Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?

2022-08-30T04:57:21Z

AuRonthechamp: /* Real-world references */ K-Class name origin

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=8
|prev=Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations
|next=Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc
|seriesissue2="Scavengers"
|prev2=Rules of Disengagement (issue)
|caption=Grimlock is the king of hide and seek!
|image=MTMTE8_cvrA.jpg
|title="Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[August 22]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=August 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}
'''The Scavengers use Grimlock to fight back against the D.J.D.'''

==Synopsis==
''Years ago, above the planet [[Clemency]], a regiment of [[K-Class]] [[Decepticon]]s prepare to drop into the battle raging below. The perky [[Torque (G1)|Torque]] introduces himself to a somber [[Fulcrum]], who says nothing. And then, the order is given to disembark and enter the conflict...''

[[File:Crankcase krok whos afraid of the djd.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"...scavenge, of course. What were ''you'' thinking?"]]
On Clemency today, within the crashed D-Class [[Worldsweeper]] they found there, the rag-tag team of [[Decepticon]] "[[Scavenger (group)|Scavengers]]" desperately try to figure out what to do about the approach of the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. With none of their number willing to own up to being the unfortunate soul the D.J.D. are looking for, [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] proposes that they stand and fight, and although Fulcrum laughs in his face, the other Decepticons get behind the idea and begin a plot to use the comatose [[Grimlock (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Grimlock]] to their advantage.

Across space, on the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]—his tune changed about his amnesia following a recent conversation with [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]]—requests that the mnemosurgeon use his mind-reading abilities to see if he can unlock his lost memories. Chromedome discovers that Skids's memories of the last year have not just been suppressed: they have been ''erased'', replaced with an imperative to "escape". However, all the memories from before that point that Skids has lost are indeed still locked inside his head, buried away by the trauma of the erasure of the others... but upon getting a glimpse of them, Chromedome is so horrified that he pulls out, assuring Skids that he's better off ''not'' remembering them. Skids grimly accepts this, but reveals to Chromedome that he always hears a piece of music playing inside his mind. Having heard it as well, Chromedome identifies it as "[[The Empyrean Suite]]", and hopes that Skids never understands its significance...

[[File:Mtmte vos wear my face.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Give me your - OH PRIMUS NO.]]
Back on Clemency, the Scavengers lug the capsule containing Grimlock out into the open, transmitting to the D.J.D.'s ship the ''[[Peaceful Tyranny]]'' that they have killed their target and left him for them to collect, learning in the process that the Division is looking for Fulcrum. Presently, the D.J.D. arrive and approach the capsule, at which point Krok triggers the [[circuit speeder]]s he laced it with, jolting Grimlock awake and into a berserker rage. The Scavengers delay leaving until they see which way the battle is going, but Grimlock quickly tires to their shock, and their subsequent attempt at escape goes nowhere as [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] appears, mocking Misfire's timing and blocking their path. The battle that follows is a gruesome one as [[Flywheels]] is killed by [[Tesarus (DJD)|Tesarus]]'s chest grinder, and [[Vos (DJD)|Vos]] removes his face, laden with spikes, and jams it over Krok's own. [[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] accidentally shoots Krok when he tries to help him, and is then mauled by [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]]'s [[Dominus Ambus|pet Sparkeater]]. Tarn, meanwhile, turns his "weaponized conversation" on Grimlock, but before he can end his life, [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] comes to the rescue in the most unexpected way: he has recovered a [[cybernought]] battle-mech from the Worldsweeper, and begins raining destruction down on the D.J.D. Unfortunately, an electric shock from Kaon cripples both mech and pilot, and the giant robot is quickly taken down by Tarn. In answer to Tarn's bellowed challenge, Fulcrum then appears atop the Worldsweeper and delivers a speech decrying the D.J.D. as symbolic of everything that went wrong with the Decepticon movement. He leaps from the ship, and transforms... into a bomb! He lands with the least dramatic impact possible, barely causing a cloud of dust, at which point Kaon alerts Tarn to his detection of [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]]'s [[energy signature]]. Considering Fulcrum dead, the D.J.D. pull out to pursue this new target, warning the Scavengers that they are all on the List now.

[[File:Scavengers2-K-ClassRebuild.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.6|Someone set you up the bomb.]]
Fulcrum, however, is anything but dead, much to his own surprise: it turns out that the very first thing the Scavengers did upon finding him the previous day was remove his explosive charge—apparently Spinister was capable of the difficult manual task despite his lack of intelligence. Fulcrum tries to explain his story to them—how he was convicted of desertion of duty and, after initially being sentenced to death by [[Traitor's wheel]], was conscripted into a K-Squad and reconfigured to auto-transform into a bomb upon deployment, only for his systems to become paralyzed with terror—but they lose interest very quickly and check up on Grimlock instead. However, the former Dynobot leader soon reveals what's wrong with him, when he can barely struggle out a "Me Grimlock" and inspects his hands as if he doesn't know what they're for. Assuming he was left behind because "he's practically brain-dead", Misfire suggests the Scavengers take him back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] figuring they can use him as a bargaining chip regardless of whether the [[Autobot]]s or Decepticons are in charge of the planet. The others agree, but before they depart, Misfire delivers a eulogy for the fallen Flywheels, mocking his search for the [[Mortilus|Necrobot]],<ref name="bigfatmistake">[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=12478 James Roberts:] It seems that a line of dialogue on the last page of issue 8 is causing some confusion. Standing over Flywheels' remains, Misfire says, "His ludicrous search for the Necrobot remains unfulfilled." Yet in issue 7, it is clearly established that Misfire himself is the Scavenger with the Necrobot obsession. This is what is known - in comic book industry jargon - as a big, fat mistake. [...] P.S. We'll fix the dialogue for the trade - unless someone comes up with a truly amazing explanation.</ref> and the team then descend upon his body to Fulcrum's shock, doing what they do best: scavenging.

Eighteen months later... a shadow falls over Flywheels's skeletal remains. The all-too-real Necrobot has come to mark his passing, and adds his name to a list of the recently deceased: right after [[Hound (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Hound]], Chromedome, [[Dipstick]], [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]]...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.) 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Grimlock (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Grimlock]] (8)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (9)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (10)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (12)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (13)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (14)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (15)
|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Torque (G1)|Torque]]'' (1)
*[[Fulcrum]] (2)
*[[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] (3)
*[[Krok (G1)|Krok]] (4)
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (5)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (6)
*[[Flywheels]] (7)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] (16)
*[[Vos (DJD)|Vos]] (17)
*[[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]] (18)
*[[Tesarus (DJD)|Tesarus]] (19)
*[[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] (20)
{{!}}}
|c4=
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (11)
*[[Dominus Ambus|The Pet]] (21)
*[[Mortilus|Necrobot]] (22)
}}

==Quotes==
"'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Fighting the D.J.D.<nowiki>'</nowiki>''' is just ''''<nowiki>'</nowiki>certain death<nowiki>'</nowiki>''' with more letters! It's—it's '''suicide''' with '''delusions of survival!'''"
:—'''Fulcrum'''

"Anyway, I thought you '''liked''' having amnesia." 
"Who told you that?" 
"You told '''Swerve''', right? So assume everyone on board knows. In fact, assume everyone on '''Cybertron''' knows. In fact, assume that distant '''alien races''', otherwise untouched by civilization—" 
"Okay, okay, point taken."
:—'''Chromedome''' and '''Skids'''

"I was lucky. I was forged when the Decepticon Empire was at its peak. We'd overthrown our '''oppressors,''' we'd torn down a system that served only those at the top, and we'd turned '''outwards'''—refining the galaxy by cleansing it of organic races too backward to reconfigure their inferior nature. And you know what went wrong? People like '''you.''' The thugs and the sadists and the psychos—people for whom the war was a convenient excuse to inflict pain. Yesterday, my faith in the Decepticon was '''restored.''' I met six scavengers—and they were average and normal and brilliant, and they fought on my behalf when I really, '''really''' didn't deserve it. And I know you look down on them, but each one of them is worth '''ten''' of you. So what I'm about to do, I do for '''them'''—and for everyone else the D.J.D. has murdered. This is for everyone who's ever turned and fled in protest at what the Decepticons have become!"
:—'''Fulcrum'''

'''Misfire:''' "A senseless waste. His ludicrous search for the Necrobot ends unfulfilled. A terrible, terrible tragedy. Boo hoo." 
'''Fulcrum:''' "'Boo hoo'? I though Flywheels was your '''friend!''' You're just going to leave him here?" 
'''Misfire:''' "You're '''right.''' What were we '''thinking?'''" 
'''Crankcase:''' "I'm having his rotor system—" 
'''Misfire:''' "There's probably enough for a '''sip''' of [[innermost energon]] each..." 
'''Spinister:''' "Leave the knees for me."

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Flywheels' psychosomatic hyperreflexia flares up again on page 3 indicating that he is lying about believing that Primus cares about them. Also, take note that he's the ''only'' member of the group who doesn't proclaim innocence during the argument at the start of the issue; [[The Ties That Bind (issue)|it will later be revealed]] that ''he'' is on the List too and very much knows it, meaning he keeps quiet because his tell would give him away.
*Rewind screens a public information film named "[[Proteus's Promise]]" for his crewmates; the title character is [[Proteus|Senator Proteus]] from "[[Chaos Theory Part 2|Chaos Theory]]", and the titular promise itself would be expanded upon in "Shadowplay", the next arc.
*Skids and Chromedome's conversation is footnoted to have occurred in the [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|''More than Meets the Eye'' 2012 annual]], which was released a few weeks after publication of this issue. This tactic seems to deliberately hearken back to the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK]] days, when important story beats would appear in the [[Transformers Annual|Annual]] stories.
*Chromedome explains that [[mnemosurgery]] marks only show up under Ultraviolet light, which is useful to keep in mind for later issues.
*Chromedome knows Skids from a "heist" pulled back on Cybertron before the war. This heist is also dealt with in the upcoming "[[Shadowplay]]" storyline.
*Skids had been asking other people if they knew much about music in the third and fifth issues; this is now revealed to be an attempt to identity the aria in his head.
*Torque has "Ultra Magnus" written on him while in bomb mode, indicating that he was targeting this specific Autobot—this would be expanded upon [[The Gloaming|later]].
*This issue is the closest that Tarn's supposed "transformation addiction", mentioned in [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]], gets to appearing on panel, and only through vague implication; basically, he transforms a few times to drive a short distance that he could easily walk.
*Why the Necrobot has several ''Lost Light''ers on his list of deceased would be revealed in issues [[slaughterhouse|#32]] and [[slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|#33]].

===Transformers references===
*The return of Grimlock coincides with that of the rest of [[Dinobot (G1)|his team]] in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|#8]] and another appearance by Big Grim himself in ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 2|#82]] for a micro-event called out on the August covers as "Dinobot Month!"
*Skids is revealed to be a master of Cybertronian martial art [[Metallikato]], and in the same breath name-drops the [[Povian]]s of [[Pova]], from ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]''.
*Kaon calls Krok a [[Genericon]], a pejorative intended to indicate a 'Con of little importance last used in reference to [[Sonic (IDW)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] in [[Life After the Big Bang|issue #4]].
*Fulcrum refers to his imprisonment in [[Styx]], the Decepticon penal colony only previously seen in ''[[Spotlight: Hot Rod]]''.
*Flywheels's death, being ripped in half, is an [[Easter egg]] in that his original toy had to split in half to transform into [[Duocon|two separate vehicles]].

===Real-world references===
*The title likely refers to the children's song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".
*We're not told what the "K" in "K-Class" stands for, but given their suicidal job description, "{{w|kamikaze}}" seems almost certain.
**Alternatively, considering Robert's consistent interest in politics, it could be a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_K-class_submarine K-Class Submarine], which was regarded as a death sentence by British sailors during WWI.
*Fulcrum's crime of cowardice was performed on B'Lahr 39. Comedian {{w|Bert Lahr}}'s most famous role was The Cowardly Lion in ''{{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}'', released in 1939.

===Other trivia===
*The D.J.D.'s [[turbofox]], glimpsed last issue and referred to in the cast list at the end of this issue as "The Pet", is also a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] (well, more of a "sparkchewer"). Here it's specifically identified as Kaon's pet, but Helex was holding its chain last issue; Kaon was in alternate mode at the time, so perhaps he was just holding it for him.
*The normal cast list at the end of the issue is replaced with a new list showcasing the D.J.D. members, The Pet, the Scavengers, and Fulcrum.
* According to [https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/737322039510507520 one of James Roberts' Twitter posts], Fulcrum being sentenced to death by [[Traitor's wheel]] (and the subsequent stay of execution) were originally part of a discarded pitch for Spotlight: Octane, drafted together with [[Nick Roche]].

===Errors===
*Perhaps not strictly an error, but while the in-story text consistently abbreviates "Decepticon Justice Division" as "D.J.D.", the title renders it "DJD" without the periods, perhaps to avoid a period followed by a question mark.
*Reference is repeatedly made to Fulcrum's impressive, distinctive [[chin]]... but it's not any bigger or more notable than many of the other characters, and certainly not more than Misfire's and Grimlock's in their profile-angled shots on page 21, which are positively ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' in their chintasticness. The only thing notable about it is its 'chin strap' styling.
*Issue #7 saw Helex given the task of scanning for Overlord's energy signature, but in this issue, it's Kaon who reports finding it. When these issues were collected in the second ''More than Meets the Eye'' trade paperback, issue #7's dialogue was edited so Kaon was given the task.
*Fulcrum says yesterday he met "six Scavengers"... but there were only five of them. This error was also fixed for the trade.
*In his monologue, Fulcrum mentions that he was "[[Reproduction#2005 IDW continuity|forged]]" when the Decepticon empire was at its peak; later issues would reveal that the [[hot spot (phenomenon)|hot spot]]s responsible for the creation of "forged" over "constructed cold" Transformers had largely vanished well before the start of the war and the rise of the Decepticon Empire.
*This issue ends with Misfire lamenting over Flywheels's "ludicrous search" for the Necrobot... except last issue, it was ''Misfire himself'' who was searching for him! Roberts admitted the mistake and said it would be fixed for the trade.<ref name="bigfatmistake"/> Despite the idea of Flywheels being played as a born-again religious type, which belief in the Necrobot would sit alongside well, and the poetry of the final scene, with the Necrobot coming to record the death of one who has searched for him for so long, the eventual fix involved simply deleting the first line of Misfire's eulogy, removing the reference to Flywheels's belief. Roberts notes that this was the intention from the outset.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=313133#313133 Roberts on the correction at the IDW forums]: With regards to the Necrobot error, how it reads now is how it was originally intended to read. It was always going to be Misfire who was looking for the Necrobot, and it was always going to be Flywheels who died. Yes, it would have been more poetic to have Flywheels as the believer, but bigger plot cogs, and the need to keep them turning, took precedence.</ref>

===Crew Manifest===
*Fulcrum and Grimlock join the crew of the ''[[Weak Anthropic Principle]]''.
*Flywheels was killed by the D.J.D. on Clemency.
*1 death, 2 new arrivals since their introduction last issue.

===Soundtrack===
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4qmqcug3Vc "Die"] by {{w|Iron & Wine}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zYOKFjpm9s "Do You Realise"] by {{w|The Flaming Lips}}

===Foreign localization===
'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Scavengers (Part 2): DJD Nanka Kowakunai'''" (スカベンジャーズ (パート2): DJDなんか怖くない, "Scavengers (Part 2): The DJD Ain't Scary")

'''Swedish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Skrotletarna, Del 2: Vem Är Rädd För S.R.S?'''" ("The Scavengers, Part 2: Who's Afraid of the DJD?")

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Grimlock looms, art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]].
*'''Cover B:''' Grimlock in T-Rex mode, art by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''Cover RI:''' Grimlock (notice a pattern?) breathing fire, art by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], the fourth quarter of a combined image formed with the RI cover to ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Interference Patterns|#7]], [[Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|#8]], and ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|#7]].

<gallery>
Image:MTMTE8_cvrA.jpg|This scene does not occur in the issue...
Image:MTMTE8_cvrB.jpg|...and he doesn't transform to T-Rex mode...
Image:MTMTE8_cvrRI.jpg|...and his T-Rex mode doesn't even look like this!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|#8]]
*''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 2|#82]]
*''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]''
*[[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|''More Than Meets the Eye'' Annual 2012]]
*''Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom'' (back cover)

===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 2''''' ([[October 17]], [[2012]]) ISBN 1613774982 / ISBN 978-1613774984 
:*Contains issues #4 to #8.
:*Bonus material includes art from most covers, "Meet the Crew" and "Meet the 'Cons" pages.

*'''''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 2]]''''' ([[August 12]], [[2015]]) ISBN 1631403648 / ISBN 978-1631403644
:*Contains issues #6 to 8, as well as ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]'', ''[[The Reluctant Specialist|Spotlight: Trailcutter]]'', ''[[The Waiting Game|Spotlight: Hoist]]'', ''Robots in Disguise'' #7 to 9 and ''[[Omega's Conundrum|Spotlight: Orion Pax]]''.

*'''''Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Box Set''''' ([[December 2]], 2015) ISBN 1631404741 / ISBN 978-1631404740
:*Contains ''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye'' Volumes 1 to 5.
:*Bonus content UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.

* '''''[[Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection]]: Volume 55: Shadowplay''''' ([[January 9]], [[2019]])
:* Hardcover collection of ''More than Meets the Eye'' #7 to #13, plus the 2012 Annual.
:* Bonus content the second of a new three-part interview with Roberts, early pages of scripts, and design sketches from Alex Milne.

* '''''Transformers: Mer än ögat kan se''''' ([[June 15]], [[2019]])
:* Swedish reprint volume.
:* Collects issues #1-8, [[The Reluctant Specialist|Spotlight: Trailcutter]], [[The Waiting Game|Spotlight: Hoist]], [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|The 2012 Annual]] and a special illustrated edition of [[Bullets]].

<gallery>
File:MTMTE vol2.jpg|'''Volume 2'''; cover art by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V2.jpg|'''''IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol. 2'''''; cover art by [[Saren Stone]]
File:MTMTE boxset.jpg|'''Box Set'''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v55.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 55: Shadowplay'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Whirl) and Alex Milne (retro)
File:MTMTE_SWE_01.jpg|'''''Mer än Ögat kan Se'''''; Cover art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]].
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/14902-cobra-vs-cobra-dinobots-month-in-next-week-s-idw-releases.html Preview]
*[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-ongoing-8-creator-commentary/25652/ Creator commentary with James Roberts]

MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

User:AuRonthechamp

Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?