Orion Pax: Free Fall

	{{#if: Into the Cyberverse? \|; Into the Cyberverse?}}}}
	"Orion Pax: Free Fall" {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; (')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
Publisher	IDW Publishing}}
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First published	May 29, 2019}}
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Cover date	May 2019}}
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Written by	Brian Ruckley}}
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Art by	Beth McGuire-Smith}}
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Letters by	Tom B. Long}}
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Editor	David Mariotte and Tom Waltz}}
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{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Orion Pax's meeting with Codexa takes a turn for the personal as he remembers his own history with Megatron.

Synopsis

In Codexa's chamber, Orion Pax attempts to rouse the somnolent Cybertronian in front of him, her immobile body merged with the fabric of Cybertron itself. Codexa is not so easily awoken, however, and her long hibernation means that she barely recognizes the form of her former compatriot. Undeterred, Orion tries to jog her memory by asking if she remembers Megatron, and the name stirs Codexa's own recollection. Codexa wonders if the two were friends, and Orion hesitantly agrees...

Two megacycles ago, in the wake of the destructive war against the Threefold Spark, the archivist Orion Pax and the miner Megatron join in the rebuilding efforts, working together to haul a damaged statue of Primus from the rubble. Orion is just glad to be rebuilding after the destructive war, but Megatron isn't content with just returning to the status quo: he wants more out of life, and invites his friend to watch him compete in the new arena that the Constructicons are working to build. But as the two work, a careless construction worker accidentally lets their load of girders slip, forcing Megatron to leap to Orion's rescue, safely knocking the falling beams out of the way while Orion struggles to keep the statue upright. The day saved, the two friends lever their statue back into position, as Megatron teases Orion about the impromptu rescue.

In the present day, Orion recounts his history with Megatron to Codexa: although they've known one another for a long time, and although Orion has always thought that he understood Megatron, recent events, since even before Megatron took control of the Ascenticons and the crisis of The Rise, have led the Senator to wonder if he ever really knew the charismatic 'bot... especially after their adventure together at the Winged Moon. Codexa vaguely remembers the moon, describing it as "snared" and "bound to the greater," and Orion remembers his last visit there with Megatron...

Three hundred kilocycles ago, Orion Pax visits the Tether just before the grand unveiling of the recently-completed Winged Moon as it prepares for its inaugural fueling cycle, and is surprised to see that Megatron has also decided to pay the structure a visit. Megatron visibly bristles when Orion wonders this aloud, believing that Orion is insulting the miners who helped hollow out the moon, and Orion deescalates the situation by informing his comrade that he's there on the orders of head archivist Codexa, who wants to see the moon before the politicians arrive. Orion asks Megatron if what he heard from Codexa is true—if Megatron is really going to run for election to the Senate—and Megatron confirms it. The miner is confident in his decision to stand behind Termagax, creator of the Winged Moon and the Tether that binds it to Cybertron, as part of the recently-founded Ascenticon faction, and immediately brushes off Orion's doubts about Termagax's views. Megatron counters that the terms of the Nominus Edict has long stopped ensuring the continued peace and stability of Cybertronian civilization, and is now contributing to its stagnation; he wants Cybertronians to stop living in their fear of the past and move on.

As the two board the elevator that will take them all the way up to the moon itself, Orion drops his own bombshell on Megatron and announces that he's leaving Cybertron to tour the colonies for a time. As Codexa herself has announced her intention to step down as head archivist and merge with Cybertron, Orion wants to see everything that the galaxy has to offer before she does; he wants to step up as head archivist due to his knowledge, not just out of inertia. As they approach the moon, the automated elevator announces that they'll be changing their gravitational orientation; just before they do, however, Megatron unexpectedly flicks the emergency stop switch; the cage grinds to a halt, leaving the two floating in zero gravity, caught in the space between the two celestial bodies. Orion is confused, but Megatron reveals the real reason why he came to the Winged Moon: for Termagax has given Megatron a task of his own, to better understand the nature of Cybertron and its civilization. As the two drift out into space, Megatron explains his realization as he produces a pair of levitators and hands one to Orion: true balance is but an illusion. Just as Cybertron spins in its orbit, taking everything with it, their universe is an ever-changing one full of variables. Individual Cybertronians must discard their concepts of stability and equilibrium and move with the times, lest they be left behind... and, to punctuate this lesson, Orion and Megatron are dragged back into Cybertron's gravity well, streaking towards the planetary surface at terminal velocity!

The two plummet towards the nearby Leachate Lagoons as Megatron shouts for Orion to not deploy his levitator until the last possible moment... and while Megatron's successfully activates and slows his fall, Orion's breaks as he thumbs the activator, and the young archivist makes an undignified splashdown. Megatron is jubilant at their adventure, and hopes that the experience will inspire Orion on his future travels; as Orion pulls himself out of the water, however, he grumbles that Megatron might be a bit mad. Megatron immediately snaps that Orion can do what he likes out in space, then... after all, Megatron tells him as he storms off, Cybertron is where the future will be built.

Codexa tells Orion that she remembers Orion Pax and Megatron, two 'bots brimming with potential. But Orion's mind is on other things, now, between murder investigations and Ascenticons on the march, he wonders aloud if he can even trust Megatron to keep his word. Codexa reminds him that Cybertron once trusted Exarchon, leader of the Threefold Spark, but Orion isn't so quick to judge: Megatron, he maintains, is nothing like Exarchon. Codexa finally asks what he wants, and the Senator tells her that he needs validation: recent events have pushed Pax into making ever more drastic decisions, and he feels that his next action, a betrayal that may endanger others, might lead him down the path of no return.

Codexa muses aloud that she remembers Orion Pax: a 'bot who always concealed what he felt under formality, afraid to let himself simply be. When Orion asks about Megatron, Codexa simply replies that although Cybertron is composed of millions and millions of individual sparks, all of them together make up the vast tapestry that is Cybertron, bound together by a common purpose—but not anymore. This "single song" of a united Cybertron is beginning to falter... and, Orion, finally realizing what must be done, grimly agrees.

Featured characters

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

{{#if:* Orion Pax (1)| {{#if:* Orion Pax (1)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |

Orion Pax (1) }}{{#if:* Megatron (3)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Megatron (3)\|	Ascenticons }}{{#if:\|	Humans }}{{#if:* Codexa (2)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Megatron (3) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:* Codexa (2)\|	Codexa (2) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"We are together on the brink of change. Both embarking on journeys, and both afraid of inertia. Neither of us wants to get stuck in too small a cage."

—Megatron

"Never assume stability. The equilibrium point changes. And Cybertron pulls us in."

—Megatron

"You go into space, Orion Pax. You go play amongst the stars. This is where I belong. Where the future will be built. Cybertron."

—Megatron's parting words to Orion Pax

"I remember Orion Pax. He was always so cautious, so formal. He hid much of what he felt. He never did just let himself be."
"Well, maybe he's still working on it. Maybe being an unfinished project is a good thing. I can think of quite a few who might benefit from recognizing that's what we all are."

—Codexa and Orion Pax

Notes

Continuity notes

Chronologically, it would appear that this issue picks up directly after issue #3, which ended with Orion confronting Codexa in her chamber, and slots in somewhere between there and #4.
The issue leads off with an abbreviated version of the Nominus Edict that Megatron has referred to several times; true to his words, the edicts restrict the colonization of new planets, the distribution of energon, and the forgings of new Cybertronians. Other terms of the edict include limitations on energon harvesting elsewhere in sectors inhabited by sentient life, and the banning of lethal non-integral weapons.
Issue #2 had Bumblebee relate to Rubble that two 'bots once jumped off the Winged Moon; this issue reveals that it was Orion and Megatron.
We're drip-fed some more information about the mysterious Threefold Spark: the faction was led by a Cybertronian named Exarchon, who was supposedly "trusted" by the people of Cybertron... and, well, we're definitely sure this won't come up again, no-siree-Bob...

Transformers references

It probably goes without saying that, at this point, Megatron and Orion Pax's respective histories as a miner (which itself probably owes something to IDW's Megatron Origin comics) and archivist are the now-standard origin stories for the pair, first debuting in the Exodus novel and subsequently influencing just about every new continuity that's come afterwards, most notably the Prime and Cyberverse cartoons.
Megatron makes an allusion to his first bout in the arena; given everything above, it's a safe bet to say that this Megatron will go on to enjoy a career in gladiatorial combat, just like many other versions of Megatron—most famously his "Aligned" counterpart, but also his Dreamwave and original IDW incarnations.
The shattered statue of Primus that Megatron and Orion haul from the wreckage is drawn to resemble his countenance in the prior IDW continuity—more specifically, his mythologized depiction of a golden warrior-god, which made several appearances in the pages of More than Meets the Eye before the twist reveal of his true form.
Megatron name-drops the Constructicons in the first flashback, and notes that they are working on an "arena," which might be a reference to the group's involvement with underground gladiatorial matches in IDW's Megatron Origin series.

Real-life references

Cover B for the issue, seen at the top of the page, seems to be a homage to the iconic "leap of faith" scene from 2018's [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse|{{#if:||Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse}}]].

Other trivia

For whatever reason, solicits for this issue refer to Orion as Optimus, the identity he (presumably) has yet to assume.

Covers (4)

Cover A: Orion Pax and Megatron, by Jack Lawrence and Josh Burcham
Cover B: Megatron and Orion Pax fall toward Cybertron, by Beth McGuire-Smith
Retailer incentive cover: A retro-styled poster advertising the Tether, by Jeffrey Veregge
Greater Austin Comic-Con exclusive cover: A cover that pays tribute to filk group The Cybertronic Spree, produced for Greater Austin Comic-Con by Matt Frank and Josh Perez

Reprints

Transformers Volume 1: The World In Your Eyes (January 22, 2020) ISBN 1684055318 / ISBN 978-1684055319
- Collects Transformers (2019) issues #1–12.
- Bonus material includes alternate covers.
- Hardcover format.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection Volume 98: The World In Your Eyes (October 7, 2020)
- Collects Transformers (2019) issues #1–7.
- Bonus material includes a cover gallery, a Q&A with series writer Brian Ruckley, and an intro by Simon Furman.
- Hardcover format.

Transformers: Best of Optimus Prime (January 5, 2022)
- Collects The Transformers (2009) #23: "Chaos Theory Part 2", Autocracy #9: "Transformation", Transformers (2019) #6: "Orion Pax: Free Fall", Optimus Prime #25: "Post", and The Transformers (1984) #24: "Afterdeath!".
- Bonus material includes an art gallery.
- One-shot format.

Volume 1: The World In Your Eyes – cover art by Cryssy Cheung
The Definitive G1 Collection Volume 98: The World In Your Eyes – cover art by Dreamwave (Quake) and Cachét Whitman
Best of Optimus Prime – cover art by James Biggie

External links

Preview

Orion Pax: Free Fall

Contents

Synopsis

Featured characters

Quotes