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Talk:Bullets

2023-08-16T21:24:36Z

ALEXAN2507: /* Fisitronisms */

==Roulette==
I seem to remember First Aid pegging Roulette as a male in this story, which might mean it's a different Roulette than the female one, obviously.{{unsigned|Nu-Priest|18:25, September 15, 2010 (EDT)}}
:Might be presumptuous, but Roulette is a repaint of a male character, and all that's changed to make her a her is her head, which was missing from this Roulette. It's possible First Aid just didn't know/couldn't tell.--[[User:Carrion|Carrion]] 18:33, 15 September 2010 (EDT)
::Well, I sincerely doubt the presence of the head would deter a doctor from being able to tell the robot's "gender". --[[User:Nu-Priest|Nu-Priest]] 20:59, 15 September 2010 (EDT)
:::Considering you had to put it in quotations...--[[User:Carrion|Carrion]] 21:11, 15 September 2010 (EDT)
::::I also think a doctor would know. Besides, she is from the Beast Era. The [[2005 IDW continuity]] doesn't have a Beast Era, as far as we know. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 01:04, 16 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::Her character is retroactively from the Great War/G1. *rethinks-previous-statement*You know, this version of Roulette could easily be a dude, if Jhiaxus or whoever hadn't made him into a her. I forgot about that little detail about IDW continuity's females. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 01:11, 16 September 2010 (EDT)
::::::Heh heh, yeah. It depends on how the "female genome" is spread, I guess. Maybe later Roulette realizes he was meant to be a she all along. (There's probably a weird but interesting story in there somewhere.) [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 06:35, 16 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::::If we're going to acknowledge Roulette exists in IDW continuity, I think the femmebot with the blatently copied color scheme from AHM #14 should get recognized. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 18:41, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
::::::::...yeah, um, I don't think you've seen the two characters side-by-side. It's not the same color scheme. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 19:22, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::::::I accept your challenge! I am now holding Universe #1 and AHM #14 side-by-side. Gold helmet, gray face, blue eyes, gold and gray chestplate, purple and gold on the legs, vehicle kibble on the thighs...uh, yeah. It's not an absolutely slavish recreation, but for comparing a Cybertronian mode to an Earth mode, I'd say it's a damn near perfect match. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 20:39, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
::::::::::We've seen Roulette's Cybertronian mode! And the colors are all totally jumbled and in the wrong proportions. I would say the generic's color scheme is reminiscent of Roulette, but is absolutely not in any way Roulette-enough to be considered her. Much in the same way that the dude she's with is so totally not Side Burn, despite folks' claims. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 20:47, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::::::::We saw two modes for Roulette, before and after the Cauldron. Both had your standard Earth-like tires, and none of the Cybertronian sleekness or hover-stylings we've seen on other characters. Even if we had previously seen A Cybertronian mode for her, though, IDW has created numerous NEW Cybertronians designs for characters (Megatron, Ratbat, Blaster, Arcee, etc.). It's a female Cybertronian, in Roulette's ''basic'' color scheme, in a role close to Sunstreaker, whom she was connected with at her introduction. We've made positive IDs on far less than that before. Not acknowledging that femmebot as Roulette is one thing, but ignoring her AND saying this unseen, undescribed male Transformer IS her IDW counterpart just seems bizarre. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 22:41, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
::::::::::::Maybe if the AHM female had Roulette's head... I mean, if we color a random guy <strike>like Wheeljack</strike> approximately sort of in Wheeljack's colors, does it make him Wheeljack? --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 22:44, 17 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::::::::::Wheeljack has possibly the most distinctive head in the history of Transformers, so that comparison doesn't really work -- Roulette is just another face-in-helmet variation. And again, the femmebot's helmet is ''approximately'' the same as Roulette's: length-wise cheek panels, "chin-strap", sloped ridge on the forehead, two points on top. Is every detail an artistically perfect recreation? No. But neither were IDW's Cybertronian mode Skram, or Road Rocket, or Primus-knows how many other redesigns. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 10:49, 18 September 2010 (EDT)
:::::::::::Maybe someone should just flat-out ask James on the IDW board, he frequents it enough. I just think it's a case similar to "Wing" in Drift # 1. Cool name, randomly chosen. --[[User:Nu-Priest|Nu-Priest]] 22:33, 17 September 2010 (EDT)

Guys... are you seriously having an argument about bending over backwards to explain why a one-note male character should be the same character as a female from another universe? - [[User:Chris McFeely|Chris McFeely]] 11:10, 18 September 2010 (EDT)
: I think we stopped talking about the Dude Roulette ages ago. Now we're talking about the girl-who-sorta-looks-like-Roulette-because-she-has-similarish-colors-but-a-different-head-which-we-will-ignore. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 11:25, 18 September 2010 (EDT)
::Basically, I'm arguing that if a femmebot clearly based on Roulette colors/appearance ISN'T her IDW counterpart, then a description-less text-only male TF who happens to share the same name shouldn't be Roulette's counterpart either. Ignoring the AHM femmebot is one thing; recognizing a character even LESS like Roulette in lieu of her is another. There should be a separate page for the dude-bot under Roulette (IDW) or Roulette (male) or something. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 12:03, 18 September 2010 (EDT)
:::Yeah, that's basically what I was getting at from the get-go.--[[User:Nu-Priest|Nu-Priest]] 13:15, 18 September 2010 (EDT)
:I'm confused-- is this the female from Sunstreaker's story? Because I assumed that was Airrazor. She's standing in front of Sideburn, we see someone I assume is Bulkhead in the same panel, and I assume the orange fellow behind her shoulder on the next page is Survive. -[[User:Derik|Derik]] 13:13, 19 September 2010 (EDT)

==Roulette (G1)==
If we're creating a page on the new Roulette, we create it at [[Roulette (G1)]], not Roulette (IDW). Why? Because we disambiguate by Franchise-of-Origin. There are no conflicts between the two Roulettes, franchise-of-origin-wise, so there's absolutely no reason to disambiguate the new Roulette by publisher. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 13:30, 12 October 2010 (EDT)
:I guess I'm confused how this works. I thought we wouldn't use (G1) as an identifier if both characters are from Generation 1 continuity. We differentiated ''[[Fasttrack (IDW)]]'' and ''[[Fasttrack (G1)|Fasttrack (Scorponok)]]'', for instance. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 14:08, 12 October 2010 (EDT)
:::"... from Generation 1 '''continuity'''" is where you make mistakes. We don't disambiguate by continuity. We disambiguate by franchise. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 15:49, 12 October 2010 (EDT)
::This is the sort of problem you get because G1 is both a franchise and a continuity family. Both characters are from the G1 confam, but only the new guy is from the G1 franchise. Personally, I would avoid using G1 in situations like this one. I'd limit G1 to those characters that truly are "G1", the ones that existed before there was anything else. But, policy is against me (and you). --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 14:27, 12 October 2010 (EDT)
:::So Fasttrack is like that because both IDW comics and 1987 toys are released under the G1 franchise. ''Universe'' is in the G1 continuity, but is a separate franchise label, and therefore "not G1". Like ''[[Dropshot (G1)]]'' and ''Dropshot (Universe)''. Okay...I think i get it. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 14:40, 12 October 2010 (EDT)
::::Exactly. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 14:54, 12 October 2010 (EDT)

==Related pages==

Bunch of new pages need to be made for this story. The list on ''[[Talk:Withered Hope|Withered Hope]]'' helped me out, so...

Characters: [[Pharma (G1)]], [[Roulette (G1)]], [[Ambulon]], [[Schema]], [[Dodger]], [[Animus]], [[Gideon]], [[Tripwire (G1)|Tripwire]], [[Tremorcon]] ([[Seizor]], [[Aftershock (G1)]], [[Fracture (G1)]], [[Tectonix]]), [[Agent 113]], [[Crest]], [[Hyperion (G1)]], [[Kaput]], [[Jetstream]], [[Atomizer]], [[Calculus]], [[Violator]], [[Heliobot]]

Locations: [[Delphi]] on [[Messatine]], [[Babu Yar]], [[Hydrus 5]], [[Debris]] in orbit of Klo, [[Igue-Moor Fuel Depot]], The [[Exit Rooms]], [[Grindcore (prison)]], [[Karashi-Delta]], [[Morobishi Canyons]]

Other: ''[[Pale Fire]]'', [[Decepticon Justice Division]], [[Survivor (Babu Yar)]], [[Room 113]], [[Ethics Committee]], [[Surge (event)]], [[Gideon's Glue]], [[Magnus Inquiry]], [[Non-Conventional Weapons Act]], [[Unmentionable]], [[Malevolent Counterintuitive Pathogen]], [[Operation: Retrieval]], <strike>Black phosphex</strike> (redirect to [[glass gas]]), [[Novic Medal for Outstanding Valor]], ''[[Fatal Consequence]]''

Whew. --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 12:39, 19 September 2010 (EDT)
:I made some link suggestions. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 11:12, 20 September 2010 (EDT)

==Rung's patients==

The medic who checks badges is obviously [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], the data processor who believes he's a right leg is [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]]...any idea who the paranoid cadet is? --[[User:Xaaron|Xaaron]] 15:38, 19 September 2010 (EDT)
:Red Alert? Seems like the obvious guess. --[[Special:Contributions/72.79.209.160|72.79.209.160]] 08:59, 20 September 2010 (EDT)

== Ark-1 = Ark (G1) ==

Rung has a model of the ''Ark-1'' on his desk. This is probably the [[Ark (G1)]] that was retroactively given the name "Ark-1", no? Just checking. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 21:30, 20 September 2010 (EDT)

== Can we put the little Autobot symbols back in? ==

I think it would be useful to break up the summary into "chapters" like the story and using little Autobot symbols like the story did seems like an interesting way to do it. - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 11:09, 21 September 2010 (EDT)

== Watermark, or hidden image? ==

This is gonna sound crazy, but there's some kind of hidden image on the second, and last pages of Bullets. It's not just what's on the other side of the page showing through, since the pages are too thick, and the shapes don't match up with the other side anyway.--[[User:Carrion|Carrion]] 04:30, 4 October 2010 (EDT)

==The Number 113==
In the UKTF issues, it's part one of "Wanted: Galvatron, Dead or Alive" - the first TF appearance of Death's Head, yes? [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 07:02, 3 January 2011 (EST)

==Minor changes in hardcover edition==
It looks like the story's had some minor rework in the new hardcover edition of Wreckers - is it worth adding this to the notes section? [[User:Shafau|Shafau]] 12:34, 2 March 2012 (EST)
: Yep. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 12:39, 2 March 2012 (EST)

== Fisitronisms ==

Is it worth mentioning the obvious reference to Furmanisms, both within the Wreckers: Declassified excerpt at the start and the one at the end? It feels like a piece of trivia worth nothing but, since it hasn't been so far, I don't want to be presumptuous and just add it myself. [[User:ALEXAN2507|ALEXAN2507]] ([[User talk:ALEXAN2507|talk]]) 17:24, 16 August 2023 (EDT)

Talk:Bullets

2023-08-16T21:23:37Z

ALEXAN2507: /* Fisitronisms */ new section

Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5

2023-08-16T19:33:05Z

ALEXAN2507:

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' #5
|prev=Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4
|next=Escape (G1)
|image=LSotW 5cvrA.jpg
|caption=This is the end, my former friend.
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[May 19]], [[2010]]
|coverdate=May 2010
|story=[[Nick Roche]] & [[James Roberts]]
|script=Nick Roche & James Roberts
|art=Nick Roche
|colors=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[Andy Schmidt]]
|associate editor=[[Denton J. Tipton]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline|Current era (2010)]]
}}
'''Where everything FINALLY hits the fan.'''

==Synopsis==
In [[Garrus-9]], [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]] tears [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] in half, bashes [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] unconscious, and smirks when [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] ''destroys his right eye''. Down in the [[Aequitas]] chamber, [[Verity Carlo]] continues to argue against detonating the [[deterrence chip]]s, which will kill Impactor in addition to the closing Decepticons. She puts her case to [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], arguing that he's made the Wreckers stand for something, and ''his'' [[Wreckers]] would never kill one of their own.

[[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]] decides to abandon his egotistical visions of a glorious death and tells the others to run; he'll cover them. Dying for people he cares about, he tells Ironfist, is the most he can do, and he tells Verity that the ''[[Autobot]]s'' need the humans to look after ''them''. The Wreckers withdraw, Ironfist working out a plan to deal with Overlord, while Pyro is ingloriously torn to pieces behind them. As they withdraw, at Verity's urging, Ironfist reveals the truth he's learnt about Impactor and [[Pova]]...

''Twenty years ago, pinned down on Pova, Impactor decided the best way to get a shot at [[Squadron X]] would be to fire through [[Springer (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Springer]]'s midsection. Despite Springer's protest that he didn't have the circuit dampeners needed to avoid the pain, Impactor fired. After winning the battle, Impactor reported to [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] that the enemy had been caught, but learned [[Povian]] neutrality made the operation illegal; Squadron X would have to be released. Instead, Impactor murdered the Decepticons as they knelt in chains as Springer tried to stop him and the others stood silent...''

Back outside, Overlord has defeated Impactor, but Springer gloats that his men will soon arrive with the freed Autobot prisoners, but Overlord reveals he had already ordered the prisoners executed. Luckily, the other Wreckers do arrive and [[Perceptor (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Perceptor]] blasts the monster's hand off to free Springer, while Ironfist chucks him a ''massive'' chaingun, which Springer unloads into Overlord.

Overlord shrugs off the fire, ''rips off Springer's face'', and blasts Perceptor offline, leaving only Ironfist. ''That'' is when said nerd reveals the gun was loaded with deterrence chips... and detonates them.

[[File:LastStandoftheWreckers5-brittlebones.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Overlord learned the hard way to never let [[The Fallen]] ever do your makeovers.]]
Ironfist falls unconscious, leaving Verity alone as Overlord rises as a ''fire-consumed, skeletal horror'', enraged that he's left unable to face [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] when he arrives. Realizing Overlord's intentions, Verity, informs him that [[All Hail Megatron issue 12|Megatron is long dead]] and laughs; Overlord thought Megatron would come for him, yet the tyrant died not remembering Overlord ''at all''. The monster collapses in despair, and Impactor rises from the mat to finish him. When Overlord fails to resist, Impactor refuses to kill him. Repenting his actions on Pova, he disables Overlord for capture and trial... as Springer would want.

Overlord is beaten and the Decepticons have fled, but four Wreckers lie dead. Springer and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] are on emergency life support, their chances of recovery unclear. Pardoned by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]], Impactor and a repaired Guzzle abruptly leave. Ironfist dies en route to Earth from an aneurysm caused by a lab accident with his [[Cerebro-sensitive bullet|cerebro-centric bullet]]s eighteen months ago that left one inching towards his brain all along.

[[File:Prowl LSOTW5 Pressure.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7]]
On Earth, Prowl takes this report and the ostensibly sole [[data slug]] Ironfist was able to make of the Aequitas data. He admits to Ultra Magnus that he knew about Ironfist's approaching death and had arranged for him to be placed on the Wreckers, his dream job, in exchange for bypassing the suicide lock on Aequitas. ("''Yes'', of ''course'' I regret it.") Prowl reveals the true reason for the mission: they couldn't allow the Decepticons to get Aequitas's records of tried ''Autobots''. Prowl recalls the horror of their charges. Magnus believes in revealing the trials; Prowl agrees, but fears the Autobots will be shattered if they learn the truth before the war ends. Departing, Ultra Magnus notes how convenient it would be for Prowl if the data were corrupted, but he likes to think Prowl better than to destroy the evidence. Alone, contemplating the slug, Prowl slightly squeezes it...

And on Earth, Verity writing as "Fisitron", muses whether this is the "end of the road" for the Wreckers or just a "stop-off" to reflect. "Because that's how we ''honor'' those we've lost: by looking ''forward'', not back."
{{--}}

==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:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] (1)
* [[Springer (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Springer]] (3)
* [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] (4)
* [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (5)
* [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]] (6)
* [[Perceptor (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Perceptor]] (7)
* [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] (8)
* [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]] (10)
* ''[[Rack'n'Ruin (G1)|Rack'n'Ruin]]'' (14)
* ''[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]'' (15)
* ''[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]'' (16)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] (17)
* ''[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]'' (20)
* ''[[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]'' (21)
* ''[[Rad (G1)|Rad]]'' (22)
* ''[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]]'' (23)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (24)
* ''[[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]]'' (25)
* ''[[Solomus|Tyrest]]'' (26)
* ''[[Xaaron]]'' (27)
* ''[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'' (28)
* [[Stakeout (G1)|Stakeout]] (29)
{{!}}}
|c2=
* [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]] (2)
* ''[[Tornado]]'' (11)
* ''[[Macabre]]'' (12)
* ''[[Earthquake (G1)|Earthquake]]'' (13)
* ''[[Fang]]'' (18)
* ''[[Triton]]'' (19)
|c3=
* [[Verity Carlo]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's a story of sacrifice and betrayal, and of good people dying in ''stupid, pointless ways''."
:—'''"Fisitron"'''

"Oh, don't look so ''surprised''. You didn't expect this stunted little ''wretch'' to ''survive'', did you?" 
"You're a '''maniac'''!"
:—'''Overlord''''s opinion on Guzzle's chance of living and '''Kup''' pretty much summing up readers' thoughts of Overlord.

"Ironfist! You should know better than ''anyone'' what the Wreckers are ''really'' about! They give the other Autobots something to ''believe in''!"
:—'''Verity''' trying to motivate Ironfist.

"I figure that dying to save people you ''care about'' is the most that anyone can do." 
"I think you have your ''motto''." 
"No... my ''last words''."
:—'''Pyro''' and '''Ironfist'''

"Sweet."
:—'''Springer''' gets thrown a giant gun to shoot Overlord with.

"Sweet."
:—'''Overlord''' holds Springer's face-skin in his palm.

"Oh, man, this is PERFECT! You can't accept that he never gave chase! You lived your life thinking about him every day, and he died forgetting all about you!" 
"But... But he owes me! He owes me."
:—'''Verity''' giving '''Overlord''' the ''wonderful'' news about Megatron.

"One way or another, you've killed a ''lot'' of my friends today. It's been a ''long time coming'', but this is where you get yours!"
:—'''Impactor''' to Overlord.

"You see, this is one of those stories with a ''moral''. And the moral is simply this: life persists."
:—'''Verity'''

==Notes==

===Continuity notes===
* The visuals of the battle on Pova in this issue contrasts sharply with how it was depicted in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|the previous issue]]. In issue 4, the battle was depicted with a sense of non-reality (befitting a falsified story), taking place on a sunny day, with the participants having little damage upon their bodies, even in death. However, in issue 5, the reality shows a depressing, rainy landscape with the participants all showing the signs of battle injuries. When Impactor is shown standing above the corpses of Squadron X, he is splattered with their fluids.
** The visuals aren't all that's different; the Wreckers in the real story are ''way'' more nasty then the glamorized portrayal in Ironfist's version. Springer begs in an undignified manner for his friends not to abandon him, Impactor is totally unsympathetic to Springer's plight, and Roadbuster cruelly brags about putting inhibitor vices on Squadron X just to humiliate them, rather than any concern about safety. All the exact opposite of how it was portrayed in issue 4.
* Ironfist mentions that Pyro's plan to sacrifice himself isn't "exactly Prime's [[Fivefold Maneuver]]". Pyro used the same words in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|issue 2]] to describe the lack of finesse regarding Springer's plan to liberate the prisoners of Garrus-9.
* Ultra Magnus is shown in this issue in the design that [[Don Figueroa]] gave him for the first arc of the [[The Transformers (IDW)|ongoing series]].
* Ironfist's little head scar had been around since #1, so we'd all been visually forewarned what his accident had been...
* The scenes of the dead prisoners is a deliberate copy of #3's scene of the imprisoned prisoners hearing the Wreckers have come to save them...
* Near the end of the issue we see a one-panel flashback of [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]] on trial for war crimes during the Aequitas hearings. [[An Axe to Break the Ice|He'll turn up again later]].
* Perceptor uses his pretty-much-forgotten third "tank" mode in this issue.
* At the end of this issue, Kup and Perceptor are the only active Wreckers, with the other eight either dead, AWOL (Impactor and Guzzle), discharged (Whirl), or in critical condition (Springer), not counting Roadbuster.
* "[[Zero Point]]", a short story included in the second ''Last Stand'' hardcover, would reveal that Squadron X were merely refueling on Pova and that the Wreckers had started the fight unprovoked. In the same collection, [[Ferak]]'s profile says they were on a supply run and not a combat mission. No "did it to save lives" excuse for ''you'', Impactor!
* Also in "Zero Point", we learn what the Wreckers are thinking when they stand silently by: they're thinking "hooray, good ol' Impactor!" but will pretend otherwise so Springer will keep the team going.
* [[Autopedia]] profiles include Pyro, Guzzle, and Impactor. Huzzah!
** Autopedia tells us that Pyro suffers from [[Primus apotheosis]].
** Pyro's profile reveals he was at the [[Simanzi Massacre]], same as [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] in his profile. Both began to suffer their personality disorders following the Massacre...
* '''First appearances:''' Flame, Tyrest, Stakeout

===Transformers references===
* On Pova, Prowl admonishes Impactor through a communications device in his palm which projected an image that resembles a [[communicube]]. The text story "[[Bullets]]" would later confirm these as communicubes.
* Impactor's [[Autopedia]] profile mentions that Impactor got the idea for his [[harpoon]] arm after meeting an unnamed dimension-hopping "freelance peacekeeping agent" who had been "ricocheting from universe to universe after leaping through an exploding time portal." [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], yes? Their meeting is chronicled in ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'', [[Datalog]] 151, which refers to the [[The Legacy of Unicron!|Marvel UK issue number]] in which Death's Head leaps through a time portal with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and disappears from the story. The title of said datalog, "The Wreckers at the Crossroads of Time", refers to the short ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story, "The Crossroads of Time", which saw the [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|titular Time Lord]] have a run-in with Death's Head following the time portal incident.
* One of Flame's crimes is "desecration of corpses", a reference to the character's [[Legion of the Lost!|zombie-raising antics]] in the Marvel UK comics.
* The final scene takes place in [[Mister O's]].
* According to the TPB of the series, the police car parked outside is not [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] or [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]].<ref>[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Fisitron's Facts]]</ref> Several years later, [[Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|it would be revealed]] that the car is actually [[Stakeout (G1)|Stakeout]], having been assigned to work with Verity by Ultra Magnus after the events on Garrus-9.
* Speaking of Datalog numbers, the Datalog retelling of this series is numbered #332, which was the total number of issues of the Marvel UK ''Transformers'' comic had.

===Real-life references===
* Part of the narration by "Fisitron" on the first page is based upon Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, "{{w|The Charge of the Light Brigade}}". At the end of the issue, with Verity finishing the entry as "Fisitron", a book of [[Tennyson]]'s poetry is on the table.
* One of the sites of Flame's atrocities, [[Babu Yar]], is named very similarly to a {{w|Babi Yar|famous historical massacre site on Earth}}.
* Amongst Flame's atrocities is listed the crime of "circuit-boarding", a reference to the torture technique controversially used by the CIA known as {{w|waterboarding}}—kind of appropriate for a rogue Autobot.
* In what's likely a deliberate reference to "{{w|The Inquisitor (Red Dwarf)|The Inquisitor}}" episode of the British sci-fi sitcom ''{{w|Red Dwarf}}'', Impactor almost directly quotes that show's {{w|Dave Lister}}, with his line to Overlord: "One way or another, you killed a lot of my friends today".

===Errors===
* In the first scene in the Aequitas chamber, Topspin's body is initially colored gray and black (deactivated), but on the next page, it is colored normally.
* In the panel where Verity is on her knees mourning Ironfist's death, the part of the shirt below her ribcage is colored like skin.

===Other trivia===
* Prowl starts to squeeze the chip a bit but it's left ambiguous as to whether he actually destroyed it. Even Roche and Roberts don't know whether Prowl did it! <ref>[http://tfarchive.com/community/showpost.php?p=690984&postcount=228 Fan account of the Auto Assembly 2010 Q&A]</ref> So how dodgy do ''you'' think Prowl is?
* James Roberts has noted that Prowl never asks about the Autobot prisoners, the alleged reason the Wreckers were sent in the first place. Brr.

===Production===
The hardcover trade of ''Last Stand'' reveals information about both Roche's original pitch and early Roche-Roberts scripts.

In Roche's pitch:
* Following Perceptor's death last issue, Springer and Kup both die here. Springer takes out Overlord in a suicide bombing and as a shocked Kup says 'that's that', Guzzle guns him down for all his lost friends. He then is killed himself for it. (A version of this shows up in ''[[Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers]]''.)
* The series ends with Magnus assembling a new Wreckers that he'd run.

In early scripts:

* The characters escape the Aequitas chamber with a transmat that just happened to be there. This was dropped in later scripts for being lazy.
* Prowl visibly breaks the data slug but, as we didn't see until "[[In Word and Deed]]", Ironfist had made a backup copy.
* No Tyrest in the court scene ([[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] is there though) and Prowl lists specific atrocities.

In a ''Moonbase 2'' interview, Roche and Roberts said either Springer, Perceptor, or Kup ''were'' going to die in the final issue during planning, but in the end they weren't allowed to do it.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Moonbase 2's AA2010 interview], 19:00 - 19:40</ref> Also dropped was any Guzzle/Kup confrontation, as there simply wasn't ''room'' in the condensed beast for it. They claim in the trade that one of the Big Three was allowed to be killed off but they chickened out.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' A silhouette of Overlord looming over Impactor and Springer amidst flames with several Autobot grave markers in front of them, art by [[Nick Roche]] and colors by [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Cover B:''' A Transformer hand lying on the ground, art and colors by [[Trevor Hutchison]].
* '''Cover RI:''' "Virgin" title-free edition of cover B.

<gallery>
File:LSotW 5cvrA.jpg|"See those graves?" "Yeah" "I put your guys in there!" "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
File:LSotW 5cvrB.jpg|He's dead, Jim.
File:LSotW 5cvrRI.jpg|Cover RI
</gallery>

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===Reprints===
Other than [[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers#Collections|collections of the full series]]
* N/A

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Last Stand of the Wreckers issues]]

Megatron Origin issue 4

2023-08-15T16:28:42Z

ALEXAN2507: Correcting quote- Starscream says "All we did was give it a *badge*", not "All we did was give it a *name*"

{{comicstory
|series=megsorigin|issueno=4
|prev=Megatron Origin issue 3
|image=MO 4 b.jpg
|caption=Somebody needs to switch to decaf.
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[October 24]], [[2007]]
|coverdate=September 2007
|written by=[[Eric Holmes]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Perez]] and [[Mark Bristow]]
|color assist by=[[Gabe Eltaeb]]
|letters by=[[Neil Uyetake]]
|edits by=[[Andrew Steven Harris]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline#4 million BCE|4 million BCE]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
}}
'''The former miner-turned-gladiator-turned-rebel leader kills lots of other guys for the hell of it.'''

==Synopsis==
Having been arrested and detained by [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s [[Autobot]] security forces, [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]]'s forces are in a tight squeeze, literally and metaphorically - their presence threatens to push the holding capacity of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]'s [[Security Services Headquarters]] to the limit, and [[Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Starscream]] is marched away from the other imprisoned gladiators, seemingly to turn in his fellow rebels.

Starscream is taken before the Kaon Council to testify. As the assembled 'bots read out a list of charges, the Seeker remains flippant, raising the ire of the prosecutors, before finally offering his own two cents: everything that has happened is their fault. Raising his weapons, he and [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] easily destroy their would-be captors in a final coup de grace against the old order, and etch their [[Insignia|symbol]] into the meeting room's view screen.

From their cells, the other prisoners hear the bloodshed, and Megatron is pleased: he'd deliberately engineered the entire arrest and Starscream's seeming defection in order to easily slaughter his assembled enemies. Starscream releases his leader and his gladiator crew, who are swiftly joined by ''every'' other criminal in the building. With Soundwave providing armaments and badges to the new recruits, Starscream introduces Megatron to the most devastating weapon in the precinct's armory: a new, arm-mounted [[fusion cannon]].
Blasting a hole in the wall with his new weapon, Megatron orders the group to attack with an offensive that is as simple as it is destructive: everything burns.

[[File:Megatron Origin 4 Upperclass ship under attack.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.8]]

Aboard a pleasure vessel filled with [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s [[Kaon upperclass|upper class]], snooty recreation comes to an end when Megatron's forces launch an attack. Though [[Thundercracker (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Thundercracker]] is uncertain, his partner [[Skywarp (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Skywarp]] goads him into firing upon the leisure ship, causing it to crash into the city below in a fiery conflagration.

As Kaon burns, Sentinel and the other [[Autobot]]s fight to retake the city from the insurgents, but it's an uphill fight all the way: the rebels have caused massive damaged, jammed communications with [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], and refuse to give an inch of ground. With his options running out, Sentinel realizes that he'll have to deploy the "Apex" as his final contingency plan, ordering his soldiers to hold the line while he falls back to retrieve it.

While Megatron and his troops lead the assault on Kaon, Soundwave meets with his boss, Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]. The smug Senator admits that he was behind the disastrous chain of events that led to Megatron's rise to power: not only did he aid Megatron's cause by supplying arms, he was also the one who arranged for Megatron to be removed from the mining operation where he was originally working—and now that Megatron's forces have destabilized the area, the senator is embezzling what he can before moving on to new pastures. Soundwave, however, shoots his former boss, takes Ratbat's ill-gotten gains, and prepares to seal his [[spark]] inside a ''new'' frame...

As he struggles to get to the front lines, Megatron's advance is briefly halted by a colossal explosion: an explosion that was caused by Sentinel Prime, sealed inside a colossal suit of [[Apex Armor (G1)|Apex Armor]] and ready to throw down with his opposite number. Another salvo of firepower throws the rebel leader off his feet. Believing his enemy dead, Sentinel radios to the other Autobots that he's created an opening in the enemy lines... but learns that he's spoken too soon when Megatron rises once more, using [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s body as a bludgeon to shatter the helmet of the Apex Armor.

Their struggle takes them over a precipice as they battle while discussing Megatron's goal: Megatron will transform the world by tearing it all down, and Sentinel seeks to uphold the old order from any treachery. The two grapple until Megatron is almost knocked over a precipice; as Sentinel lifts him up to deliver the final strike, Megatron gains a second wind and launches a savage counterattack against the Autobot leader, mortally wounding him.
Haivng finally made contact with Iacon, more Autobot reinforcements arrive... just in time to see their leader's broken body lying in a crater. [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]], assuming command, orders a retreat.

As dawn breaks, Megatron takes stock of his latest victory and the journey that led him to this point. Having fashioned a throne from the remains of the Apex Armor, he discusses his next moves with Soundwave. Now that Kaon has been taken, the next step is clear—the rest of Cybertron shall be conquered. But they will not do it as Cybertronians. From this day forward, they are the [[Decepticon]]s.

The [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] has begun...

{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|h1=Security Services
|c1=
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (21)
* [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] (22)
* [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] (23)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (24)
* [[Ironhide (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ironhide]] (25)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (27)
* [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] (33)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (34)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (35)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (36)
|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] (2)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] (4)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (5)
* [[Squawkbox]] (6)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (7)
* [[Ravage (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ravage]] (8)
* [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] (9)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (10)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Thundercracker]] (11)
* [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (12)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Skywarp (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Skywarp]] (13)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (14)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (15)
* [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (see "Errors") (16)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (17)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (18)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (26)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (29)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (30)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (31)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (32)
{{!}}}
|c4=
* [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] (see "Errors") (3)
* [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (19)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (20)
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (28)
}}

== Quotes ==
"Heh. Nobody's perfect."
:'''—Starscream''', after hearing a long list of charges against him.

"Through your own interests you created this. You brought us here. You didn't just make it possible—you made it happen. All we did was give it a badge."
:'''—Starscream''', before the court.

"Hmm. Yes. There's something about this."
:'''—Megatron''', upon receiving his arm cannon.

"Instability is just a different word for opportunity, Hmm?" 
"Confirmed." 
"What-" (''Ratbat gets shot by Soundwave'') "What.... are... you...doing!?" 
"Situation—war. Resources—limited. Optimal solution—repurpose valuable resource."
:'''—Ratbat''' and '''Soundwave'''

"And when you've crossed the planet with your little gang of thugs, what will you do then?" 
"I will create desolation—and call it peace!"
:'''—Sentinel Prime''' and '''Megatron'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Civilians cry out "[[Primus]]!" when they are attacked by Thundercracker and Skywarp. The name is only used as a curse here, but it is significant because the principal writer of the series at the time, [[Simon Furman]], intended to keep Primus and [[Unicron]] out of this continuity. Although Furman didn't write ''Megatron Origin'', he did comment on it on his blog: "just because someone refers to something called Primus, doesn't necessarily mean it's G1 Primus. There are still no plans to feature Primus (as was). But is/was there someone or something called Primus in the IDW/TF-verse, quite possibly."<ref>[http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/all-this-and-devastation-4/#comment-3074 Simon Furman's reply to his own blog post]</ref> Primus would later turn up as a Transformer god after all, though with a [[Guiding Hand|different]] creation myth to Marvel G1 continuity.
* When the issue was first published, artist [[Alex Milne]] said that Sentinel Prime hadn't actually died during his confrontation with Megatron, and that the script called for him to look like he could go either way.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110822003501/http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=37411 Post by Alex Milne on the IDW Publishing Forums]</ref> On the other hand, his corpse is drawn with a gaping hole in his chest, an expression of horror on his face, and washed-out colours that are usually indicative of death. This odd note wouldn't be followed up on for many, many years; "[[Spotlight: Blurr]]" introduced [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]] as Sentinel's successor, suggesting that he had died and been succeeded by another Prime. In 2016, however, we'd learn that Sentinel ''had'' survived his final confrontation with Megatron... because "Sentinel Prime" was, in fact, a false identity created by the [[Titan Master]] [[Infinitus]], a tiny 'bot puppeteering a [[Transtector|larger body]]. "[[The Last Autobot]]" (selling a [[Titans Return (toyline)|Sentinel toy]]) playfully mentions that there'd been rumours that Sentinel had survived until pictures of Sentinel's dead body were made public!
* [[Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Starscream]] gives [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] his [[fusion cannon]]. It shouldn't be hard to see [[Infiltration issue 6|the irony in this]].
* Thundercracker expresses some misgivings about shooting down the ship with Skywarp. Take notice of that little bit of characterization, it becomes [[All Hail Megatron issue 12|important later]].
* If the art doesn't make it abundantly clear, in the last panel Megatron is holding the data cube Ratbat was preparing before his repurposing.
* Kickback shows up as one of the Decepticons in Kaon. For many years, this (and Bombshell's appearance in "[[Spotlight: Blaster]]") was an error; [[All Hail Megatron issue 7|''All Hail Megatron'' #7]] initially established that the trio of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], and Kickback were genetically engineered by the Decepticons millions of years later. 2017's [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]] finally amended this by noting that the Decepticon experiments were [[cloning|cloned]] from a naturally-occurring race. It seems likely that the Kickback in this issue was a separate individual who inspired the creation of the modern Kickback.
* [[John Barber]] would retcon:
** The body that Starscream is brought before is only referred to in the text as the "Kaon Council." [[John Barber]] would later retcon that these individuals were, in fact, the [[Senate]] (almost the whole Senate!) and they'd flown into Kaon specifically to see Megatron in captivity. This doesn’t entirely click with the council scene, where there are empty chairs that Starscream sneers about (implying the council doesn't view these matters as important enough to all show up for), but [[Shockwaves|it would later be established]] that [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Shockwave]] and [[Dai Atlas (G1)|Dai Atlas]] were supposed to be there but weren’t (Shockwave because he had defected, Atlas because he was physically prevented from attending), so you could {{w|Marvel No-Prize|No-Prize}} it that he was referring to their conspicuous absence
** Soundwave was originally a down-and-out being exploited by Ratbat and quietly seething at the [[Functionism|functionist]]-backed bigotry towards his beast friends; Megatron easily recruited him. It was also ''his'' idea for the Decepticons to be 'arrested' as seen in this issue and the last. Tying into this, Ratbat's downsizing becomes a deliberate karmic punishment for his bigotry against beast-bots.
* [[James Roberts]] would retcon:
** [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] is a brutish thug responsible for multiple crimes and murders. Sentinel was also responsible for having Megatron brutalised and almost killed [[Chaos Theory Part 1|in his peaceful activist days]], so this final battle isn't hero and villain but ''villain on villain''... and Sentinel, who has some [[Infinitus|dark secrets of his own]], has it coming.
** Trailbreaker [[Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|was a fugitive and enemy of Sentinel's]]. What's he doing in the Security Services? There may be a story here!

===Transformers references===
* Sentinel Prime uses Apex Armor, a reference to the ''[[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]]'' reissue of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Powermaster Optimus Prime]].

===Real-life references===
* Megatron's intention to "create desolation--and call it peace!" is a paraphrase of the real-life {{w|Caledonians|Caledonian}} chieftain {{w|Calgacus}}, who described the philosophy of the Romans he was fighting against: "To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace." Megatron's wording also reflects the motto from his original [[bio]], "Peace through tyranny."

===Errors===
* On page 10, Trailbreaker is depicted grabbing Starscream as the Decepticon makes his escape. Starscream then kicks the Autobot off, sending him into what is heavily implied to be his death (what with the long fall into a massive explosion and all), despite Trailbreaker turning up alive and well many years later in the previously published "[[Spotlight: Kup]]" as well as the later published "[[Spotlight: Blaster]]". This is not the [[Fastback (G1)|first time]] that the ''Megatron Origin'' books would [[Outback (G1)|conflict]] with the events in ''Spotlight:'' Kup.
* [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] shows up as one of the Senate guards... when really he [[Dead Universe|shouldn't be there at all.]]
* The string of word bubbles meant for Ratbat on page 12 instead appear to come from Ravage.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Megatron stands over a defeated Sentinel Prime by [[Alex Milne]] (pencils) and [[Josh Perez]] (colors)
* '''Cover B:''' Megatron screaming by [[Marcelo Matere]] (pencils) and [[Andrew Elder]] (colors)
* '''Cover RI-A:''' uncolored cover A

<gallery>
File:MO 4 a.jpg|Um... Spoiler alert!
File:MO 4 b.jpg|He's angry because of that spoiler
File:MO 4 RI.jpg|No colors, still spoiled
</gallery>

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===Reprints===
Other than [[The Transformers: Megatron Origin#Collections|reprints of the entire series]]
* N/A

==References==
{{reflist}}