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maximum dinobots|transformers maximum dinobots|transformers: maximum dinobots|the transformers maximum dinobots|the transformers: maximum dinobots=The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots
premierecollection|premiere collection|the transformers: the premiere collection=The Transformers: The Premiere Collection
all hail megatron|transformers all hail megatron|transformers: all hail megatron|the transformers all hail megatron|the transformers: all hail megatron=The Transformers: All Hail Megatron
the idw collection|the transformers: the idw collection=The Transformers: The IDW Collection
the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)=The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers vol. 1
wreckers|last stand of the wreckers|transformers last stand of the wreckers|transformers: last stand of the wreckers|the transformers last stand of the wreckers|the transformers: last stand of the wreckers=The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers
the idw collection|g.i. joe: the idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection
infestation=Infestation (IDW)|Infestation
infestation 2=Infestation 2
heart of darkness|transformers heart of darkness|transformers: heart of darkness|the transformers heart of darkness|the transformers: heart of darkness=The Transformers: Heart of Darkness
tdoop|death of optimus prime|the death of optimus prime|transformers: the death of optimus prime=Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime
more than meets the eye|transformers: more than meets the eye|the transformers: more than meets the eye=The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
robots in disguise|transformers: robots in disguise=The Transformers: Robots in Disguise
dark cybertron=Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron
drift:eos|drift: empire of stone|transformers drift: empire of stone|transformers: drift: empire of stone|the transformers drift: empire of stone|drift: empire of stone=The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone
the transformers: windblade=The Transformers: Windblade
sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers
gijoe5|gijoevol5|g.i. joe vol. 5|gi joe vol 5=G.I. Joe vol. 5
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
micronauts=Micronauts (comic)|Micronauts
wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
first strike=First Strike
ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries
requiem of the wreckers|transformers requiem of the wreckers|transformers: requiem of the wreckers=Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
{{{series}}}
[[{{#switch:{{{series}}}
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
#| }}{{#if: |issues:}}{{#ifeq: | Category
[[Category:IDW {{#switch:{{#switch:{{{series}}}
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
{{{series}}}}}
{{#switch:prime
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
{{#switch:primeadaptation
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
{{#switch:ragedinobots
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
ragedinobots}}=Prime
{{#switch:rid2015
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=Transformers: War for Cybertron (comic)
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (comic)
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)=Transformers: Prime (graphic novel)
prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Transformers: Prime (comic series)
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots
fulloffire|full of fire|full of fire!=Full of Fire!
rid2015|robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015)|transformers: robots in disguise (2015 comic)=Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 comic)
rid2015}}=Robots in Disguise (2015)
{{#switch:{{{series}}}
war for cybertron|warforcybertron|transformers: war for cybertron|transformers: war for cybertron (comic)=War for Cybertron
fall of cybertron|fallofcybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron|transformers: fall of cybertron (comic)=Fall of Cybertron
transformers: prime|transformers: prime (comic)|primeadaptation|prime adaptation|transformers: prime (comic series)=Prime
primerage|ragedinobots|rage of the dinobots|rageofthedinobots|primeragedinobots|transformers prime: rage of the dinobots=Prime – Rage of the Dinobots
maximum dinobots|transformers maximum dinobots|transformers: maximum dinobots|the transformers maximum dinobots|the transformers: maximum dinobots=The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots
premierecollection|premiere collection|the transformers: the premiere collection=The Transformers: The Premiere Collection
all hail megatron|transformers all hail megatron|transformers: all hail megatron|the transformers all hail megatron|the transformers: all hail megatron=The Transformers: All Hail Megatron
the idw collection|the transformers: the idw collection=The Transformers: The IDW Collection
the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)=The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers vol. 1
wreckers|last stand of the wreckers|transformers last stand of the wreckers|transformers: last stand of the wreckers|the transformers last stand of the wreckers|the transformers: last stand of the wreckers=The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers
the idw collection|g.i. joe: the idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection
infestation=Infestation (IDW)|Infestation
infestation 2=Infestation 2
heart of darkness|transformers heart of darkness|transformers: heart of darkness|the transformers heart of darkness|the transformers: heart of darkness=The Transformers: Heart of Darkness
tdoop|death of optimus prime|the death of optimus prime|transformers: the death of optimus prime=Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime
more than meets the eye|transformers: more than meets the eye|the transformers: more than meets the eye=The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
robots in disguise|transformers: robots in disguise=The Transformers: Robots in Disguise
dark cybertron=Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron
drift:eos|drift: empire of stone|transformers drift: empire of stone|transformers: drift: empire of stone|the transformers drift: empire of stone|drift: empire of stone=The Transformers: Drift - Empire of Stone
the transformers: windblade=The Transformers: Windblade
sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers
gijoe5|gijoevol5|g.i. joe vol. 5|gi joe vol 5=G.I. Joe vol. 5
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
micronauts=Micronauts (comic)|Micronauts
wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
first strike=First Strike
ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries
requiem of the wreckers|transformers requiem of the wreckers|transformers: requiem of the wreckers=Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers
maximum dinobots|transformers maximum dinobots|transformers: maximum dinobots|the transformers maximum dinobots|maximum dinobots=Maximum Dinobots
all hail megatron|transformers all hail megatron|transformers: all hail megatron|the transformers all hail megatron|all hail megatron=All Hail Megatron
the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)|the transformers (idw)=IDW The Transformers
wreckers|last stand of the wreckers|transformers last stand of the wreckers|transformers: last stand of the wreckers|the transformers last stand of the wreckers|last stand of the wreckers=Last Stand of the Wreckers
transformers drift|transformers: drift|the transformers drift|drifteos|drift:eos|drift: empire of stone|transformers drift: empire of stone|transformers: drift: empire of stone|the transformers drift: empire of stone|drift: empire of stone|transformers drift: origins and empires|transformers drift: origins & empires|origins and empires|origins & empires=Drift
heart of darkness|transformers heart of darkness|transformers: heart of darkness|the transformers heart of darkness|heart of darkness=Heart of Darkness
tdoop|death of optimus prime|the death of optimus prime|transformers: the death of optimus prime=The Death of Optimus Prime
more than meets the eye|transformers: more than meets the eye=IDW More than Meets the Eye
robots in disguise|transformers: robots in disguise|ongoing2|exrid|the transformers (idw) vol. 2=IDW Robots in Disguise (2012)
dark cybertron=Dark Cybertron
the transformers: windblade|windblade2|windblade2015|the transformers: windblade vol. 2|the transformers: windblade (2015)=Windblade
transformers vs gi joe|transformers vs. g.i. joe=Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
sotw|wreckers2|sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=Sins of the Wreckers
lost light|transformers lost light|the transformers lost light|transformers: lost light|the transformers: lost light=Lost Light
till all are one|Till All Are One|transformers till all are one|transformers: till all are one|the transformers till all are one|the transformers: till all are one=Till All Are One
revolution=Revolution
revolutionaries=Revolutionaries
action man=Action Man
gijoe5|g.i. joe vol 5|g.i. joe vol. 5|g.i. joe volume 5|g.i. joe (vol. 5)|g.i. joe (volume 5)=G.I. Joe vol. 5
g.i. joe idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection
first strike=First Strike
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
micronauts=Micronauts
wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
rom=ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs. transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries
requiem of the wreckers|transformers requiem of the wreckers|transformers: requiem of the wreckers=Requiem of the Wreckers
Ninety kilocycles ago, the A'ovan race narrowly avoided extinction thanks to the efforts of the Cybertronian race, and those few surviving refugees relocated to the custom-built A'ovan habitat in Iacon's Xeno-Quarter. But when Hound tracks a distress signal to the complex, he finds the habitat ransacked, its plants and animals dead and dying; when he discovers a handful of terrified A'ovans huddled under some debris, they warn him that the Cybertronians responsible for the devastation are still here, just before he turns to see the InsecticonSkrapnel pounce on him!
In the repair bay, Hoist helps patch up Wheeljack; the engineer still can't believe what's happened to Cybertron since he returned from the Winged Moon, but before they can finish their conversation, the sound of an altercation from the doors draws both of their attention. The pair find Ratchet and Flatline barring Gutcruncher's gang of Decepticons from searching for Autobots on the premises, but it's Hoist who intimidates them into leaving by pointing a cloud of diagnostic drones at the trio. Understaffed, undermanned, and underdefended, Ratchet laments that there just aren't enough 'bots willing to stand up to the Decepticons.
In the A'ovan habitat, Skrapnel has Hound pinned, paralyzed, and ready to eat—only for Road Rage to charge the Decepticon and kick him into the wall of the habitat! Road Rage's charge Nautica shouts for her to watch out for Kickback moments before Bombshell clobbers her with an uprooted tree; while Bombshell and Skrapnel team up against Hound, Nautica grabs Road Rage's discarded blaster and uses it to keep Kickback at bay before Road Rage uses her alternate mode to charge all three of the Decepticons. As the trio fly off in search of an easier meal, Nautica explains that she was also following the A'ovan distress signal before the Insecticons attacked—something that has her concerned, as the trio were supposedly banished from Cybertron long ago. Hound, meanwhile, is just relieved to see that his friend Pra'tyne is safe, but Nautica gently reminds him that the concept of "safety" is something unknown to the A'ovan. Indeed, Pra'tyne points out that for a hardy race like the Cybertronians, who live for eons, outlive the consequences of their mistakes, and can tangibly grasp the existence of their souls, a future is all but assured... but to the A'ovans, who lost everything and once more teeter on the brink of extinction, "safety" is a foreign concept to their culture. Nevertheless, Hound promises that he and his friends will do everything they can to make up for what has happened to their sanctuary.
Out in the badlands, the three Insecticons regroup; since returning to Cybertron, the three have developed a taste for organic matter, and Kickback and Skrapnel momentarily lose themselves to the hunt as they pursue a lone skitter before Bombshell snaps them back to attention. Having survived the War of the Threefold Spark, the trio are well-equipped to ride out the impending conflict... and have recently discovered that only life can properly sate their endless hunger. Even now, Cybertron pulses with more life than the trio can hope to harvest; they need more of themselves to consume it all, and Bombshell knows just who to turn to...
At Autobot headquarters, Nautica and Hound report to Optimus Prime. When the Cybertronians took in the A'ovan, they promised them sanctuary, and Hound's determined to uphold that promise. Optimus agrees: Megatron's Decepticons care little for the organic creatures who have made Cybertron their home, and so the Autobot leader orders Nautica and Hound to organize a coordinated evacuation of Iacon. That evening, Hoist and Wheeljack watch as a shooting star illuminates the night sky, one of the many spaceborne Titans skimming the atmosphere as its orbit decays. Between an entire generation of post-war Cybertronians who have never known conflict, and more and more injured 'bots piling up by the day, the medic wishes that they had some way of evacuating the planet, but with the Titans offline, Cybertron doesn't have any starships big enough to handle the task. Wheeljack notes that that's not entirely true: there are still at least four Arks, gigantic colony ships from the Age of Expansion, somewhere on Cybertron. With the passing of the Nominus Edict, the mighty vessels were grounded, mothballed, and stripped for parts. Someone with the right set of skills could get them up and running again... but since they were parked in Darkmount, whoever wants them will have to deal with Straxxus first.
In the A'ovan habitat, Hound and Nautica explain the situation to a group of Iacon's organic immigrants: although the Autobots will do what they can to protect immigrants in Iacon, the pair are organizing a refugee convoy out of Iacon for safer pastures. Pra'tyne understands the danger her people face, but she worries that the council might reject the proposal despite Hound's reassurances that they'll be able to rebuild their civilization somewhere else. As they approach an A'ovan dwelling, Hound hears a strange noise; Pra'tyne explains that when the Insecticons attacked, a group of A'ovan children broke into the archives and stole a precious relic, a beacon that would summon the same 'bot who had rescued their people from the Thraal all those years ago. Though Pra'tyne knows that their savior has gone immersant, she let the children use the beacon anyway in the hopes that they, too, would learn that their hero will not come... or that's what they think, anyway. Deep underneath the surface of Cybertron, the beacon reaches the sensors of a dormant Cybertronian, who opens his eyes and rips himself free from the ground: Dai Atlas!
"They shot me! I was explaining important stuff, and they just shot me! No more thought or hesitation than wild slaargs!"
"Well, slaargs are long extinct. Unfortunately, it seems like the Decepticons are just getting started."
—Wheeljack and Hoist
"Let's not escalate, okay? I've got a whole helpful little cloud of lasers and cutters and burners and drillers here. All intended for innocent and useful purposes. But anything can be re-purposed, right? You're not getting in. We fix those that need fixing, and there's no one here needs the kind of fixing you're offering."
—Hoist
"You change constantly, as is your nature. And you change hardly at all, because your deaths are so long postponed. You know you are endowed with souls. You rarely grasp the doubts and sorrows that brevity and uncertainty grant the rest of us. You can be glacially slow, because you live with an abundance of time. Yet you can be impetuous and careless, because error and consequence seem transitory. You expect to outlive them. When you imagine the far future, you imagine your individual selves in it. You know you will be there. And some of you think that gives you ownership over it. Safe, friend Hound? No. We never assumed we were safe."
—Pra'tyne
"Death and chaos and war salved our hungers once before. They will do so again."
Spinning off from Transformers issue #25, Escape runs alongside the "War World" arc over in the main Transformers ongoing. Wheeljack is shown recovering from the injuries he sustained in that issue after running afoul of the Battlechargers; Hoist, Ratchet, Nautica, and Hound all appeared as members of the Autobot resistance in issue #26, as did Gutcruncher amidst the Decepticons, so this story must run more-or-less in parallel with that issue.
Numerous issues of Transformers touched upon the sad history of the A'ovan race: forced to flee their home after the warlike Thraal sterilized their planet with nuclear weapons, Sentinel Prime afforded them refugee status and authorized the construction of the A'ovan habitat in Iacon's Xeno-Quarter, a place where they could preserve their biological and cultural heritage. However, as seen in Transformers #20, the complex was badly damaged when the Tether collapsed, and things have only further deteriorated in the days since.
The brief flashback at the beginning of the issue gives us a glimpse at the A'ovan homeworld before its destruction: the cityscape features a glimpse of a skitter, which stowed away on Cybertron-bound refugee ships and turned invasive as per Transformers #2, and a dog-like reptile resembling the dead animal that Hound handled in Transformers #20. That same scene also first introduced Hound's friend Pra'tyne, impromptu representative of her race.
The Insecticons first appeared in Transformers: Galaxies#2 as members of The Rise, 'bots whom Nominus Prime had banished from Cybertron after the War of the Threefold Spark for fear that their rapacious hunger would turn to cannibalism. After convincing the Constructicons to destroy everyone on the planet Mayalx, Onslaught and his compatriots arrived to smuggle them home to Cybertron; in between then and now, it seems as though they've developed a taste for organic material.
Bombshell muses that the Insecticons "must be countless" to devour everything on Cybertron, and that he knows how to make that happen; the final issue of Galaxies, released on the same day as this issue, concluded with Rise leader Shockwave unveiling an army of Insecticon clones...
While lamenting a lack of large starships on Cybertron, Hoist mentions "that one that the Reversionists've got", referring to the Exodus from Transformers #18 and issues #7-#9 of Galaxies. He notes that the starship's inoperable, however; Galaxies #9 ended with the Exodus damaged and grounded for repairs after Gauge foiled Heretech's attack on Cybertron.
The crowd of alien immigrants that Hound and Nautica assemble include a few alien races Rubble glimpsed in the Xeno-Quarter during Transformers #5. Returning faces include a trio of four-armed beings wearing round bubble helmets, a hunched, hooded creature with a long green tail, tall humanoids with cloaks and breathing masks, and several pig-like aliens in jumpsuits, though these ones are red rather than greenish yellow.
Dai Atlas had received a previous mention in Transformers #19 as one of the four Great Generals who had once led the fight against Exarchon during the War of the Threefold Spark; although that issue also revealed that he'd since gone immersant, the revelation that he had a hand in the A'ovan refugee crisis at some point before retiring is a new one.
In their original appearance in Titan Magazines' Transformers comic, the warring Thraal and A'ovan both inhabited the planet Na'conda; in this universe, however, the planet Na'conda is a gas giant, and the A'ovan evolved on its third moon. Whether this means that the Thraal evolved on the same moon, hail from a different moon, or come from another star system altogether is not yet clear.
Wheeljack likens the Decepticons to wild slaargs, referencing the aggressive and as-yet-unseen creatures first mentioned in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1". Slaargs were previously mentioned to have existed in this universe in Transformers #25, which featured a bar named after the animals, although this issue confirms that they are extinct.
Making his fictional debut in this issue is Airwave, the airport commanded by Airwave in the G1 toyline. In this continuity, he is portrayed as a sentient Modulator as per the War for Cybertron: Earthrise toy.
The Arks, of course, are a reference to the traditional Autobot starship from the original Transformers series bible, but the idea of multiple Arks is not a new one: the Autobots of the original IDW universe had a tradition of naming their various starships after the original Ark, which vanished along with Nova Prime in ancient times. Indeed, this continuity's depiction of the giant starships as relics of Cybertron's colonial past hearkens back to Nova Prime's mission of supremacist "Expansion" as seen in the Spotlight maxiseries.
His name's spelled with an extra "X" here, but it seems that our heroes are up against everyone's favorite despot Straxxus for control of the Arks! Wheeljack warns that he's in control of Darkmount, his stomping grounds from his time as the ruler of Cybertron in the "Return to Cybertron" arc back in Marvel's The Transformers comic, and Straxxus is shown standing on a narrow catwalk that sure looks like one of his beloved smelting pools...
Pra'tyne mentions "Three Saviors" sent to aid her homeworld during the war with the Thraal—although only Dai Atlas is named, he's shown fighting alongside a tank and a jet that are assuredly his fellow Powered MastersSonic Bomber and Roadfire from the Japan-exclusive Transformers: Zone manga.
{{#if: |
Volume 4: Declaration of War – cover art by Cryssy Cheung