Infiltration # 1
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by EJ Su

Summary:

We open with a quick flashback of Hunter O'Nion in his darkened room, as he's reading an article on his computer detailing some evidence of alien mechanoids who invaded Earth some time ago.  He admits to himself that it is far-fetched, but he believes it.  Fast forward to current time; Hunter and Verity Carlo are stuck in a strange ambulance, driven by a weird guy who has a constant fixed smile on his face, as it drives through a California desert area trying desperately to escape from pursuers.  Verity complains about the creepiness of the situation, and Hunter realizes that although the speedometer reads they are going about 65 MPH, their actual speed is close to three times that!  Hunter realizes that the man driving the ambulance must be one of the alien mechanoids he has been searching for!  Hunter flashes back again (To Infiltration # 0) where he first met Verity and how this trouble all started.  But Verity snaps him out of it as she indicates that they have some serious trouble at the moment.  Two cars are driving on either side of the ambulance, with the intent to run them off the road.  The driver of ambulance asks Hunter if he can trust him.  Hunter confirms this while Verity butts in, tired of being ignored.  Ambulance driver-man asks what her name is, and we see another little flashback (To Infiltration # 0) of Verity getting on the bus that would eventually lead her to meet Hunter.  Ambulance driver-man hopes he can trust Verity as well, because both humans are about to see more stuff than they should.  At that moment, the steering wheel of the ambulance retracts into the dashboard and produces a holo-map, which shows the current positions of the ambulance itself and the two cars chasing it.  Hunter asks who they are, and the driver answers; "The enemy".  Hunter wants to know if they are like the jet that attacked them earlier (Infiltration # 0), but the driver says these guys are worse; they like to have fun.  The two cars get on either side of the ambulance and try to bang it up a bit.  A bunch of ramming bars slide out from the side door of the white car and it then smashes into the ambulance, but a strange nozzle emerges from a side panel on the ambulance in response.  It produces a withering spray that blows out the white car's tires and sends it skidding off-course.  Meanwhile on the other side of the ambulance, another panel opens to produce a gun that fires a laser into the black car.  The black car responds with mini-missiles from a launcher that sprouts from its hood.  The missiles explode against the ambulance's interior, but don't shake it.  The gun on the ambulance that previously fired the laser reconfigures into a sonic weapon that blows out the windows on the black car and send it skidding out of control.  Within in the ambulance, Hunter tentatively asks if they have lost their pursuers.  The driver says they lost the cars, but not the approaching fighter jet, which now is pulling in close behind the ambulance.  The jet opens fire on the ambulance, but the van's tailpipe emits a thick smoke that clings to the jet's cockpit, causing it to panic and fly out of control.  The ambulance driver says that bought them a few minutes, but they really need a populated area to hide in and affect repairs to the "vehicle".  Verity recognizes the landscape shown on the holo-map, and pulls out the palm computer she snatched (In Infiltration # 0).  Hunter is suspicious of how a teenage runaway got her hands on such a computer, but Verity refuses to comment.  Hunter resigns and turns to ask for more information about the ambulance driver.  We see a little flashback as the driver (who's identified as duh, Ratchet) contacts his home base, which seems to be an alien spaceship hidden underwater.  Ratchet's commander denies his request for back-up, saying that it is a waste of resources and is an unnecessary risk.  Verity announces she's found a good location for them to hide; a city called Riverside.  When Hunter asks what is in Riverside, Verity responds "Jimmy Pink".  Some time later in Riverside, we are introduced to Mr. Jimmy Pink, a young mechanic who is actually meeting Verity for the first time in person.  They've apparently only communicated via e-mail up until this point.  Verity indicates the ambulance that drove her and Hunter to Jimmy's doorstep as the reason for her visit and they quickly pull into Jimmy's garage.  Jimmy inspects the "unusual" damage to the ambulance's exterior and is introduced to Mr. Creepy Fixed-smile Ambulance driver man (Sigh, from now on, I'll just refer to him as Ratchet, okay?).  Ratchet says he can repair most of the internal damage he's suffered, but could use Jimmy's help on the exterior.  Verity and Hunter retreat to the kitchen in the back of the garage as Ratchet and Jimmy begin repairs.  Hunter is uneasy with the fact that Verity has never even met Jimmy before, yet trusts him with this.  Verity won't have any negative talk about Jimmy though; he talks to her over the internet when she's on the road and lonely.  The two move back into the garage, as Jimmy comments about the strange workings of the ambulance's suspension.  Hunter can't help but cast a suspicious eye at Verity's palm computer.  Meanwhile, the un-manned jet and cars that attacked Hunter and co. on the road are still searching for them all over Riverside.  One of the cars makes the comment that if their prey "boots up" (the palm computer); they'll be able to locate them.  Back at Jimmy's garage, he's starting to make some headway with the repairs to the ambulance's suspension.  Ratchet comments that Jimmy is a natural with vehicles.  But Jimmy has never seen anything like this ambulance before and demands to know where it came from.  Hunter speaks up at this point, wanting Ratchet to fess up about his origins.  He shoves Verity's palm computer in Ratchet's face, asking what exactly it is.  Verity is steamed about this, but Hunter figures that the computer wasn't Verity's to begin with and it's why they were targeted in the first place.  Ratchet examines the palm computer and confirms this, but Verity doesn't buy any of it.  She snatches her computer back and walks outside for some fresh air.  Hunter asks Ratchet what the "enemy" is called, but Verity suddenly runs back in, scared half to death.  Suddenly, the garage door is ripped away and the roof begins to crumple.  Ratchet orders the three kids inside the ambulance as the enemy makes their appearance; two giant alien robots.  They are called Decepticons, and they want Verity's computer now!  TO BE CONTINUED!


Slagged!:

-Ratchet and the Battlechargers have a car-to-car-to-van battle at upwards of 200 MPH.  Ratchet's exterior gets battered, but he still manages to knock both of the Decepticons off the road using his built-in gadgets.


Sightings:

-Well, it's obvious that the ambulance is Ratchet, the jet is Thundercracker, and the two cars are Runamuck and Runabout respectively.  The bot Ratchet calls on his communicator and who denies him back-up is Prowl, although all we see is a weirdly colored forearm.  We see Ratchet's reflection on the other end of the communication screen, although again, it is oddly colored.

-The weapons Ratchet uses against the Battlechargers are likely surgical tools, which fit with previous appearances of Ratchet in the old Marvel comics where he had no overtly offensive weapons and had to make do with his doctor gear.  He seems to have stolen Gen 1 Smokescreen's shtick to get rid of Thundercracker.

-The Autobots have an underwater ship/base in this continuity; a bit of turnabout compared to other continuities where the Decepticons usually had the underwater base.

-When Ratchet boots up the palm computer, you can see a picture of Starscream in mid-transformation.  Not exactly sure where that comes from though.


Hearings:

-The article on the computer screen that Hunter is reading in the opening flashback mentions possible "dinosaur-variant mechnoids"- no doubt an oblique reference to the Dinobots.  It also mentions Mount St. Helens, the volcano that the Ark crashed into four million years ago in both the classic cartoon and comic.


Wreck and RULE!:

-Well, the humans aren't totally annoying.  That's something, isn't it?

-We don't often see a total vehicle mode battle between Transformers, and it's pretty cool to see here between Ratchet and the Battlechargers.  Ratchet's ingenuity is also showcased as he manages to outwit and outmaneuver both of them and Thundercracker to boot.

-The last page is a sight to behold and is well in character with the Battlechargers' thug MO; "Gimme" indeed.  It also brings the promise of an action-packed follow-up in the next issue.


Wreck and ROT!:

-Okay, while there's nothing super-inherently wrong with the plot to this issue, it just is still more set-up.  We had the special # 0 issue for setup, and the # 1 issue is just more set-up.  I understand what Furman is trying to do here; build up the sense of awe and earth-shaking stature of these alien robots, but this issue just kinda lacks a bit of excitement.  The vehicle mode battle is neat and all, but it only takes up a few pages.  And Furman takes the time to re-introduce Verity, Hunter, and Ratchet via flashback and the circumstances as to how they are where they are.  I guess I'm just saying that there's a bit too much build-up.  The last page is fairly cool though, and does make me look forward to next issue.

-There's a few coloring mistakes that run rampant through this issue.  The biggest is the fact that Runamuck and Runabout's colors are switched until the very last page or so.  True, they are the same kind of car, and it might be hard to tell, but the obvious way to see is the last page.  Ratchet blew out (who seemed to be) Runabout's right side window early on in the issue, but when the Battlechargers are revealed in robot mode at the end, RUNAMUCK is the one with the broken right window.

-Also, the page where Thundercracker and the Battlechargers are speaking via-radio, Runabout has the broken window, then the very next panel shows his window is fine.  Here's a break down of what is really supposed to be conveyed; Runabout (colored incorrectly as Runamuck) in the first panel, then Runamuck (colored incorrectly as Runabout) in the second panel (broken window, remember!), then Runabout (actually colored correctly) in the third panel again.  The way the story reads and the cars are colored, it seems like Runabout is talking to himself.  I think these coloring issues with Runamuck and Runabout could have been solved by simply making them a bit different make-wise in car modes.  Or hey, how about the editor being a little more thorough?

-The flashback sequence where Ratchet phones home is a bit confusing.  The bot who he's talking to is Prowl, who is indicated by the roster chart on the inside cover as the only other Autobot who appears in this issue.  But Prowl's forearm is weirdly colored reddish, which doesn't jive with the usual color of Prowl's forearm (Primus, this sounds so geeky, huh?).  And the panel where the communications array shuts off, we see an Autobot's reflection.  At first I thought it was Prowl's reflection, which would work well with the previous panel of the arm shutting the array off, but it is actually Ratchet's head design (Ratchet has no "divider" on the crest on his head like Prowl does.).  What's more, Ratchet's head is also weirdly colored; a gray face with a red helmet, which is of course, not how Ratchet's head is usually colored.  Of course, the weird colors could be chalked up to some wonky lighting effect, but it just seems odd.  I guess Ratchet is calling Prowl from an area with the same lighting spectrum as Autobot base?  It just seems confusing, but the best way to explain would be saying the first panel with the arm happens in Autobot base, and the second panel with Ratchet's reflection happens wherever Ratchet happens to be hiding out at the moment.  Phew.


Final Judgment:

Okay, like I said, there's nothing really wrong with the plot to this issue; but it's just uneventful.  This is just another blanket of set-up before we dig into the main course.  I can appreciate that sometimes, but really, I just wanted to see giant robot smashing action after a long drought without comics and I think a lot of people did too.  The human characters are tolerable, but I've had enough focus on them already between the #0 issue and this; if Furman could be so kind as to relegate them to plot-devices in future issues, I'd be happy.  The script is enjoyable and Su's art is competent, even if the colors and inks don't bring it out too well.  I wager this issue will be a lot better in hindsight once the whole story arc is out there.  We've got Chris Ryall guaranteeing us an awesome second issue, so let's see if it lives up to the hype.  One thing I really want to see (and that I always praised Dreamwave for) is when the inevitable trade comes out for this series, I want them to go back and correct the coloring mistakes in this issue.  In any case, I recommend this issue on the basis that the boring set-up stuff is wrapped up for the most part, and this series can move forward to more exciting things.  Peace.


A Thunderwing review