Cheap Shots

Transformers Timelines TCC Special #1 « Classics »
Nightbeat in: The Case of the Bewildering Spatial Physics.
"Cheap Shots"
Publisher	Fun Publications
First published	October 27, 2008
Writer	Forest Lee
Pencils	Dan Khanna
Inks	Jake Isenberg
Colors	Thomas Deer
Letters	Jesse Wittenrich
Editor	Pete Sinclair
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

What are two of the strongest Dinobots, Slag and Sludge, doing with Nightbeat and his Headmaster ally Siren? And who is following the foursome to one of the most dangerous asteroid colonies in the galaxy?

Synopsis

At a bar on the planet of Azure, Nightbeat is accosted by an alien named Vorg and two of his friends, who tells the Autobot detective that someone wants to talk to him. Nightbeat, annoyed, tells him to bring whoever wants to talk to him here. Vorg grabs the Autobot, telling him that while they don't like mechanoids like him, they were paid to bring him to their client, and demands for him to come with him. Vorg is interrupted by Nightbeat's crew-mates: Slag, Sludge, Siren, Muzzle, Lug, and Minerva. Vorg is thrown through the wall by Slag into the busy city streets, and one of his friends is taken out by the Nebulan and human members of the crew. Siren shouts at the last one, Narfl, to put his hammer down, but the alien protests that they really were hired by someone who wants to talk to Nightbeat. When Nightbeat asks him why they didn't just say that in the first place, Narfl, tells him that they did. Slightly embarrassed, Nightbeat is still annoyed that this prospective client didn't come to him directly, but Narfl tells him that she wouldn't fit in here, and tells the group to follow him.

While following the alien mercenary, Nightbeat reflects on the events of the last few weeks. Nightbeat and his crew were tracking an assassin through the space of the Vestial Imperium, who are aligned with Bludgeon's Decepticon empire. Damaged, Azure was the closest planet that could repair them, but with their communications down, the local militia shot them out of the sky, their ship landing on the one place on the planet with the components they needed for repairs. Coming back to the present, Nightbeat asks Slag if he really needed to chuck the guy through the wall, knowing that they need to conserve their money, but the gruff Slag doesn't care. Narfl leads them to a hangar, where Nightbeat is greeted by his client: the sentient Shi-Lai ship, Amory. Amory pays Narfl, and explains to the Autobot group that she needs a detective, promising to compensate them for their time. Slag is more concerned about violence, and when the Shi-Lai ship affirms this, the Dinobot pushes his way on board.

Taking flight, Amory explained that thirty-seven years ago, she and her pilot, Phyrion, rebelled from the Shi-Lai, becoming smugglers. Minerva, the most recent member of Nightbeat's crew, dismisses that the Shi-Lai have captured him, having left the two alone for thirty-seven years. Lug points out it could have been a disgruntled client, but Muzzle points out the technology to sever binary bonding links is very serious. Quig, the only one of the original Nebulans still bonded to his partner, thinks Phyrion is dead, but Amory insists that she would know if he was. Asking Amory to bring up their destination, the group studies over the data. A collection of asteroids, Purgatory is filled with criminals, collection of some of the worst elements of the universe. Reviewing Amory's logs, they watch the footage as Phyrion embarks on Plutus to meet up with some clients, and Amory's initial investigation, the clients having been killed, and Phyrion capture. Nightbeat decides to have the group split up. Slag, Sludge, and Lug are sent to ask questions to the locals, although Slag's methods of interrogation mostly consist of beating up the locals and mispronouncing Phyrion's name. Nightbeat, Siren, Muzzle, and Minerva head over to the Magistrate, but any knowledge to be gained is lost when Siren's lack of inside voice interrupts the Magistrate's meditation and blowing out his audio sensors. Heading back to the Amory, it looks like a dead end, until Amory finds an encrypted transmission for Phyrion while sweeping through her sensor logs. Using this, she manages to find the source of the transmission, and the group heads there.

Finding the source of the transmissions at an abandoned warehouse, Nightbeat and his crew head in. It looks to be another dead end, when the group are suddenly confronted by the new Mayhem Attack Squad! Ruckus and Needlenose have hired Octopunch and Stranglehold to help get "revenge" for standing in their way. Annoyed, Nightbeat tells them that he and the others were the one who were tortured, and that in any case, it's been 20 stellar cycles, with the war practically being over. Slag pushes Nightbeat aside, but is impaled by one of Octopunch's harpoons, and the two groups engage each other. Ruckus and Needlenose get in the way of one another, their blasts going wide, while Stranglehold and Sludge grapple. Slag cracks through Octopunch's helmet, and rips the harpoon out of himself, threatening to decapitate Octopunch. Minerva annoys Needlenose, her rocket-boots allowing her to evade his blasts, while Ruckus rushes towards Nightbeat and Siren, his single-minded pursuit of revenge exasperating the Autobot detective. Ruckus is knocked down by Siren's sonic-screamer pistols, while Stranglehold begs him to call in reinforcements. The ceiling is blasted apart, damaging Nightbeat's head, as Amory rains down her arsenal. Ruckus grabs Phyrion out of his bag, explaining that with him as hostage, Amory has to help him. Nightbeat and Octopunch are both shocked by Ruckus' stupidity, and Slag rushes forward, cutting off Ruckus arm. Amory asks Phyrion if he's okay, and the sentient spacecraft tells the Decepticons to go. Needlenose, Octopunch, and Stranglehold leave Ruckus behind, and Slag keeps the Triggercon's arm.

Latter, Phyrion and Amory thank Nightbeat and his crew for their help, paying their fee. Nightbeat thanks them in turn for getting him parts to replace his damaged head, and tells them that if they ever need any help, that they can come to him. Phyrion asks Nightbeat if he'll go after Ruckus, but Nightbeat tells him that they aren't into hunting Decepticons down anymore. As the two blast off, Minerva points out they still don't have a ship. Nightbeat is still optimistic, figuring someone on Purgatory needs a detective, looking off in the distance at a corpse with a knife sticking out of it...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"You missed window."
"Wasn't aiming for window."

—Sludge comments on Slag's aim after he throws Vorg through the wall.

"Siren... inside voice, please."
"RIGHT. SORRY."

—Nightbeat might have to give Siren a time-out

"Slag, did you have to chuck that guy through the wall?"
"Yup."
"Okay, but we need to conserve our cash."
"Don't care."

—Nightbeat and Slag discuss tact and caution

"The type of folks who'd import ten dozen animals called "baby gnashers" probably don't blink at offing a guy who'd done 'em wrong."
"I think those are just young gnashers, Quig. They're like cows on Earth. Not animals that actually gnash babies."

—Quig and Nightbeat

Siren: "RIGHT, NIGHTBEAT. ME AND THE DINOBOTS ARE STEALTH."
Nightbeat: Hope springs eternal.

"You brought the hostage with you?"

—Octopunch and Nightbeat share a moment of marveling at Ruckus' stupidity

Notes

• This issue was packaged exclusively with the Timelines Nightbeat toy. In lieu of the tech spec card typical to most club toys, a bio for Nightbeat is instead included on the comic's inside front cover.
• Mentioned characters include: Bludgeon, the Vestial Imperium's imperator, the Shi-Lai blood tyrant, Hosehead, and Thunderwing.
• Characters mentioned in Nightbeat's bio include: Grimlock, Bludgeon, Muzzle, and Siren.
  • Nightbeat originally was with Grimlock's crew on the Graviton, until striking out on his own. The Graviton was first seen in-story in BotCon 2007's "Games of Deception".

Continuity notes

• Slag, Sludge, Lug and Minerva's reasons for being with Nightbeat were told in issue #22 of the club magazine. In short: Slag and Sludge left the Graviton because they hated Ultra Magnus; Lug left Nebulos with Nightbeat and Siren after being alienated for serving in the war; Minerva came from Earth, and was a part of Project Transtector, an attempt to make man-made Transformers. She followed Nightbeat through a psychic link.
• Hosehead died in Marvel's The Transformers series #76 during Unicron's attack on Cybertron.
• Ruckus and Needlenose were last seen in issue #66, having surrendered to the Autobot's after Thunderwing's defeat. Octopunch and Stranglehold were last seen with Bludgeon's forces on Klo in issue #80. Nightbeat refers to the time when Ruckus and Needlenose, along with Thunderwing and their other crew members, shot and captured Nightbeat, Siren, and Hosehead in issue #62, and their torture at the Decepticon's hands in issue #63. It's not clear when Needlenose was thrown out into space; he might have been sucked out with Thunderwing in #66, and retrieve by the Autobots later.

Transformers references

• Siren is drawn with a pair of "normal" optics under his visor, a nod to the fact that the comic models for Nightbeat and Siren had the pair's heads swapped. He even has his Marvel Comics nosebridge under there.
• Slag really lives up to his old box-back bio personality in this issue (basically, "unrepentant asshole"), moreso than he ever did before. Similarly, Siren's "loud" aspect from his bio is also brought to the forefront, as he basically shouts his way through the entire issue.
• This is possibly the first in-fiction appearance of several characters' toy weapons that had gone long-unseen. Slag and Sludge both have their missile launchers. Needlenose is carrying Sunbeam and Zigzag (though neither transform out of gun mode). Octopunch uses both of his toys' blasters instead of his "signature" trident. Along those lines, Siren's use of his sonic-screamer pistols is the first in-fiction use of the smaller Headmasters' helmet-guns in robot mode.
• Nightbeat getting a new head from Amory to repair the heavy damage he took in the battle, was done to reconcile the fact that the Timelines Nightbeat toy ended up with a head different from what the original design called for.

Real-world references

• The introductory caption is a homage to the opening of the 1983-1987 action-adventure television series The A-Team.

Errors

• The cover features some bizarre spatial and proportion issues, including the fact that Nightbeat is standing in front of Sludge, but Sludge's foot is placed before Nightbeat. Siren, meanwhile, has a left leg that is not connected to any thigh.

Other trivia

• When Slag waves goodbye to Amory, he's using Ruckus's arm to do it.

Cover

• Regular Nightbeat and his crew, by Thomas Deer.