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Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On

2012-08-09T13:17:56Z

208.100.134.78: /* Covers (3) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #2
|prev=Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It
|next=Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things
|caption=
|image=MTMTE2_cvrB.jpg
|title="Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[February 15]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=February 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''The recovering crew of the ''Lost Light'' are joined by Skids, a bot on the run... but on the run from what?'''

==Synopsis==

On the barren planet where the ''[[Lost Light]]'' has put down, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]], [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and others go about gathering up the [[Autobot]]s who have been scattered across the world's surface. [[Brainstorm]] radios in that he has discovered the source of their explosive mishap: the [[Duobot]] [[Ore]] was standing too close to the [[quantum generator]] when it activated, and wound up being "totally mashed" into it. Perturbed by Brainstorm's general tone of levity, Rodimus orders him to start helping with the search, then takes a call from [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]], who is with [[Rewind]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], hauling [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] out of a lake.

Meanwhile, in the skies above the planet, a small ship materializes. Its sole occupant is [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], who awakens with an [[inhibitor claw]] on his back and the knowledge that he is running from ''something''... but cannot remember what, finding that all of his recent memories are missing. Spotting a [[mode lock]] on the shuttle's console and realizing that it is trying to transform into something, he sets the ship on collision course with the planet and bails out. He watches the ship crash, but from the flames, its remnants transform into a trio of gigantic robots; one was killed, presumably in the crash, but the others are quite alive and quite hostile, advancing on Skids while wielding giant swords and repeatedly intoning the cryptic phrase: "nineteen eighty-four". Apparently lacking in any weapons, Skids improvises with the nearby corpses of [[Polaris]] and [[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]]: he magnetizes the former to one of the giant robots, then uses the latter's gun to blow Polaris up, taking the monstrous mechanoid with it.

Aboard the ''Lost Light'', [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] tends to the wounds [[Rung]] received before take-off, startling the timid psychiatrist by smashing his own hand with a hammer to loosen his joints. They discusss [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], who is being carbon-dated by [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], and Ratchet grumbles about [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s newfound sense of unbearable positivity before half-heartedly turning his attention to the unconscious [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]. Suddenly, Whirl awakens, seizes Rung, and begins throttling him, heedless of Ratchet and Swerve's attempts to calm him. The maddened Autobot only stops when Rung chokes out the warning that if he kills him, he'll go back to prison. Whirl snaps out of it and stalks off, the ruckus having awakened Tailgate, who is relieved to find out he did not kill the unhinged Autobot. Realizing that Tailgate is a 'bot out of time, Swerve begs Ratchet to allow him to be the one to tell him, and the "gentle" manner in which Swerve relates the information elicits a horrified bellow from Tailgate that is heard outside the ''Lost Light''.

Elsewhere on the ship, Rodimus meets with Cyclonus, who explains that he attached himself to the hull of the ''Lost Light'' to join in its mission. Though unapologetic for his past actions, he pleads his case for being allowed to stay and manages to sway Rodimus to his side, though Ultra Magnus is less than convinced. Having found Whirl skulking around, Magnus brings him into the room, and orders him to settle his argument with Cyclonus. Whirl does so without admitting any guilt, and is surprised when Cyclonus hugs him... only for him to whisper during the embrace that Whirl should watch his back, because he's going to kill him.

Swerve and Tailgate go for a walk outside, with Tailgate rebuffing Swerve's request to see his [[alternate mode]] on the basis that Ratchet told him to take it easy. They meet up with Chromedome and Rewind for some proper introductions, when Skids suddenly falls out of the sky with the last of the giant 'bots on his tail. Recognizing the Autobot—and noting that he has long been thought dead—Chromedome removes Skids's inhibitor claw for him, allowing him to deploy his weapons and finish his pursuer off with impressive ease. As things calm down, though, Chromedome points out that Skids has been holding a handgun all along, which he somehow never noticed...

Skids returns to the ''Lost Light'' with the other Autobots, quickly discovering he's earned himself a fan in Swerve, who artfully balances proposing that he and Skids team up and badgering Tailgate into transforming. Rodimus addressed the assembled Autobots on recent issues, but Whirl pipes up with a "pressing issues"—unimpressed with just about everyone else on the ship, he thinks the group should at least have a cool name. Swerve proposes "The Crusadercons", but Rodimus and Skids take issue with the -con suffix. Before any further discussion can be gone into, Rodimus gets a call from [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who has been investigating reports of noises on the lower decks with [[Shock]]... who is now lying dead by Red's side, his [[spark]] ripped out. Panicked, Red Alert relates his fear to Rodimus... that there's a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] on board!

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Brainstorm]] (1)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (2)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (3)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (4)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (5)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (6)
*? (7)
*? (8)
*[[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] (9)
*[[Ore]] (10)
*[[Rewind]] (11)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (12)
*[[Hoist (G1) |Hoist]] (13)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (15)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (17)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Rung]] (19)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (20)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (22)
*[[Polaris]] (23)
*[[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]] (24)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (25)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (26)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (27)
*[[Grapple]] (28)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (29)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (30)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (31)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (32)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (33)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (34)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (35)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (36)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (37)
*[[Pointblank]] (38)
*[[Animus]] (39)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (40)
*[[Shock]] (41)
{{!}}}
|c4=
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (14)
*[[Legislator]]s (16)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (21)

}}

==Quotes==

"Why are you—''aak!''—doing this?" 
"It's your '''eyebrows'''! He's jealous of your capacity for self-expression!"
:—When '''Rung''' is throttled by Whirl, '''Swerve''' proves to be little help.

'''Rewind:''' "'''Wow.''' It's time like this I'm glad I have a camera bolted to my head..." 
'''Swerve:''' "Nice '''moves'''! Who '''are''' you? An '''ex-Wrecker'''? One of the '''Warriors Elite'''? An old '''pit fighter'''?" 
'''Skids:''' "I'm a '''theoretician.'''"
:—That last line kinda feels like it's missing a "...motherf@#!er!" at the end.

'''Rodimus:''' "'''Look''' at them all. What do I tell them?" 
'''Ultra Magnus:''' "The '''truth'''. We've lost contact with Cybertron, we can't find ourselves on the map, Ore is dead, Hyperion and Polaris are dead, but Cyclonus is happy, so that's okay". 
'''Rodimus:''' "See, this is why you're not a public speaker." 
'''Drift:''' "I think you should accentuate the positive. We've got the quantum generators working again—big tick. We're ready to resume our quest—big tick. And we've managed to save '''virtually''' all of the Autobots who got pulled outside—that's more of a '''little''' tick, '''but it's still a tick!'''" 
'''Rodimus:''' "Hmm. I think I'll go for a mixture of depressingly gloomy and offensively upbeat. Thanks, guys."

"So, you gonna show me your alt mode or what?" 
"Ooh, '''alright''' then. But I'm taking it '''slow''', okay?" 
"Tell you what: I'll speak to Skids and pop back in about '''six million years' time''', okay?"
:—'''Swerve''' only teases '''Tailgate''' because he loves him.

"'The Crusadercons.' The more you say it, the cooler it sounds." 
"Someone hears that, they're gonna think we're Decepticons." 
"What, so it has to end in 'bot'?" 
"Well... '''yeah'''. Omnibots, Monsterbots, Duobots... it's kind of an '''unwritten rule''', isn't it." 
"Forget the '''rules'''! The war's over—it's time to '''reclaim the suffix'''!"
:—'''Swerve''' is just a really quotable 'bot, okay? '''Skids''' doesn't share our enthusiasm for him.

==Notes==
* If you don't get the double-meaning that British writer James Roberts has hidden in the Duobots' names, try saying "Shock and Ore" out loud with a British accent.
* Blaster is now sporting a yellow face, a colouration formerly unique to the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]].
* The last page includes a summary of the crew members already introduced, with short introductions beneath. These include factoids such as Swerve's weapon of choice is his mouth, Whirl was twice voted "Autobot most likely to defect", and Ultra Magnus once smiled, and has regretted it ever since.
* The Legislators keep saying [[1984|"nineteen eighty-four"]].
* Whirl is ''loathed'' by the other Autobots, with Ratchet openly hoping that something would prevent him from repairing him.
* At one point, Skids remembers his "Batch number, [[Tech Spec|Technical Specifications]], [[Function]]" and even his motto, which he finds lame.

===Crew Manifest===
* The fifty of so crew members lost during the quantum jump are all recovered. The only deaths were Polaris and Hyperion.
* Shock and Ore are killed by the Sparkeater and quantum jump, respectively.
* Skids and Cyclonus join the crew.
* 4 deaths, 2 new arrivals since the launch.

===Errors===
* When Skids is telling Chromedome to remove the inhibitor claw from his back, his gun is missing from his right hand.
* (And on Roche's cover, the gun is in his left hand, but whatevs.)

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Rodimus amongst injured Autobots; art by Alex Milne, colors by [[Josh Perez]].
* '''Cover B:''' Skids gets blown out of the ship; art by [[Nick Roche]], colors by [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Cover RI:''' Sketch (uncolored) version of cover A by Alex Milne.

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE2_cvrA.jpg|"Quit lying down on the job, ya bums!"
Image:MTMTE2_cvrB.jpg|Skids gets a helluva intro.
Image:MTMTE2_cvrRI.jpg|Cover RI
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
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* ''Road Rage''
* ''Jack Avarice is The Courier''

[[Category:More than Meets the Eye issues]]

Life After the Big Bang

2012-08-09T13:17:16Z

208.100.134.78: /* Covers (3) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #4
|prev=Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things
|next=How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
|caption=
|image=MTMTE4_cvrB.jpg
|title="Life After the Big Bang"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 18]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=April 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''A mysterious transmission lures Ratchet, Drift and Pipes to the quarantined medical facility of Delphi, where Autobots are crying themselves to death...'''

==Synopsis==

At the [[Autobot]] medical facility of [[Delphi]] on the planet [[Messatine]], [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] has begun to write a journal chronicling what he believes will be the last days of the outpost. After granting asylum to two [[Militant Monoform Movement]]-aligned [[Genericon]]s with a [[branched spark]] on the run from the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], Delphi has been beset by a terrible plague... a plague that sees its victims ''cry'' themselves to death...

Celebrations, meanwhile, are underway aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', as Autobots gather in [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s newly-opened [[Swerve's bar|bar]] to celebrate finding themselves on the map. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] talk privately about a strange occurrence the previous night; both former subscribers to [[Ironfist (G1)|Fisitron]]'s "[[Wreckers: Declassified]]" datalogs, the pair have just received a ''new'' datalog, which should be impossible, given that the author is dead. Although appearing to be only a string of random numbers, Ratchet recognized the data as medical statistics from Delphi, which reveal a bizarre trend: a constantly escalating death rate that has seen precisely half the outpost's patients die every month. Realizing that someone is trying to send him a message and that they are currently close to Messatine, Ratchet gathers up [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] for an excursion to the facility, hoping that it is nothing, and—with his own irreplaceable hands growing increasingly worn out—that he will be able to appoint its commanding officer [[Pharma]] as new chief medical officer of the ''Lost Light'' in his place.

As this goes on, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] brings the news to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] that [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] has decided he wants to be a [[Decepticon]]. With Magnus growing increasingly frustrated over his inability to enforce wartime laws in peacetime, Rodimus decides to have [[Rewind]] give Tailgate a supercompressed history lesson, projecting the key moments of the war directly into his mind. Horrified by what he has seen, Tailgate realizes the foolishness of his choice, and immediately goes to take out his frustrations on [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], whom he believes gave him a twisted view of history to make him look a fool. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of punching Cyclonus on the arm, provoking violent retribution from the ancient Cybertronian, who silently smashes him to the ground, kicks him, and leaves.

On Messatine, Ratchet's team arrives at Delphi, discovering its main door marked with a gigantic red X. Pipes—over-impulsive due to the fact that this is his first time on another planet—smashes the door down before Ratchet can explain that the symbol warns of plague, and the little Autobot suddenly finds himself knee-deep in corpses, and in the path of a [[Dent|shambling, infected robot]]. Drift leaps to the rescue, slicing the plague carrier to pieces, at which point First Aid arrives to explain that, following a mysterious "big bang" five days prior, the facility has been infected by the [[Red Rust]] virus which liquefies its victims optics-first. Detailing their suspicion that the plague is the result of a chemical warfare bomb detonated by the D.J.D., First Aid leads them to ward manager [[Ambulon]], who suspects that Delphi's medics have been uniquely resistant to the infection, and further explains that long-term patients are likewise unaffected. First Aid requests Ratchet's input on a new process he has developed, using a healthy [[spark]] to jump-start an ailing one, that he hopes to use on one of the outpost's prominent coma patients, but Ratchet is more concerned with consulting with Pharma.

Pharma, unfortunately, was inside the facility's quarantine room when the big bang occurred, and has been automatically sealed inside and unable to communicate through its thick glass. As everyone is regarding his predicament, Pharma burns a message into his own hand, warning the assembled Autobots that, behind them, Pipes has succumbed to the plague. Drift keeps Pipes busy while Ratchet hacks the quarantine room lock and frees Pharma, but the Autobot samurai is splattered with some of Pipe's liquefied innards and he too falls prey to the Red Rust. Ratchet and Ambulon rush to do what they can as Pharma runs off to the holding cells, claiming that he has figured out what has happened, only to be greeted by the two Genericons, freed by parties unknown via a remote override. The two Decepticons corner the Autobots in the emergency ward, preparing to end them, but First Aid pipes up: he has gone ahead with his experimental process using his own spark, and successfully revived a ''very'' angry, fighting-mad [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]!

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (1)
*[[Ambulon]] (2)
*[[Pharma]] (5)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (6)
*[[Rewind]] (7)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (8)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (9)
*[[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] (11)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (12)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (13)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (14)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (15)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (16)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (17)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (18)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (19)
*[[Dent]] (20)
*[[Backstreet (G1)| Backstreet]] (22)
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (24)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] (3)
*[[Boom]] (4)
|c4=
*[[Bob (IDW)|Bob]] (10)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (21)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==

"Either it's '''very far away''', or you've invented the '''world's smallest drink.'''"
:—'''Ratchet'''

"'''Don't''' say I'm irritable. It really—it really irritates me."
:—'''Ultra Magnus'''

"You know, Ratchet, one day you'll say something '''nice''' to me—just before you tell me I've got a '''terminal illness''' or something."

:—'''Drift'''

"That cross on the wall? The one you just '''ignored?''' It's the '''universal plague symbol'''. It means "stay the hell away" in a billion languages. It does '''not''' mean "ram raid a morgue"!" 
"Hands up who thinks this trip's just taken a slight turn for the worse."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Drift'''

"I '''know''' this guy. His name was Prowl." 
"Prowl?" 
"Not '''the''' Prowl, obviously. '''This''' Prowl changed his name to... '''Dent''', I think, to avoid confusion." 
"'''Dent?''' He called himself '''Dent?''' As in—as in '''dent?'''" 
"Yeah, well, all the best names are taken."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Drift'''

"'''Pipes,''' I presume?" 
"What gave it away? Was it the pipes?"
:—'''First Aid''' and '''Pipes'''

"I gave you the '''briefest''' overview of the war through the eyes of an outsider. '''You're''' the one who wanted to '''pick a side.''' Bad guys and good guys... do you '''really''' think life is a straightforward as that?"
:—'''Cyclonus'''

"Do you two realize where you're standing? No? Then let me '''explain.''' My name is '''Fortress Maximus'''. Five years ago I was attacked by a Decepticon so '''powerful''' he redefined the word. He took me down. '''Hard.''' I was paralyzed, lobotomized, and left for dead. All of which means that '''right now''', you two—you two '''Decepticons'''—being the '''very first''' Decepticons I've encountered since I was all but '''beaten to death'''—are standing in the '''very worst place in the universe.'''"
:—'''Fortress Maximus'''

==Notes==
*As with past issues, many story elements mentioned in James Roberts's earlier IDW works ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' and "[[Bullets]]" continue to return to play here, with [[Delphi]], [[Pharma]] and [[Ambulon]] all getting their first pictorial appearances. In a silent but specific reference to the events of "Bullets", First Aid is shown to have given [[Dodger]]'s Autobot badge pride of place among his collection after he found a message from [[Agent 113]] embedded in it.
*The concept of a branched spark is another Roberts-ism introduced in ''Last Stand'' as a trait of the [[Jumpstarter]]s, with whom the two Genericons in this issue share some design cues.
*The Militant Monoform Movement and the Transformer god [[Adaptus]] (suggested in this issue to be the god of transformation) were both previously mentioned in Robert's other IDW work, "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]".
*In [[Chaos Theory Part 1]], Megatron refers to ancient apartheid over whether you were constructed cold or forged; here, we learn that forging is somehow associated with Adaptus, as Ratchet has to deny that he sees divine involvement in why forged Transformers make the best medics.
*Skids's mysterious gun disappears from his hand between pages 4 and 5. Although a few previous issues have contained errors that saw the gun left out, this time it's no mistake, as [[Rules of Disengagement|issue #7]] would go on to established that Chromedome has palmed the weapon from the tipsy theoretician.
*Ratchet, Drift and Pipes ride [[Mobile Autobot Repair Bay|MARB]]s on Messatine, a kind of transport previously used by Ratchet way back in the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comic]] story, "[[Repeat Performance!]]".
*Though a little hard to tell, what with him being all dissolving and the like, Dent's head design and the rather leonine sculpt to his chest seem to be references to the [[Prowl (G1)/toys#Beast Wars|''Beast Wars'' Prowl]] toy as a nod to their shared name, albeit in green, rather than yellow.
*Pipes has a retractable visor that covers his two eyes, allowing him to switch between his toy-based and [[character model]] looks.
*Tailgate's history lesson takes "11.3 seconds", another of James Roberts's many uses of the number 113, in reference to [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|the issue]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|Marvel UK comic]] that hooked him on the series.
*Fortress Maximus has been offline since the events of ''Last Stand of the Wreckers''.
*First Aid mentions the phrase "life persists", likely in reference to Datalog 332 of ''Wreckers: Declassified'', which [[Verity Carlo]] completed in ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' after Ironfist's death. First Aid was previously established as being a subscriber in "Bullets".
*Many key points of Cybertronian history are mentioned during [[Rewind]]'s speech. Those include the fall of the [[Grand Imperium]], [[Zeta Prime]], [[Declaration Day]], the [[Fall of the First Five Cities]], [[Vos]], [[Tarn (city)|Tarn]], [[Helex]], [[Kaon]], [[Tesarus]], [[Battle for Hell's Point|Hell's Point]], the resurgence of [[Militant Monoform Movement|Triple M]], the [[Simanzi Massacre]], the [[Endless Retaliation]], the rise of the [[Constellate]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s attack on [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]'s [[anti-neutral pogrom]]s, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s army, and the [[Five Dark Epochs]]: the [[Uprising (G1)|Uprising]], the [[Exodus (G1)|Exodus]], the [[Remote Age]], the [[Cataclysm (G1)|Cataclysm]], and the [[Surge (event)|Surge]].
*Pharma claims that, for all they know, the Genericons could transform into [[Class 3 Ruination Tank]]s.

===Errors===
*On page 14, panel 4, First Aid "started" is misspelled "stared".

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Ratchet, Drift and Pipes on Messatine, by Alex Milne and [[Josh Perez]].
* '''Cover B:''' Pipes, reflected in Drift's sword, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Cover RI:''' Ultra Magnus by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], the first half of a combined image formed with the RI cover to ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Devisive|#4]]

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE4_cvrA.jpg|[[Mobile Autobot Repair Bay|M.A.R.B.]]s!!!
Image:MTMTE4_cvrB.jpg|Pipes can't catch a break.
Image:MTMTE4_cvrRI.jpg|Deal with this!
</gallery>

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*''Popeye''

[[Category:More than Meets the Eye issues]]

Interiors

2012-08-09T13:15:56Z

208.100.134.78: /* Covers (3) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #6
|prev=How Ratchet Got His Hands Back
|next=Rules of Disengagement
|caption=
|image=MTMTE6_cvrA.jpg
|title="Interiors"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[June 27]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=June 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Nick Roche]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''A hostage situation grips the ''Lost Light'' as Fortress Maximus snaps, and not everyone survives the experience...'''

==Synopsis==

After his vicious display on [[Delphi]], [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] is instructed to undergo mandatory psychological evaluation with [[Rung]]. The sessions go very poorly, as Maximus actively lies about what he remembers of his experiences at the hands of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] on [[Garrus-9]]—about how the deranged Decepticon never wanted [[Aequitas]], but what it served to hide—but Rung insists they continue.

Meanwhile, at [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s [[Swerve's bar|bar]], [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] is displaying his talent for identifying an Autobot based purely on the sound of their [[transformation]] and ducking [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'s questions about how he and [[Rewind]] met, while Tailgate himself bemoans his current education in the [[Autobot Code]] and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] gripes about Fortress Maximus's overblown reputation. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] soon arrives and arrests Swerve for running a speakeasy, assigning him the demeaning punishment of replacing every rivet on the exterior of the ship, after which Maximus himself enters the bar... and promptly shoots [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]]!

Maximus proceeds to go on a rampage through the ''[[Lost Light]]'', shooting [[Boss (G1)|Boss]], [[Dogfight]], [[Turbine]] and [[Doubletap]] apparently at random, before holing himself up in Rung's office and impaling the psychiatrist's current patient, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], with a pipe. As [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]], [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] and Ultra Magnus watch through a security camera hacked by [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], and listen through an audio feed surreptitiously being broadcast by Rung through his thumb-microphone, Maximus beats the mocking Whirl into silence so he can issue his demands: take the ''Lost Light'' back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] so [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] can answer for taking three years to send help to Garrus-9, or the former warden starts killing hostages. Discovering that the conversation is being broadcast, Maximus rips off Rung's thumb, and Whirl resumes his taunting, deliberately trying to bait Maximus into killing him. He refuses to tell Maximus ''why'' he has a death wish, so Maximus threatens Rung instead, and Whirl is convinced to tell him his life story: how before the war, he defied Cybertronian convention by giving up his function to become a watchmaker, only to fall on hard times and wind up being press-ganged into the service of the [[Senate]]. He even reveals why he was kicked off the [[Wrecker]]s: he attempted to euthanize the comatose [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] using [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]'s [[Sparkeater (weapon)|Sparkeater weapon]].

As Whirl tells his story, Rodimus notices that Rung is tapping one of his model spaceships, indicating the windows. Catching his meaning, Rodimus contacts [[Rewind]], also on rivet duty with Swerve as punishment for bringing "snuff movie" data discs on board, and orders the pair to the window of Rung's office, from which a rivet gun can be used to take Maximus out. Before they can get there, however, Maximus flies into a fury upon realizing the ship has not yet changed course and prepares to kill Whirl. Rung tries to stop him, having come to the same conclusion that [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] have simultaneously reached by studying the uniform coloration of his Autobot victims: this is not about Prowl, it's about Overlord and the revenge Max will never get to have. At Rodimus's suggestion, Rewind projects footage of Maximus's torture and dismemberment at Overlord's hands through the porthole in order to shock and distract him, giving Swerve the chance to take the shot. Swerve protests, both because of his lack of skill and the fact that Rung, ever the dedicated carer, has knelt by the traumatised Maximus to calm him, but Rodimus insists that he try... and the fatal blast strikes not Maximus, but Rung, blowing his head open. Whirl uses the distraction to rip out the pipe pinning him, and takes Maximus down by impaling him with it.

A little later, after a speech has been delivered for Rung passing and Maximus has been locked in the ship's brig, Rodimus talks with Drift about recent events. Drift comments warily on the absence of [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who, unbeknownst to either, has taken the deceased [[Ore]]'s drill-arm to widen the crack in the bottom of the ship through which he believes he can hear a voice. And through the crack, where by all rights there should only be empty space, he finds in a hidden chamber, in which, immobilized, his weapons systems removed, begging to be killed...

...hangs Overlord.

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.) 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (1)
*[[Rung]] (2)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (4)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (5)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (6)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (7)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (8)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (9)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (11)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (12)
*[[Boss (G1)|Boss]] (13)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (14)
*[[Brainstorm]] (15)
*[[Dogfight]] (16)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (17)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (18)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (19)
*[[Aquafend]] (20)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (21)
*[[Deftwing]] (22)
*[[Powerflash]] (23)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (24)
*[[Siren]] (25, voice only)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (26)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (27)
*[[Doubletap]] (28)
*[[Turbine]] (29)
*[[Rewind]] (33)
*''[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]'' (34)
*[[Ore]] (35)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] (3)
|c4=
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (10)
*''[[Heavies]]'' (30-31)
*''[[Empurata]]'' (32)
}}

==Quotes==

"You were in charge when G9 was attacked." 
"Yes." 
"What happened next?" 
"You '''know''' what happened next. '''Everyone''' knows. Even '''Tailgate''' knows, and someone had to draw him a picture of '''Optimus Prime''' the other day..."
:—'''Rung''' and '''Fortress Maximus'''

"We just spent six hours discussing the relevance of a '''semicolon.''' I say 'discussing'—it was more like a thrilling Magnus monologue. I say 'thrilling'—it was actually '''very, very boring'''." 
"And the semicolon?" 
"Ah! Turns out the semicolon isn't relevant '''at all'''."
:—'''Tailgate''' and '''Chromedome'''

"I mean, 'Fortress Maximus'—come '''on'''. What kind of a name is that? But everyone's like, 'Oh, Fortress Maximus, you're my '''hero!''' You've got '''guns in your legs''' and you killed tons of 'Cons at Simanzi...' And I'm like 'That was a '''thousand years ago!'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> He's a '''relic!''' He's a '''has-been!''' He's—" 
"Just walked in." 
"Great to '''see''' you, Max! Come on over! We were just talking about '''Simanzi!''' With the '''thing''' and the—the '''stuff!''' So... oh '''wow!''' You've got guns in your '''legs!''' How's that working out for you? That's '''awesome,''' man. '''You're''' awesome."
:—'''Trailbreaker''' and '''Chromedome'''

"'''Seriously''', all of this is a bit—it's a bit '''pathetic''' though, isn't it? Even for an epic, epic '''failure''' like you. I mean, not only do you practically '''beg''' the Decepticons to take G9 off your hands, but you curl up into a ball the moment Overlor—" 
''(Fortress Maximus pistol-whips Whirl.)'' 
"Wow. If I'd known '''that''' was the best you've got, I'd have said something '''genuinely''' offensive."
:—'''Whirl'''

==Notes==

*The cast page at the end of the comic is updated this issue, removing Rung and adding First Aid, Trailbreaker and Pipes. Several of the brief write-ups have been modified to reflect what we've learned about the cast of late.
*Fortress Maximus's suffering at the hands of Overlord, of course, all occurred within the span of ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', off-panel between issues [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|#1]] and [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|#3]].
*Skids is again missing his gun this issue, but the updated cast page makes a point of highlighting this, suggesting that instances in past issues where wasn't holding it may not have all been the errors they appeared to be at the time.
*Fortress Maximus is revealed to have been part of the [[Simanzi Massacre]], an event in Cybertronian history mentioned in several places throughout James Roberts's previous IDW works.
*Brainstorm claimed that he tried to save Dogfight from Fort Max. In the panel in question, Brainstorm is ''actually'' cowering in fear.
*Whirl's brief involvement in "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]" is alluded to, along with the circumstances that brought him to that point. In particular, it is noted that he used to be a flight instructor, and that he once changed his name: facts which combine to make it all but explicit that he was the "Jetstream" mentioned in [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]]'s backstory in "[[Bullets]]".
*Rewind was seen obtaining the incriminating data discs from [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] back in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]], who hinted at the perverse nature of their content. Red Alert implied he had found them [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|last issue]].
*Roadbuster's current assignment to watch over the recuperating Springer was the subject of "[[Zero Point]]".
*Roadbuster was noted to have been involved in some kind of "Sparkeater business" in "[[Bullets]]"; this issue implies that said business was his invention of the device seen here (or perhaps the repercussions of its creation). Logically, he must have named the weapon after the mythological Cybertronian [[Sparkeater (creature)|creature]], which we learned more about in [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|issue #3]].

===Errors===
* The lettering on Tailgate's arm is written as "Waste Disposal" when it should read "Bomb Disposal".
* When Drift is in Rodimus' office at the end of the issue, he's holding one of Rung's model ships. It is however, mis-colored as part of his hands.

===Crew Manifest===
* Dogfight, previously assigned to Delphi with known Fader [[Backstreet (G1)|Backstreet]] in ''[[Bullets]]'', is first seen with the crew this issue. This suggests the remaining staff and patients from Delphi were evacuated last issue, along with First Aid and [[Ambulon]]. Still, the fate of Delphi's Faders and other patients is not specifically addressed.
* 5 deaths, 5 new arrivals (confirmed) since the launch.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Rung in the sights of Fortress Maximus's gun, by Alex Milne and [[Josh Perez]].
* '''Cover B:''' Fortress Maximus is hurled to a mob of Overlords, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Cover RI:''' Black and white lineart versions of Cover A.

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE6_cvrA.jpg|Eep!
Image:MTMTE6_cvrB.jpg|I'm getting too old for this sh...!
Image:MTMTE6_cvrRI.jpg|Scared colorless.
</gallery>

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[[Category:More than Meets the Eye issues]]

Rules of Disengagement (issue)

2012-08-09T13:13:17Z

208.100.134.78: /* Covers (3) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #7
|prev=Interiors
|next=More than Meets the Eye issue 8
|caption=
|image=MTMTE7_cvrA.jpg
|title="Rules of Disengagement"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 25]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=July 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''A mismatched group of Decepticons find themselves in the crosshairs of the deadliest team of killers there is... the Decepticon Justice Division!'''

==Synopsis==

As a [[infiltration protocol|phase sixer]], [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] is one of the most feared Decepticons, having tackled the [[Wrecker]]s single-handedly, defeated the entire [[113th Battalion]], and massacred the population of [[Rigel IV]]. But when he accepted a bribe to blow up a fleet of [[Warworld|War Worlds]], he landed himself in the sights of the [[Decepticon Justice Division]], a team of vicious killers fanatically dedicated to [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and charged with destroying all who cross him. It's not a pretty sight when the DJD catch up to Black Shadow: melted by [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]], crushed by [[Tesarus (DJD)|Tesarus]] and electrocuted by [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]], he is explosively finished off when DJD leader [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] uses his ability of "weaponized conversation" to stop the pulse of his [[spark]]. Their task done, the DJD set off to find their next target on the planet of [[Clemency]]—a target guilty of simply living.

On the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] and [[Ambulon]] combine their medical expertise to save the life of the wounded [[Rung]], though the psychiatrist remains comatose. A few hours later, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] visits Rung in secrecy, believing—in his increasing paranoia—that the attempt on Rung's life was a deliberate one after Red told him about the voice he heard from beneath the ship. Certain that he is next, Red hides a [[data slug]] containing video he has taken of the voice's owner—[[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]—on Rung's body and bids him goodbye. But a medical [[Diagnostic Drone]] has observed the entire thing, and soon, a shadowed figure arrives in the medibay and recovers the slug...

On Clemency, a band of [[Decepticon]] scavengers consisting of [[Misfire]], [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]], [[Krok (G1)|Krok]], [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] and [[Flywheels]] are in the process of draining fuel from the vast array of Transformer corpses that litter the war-torn world when one of them, a chipper fellow named [[Fulcrum]], proves to be still alive. After a slight panic over the possibility that he might be a [[zombie]], the six 'cons settle down around a fire to talk about the great battle in Clemency's past, and the grim reality of war and how it reduces lives to statistics. Fulcrum is shocked to discover that the war is ''over'', barely able to comprehend such a thing, and the other Decepticons mumble about how meaningless it all turned out to be and how unclear their goals had been anyway. In spite of this, though, when one of the Autobot bodies stoking the Decepticons' fire proves to still be alive, Krok casually kills the poor 'bot.

Back on the ''Lost Light'', [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] visits [[Brainstorm]] in his lab to get the scientist's analysis of [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s mysterious gun, which Chromedome palmed from the theoretician when he was distracted. The weapon immediately blew up when Brainstorm tried to examine it, but he was able to recognise at least some of the engineering, and has concluded that as impossible as it may seem, the gun may have come from somewhere known as "The Institute"...

As dawn breaks on Clemency, the Decepticons resume their scavenging, only for Misfire to suddenly break away from the group, thinking that he has spotted the [[Necrobot]], a mythical Grim Reaper-like figure in Cybertronian culture. Instead, what he has discovered is a P-6 [[Worldsweeper]], a famous model of gigantic Decepticon spaceship cast in the image of the faction's [[insignia]]. Investigating the vessel, the Decepticons make some horrifyingly strange discoveries: a ceiling covered entirely in [[brain module]]s, tanks of warped, malformed [[protoform]]s, a non-functional robot made entirely of wood, and a corridor composed of organic flesh that proves to have been responsible for causing the ship to crash, having ''bled'' into the fuel supply and polluted it. Misfire in particular is aghast and advocates immediate departure, but Fulcrum, coming around to the idea of new horizons, is eager to investigate. All emotions on the ship quickly turn to terror, however, when Krok receives a communication from the DJD, announcing that one of their number is on the Division's list. Tarn signs off with the promise that if the guilty party is handed over, the other six will be allowed to watch. The numbers don't add up, and Fulcrum assumes the DJD simply miscounted their life-signs... but Krok soon discovers that there is indeed a seventh party on the ship, unconscious and sealed in a stasis tube... [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]!

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.) 
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Rack'n'Ruin|Rack or Ruin]]'' (2)
*''[[Valve]]'' (3)
*''[[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]]'' (5)
*''[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]]'' (6)
*''[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'' (7)
*''[[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]]'' (8)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'' (9)
*''[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'' (10)
*''[[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]]'' (11)
*''[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'' (12)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (18)
*[[Rung]] (19)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (20)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ambulon]] (21)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (22)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (23)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (24)
*[[Brainstorm]] (25)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (26)
*''[[Rewind]]'' (27)
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (28)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] (1)
*[[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] (4)
*[[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]] (13)
*[[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] (14)
*[[Tesarus (DJD)|Tesarus]] (15)
*[[Vos (DJD)|Vos]] (16)
*''[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'' (17)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (18)
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (19)
*[[Flywheels]] (20)
*[[Krok (G1)|Krok]] (21)
*[[Misfire]] (22)
*[[Fulcrum]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Fulcrum:''' "Ah! Now! Just—just wait a second! Just— The thing about me—my big thing is this: I'm really not keen on '''dying'''. Now '''survival'''—oh wow, '''huge''' fan. Put me down for some of '''that'''. Besides, we don't even know each other! You might '''like''' me! You might find me—disarming! Yes! I'd '''disarm''' you!" 
'''Spinister:''' "You'd '''what''' me?" 
'''Flywheels:''' "Careful—he's using words to confuse and frighten us."

"'''Go away.''' I'm busier than you've ever been and I'm going more important things than you've ever done." 
"It's Chromedome." 
"So?" 
"So you have to be '''nice''' to me, I'm your only friend. Why are you—?" 
"Building weapons whilst hanging from the ceiling? Because no one else can. I was hoping '''Perceptor''' would walk in."
:—'''Brainstorm''' and '''Chromedome'''

"Chromedome, you're looking at is a bona fide '''Binary Gun.'''" 
"What's a Binary Gun?" 
"I'm not sure—I've only just made up the name. But I called it that because inside there's only room for two cartridges, '''here''' and '''here.'''" 
"So what does it '''do?''' Where'd Skids get it? Why'd he carry it around with him all the time?" 
"I don't know! I've done my bit...!" 
"You made the gun '''blow up''' and then you '''gave it a name!''' I could have done that '''and''' I'd have come up with a better name!"
:—'''Brainstorm''' and '''Chromedome''' again

"But there's '''always''' been a war! That's like saying there's no more '''blue''' or—or the '''weather's''' stopped!"
:—'''Fulcrum''' catches up on recent history

"I always dreamed of captaining my own P-6—Followin' the likes of [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Sixshot]] and the other big guns. I'd have called it something '''noble''' and '''majestic''', like '''''Mega Starpuncher''''' or '''''Mighty Spaceship'''''."
:—'''Crankcase'''

"You know, there are some Decepticons who, upon finding themselves in a skin-covered room surrounded by '''aborted protoforms''' and '''mechanoids made of bark,''' would rub their hands together, marvel at the universe's infinite capacity for surprise and '''dive right in.''' I am not one of those Decepticons. I say we run away screaming." 
"I '''am''' one of those Decepticons, Misfire, and I say we stick around—because frankly, this is amazing." 
"What's amazing?" 
"This! Us! Now! Who owns this ship? Where are they now? Where will '''we''' be an '''hour''' from now, or '''tomorrow''', or '''next month?''' The answer to '''all''' those questions is '''"Who knows?"''' And that's a '''great answer!''' That's the '''best answer ever!''' All our lives we've followed orders—all our lives someone else has always told us what to do next! Well, not anymore! For the first time in '''forever,''' we can do whatever we like! We're '''free!'''"
:—'''Misfire''' and '''Fulcrum'''

==Notes==
*Black Shadow's design is based on his ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' toy. He was established to be a phase sixer in his sole previous IDW appearance in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|#2]].
*The 113th Battalion is another use of the number 113 by James Roberts, referring to the [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|issue of the UK comic]] that got him hooked on the series. On the same page, Black Shadow is seen battling the '''11'''th iteration of the Wreckers, with '''3''' kills.
*Whilst [[Rigel III|other]] [[Rigel 6|planets]] that orbit [[Rigel|the same star]] have shown up in Transformers fiction before, this issue is the first mention of Rigel IV. It's also known as being [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_and_Kodos the home of a pair of pesky space aliens] from ''The Simpsons''.
*Black Shadow's bribe is in [[Shanix]], a little-referenced Cybertronian currency that first appeared in issue #113 of the Marvel UK series. It's seen some previous mentions in IDW continuity in [[Chaos Theory Part 1|"Chaos Theory", Part 1]] and "[[Stick Together]]".
*The Warworld was the Decepticon mothership in the Marvel ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|Generation 2]]'' comic. The idea of a fleet of multiple Warworlds originated with the non-canon ''[[Alignment]]''.
*The Decepticon Justice Division were first mentioned in one of Roberts's earliest IDW works, [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #1]], and have come up on occasion since then. They are named after cities on Cybertron; specifically, the "[[Fall of the First Five Cities|First Five Cities]]" to fall to the Decepticons in the war, which were listed in [[Life After the Big Bang|issue #4]].
*Helex has a [[Turbofox]] on a leash.
*Vos's dialogue, referred to as the "[[Primal Vernacular]]", is written using the [[Cyberglyphics]] symbol language from the [[movie continuity|live-action movie continuity]]. Employing the substitution cypher regularly used by [[Titan Books|Titan]] in their [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|UK Transformers comic]] shows that most of his speech bubbles are nonsense, however, save for the first, which reads: "So tired me go night xth".
*This is not the first time Roberts has written a character has having been "talked to death", though this version is a lot more literal than the reference made in ''[[Bullets]]'' to [[Violator|a Decepticon]] who killed himself rather than listen to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] drone on!
*[[Kol]] was first seen in [[Swarm (issue)|''Generation 2'' #9]], where it was a planet. It became the name of a system in [[Stormbringer issue 2|''Stormbringer'' #2]] with the introduction of [[Varas Centralus]], which is located there.
*That Flywheels should freak out so seriously at the prospect of a [[zombie]] is fitting, given his prominent role in the greatest Transformers zombie story, Marvel UK's "[[City of Fear!]]" (indeed, his only prominent role in anything before now).
*A device or creature looking like a horseshoe crab can be seen in a cannister on Brainstorm's desk, which might be supposed to be a small version of the [[Madmachine]] from the ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode, "[[The Great Cassette Operation]]".
*[[Hydrus Four|Hydrus 4]] is the planet of origin for [[Nucleon]], seen in the original Marvel series. Its sister world [[Hydrus 5]] was created by James Roberts and first mentioned in "[[Bullets]]".
*Chromedome palmed Skids's gun between pages 4 and 5 of [[Life After the Big Bang|issue 4]].
*The planet [[Elpasos]] is mentioned in passing, a world that debut in—you guessed it, issue #113 of the Marvel UK series. It got a previous IDW mention in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #5]].
*Reference is made to "Nova Peak", which is prrrrrobably the same thing as [[Nova Point]].
*Grimlock was last seen at the close of the ''[[The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots|Maximum Dinobots]]'' mini-series, over three years before the publication of this issue. Since then, all we've heard is that he had left [[Garrus-9]] after it was sacked by the Decepticons under unrevealed circumstances, as detailed in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #4]].
*Roberts had previously created a Decepticon named Fulcrum in his fan-published ''Transformers: Eugenesis'' novel. Whether these are meant to be iterations of the same character (as was the case with Rung) or just a name reuse is unclear.
* Amusingly, to go by the original tech spec numbers, Krok is actually the lowest ranking Decepticon of his group. But since when was fiction accurate to the tech specs?

===Errors===
*"Halt" is misspelled "hault" on page 3.
*Spinister was previously shown to be among the Decepticons who had already returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[The Autonomy Lesson|#1]]. Quick, someone [[Bluster|make up]] [[Firster Aid|a name]]!
*Spinister's name is misspelled as "Spinisther" during the search of the Symbol Ship.
*Krok spends most of the issue in a new set of colors, only appearing in his toy's colors in one panel on page 20.

===Crew Manifest===
*The "Story so far" segment on the inside front cover notes that "a number of [[Delphi]]'s patients" were brought to the ''Lost Light'', which is the first mention that anyone other than [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] came back with Ratchet and the medics.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Tarn, by Alex Milne and [[Josh Perez]]
* '''Cover B:''' Misfire, Crankcase, Spinister, Flywheels and Krok, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
* '''Cover RI:''' [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], the second half of a combined image formed with the RI cover to ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Interference Patterns|#7]]

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE7_cvrA.jpg|The last image in Black Shadow's mind.
Image:MTMTE7_cvrB.jpg|Hi, can I have your heart?
Image:MTMTE7_cvrRI.jpg|Cover RI
</gallery>

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[[Category:More than Meets the Eye issues]]

Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

2012-01-17T11:52:57Z

208.100.134.78: /* Covers (7) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #1
|prev=Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime
|next=Liars, A to D Part 2
|next2=
|caption=
|image=MTMTE1_cvrE.jpg
|title="Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[January 11]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=January 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Nick Roche]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2011)]]
}}

'''It's launch day for Rodimus and the crew of the ''Lost Light''—what could possibly go wrong?'''

==Synopsis==
Following [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s [[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|departure]] from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] publicly announces his intent to do likewise aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', following the map found within the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] in hopes of locating the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] predicts virtually no [[Autobot]]s will respond to his open invitation to join him, but Rodimus winds up with a little over two hundred recruits, including (much to [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s consternation) [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]—who believes he is getting old, a concern punctuated by his failure to save the life of a [[NAIL]] who has committed suicide as a political protest—[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]]—the loss of whose scientific talents particularly infuriates Prowl, prompting him to order the loading of a mysterious cargo onto the ''Lost Light''—and Chromedome's friend, [[Rewind]]. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], of course, has misgivings about nearly every recruit, but Rodimus is thrilled to have so many.

In the skies above Cybertron, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] grieves in his own way for the loss of the world he had known and all the memories he made there. Detecting a life-sign resembling [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]'s, he investigates a small shack, only to find the unhinged [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] talking to a collection of [[Sweep]] corpses that he has strung up inside. Cyclonus enters and interrupts him just as he is about to burn down the [[energon]]-soaked building, and Whirl immediately attacks him, professing innocence and explaining the bodies were already dead: he had merely collected them. Cyclonus, for his part, doesn't care in the slightest, but can't convince Whirl of this fact.

Elsewhere, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] is running security checks on the Autobots who have signed up to join the ''Lost Light'': [[Brainstorm]], carrying a mysterious briefcase but exempted from security checks by Rodimus; [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], in the mood for "a good quest"; and [[Rung]], whom Red Alert does not recognize at first, despite having been a patient of his for six centuries. Rung tempts fate by commenting on his knack for staying out of trouble: before the sentence is even finished, Cyclonus and Whirl's running battle swoops through the area, and Rung winds up with his forearm cleaved off by Cyclonus's wing.

Ratchet, Chromedome and Rewind, meanwhile, are making for the ''Lost Light'' through the [[Mitteous Plateau]], but are running behind schedule due to Rewind's lack of a vehicular [[alternate mode]], a trait of his that Chromedome has never understood. Just as the group are about to start having an argument about the validity of alt mode variety, Cyclonus and Whirl come crashing down out of the sky, their battle at an end with Whirl the victor. Whirl spins a few quick lies and is about to deliver a killshot when a sudden, unexpected energon explosion from beneath the ground blows him to bits. Peering into the blast crater, the Autobots find [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], who, unbeknownst to them, is a Cybertronian from six million years ago who was supposed to be on the ''[[Ark (G1)#IDW Generation 1 comics|Ark I]]'', but became trapped underground in a subsidence. He has spent the past six thousand millennia periodically going offline and reawakening, unaware that any time has passed, until he was just now finally able to detonate the energon rations he had with him in bid for freedom. Panicking and passing out before he can tell anyone any of this due to his belief he has killed Whirl, Tailgate is brought aboard the ''Lost Light'' by the Autobots, as are Whirl and Cyclonus. Rewind takes advantage of the brief confusion to slip off and purchase some golden discs from [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]].

Soon after, the ''Lost Light'' takes off, and Bumblebee complains to Prowl that he thought he had a plan... at which point the ship is crippled by a mysterious explosion that forces the ship to [[quantum jump]] before preparation is complete, hurling it off to some far corner of the galaxy. A fifth of the ship's crew is sucked out into space before the breached hull repairs itself, and Rodimus orders them to set down on a desolate nearby planet, where they watch as the Autobots come raining down, burning up as they enter the atmosphere. All in all, as Rodimus succinctly puts it: "Not a good start."

And back on Cybertron, as Bumblebee sits in horrified mourning, back in Prowl's quarters a scrambled transmission plays. A transmission from one of the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'s crew. A transmission that has been sent back in time, from the future. But it has arrived too late, and now Rodimus will never hear the warnings of the dangers that await them...

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (1)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] (2)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (3)
*[[Dipstick]] (4)
*[[Xaaron]] (5)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (6)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (7)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Rewind]] (11)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (12)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (14)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (15)
*[[Brainstorm]] (16)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (17)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Rung]] (18)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (21)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (22)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (23)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (24)
*[[Fizzle]] (25)
*[[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] (26)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (27)
*[[Siren]] (28)
*[[Polaris]] (29)
*[[Waverider]] (30)
*[[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]] (31)
*[[Rad]] (32)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (19)

|c4=
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (10)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==

"Did he give you all that scrap about finding the Knights of Cybertron and retracing our steps to the Golden Age? It's all scripted, you know, Drift writes it for him."
:—'''Bumblebee''''s not bitter!

"You know what '''your''' problem is, Chromedome? You think that just because the war is '''over''', we can afford to stop '''fighting'''!"
:—'''Prowl''', summed up in one sentence.

"'''Please''' tell me you're here to wave us off." 
"No, no, no, I'm here for the quest. Love a good quest. Haven't been on a quest since the whole Luna 1 thing. The Moonquest." 
"Stop saying 'quest.'" 
"So, can I go on board?" 
"Of course—if you promise to never, ever speak."
:—'''Red Alert''' and '''Swerve''' evidently have a history.

"Oh, it's started. The alt mode bashing. Every time you get '''agitated'''... Let's have a go at Rewind because he turns into a '''giant memory stick''' and not a... '''super space tank''' or—or—whatever..."
:—'''Rewind''', on the defensive.

"Remember the old saying? 'Everyone's shape serves a purpose.'" 
"Yeah? Tell that to Sky Lynx."
:—'''Rewind''' and '''Ratchet''' have a difference of opinion.

"Don't open the coffin. Don't let them take [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]. Don't go to Delphi. And do not — I repeat do not — look in the basement. And for the sake of the Cybertronian race itself, please don't''kzzzzzzzk''"
:—'''Ominous Future Message'''

==Notes==

*The title of this issue pays homage to the Dexys Midnight Runners' song, "Liars, A to E" (with A and D of course standing for "Autobot" and "Decepticon"). James Roberts previously used it as the title for a comic-strip prequel to his unofficial Transformers novel, "Eugenesis", published in the souvenir magazine for UK convention Transforce 2001.
*The NAIL who dies on Ratchet's table could previously be spotted in three scenes in ''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime]]'', carrying the placard that lies discarded in the corner of the room in this issue. He was red in that issue, indicating that he has turned grey upon his death, a trait that stretches back to ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', but which has only been seen in IDW continuity before now in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', which was not coincidentally the work of this issue's creative team.
[[Image:Mtmte brainstorm teaser.jpg|right|thumb]]
*The trailer Tailgate is carrying his energon rations in is a [[Micro Trailer]].
*Tailgate thinks the ''Ark'' is doomed without him. The mission ''did'' go [[Spotlight: Galvatron|horribly wrong]]...
*After having spent the entirety of ''[[Infestation (IDW)|Infestation]]'', ''[[The Transformers: Heart of Darkness|Heart of Darkness]]'' and ''[[Chaos (IDW)|Chaos]]'' being misidentified in-story as a Decepticon, Cyclonus is finally back to asserting that he is an unaffiliated Cybertronian.
*Several concepts introduced in Roberts's earlier story "[[Bullets]]" reoccur: Brainstorm's [[Malevolent Counterintuitive Pathogen|mysterious briefcase]], Rung's fondness for model spacecraft, Whirl being kicked off the Wreckers under unspecified circumstances, and an unseen Autobot named [[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]].
*Brainstorm's security pass sports a [[Tech Spec]]s graph and a [[rubsign]].
*Their small size makes them hard to determine, but at least some of Rung's model spaceships are recognizable: they at least include the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] as it appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], and a [[Trident Attack Craft]]. We wager there are more familiar ships in there!
*We don't know if Prowl was responsible for the explosion but...
*Among the list of lost Autobots is one new name: [[Polaris]]. This ''might'' be a reference to online Transformers fanzine [http://www.polarismagazine.co.uk/ Polaris Magazine], whose publisher Graham Thomson is a long-time member of Transmasters, the UK fan group that Roberts and Roche were both major contributors to.
*The release of this issue was preceded by a "scavenger hunt" of sorts on [[January 10]]th, with one each of a series of twelve images spotlighting individual characters being released to twelve different websites, both Transformers fansites and popular comic book new sites. Only eight actually made it up before the book's release: [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/transformers-mtmte-1-promo-image---out-tomorrow-174117/ Brainstorm at TFW2005] (at right), [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-120110.html Drift at Newsarama], [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36350 Ratchet at ComicBookResources], [http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/121/1216240p1.html Red Alert at IGN], [http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/exclusive-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-promo-art/23642/ Rewind at Seibertron], [http://tformers.com/transformers-exclusive-transformers-more-than-meets/16985/news.html Rung at TFormers], [http://www.allspark.com/content/view/9829/ Swerve at the AllSpark] and [http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/idw-transformers-more-than-meets-eye-1-treasure-hunt-exclusive-image-2604/ Whirl at FullMetalHero]. Subsequently revealed were [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=269973&highlight=#269973 Chromedome on the IDW forums], [https://twitter.com/#!/TheJohnBarber/status/157175756353585152/photo/1 Cyclonus on John Barber's Twitter], [https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150512162858279&set=a.10150239372238279.337626.8473603278&type=1 Rodimus on IDW's Facebook] and [http://ryalltime.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/mtmte-teaser-ultra-magnus/ Ultra Magnus on Chris Ryall's blog].

===Errors===

===Covers (7)===
All seven covers to this issue feature a silver foil-stamped logo.
* '''Cover A:''' Ratchet by [[Alex Milne]] and Josh Perez
* '''Cover B:''' Ultra Magnus by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
* '''Cover C:''' Rodimus by by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
* '''Cover D:''' Drift by by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
* '''Cover E:''' The assembled cast by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham, in homage to 1987's ''Justice League'' #1.
* '''Cover RIA:''' Fold-out gatefold cover combining the interlinked covers A-D.
* '''Cover RIB:''' Hand-drawn Sketch Covers by Josh Burcham

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE1_cvrA.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrB.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrC.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrD.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrE.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrRIA.jpg
Image:MTMTE1_cvrRIB.jpg|Finally, Polar Claw's time to shine!
</gallery>

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[[Category:IDW Generation 1 issues]]