Transformers #1 (Marvel Comics, 1984)

Transformers are more than meets the eye. They are also a global phenomenon, and the Transformers comic books from Marvel Comics helped to establish their mighty media empire and stranglehold on 1980s pop culture.

This pilot issue opens up with a bang. After ingesting the remarkable cover design by Bill Sienkiewicz, which depicts the Transformers in a very unusual way, by modern standards, readers were treated to an advertisement for The Last Starfighter on the inside cover (one of my favorite movies)

Then we (1980s kids) learned about Cybertron in the first panel. A planet unlike any other, because its inhabitants were entirely mechanical. But two factions, called the Autobots and Decepticons, waged war against each other with such fury that Cybertron was knocked out of its orbit and sent hurtling through space.

As Cybertron approached an asteroid field and certain destruction, Optimus Prime led a group of brave Autobots on the Ark on a mission to clear a path. The Decepticons attack and force the Ark to crash land into a volcano on a nearby planet called Earth.

They lay dormant for 4 million years until a volcano erupts, awakening the Ark, whose computer rebuilds the Transformers in the image of the local inhabitants' mechanical machines, such as jets, cars, and a rad boombox.

For the first time, readers meet Megatron, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Starscream, Rumble, Frenzy, Soundwave, Ravage, Buzzsaw, and Laserbeak.

Enter the Autobots led by Optimus Prime. Readers meet Ironhide, Huffer, Sunstreaker, Cliffjumper, Brawn, Sideswipe, Mirage, BlueStreak, Prowl, Jazz, Hound, Windcharger, Gears, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker, and sadly, Bumblebee.

Then, readers meet a human being, Buster Witcky, a mild-mannered, innocent, and studious teenager. After nearly being run over by the Autobots, Bumblebee c-ckblocks Buster during a drive-in movie by crashing into his car and ruining his evening plans.

The Autobots repel a Decepticon attack at the drive-in. Buster ends up inside of Bumblebee and drives him to his dad's garage, where it starts talking to him!