The Reign of Starscream issue 4

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Publisher	IDW}}
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First published	August 13, 2008}}
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Cover date	July 2008}}
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Written by	Chris Mowry}}
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Art by	Alex Milne}}
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Colors by	Josh Perez}}
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Edits by	Denton J. Tipton}}
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{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Starscream's horrific plan is revealed, and a ragtag band of Autobots is all that stands between him and galactic conquest!

Synopsis

The new AllSpark cube is nearly completed, as Starscream continues to make preparations to rebuild the planet of Cybertron. In the process of chiseling the hieroglyphics on the cube, Grindcore collapses from exhaustion. Warpath, concerned about the well-being of his comrade, tries to help him up, but is immediately incapacitated by two Payload Drones. Warpath begins to express his discontent when Stockade shows up and kicks him. He tells the Payload drones to get him back to work and make more room on the line because Dreadwing is gathering more help.

Elsewhere, Signal Flare flees for his life through a desolate wasteland when Dreadwing warps in front of him and knocks him out with a single punch. He then contacts Starscream via built-in communicator and informs him of the new "test subject" that he just acquired. Starscream commends Dreadwing for his excellent work and informs him that they are almost ready to begin.

Meanwhile, in the Decepticon capital city of Trypticon, Starscream, muses on his status as supreme ruler of the Decepticons. Although he's held this position for nearly a quartex, he begins to wonder if those who already oppose his rule will ever realize the good that he will bring them.

Starscream begins to imagine a world without factions or needless sacrifices. Starscream promises Cybertron a new start, a fresh beginning for a dying planet. With the new AllSpark cube, he plans to unite all of Cybertron under his rule and make Cybertronians a proud species again once the planet has been restored. Starscream then declares that Cybertron has been waiting for a leader like him to restore her power, declaring himself to be her champion, as he welcomes all who wish to serve him. As for those who wish to oppose him, Starscream simply states, "Let them try." As Starscream ends his narrative, a Decepticon cruiser makes port at the docking station on the outskirts of Trypticon.

Two drones disembark the space cruiser at Trypticon; the Dreadwing drone initiates an inquiry of an audio anomaly, while the Payload drone maintains security protocol. The Dreadwing drone, having turned up nothing on the audio anomaly, begins an analysis of the ship surface. He detects an intruder and attempts to notify Master Dreadwing. The Payload drone is not so lucky; as he asks the Dreadwing drone to repeat the last transmission, he is eviscerated by Arcee. The Dreadwing drone also meets a similar end. Arcee muses on being back home but doesn't like the feeling, and begins to think that it may have been best for her to have remained on Mars.

Arcee flashes back to the moment when Starscream suckerpunched her. She thought that her life functions were going to stop, but instead she just went blank. When she came to, Arcee saw that Thundercracker and Starscream were preparing to leave. Going against common sense, she grabbed onto a piece of the landing gear as it was taking off. Arcee had hoped to break into the ship before the beam from the space bridge connected with the ship, because she thought anything not fused to the ship would not teleport. She turned out to be wrong and managed to hitch a ride back to Cybertron.

In the midst of her self-loathing due to her recent failure to prevent the destruction of four of her Autobot comrades, Arcee goes off in search of a safe zone, or a place where she would be able to regroup with an Autobot. She states that most of the Autobots had left with Optimus Prime, but some Autobots had chosen to stay behind, and that she hopes that she can find them.

Back at Lord Starscream's palace, Starscream is condemning Wreckage (who had been rebuilt by Sector Seven for their own purposes) for telling Sector Seven everything about Cybertronians. Starscream begins to wonder just how many more have betrayed the Decepticon cause. Dreadwing walks in and informs Starscream that he has returned and that the cube is finally ready. Dreadwing tells him that it is and the only ones who know are himself, Starscream, Stockade, and the unlucky workers who were forced to build it. Starscream commends Dreadwing, and decides that the time to activate it has come.

Meanwhile at the cube construction site the enslaved Autobots try to negotiate their release with their Decepticon captors. Ramjet bluntly states that if any of them try to run, they will be liquefied. Signal Flare and Warpath are having trouble trying to get a distress signal out; something might be blocking their transmitters. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Dreadwing arrive at the construction site. Starscream impatiently asks where Payload is and that he should have the generator by now. Elita-One attempts to beg Lord Starscream for mercy, only to find that Starscream has none to dispense.

Payload finally arrives with the generator, apologizing for the delay, stating that Dreadwing's drones weren't much help, and some of his comrades weren't cut out for hard work. Crankcase doesn't respond well to that remark. Having grown tired of Crankcase's incessant nagging, Starscream promptly puts an end to it by destroying his vocal processor. Ramjet places Crankcase with the other test subjects.

Arcee comes upon the ruins of an old training facility to look for a weapon, but instead chances upon Clocker. Arcee briefs him on the dismal events that led up to her return, including the death of Megatron and Starscream declaring himself the new leader of the Decepticons. They are joined by Crosshairs. Surprised to see that he is still alive, she asks of the whereabouts of Elita-One and the others. Crosshairs tells her that they were lost in a raid not too long ago, and that he, Clocker, and the others who stayed behind are planning a rescue.

Meanwhile, back at the cube construction site at Simfur, Starscream prepares to greet the masses of Cybertron with the newly constructed AllSpark cube. As the Autobots reach Simfur, Arcee can't believe what her optical receptors are seeing, Starscream has the new AllSpark cube and the captured Autobots, including Crankcase, are strapped to it.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Grindcore (1)

Warpath (2)
Signal Flare (5)
Arcee (8)
Elita-One (12)
Clocker (15)
Crosshairs (16)
Armorhide (17)
Breakaway (18)
Wingblade (19)
Strongarm (20)
Skyblast (21)|

{{#if:* Grindcore (1)

Warpath (2)
Signal Flare (5)
Arcee (8)
Elita-One (12)
Clocker (15)
Crosshairs (16)
Armorhide (17)
Breakaway (18)
Wingblade (19)
Strongarm (20)
Skyblast (21)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Grindcore (1)
Warpath (2)
Signal Flare (5)
Arcee (8)
Elita-One (12)
Clocker (15)
Crosshairs (16)
Armorhide (17)
Breakaway (18)
Wingblade (19)
Strongarm (20)
Skyblast (21) }}{{#if:* Stockade (3)
Payload (4)
Dreadwing (6)
Starscream (7)
Wreckage (9)
Ramjet (10)
Thundercracker (11)
Swindle (13)
Crankcase (14)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Stockade (3) Payload (4) Dreadwing (6) Starscream (7) Wreckage (9) Ramjet (10) Thundercracker (11) Swindle (13) Crankcase (14)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:\|	Humans }}{{#if:\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Stockade (3) Payload (4) Dreadwing (6) Starscream (7) Wreckage (9) Ramjet (10) Thundercracker (11) Swindle (13) Crankcase (14) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"This planet has waited for a leader like me to restore her power, her glory, and her strength. I shall soon be her champion. Let all who wish to serve me do so without hesitation. And let those who wish to oppose me, well... Let them try."

—Lord Starscream has some really big plans... or a really big ego.

"There's no place like home, but this is not good at all. Maybe I should have stayed on the red planet."

—Arcee wonders if staying on Mars would have been the better decision.

"I reached for the stars, but settled for a piece of landing gear."

—Arcee musing on how she made her way back to Cybertron.

"Wreckage, you traitorous worm! No wonder they knew so much about us... You've told them everything!"

—Lord Starscream does not take kindly to treacherous scrapheaps.

"You will address me as Lord Starscream, OR YOU WILL NEVER SPEAK AGAIN!"

—Lord Starscream appropriately responds to Signal Flare's plea for mercy.

"Hey, I'm not cut out for that kind of work. If it's heavy lifting that you want me to do, then I need an upgrade or a thank you... or more——"

—Crankcase doing what he does best, complaining about everything.

Notes

Ramjet makes his first appearance on page 12, and he even has a distinct cone-shaped head.
Dropkick appears on one of the alternate covers, but has no appearance in the series at all. His Autobot counterpart Salvage is shown being kept in a secret military base in Issue 3.
Starscream holds a can of Kremzeek-branded drink after Dreadwing captures Signal Flare. It gives you wings!

Errors

On page 12, the word "liquefied" is misspelled "liquified."

Covers (3)

Cover A: Starscream triumphant; art by Alex Milne & colors by Josh Perez
Cover B: Starscream, Dreadwing, Payload, and Dropkick; art by James Raiz & colors by Kieran Oats
Incentive Cover RI: Starscream photo cover

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