Devastation issue 4

|- {{#if: Devastation 4a.jpg | | colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center" | {{#if: Nice jugs. I mean, watch out, giant robots fighting! |
Nice jugs. I mean, watch out, giant robots fighting!}}}} |-

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|- {{#if: IDW Publishing | |Publisher || IDW Publishing}} |- {{#if: | |Published by || }} |- {{#if: | |Imprint || }} |- {{#if: | |Published in || }} |- {{#if: January 16, 2008 | |First published || January 16, 2008}} |- {{#if: | |Shipping date || }} |- {{#if: | |On-sale date || }} |- {{#if: December 2007 | |Cover date || December 2007}} |- {{#if: | |Credits || }} |- {{#if: | |By || }} |- {{#if: | |Manga || }} |- {{#if: | |Manga by || }} |- {{#if: | |Original story || }} |- {{#if: | |Story & art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Story and color art || }} |- {{#if: | |Story || }} |- {{#if: | |Story by || }} |- {{#if: | |Story consultants || }} |- {{#if: | |Story concept || }} |- {{#if: | |Screenplay by || }} |- {{#if: | |Screenplay || }} |- {{#if: | |Adaptation by || }} |- {{#if: | |Adapted by || }} |- {{#if: | |Adaptation || }} |- {{#if: | |Based on || }} |- {{#if: | |Writer || }} |- {{#if: | |Writers || }} |- {{#if: | |Writing || }} |- {{#if: Simon Furman | |Written by || Simon Furman}} |- {{#if: | |Written & art || }} |- {{#if: | |Plotter || }} |- {{#if: | |Plotters || }} |- {{#if: | |Plot || }} |- {{#if: | |Plot by || }} |- {{#if: | |Plot/Script || }} |- {{#if: | |Scripter || }} |- {{#if: | |Scripters || }} |- {{#if: | |Script || }} |- {{#if: | |Scripting || }} |- {{#if: | |Script by || }} |- {{#if: | |Script and art || }} |- {{#if: | |Sript [sic] consultant || }} |- {{#if: | |Translation by || }} |- {{#if: | |Artist || }} |- {{#if: | |Comic artist || }} |- {{#if: | |Artists || }} |- {{#if: | |Art || }} |- {{#if: Robby Musso | |Art by || Robby Musso}} |- {{#if: | |Additional art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Flashback art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Art assistant || }} |- {{#if: | |Art assist by || }} |- {{#if: | |Line-art || }} |- {{#if: | |Line-art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Line art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Penciller || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencillers || }} |- {{#if: | |Penciler || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencilers || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencil art || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencils || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencils by || }} |- {{#if: | |Penciled by || }} |- {{#if: | |Penciling || }} |- {{#if: | |Guest penciler || }} |- {{#if: | |Layouts || }} |- {{#if: | |Pencil breakdowns || }} |- {{#if: | |Breakdowns || }} |- {{#if: | |Breakdowns by || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustration || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustrations || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustrator || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustrated by || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustration by || }} |- {{#if: | |Illustrations by || }} |- {{#if: | |Finished pencils || }} |- {{#if: | |Finishes || }} |- {{#if: | |Finished art || }} |- {{#if: | |Finishes by || }} |- {{#if: | |Inker || }} |- {{#if: | |Guest inker || }} |- {{#if: | |Inkers || }} |- {{#if: | |Inks || }} |- {{#if: | |Inks by || }} |- {{#if: | |Ink finishes || }} |- {{#if: | |Ink assist by || }} |- {{#if: | |Additional inks || }} |- {{#if: | |Inking || }} |- {{#if: | |Backgrounds || }} |- {{#if: | |Backgrounds by || }} |- {{#if: | |Colorist || }} |- {{#if: | |Colorists || }} |- {{#if: | |Colourist || }} |- {{#if: | |Colourists || }} |- {{#if: | |Color || }} |- {{#if: | |Colors || }} |- {{#if: | |Color art || }} |- {{#if: | |Colour || }} |- {{#if: | |Colours || }} |- {{#if: | |Colored by || }} |- {{#if: | |Color by || }} |- {{#if: Zac Atkinson and Liam Shalloo | |Colors by || Zac Atkinson and Liam Shalloo}} |- {{#if: | |Color art by || }} |- {{#if: | |Colors assist by || }} |- {{#if: | |Color assists || }} |- {{#if: | |Color assistance by || }} |- {{#if: | |Additional colors || }} |- {{#if: | |Additional colors by || }} |- {{#if: | |Color assist by || }} |- {{#if: | |Colour/Computer FX || }} |- {{#if: | |Computer coloring/effects || }} |- {{#if: | |Color Reconstruction || }} |- {{#if: | |Flats || }} |- {{#if: | |Flats by || }} |- {{#if: | |MTMTE Profiles || }} |- {{#if: | |Letterer || }} |- {{#if: | |Letterers || }} |- {{#if: | |Lettering || }} |- {{#if: | |Letters || }} |- {{#if: Amauri Osorio | |Letters by || Amauri Osorio}} |- {{#if: | |Lettered by || }} |- {{#if: | |Lettering|Production || }} |- {{#if: | |Special Thanks{{#if: | To}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Collaborators || }} |- {{#if: | |Contributors || }} |- {{#if: | |Editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Editors || }} |- {{#if: | |Editing || }} |- {{#if: Andrew Steven Harris | |Edits by || Andrew Steven Harris}} |- {{#if: | |Compiled and Edited by || }} |- {{#if: | |Original series editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Original Edits by || }} |- {{#if: | |Deputy editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Assistant editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Editorial assistant{{#if: |s}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Editorial Assistance
provided by || }} |- {{#if: | |Senior editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Associate editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Story consultant || }} |- {{#if: | |Project manager || }} |- {{#if: | |Production by || }} |- {{#if: | |Designer || }} |- {{#if: | |Design by || }} |- {{#if: | |Designed by || }} |- {{#if: | |Design/editorial || }} |- {{#if: | |Book design by || }} |- {{#if: | |Collection designer || }} |- {{#if: | |Collection editor || }} |- {{#if: | |Collection Edits by || }} |- {{#if: | |Graphic design || }} |- {{#if: | |Graphic design by || }} |- {{#if: | |Collection Design by || }} |- {{#if: | |Creative Director{{#if: | / Layout}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Contributing editors || }} |- {{#if: | |Research editor{{#if: |s}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Managing editor || }} |- {{#if: | |{{#if: |Editor-in-chief|Editor in chief}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Editorial consultant || }} |- {{#if: | |Dinosaur consultant || }} |- {{#if: | |Publishing manager || }} |- {{#if: | |Cover || }} |- {{#if: | |Cover art{{#if: |ist}}{{#if: | by}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Cover Design {{#if: |and Elements }}by || }} |- {{#if: | |Inside cover || }} |- {{#if: | |Apologies to || }} |- {{#if: 2005 IDW continuity | |Continuity || 2005 IDW continuity}} |- {{#if: Devastation | |Chronology || Devastation}} |- {{#if: | |ISBN || }} |- {{#if: | |TPB ISBN || ISBN }} |- {{#if: | |UPC || }} |- {{#if: | |Page count || }} |- {{#if: | |Price || }} |- {{#if: | |Packaged with || }} |- {{#if: | |Printed in || }} |- {{#if: | |Animation || }} |- {{#if: | |Music || }} |}{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}} It's a battle royal when Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on Sixshot.

Synopsis

Skywatch wishes to recall their "Seekers", Ravage and Laserbeak, but cannot due to a competing signal from Soundwave, still in cassette player mode and in the bedroom of the boy who purchased him.

Meanwhile, the battle between Sixshot and the Autobots heats up. Bumblebee is injured and Ratchet sees to him while Nightbeat tries to ready the Ark-32 for an orbital bounce. Verity Carlo and Jimmy Pink notice that the battle is far from secret as a news helicopter investigates. The military is also alerted and send in a bomber force to obliterate all combatants.

Wheeljack and Hot Rod arrive with minutes to spare at the impound lot. They break in but realize that the lot is huge and may have a hard time locating Ironhide. The Headmasters have lost track of them but continue to search. They pick up on a police signal alerting them of the impound lot break-in. Meanwhile, at the Machination headquarters in Tampa, Hunter O'Nion and Sunstreaker initiate the painful process to plug Hunter into Sunstreaker's mind.

Verity and Jimmy try to tell a cop that there are good and evil robots but he doesn't want to hear it. They steal his megaphone and later a speedboat to warn the Autobots about the air strike. As Sixshot rips off Jazz's arm and engages Optimus Prime directly, Ratchet tells Prime of the humans' warning and he has the other Autobots bounced to the Ark-32 while he remains behind to be sure of Sixshot's defeat. Unfortunately, the orbital jump seems to have killed Verity and Jimmy.

The Reapers arrive and immediately attack the Decepticon Command Bunker in Oregon. Megatron recalls Sixshot; Optimus Prime orders Nightbeat to bounce him out, just in the nick of time before the bombs drop. The Decepticons are called to arms, but Astrotrain (under the protest of Blitzwing) checks on the now-revived Starscream, who now seems confident enough to take on anyone.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Hardhead (7)

Bumblebee (8)
Prowl (9)
Optimus Prime (10)
Jazz (11)
Nightbeat (12)
Ratchet (13)
Hot Rod (16)
Wheeljack (17)
Sunstreaker (20)|

{{#if:* Hardhead (7)

Bumblebee (8)
Prowl (9)
Optimus Prime (10)
Jazz (11)
Nightbeat (12)
Ratchet (13)
Hot Rod (16)
Wheeljack (17)
Sunstreaker (20)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Hardhead (7)
Bumblebee (8)
Prowl (9)
Optimus Prime (10)
Jazz (11)
Nightbeat (12)
Ratchet (13)
Hot Rod (16)
Wheeljack (17)
Sunstreaker (20) }}{{#if:* Ravage (2)
Laserbeak (3)
Soundwave (5)
Sixshot (6)
Skywarp (21)
Megatron (22)
Astrotrain (27)
Blitzwing (28)
Starscream (29)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Ravage (2) Laserbeak (3) Soundwave (5) Sixshot (6) Skywarp (21) Megatron (22) Astrotrain (27) Blitzwing (28) Starscream (29)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:* Joshua Red (1) Jimmy (4) Jimmy Pink (14) Verity Carlo (15) Hunter O'Nion (19)\|	Humans }}{{#if:* Sunstreaker clones (18) Ravenous Reaper (23) Klaxa (24) Deathbringer (25) Other Reapers (26)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Ravage (2) Laserbeak (3) Soundwave (5) Sixshot (6) Skywarp (21) Megatron (22) Astrotrain (27) Blitzwing (28) Starscream (29) }}{{#if:* Joshua Red (1) Jimmy (4) Jimmy Pink (14) Verity Carlo (15) Hunter O'Nion (19)\|	Joshua Red (1) Jimmy (4) Jimmy Pink (14) Verity Carlo (15) Hunter O'Nion (19) }}{{#if:* Sunstreaker clones (18) Ravenous Reaper (23) Klaxa (24) Deathbringer (25) Other Reapers (26)\|	Sunstreaker clones (18) Ravenous Reaper (23) Klaxa (24) Deathbringer (25) Other Reapers (26) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"Frag. What does it take to put this one down? Heavy artillery, that's what!"

—Hardhead answers his own questions!

"You've got a bad reputation, Sixshot. Here's where we separate the truth from the hyperbole."
"You're right. Enough hard sell. Let's skip to the clincher!"

—Optimus Prime and Sixshot throw down and exchange taunts.

Notes

Continuity notes

Sixshot is REALLY BIG compared to the Autobots, most of whom barely come up to his waist. Optimus Prime and Hardhead are the only two who aren't totally dwarfed by him. This is fairly consistent with his portrayals in "The Rebirth, Part 1" and The Headmasters (or as consistent as scale can be in Transformers).
Sixshot boasts that he is powered by a "self-regenerating dark matter fission cell" and that his armature was forged from "metals drawn from the compacted subatomic matter of a collapsed star" to explain his power levels.
The humans Wolverine and Spider-Man had each previously survived orbital jumps in "Man and Machine, Part Four", so it is understandable that the Autobots would think it would be safe for Jimmy and Verity. However, Wolverine and Spider-Man have super powers (notably, both have the ability to heal damaged tissue, beyond the norms of baseline humanity), which might have been a factor in their survival.

Transformers references

A few Easter eggs are featured in this issue. Skywatch refers to Ravage and Laserbeak as their "Seekers". Soundwave's owner has a poster of movie Bumblebee in his room. The K-IDW news helicopter is seen flying overhead. Also, the impound lot named "Wreck-n-Rule", a reference to a slogan used by the Wreckers.

Real-life references

Soundwave's owner is totally lost in the 1980s. Not only does he have the early-80s micro-cassette player Soundwave, he's got a poster for Journey's 1981 album, [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Escape (Journey album)|{{#if:Escape|Escape|Escape (Journey album)}}]] on his wall. He's also watching what appears to be [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Speed Racer|{{#if:||Speed Racer}}]] on his television.

Errors

Sixshot's height throughout the Devastation series itself is not consistent.
Ratchet's head and chevron color change throughout the issue. This has been a recurring error in several issues. This is corrected in the trade.

Other trivia

The long-absent Decepticomments section returns, introduced by ChrisCharger. New editor Andrew Steven Harris answers mail and announces a contest to give him a Transformers name.
On last page before the rear cover, Transformers: Mosaic issue "Ghost in the Machine" is featured.

Covers (3)

Cover A: Optimus Prime vs Sixshot by E. J. Su
Cover B: Hunter becomes a Headmaster by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham
RI: Sketch cover (black and white of cover B)

Animal abuse!! I'm calling PETA!
Zoinks!
RI cover

Reprints

In addition to collections of the full series.

N/A

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