G.I. JOE AND THE TRANSFORMERS issue #3 is part three of a four-issue mini-series featuring the characters of the TRANSFORMERS monthly title and the characters of G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO.

This issue was printed on December 2, 1986, with a pull date of January 1987.  This means it would be on newsstands for less than a month!  Michael Higgins continues his stint as writer on the mini-series, with Herp Trimpe on pencils and Vince Colletta as inker.  Joe Rosen was the letterer and Nel Yomtov colored the art.  

The front cover is a dynamic, symbolic image of Shockwave wih his clutches around an exploding planet Earth, with various interested parties looking on with shock and alarm (Hawk, Dirge, Serpentor, Blaster, the Baroness, Omega Supreme, and Dr. Mindbender).  Yes, Shockwave has two hands in this image.  Blaster's head is also colored yellow, because apparently they thought he was Bumblebee.

At the Decepticon base, Shockwave plays a virtual simulation of Power Station Alpha and its destructive potential for the benefit of the other Decepticons—showing how it will disrupt the planet's fault lines, siphon the magma from the planetary core, melt the polar ice caps, and more.  Cobra shows up with the power station in question, and Shockwave cements his alliance with Serpentor with a handshake (as the Dreadnoks look on and make wisecracks about Shockwave looking like a Tinker Toy).  We learn through thought bubbles, however, that neither Serpentor nor Shockwave believes this to be a lasting partnership, with each secretly planning to betray the other at the earliest opportunity.  Dr. Mindbender and the Baroness each seem to have a diabolical plan up their sleeves as well.  Webs upon webs, truly.

Shockwave requires a solar generator from the Ark in order to fully harness Power Station Alpha's capability, so he leaves Dirge behind and asks Serpentor to attack the Autobots and seize the generator.  Elsewhere, at Fort Lewis, G.B. Blackrock is expounding to G.I. Joe about the idea that Bumblebee was, in fact, a living alien machine, and one of the good guys.  Mainframe hypothesizes that Bumblebee might still be alive, despite the heavy damage, and that whatever gives him life might still have been preserved.  

At the Ark, the funeral of Optimus Prime is drawing to a close.  (The characters present at the funeral procession are drawn somewhat vaguely, and they're all colored in shades of blue and purple so it's hard to make a clear visual identification.  However, it appears that two versions of Jetfire are present—the standard version of him, using the Skyfire cartoon design, as well as a second Jetfire using his original design from the toy commercial animation, which more closely resembles the Jetfire toy.)  Omega Supreme stammers and stutters through a touching eulogy, which is completely at odds with his previous TRANSFORMERS portrayal.

Hawk has been summoned to an emergency meeting at the Pentagon, but he's far more preoccupied with the notion of seeing Senator Larkin again.  Elsewhere, Mrs. Duranti worries as her son is about to undergo surgery to remove the cerebro-shell, which will be surrendered to G.I. Joe if it is successfully extracted.

Larkin dodges reporter questions about Power Station Alpha being unsafe as she sneaks away to a secret meeting at a fancy restaurant with the Baroness..  Larkin now blames Cobra for not carrying out their end of the bargain.  It seems the plan had always been to proceed with the creation of the power station, despite the known risks, because of the jobs it would create, the money it would bring in, to say nothing of furthering the Senator's career.  It had been Cobra's job to destroy the power station, but the Baroness is quick to dismiss Larkin's concerns.  G.I. Joe's interference had been unancitipated (and I'm sure nobody expected the Transformers to get involved, either).  Larkin doesn't realize she's being observed and photographed.

A fleet of Cobra ships arrives at the Ark, and Omega Supreme stands ready to defend it.  (In addition to the Rattlers, there's also a weird Cobra jet with bat-like wings.  It seems to have no Hasbro toy equivalent, and the G.I. Joe wiki only describes it as a "fancy Cobra jet.")  Omega makes short work of the Rattlers, with both Dirge and Serpentor evading the assault for the time being.  The other Autobots offer to help Omega Supreme, including Perceptor, Blaster, and... Red Alert?!  He's colored in shades of blue, but the visible doors mounted to his arms are unmistakable, and distinguish him clearly from Sideswipe.  What an inauspicious and unexpected first appearance for an Autobot who, up until this moment, didn't exist outside the pages of TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE.  He even gets dialogue as one of the Autobots chiding Omega Supreme for his single-handed assault on Cobra—"Yeah, why should you have all the fun?"

At the Pentagon, it has come to light that Power Station Alpha has numerous design flaws which makes it unsafe, and these flaws were known design elements from the start.  Hawk rushes to Senator Larkin's defense, insisting that she would never have authorized its creation if she knew it was a danger.  It is at this point that Agent Kruchkow shows off his photos of the Senator and her clandestine meeting the Baroness, thus proving that Barbara has been colluding with Cobra this entire time.  

At the battle for the Ark, Serpentor seems to be baiting Dirge, who so far has stayed directly out of the conflict.  At the hospital, the operation is a success, and the cerebro-shell is removed from the brain of Tony Duranti.  The story is just leaping around from scene to scene at this point.  We jump yet again to the Decepticon base, where Dr. Mindbender takes note that Bombshell is making some changes to Power Station Alpha.  As the doctors examine the cerebro-shell, however, Bombshell simultaneously reacts in uncontrollable distress as the cerebro-shell is probed and manipulated.  Mindbender realizes this heretofore unknown weakness in Bombshell may be a way of achieving the upper hand over the Decepticons.

At Fort Lewis, Mainframe and Crankcase have rigged an improvised power supply to what remains of Bumblebee's internal systems, and manage to reawaken him.  He balks at his lack of a body, but at least he's alive.  Elsewhere, Hawk visits Larkin at her room, long enough to confirm that she's a traitor.  She cannot deny the accusations, of course, and Hawk bids her a tearful farewell.  Back at the Ark, Serpentor urges Dirge to strike, but he jams Dirge's frequencies, causing a power build-up in his system which causes him to explode.  Serpentor then radios Omega Supreme, claiming to have eliminated the Decepticon threat and thus proving his status as friendly.  Omega Supreme is confused, but convinced.  

Hawk is contacted and is given the dirt on the Bumblebee situation—how he had only been trying to save Tony Duranti from Power Station Alpha.  Hawk laments that his tendency to shoot first and ask questions later created a far bigger mess than there needed to be.  (He still seems completely ignorant of the existence of the Decepticons up until this mini-series, which shouldn't be possible unless the Joes as a whole have been shielded from global affairs.)

Power Station Alpha is activated and launched, and Dr. Mindbender realizes the human race as a whole is endangered.  The Autobots are suckered into forming an alliance with Cobra, and the Joes realize they must now cooperate with Cobra to save the world from the Decepticons. (Also, Cliffjumper is present among the Autobots, and he should definitely be dead.)  

Well, the story is finally moving quite rapidly, and a lot of plot threads that were moving at a snail's pace have finally picked up speed.  The reasoning for Senator Larkin's go-to answer as "destroy the power station" as the answer to every problem now becomes crystal clear.  It was her plan all along for the station to be destroyed, and it was supposed to happen in issue #1 when Cobra arrived on the scene, before being thwarted by the Joes.  One supposes Hawk's romantic interest in Larkin may have blinded him to any misgivings he would have otherwise had about her.  Anyway, the mini-series concludes next month!

Zob (prefers the G.I. Joe crossover with Transformers: Generation 2 a bit better for some reason)