Transformers #2 - Video Review by 80s Comics

80scomics.com taking a trip to November 1984, issue number two of The Transformers. Before The Transformers were a household name, they were a limited series of comic books from Marvel Comics that did so well they had to continue the series. We all know The Transformers now, and it is fun to read this today and put into perspective that when we read this, or when I read this for the first time, nobody knew what the Transformers were. Nobody really knew the story, the backstory, the characters, all of their powers, and the entire concept behind the series. And that is what these early issues do. They lay the foundation for all of this. It is a very detailed comic book. Actually, I think this is one of the best issues of The Transformers of all. The first real conflict, the first battle between Optimus and Megatron. And of course we get a sweet ad for Mario Brothers on the Atari. Power Play. Hey, there is Soundwave. Before the cartoons and the toys got really hot and before the incredible Transformers the Movie and before the crappy live action movies, we had no idea who these guys were.

This is where we learned about Starscream always trying to undermine Megatron, and we learn about all their different powers here. Ravage. This part is great. Ravage. So the Decepticons need energy, right. That is the whole plot early on. The Decepticons need energy. So they are going to basically disassemble and steal an entire nuclear power plant because obviously that is what the Decepticons would do. And Ravage is going to sneak in there and for some reason he is going to transform. Ravage transforms into a cassette, and for those of you who do not know what cassettes are, you probably should not be watching this in the first place. But he transforms into a cassette and then this guy reaches for him and records on top of Ravage all of their construction plans or whatever for this nuclear power plant. By this logic, you should be able to steal Ravage and then record over him with some winger or something. Blast, she is only seventeen while slaughtering her enemies. That would be such a great movie.

After the tape concludes, great Megatron, those were the words of a human describing their energy harnessing technology. Once again, you have served me well, Ravage. I cannot do the voices as well as the TV show actors, especially Starscream. Starscream does look kind of weird in that shot. Overall, the art is really cool in this issue. It is really packed. This one is filled with art, details, and dialogue. This is a very heavy issue with The Transformers. You learn a lot, and I love this panel here. This one is great. See all the Transformers, all the Decepticons transforming and flying away. And this is where we first learn about their powers, like Thundercracker creating sonic booms, Skywarp just having a super cool name. I always liked Skywarp. Skywarp was cool. Starscream is an asshole. Ravage and Laserbeak are awesome. And the humans are a bunch of idiots.

I love this panel so much. It is so great that they have to use it twice in this book. I will show you that in a moment. But it is like they are doing the limbo in unison, is it not. Here is another fun shot. The Decepticon is just walking away with an entire nuclear power plant. Now we return to Buster and Sparkplug Witwicky’s garage, and in the first issue Bumblebee gets injured in the attack that takes place at a drive‑in theater and Buster drives him to his dad, tells him he is dying, his dad thinks he is nuts, and then of course Bumblebee transforms into a robot and proves that they are all wrong, that he is in fact a transforming car. But he is like the worst Transformer, so they had this opportunity to just get rid of Bumblebee in issue number two and they did not do it. I am kind of disappointed. They could go back in time and replace Bumblebee with a talking El Camino.

Look at all of those words. So much reading, so much plot. This is where we learned about The Transformers. Or at least this is where I learned about The Transformers. And we get some boombox action here where Ravage jumps into a boombox. And that is not Blaster, this is before Blaster. This is where you should be recording some Run DMC over Ravage. You can play My Adidas while stomping on people. I am just throwing it out there. That would be awesome. Look, it is the Autobots. Goody two shoes, sissy Autobots. Autobots, convert to Earth modes. Peter Cullen I am not. The Decepticons leave their fortress, which is built out of the nuclear power plant, and go to the garage. There is a giant battle.

We can buy some wedding, some engagement rings from Transformers. I wonder how many of those they sold. They must have sold a few of them. They ran this ad for years. And where is my favorite shot again. There it is. We see it again. The limbo in unison. And a great battle scene. So much detail. Love the artwork in this one. It is a great issue if you like Transformers. The first couple are awesome because it is like revisiting them again for the first time, before anyone thought they would be the huge sensation that they were. They were a limited issue, a limited series. And look, there is even an ad for Star Wars the arcade game on the back. You cannot go wrong with this here on 80sComics.com. Transformers and Megatron defying the law by not social distancing. I guess if you are shooting somebody at close range with a laser gun, maybe that is acceptable, I do not know.

You know, I have to be honest, now that I am reading this many years later, it kind of looks like Megatron is actually the good guy. Crushing Bumblebee, squashing humans. We should be rooting for Megatron. Go get him. Robots.