Movie Prequel issue 3

The year is 1924, and Archibald Witwicky has become a resident of the Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although the facility is keeping him medicated, it does little to help his state of mind, with the former explorer experiencing periodic episodes in which he shouts about having glimpsed the future during his otherworldly Arctic encounter – a future in which their war comes to our world, leaving no human safe...

Years later, in 1935, two agents of Sector Seven visit Boulder Dam, which has been constructed around the cube-shaped artifact found in the Colorado River 33 years ago. Looking out from atop the vast structure, conversation turns to Sector Seven's other crown jewel, the "Mega-Man", and the elder of the two agents reminisces about being present for its original excavation in the Arctic Circle. The two men head down inside the facility, which is currently undertaking preparations to receive Mega-Man, which is set to finally be removed from the location of its discovery. Currently scheduled for later that year, the transfer will depend on the successful installation of cryo-blocks at the dam facility, intended to maintain the "ice man" at its sub-zero temperature. As the pair enter the cube's containment area, the older agent explains that he will be retiring soon, and has come to look upon the "glory" of the artifact one last time. As they gaze upon the alien device and its blinding power, the younger man wonders whether Mega-Man's ilk will one day find their way to Earth; his companion insists that it merely a matter of when.

In 2003, Sector Seven agents have traced Bumblebee, now dubbed N.B.E.-2, from Mars to Earth, where he has crashed down near the Interstate 64 highway. Discovering tire tracks leading out onto the road, the agents reconvene at a mobile ops-command vehicle to review satellite surveillance footage of the highway. Their analysis quickly reveals that their target has somehow "mimicked" the appearance of a '70s Camaro which passed down the highway, and plans are made to track the extraterrestrial's journey.

Elsewhere in the country, in the town of Tranquility, twelve-year-old Sam Witwicky is being introduced by his parents to the legacy of his great-great-grandfather Archibald. An excited Sam opens up a box of heirlooms, expecting to find exotic relics and artifacts, and is disappointed to discover nothing but unremarkable personal effects and news clippings of Archibald's descent into madness. After briefly toying with his ancestor's glasses, Sam loses interest and leaves to visit his friend Miles, never noticing the alien symbols etched faintly into the antique spectacles...

In St. Louis, Missouri, Bumblebee parks outside an internet café in vehicle mode, connecting to one of the computers inside to search the Internet for details of extraterrestrial sightings on Earth. His efforts are fruitful, turning up details on Archibald Witwicky and his "Ice-Man", and the Autobot resolves to investigate further. But unbeknown to Bumblebee, he is in turn being investigated by Sector Seven. In Richmond, Virginia, a "specialist" named Agent Simmons arrives to join the N.B.E.-2 case, bringing with him a unique asset: a radioactive substance that will trick their alien visitor into thinking it has located the cube artifact. The team sets out for the New Mexico bunker where they will lay their trap, with Simmons vocally confident that their plan will go off without a hitch.

But little does the agent know that Earth is about to receive even more visitors: Starscream, Blackout and Barricade have arrived in the Solar System, touching down on Mars and destroying the Beagle 2 rover!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Ratchet (prophetic vision only) (4) Jazz (prophetic vision only) (8) Bumblebee (9)	Starscream (5) Megatron (6) Brawl (prophetic vision only) (7) Blackout (17) Barricade (18)	Doctor Curtis' assisant (1) Doctor Curtis (2) Archibald Witwicky (3) Walter Simmons (10) Simmons' colleague (11) Assorted Sector Seven personnel (12) Ron Witwicky (13) Judy Witwicky (14) Sam Witwicky (15) Agent Simmons (16)

Notes

Continuity notes

This issue was presumably written with the intent that the retiring Sector Seven agent is the same man shown developing an obsession with "Mega-Man" last issue, although the waters are muddied a little by the fact that he sports both the spectacles that characterized "the obsessive" and the moustache that characterized his partner. Years later, Sector 7 would confirm the obsessive and the retiree as being the same person, who was in turn retconned into being Walter Simmons, a character introduced in 2007's Ghosts of Yesterday prequel novel. In the process, this established that he ultimately did not retire in the 1930s, and instead continued working with Sector Seven for at least another 34 years! That series also swapped Simmons' circa-1900 "character model" with that of his partner (who was given the name Theodore Wells), perhaps due to his moustachioed appearance in this issue.
This issue shows preparations underway for the transfer of "Mega-Man" from the Arctic to Boulder Dam in late 1935, contradicting the claim made by Tom Banachek in the film itself that he was moved in 1934. Meanwhile, the prequel novel Ghosts of Yesterday shows Megatron not being transferred until 1969! IDW's later comic mini-series Sector 7 would eventually smooth over these contradictions, writing Banachek's claim off as a lie (after all, the dam hadn't been finished in 1934), and crediting delays in getting the cryo-block system up and running and the subsequent the outbreak of World War II with preventing the transfer from happening during the '30s.
The destruction of the Beagle 2 rover was the focus on the very first teaser trailer for the Transformers film. Assuming a similar timetable to the real-life Beagle 2 (which was actually a stationary lander, not a rover), the present-day events of this issue can be placed specifically in December 2003.

Transformers references

Archibald Witwicky's warning cry of "Their War! Our World!" quotes the real-world tag line for the upcoming film, as seen on various posters.
On the highway, vehicles resembling the alternate modes of Generation 1 Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Trailbreaker and Robots in Disguise Scourge can be seen.
As he arrives at the Internet café, Bumblebee watches a yellow Volkswagen Beetle drive away, a nod to Bumblebee's G1 alternate mode.
Starscream's pre-Earth design is based on his "Protoform" toy, while Blackout and Barricade are simply based on their on-screen looks, tweaked to remove Earth vehicle kibble. Barricade sports his head from non-final concept art, but this is likely due to outdated reference material rather than being a deliberate choice—Figueroa gives Barricade the same head when drawing his Earth body on the cover of next issue.

Real-life references

According to colorist Josh Burcham, the portraits on the walls of the Sector Seven base in Richmond depict Robert Oppenheimer, William Hayward Pickering (both identified in dialogue), Frederick Sanger, Jack Kilby and artist Don Figueroa himself. Apparently Don views himself as looking like a young Michael Keaton.
Bumblebee uses a search engine called "Shwiggle", a parody of Google (complete with "I feel Shwiggly" option) named after a nickname for Josh Burcham used by his uncle.
The songs Bumblebee plays on his radio feature lyrics that are similar, but not quite identical to those of existing songs, possibly to avoid licensing issues. The original songs are:
- Waiting (For a Girl Like You) by Foreigner
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2
- Who Are You by The Who

Other notes

Mentioned characters: Miles Lancaster
Taken at face value, the issue appears to suggest that contact with Megatron gave Archibald Witwicky a literal vision of the future, showing him the exact alternate modes of Jazz, Ratchet and Starscream a century before they exist. This, uh, seems like an unlikely power for Megatron to have, so maybe it's supposed to be non-literal.
Even by the usual standard of Don Figueroa's humans, Sam and his parents look remarkably unlike their on-screen actors, with even their hair being different. Next issue, set mere days later, Sam is drawn noticeably different, suggesting Figueroa may have been given reference photos between issues. Curiously, the same issue does not seem to have affected Agent Simmons, who has the same, passably screen-accurate appearance in both issues #3 and #4.

Covers (4)

Cover A: Bumblebee bursts through some trees, by Don Figueroa
Cover B: Uncolored and mirror-flipped inks for page 2 of Don Figueroa's interior art
Cover RI: Uncolored inks for cover A
Bristol Comics Expo 2007 exclusive cover: Inked sketch of Barricade and Blackout, by Andrew Wildman