« The Transformers (UK) #248 »
"Fallen Star!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	9th December 1989
Cover date	16th December 1989
Writer	Simon Furman
Art	Andy Wildman
Letterer	Helen Stone
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Starscream was once one of the most feared Decepticons of all. But is he still that?

Synopsis

Starscream remembers how the world once trembled before him and even his name alone terrified Autobots and Decepticons. But things have changed...

First, Starscream couldn't even die properly, being resurrected by Megatron as a mindless tool to attack Scorponok and Optimus Prime. And Starscream had to cringe, grovel and beg to survive. Scorponok may have taken him back, but Starscream now feels he is little more than a joke to the other Decepticons. He goes for a walk through the base, noting how the others stop and stare at him. He thinks they're laughing at him, but they are actually all deeply scared. Starscream exits the base wondering what the Autobots think of him.

The answer confronts him directly in the form of Cloudburst, Chainclaw, and Getaway. They have been sent by Optimus Prime to see what Starscream's up to, not fight him, and are scared of his power, enhanced by his Pretender shell. But Starscream thinks they're laughing at him. Frustrated with this, Starscream pulls a gun and blasts Cloudburst down, then pummels Chainclaw before transforming and blasting Getaway who is trying to escape with the message.

As Starscream lands, he decides that once more his name alone will scare other Transformers. "I'M BACK!"

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"My name is Starscream! Mere mention of my name was enough to terrify the most heroic Autobot, the most evil Decepticon. This world trembled as I carved a path of terror and destruction through it. Things have changed!"

—Starscream, feeling depressed.

"I had it all...and I lost it! The power of the Underbase was mine to command. It destroyed me! It would've been better if it'd ended there. But I couldn't even get dying right!"

—Starscream, Decepticon, emo.

"My name is Starscream. The mere mention of my name was enough to terrify the most heroic Autobot, the most evil Decepticon. It will again!"

—Starscream, feeling confident.

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• TBD

Colored reprints

• None as of yet.

Continuity errors

• This story takes place after "Skin Deep" and even references the events in it, but was printed before it. This was because the comic's presentation of the US stories had been interrupted by reprints of past UK stories, throwing off attempts to tie the two strips together. Holding "Fallen Star!" back for a few issues would have gone and disrupted the upcoming future-set story.

Continuity notes

• Soundwave is revealed to have survived the events of "Dark Star"; either Starscream's blast miraculously failed to kill him or he was repaired by the other Decepticons. Whatever the reason, he's still understandably wary of Starscream.
• This issue begins the trend of Getaway being badly injured or worse every time he appears, no matter which timeline, which continues in "Shadow of Evil", "All Fall Down", "Rhythms of Darkness!" and "End of the Road!"
• Also continuing this trend is poor Chainclaw, who never survived an issue intact where he appeared.
• Starscream totally breaks the fourth wall, addressing the reader directly.

Real-life references

• TBD

Other trivia

• TBD

Back-up material

• Additional Transformers story: "All the Familiar Faces!"
• Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "The Lower Depths" and Combat Colin
• From now on the Action Force back-up strip was now titled G.I. Joe the Action Force, although the cover logo would not change until issue #249.

Foreign Localization

Swedish

• Title: "Fallen Stjärna" ("Fallen Star")

Cover

• Issue #248 cover: the Classic Pretenders, by Geoff Senior.

• 

  Issue #248 - Wow, an actual UK cover that doesn't reference the UK story!

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Reprints

• Transformers: Fallen Star : Megatron and Shockwave fight at Memphis Airport. Cropped from the cover of issue #277, art by Stewart Johnson.
• The Transformers: Best of Starscream: Starscream, by Klaus Scherwinski.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Vol 19: Perchance to Dream Megatron (from early IDW promo art), by Guido Guidi above a retro scene of the Battlechargers (from Marvel UK #255 cover) by Stephen Baskerville.

• 

  Fallen Star
  (Titan Books, 2005)

• 

  Best of Starscream
  (IDW Publishing, 2010)

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection Vol. 19: Perchance to Dream
  (Hachette Partworks, 2017)