Earthfall Part 5: I Dream of Wires

|- {{#if: RID32 subcvr.jpg | | colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center" | {{#if: Let's face it: we all knew this would happen eventually. |
Let's face it: we all knew this would happen eventually.}}}} |-

|colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center" | "Earthfall Part 5:
I Dream of Wires" {{#if: |

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|- {{#if: IDW Publishing | |Publisher || IDW Publishing}} |- {{#if: | |Published by || }} |- {{#if: | |Imprint || }} |- {{#if: | |Published in || }} |- {{#if: August 20, 2014 | |First published || August 20, 2014}} |- {{#if: | |Shipping date || }} |- {{#if: | |On-sale date || }} |- {{#if: August 2014 | |Cover date || August 2014}} |- {{#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: John Barber | |Written by || John Barber}} |- {{#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: Andrew Griffith
Brendan Cahill (pages 7, 10, 11, 13) | |Art by || Andrew Griffith
Brendan Cahill (pages 7, 10, 11, 13)}} |- {{#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: Josh Perez
Joana Lafuente (pages 7, 10, 11, 13) | |Colors by || Josh Perez
Joana Lafuente (pages 7, 10, 11, 13)}} |- {{#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: Tom B. Long | |Letters by || Tom B. Long}} |- {{#if: | |Lettered by || }} |- {{#if: | |Lettering|Production || }} |- {{#if: | |Special Thanks{{#if: | To}} || }} |- {{#if: | |Collaborators || }} |- {{#if: | |Contributors || }} |- {{#if: Carlos Guzman | |Editor || Carlos Guzman}} |- {{#if: | |Editors || }} |- {{#if: | |Editing || }} |- {{#if: | |Edits by || }} |- {{#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: Current era (2014) | |Chronology || Current era (2014)}} |- {{#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=}} Prowl turns the tables on the EDC and the Decepticons as the search for Alpha Trion reaches a climax. But what other secrets is the EDC hiding...?

Synopsis

Half a million years ago on Cybertron, Prowl and Bumblebee watch as Metroplex leaves the planet. Though he accepts that Metroplex's departure is necessary, Prowl bemoans the fact that it has only come about as a result of the illogicality of war. As he watches Optimus Prime lead the charge into battle down below, he confides in his friend that Prime's reactive style of leadership is not what the Autobots need; rather, they need someone who can plan for the future...

As the Ark-7 draws near to Earth, Prowl remarks that it's "nice to come home", surprising Cosmos, who remembers the Autobots' last visit to the planet and Prowl's dramatic fallout with Spike Witwicky. Prowl brushes the matter aside and changes the subject, asking if Cosmos trusts Prime's leadership, and revealing that he asked him to come along because he needs someone he can trust.

As the Autobots are attacked by the Decepticon spaceship on Bikini Atoll, in the secret Earth Defense Command base below the island's surface, Prowl stops Jazz from disconnecting the captive Alpha Trion by pressing his gun to Jazz's head. Prowl withdraws the weapon as soon as he has Jazz's attention, having only intended to make a point, and explains that Trion's presence is not the final piece of the puzzle: the ancient Autobot has clearly only been there for a few months, and the EDC have obviously had their "mind bomb" weapon for longer than that. Realizing that there must be another Cybertronian within the base, the pair set out to search for it, unaware that their presence has already been detected by Sanjay Bharwaney's equipment. At Soundwave's direction, Bharwaney targets Prowl with the mind bomb, instantly knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Thundercracker flies Marissa Faireborn to Bikini Atoll; as they draw closer, his confusion over the island's name gives way to a refusal to fly into the middle of the combat zone, out of concern for Buster's safety. He lands some distance away, and an exasperated Faireborn doesn't even bother to argue, racing for the base on foot.

As Jazz tries to drag Prowl's unconscious form through the base, his way is barred by Soundwave, who reveals the existence of his spy within the Autobot ranks. As this standoff plays out, however, Prowl's mind is hard at work: in actuality, he wanted to be attacked by the mind bomb, thereby allowing his mind to be connected to the EDC's network. As he searches through their computer banks from within, he comes upon a heavily encrypted data point, but has no time to decode it; instead, he interfaces with the base's weapons systems, and unleashes every missile in the EDC's arsenal against the Decepticon ship, blowing it out of the sky. Next, he activates their army of tanks and jets, turning them on Soundwave so that Jazz can continue getting himself and Prowl's body to safety.

Outside, Thundercracker runs for cover from the fire and debris created by the attack on the Decepticon ship, slipping and tumbling into a crevasse. Momentarily filled with horror over the belief that he has crushed Buster in the fall, his relief to discover that his canine companion is fine is immediately replaced with screaming terror at something unseen...

Jazz and Prowl emerge from the base, rejoining Prime's Autobot squad at the same time as the stealth-painted Constructicons; Scavenger then reveals that he's not really a Decepticon spy, but fed Soundwave information on Prowl's orders. Prowl and the Constructicons merge into Devastator and cover the Autobots as they quickly enter the base, recover Alpha Trion, then return to board Sky Lynx and withdraw. As Jetfire and D.0.C. administer medical aid to the ancient—but still chipper—'bot, Optimus chews Prowl out over his dangerous, secretive actions. Prowls retorts that the new age they now find themselves in holds many dangers, and that logic and planning are what is needed to survive, not heroic reaction. Prime backs down, begrudgingly admitting that the mission was a success, but Prowl then tells him about the EDC's secret data, and believes he knows who they need to find in order to solve the mystery.

As the EDC base crumbles, General Witwicky attempts to order an evacuation when he is confronted by Galvatron. The Decepticon commander remains displeased over the humans' use of the mind bomb against him and is intent on revenge, and although Witwicky tries to give him a message to pass on to his son, Galvatron pays the general no heed and atomizes him with a blast from his cannon. Marissa Faireborn presently arrives in the command centre, and Galvatron professes that Prowl was responsible for the general's death; Faireborn knows of the bad blood between Prowl and the Witwicky family and is easily led into believing the lie.

Thundercracker and Buster flee Bikini Atoll, and as he circles the globe, the Seeker's experiences on the island clearly inform his continued work on his screenplay. As he writes about "Susan Journeyer" making a shocking discovery in "Josh Boyfriend's" secret apartment, his mind flashes back to the sight he glimpsed in the crevasse on the island... an EDC-made army of drones based on his old allies, Ramjet and Thrust!

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
{{#if: ||(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)}}

{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"

Metroplex (1)
Prowl (2)
Bumblebee (3)
Bluestreak (4)
Ironhide (5)
Optimus Prime (6)
Cosmos (7)
Jazz (8)
Alpha Trion (9)
Jetfire (17)

Arcee (18)
Kup (19)
Sideswipe (20)
Sky Lynx (35)

|

!! style="background:#ffdddd;" | Autobots }}{{#if:* Needlenose (10)

Blitzwing (11)
Laserbeak (12)
Brawl (13)
Rumble (14)
Frenzy (15)
Galvatron (21)
Soundwave (22)
Astrotrain (36)|

!! style="background:#ededff" | Decepticons }}{{#if:* Ayana Jones (23)

!! style="background:#fbefde;" | Humans }}{{#if:* D.0.C. (16)

Thundercracker (26)
Buster (28)
Hook (29)
Mixmaster (30)
Long Haul (31)
Scavenger (32)
Bonecrusher (33)
Devastator (34)
Ramjet drones (37)
Thrust drones (38)|

!! style="background:#ffeeb8;" | Others }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#d5e6d5;" | Misc }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#fedeb5;" | Misc }} |- {{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent" |- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Metroplex (1)
Prowl (2)
Bumblebee (3)
Bluestreak (4)
Ironhide (5)
Optimus Prime (6)
Cosmos (7)
Jazz (8)
Alpha Trion (9)
Jetfire (17)

|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Arcee (18)
Kup (19)
Sideswipe (20)
Sky Lynx (35)

|}|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |

Metroplex (1)
Prowl (2)
Bumblebee (3)
Bluestreak (4)
Ironhide (5)
Optimus Prime (6)
Cosmos (7)
Jazz (8)
Alpha Trion (9)
Jetfire (17)

Arcee (18)
Kup (19)
Sideswipe (20)
Sky Lynx (35)

}}{{#if:* Needlenose (10)

Blitzwing (11)
Laserbeak (12)
Brawl (13)
Rumble (14)
Frenzy (15)
Galvatron (21)
Soundwave (22)
Astrotrain (36)|

| style="background:#ededff;" valign="top" |

Needlenose (10)
Blitzwing (11)
Laserbeak (12)
Brawl (13)
Rumble (14)
Frenzy (15)
Galvatron (21)
Soundwave (22)
Astrotrain (36) }}{{#if:* Ayana Jones (23)
Daniel Witwicky (24)
Sanjay Bharwaney (25)
Marissa Faireborn (27)|

| style="background:#fbefde;" valign="top" |

Ayana Jones (23)
Daniel Witwicky (24)
Sanjay Bharwaney (25)
Marissa Faireborn (27) }}{{#if:* D.0.C. (16)
Thundercracker (26)
Buster (28)
Hook (29)
Mixmaster (30)
Long Haul (31)
Scavenger (32)
Bonecrusher (33)
Devastator (34)
Ramjet drones (37)
Thrust drones (38)|

| style="background:#ffeeb8;" valign="top" |

D.0.C. (16)
Thundercracker (26)
Buster (28)
Hook (29)
Mixmaster (30)
Long Haul (31)
Scavenger (32)
Bonecrusher (33)
Devastator (34)
Ramjet drones (37)
Thrust drones (38) }}{{#if:|

| style="background:#d5e6d5;" valign="top" |

}}{{#if:|

| style="background:#fedeb5;" valign="top" |

}}

|}

Quotes

"Bikini Atoll, huh? I actually thought bikinis were something else entirely."
"Thundercracker, just... just give me ten seconds to think."
"Well, I want to be a better writer, so I have to learn about your human culture somehow, Faireborn. If you don't tell me, I'll just pick it up on the internet."

—Thundercracker and Marissa Faireborn

"The telepathic device. I understand the weapon, and I applaud the ingenuity. But you must understand... there are consequences to using it on me."
"Wait. My son. Tell my son—"
(CHOOM!)
"I hope your sun shines in whatever Afterspark awaits you, General Daniel."

—Galvatron and Daniel Witwicky

"Ah. "Son". An offspring. How... charming a method of procreation."

—Galvatron

Notes

Continuity notes

When Prowl reflects that the Cybertronians killed their planet, he is of course referring to the events of Stormbringer.
The departure of Metroplex from Cybertron was previously seen in a flashback in issue #28.
Ramjet and Thrust have been dead for quite some time in IDW continuity; Ramjet was torn to bits by Megatron in his self-titled Spotlight seven years prior, while an injured Thrust was left to burn by human police in Spotlight: Prowl four years ago. EDC has evidently been able to get ahold of their remains to make this army of duplicates; in the case of Ramjet that's partially Megatron's fault, as he rather unwisely and rather prominently spread Ramjet's dismembered parts around the world.
- This isn't the first time humans have attempted to create an army of robots reverse-engineered from Cybertronians in the IDW Universe.

Transformers references

Beyond good. Beyond evil. Beyond the daftest of homages.

The title page of this issue is an homage to the poster for The Transformers: The Movie.

Real-life references

This issue's sub-title is taken from the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Gary Numan|{{#if:||Gary Numan}}]] song, "I Dream of Wires".

Errors

On the second-to-last page, "Josh Boyfriend" is consistently misspelled as "Josh Boyfreind"... looks like Thundercracker needs a spell-checker in addition to an agent. This was fixed for the trade paperback collection.

Other trivia

Prowl calls Scavenger "Scrapper" while explaining how he ordered them to leak information to the Decepticons. However, due to this not being corrected for the trade paperback collection, combined with the fact that he does exactly the same thing to Long Haul in issue #36 (and is called out on it in-story), this is not the error it appears....

Foreign Localization

Swedish

Title: "Fritt fall Del 5: Jag drömmer om sladdar" ("Free Fall Part 5: I Dream of Wires")

Covers (3)

Regular cover: Optimus Prime, Thundercracker, and Buster, by Andrew Griffith and Josh Perez
Subscription cover: Optimus Prime versus Prowl, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
30th Anniversary cover: Optimus Prime kneels by Scorponok's dead body during Unicron's rampage, as seen in issue #75 of the Marvel Comics series, by Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove

"Hands off my dog, Prime!"
Cue Rocky theme.
The only time you feel bad for Scorponok.

Reprints

The Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 6 (November 19, 2014) ISBN 1631401645 / ISBN 978-1631401640
- Collects Robots in Disguise issues #28–32.
- Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
- Trade paperback format.

The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 7 (March 21, 2018) ISBN 1684051495 / ISBN 978-1684051496
- Collects More than Meets the Eye issues #28–30, #31–33 & #34, and Robots in Disguise issues #28–32 & #33–34.
- Hardcover format.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 62: Earthfall (August 8, 2018)
- Collects Robots in Disguise issues #28–34.
- Bonus material includes the lowdown on the (new) human cast and rare promotional posters for the Dawn of the Autobots event.
- Hardcover format.

Transformers: Optimus Prime - Tillbaka till jorden (February 15, 2023)
- Collects Robots in Disguise issues #28–32 & #34–38, and Punishment issues #1–5.
- Swedish reprint. Hardcover format.

Robots in Disguise Volume 6 – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 7 – cover art by Marcelo Matere and Tom B. Long
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 62: Earthfall – cover art by Don Figueroa (Galvatron) and Andrew Griffith (retro)
Tillbaka till jorden – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente

External links

Preview

Earthfall Part 5: I Dream of Wires

Contents

Synopsis

Featured characters

Quotes