"O"
Appearances:
US Transformers
#1 - 4 (The Transformers, Power Play, Prisoner of War, The Last Stand)
#7 (Warrior School)
Quote:
"Jumpin' jet-fighters! This place has just become a war zone!"
Other Names:
Unfortunately when it comes to "O" the only name we have is "O". Even when we meet his father we don't learn "O"'s last name or first name. We've only got the nick-name. In fact the name of the cafe "O"'s father owns was "Mister O's", suggesting that the nick-name is a family one.
Description:
"O" was meant, in the beginning, to be part of the Transformers secondary cast. He was a friend of Buster Witwicky, and Buster's girlfriend Jesse. When Bob Budiansky took over the writing reigns of Transformers that changed. Budiansky really didn't keep a regular cast of humans, instead concentrating on the Transformers and their character development. Even characters like Blackrock, or Circuit Breaker or Burnett would come and go, nearly at random.
"O" was one of the victims of Budiansky's revolving human cast, only appearing once under Budiansky's pen. It wasn't really a great loss to the series, but it would be a loss to totally forget "O". Even if only because he was a nice little side character in the first four issues of the comic.
"O" is mostly remembered, and rightly so, for a scene in his father's cafe. More on that later.
Biography:
We first see "O" when he is hanging out with his friends Buster and Jesse. Okay, let's be frank here. When we first see "O" he's eating popcorn at a drive-in movie. He's in the back seat of Buster's car, and Buster is in the front making out with Jesse.
Moments after "O" tells the others to disengage so he can watch the film (as far as I can tell, at that point Buster had his hand in Jesse's top, and Jesse had her shoes off...), Buster's car was bumped from behind by a VW Beetle. When they got out to investigate it turned out that not only was the VW empty, but they were under attack by jet planes.
Being the smart and forward-thinking fella he is, "O" took to flight, not turning back to see if his friends were following.
Later that night "O" and Jesse couldn't find Buster. He'd stayed at the drive-in during the attack, and when they called his place there was no answer. They were walking along, "O" carrying a boom-box, when an unseen danger struck. Ravage, the Decepticon spy, lept into "O"'s boom-box to spy on these humans he'd seen at the drive-in battle.
Minutes later "O" and Jesse met Buster. Buster was, curiously enough, driving the VW beetle that had bumped into his car only hours earlier. Buster fed them this story about the VW Beetle being from another planet, and the VW even spoke to them. "O" wasn't quite convinced, but as Buster drove away, he certainly was weirded out.
"O" and Jesse went to Buster's house then, but by the time they arrived things had gotten a little weird. The place was a war zone. The Autobots and Decepticons were having a pitched battle, during which Sparkplug, Buster's dad, was kidnapped. Buster and the Autobots readied to go and get Sparkplug back, and "O" and Jesse bid Buster a reluctant goodbye.
Everything was falling apart. "O"'s best friend was missing and people were starting to leave town. The press was swarming to Portland, and the army was preparing attacks on the Decepticons' main base. "O" watched the spiraling madness on TV in his dad's cafe when he got rather a shock.
A large hand closed over "O"'s shoulder and a voice said, "Greetings earthling!" Fortunately for "O" he was still 20 years shy of his inevitable heart attack, because tapping him on the shoulder was a miniature Optimus Prime! This little Prime was really just "O"'s father (Mister "O") in a costume. He had decided to cash in on the whole "robot scare" thing.
"O" was understandably annoyed about it, and stormed off.
"O"'s last appearance was a little while later. Things had calmed down a little. Sparkplug was in hospital, Buster was back at home, and the Decepticons were attacking less suburban targets. Jesse and "O" were trying to help Buster in his father's garage when Buster had a temper tantrum, telling the other two to bugger off. So they did.
And that was the last we knew of poor "O"
Toy:
Ahhh, "O". It's funny when I think about a toy of "O" it makes me think about the fandom as a whole. In some ways, "O" was a very interesting piece of forethought on behalf of the creative team on the original limited series. Back in the day "O" was just Buster's fat-kid sidekick. Nowadays half the fandom looks just like "O".
If "O" was ever made into a toy it would just be like having a toy of a Transfan. For half of us it would just be like having a toy of ourselves. That would be cool. Maybe that's what he's called "O", as in, "O... it's me!"
I should be hurt for that last joke.
Over All:
"O" is most memorable for the scene where his father scares the crap out of him by dressing up as Optimus Prime. He's Buster's fat loser friend. He's the same shape has his name.
He's "O"
Gallery:
US issue #1
US issue #2
US issue #4
US issue #7
