Transformers: The War Within

By Simon Furman & Don Figueroa

Annotations by Hooper_X

UPDATED 3.19.03 with issue six, the big conclusion!

Explanation: Characters will be identified upon their first appearance.  A question mark by a character's name means it's an unclear identification.

ISSUE ONE:

Cover: L-R: Megatron (in shadows), Prowl, Bumblebee, Starscream, Optimus Prime, Jazz, Thundercracker, Grimlock, unidentified Decepticons, Ironhide (partially off-panel)

P2 p1: The Japanese Transformers logo is on one of the buildings, as well as several marking similar to various faction logos.  (The logo obscured by a text box resembles the Vehicon markings, and a Maximal-like icon is on a building below the JTF logo.)

P2p2: Bluestreak.  Also note the "Beast Machines"-style Diagnostic Drone in the background and throughout the series.

P5p1: Leave it to Furman to introduce characters and then promptly slaughter them.  I'm not sure if Overhaul is based on an existing toy or not.

P5p2: Kup, Skids, an unnamed corpse, and Wheeljack.

P6p1: I'm pretty sure this entire sequence is Furman's response to fans who postulate about "neutral" Transformers and how they would interact. 

P6p3: Thundercracker and Skywarp

P6p4: Tracks, Blurr? (assisting the pink robot), Springer?, Perceptor? (at top of ramp), Unidentified robot, Trailbreaker

P8p3: In background: Astrotrain, Shrapnel, Runamuck.  Also worth noting is that Wheeljack has essentially the same altmode as he did in "More Than Meets The Eye".

P10-11: The writing along the far wall reads "TIL ALL ARE ONE"

P13p3: Jazz.

P15p1: Omega Supreme-style Guardian Robots.  I'm fairly certain this color scheme was used either for the original press of the mold or for a later knockoff.  (In fact, I *know* it was used somewhere, because an Omega Supreme-style robot with this color scheme appeared in the film "Ninja Terminator".  No, I'm not kidding.)

P15p2: Shockwave, Ravage.

P16p2: Looks like Armada's Scavenger is in the gallery.

P17p1: One of the Elders is holding the Key to Vector Sigma.

P17p4: The three assassins, Umbra, Backbite, and Darklight.  No, I don't know which is which.

P20p2: Hound.

P22p4: The assassin has the Japanese "Microman" logo on his leg.

P24p1: Only Jazz would make a comment like that.  Well, I guess Blaster might.

ISSUE TWO

P1p1: The second guy on the top row is Microman Dial Man, one of three Lock Robos, robots that changed into locks.  The guy on the second row on the far far left is Cy-Kill from "Go-Bots".  The little guy beneath him is Microchange Watch Robo, who was produced as "Autobot" in the G2 merchandise line.  The yellow and black fellow to the left of Megatron's hand is Microman Scope Robo, who turns into a pair of binoculars.  How useful.  The little pink dude on the far right second row is Microchange Meteor Robo's Metal Man, who was later released as a Japanese Beast Wars character with the lovely name of Eggbot.  The Wheeljack-looking fellow underneath Megatron's hand is the Diaclone "Marlboro" Wheeljack, who had a different faceplate and color scheme.  You could make a case for his being named "Slicer", after the Evil Actionmaster Wheeljack repaint.  The guy next to him, with the bladed chest, is the Diaclone triplechanger that was never released as a Transformer.  Thanks to LiquidVelcro! for pointing most of these out.

P2-3p3: Unidentified white tank-like guy (Octane?), Trypticon, Dirge & Ramjet (on monitors)

P2-3p4: Soundwave.

P4p1: Laserbeak.

P5p1: Grapple(?), Powerglide, Outback.  The acronym "FIRRIB" is written on the hover-transport.  It means "Frenzy is Red, Rumble is Blue", a classic Transformer debate as to the proper coloration of Soundwave's little buddies.  Also, the Dreamwave house-style of coloring background objects differently from characters leads to some real weird looking stuff on this page.

P5p3: Hoist and Huffer.  Also, Ironhide has some kind of a figurine on his dashboard.  LiquidVelcro! says it's a Cartoon Ironhide bobblehead.

P6p1: Brawn!  Also, the thing he's holding has some writing on the side that I don't recognize.  M Sipher says it's the Japanese for "Dinosaur Robo", the Dinobots' name in the Diaclone line.  Is that what's in them?

P7: This tube borer thing works essentially the inverse of the Decepticons' headquarters during the first season of the cartoon.  Perhaps it's how the 'Con HQ was actually supposed to function, and it was upside-down on the bottom of the ocean?

P9p1: Constructicons!   Specifically, Mixmaster, Scrapper, and Long Haul.

P10-11p8: LiquidVelcro! says the guys in the foreground are part of the Microman Multiforce 14/Gats Blocker.

P14p3: Insecticons!  Bombshell's some kind of tank, Kickback looks like a dragster, and Shrapnel is a weird-ass jet.

P16-17p1: Ratchet and Red Alert.

P16-17p3:  Look at the little legs holding Prime's trailer up!  Neat!

P16-17p7: Powerglide in jet mode, Springer?

P23: Jeeze.  The four colored 'Cons are Brawl, Astrotrain, Blast Off and Shockwave.

ISSUE THREE:

P1p1: Dunno these guys.

P10-11p1: Ramjet, Venom, Thrust, Dirge, Rumble, Chop Shop.

P10-11p2: Blitzwing, Octane?, Blast Off, Astrotrain

P10-11p3: Note the "ARE ALL DEAD.", a nice homage to Transformers #5.  (the original.)

P10-11p5: Vortex, unidentified red Autobot.  (It's most likely Cliffjumper, although it may be Sideswipe.  1/15/03: "Paul" says he thinks it might be Windcharger, "Mostly because the car mode looked like it was built for speed (and he was with another minibot)". )

P22p4: Grimlock's "little group", eh?  Sounds like fun.

P23p1: An... Optimus Primal awareness, perhaps?

P23p4: Megatron's sword came packaged with his Japanese release.

ISSUE FOUR: 

(Hoop's note: ACK.  Miscolors abound here.  Someone at Dreamwave was seriously slacking off.  Rumor has it, however, that Simon Furman & Don Figueroa are even more pissed off than I am.  Maybe the inevitable TPB will get it right.)

P1p1: The hand casting the shadow is presumably that of Unicron, although I personally think it looks like the Flying Hand mode of Robots In Disguise Megatron.  Presumably, he also made those funky trenches on the landscape.  UPDATE: Post-issue 6 discussion points out that this was more of a metaphor for the Decepticon drive for conquest.

P4-5p2: Runamuck, Swindle, Motormaster, Runabout.  All except Swindle are miscolored.

P7: Megatron's tank form revealed.  Badass.

P8p1: Brawl, Blitzwing, Onslaught, all miscolored.

P8p2: The big guy in the center is Broadside, miscolored.  No clue who the others are.  The female one kind of reminds me of Skids, though.

P8p3: Powerglide (carrying crate), "Topspin", Beachcomber.  "Topspin" is interestingly miscolored as a South American repaint of his buddy Twin Twist, who had the amusing moniker there of "Salt Man Z".

P13p1: Either Headstrong or Tantrum, a miscolored Ramjet, Chop Shop.  Note that Chop Shop's altmode is pretty uninspired, as it's just his beetle form with wheels instead of legs.  Crazy.  Someone from #WiiGii! on IRC suggested he might be a Cybertronian forklift.

P14-16: Compare this sequence with the Hot Rod/Galvatron fight in "Transformers: The Movie".

P16p3: Prime has an Elita-1 bobblehead doll.  Elita-1 was his girlfriend in the cartoon series.

P17p1: And chromed Elita-1 mudflaps, apparently.  Very tasteful.

P20: Where indeed?

ISSUE FIVE

P5p3: We've seen most of these Autobots before, except Mirage (on the lift, far right.)  Also, check out that monster cannon Bumblebee's toting.  Oh, and that's Tracks in the very back. 

P8-11: This is, of course, Sherman Dam, and the big faceoff between Optimus and Megatron from "More Than Meets the Eye" part two.  Note the subtle ad for Internet seller "Big Bad Toy Store" (www.bbts.com) on P10p3, over the door to the guard shack.

P13p5: Bonecrusher (with chicken-legs!) and Mixmaster.

P15p1: If you don't know Hot Rod and Fort Max, shame on you.  Hot Rod's Targetmaster buddy is Firebolt.  The blue chopper above is Highbrow

p3: Uh... Meggy?  If Targetmasters and Headmasters are present, that means you've already been, all right.  Been turned into Galvatron, that is.

P16: Heh.  This page makes me laugh.  Grimlock (and Furman) can say so much with so little.  It borders on self parody, and I have to wonder if it's meant to be such.

P17p2: Long Haul, Frenzy, and Thrust on the far right.  LiquidVelcro! points out that Frenzy is actually colored like "Enemy", who was a mold cousin to Frenzy & Rumble, but had the dubious distinction of having an electronic voice changer toy attached to his butt.  He's referred to as "Enemy" because that's all his package identifies him as.

P21p2: Nothing important to say here, except that it looks like Trailbreaker is dancing.

ISSUE SIX

P1p1: Would it be off of me to suggest that the bit about Prime holding the future in his hands is a snide dodge at the song "Dare" from the Transformers movie soundtrack? 

P5p2: Scavenger.  I'd be willing to bank that the treads on his arms are a nod to his Armada counterpart.

p4: Kup has a "musket laser", as mentioned on his Tech Spec.

P6p1: Frenzy in correct colors, Hook.

P7p3: The unreleased Diaclone triplechanger and Diaclone Marlboro Wheeljack are in the explosion.

P15p2: Now Frenzy's colored as Rumble! 

P21p4: So Prime essentially lobotomized Megatron?  Creepy.