We last saw the Autobot Skids like five years back, and I don't think he fared well all the way through Lost Light, so maybe today will do better for him. Except he's now a van, which seems like a downgrade. From 1986, the Transformers #20, "Showdown!" Written by Bob Budiansky, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey.
Ravage is trailing Donny Finkleberg, unemployed comic-book writer and Robot-Master. Huh, we actually blogged the previous issue like ten years ago, and while I remember Omega Supreme, I have no recollection of Donny; who got caught up in some kind of scam, presenting himself as "the weirdo, super-terrorist behind the Transformers." (Takara?) Donny ditches his costume, which Ravage later attacks, but realizes he hasn't destroyed the meaty bits. Donny passes and Ravage doesn't seem to notice the injured, overturned Skids; but when the passing Charlene sees him, he plays his radio to convince her he wasn't a wreck. And Charlene did need a new car; so...
Charlene's co-worker Wendell is obviously into her, and has Skids brought to town and patched up at his cousin's garage. Skids opts to play-act as Charlene's car for a while, figuring it to be safer than getting shot at by Decepticons all day; but he hadn't counted on a road-rage driver still holding a grudge from the previous issue, which I also don't recall! This blog's supposed to be a hedge against senility, not a reminder of it! Taking evasive action to save them both, Skids has to reveal himself to Charlene...but it doesn't seem to be a dealbreaker. They settle into a pleasant domestic routine; but while Charlene watches a western, Skids wonders if he's being a coward. Still, he does enjoy seeing earth's sights with her, as well as...um...
Their idyll is interrupted by first Donny, then Ravage, then the road-rager! The latter does the most damage, taking a tire iron to Skids, who then has a seeming concussion and resulting nightmare about getting gunned down by Megatron! Still, Ravage is the real threat here; and it takes all of them to trick him into falling down a mineshaft. A downfallen Skids knows he has to go back to the Autobots and his war, sadly suggesting that Charlene might give Wendell a call. (It seems obvious that Skids can't bear the thought of Charlene getting hurt.) Charlene does have to admit, Skids came out better than her last car, which she junked!
I think this plot was used in the animated series as well; and possibly more than once? Autobots that were burnt out after four million years of war and wanted out; then are almost immediately sucked back in. And girls that like Transformers. I don't know if Hasbro or Marvel thought there were female Transformers fans, but I wonder.
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