Matrix Quest
Encyclopedia
The Matrix Quest is the official collective name for issues #62 through #66 in Marvel's
Transformers
comics, written by UK writer Simon Furman
. Each chapter of the story pays homage to a classic movie
or book
.
Each issue of Matrix Quest was presented with its own symbol on the cover, with a number signifying the episode in the series. However, it was part of the main plot and not a separate mini-comic. The series was reprinted by Marvel UK
in issues #262-264 & #282-297 and collected as a trade paperback in 2002.
, the Transformers' god
and core of their homeworld, Cybertron
was reawakened, alerting his nemesis, Unicron
to his location. Optimus Prime
, the Autobot
leader, had deduced that the only thing capable of stopping Unicron was the Creation Matrix, which he had once carried inside his body. The Matrix had been lost with Prime's old body when it had been launched into space for burial. Prime assembles several small teams of Autobots to search different parts of the galaxy for the Matrix.
The story takes the form of four individual stories, each focusing on one team. Although the stories do not connect directly to each other, they each detail the ongoing quest and share the common thread of the Decepticon
Thunderwing
's growing obsession with capturing the Matrix for himself.
s - Nightbeat
, Siren and Hosehead
- start the Matrix Quest on the planet of Pz-zazz. Pz-zazz is a tough, unfriendly world where corruption
and crime
thrive. The politics of Pz-zazz are in the hands of two criminal lords, Gutt and B'ghdad. However, a third individual, known as Miss Fatale, also wants her cut of the deal.
The Autobots' troubles start when a dying alien
gives them a mysterious, ancient bird
icon. This icon seemingly holds the key to the planet's future, and all three crime bosses are after it. Nightbeat, however, places the bird onto the pedestal from which it was originally stolen, and it restores peace and happiness to the world.
At the close of the story, Nightbeat and his companions are captured by Thunderwing
and his band of Decepticon
s.
This chapter pays homage to the Humphrey Bogart
film, The Maltese Falcon
. Just before he hits B'ghdad with the bird Nightbeat said, "If you want the bird, you can have it! But if you're its real owner, I'm Peter Lorre
!"
s and small, fledgling frontier towns.
Upon arriving, the Autobots are met by a band of mounted men, chasing a small child, with the obvious intention of killing him. The Autobots come to the child's rescue, and he invites them to his home.
The Autobots succumb to the peaceful life on the alien's farm and quickly forget about the Matrix Quest. However, there's more than meets the eye to this - an encounter with Thunderwing makes Dogfight realise he's not in his right mind any more, so he confronts the host family. The family is revealed to be Vrobians, a malevolent race of psychic vampire
s. The riders the Autobots met earlier were actually a kind of policemen, seeking to arrest the Vrobians. A fight ensues, and the Autobots win.
This chapter references several cowboy
movies. The title may also be a reference to the 1980 Adam and the Ants
album of the same name.
s - Longtooth, Doubleheader and Pincher - arrive on the planet Pequod, which is a world of vast seas.
While cruising on a ship over the oceans, Longtooth encounters a large whale
-like creature called a Klud, which bites off his leg, rendering him catatonic. No longer in his right mind, he becomes obsessed with hunting it down and killing it for revenge, while the other two Autobots try to stop him. Longtooth's second encounter with the Klud is interrupted by a Decepticon attack. After defeating the Decepticons, Longtooth's comrades make him see reason, and he spares the Klud's life.
Meanwhile, Thunderwing has come in contact with the Klud, and has somehow learned that the Klud has been in contact with the Matrix - and thus, Thunderwing knows where the Matrix is.
This chapter pays homage to the novel, Moby-Dick
.
research outpost. However, when the Autobot Pretender Classics - Bumblebee
, Jazz
and Grimlock
- arrive on Vs'Qs, they find that something has killed the outpost's entire crew.
The Autobots face Thunderwing and his Decepticons, but while they fight, a native creature finds the Matrix and tries to escape with it. Thunderwing hunts the creature down and kills it, stealing the Matrix. He then hijacks the Autobots' shuttle and flies back to The Ark, where he attacks Optimus Prime.
This chapter pays homage to Ridley Scott
's movie, Alien
, and particularly to the sequel, Aliens
.
The story also contains a reference to the character of Deathbringer, an alien being mutated by the Matrix that the Autobots faced in a Marvel UK story. This marks one of the few direct references that Furman made to his Marvel UK continuity after he began writing the US comic.
Thunderwing battles the entire Ark crew, as Prime hesitates, unwilling to risk damage to the Matrix. Presently, the Matrix itself makes itself known, taking over control of Thunderwing's body and revealing itself to have been corrupted by evil. The Autobot's are unable to resist the power of the Dark Matrix until Nightbeat, imprisoned since Issue #62, shoots Thunderwing with a grappling harpoon from the shuttle and depressurises the shuttlebay, sucking Thunderwing and the Matrix out into deep space.
The Autobots are left to face Unicron without the Matrix.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Transformers
The Transformers (Marvel Comics)
The Transformers was an 80-issue American comic book series published by Marvel Comics telling the story of the Transformers. Originally scheduled as a four issue mini-series, it spawned a mythology that would inform other versions of the saga...
comics, written by UK writer Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
. Each chapter of the story pays homage to a classic movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
.
Each issue of Matrix Quest was presented with its own symbol on the cover, with a number signifying the episode in the series. However, it was part of the main plot and not a separate mini-comic. The series was reprinted by Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
in issues #262-264 & #282-297 and collected as a trade paperback in 2002.
The story
The Matrix Quest began when PrimusPrimus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
, the Transformers' god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and core of their homeworld, Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
was reawakened, alerting his nemesis, Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
to his location. Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
, the Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
leader, had deduced that the only thing capable of stopping Unicron was the Creation Matrix, which he had once carried inside his body. The Matrix had been lost with Prime's old body when it had been launched into space for burial. Prime assembles several small teams of Autobots to search different parts of the galaxy for the Matrix.
The story takes the form of four individual stories, each focusing on one team. Although the stories do not connect directly to each other, they each detail the ongoing quest and share the common thread of the Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
Thunderwing
Thunderwing
Thunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
's growing obsession with capturing the Matrix for himself.
Issue #62: Bird of Prey
The Autobot HeadmasterHeadmaster (Transformers)
Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form...
s - Nightbeat
Nightbeat (Transformers)
-Transformers: Generation 1:Nightbeat is described as a tough, street-hardened detective who is not above resorting to dirty tricks in order to further his investigations...
, Siren and Hosehead
Hosehead
Hosehead is a character of the Transformers toyline and television series. He is an Autobot Headmaster and transforms into a fire engine. He should not be confused with the character Cab, who is based on the same toy, but portrayed as a completely different character in the Masterforce anime...
- start the Matrix Quest on the planet of Pz-zazz. Pz-zazz is a tough, unfriendly world where corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
thrive. The politics of Pz-zazz are in the hands of two criminal lords, Gutt and B'ghdad. However, a third individual, known as Miss Fatale, also wants her cut of the deal.
The Autobots' troubles start when a dying alien
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
gives them a mysterious, ancient bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
icon. This icon seemingly holds the key to the planet's future, and all three crime bosses are after it. Nightbeat, however, places the bird onto the pedestal from which it was originally stolen, and it restores peace and happiness to the world.
At the close of the story, Nightbeat and his companions are captured by Thunderwing
Thunderwing
Thunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
and his band of Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
s.
This chapter pays homage to the Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
film, The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
. Just before he hits B'ghdad with the bird Nightbeat said, "If you want the bird, you can have it! But if you're its real owner, I'm Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
!"
Issue #63: Kings of the Wild Frontier
The Autobot Triggerbots - Override, Dogfight and Backstreet - arrive on the planet Cheyenne, a world of hot, arid desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s and small, fledgling frontier towns.
Upon arriving, the Autobots are met by a band of mounted men, chasing a small child, with the obvious intention of killing him. The Autobots come to the child's rescue, and he invites them to his home.
The Autobots succumb to the peaceful life on the alien's farm and quickly forget about the Matrix Quest. However, there's more than meets the eye to this - an encounter with Thunderwing makes Dogfight realise he's not in his right mind any more, so he confronts the host family. The family is revealed to be Vrobians, a malevolent race of psychic vampire
Psychic vampire
A psychic vampire is a person or being who claims to feed off the "life force" of other living creatures. Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction...
s. The riders the Autobots met earlier were actually a kind of policemen, seeking to arrest the Vrobians. A fight ensues, and the Autobots win.
This chapter references several cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
movies. The title may also be a reference to the 1980 Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
album of the same name.
Issue #64: Deadly Obession
The Autobot PretenderPretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
s - Longtooth, Doubleheader and Pincher - arrive on the planet Pequod, which is a world of vast seas.
While cruising on a ship over the oceans, Longtooth encounters a large whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
-like creature called a Klud, which bites off his leg, rendering him catatonic. No longer in his right mind, he becomes obsessed with hunting it down and killing it for revenge, while the other two Autobots try to stop him. Longtooth's second encounter with the Klud is interrupted by a Decepticon attack. After defeating the Decepticons, Longtooth's comrades make him see reason, and he spares the Klud's life.
Meanwhile, Thunderwing has come in contact with the Klud, and has somehow learned that the Klud has been in contact with the Matrix - and thus, Thunderwing knows where the Matrix is.
This chapter pays homage to the novel, Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
.
Issue #65: Dark Creations
Optimus Prime's body, along with the Matrix, has landed on a moon called Vs'Qs. Vs'Qs is a desolate, almost lifeless place, inhabited only by small vermin, and a humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
research outpost. However, when the Autobot Pretender Classics - Bumblebee
Bumblebee (Transformers)
Bumblebee is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. In most incarnations, Bumblebee is a small, yellow Autobot with the altmode of a compact car.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
, Jazz
Jazz (Transformers)
Jazz is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a music loving robot and talks with a slang accent. He is also a good friend of Optimus Prime's...
and Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
- arrive on Vs'Qs, they find that something has killed the outpost's entire crew.
The Autobots face Thunderwing and his Decepticons, but while they fight, a native creature finds the Matrix and tries to escape with it. Thunderwing hunts the creature down and kills it, stealing the Matrix. He then hijacks the Autobots' shuttle and flies back to The Ark, where he attacks Optimus Prime.
This chapter pays homage to Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's movie, Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, and particularly to the sequel, Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
.
The story also contains a reference to the character of Deathbringer, an alien being mutated by the Matrix that the Autobots faced in a Marvel UK story. This marks one of the few direct references that Furman made to his Marvel UK continuity after he began writing the US comic.
Issue #66: All Fall Down
An Autobot shuttle returns to the Ark and Prime can sense the Matrix aboard. However, when the shuttle opens, it reveals a fighting mad Thunderwing, who has taken the Matrix for himself after overpowering the Autobots in the high gravity of Vs'Qs.Thunderwing battles the entire Ark crew, as Prime hesitates, unwilling to risk damage to the Matrix. Presently, the Matrix itself makes itself known, taking over control of Thunderwing's body and revealing itself to have been corrupted by evil. The Autobot's are unable to resist the power of the Dark Matrix until Nightbeat, imprisoned since Issue #62, shoots Thunderwing with a grappling harpoon from the shuttle and depressurises the shuttlebay, sucking Thunderwing and the Matrix out into deep space.
The Autobots are left to face Unicron without the Matrix.