The Doom of the Domed City

« Planet Terry »
Planet Terry in The Doom of the Domed City The Saga of Princess Ugly part 3
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Published in	The Transformers issue 22 issue 23
First published	13th July, 1985 (part 3) 27th July, 1985 (part 4)
Writer	Lenny Herman (uncredited)
Pencils	Warren Kremer (uncredited)
Inks	Jon D'Agostino (uncredited)
Colours	Peter Kremer (uncredited)
Letterer	Grace Kremer (uncredited)
Editor	Sid Jacobson (uncredited)
Executive editor	Tom DeFalco (uncredited)
Editor-in-chief	Jim Shooter (uncredited)

"For Terry the saga of Princess Ugly continues."

Synopsis

Part 3

As Robota loses herself to rust, confined with Planet Terry and Omnus in a bubble cell, Vermin the Vile leaves to think of a suitably evil punishment for the three interlopers. Not even the strength of Omnus can penetrate the cell. Terry has a bright idea, and the two of them zorb towards a cliff edge. The fall is a short one, but it is enough to pop the bubble on landing. By chance, they have come to a rocket graveyard, and Terry and Omnus quickly go about using grease from the derelict ships to treat Robota's rusting. Soon she is back to her usual self, and the heroes head to the Domed City to rescue Princess _(shudder) Ugly.

Elsewhere, Vermin finds his Mayhem Maker to be on the blink, leaving him unable to track or impede Terry and friends. A Mayhem Maker repairman calls in and tells him that the fault is so severe that it'll have to go in to the shop, something Scavage squawks is a bad omen...

In the dungeon, Terry orders the guard to open the cell, which he does so with extra encouragement from Omnus. At the source of the monstrous snoring, Terry is aghast to discover Princess Ugly... to be beautiful! With a scowl, Robota replies "Only if you think beauty is beautiful!" Terry has heard of a way to awaken a sleeping princess, and plants a kiss on her check – receiving a slap in the face from Princess Ugly, who doesn't even know him.

The guard cheers that the spell has broken, and throughout the Domed City, the people celebrate at having been freed from the reign of Vermin the Vile. A curious Terry asks a passer-by why the Domed City is so named if it has no dome, which the man reckons must have been written in the book – but Princess Ugly is on hand to correct that misconception: the book says that when the evil spell is broken, the Mayhem Maker will destroy the citadel... it is not the Domed City, but the Doomed City! The residents scatter to escape, with a cry of "Close enough!"

Part 4

The people of the Domed City jump into their ships and scatter as, in the castle, the Mayhem Maker smokes and rattles. Terry and friends borrow a skimmer craft to escape; their flight takes them past Vermin, held aloft in Scavage's talons, who swears revenge on them. With an almighty explosion, the Doomed City faces its dome... or rather, the Domed City faces its doom.

Soon, Terry and friends return the princess to the overjoyed Gorkels – not that the Wise One doubted the word of the book. As promised, Terry's ship is repaired. Princess Ugly leadingly asks why Terry can't stay around, but he is dragged away from the amorous princess by Robota, who reminds him of their mission. Terry explains that they have to return to the stars to find his parents and solve the mystery of the Space Warp. The Gorkels gasp, as the name is all too familiar – plastered on the side of a spaceship crashed at the foot of a nearby mountain!

Featured characters

Planet Terry's crew	Antagonists	Incidentals
Planet Terry Robota Omnus	Vermin the Vile Scavage	Mayhem Maker repairman Dungeon guard Princess Ugly Assorted Domed City residents Assorted Gorkels Wise One

Quotes

"How do you feel, Robota?"
"Fine... but ugly!"
"Speaking of ugly, let's not forget why we're here! To rescue sleeping Princess _(shudder) Ugly!"

—Terry and Robota perform a masterful segue.

Terry: "Open the princess's cell, turn key!"
Dungeon guard: "Huh? Why?"
Terry: "So I might awaken her and restore her to her throne and to the people who yearn for her!"
Dungeon guard: "That's not a good reason!"
Omnus: "Open the cell or I'll squash you like a bug!"
Dungeon guard: "Now that's a good reason!"

Notes

Planet Terry issue 2 on Marvel Database, an external wiki

Original printing

• Planet Terry issue 2, 22 January 1985

As originally published, each issue of Planet Terry contained multiple separately-titled but interconnected chapters. "The Doom of the Domed City" is the third and final chapter from the second issue.

As it was originally published in the same book as "The Saga of Princess Ugly", "The Doom of the Domed City" carries no credits for its creative team, meaning they are uncredited by The Transformers.

Edits

• Compared to its original printing, "The Doom of the Domed City" is split into two instalments, the second of which is given the separate title "The Saga of Princess Ugly part 4".
• Page four of part 3 is the only one printed in colour.
• Splitting the story into two necessitates adding a "[Autobot symbol] NEXT:" caption to the end of part 3, ever so slightly covering up the artwork of the final panel. The first page of part 4 is shrunk to fit a logo and recap banner at the header, leaving wider margins either side of the artwork.

Artwork and technical errors

• The sentence "Start walking towards the edge?" ends with a question mark.
• The question "How do we awaken her!" doesn't end with a question mark.
• Princess Ugly has typically been referred to as being under a(n evil) spell. On the last page of part 3, the dungeon guard shouts that "the evil spirit is broken!", which stands out as not quite right – unless he's referring to the jubilation felt by the Domed City residents now that Vermin is out of power.

Continuity notes

• Robota compares the fleeing denizens of the Domed City to Friday night quitting time at the robot factory, filling in a little narrative gap about her origins caused by edits made to "A Clue".

Real-life references

• If it still needs spelling out, the story of Princess Ugly parodies the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty", in particular adaptations descended from the Brothers Grimm version in which the princess is awakened by a kiss. In universe, Terry seems to be aware of the fairy tale.