The Falling, Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes
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Chapter 1: Surfeit of Primes" {{#if: |
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|}{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}
Shadows of the past rise to haunt Cybertron as Onyx Prime returns at last.
Synopsis
[edit]The Mistress of Flame is troubled by a dream, and visits Alpha Trion to share a story from her past with him that she has long kept secret. Long ago, when Caminus was still a healthy world, and she was merely "Matriarch of Incaendium" (next in line to become Mistress), she accompanied the pilot Praesidia and linguist Magrada to the world of Antilla, to investigate a Cybertronian signal they had detected emanating from there. Upon the planet, they discovered an unnatural, mechanical mountain, the surface of which split open to reveal a colossal eyeball, emitting blazing light that illuminated a figure the Mistress could never have expected to see: Onyx Prime, master of beasts; one of the original Thirteen Primes! Onyx slew Magrada, but the Mistress and Praesidia fled back to Caminus... only for Onyx to follow them there years later, and kill Praesidia as well. The Mistress marvels that she has encountered so many long-thought-legendary Primes in person, especially since coming to Cybertron—Onyx, Trion, Liege Maximo, and Optimus Prime, who she still believes is the nameless thirteenth Prime, "The Arisen." Also present for the Mistress's story is Scoop, invited along by Trion, who scoffs her reverence of the Primes, his own lapsed faith have caused him to long since lose his belief that they are any more special than ordinary Cybertronians. The Mistress is offended, but as she leaves to meet with the other delegates to await a visit from Optimus Prime, she is given pause to reflect on how the myths and legends she grew up worshiping have let her down. Trion reminds Scoop that, for all his bitterness, it wasn't the Primes who let him down, and suggests he pay a visit to the one who actually did.
On Earth, Optimus Prime, Marissa Faireborn, and the President cut the metaphorical ribbon at the opening of a new Ore-13 mine in Kentucky, which will be worked by humans and Cybertronians together. Spirits aren't particularly high, however: there are protesters objecting, human workers worrying about the grief they're going to get, concerns about a Cybertronian-human pay gap, and general laments from Junkion matriarch Rum-Maj, even as Wreck-Gar tries to keep her spirits up. Off to the side, always listening, Soundwave hears it all...
Overhead, aboard Autobot City, Aileron and Arcee chat about the recent goings-on with the protoforms on Cybertron. But it seems a pleasant conversation can't last long these days; Aileron hears the discontented Slide once again ranting about how much she disagrees with Optimus's actions, and tries to break up the argument she is having with her fellow colonists—though Arcee's curiosity is piqued by a reference Slide makes to Aileron recently "burying the truth." Before Arcee can press the issue, Optimus Prime returns with the first load of Ore-13 from the mine, to be sent over the space bridge to Cybertron, and Aileron practically grabs Slide by the ear and drags her out in front of Optimus, daring her to repeat her insults to his face. Prime is already in a downcast mood, disappointed by the problems at the mine, but tries to offer Slide some comforting words. Pyra Magna intercedes; she tells him he has been removed from goings-on on Earth for too long, and proposes that while he is delivering the Ore-13 to Cybertron, Slide and the other colonists should visit the mine themselves so they can see with their own eyes what Optimus is trying to accomplish.
Optimus takes the Ore-13 through the space bridge, handing it over to the collected delegates of the Council of Worlds, now led by Windblade after her victory in the recent election. Windblade's own ability to trust Optimus has also recently suffered a blow, but he reassures her that the shipment is the first of many, to be given freely without expectation. With the official matters dealt with, the Mistress attempts to take Optimus Prime aside and ask him about the prophetic dream he had soon after annexing Earth, in light of the dream she had herself, but before their conversation can even begin, it is cut off by a shadow falling across the city...
In Iacon's prison, the recently incarcerated Starscream is enjoying life behind bars. Nobody is relying on him for anything, he tells the spectral form of Bumblebee, and though it is now over, his time as ruler of the planet will ultimately be viewed by history as a comparatively positive one. A visitor soon arrives in the form of Scoop, but before the pair can sit down for a conversation to hash out their old quarrels, Bumblebee draws their attention to what is going on outside...
The mountain-sized eyeball seen by the Mistress of Flame on Antilla all those years ago now hovers in the sky over Iacon, blocking out the sun. Windblade believes that the recently escaped Liege Maximo has returned to wreak his vengeance, but the Mistress is quick to correct her—Maximo is one of the figures on the hull of the massive craft, but he is in chains, kneeling at the feet of Onyx Prime. Onyx announces to the people of Cybertron that he has returned to pass judgement on the captive Maximo, and all who transgress against his homeworld. He is met with a reply from Optimus, cautioning him that Cybertron is under his protection, and inviting Onyx down to the surface to talk. Onyx agrees, warning that "Cybertron's reckoning is at hand"... and declaring that such matters are without a doubt Optimus's responsibility, for he is The Arisen!
Featured characters
[edit]Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
{{#if: ||(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)}}
|
|
!! style="background:#ffdddd;" | Autobots }}{{#if:* Soundwave (22)| !! style="background:#ededff" | Decepticons }}{{#if:G.I. Joe
Others
- Marissa Faireborn (16)
- President of the United States (17)|
!! style="background:#fbefde;" | Humans }}{{#if:* Optimus Primal (5)
- Beast Megatron (6)
- Stampy (7, see "Errors")
- Ramulus (8)
- Beast Wars Prowl (9, see "Errors")|
!! style="background:#ffeeb8;" | Maximals }}{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent" |- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"| Other Cybertronians
- Mistress of Flame (1)
- Magrada (2)
- Praesidia (3)
- Nemesis (4)
- Onyx Prime (10)
- Scoop (12)
- Airazor (37)
- Moonracer (38)
- Vanquish (39)
- Knock Out (40)
|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|
- Fireshot (41)
- Elita One (42)
- Strika (43)
- Starscream (44)
- Liege Maximo (47)
Others
- Various Sharkticons (14)
|}| !! style="background:#d5e6d5;" | Others }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#fedeb5;" | Misc }} |- {{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent" |- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|
- Alpha Trion (11)
- Windblade (13)
- Optimus Prime (15)
- Aileron (23)
- Arcee (24)
- Gimlet (25)
- Slide (26)
- Roulette (27)
- Bump (28)
|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|
- Midnight Express (29)
- Thundercracker (30)
- Skyburst (31)
- Stormclash (32)
- Pyra Magna (33)
- Rust Dust (34)
- Dust Up (35)
- Jumpstream (36)
- Bumblebee's "ghost" (45)
|}|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
|
|
| style="background:#ededff;" valign="top" |
Others
- Marissa Faireborn (16)
- President of the United States (17)|
| style="background:#fbefde;" valign="top" | G.I. Joe
Others
- Marissa Faireborn (16)
- President of the United States (17) }}{{#if:* Optimus Primal (5)
- Beast Megatron (6)
- Stampy (7, see "Errors")
- Ramulus (8)
- Beast Wars Prowl (9, see "Errors")|
| style="background:#ffeeb8;" valign="top" |
- Optimus Primal (5)
- Beast Megatron (6)
- Stampy (7, see "Errors")
- Ramulus (8)
- Beast Wars Prowl (9, see "Errors") }}{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
|- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"| Other Cybertronians
- Mistress of Flame (1)
- Magrada (2)
- Praesidia (3)
- Nemesis (4)
- Onyx Prime (10)
- Scoop (12)
- Airazor (37)
- Moonracer (38)
- Vanquish (39)
- Knock Out (40)
|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|
- Fireshot (41)
- Elita One (42)
- Strika (43)
- Starscream (44)
- Liege Maximo (47)
Others
- Various Sharkticons (14)
|}| | style="background:#d5e6d5;" valign="top" |
|
Other Cybertronians
|
Others
|
| style="background:#fedeb5;" valign="top" |
}}|}
Quotes
[edit]"[The protoforms] were... interesting. Seeing these little metal things make synaptic connections and learn how to walk—to fight... well, I hope that's not all they do when they grow up. I named one of them Sideswipe. Which was probably not a good start to avoiding fights, now that I think about it."
- —Arcee
"Was your speech successful, Optimus?"
"You'd have liked it, Pyra. Getting the humans to do my bidding, and all."
- —Pyra Magna gets some unexpected sass from Optimus Prime
"Any new surprises today? More protoforms? Or invasions? Maybe you've annexed the Solstar Order."
- —Windblade offers Optimus some sass of her own
"I killed Metalhawk and took control of Cybertron under false pretenses. I lied and deceived and did it all for glory and you know what? I'm still the best leader in the history of Cybertron. I didn't subjugate the populace for eons, I never plunged us into four million years of war—I didn't even come back from the grave to try and destroy the world multiple times. History will see me, at worst, as a step in the right direction."
- —It's true, but Starscream shouldn't say it!
Notes
[edit]Continuity notes
[edit]- The planet Antilla and its connection to Onyx Prime were introduced in the 2017 Transformers annual. The Mistress of Flame told Pyra Magna of her and Praesidia's visit to the planet, but not of their encounter with Onyx. Here, she also recalls Praesidia's death years later at the hands of Onyx, as seen in the annual.
- A mountain-sized eyeball, you say? Now, who do we know who's hanging around on the fringes of IDW continuity who's that sort of size...?
- Hey, it's Scoop! Ain't seen him in a while! His green coloration might make you momentarily go "huh--?"; he's only appeared on-panel looking like this once before, in Windblade vol. 2 #3, having been changed from his traditional orange colors when he was merged with the Constructicons to become part of Devastator in The Transformers vol. 2 #41.
- Scoop's former religiosity formed the basis of his character since his appearance in Robots in Disguise #20. Alpha Trion mentions how he uncovered the "Dark Cybertron" prophecy, as seen in More than Meets the Eye #23. Bringing this prophecy up again is not likely just an offhand comment; the dream Optimus Prime had in The Transformers vol. 2 #50 (which the Mistress of Flame tries to ask him about in this issue) implied the possibility that the prophecy may have actually referred to Prime and the course his actions have set Cybertron on, rather than the events of the "Dark Cybertron" crossover itself. The dream also added additional lines to the prophecy beyond what was originally spoken by Scoop, all of which allude to the "black star" associated with the Onyx Prime plot thread.
- The events of the 2017 Till All Are One annual have taken place between last issue and this one, with Starscream having been locked up, and Windblade elected the new ruler of Cybertron. Windblade no longer has the trust in Optimus Prime she once did, after they found themselves on opposite sides in First Strike #5.
- Protestors at the Ore-13 mine hold up signs reading "Colton Was Right!" and "Free G.I. Joe!", referring to Joe Colton's attempt to destroy the Transformers in First Strike and his subsequent incarceration after his plan failed.
- Slide's remarks about "burying the truth" that Arcee zeroes in on refer to the events of issue #12, in which Aileron and co. caught Rumble and Frenzy running guns, but were forced to hush up the matter in the name of the greater good.
- Starscream recalls Metalhawk's death at his hands, from Robots in Disguise #16.
- While defending his reign of Cybertron, Starscream lists off the sins of the planet's previous rulers namely: Subjugating the populace for eons (the Senate and/or the Functionist Council), starting the Great War (Megatron) and rising from the grave to try and destroy the world multiple times. This last one may seem a callback to Sentinel Prime, given his recent history, but Starscream is actually referring to Nova Prime who seemingly died twice and twice came back with dire consequences for everyone involved.
- The hologram Starscream is looking at was given to him by Windblade in the Till All Are One annual; it shows the image of his "true self," the way he might have looked if he had been forged rather than cold constructed, which first appeared in Till All Are One #12.
- Liege Maximo escaped captivity in Till All Are One #8.
- On introducing himself, Onyx refers to Cybertron as "a tarnished jewel embedded in a ring of light", the exact same words used by the narration at the beginning of the 2012 Robots in Disguise annual. Given the connection between Onyx and story-telling in the title, this might not be just a little nod, but rather a hint as to who was narrating that story...
Transformers references
[edit]- Prominent among the shadowy ranks of Onyx's beast army as the unmistakable figures of Optimus Primal and Beast Wars Megatron. 'Bots resembling either them or their alternate modes have shown up among Onyx's army too many times at this point for it to just be an Easter egg; these really must be those characters. One would think this ties in with Primal's impending new toy in the Power of the Primes toyline, but surprise, it's just a coincidence on Barber's part.<ref>{{#if: I just put Primal in because he's a big character, so why not use him? I saw on TFwiki that Beachcomber and Seaspray were in OP as toy tie-ins, but they're just there because they hadn't been in the book in forever. (I do think I own the newish Seaspray toy, though). |"I just put Primal in because he's a big character, so why not use him? I saw on TFwiki that Beachcomber and Seaspray were in OP as toy tie-ins, but they're just there because they hadn't been in the book in forever. (I do think I own the newish Seaspray toy, though)."—|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480 |John Barber|John Barber}}{{#if: Twitter |, Twitter|}}{{#if: |, ""|}}{{#if: 2018 |, 2018{{#if: 03 |/{{#switch:{{#len:03}}|1=003|03}}{{#if: 02|/{{#switch:{{#len:02}}|1=002|02}}|}}}}|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480 ||}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480%7C7%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480%7C8%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480%7C7%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/969601204211732480%7C8%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#if: | (dead link)}}</ref>
- Also among the shadows are a bot with a clawed hand and robot mode "horns" (Ramulus, who will appear in full color in the next issue), an owl with only a right eye visible (Beast Wars Prowl II, but see "Errors", below), and a rabbit whose robot mode head and kibble peg him as a slightly redesigned Beast Wars Neo Stampy (but see "Errors", below).
- In addition to its obvious potential link to Unicron, Onyx's eye-ship — as a giant, black-colored eyeball that blots out the sky, associated with a character who commands a legion of beasts — is Nemesis from Beast Wars II, as would be confirmed in issue #17.
- The prominent Autobot standing near Optimus on page 8 is coloured blue, pink, and orange like Skram, but beyond having a hood for a chest and wheels on his shoulders, it doesn't look much else like him. Plus, Skram was killed by Sandstorm not long ago in Punishment. No, it doesn't look like Getout either.
- With their tan-grey shirts, blue pants, and bright yellow hard hats and boots, the human miners' outfits are modeled by those worn by Sparkplug Witwicky and his fellow oil-rig workers in the Generation 1 cartoon. None of them can be Sparkplug, though; the IDW version was an Army general who got vaporized by Galvatron years ago!
Real-world references
[edit]- The Mistress thinks that "The Sword of Liege Maximo dangles above us all, ready to fall at any moment.", referring to the popular modern interpretation of the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Damocles|{{#if:Sword of Damocles|Sword of Damocles|Damocles}}]].
Errors
[edit]
- Okay gang, we talked about this back in the notes for issue #10, but let's clear this one up again—per the original Aligned material, Onyx Prime is meant to be a centaur. Four leggies! We've seen this in the 2017 Transformers annual, and in Revolutionaries #4. The problem is, the solitary full-body piece of reference art that existed for Onyx before he started showing up in IDW comics—published in The Covenant of Primus—is hard to read. It depicts the four-legged Onyx rearing up on his hind legs and kicking out his front ones, but the monochrome art means the forelegs get lost against his body, and it's very easy to interpret him as just having the two legs. That's the mistake Livio Ramondelli made in issue #10 when he drew Onyx as a biped. The way Kei Zama draws him, meanwhile—both in this issue, and on the cover of issue #10—seems to mistakenly treat "reared up" as Onyx's normal at-rest position, rendering him as standing on two legs at all times with two smaller legs sticking out of his waist, positioned and proportioned in such a way that it doesn't look like it's possible for him to stand on all four of them. However it appears, Zama would later state on that the way they see it, Onyx's "normal" position is as a centaur but that he's prone to standing on his hind legs for the sake of appearing imposing.<ref>{{#if: |""—|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240 |Kei Zama|Kei Zama}}{{#if: Twitter |, Twitter|}}{{#if: |, ""|}}{{#if: |, {{#if: |/{{#switch:{{#len:}}|1=0{{{month}}}|{{{month}}}}}{{#if: |/{{#switch:{{#len:}}|1=0{{{day}}}|{{{day}}}}}|}}}}|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240 ||}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240%7C7%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240%7C8%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240%7C7%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/953724243102986240%7C8%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#if: y | (dead link)}}</ref> Of course, given what we learn later about "Onyx Prime"...
- Meanwhile, Casey Coller's rendition of the character on Cover B of this issue uses Zama's cover for #10 as reference, but misinterprets how they drew Onyx's forelegs; only one was visible on the cover, and Coller consequently renders Onyx with two legs and a tail-foot sticking out of his butt! See the infographic on the right for a visual explanation of all this.
- Two of Onyx's beasts include Stampy and "Prowl", but both of them already appeared in Sins of the Wreckers as regular Cybertronians.
- Moonracer is looking rather off-color on page 14, appearing in a pear-green instead of her usual mint. She's in her correct hues on page 15.
- In front of Moonracer on page 14, Vanquish is miscolored in two-tone purple-and-white. He and his twin Fireshot are looking a bit more like themselves on page 15, but Fireshot's got blue-black arms (like his toy) instead of the grey-and-blue he normally has in the comics, is missing his distinctive yellow visor and red mouthplate, and the pair both have orange thighs instead of magenta.
- Windblade claims Optimus was absent the last time Liege Maximo attacked. And while Optimus was off world when Maximo was freed, it was Sentinel Prime's undead Titan army that was attacking.
Soundtrack
[edit]In a fashion not dissimilar to James Roberts for More than Meets the Eye/Lost Light, Kei Zama tweeted a designated song just prior to this issue's release.<ref>{{#if: |""—|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648 |Kei Zama|Kei Zama}}{{#if: Twitter |, Twitter|}}{{#if: |, ""|}}{{#if: 2018 |, 2018{{#if: 01 |/{{#switch:{{#len:01}}|1=001|01}}{{#if: 13|/{{#switch:{{#len:13}}|1=013|13}}|}}}}|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648 ||}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648%7C7%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648%7C8%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648%7C7%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/Golby_mkII/status/952214844337307648%7C8%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#if: y | (dead link)}}</ref> Naturally, of course, Zama made use of an extreme metal band.
- "Ascendant" by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Keep of Kalessin|{{#if:||Keep of Kalessin}}]]
Barber later posted a couple of selections of his own.
- "The Supermen" by David Bowie
- "No Church In The Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West<ref>{{#if: Optimus Prime: The Falling, Chapter 1—A Surfeit of Primes Playlist: The Supermen—David Bowie; No Church in the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean & The-Dream)—JAY-Z & Kanye West [WHICH I JUST LEARNED IS NOT ON SPOTIFY, SORRY!] https://t.co/JJnzZF51Zd |"Optimus Prime: The Falling, Chapter 1—A Surfeit of Primes Playlist: The Supermen—David Bowie; No Church in the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean & The-Dream)—JAY-Z & Kanye West [WHICH I JUST LEARNED IS NOT ON SPOTIFY, SORRY!] https://t.co/JJnzZF51Zd"—|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057 |John Barber|John Barber}}{{#if: Twitter |, Twitter|}}{{#if: |, ""|}}{{#if: 2018 |, 2018{{#if: 02 |/{{#switch:{{#len:02}}|1=002|02}}{{#if: 28|/{{#switch:{{#len:28}}|1=028|28}}|}}}}|}}{{#if: https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057 ||}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057%7C7%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057%7C8%7C11}}%7Cweb.archive= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057%7C7%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#switch:{{#sub:https://twitter.com/TheJohnBarber/status/968932790883373057%7C8%7C10}}%7Carchive.is= (archive link)|}}{{#if: | (dead link)}}</ref>
Covers (3)
[edit]- Cover A: Optimus, the Mistress, and Windblade stare up as Onyx's eye-ball ship stares back, by Kei Zama and Josh Burcham
- Cover B: Our cast, within the silhouette of the Mistress of Flame, by Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove
- Retailer incentive cover: Optimus Prime versus Megatron, by Aaron Conley and Jean-Francois Beaulieu
-
Pee-a-boo! -
Hmm, Onyx doesn't look so tough when he's tiny. -
Buy Evergreen toys!
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[edit]- Optimus Prime #16
- Lost Light #15
- Windblade: The Last City hardback collection
- First Strike TPB
- IDW Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters comic
- {{#if:||Jem: Infinite}} TPB
- CGC comics
- IDW Star Wars: Forces of Destiny comic
Reprints
[edit]- Optimus Prime Volume 4 (November 21, 2018) ISBN 1684053633 / ISBN 978-1684053636
- Collects Optimus Prime issues #15–21.
- Bonus material includes art from most covers.
- Trade paperback format.
- Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection Volume 84: The Falling Part 1 (January 22, 2020)
- Collects Optimus Prime issues #13–17 and Annual 2018.
- Bonus material includes a page about the Primes, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.
- Hardcover format.
-
Volume 4 – cover art by Marcelo Matere -
