Hard to believe we’re one whole arc (and the FCBD #80.5) into Transformers: Regeneration One already, and now into our second (of four) arcs. As usual, when an issue is about to hit stores (in this case Wednesday December 5th), I precede it with a few insights and teases (as spoiler-free as possible) into the thought processes that went into it, and so, without further ado, let’s talk Transformers RG1 #86. [Stop reading here if you’d rather go into the issue without any hints whatsoever] Right, some of this issue (inevitably) had to deal with the immediate fallout/aftermath of #85’s shocking/traumatic conclusion. So one strand picks up on Earth, after the final (ever) Prime vs Megatron battle. I won’t spoil anything if you haven’t read #85 yet (and if not, why not?), but any kind of victory is hollow and pyrrhic here, and no one’s doing anything but counting the cost, gritting already well-gritted teeth and doling out the recriminations. Certainly not celebrating here are Spike, G.B. Blackrock and the other human survivors. Far from happy, they’re downright hopping mad. But the bulk of the issue focuses on Cybertron and Nebulos, picking up on the section of #82 that dealt with Grimlock’s quest both to regain his ability to transform and find a way to combat (the negative) effects of Nucleon, the wonder-fuel he uses to revive fallen Autobots… and Dinobots (we flash back 3 years to see the spur that pushed Grimlock over the edge and out on his own). Last we saw, he was attacked on Nebulos when he broke quarantine and landed on the planet, keen to see if the Nebulans’ experimental process to reunite the original heads of the Headmasters with new bodies could be adapted for his purposes. It’s a case of be careful what you wish for, as Grimlock’s heart’s desire is dangled enticingly in front of his eyes, but at a price! And boy, what a price. What else? Well, there’s more on the Hot Rod-Soundwave-Thunderwing stand-off, plus a certain future Decepticon. Trust me, the momentum we’re gathering here, as we rush towards our 100th climactic issue, goes into overdrive now. It’s like a mantra: nothing will ever be the same again, nothing will ever be the same again… (UPDATE – IDW Preview can now be viewed here.)
And yet another UPDATE: my commentary on the first 5 pages, courtesy of the official TF Facebook page. You can view here.
simon furman 
Is Buster Witwicky ever going to appear? Or Sparkplug (I’d guess he’s pretty old by now)
I’d like to see what happened to Buster too. Even a short explanation if he’s not going to make a major appearance in these books.
That cover is very Maximum Dinobots! 🙂
I was taught to never judge a book by its cover. You never know when someone is trying to mislead you!!!
I can’t wait for more misleading in the upcoming months then 😉
I cant wait to see this issue. My favourite time of the month (first wednesday of the month) is almost here again!
I’ll be really happy to see the Dinobots back in action, but something tells me that’s not exactly what’s going on on that cover. We know Scorponok’s already built a duplicate of Grimlock’s body and the glowing red eyes of all the characters on that cover is pretty suggestive. Hmmm!
We already know to look forward to Shockwave at some point soon, but I’m wondering in we’re going to see the Decepticon duo of Debbie Downers, Dreadwind and Darkwing eventually? They were never exactly major players, but I’d love to see them pop up in one way or another.
The red eyes aren’t necessarily a suggestion here as the comic tended to colour the eyes whatever ways the toys had them, and all of the Dinobot toys eyes were red IIRC.
True, but they’re certainly emphasised. Although, thinking about it, perhaps we’re not going to see duplicates of the Dinobots under Scorponok’s control, but the /real/ Dinobots who are… not themselves because of the effects of Nucleon?
It’s fun to speculate!
HI Simon, just read issue 85 today – very Epic! I think Andy’s artwork is going from strength to strength with each issue. (Next paragraph is very spoilerfic for anyone who’s not read it yet, so you might want to stop here if you’ve not read it yet)
Was totally shocked by Springer getting dispatched so casually at the start of the issue (complete with very amusingly glib remark by Megatron in the next panel). If Springer can buy the farm that easily it kind of makes you feel like no-one is safe from the axe. Great stuff! Great to see Galvatron and Scorponok making a comeback as well. Roll on issue 86!
Ok fess up what has the nucleon done to;
Blaster, Inferno, Silverbolt & Huffer?
Just read #86. Another ace. There are so many things building up here. Since Galvatron is my fave character, I am interested in seeing him speak and if his personality is any different. Hopefully not, but I am hoping he and Thunderwing meet at some point and both live till the end, but it is wishful thinking since they ARE the bad guys. Interesting that some Autobots were zombiefied. Guess Grimlock didn’t like/know Grotesque when injecting the Nucleon. Loving Scorp!!! His plan is ingenious. I can’t wait to see where this goes. Any hints you can drop? Great work, brother. Another highlight of my month.
Really enjoyed this one Simon. This issue really felt like your old G1 work. Lot was going on, the story moved forward, and a lot was set up for what’s to come. All in one issue. 🙂
One complaint I have is Prime. My eyes did roll a bit when he said he’d keep his battle wounds in rememberance of the fallen. Really? After 4.5 billion years of war, out of all that fighting and loss, only NOW you’ve decided to walk around like a train wreck? Why not just get yourself repaired and keep some of the scratches?
Other than that a fine read. I just hope that it keeps up the pace, and doesn’t slow down to much like the first arc.
meant 4 million not 4.5 billion 🙂
Good point on Primes battle scars. My take on this is Prime always felt guilty about bringing the war to Earth, and since he buried his head in the sand while Megatron obliterated it and everyone on it, while also realizing what torment Ratchet had been through all these years, has traumatized him. Never before in this universe has a whole planet almost been wiped out, with the exception maybe of Klo.
Also does anyone else give Scorponok, BW Megatron’s voice? If you not you should, that voice works perfect for that character.
WOW! It really does!
Okay, I just finished 86 and I have some questions.
1.) Are we ever going to find out why Primus (In the original Marvel run) treated his descendents like they were disposable tools to be used in order to get the job done (Kill Unicron) rather than as actual individuals?
2.) Since Galvatron is back and he wasn’t reactivated until this realities Megatron was destroyed does this mean he has this Megatrons memories and the memories of the Megatron that he was created from? The reason I ask is beacuse there has to be a reason as to why he didn’t break free until this Megatron died. So, there has to be some kind of connection.
3.) Ironhide, Jazz, and a ton of other guys who mean a lot…?
4.) Back in the original Marvel run when Grimlock revived the Dinobots on the Ark (I’m sorry I can’t remember what issue it was) they scanned earth, but only picked up two transformer life signs… and I believe it was the same transformer just broken in two. Who was that? Was it answered already and I missed it?
5.) All of those Zombie Transformers are really gone?! They can’t be…
6.) Grimlock joining Scorponok? I can’t see this happening. As much as Grimlock in an outsider- he is loyal to the Autobot cause. Over the course of the original comic series we all watched Grimlock grow from a lumbering idiot into a great warrior. Having him play Decepticon will ruin that. Unless, he’s going to betray Scorponok in the end, but if he does wouldn’t Scorponok be smart enough to see that coming a million miles away? Why would a Decepticon trust and Autobot to change sides when their beliefs are fundamentally different? I am bringing this up mostly because the Grimlock as a Decepticon was tried in Dreamwave comics and it was changed pretty quickly because I don’t think fans liked their favorite anti-hero going Decepticon.
Sorry for asking all of these long questions. The issues aren’t coming fast enough. They are one of the few things that keep me sane while I am in college… at the age of 37
4. It was Fortress Maximus and Cerebros/Spike, I believe. Pretty obvious.
But Fort Max’s body was on the Ark, not on Earth…
Yeah like Angelophile said. It wasn’t Fort Max he was still on the ark.
For Max’s body was in the Ark, but his mind engrams (?) were inside Spike’s head, I believe: this is why I always thought the split signal represented the Spike/Max hybrid.
(Or it could be a never explored subplot, but what could it be about?)
One thing I’m really glad about here is the follow up to Nucleon’s dangers and after effects. Even as a kid during the original run, I was cognizant enough to wonder why they weren’t feeling any of the negative consequences that little guy by the well warned Grimlock about. Oh, and regarding the thread above about Scorponok’s voice, I still somehow imagine him sounding like the cartoon version of Zarak.
“Never judge a book by its cover,” indeed. Great issue with some finality to certain characters; no chance of a miracle comeback for the zombies. The Autobots seem to now have weapons capable of atomising ground-based targets from space. The war could have been over much sooner if they chose to use them back in the day.
The Autobots’ offer to stay and rebuild being rejected was brilliant; Prime being unable to atone for his world-shattering mistake is something that looks like it’s going to haunt him in a bad way in the issues to come. Nice to see Sunstreaker still around, being one of the very early casualties of the Marvel run (with little hope of repair). I’m intrigued by the effects of Nucleon on the characters shown, and wonder if it’s the tip of the iceberg; I seem to remember you hinting that we’ll “meet *some* of the negatives” in this issue in a previous post.
Is Scorponok the only resurrected Decepticon on Nebulos? We know that the Headmaster versions of Weirdwolf and Skullcruncher are still around. I’m enjoying this story thread as it unfolds, and the post-Headmaster Scorponok’s personality being a midway-point between his old self and his Headmaster self. Also, ideas that were hinted at in the tail end of the Marvel run about genetics (expanded upon in G2) look as though they’re going to be delved into in a big way here. Thanks for this; it enforces the fact that this is a (differently) evolved species, and not just a production line of robots that gained sentience. I always disliked the way the cartoon had a character deciding on a whim to build another robot, and it was suddenly alive, like the Dinobots and the Technobots. It cheapens them somewhat.
A brilliant issue, and a great start to the next story arc. Issue 100 is now that much closer. To paraphrase a certain someone, for me, personally, it never ends, nor should it. This series should live on well into the triple figures.
Another great issue, than you Simon and the team.
I was totally fooled into believing Grimlocks escape was real. Regarding Scorponok dies he really think that Grimlock will be totally compliant with hun plan to take over Cybertron? Sure Grimlock isn’t in a position to do anything but agree at the moment but I won’t be surprised at all for Scorpion to feel his wrath at a later point.
We know this all ends at 100 but I’ve read on here and on other boards about ideas of a prequel
I wonder what others think, if there was support and demand for it, if a prequel series was commissioned? A number of comics agreed for it, 10 or 20 and Simon and the team could write about the rise of Megatron and his conquest of earth and defeat of Fort Max. And lots of other adventures to bridge the gap from the original series to the current one. What do others think ?
In the meantime let’s just enjoy the current excellent series. Looking forward to seeing Shockwave next month too.
Its a good call from Sean about Scorponoks voice.
Darren
This issue was really good , and I was a bit skeptical of the whole Heads still on Nebulos theory .Seeing Scorponok was awesome ,so I now find the idea intriguing .I do have a few questions and comments .
Where are the other heads ,will this be explained ,and in detail ?
Details ,details ,I do feel this is what the series is missing ,back in the day it seemed like a lot more was explained .I am referring to the “Nursery” , we see Blaster ,Sliverblot ,Inferno and Huffer ?? ,but how did the Nucleon effect them ? Thankfully Andy is the artist because I can mostly tell what is effecting Inferno (of course using a bit of imagination ) ,but a description would of been nice . It seems like you are using less and less words in these issues .
I read above that fans want a prequel to this series ,so that we can have the details the stories are lacking .Even though I want the details ,a prequel would make no sense ,Simon had the chance to build it up after issue 80 ,but he made the decision to start it where he did .Not that I am trying to speak for you ,but it is sound logic .A idea (even though a bit late ) is to maybe add pages to the Trade-paperbacks ,with the details we want to know .Or a special re-cap issue .I really want to understand Blaster’s situation ,he was a main character in the comic .Also the rest of the Dino’s ,how bad did it effect them ,but I feel we may find that out .
Where is Nightbeat ?yes I have asked this before.
Why didn’t Scorponok have the Nebulans build him a bigger ,better body .Since they did the same for Optimus Prime (Powermaster ) ,why would Scorponok not take advantage of the situation ?
I sometimes feel that the “push to sell toys ” made the comics a bit better ,I know that seems insane .One of the intriguing parts of the original comic was to see how the writer (Simon or Bob ) would tackle the “new thing ” ,and some of the best stories came out of it .If not for the “Action Masters ” and “HeadMasters ” we would not even have this story arc to read .Just some food for thought .
This is getting better and better!
Not only the story-line , but filling in gaps / details without it sacrificing the story, works brilliant for me!
A few thoughts though :
1 – The battle between Megatron and Prime had to happen indeed. And was Great!
I always disliked the fact that Megatron was so absent from the original Marvel stories. I’ ll have to check, but I think that Shockwave / Ratbat / Scorponok / Bludgeon had more time as a leader (especially combined) than Meg.
Only one thing here was missing for me : Megatron taking back command in a big way. (this happened somewhat in G2,, which I loved : finishing off Bludgeon as if it was nothing)
Then again, Megatron IS still around of course in the form of (alt future) Galvatron. They seem to be connected, so i’m curious what is going to happen here. (hell, we could even see G2 Megatron! again, although a long shot).
(Also, it think there a bit of a hint that the fact that this galvatron is from another reality / future has something to do with some messing-up with the timelines, but only guessing.)
2 – The Action-master / nucleon thing : The (toy) figures that couldn’t transform because of the nucleon , like Grimlock , is this abandoned for a part . As Megatron & Prime didn’t seem to be A.M. (anymore). And a few others could transform fine. Not really important of course, as I like the other ‘ nucleon effects’ far more.
3 – Aaugh! we lost all zombies? (including Ratbat?). Couldn’t they be repaired with (left over) nucleon or the Pretender process? (as it is stated that the brain-modules were just as big as m&m’s, and also could be stored in crystals . OR a floppy disk for that matter! 😛
Great, wonderful & exciting reading! thanks for that!
Albert
I’m kind of angry over Ratbat myself. He was Decepticon leader for a good 20+ issues and ended up being vaporized! No good byes, no awesome story arc- nothing 😦
Marvel Ratbat was one of my all time favourite Decepticons. Some of his lines as the Fuel Auditor are classics!
Darren
As Michael already pointed out, the voice playing in my head for Scorponok was definitely cartoon Lord Zarak, and his little quip only justified it further.
Mr. Furman, it’s not often I can read a new comic these days and get excited over references and nostalgia for the sake of them. Most of the time they feels overtly forced or simply there to please the vocal fanbase, more often than not getting in the way of telling what could have been an engaging story. Not naming any comics, but there was one “invasion” this year that left me wanting my time and cash back. But alas, we must move forward.
However, when I reached Scorponok’s little offer to Grimlock, there is no shame in admitting that I promptly squealed in delight by his “we shall see” monologue. For a non-fan, it’s hardly an intrusion and gives an extra layer to suggest that, even though Grimlock is playing hard to get, Scorponok already knows what the answer is going to be and patiently waiting it out.
For the fan who is totally invested in the franchise, it’s a fantastic throwback to ‘The Rebirth’ and sets up how the binary bonding with Zarak hasn’t totally been null and void. Making it the last line on the last panel of the page before we cut back to Hot Rod and company only sweetened the deal. It didn’t feel forced, and didn’t pull me out of the ongoing story with a slap to the face.
Normally with revisiting old stories and bringing them forward after being forgotten for years can be a tricky task (speaking from first-hand experience), and I really want to say that “we shall see” if the rest of the series can be an enjoyable read, but I don’t have to, because I already know “Re-Generation One” is going to keep on being a pleasing read month after month.
Bravo!
Notice Regen is still doing about the same numbers(sales) as the other two Transformers comics. Maybe still to early to tell, but why not lobbie to make Regen ongoing? Definitly not down for a prequel, which I really don’t understand why people want to read stories about stuff they were already told about. The Star Wars franchise would have been better off if we had just been left with what we were told in the OT, and not actually went back and seen it. But if not that, and if issue 100 is your end for the Marvel G1 universe. Then why not shift it into something else? Perhaps a “Tales of Regeneration 1”, where you can tell single issue stories from all over the original G1 universe. And if not ongoing then why not a few issues a year or a few mini-series a year set in this universe?
I personally, like most people, want this to continue or at least want another series in a couple of years. But only Simon knows how this is going to end and it could end up with a conclusion that leaves no room for anything more. I wouldn’t want there to be a continuation that is suddenly finished without a proper ending that we had the last time with Marvel with plots left hanging.
Sean’s idea is a good one. I think the prequel idea is being put about just so we can have more Marvel Universe stories if a continuation is impossible.
Just a quick note about Stars Wars, I think most of us of a certain ages will always love the original more than the new ones. Funnily enough one of my friends who had never seen a single one of the films recently watched the whole series in the correct order and loved it, not knowing about the order they were made or anything about them in advance.
Darren
“Perhaps a “Tales of Regeneration 1″, where you can tell single issue stories from all over the original G1 universe.”
This is my preferred idea too. Even if #100 cannot be continued for whatever reason because of the story, there are infinite potential storylines set during the old Marvel comics. With a note saying “this story is set during #70” or whenever the story takes place. Furman did well on the U.K. comics expanding upon little used characters from the U.S. comics and creating his own side-story.
Wow with a capital F just read issue 87 things just shifted into a higher gear not only do we have the return of galvatron but also one of the most missed decepticons ,amazing issue ive just read it 3 times and well done to the team that gave us this wonderfull issue 🙂