A New Friend
From Transformers Wiki
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 EVERY BIG ROBOT HAS A TI NY BOYFRIEND | |||||||||||||
| "A New Friend" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 30, 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | John Barber | ||||||||||||
| Pencils by | Steve Kurth | ||||||||||||
| Inks by | Juan Castro & Brian Shearer | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Zac Atkinson, Triona Farrell, Leonardo Ito, Joana Lafuente, Fran Gamboa & Gonçalo Lopes | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Tom B. Long | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Live-action film series | ||||||||||||
The Autobots encounter a mysterious new ally.
Contents |
Synopsis
It is dusk, and as the city sleeps, Hydrobot awakens! Leaving his owner's apartment, he soon comes across a trio of human-sized Decepticon combat drones attacking an innocent citizen. After a brief battle, the drones make a hasty retreat, but as Hydrobot moves to pursue, he is stopped by Hound, incorrectly identifying the diminutive 'bot as a Decepticon, then again by Optimus Prime, and finally by Bumblebee, before successfully escaping the clutches of all three Autobots.
With Hydrobot gone, Optimus voices his concern that if he and the Autobots fail on their mission, Megatron will be able to create an Energon convertor and wreak havoc across the world. Hound notices a patch of a mysterious substance that Hydrobot left behind, and uses his skill as a tracker to find its source - the laboratory of Doctor Hiroshi Benson at the Schick R&D department. Upon questioning from Hound, Benson reveals that the mysterious substance is called H-Boostium, and that he had synthesised it in an attempt to create the perfect razor. However, the samples he created were freed in an explosion six months ago, and bonded with a nearby prototype razor, creating Hydrobot! Immediately, the newborn Transformer used his immense strength to rescue Dr. Benson–but was gone when the doctor looked back...
No sooner has Dr. Benson finished his story than the Decepticon combat drones arrive on the scene–with backup in the forms of Barricade, Onslaught, and Megatron himself! When Onslaught moves to attack, however, he is quickly knocked over–by Hydrobot! Seeing the tiny Transformer's true nature, the Autobots rush into battle to assist him. Megatron takes Dr. Benson as a hostage, but fails to stop the human from telling Hydrobot how to use his energy-field razor's control handset to defeat the Decepticons. The control handset, in conjunction with Bumblebee's stinger weapon, creates an energy surge that instantly incapacitates the Decepticons, moving them to retreat.
With the Decepticon menace defeated for now, and the sun rising on a new day, Hydrobot makes his silent goodbyes to his new allies, and to his creator, before heading back home to live out his own life. This farewell doesn't upset Bumblebee, however, because he knows that someday, somehow, he'll be seeing Hydrobot again!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others | |
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Quotes
"A mechanical beard... What sort of technology could possibly trim that...?"
- —Dr. Benson contemplates the notion of Transformer facial hair.
"The gel reservoir - the source of the hydro serum - must have enticed the H-Boostium. For what more does anything want than a clean, smooth, comfortable shave? That part made perfect sense. What surprised me... was his dedication to protect all who shave."
- —Dr. Benson explains Hydrobot's origin and sells toys.
"Hey, now - I ain't no expert in humans... but I don't think you bounce. Least, not more'n one time."
- —Hound, protector of humanity
"Y'know, this gives me an idea for a new kind of razor. What if you attached five blades to a truck...?"
- —Dr. Benson demonstrates the keen mind and quick wit one would expect from a man of his calibre.
Notes
- This comic was offered as a free download on IDW's website a few weeks prior to the release of The Last Knight as a promotion for both the film and Schick's Hydro line of razors. The comic is followed by short interviews with Barber and Kurth, plus an uncoloured page inked by Castro and an unlettered page coloured by Atkinson.
Continuity notes
- Optimus Prime wonders if the H-Boostium which brought Hydrobot to life could be derived from Transformium taken from KSI.
Transformers references
- Hound's line when catching Dr. Benson is likely a reference to similar comment made by Jetfire in issue #21 of the original Marvel US comic.
Real-life references
- Optimus Prime's holographic driver is, once again, based on Peter Cullen.
- Bumblebee's "Never say Never" quote is from Justin Bieber's song in the same name.
Errors
Other trivia
- Megatron claims that Dr. Benson's laboratory contains "better materials than I had hoped to uncover on this wretched planet." This guy makes razors. Either Megatron has really low standards, or humans have really bad priorities.
- This comic is the first piece of Transformers: The Last Knight media to offer a clear look at Onslaught's robot mode!
Covers (1)
- Regular cover: Optimus holds Hydrobot in the palm of his hand, by Sara Pitre-Durocher.
