MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

The World In Your Eyes Part One

2019-03-17T02:38:26Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Transformers (2019 comic)|Transformers]]'' #1
|prev=
|prev2=
|next=The World In Your Eyes Part Two
|caption=
|image=TF1 cvrA.jpg
|title="The World In Your Eyes Part One"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 13]], 2019
|coverdate=February 2019
|written by=[[Brian Ruckley]]
|art by=[[Angel Hernandez]] (pg. 1-9, 14-20), [[Cachét Whitman]] (pg. 10-13)
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]] and [[Tom Waltz]]
|continuity=[[Transformers (2019 comic)|2019 ''Transformers'' continuity]]
|chronology=
}}

'''Cybertron is a utopia, a living mechanical planet that's full of opportunities for a recently-forged 'bot named Rubble. But as Bumblebee and Windblade show Rubble what his life could be, they discover that all is not well in their idyllic world...'''

==Synopsis==
It's evening on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as the recently-forged Transformer [[Rubble]] excitedly scales the face of a "mountain"—in reality, the gargantuan countenance of an ancient, crumbling Transformer—to take in the setting of the planet's three suns... much to the consternation of his new mentor [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], who's been put in charge of escorting the freshly forged Cybertronian to an [[Energon]] engineering station run by [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] out in the remote badlands. This tour of the planet's civilization is a rite of passage for ''all'' young Cybertronians, a chance to meet with different professions in anticipation of choosing an [[alternate mode]] and future career; while Bumblebee wants to keep schedule, Rubble just wants to see ''everything''... and as he races up yet another ridge and loses his balance, the exasperated Bumblebee can only try to keep up.

Rubble slithers to the bottom of the ditch, where he's found by a group of [[Voin]] scavengers; though the organic, ape-like [[alien]]s are initially curious about the little Transformer, they quickly scatter when Bumblebee's old friend [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] arrives. Meeting up with her former teammate, Windblade explains that she's been dispatched by [[Security Operations]] to investigate the same Energon transmission station, after Brainstorm reported some anomalies with the station's monitoring equipment. The innocent Rubble, unaware of Windblade's concerns that something greater might be afoot, is just eager to have met a new friend, and so the three head out together.

Elsewhere, Senator [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] gazes down at the latest in a series of [[Decepticon|Ascenticon]] marches and worries for the future—worries that only intensify when [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] tells him that his appointment is here to see him. Dismissing Ironhide's concerns that the situation may already be too far gone, Pax sits down to meet with none other than [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], his fellow senator and, more recently, the impromptu leader of the Ascenticon movement.

Orion Pax tries to get his compatriot to see reason and postpone his latest rally in [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]], pointing out that Megatron's demonstrations have been becoming increasingly violent as of late; their last rally alone was responsible for injuring a dozen individuals. Megatron isn't having it, however, and points out that he wants to see change on Cybertron, and as long as he's free to do so then he'll ''continue'' to speak his mind. As Megatron stands to leave, Pax asks him what kind of speech he'll give... but as he walks out the door Megatron simply tells him that how Orion chooses to interpret his words is up to ''him'', brushing off Ironhide in the process.

As the stars come out, Rubble is entranced by the shimmering mechanical surface of Cybertron, and even more by Bumblebee's own pair of headlights. Bumblebee reminds him that the little Transformer may one day receive his own headlights when he chooses his [[alternate mode]] and a career, but Rubble is apprehensive; how long did it take ''them'' to choose their lives? Bumblebee gently explains that their choices aren't fixed, and points out that he recently left Cybertron's security division to focus on search and rescue work. Windblade points out that it wasn't entirely his ''choice'' to leave security, but before either 'bot can explain the situation further, Rubble's attention is drawn by a shooting star... or, rather, as Windblade explains, a ''[[Titan (group)|Titan]]'', one of several gigantic, slumbering Cybertronians who have chosen to defend Cybertron from all extra-planetary threats.

Over the next ridge, the group arrives at the Energon station, and while Bumblebee prepares to show Rubble inside, a broken window draws Windblade's attention. Drawing her sword, the security officer tells Bumblebee to help sweep the area, and for Rubble to stay put. Rubble does what he's told... or rather, he does what he's told until the sound of sparking wires piques his curiosity, prompting him to investigate. It's a good thing he does, because it doesn't take long until he finds the source: Brainstorm's dead body!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] (6)

|h2=[[Decepticon|Ascenticon]]s|c2=
* [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (8)

|c4=
* [[Rubble]] (1)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (2)
* [[Voin]] scavengers (3)
* [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (4)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (7)
* A [[Titan (group)|Titan]] (9)
* [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]]'s corpse (10)

}}

==Quotes==
"Your life is yours to shape. In doing so, you owe nothing to those who came before you. But you owe everything to those as yet unforged. Let no shaping of yours, limit what they, in their turn, might yet be and achieve."
:—One of '''Termagax's''' writings

"Rubble's devoted himself to introducing '''himself''' to as many things as possible. Aliens, terrain, gravity, everything."
:—'''Bumblebee'''

"You remember that time [[Prowl]] was stuck under a collapsed pylon for ten cycles?" "I do. Half his rescuers requested esteem-reinforcement counseling afterwards. Two of them '''still''' cannot be around him without their joints freezing." "Exactly. He's not gone Full Prowl, but he's not far off."
:—'''Ironhide''' and '''Orion Pax''' discuss Megatron's emotional state

"Perhaps, for the sake of our friendship, you could at least tell me what sort of speech you plan to give? The kind I merely '''disagree''' with, or the kind that needs '''security teams''' on the ground by the time you have finished speaking?"
:—'''Orion Pax''', to Megatron

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* And we're back! ''Transformers'' is the first true "reboot" of the brand under IDW since 2005's ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'', which ran for 13 years until that universe concluded in November 2018. ''Transformers'' #1 marks the first installment of IDW's new, ongoing universe, entirely separate from the prior "[[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]".
* Released at the same time as the ''[[War for Cybertron: Siege (toyline)|Siege]]'' toyline, it should come as no surprise that several characters are depicted with bodies based off their concurrently available toys, most notably [[Megatron (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Siege|Megatron]], [[Ironhide (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Siege|Ironhide]], and Orion; Orion, however, is not based off his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Siege|Voyager toy]], but his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#S40|Leader "Galaxy Upgrade" figure]]. One notable exception is Brainstorm, who, rather than being based off any of his ''Generations'' toys, is drawn more-or-less identically to [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|his appearance]] in ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' and ''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]''.
* The issue opens with a quote attributed to a female Transformer known as [[Termagax]], with the Ascenticons later chanting her name during their march.

===Transformers references===
* Rubble refers to being "forged," a term first used in the original IDW run and originally established as one of several forms of [[reproduction]] available to the Cybertronian species; the term seems to have been adopted by Hasbro in the interim as the coverall Cybertronian linguistics equivalent of "born," so we shall have to see what the creation of a new Cybertronian entails in this continuity...
* An exasperated Bumblebee wonders if his voice box is defective, which is the case for many other characters named "Bumblebee" across the ''Transformers'' multiverse, but most famously his [[Bumblebee (Movie)|live-action film series counterpart]].
* The city of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]] is flagged up as the intended destination for the Ascenticon marchers.
*Excepting [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]], the participants in the Ascenticon rally appear to be mere [[generic]]s, but one of them bears a resemblance to [[Elita One (G1)|Elita One]], and another one is colored like [[Kup (G1)|Kup]].
*The Ascenticon logo—a purple, upward-pointing arrow, thematically appropriate for a faction named for "ascension"—is designed to look like an upside-down prototypical [[Decepticon]] insignia, portending the inevitable future path Megatron and his followers will go down.
* Megatron's status as an outspoken rhetorician is by now a staple of the character; the concept first saw use in the original IDW continuity, and went on to inform several other continuities, though his status here as a charismatic politician working "within the system" to achieve his aims hews closer to his more recent ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Cyberverse]]'' [[Megatron (Cyberverse)|incarnation]].
* The mighty 'bots known as [[Titan (group)|Titan]]s make a return from the first IDW continuity, where the term was originally coined and used to describe various giant Transformers like [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]; like "forged," this term subsequently became the default name for all giant Transformers throughout the franchise.
* The term "full Prowl" was last used in [[The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle|''Lost Light'' #10]]. It also involved emulating Prowl's reputation for being a bad-tempered prick.

===Real-life references===
* It probably goes without saying that Megatron's self-styled "Ascenticons" and their habit of volatile rallies are very reminiscent of various radical political groups, both historical and contemporary.

===Errors===
* There seems to be a slight art/dialogue mismatch on page 20: Windblade tells Bumblebee to check "the other building," but the art of the Energon transmission station on the preceding page seems to depict only ''one'' building.

===Other trivia===
* Backmatter for the issue includes an exclusive interview between writer [[Brian Ruckley]] and prior ''Transformers'' writer-turned editor [[John Barber]].

===Covers (11)===
* '''Cover A:''' Megatron and Orion Pax, by [[Gabriel Rodríguez]] and [[Nelson Dániel]].
* '''Cover B:''' Rubble, Orion, Megatron, and Bumblebee, by [[Angel Hernandez]] and [[Joana Lafuente]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover A:''' Prowl, Windblade, and Chromia, by [[Casey W. Coller]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover B:''' Orion, Bumblebee, and Chromia, by [[Freddie E. Williams]] and [[Andrew Dalhouse]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover C:''' Foil variant of RI cover B.
* '''The Fellowship exclusive cover:''' Optimus Prime on a war-torn battlefield, by [[John Gallagher]].
* '''Comic Books for Kids exclusive cover:''' Optimus visits a hospitalized child while [[Kremzeek (G1)|Kremzeek]] looks on, by [[Ninjaink]].
* '''Showcase Comics exclusive cover:''' Decepticons assembled, by [[Robby Musso]].
* '''Wondercon exclusive cover:''' Orion, Megatron, and Chromia, by [[E. J. Su]].
* '''One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover A:''' Heroes over Cybertron, by [[Jeff Edwards]] and [[Steve Lydic]].
* '''One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover B:''' Uncolorized version of One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover A.
* '''Metal exclusive cover:''' Uncolorized version of Cover A.

<gallery>
File:TF1 cvrA.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrB.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrRI A.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrRI B.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE A.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE B.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE C.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE D.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE E.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE F.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE G.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===

==External links==
[https://www.allspark.com/2019/03/full-preview-for-transformers-1/ Preview]

[[Category:Transformers (2019) issues]]

Talk:The World In Your Eyes Part One

2019-03-14T19:19:47Z

Murdertronic:

I don't have the issue yet, but I'm pretty sure that's Ruckus in one of the crowd scenes I've seen screencaps of. [[User:Escargon|Escargon]] ([[User talk:Escargon|talk]]) 08:29, 13 March 2019 (EDT)
: THAT"s who it was, it was driving me nuts trying to remember. [[User:Grum|Grum]] ([[User talk:Grum|talk]]) 08:44, 13 March 2019 (EDT)

Is Windblade firing at the scavengers? It looks like she's emitting blue discs that are some sort of...weapon? Probably non-lethal since I assume she doesn't mean to harm to 'Bee and Rubble? [[User:Flawlessvoid|Prime Radiant]] ([[User talk:Flawlessvoid|talk]]) 11:19, 13 March 2019 (EDT)

Is Brainstorm actually dead? my copy shows that his body is emitting "tzzt" sound. Why would he be making a "tzzt" noise if he is dead?

The World In Your Eyes Part One

2019-03-13T21:31:38Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Transformers (2019 comic)|Transformers]]'' #1
|prev=
|prev2=
|next=The World In Your Eyes Part Two
|caption=
|image=TF1 cvrA.jpg
|title="The World In Your Eyes Part One"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 13]], 2019
|coverdate=February 2019
|written by=[[Brian Ruckley]]
|art by=[[Angel Hernandez]] (pg. 1-9, 14-20), [[Cachèt Whitman]] (pg. 10-13)
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]] and [[Tom Waltz]]
|continuity=[[Transformers (2019 comic)|2019 ''Transformers'' continuity]]
|chronology=
}}

'''Cybertron is a utopia, a living mechanical planet that's full of opportunities for a recently-forged 'bot named Rubble. But as Bumblebee and Windblade show Rubble what his life could be, they discover that all is not well in their idyllic world...'''

==Synopsis==
It's evening on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as the recently-forged Transformer [[Rubble]] excitedly scales the face of a "mountain"—in reality, the gargantuan countenance of an ancient, crumbling Transformer—to take in the setting of the planet's three suns... much to the consternation of his new mentor [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], who's been put in charge of escorting the freshly forged Cybertronian to an [[energon]] engineering station run by [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] out in the remote badlands known as [[The Rise]]. This tour of the planet's civilization is a rite of passage for ''all'' young Cybertronians, a chance to meet with different professions in anticipation of choosing an [[alternate mode]] and future career; while Bumblebee wants to keep schedule, Rubble just wants to see ''everything''... and as he races up yet another ridge and loses his balance, the exasperated Bumblebee can only try to keep up.

Rubble slithers to the bottom of the ditch, where he's found by a group of [[Voin]] scavengers; though the organic, ape-like [[alien]]s are initially curious about the little Transformer, they quickly scatter when Bumblebee's old friend [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] arrives. Meeting up with her former teammate, Windblade explains that she's been dispatched by [[Security Operations]] to investigate the same energon transmission station, after Brainstorm reported some anomalies with the station's monitoring equipment. The innocent Rubble, unaware of Windblade's concerns that something greater might be afoot, is just eager to have met a new friend, and so the three head out together.

Elsewhere, senator [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] gazes down at the latest in a series of [[Decepticon|Ascenticon]] marches and worries for the future—worries that only intensify when [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] tells him that his appointment is here to see him. Dismissing Ironhide's concerns that the situation may already be too far gone, Pax sits down to meet with none other than [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], his fellow senator and, more recently, the impromptu leader of the Ascenticon movement.

Orion Pax tries to get his compatriot to see reason and postpone his latest rally in [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]], pointing out that Megatron's demonstrations have been becoming increasingly violent as of late; their last rally alone was responsible for injuring a dozen individuals. Megatron isn't having it, however, and points out that he wants to see change on Cybertron, and as long as he's free to do so then he'll ''continue'' to speak his mind. As Megatron stands to leave, Pax asks him what kind of speech he'll give... but as he walks out the door Megatron simply tells him that how Orion chooses to interpret his words is up to ''him'', brushing off Ironhide in the process.

As the stars come out, Rubble is entranced by the shimmering mechanical surface of Cybertron, and even more by Bumblebee's own pair of headlights. Bumblebee reminds him that the little Transformer may one day receive his own headlights when he chooses his [[alternate mode]] and a career, but Rubble is apprehensive; how long did it take ''them'' to choose their lives? Bumblebee gently explains that their choices aren't fixed, and points out that he recently left Cybertron's security division to focus on search and rescue work. Windblade points out that it wasn't entirely his ''choice'' to leave security, but before either 'bot can explain the situation further, Rubble's attention is drawn by a shooting star... or, rather, as Windblade explains, a ''[[Titan (group)|Titan]]'', one of several gigantic, slumbering Cybertronians who have chosen to defend Cybertron from all extra-planetary threats.

Over the next ridge, the group arrives at the energon station, and while Bumblebee prepares to show Rubble inside, a broken window draws Windblade's attention. Drawing her sword, the security officer tells Bumblebee to help sweep the area, and for Rubble to stay put. Rubble does what he's told... or rather, he does what he's told until the sound of sparking wires piques his curiosity, prompting him to investigate. It's a good thing he does, because it doesn't take long until he finds the source: Brainstorm's dead body!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] (6)

|h2=[[Decepticon|Ascenticon]]s|c2=
* [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (8)

|c4=
* [[Rubble]] (1)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (2)
* [[Voin]] scavengers (3)
* [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (4)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (7)
* A [[Titan (group)|Titan]] (9)
* [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] (10)

}}

==Quotes==
"Your life is yours to shape. In doing so, you owe nothing to those who came before you. But you owe everything to those as yet unforged. Let no shaping of yours, limit what they, in their turn, might yet be and achieve."
:—One of '''Termagax's''' writings

"Rubble's devoted himself to introducing '''himself''' to as many things as possible. Aliens, terrain, gravity, everything."
:—'''Bumblebee'''

"You remember that time Prowl was stuck under a collapsed pylon for ten cycles?" "I do. Half his rescuers requested esteem-reinforcement counseling afterwards. Two of them '''still''' cannot be around him without their joints freezing." "Exactly. He's not gone Full Prowl, but he's not far off."
:—'''Ironhide''' and '''Orion Pax''' discuss Megatron's emotional state

"Perhaps, for the sake of our friendship, you could at least tell me what sort of speech you plan to give? The kind I merely '''disagree''' with, or the kind that needs '''security teams''' on the ground by the time you have finished speaking?"
:—'''Orion Pax'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* And we're back! ''Transformers'' is the first true "reboot" of the brand under IDW since 2005's ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'', which ran for 13 years until that universe concluded in November 2018. ''Transformers'' #1 marks the first installment of IDW's new, ongoing universe, entirely separate from the prior "[[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]."
* Released at the same time as the ''[[War for Cybertron: Siege (toyline)|Siege]]'' toyline, it should come as no surprise that several characters are depicted with bodies based off their concurrently available toys, most notably Megatron, Ironhide, and Orion; Orion, however, is not based off his Voyager toy, but his Leader-class "Galaxy Upgrade" figure. One notable exception is Brainstorm, who, rather than being based off any of his ''Generations'' toys, is drawn more-or-less identically to his appearance in ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Lost Light|Lost Light]]''.
* The issue opens with a quote attributed to a female Transformer known as [[Termagax]], with the Ascenticons later chanting her name during their march.

===Transformers references===
* Rubble refers to being "forged," a term first used in the original IDW run and originally established as one of several forms of [[reproduction]] available to the Cybertronian species; the term seems to have been adopted by Hasbro in the interim as the coverall Cybertronian linguistics equivalent of "born," so we shall have to see what the creation of a new Cybertronian entails in this continuity...
* An exasperated Bumblebee wonders if his voice box is defective, which is the case for many other characters named "Bumblebee" across the ''Transformers'' multiverse, but most famously his [[Bumblebee (Movie)|live-action film series counterpart]].
* The city of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]] is flagged up as the intended destination for the Ascenticon marchers.
*Excepting [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]], most of the participants in the Ascenticon rally appear to be mere [[generic]]s, but one of them bears a resemblance to [[Elita-1]], and another one is colored like [[Kup (G1)|Kup]].
* Megatron's status as an outspoken rhetorician is by now a staple of the character; the concept first saw use in the original IDW continuity, and went on to inform several other continuities, though his status here as a charismatic politician working "within the system" to achieve his aims hews closer to his more recent ''[[Transformers: Cyberverse|Cyberverse]]'' incarnation.
* The mighty 'bots known as [[Titan (group)|Titan]]s make a return from the first IDW continuity, where the term was originally coined and used to describe various giant Transformers like [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]; like "forged," this term subsequently became the default name for all giant Transformers throughout the franchise.
* The term "full Prowl" was last used in Lost Light Issue #10 The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle. It also involved emulating Prowl's reputation for being a bad tempered prick.

===Real-life references===
* It probably goes without saying that Megatron's self-styled "Ascenticons" and their habit of volatile rallies are very reminiscent of various radical political groups, both historical and contemporary.

===Errors===
* There seems to be a slight art/dialogue mismatch on page 20: Windblade tells Bumblebee to check "the other building," but the art of the energon transmission station on the preceding page seems to depict only ''one'' building.

===Other trivia===
* Backmatter for the issue includes an exclusive interview between author [[Brian Ruckley]] and prior ''Transformers'' writer-turned editor [[John Barber]].

===Covers (11)===
* '''Cover A:''' Megatron and Orion Pax, by [[Gabriel Rodriguez]] and [[Nelson Daniels]].
* '''Cover B:''' Rubble, Orion, Megatron, and Bumblebee, by [[Angel Hernandez]] and [[Joana Lafunte]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover A:''' Prowl, Windblade, and Chromia, by [[Casey W. Coller]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover B:''' Orion, Bumblebee, and Chromia, by [[Freddie E. Williams]] and [[Andrew Dalhouse]].
* '''Retailer incentive cover C:''' Foil variant of RI cover B.
* '''The Fellowship exclusive cover:''' Optimus Prime on a war-torn battlefield, by [[John Gallagher]].
* '''Comic Books for Kids exclusive cover:''' Optimus visits a hospitalized child while [[Kremzeek]] looks on, by [[Ninjaink]].
* '''Showcase Comics exclusive cover:''' Decepticons assembled, by [[Robby Musso]].
* '''Wondercon exclusive cover:''' Orion, Megatron, and Chromia, by [[E.J. Su]].
* '''One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover A:''' Heroes over Cybertron ,by [[Jeff Edwards]] and [[Steve Lydic]].
* '''One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover B:''' Uncolorized version of One Stop Comic Shop exclusive cover A.
* '''Metal exclusive cover:''' Uncolorized version of Cover A.

<gallery>
File:TF1 cvrA.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrB.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrRI A.jpg|
File:TF1 cvrRI B.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE A.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE B.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE C.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE D.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE E.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE F.jpg|
File:TF1 cvr RE G.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===

==External links==
[https://www.allspark.com/2019/03/full-preview-for-transformers-1/ Preview]

[[Category:Transformers (2019) issues]]

The Golden Knight

2018-04-20T22:27:21Z

Murdertronic:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Transformers: Robots in Disguise]]'' (2015) ep 57
|image=TRID S3 E12 TGK MSS.jpg
|caption="The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon."
|prev=Guilty As Charged
|next=The Fastest Bot Alive!
|title="The Golden Knight"
|airdate=[[July 16]], [[2017]] (UK) [[August 12]], [[2017]] (US)
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
|writer=[[Dan Salgarolo]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|director=[[Vinton Heuck]]
}}

'''An ancient Cybertronian signal sends Bumblebee and chivalry-obsessed Fixit to a remote English island for a routine scouting mission that quickly turns into the duo's very own call to adventure.'''

{{TOCclear}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:TRID S3 E12 TGK SC 1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|I don't think he's the Golden Knight, I think he's a very naughty bot!]]
[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] and [[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] find [[Grimlock (RID 2015)|Grimlock]] rummaging around the scrapyard, and quickly discover he's built a sculpture of Strongarm. Though she's unimpressed with the result, Grimlock believes she doesn't understand art. An alarm sounds, and [[Fixit (RID)|Fixit]] reports he's detected a signal encoded in a way he can't decrypt. He's overjoyed to see it's coming from an island off [[England]], having been enjoying movies about the country that [[Russell Clay|Russell]] has been watching with him, and requests to come along when Bumblebee opts to go investigate. Fixit borrows Strongarm's [[Decepticon Hunter]] as an ersatz sword so he can be a knight. The pair arrive on the island and immediately run into [[Titus]] and [[Vernon]], a pair of medieval reenactors.

Fixit makes with the role playing and manages to persuade them that Bumblebee is a time-traveling knight in magical armor, though he's upset when the humans think he's merely a squire. He's showing off the Decepticon Hunter's sword mode when a lizard-like Decepticon pops out of hiding. Bumblebee manages to protect the humans from the Decepticon's flame breath. The Decepticon demands to know the size of the Autobot army he believes is incoming, and attempts to threaten the humans, but when Bumblebee shields them, the 'Con leaves. Bumblebee instructs the humans to leave the island in their boat. Fixit's unable to find any information on the 'Con, so Bumblebee tries to call in the rest of the team.

[[File:TRID S3 E12 TGK SC 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|It just wouldn't be a picnic without the ants.]]
Back in the scrapyard, Grimlock is working on another masterpiece when [[Denny Clay|Denny]] reports that the Strongarm sculpture has been sold. Grimlock is overjoyed and un-invites Strongarm to the museum gallery he believes is his destiny.

Unable to reach the others, Bumblebee and Fixit continue searching for the 'Con. Fixit begins singing, as in movies knights are often accompanied by bards. In a hidden control center, [[Flamesnort]] makes a report to "[[Megatron (WFC)|command]]", but laments that he hasn't had a response to his communications for thousands of cycles. He promises to defeat the Autobots himself, and Bumblebee and Fixit later find him having trapped the two humans in a ring of fire. Bumblebee attacks the 'Con and manages to keep him busy by pretending to be wounded while Fixit works on rescuing the humans.

[[File:RiD2015 - The Golden Knight - Grimlock the Artist.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Me Grimlock want directions to nearest expresso bar.]]
Grimlock has started talking about himself in the third person, to Strongarm's dismay. When it looks like he's going to make another sculpture of her, she drives off.

Bumblebee bluffs Flamesnort that the Autobot fleet is two days out, so Flamesnort decides that the best course of action is to finish Bumblebee off. During the fight, a piece of key-like tech is knocked off Flamesnort's arm. He reclaims it, and Fixit attempts to challenge him to single combat, only to be knocked aside. The humans manage to escape in their boat, and Bumblebee prevents Flamesnort from finishing off Fixit — only for the 'Con to depart with all haste instead. After musing on how the Decepticon believes ''them'' to be forces for evil, the two Autobots realize the 'Con is very old, likely dating from before the war, and probably doesn't know the war is over. They head into a cave to find their foe.

In the control room, after sending a final message with an apology for his failure, Flamesnort initiates "Plan Omega", inserting the key he has into the console. Within the cave, Bumblebee and Fixit find a huge machine which Bumblebee recognizes as a planet-killing [[seismic-shock warhead]]. Unfortunately the huge device activates. The pair run onto the huge ring encircling the device and attempt to find the ignition console so they can remove the key. Fixit starts panicking, but Bumblebee is able to talk him into reasoning out a location. The walkways connected to the ring retract and it starts spinning. Fixit comes up with a solution, getting Bumblebee to transform and drive around the ring before using a ramp to reach the tunnel they need to go down. They reach the control room where Flamesnort again attacks, however Bumblebee proves able to keep the Decepticon busy until Fixit succeeds in locating and extracting the control key from its console. The warhead shuts down, and Flamesnort lies defeated.

[[File:TRID S3 E12 TGK SC 4.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He's grabbing me by the face again!]]Back at the scrapyard, Bumblebee replays a visual record of Fixit's heroics and the rest of the team is impressed. Bumblebee knights him. Denny reveals Grimlock's sculpture is acting as a scarecrow. As the others make merry, though, Bumblebee confides to Drift that he is concerned they need to ramp up their efforts to catch the [[Stunticon (Prime)|Stunticon]]s...

...and that evening, the Stunticons are out in force, chasing a police car through [[Star Visitor Estates|a human community]] and running the "excuse for a roadster" out of town. They jubilantly celebrate, and [[Heatseeker]] and [[Slashmark]] combine, the better to do so; however [[Motormaster (WFC)|Motormaster]]'s arrival puts a damper on things. [[Dragstrip (WFC)|Drag Strip]]'s flattery doesn't impress Motormaster, who declares that he is displeased at their slow progress on taking over Earth's roads, promising to show the others how it's done.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Strongarm (RID)|Strongarm]] (1)
*[[Grimlock (RID 2015)|Grimlock]] (2)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Fixit (RID)|Fixit]] (4)
*[[Drift (RID)|Drift]] (6)
*[[Sideswipe (RID)|Sideswipe]] (7)
*[[Jetstorm (RID)|Jetstorm]] (12)
*[[Slipstream (RID)|Slipstream]] (13)
|c2=
*[[Flamesnort]] (10)
*[[Heatseeker]] (14)
*[[Wildbreak]] (15)
*[[Dragstrip (WFC)|Drag Strip]] (16)
*[[Slashmark]] (17)
*[[Heatmark]] (18)
*[[Motormaster (WFC)|Motormaster]] (19)
|c3=
*[[Russell Clay]] (5)
*[[Titus]] (8)
*[[Vernon]] (9)
*[[Denny Clay]] (11)
}}

==Quotes==
"Behold, the knight's mystic sword! Excali... brate!"
:—'''Fixit''', rightful king of all capacitor sprockets.

"Did you hear him? He thinks ''he's'' a hero and ''we're'' the villains." 
"Each one of us is the hero of our own story, Fixit. No one considers him or herself to be evil. Except maybe [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]]."
:—'''Fixit''' and '''Bumblebee'''

"I have failed to repel the enemy, and the island will soon be captured. As such, I am initiating Plan Omega. All Hail Megatron."
:—'''Flamesnort''' follows the path where only in death does duty end.

"For your selfless acts of heroism, I hereby dub thee...Sir Fix of It."
:—'''Bumblebee''' makes Fixit's megacycle.

"Hiya, Boss! We got you some new territor-''oof!''" 
"Great. At this rate, the planet's roads will be mine in ''two thousand years!''"
:—'''Drag Strip''' isn't keeping to '''Motormaster''''s schedule.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The town the Stunticons are claiming the roads of is [[Star Visitor Estates|the same one]] Strongarm chased [[Scatterspike]] through in "[[Strongarm's Big Score]]".

===Prisoner manifest===
* ''In stasis'': [[Crustacion]], [[Ragebyte]], [[Zorillor]], [[Springload (RID)|Springload]], [[Boostwing]], [[Jacknab]], [[Pilfer]], [[Shadow Raker]], [[Flamesnort]].
* ''Known at Large'': [[Heatseeker]], [[Dragstrip (WFC)|Drag Strip]], [[Wildbreak]], [[Slashmark]].

===Transformers references===
*Flamesnort tells Bumblebee to "say hello to [[Primus]]", and later closes his final report with "[[All Hail Megatron]]".
*When affecting his snooty-artiste persona, Grimlock refers to himself in the third person, a common trait of other continuities' Grimlocks.
*Bumblebee references the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|War of Cybertron]].

===Real-world references===
* Fixit describes England as a land of "[[King Arthur|bold knights]], {{w|James Bond|dashing spies}}, [and] [[Fab Four|moptop musicians.]]"
* Strongarm instructs Fixit to "have fun storming the castle", a line from ''The Princess Bride''.
* Flamesnort holding out on an island, unaware the war is over is not dissimilar to the [[w:Japanese holdout|Japanese holdout]]s who continued fighting World War II long after it had ended.

===Errors===
*Bumblebee and Fixit start referring to Flamesnort by name when they discover the seismic-shock warhead, despite Fixit having explicitly said his database had no information on the unknown Decepticon just a few minutes before.
*What Fixit describes as "England" is actually a graphic of the whole United Kingdom, including the province of Northern Ireland; England is only one of the constituent parts of the UK and is not denoted on Fixit's graphic separately.

===Trivia===
*There is no connection at all between the timing of this episode and its general subject and the release of ''[[Transformers: The Last Knight (film)|Transformers: The Last Knight]].'' Nope. None whatsoever.
*Grimlock is not the first [[Bulkhead (Animated)|big]] [[Boulder|green]] bot to take an interest in art.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' '''Le chevalier d'or''' ("The Golden Knight")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 12]], 2017

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' '''Az aranylovag''' ("The Golden Knight")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 19]], 2017

==Home video releases==
{{epstub}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Knight}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise (2015) episodes]]

The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks

2017-11-29T15:10:49Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #11
|prev=The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle
|next=The Plotters' Club (Part 3)
|image=LL11_cvrA.jpg
|title="The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[November 29]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=October 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''Or: How Getaway Did It.'''

==Synopsis==
Not so very long ago, aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Getaway]] reclines on a couch in [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s quarters and tells [[Froid]] the story of how he took over the ship...

Over the course of months, one by one, Getaway and co-conspirator [[Atomizer]] speak to every member of the ''Lost Light'' crew, either securing their aid in a potential future mutiny against [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], or wiping their memories with Getaway's [[nudge gun]] if they refuse. Most of the crew sides with them outside, with around two-dozen "undecided" voters. After winning over [[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]], the pair hold their final "interview" with [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]—an Autobot who Getaway clearly hates, but who, surprisingly, is totally onboard with the idea of getting rid of Megatron.

Getaway's plot falters when he is incarcerated for manipulating [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] in an attempt to get Megatron to incriminate himself, but when Mainframe picks up a signal from [[Necroworld]], he sees the opening Getaway has told him to watch out for, and quickly arranges for Megatron, Rodimus, and their "inner circle" to be stranded on the planet when they leave the ship to investigate. Soon after the mutineers free Getaway, Rodimus's team makes contact with the ship, whereupon Getaway gloats over his victory—but it transpires that most of the rest of the crew were unaware of his plan to hand Megatron over to the [[Galactic Council]], having only ever though that the plan was to get him off the ship. After terminating Rodimus's call, Getaway reassures the crew that he has made sure the other Autobots' lives are in no danger... but that is another lie, as the Council agreed to no such terms, and Getaway's attempts to make contact with the Council to amend their agreement are refused, leading to a temper tantrum from the escapologist that ends with a chair being put through a viewscreen.

Needing to get the crew back on his side with a "clean win," Getaway puts [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to work decrypting a collection of confusing information Getaway amassed while he was being held prisoner by [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]] on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]]. Perceptor succeeds, locating what Tyrest called "the [[Warren]]"—a knot of quantum tunnels through which Tyrest intended to take Luna 1 to [[Cyberutopia]], but which he had never been able to find. Getaway calls the crew together to tell them about this discovery, and, by comparing it to the map Rodimus scratched into his desk, concludes they can find Cyberutopia within weeks. This is the first time Thunderclash has seen Rodimus's map, which looks different to the one he saw in his own dreams; spotting some unfinished scratches around Cyberutopia's location, he uses his own first-hand knowledge to finish sketching them in, revealing that they are the symbols of the five clans of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. As everyone ponders what this might mean, [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] picks up a distress call; Getaway momentarily panics, until it turns out it is an SOS from the alien world of [[Frayus]], requesting help evacuating to escape a battle between the Galactic Council and the [[Black Block Consortia]]. The crew is stunned when Getaway refuses them aid, dubbing the mercy mission a "distraction" from their real end goal. Various crewmembers start to object, but are interrupted by the transmission that Getaway was dreading: a call from Rodimus himself. In fact, it is the "last will and testament" made by those stranded on Necroworld, but only Rodimus's portion has time to play—containing the fact that the castaways are about to die at the hands of the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]—before Getaway cuts it off and deletes it, claiming it is a fake. Getaway orders everyone out of the room save for Atomizer and Thunderclash; the latter is determined to go to the rescue of Rodimus and the others, but before he can storm off to gather up volunteers for the mission, Atomizer shoots him in the throat, and Getaway discharges the nudge gun into his head multiple times. The grisly scene is witnessed by an eavesdropping [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]], who tries to run, but is soon on the receiving end of a nudge gun blast of his own.

...and that, it turns out, is where Froid came in. Getaway orders Atomizer to release the psychotherapist and his pet serial killer [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]] from the ship's brig, and after he finishes telling Froid the story of how things got to this point, he proposes a trade. In return for using his remote [[mnemosurgery]] abilities to trap Thunderclash in a memory loop, and to alter the memories of the crew so they forget the transmission from Rodimus and believe he and the others left the ship of their own volition, Sunder demands the [[life cord]]s of twenty-five victims for him to feast upon. Atomizer has pronounced doubts; he can tell this is no longer about getting rid of Megatron, but has become about Getaway's own monomaniacal, narcissistic need to fulfill what he considers his "destiny" of becoming a [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] at any and all costs. Froid, however—fascinated by Getaway's grotesque combination of psychological complexes and eager to study him in action—goads him on, inspiring Getaway to sacrifice the "undecided" voters to Sunder and have the crew's memory of them erased.

Getaway's heinous scheme is completed, but almost unravels when the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] return to the ship and are told the truth by Riptide, who turns out to have been unaffected by the nudge gun due to Getaway running out its charge blasting Thunderclash. While the Protectobots are hunted down trying to escape by a security team who have been mnemosurgically convinced they are undercover Decepticons, Getaway and Atomizer take Riptide to the ship's oil reservoir, which Getaway reveals he has filled with [[scraplet]]s. It is to these metal-eating monsters that Getaway has been feeding Sunder's "sacrifices," stripping them down to only their life cords... and to pay Sunder to place the Protectobots in memory loops of their own, he needs another one. With a final blast of the nudge gun, Getaway wipes Riptide's memory of how to transform into his boat mode, and shoves him into the reservoir...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Getaway]] (1)
*[[Atomizer]] (2)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (3)
*[[Joyride (G1)|Joyride]] (4)
*[[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]] (5)
*[[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] (6)
*[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] (7)
*[[Hosehead (G1)|Hosehead]] (8)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (10)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Crosscut (Autobot)|Crosscut]] (14)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (15)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (16)
*[[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] (17)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (18)
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] (19)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (20)
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (21)
*[[Siren (G1)|Siren]] (22)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (23)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (24)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (25)
*[[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]] (26)
*[[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]] (27)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (28)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (29)
*[[Dipstick]] (30)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (31)
*[[Sprocket (G1)|Sprocket]] (32)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (33)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (34)
*[[Xaaron]] (35)
*[[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]] (37)
*[[Pointblank]] (38)
*[[Boss (G1)|Boss]] (39)
*[[Grotusque]] (40)
*[[Rook (Generations)|Rook]] (41)
*[[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (42)
*[[Dogfight (G1)|Dogfight]] (43)
*[[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]] (44)
{{!}}}

|c2=
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (12)

|c3=
*[[Froid]] (9)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (13)
*[[Galactic Council]] agent (36)
}}

==Quotes==
"So... Mainframe's a '''yes.'''" 
"Course he is. He's lonely—and the loneliest are the easiest."
:—'''Atomizer''' and '''Getaway'''

"If we can win '''him''' over, we're laughing. Half the crew '''worship''' him. People have to sit down after talking to him." 
"He's not '''that''' impressive." 
"He carried the Matrix..." 
"Temporarily! And he never displayed '''The Signs,''' did he? There's a world of difference between '''storing''' the Matrix and '''carrying''' it. He stored it. He was a glorified '''trophy cabinet.'''"
:—'''Atomizer''' and '''Getaway''' discuss Thunderclash

"Tailgate. '''That''' was my first misstep..." 
"I'd like to talk about that. Has anyone ever used the word 'predatory' to describe your behavior?" 
"Only as a compliment."
:—'''Getaway''' and '''Froid'''

"So here's the thing about '''lying'''... the more you do it, the easier it gets."
:—'''Getaway'''

"After I die, I want someone to sell my '''innermost energon'''—it's Matrix-enriched, so, y'know, it'll fetch a good price—and use the proceeds to employ a '''bounty hunter'''. There's this '''freelance peacekeeping agent''' on Elpasos. Horns, detachable hand, eyebrows that would make Rung jealous. Use him. I want what's left of my body turned into a '''pathblaster'''—Brainstorm says it's totally possible—and I want the bounty hunter to '''use''' the pathblaster to '''shoot Getaway in the face.''' Now '''ideally''', the pathblaster would be in my colors? But the main thing is that Getaway dies knowing I was personally responsible for his lack of a head."
:—'''Rodimus''' delivers his last wishes

"I need to '''trick''' them into '''trusting''' me again."
:—'''Getaway''' in a nutshell

"[Getaway] makes for a '''fascinating''' case study. Narcissism, impostor syndrome, a truly '''multi-faceted''' inferiority complex... it's quite the cocktail."
:—'''Froid'''

"D'you know why '''Team Megatron''' lost interest in you? D'you know why they didn't take you to Necroworld? Clue: it's because '''you're not like them.''' Brainstorm, Ratchet, Nightbeat, Skids. They're smart guys, Riptide. And you... you're really not." 
"I'm not a '''psychiatrist''' either but I'm pretty sure this conversation says more about '''you''' than me."
:—'''Getaway''' and '''Riptide'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Froid and Sunder were last seen in [[Speak, Memory! (Part 2)|''More than Meets the Eye'' #49]].
*Two "undecided" voters are named by Atomizer, both "comic-original" characters: [[Fervor]], who first appeared in [[Speak, Memory: Part 1|''More than Meets the Eye'' #48]], and [[Turbine]], whose only appearance came in [[Interiors|issue #6]].
*Just before his meeting with Thunderclash, Getaway says he is going to the oil reservoir with Tailgate; the pair were shown to go fishing there in [[Our Steps Will Always Rhyme|''More than Meets the Eye'' #40]], but that can't be ''this'' time, because the presence of Thunderclash on the ship dates this scene to after [[The Frail Gaze|issue #42]] (but see "Errors," below).
*Thunderclash was previously stated to have held the Matrix in [[Little Victories|''More than Meets the Eye'' #21]]. Getaway is ''most'' put out about this, pointing out that Thunderclash never displayed "the Signs"; he is referring to the "Signs of Affinity" that means one is suited to be an actual-factual Matrix bearer. ''Why'' is Getaway so annoyed? Well, as we oh-so-casually learned in [[Twenty Plus One|''More than Meets the Eye'' #31]], Getaway himself purportedly showed the Signs, which goes a long way to explaining the warped sense of self-entitled "destiny" that this issue reveals has been his main motivator all along.
*Getaway flashes back to the events of [[The Lopsided Triangle|''More than Meets the Eye'' 47]], in which he tried to have Tailgate killed by Megatron. We see [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] arresting him, an off-panel scene not shown before that takes place between issues #47 and #48.
*Pages 6-7 are reprinted in their entirety from [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|''More than Meets the Eye'' #50]], featuring the artwork of [[Alex Milne]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], with surrounding pages showing the other side of the same scene back on the ''Lost Light'' that we didn't see in the original issue. General [[Neech]] of the Galactic Council, who appeared in that issue, is name-dropped here.
*Getaway refers back to his time as a prisoner of Tyrest, and the deranged Chief Justice's attempts to create a portal to Cyberutopia, which, as a footnote reminds us, were chronicled in [[Remain in Light|''More than Meets the Eye'' #17-21]]. "The Warren" was namedropped just last issue; the idea that Tyrest wanted to fly the entire moon of Luna 1 through it hearkens back to the revelation that the moon had massive planetary engines, as revealed at the end of issue #21.
*Hound recalls the class Megatron held on the Knights of Cybertron, and the conclusion they all reached that the Knights sub-divided into different clans, each represented by a different symbol, which all took place in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50. We learned that there were five clans total in [[An Axe to Break the Ice|''Lost Light'' #8]], but only the infamous gear-symbol that has been appearing throughout the adventures of the ''Lost Light'' was known to the class at the time; Thunderclash noted that he had seen other symbols but been unable to focus on them, suggesting that his successful completion of the images in this issue is the first time he has done this.
*The scraplets Getaway has filled the reservoir with are specifically identified as partially-domesticated "Red Scraplets" he found in the medibay. Though you may immediately assume these are the same scraplets that caused trouble for the crew in [[Silent Light|the 2015 ''Transformers Holiday Special'']], which were quite intelligent and last seen in the medibay, those scraplets weren't red; this is, in fact, a different cluster of scraplets that were alluded to be on the ship from the beginning of its voyage, which appeared in a single panel in [[The Gloaming|''More than Meets the Eye'' #16]], and were indeed red in color. Moreover, [[slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|issue #33]] noted that the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s quantum duplicate had "domesticated scraplets" aboard, which must surely be a the same critters.
*Did you spot the implication that something menacing was lurking in the oil reservoir last issue? When Getaway had his conversation with First Aid about whether or not he could trust him, it was held outside the oil reservoir, and Getaway had his hand on the controls, aaalll ready to open the door and shove First Aid in if trust wasn't forthcoming...

===Transformers references===
*The "freelance peacekeeping agent" Rodimus describes in last wishes (quoted above) is, of course, [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], the bounty hunter created for the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK Generation 1 comic]], who has previously been alluded to in IDW continuity by [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]]'s bio in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #5]]. Rodimus notes Death Head hangs out on the planet [[Elpasos]]; that's where Death's Head was visiting during his first appearance in [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|Marvel UK issue #113]]—famously, Roberts's first issue of the comic, and one he has made [[113 (disambiguation)|numerous references]] to during his tenure.
*Rodimus also requests that his dead body be converted into a [[Pathblaster]] that Death's Head should use to kill Getaway; the Pathblaster is another Marvel UK reference, a devastatingly powerful weapon featured in [[Time Wars|issue #203]].
*The scraplet is drawn based on the creatures' appearance in the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|''Transformers: Prime'' animated series]].

===Real-life references===
*Various pieces of dialogue in this issue include allusions to the taking points of ascendant right-wing politicians uttered across 2016-2017:
**"The will of the people has been realized—all without a single shot being fired!" says Getaway after stranding Team Rodimus. The outcome of 2016's {{w|Brexit}} referendum in the [[United Kingdom]] has often been referred to with the buzz-phrase "the will of the people." Brexit proponent {{w|Nigel Farage}} remarked following the win that "revolution" had been victorious "without a single bullet being fired." A statement that understandably angered a lot of people, as the campaign had seen the public murder of {{w|Jo Cox}}, an anti-Brexit Member of Parliament, by a man shouting pro-fascist statements as he SHOT her.
**Getaway calls Rodimus's transmission "{{w|fake news}}," a term referring to misinformation and propaganda, but most famously used by {{w|Donald Trump}} to simply attack negative news reports about him, in the same untruthful manner Getaway employs it here.
**Froid goads Getaway by saying he is securing "a strong and stable future for our race"; "strong and stable" was the election slogan of British Prime Minister {{w|Theresa May}} in 2017, which was repeated so regularly and robotically that it became the subject of mockery in the press.
*Getaways calls Riptide "{{w|Boaty McBoatface}}", a name that entered the meme-o-sphere in 2016 when it won an online poll to decide what a new {{w|RRS Sir David Attenborough|UK Antarctic research vessel}} would be called.
*He also calls him "the little boat that couldn't," a reference to ''{{w|The Little Engine That Could}}''.
*Getaway refers to turning Tailgate into a "red rag." That's an allusion to the rather British euphemism, "like a red rag to a bull," referring to an act of deliberate provocation—like trying to provoke Megatron into murdering Tailgate.

===Errors===
*Getaway's meeting with Thunderclash is technically impossible. The former captain of the ''[[Vis Vitalis]]'' was comatose from the time he was brought on-board the ''Lost Light'' in [[The Frail Gaze|''More than Meets the Eye'' #42]] until waking up in [[Speak, Memory: Part 1|issue #48]], ''after'' Getaway had already pulled his stunt with Tailgate and Megatron, meaning that there is no point in time at which the meeting seen in this issue could have occurred. When this was pointed out to Roberts on Twitter, he admitted his mistake, and promised a "continuity patch" in a later issue that will indicate Thunderclash had woken from his coma and had a relapse somewhere between the two issues.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/931201912103428097 James Roberts on Twitter]</ref>

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in October, this issue arrives noticeably late, in the final week of November.
*The re-used pages from ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50 are included in addition to the regular 20 story pages, making this story 22 pages in length.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ajn-NXtdc I Am the Resurrection]" by {{w|The Stone Roses}}
*"Lost Myself" by {{w|Longpigs}}
*"You Can't Always Get What You Want" by {{w|The Rolling Stones}}
*"I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero" by {{w|Morrissey}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' Getaway admires a "Getaway Star," by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover B:''' Getaway seizes the ''Lost Light,'' by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]], revisiting the theme of Roche and Burcham's covers for issues #1-5
*'''Cover C:''' Getaway aiming his nudge gun, reflected in [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]]'s visor, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Megatron leads the Decepticons in attacking Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Windblade, with everyone in their [[Evergreen]] character designs, by [[Joana Lafuente]]; part of a matching pair with Lafuente's retailer incentive cover for [[Primeless, Part 2|''Optimus Prime'' #12]], which shows the scene from the opposite angle

<gallery>
File:LL11 cvrA.jpg|
File:LL11 cvrB.jpg|
File:LL11 cvrC.jpg|
File:LL11 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #12
*''[[First Strike]]: [[M.A.S.K.: First Strike|M.A.S.K.]]'', ''{{i|ROM: First Strike|ROM}}'', and ''[[Unification Day: Dusk|Transformers]]'' one-shots
*IDW ''[[Star Trek]]: Discovery'' comic
*''Ghostbusters: Answer the Call'' #1
*''Atomic Robo and the Spectre of Tomorrow'' #1
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]] Adventures''

==External links==
*[https://www.newsarama.com/37512-thunderclash-makes-a-choice-in-transformers-lost-light-11-preview.html Preview]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle

2017-10-24T23:04:15Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers: Lost Light]]'' #10
|prev=Chasing the Infinite
|next=The Plotters' Club (Part 2)
|image=LL10_cvrA.jpg
|title="The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[October 18]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=September 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''The Protectobots return to the ''Lost Light'', but a lot has changed in their absence.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] and the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] are on course to return to the ''[[Lost Light]]''—but it hasn't been a smooth flight, as their crippled [[O Fortuna|shuttle]] is on the verge of going offline completely. The team manage a controlled crash-landing into one of the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s shuttle bays, but when they emerge from the wreck, they find themselves staring down the gun barrels of the ship's security team. [[Getaway]] appears and orders the security team to lower their weapons, then warmly embraces [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], welcoming him and the others back aboard. The returnees are quick to notice the absence of [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], and are gobsmacked to learn that ''Getaway'' is now in charge of the ship. Getaway is quick to dodge his way around their many questions, instead pointing out the injuries that [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] has sustained in the crash and suggesting First Aid deal with them first.

In the medibay, First Aid tends to Blades's wounds, and the pair conclude that something fishy is going on. Blades is a little addled from the crash and starts panicking about the possibility that a plague has killed off members of the crew in their absence, and First Aid can't even reassure him because it turns out the computer's medical files have been password protected. Instead, he runs a [[spark]] check on the ship, which confirms that there are significantly fewer 'bots on board than there were when the Protectobots left... and moreover, the nearest spark is in the medibay with them, on the other side of a locked door. Blades leaves to try and get answers from someone while First Aid sets to the door with a [[laser scalpel]], whereupon Getaway enters and offers his help. The door opens at Getaway's touch—"wasn't even locked," the new captain claims—revealing that the 'bot on the other side is [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], comatose once more for reasons the acting medical officer, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], has been unable to discern. Getaway strides off to "sort out" the problem with the medical files, but First Aid jogs along after him, demanding some proper answers. The pair stop outside the door to the ship's oil reservoir; Getaway subtly fingers the door controls as he asks First Aid if he can trust him, pulling his hand away when the medic responds affirmatively. Megatron and Rodimus, Getaway tells First Aid, "abandoned" the ''Lost Light'' due to their frustration at the crew's lack of progress, taking a team of close friends off to find a shortcut to [[Cyberutopia]]. Getaway claims he didn't tell First Aid this right away because he is upset at having been left behind, then quickly changes the subject, urging the medic to go find Hoist and get the information he needs about Thunderclash. First Aid heads off in the direction of [[Swerve's]], but Getaway corrects him—that's not where the crew gathers to socialize anymore...

First Aid finds the rest of the crew in [["Visages"]], Mirage's old cocktail lounge, where the once and former owner has already found his way back behind the bar. First Aid finds several fellow drinkers side-eyeing him until he is called over by Hoist to join him and some of the friendlier 'bots in attendance. The group fills him in on Rodimus and Megatron's "departure," talking about how much progress they've made without them (even if it means they no longer stop to help others in need), how close they are to Cyberutopia, and listing off all who went with the two co-captains. Something about the list seems to unsettle First Aid, and he excuses himself for the night.

First Aid proceeds to break into the shuttered and locked Swerve's and calls Mirage and the other Protectobots to meet him there. Sitting in the dark, First Aid expresses his concerns to the team: the number of absentee crew members he ascertained earlier is much greater than the number who "deserted" with Rodimus and Megatron, meaning that multiple 'bots are unaccounted for. Mirage takes great offense at First Aid's insinuation that the rest of the crew is lying to them, and blames Megatron for everything—he should have been executed, Mirage insists, and he knows that's not a controversial position to take because Getaway and [[Atomizer]] had approached him about getting rid of Megatron in the past. The other Protectobots have no memory of being approached themselves, but First Aid does—and he came to regret telling Getaway he would side with him. No sooner have those words passed First Aid's lips than [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] steps out the shadows, having been waiting for the right moment to make his entrance. He, too, has had second thoughts about the answer he gave Getaway when that same question was asked of him, and he now tells Mirage and the Protectobots the whole truth—Rodimus and company didn't desert; rather, Getaway staged a mutiny and exiled them. He starts to explain that Thunderclash is in a coma because he also disagreed with Getaway, but before he can say any more, Getaway himself, along with the ship's security team, casually struts into the bar. All pretense abandoned, Getaway takes up Riptide's story and explains that Thunderclash is not comatose; rather, he is trapped in a memory loop, unable to tell that he is living and re-living the same series of events over and over inside his mind. Just then, [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] finds the switch that turns on the lights... and the sight that comes into view as the bar is illuminated is a horrifying one: [[brain module]]s, torn from their bodies but still attached to their spinal columns, pocked with ''teeth-marks'', floating preserved in the bar's vats of [[engex]]! Realizing the point of no return has been crossed, Getaway readies his gun... but is suddenly ambushed by the invisible Mirage, who smashes a glass across his face. As Riptide holds the security team off, Mirage and the Protectobots flip the bar's large central table and use it as a battering ram/shield to charge their way out of the room, then leg it for the shuttle bay, intending to escape the ship and alert [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to what has transpired. Blades takes a bad hit as they flee, but the group makes it to their shuttle (which has been repaired with curious speed), and manages to blast off. In moments, however, a proton missile fired by the ''Lost Light'' cripples the shuttle, and a tractor beam starts pulling it back to the ship...

[[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] and the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] are on course to return to the ''[[Lost Light]]''—but it hasn't been a smooth flight, as their crippled [[O Fortuna|shuttle]] is on the verge of going offline completely. The team manage a controlled crash-landing into one of the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s shuttle bays, but when they emerge from the wreck, they find themselves staring down the gun barrels of the ship's security team. [[Getaway]] appears and orders the security team to lower their weapons, then warmly embraces [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], welcoming him and the others back aboard... all of them completely unaware that, like Thunderclash, their minds are also trapped in a memory loop...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Rook (Generations)|Rook]] (1)
*[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (2)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (3)
*[[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (4)
*[[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]] (5)
*[[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (6)
*[[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (7)
*[[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]] (8)
*[[Powerflash]] (9)
*[[Boss (G1)|Boss]] (10)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Doublecross]] (11)
*[[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]] (12)
*[[Pointblank]] (13)
*[[Repugnus (G1)|Repugnus]] (14)
*[[Aquabat]] (15)
*[[Atomizer]] (16)
*[[Grotusque]] (17)
*[[Getaway]] (18)
*[[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] (19)
*[[Waverider]] (20)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] (21)
*[[Rad (G1)|Rad]] (22)
*[[Dipstick]] (23)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]] (24)
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (25)
*[[Siren (G1)|Siren]] (26)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (27)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (28)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (29)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (30)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (31)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (32)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (33)
*[[Crosscut (Autobot)|Crosscut]] (34)
*[[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]] (35)
*[[Xaaron]] (36)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (37)
*[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] (38)
*[[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] (39)
*[[Ammo]] (40)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"D'you remember when [Rodimus] went '''door-to-door''' showing everyone his new '''roller-skates?''' Or the time he trod '''oil''' onto the bridge and Ultra Magnus had that '''seizure?'''" 
"I remember his plan to win the '''hide-and-seek final''' by painting himself '''space color''' and standing in front of a window..."
:—'''Blades''' and '''First Aid'''

"Question: Getaway. Do you like him?" 
"Do I like him. Do I '''like''' him. Yeah. Yeah, he's okay. You?" 
"I like him a lot. But I don't know if I trust him."
:—'''First Aid''' and '''Blades'''

"Give me your least pretentious drink."
:—'''First Aid''' doesn't think too highly of "Visages"

"'''Whirl?''' You're telling me '''Whirl''' was frustrated that you weren't making progress?" 
"I think he was just '''frustrated.''' You know Whirl: he's got no idea what he wants, but he sure as hell knows he hasn't got it."
:—'''First Aid''' and '''Mainframe'''

"Bomp '''that.'''"
:—'''Mirage''' glasses Getaway

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The Protectobots left the ''Lost Light'' in [[The One Where They Go to Earth|''More than Meets the Eye'' #43]] to take part in the [[Combiner Wars (comic)|''Combiner Wars'' crossover]], arriving in the story in-progress in [[The Possible Light|''The Transformers'' #40]]. During that story, in [[Mistakes and Mayhem|''Windblade'' vol. 2 #2]], Rook suddenly appeared among the team, despite being totally unmentioned in the script; the rather notorious end result of a rushed production and error-riddled artwork. The recap page for this issue quietly smooths this away by explaining that he was a civilian Autobot who—we're not kidding—just happened to be standing near the Protectobots when they got merged into [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. Oof.
*We return to the ''Lost Light'' for the first time since [[The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|''More than Meets the Eye'' #50]], published 18 months earlier, in which Getaway staged his mutiny and banished Megatron and his various "sympathizers" from the ship.
*Standing behind/above Getaway, right in the middle of page 3, is a character who has not appeared on-panel before. Given their bat-wing-like ear-fins, plus the pair of fully-sized wings on their back, they must be [[Aquabat]], the triple-changing [[Hydrobot (G1)|Hydrobot]] who transforms into a hovercraft and a "weird, winged creature," mentioned but once before in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|''More than Meets the Eye'' #28]].
*Blades calls to the idea of a plague sweeping the ''Lost Light'' as "[[Delphi]]: Mark 2," referring to the [[Red Rust]] virus that consumed the Autobot medical facility First Aid used to work at, as seen in [[Life After the Big Bang|More than Meets the Eye'' #4]]–[[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|5]].
*Hoist is the acting medic; he was previously seen attempting (and presumably [[The Gloaming|failing]]) to repair [[Tripodeca]] at a triage station set up in Swerve's bar during [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]'s rampage in [[No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases|issue #50's back-up strip]].
*First Aid recalls the last time Thunderclash was in a coma, back in [[The Sensuous Frame|''More than Meets the Eye'' #41]]–[[The Frail Gaze|42]].
*When listing off 'bots who "left" with Rodimus and Megatron, Getaway refers to [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] only as "the psychiatrist," the latest in a long line of instance of people being unable to remember his name.
*First Aid remarks that he always thought Hound would be next-in-line for captaincy. Hound has taken charge of the ship a few times in the past, during the absense of Magnus and Rodimus in the ''[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]'' crossover.
*Mirage tells the others how he was approached by Getaway and Atomizer before the ''Lost Light'' launched in the wake of Megatron's trial—something that we learned the two 'bots did to everyone from their own mouths in [[The Lopsided Triangle|''More than Meets the Eye'' #47]]. Groove, Streetwise, Hot Spot, and Blades believe they were not spoken to, but we can easily conclude that they ''were'', that they said they wouldn't side with Getaway in the event of a mutiny, and don't remember because Getaway erased their memory of the conversation with his [[nudge gun]].
*Riptide believes that Getaway "sent the [[Decepticon Justice Division]]" after Rodimus and company, which was the same misconception we as an audience labored under after ''More than Meets the Eye'' #50. As we know from [[The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|issue #55]], he actually sent the [[Galactic Council]] after them, so why Riptide believes otherwise is unclear... unless Getaway really did do it?
*Speaking of the DJD, "teethmarks in a brain module" certainly calls to mind DJD member [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]]'s method of torturing his victims, in which he placed their brain module in their own mouth (as described in [[slaughterhouse|''More than Meets the Eye'' #31]] and seen in [[The Permanent Revolution|issue #39]]), but Helex was killed by Megatron in ''More than Meets the Eye'' #55 so that's likely just a misdirect...
*Getaway notes that Thunderclash once carried the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which was something we learned in [[Little Victories|''More than Meets the Eye'' #22]].
*First Aid calls the act of flipping a table "going Full Prowl," in reference to the [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Autobot security officer]]'s penchant for doing the same, as originally introduced back in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|''More than Meets the Eye'' #1]] and reiterated several times since.
*The ''Lost Light'' fires a proton missile at the Protectobots' shuttle, a rare use of the arsenal the ship was equipped with in [[Signal to Noise|''More than Meets the Eye'' #13]].

===Transformers references===
*On page 11, Smokescreen and Inferno are seen having a very intense conversation with each other over a drink. In the Marvel UK comics, Smokescreen and Inferno were [[:File:Smokescreeninferno.jpg|very very very very PLATONICALLY close]], and in the Marvel G2 comics, [[Escalation!|Inferno essentially sacrifices himself once Smokescreen is killed in battle]]. Looks like that bond has hopped universes.
*Riptide's warning to the Protectobots starts with the words "You're being deceived", one of IDW Megatron's rallying cries which formed the basis of the Decepticon movement. Hard to imagine that that line was chosen at random.

===Real-life references===
*This issue's title appears to derive from the real-life "[http://www.thepottersclub.co.uk/ Potters' Club]," a prestigious private club in the [[United Kingdom]].

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in September, this issue arrives a few weeks late, in mid-October.
*Mirage mentions an unseen crewmember named "[[Tiretread]]" with whom he raced in the past.
*The time-loop the Protectobots are trapped in is illustrated by the story ending with a reprint of its first 4 pages, with a tweaked speech bubble in the final panel, the addition of the story title at the end, and curiously, the change of First Aid's "Oh." to an "Ah." These are in addition to the standard 20 story pages of the issue, meaning the story runs to 24 pages total.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYLpDeSxBac A Lack of Understanding]" by {{w|The Vaccines}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=aP9cA5BAwNk Yes]" by {{w|McAlmont and Butler}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzPLLyVl-x0 Introducing Angels]" by {{w|Destroyer (band)|Destroyer}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Cover A:''' The mutineers act out another homage to Kevin Maguire's cover for 1987's ''Justice League'' #1, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]; this has become something of a series hallmark, with past homages featured as covers for [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|''More than Meets the Eye'' #1]], [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|#28]], and [[The One Where They Go to Earth|#43]]
*'''Cover B:''' Getaway punches Thunderclash off the ''Lost Light'' and into space, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover C:''' The mutineers versus the Protectobots, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] by [[Marcelo Matere]]; one of retailer incentive variants done by Matere for September's ''Transformers'' titles
<gallery>
File:LL10 cvrA.jpg|
File:LL10 cvrB.jpg|
File:LL10 cvrC.jpg|
File:LL10 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #11
*''[[First Strike]]'' ''{{i|Micronauts: First Strike|Micronauts}}'', ''[[Unification Day: Dawn|Optimus Prime]]'', and ''[[G.I. Joe: First Strike|G.I. Joe]]'' one-shots
*Halloween ComicFest 2017
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]] Adventures''

==External links==
*[https://www.newsarama.com/36944-the-lost-light-in-disarray-in-transformers-spin-off-s-10-preview.html Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]

Skip (IDW)

2017-09-27T01:27:59Z

Murdertronic:

{{factions|decepticon}}
:''Skip is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:After Megatron - Skip.jpg|thumb|Alas, poor Skip. I knew him, Ambus-io.]]
'''Skip''' was a Decepticon who was part of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]'s forces. His duty may have ended in death, but his usefulness didn't.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Skip was under Deathsaurus' command when Deathsaurus allied with [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] and the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to kill [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] on [[Necroworld]]. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} He was one of many Decepticons who were killed during the battle. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|Rage, Rage}}

Later [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] presented Skip's corpse as a means of getting the stranded ''[[Lost Light]]'' crew off of Necroworld, as Skip's [[alternate mode]] was a spaceship, and recent events in the [[Functionist Universe]] had demonstrated that the use of [[Size changing|forced mass displacement]] would allow him to be made large enough to ferry most of the crew. When Rodimus asked for guesses as to what Skip turned into [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] suggested that he turned into a ("purple, because Decepticon") wormhole, because suggesting he turned into a [[w:dumpster|skip]] would be beneath even ''Swerve's'' sense of humor.

After being enlarged and manually transformed into his ship-form, the Autobots departed Necroworld aboard Skip. {{storylink|After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)|After Megatron}}

==Notes==
*A [[W:Skip (container)|Skip]] is a large, open-topped waste container. All the good names really ARE taken.

[[Category:Comic-only Decepticons]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]

Demus

2017-04-16T16:55:23Z

Murdertronic:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the Monoformer|the Outlier with a similarly-spelled original name|Tarn (DJD)}}
:''Demus is a [[Decepticon]] [[Monoformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[File:Demus some of my best friends are autobots.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|His condition is "being an asshole".]]

'''Demus''' is a Decepticon turned trader with a [[transformation]] phobia.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
Back in the day, Demus had such an aversion to his [[Alternate mode|alt mode]] that he had all his [[kibble]] surgically removed. Not surprisingly he went on to become a member of [[Militant Monoform Movement|Triple-M]], before serving in the Decepticon army under the command of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]].

After the [[Great War (G1)|war]] ended, he was given an honourable discharge and set himself up as a scrap metal merchant on [[Tebris VII]], eventually becoming so successful through selling domestic appliances and toy pets that he was able to build a collection of 14 vintage moons. However this success would come at a price as Demus became increasingly aware that his activities would not be ignored by the authorities forever, putting his life at risk. {{storylink|Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots}} He wound up striking a deal with a mysterious organization, trading his assistance with their projects in exchange for personal protection.

As his activities involved kidnapping and lobotomizing beast-mode Transformers into marketable "[[Roboid|torture dolls]]" for organic races to vent their frustrations on, the authorities would have been right to get involved. For the crime of purveying Cybertronians to aliens, Demus fell under the scrutiny of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]], the new Duly Appointed Enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]]. When Maximus warned Demus of his impending arrest, the trader defended his actions, stating that it was a "survivor's market." {{storylink|Animals}}

When the [[Scavenger (group)|Scavengers]] crash landed on Tebris VII, months later, Demus made contact with [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] through a Triple-M subgroup on [[The Big Conversation]] and invited them to his headquarters to talk business. Once they had been fitted with inhibitor chips to prevent them from transforming, the noticeably jumpy Demus told them of his offer: they would receive half a billion [[Shanix]] each in exchange for their captive, the brain-damaged [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]]. While the Scavengers discussed it amongst themselves, Demus excused himself to make a call, begging his patrons for protection, but was caught and summarily executed by Fortress Maximus. {{storylink|Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots}}

Two hours too late to rescue Demus, a couple of his mystery associates arrived to dispose of ''whatever'' he had been working on for them. They were more concerned about the condition of their stock than they were about Demus's demise. {{storylink|Animals}}

===''TransTech''===
In a segment on [[Axiom Nexus News]], Demus displayed [[Hydrophenia]]n [[Antilian bumble-puppy|bumble-puppies]]. {{storylink|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News Reporter|Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/03/10}}

[[Category:Fiction-only Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Merchants]]
[[Category:TransTech Decepticons]]

The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears

2016-05-03T22:15:40Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|series=mtmte|issueno=52
|prev=The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight
|next=The Dying of the Light Part 4
|image=MTMTE52_regcvr.jpg
|title="The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears
|caption=Death waits you! You have made a covenant with death, and with Hell you are in agreement. You're all going to die! Don't you realize? Can't you see? You're all going to die! Die! Death awaits you all (With nasty, big, pointy, teeth)!
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 27]], [[2016]]
|coverdate=April 2016
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|pencils by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2016)]]
}}

'''Megatron versus Tarn! A new challenger appears!'''

==Synopsis==

As [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] struggle to hold off the [[Decepticon Justice Division|DJD]] and their allies, Drift observes [[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]]'s horrified reaction to [[Ten]] striking [[The Pet]], then seizes the little creature and threatens to kill it in order to stay the villains' hands. A distraught Kaon orders everyone to stand down, and Ratchet, Drift, and Ten are then airlifted to safety by their own ship, piloted by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. [[Helex (DJD)|Helex]], furious, overturns Kaon's order and everyone opens fire on the ship, damaging it and sending it falling out of the sky.

Elsewhere on [[Necroworld]], [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] and [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] meet in front of Megatron's statue, where Tarn is left incredulous by Megatron's request that the DJD spare the other Autobots if he surrenders to them. Tarn speaks of Megatron's inspiring legacy and all the lives that were willingly sacrificed to his cause, but the weary Megatron regrets everything, even his own life. Disgusted, Tarn launches a brutal physical attack on his former leader, knocking his Autobot [[insignia]] off, hoping to reignite his lost fire by forcing him to fight back. But the battered Megatron refuses to rise to the bait, citing both his newfound pacifism, and the fact that the [[Fool's Energon]] he is fuelled with makes it impossible anyway. Megatron chuckles, reflecting on the side effect of Fool's Energon that can allegedly change 'bot's personality... and realizes that, even if that is true, despite his lifelong fear of mental tampering... he's ''better'' the way he is now. Realizing that the 'bot he once worshipped is gone, Tarn blasts him point-blank in the chest, and is about to deliver a second, fatal shot when a third party suddenly arrives on the scene and orders him to stop... a third party named '''[[Overlord (Masterforce)|OVERLORD]]!'''

Ravage manages to crash Ratchet and Drift's ship at the entrance to the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s fortress, and the group takes cover inside. The Autobots are happy to see their two old friends again, but [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] is confused as to why they are here; it turns out they came in response to a call [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] made on the communicator [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] gave her, which the DJD's signal blockers had cut off before she could speak. Velocity had thought she was making contact with First Aid himself, and immediately makes a rather terrible first impression on Ratchet. Infinitely more tense is the concurrent reunion of Drift and [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]], the latter still feeling guilty over letting Drift take the blame for the Overlord debacle, and for never coming to look for him after the truth came out, out of fear he would hate him. Drift accepts Rodimus's sincere apology, but doubts his belief that they can all make it out of their present situation alive.

Overlord demands that ''he'' be the one to kill Megatron, and a fight instantly breaks out between the two Decepticons over who will have the honor. As they battle, Tarn remarks that the DJD believed Overlord to be dead; the [[Phase Sixer]] explains that he was recovered and repaired by a group of mysterious benefactors, who have sent him to Necroworld to kill Megatron—an "alignment of interests," as Overlord puts it. Tarn proposes an alliance, but Overlord refuses: Megatron is ''his'', and his alone, to end. At that point, however, the two combatants realize that while they have been distracted grappling with one another, Megatron has dragged his battered body onto the [[space scooter]] that brought him there, and escaped back to the fortress!

At the fortress, [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] regards the Necrobot's memorial for the "disappeared," pondering the names carved into it as a means of keeping his mind busy. Presently, [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] arrives; she wonders where [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] is, and the archivist tells her that they have had an argument, each believing the other should have used the teleport chamber to escape. Nautica then asks about the pair's history, wondering about the protocol for becoming either [[Conjunx Endura]] or [[Amica Endura]] in Cybertronian society. When Rewind asks her why, she remarks that their looming fate has led her to question some matters she has been avoiding...

Tarn and Overlord return to the ''[[Peaceful Tyranny]]'', where Overlord immediately sets about mocking and undermining the group and its alliance with [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]. The distressed Kaon then arrives to report what happened to his unit, and the capture of The Pet, which only gives Overlord more material to work with. Tarn embraces his panicking colleague... then with cold fury, rips his head clean off. Smashing Kaon's severed head across Overlord's chest, he declares that ''emotion'' was the weakness that changed Megatron, and it is a weakness he will not allow himself, or any of his men, to feel.

And back at the fortress, the unconscious Megatron is hauled inside by his allies, fuel-streaked Autobot symbol still defiantly clutched in his hand...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (5)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (8)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (12)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (13)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (14)
*[[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (15)
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] (16)
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (17)

|c2=
*[[Helex (DJD)|Helex]] (1)
*[[Kaon (DJD)|Kaon]] (6)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (7)
*[[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] (9)
*[[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] (10)
*[[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]] (18)
*[[Nickel]] (19)

|c4=
*[[Ten]] (2)
*[[The Pet]] (3)
}}

==Quotes==

"Drift! Say something '''inspirational!''' I fight better when I'm annoyed!"
:—'''Ratchet'''

"You want to talk about wasted lives? What about all the people who '''died''' following your orders? The road-sweepers and the haulers. The '''miners!''' All those who died in service to a future '''you''' promised to bring about? Did '''they''' waste their lives? Did '''I''' waste '''mine?''' Look around you. Every flower represents a life '''you''' ended—a death for which you bear '''full responsibility.''' You think they're all Autobots?"
:—'''Tarn'''

"I know everything is '''connected.''' I know it's impossible to preserve some moments and not others—however tempting it might be. I know that not long ago, someone tried to kill me before I was born. And I know I hated them less for their '''ambition''' than their failure to '''realise it.'''"
:—'''Megatron'''

"The thought of anyone tampering with my mind used to '''terrify''' me. But if Prime's chemicals have '''kept me in line...''' then maybe that's a good thing. '''I'm better like this.'''" 
"No. You're better dead." 
''(CHOOM!)''
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Tarn'''

"'''You're''' Ratchet? The '''sourpuss'''? The '''slavedriver'''? The '''hand-thief''' who took a thousand years to retire? '''You're''' him?" 
"Er..." 
"I hope '''not'''—otherwise I've made a really '''bad''' first impression...!"
:—'''Velocity''' and '''Ratchet'''

"You're both angry for the same reason? Is that logical?" 
"Let me know the next time you and the person you love have a logical argument."
:—'''Nautica''' and '''Rewind'''

"Come here, Kaon. I never realized that you cared for that creature as much as you '''do.'''. Sorry—" 
''(RRRIP!)'' 
"—as much as you '''did.'''"
:—'''Tarn'''

"Don't you '''ever''' think '''you''' can come into my house and '''pass judgement'''. I will not be '''ridiculed''' by someone who spent half his life '''running''' and the other half '''sulking''' because no one gave chase."
:—'''Tarn''', to Overlord

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Megatron hints that, before becoming a Decepticon, Tarn was a significant 'bot in the life of some importance, remarking that he "turned" him to the Decepticon side in order to "hurt" that 'bot by proving that it could be done. The last time Megatron talked about doing something purely out of spite in order to hurt someone, he was talking about [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]], back in [[slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|issue #34]]. Is that misdirection we see, or it is another big fat in-your-face hint that Tarn is Optimus's old buddy [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] under his mask, following the possible set up in [[Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|issue #36]]? Of note, Roller's name ''seems'' to be included on the Necrobot's memorial for the "disappeared"...
*Megatron refers to Brainstorm's attempt to kill him before he was born, from [[Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|issue #38]].
*Aaaaaa''aaaAAAAA'' '''''AAAAAAAAAAA'''''<big>'''''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S OVERLORD!!!!'''''</big> The original ''MTMTE'' Big Bad makes his return after being blasted out of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' back in [[Under Cold Blue Stars|issue #15]], but c'mon, none of us ''really'' believed he was dead, did we? Tarn gives a quick rundown of his backstory from ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', summarizing how he refused to follow Megatron's orders, went rogue, and then, upon realizing that Megatron didn't care and wasn't pursuing, staged the events of that mini-series as a way of trying to get his old leader's attention.
*The single flashback panel that shows Overlord floating in space pulls the same trick as the last panel that showed us him doing so in [[The Gloaming|issue #16]]—obscuring his left hand, and whatever he may or may not be holding in it...
*As noted in a footnote, Ratchet gave First Aid the communicator in [[Our Steps Will Always Rhyme|issue #40]], which he then passed onto Velocity in [[The One Where They Go to Earth|issue #43]].
*Given that Drift knows that Rodimus told the rest of the crew the truth about the Overlord conspiracy, Ratchet must have told him about it following the end of [[The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone|''Empire of Stone'']]. That mini was evidently written without proper understanding of the full story behind Drift's exile, while issue #40 of this series also floundered a little while trying to deal with the fallout of Rodimus's reveal, but this issue ties it off at last. Rodimus told the crew the truth, but didn't try to find and bring Drift back because he was afraid he would hate him for making his sacrifice meaningless.
*We previously saw the Necrobot's memorial for the disappeared in [[The Not Knowing|issue #44]].
*It is noted that several months have passed between the two-part story in issues [[Speak, Memory: Part 1|#48]] and [[Speak, Memory! (Part 2)|#49]] and "The Dying of the Light" (during which, we know, both the [[Silent Light|''Holiday Special'' story]] and [[No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases|issue #50's back-up strip]] took place).
*Tarn ripping Kaon's head and spine out and crushing it against a solid surface echoes Kaon's killing of [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]] in [[Births, Deaths, and Interventions|issue #34]].

===Real-life references===
*As with the previous chapters, this issue's title (and the title of the multi-parter itself) is taken from the poem "{{w|Do not go gentle into that good night}}," by {{w|Dylan Thomas}}.
* On the Necrobot's memorial to the disappeared, there's a name reading "-EAMWA-". Now it could certainly be "Screamwarp" or "Steamwash" but there's one other very [[Dreamwave Productions|obvious answer]]...

===Errors===
*On page 6, Tarn says "wasted lifes," rather than "wasted lives."
*Not strictly an error, but on pages 7 and 19, Megatron and Tarn use the British spelling, "realise," rather than the American "realize."
*On page 17, Rewind says "and they pleasure they take in doing it" instead of "''the'' pleasure."

===Other trivia===
*We learn a little more about the types of "Endura" bonding. Nautica notes that in some civilizations, you have to be "Amica" before you can then move on to being "Conjunx," though that is not true of [[Caminus]]. Rewind explains that in Cybertronian society, one must actually first ''rule out'' being Conjunx before "opting" for Amica. "It can make for a very bittersweet ceremony," he says. No doubt!
*Other mostly-legible names on the Necrobot's monument include "Stratum", "Syphon", "-gator" or "Gator", "Auboros", and "Corrad-"

===Soundtrack===
For all of "The Dying of the Light":
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCdBc5uByFQ Hurt]" by {{w|Johnny Cash}}

For this issue alone:
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S7DmnjWTSk Franklyn]" by {{w|Michael Nyman}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn4dy_7Q9Bo The Return of Evil Bill]" by {{w|Clinic (band)|Clinic}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAVUPu7URbc Teardrop]" by {{w|Massive Attack}}
*"Twilight of the Empire" by Fariña

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' A fuel-streaked Megatron receives a face-punching from Tarn, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' The DJD and Deathsaurus's forces, by [[Hayato Sakamoto]] and [[MGR]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Don't worry: Megatron, Ravage, [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] are the good guys! By [[Brendan Cahill]] and [[John-Paul Bove]]
*'''Heroes and Fantasies Alamo City Comic Con exclusive cover:''' Wraparound image of Megatron, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Unicron]], by [[Juan Carlos Ramos]].
<gallery>
File:MTMTE52 regcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE52 subcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE52 cvrRI.jpg|
File:MTMTE52 cvrRE.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''More than Meets the Eye'' #53
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|The Transformers]]'' [[All Hail Optimus Part 3: The Medium and the Message|#52]]
*''[[The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers|Sins of the Wreckers]]'' [[Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|#4]]
*IDW ''Micronauts'' comic

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/28977-the-autobots-are-stranded-in-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-22-preview.html Preview]

Animals

2015-11-11T17:08:09Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|series=mtmte|issueno=46
|prev=Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots
|next=
|image=MTMTE46_regcvr.jpg
|title="Animals"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[November 4]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=October 2015
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|pencils by=[[Alex Milne]]
|inks by=[[Brian Shearer]], [[John Livesay]], [[John Wycough]], and Alex Milne
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]] and [[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2015)]]
}}
'''The Scavengers face down Fortress Maximus to save Grimlock, and learn a little something about helping others in the process.'''

==Synopsis==
Aboard his ship the ''[[Concordat]]'', on approach to [[Tebris VII]], [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] is listening to the paranoid [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] ramble on over the comm about a hidden message he thinks he's found in ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' when he spots the crashed ''[[Weak Anthropic Principle]]'' on the planet's surface. Red identifies the craft and looks up its owners, unaware that he's reading the [[Autopedia]] articles the Scavengers themselves have vandalized with hyperbolic backstories for themselves, and Max heads down to the planet's surface to confront his original target, [[Demus]].

A short time later, Demus lies dead on the floor of his office, and Maximus places the Scavengers under arrest. [[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] succeeds in distracting the Autobot long enough for [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] to blast him, and the Scavengers scatter into the scrapyard outside, hiding amongst the junk. When [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] starts anxiously clicking his "clicker" once again, Misfire finally loses his temper and snatches the device from Krok's hand, revealing it to be not a communicator, but a severed finger. Krok explains that the finger belonged to a member of his old squad named [[Radar]], who was killed alongside the rest of his teammates by the [[Wrecker]]s. Radar turned into a telecommunications array, and while Krok admits that he ''does'' click his finger when nervous, he also does it to use the finger's still-functioning mechanism to scan for Decepticons in the area. He almost always detects none... but today, as he snatches the finger back from Misfire, Krok can see it has detected hundreds of Decepticons all around them. Stalking the Scavengers through the yard, Fortress Maximus calls out to them to explain why: Demus's "[[Roboid]]" toys are not toys at all, but lobotomized beast-mode Cybertronians, sold as "torture dolls" to organic races to take their frustrations out on.

To get Maximus off their backs, Crankcase radios Misfire to express concern for [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], deliberately allowing Max to hear him in hopes that Grimlock will be considered a more important target. Red Alert confirms Grimlock's presence, and Max heads off to investigate, leaving the Scavengers to pull themselves together. [[Fulcrum (G1)|Fulcrum]] is annoyed that Krok has never told them about the fate of his old squad before, but Krok retorts that they took neither his depression, nor the self-delusion that his squad was still alive that he once labored under, seriously. ''That'', Krok tells them, is why he wanted Demus's money: he planned to use it to build a treatment center for those Cybertronians like himself, who are suffering from various mental disorders as a result of the war. Fulcrum calls him out on his hypocrisy—the fact that he was willing to ''sell'' the mentally-disabled Grimlock—and the suitably shamed Krok admits he was letting the ends justify the means. Knowing that Grimlock, as a former [[Garrus-9]] inmate, will be re-arrested by Maximus, Misfire insists they go to his aid, and a repentant Krok agrees. Unable to fly thanks to Demus's inhibitor chips, the Scavengers saddle up some [[Equinoid]] Roboids, and ride out to their ship.
[[File:Equinoids.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Somewhere there's a MLP joke waiting to happen.]]
The Scavengers arrive to witness Grimlock and Maximus grappling with one another, and manage to talk Max down by explaining that they ''found'' Grimlock in his current condition. Maximus proposes taking him to Luna 1 for help, and Misfire reluctantly agrees, knowing that it is what's best for Grimlock—but [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] objects, suggesting they ask Grimlock himself what he wants. To everyone's surprise, Grimlock is able to stammer out Misfire's name—not that it matters to Maximus, since he's intending to take them ''all'' in anyway. Krok has other ideas: he tells Maximus that he has planted a bomb in Demus's office that will destroy all the Roboids, and, pretending that Radar's finger is a control device, "primes" the non-existent explosive with a single click. He then tosses the finger to Crankcase, who threatens to click it again and detonate the bomb... and thanks to a sudden bout of facial paralysis brought on by his head injuries, he is able to stare Max down without blinking! Unable to take the risk, Max heads back to Demus's office, while the Scavengers quickly depart the planet. Krok, realizing that he is much better off now than he was years ago thanks to the stability and support offered by his friends, has a new plan and purpose for the group: to help other Decepticons the way they have helped each other. Krok plugs radar's finger into the ship's computer, allowing it to detect nearby Decepticons, and the Scavengers are about to head off until Misfire pulls a gun on Krok...

...and one lost game of [[Cybertronian games#Shoot Shoot Bang Bang|Shoot Shoot Bang Bang]] later, Misfire escorts Grimlock back to his wrecked quarters, promising there won't be locks on the door when they rebuild it. Misfire is agog when Grimlock eloquently replies "Thanks. I appreciate it", but when the Dinobot says nothing more, the Decepticon is left with another reminder that there ''is'' something going on inside Grimlock that he can't see. What he also fails to see is what Grimlock has drawn on the wall of his room: a familiar gear-shaped symbol and the message "PREPARE - CONFRONT - REPEL"...

[[File:FortMaxCuddles.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Aww, the widdle maniac enforcer just wanted cuddles.]]
Aboard the ''Concordant'', Maximus contacts [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] to tell him about the day's events. Rung advises him to rethink his approach to peace-keeping: times have changed, and the Scavengers are now the rule, rather than the exception, when it comes to Decepticons. Maximus cannot deny it, especially since Spinister left him instructions on how to reverse the brain-damage to the Roboids, who now surround him on his ship.

Two hours later, at Demus's now-abandoned junkyard, a Decepticon [[Worldsweeper]] arrives, piloted by Demus's mystery co-conspirators. The two robots open a hatchway to a hidden chamber beneath Demus's office, containing rows of strange pods inside which ''something'' is growing. One suggests moving the operation, but the other refuses, warning that to do so threatens their ability to meet their deadline, and will incur the wrath of the "Grand Architect". As the robot advocates aborting and starting again, they both turn, revealing the gear-like hieroglyph on their chests...

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.) 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (1)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (2)
*''[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]'' (9)
*''[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]'' (11)
*''[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]'' (12)
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (13)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (14)
|c2=
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (3)
*[[Fulcrum (G1)|Fulcrum]] (4)
*[[Demus]]'s corpse (5)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (6)
*[[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] (7)
*[[Krok (G1)|Krok]] (8)
*''[[Radar]]'' (10)
|c4=
*Mystery 'bots (15-16)
}}

==Quotes==

"'''Misfire of Pretendia''' is a debonair sharp shooter who once fired a bullet through a bullet-shaped hole in a slightly larger bullet. Whilst riding a bullet train. Feared and respected by his colleagues, he is credited with introducing Megatron to the world of '''interpretive dance.'''"
:—'''Red Alert''' reads from Misfire's vandalized Autopedia page

"This shouldn't take long." 
"For something that shouldn't take long, you're carrying an awful lot of firepower." 
"The two are connected."
:—'''Fortress Maximus''' and '''Red Alert'''

"Hate to do you out of a '''job''', but our '''"high tech"''' isn't that '''high''' anymore. It's just... tech. About four million years go we stopped '''reaching for the stars''' 'cos we needed both hands to '''beat the crap out of each other.'''"
:—'''Misfire'''

'''Fulcrum:''' "Hey, Krok, what you said just now—about Radar, about your squad. You should've told me earlier." 
'''Krok:''' "For a while I couldn't talk about it at all. In fact for a while I convinced myself that the rest of my squad were still '''out there'''—that they were '''safe.'''" 
'''Misfire:''' "Yeah, Crankcase used to say you were '''nuts.'''" 
'''Krok:''' "See? And people wonder why it's so hard to talk about mental health." 
'''Misfire:''' "Hey, I'm a paragon of sensitivity." 
'''Krok:''' "It's not just the '''labeling'''—it's the '''distancing'''. It's this idea that experiencing mental illness marks you out as '''bad''' different. Show me someone who '''hasn't''' been affected by all the fighting. Show me someone who's "normal" and I'll show you someone who knows how to hide things. We are our brains. Subject this ball of circuitry to four million years of '''war''' and '''hate''' and '''pain''' and '''death''' and '''loss''' and '''grief''' and don't be surprised if it has to find new ways to cope with the stress. People should be more understanding. That's what I was going to do with my half a billion—build a '''treatment center''' for '''vulnerable Decepticons.''' Because there are a lot of people out there who are only just about holding it together."

"I've spent years comparing myself with Decepticons who've done well for themselves—people like '''Agonizer''' and '''Skullcruncher'''. Today I realized that y'know what? '''I've''' done well. For a while I was a '''mess'''. My squad had died. I was directionless, I was '''delusional'''... I got better thanks to you guys. Even when I've made bad decisions, you've given me '''stability''' and '''support''' and—and '''companionship'''... and maybe it's time we gave those things to other Decepticons." 
"What you're descirbing sounds suspiciously like '''helping people.'''" 
"I know. Because guess what? I think we'd be pretty good at it."
:—'''Krok''' and '''Crankcase'''

"Y'know, Grimsy, sometimes you remind me of Spinister. Every now and then you'll say something that makes me think there's a lot more going on in there than we realize. More than '''you''' realize, too. Guess all I can do is be patient, pay attention... and see what you do next."
:—'''Misfire'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Like Fortress Maximus, Red Alert was last seen in [[The Sound of Breaking Glass|issue #21]], in which he elected to stay on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] with Maximus.
*The Scavengers were previously established to get their kicks by vandalizing Autopedia last issue issue. Clearly the admins of Autopedia aren't particularly speedy when it comes to reverting edits...
*Crankcase makes reference to [[Killmaster]], a super-powerful Decepticon mentioned occasionally throughout ''More than Meets the Eye''.
*Fortress Maximus' pose and placement on page 3 hearken back to page 3 of [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]], where he had similarly brutalized a 'con (or two) following a long absence and a dramatic return in the [[Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots|preceding]] [[Life After the Big Bang|issue.]]
*Fortress Maximus's involvement in the [[Simanzi Massacre]] is mentioned, something we heard about before in [[Interiors|issue #6]].
*Krok describes Radar's death at the hands of the Wreckers—specifically, Roadbuster, who tore out his spine and "made him eat it"—as "a terrible affair", indicating that this gruesome event was the mysterious "[[Roadbuster affair]]" mentioned in [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #1]].
*Fortress Maximus says that Grimlock is "a 'Con again". We don't know the full story behind this, but way back in [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|issue #3]], a flashback montage featured an image of Grimlock staring down at his hands, an Autobot insignia in one, a Decepticon insignia in the other, indicating that there had been a moment in his past when he had been forced to choose between the two factions. In [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]] Tarn confirmed Grimlock has a spot on [[The List]], presumably for changing sides.
*Also in issue #8, Spinister was revealed to be an exceptional surgeon despite his eccentricities. It seems his talents also extend to ''neuro''surgery, having figured out how to reverse the Roboids' lobotomies with just a quick look.
*The familiar gear-hieroglyph that appears on both the wall of Grimlock's room and the chests of the mystery robots is the icon seen on the surface of [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] in [[Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|issue #21]] and on [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]'s map to [[Cyberutopia]] in [[The Sensuous Frame|issue #41]]. The plot thickens!
*The mystery 'bots, meanwhile, are obviously the owners of the Worldsweeper on which the Scavengers found Grimlock back in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|issue #7]]. The horrific bio-mechanical sights the Scavengers saw on that ship seem connected to... ''whatever'' is brewing in the pods beneath Demus's office; what little we see shows us an arm that ''looks'' human, but which has some kind of circular, mechanical component embedded in its palm. Their fear that moving the pods will risk "contamination" feels like a reference to the Worldsweeper we saw in that earlier issue, which crashed when organic blood contaminated its fuel supply.
*One of the enigmatic pair notes they have another facility like the one beneath Demus's office in [[Fortuna]]. The ''Lost Light'' visited Fortuna, capital city of [[Scarvix]], in [[Our Steps Will Always Rhyme|issue #40]].

===Transformers references===
*The ''Weak Anthropic Principle'' is described as an exploration vessel that formerly belonged to the Autobots, a reference to the fact it's based on the animation model of the [[Ark (G1)|original Ark]], which certainly fits that description. It's a "model 84", referring, of course, to [[1984]].
*Roadbuster killed Radar while in the throes of the drug [[Syk]], which originally appeared in the Marvel UK story, "[[Secrets (G1)|Secrets]]". James Roberts featured the narcotic in his own works previously in "[[Chaos Theory Part 2]]".
*The idea that Grimlock was formerly a Decepticon seems to owe something to [[Dreamwave Productions]]' various ''[[War Within (franchise)|War Within]]'' comics, which indicated (but did not explore the story behind the fact) that Grimlock had once been on the 'Con side.
*Red Alert mentions [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]], the 'bot who is typically Fortress Maximus's [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner in most Generation 1 stories. If he is stationed on Luna 1 with Red and Max, that suggests he might be a member of the [[Circle of Light]].
*Among the Roboids is a Generation 1 version of [[Nook]] from ''Transformers Animated'', and a [http://adelightfultedium.tumblr.com/post/130214882372/cavisetticon-djw-transformersanimated-cassette Cavisetticon] created by [[Derrick J. Wyatt]].
*Red Alert and Fortress Maximus discuss how Red Alert read all 332 editions of Wreckers: Declassified, a likely reference to the [[End of the Road! (US)|332]] issues of the [[The_Transformers_(Marvel_comic)#Marvel_UK|original Marvel UK comic]].

===Real-life references===
*The "Next:" box at the bottom of the last page reads "stop all the clocks"; these are the first words of the {{w|W. H. Auden}} poem "{{w|Funeral Blues}}", which prominently featured in the [[1994]] film ''{{w|Four Weddings and a Funeral}}''.
*Planet destroying superweapons in the form of eyeball-sized red balls previously appeared in the 2009 Star Trek reboot.

===Other trivia===
*This issue arrives just a teeny bit late, shipping in the first week of November, rather than the last week of October.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghgl-Zy7PCg It's Not Funny Anymore]" by {{w|Babybird}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSuqV9-atWc Living With the Human Machines]" by {{w|Strangelove (band)|Strangelove}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmiRWwAXexY Bowl of Oranges]" by {{w|Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes}}

===Covers (3)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Grimlock tears it up, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Blank cover for sketches, including blue-line art board borders and a small thumbnail sketch of Grimlock by Milne, from inside the issue, in the corner
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Fortress Maximus by [[Nick Roche]]; part of October's series of black-and-white "Artist's Edition" incentive covers.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE46 regcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE46 subcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE46 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''More than Meets the Eye'' #47
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|The Transformers]]'' [[Conquerors Part 1: Aphelion|#46]]
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]'' #10
*''[[The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers|Sins of the Wreckers]]'' #1
*''[[The Transformers: Punishment|Punishment]]'' motion comic
*IDW ''Samurai Jack'' graphic novels
*''Atomic Robo: The Ring of Fire''
*IDW ''Skylanders: SuperChargers'' comic
*''Walt Disney's Comics and Stores'' 75th Anniversary
*[[Mickey Mouse]] is back in action at IDW!
*IDW ''Transformers'' graphic novel library
*"More than Meets the iPad" - IDW Transformers Comics app
*''Uncle Scrooge: The Grand Canyon Quest" (back cover)

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/26576-fortress-maximus-is-a-killer-cop-in-transformers-mtmte-46-preview.html Preview]

Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots

2015-10-15T13:31:42Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|series=mtmte|issueno=45
|prev=The Not Knowing
|next=
|image=MTMTE45_regcvr.jpg
|title="Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 30]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=September 2015
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|pencils by=[[Alex Milne]]
|inks by=[[Brian Shearer]] and Alex Milne
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2015)]]
}}
'''They're ba-aack!'''

==Synopsis==
It's been a funny old time for the [[Scavenger (group)|Scavengers]]. Ever since learning that [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] has defected to the [[Autobot]]s and that [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] now rules [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], their plans to return home have been abandoned, and they have been pottering around the galaxy having wacky adventures: being cursed to speak only in song, accidentally raising eldritch horrors, dealing with the image of [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] coming alive from a datapad, holomatter escapades on [[Magisteria VI]], playing Jenga against a giant space jellyfish for the fate of the universe, falling into a perspective trap, and even, somehow, getting turned into [[toy]]s! Today, though, the crew are just enjoying a simple game of "[[Cybertronian games#Shoot Shoot Bang Bang|Shoot Shoot Bang Bang]]", hunting each other around their ship, the ''[[Weak Anthropic Principle]]'', with dart guns. [[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] lets his internal monologue run away with him, allowing [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] to get the drop on him, but [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] jumps in at the last second to score the winning shot. Unfortunately, in order to do so, Crankcase has left the bridge unmanned, and the ship promptly crashes into [[Tebris VII]].

Four hours later, the battered [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] wakes up to find Crankcase and [[Fulcrum (G1)|Fulcrum]] lounging around watching television—specifically, the stand-up routine of Krok's old shipmate [[Skullcruncher]], who has made a mint in the post-war era by rebranding himself as a "self-hating Decepticon" comedian. Heartily cheesed off to see Skullcruncher and so many other Decepticons finding new jobs and new successes while he and the rest of the Scavengers are just bumming around the galaxy living hand-to-mouth, Krok chucks a Skullcruncher souvenir through the television, and starts lecturing his crewmates about taking control of their lives... only to be almost immediately interrupted when a rampaging [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] comes tearing into the room, with Misfire holding onto his back for dear life. Misfire has been attempting to "house-train" the mentally-damaged [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]], but after his biggest success to date—managing to write the first letter of his own name—Grimlock has had another in an escalating series of "fits" that forces the Scavengers to blast him into submission. Tiring of Krok's bossy tone, Misfire is about to rip into him about the "clicker" in his hand, but before anyone says anything they can't take back, Spinister enters to inform the team a communication is coming through.

The communication is from [[Demus]], a Decepticon scrap merchant on Tebris VII, who Krok knows from the [[Militant Monoform Movement|Triple M]] sub-group on the Decepticon social networking site, [[The Big Conversation]]. Demus invites the Scavengers to his scrapyard, and, thinking they are going to be offered jobs, they even agree to inject themselves with temporary [[Inhibitor/deterrence chip|inhibitor chip]]s upon arrival due to Demus's condition—he is so militantly monoform that the very ''sight'' of transformation makes him sick. The group are led by the noticeably skittish Demus through his stockyard, full of merchandise from his profitable side-business making "[[Roboid]]" toys, before arriving at his office, where it turns out he does not want to ''employ'' them: he wants to buy Grimlock from them. He steps out to take a call while the Scavengers talk the proposal over amongst themselves; the obscene amount of money on offer all it takes to sway Krok, Crankcase, and Spinister into selling, outvoting the more compassionate Misfire and Fulcrum, the latter also healthily suspicious of Demus's motives. And it seems Fulcrum is right to be suspicious—out in the stockyard, Demus talks on his communicator in a panicked whisper about being on a list, and needing help from the caller... but he realizes that such concerns have become moot when a huge shadowy figure appears in front of him. Demus is hurled back through his office window and then has his brains blown out right in front of the Scavengers... as the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]], [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], steps through the door and inquires which of them will be next!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (7)
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (10)
|c2=
*[[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] (1)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (2)
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (3)
*[[Fulcrum (G1)|Fulcrum]] (4)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] (image of hand, 5)
*[[Krok (G1)|Krok]] (6)
*[[Skullcruncher]] (8)
*[[Demus]] (9)
}}

==Quotes==
"Crankcase! That was '''my''' shot! You're not even playing!" 
"True. But I can't listen to someone else's party without wanting to '''pop their balloons'''."
:—'''Spinister''' isn't happy that '''Crankcase''' has stolen his win

"—and we used to say to him, 'Megatron, mate, why not get all the Phase Sixers and throw 'em at the Autobots?' Like, 'Forget the planets! You can cyberform as many planets as you like once you've killed all your enemies! '''You're not making the best use of your assets.'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>"
:—'''Skullcruncher''' likes to claim he spoke truth to power, but somehow, we doubt it

"Are you sure you won't let Spinister fix your head? He's a brilliant surgeon." 
"He's a brilliant surgeon who classifies random objects as 'goodies' or 'baddies' based on the sound they make when he punches them. I don't want him anywhere near my brain."
:—'''Krok''' and '''Crankcase'''

"When we found you on '''Clemency''', we didn't know '''what''' was going on. Now we '''do''', and it's worse than we thought. The Autobots have won, Megatron's '''flipped''', and Starscream's in charge of Cybertron! '''Starscream!''' At least the Autobots were '''upfront''' about wanting to kill us! I wouldn't trust Starscream to tell me my own name!"
:—'''Krok'''

"You must be the Scavengers." 
"It's pronounced '''<big>SCAVENGERS.</big>'''"
:—'''Demus''' and '''Misfire'''

"Are we gonna kill him and steal his money? <big>'''HA!'''</big> Joking. But seriously, are we gonna kill him and steal his money?"
:—'''Crankcase''', on dealing with '''Demus'''

'''Demus:''' "I'd like to buy [Grimlock] off you." 
'''Misfire:''' "You '''what'''?" 
'''Crankcase:''' "'''Buy''' him?" 
'''Fulcrum:''' "Bizarre." 
'''Spinister:''' "'''WHAT AM I REACTING TO AND IS ANGER APPROPRIATE?!'''"

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The single panel that shows the Scavengers' holomatter adventure on Magisteria VI has one of them remark that the holomatter program is struggling with the native species' gender; [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] had the same problem back in [[Cybertronian Homesick Blues|issue #13]].
*The Scavengers were seen playing Jenga when they last popped up in [[Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|issue #20]].
*Misfire highlights the mystery of Grimlock's current condition; found by the Scavengers on [[Temptoria]] in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|issue #7]], the last time he had appeared before that was when he was being taken to [[Garrus-9]] at the climax of the ''[[The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots|Maximum Dinobots]]'' miniseries. Everything in-between is a blank, but Misfire does not believe anything that happened on Garrus is responsible for Grimlock's condition, noting that he has learned that Grimlock "went missing" from the facility, rather than being freed or broken out.
*Krok mentions that the Scavengers sometimes vandalize [[Autopedia]], the Autobots' free-to-edit database.
*During his stand-up routine, Skullcruncher talks about his having been part of infiltration squads during the war. We know he's speaking from experience, as he was last seen way back in ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' as a member of one such squad—alongside Crankcase, no less—on the planet [[Nebulos]] where they were both apparently killed by [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], though obviously not.
*The "clicker" in Krok's hand was last seen in issue #7, or rather, it was ''heard''. He claimed it was a device that he clicked to keep rebooting the ship's continually failing communications systems, but in [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]], Misfire strongly implied that whatever the device was, it wasn't that. The way Fulcrum takes Krok's hand to stop him clicking it as he rants this issue certainly indicates it's an uncontrolled expression of anxiety like a nervous tic, and Misfire is just about to broach the clearly-taboo subject of what the thing is, but they get interrupted by Demus's communication.
*Krok makes reference to the planet [[Troja Major]], first (and last) heard of in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|issue #28]]. This was the world on which [[Nautica]] picked up the original, unedited version of "[[Towards Peace]]"; perhaps the Decepticon antiquarian, [[Agonizer]], who Krok notes set up shop on the planet, had something to do with that.
*Demus previously served under [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]], who gave him an honorable discharge after the war. Surprising to hear about a Decepticon, perhaps, but we saw in [[The Permanent Revolution|issue #39]] that Deathsaurus is the sort to treat his men right.
*Crankcase is swayed into selling Grimlock by the possibility of using the money to buy his own spaceship, something we know from issue #8 that he always wanted to have.
*We last saw Fortress Maximus in [[The Sound of Breaking Glass|issue #21]], in which he took on the position of enforcer of the Tyrest Accord following the defeat of then-current holder of the title, [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]].

===Transformers references===
*We see the ''Weak Anthropic Principle'' for the first time, and it turns out to be a Decepticon-purple version of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] [[character model|animation model]]. The sequence of it crashing, complete with "Four Hours Later" caption, is styled directly after the scene of the ''Ark'' crashing from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]"; the shot of the post-crash bridge, with rocks bulging in through the windows, is likewise styled after the interior of the cartoon's Autobot Headquarters.
*When Spinister places his gun against Misfire's head to end their game of "Shoot Shoot Bang Bang", he paraphrases [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'': "I would've waited an eternity for this. It's over, Misfire."
*Krok is revealed to be a [[Monoformer]]—the IDW continuity term for a Transformer that does not transform — referencing the fact that his original Generation 1 toy was a non-transforming [[Action Master]].
*According to Skullcruncher's routine, Krok named himself after "his dead pet", an allusion to Krok's Action Master parter [[Gatoraider]] - who was, of course, a crocodile.

===Real-life references===
*The Decepticon website "The Big Conversation" (established by an [[M.T.O.]] named [[Biteback]], Krok says) is likely named for the (now defunct) real-life website of the same name, launched in 2003 by the Labour government of the [[United Kingdom]].
*The comment about killing off the name Scavengers because it is too close to the word "scroungers" is a reference to the 2015 Tory government of the United Kingdom's policy on the use of the word in their political rhetoric.

===Errors===
*In panel 4, page 11, Krok's second speech bubble ("We should be taking control of our lives!"...) is coming from Crankcase.

===Other trivia===
*The final panel on the "recap" page, showing the Scavengers turned into toys, was taken by Maziar Shahsafdari using the original Generation 1 Spinister, Crankcase, Krok, and Misfire toys. [http://tfsquareone.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/idw-mtmte-45-that-scavengers-photo.html Read about the photo shoot here!] [[File:Scavengers_IRL.jpg|thumb|250px|"Poor Fulcrum. Missing out on such an awesome scene."]]
*Skullcruncher's routine involves pointing out that nobody actually knows what phases 3 through 5 of [[infiltration protocol]] are, a joke based on the fact that they were never detailed back during [[Simon Furman]]'s "-Ations" era on the IDW books, and that it's a little tricky to imagine what three distinct stages between "Instigating conflict" and "killing everything" would actually be.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf73xqZvk6k Loaded]" by {{w|Primal Scream}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBsazIACpYM Fool's God]" by {{w|The Stone Roses}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Jt-o8OGBc Shake Your Money]" by {{w|Black Grape}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Scavengers group shot, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' The other Scavengers don't appreciate whatever Misfire is laughing about, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]], [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]], and [[Star Saber (Victory)|Star Saber]], by [[Kei Zama]] and Josh Burcham; one of September's series of retailer incentive covers by Zama.
*'''Giant Robot Comics exclusive cover:''' Wraparound cover of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, Arcee, and Omega Supreme battle Megatron, Soundwave, Rumble, Swindle, Onslaught, and Devastator at [http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g780595-d209840-Reviews-Peggy_s_Cove_Lighthouse-Peggy_s_Cove_Halifax_Region_Nova_Scotia.html Peggy's Cove Lighthouse] in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[John-Paul Bove]]. Available exclusively from [http://www.giantrobotcomics.com/ Giant Robot Comics], who are based in Halifax; third in [[Less Than Zero|a]] [[The World of Tomorrow|series]] of exclusive covers for the retailer by Coller and Bove, which all feature Halifax landmarks.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE45 regcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE45 subcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE45 cvrRI.jpg|
File:MTMTE45 cvrRE.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''More than Meets the Eye'' #46
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|The Transformers]]'' [[The Nothing Man|#45]]
*''[[The Transformers: Windblade|Windblade]]'' [[The Will of the Few|#7]]
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]'' [[Stick To Your Guns|#9]]
*IDW ''Skylanders SuperChargers'' comic
*[[Mickey Mouse]] is back in action at IDW!
*''[[Jem|Jem and the Holograms]]'' Vol. 1 TPB
*"More than Meets the iPad" - IDW Transformers Comics app
*IDW ''Back to the Future'' comic (back cover)

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/26050-decepticons-do-battle-in-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-45-preview.html Preview]

Attack of the Alien Robots director

2015-09-21T22:05:14Z

Murdertronic:

{{noname-designation}}
:''The director is a [[human]] character from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|cartoon portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Director.jpg|upright=1.67|thumb|"Mikey! You have to LOOK at Gonard while you're attacking him!"]]
The '''director''' knows exactly what makes a good film when he sees it. It might be some great stunt work, awesome explosions, or [[Transformers (film)|giant transforming robots]], he'll film it and put it in his movie (and change the script to make it fit)! Just don't bug him with the details.

==Fiction==
===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Alan Oppenheimer]] (English), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese)}}
[[File:HoistGoesHollywood Director and assistant.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Hmm, every time [[Superman]] shows up, my assistant is nowhere to be found.]]
During the filming for his latest action movie, an important stunt was ruined by the arrival of [[Hoist (G1)|Moist]], [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Carly]]. The stunt went wrong, leaving the two stunt drivers dangling over a precipice, but Moist promptly mounted a daring rescue. The director was amazed and offered the [[Autobot]] a job as a vehicle robot in the film. Moist turned up for filming, only for a bunch of the other Autobots to arrive as well, and the director hired them all as stunt vehicles.

Filming continued apace, until a [[Dirge (G1)|downed jet]] was discovered in a swamp set. The director was at a loss for a way to extract it, until he had the brilliant idea of working it into the film. Before he could do so, three [[Decepticon]]s turned up to rescue their companion, and the director was able to catch it all on film. On reviewing the footage with his assistant director and actors, he announced that the movie was going to be renamed ''[[Attack of the Alien Robots]]'', much to the distress of star [[Harold Edsel (G1)|Harold Edsel]].

[[File:HoistGoesHollywood Director and pyrotechnics guy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|More lens flare, more explosions, more peeing on that Turturro guy!]]
When they were ready to resume filming, the director presented the Autobots with their new "costumes" and filmed them chasing [[Karen Fishook (G1)|Karen Fishook]]. Edsel as "Dash Jordan" came to her rescue, though the director had to prompt [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] to fall down when Dash "fired" at him. A second scene didn't go much better, as [[Rumble (G1)|someone]] replaced the pyrotechnics with real explosives. Fortunately the film wasn't harmed, no one important was damaged, and the director realised they could use the explosion in the movie. Though he demanded someone find out who was responsible for the accident, his assistant pointed out it was no accident.

As it turned out, it was the Decepticons, in search of the footage of Dirge's rescue. As the director and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] watched, Moist was able to execute a bluff, making [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] think that the film reel had been destroyed. The director was so impressed with Moist's acting that he offered the Autobot a role in his next movie. Moist declined the offer. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood (episode)|Hoist Goes Hollywood}}

==Associated characters==
===Assistant director===
[[File:Assistantdirector.jpg|thumb|"The camera loves you, baby! Me? I can't stand you, but that's less important."]]
{{voiceactor|[[Bud Davis]] (English)}}
The assistant director's job was chiefly to follow the director around and agree with him a lot. Occasionally he had original ideas, but the director tried to discourage that sort of thing.
{{-}}

===Production assistant===
[[File:Productionassistant.jpg|thumb|"Really, my credentials go to my under-the-desk work, if you know what I mean..."]]
{{voiceactor|[[Susan Blu]] (English)}}
Spike and Carly encountered the production assistant rummaging through film reels. She explained that someone seemed to have stolen some of the scenes from the work print. Carly had to point out to her that they could make more copies from the negatives.

==Notes==
===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Eiga kantoku''' (映画監督, "movie director")

{{DEFAULTSORT:Director, Attack of the Alien Robots}}
[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon humans]]

The Not Knowing

2015-09-07T20:16:14Z

Murdertronic:

{{Comicstory
|series=mtmte|issueno=44
|prev=The One Where They Go to Earth
|next=
|image=MTMTE44_regcvr.jpg
|title="The Not Knowing"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 2]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=August 2015
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|pencils by=[[Hayato Sakamoto]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2015)]]
}}
'''Following the trail of Agent 113's bullet, the ''Lost Light''ers make their way to the Necrobot's base of operations, where both Rewind and Chromedome's relationship, and Nightbeat's hope in the existence of a greater power, are tested.'''

==Synopsis==

The message bullet extracted from [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s shoulder proves largely corrupted by rust, but of the data sent by [[Agent 113]]—now revealed to have been the previous holder of the "[[Vos (DJD)|Vos]]" codename—one intact piece of information gives the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' a startling new objective to explore: the location of the supposedly-mythical [[Necrobot]]'s base of operations. [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] has a revelation of his own, however—it turns out that the doodles he has been carving into his desk since the ship's launch are, in fact, a map to [[Cyberutopia]] just like the one [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] drew, and he is much more interested in following it than looking for the Necrobot. When [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] and [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] explain that they want to visit the Necrobot's world in hopes of learning the fate of Rewind's old partner [[Dominus Ambus]], [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] agrees to their request, and the ''Lost Light'' sets off. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes Rewind aside to talk about his departed spark brother in order to caution him to not get his hopes up for Dominus's survival, but it turns out that Rewind has already had this discussion with ''his'' Magnus, on the quantum duplicate ''Lost Light'', and refuses to believe his claim that he can sense his brother's absence.

Presently, the ''Lost Light'' arrives at the Necrobot's rather unassuming planet, and a small group heads down to the surface in the [[Rodpod]]. They are greeted by the sight of a beautiful garden, full of holographic statues surrounded by sparkling blue flowers, and soon deduce that the statues represent those Transformers who are still living, while the empty plinths are for the dead. Homing in on the solitary life sign on the planet, the Rod Pod sets down outside a huge complex, where a noticeably jumpy [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] immediately spots some movement in the building's doorway, only for the door to be slammed shut before he can reach it. While the others split up to wander about the garden and investigate, Nightbeat stands outside the door and calls to whoever or whatever may be inside... at which point, the door opens a crack, and the imposing form of the Necrobot appears to invite Nightbeat inside!

[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] dismisses the exercise as a waste of time, but Megatron confides that that was precisely his rationale for allowing the trip: although he will accept his fate when the time comes, he is in no hurry to rush toward that final judgement. Regardless of Megatron's intent, Chromedome and Rewind are here for a purpose: soon, they have hacked into the central database that powers the holographic statues, so that they can search for Dominus's name to learn what has become of him. But before Chromedome presses "search", Rewind hesitates, unsure if, after all this time, he ''really'' wants to know the truth. Chromedome assures him that whatever choice he makes, he will stand by him, and help him continue his search in other ways—a show of dedication that convinces Rewind that the past must be put behind him. The search begins, and the result appears... Dominus Ambus of Ambustus Minor is, indeed, deceased.

Within the Necrobot's complex, the mysterious robot explains to Nightbeat that he is, actually, a totally ordinary—if very long-lived—Cybertronian named [[Censere]]. A forensic pathologist, Censere was moved to begin chronicling deaths when the death of his friend [[Tusk]] went unreported, and simply uses the machines in his complex to keep track of spark signatures and to teleport him around the universe to carry out his tasks. Nightbeat is dismayed and furious; in spite of his rationalist nature, he had truly hoped to learn that the Necrobot was proof of a higher power, a reaffirmation of the notion of life after death that Nightbeat had come to doubt since his own death years beforehand. Censere reassures him that just because ''he'' is not "magic" does not mean that the [[Afterspark]] does not exist, and explains that his understanding of life and death is not absolute: he was, for instance, alarmed to see Nightbeat and many of the other ''Lost Light''ers, as he believed they were already dead. Censere takes him to a monolith labelled "In Honor of the Disappeared", upon which he has carved the names of those whose deaths he cannot verify; Nightbeat sees his own name on the slab (his body having been stolen away into the [[Dead Universe]] before Censere reached him), but then spots another one of great interest. He calls the crew together, and while everyone is marvelling over the once-legendary Necrobot, Nightbeat takes Chromedome and Rewind to the monolith, where it is revealed that Dominus Ambus's name is also engraved on its surface!

A little later, as everyone prepares to depart, Nightbeat says farewell to Censere, but not without grimly informing him that he should use his skills to save the living, rather than record the dead. Rodimus realizes that Megatron has disappeared, and is informed by [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] that he slipped away with Ravage a little while ago, after the Necrobot explained the significance of his garden's flowers: they contain the residual [[spark]] energy of the deceased, and he plants them around the statue of the Transformer who was responsible for ending that life. Thus it is that Megatron receives a grim reminder that he cannot put off his day of reckoning forever, as he visits his own statue and sees a beautiful blue field of sparkling flowers, stretching in every direction, far and away into the horizon...

==Featured characters==

{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (2)
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] (3)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (4)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]]/[[Minimus Ambus]] (5)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Agent 113]] (video message, 7)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (8)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (9)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (10)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (11)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Nautica]] (12)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (13)
*[[Getaway]] (14)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (16)
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (statue, 17)
*[[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] (statue, 18)
*[[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] (20)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (21)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (22)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (15)
|c4=
*[[Necrobot|Necrobot/Censere]] (1)
*[[Sky-Byte (G2)|Sky-Byte]] (statue, 19)
}}

==Quotes==

"You know, I can just about accept that the '''D.J.D.''' was infiltrated by an Autobot, but what I find '''bizarre''' is that this '''"Agent 113"''' thinks it practical to deliver his field reports by firing bullet-shaped data-slugs into '''three-fingered metallurgists'''." 
"It's not '''exclusively''' metallurgists. When I said that, I didn't... I was attempting to make a joke." 
"Yes—I know—I was '''running with it'''. There's a lot of banter on this ship; I thought I was ready to take the plunge." 
"I think we've both learned something from this."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Ultra Magnus'''

"If you caught '''me''' spilling that many beans, you'd give me a '''dressing down''' so epic, so protracted—so narratively dense—it would have subplots, callbacks, and a finale that would provide closure whilst leaving the door open for future '''tellings off'''."
:—'''Rodimus''', to Magnus, when Magnus tells Megatron about Agent 113

"Is it too soon to have '''"Chosen One"''' engraved on my forehead?" 
"I can think of more appropriate words."
:—'''Rodimus''' and '''Megatron'''

"Don't take offense, but it's quite difficult—sitting here, looking at you... you look so '''similar'''." 
"I know. Why do you think I've spent most of my life trying to look like someone else?"
:—'''Rewind''' and '''Minimus Ambus'''

"I don't know what you were expecting. I don't know what a '''non-boring''' planet looks like to you." 
"What." 
"Describe it. I'm genuinely interested. Describe your perfect planet." 
"Let's see... stripped of organic life, relieved of energy, coated in metal... oh—wait—that's '''your''' perfect planet."
:—'''Megatron''' might want some cold water for that burn, courtesy of '''Rodimus'''

"Don't '''touch''' anything, don't '''steal''' anything, and definitely don't '''desecrate''' anything."
:—'''Rodimus''' warns the crew to behave

"Once you press "search", that's it—I'll know. And I don't know if I'm '''ready''' to know. ...I'm sorry. This is stupid. I'm being stupid." 
"It's not. And you're not." 
"Tell me what to do." 
"Rewind—my love—it's not for me to say." 
"But this affects '''both''' of us. If I don't do this... if we leave here not knowing, we could spend the next four million years searching for someone who's..." 
"I know. But at least we'd be doing it together."
:—'''Rewind''' and '''Chrome—''' *sniff* ...and '''Chromedome'''... look, I just have something in my eye, okay?!

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The Necrobot was introduced in the "Scavengers" two-parter in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|issue #7]] and [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|#8]]. It was in the second of those issue that he actually physically appeared, and in which we saw his datapad containing a list of deceased ''Lost Light'' crewmembers; this issue confirms the earlier implication that these were the quantum duplicate crewmembers from the second ''Lost Light'', seen in the "Slaughterhouse" two-parter in [[slaughterhouse|issue #32]] and [[slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|#33]].
*Agent 113, first mentioned in the "[[Bullets]]" prose story in 2010, is finally revealed to not be a current member of the DJD, but rather, the previous holder of the "Vos" codename—the one with hooks for hands and feet, whose existence was established in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|issue #29]].
*Magnus mentions that the crew learned how to juggle during a three-week stay at the Cosmic Carnival, and Skids was seen demonstrating his juggling skills back in issue [[The Sensuous Frame|#41]].
*We first learned Rodimus has been carving doodles into his desk in [[Signal to Noise|issue #13]], and were reminded of that fact recently in issue #41. Turns out he's been drawing a map to Cyberuptopia like the one we saw [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]] had drawn in that same issue, complete with the gear-like hieroglyphs from [[Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|issue #21]].
*When Skids remarks that he is a "recovering believer", he strokes his cheek, where we know from issues [[Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|#11]] and [[Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|#36]] that he used to have a tattoo of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] as a symbol of his faith.
*Nightbeat refers to his death from all the way back in ''[[Spotlight: Hardhead]]'' (see "Errors", below).
*Swerve takes a selfie with the Necrobot; we've seen Swerve using his "cell phone", before, back in "[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]", when he went on about his ringtone.

===Transformers references===
*Ultra Magnus mentions that the ''Lost Light''ers once spent three weeks at the [[Cosmic Carnival]], the greatest show in the galaxy that appeared in [[The Cosmic Carnival|issue #44]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|original Marvel Transformers comic]].
*Rodimus jokes about having "Chosen One" engraved on his forehead, the title that Rodimus was referred to with in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]].

===Real-life references===
*Rodimus describes Rewind's way of telling him about the Necrobot as they walk through the ship's corridors as "''West Wing''-ing", a reference to the TV show ''{{w|The West Wing}}'' and its famous tracking shots of characters talking with one another as they walk down long hallways.
*The Necrobot's real name, "Censere" (see "Errors", below), is a Latin word meaning to appraise or assess.

===Errors===
*The Necrobot introduces himself as "Censere", but when Nightbeat speaks his name during their farewell, it's incorrectly spelled "Censerre", with an extra "r".
*When Nightbeat talks about his death, the footnote states he died in ''[[Spotlight: Nightbeat]]'', rather than ''Spotlight: Hardhead''.
*Dominus Ambus's name is described as being "three from the bottom" on the monolith, but the art shows it being on the bottom line.

===Other trivia===
*This issue arrives a teensy bit late, landing in the first week of September rather than the last week of August.
*Several statues in the Necrobot's garden are not immediately recognizable; Rodimus mentions two Transformers named [[Raptor]] and [[Scissorkick]] who could rightly be any of them.
*While [[Xaaron]] has always been best known by the rank he carried in the Marvel comics, "Emirate", he's never had that rank in the IDW universe. As Rodimus spots a statue of him in the Necrobot's garden, he notes that his full title in this universe is "Advocate Xaaron".
*Full names learned for Transformers in this issue include: [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee of Iacon]], [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] of [[Pescus Hex]], Dominus Ambus of [[Ambustus Minor]] (and thus by extension, Minimus Ambus of Ambustus Minor), Chromedome of Iacon, Hound of [[Lower Monoplex]], and Nightbeat of [[Yuss]]. Additionally, [[Ambulon (G1)|Ambulon]] is revealed to have been an [[M.T.O.]]; a speech-bubble obscures his full name, but we see that it partially reads "Ambulon of Operation Split Infin--" something (a crack about "{{w|split infinitive}}s" and Ambulon's status as part of a [[combiner]], if not a reference to his grisly demise.) This makes Ambulon the first confirmed example of a Decepticon M.TO.
*The name written above Dominus Ambus's on the memorial doesn't appear in full, but ends in "-let". No, it's not [[Gimlet]], the shape of the preceding partially-seen letter doesn't fit!

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoCEdZnyFk Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want]" by {{w|The Smiths}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjeCgsNrvCw Song for the Leftovers]" by {{w|A Camp}}

===Covers (3)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Chromedome and Rewind stare up at an imposing monolith, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Megatron amid a field of gravestones, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]].
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Megatron wails after Nautica steals his Rodimus action figure, while Swerve looks on; one of a series of super-deformed covers by [[Agnes Garbowska]] that make up the Retailer Incentive covers on IDW's August Transformers titles.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE44 regcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE44 subcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE44 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''More than Meets the Eye'' #45
*''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|The Transformers]]'' [[The Transgressors|#44]]
*''[[The Transformers: Windblade|Windblade]]'' [[Race Against the Light|#5]]
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]'' #9
*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures''
*"You Must Shop at These Fine Stores!" - classic-style advert promoting multiple comic shops
*IDW ''Transformers'' comic app
*''Uncle Scrooge'' Vol. 1 TPB (back cover)

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/25708-preview-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-44.html Preview]

Predacon (Prime)

2015-08-29T13:07:30Z

Murdertronic: typo

{{disambig3|Predacon}}
[[File:PredaconPrimeLogo.png|thumb|upright=1.1|Ooh, scary!]]
:''The Predacons are an ancient Cybertronian race from the [[Aligned continuity family]].

The '''Predacons''' are a faction/race of ancient Cybertronian beasts. Originally led by the one called "the [[Predaking (COP)|Predaking]]", the ancient Predacons were the largest Cybertronians to be born from the [[Well of All Sparks]], emerging from its depths on the final day of the genesis of Cybertron's original populace. Enormous, savage, and [[dragon|draconic]] in form, these creatures were once among the mightiest beings on Cybertron, second only to the last surviving members of the [[Thirteen]]. However, tragedy struck their kind during a disaster known as the [[Great Cataclysm]], in which dire circumstances rendered the entire race extinct.

In more recent times, however, the [[Decepticon]] scientist [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] has discovered [[Hyperevolution Chamber|the trick]] to [[cloning]] the ancient beasts from preserved [[CNA]] samples found in fossilized Predacon remains. Finding successful results, Shockwave's efforts have given birth to new iterations of these ancient beasts--such as the new [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]]--who have evolved beyond the originals, learning even how to transform! Furthermore, Shockwave's experiments have even extended to splicing the CNA samples into normal [[Transformer|Cybertronians]], leading to hybrids like his devout disciple [[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]].

{|width=75%
|valign=top|
Members of the original race include:
*[[Predaking (COP)|Predaking]] (leader)
*[[Backlash]]
*[[Darksteel (COP)|Darksteel]]
*[[Fangblade]]
*[[Lazerback (COP)|Lazerback]]
*[[Skylynx (COP)|Skylynx]]
*[[Skystalker (COP)|Skystalker]]
*[[Twinstrike (COP)|Twinstrike]]

|valign=top|

Present day members/clones include:
*[[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] (leader)
*[[Abominus (Prime)|Abominus]]
**[[Blight (Prime)|Blight]]
**[[Hun-Gurrr (Prime)|Hun-Gurrr]]
**[[Rippersnapper (Prime)|Rippersnapper]]
**[[Twinstrike]]
**[[Windrazor (Prime)|Windrazor]]
*[[Backbite (Prime)|Backbite]]
*[[Blackbeak]]
*[[Bombshock (Prime)|Bombshock]] (status unclear)
*[[Cindersaur (Prime)|Cindersaur]]
*[[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]]
*[[Divebomb (Prime)|Divebomb]] (defected)
*[[Grimwing (Prime)|Grimwing]]
*[[Lazerback (Prime)|Lazerback]]
*[[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]]
*[[Rot Gut (Prime)|Rot Gut]]
*[[Ser-Ket (Prime)|Ser-Ket]] (hybrid)
*[[Skylynx]]
*[[Skystalker (Prime)|Skystalker]]
*[[Vertebreak (Prime)|Vertebreak]]

|valign=top|

''[[Triple Combination: Transformers Go! (franchise)|Transformers Go!]]'' Predacons:
*[[Dragotron]] (leader)
*[[Budora]] (2nd-in-command)
*[[Bakudora]]
*[[Gaidora]]
*[[Judora]]
*[[Goradora]]
**[[Barara]]
**[[Burara]]
**[[Dorara]]
**[[Garara (Go!)|Garara]]
**[[Jurara]]
|}

{|width=90%
|valign=top|

''[[Kre-O]]'' Predacons:
*[[Corhada]]
*[[Grimwing (Kre-O)|Grimwing]]
*[[Lazerback (Kre-O)|Lazerback]]
*[[Ripclaw (Kre-O)|Ripclaw]]
*[[Rippersnapper (Kre-O Predacon)|Rippersnapper]]
*[[Stormrazor]]

|valign=top|

''[[Bot Shots]]'' Predacons:
*[[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]] (leader)
*[[Buzzclaw (BS)|Buzzclaw]]
*[[Hun-Gurrr (Prime)|Hun-Gurrr]]
*[[Hydrax]]
*[[Skystalker (Prime)|Skystalker]]
*[[Twinstrike]]
|}

==Fiction==
===''The Covenant of Primus''===
{{groupstub}}

===IDW Aligned comics===
The Predacons had been extinct for eons, but in the period after the ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'' and ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'' left [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] learned how to clone the creatures. One such clone was [[Backbite (Prime)|Backbite]], who was subsequently put at the disposal of Shockwave's disciples, the [[Forged]]. When [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] had his craft shot down during the final [[Autobot]] evacuation of the planet, the Forged leader Ser-Ket dispatched Backbite and a number of soldiers to retrieve the enemy commander. They were successful, and Backbite even managed to return with an extra prisoner in the form of the [[Dinobot (FOC)|Dinobot]] [[Swoop (WFC)|Swoop]], whose team had also been investigating the crash. {{storylink|Rage of the Dinobots issue 1|Rage of the Dinobots #1}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===
[[File:ProjectPredacon-Predacons.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a kingdom rests in the hands of a young man. His name... Merlin.]]
The Predacons once ruled Cybertron but became extinct at the beginning of Cybertronian history, in an apocalyptic wipe-out known as the [[Great Cataclysm]]. {{storylink|Evolution}} During the Great War, [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] cloned a small army of Predacons which [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] of the Decepticons sent to [[Earth]] to destroy [[Autobot]]s and look for [[energon]]. After eliminating the Autobot presence on the planet, the Predacons stood a long vigil on Earth where they awaited the arrival of Megatron but ultimately perished where their fossilized bodies were buried at various points around the world. In time, the Predacons entered in human legends as various mythological monsters though the true nature of the creatures remained a mystery to the inhabitants of Earth, and was eventually forgotten. {{storylink|Project Predacon}} Many years later, Shockwave discovered more fossilized remains from which he was able to extract cybernucleic acid and begin the process of cloning the ancient beasts once again. {{storylink|Prey (episode)|Prey}}

[[File:Prey-PredakingWheeljack.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|"Keep absolutely still. Its vision is based on movement."]]
After suffering a setback with his [[space bridge]] work, leaving him stranded on Cybertron, Shockwave restarted his experiments and cloned a new [[Predaking (Prime)|Predacon]]. He activated it after rejoining Megatron's forces on Earth. {{storylink|Scattered}} The new Predacon proved formidable in battle against the Autobots {{storylink|Prey (episode)|Prey}} though it proved susceptible to the cold of the [[Arctic]]. {{storylink|Rebellion (Prime)|Rebellion}}. Following the destruction of [[Darkmount (Earth)|Darkmount]], the Decepticons began searching for the remains of Shockwave's earlier batch of clones, aided by the fact that the scientist had micro-chipped them. [[Bombshock (Prime)|Bombshock]] obtained a Predacon bone in a cave while Shockwave and [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] succeeded in retrieving another bone in New Mexico. {{storylink|Project Predacon}}

The original [[Predaking (Prime)|Predacon]] eventually broke free of his icy slumber and returned to the Decepticon warship. However he immediately become the source of abuse from Starscream, even when the Predacon tried to kill him numerous times. The Predacon was later assigned to find another bone and proved very efficient in hunting the bone as well as engaging the Wreckers. {{storylink|Chain of Command (Prime)|Chain of Command}} Despite their track record, the Decepticons eventually lost a Predacon spinal cord bone to Wheeljack and Arcee, though Knock Out was able to obtain one to make up. Later on the Nemesis hull the Predacon was further abused by Starscream and showed have an increasing intelligence level, accessing a computer to research about itself. {{storylink|Plus One}}

[[File:Evolution awakening Predacon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"So this is how you make dinosaurs?" "No. This is how you play God."]]
When Shockwave's cloning process neared fruition, the existing Predacon revealed that he had developed intelligence and discovered the ability to transform. Nominating himself leader of the future Predacons, the Predacon, renaming himself "Predaking", affirmed his loyalty to Megatron. The Decepticons however were suspicious that the Predacons would turn on them, so they arranged for the Autobots to find and destroy the cloning facility, knowing that it would strengthen their alliance with Predaking. [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] indeed found the lab and destroyed the lab, killing the awakening Predacons and enraging Predaking. As a robot Predaking appeared to be slightly weaker but still proved a very capable warrior, able to crush Magnus's hand. After the battle, Shockwave reported that none of the Predacon clones survived the blast, much to the anger of Predaking. {{storylink|Evolution}}

Predaking still believed Megatron would uphold his promise to clone more Predacons once [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was destroyed and continued to serve the Decepticons, assisting in their plan to rebuild the Omega Lock. He also proved formidable against Optimus Prime himself. {{storylink|Minus One}} It wasn't until [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] revealed Megatron's treachery that Predaking realized the truth and confronted his former leader. Megatron, with help from Starscream, managed to defeat him and force him out of a ''Nemesis'' airlock. {{storylink|Synthesis}} Surviving, Predaking clung to the ship's hull and hopped off at Cybertron following the planet's rebirth. {{storylink|Deadlock}}

[[File:PredaconsRisingSkylynxandDarksteelDragons.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Enter the Dragons!]]
Following his return to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] succeeded in bringing two new clones, [[Skylynx]] and [[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]], online while a third Predacon was being cloned. The two were put to use by searching for other Predacon remains to clone more of their kind. On a search in the [[Rust Sea|Sea of Rust]], they met Ultra Magnus and [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]]. They proceeded to attack, Skylynx leaving Ultra Magnus heavily damaged and Darksteel attacked Smokescreen merely shaking him up thanks to his phase shifter. Victorious, the two Predacons returned to Shockwave's lab, where they were scolded by [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] for revealing themselves to the Autobots.

Utilizing [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]'s tracking skills, the Autobots found Predaking, who seemed to have made a home of a Predacon burial ground that was uncovered by Cybertron's revitalization. The Autobots tried to make peace with Predaking stating that more than one race could peacefully co-exist on the planet, but he refused to forget the Autobot's part in the destruction of his army. Later, Predaking acted on the words of the Autobots, and found evidence of Skylynx and Darksteel's existence. He fired a flaming beacon into the air in hopes that his brethren would find him, only to be responded by [[Unicron]] in possession of Megatron's body. However, Predaking fought the dark god, believing it to still be his former master. Megatron planned this, hoping for his body to be too broken by the Predacon for Unicron to use and thus be freed of his influence. However, Unicron was soon able to defeat the juggernaut and learns of the burial ground by entering his mind.

[[File:Predaconsrising-Starscreamupthecreek.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor]]
Skylynx and Darksteel struck gold for Shockwave's fossil hunt when they discovered the same Predacon burial ground. While they were collecting the bones, Unicron arrived to raise an army of [[Terrorcon (Prime)|undead]] Predacons. Skylynx and Darksteel attacked him, only to fare no better than anyone else. The undead Predacons first action was to trample Shockwave before marching towards the Well of AllSparks. Skylynx and Darksteel were later found there by Predaking, who swiftly asserted his leadership after defeating them in combat. After some advice from Shockwave, Predaking then led his Predacons into battle to assist the Autobots in fighting Unicron's horde of undead Predacons. However when the three Predacons engaged the Terrorcon Predacons they were trampled and dragged into the well by the Terrorcons. They were successful in slowing the horde down long enough for Optimus Prime to defeat Unicron, causing the Terrorcons to disintegrate. The trio later tracked down Starscream, intending to exact some revenge for his abuse. {{storylink|Predacons Rising (Prime)|Predacons Rising}}

{{-}}

===''Tales of the Beast Hunters''===
Shockwave cloned the Predacons using [[Hyperevolution Chamber]]s, {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 3}} the first one activated being [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]]. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 1}} Following [[Lazerback (Prime)|Lazerback]]'s activation, the Predacon went rogue {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 3}} and made an apparently-successful assassination attempt on Megatron. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 6}} He also approached [[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] when she was activated, in an attempt to turn her against the Decepticons. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 8}} The rebelliousness of the Predacons resulted in Shockwave making an attempt to shut down and destroy the laboratory. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 11}}

Further Predacons escaped from the lab, including [[Skystalker (Prime)|Skystalker]] {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 12}} and [[Grimwing (Prime)|Grimwing]]. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 15}} Shockwave and [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] fled the chaos to Cybertron, taking the last two Predacons with them {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 22}} and waking [[Vertebreak (Prime)|Vertebreak]] on arrival. {{storylink|Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 21}}

===''Go!'' cartoon===
[[File:TFGoSamurai6 Dragotron and Four Oni.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2.2]]
At some point, the Demon Emperor [[Dragotron]] was buried in [[Mount Fuji]], while his four attendants were buried in the land surrounding the volcano. Dragotron awoke when a child kicked a small stone into the dormant caldera, inadvertently causing a rockslide that unburied his head. He called out for his [[Four Oni|four servants]] and their [[Jaki|minions]] to reactivate and retrieve the [[Legendisc]]s, but when they located the disc held by [[Isami Tatewaki (Go!)|Isami Tatewaki]], they were foiled by the by the [[Swordbot]] [[Swordbot Samurai Team|Samurai Team]] that the Legendisc summoned. {{storylink|Triple Combination! Swordbot - Samurai!}} Likewise the Oni failed to retrieve the disc held by [[Tobio Fūma (Go!)|Tobio Fūma]], who was aided by the [[Swordbot Shinobi Team]]. {{storylink|Triple Combination! Swordbot - Ninja!}} While Dragotron continued to slumber, the Oni made a number of attempts to go back in time using the Legendisc he possessed, hoping to retrieve the two Legendiscs lost in history. Despite all their efforts and the less-than-capable help of the [[Jaki]], they were foiled each time by the Swordbots and their human companions. Dragotron eventually woke and aided his men against the Autobots. {{storylink|Depart! Optimus Exprime!}} {{storylink|Enter! The New Warrior!}} Taking the Legendiscs and the two boys, Dragotron absorbed the Four Oni and began using the Legendiscs' power to Cyberform the planet. The two boys had copied the power of the Legendiscs into their own hearts, and enabled the Autobots to eventually defeat Dragotron, with a little help from [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Exprime]]. The Autobots then sealed Dragotron away once more. {{storylink|Final Battle! Link-Up Triple Combination DaiKenzan!}} {{storylink|Final Battle! Link-Up Triple Combination DaiGekisou!}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Prime: Beast Hunters===
*[[Twinstrike]] (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)
*[[Hun-Gurrr (Prime)|Hun-Gurrr]] (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)
*[[Blight (Prime)|Blight]] (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)
*[[Rippersnapper (Prime)|Rippersnapper]] (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)
*[[Windrazor (Prime)|Windrazor]] (Cyberverse Legion, 2013)
*[[Abominus (Prime)|Abominus]] Combiner 5-pack:
**Consists of translucent redecoes of all five Legions
*[[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] (Cyberverse Commander, 2013)
*[[Lazerback (Prime)|Lazerback]] (Deluxe, 2013)
*[[Ripclaw (Prime)|Ripclaw]] (Deluxe, 2013)
*[[Skystalker (Prime)|Skystalker]] (Deluxe, 2013)
*[[Vertebreak (Prime)|Vertebreak]] (Deluxe, 2013)
*[[Skylynx]] (Deluxe, 2013)
*[[Grimwing (Prime)|Grimwing]] (Voyager, 2013)
**Includes [[Blackbeak]]
*'''Predaking''' (Voyager, 2013)
*[[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]] (Voyager, 2013)
*'''Beast Fire Predaking''' (Ultimate, 2013)

===Bot Shots===
*[[Buzzclaw (BS)|Buzzclaw]] (cancelled)
*[[Hun-Gurrr (Prime)|Hun-Gurrr]] (cancelled)
*[[Hydrax]] (cancelled)
*[[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]]
*[[Skystalker (Prime)|Skystalker]]
*[[Twinstrike]]

===Kre-O===
*'''Battle Net Bumblebee''' (2013)
:Includes [[Stormrazor]].
*'''Dragon Assault''' (2013)
:Includes Kreon-scale [[Grimwing (Kre-O)|Grimwing]].
*'''Mech Venom Strike''' (2013)
:Includes Kreon-scale [[Corhada]].
*'''Ripclaw Strike''' (2013)
:Includes [[Ripclaw (Kre-O)|Ripclaw]] and Ripclaw Kreon.
*'''Beast Blade Optimus Prime'''
:Includes [[Lazerback (Kre-O)|Lazerback]]
*'''Autobot Command Center'''
:Includes [[Rippersnapper (Kre-O Predacon)|Rippersnapper]]

===Go!===
*G04 [[Gaidora]]
*G07 [[Bakudora]]
*G08 [[Budora]]
*G09 [[Goradora|Goradora Set]]
**[[Dorara]]
**[[Barara]]
**[[Garara (Go!)|Garara]]
**[[Jurara]]
**[[Burara]]
*G12 [[Dragotron]]
*G21 [[Judora]]
*G23 [[Dragotron|Guren Dragotron]]
{{toystub}}

==Notes==
[[File:Predacon Prime PrototypeInsignia.png|thumb|upright=0.85|The prototype symbol. Not as badass, huh?]]
*A very different faction insignia appeared on early promotional images of Lazerback and Twinstrike. The reason for the change is unknown. This insignia can also be found on a [[Predaking (Prime)#Optimus|minor redeco]] of Voyager Class [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] available in a (thus far) Europe-only two-pack with a [[Optimus Prime (WFC)/toys#Predaking|minor redeco]] of Voyager Class [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] and at least some specimens of ''[[Kre-O]]'' [[Corhada]].

[[Category:Factions]]
[[Category:Go!]]
[[Category:Prime]]
[[Category:Prime Predacons| ]]