Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur

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	Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; (')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
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First published	March 18, 2014–; January 7, 2015}}
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ist}}{{#if: \| by}}	}}
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{{#if: TornadoProfilePicture.jpg | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: March 18, 2014–
January 7, 2015 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: |

{{#switch:{{#sub:wings universe|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Tornado passes the time aboard the Tidal Wave by recording his thoughts and arguing with you.

Synopsis

Squadron X mounts an attack on Torax Prime in an attempt to draw out the Wreckers, but quickly realize that their Autobot foes aren't coming—the Great War has ended. Fang, Triton, and Crosscut all attempt to disobey Macabre's orders to stay put, and are summarily executed by the Squadron's leader. When Earthquake subsequently goes mad, blowing up himself and Macabre, Tornado and Ferak are left as the group's last surviving members.

The duo flee Torax Prime in a cobbled-together ship, but find themselves pursued in deep space by an Autobot fighter craft. The Decepticons are saved, however, by the timely intervention of the Tidal Wave and her crew of Star Seeker pirates. The ship's captain, Cannonball, agrees to take the pair aboard on the condition that they assist with an enigmatic heist he is planning.

Tornado and Ferak fall in with the crew's everyday pillaging and plundering, including one raid that leads them to a vault containing a parchment map that relates to Cannonball's grand plan. Ferak and existing crew-member Axor bond over their shared love of weaponry, whilst Tornado develops a distaste for Olin Zarak, a young Nebulan who inherited the Scorponok body from his father and acts as muscle for the ship.

The Tidal Wave passes into the Demon's Maw, a region of space rendered devoid of light by gas clouds. The crew pass the time in various ways, with Stormcharge and Turbolift hunting vapor-rats, whilst others listen to tales of the Star Seekers' history from the ship's ancient bartender, Thunderlane. Eventually, however, the monotony is broken by an attack by a vast space monster. Thanks to forewarning from the bartender's pet sonicondor, Ferrocious, the pirates are able to react quickly, but not before the creature swallows part of the Tidal Wave and several of her crew-members, including Thunderlane. The ship is nearly lost, but a cunning Cannonball has Master Gunner Brimstone hold fire until they are nearly inside the creature's mouth, allowing them to fire down its throat and send it running.

Leaving the Maw, the Star Seekers restock supplies on the planet Greengard, picking up Rockhopper, a near-Cybertronian who never leaves his penguin-like alternate mode, as a new maintenance technician at the same time. Not long afterwards, Cannonball makes a grand motivational speech for the crew, aided by the Chairman, a robot who acts as speech writer, teleprompter and—in alternate mode—the captain's chair.

Tornado settles back into everyday life on the Tidal Wave, bemoaning the noise as Eclipse, Cannonball's bestial tracker, Rolling Thunder, and Thunderclap tear through the corridors. Ferak continues to work on outlandish weaponry, whilst Tornado decides to dabble in the ship's black market, run by two of Brimstone's gunners, Cutback and Lockpick, the latter of whom contains a miniature transwarp device thanks to chief mechanic Drydock. After dealing with a Trepdillian Lava Flea infestation courtesy of organic pirate Squirm, Tornado has the black marketeers procure an alien Sky Seer bird as a test of their abilities.

Before Tornado can make his next 'order' with Cutback and Lockpick, the Tidal Wave arrives at Ventax II, where Cannonball aims to loot more supplies for the upcoming heist. The diminutive Decepticon is smuggled into the planet's capital by ace pilot Skyduster, and proceeds to sabotage their defense grid and orbital scanners, allowing the Tidal Wave to move in for a full-scale assault. Tornado is given a ride to the battlefield by one of Ferak's new transforming "Arms Minicon" weapons, where Scorponok steals a Ventaxan energy generator before the crew withdraws.

Back on the ship, Tornado makes his new request of the black marketeers: a Lukythian Warp Star, a self-firing bullet that would negate the perpetually jammed nature of the small Decepticon's weapon mode. Although Ferak unwittingly finds the device before Tornado can retrieve it, he lets his larger partner hold on to it on the basis that he'd likely be the one firing him anyway.

In preparation for the heist, Ferak and Scorponok carry out upgrades to the ship's transwarp engines, whilst Arms Minicons are distributed to the crew. Cannonball locks himself away with the reptilian Navigator, and Tornado takes an opportunity to exact revenge on Squirm by coating his bedding in an attractant for Cannonball's tracker beast. Eventually, the captain reveals that the Tidal Wave will be spending a marathon six solar cycles in transwarp, but their destination remains secret. Brimstone insists that the crew carry on as normal, and whilst boatswain Neurotoxin and Axor prepare their weapons, Tornado visits Ferak, who claims that his work on the Arms Minicons has given him ideas as to fixing the small Decepticon's alternate mode.

Sometime later, once the Tidal Wave has entered transwarp, Tornado begins noticing strange goings-on, such as Boltcaster repeating a sentence twice, and inexplicable voices and log entries in the communications system. Several of these mysterious log entries are written by somebody called "Apelinq"... To pass the time in transwarp, Tornado has a nose around the ship's computer system, uncovering a secret surveillance system manned by Brimstone and Cannonball's log from the day he recruited the Hunter.

The following events occur after the events of the BotCon 2014 comic "Hoist the Flag".

Having been taken prisoner by the Cybertronian Knights, Tornado bemoans the crew's situation after their failed heist. He and recent recruit, Flamewar, discuss the fates of Squadron X and the great Decepticon leader Megatron, and the mercenary reveals a secret compartment within her calf containing a possible ticket to their escape: the Lukythian Warp Star. With Scorponok and Brimstone having absconded by Space Bridge to the Tidal Wave, and the Hunter seemingly vanished, Tornado resolves that they will have to free the captain and the rest of the crew themselves.

Eventually, the Star Seekers are able to make their escape, and Tornado downloads a chunk of the prison's database on the way out. Whilst mostly unremarkable, there is one hidden gem amongst the files: surveillance footage of Waspinator's cell. Cannonball recognizes that the star charts the Predacon has scrawled across his walls are in fact a map to the undying spark of the notorious Decepticon Starscream, and the crew quickly sets out to find it, believing it to be the key to untold wealth.

The journey takes them through the Unknown Sector, uncomfortably close to Old Quintesson space now controlled by the territorial Mutants, and where all normal navigation instruments are rendered useless by the great number of black holes in the region. Despite the Navigator's unease with travelling through the Unknown Sector blind, they eventually reach a planetoid. To endure the gravitational forces on the last lap to the planetoid, Ferak concocts "Electro-Magnetic Refracture", which creates a magnetic field allowing for safe transport. The ride is nevertheless bumpy, but they manage to arrive at the planetoid in the middle of seeming nothingness and the captain takes a small party to the body.

The landing party locates an empty stronghold, but Cannonball takes his dagger and chips away a wall, revealing a message in Ancient Cybertronian: "Beyond this wall is to know treachery. Beyond this wall is to know betrayal. Beyond this wall is to know immortality." Tornado blasts a wall, revealing a decayed Quintesson, who claims to have partnered with Starscream to plunder the planetoid for riches and power, but ended up being betrayed and left for dead. He promises to reveal where Starscream went if Cannonball takes him back to the ship. Once there, the Quintesson is ceremoniously left in the brig, where he lies motionless after entering.

The Tidal Wave is essentially stuck where it is and odd things begin happening on board, such as crewmembers acting strangely and trashing rooms. Tornado decides to investigate for himself and spies, via hidden camera, on Flamewar speaking with Lockpick, who is holding a Spark Containment Chamber that Ferak was working on. Ferak comes up with using forestonite to supercharge the engines and escape the black holes, but as the plan is about to commence, Flamewar shows up on the bridge with Starscream's spark! The spark is quick in its work and knocks out all of the crew on the bridge, other than Cannonball and Tornado. Flamewar reveals that she plans to use the Tidal Wave and its crew in her ambitions to resurrect the Decepticon Empire. Just as Tornado realizes that Starscream had used the Quuintesson as a Trojan Horse to escape the planetoid, Flamewar throws a container at Cannonball, allowing Starscream to enter his body and take over. The process mutates Cannonball's body into a form similar to Starscream's and expels Cannonball's spark, which is then trapped in the Spark Containment Container. Tornado is hit with the realization that the Lockpick talking to Flamewar wasn't Lockpick, but Starscream making a deal with Flamewar to take out Cannonball in exchange for freedom from his prison.

With Cannonball out of the equation, Flamewar and Starscream gather the Star Seekers and give them three choices: Stay with Cannonball's spark on the planetoid, die, or join Flamewar in her mission to bring the Decepticons back to their former glory. A third of the crew decide to remain with their captain, loyal to the end. Ferak and Tornado are much more pragmatic and elect to go with Flamewar. The Tidal Wave leaves the prison thanks to the remaining forestonite and Starscream flies off to parts unknown. Flamewar becomes the next Cannonball and asks Tornado if he brought any useful files from their escape from prison, to which he responds affirmatively.

The first file Tornado pulls up is Apelinq's journal entry for the first time he met Flareup. At the New Polyhex Training Academy, Apelinq has come to bring Flareup, a promising new cadet to the Cybertronian Knights. Primal Prime is also there, ignorant that Ginrai has already asked Flareup. Primal Prime asks the cadet to join the Wreckers, but Flareup informs the commander that she has already accepted Ginrai's invitation to join the Knights. Another journal entry bemoans the Knights being forced into a meditation session with Alpha Trizer, the ancient sage who founded the Knights. Tornado finally finds some interesting facts in a journal entry that contains logs from the Rodimus Major. It starts with Buzzsaw's pranks on the crew, but it is eventually revealed that the Wreckers fell into a spatial anomaly at the Dark Nebula while trying to investigate a Predacon colony. Tornado thinks the colony would be of interest to Flamewar...

Journal entries

Mentioned characters

{{#if:Present crew

Tornado (1)
Cannonball the 5th (2)
Ferak (5)
Squirm (6)
Navigator (8)
Neurotoxin (10)
Wheellock (11)
Axor (12)
Chairman (17)
Brimstone (19)
Ratzo (21)
Olin Zarak (24)
Scorponok (27)
Stormcharge (43)
Turbolift (44)
Thunderlane (46)
Ferrocious (47)
Eclipse (53)
Rockhopper (57)
Hunter (60)
Rolling Thunder (62)
Thunderclap (63)
Cutback (68)
Lockpick (69)
Drydock (70)
Izzerkilod (71)
Skyduster (74)
Vez (75)
Pillage (77)
Plunder (78)
Boltcaster (79)

Former crew

{{#if:Present crew

Tornado (1)
Cannonball the 5th (2)
Ferak (5)
Squirm (6)
Navigator (8)
Neurotoxin (10)
Wheellock (11)
Axor (12)
Chairman (17)
Brimstone (19)
Ratzo (21)
Olin Zarak (24)
Scorponok (27)
Stormcharge (43)
Turbolift (44)
Thunderlane (46)
Ferrocious (47)
Eclipse (53)
Rockhopper (57)
Hunter (60)
Rolling Thunder (62)
Thunderclap (63)
Cutback (68)
Lockpick (69)
Drydock (70)
Izzerkilod (71)
Skyduster (74)
Vez (75)
Pillage (77)
Plunder (78)
Boltcaster (79)

Former crew

Cannonball the 4th (48)
Guillotine (50)
Gallows (51)
Prism Glider (52)
Star Dasher (54)
Cannonball the 3rd (55)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |

Present crew

Tornado (1)
Cannonball the 5th (2)
Ferak (5)
Squirm (6)
Navigator (8)
Neurotoxin (10)
Wheellock (11)
Axor (12)
Chairman (17)
Brimstone (19)
Ratzo (21)
Olin Zarak (24)
Scorponok (27)
Stormcharge (43)
Turbolift (44)
Thunderlane (46)
Ferrocious (47)
Eclipse (53)
Rockhopper (57)
Hunter (60)
Rolling Thunder (62)
Thunderclap (63)
Cutback (68)
Lockpick (69)
Drydock (70)
Izzerkilod (71)
Skyduster (74)
Vez (75)
Pillage (77)
Plunder (78)
Boltcaster (79)

Former crew

Cannonball the 4th (48)
Guillotine (50)
Gallows (51)
Prism Glider (52)
Star Dasher (54)
Cannonball the 3rd (55) }}{{#if:Squadron X
Macabre (16)
Horror Show (31)
Warwolf (32)
Gristle (33)
Munitia (34)
Fang (39)
Triton (40)
Crosscut (41)
Earthquake (42)
Sky Creeper (64)
Red Star (66)
Nullifier (67)

Other

Swindle (3)
Starscream (4)
Nightstick (9)
Mo Zarak (25)
Megatron (28)
Shockwave (29)
Galvatron (30)
Mindwipe (45)
Cannonball the 1st (49)
Trannis (61)
Flamewar (98)
Wingspan (105)
The Terrorcons (107)
Buzzsaw (108)
Laserbeak (109)
Soundwave (110)|

Star Seekers }}{{#if:Squadron X

Macabre (16)
Horror Show (31)
Warwolf (32)
Gristle (33)
Munitia (34)
Fang (39)
Triton (40)
Crosscut (41)
Earthquake (42)
Sky Creeper (64)
Red Star (66)
Nullifier (67)

Other

Swindle (3)
Starscream (4)
Nightstick (9)
Mo Zarak (25)
Megatron (28)
Shockwave (29)
Galvatron (30)
Mindwipe (45)
Cannonball the 1st (49)
Trannis (61)
Flamewar (98)
Wingspan (105)
The Terrorcons (107)
Buzzsaw (108)
Laserbeak (109)
Soundwave (110)|

Decepticons }}{{#if:Wreckers (present)

Tripwire (35)
Drop Zone (36)
Backstop (37)
Wide Scope (38)
Impactor (65)

Wreckers (future)

Tap-Out (85)
Stockade (86)
Fireflight (91)
Rodimus Major (92)

Cybertronian Knights

Devcon (20)
Ginrai (81)
Flareup (106)

Other

Huffer (58)
Vector Oracle (72)
Rook (84)
Magna Stampede (87)
Optimus Prime (95)|

Autobots }}{{#if:Cybertronian Knights

Apelinq (80)
Alpha Trizer (83)

Wreckers (future)

Other

Maximals }}{{#if:*Zarratron (7)

Sharkticons (13)
Rajalpearl (14)
Grand Victorist (15)
The One (18)
"Mr. Cook" (22)
Rom (23)
Llyra (26)
Demon Maw's monster (56)
A Sky Seer (73)
The Doctor (76)
An evil, godlike being (96)
Primus (97)
The Swarm (99)
Megatron (100)
Unicron (101)
Waspinator (102)
Thrustinator (103)
The Mutants (104)|

Others }}{{#if:|

Misc }}

Squadron X

Macabre (16)
Horror Show (31)
Warwolf (32)
Gristle (33)
Munitia (34)
Fang (39)
Triton (40)
Crosscut (41)
Earthquake (42)
Sky Creeper (64)
Red Star (66)
Nullifier (67)

Other

Swindle (3)
Starscream (4)
Nightstick (9)
Mo Zarak (25)
Megatron (28)
Shockwave (29)
Galvatron (30)
Mindwipe (45)
Cannonball the 1st (49)
Trannis (61)
Flamewar (98)
Wingspan (105)
The Terrorcons (107)
Buzzsaw (108)
Laserbeak (109)
Soundwave (110) }}{{#if:Wreckers (present)
Tripwire (35)
Drop Zone (36)
Backstop (37)
Wide Scope (38)
Impactor (65)

Wreckers (future)

Tap-Out (85)
Stockade (86)
Fireflight (91)
Rodimus Major (92)

Cybertronian Knights

Devcon (20)
Ginrai (81)
Flareup (106)

Other

Huffer (58)
Vector Oracle (72)
Rook (84)
Magna Stampede (87)
Optimus Prime (95)|

Wreckers (present)

Tripwire (35)
Drop Zone (36)
Backstop (37)
Wide Scope (38)
Impactor (65)

Wreckers (future)

Tap-Out (85)
Stockade (86)
Fireflight (91)
Rodimus Major (92)

Cybertronian Knights

Devcon (20)
Ginrai (81)
Flareup (106)

Other

Huffer (58)
Vector Oracle (72)
Rook (84)
Magna Stampede (87)
Optimus Prime (95) }}{{#if:Cybertronian Knights
Apelinq (80)
Alpha Trizer (83)

Wreckers (future)

Other

Cybertronian Knights

Apelinq (80)
Alpha Trizer (83)

Wreckers (future)

Other

Break (59)
A different Apelinq (93)
Optimus Primal (94) }}{{#if:*Zarratron (7)
Sharkticons (13)
Rajalpearl (14)
Grand Victorist (15)
The One (18)
"Mr. Cook" (22)
Rom (23)
Llyra (26)
Demon Maw's monster (56)
A Sky Seer (73)
The Doctor (76)
An evil, godlike being (96)
Primus (97)
The Swarm (99)
Megatron (100)
Unicron (101)
Waspinator (102)
Thrustinator (103)
The Mutants (104)|

Zarratron (7)
Sharkticons (13)
Rajalpearl (14)
Grand Victorist (15)
The One (18)
"Mr. Cook" (22)
Rom (23)
Llyra (26)
Demon Maw's monster (56)
A Sky Seer (73)
The Doctor (76)
An evil, godlike being (96)
Primus (97)
The Swarm (99)
Megatron (100)
Unicron (101)
Waspinator (102)
Thrustinator (103)
The Mutants (104) }}{{#if:|

}}

Notes

Continuity notes

As part of the Wings Universe, the Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur Facebook story blog takes place in a continuity nearly identical to the North American Generation 1 cartoon. The Wings Universe also contains the "Dawn of Future's Past" comic, nearly identical versions of the Beast Wars and Beast Machines cartoon, and similar events to the 3H The Wreckers comic. Tornado's Facebook also acts as a companion story to the BotCon 2014 comic "Hoist the Flag". Interestingly, Tornado's Facebook also integrates several elements of the Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity into the Wings Universe.
Cannonball has raided Regulon IV's espirion fields; Regulon IV was originally mentioned by Kup in The Transformers episode "The Rebirth, Part 2".
Axer (or Axor, as it's spelt consistently here) last appeared in "A Team Effort" as a supplier of illegal goods.
Devcon last appeared in The Transformers episode "The Gambler".
Ferak has created Cosmic Rust Nanites, introduced in The Transformers episode "Cosmic Rust".
Tornado claims Macabre didn't trust Ferak anymore than "a spotty solder job on a Tlalakan-built circuit board;" the Tlalakans were seen in The Transformers episode "Sea Change".
Tornado uses mechanometers, a unit of measurement introduced in The Transformers episode "City of Steel".
Cannonball the 1st and his Maraudicons were seen in "A Team Effort", where he and most of the other Decepticon Warlords were assassinated by Deathsaurus.
Tornado mentions Trannis as residing in the Pit (the Transformers analogue to Hell, from Beast Wars); Trannis was another of the Decepticon Warlords assassinated in "A Team Effort", and was originally mentioned in Marvel UK story "Cybertron: The Middle Years!"
The Decepticons came to Nebulos in The Transformers episode "The Rebirth, Part 1". Mo Zarak died at some point after "The Rebirth, Part 3".
Squadron X has dealt with various alien races, including the Skuxxoids (one of whom was a recurring character in season 3 of The Transformers), Monacustors (from Monacus, an asteroid and haven for gamblers, seen in "The Gambler"), and Pavonisians (from Delta Pavonis IV, a planet inhabited by humanoid cats and dogs, from "The Big Broadcast of 2006").
Rook is still alive in the post-Beast Machines era, after having last appeared around 9 million years ago in the 18th installment of Around Cybertron.
Tap-Out was killed by Bruticus in "The Coming Storm: Part 6"; he notes that he's been dead before, and that death isn't the worst thing that can happen, presumably due to vague memories of his time in the Allspark.
Fireflight last appeared in a flashback sequence in "Revelations Part 2", escaping from a collapsing Unicron; several others fleeing through the portal also ended up in other universes, including Omega Prime and Repugnus.
Apelinq receives visions of his 3H Productions counterpart, and his fight against Shokaract in "Terminus". Among the things he sees are Optimus Primal in his Optimal Optimus form (who he mistakes for Optimus Prime), and an obscured vision of Shokaract, with his old name of "the Hunter" whispered in Apelinq's ears.
Tornado notes that Cybertron has precautions in place for time-travelers, put in place after Megatron and his Vehicon invasion in Beast Machines.
After the events of "Hoist the Flag", Tornado notes that the Hunter, Scorponok, and Brimstone have all gone missing; the Hunter was transformed into Shokaract at the end of "Hoist the Flag", while Scorponok and Brimstone seem to have gone rogue.
Starscream's ghost was seen in The Transformers season 3 episodes "Starscream's Ghost" and "Ghost in the Machine", and Beast Wars episode "Possession". It's not clear when in Starscream's personal chronology "Possession" took place; it could have taken place in-between the two episodes, or take place after "Ghost in the Machine" presuming Starscream's physical body was killed again. Whatever the case, Starscream is once more lacking a body in the post-Beast Machines era.
Waspinator has apparently gotten back his old name and body, following his transformation into a tiny techorganic wasp at the end of Beast Machines. His possession by Starscream in "Possession" appears to have given him some sort of link to the Decepticon, allowing him to draw maps to his current location.
Starscream's cell is labelled with writing in Ancient Cybertronian, a language seen in The Transformers episode "The Rebirth, Part 1".
The Star Seekers use forestonite to escape from the Unknown Sector; originally introduced in Japanese Generation 2 manga "The New Battle!!", forestonite has been seen a fair few times in the Wings Universe, particularly in BotCon 2010's "Generation 2: Redux", where it powered up many Second Generation Transformers.
Starscream's spark energies, combined with the forestonite, reformat Cannonball's body into Starscream's Timelines Generation 2 toy body.
The New Polyhex Training Academy and the Darkmount Stratagem were mentioned in Flareup's BotCon 2014 toy's tech specs.
Primal Prime fought in the Dromedon Infestation; Dromedon was a planet mentioned by Kup in The Transformers: The Movie.
When he was young, Apelinq was told legends about how Alpha Trizer's former team fought battles across time and space, obviously referring to Cheetor's adventures in the Beast Wars and Beast Machines cartoon.
In Beast Wars, information on Earth was classified by the Maximal government; in this post-Beast Machines era, Earth is considered a myth and a legend.
Primal Prime was told by the Rodimus Major's engineers that it was built with the rediscovered art of die-cast construction; Optimus Primal claimed that die-cast construction was a lost art in Beast Wars episode "The Agenda (Part III)".

Transformers references

Tornado and his partner, Ferak, are two Marvel original characters; Tornado deputed in Marvel UK's The Transformers issue #15, also making an appearance in the prose story "State Games" the following year. Ferak debuted in the Marvel US series in issue #17. Both of them were made part of Squadron X, the Decepticon counterparts to the Wreckers, in IDW Publishing's Last Stand of the Wreckers, and that's followed in suit here, with them being former members of the now disbanded Squadron X. The other members of Squadron X are mentioned or appear in flashbacks, including: Macabre, leader of the group, who was original introduced in Marvel UK issue #88; Fang, from issue #82 of the Marvel UK comic; Triton, from Marvel UK Transformers Annual 1989 comic "Peace"; Crosscut, from Marvel US issue #18; and Earthquake, who was also introduced in Marvel UK issue #15.
The Star Seekers were originally introduced in the "Aligned" continuity, in the Exiles novel. They also had a ship named Tidal Wave, itself named for the Armada Decepticon.
Cannonball is based on the Decepticon pirate from Cybertron; an "Aligned" version of him also showed up in the Exiles novel, as a Star Seeker.
Cannonball prefers to use a dagger in place of one of his hands; the original Cybertron Cannonball had a gun in-place of his left hand.
Tornado and Ferak are pursued by a Vanguard-class spaceship, the name given to the type of ship the Ark belongs to by Transformers: The Ultimate Guide.
Wheellock lost his right hand to a klud, a whale-like creature from Marvel's The Transformers issue #64.
Tornado swears by the One, the name given to the entity that created Primus and Unicron in Transformers: The Ultimate Guide, and by whom several characters have sworn by in previous installments of Wings Universe fiction.
Axor has been upgraded to the body of his Hunt for the Decepticons counterpart; his inclusion among the Star Seekers stems from his "Aligned" counterpart joining them in Exiles.
Ferak's old log file mentions him having created Nightmare Engines; the Nightmare Engine was originally mentioned in Last Stand of the Wreckers, and Ferak's bio in the hardcover release of the series indicated he had built it.
After initially meeting him, Tornado thought that Olin Zarak was an inhabitant of the planet Master, a robot with the ability to turn into a head for a larger robot body. This is the Japanese origins for the Headmasters, as seen, appropriately enough, in the Headmasters anime.
Olin Zarak's half-sister, Llyra, originates from the Marvel The Transformers: Headmasters comic mini-series, where she was the daughter of Zarak, and the lover of his rival, Galen. Olin indicates that her being allowed free will ended up making Zarak remove that for his second child.
Cannonball's alarm clock on the graffiti is the beast mode of Beast Wars Neo Maximal tanuki Heinrad, whose toy was a working alarm clock.
The Wreckers were originally introduced in the Marvel UK The Transformers comic, an elite unit of Autobots who took on the more dangerous, and as later fiction (such as the IDW Publishing comics that set up Squadron X as their enemies) would show, more shady jobs. Impactor, their leader, was introduced in issue #78 of the comic.
While traveling through the Demon's Maw, Stormlift and Thunderlane have taken to using vapor-rats for target practice; vapor-rats come from an unused Shattered Glass story writer Jesse Wittenrich had been working on.
Thunderlane is repurposed from Go! Predacon Budora; Ferrocious, his pet sonicondor, is repurposed from Budora's bird-shaped grapple launcher.
Eclipse, as would later be confirmed by "Hoist the Flag", is a virtual redeco of Beast Wars II Moon.
Brimstone's Aligned counterpart was also a Star Seeker, although his main inspiration is his Cybertron counterpart.
Cannonball the 3rd voyaged to the inhospitable Toruin, only for his crew to attempt to mutiny and flee to the attached paradise planet Sperity; Toruin and Sperity are the component planets of Twin Star, seen in Headmasters episode "Battle for Defense of the False Planet". In the post-Beast Machines era, a delegation from the planet are massacred by Flamewar at a Maximal safehouse.
Rockhopper is repurposed from Beast Wars Neo Break. He was living on the planet Greengard before joining the Star Seekers; originally seen in the fourth installment of the Beast Wars Neo comic, Greengard is an icy planet, contrary to legends of it being a lush, plant covered paradise.
Chairman is a virtual redeco of the original The Transformers Perceptor toy. His microscope mode is repurposed as a chair, while his scope and his chest slide are repurposed as a projector and a teleprompter.
Squadron X's second ship, the Pale Fire, was originally mentioned in Last Stand of the Wreckers prose story "Bullets".
Tornado claims that the green salve given to him by Izzerkilod makes him look like the Vector Oracle, a Targetmaster Mini-Con from the Japanese Prime "Arms Micron" toyline who, like Tornado, is a redeco of Universe Nightstick.
The "Arms Minicon" is based on Prime Arms Micron Igu, who was redecoed into two Arms Minicons for the BotCon 2014 Dread Pirate Crew set; theoretically, these two can be used to represent Pillage and Plunder.
Zarak is given the first name "Mo" here, originally given to him in IDW's Spotlight: Ultra Magnus.
Tornado thinks Squirm is only a few steps up Scraplets on the evolutionary ladder; Scraplets are metal-eating parasites introduced in the Marvel The Transformers comic.
Tornado compares the Lukythian's specialty in micro-technology to both the inhabitants of Master, and to the Mebians; Mebion is a location on Cybertron, home to former Decepticon military consul Magnificus, who specializes in size-altering technology.
Some of the Star Seekers believe that Cannonball's plan is for an attack on New Quintessa; New Quintessa was the second homeworld for the Quintessons, introduced in the 3H The Wreckers comic.
The Knights of Cybertron take their name from a legendary group of Cybertronians, and were a major plot point in IDW Publishing's More than Meets the Eye.
Tornado receives several logs from Apelinq while in transwarp, and later hacks some more; these logs are in the style of the old Apelinq's War Journals, released online to tie into the 3H Productions Wreckers series.
Devcon was previously a member of the Wreckers before being expelled; his counterpart in 3H Productions' Wreckers comic was also a member of the team.
Among the post-Beast Machines era Wreckers are:
- Stockade and Fireflight, from the 2003 Universe toyline. Stockade is specifically noted to have had falling out with his partner, Magna Stampede, who he was released with.
- The Beast Machines Maximals Buzz Saw, Night Viper, and Quickstrike.
The Wrecker's new ship, the Rodimus Major, is named for their fellow fallen Wrecker; Rodimus' 3H counterpart died giving his life in "Wreckers: Finale Part II". The name Rodimus Major was given to Hot Rod for his Commemorative Series reissue.
Apelinq records one of his journals near the former Rust Sea (originally mentioned in the letters page of the Marvel UK The Transformers comic) in the Sulfur Bogs (the home of Gatoraider, as indicated in Krok's profile in "A Common Foe").
One of the texts Apelinq's mentions, the Land Powered's King Atlas for Protoforms, takes its name from Land Powered (the combined form of Dai Atlas and Roadfire from Zone) and King Atlas (an Autobot from the 2003 Universe toyline, based on Dai Atlas).
The Maximal Command Security Force was originally introduced in BotCon 2006's "Dawn of Future's Past".
Devcon uses the nickname "Fire Guts" for Ginrai, referring to his special attack in the Masterforce cartoon, and the name of the color scheme of the e-HOBBY toy his BotCon figure takes its colors from.
Nebulos is revealed to be in the G Nebula; G Nebula 89 was introduced in the Super-God Masterforce anime series.
Among Ginrai's feats include:
- Being involved in the "Transtector Incident"; transtectors are the robot bodies that, in Japanese fiction, both Headmasters and Godmasters use to function as normal-sized Transformers.
- Saving the Bomber Project from the Swarm. The Bomber Project is from Super-God Masterforce, an initiative that resulted in the creation of Godbomber, a semi-sentient drone who can combine with Ginrai to form God Ginrai. The Swarm, meanwhile, is an entity from the Marvel Generation 2 comic, created from an overuse of the "budding" method of reproduction.
- Facing down a Decepticon super-weapon on Earth's moon; referring to events (or rather, similar ones in this timeline) from Masterforce episode "Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction", where God Ginrai fought against the Decepticon's Death Para-Machine.
Ginrai's ship, the Apex, is presumably named for Apex Bomber, the names given to the Commemorative Series reissue of Godbomber as part of the Powermaster Optimus Prime toy.
An audience member asks if the Wings Universe version of Waspinator is separate from Thrustinator, a fused Waspinator and Thrust sold as part of the Transformers Figure Subscription Service and seen in the "Timeless" comic. Tornado naturally has no idea what they hell they're talking about.
The Mutants-former Fuzors with two beast modes but no robot modes, sold at the end of the Beast Wars toyline-now control the sector of space previously ruled by the Quintessons. Icebird and Poison Bite, the two surviving Mutants, took over New Quintessa in "Wreckers: Finale Part II".
Cannonball calls Waspinator "Buzzerbot", after the Playskool Go-Bots character Buzzer-Bot, who is a slight homage to Waspinator.
Cannonball used to be white and blue before he took on the name and visage of "Cannonball", like the toy Cybertron Cannonball was redecoed from, Cybertron Red Alert.
Tornado saracastically brings up the Dead Universe when decrying Cannnonball's plan to go after Starscream; the Dead Universe was seen in IDW Publishing's 2005 continuity, an evil parallel world, controlled by a malevolent entity that wished to expand into the living universe.
Apelinq mentions the loss of the Cybernet Space Cube archival unit; the Cybernet Space Cube was a CGI metal cube added to the Generation 2 rebroadcast of the original The Transformers cartoon, serving as a screen transition.
Apelinq refers to the Terrorcons; the way he describes them is less like that of the original combiner team, and more like the endless hordes of animal-mode Transformers from Energon, or the Dark Energon zombies from Prime.
Night Viper does not trust Buzz Saw, knowing that the last incarnation of the Wreckers were betrayed by supposedly former enemy agents; in the 3H Productions Wreckers series, Cyclonus was a mole on the team.
The Wreckers come across a Predacon colony in the Dark Nebula; the Dark Nebula was seen in the Victory anime.
In the comments on the final post, someone ask if Buzz Saw is the same Transformer as the original Buzzsaw, bringing up his and Laserbeak's death in BotCon 2006's "Dawn of Future's Past"; after someone else explains which Buzz Saw it is, Tornado expresses surprise at Laserbeak and Buzzsaw lasting that long, and that he thinks Soundwave was a big bore, like the Constructicons before him in The Transformers: The Movie.

Real-life references

When told by an audience member that the BotCon website revealed a knight (Devcon), Tornado exlaiams "ROM?!?", the spaceknight from the franchise of the same name.
A fair few new characters introduced have their names taken from characters in the G.I. Joe franchise, including:
- Horror Show, who takes his name from the weapons expert of the Russian Oktober Guard.
- Warwolf, who takes his name from a Manimal bounty hunter, released as part of the "Manimal" subline.
- Gristle, who takes his name from a criminal Headhunter.
- Munitia, who takes her name from a Cobra mercenary released by the G.I. Joe Collectors Club.
- Tripwire, who takes his name from a G.I. Joe explosives expert.
- Drop Zone, who takes his name from a G.I. Joe Sky Patrol member.
- Backstop, who takes his name from a G.I. Joe driver of the Persuasion vehicle.
- Wide Scope, who takes his name from a G.I. Joe infantry and negotiations expert from the G.I. Joe vs Cobra toyline.
- Guillotine and Gallows, who take their names from a pair of Cobra Plague Troopers.
- Rolling Thunder and Thunderclap, who take their names from two G.I. Joe vehicles.
- Sky Creeper, who takes his name from a Cobra Air Commando.
- Red Star, who take his name from the second leader of the Oktober Guard.
- Nullifier, who takes his name from the Iron Grenadier pilots.
- Skyduster, who takes his name from a G.I. Joe pilot.
- Neurotoxin, who takes his name from a Cobra Sand Scorpion from the Valor vs Venom toyline.
Earthquake's chest was made of Duranium armor; Duranium is a metal from Star Trek.
Thunderlane, Prism Glider, and Star Dasher take their names from characters in My Little Pony.
Cannonball the 4th participated in the Garyun Melee, which takes its name from the transforming pirate ship from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver|{{#if:||Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver}}]].
Tornado describes Eclipse as an "energetic little robot" that "just keeps going and going," referencing the tagline of the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Energizer Bunny|{{#if:||Energizer Bunny}}]]. He also describes him as having "sharp, pointy teeth," referencing the man-eating [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Rabbit of Caerbannog|{{#if:||Rabbit of Caerbannog}}]] from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Monty Python and the Holy Grail|{{#if:||Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}]]. Eclipse enjoys toying with the Hunter, probably referencing the various [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Looney Tunes|{{#if:||Looney Tunes}}]] cartoons with [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Bugs Bunny|{{#if:||Bugs Bunny}}]] and [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Elmer Fudd|{{#if:||Elmer Fudd}}]] facing off one another.
Tornado refers to Ferak's "Arms of War" bomb as a "Frankenbomb experiment", referring to Victor Frankestein, of course.
Frellus IV takes its name from the word "frell", a sci-fi swear from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Farscape|{{#if:||Farscape}}]]. The planet's inhabitants, the Hasmata, take their name from an alien term for hell, also from Farscape.
The Sky Seer is pretty obviously the stereotypical parrot that hangs around pirates.
The Verronian Warp Star comes from Doctor Who episode "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Journey's End (Doctor Who)|{{#if:Journey's End|Journey's End|Journey's End (Doctor Who)}}]]". Its description matches up with the info given in the show; created by soothsayers and extremely explosive if not careful with them. The Lukythian Warp Star, meanwhile, is created by the Lukythians, a species from Farscape.
Ventax II comes from Star Trek: The Next Generation; as shown here, the planet is a peaceful, agrarian society.
Tornado compares his babbling to a Banik, another species from Farscape.
When asked if the Verronian Warp Star is a Doctor Who reference, Tornado mentions the planets Trenzalore, and an individual who was apparently named "Please", referring to events from Doctor Who episode "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Name of the Doctor|{{#if:||The Name of the Doctor}}]]".
Tornado mentions the Beta Quadrant and the Gamma Quadrant, names for regions of space from Star Trek.
Some of the crew speculate that the Tidal Wave is headed to find the Tigamaru treasure: Tigamaru is a robot pirate from the anime [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Daigunder|{{#if:||Daigunder}}]]. The Maelstrom Exchequer is presumably named for fellow Daigunder villain Professor Maelstrom.
Devcon saracastically claims that if Apelinq squints at the carnage left by Flamewar, he might see Primus face or Optimus Prime's skidplate, referencing the "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena|{{#if:potato chip Jesus|potato chip Jesus|Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena}}]]" and other similar phenomena.
Apelinq offers to send out a Khybertronic General Distress Notice, named after Khyber, a villain from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Ben 10: Omniverse|{{#if:||Ben 10: Omniverse}}]].

Errors

Wheellock's name is initially spelt as "Wheel Lock", but after that is consistently spelt as "Wheellock".
It may or may not be intentional, but the Cybertronian Knights' name is confusingly spelled both in the aforementioned way and identically to their progenitor group, the Knights of Cybertron.
Flamewar's name is rendered as "Flame War" in its first mention but as one word everywhere else.
Early on, Tornado responded to a commentor asking about Swindle by telling him he had no idea who that was. Later on, however, Tornado brings up Swindle, the author probably having forgot about that comment.

Other trivia

The entry detailing the acquiring of the map to the future, along with the entries for Squirm and Olin Zarak, were originally printed in the Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club magazine (issue #55 for the map entry, and issue #56 for the latter two). There are some minor changes in wording between the two:
- Zarratron was spelled as "Zarratran" in print.
- Tornado's log on Olin cuts off rather abruptly in the print version, seemingly to indicate that he was interrupted. In the online version, the log ends normally.
Somewhat oddly, Alpha Trizer is described as being someone that has been around forever, despite him being younger than bots like Devcon. Perhaps this is referring to his Alpha Trion component, although this is never made explicit.

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Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur

Contents

Synopsis

Journal entries

Mentioned characters

Notes

Continuity notes

Transformers references

Real-life references

Errors

Other trivia

See also

External links