The Transformers #10
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Transformers #10 marks the first comic-book appearance of the Constructicons — Scrapper, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Hook, Long Haul, and Bonecrusher — and their combined form, Devastator, making it the debut of combining robots in the entire Transformers comic mythology. That concept of six individual bots merging into a single giant warrior would become one of the franchise's defining gimmicks across every subsequent medium. The issue also advances the Creation Matrix storyline that was Bob Budiansky's central dramatic engine during his long run, as Shockwave's exploitation of Optimus Prime's stored Matrix energies to birth the Constructicons raises the narrative stakes considerably. Jetfire additionally appears here in an unfinished, cameo state as the next project on Shockwave's production line, bridging the arc toward his full debut the following issue.
In "The Next Best Thing to Being There!", the Decepticons unleash the Constructicons—Shockwave’s new enforcers—on the Autobots, culminating in their dramatic fusion into the towering Devastator. As the Autobots rally to face the colossal threat, Shockwave remains puzzled by Optimus Prime’s unexpected failure to activate Jetfire with the Creation Matrix, unaware that the true power has already passed to another. Written by Bob Budiansky and illustrated by Ricardo Villamonte, with inks by Brad Joyce, colors by Nel Yomtov, and letters by Janice Chiang, this 1985 Marvel classic features a cover by Kyle Baker.
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By issue #10, the Transformers series had already made the unexpected transition from a four-issue limited series to a full monthly ongoing, a change driven by reader demand and Marvel's recognition of the toy line's cultural momentum. Bob Budiansky — who had written Transformers character profiles for Hasbro's tech-spec cards and taken over scripting duties with issue #5 — continued his run here, constructing a story that served the dual mandate of satisfying readers and introducing the Constructicons as new Hasbro product. Interior art was handled by Ricardo Villamonte and Brad Joyce, with Kyle Baker providing the cover depicting Devastator looming over the outmatched Autobots. The title, 'The Next Best Thing to Being There!', was drawn directly from the Bell Telephone Company's classic advertising slogan, repurposed as an ironic reference to Soundwave's attempt to beam a signal across interstellar space to Cybertron.
Trivia · 9 facts
- First full comic-book appearance of the Constructicons as a team: Scrapper, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Hook, Long Haul, and Bonecrusher — all six debuting simultaneously as Shockwave's creations built at G.B. Blackrock's aerospace plant.
- First appearance of Devastator, the gestalt super-robot formed by the six Constructicons combining — the first combiner in the Marvel Transformers comic continuity.
- Jetfire appears in cameo as an incomplete, not-yet-activated body; Shockwave grows suspicious that Optimus Prime has lost the Creation Matrix when Prime fails to bring Jetfire to life.
- Story title is 'The Next Best Thing to Being There!' — written by Bob Budiansky, with interior art by Ricardo Villamonte and Brad Joyce, coloring by Nel Yomtov, cover by Kyle Baker, and editing by Mike Carlin.
- The issue's central plot turns on G.B. Blackrock revealing that he bugged every phone in his aerospace plant, allowing the Autobots to eavesdrop on Decepticon communications — a key development in the Autobot-Blackrock alliance.
- Huffer receives a featured character spotlight, his homesickness for Cybertron mirrored by the human trucker Bomber Bill's determination to get home to his family after the Constructicons steal his rig.
- The Constructicons are inconsistently colored throughout the issue — a well-documented production error catalogued by the Transformers Wiki, later corrected in IDW Publishing's remastered Classic Transformers Volume 1 (2008) reprint.
- The story was reprinted in The Transformers Comics Magazine #5 (Marvel, 1987), Transformers: New Order (Titan Books, 2003 paperback and hardback), Classic Transformers Vol. 1 (IDW, 2008), and as part of Hachette's Definitive G1 Collection.
- Spider-Man does NOT appear in this issue — his Transformers crossover occurred in issue #3. The catalog's listing of Spider-Man (twice) and Jim Shooter as characters is erroneous or reflects editorial/cover credits rather than story appearances.
Cast · 28 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in The Transformers #35 (1985), The Transformers #36 (1985), Les Transformers #10 (1986), Transformers #5 (1987), Transformers #5/1987 (1987), Transformers #[2] (2003), Transformers Compendium #1 (2025), The Transformers Classics #1, Transformers #3/1987
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