The source of the zombies is revealed, as Wreckers leader Springer must overcome his inner doubts if he is to confront the past and save the future…
In City of Fear, fans were treated to a hugely entertaining zombie-fest as Ultra Magnus, the Sparklers, and their show-stealing Decepticon prisoner, Flywheels, fought to stay a step ahead of the armies of the undead, succeeding against all odds and probably much to their own surprise.
It wasn’t at all clear how or why the bodies of dead Transformers had sprung to life and started menacing the living, and it didn’t matter because the lack of explanations allowed us to enjoy a fun, uncomplicated and thrilling ride. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
However, inevitably Simon Furman was going to have to explain the zombie situation, as well as the whereabouts of the Emirate Xaaron and the missing Wreckers. Legion of the Lost, the middle instalment of our story (from May 1988), is where those explanations are revealed, and the pieces put in place for an explosive finale (literally).
A bit like playtime followed by the classroom, Legion is essential learning but ultimately less satisfying than City of Fear or even the final instalment, Meltdown.
Things pick-up where we left off, with Magnus and co. having learned that a mysterious signal which animated the zombies originated from deep below the surface of Cybertron. However, the locus switches to our mysterious villain (Flame) who we can only see by his arm and its flamboyant fire markings – a bit like a bad Hot Rod tribute act – watching the Autobots and Flywheels on his monitors.
Magnus is caught on camera booting a now deactivated zombie across the floor in a moment which raised an eyebrow for me, is this the same Magnus who was so worried about injuring the zombies last week that he ordered a ceasefire that nearly got everyone killed?
We see Xaaron, once a member of Cybertron’s governing council and ever after a talisman figure of the Autobot resistance, sitting in a cell. Whoever this mysterious enemy is, he’s responsible for the disappearance of the Wreckers and everything that has transpired so far. Furman transitions into the events of three weeks earlier and a massive nuclear explosion which fried a lot of bots.
Springer, who is the main character in the second instalment, had stormed into Autobase in an absolute panic, only to find Xaaron calm and in control (no doubt this sort of thing used to wind up Springer’s predecessor Impactor also). Xaaron has already determined that the enemy were not responsible and that someone else was, and, on cue, a technician briefs the assembled Wreckers on his theory that a reactor below ground had been vented.
Xaaron reminds us that Megatron, the founder of the Decepticon movement and the instigator of the millennia long civil war, had once schemed to turn Cybertron into a space-faring dreadnought. It turns out that he might have actually got around to building the engine room before he disappeared.
Springer immediately deployed with his men to find a way underground, only to return in failure. Sitting there dejected he wallows in doubts and self-pity about his mistakes since taking over leadership of the Wreckers following the heroic death of the team’s long-time leader Impactor. These include falling for Megatron’s disinformation and nearly executing Optimus Prime, which as mistakes go is about as bad as it gets.
It’s all shaping up to be a classic Furman redemption story (I remember reading one of his Thundercats stories with Lion-O wracked with doubts and having to overcome them by the story conclusion, and similarly Prime himself in Crisis of Command or even Magnus recently in Salvage) – you get what I mean, it’s a familiar trope.
Things usually must get worse before they get better and sure enough Autobase is quickly overrun with Zombies bursting up from the floor. Springer has no idea what to do and his men are started to get overwhelmed.
Sandstorm shouts to Springer to get away and save Xaaron, which eventually he resolves to do, even though it means leaving his men to their fates. This sets up a ‘shock ending’ for the first part as the fleeing Springer comes face-to-face with his worst nightmare, a zombified Impactor!
Did we see that coming? Well yes, I think the build-up with Springer invoking Impactor’s memory – revealing that he looks up to his predecessor massively, even though they only met for a very short time in Target: 2006, pretty much gave the game away. Still, he was a great character in that iconic 1986 saga, still arguably Simon Furman’s greatest Transformers stories, and its exciting to see him return (proving that in comics, no death is truly forever).
In the second part, Transformers issue 167, we learn the Wreckers survived the attack, along with Xaaron, and are now in the cells with a band around their mid-rift which prevents transformation. Impactor enters as the zombie bodyguard of Flame, who we finally see, and surprise, surprise, he’s an Autobot! (Albeit clearly a loon).
There’s a bit of history here between Xaaron and Flame. It turns out that Xaaron was responsible for snuffing out Flame’s grand ambition to activate Megatron’s engines and propel Cybertron on a journey through the cosmos (presumably in a more controlled way than currently, with it having spun out of orbit in issue 1).
Flame had been presumed dead in an explosion, but he survived and has like a science geek who got ridiculed at school he’s returned all embittered and desperate to prove he was right all along. Luckily for the Xaaron and company, they are needed alive long enough for that ‘I told you so moment’, although Xaaron’s expects that the loopy plot will probably destroy Cybertron in the process.
A quick check on the surface sees Flywheels jetting away in his plane mode and Magnus arguing with the Sizzle about why their prisoner has been allowed to go. Magnus rather hopes he can trust the Duocon to bring reinforcements. We’ll see.
Back to what I was saying about the ‘overcoming self-doubt motif’, Springer has reached rock bottom in terms of his lack of belief in himself. It takes Xaaron to remind him of the insult he’s giving to Impactor’s memory if he doesn’t snap out of it. Finally, Springer sorts himself out, and uses his leaping ability to launch himself through a vent in the ceiling, with Impactor gripping his legs and getting carried along.
The old trick of escaping through an air vent is not very original, and I have to wonder at the point of vents on a planet inhabited by robots who don’t need to breathe. That said, much later the Neo Knights (Earth superheroes) are able to survive on Cybertron so perhaps there’s an atmosphere after all, just without plants to release the oxygen.
Springer reasons with Impactor as they tussle in the shaft, finally triggering Impactor’s limited consciousness starts to reassert. He leaves to ‘find out what he has become’ and Springer resumes his mission to alert the outside world about the impending doom. To be concluded…
It must be said that 1988 is a boom time for Marvel UK. In both issues there are plugs for new releases, as the company launches a line of American format monthly titles – there’s Action Force, Dragon’s Teeth (soon to be Dragon’s Claws when it turns out that an independent already has the name) and a one-page strip about Death’s Head which hints at his return. Exciting stuff.
One Shall Stand 