G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers 3: The Art of War #1

Credits

Script - Tim Seeley / Pencils - Joe Ng / Inks - Rob Ross with M3th / Letters - Brian Crowley / Colors - Rob Ruffolo and Kevin Yan

Story

In a secret underground lab beneath the Army's Area 52 New Mexico base, a team of scientists are studying the secrets of sentient mechanoids from the dissected remains of Megatron, Soundwave, and other Decepticons. A scientist teasing Megatron's inert head is dressed down by his superior, who reminds him that the Decepticons are not toys, and their research will soon catapult the United States to the forefront of military technology.

Twelve levels above, Hawk and Mainframe are greeting the arrival of a small contingent of Autobots from Cybertron: Perceptor, Bumblebee, Grimlock, and Arcee. Perceptor delivers a message from Optimus Prime thanking the Joes for their help against Shockwave (from G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers 2) and the destruction of the Joes' collection of Cybertronian-based technology.

And we're both pink! Who'd a thunk it?

Just as Scarlett asks Snake-Eyes if he wants one last romp in their armored mecha-suits, the base is suddenly under attack by Cobra! Outside, Zartan and Cobra Commander are leading an army of robot B.A.T.s and S.N.A.K.E.s, but are quickly challenged by the Joes and their mechs. Undaunted, Zartan orders the robots to combine, forming an amalgamated titan called Cobratron! The fight is joined by the Autobots and General Hawk, who are too busy to note Cobra Commander's absence from the battlefield...

Down below Area 52, a female researcher plants a transceiver, but is spotted by a guard. She quickly incapacitates him, revealing herself as Zarana in disguise. Following the beacon, Cobra Commander and Zartan ride a Buzz Boar to dig underground and infiltrate the base, but not before he's followed by Bumblebee. He arrives in the midst of a battle, but gets surprised at the sight of Megatron's head, allowing Zartan to zap him with an electromagnetic scrambler.

With the facility secured, Cobra Commander surveys the fruits of the lab's labor: the Serpent O.R., a humanoid robotic supercomputer wrapped in bio-organic tissue, programmed with the tactics of history's greatest military leaders. Cobra Commander releases Serpentor, who immediately gets a flashback from when Megatron served as Cobra Commander's captive (from the first G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers series). Enraged, Serpentor attacks Cobra Commander, but gets jolted by Zartan's scrambler -- only to immediately recover and knock out the Cobras. Meanwhile, the Joes and the Autobots have finished defeating Cobra's robotic legion, and Mainframe reports a security breach in sublevel 12.

Interfacing with Soundwave's memory banks, Serpentor downloads the history of Cybertron, immediately identifying the Autobot Matrix of Leadership as a source of great power. His download complete, Serpentor bows in feality to his progenitor -- Megatron -- then vows to find the Matrix...

Notes and Comments

• So, am I the only person who saw Cobratron and was immediately reminded of the scraplets?