Summary of Beast Wars II Manga in Comics Bon-Bon, November 1998: While not quite the silly-fest of last issue, this outing still isn't terribly serious. It focuses on a new character, Star Upper (as in Uppercut), a boxing kangaroo. This character is unlikely to get a toy, he's just for the comics. Thanks to HydraD304@aol.com for translation of some of the plot that I couldn't figure out from context. Oh, and with that headband, I'm surprised they didn't name the character Ryu for sheer pun value. As always, I'll do my best to infer from context, but since I don't read Japanese I'm bound to make mistakes in the first draft. [Thanks to Drew Dederer for translations of some confusing parts. Corrections based on his translations will appear in brackets.] 487: Opening scene is a tactical display of a number of Destron missile launchers positioned on a hill between the Destron and Cybertron bases, with a commanding view of the whole area. Apache's laying out a plan to destroy the launchers, and Kid's a little nervous about it, since Lioconvoy isn't back to active duty yet. 488: Title page. Star Upper travels through space in his hyperdrive- equipped sportscar. Inside the car is taped a poster promoting one of his professional fights, a fight we later learn important information about. He's headed for Gaea. 489: Kid and Apache get into a major argument over the planned attack, I'm guessing Kid thinks they should wait for Lioconvoy to lead it. Apache isn't pleased with Kid's insinuations about his leadership ability. Diver tries to calm Apache down, and the properly ironic thing for him to say would be something like "It's not like a better leader is going to drop out the sky, right?" 490: Star Upper's car drops out of the sky, through the roof and into the midst of the meeting. 491: Silence. Dust settles. Star kicks his way out of the car, his face dramatically in shadow. He punches the car in irritation, and it falls apart. He turns to face the assembled Cybertrons and clears his throat. 492: Big dramatic declaration of who he is, how he's come to help out, and how he's the biggest badass since Unicron. Tight closeup on his face during this, veins standing out on his forehead, boxing gloves held up menacingly. [He claims to have been sent by Hyperconvoy, leader of the Cybertron forces.] 493: Pull back to show that he's shorter than even Kid. Stunned silence. Star froths at the mouth and runs around exclaiming his virtues and trying to get some respect. While HydraD304 says the Cybertrons mock him, the art seems to say that at least Apache is humoring him. [Turns out they buy his "drill sergeant" act, no mocking involved.] 494: All the Cybertrons snap to attention and salute Star. They may be mocking him at this point, but if they are, Star doesn't realize it. Apache starts to discuss something of importance with him, probably grilling him on his leadership skills. 495: The discussion continues, and it looks like Apache buys the line of bull Star is feeding him. "Great, we have a leader for our mission against the missile launchers!" Apache grabs Star and dragoons him into the mission. Star has a thought bubble which probably says something to the effect of "What have I gotten myself into?" 496: Riding the paratroop transport to the target. Everyone is in beast mode because of Gaea's toxic atmosphere. Star is nervous as all get out that he'll screw up. 497: Star isn't so sure about this parachute thing, so Apache and Bighorn shove him out the door. NOW they're mocking him. }-> [Oops, I misread the art. The others are complaining about how high it is, Scuba wants his hovercycle, and Star is wondering how the heck he got into this...when he trips and FALLS out the door. Apache proclaims him to be a great leader for going first.] 498: Slightly silly scene of paratrooping beast mode Cybertrons. Scuba in particular looks incongruous in a parachute. 499: Apache seems to be baiting Star Upper a little as they drift down, and he responds by miming a savage flurry of blows while decribing what he'll do to any Destrons they find. [Actually, Apache just asks what tactics they'll use. Star says "We hit them and we hit them and we hit them!"] 500: Everyone applauds this, and *seem* to be impressed with Star's prowess. Apache makes a remark about Lioconvoy, but whether it's a comparison to Star or simply explaining why Lioconvoy's gone, I dunno. 501: Everyone gives up a battle cry except a somewhat nervous Kid, then they pop out of the straps of their chutes and drop the rest of the way. 502: They transform as they drop. 503: Except Star Upper. Dramatic pose with everyone in robot mode except Star, who stands in front of them as dramatically as a cartoony kangaroo with boxing gloves, a t-shirt, headband and earrings can manage. 504: Apache asks Star why he hasn't transformed. He replies either that he can't, or that he doesn't need to. Depending on which, the next panel has Apache and Diver either mocking him or being impressed. Then Star Upper leads them in a battle cry...followed immediately by Apache taking a missile to the face. [Star just stammers something about not being able to, and Apache chides the others for having been rude in hitting a sore spot.] 505: Dirge, Thrust and the Autorollers stand up atop the missile launchers and issue threats while Star cradles Apache's unconscious form in his arms. 506: BB and Starscream come in on a strafing run in a splash page. This places the story as happening before they become Max B and Hellscream. 507: The fight is on, and going badly. Diver demands that Star transform and help out in the fight, since it's a ranged affair and his boxing skills are useless for it. 508-9: The fight continues, and Cybertrons start to fall one by one as Star looks on in a mixture of guilt and fear. "But...but..." Then a huge shadow falls across him. 510: It's Gigastorm (so the story takes place in the time between Megastorm being turned into Gigastorm and the other Cyborg Beast conversions). Gigastorm makes some dramatic pronouncements and then, apparently, steps on the missile launchers. Oops. Still, now they have a bigger problem than the launchers. 511: Gigastorm deploys his own missile launchers and aims them at Star. The remaining Cybertrons implore him to transform and fight Gigastorm, if he's as powerful as he says. Then Kid hits a nerve. "You don't have the guts to transform, do you?" [Actually, Kid doesn't try to hit a nerve, he just guilt-trips Star by accident.] 512: Anguished confession. Star apparently lacks confidence, and is afraid to transform, possibly because his robot mode is more powerful than he thinks he can handle. [The actual confession is that he lied about Hyperconvoy, that he's not a soldier, just a jock, and a failed one at that. He heard that Apache was on vacation, and wanted to try and horn in on the sergeant position.] 513: Star continues to explain his plight, then Kid tries to give him a pep talk of the "you're our last hope" variety. Kid then collapses in Star's arms, unconscious. [Kid actually asks who Star's giving this big speech to, since everyone else has already been taken out.] 514: Star looks down at Kid's blood (or oil) on his gloves. Gigastorm laughs at the puny Cybertron. That's IT. Star finds the courage to attack. 515: HENSHIN! Flipping upside down, Star transforms. His tail splits apart to reveal his robot head, his "pouch" (no wonder he has issues, he's a guy with a pouch!) turns into chest muscles, his t-shirt transforms into boxing trunks, his gloves swap from beast hands to beast feet as legs and arms switch places, and his beast head moves up to his chest. No, this one would not work as a toy. 516: The robot mode is revealed, and is pretty impressive. 517: He launches his big attack, the "Star Upper(cut)", his fist growing to huge proportions as it slams into Gigastorm's chin, knocking the giant Destron back. 518: Starscream decides to take out this Cybertron before he can turn that fist on anyone else, but his and BB's weapons are shot away from off- panel. "Who did that?" Starscream demands. Enter Lioconvoy! 519: The Destrons all run away. The Cybertrons dust themselves off and cheer Lioconvoy. Then Apache asks Lioconvoy about Star Upper (I guess Star made some story about being a pal of Lioconvoy's). Star is now VERY worried. [Star's worried about the imposture being discovered, and tha Lioconvoy might kill him.] 520: Lioconvoy salutes Star Upper. Then he leans in and whispers that he does indeed know about a promising young prizefighter who vanished on the night of his first big bout. Star flashes back to this, and thinks about how his lack of confidence caused him to run away. Then he realizes that he beat Gigastorm...he should be able to beat anyone in the ring! Flash forward (or Star dreaming, but I bet it's the actual future), Star Upper is in robot mode, drinking in the applause of the fans as he wears the championship belt. [In the flashback, we find that before a major fight, Star found he wasn't able to transform, for some reason. He bailed on the fight and disgraced himself. Ever since then, he's been "gunshy" about transforming, afraid to test his ability and find it still lacking. Now that he knows he can transform again, he can resume his career!] 521: Later.... Magnaboss arrives and is talking to Kid, who seems worried about something. Possibly the same something he was worried about at the start of the issue. To Be Continued.... Dave Van Domelen, "Yo, Matilda!"