And There Shall Come...a Leader!

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"Tales of Cybertron: And There Shall Come...a Leader!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics in association with Grandreams
First published	Late 1985
Cover date	1985
Writer	Simon Furman
Art	John Stokes
Colours	Gina Hart
Lettering	Starkings
Editor	Sheila Cranna
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	"Five million years ago"

The greatest son of Iacon steps forth from the ashes of war.

Synopsis

Roget's Rules of Warfare

Five million years ago, the Decepticons are attacking Iacon, Cybertron's capital city-state. Inside the Celestial Temple, progressive council member Emirate Xaaron finally manages to convince his fellow councillors to cede leadership to a battlefield commander, instead of trying to run the war while hidden away in their protective bunkers. He entreats High Councillor Traachon to give the burden of responsibility to (dramatic pause)...Optimus Prime.

On the battle grounds, Optimus Prime is coordinating several strike squads at once, while waiting for word of his couriers, Bluestreak and Fusion.

On their way back to Optimus Prime with a cache of shatter bombs, Bluestreak is carrying the precious cargo while Fusion runs interference for him. The Decepticons attempt to blow out the bridge they're driving on. Bluestreak makes the jump with inches to spare, but Fusion is not so lucky and is destroyed by Decepticon laser fire.

At Optimus Prime's command post, he receives the good news from Xaaron that command of the armed forces is now totally under his control. This means Optimus can go ahead with the plan he was planning to put forth anyway, even without council approval. (How can you not love this guy?)

As Megatron personally leads his troops in advancing on the Autobots of Iacon, Optimus places himself in Megatron's path. As the battle commences on the last bridge to Iacon, Gears is placing the shatter bombs on the support posts beneath the bridge at Prime's command. At Gears' signal, Optimus actively keeps Megatron occupied on the bridge while his fellow Autobots flee the imminent blast zone. When all the Autobots except Prime are safely away, Gears activates the shatter bombs and destroys the bridge.

Thanks to a pre-arranged escape plan, Optimus Prime is magnetically drawn to safety by Windcharger's power, while Megatron and the Decepticons are smashed under the falling debris of the bridge's collapse. Thus Iacon is saved and Megatron is dealt a crushing defeat in only a few cycles after Optimus Prime is named to command.

'Til all are one!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Continuity notes

• The events of this story take place within the opening montage of the first issue of the ongoing comic book.
• A large number of the generic crowdfiller characters in this story are copied from generics that appear in the first issue of the regular comic (see "Errors" and "Other trivia," below for more details). These appear largely random, but one that may not be is the figure of Tomaandi, one of the Council of Autobot Elders, who is drawn to match the Autobot Elder who addressed Optimus Prime in the first issue (pictured at right).
• As written, this story depicts Optimus Prime and Megatron's first meeting. In the following year's annual, however, the story "State Games" would retcon that idea, establishing that Prime and Megatron knew each other from the gladiatorial "Games" held before the war.

Transformers references

• The landscape of Iacon is based on the imagery of Cybertron as seen in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1". Several buildings and structures are lifted straight from the cartoon, most prominent among them the huge golden dome of Iacon itself, which would come to be known as the "Great Dome"—a popular object for Transformers to swear in the name of in issues of the regular comic, which began in UK issue #31. Other various spherical and domed building designs are also re-used, and the tunnel entrance used by Fusion and Bluestreak as they transport the shatter bombs is exactly the same as the one used by Wheeljack and Bumblebee on their return to the city (all pictured at right). The only difference is that the next piece of road for Fusion and Bluestreak is the same road Wheeljack and Bumblebee drove over before entering the tunnel.
• Bluestreak's Cybertronian vehicle mode is adapted from the design created for Jazz used in the same episode, tweaking the shape of the cockpit and spoiler, and adding wheels and a bumper.

Artwork and technical errors

• The first two pages of this story were originally printed in the wrong order. This has been corrected for all subsequent reprints, except for the 1986 "Plague of the Insecticons" special (see "Reprints," below).
• Like artist John Stokes's earlier strip for the UK comic, "Decepticon Dam-Busters!", the recognizable Transformers in this story are largely drawn in a unique style that mashes up their toys and package art with their character models. A pair of notable errors (which are so common in early UK material that they might as well be considered stylistic choices) reoccurring from "Dam-Busters" and other stories give Optimus Prime an all-blue mouthplate, and Megatron a golden torso, an overly-literal interpretation of the way his toy's package art rendered the figure's chrome chest and arms. Prime also has all-white biceps (adapting a silver sticker from his toy that is not part of his finished character model), and details from his toy's forearm stickers are visible on the first page, but not elsewhere in the story.
• Page 6, panel 2: Megatron calls for Soundwave, but the robot drawn responding to him is Mirage. Damn traitor!
• Gears's appearance (right) is based not on his standard character model, but instead on his bizarre, barely-recognizable depiction in the famous roll-call scene from the first issue of the US comic (a scene which was also reproduced in this very same annual). This odd character model was also used to depict Sideswipe in the early UK story, "The Enemy Within!".

Other trivia

• In addition to the aforementioned Tomaandi, "borrowed" art, character designs, and colours used in this story include:
  • Emirate Xaaron is very loosely based on Megatron's toy package art, replicating his three-forked "forehead," vent-cheekguards, and gold and silver colours. Xaaron will become a recurring character in the UK comic, and his design and colours will quickly be shifted and tweaked to the point that that resemblance all but disappears.
  • Page 1, panel 3: The heads of the two councilors visible from behind in the forefront of the panel are based on the heads of two robots in the same pose from US issue #1, page 5, page 2
  • Page 2, panel 3: The famous generic "Big Red" is recoloured in Megatron's colours as the new character Pulsar. On the left of the panel, a small exploding figure is based on another generic from the same panel Big Red originally appeared in, exploding in the same manner.
  • Page 4, panel 1: Fusion's alternate mode is a loose re-drawing of Optimus Prime's own Cybertronian alternate mode, as seen in US issue #1, page 4, panel 5.
  • Page 5, panel 1: Based wholesale on US issue #1, page 9, panel 1, redrawn in a portrait format as opposed to landscape. Optimus Prime's pose is recreated, as are the three background characters, now given new colours; what used to be Jazz, on the left, becomes red and white, while what was formerly Prowl, on the right becomes blue and white, as well as misinterpreted and partially re-drawn with Ironhide's head and chest. The same robot appears among the Decepticons on page 6, panel 4.
  • Page 6, panel 5: Megatron's pose is taken from US issue #1, page 2, panel 5. The generic on the far left of the Decepticon group is from the background of the same panel.
  • Page 10, panel 19: Optimus's pose is taken from US issue #1, page 4, page 4. The generic on the right is taken from the background of the same panel.

Cover

• Transformers Annual 1985: Starscream, Thundercracker, Jazz, Optimus Prime and Sunstreaker. Cover Artist John Higgins.

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  Hardcover

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  Softcover

Reprints

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  The Transformers: Plague of the Insecticons! (Marvel UK, 1986)

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  Transformers Holiday Special 1994 (Marvel UK, 1994)

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  The Transformers: Best of Optimus Prime (IDW Publishing, 2010)

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  The Transformers Classics UK Volume 1 (IDW Publishing, 2011)

• 

  Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection, Vol. 2: New Order (Hachette Partworks Ltd, 2018)