« Transformers United EX #9 »
"Unearthed Future" 掘り起こされた未来 (Horiokosare ta Mirai)
First published	November 17, 2012
Written by	Andrew Hall
Art by	Hidetsugu Yoshioka
Continuity	Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Packaged with	Buildmaster Prime Mode

The Autobots stage an attack on the Decepticons' apparent base of operations, but what are the villains really up to?

Synopsis

The Autobots arrive at the location of the Decepticon base provided by Tankmaster, finding it to be an excavated cave in a mountainous region. They are met by Combatmaster and battle is immediately joined, with Jetmaster using his stealth powers to dodge the Decepticon strategist's attacks and transferring his Jet Drones to Choppermaster, who uses their extra power to settle his old score with Combatmaster. Meanwhile, Clouder, piloting Assaultmaster, scans the area with his own drones in an attempt to discern the reasons behind the Decepticons' choice of location for their base, and discovers a strange sigil imprinted on one of the pieces of metal they have unearthed from the mountain. Before he can study it, Clouder is attacked by Buildmaster, who bursts from the ground with the stolen Construction Drones, and warns the human that the mark is proof of a victorious future for the Decepticon race. The pair clash, but Clouder's reaction time grows slower as the battle wears on. Thankfully, Grimmaster intervenes and keeps Buildmaster busy, freeing Clouder to further investigate the mysteries of the cave...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

• Chronologically, this chapter of the United EX story occurs between the two parts of the tenth chapter, "Hope for the Next Generation", detailing Clouder and Assaultmaster's side of things.
• No attempt is made to hide the true identity of this United EX character: Buildmaster's bio explicitly identifies him as Gravedigger, a deeply obscure member of the Constructicons from the Find Your Fate Junior storybook "Dinobots Strike Back". This also seals him in place as the long-unidentified eighth Constructicon from "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4".
• Buildmaster's bio mentions that he seeks to revive his wounded older brother; writer Andrew Hall notes that this is Bonecrusher. He and the other Constructicons were damaged during the events of the Zone cartoon when they were submerged in lava; we know he'll eventually succeed, as Bonecrusher would turn back up in one of the post-Generation 2 e-HOBBY comics.
• Combatmaster last confronted Choppermaster in chapter 3, in which he stole the Combat Drones from him.
• The "unfamiliar insignia" mentioned in the text can be seen in the chapter's illustration: it is the Predacon sigil from Beast Wars, and the Decepticons evidently know what timeframe it hails from, given their understanding of its relevance to their future. Specifically, the cave they are excavating is Tarantulas's secret lair, established in "Tangled Web" and collapsed in "Other Victories". This is also not the first time Decepticons have unearthed Predacon technology left over from the Beast Wars; Decepticon Micromasters did the same in The Transformers: Micromaster storyline. Decepticon Micromasters who, you will note, went on to star in Operation Combination, which is occurring concurrently with United EX. Coincidence? Hmmmmmm...
• The Construction Drones were stolen from the Autobots by Dozermaster back in chapter 8.
• Grimmaster and Buildmaster battling is a fun little reference to the repeated times the Dinobots and Constructicons battled in the Generation 1 cartoon (starting in "Heavy Metal War" and ending famously in The Transformers: The Movie), their rivalry here embodied by their newer and/or more obscure members.

External links

• "Unearthed Future" in English at TFPulp on The AllSpark