#34 - "Man of Iron, Part 3" and "Man of Iron, the Conclusion"

Credits

Writer - Parkhouse / Art - Collins / Letters - Starkings / Colors - Gina Hart

Story

Apparently+++ UK Transformers+++ speak like fax machines.*

Jazz is taking Sammy to an Autobot shuttlecraft when they are attacked by Decepticon jets. With the help of Mirage, Trailbreaker, and Bluestreak, they evade the Decepticons and reach the shuttle. Once there, they are joined by Optimus Prime, and the secret of Stansham Castle is revealed: the massive object buried underneath it is an Autobot rescue ship, sent to Earth from Cybertron. The Decepticons are also investigating the signal, and the Autobots must beat them to it; if the Decepticons can find the ship first, they will destroy it -- and the humans living nearby -- to keep the Autobots stranded on Earth.

At the castle, the British military have started to unearth the ship. They know that it is releasing a signal of some sort, and suspect that it is an extraterrestrial spaceship. Then, while Roy Harker muses over this newest twist of affairs, the earth shakes -- and the Man of Iron rises out of the ground. He is starting to attack the human's vehicles, only to be destroyed by Starscream.

The Autobots are racing to the castle via their shuttlecraft when the Decepticons attack. Jazz drops Sammy off to safety and attacks Starscream, while the shuttle fights off the other Decepticons and sends them fleeing.

After the battle, Optimus Prime concludes that the Decepticon danger is too great for the Autobots to leave Earth, and orders Jazz to destroy the buried rescue ship -- and its hibernating Autobot pilot. After the Autobots depart, the British government removes the debris and supresses the story. The ruins of Stansham Castle eventually gain notoriety as a foci point for UFOs and supernatural events, while Sammy Harker is left with fading memories of a Man of Iron...

Notes and Comments

• This issue was originally printed as issues #11 and #12 of the Marvel UK Transformers comic, in both color and black & white. The events occur after issue #4 of the American comic ("The Last Stand!").
• Optimus' reasoning for destroying the rescue ship is never revealed. Perhaps the Autobots didn't have the time to retrieve it, and he did not want it to fall into unsafe hands (human or Decepticon), but the ambiguity is a little careless.