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Showing posts with label Sonar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonar. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Panini - Armada #7

Cover Date: 5 Nov 2003
Price: £1.75

Main Story
Title: The Two-Edged Blade
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils: Andrew Wildman
Inks: Bambos Georgiou
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Letters: Neil Porter
Plot
Starscream ambushes the Air Defence Team, and manages to take control of them by suppressing their personality chips, and forcing them to combine into the Star Sabre, so he can use it to usurp Megatron.
Elsewhere, the kids and Street Action Team are playing outside, when Starscream attacks them, intent on taking the Mini-Cons to help with his attempt at leadership. The Street Action Team combine into Perceptor and engage Starscream in battle, whilst the kids go for help.
Perceptor is able to hold off Starscream for a while, but is easily outmatched by the Decepticon. Before he can capture them though, the Star Sabre starts to over-load and causes a storm to rage. Optimus appears, having been summoned by the kids, and he explains that only the Air Defence Team can control the power of the sword, and has Starscream re-engage their personality chips, so he can reach them and have them separate.
Starscream retreats, leaving the Mini-Cons behind, and the good guys celebrate their victory, just as an elderly man appears behind them, ready to pass on a message....
Characters
Autobot
Optimus Prime - Truck

Decepticon
Starscream - Fighter Jet
Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Mini-Con
Jetstorm - Concorde Jet
Runway - Stealth Jet
Sonar - Space Jet
High Wire - BMX
Sureshock - Scooter
Grindor - Skateboard
Perceptor - Street Action Team Gestalt


Human
Rad White
Carlos Lopez
Alexis
Reverend Amos Hume
Tales of the Mini-Cons...
Title: Sale of the Century!
Script: Simon Furman
Pencils and Inks: Lee Sullivan
Colour: Junior Tomlin
Letters: Neil Porter
Plot
At Area 54, the now closing ERTD are trying to make money from their assets, and are showing off the Land Military Team again, but (of course) they "malfunction" again and attack the humans.
Luckily, the Autobot arrive with the Air Defence Team, and manage to disable the ERTD devices inside the Land Military Team, freeing them from their control.
Shortly afterwards the new Mini-Cons are taken to the Autobot shuttle, where Wreckage is reunited with Amos Hume, who reveals that he kept his promise to give Wreckage''s message to his allies, and learned that it was a locator code, allowing the Autobots to find them.
In the aftermath, the Autobots leave, and the remaining ERTD members are left behind, waiting for the authorities to arrive and deal with them.
Characters
Autobot
Hot Shot - Sports Car

Mini-Con
Wreckage - Twin Rocket Mounted Personnel Carrier
Bonecrusher - SCUD Missile Truck
Knock Out - Rocket Mounted Personnel Carrier
Jetstorm - Concorde Jet
Runway - Stealth Jet
Sonar - Space Jet

Human
Reverend Amos Hume
Rad White
Carlos Lopez
Alexis
Doctor Quint
Hathaway
ERTD Personnel
Military Buyers
Notes
  • Again, despite this issue's cover, Megatron is no where to be seen...it is Starscream who goes after the Star Sabre.
  • The Air Defence Team's combined mode has a colour scheme similar to the Dark Star Sabre, this also happened in Dreamwave too!
  • When Starscream attacks the kids and their Mini-Cons, the Star Sabre is nowhere to be seen....was it hidden behind his back?
  • Unlike in Dreamwave, the Street Action Team actually combine into Perceptor here! The team DO combine during the Dreamwave Energon comics, but that's using their Energon toy models of course.
  • In the Land Military article, we see the team linked up to Megatron, this never happens in the comic, but they do join with them in the cartoon.
  • The ERTD guys failed in controlling the Mini-Cons in 1959, and without any visible modifications they try it again in 2003.....
  • The Air Defence Team appear to have joined the Autobots in the side story.
  • Hot Shot is the Autobot who pilots the Mini-Cons to the others, he is also the Autobot who is allied to the Star Sabre in the cartoon
  • This issue concludes both the Land Military and Air Defence Team storylines....we see neither group again!
Other Features
Various Contests and Adverts
Cyber Space! - Article on upcoming episodes and showcasing a website
Data File #13: Cyclonus
Red Alert's Clinic! - Learn what sort of a person you are...I'm type B according to this...
Star Sabre: The Ultimate Weapon! - Pull-out poster
Meet: The Land Military Team! - Article on the Mini-Con team
Data File #14: Crumplezone
Robo Dreams! - Decipher what character the Mini-Cons are thinking of.
Starscream's Hate Mail! - More mail!

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