MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Jenevieve Frank

2020-02-29T20:57:14Z

Ms. Trbuchette: Hey, It's Jenevieve. Given the recent attempts to dox me, I would like my profession omitted from my tfwiki article. Thank you. Please contact me by email, twitter, or discord if you have any questions or need to confirm my identity!

{{disambig3|Frank}}
[[File:JenevieveFrank-photo.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

'''Jenevieve Frank''' is a life-long ''Transformers'' fan, having watched the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] as a child in [[1984]]. She is also a participant on {{Template:SITENAME SHORT}} as '''[[Special:Contributions/Ms._Trbuchette|Ms. Trbuchette]]'''.

In [[2018]], [[IDW Publishing]] writer [[John Barber]] contacted Frank for consultation vis-à-vis Barber's leading character [[Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Arcee]], who had made [[Spotlight: Arcee|a controversial debut]] in IDW continuity years earlier.<ref>[https://twitter.com/JenApparently/status/1127645766359629824 Tweet by @JenApparently, 12 May 2019]</ref> Together, Frank and Barber brainstormed on how to connect Arcee's original characterization with more recent depictions and retcons of [[Female Transformer|female]] and transgender Cybertronians. This conversation ultimately produced the culmination of Arcee's character arc in [[Post|the continuity's finale issue]] at the year's end,<ref>[https://twitter.com/JenApparently/status/1139628844053422080 Tweet by @JenApparently, 14 June 2019]</ref>

==Writing consultant==
*''[[Optimus Prime (comic)|Optimus Prime]]'' [[Post|#25]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Jenevieve}}
[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Writers]]

Post

2019-01-07T15:05:52Z

Ms. Trbuchette: /* Continuity notes */

{{Comicstory
|series=op|issueno=25
|prev=A Sunrise Dark
|prev2=Ceremony
|next=
|caption=
|image=OP25 cvrA.jpg
|title="Post"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[November 21]], 2018
|coverdate=October 2018
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Kei Zama]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''In the aftermath of the battle with Unicron, our heroes build a new future on Earth, and we look back on the life of Optimus Prime.'''

==Synopsis==
''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] looks back on his life and remembers...''

''As Orion Pax slowly comes online in an [[Iacon (polity)|Iaconian]] [[hot spot]], the [[blacksmith]] supervising his forging is impressed by his size and calls the ancient storyteller [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] to bear witness. Trion agrees there seems to be something special about Pax; that he is a 'bot who will be "worth weaving tales about." With some difficultly, Pax pulls free of the sparkfield, only for the first thing he witnesses to be the blacksmith mistreating the [[Scrounge (G1)|smaller 'bot]] who transforms into his medical equipment.''

Rebuilding on [[Earth]] continues in the wake of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]'s attack. [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] and [[Marissa Faireborn]] talk about the future—about a "ceremony" [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] is attending, about an upcoming funeral Arcee is going to miss—and Arcee tells Marissa the complicated story of her gender transition and how she's moved past the hardships she faced to find a job, friends, and a lover in [[Aileron]].

''Hoping to fight injustice, Orion Pax joins the Iaconian police force. During training, he is given his first gun by [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], who is amused by his wide-eyed innocence.''

While [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] oversees clean-up and rebuilding in [[San Francisco]], [[Sofía Orozco]] arrives on the scene to film a new story. [[Brad Emory]] guest stars to continue berating Cybertronians and their presence on Earth, and Sofía allows him to speak before approaching Jazz for his point of view. Jazz merely tells her he's not here for thanks, he's just here to do what's right.

''Orion Pax and [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] come upon fellow officer [[Outback (G1)|Outback]] roughing up [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] for drawing graffiti. Puzzled by the symbol he has scratched into a wall, Pax questions Ravage as to its meaning, but Outback kicks the cat-bot and explains that it's the mark of the "[[Decepticon]]s."''

Unsure what to make of themselves on Earth and thinking they might restart their old [[Chic Chips]] business, brothers [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] and [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] go to [[Pyra Magna]], the newly-appointed [[Mistress of Flame]], for some advice. Pyra is still getting used to her new role as spiritual adviser and isn't much help; Needlenose isn't surprised, regarding her as just another 'bot who abandoned everything they believed in, prompting Pyra to testily explain that she is attempting to bring new guidance to the [[Way of Flame]] in this post-Prime era, before all but kicking them out so she can prepare for the coming funeral.

''Repeated confrontations with the Decepticons send Orion down a dark path, as his fury builds over the subversive, criminal acts they partake in, which overshadow their justifiable anti-authoritarian roots. Seeing Pax's anger when he apprehends [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] in a [[simultronic]] bust, [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] reminds him of the systemic oppression that gave rise to the Decepticons in the first place and rebukes him for having lost sight of that and becoming "part of the problem."''

In [[Little Cybertron]], [[Rum-Maj]] and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] watch as graves are dug for all those who perished during the conflict with Unicron. The cost of victory weighs heavily on Rum-Maj to the point she is unsure if it was even a victory at all; Wreck-Gar opines that there ''aren't'' any victories in life because it goes on regardless, with or without you, and you just have to do your best for as long as you're around.

''When [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] extends an offer to Orion Pax to meet with him and talk, Orion discusses the matter with his closest allies. [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] thinks Pax should do it, in hopes that it will bring unity, but Ironhide disagrees, labeling all Decepticons murderers. Pax sides with 'Bee, telling Ironhide it's a chance to move past what has been and change the future for the better.''

In Africa, a group of poachers track a herd of elephants who have been displaced due to debris from Unicron landing on their grazing lands. Before the criminals can open fire on the animals, [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] swoops in to stop them. Acting in the deceased [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]]'s name, he decides that his old friend would understand if he made it so the poachers can't hurt anyone ever again...

''Following Pax's transformation into Optimus Prime, he successfully defeats and captures Megatron, but it is not long before a Decepticon raid frees Megatron from prison. [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] fears that Megatron may spread the war to other planets, and deems Optimus's hope that the Decepticon leader will have seen the error of his ways and will start his movement over again peacefully to be "nuts".''

Bumblebee walks along a coastline as the sun sets on his last day on Earth, before he heads off to serve as the Cybertronian race's diplomatic envoy to the [[Galactic Council]] after the funeral the next day. Walking beside him is a familiar face: the deceased [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], who gave up his life to ensure victory against Unicron, and who has traded roles with Bumblebee to somehow become a "ghost" only he can see. Bumblebee encourages the spectral Starscream to come with him on his mission, but Starscream doubts he would be welcome. Bumblebee jokingly accuses him of being mad that Optimus Prime is going to get all the credit for saving the universe; Starscream smiles and brushes it off, stating that he's sure people will remember him, and that will be enough.

''As Prowl predicted, the war moves off-planet, and civilizations die as a result. [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] accuses Optimus Prime of not caring, of believing the ends justify the means; [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]] calms him to prevent a fight, but shares his beliefs, and tells Prime so to his face.''

Thundercracker and [[Buster (IDW)|Buster]] attend an awards ceremony where he is up for "Best Original Screenplay" for [[Last Laugh: The Life and Death of Chuckles|his biopic]] of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] [[Chuckles]]. Wracked with nerves that are made all the worse by the fact that one of his favorite actresses, [[Karen Fishook]], is announcing the winner, Thundercracker braces himself to hear the result...

''Optimus remembers his period of shifting identity, how he went from Prime back to Orion Pax and traveled the stars for a time until retaking the Prime title, then how [[Cybertronian colonies|Cybertron's colonies]] came to consider him [[The Arisen]], the Thirteenth Prime. He wonders, could it be true? Could ''that'' be why Alpha Trion was at his birth?''

Out in the void of [[space (the place)|space]], Aileron captains an exploration vessel crewed by Jetfire, [[Bob (IDW)|Bob]], [[D.0.C.]], and the remaining colonist ex-soldiers. When Jetfire picks up something unusual, Aileron orders them to set course for it with the intention of making friends, and tells [[Bump]] to contact Arcee on Earth so she can apologize to her for her inevitable late return.

''Following Optimus's annexation of Earth, he travels to the colony worlds to recruit new followers, exploiting their faith in his supposed divinity to convince them to join him. Prime's confidence in his new role concerns Aileron, as she remembers how naive and impressionable she was in the face of "The Arisen" not so along ago.''

Prowl oversees [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'s incarceration in an undersea facility. Shockwave reflects on the many faces he was worn in his life, and comments that he is no longer sure which of them was ever the real him. In a moment that's as much dark self-reflection as it is condemnation of Shockwave, Prowl tells him that they were ''all'' the real him, because a 'bot is defined by—and will be judged by—their actions, not what they hoped to attain when they carried those actions out.

''In advance of the final showdown with Unicron, Optimus Prime has one final conversation with Arcee. He removes his [[mouthplate]] and hands it to her, symbolically removing the "mask" of his identity so he can face Unicron as his true self. Recalling Alpha Trion's words at the moment of his creation, that he would be worth telling stories about, Prime tells Arcee that it is ''stories'', and the emotions and deeds they can inspire, that are truly important, moreso than the real-life person those stories happen to be about.''

Prime's discarded mouthplate now sits atop a coffin at the funeral everyone has been waiting for. With a small group of mourners that include representatives of various former colonies, the Earth heroes and organizations he fought with and against, and Prime's closest friends and fiercest detractors, [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] presides, and begins to read from a prepared speech... before she stops herself and instead begins to speak from her heart, delivering a eulogy that is both celebrates and damns with its truth. Prime has left no body; instead, they bury the ''idea'' of Optimus Prime—the idea of both the heroic warrior who fought oppression and saved lives and worlds, and the war hawk leader who pretended to divinity and lied and killed to achieve his desires—that he may be remembered always, and that they may move beyond him and build upon what he achieved to shape a better future on their new homeworld.

''Sinking into darkness, Optimus Prime thinks back on the successes and failures of his life one last time, and the fundamental contradiction they embodied: how could he claim to desire freedom for all beings when he presented that freedom as only achievable through him, with war and destruction ensuing when anyone opposed him? Now, at the end, Prime can see the truth, that "freedom" and "unity" are not in contradiction to one another, but two sides of the same coin, one only attainable through the other. In his life, he failed to find the harmony between the two.. but now that he is gone, he can see that it doesn't matter. Optimus Prime departs the living world with a smile on his face, knowing that life will go on without him, and the stories of his journey, of his ''trying,'' will inspire others to keep doing the same.''

And a story is exactly what these "flashbacks" turn out to be; perhaps the dying Prime's life flashing before his eyes, but also Arcee telling the story of Optimus Prime's life to her class of students, made up of human and [[Elonian]] children, and the new generation of young Cybertronians formerly cared for by [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. [[Sideswipe (IDW)|Sideswipe]] questions how Arcee can know that what she is telling them about Prime's final realizations at the end of his life are true, since she wasn't there; Arcee responds that she knew what Prime thought and felt while he was alive, and that is enough to reach the same conclusion. Prime believed in a better future, she tells the children, and believing in the future means believing in the ability of people to change for the better. And all the stories of such change, like the story Arcee is telling them now... all those stories of triumph and failure, and all that they can teach and inspire... ''they'' are what will truly define that future.

==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"{{!}}
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime/Orion Pax]]'' (4)
*[[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] (5)
*''[[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]]'' (8)
*''[[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]]'' (9)
*''[[Outback (G1)|Outback]]'' (10)
*[[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] (15)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (17)
*[[Pyra Magna]] (19)
*[[Swift (G1)|Swift]] (20)
*[[Jumpstream]] (21)
*[[Slide]] (22)
*[[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]] (23)
*[[Dust Up]] (24)
*[[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] (25)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (26)
*''[[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]]?'' (27)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Tumbler]]'' (28)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (29)
*''[[Slag (G1)|Slag]]'' (36)
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (37)
*''[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]'' (38)
*''[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]'' (39)
*''[[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]]'' (40)
*[[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] (44)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (45)
*[[Bump]] (47)
*[[Aileron]] (49)
*''[[Oiler]]'' (50)
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (53)
*[[Strafe (IDW)|Strafe]] (55)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (56)
*[[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]] (57)
{{!}}}

|c2=
*[[Sparkstalker]] (12)
*''[[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]]'' (16)
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] (18)
*''[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]'' (30)
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] (34)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost (35)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] (51)

|c3=
'''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'''
*[[Scarlett]] (58)
*[[Matt Trakker]] (59)
*[[Ayana Jones|Mayday]] (60)
*[[Zilong Qian|Talon]] (62)

'''Others'''
*[[Marissa Faireborn]] (6)
*[[Brad Emory]] (11)
*[[Sofía Orozco]] (12)
*[[Karen Fishook]] (43)
*[[President of the United States|President]] (61)
*[[Action Man]] (64)
*[[Sgt. Savage]] (65)

|h4=Other Cybertronians|c4=
*''[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]'' (1)
*''[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]'' (2)
*''Unnamed [[blacksmith]]'' (3)
*[[Lightbright (G1)|Lightbright]] (13)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] (41)
*[[Sideswipe (IDW)|Sideswipe]] (66)
*[[Slicer (Decepticon)|Slicer]] (68)

|h5=Others|c5=
'''[[Space Knight]]s'''
*[[Livia]] (14)
*[[Rom]] (63)

'''[[Junkion (species)|Junkion]]s'''
*[[Rum-Maj]] (31)
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (32)
*? (33)

'''Others'''
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s (7)
*[[Buster (IDW)|Buster]] (42)
*[[Bob (IDW)|Bob]] (46)
*[[D.0.C.]] (48)
*''[[Unicron]]'' (52)
*[[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]] (54)
*Elonian girl (67)
}}

==Quotes==
"Our job is to keep the '''peace.''' We only kill as the '''last option'''—when '''evil''' leaves us no choice." 
"'''Ha ha ha!''' Kid, I thought you were too '''serious'''—glad ta see a '''bleak''' sense of '''humor''' in ya."
:—'''Orion Pax''' and '''Kup'''

"This place is really popular, you know, '''Rummy-Cube,''' my love. But do you know '''why?''' Ask me why." 
"No." 
"It seems people are '''dying''' to get here!"
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' and '''Rum-Maj''' visit Little Cybertron's graveyard

"'''Winning?''' What does it '''mean?!''' Maybe there's no '''winning''', my dear, because the game doesn't '''end.''' Some '''pieces''' fall off the board, but new '''pink pegs''' get stuck in the car and we keep passing '''go''', keep collecting '''200 Shanix.'''" 
"Perhaps. Perhaps it '''is''' a victory when the '''game''' continues... '''regardless''' of the players."
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' and '''Rum-Maj'''

"'''Soundwave''' laid down his life so '''everybody''' could live. But for '''you'''... I think he'd understand if I made an '''exception.'''"
:—'''Buzzsaw''' attacks the poachers

'''Optimus Prime:''' "'''Find''' [Megatron]. But I want the '''opportunity''' for peace. We're fighting for the '''same thing,''' after all." 
'''Prowl:''' "He's '''nuts.'''" 
'''Bumblebee:''' "Heh. He's '''Optimus.'''"

"You '''know''' you saved the universe, right?" 
"Pfft. Not if you '''ask''' anyone." 
"Oh Primus. You're '''jealous''' that '''Optimus''' got all the credit." 
"Who, '''me?''' Jealous? It's '''okay.''' People will '''probably''' remember me. That's '''all''' I can ask for, I guess." 
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Starscream'''

"I was '''right''', you know. When it all comes down to it, everything is about '''resources'''... there is a finite amount of '''everything'''. Even '''identities'''. And I am no longer sure which version of '''myself''' was the '''real''' one." 
"They '''all''' were, Shockwave. All that was done to you, all that you did to yourself... all that you did to '''others.''' We are our '''actions'''... not our '''hopes.'''"
:—'''Shockwave''' and '''Prowl'''

"'''Today''', on his adopted world of '''Earth'''... we bury '''Optimus Prime'''. Not his '''body'''—that's gone. Not his '''spark'''—that belongs to '''Solus.''' We bury the '''idea''' of Optimus Prime. He was a warrior. A hero. A killer. A liar. '''Destruction''' was his company. Did he '''cause''' it—or prevent '''worse?''' The thing that made Optimus who he '''was'''... was that he '''asked''' those questions. Life is not '''simple''', and neither is '''death.''' We inter the '''idea''' of Optimus Prime into the '''soil''' of his '''adopted world'''... a world that has, in turn, adopted us '''all.''' [['Til all are one]]."
:—'''Windblade''' delivers a eulogy for Optimus Prime

"'''Freedom''' and unity (...) describe the same '''phenomenon.''' '''One''' cannot be free unless all are. And if '''all''' are '''free'''—they are as '''one.''' I fell short of '''achieving''' this... but it doesn't matter. The '''goal''' isn't important. The journey is. And it '''never''' ends."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words

"Believing in the future means believing we can '''change.''' The '''story''' of that change, the story of becoming what we '''are'''—what we were '''meant''' to be... '''that''' is the true history of the '''world.''' And '''this''', children, is our future. This is '''our''' world."
:—'''Arcee''' signs off

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*This issue is the final comic in the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]. Following on from the events of [[Ceremony|''Unicron'' #6]], it serves as an epilogue to that story, to the ''Optimus Prime'' series and John Barber's seven-year ''Transformers'' run, and to the IDW universe as a whole. In terms of chronology, however, portions of [[How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2|''Lost Light'' #25]] take place in the far future, long after this issue.
*Scattered remarks made here and there over the last few years of IDW comics have implied a recontextualization of Arcee's origins from her [[Spotlight: Arcee|controversial ''Spotlight'' back in 2008]], but with this issue, Barber—working with ''Transformers'' fan [[Jenevieve Frank]] to incorporate experiences common to many transgender women—finally addresses the matter directly. In no uncertain terms, Arcee was (in her words) "forged male, which did not match [her] spark," and willingly agreed to the procedure Jhiaxus performed on her. Her erratic behavior following this was not the result of the transition itself, but the lack of aftercare Jhiaxus provided ("the Cybertronian equivalent" of "bad meds," Arcee and Marissa collectively conclude).
*Arcee also notes that [[Anode]] (a trans character featured in ''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]'') offered to help her, only to vanish. Given that Anode only realized her trans identity after leaving Cybertron to escape the war, this means she must have met Arcee when she returned to Cybertron just prior to events shown in [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|''Lost Light'' #1]], and her "disappearance" was her abduction to the future by [[Mortilus|the Necrobot]], seen in that same issue. The implication, then, is that the things Arcee discovered from Anode (like the fact she ''didn't'' have to have her [[CNA]] altered in order to transition) coupled with Anode's disappearance before she could help her triggered the rampage the already-unstable Arcee was on as ''Spotlight: Arcee'' began.
*Orion's first two flashbacks are the earliest points we have seen in his life in this continuity, prior to his previously-chronologically-earliest appearance in [[Chaos Theory Part 1|''The Transformers'' vol. 1 #22]]. The third also seems intended to be set before this issue, in his younger days before he became a police captain (Outback still calls him "rookie," and the narration implies it is before he addresses the Senate, as seen in [[Chaos Theory Part 2|''The Transformers'' vol. 1 #23]]), but see "Errors" below.
*Needlenose and Tracks were previously shown in business together selling Chic Chips before the war in [[The Transgressors|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #44]].
*Following her acceptance into the ranks of the Torchbearers in ''Unicron'' #6, replacing the deceased [[Stormclash]], Slide is shown to have adopted their red-and-green color scheme. With Pyra ascending to the position of Mistress of Flame, Skyburst has become the new leader of the team, and Swift has joined them as the new sixth member and also taken their colors. Swift's not here for combining reasons, though; [[Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #46]] explained there are always six Torchbearers, representing the hexagonal lattice of [[Solus Prime]]'s [[Creation Lathe]].
*Orion's fourth flashback takes place after the various flashbacks we've seen throughout the ''Optimus Prime'' series, but before ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy|Autocracy]]'', and depicts Orion in his "angry and violent" phase that he fell into following the events seen in [[New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|''Optimus Prime'' #5]].
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] appears with Pax's unit in this flashback; presumably he's there because he's still partners with Prowl in the [[Iaconian Mechaforensic Division]] at this time, as seen in [[Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|''More than Meets the Eye'' #9]]-[[Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|11]]. Per those issues, his name at this time is "Tumbler."
*Process of elimination would indicate the block-colored sixth 'bot on Orion's team seen in this flashback is Hound, who was part of his unit in ''Autocracy'', but hasn't shown up in any of the other looks at the past in the ''Optimus Prime'' series. His cannon's on the wrong shoulder, though.
*This flashback sees Swindle mention a simultronic dealer named [[Marauder (G1)|Marauder]]. A 'bot by this name was previously referenced in [[Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|''Lost Light'' #3]], one of the deceased Transformers whose essences were captured in one of the Necrobot's spark-flowers, whose death was apparently the work of Starscream.
*Orion's fifth flashback occurs between [[The Hunt for Soundwave|''Autocracy'' #3]] and [[Cause and Effect|#4]], but it retcons the precise circumstances of Orion and Megatron's meeting. Orion was not politely invited to meet with Megatron and given time to talk it over with his comrades; he was ''forced'' to do so by Decepticons who were holding Bumblebee hostage (with 'Bee even telling Orion not to go because it was a trap, versus his encouragement in his story) and had to go to the meeting right away.
*During the fifth flashback, Ironhide refers to the death of the Senate, as seen in [[Megatron Origin issue 4|''Megatron Origin'' #4]].
*Buzzsaw is defending elephants against poachers in Soundwave's memory because elephants were Soundwave's favourite Earth creatures, as he revealed in [[New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows|''Optimus Prime'' #4]].
*Captain of continuity to the very last, John Barber plugs one of the larger gaps in the IDW timeline with Orion's sixth flashback, which details how Megatron escaped captivity after he was imprisoned by the Autobots in [[Primacy issue 4|''Primacy'' #4]].
*Following his death in ''Unicron'' #6 and conspicuous absence from the gathering of the spirits of the dead seen in the same issue, Starscream is revealed to have persisted after death as a "ghost" who can only be seen by Bumblebee, in an inverse of their relationship for the last three years (spanning [[The Transgressors|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #44]], though all of [[The Transformers: Till All Are One|''Till All Are One,'']] up to [[The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing|''Optimus Prime'' #19]]). Exactly how Starscream has done this is left unsaid; perhaps his spirit has wound up in [[Infraspace]] like Bumblebee's did, given that the Talisman, which killed Starscream, showed the ability to project a 'bot's consciousness there in [[Ghost in the Machine (IDW)|''Revolutionaries'' #8]]. See also "Transformers references," below.
*Bumblebee is leaving to become the Transformers' diplomatic envoy to the Galactic Council. ''Lost Light'' #25 established that Prowl was reaching out to the Council to have them oversee Megatron's second trial, in the hope the Cybertronian race would finally be allowed to join. Sounds rather like he got his wish.
*Orion's seventh flashback showcases his tempestuous relationship with the Dinobots, which was the subject of ''[[The Transformers: Punishment]]''. Slug is correctly still referred to as "Slag" during this flashback, as it's set before he changed his name in [[No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|''More than Meets the Eye'' #25]].
*One of the other writers competing with Thundercracker for his award is "Michael Costa," a tip of the hat to former IDW ''Transformers'' writer [[Mike Costa]], who rehabilitated Thundercracker all the way back in 2010's [[Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|''Transformers'' vol. 1 #4]] by establishing him as a fan of Earth television, thereby setting him on the path to this moment.
*Thundercracker was established to be a fan of Karen Fishook (who played the mother of the titular character of his favorite TV show ''[[Nurse Whitney]]'') in [[Starscream: The Movie (comic)|the 2018 ''Optimus Prime'' annual]].
*Orion's eighth flashback occurs during his solo space travels, somewhere between ''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime]]'' and [[Syndromica (1)|''Robots in Disguise'' #6]].
*While on a space adventure as part of Aileron's crew, D.0.C. is shown with a stuffed toy dog on a lead, with a visible "B" on its name tag. This is obviously a surrogate for Buster, as the pair became pals after sharing an adventure back in [[Conquerors Part 3: Helden|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #48]].
*Orion's ninth flashback falls somewhere between the end of ''[[Revolution]]'' and the start of ''Optimus Prime''.
*It's not called out by name, but Shockwave appears to have been imprisoned on ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Lemuria]]'', a.k.a the former Decepticon spacecraft ''Nemesis'', which was being used as an underwater headquarters by G.I. Joe in [[G.I. Joe vol. 5|''G.I. Joe'' vol. 5]] following its capture by the [[Earth Defense Command]] in [[White Heat|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #57]].
*The imprisoned Shockwave has been strung up with his arms and legs removed, a plight that was also suffered by [[Getaway]] in [[Speak, Memory! (Part 2)|''More than Meets the Eye'' #49]]. Perhaps this is standard Cybertronian protocol for exceptionally dangerous prisoners. Additionally, the perspective and framing of Shockwave's dismembered body calls back to how he was similarly shown in [[Maximum Dinobots issue 2|''Maximum Dinobots'' #2]], and [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #3]], and [[Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|''More Than Meets The Eye'' #11]]. In each of those other circumstances, Shockwave was being rebuilt and getting a new chance to further his schemes; here, he has been taken apart most likely for keeps.
*Orion's tenth and final flashback is set during the events of [[Unicron issue 5|''Unicron'' #5]], and shows his decision to remove his faceplate prior to the end of that issue, which went unexplained at the time.
*Windblade begins Optimus's funeral by saying "Loss of life is only a tragedy if it is without..." before stopping herself. The next word is "purpose"; this rite was previously used by [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] at the funeral of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]] in [[Megatron Origin issue 3|''Megatron Origin'' #3]], and by Optimus at the funeral of Sideswipe in [[The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2)|''Optimus Prime'' #13]].
* The Elonian child on the final page appears to be the same young girl who appeared in ''Unicron'' issues [[Our Darkest|#1]] and [[Ceremony|#6]].
*And so the question of whether or not Optimus Prime truly is The Arisen is... left ambiguous. He ''might'' be the reincarnation of the Thirteenth Prime... or he might not. In the end, it doesn't matter; what matters is what he used the story to accomplish.

===Transformers references===
*The text on the first page of this issue is taken from the [[bio]] included with the [[Tech Spec]]s of the [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#Generation 1|original Optimus Prime toy]]. The "line graph" below it is based on (but is not an exact replica of) Prime's original Tech Spec graph itself.
*The little robot who transforms into the blackmith's medical equipment (apparently some kind of magnifying lens) is [[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]], a comic-original character who appeared in [[The Smelting Pool!|issue #17]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|original Marvel ''Transformers'' comic]]. He's made several silent cameo guest-spots dotted across IDW history that, like this one, have typically depicted him in unfortunate situations, but this is the first time we've seen his alternate mode. In the Marvel comic, he transformed into a wheel, and in homage to that, he's here seen chasing after a circular piece of his own [[kibble]] that's popped off and is rolling away.
*The freshly-forged Orion Pax's appearance is mostly based on his original look from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[War Dawn (episode)|War Dawn]]" with a few embellishments, like the angular protruding windshield-chest reminiscent of the design created by [[Guido Guidi]] for his appearance in "[[Spotlight: Blurr]]."
*Multiple human workers seen throughout this issue are wearing tan shirt, blue pants, and yellow helmet and boots worn by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|his father]] in the Generation 1 cartoon.
*On page 3, a sign is shown advertising [[energon goodie]]s as they appeared in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', as wafer-like "sticks of gum" kept in a square container.
*Orion Pax notes that, as a truck, Functionism permitted him to have become "a scientist, a librarian, or a dockworker" instead of a police officer. Orion was a dockworker in the Generation 1 cartoon, and a librarian in both [[Dreamwave Productions]]' [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity|comic book continuity]] and the [[Aligned continuity family]]. "Scientist" was presented as a possible job he could have had in Optimus Prime's original Generation 1 profile, were he not leader of the Autobots instead, and may also be an allusion to the [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|live-action movie version of the character]], who in IDW's movie tie-in comics, was the head of Cybertron's [[Science Division]] before becoming a Prime.
*Swindle refers to a 'bot named "[[Shadowhawk]]," which was the Japanese-market name for [[Divebomb (Energon)|''Energon'' Divebomb]].
* Hound is shown holding Ravage in captivity—a reference to their numerous bouts in Generation 1 fiction.
*Starscream surviving death as a ghost is, of course, a concept that originated in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]," and has seen a lot of play in subsequent media, particularly in Japan. If the Infraspace explanation isn't the case, perhaps IDW's Starscream really does just have the same "indestructible spark" as the original, which the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] credited with his unique ability to persist after death.
*Midnight Express remarks that he likes the cold, an aspect of his personality derived from his original Japanese characterization. This trait survived into the English-language bio included with Hasbro's release of the figure, but not into the English-dubbed version of the [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)|''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon]].
*Optimus drops [[Furmanism#IT NEVER ENDS|a famous climactic Furmanism]] as the final line of his narration.
*Arcee serving as a teacher for the next generation of Cybertronians alludes to her [[Arcee (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]], who was a teacher before the war.
*Several young members of that next generation appear along with the young Sideswipe on the final page. Apart from one who is drawn to look like the deceased [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] (and coloured like Wheeljack's [[Action Master]] redeco, [[Slicer (Decepticon)|Slicer]]), the rest appear to be generics who colourist Josh Burcham has given the color schemes of other characters. One has been colored like [[Sideways (Armada)|''Armada'' Sideways]], and another like [[Turbofire]].

===Real-life references===
*Wreck-Gar uses a few board game metaphors:
**"...you know, Rummy-cube, my love..."-a slight allusion to {{w|Rummikub}}, a tile adaptation of set-collecting games like Rummy.
**"New pink pegs get stuck in the car"—a gameplay mechanic from {{w|The Game of Life}}.
**"We keep passing Go, keep collecting 200 [[Shanix]]"—an allusion to passing Go and collecting $200 in [[Monopoly]]
*Thundercracker has titled his Chuckles movie ''Last Laugh,'' which was the name of the real-life hardcover collection of the IDW ''G.I. Joe'' comic books telling the story that T.C. has based his screenplay on.
*Karen Fishook starts to read the result of the award ceremony by saying "And the winner is..." before correcting herself and saying "And the award goes to..." Her first impulse is how they used to announce the Oscars, before it was changed in 1989 to the latter (or rather, to "And the ''Oscar'' goes to...").
*The imagery of Bumblebee walking on a beach receiving guidance from someone who cannot be seen, showing only one set of footprints in the sand, is similar to common inspirational "--and that's when I carried you" allusions to [[Jesus]].

===Errors===
*The flashbacks showing Orion Pax and Ironhide as beat cops together contradict [[All Hail Megatron issue 13|''All Hail Megatron'' #13]], which showed the two being introduced by Kup after Pax was already a field commander.
*With regard to Orion's third flashback, it shows Ravage drawing graffiti of the Decepticon symbol when Orion was still a rookie beat cop... but [[Chaos Theory Part 1|''The Transformers'' vol. 1 #22]] showed that Orion had become captain of the Rodion precinct before Megatron ever thought the symbol up.
*During their flashback, Oiler and Slide are drawn with their Earth vehicle modes, rather than the Devisen forms they were depicted with in [[Time Will Rust|issue #23]].
*Shockwave says "There's is a finite amount of everything."

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in October 2018, this issue was held back until late November to ensure that it was released after the delayed ''Unicron'' #6.
*This issue features 24 story pages instead of the usual 20. The remaining four pages of the comic are taken up by the introductory "Tech Specs" page (described above), two bookend pages that simply read "The Beginning" and "The End," and a farewell letter from writer John Barber reminiscing about his time on IDW's ''Transformers'' comics and thanking his fellow creators.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' A huge cast group shot surrounding a portrait of Optimus Prime, by [[Kei Zama]] and [[Josh Burcham]]; an homage to Marvel Comics' 25th anniversary covers from 1986. [[Heavy Traffic!|Marvel's ''The Transformers'' #22]] featured one of these covers, but the note on the credits page that it is drawn "after {{w|Walt Simonson|Walter Simonson}}" indicates it's specifically evoking the cover of [https://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Thor_Vol_1_373 ''Thor'' #373] and Simsonson's regal depiction of the God of Thunder.
*'''Cover B:''' Optimus Prime, with other members in the pieces of a shattered Autobot symbol behind him, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[John-Paul Bove]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' ''Robots in Disguise'' artist [[Andrew Griffith]] returns to draw key cast members from Barber's run one last time
<gallery>
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===Advertisements===
*''[[Sonic the Hedgehog|Team Sonic Racing]]'' one-shot

==External links==
*[http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/2018/11/16/exclusive-idw-preview-optimus-prime-25/ Preview]

[[Category:Optimus Prime issues]]

Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2019-01-02T15:29:15Z

Ms. Trbuchette: /* Conceptual origins */ This is Jenevieve. I omitted "transgender" before my name. I'm out, but it feels odd to call that out when it isn't explicitly mentioned re: other trans creatives/consultants (e.g. Mags or Rachel).

{{faction|autobot|wreckers}}
{{featured}}
{{suite}}
[[File:TFRID11 CVRB Arcee Header.jpg|upright=1.7|thumb|All right, ladies, the kitten whispers and tickle fights stop now!]]

An ancient warrior from the dawn of Cybertronian history, '''Arcee''' arose from the ashes of her mysterious, traumatic past to become one of the most feared Transformers of her era and beyond. Cold and detached off the battlefield and utterly ruthless in combat, Arcee's single-minded bloodlust put her at odds with both the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s for most of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]].

But after finding a kindred spirit in [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and making peace (or ''pieces'') with some of her demons, Arcee has turned over a new leaf. After a brief stint in the employ of [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], Arcee formally joined the Autobots and struck up a friendship with [[Sideswipe (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sideswipe]]. In her new role as one of [[Earth]]'s peacekeepers, her change of [[spark]] has allowed her to grow into a more compassionate being and a capable defender of [[human]]ity.

:*''First Appearance:'' [[Spotlight: Arcee]]

{{quote|But I know one '''universal rule'''—whatever the game, the easiest way to win is to kill all the other players.|Arcee sums up her pragmatic approach to problem-solving|"[[The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing|The Hallowing]]"}}

==IDW Generation 1 continuity==
===Out for blood===
[[File:OriginMyths-ArceeAndGalvatron.jpg|thumb|left|250px|I am Sparceetacus.]]

'''Arcee of the [[Darklands]]''' {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} and her [[twin]] brother [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] were ancient, hailing from the barbaric age predating the rise of the [[Thirteen]]. In this ancient era, both male and female Cybertronians naturally coexisted, and the young Arcee was forged into a male body {{storylink|Origin Myths}}{{storylink|Post}} but this ran counter to how she felt in her spark, later musing that this old identity was a lie she told herself. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} {{storylink|Origin Myths}}

In their youth, Arcee and Galvatron were slaves of [[Septimus Prime]] and his [[Supplicants of Arrius]]; forced to fight in the [[Gladiatorial combat|gladiatorial]] arenas of ancient [[Protihex|Protohex]], "The Twins," as they came to be known, carved out a fearsome reputation for themselves. But as the city's [[energon]] dwindled, their capricious master ordered them to fight between themselves until only one survived. Arcee soon gained the upper hand, but before she could finish Galvatron off, the city was invaded by the armies of [[The Fallen|Megatronus]]; the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] announced that he had annexed their city into his territory, the Darklands, and threw their former master into the ring for the twins to kill.

Having honed their fighting skills in the pits of Protohex, Arcee and Galvatron became the twin vanguards of the Darklander armies, and joined Megatronus as they marched on the neighboring village that would one day become the [[Crystal City]]. As battle broke out between the Darklanders and the bestial legions of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Onyx Prime]], the twins led the charge, but the battle quickly ended when three [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]s arose from beneath the surface of the planet. Taking advantage of both side's stunned silence, Onyx Prime cut his way through the armies of the Darklanders and quickly ratified a truce with his old student Megatronus {{storylink|Origin Myths}} — as "Onyx Prime," the time-travelling [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] had deliberately engineered the war to bring the Primes and their followers together, and the other Primes, unaware of "Onyx's" true nature, soon agreed to this unification. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}}

[[File:OurFinest-AntillanMission.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Kitbashers, grab your [[Galvatron (G1)/toys|Galvatron toys!]]]]

At the celebrations that followed in the evening, Arcee quickly grew skeptical of this alliance, correctly predicting that the remaining five Primes would join their banner, and worrying that the Primes would eventually grow drunk on their own superiority. [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] noted that it would be Arcee's job to keep himself and the other members of the Thirteen in their place. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} In the two million years of peace that followed, the surviving Primes formally rallied under a single banner and immortalized themselves as the [[Thirteen]]. Arcee and Galvatron remained Megatronus' trusted lieutenants, and when Onyx Prime encouraged an expansion to bring the "light" of Cybertronian civilization to lesser worlds, the twins joined their master aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and his [[Guardian robot|Omega Sentinels]]. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} Along with Onyx Prime and Alpha Trion, the Cybertronian fleet set a course for the neighboring world of [[Antilla]] and began a bloody, protracted war with the native [[Antillan]]s — a devastating conflict that only came to an end when a [[Unicron's creator|desperate Antillan scientist]] constructed a [[Talisman (G1)|doomsday weapon]] that annihilated all life on the planet. Unlike her twin, Arcee would forever carry deep regret about her involvement in the Antillan war, being disgusted that Alpha Trion had chosen to blame the aliens for the conflict in the history books. {{storylink|Our Finest}}

By that time, however, the twins and their masters had already returned to Cybertron, and the fallout from the battle for Antilla ultimately snowballed into a larger conflict, the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]]. {{storylink|The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|The First Who Was Named}} Arcee and Galvatron both survived the falling out of the Primes, but over the years the twins grew increasingly distant from one another, and Galvatron would eventually strike out on his own to lead a personal crusade against the forces of the Primes. {{storylink|The Crucible}} In the post-war era that followed the disappearance of the Thirteen and the rise of [[Nova Prime]], Cybertron changed drastically; for reasons unknown, naturally-born [[female Transformer]]s had somehow vanished from Cybertron after the conclusion of the conflict and the departure of the Titans, and the remaining subsequent generations would unaware that separate genders had ever existed on Cybertron. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}}

[[File:Spotlight Arcee traumatic flashback.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"So, you're keen on music?"]]

Arcee, never entirely comfortable with her birth identity, {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} fell in with the mad genius [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], who was trying to reintroduce separate genders to the species as part of his experiments to recreate the lost aspects of old Cybertronian civilization. Not seeing the mad scientist for what he truly was, Arcee asked him to operate on her in the hopes of dealing with her gender dysphoria. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}{{storylink|Post}} Jhiaxus was able to successfully alter Arcee's physiology and gender presentation by fundamentally re-coding her [[CNA]], leaving her with a "maddening maelstrom of contradictory sensory input." Other Cybertronians would sense a fundamental difference about Arcee and inadvertently refer to her with feminine pronouns. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

Ultimately, Jhiaxus felt no need to involve himself further with Arcee and abandoned her after the surgery {{storylink|Post}} She would later come to believe she didn't live up to his standards and was abandoned as a reject. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}} The lack of aftercare combined with the trauma of her experience led to Arcee becoming angry, distant, and distrustful of agendas and experiments done to people against their will. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}} {{storylink|An Uneventful Night}} {{storylink|Post}} Over the next few centuries, Arcee found support in [[Anode]], another Cybertronian who had voluntarily transitioned from male to female, but when Anode [[Mortilus|disappeared]] some years later, Arcee's violent streak resurfaced {{storylink|Post}} and she became obsessed with eliminating all traces of Jhiaxus' work from the universe. Driven by an implacable homing instinct towards Jhiaxus's experiments, she cut a mech-fluid swath of carnage across several planets in her obsession with destroying everything Jhiaxus created. She was eventually taken down by [[Tyrest Accord]] enforcer [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and incarcerated on the Autobot penitentiary on [[Garrus-9]]. As was policy for threats of her level, Arcee's [[spark]] was separated from her body, and in this limbo, she found a kind of peace.

[[File:arceealtmodeidw.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Fast and the Furious: Cybertronian Drift]]

That peace was shattered when the [[Decepticon Secret Service]], led by [[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzaitron]], attacked Garrus-9 to liberate the recently incarcerated [[Pretender Monster|Monstructor Six]], more of Jhiaxus's experiments. When the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] infiltrated the facility, warden [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]] freed Arcee as a last resort to stop them. She presented quite the frightening obstacle for the invaders, severely wounding [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] and [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]], but in the end they managed to escape with their target. [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] convinced Maximus to allow her to pursue them, {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}} and she followed their trail to the Decepticon Battle Platform [[Zuska]], where she tortured a Decepticon for information on the escapees' location. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

[[File:SpotlightSideswipe Jhiaxus deathbecomeshim.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Those were the best days of our lives.]]

Using this intel to locate Banzaitron, Arcee found that the Transformers from the [[Dead Universe]]—Jhiaxus among them—had activated Monstructor and spirited him away, decimating the Banzaitron's team in the process. Arcee agreed to help Banzaitron in recovering Monstructor, on the basis that it would lead her to Jhiaxus. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} Tracking Monstructor to [[Rotan]], she and the Decepticons engaged him in battle until [[Skram (G2)|Skram]] arrived with information on Jhiaxus's location. Abandoning the fight, Arcee headed for [[Gorlam Prime]], where she murdered her way through a legion of [[Micromaster]]s before finally cornering him beneath the planet's surface. There, she was surprised and delighted to find that, as he came from the Dead Universe, and they were in a location close to its influence, Jhiaxus could not die. And that meant she could kill him over, and over, and over... {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Arcee did just that for six years, and would later profess that the experience helped her straighten her head out. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}} It had in fact been the only time she'd ever been truly happy. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}}

[[File:HeartofDarkness1-ArceeHardhead.jpg|thumb|right|200px|You know how the saying goes about wearing your spine on your stomach-- wait, that's not how the saying goes? ....scrap.]]

This demented "therapy" came to an end when Gorlam Prime's portal to the Dead Universe reactivated, hypnotically drawing the native [[Gorlamite]]s into it. Arcee also felt its lure but [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] held her back until the effect faded, and the two Autobots decided to investigate. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}} A while later, they detected [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]], [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and Jhiaxus in the vicinity and attacked them. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 1|Heart of Darkness #1}} Discovering that her arch-enemy had been restored by Galvatron's [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], she vowed to destroy Jhiaxus all over again, but those plans had to be tabled when Galvatron powered himself up by tapping into the Dead Universe via the portal. Convinced by Hardhead to flee and warn the Autobots of Galvatron's return, Arcee was blasted into a chasm by her pursuers, but managed to survive. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}}

Some time later, as Galvatron was in the process of assembling an army and preparing to enact his grand plan, Arcee and Hardhead came to the rescue of an Autobot escape pod full of survivors from the [[Kimia Facility]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}} Bringing the survivors aboard, she and Hardhead had to explain at least five times to them all about the Dead Universe, the Heart of Darkness, [[D-Void]], and Galvatron's plans. The rag-tag group made it to Cybertron, by which time Galvatron infected [[Vector Sigma]] with the Heart of Darkness, which caused a maelstrom to break out on the planet's surface. Arcee suggested guiding the ship through an underground tunnel, crashing right on top of Galvatron himself, but this failed to take the super-powered villain out, and he quickly engaged and defeated Arcee and Hardhead. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

===Under Prowl===
[[File:Arcee Ratbat WorldandEverythingInIt.jpg|thumb|left|200px|She never was one for politics.]]
[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] subsequently used the Matrix to purify Vector Sigma, but in the process reverted Cybertron to a primordial state. In this tumultuous new era, Arcee fell into the employ of [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], acting as his shadowy enforcer in an era of uneasy peace. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|The Autonomy Lesson}} She inaugurated her new role by assassinating [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] before the former senator could have [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] killed, but her vicious methods sat ill with Prowl. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}} Later, Arcee watched with amusement from a high vantage point as a set of rockets [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] had fired into orbit successfully drew away dangerous energies that would have caused an explosion on the planet's surface. {{storylink|Stick Together}}

Prowl soon called upon Arcee again to aid him in dealing with Decepticon malcontents, this time confronting [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] and his [[cerebro-shell]]-controlled minions. After Arcee killed the mind-controlled [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] against Prowl's wishes, the pair pursued Bombshell into underground tunnels, but ran into the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], whom Arcee took on solo, saving an unknowing [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]] in the process. Prowl, meanwhile, went after Bombshell, but succumbed to his newly improved method of mind control. Under Bombshell's sway, Prowl returned to Arcee's side and "destroyed" Constructicons by detonating their [[Inhibitor/deterrence chip|I/D chips]], then sent her after [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], who had witnessed the whole thing. Evidently suspecting that something was amiss with Prowl, she secretly allowed Dirge to escape. {{storylink|Devisive}} Deducing what had happened to Prowl, she met with him later, informing him she "knew his secret" and cautioning him to remember that she was not his killer to order around, {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}} but continued to work towards whatever objectives Bombshell was manipulating Prowl for, allowing the Insecticon to think she was on his side so she could discover what he was up to and stop him. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}}

Arcee later secretly joined "Prowl" and the other Autobot security officers in tracking Dirge to the Decepticons' bolt-hole, but once again, she stood back and allowed him and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] to escape during the ensuing firefight. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}} She would later be seen prowling the rooftops of the city, watching [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] and [[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]] through the sight of her weapon and graciously deciding not to snipe them. {{storylink|Night and the City}}

[[File:Arcee and Ravage The End of the Beginning of the World.jpg|thumb|right|250px|She didn't exactly have a knack for massages, either.]]
When the time came for the Decepticons to put the final stage of their plan into action, Bombshell directed Arcee, through Prowl, to exfiltrate [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]], [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] and their men from their present living quarters in the Decepticon pen. She chose to do so in the most violent way possible, of course, first attacking and killing the pen guards [[Triggerhappy (G1)|Triggerhappy]] and [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] and then detonating a shrapnel bomb that disabled all the other Decepticons present. Before departing with their unconscious bodies, she planted another explosive which Prowl then deliberately tripped while leading a "raid" on the pen, making it appear that the Decepticons within had been destroyed by their own booby-trap. Meanwhile, unaware of what had truly transpired, Starscream assumed that all of this had gone down as a result of his blackmailing Prowl with the knowledge he had gained from Dirge, so Arcee decided to drop in and rain on his parade, informing him she knew exactly where he had hidden Dirge, and could take away his "advantage" at any time. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}}

[[File:TheVerge-Arcee.jpg|thumb|left|250px|I'll cry when I'm done killing!]]

That, as it turned out, was exactly what she did when riots broke out upon the return of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]. Recovering Dirge from his hideaway and informing him of "Prowl's" involvement with the Decepticons, she took him and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] to [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]], where a standoff with Blurr ensued. {{storylink|City on Fire}} Convincing him to listen to her by revealing that she was the one who had saved him from the Constructicons, Arcee handed Dirge and Swindle off to him and cut a path through the rioters for him so he could take them and the information to Bumblebee. {{storylink|The Verge}} Arcee proceeded to join Prowl, Bombshell, Megatron and the other Decepticons in the [[Black Room]], relaying a message from [[Turmoil]] and [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] that they were in position. Following the information she had fed them via Dirge, Bumblebee and his team soon arrived; they were overpowered, and Arcee stabbed [[Sideswipe (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sideswipe]] through the torso, pinning his body to the wall (but avoiding doing any serious damage, cluing him in to her deception). Together, they all watched as the Decepticons' plan was enacted, and a perfected version of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] was formed, incorporating Prowl as its mind-controlled head. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}} Calmly waiting until the most dramatic moment possible—when Bumblebee asked her what her place in the plot was—Arcee then promptly stabbed Bombshell through the head, cutting off his control of Devastator and shutting the combiner down. Calling on Sideswipe to open fire, Arcee armed Bumblebee and apologized for not acting sooner, explaining that she had had to wait until she was close enough to Bombshell to act. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}} As the battle began to rage, with [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] busy with Prowl and Bumblebee busy with Megatron, Arcee and the Dinobots were put in charge of taking on the rest of the Decepticon army. Following Megatron's defeat, as Starscream took control, Arcee and the other Autobots were cast out into the wilderness. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}}

As the Autobots left the city, they were trailed by the Constructicons, who had become fans of Prowl after having combined with him. Arcee wanted to intervene when the Constructicons and the Dinobots came to blows, but Prowl restrained her while Bumblebee's worsening condition stopped the fighting for good. During Bumblebee's restoration, Arcee tried her best to comfort Prowl, who was visibly upset, but Arcee's emotional detachment made it difficult for her to connect. Her failure to empathize with Prowl sent her to Sideswipe next, whose love of violence she thought would give them common ground, but Sideswipe also shooed her away. The Constructicons picked a fight with her next, pointing out her lack of Autobot symbol as a sign that no one wanted her, and Arcee was all too happy to oblige. Their skirmish ended when Ironhide and the Dinobots broke them up, and Ironhide confided in Arcee that he was worried the night would bring madness to their camp as it did to the Aerialbots and Dinobots earlier. Arcee, confident that the madness wouldn't affect her, stayed up all night guarding Bumblebee, and when Bumblebee awoke the next morning in his new body, he found her outside with an Autobot symbol carved into her arm. But suddenly there was a weird glow over the horizon, and the sunrise wasn't for another few hours. Arcee immediately suspected Jhiaxus. {{storylink|Second Exodus}}

[[File:TheBecoming-Arcee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|Prowl thinks this is special, despite this being Arcee's fourth body in as many years.]]
Suddenly, an undead [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]], a [[Quintessa (IDW)|Necrotitan]], burst free from the ground before them. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} Arcee was happy to have a giant target to shoot at, though she wasn't hopeful of their odds of survival. Bumblebee insisted on caution rather than rash action, but before Arcee and the others could act, Soundwave's Decepticons were upon them. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} Their battle was interrupted by Starscream arriving overhead and landing on the inert Necrotitan's shoulder. Arcee offered to shoot him out of the sky, but before she could, the Necrotitan suddenly unleashed a strange, deadly wave that spread in all directions, and leaving Arcee without one of her arms and one of her legs. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} Arcee sat quietly as the others freaked out in the wake of the strange wave. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} She did not let her major limb damage deter her whatsoever once the Autobots chose to besiege Shockwave's lair (thought it probably helped that she'd somehow grown back her missing arm). {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} Still without one of her legs, she was forced to retreat with the others, leaving Megatron and Bumblebee behind. {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}}

Arcee, the other Autobots, and Soundwave's Decepticons returned to the city, where the Necrotitan had recently advanced, reducing what was left to ashes. Prowl ordered anyone still able to fight (Arcee included herself) to attack the Necrotitan before it could do more damage, but there was little they could do. Thankfully, that was when [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] and the ''[[Lost Light]]'' appeared over them via [[Space bridge|spacebridge]] and engaged the Necrotitan for them. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} With the surprising help of Megatron, Metroplex was able to defeat the Necrotitan, and the citizens of Cybertron and the crew of the ''Lost Light'' were reunited. Arcee approached and greeted the female Transformers the ''Lost Light'' had brought along. In the calm that followed, Arcee was rebuilt into a new body, and Prowl wondered if she was considering this a fresh start. Before too long, however, their calm was ended by the arrival of Shockwave's army of [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} She fought alongside her many comrades against the [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} and also got to talk with [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] about how he ended the Ammonite's war and started [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|their own]] war, leading her to reflect on how they should have hung out more. Later, after fighting was over, Arcee was in a crowd of bots watching Optimus and Megatron exit the Lost Light. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

During the following six months, Arcee attended Megatron's trial along with Whirl and [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Following the trial, Arcee admitted to Prowl that [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] and her party of female Transformers didn't evoke any particular feelings in her. After Sideswipe opened his big yap, Arcee asked Optimus about what had happened to Hardhead, and volunteered to join his crew for the trip to Earth to find Alpha Trion. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}}

===To Earth and beyond===
As soon as the ''[[Ark-7]]'' arrived in Earth's orbit, they were attacked by Earth Defense Command's orbital missiles. After they took cover on the far side of the Moon, Arcee joined Optimus's team heading down to the planet in [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and was assigned with Prowl to investigate who had fired the rockets at them. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} When Prime's team, investigating a Cybertronian life sign, were attacked by Galvatron's forces and the EDC, Prowl sent Arcee and Sideswipe to provide covering fire as the team retreated to nearby [[Poverty Flat]]. Prowl also brought Devastator to provide help, revealing the Cybertronian presence to the humans. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} Arcee and the other Autobots protected the panicking humans until the Decepticon were all teleported away on [[Marissa Faireborn]]'s orders. As the Autobots returned to ''Ark-7'', Arcee warned Optimus that more might be going on than they knew. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}}

The Autobots tracked the EDC's mind bomb signal to their base on island Bikini Atoll and Optimus opted for a frontal assault. On their way down, Arcee confided in Prowl that she'd seen [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] acting suspiciously. She was part of Prime's frontal assault, only to be surprised by the arrival of the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon warship]]. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}} The Autobots fired at the ship until Prowl used the EDC's own defense system to shoot the ship down. As they departed with Alpha Trion, whom they'd recovered from the EDC base, Arcee helped the wounded Kup onto Sky Lynx. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 5: I Dream of Wires|I Dream of Wires}}

[[File:OFFonOFF-GalvatronArcee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|....fifth body in as many years.]]
Jetfire, Arcee and [[D.0.C.]] investigated an alarm in the ''Ark-7'' shuttlebay to find Prime and Trion had gone for a jaunt. {{storylink|The Crucible}} When Optimus left for Cybertron to learn more about the [[Enigma of Combination]], he left Prowl in charge and asked Arcee to keep an eye on Prowl. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part One: Signals, Calls, and Marches|Signals, Calls, and Marches}} When Prowl took the Constructicons to intercept [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike Witwicky]] in [[Japan]], Arcee followed using Sideswipe's backpack and prevented Prowl from grabbing Spike and [[Jimmy Pink]]. The two humans fled and Arcee pursued them, only to end up being cornered by the Decepticons along with Jimmy Pink. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Two: Vs.|Vs.}} Though Galvatron claimed they were after the same thing, Spike, Arcee opted to take Jimmy and leave the Decepticons and Constructicons to it, only to be tackled mid-air by Galvatron. During their fight which landed them in the [[Australia]]n outback, Galvatron lied to Arcee, claiming Prowl had killed Spike's father to draw Spike out, and persuaded her to join him in trying to destroy the Enigma of Combination. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}}

She, Jimmy, and the Decepticons arrived in [[Wanmu]] to find Devastator already attacking the [[Onyx]] facility there. She tried to reach Prowl, but Devastator was set on killing Spike and she was knocked flat by the discarded Enigma of Combination. After [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] left the planet with the Enigma, Arcee was finally able to reach Prowl and get him to disassemble Devastator. They left on Sky Lynx with a space bridge from the Onyx facility. {{storylink|The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati}}

Much later, Optimus contacted Arcee and filled her in on recent Combiner-related events on Cybertron. She had a clandestine meeting with Galvatron who wanted to use the spacebridge, and provided her with an Onyx tablet. Arcee returned to the ''Ark-7'' to get the tablet analyzed and gave [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] a mission to Jupiter. {{storylink|Now and On Earth}} He soon reported back on the Decepticon station being built there, and she met him on his return, however he fobbed her off with the promise of a report later and headed to a recharge slab. {{storylink|South of Heaven}}

[[File:AnUneventfulNight-WindbladeArcee.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.6|...sixth...]]
Arcee returned to Cybertron in order to take the [[Enigma of Combination]] out of the hands of the Cybertronian government so that it couldn't be used to create any more "abominations" (as Galvatron had put it to her). However, her escape was complicated by Windblade and Chromia, who inadvertently corralled her into the [[Rust Sea|Sea of Rust]] where a Camien team of [[Torchbearer]]s was scouting. The Torchbearers fumed at not only Arcee's injuring of Windblade, a Cityspeaker, but also her intent to harm an artifact of the Primes, and further battling resulted in the Torchbearers exposed to the Enigma of Combination and reconfigured into the mighty combiner, [[Victorion]]. The newborn, confused Victorion singled out Arcee for punishment, and so Windblade and Chromia found themselves protecting her against the gestalt. Windblade, surprisingly, was able to calm Victorion down long enough for them to disassemble. Arcee explained that she hated the Enigma not because of Galvatron's thoughts on the matter, but because it changed people against their will, which rung sorely with her particular history. The Torchbearers, however, noted that while they were changed against their will, they had equal right to remain what they now were. Warming to Windblade's combination of diplomacy and willingness to bury the truth to promote lasting peace, Arcee agreed to return the Enigma of Combination and pretend the incident had never happened. {{storylink|An Uneventful Night}}

She briefly watched Starscream talk to himself before swapping notes with Optimus. When one of Starscream's [[Badgeless]] troops was about to stage a massacre at a bar, Arcee stepped in and took the Badgeless to confront Starscream himself, whom she suggested needed to win over those on Cybertron before he went conquering other worlds. {{storylink|The Transgressors}}

Back on Earth, to her pre-emptive satisfaction, she detected that Prowl was in [[Alaska]], ready to be taken in by her... and then suddenly ''wasn't''. She went looking for Kup for help and was perturbed to find he'd passed out while outside the ship, and this may have happened before. But she didn't have time to care when Prowl disappearing was a major security risk and she needed help finding him! They broke into Prowl's old quarters, with Arcee suspicious how easy Kup managed it, and found some fleshbag called [[Verity Carlo]] had been blackmailing the fugitive with a copy of Autobot war crime data! Arcee was livid, thinking Carlo might restart the war if she made such horrors public. She was ''more'' livid when a recorded message from Prowl was broadcast, saying to get ''Springer'' to look for him as only Springer was good enough. Screw you, Prowl!

The most sensible course of action was to knock out Kup, go to Earth, and violently threaten Verity Carlo into saying what she'd done to Prowl. Verity turned out to know nothing. When Springer and the [[Wrecker]]s showed up, {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}} Arcee continued to insist it ''had'' to be this human anyway... which was round about the time the ''real'' culprits, [[Mayhem Attack Squad|Mayhem]], attacked and Prowl ''broadcast through Kup'' to explain he was in the hands of [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]], at the [[Noisemaze]]. Arcee was horrified to realise Prowl had put a backdoor hack in Kup's brain in case he'd needed to manipulate suckers. This clearly meant... it was still Verity's fault! CONFESS, VERITY!! Springer pulled rank and led the Wreckers-plus-Arcee in battle against the Mayhems, where Arcee was amused to find Springer only got emotionally engaged when there was a fight on. After chopping limbs off [[Claw Jaw]] and joining the Wreckers on a raid inside [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Mayhem HQ]], Arcee crossed to the Noisemaze... {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}}

[[File:SinsoftheWreckers3-Noisemaze.jpg|right|thumb|upright=2|...sev- no, wait, this is the fifth one again. Never mind!]]
...and immediately fell in screaming pain, unable to stand its sensory onslaught. Tarantulas had the Wreckers taken to his lab, where the guilt-extracting computer [[Impetus]] caused her to babble that it was "my fault" she'd not seen through Jhiaxus and not been "strong enough" to stop him, and the only time she'd ever known happiness was killing him. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} Only Hubcap, Tarantulas' man on the inside, having second thoughts got her sprung from gaol. Arcee and the Wreckers ganged up on Tarantulas but he fought them all off, forcing Roadbuster to sacrifice himself so they could run. They regrouped and were talked by Prowl into destroying the villain's work first, but were confronted by said spider {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}} and Arcee & Chums fared as well as before. Only a personal revelation got Tarantulas to cease his attack but, to fulfil the plan, Arcee joined Impactor in keeping the fight going anyway. The Noisemaze began to collapse around them and Arcee was left stunned when Springer, despite great personal risk, radioed to say he was sticking to the plan even if it killed him. Realising why Prowl had chosen him and not her for this, she then convinced Impactor to continue the plan. Though Prowl would risk his life at the last second to save Springer, this was still it: Arcee and Kup returned to the ''Ark-7'', ties to Prowl irrevocably severed. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:Perihelion-BrawlShoulderTackleArcee.jpg|left|thumb|upright=2|Brawl liked design number four better.]]
Back at the ''Ark-7'', she found Jetfire had examined the [[Onyx|human code]] Blackrock had created and it was communicating with other iterations of the code via a quantum signal. Arcee ordered her Autobots to track it down while she, Alpha Trion, and Sideswipe stayed on the ship. The mission went sour fast and Arcee had Sky Lynx return to the ''Ark'' where she could use its mighty guns to blow away his pursuers... at which point the Onyx code activated their deflector shields, causing all the firepower to rebound on the ship, and locked them out of their systems, leaving them trapped and on fire! {{storylink|The Nothing Man}} They found themselves fighting their way through their own compromised defences while Trion claimed they were facing Primal weapons that they could not stand against. (Arcee didn't think much of that claim) {{storylink|Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|Aphelion}} Her plan was to get to the spacebridge and call for reinforcements, but a sudden rush of Decepticons ''through'' the spacebridge put paid to that! {{storylink|Conquerors Part 2: Lagrange|Lagrange}} Luckily, [[Conquerors Part 3: Helden|other actors]] caused the shield to drop and Arcee ordered her guys to fall back to the ship's bridge and crash it into the moon while she went to overload the engines. The plan failed when she failed to distract the Decepticons through ultraviolence, being battered into unconsciousness by [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]. {{storylink|Conquerors Part 4: Perihelion|Perihelion}} By the time she came round, the battle at [[Shanghai]] was almost over and she gladly fell back with the newly arrived Autobots.

Optimus asked her to run operations soon enough as part of his new strategy. She was up for that! And then, to her disgust, she learned his strategy was to ''help'' Earth by annexing it under his ''protection''. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth|Once Upon a Time on Earth}} While sitting in the med-bay of the ''[[Skyroller]]'', she casually mentioned that both she and Sideswipe were fine to a disinterested med-bay. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 2: Edge of the Earth|Edge of the Earth}} She later met, and tried to murder, Galvatron at the Copahua volcano where they pondered if Optimus' time as [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|a combiner]] could have allowed Prowl's personality to push Optimus towards drastic actions. She later revealed to Optimus that [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] had murdered [[Horri-Bull]] for the greater good allowing the Prime to blackmail the Decepticon. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|The Medium and the Message}} In Monument Valley, she forced Prime to stay behind during the attack on the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' claiming he was too valuable before showing zero gratitude when [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] gave her [[Sideswipe (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sideswipe's]] jetpack. During the attack, Galvatron managed to force Victorian apart before creating [[Galvatronus (Generations)|Galvatronus]] and [[Sky Reign]]. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 4: It's Beginning To And Back Again|It's Beginning To And Back Again}} When [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] managed to turn the tide and rip open the ''Nemesis'', Arcee was ready to take[[G.B. Blackrock|Blackrock]] into her custody before she was fired on by [[Marissa Faireborn]] and [[Ayana Jones]]. She was ready to kill all three before [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] teleported them out of her reach. She was later ordered by Optimus to pursue and terminate Galvatron. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 5: As Above...So Below|As Above...So Below}} Hitching a ride on [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], she caught up with the Decepticon in the upper atmosphere of [[Jupiter]]. After casually murdering [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], she engaged Galvatron. The fight was in his favour until Optimus and Soundwave arrived to back her up. The ancient warrior still managed to hold his ground before Soundwave shot him in the back allowing Arcee to destroy his [[fusion cannon]] taking him out of the fight. Galvatron mocked all three of them before agreeing to be their ally so as to fight off [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Onyx Prime]]. Arcee was horrified when Optimus shot Galvatron through the [[spark]]. She later accompanied him to see the [[President of the United States]] where he declared the threat over. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|No Fair Fights}} When they returned to Monument Valley, [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] the trio observed transformed to city mode, a form which Optimus dubbed [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]]. She then observed Metrotian fire a beam of data into space regarding Optimus' deeds. {{storylink|The Last Autobot}}

As it turned out, that beam attracted the attention of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] who was not only still alive but also a [[Titan Master]]. The Prime left his large [[Transtector]] body to fight Arcee while he attended to business causing the femme to protest a body without a head should be not be a good fighter. The fight spilled into a massive cache of [[Ore-13]] located beneath Autobot City. Sentinel then returned with Blackrock who was revealed to be [[Sovereign]]. The Titan Master duo tapped into the [[Space bridge|spacebridge]] to warp away Optimus Prime and Soundwave with them. Left behind, Arcee, at the end of her rope, contacted [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] and briefed him on what happened. He assured her he would take care of it. {{storylink|White Light}} She then hovered ominously in the background and off to the side during Soundwave's inspirational speech. {{storylink|White Heat}}

===Meeting the cosmic community===

[[File:ConcordeHymn-ArceeTransforms.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Perfect for a stealth mission into Barbie's Malibu Dream House.]]

Sent to aid relief efforts in [[Portland]], [[Oregon]] with [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]], the two were subsequently attacked by [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] forces. Relieved at the chance to blow off some steam, she quickly drove off to be greeted by a hailstorm of ineffective bullets. Unleashing her swords, she began cutting through G.I. Joe's war machines before demanding an explanation for the attack. She continued this until reinforcements arrived and Soundwave fired an EMP that destroyed all the Joes' equipment. Out of the blue, [[Rom|an alien]] arrived to atomize four humans. Jazz tried to tackle it only for [[Rock 'n Roll]] to fire into Jazz's open wound. Acree came to his aid as the alien flew off. She then carried off by [[Victorion]] as Optimus ordered the Autobots to pursue the alien. {{storylink|Concorde Hymn}} The Autobots tracked Rom to [[Umpqua National Forest]] where they forced him to make an emergency landing. When the alien responded with aggression, Arcee punched him in his open chest wound down to the ground while noting she enjoyed hitting her problems. {{storylink|The Divine Source of Liberty}}

[[File:TheDivineSourceOfLiberty-RomMeetsTheAutobots.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2]]

As she patrolled the halls of Autobot City, Arcee happened upon [[Snake-Eyes]] as he began to engage the ''[[Heliopolis]]''. She immediately tried to strike the ninja down but received a sword to her eye for the trouble. Though briefly blinded, she soon tried to get back at her attacker before she, Snake-Eyes, and the [[Micronauts]]' ship were disabled by a sonic strike from Soundwave in an attempt to calm the situation. After Snake-Eyes was apprehended, Arcee began trying to pick a fight with the ninja but backed off once Optimus Prime intervened to make peace with him. As [[M.A.S.K.]] and the [[Dire Wraith|Dire Wraiths]] began their assault on Autobot City, Arcee stood alongside her fellow Cybertronians as well as the Micronauts, Rom, and Snake-Eyes in opposition. {{storylink|The New Colossus}} When the combined form of [[Baron Karza]] and the Wraiths attempted to drag Optimus back into the soon-to-be-exploding mine of Ore-13 under the now levitating Autobot City, Arcee grabbed his arm and pulled him back to safety. {{storylink|Valley Forge}}

Not long afterwards, Arcee accompanied Jazz and Optimus back to [[Monument Valley]] where three were attacked by a vengeful [[Baron Karza]] wearing the body of [[Micronus Prime]]. After swatting the three Cybertronians aside, {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 1|Wrath of Karza #1}} Karza placed them in a special prison. The [[Microanut]]s later freed the Autobots who joined the attack on the {{i|Acroyear III}} army before the three fought Karza himself. The fighting was interrupted when [[Shazraella]] arrived wreathed in {{i|Time Traveler}} energy. {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 4|Wrath of Karza #4}} The three Autobots tried to use the distraction to sucker punch Karza before he again enerchanged with Micronus and resumed their duel. Shazraella used her newfound powers to cause the Autobots to shift through alternate modes until she lost control of her powers which prompted Karza to appeal to Optimus for an alliance. Though Optimus agreed, the unlikely alliance was unable to fell Shazraella until [[Oziron Rael]] arrived, now one of the Time Travelers himself, and ended the threat. Arcee stood by as Optimus pledged to help the refugees of Microspace. {{storylink|Wrath of Karza issue 5|Wrath of Karza #5}}

[[File:OptimusPrime4 NewCybertron Arcee spars.jpg|right|thumb|upright=2.5|At least he's not wearing a space diaper.]]
Arcee continued to work for Optimus but remained openly disgruntled with his new attitude and his acolytes, especially the new colonists who'd arrived wearing Optimus faceplates. While checking a potentially wounded [[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (and brusquely telling him he was fine) in [[Mexico]], she removed his faceplate and greatly upset him. Shortly after, she joined Prime's team at the [[Matterhorn]] as a vast spaceship descended onto Earth. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 1: To Walk Among the Chosen|To Walk Among the Chosen}} Once the ship's occupants, the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], disembarked, Arcee stood off to the side as their leaders [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] and [[Rum-Maj]] introduced themselves. Once Optimus' team returned to Autobot City to discuss what the Junkion's arrival meant, Arcee was again annoyed by the colonists' fawning over Optimus. Later, Arcee visited the still comatose Sideswipe and griped to him about the colonist recruits. As she began to tell him that she missed him, feeling that they had a similar way of looking at things, she was suddenly interrupted by Jetfire entering the room and asking if there had been any changes in Sideswipe's condition. As the two of them left the room, Arcee gave a worried glance back in as Jetfire talked with D.0.C about how none of their treatments were stopping Sideswipe's spark from corroding. As the Junkions arrived for a tour of Autobot City, Arcee attempted to stop Wreck-Gar from entering Sideswipe's chamber, asking Optimus to stop him from touching the injured Autobot. She looked decidedly unhappy as Wreck-Gar explained the Junkions possessed a [[positron core]] that could potentially save Sideswipe, {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 2: A Lonely Pillar on the Plain|A Lonely Pillar on the Plain}} but later expressed a cautious interest in the positron core's potential for saving Sideswipe, still feeling some responsibility for him being in his current condition. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 3: Behind My Bleeding Back|Behind My Bleeding Back}} She continued to spend time in Sideswipe's room to keep him company, passing the time by sparring with D.0.C. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows|Dance Among the Shadows}} When the Junkions began invading, Arcee reflected on the cycle of history and her pragmatism before she told Sky Lynx to watch Sideswipe while she went to beat the positron core out of Wreck-Gar. She found him trying to flee the battle and emerged from the shadows, demanding the core prompting him to open his chest and reveal it to her. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|Future Glories Lost}} [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] suddenly appeared but opted to watch the fight instead of help Arcee. As she began beating Wreck-Gar for the core, rebellious [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] appeared to slay him much to her alarm. As the fighting moved outside however, a stray shot hit the positron core, destroying it. A stoic Arcee stood by as Optimus made peace with the Junkions before she mournfully collapsed by Sideswipe's CR Chamber as Optimus watched her from afar. {{storylink|New Cybertron End: Feel Safe Without Regrets|Feel Safe Without Regrets}} Aileron later visited Arcee where the latter shocked the former by revealing her true age. As Arcee insisted she was alone, Aileron disputed the notion. {{storylink|The Next Day, and the Next}} Arcee later spoke to Soundwave as the President visited Autobot City. {{storylink|What It's Really Like}}

[[File:SidesSwipeHugArcee.jpg|thumb|left|upright=2|The spelling error kinda takes the lump outta your throat once you spot it.]]
As time passed and Wreck-Gar proved unable to repair the positron core, Arcee and Sunstreaker decided to switch off Sideswipe's life support. To allow him to die happy, they hooked themselves up to a [[mnemopathis projector]] to create a simulated last day. In the dream, Arcee acted aloof when Sideswipe awoke before he followed her outside where she revealed that Sunstreaker had promised to be present. When Sideswipe annouched he was going to cut ties with Sunstreaker, Arcee discouraged the notion, remembering how she'd let Galvatron die (though leaving out his name). The two travelled to Cybertron where, after retrieving Bob from Sunstreaker's apartment, they made their way to the Decepticon ghetto where Sideswipe broke down the door and began shooting everyone before Sunstreaker arrived and stopped him and Arcee explained the relief effort that Sunstreaker was part of. The two brought Sideswipe outside where he marvelled at the beauty of post-War Cybertron before he figured out the truth of his situation. Thanking both his friend and brother, Sideswipe perished happy. Arcee excused herself following his death only for Aileron to follow her again and offer her some religious comfort. After a laugh that the many Arcee and Sideswipe killed might return, Arcee looked at the stars and said a final goodbye to Sideswipe. {{storylink|The Life of Sideswipe}}

She and Sunstreaker brought his body to Cybertron to be buried. At the same time, [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] revealed Arcee and Galvatron's fraternal relationship, something which Starscream had a hard time swallowing. {{storylink|Origin Myths}} When [[Marissa Faireborn]] was inducted into the [[Council of Worlds]] as [[Earth]]'s ambassador, Arcee flanked Optimus Prime before the ceremony began. {{storylink|First Strike issue 1|First Strike #1}}

===Against the Apocalypse===
{{Charfictionstub|{{storylink|The Falling, Chapter 6: Unforgivable}} {{storylink|Road's End}}}}

==Notes==
===Conceptual origins===
Simon Furman has traditionally not been a fan of [[female Transformer]]s or the idea of gendering Transformers at all, stating on several occasions that he doesn't understand why robots would have women.<ref>[https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/arcee-a-go-go/ "Arcee-a-Go-Go"]: "Well, I’ve always been fairly outspoken about the redundancy of ‘female’ Transformers (or ‘fembots’). It’s not a sexist thing, it’s just that they’re robots."</ref> Arcee's [[Spotlight: Arcee|origin]] in the IDW continuity attempted "to apply a rationale to the whole issue"<ref>[https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/arcee-a-go-go/ "Arcee-a-Go-Go"]</ref> by saying Jhiaxus had introduced gender to the race. You may read the results further up on this page.

Furman's insistence that Cybertronians are genderless, not male by default, extended to a post he wrote<ref>http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/response-to-mairghread-scott/</ref> in response to a blog post by [[Mairghread Scott]] discussing other female Transformers in IDW, wherein she stated that she understood that Arcee's origin could be seen as offensive to women, especially those who are transgender. The two authors later talked in private and settled the beef.

Arcee's origin story would later be revisited under the pen of [[John Barber]] following her increasing presence in the ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' and ''[[Optimus Prime (comic)|Optimus Prime]]'' comics. Following the introduction of the colony world of [[Caminus]], where male and female Transformers naturally coexisted, the series revealed that the concept of gender, and by extension female Transformers, ''was'' present on ancient Cybertron, but had disappeared sometime before the modern day. Later stories would make an attempt to retcon Arcee's earlier characterization: a conversation between Arcee and Galvatron in [[Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|''The Transformers'' #37]] revealed that Jhiaxus had been attempting to ''restore'' an element of ancient Cybertron, and internal narration from Arcee's point of view in [[Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|''Sins of the Wreckers'' #3]] implied that she had, at least to some extent, consented to his experiments because she did not see him "for what he was". Arcee would later hint that her prior identity was a "lie [she] told herself" <ref>[[New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost|''Optimus Prime'' #5]]</ref> and recognize her current self as being "who she was always meant to be" <ref>[[All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|''The Transformers'' vol. 2 #52]]</ref>, suggesting that Arcee either used to feel, or only now recognizes post-transformation, that she was not truly male in the first place. This was brought full circle in the [[Post|''Optimus Prime'' finale]] when John, with help from fan Jenevieve Frank, had Arcee explicitly confirm she had always been transgender and her episodes following her transition were explained as coming not from the transition itself but the lack of aftercare Jhiaxus provided (Marissa would wonder if it was the Cybertronian equivalent of "bad meds", a term included as it is a not uncommon cisgendered response to the idea of post transition trauma).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{i|Arcee}} at the IDW Hasbro Wiki

[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]

Our Finest

2018-08-08T20:33:08Z

Ms. Trbuchette: /* Continuity notes */

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Transformers: Unicron]]'' #3
|prev=Stranger Eons
|next=
|image=TFUnicron3_cvrA.jpg
|caption=
|title="Our Finest"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[August 8]], [[2018]]
|coverdate=Early August, 2018
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Sebastian Cheng]] (pgs 3, 5-7, 11-14, 16-20) & [[David Garcia Cruz]] (pgs 1-2, 4, 8-10, 15)
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''Drastic options are weighed as all hope seems lost in the fight to defend Cybertron against Unicron.'''

==Synopsis==
The [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] fleet scrambles into action in response to the appearance of [[Unicron]] in the skies above the planet. As spaceport personnel led by [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] try to calm the civilian Decepticon populace, who think the fleet is abandoning them to die, [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] invites the [[Torchbearer]]s to join her aboard [[Vigilem|Carcer]] for a direct strike against Unicron, intending to have their combined form [[Victorion]] penetrate the monster planet's armor as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] did and kill it from within. However, an unexpected enemy appears to bar their way, which they will have to fight their way through before they can reach Unicron: the fleet of the [[Decepticon Vengeance Division]], now allied with Unicron, its ships somehow changed in appearance, having become jagged and spiky. From the bridge of her ship the ''[[Sabre]]'', [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] attempts to dissuade Elita from her course, but Elita refuses to run.

In [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s brain chamber, Optimus Prime, [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]], and [[Rom]] debate tactics; Rom proposes activating Metroplex to join the fight, while Starscream suggests Metroplex use his [[space bridge|Space Bridge]] to teleport them all off-plant. [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] points out that only 30% of the population is within Metroplex, but Starscream is willing to sacrifice the others if it means some can survive. Suddenly, [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] bursts in with [[Aileron]] to share what he has learned of Unicron's origins from [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]; how an alien scientist's doomsday device transformed his world into Unicron, and unleashed the energies that destroyed [[Prysmos]] and created the [[Dire Wraith]]s. [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] is able to fill in some of the blanks; the planet in question was [[Antilla]], the first world the [[Thirteen|Thirteen Prime]]s attempted to colonize by force millions of years ago, sparking a war between Cybertron and the Antillans that she herself fought in. Unicron is not merely a doomsday weapon—it is a weapon of ultimate retribution for the ancient sins of the Cybertronian race.

When Victorion spots another vessel coming under heavy fire from [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s flagship, Elita orders her to leave them, perfectly willing to sacrifice the fleet if it will allow them to destroy Unicron. Having seen too much death, Victorion refuses, and diverts to attack Bludgeon's ship, hacking her way inside and cleaving a path through the Decepticons within, who have all been mutated, like their ships, into "[[Maximal]]" forms. Unfortunately, Bludgeon has a secret weapon waiting to confront Victorion: [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]], also mutated like the other Decepticons, whose sheer animalistic might proves more than Victorion can handle.

Optimus Prime seeks further answers about Antilla and Unicron from the mastermind behind the attempted colonization, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]. The captive Decepticon relates how, after the end of the Age of Primes, he and the Maximals relocated to the dead Antilla, where he found the heart of the doomsday device, redubbed it "the [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]]," and [[Strange Visitors|had his minions take it to Earth]]. From there, it found its way back to Cybertron, and now acts as bait to lure Unicron into Shockwave's trap. When Unicron consumes Cybertron, it will be destroyed by the poisoned energon the Talisman has created, leaving the Cybertronian race free to rebuild itself on [[Earth]] in its ultimate form, a new empire unencumbered by the legends, religions, and ideologies of the past. With his new information in mind, Starscream restates his belief they should flee, ''allowing'' Unicron to eat Cybertron and die. This sends Windblade into a rage, and she begins railing against the moral corruption she believes to be inherent to Cybertron, for which she and all the other colony worlds are now suffering. Windblade transforms to jet mode and starts to fly off, until Arcee suddenly pounces on her back; Arcee has run from the consequences of her role in the Antilla war for millions of years, and she is not about to let Windblade do the same. But Windblade isn't ''running''—she has a ''plan.''

As Carcer comes under a sustained barrage of firepower from Bludgeon's ship, Victorion falls before Monstructor, crumbling back into her component parts after [[Stormclash]] is torn from her body. Damning the names of all who have stood against her, Elita orders Carcer to ram Unicron... but before the [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] can make contact, the chaos-bringer unleashes an energy blast from its eye that obliterates Carcer and all aboard.

In desperation, [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] fetches the [[Enigma of Combination]], proposing that the entire populace of Cybertron be combined into a giant to fight Unicron hand-to-hand. Unfortunately, Jetfire calculates that the resultant combiner would ''still'' be far too small to engage Unicron. With all options running out, even the optimistic Aileron begins to wonder if Starscream's plan to run and sacrifice most of the planet's inhabitants is the only course of action... but it is a course of action Soundwave will ''not'' allow. He reaches out telepathically and informs every Decepticon on the planet of Starscream's plan—and naturally, it turns them into a furious mob that storms the barricades and begins flooding towards Metroplex. Arcee comes running back into the room and announces that Windblade has a plan—but with time growing short, even Optimus Prime is paralyzed, unsure of the right course of action. Surprisingly, it is Starscream who makes the call; Windblade believed in him once, and he decides to do the same for her, ruling that that they will stay and enact her plan. But whatever it is, they'd better do it fast, as Unicron begins to sink its talons into Cybertron's surface...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (1)
*[[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (2)
*[[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (3, see "Errors")
*[[Dust Up]] (4)
*[[Stormclash]] (5)
*[[Pyra Magna]] (6)
*[[Skyburst (G1)|Skyburst]] (7)
*[[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (8)
*[[Jumpstream]] (10)
*[[Rust Dust]] (11)
*[[Sizzle (G1)|Sizzle]] (16)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (17)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (18)
*[[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] (23)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (24)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] (27)
*[[Victorion]] (29)
*[[Aileron]] (30)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (31)
*[[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] (32)
*''[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]'' (34)
*[[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]] (38)
*[[Fastlane]] (39)
*[[Cloudraker (G1)|Cloudraker]] (40)
*[[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (50, voice only)
*[[Firestar (G1)|Firestar]] (52)
{{!}}}

|c2=
*[[Tankor (BM)|Fat Tankor]] (12)
*[[Octane|Tall Tankor]] (13)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (26)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave/''Onyx Prime'']] (35)
*[[Sledge (Classics)|Sledge]] (41)
*[[Wideload (Classics)|Wideload]] (42)
*[[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] (43)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] (49)
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] (51)

|h3=Other Cybertronians|c3=
*[[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]] (9)
*[[Zetca]] (14)
*[[Swift (G1)|Swift]] (15)
*[[Greenlight]] (20)
*[[Lancer]] (21)
*[[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] (28)
*''Various [[Guardian robot|Omega Sentinels]]'' (33)
*''[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]'' (36)
*''[[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]'' (37)
*[[Vigilem|Carcer]] (44)
*[[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]] (45)
*''[[Domitius Major]]'' (46)
*''[[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]]'' (47)
*''"Hearts of Steel Prowl"'' (48)

|c4=
*[[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] (19)
*[[D.0.C.]] (22)
*[[Rom]] (25)
*[[Carax]] (53)

}}

==Quotes==
"'''Tough lady 'bots''' for the win."
:—'''Stormclash'''

"I thought Omega Supreme was supposed to be on '''our''' side." 
"Maybe he needed to do a genocide to figure out it's '''bad?''' I feel like that happens with Cybertronian guys some times." 
"You are '''all''' gross."
:—'''Aileron''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"I've seen '''too much''' death. We can defeat Unicron '''and''' survive—nothing is '''hopeless.''' Except '''you''', Decepticons."
:—'''Victorion'''

"'''Everyone''' dies in the end, Victorion.... and the end is '''here.'''"
:—'''Bludgeon'''

"You'd leave '''billions''' of people—Cybertronians, colonits, Elonians—to '''die?!'''" 
"Of '''course''' he would! This is what Cybertron '''is.''' This is what it '''does''' to people. '''Cybertronians''' caused this! Not '''me'''—not '''Camiens''', not '''Elonians'''—not '''any''' colonists! '''We're''' paying the price for '''your''' sins!"
:—'''Bumblebee''' questions Starscream's plan, sending '''Windblade''' into a rage

"I '''regret''' what happened. Every '''day.''' I'm sure Omega regrets it—regretted it—too. But maybe I shouldn't have run from the '''consequences.'''"
:—'''Arcee'''

"We have to do '''something.'''" 
"We can '''ruuuun.'''" 
"'''Shut up,''' Starscream."
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Starscream'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*A small computer readout in the corner of page 3, panel 1 indicates that the giant eyeball-shaped ''[[Nemesis (BWII)|Nemesis]]'' spacecraft that Shockwave and the Maximals have been using has now become the right eye of Unicron's robot mode, following his absorption of it in [[Unicron issue 1|issue #1]].
*Rom contests the origin Bumblebee puts forth for the Dire Wraiths, because it contradicts the [[Solstar Order]]'s belief that they identified and destroyed the Wraiths' {{i|Dire Wraith homeworld|home planet}} centuries ago, as seen in [[Shining Armor issue 1|''Shining Armor'' #1]].
*Also from the ''[[Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor]]'' mini-series, Bumblebee recalls the fusion of Wraith magic and Cybertronian tech he and Rom witnessed when [[Sky Blast (G1)|Sky Blast]] and [[Convoy (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] were taken over by the aliens.
*'Bee also brings up [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s death by magic at the hands of [[Virulina]] in [[Schismatic|''Transformers vs. Visionaries'' #1]].
*The alien world seen in flashback last issue, which was transformed into Unicron by the doomsday device, is revealed to be Antilla, the world of rust first seen in IDW continuity in [[Ghost Stories|the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual]]—a connection that had previously been hinted at by the fact that Antilla and Unicron (as seen in [[First Strike issue 6|''First Strike'' #6]]) both orbited a [[black hole]]. Additionally, Antilla is revealed to have been the unnamed world seen in [[The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|''Optimus Prime'' #18]], home of the first alien civilization the [[Thirteen|Primes]] made contact with and which became Cybertron's first colony of sorts. ''Unicron itself'', then, is the missing thirteenth colony planet Bumblebee flagged up in issue #1! This does, however, beg the question of what happened to the [[Regenesis|Regenesis ore]] which should have taken root on Alpha Trion's "colony", now revealed as Unicron: Was there in fact an ore growing on Unicron itself?
*Fastlane and Cloudraker appear serving under Scattershot on a ship in the Cybertronian fleet. This is the first time the Clones have appeared in five years, having last cameoed in [[Three Monologues|''Robots in Disguise'' #20]]; it's not the first time they've worked with Scattershot, having fought alongside him and the other [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] way back in ''[[Spotlight: Arcee]]''.
*Bludgeon observes that Victorion's gravity powers are a product of [[Ore-4]]. Presumably, this means her constituents acquired them through sustained exposure to the ore during their lives on its native world, Caminus.
*Monstructor returns! The original combiner hasn't been seen since ''[[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|Dark Cybertron: Finale]]''. Bludgeon refers to his defeat at the hands of Omega Supreme millions of years ago, as seen in [[Primus: All Good Things|the 2012 ''Robots in Disguise'' annual]].
*Shockwave, as Onyx Prime, was shown to have relocated to Antilla/Unicron following the end of the Age of the Primes in the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual, explaining in [[Unstopped and Unstoppable|''Optimus Prime'' #22]] (released on the same day as this issue) that he needed to do so because Cybertron had become "unwelcoming". It's unclear if he specifically went there to recover the Unicron doomsday device, or if he only found it after arriving on the planet.
*The Unicron device is revealed to be the [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]], the mysterious relic sent by "Onyx Prime" to Earth which was the central MacGuffin of the ''[[Revolutionaries]]'', ''[[First Strike]]'', and ''[[Transformers vs. Visionaries]]'' series. We're kicking ourselves we didn't figure this out last issue; the Talisman has previously displayed many of the same abilities seen in these two issues, including a connection to the forces of magic, the power to mutate lifeforms into Dire Wraiths (as it did to human beings in [[Crisis Intervention|''Revolutionaries'' #1]]), and the ability for its power to transcend the flow of time and space (having hurled [[Sgt. Savage]] through time in [[Strange Visitors|''Revolutionaries'' #5]]). Other abilities the Talisman has evinced, it now becomes obvious, are ones that have often been displayed by other incarnations of Unicron, including psychic powers, and the ability to reformat and upgrade Cybertronians and other technology. That said, any reason for the Talisman's apparent connection to [[Microspace]] (as seen in [[Enter The Shadow|''Revolutionaries'' #2]]) is still unclear...
*The Transformers who would take the Talisman to Earth (including [[Domitius Major]], [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]], and the other ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' characters) have previously been identified as [[Eukaris|Eukarians]] for their beast modes, but are here revealed to have been [[Maximal]]s who lived with Shockwave/Onyx on Antilla. This clarifies Centurion's memory from the [[Unification Day: Dusk|''Transformers: First Strike'' one-shot]] of a "black star in the sky above [his] homeworld," which never fitted with the idea he was from Eukaris.
*Windblade mentions that this isn't her first "Shockwave-plans-to-destroy-everything," referring to her role in the prior ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.
*This issue is the first explicit mention of [[CNA]] since ''[[Spotlight: Arcee]].''

===Transformers references===
*Fastlane and Cloudraker are drawn based on their recent ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' toys. The pair have been differentiated by colour; Fastlane has a grey face, like the Clones' ''Titans Return'' toys and the characters' appearance in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], while Cloudraker's face is red, like the Clones' original 1987 toys, and their appearances in IDW comics.
*Unicron fires the energy blast that destroys Carcer from his right eye (the former ''Nemesis''), which was the same eye he fired blasts from in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*When [[Octane|Tall Tankor]] leaves the other Decepticons and takes to the sky, [[Swift (G1)|Swift]] wonders if he is going to "fight or flee," referencing the [[Fight or Flee (episode)|Generation 1 cartoon episode of the same name]].

===Errors===
*Slingshot has been drawn among the fleeing Aerialbots on page 1, panel 1, but he's been dead for several years after succumbing to injuries sustained in [[Plan for Everything|''Robots in Disguise'' #16]]. He's a bit off-color, too, with a white head and blue eyes instead of his normal orange, and grey plane parts instead of white. Has he been deliberately mis-colored to obfuscate the error?
*If Onyx Prime only discovered the Talisman on Antilla "eons after" the first Cybertronian war, then there's no way it could have been in his possession during the events of [[Origin Myths|''Optimus Prime'' #10]], in which it appeared in the background. We'll have to write ''that'' issue off as the error.
*''Revolutionaries'' [[Strange Visitors|#5]] initially presented [[Merklynn|Garrison Krieger]] as the one who came up with the "Talisman" moniker as a spur-of-the moment nickname. Perhaps they just came up with the same idea separately?

===Deathlist===
*Scattershot, Fastlane, Cloudraker, and unnumbered other Autobots, destroyed in the battle with the Decepticon fleet
*Wideload and Sledge, hacked up by Victorion
*Stormclash, implied to have died after being ripped off of Victorion
*The entire crew of Carcer, obliterated by Unicron; Obsidian's body can be seen lying under wreckage as the bridge is aflame, and Elita One appears floating in space on the final page, her fate ambiguous.

===Other trivia===
*This issue also includes a four-page ''[[M.A.S.K. (franchise)|M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand]]'' back-up strip, "{{i|Reunion}}," the next in a series of strips serving as "farewells" to the various [[Hasbro Universe]] properties as everything heads towards a close. Set a little further into the future than the main story this issue, it features [[M.A.S.K.]] rescuing civilians from the dangers caused by a "gravitational disturbance" within Earth's orbit; obviously, the arrival of Unicron over the planet, though the story never out-and-out says this, presumably to preserve the surprise when it actually happens in the next issue of the comic. No Transformers appear in the story.
*Other backmatter includes the first installment in a series of interviews with creators from IDW's past. This issue, it's key "Phase 2" creators ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]/[[The Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]'' writer [[James Roberts]] and ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise/The Transformers]]'' artist [[Andrew Griffith]].

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' [[Titan (IDW)|Titans]] and [[combiner]]s enter the fray as Unicron attacks, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Sebastian Cheng]]
*'''Cover B:''' Metroplex, Jetfire, Thundercracker, Soundwave, [[Acroyear (Micronaut)|Acroyear]], and [[Scarlett]], by [[James Raiz]] and [[David Garcia Cruz]]; connects to Raiz's other covers for the series to form [[:File:Unicron-Bcovers-JamesRaiz.jpg|a larger image]]
*'''Retailer incentive Cover A:''' Windblade and Starscream are aghast as Metroplex hurls himself into Unicron's maw, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Retailer incentive Cover B:''' Arcee by [[Francesco Francavilla]]; connects to Francavilla's other covers for the series to form a larger image

<gallery>
File:TFUnicron3_cvrA.jpg|
File:TFUnicron3_cvrB.jpg|
File:TFUnicron3_cvrRIA.jpg|
File:TFUnicron3_cvrRIB.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Transformers: Unicron'' #4
*''[[Transformers: Unicron]]''
*[[Time Will Rust|''Optimus Prime'' #23]]
*[[Crucible (Part 5): The Unremembering|''Lost Light'' #23]]
*''Unicron'' checklist

==External links==
*[https://www.previewsworld.com/Article/216987-Exclusive-IDW-PREVIEWS-PrevueTransformers-Unicron-3-of-6 Preview]

[[Category:Unicron issues]]

Sara Pitre-Durocher

2018-08-01T16:11:23Z

Ms. Trbuchette: Sara literally asked for this. I can also provide documentation!

[[Image:Sara Pitre-Durocher 2014.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Sara Pitre-Durocher, rumored to be the illegitimate child of Ryan Gosling and a polar bear.]]
'''Sara Pitre-Durocher''' (born [[March 6]], [[1985]]) is a Canadian illustrator, game concept artist, and Art Director at [[Volta]]. She is a freelance illustrator for [[IDW Publishing]] and is among the artists providing art for the ''[[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|Transformers Legends]]'' mobile game. She has worked on multiple iOS titles for Nickelodeon, including ''TMNT: Rooftop Run'' and ''Spongebob Moves In'' as well as other browser games such as ''Super Brawl 3 - Good vs Evil'', ''TMNT: Dark Horizons'', and ''Shadow Heroes''. Other games she contributed to include ''Saints Row the Third'', ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', and ''Legends of Norrath''.

A bikini aficionado, she has been known to willfully deface comic covers by adding tasteful, yet somewhat out-of-place, bikinis to characters depicted thereon at signings.

==Published Transformers works==
===IDW Publishing===
* ''[[Combiner Wars (comic)|Combiner Wars]]'' (retail incentive covers)
* ''[[An Uneventful Night|Combiner Hunters]]''
* [[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|''The Transformers'' vol. 2]] [[Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|#46]]–[[Conquerors Part 2: Lagrange|#47]], [[Conquerors Part 4: Perihelion|#49]]
* ''[[The Transformers: Till All Are One|Till All Are One]]''
* ''[[Optimus Prime (comic)|Optimus Prime]]'' [[Primeless, Part 1|#11]] (pp 1–8), [[The Falling, Interlude: The First Who Was Named|#18]] (pp 1–2, 19–20), [[The Falling, Chapter 4: The Hallowing|#19]], #21 (pg. 17-20)
* ''[[The_Transformers:_Lost_Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' [[The_Ties_That_Bind|#14]] (pp 1–8), [[Kill_All_%27Cons|#15]] (pp 19–20)

===Packaging art===
*''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' (colors)

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:CombinerHunters concvr.jpg
File:MTMTE39 cvrRI.jpg
File:UnicronTDH 0 regcvr.jpg
File:SaraPitreDurocher-VigilemConceptArt.jpg
</gallery>
*''[[:Category:Images by Sara Pitre-Durocher|Extended Sara Pitre-Durocher gallery]]''</center>

==External links==
*[http://yamiza.deviantart.com/ Yamiza] on DeviantArt
*[http://spewpew.tumblr.com/ Spewpew] on Tumblr
*[https://twitter.com/SaraLePew/ SaraLePew] on Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitre-Durocher, Sara}}
[[Category:Illustrators]]
[[Category:Painters]]