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Comics Reading Club: Zob's Thoughts on Marvel Comics THE TRANSFORMERS #15
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Zobovor
Sep 16, 2021, 7:31:26 AM9/16/21
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THE TRANSFORMERS issue #15 bears a cover date of April 1986, and was written by Bob Budiansky. The front is a cover-within-a-cover, as it features the fictional front cover to a "ROBOT MASTER" comic book, with its titular character, a costumed man in goggles, purported to be the "Man Behind the Machines!" The Herb Trimpe cover features an odd mix of Autobots and Decepticons—Megatron, Soundwave (colored blue, which is unusual for Marvel Comics), Skids, Hoist, Tracks (also colored like Hoist), and Bumblebee—all allegedly controlled by this Robot-Master fellow.
Interior art is by Don Perlin (pencils) and Keith Williams (inks), with Janice Chiang doing the lettering and Nel Yomtov, as always, as colorist.
So Megatron, starved for energy, has been trekking through the upper western United States, desperate for fuel. (When last we saw him in issue #13, he had some misadventures with Joey Slick until finally wandering off.) He sets his sights on a likely strip mine, but all he finds is unpalatable "black stones" (coal). Megatron powers down, ostensibly out of fuel, freezing in his tracks. It reminds me a little of the scene from the cartoon's "Five Faces of Darkness" when the Quintessons shut down all the Transformers, complete with humans making snide remarks about the machines stopping cold.
Elsewhere, Walter Barnett is summoned to Triple-I to discuss the increasingly problematic robot situation. Forrest Forsythe heads up a meeting discussing recent robot events on Earth, including the football stadium destroyed by Megatron and Shockwave's duel (from issue #5), and the battle at the Brick Springhorn concert (issue #14). Triple-I has become aware of Megatron's immobile form at the mines, seeing him as a potential captive.
G.B. Blackrock is invited to speak, and tries to explain the difference between the heroic Autobots and villainous Decepticons, but he's quickly ushered out by Forsythe. He's not interested in making friends with any of the robots; he's interested in preventing a public panic and orders his people to find a way to mitigate the situation.
Walter Barnett returns home to his wife and son, finding inspiration in a Robot-Master comic book his boy has left on the floor. Thinking quickly, Barnett travels to New York to speak with the publisher. (In-universe, the publisher, described only as a "famous comic book publishing company," is unmistakably Marvel Comics. For one, its address is 387 Park Ave., the real-life address for the publishing house during the 1980's. Moreover, the lobby features, quite unmistakably, prominent illustrations of Captain America and the Incredible Hulk.
This does create a bit of a continuity kerfuffle, since we've seen in-universe references to Marvel characters as if they were real (Spider-Man, the Dazzler, Nick Fury, etc.) It's not too outlandish to suppose that the comic publisher seen here prints fictional stories based on the real-life exploits of these characters, but it's still a changed premise, and one that quite firmly ejects the Transformers from the Marvel Universe as a whole. Moreover, it's a very jokey and self-referential premise.
Barnett meets up with Donny Finkelberg, the writer of the Robot-Master comic. It's recently been cancelled, so Finkelberg is now looking for work. (Real-life writer Bob Budiansky has said that the character is named after Marvel editor Danny Fingeroth. Given how the Finkelberg character is a complete and utter buffoon, I imagine Budiansky wasn't too fond of him.) He shows up in a trendy Members Only jacket, smoking up a storm, to discuss terms.
Barnett offers to hire Finkelberg for $25,000 to concoct some sort of story about the Transformers that the public could easily swallow. Finkelberg proposes some kind of terrorist responsible for the robots and their actions, similar to his Robot-Master character. When Barnett realizes he'll need some kind of actor to potray the character, but doesn't want too many people knowing about this scheme, he decides Finkleberg himself should play the part, offering him an additional fee.
Elsewhere, at the Ark, the Autobots return from a Decepticon-scouting patrol when they pick up a transmission from Robot-Master, claiming to be the ruler of all robots. The Autobots are understandably a bit miffed by this obviously fake claim. (Wheeljack, who detects the transmission, is regrettably colored like Hoist.) Blackrock also catches the broadcast, immediately recognizing it as a clear Triple-I fabrication.
The next day, Blackrock is mobbed by reporters, slyly remarking that Robot-Master is a hoax, until he spots Bumblebee waiting nearby and escapes. Bumblebee finds it hard to accept that humanity would believe such a ridiculous fantasy, while Blackrock knows too well people will believe anything they see on television. When the news reports on the presence of Megatron's inert form at the mines, Triple-I decides to spin their own narrative and enlist Finkelberg to make it happen. The Autobots also monitor the transmission and, recognizing how dangerous Megatron is, rush to the rescue. Optimus takes Bumblebee, Tracks, and Skids with him.
Upon arrival at the mines, Finkelberg (now in costume) is fairly cavalier about the imposing form of Megatron, dismissing him a "junkpile" and even striking a match on his foot to light his cigarette, a sure sign of blatant contempt. Barnett instructs Finkelberg to explain, as Robot-Master, that Megatron is just one example of the robots under his power. Whn Blackrock arrives, Barnett asks him to retract what he said to the news about Robot-Master being a hoax. Not only does Blackrock refuse, he warns them that the other Decepticons aren't going to take kindly to Triple-I pretending that Megatron is their puppet.
The Autobots arrive to speak with Triple-I, but instead the humans open fire. Prime is reluctant to fight back, intent on proving his peaceful intentions. Soundwave arrives with Laserbeak and Ravage in order to rescue Megatron. Soundwave refuels Megatron and he springs to life. (He does this particularly ugly thing where he opens his mouth wide, and there's some kind of metal gate inside his mouth. I know they tend to draw other metal-faced Marvel characters like this, such as Doctor Doom, but in this case it just looks awful.)
Megatron goes on a vengeful rampage, trashing construction equipment and army vehicles. The Autobots, meanwhile, are already forced into a retreat, having suffered too much damage from the humans' assault. Laserbeak recognizes Donny Finkelberg as the one from the broadcasts and delivers him to Megatron. Finkelberg offers his services to Megatron, volunteering to tell the public that the Autobots are dangerous enemies to the people of Earth. Megatron agrees to spare him.
They broadcast another message, with Robot-Master demonstrating how Megatron can crush a boulder beneath his feet, ostensibly at Robot-Master's command. In the aftermath, Finkelberg strikes another match against Megatron's boot. This time, Megatron can respond to such indignity—warning him that while he has value, "the next cigarette you light could change that equation, and you would find that smoking can, indeed, be hazardous to your health!"
Putting aside for the moment that the last page reads like an anti-smoking public service announcement, this issue is troubled and tonally inconsistent. Is it silly? Is it serious? Is it a satire? Yes, absolutely. All of those. There's also a major plot hole about midway through the story, when Forsythe expresses complete and utter shock when Megatron's presence is reported by the news, despite Megatron's shutdown at the mines being part of the Triple-I briefing early in the story.
Also, Finkelberg is an absolutely despicable character through and through. From his smoking habit (which every other character points out is repulsive) to his bad taste in street clothes to his ridiculously foppish Robot-Master costume, it's clear the real-life Danny Fingeroth remains the butt of an inside joke at the Marvel offices that we, as the readers, simply aren't privvy to. Unlike Joey Slick, a one-shot character, we'll be seeing a fair amount of Finkelberg in future issues, for better or for worse.
Weirdly, next month's installment is a filler issue, brought to us by a different writer and taking place in sort of a micro-continuity that has nothing to do with the larger story. The reason Marvel would print filler issues like these is usually when the main writer and/or artist is behind schedule on the planned story, but the publishing house needs something to sell that month in its place. We know the "Return to Cybertron" story arc is coming up soon, so perhaps this filler issue was printed to give the creative team time to get that ready. In any event, it's a strange and interesting one-off story, which we'll look at next. See you in thirty!
Zob (forgot yesterday was the 15th, sorry)
Interior art is by Don Perlin (pencils) and Keith Williams (inks), with Janice Chiang doing the lettering and Nel Yomtov, as always, as colorist.
So Megatron, starved for energy, has been trekking through the upper western United States, desperate for fuel. (When last we saw him in issue #13, he had some misadventures with Joey Slick until finally wandering off.) He sets his sights on a likely strip mine, but all he finds is unpalatable "black stones" (coal). Megatron powers down, ostensibly out of fuel, freezing in his tracks. It reminds me a little of the scene from the cartoon's "Five Faces of Darkness" when the Quintessons shut down all the Transformers, complete with humans making snide remarks about the machines stopping cold.
Elsewhere, Walter Barnett is summoned to Triple-I to discuss the increasingly problematic robot situation. Forrest Forsythe heads up a meeting discussing recent robot events on Earth, including the football stadium destroyed by Megatron and Shockwave's duel (from issue #5), and the battle at the Brick Springhorn concert (issue #14). Triple-I has become aware of Megatron's immobile form at the mines, seeing him as a potential captive.
G.B. Blackrock is invited to speak, and tries to explain the difference between the heroic Autobots and villainous Decepticons, but he's quickly ushered out by Forsythe. He's not interested in making friends with any of the robots; he's interested in preventing a public panic and orders his people to find a way to mitigate the situation.
Walter Barnett returns home to his wife and son, finding inspiration in a Robot-Master comic book his boy has left on the floor. Thinking quickly, Barnett travels to New York to speak with the publisher. (In-universe, the publisher, described only as a "famous comic book publishing company," is unmistakably Marvel Comics. For one, its address is 387 Park Ave., the real-life address for the publishing house during the 1980's. Moreover, the lobby features, quite unmistakably, prominent illustrations of Captain America and the Incredible Hulk.
This does create a bit of a continuity kerfuffle, since we've seen in-universe references to Marvel characters as if they were real (Spider-Man, the Dazzler, Nick Fury, etc.) It's not too outlandish to suppose that the comic publisher seen here prints fictional stories based on the real-life exploits of these characters, but it's still a changed premise, and one that quite firmly ejects the Transformers from the Marvel Universe as a whole. Moreover, it's a very jokey and self-referential premise.
Barnett meets up with Donny Finkelberg, the writer of the Robot-Master comic. It's recently been cancelled, so Finkelberg is now looking for work. (Real-life writer Bob Budiansky has said that the character is named after Marvel editor Danny Fingeroth. Given how the Finkelberg character is a complete and utter buffoon, I imagine Budiansky wasn't too fond of him.) He shows up in a trendy Members Only jacket, smoking up a storm, to discuss terms.
Barnett offers to hire Finkelberg for $25,000 to concoct some sort of story about the Transformers that the public could easily swallow. Finkelberg proposes some kind of terrorist responsible for the robots and their actions, similar to his Robot-Master character. When Barnett realizes he'll need some kind of actor to potray the character, but doesn't want too many people knowing about this scheme, he decides Finkleberg himself should play the part, offering him an additional fee.
Elsewhere, at the Ark, the Autobots return from a Decepticon-scouting patrol when they pick up a transmission from Robot-Master, claiming to be the ruler of all robots. The Autobots are understandably a bit miffed by this obviously fake claim. (Wheeljack, who detects the transmission, is regrettably colored like Hoist.) Blackrock also catches the broadcast, immediately recognizing it as a clear Triple-I fabrication.
The next day, Blackrock is mobbed by reporters, slyly remarking that Robot-Master is a hoax, until he spots Bumblebee waiting nearby and escapes. Bumblebee finds it hard to accept that humanity would believe such a ridiculous fantasy, while Blackrock knows too well people will believe anything they see on television. When the news reports on the presence of Megatron's inert form at the mines, Triple-I decides to spin their own narrative and enlist Finkelberg to make it happen. The Autobots also monitor the transmission and, recognizing how dangerous Megatron is, rush to the rescue. Optimus takes Bumblebee, Tracks, and Skids with him.
Upon arrival at the mines, Finkelberg (now in costume) is fairly cavalier about the imposing form of Megatron, dismissing him a "junkpile" and even striking a match on his foot to light his cigarette, a sure sign of blatant contempt. Barnett instructs Finkelberg to explain, as Robot-Master, that Megatron is just one example of the robots under his power. Whn Blackrock arrives, Barnett asks him to retract what he said to the news about Robot-Master being a hoax. Not only does Blackrock refuse, he warns them that the other Decepticons aren't going to take kindly to Triple-I pretending that Megatron is their puppet.
The Autobots arrive to speak with Triple-I, but instead the humans open fire. Prime is reluctant to fight back, intent on proving his peaceful intentions. Soundwave arrives with Laserbeak and Ravage in order to rescue Megatron. Soundwave refuels Megatron and he springs to life. (He does this particularly ugly thing where he opens his mouth wide, and there's some kind of metal gate inside his mouth. I know they tend to draw other metal-faced Marvel characters like this, such as Doctor Doom, but in this case it just looks awful.)
Megatron goes on a vengeful rampage, trashing construction equipment and army vehicles. The Autobots, meanwhile, are already forced into a retreat, having suffered too much damage from the humans' assault. Laserbeak recognizes Donny Finkelberg as the one from the broadcasts and delivers him to Megatron. Finkelberg offers his services to Megatron, volunteering to tell the public that the Autobots are dangerous enemies to the people of Earth. Megatron agrees to spare him.
They broadcast another message, with Robot-Master demonstrating how Megatron can crush a boulder beneath his feet, ostensibly at Robot-Master's command. In the aftermath, Finkelberg strikes another match against Megatron's boot. This time, Megatron can respond to such indignity—warning him that while he has value, "the next cigarette you light could change that equation, and you would find that smoking can, indeed, be hazardous to your health!"
Putting aside for the moment that the last page reads like an anti-smoking public service announcement, this issue is troubled and tonally inconsistent. Is it silly? Is it serious? Is it a satire? Yes, absolutely. All of those. There's also a major plot hole about midway through the story, when Forsythe expresses complete and utter shock when Megatron's presence is reported by the news, despite Megatron's shutdown at the mines being part of the Triple-I briefing early in the story.
Also, Finkelberg is an absolutely despicable character through and through. From his smoking habit (which every other character points out is repulsive) to his bad taste in street clothes to his ridiculously foppish Robot-Master costume, it's clear the real-life Danny Fingeroth remains the butt of an inside joke at the Marvel offices that we, as the readers, simply aren't privvy to. Unlike Joey Slick, a one-shot character, we'll be seeing a fair amount of Finkelberg in future issues, for better or for worse.
Weirdly, next month's installment is a filler issue, brought to us by a different writer and taking place in sort of a micro-continuity that has nothing to do with the larger story. The reason Marvel would print filler issues like these is usually when the main writer and/or artist is behind schedule on the planned story, but the publishing house needs something to sell that month in its place. We know the "Return to Cybertron" story arc is coming up soon, so perhaps this filler issue was printed to give the creative team time to get that ready. In any event, it's a strange and interesting one-off story, which we'll look at next. See you in thirty!
Zob (forgot yesterday was the 15th, sorry)
Codigo Postal
Sep 16, 2021, 11:01:48 AM9/16/21
to
The cartoon glossed over the real world implications of alien robots arriving on Earth; the Bay films sidestepped them in favor of spectacle and bombast.
Budiansky attempted to explore, in the limited space he had, what those robots might mean for humanity, whether you're a thug on the run from the mob, a billionaire industrialist, or the government with an interest in preventing a panic.
Recall that President Reagan once mused that it would take an alien invasion to truly unite the people of Earth.
How might governments use the threat of the Transformers for their own ends?
Perhaps, as with Blackrock's silencing, we take the Harold Attinger approach - all robots are bad. Perhaps an external, existential threat to our way of life is what the government needs to persuade us to surrender our liberties, our rights, and our freedoms to an ever more intrusive surveillance state.
.....
As for Robot Master, we need a bad guy to focus on, because the prospect of a chaotic evil that can't be controlled is too much to bear. A human face reduces the threat to human dimensions, makes it less scary, reduces panic, makes the problem seem more manageable. Like a guy in a cape, or a guy in a cave.
....
Fortunately none of this has any bearing on the real world.
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