#33 - "Man of Iron" and "Man of Iron, Chapter 2"

Credits

Writer - Steve Parkhouse / Art - John Ridgeway

Story

Without warning, the Decepticons attack Stansham Castle in southern England, dropping a bomb that is buried deep into the ground. While castle curator Roy Harker studies the situation, his son Sammy accidently encounters Jazz in the nearby woods. Sammy runs home scared and is secretly tailed.

That evening, Roy tells Sammy an old story from Stansham Castle, about a giant "man of iron" that defended the castle when it was under siege. When Roy shows Sammy an illustration from an ancient manuscript, Sammy confirms that it looks like the robot he saw earlier, which leaves them to wonder if the Man of Iron has reappeared.

Mirage: Autobot Stalker

Later that night, Sammy dreams of flying spaceships and giant robots when an invisible force shakes him awake. The drawing of he Man of Iron drifts out the window, and Sammy's cries wake up his parents, who arrive just in time to see Mirage returning to the nearby woods.

The next morning, British military informs Roy Harker that a sonic scan reveals a mysterious, massive obect beneath the castle -- something the size of an ocean liner. Meanwhile, Sammy is walking down the street when he sees a parked Porsche near his house -- with the Man of Iron picture inside. Jazz talks Sammy into climbing in for a chat. Just then, Sammy's mother comes out to see what's going on, whereupon Jazz drives off with the boy...

Notes and Comments

• This issue was originally printed as issues #9 and #10 of the Marvel UK Transformers comic, in both color and black & white. The events of those issues reportedly occur after issue #4 of the American comic ("The Last Stand!"), though I don't know how the Autobots go from being deactivated at the end of issue #4 to their healthy status here.
• The Autobots' "native language" in this story is the most alien of any Transformers comic book or cartoon show. It's a very formal and mechanical dialogue, and subtly reinforces the fact that Transformers wouldn't be speaking to each other in English.