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Kings of the Wild Frontier.

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« The Transformers (US) #63 »
« The Transformers (UK) #282–285 »
MarvelUS-63.jpg
Cowbots.
"Kings of the Wild Frontier."
Publisher Marvel Comics
First published December 1989
Cover date February 1990
Writer Simon Furman
Penciler José Delbo
Inker Dave Hunt
Colorist Nel Yomtov
Letterer Jim Massara
Editor Don Daley
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

The Autobots discover that the Wild West may be a little TOO wild for them.

Contents

Synopsis

(thumbnail)
"I tried to tell him this town ain't big enough for the two of us, but then I remembered which franchise we're part of."

The Triggerbots are investigating the desert planet Cheyne in their search for the Matrix. Even more so than the others, Dogfight is less than thrilled about their current assignment, and is literally itching for a fight (y'know, from the sand). When they're nearly run down by a pack of riders, and see that the riders are chasing a child, Dogfight leaps into action, and the other Autobots are forced to follow suit. Despite their protests that things aren't what they seem, the riders are driven off by the Triggerbots. They are then taken in by the child's parents, who act as gracious hosts and insist the Autobots freshen up at their farm before moving on.

Meanwhile, Thunderwing has hooked his three Autobot captives (Hosehead, Nightbeat and Siren) up to a Mind Leech device, and has extracted enough information from them to learn of the Matrix Quest. As he and his fellow Decepticons begin to set down on Cheyne, Ruckus makes an off-handed remark about how good it'll be for the Decepticons to eliminate the Autobot Matrix once and for all. Thunderwing silently disagrees, though, and is already forming plans to claim the Matrix, and its power, for himself.

Back at the ranch, Hud and his family tell the Triggerbots a sad tale about being driven off their homeworld by a political upheaval, and about trouble with "land prospectors" on this one trying to take away their farm. Once again, the Autobots allow themselves to be convinced to stay longer than they should, turning their quick stop for freshening up into an overnight stay.

Elsewhere, Optimus Prime reaches deep into himself to make psychic contact with the Matrix, but is treated to visions of a dark corruption consuming the artifact, and the face of Unicron swallowing all Transformers into oblivion.

On Cheyne, the Triggerbots have been convinced to stay even longer, and help tend Hud's farm. At this point, their minds are clearly so fogged that they cannot even remember the Matrix Quest. As Dogfight accompanies his host into the town of Osaplam for protection, he is confronted by Thunderwing and the Decepticons. After a short battle, Thunderwing examines Dogfight more closely and realizes he truly knows nothing of the Matrix, or even his own identity anymore. Discarding the Autobot as useless, Thunderwing and the others make ready to leave the planet and move on to the next.

Shaken a bit out of his fog by the beating (and the absence of Hud, who was chased out of town the moment he was separated from the Autobot), Dogfight is approached by the riders he had attacked the day before. They explain the family's evil nature to him, and Dogfight rushes back to the ranch to confront Hud and the others. At gunpoint, he forces Hud to reveal his true form, as a Vrobian psychic vampire that has been feeding off of the Matrix life-energy in all of them, a slow and wasting process made possible by the family's ability to psychically pacify their prey. In this case though, revealed as he is, Hud opts for a plasma cannon. As he blasts Dogfight out of the building, the rest of the family lunge for the other Triggerbots' guns just as they begin to snap out of their funk.

Chasing Dogfight around the property, Hud taunts him, saying the Autobot warrior is too pathetic to understand true warfare. Dogfight denies this, saying that Autobots know full well the horrors of war, yet must engage in it anyway. He crushes Hud's rifle as it is firing, and the backfire kills the Vrobian. Dogfight reunites with Backstreet and Override to learn that they had to similarly deal with the others. The three Autobots are left standing alone in the empty farm, wondering what the point of it all was.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Others

Quotes

"I've had enough! I'm a warrior, not a bloodhound! I... WANT... A... FIGHT!"

—Dogfight has had his fill of Matrix-hunting


"Wait, Dogfight! We don't know --"
"How much do you need to know? Four heavily armed goons chasin' a kid? C'mon! Oh, man, I am going to enjoy this so much!"

— Override learns just why they call him Dogfight


"Greetings, organisms. I am Thunderwing, these are my Decepticons. I suggest you stand aside, we have business here that doesn't involve lower lifeforms such as yourselves!"

— Thunderwing chats up the locals


"Hah! It is as I suspected. The Autobot is under some form of mental control. In his enthralled state, he has forgotten his quest, his past -- perhaps even his name! Come, leave him to his befuddled oblivion! The proud Autobot warrior, lost in a fog of passive amnesia! A more cruel, torturous fate even I could not have devised!"

— Thunderwing


"You're wrong! We live and breathe warfare day in and day out! It's the only life some of us have ever known! We know exactly how to fight -- we just don't like doing it!"

— Dogfight


"Matrix forgive me! He left me no choice. The others...?"
"Don't ask. It was us or them."

—Dogfight and Backstreet are really having a bad day

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

  • Crankcase is depicted on the cover, despite the fact that he is not one of Thunderwing's troops for this story.
  • José Delbo appears to have interpreted Dogfight's guns as being ones that he holds, rather than parts of his arms. When he's not using them, they're "holstered" on his hips.

Continuity errors

  • The Ark has an altar. A few issues back in "Yesterday's Heroes!", Bumblebee stated that he forgot they had a god. Maybe Prime had it built after the rediscovery of Primus.
  • The art of Prime's falling into the altar is awkwardly redrawn from issue #50 (see image).
DelboOptimusFalling.jpg

Continuity notes

Real-life references

  • The story is an obvious Western homage. While it combines elements from many Western films, the plot bears a (slight) resemblance to Shane, which is probably the inspiration for the name of the planet, "Cheyne". The title is also lifted from "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". The town name, Osaplam, is "Malpaso" backwards - as in, the many Western films released by Malpaso Productions. The character named Hud is likewise a reference to yet another famous Western.

UK printing

Issue #282:

Issue #283:

  • Additional Transformers story: "Manoeuvres!"
  • Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Into the Breach" and Combat Colin
  • AtoZ: Thundercracker and Thrust
    • This was the only time AtoZ was printed in black and white and after readers' complaints the profiles were reprinted in issue #309, this time in full colour.

Issue #284:

  • Additional Transformers story: "Assassins"
  • Other strips: G.I. Joe the Action Force - "Into the Breach" and Combat Colin
  • AtoZ: Topspin and Tracks
  • In the box in the top left hand of the cover Dreadwind now appears, having pushed Optimus Prime out over the last two issues. His permanent cover pose and Hi-Test appear from the next issue.

Issue #285:

Other trivia

Courtesy of my...

Foreign Localization

Swedish

  • Title (1990): "Civilisationens räddningspatrull" ("The Rescue Party of Civilization")
    Title (2019): "Dom vilda viddernas kungar" ("The Kings of the Wild Expanses")

Covers (5)

  • (thumbnail)

    US issue #63 - "Ah've come for my nice cover. No? Oh."

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #282 - A ghost samurai robot skeleton!

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #283 - Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #284 - Not the crotch! Not the crotch!

  • (thumbnail)

    UK issue #285 - Starscream needs to get more in touch with his mothering instincts.

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US

  • Trix cereal - inside front cover
  • Instant Quaker Oatmeal presents Popeye - between pages 4 & 5 and between pages 5 & 6
  • Acclaim Douple Player wireless head-to-head system - between pages 7 & 8
  • Capcom Bionic Commando - between pages 8 & 9
  • Airwolf engine powered model helicopter - between pages 16 & 17
  • Mister Bubble - between pages 17 & 18
  • Star Signals and Checklist - between pages 19 & 20
  • WCW video game for Nintendo - between pages 20 & 21
  • Transmissions
  • Marvel subscription service
  • Chips Ahoy! cookies - inside back cover
  • Lucky Charms cereal (back cover)

UK

????

Reprints

  • (thumbnail)

    Matrix Quest TPB (Titan Books, 2002)

  • (thumbnail)

    Matrix Quest hardback (Titan Books, 2002)

  • (thumbnail)

    Best of Transformers: Eye of the Storm (Titan Books, 2008)

  • (thumbnail)

    Classic Transformers Volume 5 (IDW Publishing, 2009)

  • (thumbnail)

    The Transformers Classics, Vol. 5 (IDW Publishing, 2013)

  • (thumbnail)

    Definitive G1 Collection vol. 17: Matrix Quest (Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2018)

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