« Transformers #21 »
Publisher	Titan Comics
First published	April 2011
Editor	Steve White
Deputy editor	Den Patrick
Publishing manager	Darryl Curtis
Price	£3.99

G2 déjà vu!

A Short, Sharp Lesson!

• Script: Simon Furman
• Art: Jon Davis-Hunt
• Colours: Hi-Fi Design
• Lettering: Den Patrick
• Continuity: Revenge of the Fallen (sequel)

Arkhangelskaya Oblast, Russia: Megatron hovers over the battlefield, Tankor and Lockdown weeing themselves at the sight, while Bludgeon waves an angry fist. The old tyrant feels he's been negligent, and too many Decepticons have forgotten to fear him... they need to remember that their true leader is MEGARON! [sic] Bludgeon arms up and reminds his forces that they outnumber the "spent force" of Megatron, but his troops bravely wimp out at the very thought. Megatron cackles that he should have inspired more fear if he wanted to rule... and then Bludgeon effing attacks the smug git because he's Bludgeon, damn it.

The Autobots and NEST humans, mysteriously unconcerned that they're missing some members, watch on. Optimus Prime says it's not Autobot business yet and they should wait to see if the last tyrant standing makes it their business. Meanwhile, Wheelie cackles that now the master is back and the pretender is going to die, he can come back in from the cold. Unfortunately for him, he runs into Dead End, a little worse for wear after the fight and in need of a few... spare parts...

Bludgeon slashes away at Megatron while dissing him, only to find his opponent unharmed: he was only testing to see what the samurai could do. Unimpressed and saying he will no longer tolerate Bludgeon's "absurd ego", he whallops the guy backwards, takes tank form, and vapes Bludgeon from close range. Oh wait, no, it only looks like he's done that. Really he spared Bludgeon in case he could use him!

Optimus and Megatron face off, but the Decepticon departs: now is not their time, but the final battle is coming sooner than Prime thinks.

Later, all the Decepticons are either absent (having fled when their boss turned up) or have been eliminated; Optimus has Bludgeon's command hub dismantled (when there's only three of you?). Bumblebee, meanwhile, finds the remains of Wheelie lying in the snow, and Optimus grimly says this is "what's left of him" and then tells Bumblebee to get Ratchet to do what he can (so I guess a lot was left of him). The Autobots head out, and only one end is left untied...

A hungry Dead End, stalking after Bumblebee and after ...SPARE PARTS!.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

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Quotes

"Er, it's been fun and all, Bludgeon, but... yer on your own."
"Yeah. Hh. Sorry."

—Lockdown and Tankor are pussies

"sp-sp"
"What? Who? Oh, it's you. Dead End, right?"
"Sp-Spare..."
"Say, are you alright?"

—Dead End ain't alright, Wheelie...

"I was merely taking your measure... And, as you can see, I wasn't that impressed!"

—Megatron

Errors

• "Megaron".

• Springer, Hubcap, and Slapdash all vanish! Where did they go? We know Slapdash is dead but does that mean the other two are? If so, why don't the Autobots mention him?

• Bludgeon is clearly being killed, but Megatron talks like he's leaving him alive.

• Damn it, Megatron, Prime is RIGHT THERE and there's still Decepticons in the area! Bludgeon would have done it...

• DEAD END IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU, BUMBLEBEE.

Notes

• Simon Furman, now consciously aware of the Furmanisms he's been inserting into his dialogue for years, uses one of them as the title of this story.
• This story bears a great resemblance to "The Power and the Glory" from Generation 2, where Bludgeon has a plan and it's succeeding until Megatron turns up and kills him while going "hahahaha I'm the true leader, you suck". (He did not quite phrase it that way) Since the Autobots and NEST were getting utterly massacred in the last issue, Megatron does look pretty dumb here.
• The Autobots don't know why Wheelie's there, but they also don't know he tried to switch sides so he's still able to be their mate in Dark of the Moon. Was he meant to be dead by Dead End and this got changed at the last moment? We may never know.
• Megatron turns into both tank and jet in this comic, making him a Triple Changer. Furman likes making Megatron a Triple Changer, making him one in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe and Revenge of the Fallen comic adaption.
• Dead End last appeared in #19, where he was... a zombie following Bumblebee around! It looks like his stories ran out of order (the comic going bimonthly wouldn't have helped) and this was meant to run before the Christmas story.

Contents

Articles and Features

• Ironhide Speaks: Interview with Ironhide: "Prime's making me do this because he thinks it will improve my social skills." It didn't work.
• Bumblebee's Guide: Satellites. Various facts about moons, and a wordsearch.
• Megatron's Mind Maulers: Puzzles.
• Cruising for a Bruising!: Comparison of Optimus and Demolishor.
• Even more puzzles.
• Competitions.
• Poster of Optimus.

Free gifts

• Two random surplus gifts from previous issues. Man, they're just not trying anymore.

Law and Disorder

"I suppose I should be grateful that you didn't draw me."

—Barricade doesn't think much of Etch-a-Sketch fanart

"Urgh, Tim! Now you've gone and given the great dolt [Ironhide] ideas. If he carries anymore hardware he'll end up hurting himself. Hmmm. Perhaps I should be thanking you after all?"

—Barricade

Notes

• Oddly, this issue goes back to stock-image covers.

• Next issue is marked as "3.1", so we're getting a third reboot.