“I thought Kong was attacked by planes? And why is he being played by Godzilla?” (from the Rifftrax)
The Transformers #54
Marvel Comics (July, 1989)
“King Con!” WRITER: Bob Budiansky PENCILER/BREAKDOWNS: José Delbo INKER/FINISHER: Danny Bulanadi COLORIST: Nel Yomtov LETTERER: Jim Massara EDITOR: Don DaleyTo replenish their ranks, Optimus contacts Cybertron for back-up. What they send are the Micromasters, downsized Transformers who, as Hi-Q puts it, “wield their independence like a club”. Their mission involves a sighting of Iguanus in the Jersey swamps, which also brings in reporter Cecilia Santiago. The Micromasters must learn to accept Cecilia’s help because Scorponok and the Pretenders have a plan to gather energy by causing a lighting storm and using Manhattan island as an energy collector, which will kill anyone in the area of the device. Brash and kind of jerks, the Micromasters are able to stop the Decepticons’ plans but decide they will remain in New York with Cecilia rather than run from the authorities.
What they got right: Good nod to Skullgrin’s time as an actor and making friends with Carissa. The Micromasters are a good idea and might even have made for a good spinoff title.
What they got wrong: The problem with introducing both Micromaster teams (for toy fans it’s the Race Car and Off-Road Patrols) is that there are a lot of characters. The breakout character here seemed to be Roadhandler, who will take center stage in the next issue.
Recommendation: A good introduction to the Micromasters. (Too bad the follow-up won’t be as good next issue.) Worth getting for that but the story itself isn’t a must-have.
BW Media Spotlight 