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Monday 25 April 2016

Panini - Armada #5

Cover Date: 10 Sept 2003
Price: £1.75
Main Story
Title: Devices and Desires!
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils: Andrew Wildman
Inks: Bambos Georgiou
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Letters: Neil Porter
Plot
The Air Defence Team chase after a crashing satellite, but manage to curb it away from a populated area, and dump it into the ocean, however the team notice that the damage looks a bit unusual, and almost deliberate.
Before they can finish their thoughts, Starscream appears and begins attacking the team, and manages to plant a small device on Jetstorm, all whilst monologuing about how he plans to use them to bolster his own troops for a planned coup against Megatron.
The Autobots arrive. and Starscream is scared off. Despite their help however, the Mini-Cons still refuse to join the Autobots, as they don't want to be aligned to anyone. Optimus understands and promises to help them in the future if they ever need it.

None of them are aware that the device planted by Starscream is a tracking device, allowing him to follow the Mini-Cons wherever they go...
Characters
Autobot
Optimus Prime - Truck
Hot Shot - Sports Car
Red Alert - Emergency SUV

Decepticon
Starscream - Fighter Jet
Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Mini-Con
Jetstorm - Concorde Jet
Runway - Stealth Jet
Sonar - Space Jet
Tales of the Mini-Cons...
Title: We are not alone!
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils: Keiron Ward
Inks: Lee Townsend
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Letters: Neil Porter

Plot
The Air Defence Team arrive at a NASA base, intending to steal/borrow some deep space technology to help them get off the planet and escape the war yet again. Before they can explore however, the team are attacked by some well-armed humans who knock them out.
A short while later, the Mini-Cons are taken to Area 54 where they are being examined by scientists. Once the scientists leave the Mini-Cons wake up and plot their escape. Jetstorm looks through the computers and finds out about some more Mini-Cons that were captured in the past.
The team leave, just as the humans return, but now have a new mission to complete before they can leave...find and rescue the Land Military Team.
Characters
Mini-Con
Jetstorm - Concorde Jet
Runway - Stealth Jet
Sonar - Space Jet
Wreckage - Twin Rocket Mounted Personnel Carrier (Schematics Only)
Bonecrusher - SCUD Missile Truck (Schematics Only)
Knock Out - Rocket Mounted Personnel Carrier (Schematics Only)

Human
ERTD Personnel
Scientists
Notes
  • Fun little anecdote time! This was the FIRST Transformers comic that I ever bought (the others before this were recent buys from another collector). So you can blame this one for this blog :)
  • The front cover of this comic lies! There are no scenes set in space! This is a trend that is continued throughout the series now....damn publishers trying to trick me into buying their silly magazines <.<
  • This is the first time in this series that Starscream starts plotting against Megatron. It continues until the end of the series (but is never resolved)
  • Jetstorm claims that the Air Defence TEAM aren't team players.....does anyone else notice the irony?
  • The human soldiers in the side story are unnamed here, but future issues will name them as the ERTD (Extra-Terrestrial Response Division). The name's strange abbreviation is akin to RAAT from the Marvel days.
  • Just because the ERTD have the Land Military Team in their custody, that shouldn't mean they know how the Air Defence Team work...they have totally different alternate modes, and are even outfitted to combine, unlike the others.
Other Features
Various Contests and Adverts
Secret I.D. Badges! - Destroy the comic to make some crappy paper badges (so that's where Titan got the idea!)
Data File #9: Starscream
Brain Drain! - Puzzles!
Terror in the Skies! - Pull-out poster of Starscream vs the Air Defence Team
Meet: The Air Defence Team! - Profile info for the team
Data File #10: Swindle
Hot Shot's Hot Mail! - Hot Shot reads the mail again

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