, working together.  I like how the word "Devil" is highlighted with the pitchforks.  That’s a neat little touch on the splash page.


Kev
Yeh, that's good stuff by Richard Starkings.  That second panel of Megatron on page three is so good it would soon start being used for the corner box on the covers of about half the issues going forward.  Plus, that last panel on the page, of Megatron’s “gratitude” towards Ironhide for freeing him from under the rubble, is quite amusing as well.

"A hundred times, or more."

Dave
It’s great artwork, and the argument between Jetfire and Megatron is a nice little bit of exposition as to what happened previously, and where we currently are now.


Kev
Yeh, I do like it when Furman uses a word, or a phrase, as a linking device between two scenes, such as he does here with “believe.”  It works really well.  It makes the scenes flow together so nicely, and really helps the comic be such a breezy, enjoyable read.


Dave
On page four, as we get the reasoning behind why Megatron and the Autobots are teaming up.  Senior’s artwork involves a fair bit of facial close-ups from different perspectives to portray the emotions, if you wanna call them that, projected by the robots.  And Magnus’s massive outburst says it all.


Kev
Yeh, I love how Senior even draws him with a tongue. 


Dave
It adds to the human element of this story, how to make the audience engage with a story of machines battling against each other.  Simple really, just tell the story like it was two sets of human enemies and translate that into robot form. 

---

Kev
Yeh, Furman really made a point of imparting a whole host of "human" emotions on the Transformers.  Fear, guilt, impostor syndrome etc. etc.  Senior also clearly hadn’t settled on how these characters scaled with one another at this point.  To be fair to him, I don’t think any of the artists working on Transformers really had, yet.


Dave
Yeah, Magnus is some size on the top panel of page 5.

"I'll forgive and forget, if you say you'll never go. 'Cause it's true, what they say,...."

Kev
He certainly is.  He also makes Hound all too aware of the moral quandaries the Autobots are putting themselves in here, in partnering up with Megatron, and leaving the search from Prime until a later date.


Dave
Yeah, I like the expression on Hound’s face on the third panel page five.  He looks like a wee kid who has been caught doing something he shouldn't have, and is trying to talk his way out of it.

"It's better the devil you know."

Kev
Ha, ha!  He does look like a small child next to the gargantuan Magnus here, yes.  And cue another Furman recap.  Although this is another mini one.  Barely a panel or two.


Dave
Then the next panel is great at showing just how big and imposing Magnus really is, as he leans in and towers over Hound, and is actually losing his cool.  These robots in disguise are some highly emotionally charged machines.
 

Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, they're certainly not good at disguising their emotions, are they?


Dave
Certainly not.  Again it must have been tricky to keep the narrative making sense, but also trying to tie it into the movie, without a proper final version of the movie's script.


Kev
Definitely.  Although, I suspect the Marvel UK team may very well have seen the movie by this point, as the character designs and stuff seem to be pretty dialled-in by now.  Also, Furman further seeds the notion that Megatron and Galvatron are indeed one in the same, with the Magnus line “...I believe that they’re both as insidiously evil as each other.”  Senior drew the Transformers’ faces better than just about anyone back then.  I mean, just look at that Magnus face in the bottom panel of page 6.  It’s fantastic.  It's not exactly harmed by Gina Hart’s outstanding colour work either, to be fair.

---

"Our love wasn't perfect, I know."

Dave
Yeah, Senior is great at portraying the depths of emotions of troubled characters in a single panel.  There were also plenty of good examples of this in Dragon’s face from ‘Dragon’s Claws.’  The colours always work well together on these stories, with the blending of blues and greens, and the not too overpowering background colours.


Kev
The colouring at this stage in the comic's lifespan was outstanding.  It's never quite as good once they switch over to the mechanical separation process in a little while.  This scene over the next four pages, with the capture of Scourge, THIS is where Senior excels, and where I really feel he cemented his reputation amongst Transformers fans.  It’s something that we discussed on more than one occasion way back when we covered ‘Dragon’s Claws,’ but the way he portrays action, kinetic energy, motion, and movement is probably unparalleled in Transformers comics, even to this day.  His sense of choreography is also second to none.  He’s got such a way of making these massive robots seem almost balletic in their violence towards each other.  I reckon he’d make a great action movie director, in the vein of a John Woo, or a Chad Stahelski, or someone like that.  It’s going to be a task, reducing it down to just a panel or two to showcase them.


Dave
Yeah these four pages of battle are excellent.  It really does put me in mind of ‘The Game’ as The Evil Dead battle it out with Dragon's Claws.   I see similarities in terms of the panels that he uses, such as on page 7, Scourge firing his gun from a side angle, and on page 8 with The Autobots-as-a team-panel.  Definitely the run-for-cover body language on the next panel of Scourge reminds of ‘Claws,’ and that bottom panel on page 9, also of Scourge, has a similar pose to Mercy before she flings a weapon.  But you are right, he can create a great action set piece.

"I think you know the score."

"You say you love me, oh boy."

"I can't ask for more."

"I'll come if you should call."

Kev
Definitely.  It's beautiful stuff.  I like that Furman shows that there is also a certain amount of dissension, even within Galvatron’s ranks here, with Scourge being none-too-pleased about being sent off on a scavenging mission.


Dave
This has been a trademark throughout this whole series, this squabbling and dissatisfaction amongst the ranks on both sides.


​Kev
Absolutely.  It makes for interesting story elements for Furman to mine, I suppose.  Plus, as you said earlier, it makes these giant robots more relatable.  I suppose it's like being at work anywhere.  Not everyone is going to get on all the time.


​Dave
Plus, with so many characters in this universe, it is all about showing individual characterisation.


​Kev
Definitely.  And as the comic starts to enter it's later years, he really gets a chance to explore those relationships and interactions between characters in the smaller stories that are required, once the format of the comic changes to the 5 page black and white tales.


Dave
I like that 2nd panel on page 7, of Scourge standing there, hands on hips, surveying his potential loot.

"I'll forgive, and forget, if you say you'll never go."

Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, that's another cracking panel.  “Something is jamming the signal.”  That’ll be Soundwave, Scourge.


Dave
And after Scourge’s escape from the factory, he thinks he's home free, but is quite literally in for a nasty bump, in the form of Megatron.

​
Kev
Yep. Megatron had them execute that plan like a well oiled machine.


Dave
It’s another great panel, as we see it from Scourge’s perspective, looking up, with the menacing, foreboding figure of Megatron looking down on him, and then a sudden jump in narrative.  That's a great place to cut that scene off at.

"'Cause it's true, what they say,"

Kev
It makes for good drama, eh?  And we get more of that circular Furman writing to wrap this issue up, both visually, with the eyes (although this time they belong to Jazz, not Starcream) and the return of the “He cannot believe what he has just…” phrase.


Dave
Actually, upon looking at this last page again, it looks like it was Jazz eyes on the first page, as the Autobots eye colours are yellow, and the Decepticons are red.  Actually, it could well be Strascream on the first page.  There is a slight difference in the face.  Those close ups of the eyes don't make it easy.


Kev
No, they certainly don't.  You can kind-of tell a little bit by the character design on the side of the heads that it's Starscream at the start, and Jazz at the end.  Although, we're clearly seeing right through Jazz's visor at the end here, if we can see the yellow of his eyes.  Ha, ha!


Dave
Yeah, upon further examination, I have to agree with you there.  Lucky your knowledge of these characters is far more than mine.


Kev
Not at all, man.  There's always tons of stuff I just take for granted, or assume is just a certain way, and every time I reread these, I find out that it turns out I'm wrong, or have missed something that is blatantly obvious.  Something that you've pointed out to me, more than once already in this series of reviews, with your fresher eyes.


Dave
And of course, this is where we get the big reveal of the issue, just exactly who Galvatron is, and why Magnus earlier had possibly, subtly, hinted at that, by saying Megatron and Galvatron are both equally evil, because they are, in fact, the same person.


Kev
Yep, it's a great exchange between Jazz and Galvatron, and a shocking reveal here.  “You’re just like him, aren’t you?  Just like Megatron.”  “Ha!  No, Jazz...not like Megatron- I am Megatron!”  This was a proper “Holy shit!?!?” moment for little old me, back in 1986.  Cracking stuff.

"It's better the devil you know."

Dave
That final panel, of the completely demoralised eyes of Jazz, says it all.


Kev
It really does, doesn't it?  It's all in the eyes, as they say.
 

Dave
Indeed.  This would have, not only whet your appetite for the movie, which I think still hadn't been released, but had you salivating to see it.


Kev
It hadn't been released over here yet, by this point in '86, no.  We had to wait until December to get it.  Jeez, at least a four month release window.  Completely unthinkable for a film like that in an internet age.  It would have been killed by spoilers within seconds these days.


Dave
Totally.  Especially if Tom Holland had been doing any of the voices in that film.

Kev
Yeh, he'd be giving away Galvatron's true identity in interviews, tweeting about Hot Rod becoming Rodimus Prime, and TikTokking about Unicron’s transformation.  Walking, talking, breathing, spoiler that he is.  Ha, ha!


Dave
Haha.  Totally.  But that was the power of the comic; IT was the main source of information at the time.  So what's your final thoughts on the issue?  Helmed by the dream team Furman and Senior as it is.


Kev
Yeh, I love it.  There's not a huge amount of plot development, it's really just three or four scenes, but there's some nice character bits, that action scene is superb, and the way Furman constructed the reveal of Galvatron's identity is fantastic.  Plus, Senior's artwork is outstanding throughout.  I think it's an excellent chapter, for the midpoint of this story.


Dave
Yeah, it isn't the best issue so far, but it still works, and it carries the story onward well.


Kev
Just out of curiosity; what has been your favourite issue, so far?


Dave
Not sure actually, probably the second part, as that was the issue that got us into Transformers, plus the scenic locations and stuff we discussed in previous reviews add to it as well.


Kev
Those are good points, and a good choice, Sir.


Dave
What about yourself?


Kev
I really like this one, but I think Part 3 just edges it for me, with Ironhide digging Megatron and Soundwave out from under the rubble.  I think that may be Furman's best writing in this story so far, and Jeff Anderson's art was amazing as well.

---

​(D) & (K)

Next: 'Trios!'

"Chocolatey biscuits, and a toffee flavour too."