The Transformers #42

Name: The Transformers #42
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jul 1988 · Marvel · 1.00 USD; 1.25 CAD; 0.50 GBP

📊 ~9,457 copies sold its debut month

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“People Power!”

★ 1st appearance — Throttle

About this Issue

The Transformers #42, titled 'People Power!', marks the in-continuity return of Optimus Prime to the Marvel Comics universe after the Autobot leader's prolonged death and digital-disk limbo — a narrative event fans had waited for across dozens of issues. More structurally significant, this issue introduces the Powermaster concept to the main series, debuting a sweeping roster of Powermaster characters on both sides of the conflict: Autobot Powermasters Optimus Prime, Joyride, Slapdash, and Getaway alongside their Nebulan partners Hi-Q, Hotwire, Lube, and Rev, and Decepticon Powermasters Darkwing and Dreadwind with their partners Throttle and Hi-Test. As the direct bridge between the Headmasters miniseries mythology and the ongoing title's next chapter, this issue reoriented the entire direction of writer Bob Budiansky's run and introduced one of the most significant toy-tie-in concepts the series ever executed.

In "People Power!", the Autobots Goldbug, Getaway, Joyride, and Slapdash land on the planet Nebulos seeking a new form for Optimus Prime, only to find the Nebulans already host to two Decepticons through a strange binary-bonding process. With José Delbo’s dynamic art and Dave Hunt’s sharp inks bringing the alien world to life, the story unfolds as Optimus Prime and his allies form deep, transformative bonds with the Nebulans—setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown and a daring departure.

writer Bob Budiansky · inker, artist Dave Hunt · inker, artist Don Hudson · colorist Nel Yomtov · letterer Bill Oakley · artist José Delbo · cover José Delbo, Dave Hunt

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $10

CGC 9.8 · 38 in census $450*

CGC 9.6 · 23 in census $143

CGC 9.4 · 10 in census $143*

CGC 9.2 · 7 in census $113

CGC 9.0 · 4 in census $113*

CGC 8.5 · 7 in census $113*

Show all 13 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 5 in census $103*

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $90*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 · 1 in census $68

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $68*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $52*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $447–$475 2 listings

CGC 9.8 $447.45 CGC 9.8 $475

CGC 9.6 $160 1 listing CGC 9.4 $80.32 1 listing Raw — MINT $450 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $9.15–$50 6 listings

Raw / ungraded $9.15 Raw / ungraded $14.99 Raw / ungraded $17.99 Raw / ungraded $30 Raw / ungraded $45 Raw / ungraded $50

Verified matches for The Transformers #42 · eBay asking prices, seen 20 days ago

More listings for this title

VF+ $6 VF+ $6 GOOD $13.96 Newsstand $15 Newsstand $19.49 Marvel The Transformers #42 1988 Optimus Prime Bob Budiansky Sienkiewicz $12.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 6 total · seen 20 days ago

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History

Writer Bob Budiansky, who had been the series' primary creative architect since issue #5, penned 'People Power!' as a payoff to a multi-issue setup rooted in the 1987 Headmasters limited series, which had introduced the planet Nebulos and the binary-bonding gimmick tied to Hasbro's contemporary toy wave. Editor Don Daley shepherded the issue under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, with pencils by José Delbo and inks by Dave Hunt and Donald Hudson — the regular art team of that era — colored by Nel Yomtov and lettered by Bill Oakley. The on-sale date was March 22, 1988, with a July 1988 cover date.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of the Powermaster versions of Optimus Prime, Joyride, Slapdash, and Getaway (Autobot Powermasters), and Darkwing and Dreadwind (Decepticon Powermasters) in the main Marvel Comics Transformers series.
First appearances of the Nebulan Powermaster partners: Hi-Q, Hotwire, Lube, and Rev (Autobot partners) and Hi-Test and Throttle (Decepticon partners, reviving Darkwing and Dreadwind).
Represents the return of Optimus Prime as an active character after a lengthy death and digital-storage arc; Hi-Q binary-bonds with Prime to give him his Powermaster body.
Written by Bob Budiansky, penciled by José Delbo, inked by Dave Hunt and Donald Hudson, colored by Nel Yomtov, lettered by Bill Oakley, and edited by Don Daley under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
On sale March 22, 1988; cover dated July 1988. Story title: 'People Power!'
The issue has been reprinted at least five times: in Dutch (Juniorpress, 1986 series #16), Swedish (Atlantic Förlags AB, 1989), UK trade paperback (Titan, 2004), IDW's Transformers: Magazine #1 (2007), and the Transformers Compendium (Image, 2025).
Goldbug (the rebuilt Bumblebee) appears as the only Autobot who does not undergo the Powermaster process, as his high fuel efficiency made bonding unnecessary — a story detail that also accommodated the pacifist Nebulan Kari, who refused to participate.
The Decepticon Powermasters Darkwing and Dreadwind were revived by Nebulan traitors Hi-Test and Throttle, who stole Hi-Q's power-conversion research — framing the Powermaster gimmick as an in-universe act of scientific espionage.