Yesterday's Heroes!

	; HASSAN CHOP!
	"Yesterday's Heroes!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Cover date	December 1989
Script	Simon Furman
Pencils	José Delbo
Inks	Dave Hunt
Colors	Nelson Yomtov
Lettering	Jim Massara
Editor	Don Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Optimus Prime deals with Ratchet's death.

Synopsis

Aboard the Ark, Optimus Prime listens to the computer recite the names of deactivated Autobots, finally breaking down when it reaches the recently lost Ratchet. While Prime laments the loss of another friend and the apparently increasing futility of their struggle, the logical mind of the computer can only point out the mathematically sound principle that Ratchet traded his life for the return of Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee. A sullen Prime asks the computer to calculate the most logical course of action to avoid further loss of life in the war. Its response: to stop fighting. This causes concern for the other Autobots, who worry that in his present state, Prime may just do that.

Character models, ho!

Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, the Classic Pretenders lead the Micromaster Rescue Patrol and the Double Targetmasters on another successful fuel raid. They've been doing this for around eight days now and their rebirth has given a much-needed boost to the Autobot resistance on Cybertron, but the Decepticon threat to Earth and its more abundant resources means they will be soon heading back there. Meanwhile, in the Decepticon royal palace, Decepticon leader Lord Thunderwing is increasingly displeased with the Autobots' growing success and orders Bludgeon, Octopunch, and Stranglehold—the Mayhem Attack Squad—to find and kill the Autobot Pretenders.

On the orders of Optimus Prime, the Ark lands on the Moon, and he goes out to brood alone, perhaps forever. As the others discuss options, Hot Rod has already come up with a plan to use a remote-controlled Mark V Guardian drone and pretend it's run amok to convince Optimus to come to rescue them all and snap out of his funk. Unfortunately, fact and fiction blur when the Mark V's flaw of unpredictability manifests, and it really does run amok and attack the Autobots.

Searching through the ruins of Iacon, the Mayhems track the signal from the specially irradiated fuel that Autobots stole to the old Council Chambers, just as the Classic Pretenders and Rescue Patrol prepare to travel via the trans-time dimensional portal to Earth. As Emirate Xaaron wishes Bumblebee well, making the first mention the Pretender has heard of their god Primus in years, the Mayhem Attack Squad burst in and Bludgeon reprograms the controls with his sword, transporting both the attacking Decepticons and Autobots bound for Earth to parts unknown.

On the Moon, Hot Rod's misguided plan actually works as Optimus Prime lays into the Guardian drone, physically tearing it apart, as he realizes that simply giving up dishonors the memories of every fallen Autobot. He vows to continue fighting with all his might.

Elsewhere, the messed-up trans-time dimensional portal deposits the traveling Autobots and their Decepticon attackers in bizarre yet strangely familiar tunnels. Walking towards the light, the Autobots discover themselves face to face with their living god, Primus.

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks or on video screens.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots

Decepticons

Others

Ratchet (1)
Powerglide (2)
Optimus Prime (3)
Perceptor (5)
Fortress Maximus (7)
Jazz (8)
Prowl (9)
Kup (10)
Hot Rod (11)
Scoop (12)
Quickmix (13)
Grimlock (14)

Bumblebee (15)
Seawatch (16)
Stakeout (17)
Landfill (18)
Red Hot (19)
Cloudburst (24)
Highbrow (25)
Brainstorm (27)
Xaaron (28)
Blurr (29)
Fixit (30)

Quotes

"Spare me your appraisal, computer. I've viewed the reports, heard the accounts. Ratchet made the logical decision, the right decision. I'm sick of hearing that! My friend is dead. You understand that, computer?"

—Optimus Prime despairs

"Mathematics! One life for many... how I tire of that equation!"

—Optimus Prime

"I'd forgotten we had a god! With all that's happened I sometimes think our "god" has forgotten about us!"
"Huh! Maybe he just sleeping! Need waking up!"

—Bumblebee and Grimlock give us some rather ham-handed exposition and foreshadowing

"Of course, I'd been fooling myself! Giving up isn't the answer! Giving up is never the answer! When it came to the crunch, did Ratchet just give up, shirk his responsibilities? No -- he fought on, even though it cost him his life! And how do I honor his selfless sacrifice? I give up, I crawl away to wallow in self-centered misery! Well, no more! I will honor Ratchet's sacrifice -- no, I will honor every Autobot who has fallen by fighting on -- with all the strength and wisdom I possess! And I will not falter -- until the tyrany of the Decepticons is an at end!"

—Optimus Prime's latest speech is so good, it motivates both himself and a computer!

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

The Autobot Double Targetmasters carry weapons that resemble their Nebulan partners — Scoop and Quickmix carry theirs singly, one in each hand, while Landfill's are combined into "double weapon" mode — though they are not seen to transform, nor are they mentioned as being Nebulans in the story's dialogue. Between the creation of the Targetmasters in "Brothers in Armor!!" and the comic's present day there doesn't seem to be much opportunity for the Cybertron-based Autobots to have visited Nebulos but it is just about possible that it all happened "off-panel". Their Transformers Universe profiles, included at the end of next issue, explicitly reference their Nebulan partners and their former lives on Nebulos.

Yes, that's Red Hot in the background. The Micromaster.

The Rescue Patrol's alternate modes are drawn massively out of scale during the initial battle.
In his first appearance, only Stranglehold's face is flesh-colored; the remaining bare-skinned portions of his Pretender shell are white.

Continuity errors

TBD

Continuity notes

While not seen destroyed "on-screen" by the Underbase-powered Starscream in "Dark Star", Perceptor and Powerglide are listed in this issue among the deceased, lending weight to the belief that effectively all earlier members of the Autobot forces without organic enhancement were eliminated.
It has to be said that the foreshadowing on page 14 (repeated mentions of Primus, needing to wake him and meeting their maker) is laid on pretty thick.
The story introduces a unit of time called an orn, which is defined as "one Cybertronian lunar day".
With this issue, Simon Furman begins to bring across an increasing number of Marvel UK-exclusive concepts, such as the updated version of the Mayhem Attack Squad and the Guardian droids, plus characters like Emirate Xaaron and Primus.
That said, Furman also brought over the entire first act of the UK story "Resurrection!" to start "Yesterday's Heroes!" with. Or forgot he had used that setup before. We got ourselves Autobot heroes from Earth (Optimus Prime vs. the Autobot Classic Pretenders) that boost the Autobot rebels' morale on Cybertron and lead them on raids on Decepticon fuel stores. In both cases, the Autobot heroes acknowledge the good they do on Cybertron, but consider themselves more needed on Earth. Meanwhile, the Decepticon leader (Straxus vs. Thunderwing) notes that the Autobots were almost crushed, preceded by a near identical line about the Autobots having raided X (five vs. eight) fuel stores in as many days.
Optimus Prime carries on a conversation with the Ark's computer, which he calls simply "computer". The Ark's computer was called Aunty in issue #1. In the UK, Auntie was damaged in "Raiders of the Last Ark". So, this computer may or may not be Aunty.

Real-life references

As the teleported Autobots wonder where they are, Jazz paraphrases The Wizard of Oz: "Grimlock, ol' buddy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"

Bot Roster

Autobots: 23 active; 8 rogue Micromasters; 1 in storage, 31 offline (Prowl, Perceptor and Powerglide confirmed), 25 presumed offline. (88 total)
Decepticons: 20 active, 4 rogue Micromasters; 26 offline, 25 presumed offline, 4 offline/missing. (79 total)

UK printing

Issue #252:

Additional Transformers story: "Edge of Impact"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "The Lower Depths" and Combat Colin
AtoZ: Sandstorm and Scavenger

Issue #253:

Additional Transformers story: "Shadow of Evil"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "The Lower Depths" and Combat Colin
AtoZ: Scrapper and Seaspray

Issue #254:

Additional Transformers story: "White Fire"
Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Transit" and Combat Colin
Dreadwind answers a letter from David Mapes who, with his twin Steven, would go on to become Transformers rarity collectors, convention organisers, and webmasters of fansite Transformers At The Moon. >>

Changes in the IDW Classic Transformers reprint

FIX'D

Hot Rod's magenta is now orange in all of his appearances in this issue except in the second panel of page 12.
Page 5: An Autobot symbol is pasted on Scoop's chest.
Page 6: In the second panel, the nose of Jazz's Autobot symbol is uncolored. In the fourth panel, the outsides of Bumblebee's feet are left uncolored.
Page 8: Stranglehold's body was originally colored white instead of fleshtone (see above). This reprint attempts to correct that, but colors Stranglehold's body a different fleshtone than his face.
Page 14: In panel two, Jazz and Grimlock's Pretender shell faces are now uncolored.

Other trivia

Transformers Universe profiles for Misfire, Pointblank, Slugslinger, and Sureshot are found after the main story.

Generics

Most stories set on Cybertron feature some generics whose only purpose is to die on panel and this issue is no exception.

Bumblebee's raiding party slaughters loads of generic Decepticons. They all look like this.
This Autobot...scientist? is operating the trans-time dimensional portal. He's beheaded by Bludgeon in the next panel.

Foreign Localization

Swedish

Title (1990): "Fallna Hjältars Dag" ("Day of the Fallen Heroes")
Title (2019): "Fallna Hjältar" ("Fallen Heroes")

Covers (4)

US cover: Bludgeon attacks the Classic Pretenders, by José Delbo and Danny Bulanadi.
UK issue #252 cover: Kup accusing Longtooth of murder, by Gary Erskine.
UK issue #253 cover: a demonic snake attacks Hot Rod, by Stephen Baskerville.
UK issue #254 cover: Unicron attacks Rodimus Prime, by Stephen Baskerville.

US issue #60 - He flies through the air with the greatest of ease.
UK issue #252 - Kup, being a prick
UK issue #253 - Not Starscream's ghost.
UK issue #254

Reprints

Transformers: Primal Scream TPB cover: Grimlock, Goldbug, Pretender Starscream, and half of Primus, by Andrew Wildman.
Primal Scream hardback cover: Grimlock victorious over the Sports Car Patrol, by Dave Gibbons.
Classic Transformers Volume 4cover: panels from US issues #59 and #60, pencils by José Delbo, inks by Dave Hunt and colours by Nel Yomtov.
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 5 cover: Prowl, by Guido Guidi.
Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection:Volume 16: The Primal Scream: Optimus Prime by Guido Guidi above an interior scene of the Megatron vs Grimlock.

Transformers: Primal Scream TPB (Titan Books, 2002)
Transformers: Primal Scream hardback
(Titan Books, 2002)
Classic Transformers Volume 4 (IDW Publishing, 2009)
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 5
(IDW Publishing, 2012)
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 16: The Primal Scream
(Hachette Partworks, 2017)

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