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Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism

2020-10-13T13:45:55Z

BigGrim:

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=10
|prev=Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc
|next=Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading
|caption=Act Like A Prick To Catch A Prick.
|image=MTMTE10_cvrB.jpg
|title="Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[October 31]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=October 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline#2012-2013|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''As Rewind's tale of the past continues, the senator murders lead Chromedome and Prowl to uncover the truth behind an urban legend, and Orion Pax to discover just how deep the corruption in the Senate runs.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Shadowplay Roller feet up.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2]]
''On Cybertron, before the war, [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] flips between the latest news bulletins covering the murder of Senator [[Sherma]] and the death of [[Nominus Prime]]. Tensions are high as the deadline date for "[[Proteus's Promise]]" draws near, the vow made by Senator [[Proteus]] that the [[Decepticon]]s will be recognised as a legitimate political party if 10,000 sign up with the [[Decepticon Registration Act]]. Then, an update on the missing [[Pious Maximus]] is interrupted by breaking news of a high-speed pursuit in [[Translucentica Heights]]...''

In the present day, said pursuit is now the subject of [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]]'s story, with [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] describing how he followed the killer of Senator [[Momus]] in an aerial chase, which ended when the murderer collided with one of the reinforced glass walls of the region and exploded against a billboard. On his way back to the crime scene, Chromedome met the warden of Translucentica Heights, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who was able to provide evidence that Momus was not killed ''by'' Decepticons—he was killed because he secretly ''was'' a Decepticon. Prowl's study of the crime scene quickly determined the involvement of a second killer, who then made himself known by opening fire. Pinned down and with Prowl never having seen combat before, the trio seemed doomed until the surprise appearance of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]], who brought the killer down, only for his [[Spark]] to collapse before he could be questioned.

[[File:Patternism-FirstAid.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Meanwhile, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]] returns to the ''[[Lost Light]]'' from a reconnaissance mission, and is filled in by [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] on the mysterious attack on Red Alert, whose spark is faint but still pulsing. In a makeshift interrogation room converted from [[Perceptor (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Perceptor]]'s lab, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] is trying to get a confession out of [[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]], but when things turn violent, Rodimus and Magnus have to step in. At that point a communique from [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] clears Cyclonus, as the medic reports that he has discerned the killer's identity.

[[File:Whirl Orion Patternism.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5]]
Before handing the story over to [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], Rewind explains that the ex-watchmaker was, at the time, incarcerated in [[Garrus-1]] on [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. When [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] points out that Whirl was in prison for assaulting [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]], the event allegedly responsible for turning him "bad", Whirl furiously interrupts and quickly picks the story up, describing how he summoned Orion away from investigating the senator killings to give him a message. In hopes of revenge against the [[Senate]] for ruining his life, Whirl shared with Orion information from a [[Kroma|cellmate]] about a Senate plot involving the death of [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Pax's senator friend]] and a bomb "hidden in plain sight". Orion left to act upon this information (leaving Whirl to be viciously beaten by his new cellmate [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] just a few minutes later), sending Ratchet and Roller to the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology|Academy of Advanced Technology]], where trainee theoretician [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] watched them take Orion's senator friend into protective custody.

[[File:Patternism-StealTheMatrix.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Turns out the entire trilogy's on DailyMotion!]]
Narration returns to Chromedome, who prepares to recount how he and Prowl investigated the nearest [[Relinquishment Clinic]], suspecting that the killers had been using borrowed bodies. Rewind is dissatisfied at Chromedome's decision to preface this with a recollection of how he and Prowl stopped to watch a Decepticon protest and talk about what they would do if war broke out on the way, hurrying him along to the events that took place in the clinic itself. While waiting in its lobby, Chromedome remembers how the pair saw a news report based on their findings that cleared the Decepticons of the murders, which left Prowl frustrated as the results were only preliminary. They were then met by clinic tech [[Trepan]], who they easily pegged as squirrelly and promptly cuffed so they could investigate. The pair eventually found a secret facility beneath the clinic that Chromedome was horrified to realize was the [[Institute]], a supposedly-fictitious government facility that practises a forbidden science—brainwashing so heinous it is known only as "[[Shadowplay]]". Accessing its mainframe and verifying it as the source of the bodies their killers were using, the pair took the data and absconded without incident, prompting Rewind to resume the position of storyteller and sum up how the pair met back up with Orion, Ratchet, Roller and the senator in [[Rodion]]. When the senator identified the list of names from The Institute as all those currently signed with the Decepticon Registration Act, Pax was able to put all the evidence he and his friends have gathered together. Proteus arranged the murders so that the Decepticons could expressly ''not'' be found guilty, thereby demonstrating his fairness and leading to a surge in registrants. The bomb mentioned by Whirl would then be pinned on the Decepticons as supposed proof of their "true colors", giving Proteus and [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel]] the excuse needed to use The Institute to brainwash all those registered. Chromedome lamented their lack of knowledge at the bomb's location, but a news report immediately provided the answer: it was the fake [[Matrix of Leadership]] in the chest of the deceased Nominus Prime, whose body was to be lain in state the next day. The course of action for Orion's team was clear: they had to steal the Matrix!
{{--}}

==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"{{!}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (7)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (8)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (11)
*[[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] (13)
*[[Rad (G1)|Rad]] (14)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (15)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (16)
*[[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]] (17)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (18)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] (19)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (21)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (22)
*[[Ambulon]] (23)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]]'' (24)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (25)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (26)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (27)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (28)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] (29)
{{!}}}
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (1)
*''[[Proteus]]'' (2)
*''[[Nominus Prime]]'' (3)
*''[[Pious Maximus]]'' (4)
*''[[Slamdance (G1)|Slamdance]]'' (5)
*''"[[Fallout (G1)|Fallout]]"'' (6)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (9)
*''[[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'' (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''"[[Streaker]]"'' (12)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]] (20)
*''Garrus-1 warden'' (30)
*''[[Kroma]]'' (31)
*''[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]]'' (32)
*''[[Tarn (DJD)|Glitch]]'' (33)
*''[[Decepticon agitator]]'' (34)
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Conspicuously-unnamed senator]]'' (35)
*''[[Trepan]]'' (36)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==

"You do '''read''' my memos, don't you, '''Rodimus?'''" 
"If there's a reason '''not to,''' I've yet to find it. I read '''all''' your memos. And every one of your many, '''many''' reports. And since you're finally here, you can read one of '''mine.'''" 
"'We found '''Red Alert''' in the [[oil]] reservoir. No head. Pretty sure '''Cyclonus''' is to blame—obv. watch this space.'" 
"'Obv' stands for obviously." 
"No, I, er—I guessed that."
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Rodimus'''

'''Tailgate:''' "No. Frikkin'. Way. '''Orion Pax''' landed on the guy's '''back?''' Where'd he even '''come from?'''" 
'''Chromedome:''' "I always assumed he jumped off the '''roof,''' Tailgate. He did that sort of thing quite a lot." 
'''Tailgate:''' "Pax is '''so''' cool." 
'''Swerve:''' "More of this, please. More jumping off roofs. Rooves. Roofs. More jumping off things."

"You must be '''Prowl'''. I've heard a lot about you. I'd '''assumed''' most of it was exaggerated."
:—'''Orion Pax'''

"Well, I hope I never get as '''jaded''' and '''cynical''' as '''you''', Orion Pax."
:—'''Prowl'''

'''Whirl:''' "It was Pax's fault I was in prison—" 
'''Ratchet:''' "'''Rubbish!''' It was '''your''' fault you were in prison! Pax was the one who '''arrested''' you!" [''to Tailgate''] "Whirl attacked '''Megatron''' in his cell." 
'''Tailgate:''' "But wasn't Megatron the '''main bad guy?''' Or... have I missed something very important?" 
'''Ratchet:''' This was '''before''' he went bad. In fact, many say that the '''reason''' he went bad was—" 
'''Whirl:''' "<big>'''HEY!'''</big> Can I just tell my part of the story? It's only a frikkin' '''cameo''' as it is! Yeah? Yeah? '''Right.'''"

"Five minutes. Ten if I hear him screaming."
:—'''Garrus-1's warden''', on letting Orion Pax visit Whirl

"The Senate '''mutilated''' me, got me to do their dirty work, and '''abandoned''' me. I want you to '''hurt''' them. I want you to '''crush''' them. I want—I want—I want my hands back."
:—'''Whirl'''

'''Rewind:''' "'''Impactor?!''' Impactor was your '''cellmate?!''' That's how you '''met?!''' And—and I bet he promptly added your name to the list of warriors who would one day become... '''The Wreckers!'''" 
'''Whirl:''' "No—he promptly '''beat me''' to the brink of fade-out and left me in a '''critical condition'''—and '''years''' later we met '''again.'''" 
'''Swerve''': "But that's a '''whole other story.''' Sorry—I always wanted to say that. That, and 'Impossible! Our laserfire is just making him '''stronger!'''' Ahem. Go on..."

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*James Roberts has since said that Roller is meant to be taken as a separate person to Prime's longstanding buggy-companion, so we worry that something bad is going to happen to him in the next issue.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 39:43 - 41:54</ref>
*"Proteus's Promise" has been referenced in issues [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|#8]] and [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|#9]]; here, we finally learn what it was.
[[File:NAILProtesterShadowplay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*The robot speaking out against Nominus's policies at the J.A.A.T. lectures on page 1 appears to be the placard-carrying [[NAIL protester]] from "[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime]]", who transformed himself to death in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]] of this series.
*The speaker mentions racism based on whether you're forged or 'constructed', something Roberts first introduced in "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]" (and is an idea he first came up with in ''Eugenesis'').
*And speaking of the J.A.A.T. lectures, the "A.A.T." part of the name refers to the Academy of Advanced Technology seen in this story. What the J stands for, we won't find out until next issue.
*One of the Decepticon tracts Red Alert finds is titled "The Illusion of Progress: Revisited", evidently a sequel to Megatron's earlier work, "Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress", mentioned in "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]".
*When the ultraviolet light is on in Senator Momus's suite, a small panel shows five puncture marks on the back of Red Alert's neck. As Chromedome explained in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]], [[mnemosurgery]] marks only show up under UV light, and the ideal entry point is from the back of the neck. As Trepan is later seen with the spiked finger-extrusions Chromedome has been shown to use in mnemosurgery in issues #8 and [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|#3]], it seems obvious this was the work of the Institute, presumably using Red in order to feed Chromedome and Prowl the required evidence. All of this is a deliberate link to Red Alert's history with Rung from [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]], where he believes "they" are after him and is scared of the Institute: turns out that wasn't groundless paranoia after all. All that from one inset panel, folks! Roberts, take a bow.
**In a podcast, Roberts implied there's more to the story of Red Alert and his shadowplay,<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 57:00 - 57:11</ref> which was confirmed years later in [[Last Light (issue)|issue #57]].
*Cyclonus mentions Rossum's Rule of Thirds in regards to Red Alert's survival. This would have to do with Rossum's Trinity, the designation for the three parts of the Cybertronian body (the brain module, spark, and transformation cog) that are interlinked such that damage to one can damage the others, mentioned in issue #3.
*First Aid is seen working on a [[Diagnostic Drone]], likely the same one that watched Red Alert visit [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] in [[Interiors|issue #6]].
*Whirl's cellmate is one of the trio of Senate enforcers who pay Pax a visit in "[[Chaos Theory Part 2]]". That story previously established Whirl's connection to that band of nogoodniks, as did the appearance of the trio's apparent leader in his flashback in issue #6.
*Whirl's brutalization of Megatron was previously chronicled in the first part of "Chaos Theory". Left unsaid in the comic itself, the fact that Impactor immediately beats Whirl up upon meeting him is obviously because of the fact that Impactor and Megatron were once friends.
[[File:Unnamed senator in Patternism.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*Orion Pax's still-unnamed senator friend has had his color scheme completely overhauled in this issue, going from white, blue and gold to red, white and blue. This would be revealed next issue as a symptom of his personal vanity (and, behind-the-scenes, as a dirty trick to throw off fans trying to guess his identity).
*Prowl's pacifism, and his promised attempt to leave Cybertron to escape a potential war, were alluded to back in "The Death of Optimus Prime", where it was revealed that he ''did'' try to leave, but didn't make it.
*The main speaker at the Decepticon protest is the same 'bot seen getting branded with the Decepticon insignia in issue #3's montage of the war's beginnings; he also shows up in issue #4 of ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' as the first time Ironfist ever saw a Decepticon emblem. The vehicle he is standing on is in Constructicon green-and-purple; logical, given that the Decepticon movement at this time is largely made up of menial-class characters like them.
[[File:The institute Shadowplay2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
*Chromedome refers to a hostage negotiator friend. The only Transformer previously referred to as a hostage negotiator is [[Nightbeat (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|Nightbeat]] who fulfilled this role in the Roberts-written ''[[Omega's Conundrum|Spotlight: Orion Pax]]''. Nightbeat found the body that precipitated this story in [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|the previous issue]]!
*The Institute has been referred to several times in Roberts's work, stretching back to "Chaos Theory". At last, the mystery revealed!
*The Relinquishment Clinic has a special offer on "Duocombiners". A unique term, it's unclear if it refers to a robot made of two combining vehicles (i.e. Overlord), or two robots that combine into one alternate mode (i.e. Sonic and Boom).
*All the 'bots we see working in the Institute can be divided into two general body types: Ones visually similar to Rung/Trepan/the Necrobot (possibly a neurologist/psychologist body type) and ones who resemble Quark, with microscope cylinders on the tops of their heads. This makes sense, as who else would a brain experimentation facility employ but mind specialists and scientists?
*Pious Maximus, noted as having disappeared 18 months ago, shows up in one of the rooms of the Institute. Guess we know what happened to him.
*The Institute also contains the bodies of numerous [[Empty|Empties]] from the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]]. This seems to imply that [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] from last issue, who were paid by a mysterious "them" to attack homeless residents of the Dead End, were actually hired by The Institute to bring them guinea pigs.

===Transformers references===
*[[Kremzeek]] drinks reappear—in "juice box"-style this time.
*The classic Generation 1 "tetrajet"—Cybertronian alternate mode of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]—can be seen on the billboard "Fallout" crashes into.
*Red Alert's body in Rewind's story is a Cybertronic adaptation of his original Generation 1 look, quite far removed from the bulky, rounded form he's wearing in the modern day.
*Prowl's ability to "observe 800 moving objects and compute their direction of travel" is an ability from his original ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile.
*A small statuette, plaque or screen-projection of some kind (it's tiny, it's hard to tell!) can be seen in Perceptor's lab, sporting the likeness of [[Nijika]], the tiny female geisha droid that Perceptor's mind was transferred into in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "[[The Face of the Nijika]]".
*Momus lived in hab suite [[113 (disambiguation)|113]], yet another of Roberts' references to [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|issue #113]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK Marvel comic]].
*Scrawled on the wall of Whirl's cell is the Wreckers' catchphrase, "Wreck 'n' Rule". However, since the Wreckers don't ''exist'' yet at this point in time, the implication might be that this is where Impactor picked up the phrase for later use.
*Also written on Whirl's cell wall, and on a wall near the Decepticon protest, is "Free in 63", a similar message to one seen on Megatron's cell wall in "Chaos Theory," "Free in Cycle 63".

===Real-world references===
*Fallout's alternate mode is a [[wikia:babylon5:SA-23J Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury "Thunderbolt"|Thunderbolt fighter]] from ''{{w|Babylon 5}}''.
*Speaking of Senator Momus, whilst his name could well be a reference to {{w|Momus|the ancient Greek deity}}, given [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=12527 James Roberts' noted predilection towards indie music] it's more likely to be a reference to {{w|Momus (artist)|the eccentric Scottish musician}} who also uses the name.
*The helmet Glitch is wearing in the scene of Roller and Ratchet arriving at the Academy is [[Doc Brown]]'s [[Wikia:backtothefuture:Brain-wave analyzer|brain-wave analyzer]] from ''[[Back to the Future]]''.
*In the bottom left panel of page 19, artist Alex Milne leaves a shout-out to series colorist Josh Burcham: the glyphs beneath Fallout and Streaker's pictures spell out 'DCJOSH', Josh Burcham's chosen online handle.

===Trivia===
*"Shadowplay" runs through three related genres in each of its three parts: this one is the political thriller.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 07:43 - 08:00</ref>
*Red Alert shows up in the past to create a link between that plot and the present day's B-plot about Red's body.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 55:03 - 56:20</ref>
*[[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] was going to appear at the Decepticon protest scene, tying into his flashback montage in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #4]]. Roberts cut that, partly because he'd got his chronology wrong (the flashback was during [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]]'s rule) and partly because the more violent Decepticons in the flashback didn't fit the still-peaceful movement in "Shadowplay".<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 01:27:40 - 01:29:28</ref>

===Crew Manifest===
*Our bad. Red Alert's headless <s>corpse</s> but still functional body was recovered from the [[oil]] reservoir last issue.
*5 deaths, 5 new arrivals (plus 20 or so Faders) since the launch.

===Errors===

*On page 3, last panel, the caption over Chromedome should have been a speech bubble, this was corrected for the Swedish hardcover collection Transformers: Kaos och skuggor from publisher Ades Media.
*On page 11, panel 1, the word "foment" is misspelled as "forment." This was corrected in the TPB.
*As Whirl mocks Chromedome for his history with Prowl on page 12, it's Skids who gets offended by it. The speech bubble was correctly assigned in the TPB.
*On page 15 both past and present Skids have blue eyes, rather than the proper yellow.

===Soundtrack===
For the three-part "Shadowplay" story:

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtckSsQ_Au0 "Comforting Sounds"] by {{w|Mew (band)|Mew}}

For this issue:
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_LRUkjbKk "Action/Reaction"] by {{w|Choir of Young Believers}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfR_jMM2Hw "Traffic Music"] by {{w|Hjaltalín}}

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Chromedome riding a sky-dart, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Cover B:''' Chromedome and Prowl, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Orion Pax and Ratchet, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]]
<gallery>
File:MTMTE10_cvrA.jpg|Chromedome tries out for ''Tron''.
File:MTMTE10_cvrB.jpg|Cybertron Noir
File:MTMTE10_cvrRI.jpg|"Easy Ratchet, this won't hurt a bit!"
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Syndromica (2)|#10]]
*''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 4|#84]]
*''Magic: The Gathering - Path of Vengeance''
*''The Real Ghostbusters'' 100 Page Spooktacular
*IDW ''[[My Little Pony|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' comic

===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3''''' ([[March 27]], [[2013]]) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929 
:*Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
:*Bonus material includes "Meet the Crew", variant covers, and designs for the [[Guiding Hand]].

*'''''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.

*'''''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 3]]''''' ([[February 24]], [[2016]]) ISBN 1631405403 / ISBN 978-1631405402
:*Contains the Annual 2012 and issues #9 to 13, as well as ''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012 and #10–11, "[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]", "[[The Question|Spotlight: Bumblebee]]", "[[Spotlight: Megatron]]" and "[[Signal to Noise]]".
:*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.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE vol3.jpg|'''Volume 3'''; cover art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]]
File:MTMTE boxset.jpg|'''Box Set'''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V3.jpg|'''''IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol. 3'''''; cover art by Marcelo Matere and [[Tom B. Long]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v55.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 55: Shadowplay'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Whirl) and Alex Milne (retro)
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/idw-more-than-meets-eye-10-preview-5166/ Preview]
*[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-ongoing-10-creator-commentary-with-james-roberts/26143/ Creator Commentary with James Roberts]

Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism

2020-10-13T13:41:57Z

BigGrim:

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=10
|prev=Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc
|next=Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading
|caption=Act Like A Prick To Catch A Prick.
|image=MTMTE10_cvrB.jpg
|title="Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[October 31]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=October 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline#2012-2013|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''As Rewind's tale of the past continues, the senator murders lead Chromedome and Prowl to uncover the truth behind an urban legend, and Orion Pax to discover just how deep the corruption in the Senate runs.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Shadowplay Roller feet up.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2]]
''On Cybertron, before the war, [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] flips between the latest news bulletins covering the murder of Senator [[Sherma]] and the death of [[Nominus Prime]]. Tensions are high as the deadline date for "[[Proteus's Promise]]" draws near, the vow made by Senator [[Proteus]] that the [[Decepticon]]s will be recognised as a legitimate political party if 10,000 sign up with the [[Decepticon Registration Act]]. Then, an update on the missing [[Pious Maximus]] is interrupted by breaking news of a high-speed pursuit in [[Translucentica Heights]]...''

In the present day, said pursuit is now the subject of [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]]'s story, with [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] describing how he followed the killer of Senator [[Momus]] in an aerial chase, which ended when the murderer collided with one of the reinforced glass walls of the region and exploded against a billboard. On his way back to the crime scene, Chromedome met the warden of Translucentica Heights, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who was able to provide evidence that Momus was not killed ''by'' Decepticons—he was killed because he secretly ''was'' a Decepticon. Prowl's study of the crime scene quickly determined the involvement of a second killer, who then made himself known by opening fire. Pinned down and with Prowl never having seen combat before, the trio seemed doomed until the surprise appearance of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]], who brought the killer down, only for his [[Spark]] to collapse before he could be questioned.

[[File:Patternism-FirstAid.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
Meanwhile, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]] returns to the ''[[Lost Light]]'' from a reconnaissance mission, and is filled in by [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] on the mysterious attack on Red Alert, whose spark is faint but still pulsing. In a makeshift interrogation room converted from [[Perceptor (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Perceptor]]'s lab, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] is trying to get a confession out of [[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]], but when things turn violent, Rodimus and Magnus have to step in. At that point a communique from [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] clears Cyclonus, as the medic reports that he has discerned the killer's identity.

[[File:Whirl Orion Patternism.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5]]
Before handing the story over to [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], Rewind explains that the ex-watchmaker was, at the time, incarcerated in [[Garrus-1]] on [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. When [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] points out that Whirl was in prison for assaulting [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]], the event allegedly responsible for turning him "bad", Whirl furiously interrupts and quickly picks the story up, describing how he summoned Orion away from investigating the senator killings to give him a message. In hopes of revenge against the [[Senate]] for ruining his life, Whirl shared with Orion information from a [[Kroma|cellmate]] about a Senate plot involving the death of [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Pax's senator friend]] and a bomb "hidden in plain sight". Orion left to act upon this information (leaving Whirl to be viciously beaten by his new cellmate [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] just a few minutes later), sending Ratchet and Roller to the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology|Academy of Advanced Technology]], where trainee theoretician [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] watched them take Orion's senator friend into protective custody.

[[File:Patternism-StealTheMatrix.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Turns out the entire trilogy's on DailyMotion!]]
Narration returns to Chromedome, who prepares to recount how he and Prowl investigated the nearest [[Relinquishment Clinic]], suspecting that the killers had been using borrowed bodies. Rewind is dissatisfied at Chromedome's decision to preface this with a recollection of how he and Prowl stopped to watch a Decepticon protest and talk about what they would do if war broke out on the way, hurrying him along to the events that took place in the clinic itself. While waiting in its lobby, Chromedome remembers how the pair saw a news report based on their findings that cleared the Decepticons of the murders, which left Prowl frustrated as the results were only preliminary. They were then met by clinic tech [[Trepan]], who they easily pegged as squirrelly and promptly cuffed so they could investigate. The pair eventually found a secret facility beneath the clinic that Chromedome was horrified to realize was the [[Institute]], a supposedly-fictitious government facility that practises a forbidden science—brainwashing so heinous it is known only as "[[Shadowplay]]". Accessing its mainframe and verifying it as the source of the bodies their killers were using, the pair took the data and absconded without incident, prompting Rewind to resume the position of storyteller and sum up how the pair met back up with Orion, Ratchet, Roller and the senator in [[Rodion]]. When the senator identified the list of names from The Institute as all those currently signed with the Decepticon Registration Act, Pax was able to put all the evidence he and his friends have gathered together. Proteus arranged the murders so that the Decepticons could expressly ''not'' be found guilty, thereby demonstrating his fairness and leading to a surge in registrants. The bomb mentioned by Whirl would then be pinned on the Decepticons as supposed proof of their "true colors", giving Proteus and [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel]] the excuse needed to use The Institute to brainwash all those registered. Chromedome lamented their lack of knowledge at the bomb's location, but a news report immediately provided the answer: it was the fake [[Matrix of Leadership]] in the chest of the deceased Nominus Prime, whose body was to be lain in state the next day. The course of action for Orion's team was clear: they had to steal the Matrix!
{{--}}

==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"{{!}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (7)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (8)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (11)
*[[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]] (13)
*[[Rad (G1)|Rad]] (14)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (15)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (16)
*[[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]] (17)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (18)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] (19)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (21)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (22)
*[[Ambulon]] (23)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]]'' (24)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (25)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (26)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (27)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (28)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] (29)
{{!}}}
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (1)
*''[[Proteus]]'' (2)
*''[[Nominus Prime]]'' (3)
*''[[Pious Maximus]]'' (4)
*''[[Slamdance (G1)|Slamdance]]'' (5)
*''"[[Fallout (G1)|Fallout]]"'' (6)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (9)
*''[[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'' (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''"[[Streaker]]"'' (12)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]] (20)
*''Garrus-1 warden'' (30)
*''[[Kroma]]'' (31)
*''[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]]'' (32)
*''[[Tarn (DJD)|Glitch]]'' (33)
*''[[Decepticon agitator]]'' (34)
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Conspicuously-unnamed senator]]'' (35)
*''[[Trepan]]'' (36)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==

"You do '''read''' my memos, don't you, '''Rodimus?'''" 
"If there's a reason '''not to,''' I've yet to find it. I read '''all''' your memos. And every one of your many, '''many''' reports. And since you're finally here, you can read one of '''mine.'''" 
"'We found '''Red Alert''' in the [[oil]] reservoir. No head. Pretty sure '''Cyclonus''' is to blame—obv. watch this space.'" 
"'Obv' stands for obviously." 
"No, I, er—I guessed that."
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Rodimus'''

'''Tailgate:''' "No. Frikkin'. Way. '''Orion Pax''' landed on the guy's '''back?''' Where'd he even '''come from?'''" 
'''Chromedome:''' "I always assumed he jumped off the '''roof,''' Tailgate. He did that sort of thing quite a lot." 
'''Tailgate:''' "Pax is '''so''' cool." 
'''Swerve:''' "More of this, please. More jumping off roofs. Rooves. Roofs. More jumping off things."

"You must be '''Prowl'''. I've heard a lot about you. I'd '''assumed''' most of it was exaggerated."
:—'''Orion Pax'''

"Well, I hope I never get as '''jaded''' and '''cynical''' as '''you''', Orion Pax."
:—'''Prowl'''

'''Whirl:''' "It was Pax's fault I was in prison—" 
'''Ratchet:''' "'''Rubbish!''' It was '''your''' fault you were in prison! Pax was the one who '''arrested''' you!" [''to Tailgate''] "Whirl attacked '''Megatron''' in his cell." 
'''Tailgate:''' "But wasn't Megatron the '''main bad guy?''' Or... have I missed something very important?" 
'''Ratchet:''' This was '''before''' he went bad. In fact, many say that the '''reason''' he went bad was—" 
'''Whirl:''' "<big>'''HEY!'''</big> Can I just tell my part of the story? It's only a frikkin' '''cameo''' as it is! Yeah? Yeah? '''Right.'''"

"Five minutes. Ten if I hear him screaming."
:—'''Garrus-1's warden''', on letting Orion Pax visit Whirl

"The Senate '''mutilated''' me, got me to do their dirty work, and '''abandoned''' me. I want you to '''hurt''' them. I want you to '''crush''' them. I want—I want—I want my hands back."
:—'''Whirl'''

'''Rewind:''' "'''Impactor?!''' Impactor was your '''cellmate?!''' That's how you '''met?!''' And—and I bet he promptly added your name to the list of warriors who would one day become... '''The Wreckers!'''" 
'''Whirl:''' "No—he promptly '''beat me''' to the brink of fade-out and left me in a '''critical condition'''—and '''years''' later we met '''again.'''" 
'''Swerve''': "But that's a '''whole other story.''' Sorry—I always wanted to say that. That, and 'Impossible! Our laserfire is just making him '''stronger!'''' Ahem. Go on..."

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*James Roberts has since said that Roller is meant to be taken as a separate person to Prime's longstanding buggy-companion, so we worry that something bad is going to happen to him in the next issue.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 39:43 - 41:54</ref>
*"Proteus's Promise" has been referenced in issues [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|#8]] and [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|#9]]; here, we finally learn what it was.
[[File:NAILProtesterShadowplay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*The robot speaking out against Nominus's policies at the J.A.A.T. lectures on page 1 appears to be the placard-carrying [[NAIL protester]] from "[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime]]", who transformed himself to death in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]] of this series.
*The speaker mentions racism based on whether you're forged or 'constructed', something Roberts first introduced in "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]" (and is an idea he first came up with in ''Eugenesis'').
*And speaking of the J.A.A.T. lectures, the "A.A.T." part of the name refers to the Academy of Advanced Technology seen in this story. What the J stands for, we won't find out until next issue.
*One of the Decepticon tracts Red Alert finds is titled "The Illusion of Progress: Revisited", evidently a sequel to Megatron's earlier work, "Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress", mentioned in "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]".
*When the ultraviolet light is on in Senator Momus's suite, a small panel shows five puncture marks on the back of Red Alert's neck. As Chromedome explained in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]], [[mnemosurgery]] marks only show up under UV light, and the ideal entry point is from the back of the neck. As Trepan is later seen with the spiked finger-extrusions Chromedome has been shown to use in mnemosurgery in issues #8 and [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|#3]], it seems obvious this was the work of the Institute, presumably using Red in order to feed Chromedome and Prowl the required evidence. All of this is a deliberate link to Red Alert's history with Rung from [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]], where he believes "they" are after him and is scared of the Institute: turns out that wasn't groundless paranoia after all. All that from one inset panel, folks! Roberts, take a bow.
**In a podcast, Roberts implied there's more to the story of Red Alert and his shadowplay,<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 57:00 - 57:11</ref> which was confirmed years later in [[Last Light (issue)|issue #57]].
*Cyclonus mentions Rossum's Rule of Thirds in regards to Red Alert's survival. This would have to do with Rossum's Trinity, the designation for the three parts of the Cybertronian body (the brain module, spark, and transformation cog) that are interlinked such that damage to one can damage the others, mentioned in issue #3.
*First Aid is seen working on a [[Diagnostic Drone]], likely the same one that watched Red Alert visit [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] in [[Interiors|issue #6]].
*Whirl's cellmate is one of the trio of Senate enforcers who pay Pax a visit in "[[Chaos Theory Part 2]]". That story previously established Whirl's connection to that band of nogoodniks, as did the appearance of the trio's apparent leader in his flashback in issue #6.
*Whirl's brutalization of Megatron was previously chronicled in the first part of "Chaos Theory". Left unsaid in the comic itself, the fact that Impactor immediately beats Whirl up upon meeting him is obviously because of the fact that Impactor and Megatron were once friends.
[[File:Unnamed senator in Patternism.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*Orion Pax's still-unnamed senator friend has had his color scheme completely overhauled in this issue, going from white, blue and gold to red, white and blue. This would be revealed next issue as a symptom of his personal vanity (and, behind-the-scenes, as a dirty trick to throw off fans trying to guess his identity).
*Prowl's pacifism, and his promised attempt to leave Cybertron to escape a potential war, were alluded to back in "The Death of Optimus Prime", where it was revealed that he ''did'' try to leave, but didn't make it.
*The main speaker at the Decepticon protest is the same 'bot seen getting branded with the Decepticon insignia in issue #3's montage of the war's beginnings; he also shows up in issue #4 of ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' as the first time Ironfist ever saw a Decepticon emblem. The vehicle he is standing on is in Constructicon green-and-purple; logical, given that the Decepticon movement at this time is largely made up of menial-class characters like them.
[[File:The institute Shadowplay2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
*Chromedome refers to a hostage negotiator friend. The only Transformer previously referred to as a hostage negotiator is [[Nightbeat (G1)#2005 IDW continuity|Nightbeat]] who fulfilled this role in the Roberts-written ''[[Omega's Conundrum|Spotlight: Orion Pax]]''. Nightbeat found the body that precipitated this story in [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|the previous issue]]!
*The Institute has been referred to several times in Roberts's work, stretching back to "Chaos Theory". At last, the mystery revealed!
*The Relinquishment Clinic has a special offer on "Duocombiners". A unique term, it's unclear if it refers to a robot made of two combining vehicles (i.e. Overlord), or two robots that combine into one alternate mode (i.e. Sonic and Boom).
*All the 'bots we see working in the Institute can be divided into two general body types: Ones visually similar to Rung/Trepan/the Necrobot (possibly a neurologist/psychologist body type) and ones who resemble Quark, with microscope cylinders on the tops of their heads. This makes sense, as who else would a brain experimentation facility employ but mind specialists and scientists?
*Pious Maximus, noted as having disappeared 18 months ago, shows up in one of the rooms of the Institute. Guess we know what happened to him.
*The Institute also contains the bodies of numerous [[Empty|Empties]] from the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]]. This seems to imply that [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] from last issue, who were paid by a mysterious "them" to attack homeless residents of the Dead End, were actually hired by The Institute to bring them guinea pigs.

===Transformers references===
*[[Kremzeek]] drinks reappear—in "juice box"-style this time.
*The classic Generation 1 "tetrajet"—Cybertronian alternate mode of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]—can be seen on the billboard "Fallout" crashes into.
*Red Alert's body in Rewind's story is a Cybertronic adaptation of his original Generation 1 look, quite far removed from the bulky, rounded form he's wearing in the modern day.
*Prowl's ability to "observe 800 moving objects and compute their direction of travel" is an ability from his original ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile.
*A small statuette, plaque or screen-projection of some kind (it's tiny, it's hard to tell!) can be seen in Perceptor's lab, sporting the likeness of [[Nijika]], the tiny female geisha droid that Perceptor's mind was transferred into in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "[[The Face of the Nijika]]".
*Momus lived in hab suite [[113 (disambiguation)|113]], yet another of Roberts' references to [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|issue #113]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK Marvel comic]].
*Scrawled on the wall of Whirl's cell is the Wreckers' catchphrase, "Wreck 'n' Rule". However, since the Wreckers don't ''exist'' yet at this point in time, the implication might be that this is where Impactor picked up the phrase for later use.
*Also written on Whirl's cell wall, and on a wall near the Decepticon protest, is "Free in 63", a similar message to one seen on Megatron's cell wall in "Chaos Theory," "Free in Cycle 63".

===Real-world references===
*Fallout's alternate mode is a [[wikia:babylon5:SA-23J Mitchell-Hyundyne Starfury "Thunderbolt"|Thunderbolt fighter]] from ''{{w|Babylon 5}}''.
*Speaking of Senator Momus, whilst his name could well be a reference to {{w|Momus|the ancient Greek deity}}, given [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=12527 James Roberts' noted predilection towards indie music] it's more likely to be a reference to {{w|Momus (artist)|the eccentric Scottish musician}} who also uses the name.
*The helmet Glitch is wearing in the scene of Roller and Ratchet arriving at the Academy is [[Doc Brown]]'s [[Wikia:backtothefuture:Brain-wave analyzer|brain-wave analyzer]] from ''[[Back to the Future]]''.
*In the bottom left panel of page 19, artist Alex Milne leaves a shout-out to series colorist Josh Burcham: the glyphs beneath Fallout and Streaker's pictures spell out 'DCJOSH', Josh Burcham's chosen online handle.

===Trivia===
*"Shadowplay" runs through three related genres in each of its three parts: this one is the political thriller.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 07:43 - 08:00</ref>
*Red Alert shows up in the past to create a link between that plot and the present day's B-plot about Red's body.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 55:03 - 56:20</ref>
*[[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] was going to appear at the Decepticon protest scene, tying into his flashback montage in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #4]]. Roberts cut that, partly because he'd got his chronology wrong (the flashback was during [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]]'s rule) and partly because the more violent Decepticons in the flashback didn't fit the still-peaceful movement in "Shadowplay".<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 01:27:40 - 01:29:28</ref>

===Crew Manifest===
*Our bad. Red Alert's headless <s>corpse</s> but still functional body was recovered from the [[oil]] reservoir last issue.
*5 deaths, 5 new arrivals (plus 20 or so Faders) since the launch.

===Errors===

*On page 3, last panel, the caption over Chromedome should have been a speech bubble, this was corrected for the Swedish hardcover collection Transformers: Kaos och skuggor.
*On page 11, panel 1, the word "foment" is misspelled as "forment." This was corrected in the TPB.
*As Whirl mocks Chromedome for his history with Prowl on page 12, it's Skids who gets offended by it. The speech bubble was correctly assigned in the TPB.
*On page 15 both past and present Skids have blue eyes, rather than the proper yellow.

===Soundtrack===
For the three-part "Shadowplay" story:

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtckSsQ_Au0 "Comforting Sounds"] by {{w|Mew (band)|Mew}}

For this issue:
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_LRUkjbKk "Action/Reaction"] by {{w|Choir of Young Believers}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfR_jMM2Hw "Traffic Music"] by {{w|Hjaltalín}}

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Chromedome riding a sky-dart, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Cover B:''' Chromedome and Prowl, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Orion Pax and Ratchet, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]]
<gallery>
File:MTMTE10_cvrA.jpg|Chromedome tries out for ''Tron''.
File:MTMTE10_cvrB.jpg|Cybertron Noir
File:MTMTE10_cvrRI.jpg|"Easy Ratchet, this won't hurt a bit!"
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Syndromica (2)|#10]]
*''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 4|#84]]
*''Magic: The Gathering - Path of Vengeance''
*''The Real Ghostbusters'' 100 Page Spooktacular
*IDW ''[[My Little Pony|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' comic

===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3''''' ([[March 27]], [[2013]]) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929 
:*Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
:*Bonus material includes "Meet the Crew", variant covers, and designs for the [[Guiding Hand]].

*'''''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.

*'''''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 3]]''''' ([[February 24]], [[2016]]) ISBN 1631405403 / ISBN 978-1631405402
:*Contains the Annual 2012 and issues #9 to 13, as well as ''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012 and #10–11, "[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]", "[[The Question|Spotlight: Bumblebee]]", "[[Spotlight: Megatron]]" and "[[Signal to Noise]]".
:*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.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE vol3.jpg|'''Volume 3'''; cover art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]]
File:MTMTE boxset.jpg|'''Box Set'''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V3.jpg|'''''IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol. 3'''''; cover art by Marcelo Matere and [[Tom B. Long]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v55.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 55: Shadowplay'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Whirl) and Alex Milne (retro)
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/idw-more-than-meets-eye-10-preview-5166/ Preview]
*[http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-ongoing-10-creator-commentary-with-james-roberts/26143/ Creator Commentary with James Roberts]

Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc

2020-10-13T13:40:39Z

BigGrim:

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=9
|prev=Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?
|next=Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism
|caption=
|image=MTMTE9_cvrA.jpg
|title="Shadowplay (A Totally Epic Story Based On Real Events That Definitely Happened) Part 1: Post Hoc"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 26]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=September 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline#2012-2013|Current era (2012)]]
}}
'''A group of Autobots are gathered by Rewind to tell a story of corruption, conspiracy, and murder from long ago on Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Nightbeat quark maccadams post hoc.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A wretched hive of scum and villiany.]]
''On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], before the war, [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Quark]] meet outside [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]] to discuss the increase of violence in the face of the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]] and the rise of the [[Decepticon]] movement. Nightbeat is sympathetic to the worker class cause, while the science-class Quark fears for the future... but their argument ends when a drop of [[energon]] lands in Quark's drink, and the pair look up to discover the dead body of [[Sherma|Senator Sherma]], suspended from the Interstate Bridge!''

In the present day, aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] arrives late to a meeting called by [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] in [[Swerve's]]: the archivist has called him, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] together (with [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] and [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] as an audience) to help him tell a story that will aid in [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s mental recuperation. The true-life tale is set shortly after the instigation of the Clampdown, beginning with the assassination of Senator Sherma, and reveals how, thanks to one Autobot, all those present played a role in a greater story than they ever realized...

Chromedome begins the story by recalling how he and his partner in [[Iaconian Mechaforensic Division|Mechaforensics]], [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]], were called in to investigate Sherma's murder, easily deducing the Decepticons as the culprits from the presence of their [[insignia]], graffitied on Sherma's back. Skids interrupts to ask for some clarification on Prowl, who he doesn't remember; Swerve has a few choice words to describe him, and Rewind tries to emulate his fondness for flipping tables over, but can't quite manage it. Drift, receiving some messages from [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]], tries to hurry the story along, so Rewind turns narration over to him, asking about his time as a homeless [[circuit booster]] addict in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]]. Drift recounts how he was attacked by [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] and was saved by decorated police officer [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]] and brought to a medical drop-in center run by [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]]. Ratchet takes issue with Drift's embellishment of the facts, as he jokingly claims the atheist medic was praising [[Adaptus]] and [[Primus]] as he worked, but what he begrudgingly is unable to deny is that he told Drift that he was special. Drift tells of how he lied to Ratchet about going to a local [[Relinquishment Clinic]], prompting Tailgate to ask exactly what the clinics were; Rewind plays an infomercial for one, which explains that they were used in the days of [[functionism]] to give 'bots the chance to experience life in bodies with other [[alternate mode]]s via Sparkswap technology.

[[File:PostHoc-Slamdance.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|"But enough about electing the new Space Pope..."]]
Never a fan of the clinics, Ratchet picks up the story, remembering the news broadcast that played immediately after he had repaired Drift: the broadcast that announced the death of [[Nominus Prime]], with its claim that he was the victim of a rust infection that Ratchet, having operated on Nominus following the attempt on his life, knew was a lie. His part in the story complete, Drift leaves to respond to an increasingly irate Rodimus, while Ratchet goes on to summarize how he accompanied Orion to a rendezvous with his [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|senator friend]]. The senator confirmed Orion's suspicions that Nominus was killed by the Senate after the [[Matrix of Leadership]] within his chest was revealed to be a fake, and revealed his fears that the Senate's head of security, [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel]], was planning something involving the Decepticons. For the sake of drama, Rewind has Ratchet stop there, turning things back over Chromedome to have him carry on with the story of Sherma's murder. Having discovered through autopsy that the senator was shot to death, Chromedome describes how he and Prowl traced fragments of [[cerulean glass]] found in Sherma's boots and treads back to the privileged community of [[Translucentica Heights]] and headed there on [[Skydart]]s. They discussed Prowl's upbringing in the strict town of [[Petrex]] and the existence or not of the [[Institute]] along the way, but upon their arrival, a corpse came flying out a high-rise window and landed in front of them, sporting another graffitied Decepticon symbol...

Meanwhile, down in the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s oil reservoir, Drift arrives to answer Rodimus's call. The reason is anything but pleasant... dredged out of the [[oil]] by [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]], they have discovered the remains of [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], and Rodimus blames [[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]] for his death!
{{--}}

==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"{{!}}
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (4)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (6)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (7)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (8)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (9)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (11)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (12)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] (13)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]] (20)
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (24)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] (25)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (26)
{{!}}}
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]'' (1)
*''[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'' (2)
*''[[Quark]]'' (3)
*''[[Sherma]]'' (5)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (10)
*''[[Nominus Prime]]'' (14)
*''[[Proteus]]'' (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Blurr (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Blurr]]'' (16)
*''[[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'' (17)
*''[[Boom]]'' (18)
*''[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]]'' (19)
*''[[Slamdance (G1)|Slamdance]]'' (21)
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Conspicuously-unnamed senator]]'' (22)
*''[[Momus]]'' (23)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
'''Ratchet''': By the vaulted heights of— 
'''Drift''': You had him '''hidden behind the bar?!''' 
'''Chromedome''': So '''embarrassing'''. 
'''Skids''': —not '''seriously''' telling me that he's been here the '''whole time?!''' 
'''Whirl''': Cool.
:—Reactions to Rewind pulling Rung's catatonic body out from behind the bar in Swerve's.

"The Decepticons are behind this." 
"What makes you say that? Does the '''upside down corpse''' reference the Decepticons' plans to '''upend''' societal hierarchies? Is the position of the body such that at sunset, the shadow will point to the '''[[Functionist Council|Functionalist council]] building''' where the first Decepticon activists were '''arrested?'''" 
"There's all that, '''obviously.''' But for me the real '''clincher''' is the '''massive Decepticon symbol''' graffitied on his back."
:—'''Chromedome''' and '''Prowl'''

"It's '''Prowl!''' 'Prowl the Pragmatist!' You know—'''Prowl!'''" 
"'''Oh!''' Turns into a Predabot? Posted at Delphi? Likes a hug?" 
"'''No!''' Prowl with the '''head spikes''' and the '''cruel mouth''' and the--'''cross''' all the time! '''Epically, pre-emptively, existentially''' cross. And cold! Supercilious and cold! Imagine '''Ultra Magnus''' without the '''warmth''' and '''people skills.'''"
:—'''Swerve''' and '''Skids''', tossing [[Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|foreshadowing]] riiiight over our heads.

"How many times has he flipped a table?" 
"Prowl? Ooh, four times." 
"Y'know, when we left his office for the ''Lost Light'' I '''swear''' I heard-" 
"You're '''right!''' Five times."
:—'''Rewind''' and '''Chromedome'''

"So I'm laying on a circuit slab in Ratchet's Dead End workshop—and he says: 'Primus guide me, Primus protect me, I beseech you, oh might Primus, please—' '''MMMPH!'''" 
"'''Unreliable narrator alert!''' Do '''not''', I repeat '''do not''' listen to what he says!"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Ratchet'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*This story is essentially a direct sequel to Roberts's "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]" [[Chaos Theory Part 2|two-parter]] from the [[The Transformers (IDW)|ongoing series]], published a little over a year before this story began. It follows up on events established by that story, like the injury of Nominus Prime by a suicide bomber, the establishment of the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]], Orion Pax's reconstruction with a new chamber in his chest, and his dalliance with an enigmatic senator who conspicuously continues to go unnamed. The window of Maccadam's is even still cracked from where Rung collided with it in the first few pages of "[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]".
*Furthermore, the issue's opening line, "What am I looking at again? Not more violence?" is a call back and deliberate contrast to Chaos Theory's opening line, "What am I looking at again? Not more poetry?"
*This issue gives us our second mention of the [[Primal Vanguard]], the unit to which Tailgate was supposedly attached, as he mentioned back in [[Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|issue #2]].
*Several references are made to "[[Proteus's Promise]]", an unspecified political promise made by [[Proteus|Senator Proteus]] from "Chaos Theory". This was the title of the public information film shown by Rewind in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]].
*A billboard reading "Everyone's Shape Serves A Purpose" can be spotted outside Maccadam's; this slogan was repeated by Rewind in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]].
*Ratchet comments that he spray-paints his hands red; and well he should, as they're replacements gained from [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] in [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]] which are actually blue. Some paint even transitions onto Drift's face when Ratchet tries to gag him during the storytelling.
*Red Alert's name is also present on Rewind's hotspot diagram, yet unlike the others, he is not present at the storytelling meeting. With the last page's cliffhanger, the reason for that becomes graphically clear.
*[[Sherma Bridge]] has cropped up in several places in Roberts's stories, starting with "Chaos Theory Part 1". Here we learn it was formerly the "Interstate Bridge", and was renamed (formally or colloquially, it's not specified) after the dead senator hung from it.
*Skids confuses Prowl with [[Dent]], who we met back in [[Life After the Big Bang|issue #4]], where it was explained that he ''used'' to be named "Prowl" as well. His suggested animalistic alternate mode is confirmed (as a "Predabot"), and humorously, the reason he was shambling towards [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] in that issue despite being infected with [[Red Rust]] is because he "likes a hug".
*Drift's time as a homeless drifter (snort, giggle) was previously shown in [[Drift issue 2|issue #2 of his self-titled mini-series]]. (A deleted scene would've had him bump into [[Gasket]] on the way out of the clinic<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 26:17 - 26:37</ref>)
*Ratchet was antagonistic to Drift earlier in the series, which appeared to be a clash of science VS religion: now we see that Ratchet saved Drift and gave him advice, which he'd ignore to become a notorious blood-soaked killer.
*Sonic and Boom previously appeared in issues #4 and #5, where they were likewise enjoying the upper hand on would-be victims before getting quickly and thoroughly trounced by a new arrival.
*Mentioned several times but perennially silent and off-screen is an allegedly chatty, teasing cohort of Orion's named "[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]]". James Roberts confirmed in an interview that this is not Orion's [[Roller (G1)|future component]] but someone for whom that component would be named in honor.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 39:43 - 41:54</ref>
*We first got a glimpse of a Relinquishment Clinic in [[Interiors|issue #6]], where one was implied to have some link to Chromedome and Rewind's shared history.
*A few of the names on the memorial for the Ark-1 are obscured by Ratchet's hand. While "Cyclonus" can be easily figured out from what we can see of it, the final name, starting with "Hype...", raises more questions. Could this be a reference to the obscure Transformer seen only in [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake's]] Megavisor, [[Hyperdrive (Turbomaster)|Hyperdrive]]?
*A name beginning with "Tail" is also on the memorial. [[Cybertronian Homesick Blues|Issue #13]] reveals that this is ''not'' short for Tailgate.
*Pax's unnamed senator friend has had his color scheme tweaked a little in this issue compared to "Chaos Theory", with some more blue added to his chest.
*[[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s involvement in Nominus Prime's unfortunate fate was implied in a montage of images in [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|issue #3]], and made explicit here.
*The Senator's comment that he wanted to tear Sentinel Prime's head off is [[Titans Return (comic)|somewhat prescient]]!
*The revelation that the Matrix within Nominus Prime was a fake ties in to Optimus Prime's discovery of the real talisman in the [[Undergrid]] in ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]''. When and how the Matrix went missing is eventually revealed in [[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|issue #19]].
*"Chaos Theory" and ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' are bridged with the revelation that Megatron was shipped off-planet after the earlier story to [[Messatine]], previously established to be home to [[Nucleon (substance)|Nucleon]] mines and future home of both the [[Delphi]] medical facility and the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. This presumably placed [[Mining Outpost C-12]] from ''Megatron Origin'' on that planet too, but the later "[[Births, Deaths, and Interventions]]" has C-12 as a separate place.
*In a big retcon, the Decepticons exist ''before'' the events of ''Megatron Origin'', inspired by the early datalogs published by Megatron.
*The mysterious "Institute" gets another mention this issue, one of several that have been peppered throughout Roberts's works.

===Transformers references===
[[File:MTMTE 9 infomercial toy instructions.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Not actually a toy commercial.]]
*Roberts previously used "Quark" as the name for an Autobot in his ''Eugenesis'' fan-novel, but that's about as far as similarities between the two characters go. This Quark's head is based on [[Perceptor (Animated)|''Animated'' Perceptor]], as they both turn into microscopes.
*Speaking of ''Animated'', the luckless Scrounge makes a cameo in the first panel with an appearance based predominantly on his [[Scrounge (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]], carrying a bundle of [[Conductor|energy conductors]] (though probably [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|not enough to last a quartex]]). Also visible is [[Rattrap (BW)|''Beast Machines'' Rattrap]].
*The model ship Rung is building on page 2 is the ''Lost Light'' itself. [[Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Issue #37]] reveals the full circumstances of the scene of Rung in the past.
*A jug on the bar table has the same unique shape as the chemical flasks seen in the [[Lithone scientist|Lithone scientist's]] workshop at the beginning of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*Chromedome is sporting a body based on his original Generation 1 toy in the flashback sequences. He notes that he was not ''called'' "Chromedome" at this point in his life, but for clarity's sake Rewind just has him use his current name while telling the story. His old name would be revealed in [[Remembrance Day|issue #14]], and was ''not'' some crazy secret conspiracy, thank you very much internet forums.
*The images used in the Relinquishment Clinic's infomercial are redrawn from the original Generation 1 toy [[instructions]] for the [[Zetar (G1)|Drill Powerdasher]] and [[Blurr (G1)/toys|Blurr]] (with the specific coloring specifically coming from his 1987 [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]] version's instructions).

===Real-world references===
*{{w|Post-hoc analysis|"Post hoc" analysis}}, from the Latin meaning "after this", is the examination of data in search of patterns after the fact. As Rewind explains, this is the purpose of his story: to reveal to the gathered characters' how their exploits all crossed over with one another without any of them knowing.
*On page 1, a small robot resembles a mouse droid from ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]''.
*The Primal Vanguard shooting took place somewhere called "Apophenia". The word means the experience of seeing connections in meaningless or random data, a fitting title given what Rewind and this story are doing.

===Trivia===
*"Shadowplay" was in Roberts's original plans but came about after "one of the rare" requests by Hasbro; they were concerned Optimus was going to be absent from the comics for over a year and asked for him to make a few appearances. As he did not want the ''Lost Light'' running into "Orion Pax-slash-Optimus-Prime", Roberts used it as an excuse to go back to Cybertron's past and tell a "''Lost Light'' [characters] origin story".<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 04:20 - 04:59</ref>
*"Shadowplay" runs through three related genres in each of its three parts: this one is the police procedural. The opening scene was the obligatory ''CSI''-style pre-credits sequence where two unimportant characters find the body.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 07:43 - 08:01</ref>

===Crew Manifest===
*Red Alert's headless corpse is recovered from the [[oil]] reservoir.
*6 deaths, 5 new arrivals (plus 20 or so Faders) since the launch.

===Errors===
*In the last panel of the first page, Nightbeat is missing a vent on the side of his helmet (his right, our left).
*In the panel where Nightbeat and Quark first see Sherma's hanging, dead body, Sherma's hands are drawn backwards.
*On page 7, Prowl refers to "the Functionalist council"; the council's ad on the same page, and page 2 before it, says "Functionist" and that's what Quark called them on the second page. This was corrected for the TPB.
*On page 16, panel 3, "understanding" is misspelled as "undersanding", this was corrected for the TPB.
*On the same page, on a subsequent panel, "someone" is misspelled as "somone", this was corrected for the TPB.
*Mechaforensics recovers glass from Senator Sherma's traction treads, but his body is not depicted as actually having any treads. We can't even argue that they're folded on the inside when he's in robot mode because we don't see any at the autopsy either.

===Soundtrack===
For the three-part "Shadowplay" story:
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtckSsQ_Au0 "Comforting Sounds"] by {{w|Mew (band)|Mew}}

For this issue:
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYY3GzENE58 "Our Hearts Burn Like Damp Matches"] by {{w|The Leisure Society}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI-YR4LBzL0 Theme from ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]'' by {{w|Jon Brion}}

It's also worth noting that the title is {{w|Shadowplay (song)|also a song}}, by the 1980s English band {{w|Joy Division}}.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Many key characters in fractured panels that together make up a close-up of the Decepticon insignia, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Cover B:''' Orion Pax in a shadowed alley, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Optimus Prime, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]]

<gallery>
File:MTMTE9_cvrA.jpg|That broken glass looks very familiar!
File:MTMTE9_cvrB.jpg|Just what are you playing at, Prime?
File:MTMTE9_cvrRI.jpg|You just messed with the wrong Prime!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Night and the City|#9]]
*''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 3|#83]]
*Joe Kubert's ''Tarzan of the Apes'' Artist's Edition
*[[Primus: All Good Things|''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012]]
*''[[My Little Pony|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' comic

===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3''''' ([[March 27]], [[2013]]) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929 
:*Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
:*Bonus material includes "Meet the Crew", variant covers, and designs for the [[Guiding Hand]].

*'''''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.

*'''''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 3]]''''' ([[February 24]], [[2016]]) ISBN 1631405403 / ISBN 978-1631405402
:*Contains the Annual 2012 and issues #9 to 13, as well as ''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012 and #10–11, "[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]", "[[The Question|Spotlight: Bumblebee]]", "[[Spotlight: Megatron]]" and "[[Signal to Noise]]".
:*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.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE vol3.jpg|'''Volume 3'''; cover art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]]
File:MTMTE boxset.jpg|'''Box Set'''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V3.jpg|'''''IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol. 3'''''; cover art by Marcelo Matere and [[Tom B. Long]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v55.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 55: Shadowplay'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Whirl) and Alex Milne (retro)
</gallery>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=13737 Preview]

Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc

2020-10-13T13:38:47Z

BigGrim:

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=9
|prev=Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?
|next=Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism
|caption=
|image=MTMTE9_cvrA.jpg
|title="Shadowplay (A Totally Epic Story Based On Real Events That Definitely Happened) Part 1: Post Hoc"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 26]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=September 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline#2012-2013|Current era (2012)]]
}}
'''A group of Autobots are gathered by Rewind to tell a story of corruption, conspiracy, and murder from long ago on Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Nightbeat quark maccadams post hoc.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A wretched hive of scum and villiany.]]
''On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], before the war, [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Quark]] meet outside [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's New Oil House]] to discuss the increase of violence in the face of the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]] and the rise of the [[Decepticon]] movement. Nightbeat is sympathetic to the worker class cause, while the science-class Quark fears for the future... but their argument ends when a drop of [[energon]] lands in Quark's drink, and the pair look up to discover the dead body of [[Sherma|Senator Sherma]], suspended from the Interstate Bridge!''

In the present day, aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] arrives late to a meeting called by [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] in [[Swerve's]]: the archivist has called him, [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] together (with [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] and [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] as an audience) to help him tell a story that will aid in [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s mental recuperation. The true-life tale is set shortly after the instigation of the Clampdown, beginning with the assassination of Senator Sherma, and reveals how, thanks to one Autobot, all those present played a role in a greater story than they ever realized...

Chromedome begins the story by recalling how he and his partner in [[Iaconian Mechaforensic Division|Mechaforensics]], [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]], were called in to investigate Sherma's murder, easily deducing the Decepticons as the culprits from the presence of their [[insignia]], graffitied on Sherma's back. Skids interrupts to ask for some clarification on Prowl, who he doesn't remember; Swerve has a few choice words to describe him, and Rewind tries to emulate his fondness for flipping tables over, but can't quite manage it. Drift, receiving some messages from [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]], tries to hurry the story along, so Rewind turns narration over to him, asking about his time as a homeless [[circuit booster]] addict in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]]. Drift recounts how he was attacked by [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] and was saved by decorated police officer [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]] and brought to a medical drop-in center run by [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]]. Ratchet takes issue with Drift's embellishment of the facts, as he jokingly claims the atheist medic was praising [[Adaptus]] and [[Primus]] as he worked, but what he begrudgingly is unable to deny is that he told Drift that he was special. Drift tells of how he lied to Ratchet about going to a local [[Relinquishment Clinic]], prompting Tailgate to ask exactly what the clinics were; Rewind plays an infomercial for one, which explains that they were used in the days of [[functionism]] to give 'bots the chance to experience life in bodies with other [[alternate mode]]s via Sparkswap technology.

[[File:PostHoc-Slamdance.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|"But enough about electing the new Space Pope..."]]
Never a fan of the clinics, Ratchet picks up the story, remembering the news broadcast that played immediately after he had repaired Drift: the broadcast that announced the death of [[Nominus Prime]], with its claim that he was the victim of a rust infection that Ratchet, having operated on Nominus following the attempt on his life, knew was a lie. His part in the story complete, Drift leaves to respond to an increasingly irate Rodimus, while Ratchet goes on to summarize how he accompanied Orion to a rendezvous with his [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|senator friend]]. The senator confirmed Orion's suspicions that Nominus was killed by the Senate after the [[Matrix of Leadership]] within his chest was revealed to be a fake, and revealed his fears that the Senate's head of security, [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel]], was planning something involving the Decepticons. For the sake of drama, Rewind has Ratchet stop there, turning things back over Chromedome to have him carry on with the story of Sherma's murder. Having discovered through autopsy that the senator was shot to death, Chromedome describes how he and Prowl traced fragments of [[cerulean glass]] found in Sherma's boots and treads back to the privileged community of [[Translucentica Heights]] and headed there on [[Skydart]]s. They discussed Prowl's upbringing in the strict town of [[Petrex]] and the existence or not of the [[Institute]] along the way, but upon their arrival, a corpse came flying out a high-rise window and landed in front of them, sporting another graffitied Decepticon symbol...

Meanwhile, down in the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s oil reservoir, Drift arrives to answer Rodimus's call. The reason is anything but pleasant... dredged out of the [[oil]] by [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]], they have discovered the remains of [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], and Rodimus blames [[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]] for his death!
{{--}}

==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"{{!}}
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (4)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (6)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (7)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (8)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (9)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (11)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (12)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] (13)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]] (20)
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (24)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] (25)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (26)
{{!}}}
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]'' (1)
*''[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'' (2)
*''[[Quark]]'' (3)
*''[[Sherma]]'' (5)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (10)
*''[[Nominus Prime]]'' (14)
*''[[Proteus]]'' (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Blurr (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Blurr]]'' (16)
*''[[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'' (17)
*''[[Boom]]'' (18)
*''[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]]'' (19)
*''[[Slamdance (G1)|Slamdance]]'' (21)
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Conspicuously-unnamed senator]]'' (22)
*''[[Momus]]'' (23)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
'''Ratchet''': By the vaulted heights of— 
'''Drift''': You had him '''hidden behind the bar?!''' 
'''Chromedome''': So '''embarrassing'''. 
'''Skids''': —not '''seriously''' telling me that he's been here the '''whole time?!''' 
'''Whirl''': Cool.
:—Reactions to Rewind pulling Rung's catatonic body out from behind the bar in Swerve's.

"The Decepticons are behind this." 
"What makes you say that? Does the '''upside down corpse''' reference the Decepticons' plans to '''upend''' societal hierarchies? Is the position of the body such that at sunset, the shadow will point to the '''[[Functionist Council|Functionalist council]] building''' where the first Decepticon activists were '''arrested?'''" 
"There's all that, '''obviously.''' But for me the real '''clincher''' is the '''massive Decepticon symbol''' graffitied on his back."
:—'''Chromedome''' and '''Prowl'''

"It's '''Prowl!''' 'Prowl the Pragmatist!' You know—'''Prowl!'''" 
"'''Oh!''' Turns into a Predabot? Posted at Delphi? Likes a hug?" 
"'''No!''' Prowl with the '''head spikes''' and the '''cruel mouth''' and the--'''cross''' all the time! '''Epically, pre-emptively, existentially''' cross. And cold! Supercilious and cold! Imagine '''Ultra Magnus''' without the '''warmth''' and '''people skills.'''"
:—'''Swerve''' and '''Skids''', tossing [[Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|foreshadowing]] riiiight over our heads.

"How many times has he flipped a table?" 
"Prowl? Ooh, four times." 
"Y'know, when we left his office for the ''Lost Light'' I '''swear''' I heard-" 
"You're '''right!''' Five times."
:—'''Rewind''' and '''Chromedome'''

"So I'm laying on a circuit slab in Ratchet's Dead End workshop—and he says: 'Primus guide me, Primus protect me, I beseech you, oh might Primus, please—' '''MMMPH!'''" 
"'''Unreliable narrator alert!''' Do '''not''', I repeat '''do not''' listen to what he says!"
:—'''Drift''' and '''Ratchet'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*This story is essentially a direct sequel to Roberts's "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]" [[Chaos Theory Part 2|two-parter]] from the [[The Transformers (IDW)|ongoing series]], published a little over a year before this story began. It follows up on events established by that story, like the injury of Nominus Prime by a suicide bomber, the establishment of the [[Clampdown (event)|Clampdown]], Orion Pax's reconstruction with a new chamber in his chest, and his dalliance with an enigmatic senator who conspicuously continues to go unnamed. The window of Maccadam's is even still cracked from where Rung collided with it in the first few pages of "[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]".
*Furthermore, the issue's opening line, "What am I looking at again? Not more violence?" is a call back and deliberate contrast to Chaos Theory's opening line, "What am I looking at again? Not more poetry?"
*This issue gives us our second mention of the [[Primal Vanguard]], the unit to which Tailgate was supposedly attached, as he mentioned back in [[Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|issue #2]].
*Several references are made to "[[Proteus's Promise]]", an unspecified political promise made by [[Proteus|Senator Proteus]] from "Chaos Theory". This was the title of the public information film shown by Rewind in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]].
*A billboard reading "Everyone's Shape Serves A Purpose" can be spotted outside Maccadam's; this slogan was repeated by Rewind in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]].
*Ratchet comments that he spray-paints his hands red; and well he should, as they're replacements gained from [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] in [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]] which are actually blue. Some paint even transitions onto Drift's face when Ratchet tries to gag him during the storytelling.
*Red Alert's name is also present on Rewind's hotspot diagram, yet unlike the others, he is not present at the storytelling meeting. With the last page's cliffhanger, the reason for that becomes graphically clear.
*[[Sherma Bridge]] has cropped up in several places in Roberts's stories, starting with "Chaos Theory Part 1". Here we learn it was formerly the "Interstate Bridge", and was renamed (formally or colloquially, it's not specified) after the dead senator hung from it.
*Skids confuses Prowl with [[Dent]], who we met back in [[Life After the Big Bang|issue #4]], where it was explained that he ''used'' to be named "Prowl" as well. His suggested animalistic alternate mode is confirmed (as a "Predabot"), and humorously, the reason he was shambling towards [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] in that issue despite being infected with [[Red Rust]] is because he "likes a hug".
*Drift's time as a homeless drifter (snort, giggle) was previously shown in [[Drift issue 2|issue #2 of his self-titled mini-series]]. (A deleted scene would've had him bump into [[Gasket]] on the way out of the clinic<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 26:17 - 26:37</ref>)
*Ratchet was antagonistic to Drift earlier in the series, which appeared to be a clash of science VS religion: now we see that Ratchet saved Drift and gave him advice, which he'd ignore to become a notorious blood-soaked killer.
*Sonic and Boom previously appeared in issues #4 and #5, where they were likewise enjoying the upper hand on would-be victims before getting quickly and thoroughly trounced by a new arrival.
*Mentioned several times but perennially silent and off-screen is an allegedly chatty, teasing cohort of Orion's named "[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]]". James Roberts confirmed in an interview that this is not Orion's [[Roller (G1)|future component]] but someone for whom that component would be named in honor.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 39:43 - 41:54</ref>
*We first got a glimpse of a Relinquishment Clinic in [[Interiors|issue #6]], where one was implied to have some link to Chromedome and Rewind's shared history.
*A few of the names on the memorial for the Ark-1 are obscured by Ratchet's hand. While "Cyclonus" can be easily figured out from what we can see of it, the final name, starting with "Hype...", raises more questions. Could this be a reference to the obscure Transformer seen only in [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake's]] Megavisor, [[Hyperdrive (Turbomaster)|Hyperdrive]]?
*A name beginning with "Tail" is also on the memorial. [[Cybertronian Homesick Blues|Issue #13]] reveals that this is ''not'' short for Tailgate.
*Pax's unnamed senator friend has had his color scheme tweaked a little in this issue compared to "Chaos Theory", with some more blue added to his chest.
*[[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s involvement in Nominus Prime's unfortunate fate was implied in a montage of images in [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|issue #3]], and made explicit here.
*The Senator's comment that he wanted to tear Sentinel Prime's head off is [[Titans Return (comic)|somewhat prescient]]!
*The revelation that the Matrix within Nominus Prime was a fake ties in to Optimus Prime's discovery of the real talisman in the [[Undergrid]] in ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]''. When and how the Matrix went missing is eventually revealed in [[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|issue #19]].
*"Chaos Theory" and ''[[The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin]]'' are bridged with the revelation that Megatron was shipped off-planet after the earlier story to [[Messatine]], previously established to be home to [[Nucleon (substance)|Nucleon]] mines and future home of both the [[Delphi]] medical facility and the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]. This presumably placed [[Mining Outpost C-12]] from ''Megatron Origin'' on that planet too, but the later "[[Births, Deaths, and Interventions]]" has C-12 as a separate place.
*In a big retcon, the Decepticons exist ''before'' the events of ''Megatron Origin'', inspired by the early datalogs published by Megatron.
*The mysterious "Institute" gets another mention this issue, one of several that have been peppered throughout Roberts's works.

===Transformers references===
[[File:MTMTE 9 infomercial toy instructions.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Not actually a toy commercial.]]
*Roberts previously used "Quark" as the name for an Autobot in his ''Eugenesis'' fan-novel, but that's about as far as similarities between the two characters go. This Quark's head is based on [[Perceptor (Animated)|''Animated'' Perceptor]], as they both turn into microscopes.
*Speaking of ''Animated'', the luckless Scrounge makes a cameo in the first panel with an appearance based predominantly on his [[Scrounge (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]], carrying a bundle of [[Conductor|energy conductors]] (though probably [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|not enough to last a quartex]]). Also visible is [[Rattrap (BW)|''Beast Machines'' Rattrap]].
*The model ship Rung is building on page 2 is the ''Lost Light'' itself. [[Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Issue #37]] reveals the full circumstances of the scene of Rung in the past.
*A jug on the bar table has the same unique shape as the chemical flasks seen in the [[Lithone scientist|Lithone scientist's]] workshop at the beginning of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*Chromedome is sporting a body based on his original Generation 1 toy in the flashback sequences. He notes that he was not ''called'' "Chromedome" at this point in his life, but for clarity's sake Rewind just has him use his current name while telling the story. His old name would be revealed in [[Remembrance Day|issue #14]], and was ''not'' some crazy secret conspiracy, thank you very much internet forums.
*The images used in the Relinquishment Clinic's infomercial are redrawn from the original Generation 1 toy [[instructions]] for the [[Zetar (G1)|Drill Powerdasher]] and [[Blurr (G1)/toys|Blurr]] (with the specific coloring specifically coming from his 1987 [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]] version's instructions).

===Real-world references===
*{{w|Post-hoc analysis|"Post hoc" analysis}}, from the Latin meaning "after this", is the examination of data in search of patterns after the fact. As Rewind explains, this is the purpose of his story: to reveal to the gathered characters' how their exploits all crossed over with one another without any of them knowing.
*On page 1, a small robot resembles a mouse droid from ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]''.
*The Primal Vanguard shooting took place somewhere called "Apophenia". The word means the experience of seeing connections in meaningless or random data, a fitting title given what Rewind and this story are doing.

===Trivia===
*"Shadowplay" was in Roberts's original plans but came about after "one of the rare" requests by Hasbro; they were concerned Optimus was going to be absent from the comics for over a year and asked for him to make a few appearances. As he did not want the ''Lost Light'' running into "Orion Pax-slash-Optimus-Prime", Roberts used it as an excuse to go back to Cybertron's past and tell a "''Lost Light'' [characters] origin story".<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 04:20 - 04:59</ref>
*"Shadowplay" runs through three related genres in each of its three parts: this one is the police procedural. The opening scene was the obligatory ''CSI''-style pre-credits sequence where two unimportant characters find the body.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 07:43 - 08:01</ref>

===Crew Manifest===
*Red Alert's headless corpse is recovered from the [[oil]] reservoir.
*6 deaths, 5 new arrivals (plus 20 or so Faders) since the launch.

===Errors===
*In the last panel of the first page, Nightbeat is missing a vent on the side of his helmet (his right, our left).
*In the panel where Nightbeat and Quark first see Sherma's hanging, dead body, Sherma's hands are drawn backwards.
*On page 3, last panel, the caption over Chromedome should have been a speech bubble, this was corrected for the Swedish hardcover collection Transformers: Kaos och skuggor.
*On page 7, Prowl refers to "the Functionalist council"; the council's ad on the same page, and page 2 before it, says "Functionist" and that's what Quark called them on the second page. This was corrected for the TPB.
*On page 16, panel 3, "understanding" is misspelled as "undersanding", this was corrected for the TPB.
*On the same page, on a subsequent panel, "someone" is misspelled as "somone", this was corrected for the TPB.
*Mechaforensics recovers glass from Senator Sherma's traction treads, but his body is not depicted as actually having any treads. We can't even argue that they're folded on the inside when he's in robot mode because we don't see any at the autopsy either.

===Soundtrack===
For the three-part "Shadowplay" story:
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtckSsQ_Au0 "Comforting Sounds"] by {{w|Mew (band)|Mew}}

For this issue:
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYY3GzENE58 "Our Hearts Burn Like Damp Matches"] by {{w|The Leisure Society}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI-YR4LBzL0 Theme from ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]'' by {{w|Jon Brion}}

It's also worth noting that the title is {{w|Shadowplay (song)|also a song}}, by the 1980s English band {{w|Joy Division}}.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Many key characters in fractured panels that together make up a close-up of the Decepticon insignia, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Cover B:''' Orion Pax in a shadowed alley, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Optimus Prime, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]]

<gallery>
File:MTMTE9_cvrA.jpg|That broken glass looks very familiar!
File:MTMTE9_cvrB.jpg|Just what are you playing at, Prime?
File:MTMTE9_cvrRI.jpg|You just messed with the wrong Prime!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Night and the City|#9]]
*''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]'' [[Loose Ends, Part 3|#83]]
*Joe Kubert's ''Tarzan of the Apes'' Artist's Edition
*[[Primus: All Good Things|''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012]]
*''[[My Little Pony|My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' comic

===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3''''' ([[March 27]], [[2013]]) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929 
:*Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
:*Bonus material includes "Meet the Crew", variant covers, and designs for the [[Guiding Hand]].

*'''''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.

*'''''[[The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 3]]''''' ([[February 24]], [[2016]]) ISBN 1631405403 / ISBN 978-1631405402
:*Contains the Annual 2012 and issues #9 to 13, as well as ''Robots in Disguise'' Annual 2012 and #10–11, "[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]", "[[The Question|Spotlight: Bumblebee]]", "[[Spotlight: Megatron]]" and "[[Signal to Noise]]".
:*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.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE vol3.jpg|'''Volume 3'''; cover art by Alex Milne and [[Joana Lafuente]]
File:MTMTE boxset.jpg|'''Box Set'''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V3.jpg|'''''IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol. 3'''''; cover art by Marcelo Matere and [[Tom B. Long]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v55.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 55: Shadowplay'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Whirl) and Alex Milne (retro)
</gallery>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=13737 Preview]