Escape to Planet Earth

From GoBots Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
GoBots
EscapeToPlanetEarth.jpg
Cy-Kill's tires are laserproof?
"Escape to Planet Earth"
Publisher Western Publishing Company
First published 1983
Writer Michael Halperin
Page count 16
Price FREE

The GoBots come to Earth.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

On GoBotron, the recently captured Cy-Kill plots his escape almost immediately. He shows the other Renegades how they can change into Earth vehicles to fool both the GoBot Security Forces while they make their escape, and the people of Earth once they arrive there; for Cy-Kill's plan is to conquer a whole new world. Leader-1 is made aware of Cy-Kill's escape and informs the rest of the GoBot Security Force. For some reason he announces it from the Command Center's elevator. Turbo, Dozer, Hans-Cuff, Dumper and Pumper heeded his call.

The escaped renegades and their secret weapon, the monster Zod, wreak havoc on Earth, and Cy-Kill decides to announce his conquest on television. Two human children, Pete and Nancy, receive a strange "GOBOT PROGRAM" readout on their computer. At the same time, the Renegades start to have technical difficulty, with Tank uncontrollably converting back and forth, and Zod even starts chewing on Loco! Cy-Kill concludes that their programs are being tampered with, and the Security Force conclude that they have unknown allies on Earth. Somehow, Cy-Kill discovers the children who received the "GOBOT PROGRAM" and has BuggyMan kidnap them. The GoBot Security Force rushes to the rescue and drives the renegades off.

The GoBot Security Force reveal themselves to Pete and Nancy, ask them to be of help with their knowledge of Earth, and make them honorary citizens of GoBotron.

Featured characters[edit | edit source]

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

GoBot Security Force Renegades Humans

Quotes[edit | edit source]

"No one can keep me prisoner."

Cy-Kill isn't wrong

"What's going on?"
"Something weird!"

Pete and Nancy noticed the plot holes

"Remember, we have justice and peace on our side. Cy-Kill has destruction and evil. Peace and justice will always win."

Leader-1 sure is a 1980's cartoon hero, even if this isn't the cartoon

Notes[edit | edit source]

Continuity notes[edit | edit source]

  • This promotional storybook was the first piece of GoBots media, released concurrently with the first wave of the toyline in 1983 and given away free at toy stores or available by mail from Tonka; later it was also packed in with Zod.
  • It lays down the basics of the GoBots story, introducing the planet GoBotron, the heroic Leader-1 and evil Cy-Kill as leaders of their factions, and the origin of the GoBots as formerly-organic beings who have replaced worn-out parts with artificial ones and become all-mechanical except for organic brains. As such an early piece of fiction, however, several elements that would come to be synonymous with the brand, mostly via the cartoon, are not yet in effect. These include:
    • GoBotron lacks its distinctive "apple core" shape.
    • The faction names "Guardian" and "Renegade" are not yet in use. Leader-1's group is called the "GoBot Security Force," while Cy-Kill's group is referred to with different adjectives each time, none of them capitalized, though "renegade" is one of them.
    • While the Guardians' Command Center, part of the 1984 toyline, was evidently far enough into production to be included, its Renegade counterpart Thruster is not featured, with the villains instead using a flying saucer. Thruster would debut in the cartoon mini-series but not appear in toy stores until 1985.
    • The GoBots use hand-held weapons instead of hand-blasters or other built-in weaponry and powers. There is also no indication that they can fly as robots.
    • Tank is Cy-Kill's "right-hand man", a description lifted from Tonka's character profile. The cartoon would later assign this rank to both Fitor and Cop-Tur.
    • Dumper and Pumper, two characters who were barely in the cartoon because their toys were discontinued after the first series of figures, are depicted as brothers in accordance with Tonka profiles written for the characters.
    • The text establishes that scientists from GoBotron have observed Earth for centuries, which is a really handy way of explaining why there are so many Earth vehicles in the line, something that will be vaguely alluded to in Challenge of the GoBots, where the Guardians have an Earth vehicle modifier in "The Fall of GoBotron" and Scooter will off-handedly mention GoBots have been visiting the planet for a couple of centuries in "In Search of Ancient GoBonauts".

Errors[edit | edit source]

Continuity errors[edit | edit source]

  • The kids are introduced unexpectedly receiving a GoBot-related "readout", but then the plot proceeds from there as though the kids had used their computer to do something to the renegades, and it doesn't leave time for them to have done anything with the "GOBOT PROGRAM".
  • There is no explanation for how either faction of GoBots finds the children either.

Miscellaneous errors[edit | edit source]

  • The mini-catalogue in the middle is full of them. No less than five of the GoBots' names are mixed up. Leader-1, Blaster, and Spay-C are respectively labelled Spay-C, Leader-1, and Blaster, while Dozer and Pumper's names are switched. This was rectified in a later print run.
  • Herr Fiend's name on the same page is incorrectly hyphenated, and the "b" in "Enemy GoBots" is not capitalized.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • The Command Center prominently appears in very toy-based form, but isn't in the mini-catalogue.
  • So, did Cy-Kill somehow get his inventions into prison, or manage to build something in prison? Or is conversion to vehicles just something the GoBots were always physically capable of and Cy-Kill just had to show them how?
  • Cy-Kill and Tank's vehicle forms are apparently supposed to be "ordinary Earth vehicles" in this universe.
  • Fitor is one of the Renegades who escapes with Cy-Kill, but is never seen or mentioned on Earth.
  • The back of the book is an advertisement for T-N-Ts, Tonka's line of air-launched cars.