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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #1 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 1 Modern |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0237856007
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Owner Comments
Synopsis: "War Without End!"
In deep space, a group of construction workers are brutally slaughtered, without warning or quarter, by heavily armed brutes who enjoy their work... Yes, it's a team of Autobots led by Grimlock, and they've just stopped some Decepticons from destroying the planet of Nexus Seven. When Blades and Hound begin arguing about each other's conduct, Grimlock tells them to remember that they're all Autobots: "good guys". Later, Jhiaxus, the leader of this group of Decepticons, hears about the attack and decides to take matters into his own hands. Oddly, he has to explain to his aide Rook what the 'archaic' terms of Autobot and Decepticon mean...
Optimus Prime is called for a meeting on an uninhabited world with Grimlock. (Actually some of Jhiaxus' Decepticons are still there but Optimus, Hot Rod and Kup kill them all) He's troubled: the war is over and all their old enemies are gone, but many Autobots like Grimlock have gone off looking for new reasons to fight. He himself is having visions of a great and terrible apocalypse, and worries he's just looking for another reason to fight. This concern ends when Grimlock and his team reveal that this dead planet used to be inhabited and the Decepticon colonists "miscalculated", destroying the environment. Worse, they've found seventeen inhabited planets that have been violently eco-structured into replica Cybertrons! Optimus knows that even if Bludgeon lied about giving up war, he'd never be able to do all this... which is when Jhiaxus catches up and captured them all!
Meanwhile, on Earth, the G.I. Joe military unit send a message to Cybertron: Megatron is back with a new body!
On Jhiaxus' flagship, Grimlock and Prime are taken before the Decepticon leader to be informed of the truth: the Cybertronian Empire is not, in their mind, a group of Decepticons, but people who've put the war and the factions behind them. They realised Cybertron was a wreck four million years ago, while Prime was asleep on the Ark, and left it behind, leaving behind all the uncool losers like Straxus. The Autobots, the Decepticons, and the war are outdated ideas. When Optimus protests that the Empire, for all Jhiaxus' polite words, is still oppressing and killing worlds, Jhiaxus says that they simply don't care about other life forms: the genocides aren't about malice, the aliens just get in the way.
Optimus is left shaken by the discovery of this larger picture but Grimlock snaps him out of it, pointing out how the Cybertronians see too big a picture: the Autobots learnt on Earth how important the 'lesser' life forms were. He breaks them out and they spring their fellow Autobots, cripple the ship with an explosive, and escape on a stolen vessel. Jhiaxus is annoyed but lets them run... so he can pursue them to their base and destroy all of them!
The Autobots now know the war is still on and even greater than they new, but terrible as this threat is, Optimus Prime is still having visions: there's something even worse on the horizon...
Released: September 1993
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #1 Collector's Edition |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 1 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1076893001
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "War Without End!"
In deep space, a group of construction workers are brutally slaughtered, without warning or quarter, by heavily armed brutes who enjoy their work... Yes, it's a team of Autobots led by Grimlock, and they've just stopped some Decepticons from destroying the planet of Nexus Seven. When Blades and Hound begin arguing about each other's conduct, Grimlock tells them to remember that they're all Autobots: "good guys". Later, Jhiaxus, the leader of this group of Decepticons, hears about the attack and decides to take matters into his own hands. Oddly, he has to explain to his aide Rook what the 'archaic' terms of Autobot and Decepticon mean...
Optimus Prime is called for a meeting on an uninhabited world with Grimlock. (Actually some of Jhiaxus' Decepticons are still there but Optimus, Hot Rod and Kup kill them all) He's troubled: the war is over and all their old enemies are gone, but many Autobots like Grimlock have gone off looking for new reasons to fight. He himself is having visions of a great and terrible apocalypse, and worries he's just looking for another reason to fight. This concern ends when Grimlock and his team reveal that this dead planet used to be inhabited and the Decepticon colonists "miscalculated", destroying the environment. Worse, they've found seventeen inhabited planets that have been violently eco-structured into replica Cybertrons! Optimus knows that even if Bludgeon lied about giving up war, he'd never be able to do all this... which is when Jhiaxus catches up and captured them all!
Meanwhile, on Earth, the G.I. Joe military unit send a message to Cybertron: Megatron is back with a new body!
On Jhiaxus' flagship, Grimlock and Prime are taken before the Decepticon leader to be informed of the truth: the Cybertronian Empire is not, in their mind, a group of Decepticons, but people who've put the war and the factions behind them. They realised Cybertron was a wreck four million years ago, while Prime was asleep on the Ark, and left it behind, leaving behind all the uncool losers like Straxus. The Autobots, the Decepticons, and the war are outdated ideas. When Optimus protests that the Empire, for all Jhiaxus' polite words, is still oppressing and killing worlds, Jhiaxus says that they simply don't care about other life forms: the genocides aren't about malice, the aliens just get in the way.
Optimus is left shaken by the discovery of this larger picture but Grimlock snaps him out of it, pointing out how the Cybertronians see too big a picture: the Autobots learnt on Earth how important the 'lesser' life forms were. He breaks them out and they spring their fellow Autobots, cripple the ship with an explosive, and escape on a stolen vessel. Jhiaxus is annoyed but lets them run... so he can pursue them to their base and destroy all of them!
The Autobots now know the war is still on and even greater than they new, but terrible as this threat is, Optimus Prime is still having visions: there's something even worse on the horizon...
Released: September 1993
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #2 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 2 Modern |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1213905012
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis
"All or Nothing!"
All eyes turn skywide as the Ark looms overhead under the command of Megatron! After various events in another comic, he's defeated an Autobot strike team with four kills and two woundings, and he's conned Cobra into giving him a new body and their top weapons designer Dr. Biggles-Jones in return for a load of junk. Now he's off to reclaim command of the Decepticons!
Unknown to him, Skydive and Spike Witwicky, one-time Headmaster partner to Fortress Maximus, have each managed to sneak on board. Spike feels it's lucky he came back to check on the Ark when he did but he'll need Maximus' body to do anything; unfortunately, he finds Fortress Maximus's body has been heavily damaged by Megatron. He takes control anyway and Maximus teams up with Skydive, making his move while Megatron, in need of reinforcements wherever he can get them, is focused on the "sheer lunacy" of bringing someone back. While Max takes on Megs, Skydive rescues Biggles-Jones and then leaves. Sadly, Fortress Maximus proves no match for the upgraded Decepticon leader, leaving Spike worried that Maximus intends to die stopping Megatron (he doesn't want to be included too!).
Only a distraction provided by Skydive—screw Biggles-Jones' safety, he wants to shoot at that bastard too!—proves enough to allow Maximus to walk away from the battle. He locates the antimatter conversion chamber, which will take out the Ark if destroyed, and tells Spike to leave and get clear. Unfortunately, Spike knows that Maximus probably can't do it without his help, and the two willingly sacrifice themselves to shatter the chamber. Skydive escapes in time, Biggles-Jones in tow, but whether or not Megatron fell is unknown...
Meanwhile, on Earth, Cobra is fleeing the town of Milleville with Cybertronian junk parts. Hot Spot, the leader of the Autobots sent to Earth, feels that the risk is too great that humans could reverse-engineer something even from rubbish; he goes on the attack despite his wounds, attempting to destroy all the parts. Wounded, he is only able to succeed when G.I. Joe arrive to provide aid. However, he's unable to fight back when the Cobras surround him, intending to dissect him for information. Optimus Prime had made it clear that not even the Autobots could fall into human hands... so Hot Spot self-destructs, much to the horror of the watching Hawk.
When Skydive returns to Earth with Dr. Biggles-Jones, he and members of G.I. Joe reflect on the sacrifices of Fortress Maximus and Hot Spot. Skydive reflects on death and both he and Hawk hope that, when their time comes, they can be as strong as their comrades were.
Released: October 1993
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #3 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 3 Modern |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0237856017
|
Owner Comments
"Primal Fear!"
Optimus Prime and Jhiaxus fight on an unnamed planet in the K'tord Nebula. Jhiaxus is glorying in the release of combat. Despite the gruesome injuries he is receiving and inflicting, so is Prime.
Overhead, in the Autobot shuttlecraft Darkstar, Hound is the only Transformer still intact; the corpses of Jhiaxus's troops surround him. Hound is desperately trying to reach anyone on the communicator. He begins taking out his frustration on the equipment, but then struggles to regain his calm. He begins recording a message about how Optimus Prime's Autobots, fleeing Jhiaxus, tried to hide in the K'tord Nebula, from which many ships never emerge. However, once within the nebula, tempers began to fray among the Autobots, and the Decepticons stopped simply tracking the shuttle and instead attacked. Hound ends the message by saying it's not an SOS, but a warning that something about this planet causes uncontrolled fear and rage, so anyone listening should stay away.
Below, Grimlock, Kup, and other Autobots are fighting Jhiaxus's troops with vicious intensity. Optimus Prime manages to slip away from Jhiaxus for a moment and begins struggling to find his pacifist core. Jhiaxus, deprived of the distraction of combat, begins suffering flashbacks to the tyrannical sadist he was a long time ago. He realizes that he's losing the icy control he's cultivated for so long. Prime returns and tells him that only by confronting and facing down the violent savage within can they truly evolve and become more than just pre-programmed responses. Jhiaxus silently agrees, and as they reject the unreasoning violence, tendrils of black psychic energy flee their bodies. Prime examines the energy and realizes it is a non-physical living thing that feeds on rage.
Refusing to be manipulated by the shadow-stuff, Optimus Prime and Jhiaxus order their troops to stop fighting (having to physically restrain them in some cases). They declare a temporary truce, and Jhiaxus allows the Autobots to leave. On the bridge of his ship, Jhiaxus muses over what the experience on the planet has taught him, while ordering that the infestation be bombed from orbit, so the Cybertronians can colonize the planet safely.
"Old Evils"
Jhiaxus returns to his flagship, the Twilight. He angrily muses about how the recent incident reminds him of when the Cybertronians were a darker and far more violent group. He thanks the Maker that there are no such Transformers around now.
Meanwhile, in another galaxy, just such a group of Decepticons are attacking an alien craft. Bludgeon, in his titanic Warworld battle cruiser, presses the attack against the frog-like space pirates. They fight back, briefly, before the weapons of the Warworld breach their hull, killing the crew, while leaving the ship intact enough to pillage.
After their victory, Bludgeon muses about his next step. He has built an army of Transformer shells, but the only way to grant them life is with Optimus Prime's Creation Matrix. Bludgeon decides the only way to draw Prime away from the safety of Cybertron and the Autobase is to threaten that little planet Prime has protected in the past... Earth.
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #4 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 4 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1199985014
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "Devices and Desires!"
Optimus Prime dreams of a field of Autobot corpses. He is suddenly attacked by a corrosive black substance, which somehow seems familiar. As it eats away his arm, he wakes up to find Kup shaking him. Kup informs him that Grimlock, against orders, left Autobase with a raiding party. (Prime gave those orders because he regards these dreams as warnings of a second menace, and wants no incautious actions taken until it is identified.)
Grimlock and his party have stolen a shuttle from the Cybertronians, the Kiro. They have also stolen some docking codes, and use them to sneak on board Jhiaxus's flagship, the Twilight, which they plan to obliterate with a freaking enormous bomb. They land in the shuttle bay and exit the craft... only to find themselves surrounded by dozens of Cybertronian troops, commanded by Jhiaxus himself. He expected an attack of this sort, and the codes which Grimlock's party used were inadequate. He knocks Grimlock down. Red Alert, angered, raises his weapon, and is cut down by half-a-dozen weapon blasts. Grimlock, realizing the enormity of his error, surrenders. Jhiaxus orders them shipped off to the Liege Maximo.
En route, the prison ship is attacked by another Cybertronian ship, the Sabre. The startled Cybertronian guard comments that all its codes check out... and is then killed by Grimlock, who knows an opportunity when he sees one. The rest of Grimlock's party follow his lead (with Mirage getting killed in the process).
On board the Sabre, Optimus Prime had taken over the ship, but kept the crew alive (for their complete knowledge of the codes). Prime hails the prison ship, to tell them he's beginning docking maneuvers. Grimlock worries that Prime will hand him his shiny metal ass over this catastrophe.
Instead, Optimus Prime puts Grimlock in charge while he himself journeys back to Cybertron. He believes Grimlock has learned from his mistake (which appears to be true), and will think of his soldiers first from now on. Meanwhile, Prime believes he needs to commune with the heart of Cybertron to learn the truth of his visions.
"Tales of Earth Part One"
Meanwhile, Bludgeon is laying waste to Earth using his Warworld battle cruiser. Watching Earth broadcasts, he sees thousands, if not millions, are already dead. Bludgeon then leads a strike force to the surface to give the killing a more personal touch. Just as he is about to strike down some puny fleshlings, however, his weapon is shot from his hand. He is utterly startled to be faced with Megatron and Starscream, both back from the dead... and Megatron wants leadership of the Decepticons back. Now.
Released: December 1993
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #5 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 5 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198484004
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "The Power and the Glory"
On Cybertron, the Venerable Ones are hooking Optimus Prime up to a psychic amplifier, preparing to dropping him into the heart of the planet, the better to commune with the Matrix. Prime believes this will clarify his visions. Though he has doubts, he nevertheless tells the Venerable Ones to flip the switch.
Within Cybertron, he receives visions of the birth of the first Transformers from the body of Primus... and then learns, for the first time, how these early Transformers reproduced. This budding process is a sort of bio-mechanical mitosis. However, it becomes clear to Optimus Prime that in the present day, budding is no longer a safe method of reproduction. Primus intends for current Transformers to reproduce using the Creation Matrix. The continued use of budding by the Cybertronians is what makes them ruthless and emotionless; their link to Primus has been attenuated by too many generations.
Optimus Prime tears himself out of the psychic link, more determined than ever to stop the Cybertronians. However, if he had stayed linked a few seconds more, he would have seen that continued process of budding, in addition to producing cold, hard Transformers, is also releasing a strange dark energy. Dark, and purposeful...
Meanwhile, Jhiaxus is overseeing the cyber-forming of a (formerly) lush organic world, and wondering where the heck the Autobots got to. Hot Rod and the other Autobots under Optimus Prime's command are engaging in training exercises at the Autobase, and are champing at the bit to kick some Cybertronian (or Decepticon) skidplate.
"Tales of Earth Part Two"
Back on Earth, Bludgeon laments about how he created all this carnage to draw out Optimus Prime (and his tasty Creation Matrix), but instead all he got were Megatron and Starscream. The opposing leaders exchange some trash talk, then begin the fight. Though Bludgeon makes good use of his Pretender nature and tank alternate mode, he's truly no match for the new and upgraded Megatron, who decapitates his shell, then blows his inner robot to bits. Watching from a safe distance, the Autobot Skydive scampers off to report to Optimus Prime that Megatron is back as undisputed leader of the Decepticons.
Released: January 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #6 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 6 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198484005
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "The Gathering Darkness"
Hawk is royally torqued that the only reinforcement he's getting is one Autobot, even if it is Optimus Prime. Prime explains that he wants to reason with Megatron, and try to gain him as an ally against the Cybertronians. Hawk and Flint are skeptical.
Above, in the Warworld, Soundwave reports to Megatron that Optimus Prime is on Earth, alone. Megatron smiles.
At the Autobase, Grimlock is planning to disobey orders again, and take the troops to Earth, to "help" Optimus Prime by kicking Megatron's exhaust port. Prowl tells him that he may ruin all of Prime's plans if he does this.
Back on Earth, Optimus Prime opens negotiations by demolishing Tantrum, then gets knocked down by a surprise attack from Megatron. Optimus tries to explain about the Cybertronians, but Megatron just zaps him, then drains the needed creation energy from Prime's chest. As Megatron is about to kill Optimus Prime, Grimlock charges in with the cavalry. The battles seems fairly evenly matched, but Megatron decides it's a waste of time, and the Decepticons withdraw to the Warworld. Prime, though badly injured, nevertheless seems hopeful that all this may work out to his advantage.
On the far-distant world of Fara, a group of semi-robotic aliens known as the Esk clones are peacefully harvesting solar radiation, when night falls unexpectedly... the Swarm has come, and it is hungry...
"Tales of Earth: Part Three"
Swindle gives Megatron a tour of the Warworld and Megatron is favorably impressed. He asks why Bludgeon was trying to lure Optimus Prime out of hiding, and Swindle shows him the supply of Decepticon shells Bludgeon created, which are ready and waiting to be brought to life by the Creation Matrix. Megatron really likes this plan.
Meanwhile, in the skies of Earth, Starscream is chatting interminably about how much he likes mindless destruction, his plans for the future, how silly humans are defending such strategically pointless land, and generally driving his fellow Seekers crazy with his babbling. Ramjet can't fathom why Megatron brought Starscream back to life.
Back on the Warworld, Soundwave is putting exactly the same question to Megatron. (Meanwhile, a team of Decepticons are trying to revive Darkwing.) Megatron tells Soundwave that Starscream's flight abilities have proved useful recently, but that he is well aware of his potential for treachery, and may "retire" him soon...
Among the humans, Hawk of G.I. Joe is leading the counter-offensive, and tells Flint that, unless they get some serious Autobot reinforcements, they may lose the planet. At that moment, Skydive shows up with reinforcements, in the form of Optimus Prime... alone.
Released: February 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #7 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 7 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198484006
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "New Dawn"
On the planet Tykos, Megatron and the Decepticons are staging a raid for the wonder chemical, rheanimum. This is the first field test for the new Rotor Force and Laser Rod Decepticons, as well as the rebuilt Darkwing, and they acquit themselves admirably. Megatron gloats over his success, then orders Starscream and Thundercracker to begin loading the rheanimum for transport to the Warworld. Starscream muses over how it's approaching the day when he'll have to start looking out for number one.
Megatron is contemplating his victory and his plans for conquest, when Soundwave informs him of an incoming message from Skullgrin. Megatron had dispatched him and five other Decepticons to investigate the alleged threat of the Cybertronians. Skullgrin is the only survivor, and he's so badly damaged that he doesn't survive the crash of his shuttle. Megatron is enraged, and whips the Decepticons into a killing frenzy. The Warworld sets out to conquer the rivaling faction.
This goes really badly. The Cybertronians are vicious beyond any foes the Decepticons are used to, and they kill Runamuck and Quake, among others. Megatron confronts Jhiaxus personally, and is thoroughly trounced. Jhiaxus only breaks off the beating when Megatron undergoes orbital reentry, at which point the Decepticons retreat to look for their fallen (literally) leader. Eventually they find a black smoking crater, and most of Megatron... who is nevertheless still alive, and if you thought he was angry before...
"Tales of Earth Part Four"
Optimus Prime, having been beaten by Megatron last issue, is recovering from his injuries, and mourning the loss of the Creation Matrix. He quietly thinks back over Megatron's many defeats and resurrections, and wonders if the war will ever end. His reverie is interrupted by the arrival of the hideously damaged Megatron, who ominously declares, "I'm not happy!"
Released: March 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #8 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 8 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198484007
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "Escalation!"
Jhiaxus has had enough. Talking to himself (or possibly to some unseen troops) he declares that the Cybertronians will sweep across the stars, killing all non-Transformer life, cyberforming all suitable worlds, obliterating all others, creating a perfect universe. When the Autobots come out to try and stop them, they too will be wiped from the heavens like a blotch of grease. So let it be written, so let it be done.
The Autobots arrive on Ethos barely in time to save the last few survivors. The attackers are (of course) the Cybertronians. While the battle initially goes in the Autobots' favor, the brutality of the Cybertronians begins to tell, and Smokescreen and Inferno are killed. The tide only turns when, unexpectedly, the Decepticons show up to save the day.
After the battle is won, Megatron tells Optimus Prime that the only reason he came was that he learned the attackers were Cybertronian troops. Prime says the fact that he came is sufficient for now. Soundwave then reports some bad news: Starscream is mysteriously missing...
"Tales of Earth: Part Five"
Meanwhile, on Earth, Optimus Prime is visited by the half-dead Megatron. They are about to have a serious talk, when Grimlock slams Megatron into a wall. Prime convinces Grimlock that Megatron is here to talk, and Prime and Megatron agree to an anti-Cybertronian alliance.
At that moment, Sideswipe arrives to report that a nearby world, Ethos, is being systematically destroyed by unknown attackers. Optimus Prime orders the Autobots into action, but Megatron refuses to waste resources on this peripheral threat.
Released: April 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #9 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 9 Modern |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0182098021
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "Swarm"
On J'asik, fourth moon of Kol, the Autobot-Decepticon alliance finds nothing but corpses and a world sucked dry. Optimus Prime's visions are now reality. Something is consuming worlds, and Prime fears it's related somehow to the Transformers. He orders a complete science sweep. Megatron thinks this is a waste of time, but is content simply to complain while he finishes healing.
Elsewhere, on the planet Karn, the furry purple locals are dealing with a threat no less lethal: the Cybertronians. The troops, under the command of Mindset, go about exterminating the humanoids with emotionless efficiency. When they lose contact with their northwest perimeter watch, they investigate, and discover the consuming menace of the Swarm. They fight back, briefly. As the Swarm consumes them, however, it recognizes something familiar in them. When Mindset transforms in front of it, the Swarm becomes certain that it has found what it is looking for.
Then it eats him. As Mindset dies, "billions" of light years away, the Decepticon Onslaught doubles over with pain. His fellow Combaticon, Blast Off, asks him what's wrong, but he just shrugs it off. Over the millennia, he has forgotten about budding, and even if he remembered, he would be unaware that he can feel it when a descendant of his is killed. Optimus Prime also feels it, and can somehow identify the cause.
On Ethos, where the alliance recently defeated the Imperials, Jhiaxus surveys the results. A stranger approaches. It's Starscream, and he wants to make a deal...
"Tales of Earth Part Six"
At Autobase on Earth, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and their science team examine the data regarding the destruction on J'asik. Perceptor reports that they found traces of matter that is unmistakably genetically related to the Transformers. Megatron accuses Prime of having known this was coming. Prime explains the visions he's been having, and tells Megatron about budding. Just as they resolve to confront this offshoot of Transformer reproduction, however, the base shakes. Time's up: The Cybertronians are attacking in force.
Released: May 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #10 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 10 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1199369024
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis: "Total War!"
At Autobase on Earth, Jhiaxus and the Cybertronians are attacking. The Autobot-Decepticon alliance manages to hold its own. Optimus Prime asks Megatron how they could have found them and breached their defenses without setting off any alarms. Megatron's thoughts turn immediately (and correctly) to Starscream.
Above, the Warworld's systems have stopped working correctly, due to more of Starscream's treachery. He and the Cybertronians board the titanic vessel.
Below, the alliance is actually beginning to force the attackers back. Jhiaxus simply furrows his brow, sends in the second wave, and sends out an alert: All Cybertronian battalions are to stop whatever they're doing and head to Earth.
Above, the Cybertronians have neutralized all resistance on the Warworld, but many Decepticons have fled to Earth in escape pods. The Cybertronians leave the ship to pursue them, leaving Starscream alone in the main control center. He smiles, and heads for the chamber where the Creation Matrix is stored.
Below, Optimus Prime declares the battle a lost cause, and orders the troops to scatter. He and Megatron board a shuttle and head into space to retrieve the Matrix from the Warworld.
Elsewhere, the Cybertronian Battalion Xerxes is heading to Earth, when it encounters the Swarm. There are no survivors. From the minds of the crew and the computers of the ship, the Swarm absorbs an imperative: To go to Earth.
"Tales of Earth Part Seven"
Aboard the Warworld, Starscream thinks smug thoughts. Then he attacks the Cybertronians. Scores of them die under the guns of the Warworld. Optimus Prime and Megatron use this as a distraction to approach and board the Warworld, though Prime suspects (correctly) that whoever is controlling the vast ship wants them to come aboard.
On Earth, the Autobot-Decepticon alliance continues to battle the Cybertronians. The Autobot Grimlock and the Decepticon Manta Ray have a bonding moment over the corpses of some Cybertronians. Razorclaw observes this, and swears to himself to kill the Decepticon if he should forget where his loyalties should lie.
Above, Optimus Prime and Megatron find the Warworld strangely changed. Suddenly, the very walls and ceiling attack them and Starscream reveals himself. He has taken the Matrix for himself, and merged his body with the Warworld. He and it are now one single giant weapon... and he wants nothing so much as to kill them both.
Released: June 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #11 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 11 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1136744003
|
Owner Comments
Synopsis "Dark Shadows!"
Starscream has bonded with the Creation Matrix and the Warworld, creating one super-powerful entity—with the intention of conquering the universe. Now possessing the ability to shape and mold the Warworld into anything his twisted imagination desires, he obliterates the attacking Cybertronian craft. Now he intends to make Optimus Prime and Megatron suffer for all the humiliations they've inflicted on him—they face "quite literally ... a whole world of pain!".
On Earth, Jhiaxus finds out the Cybertronians have lost control of the Warworld because one of his subordinates was thick enough to leave Starscream on it. Enraged by this and the inability of his troops to defeat the Autobot-Decepticon forces, he declares he will personally take charge of the situation and kill everyone on the Warworld if it's not returned to him. Rook is smashed aside when he tries to offer input, and realizes that Jhiaxus is increasingly slipping back into the sadistic tyranny of his early days—the existence of the older generations is getting to him. Rook does the only thing he can: he contacts the Liege Maximo.
Megatron and Optimus Prime continue to be tormented by Starscream, with no way to fight back—Optimus can no longer contact the Matrix mentally, thanks to Megatron separating it from him physically. The two leaders are swept towards a plasma energy core, with Megatron saving his old enemy (who is preoccupied with the desire to contact Jhiaxus and make him realize the threat of the Swarm) from death. However, this still leaves them dangling and at risk, and Starscream swiftly impales Megatron. Determined not to lose to Starscream, Megatron throws Optimus Prime toward some cables so they can split up and divide the traitor's attention. Optimus almost doesn't make it, only for a cable to swing towards him; further down, Megatron gives Starscream the worst case of indigestion he ever had.
Admiring his nemesis's direct tactics and desiring for the alliance to be more than one of convenience, Optimus Prime wanders through the unfamiliar corridors of the Warworld, knowing it'll take a miracle for him to get where he wants to go. Meanwhile, Megatron fights on and remains dismissive of Starscream even as he's about to be killed, but the traitor's attention is diverted before he can finish the job: Jhiaxus is leading the Cybertronian fleet in a coordinated assault! The Warworld is slaughtering wave after wave of Jhiaxus' men, but he just keeps sending fresh waves in...
Optimus reaches the Warworld's control center, bewildered at how the corridors seemed to shift around him as if they wanted him to reach it. Putting that aside, he contacts Jhiaxus to beg for a cease-fire and an alliance against the Swarm. Jhiaxus listens...
...and then orders the Twilight to fire upon the Earth!
"Tales of Earth: Part Eight"
San Francisco is wiped off the face of the Earth in a single, devastating blast. Optimus Prime screams at Jhiaxus to talk to him, that this serves no purpose, before collapsing at the enormity of how many have died because he took the alliance to Earth. At the Nevada basin, the Autobots and Decepticons watch the distant light and mushroom cloud in stunned horror.
On the Twilight, Jhiaxus orders for their guns to be fired again — even if it will kill his own troops on Earth. However, without warning, the Twilight is stopped in its attack by the Warworld. Starscream isn't corrupting the Matrix, it's corrupting him and making him protect all life on Earth. Optimus realizes that the Matrix-influenced Starscream had subconsciously been ensuring Prime survived and reached the control center, and that the Matrix cannot be truly influenced. There is yet hope...
And then it's gone. "The Swarm is here!"
Released: July 1994
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| Slot: |
Transformers: Generation 2 #12 |
| Item: |
Transformers: Generation 2 12 Modern |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1476506001
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Owner Comments
Synopsis
Book One: Judgment
Optimus Prime recalls the racial history that has brought the Transformers to this moment. The Starscream-possessed Warworld, the Cybertronian warships, and the Swarm all face off above Earth. Aboard the Warworld, Starscream confesses that he's feeling an irrational urge to protect and do good, against all his native instincts. Prime explains that it's the Matrix's influence and hints that he might be able to help.
Jhiaxus's troops are baffled by the Swarm, but he dismisses it as some last-ditch trick by the Autobots, and gives the order to attack. Starscream prepares to give up the Matrix to Optimus Prime; before doing so, he alerts Prime and Megatron to the Cybertronians' attack, which is likely to provoke the Swarm out of its momentary hesitation. The Swarm easily devours the Cybertronians' finest warships, leaving tens of thousands of troopers dead. Starscream returns the Matrix to Prime, making Prime whole again and leaving himself back in his original body.
Jhiaxus orders a full assault on the Swarm, crushing the head of a trooper who suggests they cannot fight it. As Optimus Prime approaches the Twilight on a sky-sled, Jhiaxus gives orders to "Let him come!"
Book Two: Twilight
Megatron hasn't killed Starscream, but it's only because he needs help loading the rheanimum gas onto a shuttle.
Optimus Prime makes his way through the chaos of the Twilight, where frantic troopers are scrambling to escape. The chaos gives him an easy path to the bridge—but when he finds Jhiaxus, the enraged Cybertronian attacks him furiously, blaming Prime for his world coming apart. Jhiaxus is seconds away from crushing Prime's head, when the Swarm bursts through the ship's shields. Jhiaxus challenges it, and it responds, mimicking his shape, then consuming him. An explosion destroys the Twilight. Prime is blasted free, but the Swarm pursues him.
Megatron observes the ship's demise and reflects that he can no longer help Optimus Prime. Regardless, his responsibility is to the Transformers below, on the planet's surface. He's coated himself with the rheanimum, and hopes that the gas will protect him. To make planetfall, he's going to have to test it the hard way, as the Swarm has surrounded Earth.
Book Three: Siege
On Earth, a group of Autobots and Decepticons under Soundwave and Grimlock's command prepares to make a final stand, fortifying their position. The Swarm moves in on them, and they trigger their defenses. At one point, Manta Ray ignores Razorclaw's orders in favor of Grimlock's, prompting Razorclaw to brand him a traitor. As he pounces to carry out his death sentence, however, Leadfoot (a Decepticon to this point) chops off Razorclaw's head—Autobots have to stick together, after all. The Swarm breaks down the group's force shields, and they prepare for their final stand.
In space, Optimus Prime wakes to find that he's alive and aboard the Warworld, saved by Starscream. Starscream offers him a shot of rheanimum as the Swarm approaches, but Prime refuses. In his brief contact with the Swarm, Prime realized that the mass is alive, but empty and searching—and he may have the answer to what it wants.
Grimlock's troops try all manner of weapons, but nothing stops the Swarm. Casualties mount, but at last Megatron arrives. Both he and the rheanimum canisters survived the Swarm's touch, but his shuttle did not. The Transformers quickly distribute the rheanimum to protect themselves.
Starscream prepares to leave the Warworld, but tosses a canister to Optimus Prime just in case he changes his mind, as the Matrix's aftereffects still linger within him. Prime resists the temptation—for his plan to work, he must die.
Book Four: Creation
The Swarm devours Optimus Prime, consuming him molecule by molecule. But when it breaks through to the Matrix chamber, light and life burst forth. Prime takes all the goodness of Primus and gives it to the Swarm. As the stunned Autobots and Decepticons watch, a light grows, changing the Swarm. Amid the light, they witness the miracle of creation... as Optimus Prime steps forth, reconstituted as a parting gift from the reborn Swarm. The survivors gather and rally around their newfound unity.
But far away, in a region of space known as the Hub, Rook reports to the titanic entity known as the Liege Maximo. The Liege notes that Megatron does indeed live; he would feel the death of one of his descendants. He is unconcerned by the loss of Jhiaxus and his battalions; they are but a fraction of his empire, and the Autobot-Decepticon Alliance is fragile. The day of reckoning will come!
It never ends...
Released: August 1994
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