Time Cruisers (Comic)

Time Cruisers, originally titled Timebuster, is a comic that ran in Klick Magazine and World Club Magazine between 1995 and 2001, serving as the inspiration for the Time Cruisers theme later introduced in 1996. It was written and illustrated by Kim Hagen.
== Plot ==
Note: Wherever possible, this synopsis uses names from the comic's official English version in the Australian World Club Magazine. Comics earlier than 1998 may use unofficial fan translations of the German and French comics.
=== Introduction ===
Professor Nockelberg and his grandson Max Timebuster have just invented the first time machine. Nockelberg instructs Max to turn off its Super Turbo Charger, but realizes too late that he mistakenly told Max to push the start button instead.
When the comic was rebooted as Time Cruisers in the 1997 World Club Magazine, an alternate version of this comic serves as the introduction to the Fright Knights comic. Professor Nockelberg and Max Timebuster are renamed Professor Cyber and Tim Time Cruiser, and the original time machine is replaced with the Flying Time Vessel.
=== Pirates ===
Max arrives in the age of piracy, when Captain Roger is searching for his great-grandfather's treasure. Max uses the time machine to help Roger dig up the treasure, but they are confronted by Roger's nemesis, Captain Blackbeard.
Blackbeard surrounds Max and Roger with Mist Tribe Islanders, but Max escapes. Using his time machine, Max poses as the god "Maxul Sterngod". He orders the Islanders to release Roger and his crew, and then turns them against Blackbeard. At the Mist Tribe's village, King Kahuka offers Max and Roger a shield as a sign of friendship.
Later, aboard the Skull's Eye Schooner, the pirates' celebration is interrupted by cannon fire from Admiral Woodhouse's fleet of Imperial Flagships. Max flies the time machine into battle, firing his laser to force Woodhouse to retreat. However, a cannonball strikes the time machine and causes Max to lose control.
=== Aquasharks / Aquanauts ===
The time machine zaps into the Aquazone, where Max is confronted by the Deep Sea Predator and a pair of Aquasharks. He escapes after enabling extra oxygen in the time machine.
Max scares off a shark attacking two Aquanauts near the Crystal Explorer Sub, and he helps them collect Hydrolator Crystals. They receive a message from Neptune Discovery Lab, alerting them to an Aquashark attack. By the time they arrive, the base is damaged and all the crystals have been stolen. Furious, Max pursues the Aquasharks and catches their Deep Sea Predators in a fishing net.
However, the leader of the Aquasharks has made it inside the time machine, so Max activates an alarm to alert the Aquanauts. The Aquashark leader demands that Max release the Aquasharks and disable the alarm, but becomes distracted when they discover an enormous Hydrolator Crystal, which allows Max to shove him out the airlock. The Aquanauts are able to use the crystal to fully repair their base, but Max's time machine activates once again.
=== Dragon Masters / Royal Knights ===
The time machine arrives in the medieval ages, outside the Fire Breathing Fortress. Merlin shoots magic spells at Max Timebuster, who uses the time machine's fireworks to pose as a powerful wizard. Merlin and Burnabus are fooled, but they hatch a plot to trap Max in Ogwen's chamber. Ogwen's fire breath melts the door lock, unintentionally allowing Max to escape. Ogwen pursues Max's time machine and causes it to crash.
Fortunately, Max is saved by King Lionheart, whose Lionsword forces Ogwen to flee. They return to the Royal Knight's Castle, which is soon under attack by an overwhelming number of Dragon Knights. Merlin flies into battle while riding Ogwen, and he strikes down King Lionheart. Max picks up the Lionsword and jumps onto Ogwen's back to duel Merlin. They crash into the time machine, and Merlin's wand triggers a magical explosion, transforming the time machine into the Time Cruiser. Lionheart regains consciousness and the Dragon Knights immediately surrender.
As Max prepares to test the new Time Cruiser, he decides to change his name to start with the letter "T" to match his vessel. He decides upon Tim Timebuster.
=== Exploriens ===
The Time Cruiser arrives in orbit of Jupiter, where it receives a distress signal from the Explorer II station on one of Jupiter's moons. The Exploriens' generator is broken, so Tim attaches a power cable. The Exploriens' chief, John, thanks Tim for his help. However, they are imperiled by a meteor hurtling towards them.
Tim fires the Flybo's orbital laser at the meteor, destroying it. A metal box remains, which the Exploriens analyze with the Alien Fossilizer and determine that it comes from alien life on Pluto. The Explorien Starship and Flybo fly to Pluto, but the Flybo's turbo catches fire and he crash-lands on the ice planet. The ship teeters on the edge of a massive crater and is approached by Pluto natives in the first contact between human and aliens.
The Flybo falls, but the friendly aliens catch the ship and fly it to safety. The Exploriens arrive, and Tim introduces them to the aliens. An alien warns them about a blizzard, and Tim quickly departs on the Flybo.
=== Western ===
The Flybo lands in the Wild West, where Tim sees Flatfoot Thompson and Joe Dynamite robbing a stagecoach. Tim catches Flatfoot in a net, but Joe climbs aboard the Flybo and threatens Tim with a revolver.
The Flybo hits a rock, causing both Tim and Joe to fall off. The Cavalry arrives, and General Johnston arrests Joe Dynamite. They head to town and lock up the bandits in the Sheriff's Lock-Up, but Sheriff Wild Wyatt West laments that they did not capture the gang leader, Wild John. Tim suggests releasing Dynamite Joe's horse, and they follow it back to the Bandits' Secret Hideout. Tim tries crossing an old rickety bridge to the old gold mine, but it is blown up by a stick of dynamite from Wild John. General Johnston shoots another stick of dynamite out of John's hand, and the bandit drops it near Tim.
The force of the dynamite's explosion propels Tim into the air, and he lands directly on Wild John, knocking out the bandit. General Jonston and his soldiers arrest John, collect the bandits' loot, and bring them back to Fort LEGOREDO. Upon their arrival, they realize that the final member of the bandits' gang is a mischevious monkey hiding in one of their trunks. Tim catches the monkey and decides to take it with him as they fly off on their next adventure.
=== Time Twisters ===
Tim decides to name the monkey Ingo after the sounds it makes. The Flybo encounters the Twisted Time Train, ridden by Boney and Goldie. Boney fires the xzylogif cannon at Tim, turning him into a pink fuzzy monster. The Time Twisters' boss, Tony Twister, arrives in the Time Tunnelator and is insulted by Ingo. Setting the xzylogif cannon to maximum power, Boney transforms the Flybo into a prison, with Tim and Ingo trapped inside.
Ingo manages to escape and builds a turbo skateboard. Tony orders Boney to shoot Ingo, but the monkey moves too quickly and tricks Boney into firing at the Flybo-prison and Tony. This restores the Flybo and Tim to their original state, while transforming Tony into a pig. Tim and Ingo continue onward to new worlds, leaving behind the Time Twisters.
=== Fright Knights / UFO ===
The Time Cruiser arrives at the Night Lord's Castle, where Tim and Ingo are welcomed by Count Bat. Count Bat explains that Izralda wishes to turn his castle into a Star Tower to contact the Star People. Izralda arrives with her two black dragons, which are frightened by Ingo. Count Bat loses a duel against Izralda, who uses her magic to hypnotize the Fright Knights and create the Star Tower. The beacon signals the Star People's UFOs, but Tim, Ingo, and Count Bat ascend the Star Tower and disable the beacon, causing the castle to explode.
Tim, Ingo, and Count Bat are saved by the Alien Avenger's energy field, and Count Bat convinces IXVIZIKIL to help them battle Izralda. However, Izralda combines the Time Cruiser, Witch's Windship, and Witch's Helicopter into the Witch Cruiser, and her combination of magic and technology outmatches the Star People's UFO fleet. IXVIZIKIL maneuvers Tim, Ingo, and Count Bat close enough to tackle Izralda and take away her magic wand, rendering her powerless. They use the wand to free the Fright Knights and restore the Time Cruiser.
=== Indians ===
The Time Cruiser arrives in the Wild West, where Tim and Ingo save Sui from a rattlesnake. Unfortunately, Sui faints from exhaustion, and Chief Black Eagle and the other Indians mistakenly believe Tim and Ingo to have attacked her. They capture Tim and Ingo and bring them to camp, where a war council will determine their fate. Ingo breaks them free, but the Indians pursue them through Boulder Cliff Canyon, where Tim falls off a log and is nearly crushed by a boulder. They take a canoe and row down the river, unaware that the Indians have given up pursuit because they are headed straight for a waterfall.
=== Extreme Team / Res-Q ===
As they plummet off the waterfall, Tim and Ingo are rescued by an Extreme Team monster truck driven by Maddox. Although Tim and Ingo are wary of Maddox, they are impressed by his helicopter. He flies them back to base, but his reckless piloting results in the helicopter crashing into the mountain and catching fire.
Maddox sends out an SOS, which is received by Res-Q. They are airlifted by the Aerial Recovery helicopter before the Extreme Team helicopter explodes, and safely rescued by the Res-Q Cruiser. At the camp, the Extreme Team has already recovered the Time Cruiser. Maddox reveals that their vehicles were upgraded by Professor Cyber, and explains that they were sent to find Tim because Cyber's brother, Professor Articus, needs his help.
=== Egypt ===
In Egypt, Professor Articus and Linda Lovely have found the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins, but they are confronted by Mr. Hates and Sly Boots. The Time Cruiser arrives to save them, but Mr. Hates forces Tim to surrender. Tim goes into the temple, where he is attacked by a scorpion, a skeleton, and several booby traps.
Once Tim finds the Red Ruby, Mr. Hates takes the jewel from its case, refusing to heed Articus's warnings. Pharaoh Ramses is awakened, demanding that Mr. Hates must return the ruby and leave. As the villains flee, Articus requests that Ramses open the portal to the dimension Armeron. Miss Lovely explains to Tim that Articus is too old to make the journey himself, which is why Tim must go in his stead. Ramses opens the portal, and Tim steps through.
=== Insectoids ===
Upon arriving in Armeron, Tim and Ingo pass out from a lack of oxygen. They wake up to find themselves wearing spacesuits, given to them by Navigator Sharp and Techno Leon at the Arachno Base. With their chief pilot injured, they request that Tim pilot the Hornet Protector while they accompany him in the Vespular Stinger and Mosquito Scout. They fly into the hollow interior of Armeron to recover Voltstones.
In the interior world, the Hornet Protector is pursued by Bilgin Bugs that break apart the ship. Fortunately, Navigator Sharp informs Tim that the ship can reassemble. After escaping the giant mosquitos, they begin collecting Voltstones. Tim notices light coming from the world's ocean and decides to explore.
=== Stingrays / Hydronauts ===
Upon returning to the Aquazone, Tim and Ingo encounter the Stingray Stormer. The Crab and two Stingrays capture Tim, but Ingo manages to escape. Tim is brought aboard the Stingray Stormer and presented before the Stingray Commander. The Commander explains that they are planning a sneak attack on the Aquanauts to steal their Hydrolator Crystals.
Meanwhile, Ingo lures a shark into attacking the Stingray Stormer. Tim grabs a pair of flippers and escapes, reaching the Hydro Search Sub in time to alert them about the Stingrays' plan. They retreat to the safety of the Hydro Crystalation Station. There, Professor Hydronis invents the "time zapper", which can turn any vehicle into a time cruiser, and he demonstrates on a Solo Sub.
=== Ninja ===
The Solo Sub arrives outside the Robbers' Castle. Kata and two other samurai explain that the Robber King has stolen the blue sapphire, making him ruler of the country, and they have been sent to retrieve it. They watch Kendo unloading the chest containing the jewel, but they are caught by the Robber King and his Black Ninjas. Ingo jumps on the Robber King's helmet, blinding him while Tim and Ingo escape and hijack Kendo's cart. They ride to the Stone Tower Bridge while being attacked by Black Ninjas in their kite planes. Ingo downs one ninja, but the other attacks Tim on foot.
Fortunately, Shogun Gi-Dan and Ito arrive and force the Black Ninja to surrender. Impressed with Tim's courage, the Shogun invites him to his Flying Ninja Fortress. They return the chest to the Shogun, who is shocked to discover that it is empty; however, Ingo was simply hiding the blue sapphire in his mouth and is told by Tim to give it back. The Shogun gives them a Ninja flyer, and Tim attaches the Micro Zapper.
=== Space Port ===
Tim and Ingo fly the Ninja flyer around Mission Control space centre, triggering the alarm as an intruder. They are ordered to land by Batterby Schure in his Surveillance Chopper. Tim and Ingo meet Felix Combo, who is testing the Mini Rocket Launcher. Felix explains that they will have to cancel the space shuttle launch due to their astronaut falling ill, and Tim volunteers to take his place. When Batterby apprehends Tim and Ingo, Felix orders him to let them go.
Felix Combo trains Tim and Ingo at the Space Simulation Station. The next morning, they take off into the space shuttle and successfully launch the satellite into orbit. However, Ingo pushes the shuttle's self-destruct button, and Tim is forced to use the Micro Zapper to zap away as the spaceship explodes.
=== Rock Raiders ===
The space shuttle cockpit zaps deep underground near Rock Raiders HQ. Sparks assumes that Tim is the new recruit sent to pilot the Scout Driller. Tim starts drilling just before Doc detects movement in the rock. A Rock Monster emerges and crushes the Scout Driller, so they flee to the Giant Lift Copter. However, the Rock Monster throws a boulder at them, smashing the Lift Copter.
The angry Rock Monster picks up Tim, but it is amused when Ingo starts juggling pebbles and lets them go. After escaping, Doc decides that they should be more careful, since the Rock Monsters do not pose a threat when left undisturbed. Tim attaches the Microzapper to a small hover vehicle and departs.
=== Trains ===
They land on the railway line of the Alp Express, but Ingo apparently gets his finger stuck in the tracks as the train arrives. The hyper-modern automatic Alp Express manages to brake just in time, but it is then revealed that Ingo was merely playing a prank, much to Tim's frustration. Tim and Ingo are given a ride to the next train station.
While reading the newspaper, Tim recognizes one of the other train passengers as a thief who stole $10,000. The thief jumps out of the Alp Express and onto a nearby goods train. After telling another passenger to inform the police, Tim chases after the thief, and Ingo stops the goods train. The police arrive to arrest the thief, but Ingo plays another prank and opens the suitcase, releasing all of the dollars into the wind. Embarrassed, Tim uses the Microzapper on the goods train to escape to another universe.
=== City Center ===
The railway train crashes into a forest, starting a fire. Tim rushes to the Fire Station, but a self-absorbed firefighter refuses to listen to him, so Tim steals their fire engine. The firefighters give pursuit as Tim leads them to the forest fire. The fire is too powerful for their water hoses, so Tim hijacks their chopper and uses the Micro Zapper's massive energy discharge to trigger a massive downpour, putting out the flames.
=== Dino Island ===
Upon arriving in the distant past, the chopper is immediately destroyed in the jaws of a T-Rex. Johnny Thunder rescues Tim and Ingo with the Water Plane and flies them to the Dino Research Compound. He explains that the adventurers are time travelers studying dinosaurs, and Tim's arrival allowed Professor Titus to take an egg from the nest of the distracted T-Rex. Ingo steals the egg to play with it, but he is snatched by a Pterosaur. They give pursuit in the Caterpillar, and Johnny catches the Pterosaur in a net. Johnny Thunder and Professor Titus watch as a Baby Tyrannosaurus Rex hatches from the egg, while Tim zaps away in the Caterpillar.
=== Knights' Kingdom ===
The Caterpillar lands in the camp of Cedric The Bull. Believing Tim to be a spy, Cedric shows King Leo's Castle under siege, and then he launches Tim and Ingo away with the Catapult Crusher. They meet King Leo, who presents them with the royal sword to hold back the Bulls who have broken through their defenses. Although they are heavily outnumbered, Tim uses the Micro Zapper to generate a huge flash of light, blinding the Bulls and swiftly defeating them. Tim attaches the Micro Zapper to a Fire Cart and moves on.
=== Arctic ===
They land in the Arctic, unintentionally angering a Polar Bear. They escape and crash into the Polar Base, where Dr. Med determines that the Polar Bear is knocked unconscious. Dr. Med explains that they are researching frozen creatures believed to have arrived on Earth during a meteor strike. With the crevasse too narrow for humans to explore, they opt to lower Ingo inside to dig out one such creature. The crevasse suddenly starts to close, and Ingo is lifted out in time with the fossil. While the scientists analyze the creature, Tim and Ingo attach the Micro Zapper to a snowmobile and zap away to another universe.
=== Studios ===
The snowmobile is promptly destroyed by a T-Rex in the middle of a town. Tim realizes that they are actually on a film set, and the T-Rex is just a mechanical prop. The Director is furious about Tim ruining the shot and storms out, leaving the Assistant to explain that they are filming a movie about a time-traveling man and his pet cat. Having plenty of time-traveling experience, Tim volunteers to direct the movie, and he instructs the Cameraman, Stunt Man, and Grip while filming the T-Rex chase scene.
== History ==
Timebuster started when a LEGO fan built a model of a time-traveling car. In 1994, people working on LEGO Magazines for Europe liked the concept, came up with some characters, and in January 1995 (one year before the theme), launched a magazine comic starring Professor Nockelberg and Max Timebuster, created by Klick copywriter Annemette Allerup and freelance artist Kim Hagen.
By 1996, the comic had been successfully running for a year, and LEGO launched sets based on the concept. Max was renamed to Tim, and the characters were redesigned, although the physical minifigures still did not completely resemble their depictions in the comics. The time machine was now the Flying Time Vessel, rather than the original car creation that started everything. When Timebuster moved from Klick Magazine to World Club Magazine in March 1997, it was rebooted as Time Cruisers, beginning with a revised introduction featuring Tim, Dr. Cyber, and the Flying Time Vessel.
== Notes ==
* In 1996, a special Timebuster comic Das Geheimnis um die Magischen Rätsel was made as a promotion with Prinzen, advertising their Prinzenrolle cookies.
* The crossover of Fright Knights and UFO seemingly ties into 1997 LEGO marketing, such as the LEGO SYSTEM Integrator 1997 commercial.
* Some characters have different names in different languages, such as Ingo being "Ali" in German and "Kikol" in French; Nova Hunter being "John" in German and "Bob" in French; Basil the Bat Lord being "Count Bat" (Graf Fledermaus) in German and "lord of Darkness" (seigneur des Ténèbres) or "Batluck" in French; and Alpha Draconis being "IXVIZIKIL" in German and "Ixvizicil" in French. Similarly, Izralda is named in the German comic but left unnamed in the French version; Batterby Schure and Felix Combo are named in the German comic but left unnamed in the English translation; and Doc is named "Dr. Med" in the English translation but is unnamed in the German version.
* Although Dr. Kilroy appears in both Adventurers-themed comics, he appears to be portrayed as two separate characters: Professor Articus (Egypt) and Professor Titus (Dino Island). In addition to different names, they have slightly different appearances: Articus has a full beard, while Titus has mutton chops more similar to the actual minifigure. Tim and Titus also make no reference to their previous meeting, further implying that they are different characters.
* Several comics take significant liberties with the respective theme's canon. This is most apparent with the Adventurers Dino Island comic, which portrays the Adventurers as time travelers rather than discovering a lost world of living dinosaurs.
== External links ==
* Fan page archiving the comic, with unofficial translations of the German and French comics
* A Rock Raiders United Forums thread about finding and translating the comics 
* A Eurobricks thread explaining the history of the comic 
* Scans of the German comics in the German World Club Magazine (dead link)
* Scans of the English comics in the Australian World Club Magazine
Category:Time Cruisers
Category:Comics