The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati

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|- {{#if: IDW Publishing | |Publisher || IDW Publishing}} |- {{#if: | |Published by || }} |- {{#if: | |Imprint || }} |- {{#if: | |Published in || }} |- {{#if: March 4, 2015 | |First published || March 4, 2015}} |- {{#if: | |Shipping date || }} |- {{#if: | |On-sale date || }} |- {{#if: February 2015 | |Cover date || February 2015}} |- {{#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 | |Art by || Andrew Griffith}} |- {{#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 & Thomas Deer | |Colors by || Josh Perez & Thomas Deer}} |- {{#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 | |Chronology || Current era}} |- {{#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:combiner wars #14|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

The battle for the Enigma of Combination reaches fever pitch as the Autobots, Decepticons, and EDC alike are all threatened by a berserk Devastator, and Thundercracker tries to prevent all-out war from breaking out once again.

Synopsis

As Devastator begins tearing into Onyx's Wanmu facility in order to seize the Enigma of Combination, the Decepticons—along with reluctant allies Arcee and Jimmy Pink—arrive on the scene. Garrison Blackrock is unfazed by the giant robot destroying his building; he has already remotely activated the Earth Defense Command's army of Thrust and Ramjet drones to come to his aid, who are at this very moment buffeting Thundercracker around in the skies over Bikini Atoll. After he realizes he is not being attacked, Thundercracker leaves Buster in the care of Sanjay Bharwaney and heads off after the drone army, worried about their destination.

As Devastator's giant fist reaches inside the Onyx building, Blackrock trips a security device that shields the Enigma and sends it down a drop shaft. Unfortunately for him, Devastator's massive mitt easily smashes through the shield and into the shaft, snagging the Enigma, which grows to gigantic proportions for him to easily hold in his grasp, as the energy of combination flows between it and the gestalt. Spike Witwicky chooses this moment to make his dramatic entrance, dropping out of a ventilation shaft; Faireborn and Jones both draw on him, but Spike is able to get the drop on Marissa by playing dumb, pretending that she is an old romantic conquest of his, allowing him to grab her. This doesn't dissuade Jones from shooting Spike, but before she can, things go extremely wrong: the sight of Spike awakens old grudges in Devastator, and the shared hatred Prowl and the Constructicons have for the human overpowers all other objectives. Before he can reach for Spike, however, the Decepticons open fire on Devastator, and Marissa clobbers the distracted Spike with an elbow to the face.

Following the drones over the Pacific Ocean, Thundercracker contacts Soundwave, who is taking in the sights at Mikumi National Park in Tanzania. Aghast to hear of the drone army's existence, Soundwave is conflicted; he fears the outbreak of war once again, which will surely be the result if the drones engage Galvatron, but at the same time, is disgusted at the prospect of keeping their existence a secret and allowing the humans' duplicitous behavior to stand. He is leaning toward letting humanity suffer for their deception, but Thundercracker beseeches him to help save Earth not for the humans, but in spite of them, so that it can be a world for the Decepticons as well. Soundwave reluctantly agrees, and easily cracks the control signal for the drones, deactivating them and letting them fall out of the sky... but warns Thundercracker not to contact him again.

Arcee attempts to appeal to Prowl within Devastator, but the giant's rage has subsumed the Autobot, and he is so driven to kill Spike that he actually hurls the Engima at her. Galvatron is amused at the sight, but finds himself laughing out of the other side of his face when Devastator seizes him and flings him over the horizon. Spike taunts the deranged combiner, and is saved from being crushed by Jimmy, riding Frenzy, while Rumble tries taking Devastator out with his piledrivers, to no effect. As Devastator turns back to the Onyx building, Galvatron comes flying back onto the scene—just in time to see parties unknown absconding with the Decepticons' shuttle. Before he can do anything about it, however, he is attacked by the newly arrived Sky Lynx, who then turns his flame-breath on Devastator. As things only get more and more chaotic, Arcee realizes that the Enigma has disappeared, stolen by whoever has left in the shuttle—but she is able to use this fact to finally reach Prowl and calm Devastator down. Refusing to leave empty-handed, Devastator steals the space bridge from Blackrock's collection, and the Autobots retreat before local authorities arrive.

As local EDC forces arrive, Jones, Rumble and Frenzy take Spike and Jimmy into custody, while Galvatron expresses his discontent at the secrets Faireborn has been keeping from him. Blackrock has grumbles of his own, unhappy about the loss of the Enigma and his space bridge, but despite that, he considers himself to have had a good day: millions of people have downloaded his new "Onyx Interface" system, and he now activates the "Earth Enigma" protocol embedded within it...

Aboard Sky Lynx, Prowl—nose streaming energon—roars at the Constructicons, blaming them for taking control of Devastator away from him. Both they and Arcee make it clear that the process doesn't work that way, and that Prowl was as much as part of the combiner's loss of control as any of them, but Prowl just changes the subject, accusing Arcee of conspiring with the enemy. Arcee merely encourages Prowl find a way to explain his actions to Optimus Prime, and suggests he wipe his nose.

On the Nemesis, resting at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, Skywarp announces the return of Soundwave before teleporting the communications officer in. Soundwave lies about his whereabouts, merely reporting on the process of the Jupiter commune's construction, before Galvatron tells him that the Enigma of Combination was found, but has been stolen—stolen by Scoop, who even now speeds back to Cybertron, to deliver it to Starscream. Galvatron predicts the end of Cybertronian society...

...but that is of no concern right now to Thundercracker, who happily reunites with Buster on the beaches of Bikini Atoll.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Arcee (7)

Devastator (9)
Sky Lynx (20)
Kup (21)
Sideswipe (22)
Prowl (23)|

{{#if:* Arcee (7)

Devastator (9)
Sky Lynx (20)
Kup (21)
Sideswipe (22)
Prowl (23)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Arcee (7)
Devastator (9)
Sky Lynx (20)
Kup (21)
Sideswipe (22)
Prowl (23) }}{{#if:* Frenzy (2)
Rumble (3)
Galvatron (4)
Laserbeak (5)
Buzzsaw (6)
Blitzwing (10)
Soundwave (19)
Skywarp (29)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Frenzy (2) Rumble (3) Galvatron (4) Laserbeak (5) Buzzsaw (6) Blitzwing (10) Soundwave (19) Skywarp (29)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:* Jimmy Pink (8) Ayana Jones (11) Marissa Faireborn (12) Garrison Blackrock (13) Sanjay Bharwaney (17) Spike Witwicky (18)\|	Humans }}{{#if:* Scoop (1) Ramjet & Thrust drones (14) Thundercracker (15) Buster (16) Bonecrusher (24) Long Haul (25) Scavenger (26) Mixmaster (27) Hook (28)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Frenzy (2) Rumble (3) Galvatron (4) Laserbeak (5) Buzzsaw (6) Blitzwing (10) Soundwave (19) Skywarp (29) }}{{#if:* Jimmy Pink (8) Ayana Jones (11) Marissa Faireborn (12) Garrison Blackrock (13) Sanjay Bharwaney (17) Spike Witwicky (18)\|	Jimmy Pink (8) Ayana Jones (11) Marissa Faireborn (12) Garrison Blackrock (13) Sanjay Bharwaney (17) Spike Witwicky (18) }}{{#if:* Scoop (1) Ramjet & Thrust drones (14) Thundercracker (15) Buster (16) Bonecrusher (24) Long Haul (25) Scavenger (26) Mixmaster (27) Hook (28)\|	Scoop (1) Ramjet & Thrust drones (14) Thundercracker (15) Buster (16) Bonecrusher (24) Long Haul (25) Scavenger (26) Mixmaster (27) Hook (28) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"I'd've loved this in 1991, but living in a John Woo movie is still pretty nice..."

—Blackrock on Spike's dramatic entrance

"Move it, guys—'cause business is about ta get rumbly!"
<Rumble generates a quake, but Devastator is unaffected>
"PATHETIC!"
"Aw. An' such a cool line, too."

—Rumble goes up against Devastator

"I came to this planet for the sake of truth. The truth of the Decepticon way. If the humans' duplicity pushes us to war... well. We owe humanity nothing save retribution."
"This isn't just us and the humans! I—we have responsibilities! This world—it can be ours, too! We have to save it despite the humans, not for them!"

—Soundwave and Thundercracker

"SPIKE! STEP FORWARD AND DIE! DIE LIKE I DIED! YOU KILLED ME, SPIKE! YOU KILLED SCRAPPER! NOW YOU ALL DIE!"

—Devastator is haunted by the memories of his former self

Prowl: (to Constructicons) "We had the enigma in our hands and you threw it away!"
Arcee: "That's not even a metaphor."
Prowl: "You. You colluded with the enemy!""
Arcee: "At least I didn't become him. Now figure out how you want to explain this to Prime."
Prowl: "We got a spacebridge! That's a success however you—"
Arcee: "Wipe your nose. You're leaking all over Sky Lynx."
Hook: "OoOoOoh."

Notes

Continuity notes

Rumble and Frenzy have hologram riders while in motorcycle mode. If these are true holomatter avatars (as opposed to just "ordinary" holograms), this would be the first time a Decepticon has had one in IDW continuity.
Soundwave left the Decepticons on a "personal errand" back in issue #35, which turned out to be a meeting with Thundercracker in the following issue. It's not clear if he's doing anything in Tanzania beyond taking in the natural beauty.
Scoop was revealed to be working for Starscream in issue #33, in which it was also established that Starscream was attempting to rebuild Superion.
Prowl has been calling various Constructicons "Scrapper" since they came back to Earth. With Devastator's proclamations this issue, it's clear that Scrapper's proverbial "ghost in the machine" still haunts the combiner's mind, and that Prowl is taking a little of that away with him after each combination.

Transformers references

Rumble attempting to use his piledrivers on Devastator feels like a reference to when he did the same in The Transformers: The Movie, though he has far less success here than he did there.

Real-life references

Blackrock is a fan of [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}John Woo|{{#if:||John Woo}}]].
Like the other chapters of "Onyx Interface", this issue is named after a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Mission of Burma|{{#if:||Mission of Burma}}]] album, in this case [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Obliterati|{{#if:||The Obliterati}}]].

Errors

Up until now, this multi-part story has been called "Onyx Interface." In this issue, it's "The Onyx Interface." This is corrected in the trade paperback.

Other notes

Originally intended for release in February 2015, continuing delays to all of IDW's titles due to port closures along the west coast of the United States led to this issue being pushed to the first week of March.

Foreign Localization

Swedish

Title: "Onyx avslutning: Obliterati" ("Onyx Conclusion: Obliterati")

Covers (4)

Regular cover: Arcee, Galvatron, and Prowl grapple over the Enigma, by Andrew Griffith and Josh Perez
Subscription cover: Devastator stands over the fallen bodies of the Autobots and Decepticons, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
Retailer incentive cover: Optimus Prime in a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Coast Salish art|{{#if:||Coast Salish art}}]] style, by Jeffrey Veregge
Hasbro exclusive cover: Artwork of Sunstreaker by Ken Christiansen and Volta, based on his Generations Combiner Wars Deluxe Class toy, available with said toy in the United States, Australia, and Asia. Rebranded as Combiner Wars #14.

Mine! No, Mine! No, MINE!
"Me break toys?"
"Freedom is the right of all Salish beings."
Hasbro exclusive comic available with Sunstreaker toy.

Reprints

The Transformers Volume 7: Combiner Wars First Strike (April 8, 2015) ISBN 1631402854 / ISBN 978-1631402852
- Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #33–38.
- Bonus material includes covers from each issue.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 64: Windblade (August 9, 2017)
- Collects Windblade (2014) issues #1–4, and The Transformers (2012) issues #35–38.
- Includes a bio for Windblade, an overview of her conception, pictures of her Thrilling 30 toy, and early design sketches by Hasbro.

The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 8 (December 5, 2018) ISBN 1684053722 / ISBN 978-1684053728
- Collects More than Meets the Eye issues #35–38 & #39–40, The Transformers (2012) issues #35–38, Punishment issues #1–5, and Drift - Empire of Stone issues #1–4.

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.

Volume 7: Combiner Wars First Strike – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 64: Windblade – cover art by Guido Guidi (Starscream) and Saren Stone (retro)
The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 8 – cover art by Marcelo Matere and Tom B. Long
Tillbaka till jorden – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente

External links

Preview

The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati

Contents

Synopsis

Featured characters

Quotes