Editing Animals

{{Comicstory
|series=mtmte|issueno=46
|prev=Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots
|next=The Lopsided Triangle
|image=MTMTE46_regcvr.jpg
|title="Animals"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[November 4]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=October 2015
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|pencils by=[[Alex Milne]]
|inks by=[[Brian Shearer]], [[John Livesay]], [[John Wycough]], and Alex Milne
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]] and [[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2015)]]
}}
'''The Scavengers face down Fortress Maximus to save Grimlock, and learn a little something about helping others in the process.'''

==Synopsis==
Aboard his ship the ''[[Concordat]]'', on approach to [[Tebris VII]], [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] is listening to the paranoid [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] ramble on over the comm about a hidden message he thinks he's found in ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' when he spots the crashed ''[[Weak Anthropic Principle]]'' on the planet's surface. Red identifies the craft and looks up its owners, unaware that he's reading the [[Autopedia]] articles the Scavengers themselves have vandalized with hyperbolic backstories for themselves, and Max heads down to the planet's surface to confront his original target, [[Demus]].

A short time later, Demus lies dead on the floor of his office, and Maximus places the Scavengers under arrest. [[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] succeeds in distracting the Autobot long enough for [[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] to blast him, and the Scavengers scatter into the scrapyard outside, hiding amongst the junk. When [[Krok (G1)|Krok]] starts anxiously clicking his "clicker" once again, Misfire finally loses his temper and snatches the device from Krok's hand, revealing it to be not a communicator, but a severed finger. Krok explains that the finger belonged to a member of his old squad named [[Radar]], who was killed alongside the rest of his teammates by the [[Wrecker]]s. Radar turned into a telecommunications array, and while Krok admits that he ''does'' click his finger when nervous, he also does it to use the finger's still-functioning mechanism to scan for Decepticons in the area. He almost always detects none... but today, as he snatches the finger back from Misfire, Krok can see it has detected hundreds of Decepticons all around them. Stalking the Scavengers through the yard, Fortress Maximus calls out to them with an explanation: Demus is actually a slave trader, and his "[[Roboid]]" toys are not toys at all, but lobotomized Cybertronians trapped in a beast-mode and sold as "torture dolls" to organic races to take their frustrations out on.

To get Maximus off their backs, Crankcase radios Misfire to express concern for [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]], deliberately allowing Max to hear him in hopes that Grimlock will be considered a more important target. Red Alert confirms Grimlock's presence, and Max heads off to investigate, leaving the Scavengers to pull themselves together. [[Fulcrum]] is annoyed that Krok has never told them about the fate of his old squad before, but Krok retorts that they took neither his depression, nor the self-delusion that his squad was still alive that he once labored under, seriously. ''That'', Krok tells them, is why he wanted Demus's money: he planned to use it to build a treatment center for those Cybertronians like himself, who are suffering from various mental disorders as a result of the war. Fulcrum calls him out on his hypocrisy—the fact that he was willing to ''sell'' the mentally-disabled Grimlock—and the suitably shamed Krok admits he was letting the ends justify the means. Knowing that Grimlock, as a former [[Garrus-9]] inmate, will be re-arrested by Maximus, Misfire insists they go to his aid, and a repentant Krok agrees. Unable to fly thanks to Demus's inhibitor chips, the Scavengers saddle up some [[Equinoid]] Roboids, and ride out to their ship.

[[File:Equinoids.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Somewhere there's a MLP joke waiting to happen.]]
The Scavengers arrive to witness Grimlock and Maximus grappling with one another, and manage to talk Max down by explaining that they ''found'' Grimlock in his current condition. Maximus proposes taking him to Luna 1 for help, and Misfire reluctantly agrees, knowing that it is what's best for Grimlock—but [[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] objects, suggesting they ask Grimlock himself what he wants. To everyone's surprise, Grimlock is able to stammer out Misfire's name—not that it matters to Maximus, since he's intending to take them ''all'' in anyway. Krok has other ideas: he tells Maximus that he has planted a bomb in Demus's office that will destroy all the Roboids, and, pretending that Radar's finger is a control device, "primes" the non-existent explosive with a single click. He then tosses the finger to Crankcase, who threatens to click it again and detonate the bomb... and thanks to a sudden bout of facial paralysis brought on by his head injuries, he is able to stare Max down without blinking! Unable to take the risk, Max heads back to Demus's office, while the Scavengers quickly depart the planet. Krok, realizing that he is much better off now than he was years ago thanks to the stability and support offered by his friends, has a new plan and purpose for the group: to help other Decepticons the way they have helped each other. Krok plugs radar's finger into the ship's computer, allowing it to detect nearby Decepticons, and the Scavengers are about to head off until Misfire pulls a gun on Krok...

...and one lost game of [[Cybertronian games#Shoot Shoot Bang Bang|Shoot Shoot Bang Bang]] later, Misfire escorts Grimlock back to his wrecked quarters, promising there won't be locks on the door when they rebuild it. Misfire is agog when Grimlock eloquently replies "Thanks. I appreciate it", but when the Dinobot says nothing more, the Decepticon is left with another reminder that there ''is'' something going on inside Grimlock that he can't see. What he also fails to see is what Grimlock has drawn on the wall of his room: a familiar gear-shaped symbol and the message "PREPARE - CONFRONT - REPEL"...

[[File:FortMaxCuddles.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Aww, the widdle maniac enforcer just wanted cuddles.]]
Aboard the ''Concordant'', Maximus contacts [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] to tell him about the day's events. Rung advises him to rethink his approach to peace-keeping: times have changed, and the Scavengers are now the rule, rather than the exception, when it comes to Decepticons. Maximus cannot deny it, especially since Spinister left him instructions on how to reverse the brain-damage to the Roboids, who now surround him on his ship.

Two hours later, at Demus's now-abandoned junkyard, a Decepticon [[Worldsweeper]] arrives, piloted by Demus's mystery co-conspirators. The two robots open a hatchway to a hidden chamber beneath Demus's office, containing rows of strange pods inside which ''something'' is growing. One suggests moving the operation, but the other refuses, warning that to do so threatens their ability to meet their deadline, and will incur the wrath of the "Grand Architect". As the robot advocates aborting and starting again, they both turn, revealing the gear-like hieroglyph on their chests...

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.)<br>
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (1)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (2)
*''[[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]]'' (9)
*''[[Springer (G1)|Springer]]'' (11)
*''[[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]'' (12)
*[[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]] (14)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (15)
|c2=
*[[Spinister (G1)|Spinister]] (3)
*[[Fulcrum]] (4)
*[[Demus]]'s corpse (5)
*[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]] (6)
*[[Misfire (G1)|Misfire]] (7)
*[[Krok (G1)|Krok]] (8)
*''[[Radar]]'' (10)
*''[[Gatoraider]]'' (13)
|c4=
*Mystery 'bots (16-17)
}}

==Quotes==

"'''Misfire of Pretendia''' is a debonair sharp shooter who once fired a bullet through a bullet-shaped hole in a slightly larger bullet. Whilst riding a bullet train. Feared and respected by his colleagues, he is credited with introducing Megatron to the world of '''interpretive dance.'''"
:—'''Red Alert''' reads from Misfire's vandalized Autopedia page



"This shouldn't take long."<br>
"For something that shouldn't take long, you're carrying an awful lot of firepower."<br>
"The two are connected."
:—'''Fortress Maximus''' and '''Red Alert'''



"Hate to do you out of a '''job''', but our '''"high tech"''' isn't that '''high''' anymore. It's just... tech. About four million years go we stopped '''reaching for the stars''' 'cos we needed both hands to '''beat the crap out of each other.'''"
:—'''Misfire'''



'''Fulcrum:''' "Hey, Krok, what you said just now—about Radar, about your squad. You should've told me earlier."<br>
'''Krok:''' "For a while I couldn't talk about it at all. In fact for a while I convinced myself that the rest of my squad were still '''out there'''—that they were '''safe.'''"<br>
'''Misfire:''' "Yeah, Crankcase used to say you were '''nuts.'''"<br>
'''Krok:''' "See? And people wonder why it's so hard to talk about mental health."<br>
'''Misfire:''' "Hey, I'm a paragon of sensitivity."<br>
'''Krok:''' "It's not just the '''labeling'''—it's the '''distancing'''. It's this idea that experiencing mental illness marks you out as '''bad''' different. Show me someone who '''hasn't''' been affected by all the fighting. Show me someone who's "normal" and I'll show you someone who knows how to hide things. We are our brains. Subject this ball of circuitry to four million years of '''war''' and '''hate''' and '''pain''' and '''death''' and '''loss''' and '''grief''' and don't be surprised if it has to find new ways to cope with the stress. People should be more understanding. That's what I was going to do with my half a billion—build a '''treatment center''' for '''vulnerable Decepticons.''' Because there are a lot of people out there who are only just about holding it together."



"I've spent years comparing myself with Decepticons who've done well for themselves—people like '''Agonizer''' and '''Skullcruncher'''. Today I realized that y'know what? '''I've''' done well. For a while I was a '''mess'''. My squad had died. I was directionless, I was '''delusional'''... I got better thanks to you guys. Even when I've made bad decisions, you've given me '''stability''' and '''support''' and—and '''companionship'''... and maybe it's time we gave those things to other Decepticons."<br>
"What you're descirbing sounds suspiciously like '''helping people.'''"<br>
"I know. Because guess what? I think we'd be pretty good at it."
:—'''Krok''' and '''Crankcase'''



"Y'know, Grimsy, sometimes you remind me of Spinister. Every now and then you'll say something that makes me think there's a lot more going on in there than we realize. More than '''you''' realize, too. Guess all I can do is be patient, pay attention... and see what you do next."
:—'''Misfire'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Like Fortress Maximus, Red Alert was last seen in [[The Sound of Breaking Glass|issue #21]], in which he elected to stay on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] with Maximus.
*Red Alert mentions that the Scavengers supplied [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] with spare parts, indicating he is the Autobot "contact" that Misfire mentioned last issue. This is likely also intended to indicate that Misfire was Brainstorm's Decepticon "handler," spoken of in [[Our Steps Will Always Rhyme|issue #40]], whom he supplied with information in exchange for parts for his time machine.
*The Scavengers were previously established to get their kicks by vandalizing Autopedia last issue issue. Clearly the admins of Autopedia aren't particularly speedy when it comes to reverting edits...
*Crankcase makes reference to [[Killmaster]], a super-powerful Decepticon mentioned occasionally throughout ''More than Meets the Eye''.
*Fortress Maximus's pose and placement on page 3 hearken back to page 3 of [[How Ratchet Got His Hands Back|issue #5]], where he had similarly brutalized a 'con (or two) following a long absence and a dramatic return in the [[Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots|preceding]] [[Life After the Big Bang|issue.]]
*Fortress Maximus's involvement in the [[Simanzi Massacre]] is mentioned, something we heard about before in [[Interiors|issue #6]].
*Krok describes Radar's death at the hands of the Wreckers—specifically, Roadbuster, who tore out his spine and "made him eat it"—as "a terrible affair." The use of the term "affair" isn't random; Roberts [https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/656957570490474497 noted on Twitter] before this issue's release that it would feature "a specific link [to] [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #1]] - a *tiny* loose end that's taken nearly six years to tie up." This indicates that the incident was the mysterious "[[Roadbuster affair]]" mentioned in that issue.
**This is also our first look at Roadbuster's extreme brutality, which we soon see more of in ''[[The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers|Sins of the Wreckers]]''. This is possibly a subtle setup!
*In the same flashback sequence, Krok is seen wielding [[Gatoraider]], who was alluded to by [[Skullcruncher (G1)|Skullcruncher]] as Krok's "dead pet" in the previous issue.
*Fortress Maximus says that Grimlock is "a 'Con again". We don't know the full story behind this, but way back in [[Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|issue #3]], a flashback montage featured an image of Grimlock staring down at his hands, an Autobot insignia in one, a Decepticon insignia in the other, indicating that there had been a moment in his past when he had been forced to choose between the two factions. In [[Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|issue #8]] Tarn confirmed Grimlock has a spot on [[The List]], presumably for changing sides. 
*Also in issue #8, Spinister was revealed to be an exceptional surgeon despite his eccentricities. It seems his talents also extend to ''neuro''surgery, having figured out how to reverse the Roboids' lobotomies with just a quick look.
* That worryingly familiar gear-hieroglyph that appears on both the wall of Grimlock's room and the chests of the mystery robots is the icon seen on the surface of [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] in [[Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|issue #21]] and on [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]'s map to [[Cyberutopia]] in [[The Sensuous Frame|issue #41]].
*The mystery 'bots, meanwhile, are obviously the owners of the Worldsweeper on which the Scavengers found Grimlock back in [[Rules of Disengagement (issue)|issue #7]]. The horrific bio-mechanical sights the Scavengers saw on that ship seem connected to... ''whatever'' is brewing in the pods beneath Demus's office; what little we see shows us an arm that ''looks'' human, but which has some kind of circular, mechanical component embedded in its palm. Their fear that moving the pods will risk "contamination" feels like a reference to the Worldsweeper we saw in that earlier issue, which crashed when organic blood contaminated its fuel supply.
*One of the enigmatic pair notes they have another facility like the one beneath Demus's office in [[Fortuna]]. The ''Lost Light'' visited Fortuna, capital city of [[Scarvix]], in [[Our Steps Will Always Rhyme|issue #40]].

===Transformers references===
*The ''Weak Anthropic Principle'' is described as an exploration vessel that formerly belonged to the Autobots, a reference to the fact it's based on the animation model of the [[Ark (G1)|original Ark]], which certainly fits that description. It's a "model 84", referring, of course, to [[1984]].
*Roadbuster killed Radar while in the throes of the drug [[Syk]], which originally appeared in the Marvel UK story, "[[Secrets (G1)|Secrets]]". James Roberts featured the narcotic in his own works previously in "[[Chaos Theory Part 2]]".
*The idea that Grimlock was formerly a Decepticon seems to owe something to [[Dreamwave Productions]]' various ''[[War Within (franchise)|War Within]]'' comics, which indicated (but did not explore the story behind the fact) that Grimlock had once been on the 'Con side.
*Red Alert mentions [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]], the 'bot who is typically Fortress Maximus's [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner in most Generation 1 stories. If he is stationed on Luna 1 with Red and Max, that suggests he might be a member of the [[Circle of Light]].
*Among the Roboids is a Generation 1 version of [[Nook]] from ''Transformers Animated'', and a [http://adelightfultedium.tumblr.com/post/130214882372/cavisetticon-djw-transformersanimated-cassette Cavisetticon] created by [[Derrick J. Wyatt]].

===Real-life references===
*The "Next:" box at the bottom of the last page reads "stop all the clocks"; these are the first words of the {{w|W. H. Auden}} poem "{{w|Funeral Blues}}", which prominently featured in the [[1994]] film ''{{w|Four Weddings and a Funeral}}''.

===Other trivia===
*This issue arrives just a teeny bit late, shipping in the first week of November, rather than the last week of October.

===Errors===
*Misfire mutters about taking back his remark about Spinister having trouble with double negatives... but it's actually Crankcase who makes the remark earlier.

===Soundtrack===
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghgl-Zy7PCg It's Not Funny Anymore]" by {{w|Babybird}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSuqV9-atWc Living With the Human Machines]" by {{w|Strangelove (band)|Strangelove}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmiRWwAXexY Bowl of Oranges]" by {{w|Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes}}

===Covers (3)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Grimlock tears it up, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Blank cover for sketches, including blue-line art board borders and a small thumbnail sketch of Grimlock by Milne, from inside the issue, in the corner
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Fortress Maximus by [[Nick Roche]]; part of October's series of black-and-white "Artist's Edition" incentive covers.

<gallery>
File:MTMTE46 regcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE46 subcvr.jpg|
File:MTMTE46 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

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==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/26576-fortress-maximus-is-a-killer-cop-in-transformers-mtmte-46-preview.html Preview]