Posting a day early, because I'm off today but I go back to work tomorrow.

THE TRANSFORMERS issue #40 is entitled "Pretender to the Throne!"  This issue was printed on January 26, 1988 and had a pull date of May 1988.  It was the first issue for the new year, and didn't waste any time introducing the new gimmick Hasbro had concocted for that product year.  The fact that it would be on newsstands for four months meant this was essentially the only media appearance for the Pretenders, and thus the primary advertising for the Hasbro toys outside of the TV commercials.  The pressure was on in a way that didn't exist when the cartoon carried the brunt of the advertising duties.  And, just to sweeten the deal, it also features the long-awaited return of Optimus Prime, who was blown to bits back in issue #24.  

The issue was written by Bob Budiansky, penciled by José Delbo, inked by Dave Hunt, lettered by Bill Oakley, and colored by Nel Yomtov.

Budiansky likely allowed Prime to secretly survive his "death" scene in issue #24 in case he wanted to revisit the character later on, but it's unlikely he could have foreseen that Hasbro would reverse their decision about killing off the character and resurrecting him as part of the 1988 product line.  (Some fans would write to the letters column, believing that the Transformers: the Movie comics adaptation was "proof" that Prime had to come back before the year 2005.  That was one problem with the movie being part of the comic's distant future—that future forever loomed over the contemporary present-day comic stories, and would eventually come to influence them heavily under Simon Furman's run.  But, we're not there quite yet!)

The front cover, by José Delbo and Dave Hunt, prominently features Skullgrin and Bomb-Burst as well as Landmine (whose face is drawn indistinctly, perhaps to hide his human-like nature).  "Introducing the PRETENDERS!" the cover promises, but we're also treated to the familiar visage of Optimus Prime, appearing (appropriately) on a computer monitor.  Readers had been asking for Prime's return for a while now.  But, as the old saying goes—be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it!

As a point of interest, Marvel Comics had been relying on the character model sheets provided by Sunbow Productions (developed for the G1 cartoon) in order to draw the characters.  The Pretenders represent the first departure from this, as the Sunbow cartoon was over and done with by this point..  (Six out of the twelve original Pretenders did appear in the Japanese cartoon series, but Takara's team developed their own animation models which were not used by Marvel.)  So, one wonders where they got their character designs from?  They weren't simply drawing the toys, after all.  It's possible they secured them from the animation studios that were developing short animated segments for the Hasbro toy commercials, and there does seem to be a synergy between the Marvel Comics designs and the designs seem in the toy commercials.

So, our story begins with Optimus Prime, seemingly alive and well, but existing in a simulated reality.  He leads the heroic Mechabots in a brave struggle against the evil Bombasticons, but these robot designs are ludicrously simple, almost laughable, compared to the sophisticated look of your typical Transformer, evidenced here only by Optimus Prime himself.  (In a curious and notable color choice, the Mechabots are orange and the Bombasticons are purple, which tends to be the signature color of Autobot and Decepticon technology, respectfully, in the color language of the Sunbow cartoon series.  That usually didn't carry over to the comic book—for example, the Marvel version of the Ark is not orange at all—but it's an interesting parallel.)

We see that Optimus exists only on the computer screen of Ethan Zachary, who has apparently done quite well for himself since last we saw him.  Unlike Donny Finkelberg, the perpetual down-on-his-luck loser, Ethan Zachary has managed to found his own company, Alternate Reality, Inc., by designing and selling his own video games.  Rather than keeping Optimus in storage on a floppy disk, however, Ethan has been allowing Optimus to live out his existence within these video games, fighting for truth and justice, because he's Optimus Prime and that's just what he does.  Optimus believes himself to be a video game character created by Ethan Zachary, unaware of his previous role as Autobot commander.  He tries to explain how the Autobots and Decepticons exist in real life, and how Megatron cheated in a contest that led to Prime's destruction.  Optimus, however, can only conceive of this in video game terms, and he thinks he simply used up one of his extra Marios and had to start the level over.  

Ethan's secretary hands him the evening paper before heading out (her name is Carla—probably a temp because the real secretary, surely named Charlene, is on vacation or something).  We see that the Decepticons have hit a genetics lab, though the reason why isn't immediately evident.  Trying to trigger Prime's memory, Ethan shows him a picture of Scorponok and Mindwipe, but of course Prime isn't going to have any idea who those specific Decepticons are.  Having recently dug into Prime's memory, Ethan shows Prime the Ark.  When Prime attempts to use a radio signal to contact it, however, he finds the Ark is no longer at the base of Mt. St. Hilary.  Then they try to contact the Witwicky residence, but an angry Sparkplug answers the phone and is, perhaps not surprisingly, completely fed up and wants nothing more to do with the Autobots.  (This is more in character for Sparkplug, which makes his willingness to allow Spike to look for the Ark in issue #38 all the more surprising.)

On board Steelhaven, Brainstorm is constructing a new body for Goldbug.  This in itself is interesting, since Brainstorm claims the new body was built to the same specifications as Goldbug's previous body.  However, Goldbug's body was a total hack job.  He was blown to smithereens by G.I. Joe, who attempted, badly, to rebuild technology they didn't understand, eventually requiring Ratchet to take over and supervise the reconstruction (and any resemblance he bears to the other five Throttlebots is just a happy coincidence).  Within the context of the fiction, we're supposed to accept that the only reason Goldbug looks the way he does is because G.I.. Joe had no idea how to reassemble Bumblebee properly, and Ratchet did the best reconstruction job he could after Crankcase (no, not the Triggercon) and Mainframe (no, not the Action Master) ruined things.  

So, what specifications is Brainstorm referring to?  If he had original blueprints on file somewhere, then he would have been able to turn him into Bumblebee again.  To precisely and meticulously duplicate the same mistakes G.I. Joe made seems completely pointless.  (What's funny is that Bumblebee actually did get a new toy in 1989, prompting his eventual de-Goldbugification in the comics.)

Spike Witwicky had previously bugged his dad's boarding house (a sensible precaution, given that the Predacons tracked him to the auto garage and demolished it), and he mentions that somebody tried to contact his dad on behalf of Optimus Prime.  Spike doesn't know who Optimus Prime is, but Goldbug sure does.  He assures Spike this is impossible, since he claims to have watched Prime's funeral concession.  Goldbug is a bald-faced liar, since he wasn't present for Prime's funeral at all.  These events coincided directly with the G.I. JOE AND THE TRANSFORMERS crossover, so Bumblebee/Goldbug was busy getting blowed up and/or put back together badly. However, none of the other Transformers present can vouch for Goldbug's story, so they all take his deception at face vaue and accept it.

Spike is concerned and wants to go to Earth and see what's going on.  Fortress Maximus is still undergoing repairs, however (apparently, precisely copying Goldbug's shoddy, botched hack job was the priority), so Goldbug elects to go instead.  Goldbug makes a big show of pointing out that his head is a brand-new one, and Brainstorm mentions it might still have some bugs to work out.  Never let it be said that Bob Budiansky doesn't know how to foreshadow.  

Goldbug shows up at Ethan Zachary's company and lets himself in through a loading entrance.  Ethan Zachary proclaims in utter shock, "What the—w-who are you?!  WHAT are you?!" as if he's never seen a Transformer before in his life.  He shows Goldbug the computer monitor with the face of Optimus Prime on it, and now it's Goldbug's turn to gasp in surprise.  (Throughout this issue and others, Dave Hunt tends to ink Prime's face in a way that makes it look like he has no nose and no face.  His yellow eyes are just floating in a black abyss.  In a way, it's kind of creepy, and somehow it suits Prime since he's still technically dead right now.  He's a ghost.  Or he's Batman.  I'm not sure which.)  

Also, Goldbug is being colored more like Bumblebee in this issue, with blue arms and legs, rather than his all-yellow look as we've seen in previous issues.

Ethan Zachary says he's been trying to jog Prime's memory, but seeing pictures of the Decepticons hasn't done the trick.  Goldbug wants to go one step further and simulate an actual counterattack on the Decepticons, thinking that might help Prime remember who he really is.  Knowing the Decepticons have taken over the genetics laboratory, they send Prime on a new virtual mission through cyberspace—to track down the Decepticons and learn what they are up to.  Still believing it to be a game, Prime transforms to vehicle mode (just the cab section, though, weirdly... his trailer is nowhere to be seen) and makes the digital trek to the laboratory, where he finds the Decepticons.