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Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?

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S.T.A.R.S. continuity

Maybe Wheeljack is posing the question to Sunstreaker as an academic exercise.
Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?
Publisher Hasbro
Cover date 1986
Written by unknown
Art by Mark Watts, possibly others

"Can one boy, alone, hold back the evil Decepticons?" is one in a series of mail-order flyers included with Generation 1 toys, offering several Transformers which had been discontinued from the main line. The characters are featured in a brief story that follows directly from the previous flyer in the series.

A portion of this flyer is written in the second person, recruiting the reader into S.T.A.R.S. While the story proper is presented in traditional omniscient-narrator third-person, the style of the other S.T.A.R.S.-related material suggests that this entire flyer is propaganda which exists within its own fiction.
A very early Mountain Dew cross-promo?

On the heels of the previous message comes another, more urgent communique. It opens by continuing the story of Johnny, who has summoned an Autobot squad and can do little but wait for them to arrive and counter Thundercracker's energy-draining attack. Minutes creep by, then suddenly Wheeljack, Mirage, Ratchet and Sunstreaker each appear on different screens on Johnny's Command Center. Their movements show effort, probably as a result of Thundercracker's energy siphon. Johnny, however, is confident in "his" fighters, and he readies some videotapes for strategic reference. He uses his Command Center to lock onto the Autobots' positions, then prepares to give orders.

But then the Command Center succumbs to Thundercracker's assault, shutting down as the walls of Johnny's home begin to shake. Johnny frantically pushes buttons, to no avail. Then the Command Center spontaneously reactivates, flashing only two words: CODE RED.

I've decided to delegate instead.
I've decided to delegate instead.

The story ends there, and the message implores the reader to take action, claiming that only the reader can defuse the "CODE RED" situation. The reader has the option of "summoning" the previously-mentioned Autobots, as well as the videocassettes (for "study" purposes). Capping the message off is an invitation to join S.T.A.R.S., with the usual membership kit.

[edit] Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans


[edit] Notes

  • This continues a loose story that runs through a few years' worth of toy pack-in flyers. The micro-continuity, taken at face value, cannot fit within any known larger continuity; however, the "unreliable narrator" factor prevents any declarations on the matter.
  • The order-form section of the flyer features a glue strip that allows it to "transform into a Decepticon-proof envelope." It is unclear what constitutes Decepticon-proofing, nor why this technology is not employed more often.
  • A previous flyer promised that S.T.A.R.S. members would be given positions of command; this seems to be followed through here, as Johnny thinks of the Autobots as "his fighters," and he prepares to give them orders.
  • The specific Autobots in the story are referred to as "the available Autobot Fighters," and there is also reference to "Thundercracker and his evil Decepticon Marauders." The capitalization is intriguing, but it is unknown if the terms have any real significance.
  • The lineup of toys available through this flyer is the same as the previous one, minus the Omnibots.
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