Comics Reading Club: Zob's Thoughts on Marvel Comics THE TRANSFORMERS #44

[Zobovor]

THE TRANSFORMERS issue #44 is called "Cosmic Carnival!" and ties up the loose ends created following the disappearance of the Spacehikers.  The comic was getting pretty good up to this point, and I was enjoying the introduction of the newer 1988 characters like the Pretenders and Powermasters.  However, this story is a fairly silly one, and it's definitely not a favorite of mine.

Written by Bob Budiansky, this issue features Frank Springer as a "guest penciler," Danny Bulanadi as a "guest inker," Bill Oakley as the letterer, and of course Nel Yomtov as the colorist. (One supposes the regular art team had been tapped to create the illustrations for the planned TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE volume two, which ended up getting scrapped for reasons unknown.) This issue was printed on May 24, 1988, and had a pull date of September 1988.

The front cover, illustrated by Frank Springer and Dave Hunt, showcases Sky Lynx in puma mode and Optimus Prime in truck mode, squaring off against a bunch of circus performers and creatures.  Who thought this was a good idea for an issue of the comic?  Like Getaway says in this very issue, it's a "freakshow for malfunctioning morons."  It distinctly lacks the "cool factor" that one would normally associate with a comic about a bunch of giant warrior robots from outer space.

As our story opens, a mechanical snake-like vessel travels through space.  It's basically the sci-fi equivalent of the circus train trope, seen in films like Disney's Dumbo from 1941.  It begins to broadcast messages advertising the carnival attractions, which are eventually detected by the Autobot Powermasters aboard Steelhaven.  They're en route from Nebulos and heading for the Moon, to pick up the Autobots who have been stranded there since issue #41.  On the way, Optimus Prime has been teaching their new Nebulan allies about the history of Cybertron and the Autobot-Decepticon war.  (There's a weird flashback panel that depicts the Decepticon activities on Earth, since it features Earth-style Decepticon jets as well as human soldiers.  You'd assume the Decepticon with a large arm-mounted cannon who is featured prominently in this scene would be Megatron, but he's instead inked as a generic character and colored entirely dark blue.)

Also rather weirdly, Hi Q and the other Powermaster partners are sitting around in their clothing, not wearing any part of their exo-suits at all.  I had thought the idea behind the Nebulan partners to Transformers being bio-engineered was that their bodies were permanently altered, but this makes it seem like the exo-suits are more in synch with what we saw in the Sunbow cartoon during "The Rebirth," and that the Nebulans can climb in and out of them easily.  (I mean, I guess it's possible that under their clothing, they have robotic legs with knees and hips that bend sideways so they can fold up into the Autobots' engines.)

The history lesson is interrupted by a broadcast from the circus train, featuring the creatures and performances from the Cosmic Carnival, touted as "the greatest show in the galaxy!"  It's an obvious play on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was advertised as "the greatest show on Earth."  (It even includes an approximation of the Barnum & Bailey logo, though drawn indistinctly enough to avoid trademark problems.)  The Autobots are largely dismissive of the whole affair until they see that Sky Lynx has somehow become part of the carnival, which prompts Optimus Prime's desire to investigate.

The Autobots can only afford admission for two, so Optimus Prime and Goldbug attend the carnival while the others remain behind.  (We don't see whether Hi Q comes with Optimus or not.  Does a Powermaster have to buy one ticket or two?)  It seems like this would have been a good story to show off the Autobot Powermasters and get to know them as characters, but unfortunately that's not what happens.

We've seen how the artwork transition from Bumblebee to Goldbug was not a smooth one, and how early versions of Goldbug were just Bumblebee with a different head, before he finally settled into his normal Throttlebot design.  Well, Optimus Prime seems to be going through some of these same growing pains.  In issue #42, he was drawn correctly, on-model, in an updated Powermaster design that was similar to, but different from, his original 1984 look (despite Goldbug claiming he was "identical" to the previous version).  Well, in this issue, he's reverted largely to his original look, except for the way they draw wheels embedded in the sides of his feet.  

Optimus and Goldbug are shocked to find an Earth human in the middle of all the alien sideshow attractions, seemingly acting as a carnival barker.  We find out in just a bit that his name is Berko.  But they are even more surprised to see that one of the attractions is a group of Earth children, on display behind glass.  It's the Spacehikers, who we haven't seen since Blaster surrendered to the Dinobots.  (The artwork doesn't quite agree with the previous issues.  Jed and Allan looked like they were 13 in their first appearance, but in this issue they've retro-aged and look closer to eight years old.  They're drawn very short with large heads and don't look at all like the pre-teens that we were introduced to in issue #35.)

The kids don't like being cooped up, and kick a skateboard at the glass, and at Berko, in frustration.  But, when they catch sight of Optimus Prime, they note his resemblance to Blaster and ask for his help.  Their cage is electrified, though, and the Autobots are unable to free the children.  Berko's boss is named Big Top, and there's a little wordplay where Berko explains the safety of the performers is a "Top priority," referencing his boss.  The Autobots have no idea who he's talking about, of course, so they think he's just yanking their chain.  It's only after he introduces them to Big Top that Goldbug finally gets the joke, such as it was.

Big Top himself is a huge slug-like creature with tentacles and a gigantic cigar.  He's sort of a weird fusion of P.T. Barnum and Jabba the Hutt.  He recognizes Optimus and Goldbug as Transformers ("Whatsamatter?  A few million years of civil war take all the fun outta youse guys?") and invites them to enjoy the circus.  When Optimus demands that he release the Earth children, however, Big Top produces an electronic employment contract, which Sky Lynx and the four kids have all signed.  For the time being, Optimus and Goldbug are content to observe the main attraction, in which Sky Lynx performs some aerial acrobatics.  After the show, the Autobots meet Sky Lynx backstage.

Sky Lynx explains how he had been delivering the Spacehikers back home as a favor to Wheeljack when they saw an advertisement for the cosmic carnival and stopped to check it out.  This in itself deserves further examination, since it would seem to be a direct continuation of the events from the end of issue #36.  If you recall, Sky Lynx had rescued the kids from being dumped into space by Grimlock, and he was doing a fairly good job of evading the Dinobots.  The kids would run out of air soon, though, which was the whole reason Blaster was forced to surrender to Grimlock.  The kids would have died if Sky Lynx had simply waited things out like he'd planned.  But, in this issue, according to Sky Lynx, as soon as Blaster was captured by the Dinobots, Sky Lynx basically went "screw this, I'm outta here" and took the kids with him.  And then went to the space circus instead of taking them back to Earth.  

So, Sky Lynx and the kids show up, and Berko demands an admission fee.  Sky Lynx doesn't have any form of currency on him that they'll accept, so he agrees to sign a service contract in which he will do a few shows until he's worked off his debt.  Instead, the kids were basically forced into becoming performers themselves, and Sky Lynx explains to Prime and Goldbug that he worries that he and the kids will never regain their freedom.  But, the cage is rigged to explode if anyone tampers with it, so they can't just break the kids out and high-tail it back to Earth.  Only Berko can free them.

Optimus commiserates with Berko, learning that he was a destitute loner until a spaceship arrived on Earth and he was the victim of an alien abduction.  He was put in a cage until he started cooperating, working his way up, until Big Top made him the head of the sideshow arena.  But, Optimus recognizes that he's not truly happy, and offers to take Berko back to Earth.  He has a change of heart and agrees to help the Autobots.

During the next performance, Optimus upstages Sky Lynx and together the two proceed with the rescue operation.  But, first they need to take care of a few of the other performers who apparently have a loyalty to Big Top.  (Weirdly, Optimus transforms into just his cab portion, with no sign of his trailer.  I guess he didn't even bring it along with him.  Also, his truck cab is drawn strangely, with a huge gap between his legs, where the fifth wheel trailer hook-up would normally be.)  

For some reason the Transformers wiki is absolutely obsessed with this random one-shot character who appears on like five panels on one page, called Rorza, the Rocket-Cycle Rider from Rigel III.  They seriously act like he's the most important character in this issue.  They made his article a "featured entry" and is supposed to be one of the most significant and informative articles on the wiki.  I really don't get it.  (We don't even see what the guy's face looks like—he only appears from the rear view for some reason.)  Anyway, he's one of the guys that Optimus and Sky Lynx tangle with, but there's absolutely nothing to say about him except for the fact that he exists.

 Berko uses his electronic key to free the kids, and they all climb into Goldbug (one of the alien spectators likens it to the "how many clowns can fit into one car" trick).  Big Top appears on the scene and grabs Goldbug with his tentacle, throwing him into a wall.  Big Top has enough tentacles that he can grab Berko and all the kids simultaneously (including the teddy bear).  "First I'm gonna rip your limbs off, one by one... and then I'm gonna FIRE you!" Big Top promises.  Goldbug saves the day completely by accident, because the blow knocked him into reverse, so he ends up backing up directly into Big Top and bumping him into the cage.  I supposed there might have been a moral quandary about the Autobots willfully imprisoning Big Top of their own accord, so it had to be done mistakenly so they weren't directly violating the whole "freedom is the right of all sentient beings" bit.  Berko is a morally grey character, so it's completely fine if he's the one who reactivates the electronic lock.  Big Top ends up being an attraction in his own carnival, which is much-deserved poetic justice.  

On board Steelhaven, Optimus and Goldbug and Sky Lynx reunite with the other Autobot Powermasters.  It's implied that the kids are returned safely to Earth, though we never see them again after this issue, nor do we ever find out if there was a huge backlash about their disappearance.  One would assume their parents would blame the giant robots for their children vanishing for weeks or months, but that aspect of the story isn't even addressed.  (At this point in the story, all the Autobots are still stranded on the Moon, so the only giant robot presence on Earth at all is Scorponok's group of Decepticons.)  Berko also gets back to Earth, presumably, but we don't see him again, either.  Indeed, Sky Lynx likewise disappears from the comic book.  He's an oddball character, to be sure, but it's interesting that in a comic book that's usually very good about tracking which characters have survived and which ones end up getting destroyed, Sky Lynx's final fate remains a total mystery.  

I guess in some ways, Budiansky kind of had to write this story, since the missing Spacehikers was a huge dangling plot point that needed to be addressed.  But, it's one of my least favorite issues.  I think it could have been improved somewhat by swapping out the Autobot Powermasters as the stars of the adventure, since at least then we could have met them and learned about them as characters.  Both Optimus Prime and Goldbug have been the focus of so many stories already that it seems like a wasted opportunity.

Next issue is "Monstercon from Mars," in which Skullgrin infamously becomes a movie star!  We'll look at that issue next month!


Zob (but this is the last review I'll be posting through Google Groups... sigh)