The Legacy of Unicron!

« The Transformers (UK) #146–151 »
Well, there goes the neighbourhood.
"The Legacy of Unicron!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Cover date	2nd January - 6th February 1988
Script	Simon Furman
Art	Geoff Senior (#146-147) Dan Reed (#148-149) Bryan Hitch (#151)
Pencils	Jeff Anderson (#150)
Inks	Stephen Baskerville (#150) Assists: Geoff Senior (#151)
Colours	Steve White
Letters	Annie Halfacree (#146-150) Richard Starkings (#151)
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity (Marvel UK)
Chronology	Original future (2008)

Rodimus Prime and Death's Head battle Unicron on Junk and learn of the Transformers' origin.

Synopsis

Part 1

It's January 1, 2008, and the year starts off with a bang as "freelance peacekeeping agent" Death's Head chases his latest bounties, the Decepticons Cyclonus and Scourge, in the skies over Junk. Cyclonus abandons Scourge, who is forced down to the planet's surface. Fed up with running, Scourge plans to shoot down Death's Head's spaceship, but his monologuing gives him pause when the peacekeeping agent doesn't attack, on account of his not being in the ship at all. Cornered, Scourge makes a play of begging for his life, allowing Cyclonus to close in. But this is still not enough to subdue Death's Head, who forces Cyclonus down with a head-seeking missile, followed by a mace to the back of the head. Before he can finish his job, however, a panicked Junkion emerges from the rubble, begging for help. A being of vast power has enslaved all the other Junkions, and he requires Death's Head's help in freeing them. Death's Head is reluctant, but the Junkion appeals to his highest principle: being paid. The Junkion talks Death's Head out of killing the two Decepticons, reasoning they may be useful, something the peacekeeping agent disagrees with, but he figures they're not going anywhere.

Back on Cybertron, Rodimus bids Wreck-Gar a fond farewell, as the Junkion leader returns home, escorted by Smokescreen and Inferno, unaware of what's transpiring with his people.

On Junk, the motley crew go over their plan: The Junkion pretends to be enslaved, allowing him to place some explosives on their _target, while Cyclonus and Scourge play distraction long enough for Death's Head to take a shot. Cyclonus isn't remotely happy about the arrangement, only going along with it on the promise he and Scourge are allowed to go free afterward... not that Death's Head plans on keeping that promise. After all, breaking his contract would be bad for business. The two launch their attack, but the Junkion reveals their opponent has been toying with them, before he is promptly blasted to shreds. His killer beckons Death's Head to join him, not that he has any choice, as like the Junkion and the two Decepticons, he has been mentally enthralled. Death's Head tries fighting, but his will is no match for the might... of UNICRON.

Part 2

At Decepticon Headquarters on Cybertron, Shockwave receives a visit from Death's Head, who is demanding compensation for his failed assassination attempt on Rodimus a few months prior, the one Scourge and Cyclonus fouled up in an attempt to become leaders themselves. Not that Shockwave minds so much, since they apparently wound up getting killed themselves. Still, he thinks it's logical to take precautions. Death's Head claims he's killed Galvatron's former lieutenants, but he holds Shockwave responsible for the failure of the contract they intervened in, since he was their commander after all, and therefore he owes the peace keeping agent money. Shockwave agrees... on the condition they are actually dead, and asks Soundwave to confirm. The communications officer has just performed a psychic sweep of the room, and has learned the two are very much alive. As he reveals this, Death's Head readies his gun, only to find Shockwave has already seen the attack coming. Cyclonus and Scourge make short work of the guards, but Shockwave bolts. The two suggest leaving, but Death's Head goes after the Decepticon leader.

On Junk, the Autobot shuttle arrives to suspicious silence. Following the sign of mass Junkions, they are horrified to find Unicron bellowing instructions to his puppets.

"Juicy fruit?"

Death's Head follows Shockwave to a shooting range, occupied with dummy Autobots. His _target gets the drop on him, Unicron's constant control interfering with his ability to fight properly. Back in the throne room, Scourge and Cyclonus anxiously stare at the sealed doors, as on the other side Menasor punches his way through. Shockwave taunts Death's Head for hiding, but he's then ambushed and shot to pieces. The brainwashed cyborg grumbles about what he's forced to do, and as he makes absolutely sure Shockwave is dead by crushing his brain module, he vows to find a way to avenge both of them.

Back in the throne room, Soundwave and the Stunticons have Cyclonus and Scourge at gunpoint, ready to execute, until Death's Head enters to tell them there's been a regime change. Soundwave asks what's to just stop him trying to take power for himself, but Death's Head threatens to blow up the transport he brought in with him, killing everyone. Unwilling to call his bluff, Soundwave hails the new Decepticon leaders. And on Junk, Unicron is pleased. With his puppets in charge, the Decepticons will launch a suicidal attack on the Autobots, ruining both sides, allowing him to wipe out both sides, and Cybertron itself.

Part 3

On Cybertron, a moment of unusual peace for the Autobots is broken by the Decepticons launching their all-out attack. The Autobots respond in kind, though Rodimus Prime is baffled by the move, which is utterly unlike Shockwave. He realizes someone else must be responsible, but finding out who that is must wait. Unknown to Rodimus, Unicron is watching through Cyclonus and Scourge, revelling in the slaughter he's orchestrated. As he monologues to himself, the watching Inferno decides he's had enough, and tells Smokescreen and Wreck-Gar they've got to get back to Cybertron and warn Rodimus, figuring if anyone can stop Unicron, he can. However, as they leave they're found by an enthralled Junkion, who is under orders to kill any intruders. The enslaved Junkion hesitates just long enough for Wreck-Gar to kill him, much to his own horror, but Smokescreen notes that this act will have drawn his attention to them, and sure enough, it has. Unicron dispatches Death's Head to go after them. The cyborg tries fighting his captor, even momentarily succeeding, but his power is dwarfed by Unicron. Just as the trio reach their shuttle, Inferno is blasted from behind. Wreck-Gar tells his comrades to go, hoping to make up for his previous failure, but can't even finish his vow before Death's Head shoots through his cover. However, it's still enough to allow the shuttle to take off, while Death's Head fights off Unicron's influence just momentarily, allowing Wreck-Gar to get away.

Part 4

Smokescreen's shuttle nearly makes it back to Cybertron, but on entering the planet's airspace, it's fired upon by Cyclonus and Scourge, crippling the ship. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but with Inferno injured Smokescreen's having to fly solo, meaning he can't man the defenses. Adding to that is the engines have been fried, and Smokey is out of luck. The two Decepticons turn around for another attack, but as they fire, the engines power up again, allowing Smokescreen to pull away from their missiles, much to his confusion. After all, someone would've had to have fixed them. Someone like the still badly injured Inferno, for example. Inferno overrides his buddy's panic, pointing out that if someone doesn't man the guns, they're both going to die anyway, and someone needs to live to warn Rodimus about Unicron.

The bad news keeps on coming, as Cyclonus's last shot turns out to have disabled the ship's landing gear. There's no way to land the shuttle gently. Inferno volunteers to land bring the shuttle down, and Smokescreen realizes he's talking about sacrificing himself. He refuses to let that happen, vowing to stay with him until the end, but Inferno insists by throwing him out of the window to safety. As his last act, Inferno pilots the burning shuttle away from his fellow Autobots, aiming it instead at the Decepticons, so he can take as many of them with him as possible. Cyclonus and Scourge witness the ship's fiery crash and conclude both _targets must have died, much to their master's satisfaction.

The captive Death's Head taunts Unicron for his fear. However, his defiance merely amuses the dark god, who actually appreciates the rare challenge he's facing. That said, he makes clear the minute Death's Head stops amusing, he dies. As Unicron rants, Death's Head notes his control wanes, and seeks to exploit it by asking about the time portal Unicron is having his Junkion thralls build, figuring any risk is worth the chance. Unicron obliges him. The time portal is to round up the loose end that is Galvatron, so that when Unicron's body is rebuilt he can literally pluck his errant creation out of the past and remind him there is nowhere he can hide. With this distraction, Death's Head prepares to strike.

Back on Cybertron, Smokescreen manages to relay his information to Rodimus, but the Autobot leader is reluctant to leave the war on Cybertron. His hesitancy enrages Grimlock, who points out between the Creation Matrix and his Dinobots, they've got everything they need to take Unicron out for good, a notion Kup agrees with. While outwardly Rodimus is confident, inwardly he's uncertain.

Death's Head draws Unicron's ire, but the mental link between them goes both ways, allowing him to enter Unicron's mind, where the battle will be on more equal terms... he hopes.

Part 5

Underneath Unicron, Wreck-Gar is laying down enough explosives to put Unicron down for good. The fact he's gotten as far as he has gives Wreck-Gar pause, and he figures the planet eater must have something on his mind.

That something is Death's Head, who's finding the battle is not remotely equal, as Unicron's mind is far too vast for him to comprehend. His opponent taunts him, applauding his audacity. Death's Head still remains defiant, but Unicron makes clear he's committed his last transgression. Now he will die. As a last gamble to keep him talking, Death's Head stalls, inquiring about his enemy's origins. Pausing, Unicron figures that his bravado has at least earned Death's Head the privilege of hearing the origins of Unicron.

And meanwhile, on the material plane, Rodimus laments just how little the Autobots know about Unicron, including where he came from, what he wants, and why the Matrix stopped him. He angsts to himself about leaving the fight on Cybertron, just like Smokescreen abandoned Wreck-Gar. Even if Rodimus understands the decision, he still can't get over the thought of leaving a friend behind... an attitude not far removed from Smokescreen's own thoughts on the matter.

Inside Unicron's mind, he begins his tale...

At the beginning of the universe, when life was just starting out, there was Unicron, chaos and fury given form, an evil no-one could stand against! ... no-one except Primus of the Light Gods. The two fought, their conflict laying waste to the universe and destroying the very life the Light Gods sought to protect, which gave Unicron the advantage. Defeated in the physical realm, Primus fought Unicron in the mental realm, but fared no better. Near death, the Lord of Light fled back to the physical, Unicron following closely behind, so focused on the kill he didn't notice the trap Primus has lured him into. Rather than returning to their own bodies, the two were trapped in asteroids, sealed for all eternity. For millennia, Unicron drifted, consumed by fury. Fury that he eventually used to reshape his prison into a mawed planet, and from there into another, the first Transformer! But Primus had not lain idle, similarly reshaping his prison into a planet - Cybertron. For even separated, the two gods knew what the other thought. Knowing of Unicron's omnicidal desires, Primus instilled his essence into a Matrix capable of creating life and destroying Unicron. And knowing of this, Unicron refused to attack Cybertron until the Matrix was captured by his servants. But while Galvatron's betrayal allowed Rodimus Prime to destroy his body, a spark of Unicron survived.

Suddenly, Unicron's monologue is interrupted by the arrival of the Autobots. Unicron commands the Junkions and Death's Head to attack, but the mechanoid fights back, opening fire on Unicron... and in the process, inadvertently causing the cave Wreck-Gar is in to collapse, just as he sets the timer for the explosives...

Part 6

Unicron vents his frustrations at the Autobots with typical eloquence, while Smokescreen tries avoiding his deadly eye blasts. His reckless flying earns a scolding from Scattershot, and though Smokescreen promises not to do it again he has no intention of doing so, determined as he is to avenge Inferno and Wreck-Gar, unaware the later is still alive... but not for much longer, as the Junkion leader watches the seconds tick away, trapped beneath the rubble just out of reach of his own explosives.

Up on the surface, Unicron cusses at his attackers, and reaches across space to his minions Cyclonus and Scourge, ordering them to get their behinds to Junk immediately. Their departure is witnessed by Soundwave, who figures that since they ordered the suicidal attack on the Autobots in the first place, the Decepticons should follow their example and leave. Kup's pretty jubilant about the sudden change in fortune, and Ultra Magnus thinks Rodimus had something to do with it.

Meanwhile, the Autobot's leader is beating himself up for his mistakes, such as bringing the Dinobots to Junk, since they're showing absolutely no restraint dealing with the mind-controlled Junkions. Of course, if he calls them off, then the Junkions will show no hesitation in killing them. Rodimus' brooding allows Death's Head to sneak up on him, but the bounty hunter doesn't want to fight. He's got an offer: A shot at Unicron. Shortly, the two are before Unicron, with Death's Head holding the Matrix and offering to exchange it and Rodimus for his own freedom. Unicron doesn't take, and instead attacks Death's Head's mind again, but this allows him to project Rodimus inside the dark god's psyche. The Prime figures that unleashing the power of the Matrix there will destroy him, but Unicron's ready and waiting.

"Wonder how much I can get for this on eBay?"

Beneath the surface of Junk, Death's Head finds Wreck-Gar and his stash of explosives. He ponders his options, figuring the explosion will get rid of all three in one.

Inside of Unicron's mind, Rodimus is doing poorly. The Matrix actually fuels Unicron, and once he kills Rodimus he will absorb its power, and be truly reborn. However, before he can strike the killing blow, Rodimus is pulled out by Death's Head. He insists it's not a change of heart at all, he's still technically in Rodimus's employ, and as if on cue that's when the _targets of his contract with Rodimus touch down in front of him. As the explosives start to go off, Death's Head charges the two into the time portal. Unicron is consumed in an almighty series of explosions, as Rodimus scrambles to get clear. He finds Wreck-Gar, who assures him everyone else is alright, but Rodimus can sense Unicron is not really dead, merely contained within the Matrix.

He hopes.

Cyclonus and Scourge were carried back into the past, where they wound up under Scorponok's command, but as for Death's Head... there was no trace.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Pathetic! Hoped for more courage, yes? Should have known better, huh? Still, I - UNNH!"
"Hah! Hoped for more intelligence...yes? Die, bounty hunter-"
"Think not!"
"AAIEE!"

—Death's Head and Scourge trade both quips and blows.

"Anyway, Inferno and Smokescreen will drop you off at Junk and return with the shuttle. Goodbye, Wreck-Gar...may all your programmes be serials!"

—Rodimus Prime gives his old friend a most appropriate send off.

"Thar she blows, cap'n. Junkions on the horizon. And tonight on Question Time, we ask - what are they doing here?"
"Surprise party?"

—Wreck-Gar and Inferno

"Go? Yes - end of part one. But I'll be back right after the break, Unicron - count on it!"

—Wreck-Gar

"Heh - face it, Inferno, you always did want to go out...in a blaze of glory!"

—Inferno lives up to his name.

"I...yes, you're right! Prepare a shuttle. The Dinobots, Smokescreen, Scattershot and I will leave for Junk immediately. The Matrix will deliver us from Unicron! [Thinking] I hope!"

—Rodimus Prime

"I defy you, Unicron, yes?"

—Death's Head, consummate badass, yes? Yes.

"Hmm. Well, perhaps by daring so much, you have earned a last request of sorts. Yes, I shall tell you a tale unheard by any mortal creature...the origin of Unicron!"
Elsewhere, in the real world...
"Unicron! If only we knew more about him!"

—Unicron and Rodimus Prime have excellent dramatic timing.

Notes

Artwork notes

• Primus is deliberately modeled on Rodimus Prime because Rodimus is the hero here.^[1]

Artwork and technical errors

• On the final page of Part 6, Scorponok's "horns" are drawn to be rising from behind his back and two or three times bigger than usual.
• In the same panel a bit of rubble behind Scorponok is colored the same lilac tone as his torso, as though it were a massive backpack.

Continuity errors

• Unicron requires the Junkions to construct a time portal to retrieve Galvatron from 1988. However, in a later story also penned by Furman, the Unicron of the main Marvel US continuity kidnaps a Galvatron from an alternate future timeline without the use of a time portal. Perhaps the Chaos Bringer usually has a time portal housed somewhere in his body, and being little more than a head in this story left him with no option but to build an external one?
• The planet is called Junk. Presumably by now Simon Furman had seen the movie where both Perceptor and Unicron refer to the "planet of junk", but was unaware that both the movie script and the cartoon series called it Junkion. This is not the first time this sort of thing happened in the UK comic...
• In 1987 Soundwave was able to read Death Head's thoughts, so why can't he in 2008 to determine whether or not he's bluffing? Though it's possible Death's Head could have come up with a defense, or less likely that Soundwave lost this ability, neither is ever mentioned.

Continuity notes

• Grapple can be seen in Part 3 gunning down one Decepticon at pointblank range without looking while also firing on Blitzwing. This is surprisingly awesome for the guy.
• This is the first version of Furman's big origin story. Interestingly, Unicron only refers to wanting "total domination" of the universe rather than total annihilation (though at other points in the story he mentions he also wants to destroy the universe, so clearly he's not fussed). This, and the idea of Unicron and Primus as entities among larger pantheons, would get dropped later on. This version of events doesn't specify what became of either the Light Gods or the Dark Gods after Primus and Unicron's fight. Also note that Rodimus isn't aware of Primus at all until Death's Head mentions it; when Furman moves to America with "Yesterday's Heroes!", Primus is now the Transformers' official god and they're shocked to discover he's real.
• In his flashback, Unicron is seen carrying a shield shaped like the Decepticon insignia. Probably shouldn't read too much into that.
• By going back in time to serve under Scorponok, Furman reconciled Cyclonus and Scourge's appearances in the United Kingdom story with their first appearance in the United States Headmasters limited series.
• Death's Head, although gone from the United Kingdom Transformers timeline, was far from dead. After an encounter with the Doctor, he was then sent to the regular Marvel continuity, and subsequently starred in a series of short-lived titles.
• The future Autobots were last seen in "Headhunt". After this story, they appear next in "The Big Broadcast of 2006" and "Space Pirates!".
• Unicron claims that inside his mind, the Matrix actually makes him stronger. His other claim, that he can absorb it and they will become one stronger entity, turned out to be true. However, the "make me stronger" bit doesn't work when it's Unicron inside the Matrix and not vice versa.
• The main villain of the piece has his half completed giant construction destroyed with explosives whilst he is distracted. Haven't we seen this before?

Junkionisms

Most of Wreck-Gar's pop-culture references in this story are generic TV, film and sports references that don't refer to any shows in particular, unlike past and future issues that include a lot of references to British television programmes. There are still a few that can be singled out, though:

• "Tonight on Question Time, we ask..."—A reference to the topical debate TV show of the same name.
• "Quite remarkable!"—Wreck-Gar's reaction to seeing Unicron's head was the catchphrase of the late sports commentator David Coleman; British readers of a certain age will find it difficult not to read the line in Coleman's voice.
• "Four faults!"—In showjumping, "faults" are penalties received for mistakes. "Four faults" is a common number, and Wreck-Gar subjects himself to this amount after being forced to kill a Junkion in Part 2. The equine theme continues in Part 5, when he sets off a bomb timer with a cry of "And they're off!"
• Wreck-Gar's opening monologue from Part 5 is done in the style of the famous mission briefings from Mission: Impossible, using many of the famous quotes from that show ("Your mission, should you choose to accept it..." "...disavow any knowledge..." "...will self-destruct in five seconds!"). In the midst of it, he sneaks in a reference to the shampoo, Head & Shoulders.
• "Analysis, Mister Spock!"—If you don't know, we can't help you.
• "It's time to countdown to today's prize."—Countdown is a long-running British TV quiz show.
• "So it's goodnight from me... and goodnight from him!"—This two-man farewell was uttered by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett at the conclusion of each episode of their television series, The Two Ronnies.
• "Th-th-that's all, folks!"—Again, if you don't recognise this, there's nothing that can be done for you.

Other Trivia

• How did Furman and Starkings sell Hasbro on this whole Primus thing? Well, Furman would reveal in an interview for Classics UK that they just didn't ask: "If we'd said, 'We want to do the origin of the Transformers', they'd have said 'I don't know about that...' But we thought if we presented it as a fait accompli in a script, along with some part-completed pages... In the end it didn't even show up on their radar."^[2]
• Unicron's mind is full of rainbows! Who knew?
• This was the first Transformers story Bryan Hitch worked on, and Geoff Senior wouldn't draw another story for quite a while due to moving to Dragon's Claws.
• The giant battle in issue #148 is the only double page spread in all of the UK stories.

Back-up material

Issue #146

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers
• AtoZ: Gears and Grapple

Issue #147

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers

Issue #148

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers
• AtoZ: Grimlock and Groove

Issue #149

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers

Issue #150

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers
• AtoZ: Rodimus Prime

Issue #151

• Back-up strips: Iron Man — "Stratosfire" and Robo-Capers
• AtoZ: Headstrong and Hoist

Covers (6)

• Issue #146 cover: Death's Head strangling Cyclonus, by Lee Sullivan.
• Issue #147 cover: a Unicron-guided Death's Head takes on Shockwave, by Jeff Anderson, Stephen Baskerville and John Burns.
• Issue #148 cover: Blurr, Kup & Rodimus Prime take on Decepticons, by Dan Reed and John Burns.
• Issue #149 cover: Smokescreen through the windscreen, by Barry Kitson & Robin Bouttell.
• Issue #150 cover: Rodimus Prime & Unicron wraparound cover, by Jerry Paris & John Burns.
• Issue #151 cover: Death's Head & Rodimus Prime team up to fight Unicron, by Lee Sullivan.

• 

  Issue #146

• 

  Issue #147

• 

  Issue #148

• 

  Issue #149

• 

  Issue #150

• 

  Issue #151

Reprints

• Issue #290 cover: Optimus Prime's corpse, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #291 cover: Bumblebee about to be attacked by the alien, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #292 cover: Windsweeper attacked by the alien, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #293 cover: Thunderwing with the Matrix, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #294 cover: dead Landmine, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #295 cover: Thunderwing's ugly mug, by Stewart Johnson.

• 

  Issue #290

• 

  Issue #291

• 

  Issue #292

• 

  Issue #293

• 

  Issue #294

• 

  Issue #295

• Issue #296 cover: Kup vs the evil Matrix, by Stephen Baskerville.
• Issue #297 cover: Thunderwing speared, by Staz.
• Issue #298 cover: Galvatron II emerging in the New York harbor, by Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #299 cover: Galvatron II before a dead Rodimus Prime, by John Marshall and Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #300 cover: Autobots attack, by John Marshall and Stewart Johnson.
• Issue #301 cover: Autobots victorious, by John Marshall, Stewart Johnson and Robin Bouttell.

• 

  Issue #296

• 

  Issue #297

• 

  Issue #298

• 

  Issue #299

• 

  Issue #300

• 

  Issue #301

• Transformers Comic-Magazin #16 cover: a multicolored Predaking.
• Transformers Comic-Magazin #17 cover: pass.
• Transformers Comic-Magazin #18 cover: an actual image of Unicron.
• Transformers: Legacy of Unicron TPB: Unicron's head vs Rodimus Prime, Wreck-Gar & Death's Head, by Geoff Senior and Oliver Harud.
• The Transformers Classics UK Volume 5 cover: the head of Unicron watches over Triton swapping his badge, Zombie Impactor attacking Springer, a fleeing Cyclonus and Scourge and an angry Flame, by Andrew Wildman.
• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection, Volume 11: The Legacy of Unicron: Wreck-Gar and Unicron by Don Figueroa and Dan Reed.

• 

  Transformers Comic-Magazin #16
  (Condor Verlag, 1991)

• 

  Transformers Comic-Magazin #17
  (Condor Verlag, 1991)

• 

  Transformers Comic-Magazin #18
  (Condor Verlag, 1991)

• 

  Transformers: Legacy of Unicron (Titan Books, 2003)

• 

  Classics UK Volume 5 (IDW Publishing, 2014)

• 

  Definitive G1 Collection vol. 11: The Legacy of Unicron (Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2018)

References

1. ↑ The Transformers Classics UK Volume 5, "The Legacy of Furman" feature: "a no-brainer", Furman calls it
2. ↑ The Transformers Classics UK Volume 5, "The Legacy of Furman" feature