War World: Titans

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	"War World: Titans" {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; (')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
Publisher	IDW Publishing}}
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First published	May 19, 2021}}
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Cover date	March 2021}}
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Written by	Brian Ruckley}}
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Art by	Anna Malkova}}
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Colors	David García Cruz}}
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Letters by	Jake M. Wood}}
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Editor	David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer}}
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{{#if: TF2019 29 cvrB.jpg | {{#if: IDW Publishing | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: May 19, 2021 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: March 2021 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Brian Ruckley | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Anna Malkova | {{#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: David García Cruz | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Jake M. Wood | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer | {{#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: 2019 IDW continuity | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: |

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

Optimus Prime learns the secret history of the Titans when he visits the Pyramid, but the Decepticons have their own plans for these giant Cybertronians.

Synopsis

At the central Titan Net hub, Bitstream, Mindwipe, and Sparkstalker break the bad news to Megatron: the data-bomb they uploaded onto the network worked too well and left them with no way to reactivate the dormant Titans or correct their decaying orbits. The Decepticon leader is displeased, and notes the remote possibility that the Autobots could still access a subsidiary facility to bring them back online. Rather than hand his enemies a victory, Megatron asks if his tech specialists could simply hasten the inevitable by bringing the Titans down for good...

At Autobot headquarters, Ironhide welcomes Javelin to his team. After her last mission with Prowl, the jittery young Autobot has transferred into Ironhide's command, and despite her own self-doubt Ironhide reassures her that she's in good company. After all, the 'bots who make up the Senate Guard all have their own share of foibles and personality flaws, and nobody would blame a 'bot as badly hurt as Javelin for taking more time to heal. Still, Javelin wants to help however she can, so Ironhide takes her into their briefing room as he makes an announcement to the group. The former head of Senate security takes full responsibility for Roulette and Chainclaw dying; he got reckless, underestimated Megatron's tactics, and paid the price. He's not intent on repeating that mistake: Optimus Prime is all that remains of the Senate, and they must live up to their credo by protecting the Autobot leader at all costs—with their lives, if need be.

Despite this bravado, Optimus dislikes the idea of others sacrificing themselves on his behalf, but Ironhide tells him to be realistic: Megatron controls three-quarters of Iacon and almost every major facility... all of them, that is, except their current destination: the Forge Pyramid where new Cybertronians are created. Ironhide points out that they could just leave Iacon entirely, but Prime shoots down this idea: part of this objection is rooted in morality, as abandoning the city will only confirm Megatron's victory to the rest of Cybertron, but part of it is practical—they came here to speak with Perceptor, who won't come to them. Brusque and agnostic as ever, Perceptor has little time for the Autobots or the Matrix of Leadership Optimus carries; the latest groundquake has ruptured the plasma drawtubes that power the pyres, and now only an emergency magnetic field stands between the building and its complete destruction. But when the Autobot leader asks Perceptor about Titansparks, however—a question based on Sentinel Prime's last words and a recent message from an anonymous informant—the scientist realises that Sentinel never told his second-in-command the truth about the Titans. Before the War of the Threefold Spark, Titansparks naturally arose from the Well of All Sparks like any other; forging that Titanspark into a new body, however, required immense quantities of energon and raw material, and Nominus Prime realised that keeping each new Titan fuelled would require another wave of expansion and colonization that would bring Cybertron into conflict with other races. On Nominus's orders, the sixteen Titansparks that have emerged since the end of the war and the ratification of the Nominus Edict have all been diverted and stored in a secret chamber underneath the Pyramid.

Not far away, Strika's Decepticons—acting on Starscream's intelligence—prepare to attack the facility. Whatever Megatron wants from the Pyramid, Apeface observes, he wants it bad; all six members of Strika's Heavies lead the charge, followed by a massive Decepticon air strike! Apeface and Blitzwing easily dodge Flak's missiles and storm the west entrance, leaving Kup with just seconds to radio a warning to Ironhide's troops. Optimus asks if anyone else has learned of the hidden sparks, and Perceptor muses that Nominus's successor Sentinel must have given Starscream his cushy job as Head of Intelligence in exchange for keeping quiet. Prime reflects on his predecessor's last words—"kill Starscream"—and comes to the conclusion that Starscream must have told Megatron everything he knows about the Titansparks... seconds before Ironhide and Prime receive Kup's transmission warning them of an imminent Decepticon attack! Nova Storm makes an entrance for her compatriots by blowing a hole in the ceiling, and although Ironhide orders Brawn, Backstreet, and Flareup to cover their retreat, Obsidian leaps through the hole and uses his rotors to injure Brawn before Javelin nails him with her rifle. As airborne reinforcements pour through the hole in their defences, Flareup pulls Javelin to safety as the Autobots abandon their position.

As this battle plays out, the three Decepticons at the Titan Hub eye their options: although they cannot reverse the effects of the data-bomb, they can still feed new orders to the dormant Titans—for instance, ordering every Titan to initiate their aerobraking maneuvers. At Mindwipe's urging, Sparkstalker does just that...

As the Autobots seal the building, an alarm alerts Perceptor that the fight has damaged the containment field, giving them only a few minutes to evacuate before the molten plasma overwhelms the facility. When Nova Storm swoops in on the Autobots and pounces on Grotusque, Optimus rams her with his alternate mode and sends them both plunging off the catwalk—but the Autobot leader simply advises her to tell her comrades to clear out. By the time Apeface and Blitzwing shoot their way through the wall, they're too late to do anything but watch the evaucation efforts, while Acid Storm's group on the other side of the Pyramid are nearly trampled when Optimus, the Autobots, and the civilian forge workers all stampede through the weakened wall to safety. As both sides retreat, Optimus stays behind to make sure everyone has made it to a safe distance... then seeks out Perceptor. As the two watch the Pyramid flood with molten plasma, its structure rupturing and leaking under the terrific heat and pressure, Optimus warns him that they are not done discussing what he did.

The Titans hurtle towards the metal planet: Chela smashes into the middle of Kalis, bringing with him a firestorm of flaming debris; the colossal Citadel splashes into the Sea of Rust; venerable Cargohold hurtles into the lands outside of Iacon and finally obliterates the stricken Memorial Crater for good. The impact draws the attention of Roadtrap and Gutcruncher; some time later, the pair clamber down into the impact site and discover that the crash has dislodged a Transformer, still sandwiched between layers of Cybertronian strata. Gutcruncher points out that she's not an immersant, and Roadtrap notices that she's somehow still alive, and even recognizes her as a fellow soldier from the war. Her name? Provoke...

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashback.
{{#if: ||(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)}}

{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"

Javelin (6)
Ironhide (7)
Grotusque (8)
Vibes (9)
Backstreet (10)
Subsea (11)
Brawn (12)
Flareup (13)
Groove (14)
Pipes (15)

Optimus Prime (16)
Flak (17)
Kup (18)
Strongarm (19)
Carzap (20)
Nominus Prime (22)
Topshot (33)
Sunrunner (34)
Inferno (35)
Nightbeat (36)

|

!! style="background:#ffdddd;" | Autobots }}{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent" |- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Megatron (1)
Mindwipe (2)
Bitstream (3)
Catgut (4)
Sparkstalker (5)
Lugnut (23)
Apeface (24)
Obsidian (25)
Heavywait (26)
Blitzwing (27)
Snaptrap (28)

|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Twirl (29)
Visper (32)
Nova Storm (38)
Runamuck (39)
Runabout (40)
Acid Storm (41)
Power Punch (42)
Direct-Hit (43)
Windsweeper (44)
Roadtrap (45)
Gutcruncher (46)

|}| !! style="background:#ededff" | Decepticons }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#fbefde;" | Humans }}{{#if:* Perceptor (20)

Lodestar (21)
Chela (30)
Citadel (31)
Cargohold (37)
Provoke (47)|

!! style="background:#ffeeb8;" | Others }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#d5e6d5;" | Misc }}{{#if:| !! style="background:#fedeb5;" | Misc }} |- {{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent" |- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Javelin (6)
Ironhide (7)
Grotusque (8)
Vibes (9)
Backstreet (10)
Subsea (11)
Brawn (12)
Flareup (13)
Groove (14)
Pipes (15)

|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Optimus Prime (16)
Flak (17)
Kup (18)
Strongarm (19)
Carzap (20)
Nominus Prime (22)
Topshot (33)
Sunrunner (34)
Inferno (35)
Nightbeat (36)

|}|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |

Javelin (6)
Ironhide (7)
Grotusque (8)
Vibes (9)
Backstreet (10)
Subsea (11)
Brawn (12)
Flareup (13)
Groove (14)
Pipes (15)

Optimus Prime (16)
Flak (17)
Kup (18)
Strongarm (19)
Carzap (20)
Nominus Prime (22)
Topshot (33)
Sunrunner (34)
Inferno (35)
Nightbeat (36)

}}{{#if:{|border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"

|- |style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Megatron (1)
Mindwipe (2)
Bitstream (3)
Catgut (4)
Sparkstalker (5)
Lugnut (23)
Apeface (24)
Obsidian (25)
Heavywait (26)
Blitzwing (27)
Snaptrap (28)

|style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"|

Twirl (29)
Visper (32)
Nova Storm (38)
Runamuck (39)
Runabout (40)
Acid Storm (41)
Power Punch (42)
Direct-Hit (43)
Windsweeper (44)
Roadtrap (45)
Gutcruncher (46)

|}| | style="background:#ededff;" valign="top" |

Megatron (1)
Mindwipe (2)
Bitstream (3)
Catgut (4)
Sparkstalker (5)
Lugnut (23)
Apeface (24)
Obsidian (25)
Heavywait (26)
Blitzwing (27)
Snaptrap (28)

Twirl (29)
Visper (32)
Nova Storm (38)
Runamuck (39)
Runabout (40)
Acid Storm (41)
Power Punch (42)
Direct-Hit (43)
Windsweeper (44)
Roadtrap (45)
Gutcruncher (46)

}}{{#if:|

| style="background:#fbefde;" valign="top" |

}}{{#if:* Perceptor (20)

Lodestar (21)
Chela (30)
Citadel (31)
Cargohold (37)
Provoke (47)|

| style="background:#ffeeb8;" valign="top" |

Perceptor (20)
Lodestar (21)
Chela (30)
Citadel (31)
Cargohold (37)
Provoke (47) }}{{#if:|

| style="background:#d5e6d5;" valign="top" |

}}{{#if:|

| style="background:#fedeb5;" valign="top" |

}}

|}

Quotes

"I let the Decepticons take the Senate. Then I rushed us back in there because I was angry and embarrassed. And I took us in too deep because I hadn't got my mind round the rules the 'Cons were playing by. Thought I had, but I hadn't. I hadn't switched to fight-for-our-lives mode. Not really. Now we know better. Now I know. The Senate's lost, but there's one bit of it left. Optimus Prime. That's what we guard from now on. No hesitation, no missteps. We guard him."

—Ironhide

"Titans are innately, inherently... they are the universe's dominant lifeform. Nominus Prime specifically did not want domination."

—Perceptor

"I've got three modes too, you know, Heavywait."
"But they're not very good, are they?"
"What? What's wrong with my modes, Blitzwing?"
"They're not very good."

—Apeface and Blitzwing

"We're bringing them home, in every sense. Oh, the mysteries they approach. The journey we send them on. Do it, Sparkstalker, and revel in our bending of history. We end an era with the flick of a switch."
"It's a lever. And you know, Mindwipe, sometimes even I think you're a bit creepy."

—Mindwipe and Sparkstalker

"Apeface! What're you doing?! If that hadn't hit armor—"
"Sorry. Thought I saw a target in there. Guess the sheer glory of your alt-modes threw my aim off. Dazzled me. Yeah. That's it."

—Blitzwing and Apeface

"You took lives spun out from the All-Spark, and put them in a vault, Perceptor. We are not done talking about this."
"No. I didn't suppose we were."

—Optimus is not happy with Perceptor

Notes

Continuity notes

A quick recap for those of you just joining us: Flamewar and the other members of "Team Stream" attacked the Titan Net back in issue #16, using a special data-bomb that corrupted the network and shut down all of the Titans except for Vigilem and Lodestar. In issue #20, Blaster brought in Glyph in to help unscramble the system, but they didn't make any real headway before Megatron took over Iacon in #23 and sent his own lackeys to evict Blaster and the others from the Titan net hub during the previous issue.
Issue #16 established that Bitstream and Sparkstalker are two of Shockwave's tech trio in the former membership of The Rise.
Javelin last appeared in issue #25, where she experienced a panic attack during the attack on the Decepticon-controlled Senate building. Javelin credits this to unresolved trauma from her near-death experience in #14, where she took a shot to the head that knocked her out of action for some time.
Ironhide alludes to the deaths of Roulette and Chainclaw, which also occurred in issue #25.
Optimus Prime and his Autobots head to the Pyramid as a result of a tip-off from Vibes; in the previous issue, Starscream's spy Refraktor secretly told her to pass a message along to Optimus Prime regarding Perceptor and the Titansparks.
In a conversation with Ironhide, Optimus notes that Hound has evacuated many civilians and non-Cybertronians out of Iacon, an operation that's currently playing out in the Transformers: Escape miniseries.
Issue #18 noted that no Titansparks had emerged from the well since the War of the Threefold Spark; this is revealed as a half-truth, as Nominus Prime ordered all new Titansparks to be diverted into indefinite storage. Evidently, Starscream somehow found out about this, and Perceptor suggests that this is why Starscream got a promotion in exchange for his silence—we know, as per issue #14, that he'd somehow ousted Soundwave from the position, but just how and why had gone unexplained up till this point. This must also be why Sentinel Prime's last words in issue #25 to Orion Pax were "warn Perceptor" and "kill Starscream", out of fear that the self-serving intelligence director would... well... do exactly what he did here.
The flashback features a scene depicting a forging ceremony for the Titan Lodestar, who's currently partnered with the Cityspeaker Lightbright in the present day.
Strika's elite unit of bruisers last appeared in issue #25. Since then, they've drafted Lugnut and Obsidian to replace Clench, who died in that same issue.
A narration box notes that the giant Titan Citadel killed Croaton during the War of the Threefold Spark, leaving behind the Croaton Cloud that appeared in issue #24.
Citadel crashes in the Sea of Rust, which will surely have dire repercussions going forward—in Escape #2, Geomotus theorized that a tremor in that area could fracture the sea's impermeable layer and release rust worms into the planetary strata.
While poking around in the fissure left by Cargohold's destruction, Gutcruncher alludes to the recent history of the Memorial Crater—it was excavated for use as a Rise base sometime before issue #1 and later destroyed by Sixshot in #9.
You'll surely recognize Provoke as one of the four ghostly phantasms haunting Cyclonus. The nature of their existence has been one of the long-percolating mysteries Ruckley's been building towards, so watch this space!

Transformers references

Obscure Autobot Carzap makes a cameo as an Autobot soldier guarding the Pyramid. As is customary for this universe, he's using a body based off his most recent toy: in his case, his 2015 Timelines toy.
Perceptor first appeared in issue #4, where he oversaw Gauge's forging ceremony; this issue reveals that he's responsible for the daily operation of the Pyramid where the living metal of Cybertron is melted down and forged into new Transformers. Compared to most modern incarnations of the character, which depict him as a generic scientist-type, this might seem like a bit of a weird pull... until you remember that Bob Budiansky's original profile did explicitly describe him as a metallurgical specialist.
In a subtle nod to the previous incarnation, this version of Perceptor can be seen with a holographic overlay over his eye.
In IDW's Optimus Prime and Windblade comic books, Chela was only ever depicted in an avian form, but it was never made clear if this was his robot mode or alternate mode. This comic shows him with a starship form, although the feather-like detailing across his hull suggest he still possesses some kind of beast mode.
This issue gives us our first look at Optimus Prime's alternate mode; although it's still based on his 2019 "Galaxy Upgrade" figure, it features a made-up "trailer" attachment that covers his back half.
When Chela hits Cybertron, he crash-lands in the city of Kalis—perhaps not coincidentally, Chela's master "Onyx Prime" ruled Kalis in ancient times before the First Cybertronian Civil War in IDW's first Transformers continuity.

Errors

On page five, Flareup's alternate mode is colored blue.
There's some insignia-related weirdness going on in this issue, where characters alternate between hand-drawn faction symbols and digitally overlaid black ones. More often than not, they'll switch back and forth from panel to panel—look at Heavywait on page eight for a good example.
On page twelve, Twirl is miscolored black, perhaps because the colorist mistook her for Storm Cloud.
Acid Storm's Decepticon sigils on page sixteen are not colored purple.
On the last page, "Allspark" is erroneously hyphenated as "All-spark".

Other trivia

Originally solicited for March 17, this issue falls victim to IDW's ongoing scheduling problems by dropping two months late and on the same day as issue 30.

Covers (3)

Cover A: Who will save us? by Anna Malkova
Cover B: Crash of the Titans, by E. J. Su
Retailer incentive cover: Optimus Prime rallies the crowd, by Marcelo Matere

Reprints

Transformers Volume 4: Declaration of War (January 19, 2022) ISBN 1684058066 / ISBN 978-1684058068
- Collects Transformers (2019) issues #25–30, Transformers Valentine's Day Special, and Escape issues #1–5.
- Bonus material includes alternate covers.
- Hardcover format.

Volume 4: Declaration of War – cover art by Cryssy Cheung

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War World: Titans

Contents

Synopsis

Featured characters

Quotes

Notes

Continuity notes

Transformers references

Errors

Other trivia

Covers (3)

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Reprints

External links