Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden

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Publisher	IDW Publishing}}
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First published	November 2, 2011}}
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Cover date	November 2011}}
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Written by	Mike Costa}}
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Pencils by	Brendan Cahill}}
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Colors by	Joana Lafuente}}
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Editor	Carlos Guzman}}
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{{#switch:{{#sub:"police action"|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

All the final truths come out at last as the Transformers' stay on Earth reaches its end.

Synopsis

Following Spike's open admission to executing Scrapper, Prowl interrogates him for some time, attempting to accuse the human of personal motive while Spike maintains that it was just another mission to him. Things grind to a halt before long when Spike points out that Prowl is not the 'bot to be taking this attitude, given his own underhanded plotting, and that airing the dirty laundry is sure to completely destroy the already-shaky Cybertronian/human alliance. Caught in checkmate, Prowl is left with Spike's frank admission that while he liked a lot of the Autobots, he never trusted any of them, and his own belief that due to their similarities, he ought to respect Spike, but cannot.

Acting on information from Sandra, the Autobots and Skywatch prepare to bring in Ben Simpson, but Ultra Magnus forbids Jazz from joining the mission due to his past transgressions. As Skywatch agents burst into Simpson's house, they find him under the mind-warping influence of one of the guns made from Megatron's body and open fire on him, revealing him to have been a facsimile construct all along. Simultaneously, outside, the Autobots detect a massive amount of radio waves surrounding the house, and track them to their source: Simpson's controller, Swindle. Apprehending Swindle and imprisoning him within Omega Supreme, the Autobots deduce that Swindle had been using Simpson to create his market for him, engendering a climate of fear that facilitated the distribution of the Megatron guns, and that he had used suppressors to shut down Brawl out of fear his fellow Combaticon would rat him out. But they are not prepared for Swindle's final revelation: most of Skywatch's armament came from him, via a deal he had with Spike. Unfortunately, Omega Supreme informs them that Spike left the base a short time ago, followed shortly by Pennington and Jazz.

Jazz heads for Skywatch's decommissioned New Mexico base, using Pennington's presence to gain free access to the compound. There, Jazz makes contact with General Allenby and explains the current situation: that Spike is now a fugitive, that he had been dealing arms with Swindle, and that Jazz is dissolving the Autobots' alliance with the government. After broadcasting his exchange with Allenby to the media, Jazz wipes Skywatch's computers of any Cybertronian weapon data with an electro-magnetic pulse, and then, offering an apology to Pennington for tricking him, burns the base to the ground.

And Prowl is left only to realize that with Jazz's actions, the Autobots' time on Earth is truly up. They have their own planet to return to now, and all that his Terran sojourn has left Prowl... are doubts.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Prowl (2)

Streetwise (3)
Ultra Magnus (4)
Jazz (5)
Bumblebee (6)
Omega Supreme (9)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Prowl (2)
Streetwise (3)
Ultra Magnus (4)
Jazz (5)
Bumblebee (6)
Omega Supreme (9) }}{{#if:* Swindle (7)
Brawl (8)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Swindle (7) Brawl (8)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:* Spike Witwicky (1) Ben Simpson (7) Kyle Pennington (10) General Allenby (11)\|	Humans }}{{#if:\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Swindle (7) Brawl (8) }}{{#if:* Spike Witwicky (1) Ben Simpson (7) Kyle Pennington (10) General Allenby (11)\|	Spike Witwicky (1) Ben Simpson (7) Kyle Pennington (10) General Allenby (11) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"This entire period. This whole post-war malaise. One confusing, complicated disaster after another."

—Prowl sums up the entirety of the ongoing series.

Notes

Continuity notes

Prowl's data slug from Last Stand of the Wreckers makes several appearances on his desk in this issue, serving as a deliberate ironic reminder of how not so long ago, he made underhanded, life-taking choices for the greater good just like Spike did—"moral checkmate", as Prowl himself describes it.
This issue reveals how the humans were able to create their advanced exo-suits in just under three years. It was because of Swindle's dealings with Spike.

Real-world references

Continuing Mike Costa's pattern of naming his stories after other works of science fiction, this issue takes its title from Peter F. Hamilton's anthology, [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}A Second Chance at Eden|{{#if:||A Second Chance at Eden}}]].

Errors

The "story so far" segment claims that the human Jazz was forced to kill in "Burning Chrome" was threatening Prowl rather than Bumblebee.

Trivia

Costa has said that since IDW's Transformers franchise is "an ongoing", Spike is a fugitive because he views Spike getting exposed and what happens to Spike now as separate stories: "we'll catch up with him later." He compares it to Megatron escaping after one of his plots is thwarted.<ref>Moonbase 2 interview with Mike Costa ("Special Guest")</ref>
This issue is listed on the Chaos checklist as "The Last Story on Earth Part 3".

Covers (3)

Cover A: Jazz smacks his fist into his palm; art by Marcelo Matere, colors by Priscilla Tramontano.
Cover B: Jazz lit from the rear, his gun smoking; art by Brendan Cahill, colors by Priscilla Tramontano.
Cover RI: Black & white version of Cover B; art by Cahill.

Eat fist, dig?
The literal smoking gun.
RI cover.

Reprints

The Transformers, Volume 6: Police Action (February 15, 2012) ISBN 1613771649 / ISBN 978-1613771648
- Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #25, #27 & #29, and Spotlight: Prowl.
- Bonus material includes art from most covers, plus a B&W art page from "Police Action: Part 1".
- Trade paperback format.

The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume Eight (May 7, 2013) ISBN 1613776276 / ISBN 978-1613776278
- Collects Heart of Darkness issues #1–4, and The Transformers (2009) issues #19–31.
- Hardcover format.

The Transformers: Chaos Theory (February 28, 2018) ISBN 978-4-86491-370-6
- Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #19–23, #25, #27 & #29.
- Japanese reprint. Trade paperback format.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection Volume 51: Chaos Theory (December 11, 2019)
- Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #21: "Police Action: Prologue", #22–23, #25, #27 & #29, and Spotlight: Bumblebee.
- Bonus material includes a one-page article exploring the origins of the "Chaos" arc and beyond, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.
- Hardcover format.

Volume 6: Police Action – cover art by Brendan Cahill and Priscilla Tramontano
The IDW Collection Volume Eight – cover art by E. J. Su
Chaos Theory – cover art by Kazumasa Yasukuni
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 51: Chaos Theory – cover art by Don Figueroa and Alex Milne

References

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