Titan - DOTM Volume 3 #4

Basic Information

Cover Characters: Sentinel Prime

Cover Date: October 2011

Price: £2.50

Poster: Sideswipe in Chicago, Starscream vs the Air Force

Comic Title: Automatic for the People

Script: Robin Etherington

Art: Dario Brizuela

Lettering: Rona Simpson

Comic Plot

Ratchet and Ironhide have been sent to keep a watch on an anti-transformer rally outside the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, but aren't exactly happy about it. Ratchet and Ironhide try to speak for their people, but the protesters won't listen, and they keep twisting the Autobot's words. Suddenly the Museum is attacked by the Decepticons, Barricade and Starscream. The Autobots start to defend the crowd and begin to sway their opinions in the Autobot's favour.

Starscream, seeing that they're going to lose the fight picks up and throws an oil tanker at the protesters, but Ironhide intercepts it, causing it to explode in mid-air. Starscream grabs the unconscious Ironhide and readies his gun to kill him, suddenly the Protesters pick up their crowbars, wrenches and blowtorches and begin to attack the Decepticons.

The Decepticons comment that those feeble weapons can't hurt them, when Optimus arrives on the scene to help out. Seeing this, the two Decepticons run away. Afterwards Optimus tries to speak with Marcus (head of the protest) but Marcus tells him that he's changed his views to pro-Autobot, but Anti-Decepticon, a sentiment that Ironhide fully condones.

Comic Characters

Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Ironhide - Pick Up Truck

Ratchet - Emergency Humvee

Decepticons

Starscream - F22 Jet

Barricade - Police Car

Humans

Marcus Castor

Protesters

Comic Notes

• This is the last issue of the DOTM Volume, significantly shorter than the earlier volumes, but this is most likely because the likelihood of a 4th movie is currently unclear, and there's a current TV series they can be earning from instead!
• The title may be a more wordy version of the phrase "Power to the People"
• This comic may have been made to give one last hurrah to Ironhide, who was killed off in DOTM (and constantly refers to him going on suicide runs and stuff too)
• The main plot involving some anti-transformer protests seems to be a holdover from an abandoned plot line for the DOTM movie
• Barricade appears to have his MechTech weapon in use here!
• Ironhide's shirt size is apparently sized XXXXXXXXXL (though big, that's probably not quite big enough for a giant robot still)
• The protester's signs don't all make sense...."What Machines the Machines?" is obviously an homage to "Who Watches the Watchmen?" but it doesn't make sense. or "Earth for Earthliners"...what is an Earthliner??
• The line "And stay out, you psychotic motherboards!" is most likely a Cybertornian-ized version of "Mother Fuckers!" from the context.

Extra Features

Adverts

Competitions

The Lowdown... - Ironhide R.I.P. (yeah...they ACTUALLY put R.I.P.!!)

Sideswipe's Armoury - Wingsuits!! (those things that make Lennox look like a flying squirrel)

Ratchet's Word Search! - Puzzle

Ratchet to the Rescue! - Maze puzzle

Starscream's Stumpers! - Puzzles

Mega-Mouth - Sideswipe and Megatron argue and chat

Relaunch Announcement - Volume 4 is Prime!