80 Gravball for Transformers plays much like gravball for organics, save that it tends to be a little more high-impact than most people's ideas of the game. (Save for those who followed Morgan's Marauders). PJM

106 The Vozdushnikons would probably be pretty distressed to see Mercy, the Minicon medic, involved in their care in the first place, given that she has a long and well-documented history of euthanizing damaged Decepticons for lack of the resources to treat them (or so she tells herself).

145 In an earlier draft of the issue, this actually happened.

160 Blurr Translation One: "The word is bad, Jazz - double-plus-ungood bad! The Decepticons have shifted their focus, and they're moving on Vilnacron, trying to take the city! Ultra Magnus needs reinforcements for the garrison, pronto, stat, fast fast fast!"

166 Blurr Translation Two: "Affirmative, you bet, you got it!"

175 Blurr Translation Three: "As far as Ultra Magnus could tell, just about ALL OF THEM!"

292 In some continuities, Ratbat became Decepticon Leader for a time. In others, he was a corrupt senator before becoming one of Soundwave's minions. But not here. PJM

356 Hot Rod apparently has something of a reputation for willingness to chauffeur the Autobots' better-looking human female allies.

357 Throughout Cybertron Reloaded and elsewhere, it's been challenging to design the "sets" so that both humans and cybertronians can interact without breaking their necks or getting stomped on by accident. PJM

404 As seen in the original Hammer Time.

467 The "Masterpiece Optimus Prime" toy does this -- and has a picture of Bumblebee to boot! PJM

522 Slipstream was originally a male character, until Hasbro went and introduced a female Decepticon jet by the same name in Transformers Animated - though the version seen here is probably the one from War for Cybertron instead. Her relationship to Sideslip hasn't changed, though; Phil envisioned them as the Decepticon Springer and Hot Rod, and that's pretty much still what they are. Slipstream's not into flyboys.

The thing is, this issue was written a year before Transformers Animated came out. And it would be a year plus until the Female Starscream Clone came into existence. Nevermind War For Cybertron (2010). So I'm not entirely sure when, who, or how the text got edited. (For the curious, male Slipstream would have had an F-22 altmode.) PJM

Oh, that was probably me, then. Sometimes I retcon stuff in my sleep...

553 This is Energon Barricade, not movieverse Barricade.

596 Rampart and his team have not been seen... yet. I intend to change this in the future, if possible. PJM

644 Oversteer is an original character. His vehicle mode is an early-model Porsche 911.

696 In the G1 episode "Masquerade". Motormaster got his cab smashed in and his trailer disjointed. Optimus Prime got... a mild headache.

723 This image actually predates most of the other art for Cybertron Reloaded, by about a year. I drew Megatron on the parapet to get practice with dramatic lighting and to set the mood for the rest of the series. PJM

751 In the first Devil's Due GI Joe vs. the Transformers miniseries, one issue had a cover featuring Scarlett sitting on a cheery-looking 'Bee's shoulder. Their backstory arc in UF's FI era sprang almost entirely from that one image. Sorry, Snake-Eyes.

800 In 1980s Japanese animation especially, you can often tell when the animators were really trying because lighting effects off shiny metal surfaces would do this.

824 I suppose for maximum effect, the streets all around them would have to be lined with copies of Shockwave, but you get the idea.

998 From the moment I set out to write a bigger, badder, louder Megatron-Shockwave duel, I knew it had to have a really special ending, much more so than the original version in Cybertron Dreams - and when I got there I realized, yeah, this is how it has to go down. Eternally loyal Soundwave, doin' his thing, and Megatron sublimely self-assured that he would.

1022 Well, would you, after seeing that fight scene?

1081 Even bright yellow, Bumblebee is just that damn good.

1104 Autobot City Shuttle, 2005.

1202 Yet Another Gratuitous Matrix Reference. PJM

1334 Of all Megatron's lines in this issue, this is the one that comes easiest to my mind in Frank Welker's G1 metallized rasp - a very close second is "Soundwave! Finish this."

The version of CR03 I have downloaded from 2006 says "him" here...it was when I hit this annotation that I realized I needed to download a new version to follow along with the annotations.