#26 - "Funeral for a Friend!"

Credits

Writer - Bob Budiansky / Penciler - Don Perlin / Inker - Brett Breeding / Lettering - Janice Chiang / Colors - Nel Yomtov

Story

At the Ark, Ratchet declares Optimus Prime dead, despite his best efforts to save the Autobot Leader. After Omega Supreme unveils a remote-controlled "power booster rod" -- it moves a lever that turns the Ark's external defenses on and off -- the Autobots leave for Prime's funeral. Ratchet, depressed by his failures, stays behind. After visiting the injured Autobots in stasis, he decides to go looking for spare parts and try to accomplish something.

While searching through a junkyard, Ratchet hears humans nearby and transforms into his ambulance mode. He is soon discovered by two humans: a third-rate car thief called "The Mechanic," and his assistant, Juan. The thieves are cornered by the police; they escape, hijack Ratchet, and drive off. A confused Ratchet uses his surgical tools to dispel the police, allowing a suspicious Mechanic to reach his hideout. When Ratchet finally understands what has happened, he tries to capture the Mechanic, only to get frozen by his own (stolen) cryogenic sprayer. The Mechanic vows to discover more Autobot weapons and expand his power; by the time Ratchet thaws out, the Mechanic is gone, and Ratchet returns to the Ark.

In the meantime, the other Autobots have placed Optimus Prime in a rocket coffin. After Perceptor eulogizes Optimus, it is sent flying into space.

Ratchet returns to the Ark, unaware that the Mechanic and Juan are following him. As Ratchet reaches the Ark, he disables the perimeter defenses, allowing the Mechanic to sneak inside. Searching the Ark, the Mechanic discovers the power booster rod just as the other Autobots return. Ratchet enters and confronts the Mechanic; with surprising speed, the Mechanic steals the rod and wounds Ratchet, sending him running. And because the rod is gone, the automated defenses remain activated -- they open fire on the Autobots, trapping them outside.

Wounded, Ratchet escapes to the stasis room and thinks of a plan. The Mechanic arrives a minute later; he's learned the secret of the power booster rod -- it allows him to lift anything regardless of its weight -- then picks up a massive piece of machinery with it. Before he can use it to crush Ratchet, however, a police car appears from around the corner. Scared by the police, the Mechanic runs off. The "police car" then reveals itself to be a hastily-repaired Prowl, and Ratchet deactivates the Ark's defenses. As Juan and the Mechanic drive off, a now-confident Ratchet reasserts his medical skills.

Notes and Comments

• The events in this issue occur concurrently with events in issue #3 of the G.I. Joe and the Transformers limited series, though there are no references to that series in this issue.
• The Mechanic's real name is never given.
• Even with the advance technology of Cybertronian science, the Autobots build a security system that resembles a Rube Goldberg machine. The defenses aren't activated by electronics; they're activated by a physical switch, which in turn is moved by a "power booster rod" that's activated by remote-control. There must be a simpler way...
• Complaining about comic book science is nitpicky at best, but I'll do it here anyway. Even if the power booster rod enables the Mechanic to lift multi-ton machinery with ease, he shouldn't bench-press it over his head. After all, his arms are still at normal-human strength and can't support the weight. *Squish*