TFtember: Transformers#15

"I, Robot-Master!" the Transformers#15 (April 1986) with credits to Bob Budiansky (script), Don Perlin (pencils), Keith Williams (inks), Nel Yomtov (colors), Janice Chiang (letters), and Mike Carlin (editor)

Megatron isn't doing so well. He's about to starve. Breaking into a coal mine, he attempts to eat the coal but alass, he needs energon. He passes out admist the rubble. 

Meanwhile, Uncle Sam is getting antsy about the whole giant robots running amuck thing. Agents at the I.I.I. have been tasked to at least come up with an explanation and fast. Blackrock makes the argument that the Autobots can at least be allies but the bigwigs don't want to hear it.

One agent, Barnett, is trying to come up with a plan when he notices his son reading the latest issue of Robot-Master. Inspired, he hopes on the first flight to New York City. He tracks down the issue's writer, Donny, and offers him a job.

Donny, having just been canned and the series cancelled, accepts. The job? To becomes the Robot-Master for real and claim that both the Autobots and Decepticons work for him. Donny not only accepts he ends up the playing the character for real. Seriously, coast to coast TV, special broadcast signal, the whole works.

Which is all fine and dandy, except for the people who find the inert Megatron. The I.I.I. are on the case though and fly Donny out to the mines to make another broadcast. A shame that the Autobots pick up the signal and decide to investigate. As does Soundwave, which is an even bigger pity.

For Donny, at any rate. 

The Autobots try to arrive but the miltary stops them. The Decepticons are able to get to Megatron first and give him some energy. When he comes to, he easily captures the rather small Donny. When he learns what Donny is claiming, he is about to turn Donny into the first human in orbit without a rocket, but the erstwhile Robot-Master has a plan; namely, he continues the charade. Why? With him on the TV screaming about giant evil robots, the public and authorities will attack the Autobots just as much as the Decepticons, maybe even more so. 

Megatron spares his life, but he makes it clear the reprieve is temporary at best. 

Darn good, new human characters and new plots twists. Although why the gov decides to paint the Transformers as giant rampaging yet Earth robots as opposed to just telling the truth is a bit odd.