Editing Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

{{disambig2|Prowl the existentially-cross table-flipping pragmatist|Prowl the [[Predabot]]|Dent}}{{suite}}
[[File:Prowl-Infiltration2&3covers.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|My prickitude [[Shane McCarthy|fluctuates]] [[Nick Roche|wildly]] [[Mike Costa|between]] [[John Barber|writers]].]]
Pragmatist. Calculating and cold. Rule-bound. Prickly. Just some of the words used to describe '''Prowl'''.
{{quote|We're not winning this war, and I'm '''''tired''''' of it. Tired of crunching stat after stat, formulating workable strategies for '''''achievable victory'''''. Prime listens--to a point--then gets '''''restless''''' and changes tack on a whim. The average Autobot default setting is daredevil maverick. That's not '''''us''''', [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]]. '''''We''''' can subdivide this war into its purest mathematical form and generate solutions all we want, but unless we happen to be [[Spotlight: Hot Rod|'''''surfing''''' on a '''''meteoroid''''']] at the time, '''''no one''''' will pay attention.|Prowl|"[[Everything in Its Right Place]]"}}
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==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}
===From cop to soldier===
Prowl of [[Petrex]] was [[Reproduction|constructed cold]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} He learned to appreciate rules and discipline during his formative years in Petrex, a strictly [[functionism|functionist]] town where saying anything bad about your [[alternate mode]] could get you thrown in jail. He eventually made it into the [[Iaconian Mechaforensic Division]], where he became famous for his tendency to order a full body autopsy during practically every investigation. This is exactly what he did when he and his partner [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Tumbler]] were assigned to investigate the assassination of [[Sherma|Senator Sherma]], seemingly killed by Decepticons, leading to the discovery of [[cerulean glass]] on the victim's body. Following the trail to [[Translucentica Heights]], the duo ran straight into another body: that of [[Momus|Senator Momus]]. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}}

[[File:Prowl computing Patternism.jpg|left|upright=1.55|thumb|"Shut up." <br> "I didn't say anything." <br> You were ''thinking'' it's ''annoying''."]]
As Tumbler went after the killer, Prowl investigated the crime scene and found that Momus had in fact been a Decepticon himself... and also that there was a ''second'' killer, who promptly attacked them. Inexperienced in combat, Prowl could do little to fight back, but the two were rescued by a fellow cop named [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] who believed the [[Senate]] to be targeting Decepticons. Pax suggested that they avoid reporting their findings to their superiors, but Prowl ignored him in favor of regular police procedure, which much to his chagrin led to his preliminary report being quoted as fact on the news. Sent by Pax to investigate a nearby [[Relinquishment Clinic]], he and Tumbler not only found proof that the killers had been using borrowed bodies, but also a complex dedicated to researching [[brain module]]s and a list of known Decepticons. While Tumbler, Orion Pax and several others believed that the clinic was the [[Institute]] and that the Senate was planning to use it to brainwash the Decepticons, Prowl rejected this as a far-fetched conspiracy theory. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} He refused to have any part in Pax's plan to stop the Senate's evil plot, but worried about his partner's choice to join in. He asked Pax to keep Tumbler out of danger, and in exchange he wouldn't tell anyone what they were planning. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

[[File:MegatronOrigin2 boredAutobots.jpg|thumb|And remember to fill out those TPS reports.]]
Following the rise of [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], Prowl joined the Autobot Security Services in [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]], working right under Sentinel. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}} Prowl's goal was to work against Sentinel's corrupt system from the inside, and he often talked Sentinel out of carrying out his destructive plans. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} {{storylink|Last Light|Last Light}} However, becoming part of that system (even just for subversive reasons) resulted in the end of his close relationship with Tumbler. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}} Tumbler would eventually become [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]], and Prowl would forever be made the butt of jokes by Chromedome's future [[Conjunx Endura]] [[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]]: usually featuring fictional instances of Prowl being beaten up. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s rise as the most popular and violent pit fighter in videos of Kaon's illegal [[gladiatorial combat]] attracted Prowl's attention, and he formed an Autobot Security Services team to crack down on them, though to the chagrin of his fellow officers, he tended to blather on about his theories about how somebody was making a fortune distributing on these inexpensive to produce videos. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} 

After the murder of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], Sentinel and Prowl led a security forces deployment that arrested many of Megatron's pit fighters and those that they were attempting to recruit. Prowl personally attached the [[inhibitor claw]] to Megatron once he was overwhelmed by security forces. While processing the prisoners, he delivered the galling news that due to [[Ratbat (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|senate orders]], the one known as [[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] was to be freed without charge. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Unfortunately, it was all part of Megatron's mad plans. He allowed himself and his men to be captured so Starscream could feign turning coat and murder the senate members who questioned him. During the ensuing jail break that devastated the [[Security Services Headquarters|Security Team HQ]] and following street battle, Prowl lost his usual cool composure in the face of such onslaught and looked to Sentinel Prime for directions. When Prime left to face Megatron personally and was brutally defeated, it was Prowl who took control and ordered the evacuation of security forces from Kaon. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

During Sentinel's state funeral, Prowl made a public announcement that the Decepticons had desecrated Sentinel's body and stolen his head. {{storylink|The Last Autobot|The Last Autobot}} 

When [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]] rose to power, Prowl took an interest in keeping watch on those in power. Orion Pax eventually brought him [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] who had been arrested for assaulting an officer of the law. Prowl was ready to dismiss them until Pax brought up the death of [[Hefter]], an act done by corrupt policemen gaining Prowl's interest. When the police mech interrogated Jetfire, the Decepticon started a fist fight which Prowl easily won before he convinced him that he and Pax wanted to help. He was able to deduced from Jetfire's words that no one had told Jetfire to attack Pax but someone had told him ''about'' him. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 2: A Lonely Pillar on the Plain|A Lonely Pillar on the Plain}}

[[File:SinsOfTheWreckers3-ProwlAntiRadArmor.jpg|left|thumb|300px|]]
During the war, Prowl began working with the non-aligned scientist [[Tarantulas (BW)|Mesothulas]] in secret. Mesothulas saw their relationship as symbiotic — Prowl's imagination would feed into Mesothulas's desire to make the impossible real, and vice versa. Their partnership resulted in many frightening advancements, such as stasis bullets, spark extraction, and Decepti-bombs. The successful utilization of the latter resulted in Decepticons being blamed for the destruction of the neutral city [[Carpessa]], which allowed Prowl to recruit the survivors into the Autobots. Mesothulas also contributed the idea of the [[Aequitas]] computer, though Prowl reported that High Command were concerned with the ethics of the guilt-detecting supercomputer. Prowl eventually began to have very strong doubts about the ethics involved with Mesothulas's inventions, particularly after the revelation of his latest creations, the [[Noisemaze]], and an artificial Cybertronian life-form called Ostaros. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}}

Prowl quietly made a deal with [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] where in he would dispose of Mesothulas by pushing the scientist into the Noisemaze and destroy all of his inventions, including Ostaros. However, Impactor could not bring himself to eliminate Ostaros, and told Prowl to do his own dirty work if he wanted it done. Prowl, however, could not kill him either, and instead had the artificial Cybertronian enlisted in the Autobots under the name [[Springer (G1)|Springer]]. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}} Prowl soon went on to create an automatic recording for the possibility of him ever being compromised, in which case he wanted Springer to be the one to rescue him from whatever may befall him. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}} Prowl was among the arresting officers who took down [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] when he began [[Roadbuster affair|brutalizing his cadets]]. However, Impactor called in his favour with Prowl, who agreed to have Roadbuster released after serving minimum rehab. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}}

As the Decepticon movement began to spread across Cybertron and [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]] took command, Prowl became a member of Orion Pax's Autobot counter-insurgency unit. He participated in a mission to arrest [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] as he was selling weapons to terrorists in [[Nyon]]. {{storylink|Law and Disorder}} Not long afterwards he helped hunt down Decepticon spy Soundwave, but was dealt with by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] who collapsed the [[Neurospan Bridge]] on him. {{storylink|The Hunt for Soundwave}} When [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] was held hostage by Decepticons to convince Orion to come to Kaon and talk to Megatron, Prowl and the rest of the team came to their rescue. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}}

On a mission from Zeta Prime to arrest the insurgent [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]], Orion Pax's team traveled to Nyon's [[Acropolex]], where Prowl noted that their target seemingly wasn't trying to kill them and also mentioned being a believer in the [[Matrix of Leadership]] unlike [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|some people]]. At the heart of the Acropolex, the Autobots found that Hot Rod just wanted to show them multiple tanks full of energon drained from Nyon's populace to power Zeta Prime's war machines. He asked Orion Pax to join him against Prime's tyranny, though Prowl voiced his disapproval of officers joining the insurgents against their own government. {{storylink|Ruins}} He seemingly changed his mind as soon as Zeta Prime began directly assaulting Nyon. To distract Zeta's [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructor]]s while Hot Rod evacuated the city, Orion Pax and Prowl acted as bait and drew one of the Destructors into a trap, but failed to harm it and were defeated by Zeta Prime himself. {{storylink|Purge}} The Autobots' lives were saved by Megatron, who took them to Kaon for repairs and negotiated an alliance with Orion. {{storylink|Choices}}

[[File:Prowl Autocracy12 Endgame.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|This is my "up to something" face.]]
Together with their new allies, Prowl and the others attacked Zeta Prime's [[Citadel]] and put an end to his rule. Unsurprisingly, the Decepticons then betrayed them. {{storylink|Overthrown}} Prowl was among those captured under Megatron's new rule, but escaped alongside his cellmates [[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]]. They followed Orion Pax's ID signal to the ruins of Nyon, where they were shocked to learn that he had acquired the Matrix and become Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Rise}} When Optimus had to make a rallying call for more allies for their cause, Prowl cut the news-feed for the message to get carried out. He then participated in the assault against the Citadel. {{storylink|Broadcast}} After the battle, Prowl showed Optimus the armory that Zeta Prime had hidden in the [[Undergrid]], suggesting that they could use the weapons within against the Decepticons. Optimus refused this and ordered them destroyed. Knowing Prowl, however, he may not have followed orders... {{storylink|Endgame}}

Not long after Optimus's rise to leadership, Prowl aided him in responding to an attack on the [[Toraxxis mega-refinery]]. {{storylink|Rage (IDW)|Rage}} During the [[Exodus (G1)|Exodus]], his security unit was in charge of upholding order at Iacon's [[Starsreach Spaceport]], but growing tensions led to rioting among those who couldn't afford their way off the planet. Prowl called in Optimus Prime to calm the rioters, only to be pulled into combat when the Decepticons attacked the spaceport. {{storylink|Massacre}} After [[Grimlock (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Grimlock]] had chased off the attackers, Prowl watched him and the other [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] leave Cybertron. {{storylink|Unleashed}} He later participated in the Autobot defensive strategy against a rampaging [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. {{storylink|Annihilation}}

During an all-out Decepticon assault on Iacon, Prowl suggested the Autobots retreat to avoid being overwhelmed by Megatron's new [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]] allies, but was ordered by Prime to hold the line. {{storylink|Primacy issue 3|Primacy #3}} He continued to fight until Prime transmitted a holographic message telling all combatants that he had defeated Megatron and that the battle was over. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}

Following the battle, Prowl led a group of Autobots to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] where they were met by Decepticons led by [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]. The two squads clashed over Junkion's gravimetric core with either Shockwave or Prowl eventually giving the order to detonate the core and destroy the planet completely. {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 2: A Lonely Pillar on the Plain|A Lonely Pillar on the Plain}}

Four million years ago, Prowl was working directly under Optimus Prime as the Autobots fought to prevent the Decepticons from bringing fresh energon supplies to the war effort. While Optimus went after the energon convoy himself, Prowl held the line with Hound and the others to prevent the Decepticons from getting hold of the latest city they had targeted. In the aftermath, Prowl congratulated Prime for capturing the convoy without having to fire a shot. {{storylink|The Iron Age}}

At some point during the war, Prowl tried to desert and escape the war on board the ''[[Peaceful Resolution]]''. It was shot down before reaching orbit, and he realized he had to help win the war instead of running from it. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

Half a million years ago, during the Decepticon's siege on Metroplex, Prowl protested Optimus's illogical decision to enter the battlefield himself, and found himself backed up by [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who suggested taking Metroplex out of the equation. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} As he and Bumblebee watched the Titan depart Cybertron, Prowl grumbled that while it was necessary, the war itself was illogical, and that the reactive actions of Optimus were not the kind of leadership the Autobots needed, but rather someone like him who could plan for everything. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 5: I Dream of Wires|I Dream of Wires}}

After the [[Garrus-9]] detention facility had been established, Prowl was among the law enforcement Autobots who endured Aequitas' guilt-detecting trials of ''Autobot'' [[Flame (Marvel)|criminals]] who inflicted unspeakable horrors on civilians and other non-combatants. Prowl and other luminaries such as [[Chief Justice]] [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]], [[Xaaron]] and [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] agreed that the trials would remain a secret until the final verdict was cast, then it would be full disclosure, regardless of the damage to morale and the Autobots' political standing. {{Storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}} Prowl would later have concerns about Tyrest's state-of-mind following the Aequitas trials, and he would try to utilize [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Getaway]] to have the unstable Tyrest retire using a [[Institute|New Institute]] "[[nudge gun]]" to alter his memory. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}}

===Earth Unit===
[[File:Infiltration3 Prowl saveit.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Talk to the hand, the prick ain't listening.]]
Millions of years later, Prowl was the leader of a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on [[Earth]] for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency led by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] and blindly following the Autobot rules of counterinsurgency. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 1|Infiltration #1}} {{storylink|Infiltration issue 2|Infiltration #2}} He almost threw [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] in the brig for breaking cover to rescue three humans from the Decepticons, and subsequently refused to contact [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] until further evidence of enemy activities was uncovered. He did not willingly believe Ratchet when the medic told him that the Decepticons had stepped up their presence by constructing a [[Infiltration protocol|second base]]. However, [[Ironhide (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ironhide]] ended up sending a pulsewave transmission to Optimus Prime behind Prowl's back. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Prowl was forced to face reality when Megatron arrived on Earth to confront Starscream, {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} and he finally agreed to call in Optimus Prime. Thing was, Prime had already arrived. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

When Springer ordered several Autobots on a lethal mission to rescue the damaged and deranged Kup from [[Tsiehshi]], Prowl evidently helped conceal Springer's efforts from Optimus. However, he still felt it was a misguided effort, asking Springer if Kup would want other Autobots killed rescuing him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

Prowl went with the Autobots to investigate Decepticon activity in the country of [[Latveria]]. There they discovered a heavily shielded "array" that the Decepticons were using as a base. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} After a skirmish with the [[human]]s that were present there, they teamed up with them to shut down the [[Psycho-Prism]] human mind altering device the Decepticons had fortified inside the array. The Decepticons attacked. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} During the fight, [[Luke Cage]] and Ratchet discovered a weak spot in the array's defenses and went in. Prowl followed to make sure Ratchet didn't put human interests ahead of Autobot interests, but the human [[Spider-Man]] was held captive inside, so Prowl gave in and let Ratchet and Luke Cage attempt a rescue.

Prowl found the Psycho-Prism guarded by [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Doctor Doom]]. Doctor Doom zapped him into unconsciousness. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} He awoke next to Ratchet to find Spider-Man had been freed by Doctor Doom, who had switched sides. Prowl and Ratchet decided to use the Decepticons' [[mirror response mode]] equipment to boost their power with Spider-Man's superhuman abilities. [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]] arrived with Jazz and Bumblebee and suggested they use his abilities instead. They did, then [[orbital jump|orbital bounced]] with Spider-Man back to the battle outside, where their added strength helped defeat Megatron. Wolverine, Jazz, and Bumblebee stayed to destroy the Psycho-Prism. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}

[[File:Escalation6 Prowl MYTURF.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|Yeah, let the irresponsible loner look after the MacGuffin. Good call.]]
After [[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]] was kidnapped by [[Machination|a mysterious group of humans]], {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Optimus Prime}} Prowl was still obsessed with the rules of the counterinsurgency war and thus did not understand why Optimus Prime requested reinforcements to Earth. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} Prowl was furious when Ironhide dared to go around him and volunteer himself to track down clues on Sunstreaker's disappearance, and subsequently forced him to stay behind while the Autobots not on his grievance list left for [[Brasnya]] to confront the Decepticons. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} When everything kicked off in the former [[Russia|Soviet]] nation, Prowl led [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] (and later [[Hot Rod/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]]) into battle, attempting to capture [[Georgi Koska]], a Decepticon [[Facsimile construct|facsimile]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} He clashed with Hot Rod over the capture of Koska as both of them were of equal rank, {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} but when Optimus Prime was temporarily offline and believed dead, Prowl assumed full command and came up with a strategy for fighting Megatron (shoot him, then run away). {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Under orders from Optimus, Prowl oversaw the moving of ''[[Ark-19]]'' to a more secure location. He turned to Prime rather than order the launch on his own discretion. (Prime had to order him to use his own discretion.) {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} When [[Sixshot]] blew them out of the sky, Optimus took command of the situation until the ''Ark-19'' was destroyed. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} 

Once on the ''[[Ark-32]]'', Prowl found that, due to injuries from the battle with Sixshot {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} and separate missions, he and Hardhead were the only active Autobots. He was mildly annoyed that Optimus Prime and [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] were otherwise preoccupied during this crisis. He was then shocked when Optimus abruptly ordered their unit to withdraw from Earth to handle a situation at the [[Garrus-9]] secure facility. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}

Optimus Prime and Prowl met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and [[Jetfire (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jetfire]] on Garrus-9 to discuss the prisoners' breakout and how a surviving Decepticon had been tortured. Prime left Maximus in charge and said that he and Prowl had unfinished business aboard the ''Ark-32''. When [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] was reported guarding a cave on [[Corata-Vaz]], Optimus Prime recognized this had something to do with his [[infraspace]] encounter in [[Brasnya]]. He ordered Prowl to summon the [[Wrecker]]s to find out what Thunderwing was guarding. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}} He judged the subsequent battle between the Wreckers and Thunderwing as suicidal, and felt that they were wasting their time given everything seemed to be coming at them at once. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}

Prowl was present to hear Ratchet diagnose Sunstreaker after the later's de-Headmasterification. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}}

[[File:AHM15 SpringerpunchesProwl.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|According to my calcula- ''OHGODMYFACE!'']]
Prowl became increasingly frustrated with the tendency of the Autobots in general and Optimus specifically to lionise and listen to charismatic warriors and mavericks. Realising nobody would listen to the more logical tactical advice that he or Perceptor gave, he had Kup sent to the [[Kimia Facility]] to be rebuilt... with some personality sub-routines added in, which would ensure that the iconic elder could be controlled and made to act as a proxy for him. Prowl didn't want attention or glory, he only wanted to do his job, and he had absolutely no ethical qualms about ensuring that "when [Kup] speaks, you won't even see my lips move"... 

He ''really'' didn't like Springer either, and was annoyed that the ''Decepticons'' seem to be a more unified body than the Autobots. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Everything in Its Right Place}}

After the [[Expansion]] incident, Optimus Prime reassigned more Autobots to Earth. The Decepticons had been laying low for months, and everyone was starting to get restless. While Prowl recommended a "wait and see" approach to Optimus Prime, Ironhide's calls for action soon drowned out Prowl's reasoning. When Mirage handed them solid intelligence about a possible opportunity to wipe out Starscream and a small group of Decepticons, the Autobots acted on it. It turned out to be an ambush, and the Autobots were soundly defeated by the Decepticons with the aid of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. Informed that the Decepticons were launching simultaneous attacks across the galaxy on Autobot installations and also that there was a traitor among them, the Autobots' morale was dealt a heavy blow. Through use of a space bridge portal, Megatron planned to send the Autobots to Cybertron to have them devoured by the [[Insecticon swarm|Swarm]]. Optimus Prime managed to sabotage the portal and strand the Autobots on Cybertron before the Decepticons could follow, albeit nearly at the cost of his life. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[File:Ironhidepuncheseveryone.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|I'm sensing a pattern emerging.]]
In this unprecedented situation, Jazz's authority superseded Prowl's, and he took overall command of the battered and demoralized Autobots. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} Jazz also proved necessary to shore up Prowl's own authority, which was severely disregarded by his men. Jazz's reputation helped keep them in line, particularly the recalcitrant Ironhide, who had taken to striking superior officers, including Prowl himself. After the situation with Ironhide was defused, Prowl got Jazz to admit the energon searches he'd been sending troops out on were just to keep the men busy. Prowl worried that Prime would soon die, and about the details of their commander's condition that they had kept from the troops at large. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}

Frustrated at being stranded on Cybertron, he listened to [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks's]] story about how awesome and cool Jazz is to pass the time. {{storylink|Spotlight: Jazz}}

In particular, what Jazz and Prowl were withholding was the fact that the [[Matrix of Leadership]] was not within Prime anymore, but had been absconded with by Megatron. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

Kup arrived on Cybertron shortly thereafter with his own team, and things took a turn for the worse, with the Swarm encroaching on their position. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Sunstreaker was revealed to be the traitor, having made a bargain with Starscream to kill Megatron. He sacrificed his life to buy the other Autobots time to put some distance between them and the Swarm. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}
 
[[File:AHM10 ProwlandJazz.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Prick ''and'' nerd.]]
Thankfully, Ratchet finally managed to repair and revive Optimus Prime, and Autobot morale went on the upswing despite their situation. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} Under Prime's direction, they immediately began building a defense against the oncoming Swarm horde in a new temporary base. Once everything was nearly in place, Prowl calculated the odds of them succeeding and wound up with quite a dire forecast. Jazz urged him to keep it to himself, which Prowl quickly agreed to do. When the Swarm surged against them, the Autobots fought as hard as they could, but were eventually on the verge of being overwhelmed. Fortunately, [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] arrived to tilt the odds squarely in the Autobots' favor. Prowl asked Omega how he had survived the galaxy-wide Decepticon attack, speculating that they had probably sent an army against him. Omega simply replied, "I am Omega Supreme". {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}} 

The Autobots eventually boarded Omega's rocket mode and headed for Earth. There, they engaged the Decepticon forces in a fierce battle which ended with Megatron's defeat and Starscream ordering a withdrawal from the planet. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}} {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[File:Prowl Spotlight AdviseAgainstInvolvement.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|"But Prowl, look...teddy bear."]]
Over the next three years, the Autobots remained on Earth at the insistence of Optimus Prime. Optimus believed they could not leave in good conscience while human society was still in disarray from their war and rogue Decepticons still wandered the planet. The humans were not interested in having protectors, however, and soon learned to take care of themselves. [[Skywatch]] reverse-engineered Cybertronian technology to hunt and capture Autobots AND Decepticons left on the planet. 

As part of Optimus Prime's belief that the Autobots must help humanity rebuild in whatever way possible, Prowl was assigned to assist the local police whilst in disguise as one of their squad cars. Over the next eight months, Prowl saw humanity at its lowest ebb. Desperate, angry people who would never forgive the Transformers for bringing their war to humanity's homeworld. He watched as some of his driver's fellow police officers set fire to the building that the Decepticon [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] was trapped in, a cold execution of what Prowl considered an enemy combatant. He protested to Optimus Prime that humanity was dangerous, they were now killing Transformers, and that there was no strategic purpose for the Autobots to be on this planet or for he to continue this masquerade of being a police car. Prime asked his officer to trust him in his belief to the value of this activity, and that all the Autobots were on a personal journey.

===Lessons from Earth===
[[File:Prowl Spotlight DoneTheNumbers.jpg|130px|thumb|Prowl finally realizes that math is useless.]]
And so Prowl continued to patrol the streets, and while he did so, he calculated. The humans numbered in their swarming billions versus less than ten thousand Cybertronians. Humanity lived brief, petty, frantic lives of comparatively little consequence, their world and its infrastructure inefficient, ramshackle and incompetent. Prowl concluded that not a single human life was worth that of a Cybertronian. However, when he and his police officer driver were overseeing the removable of volatile Cybertronian wreckage from a building, some workers accidentally triggered an abandoned weapon to fire, destroying a damaged building. Without thinking, Prowl transformed and pushed a young girl out of the way, saving her life, but in the process, was trapped under the rubble that would have crushed her. His driver expressed disbelief that the Autobot had been in disguise as his car for the past eight months, and that he had broken cover to save one girl. Prowl confessed that for eight months he had been watching, planning, but unable to do anything. There were so many times he could have assisted if he were able to break cover. He had run the numbers, made calculations on Earth and on humanity, his math was flawless, but they weren't ''right''. And when push came to shove, he couldn't rely on what he thought might happen, he had to act on instinct and do the right thing. The policeman, impressed, remarked that Prowl spoke like a true beat cop, and stated that while he was obligated to call this incident in, it wasn't an emergency and suggested that Prowl had an hour to extricate himself before Skywatch arrived. {{storylink|Ride-Along}}

[[File:Ongoing issue 1-Prowl shot in the back.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Woman makes prick staticky. Hilarity ensues.]]
The Autobots moved west, where Prowl was joined in his undercover police work with new arrival [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]]. They were present at a power installation in New Mexico, which was being ransacked by the ravenous [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]. Skywatch deployed its robot-hunting crash-suits and brought down the Decepticon before leveling lethal particle cannons at him. Despite himself, Prowl broke cover to prevent the execution of a helpless Transformer. This left his backside open to the second Skywatch team on site, who used [[Suppressor (device)|mode lock inhibitors]] to capture him as well as the "bait", Breakdown. 

Prowl's capture was reported back to Autobase by Streetwise, and Hot Rod assembled a strike team to infiltrate Skywatch and rescue him. These Autobots were outfitted with Wheeljack's new counter-inhibitors to prevent the mode lock from working. Unfortunately, this sudden change in tactical efficiency only caused Skywatch to panic, drawing out their lethal ordnance to protect themselves. Prowl was rescued...but Ironhide died in the assault. Grieving for his friend, Optimus Prime then stepped down as Autobot leader and turned himself over to Skywatch. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

With Optimus gone, Hot Rod advocated abandoning his plan and this planet, and Prowl was one of the first to sign up for Hot Rod's splinter group. They failed to convince [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] to fly them off-world, but then encountered a group of Decepticons led by Swindle. After a brief scuffle, Hot Rod and Swindle entered into negotiations for a truce. Prowl was uncomfortable with the idea of collaboration, despite his earlier effort on Breakdown's behalf. Ultimately, however, he went along with it. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

[[File:Prowl Seasons In Flight.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Prowl always narcs on the cool kids.]]
The united Autobots and Decepticons attempted to construct a space cruiser in order to leave the planet. Their efforts reached a hurdle with the arrival of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]], duly appointed enforcer of the [[Tyrest Accord]]. Prowl had summoned Ultra Magnus to Earth as part of standard operating procedure after Ironhide's death, before Prime abdicated his leadership and the faction had split. Things became difficult as Magnus attempted to confiscate Hot Rod's "unlicensed interstellar vehicle". Prowl attempted to weigh in with legalese of his own, citing the line of procedural succession and emergency powers, but it became moot when Magnus discovered their collaboration. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 3: "Seasons in Flight"|Seasons in Flight}}

Eventually the collaboration ended when the Decepticons betrayed Hot Rod. Prowl and the others survived thanks to the intervention of Optimus Prime and Skywatch leading Bumblebee to form an alliance with humans. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 5: "Earthworks"|Earthworks}}

[[File:Prowl LSOTW5 Pressure.jpg|left|thumb|100px|To prick...or ''not'' to prick...]]
Sometime after things settled down on Earth, Prowl formed a plan to recapture the [[Garrus-9]] detention facility, which had fallen during Megatron's push three years earlier. On the basis of an earlier report from [[Dominus Ambus|Agent 113]], High Command had originally concluded that G-9 had been utterly destroyed, but Springer found new intel that suggested that Fortress Maximus and Co. had not only survived the Surge, but were repelling Decepticon invasion parties while waiting to be rescued.{{storylink|Bullets|Bullets}}

Prowl's primary objective on this mission was for the Wreckers to retrieve the data stored on [[Aequitas]], as he feared that if the Decepticons managed to get their hands on politically-damaging information about Autobot war criminals, it would be disastrous to the Autobot cause. When selections for the new Wreckers squad were being made, Prowl learned that [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] (a weapons researcher at [[Kimia Facility]] who had an obsessive fascination with the Wreckers) had recently suffered a lab accident involving cerebro-centric bullets and only had months to live. Applying pressure on psy-ops specialist [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (who had judged the researcher unfit for Wreckers duty), Prowl arranged for Ironfist to be placed in Springer's squad on the condition that he would be the one to sacrifice his life to unlock Aequitas. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} After the surviving Wreckers defeated [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] and liberated G-9, Prowl was given a [[data slug]] containing the Aequitas' data, the legacy of Ironfist, who had finally succumbed to his lab accident injury. Prowl explained to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] how he regretted using Ironfist in this manner, and he would prefer if the information about trials were never made public, despite what he had agreed to millions of years ago, for fear of what it would do to Autobot morale. As Ultra Magnus left, Prowl started to apply pressure on the data slug... {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[File:Infestation2-Prowl.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|IM IN UR HEAD DRIVING U CRAZY...ER.]]
When [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] crash-landed a spaceship full of [[zombie]]s in [[Las Vegas]], Autobot and Skywatch troops were ready to defend the city. After a brief battle, they learned that the zombies were not on Galvatron's side, but rather a threat to the entire planet, and Prowl had the area quarantined before interrogating Galvatron on what he knew about the creatures. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 1|The Transformers: Infestation #1}} The leader of the zombies, an interdimensional vampire in disguise named [[Britt]], soon revealed herself and attacked the Autobots and Decepticons, infecting Kup with the zombie plague and creating a space-time portal to Cybertron's distant past, intending to infect the planet while it was still teeming with life. Prowl, however, had a way to sabotage her plan: using his previously established mind link with Kup, he removed the virus's control over the old warrior and had him change the portal's coordinates, trapping Kup, Britt and the zombie army in the [[Dead Universe]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: Infestation issue 2|The Transformers: Infestation #2}} {{Storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 4|Heart of Darkness #4}}

Prowl was one of the Autobots who participated in the covert mission to take out the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], who were working with [[North Korea]] in exchange for energon. {{storylink|International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"|Ranks of Bronze}} In order to keep the battle a secret from the world at large, they hacked all spy satellites watch the area, after which Prowl helped defeat [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]. {{storylink|International Incident Part 3: "Hawk Among the Sparrows"|Hawk Among the Sparrows}} Then the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] joined the fray. Since Bumblebee and [[Kyle Pennington|Pennington]] back at base were unable to see what was going on, Prowl had to keep them informed, all while calculating the best strategies to avoid casualties. The Autobots were eventually victorious, but at the cost of humanity learning about their alliance with Skywatch. {{storylink|International Incident Part 4: "All My Sins Remembered"|All My Sins Remembered}}

As the Autobots flew home from Korea, the Decepticons returned to Earth with a vengeance and had their plane shot down. Prowl and the others survived, however, and made it to shore. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}} After their attacker was revealed to be none other than a returning Megatron, they confronted him and learned that he had defeated most of their troops in America and left them to the mercy of armed and angry humans. Prowl sent Jazz to save them, but against his direct orders to not resort to violence, Jazz ended up breaking cover and killing one of the men. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} The Autobots regrouped at Omega Supreme, and were soon joined by Megatron, having given himself up just to taunt them. Prowl was contemplating how short-sighted it had been to have both their mechanics on the Korea team when Optimus Prime approached him, asking him to investigate Megatron's claims that [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike Witwicky]] had executed a [[Scrapper (G1)|surrendered combatant]]. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}}

[[File:PoliceActionPrologue-Prowl.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Not to prick, apparently.]]
In order to finish his investigation, Prowl remained on Earth with Bumblebee, Ultra Magnus and some other Autobots while the rest of them left to drive Galvatron off of Cybertron. After a last-minute questioning of Megatron revealed nothing new, he tried unsuccessfully to get Decepticon deserter [[Thundercracker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Thundercracker]] to stay with the Autobots, and lied to Bumblebee and Spike that he would keep them updated on what was going on. {{storylink|Police Action: Prologue}} Appearing via hologram on board Omega Supreme, Prowl participated in the talks on what the Autobots would do with Megatron. He agreed with [[Xaaron]] that they needed a third party to judge the Decepticon leader's trial, but admitted that personally he'd rather just execute the scumbag. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}}

[[File:Prowl The Question.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Okay, so you say "we"...]]
For a time, Prowl and Bumblebee clashed over command of the Earth-bound Autobots. Prowl co-opted several operatives, such as Street-Wise and Groove, for his own operation, while Bumblebee was left with dealing with a Decepticon situation on his own. When Bumblebee returned to their headquarters with all five Stunticons as his prisoners, he earned a certain degree of respect from Prowl; until then Prowl had doubted Bumblebee's capabilities as a leader. {{storylink|The Question}}

When Spike let slip that he'd be gone from base for 36 hours for secret reasons, Prowl decided to spy on his activities. This proved uninformative as Spike just met with higher-ups and assorted women, but things got heated when Breakdown suddenly showed up for revenge against the human. Prowl defeated him with help from Streetwise, but was forced to break off the mission and was chewed out by Ultra Magnus for the attention attracted by the battle. He mentioned wanting to look into anti-Transformer spokesman [[Ben Simpson]], whom he suspected was providing people with guns made from Megatron's parts, but was ordered to focus on Spike. Searching the site of Scrapper's death, Prowl was sampling some odd chemical residue when he suddenly came under attack. {{storylink|Police Action: Part 1|Police Action #1}} 

The assailant was Brawl, though Prowl noticed he had a spotter that got away. Together with Streetwise he defeated the Decepticon and took him in for questioning, but a failsafe in his body caused him to shut down during interrogation. Continuing with the investigation on Spike, Prowl had former Skywatch member [[Sandra (G1)|Sandra]] brought in while he looked into the sample he had found. Just as he figured out that Scrapper had been attacked by a human with a chemical weapon rather than another Decepticon as previously assumed, Spike approached him and shamelessly admitted that it was all true. {{storylink|Police Action Part 2: Only Forward|Only Forward}}

While Spike argued that it was a strategical operation to rid the world of Devastator, Prowl saw it as murder with vengeance for Spike's friend [[Tim Simmons]] as the motive. Spike didn't care for being lectured, calling Prowl out on making his own tough decisions and keeping secrets from his allies for their own sake. Before he could think of what to do next, Prowl got word from Bumblebee that Ultra Magnus had agreed to go after Ben Simpson, and rolled out alongside him and Streetwise. Simpson turned out to be a [[facsimile construct]] created by Swindle to boost anti-Transformer sentiment among humanity for profit. When captured, Swindle not only admitted to being responsible for the situation in North Korea, but also for helping Skywatch by selling Cybertronian technology to... Spike Witwicky. Before the Autobots could do much, Spike had fled while Jazz went off on his own and announced to the world that the Autobots were cutting all ties with Skywatch and humanity. {{storylink|Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden|A Second Chance at Eden}}

===Schemers never change===
[[File:Prowl DeathofOptimusPrime.jpg|upright=0.85|left|thumb|Emo prick.]]
The few Autobots on Earth returned to Cybertron in the wake of Galvatron and the [[D-Void]]'s defeat. Though the war was over, [[Autobot High Command]] found themselves stuck with the thankless job of governing the many neutral Cybertronians returning home. Prowl coined the term Non-Aligned Indigenous Life-forms, or [[NAIL]]s, for them, and they didn't like being ruled by the people who had ruined their world through war. When a riot took place, the Autobots were outnumbered 20-to-1 and Prowl had no choice but to release the captive Decepticons and have them lend a hand, though [[inhibitor/deterrence chip]]s kept from using lethal force. Things got worse when Rodimus and Ultra Magnus announced that they were leaving Cybertron in search of the [[Knights of Cybertron]] when he needed them to deal with the neutrals. This caused Prowl to blow up in anger towards the neutrals, calling them arrogant and ungrateful cowards who did nothing during the war but now acted like they owned the planet. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

Contrary to Prowl's belief that nobody would willingly come with Rodimus, he managed to gather over 200 Autobots for his quest, including his old partner and friend Chromedome. Prowl ended up goading Rodimus {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} into installing [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] on the Lost Light covertly on board the ''[[Lost Light]]'' {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} and asked Chromdome to perform mnemosurgery on the captive in the hopes of learning the secrets of what made a Phase-Sixer. When Chromedome refused, Prowl attempted to blackmail him with an unsavoury secret from the mnemosurgeon's past, threatening to tell Rewind; Chromedome responded by assaulting Prowl and erasing some of his memory to protect his relationship with Rewind. {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} Not to be deterred by his slight amnesia, Prowl still tried to convince Chromedome to stay as he truly needed his special abilities, but Chromedome refused as he'd rather leave his past behind. After a brief fit of anger, Prowl resorted to plan B, contacting his [[Duobot|agents]] on board [[Lost Light|Rodimus's ship]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}} He ordered them to place a tracker on its engines, though unfortunate events would lead to them to fail and be killed. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} Prowl and Bumblebee watched the launch of the ''Lost Light'' be cut short when the ship disappeared in a sudden explosion. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[File:Prowl Arcee TheAutomonyLesson.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Prick talking about how he hasn't gone soft.]]
Prowl was left handling the Decepticons, who were very harsh law enforcers and very unhappy about their imprisonment. After arresting [[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] and [[Horri-Bull]] for assaulting [[Tappet|a NAIL]] (and then arresting the NAIL for disturbing the peace), he took them back to the Decepticon pen and was confronted by Decepticon spokesman [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], who demanded his faction be treated as equals. Believing him to have some sort of plan, Prowl reported his suspicions to Bumblebee and suggested they cancel the memorial service dedicated to Rodimus's crew, what with the large NAIL population being indifferent to the fate of their friends. He later discussed the matter of Ratbat with his secret weapon, [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]], telling her that he was going to preserve the peace even if he had to do things he didn't want to do. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|The Autonomy Lesson}} He learned the truth soon enough when Starscream came to the Autobots and sold out Ratbat, telling Prowl that he planned to assassinate Bumblebee during the memorial service then stage a coup. Acting on this info, Prowl managed to stop [[Skywarp (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Skywarp]] from sniping Bumblebee and leaving a NAIL to take the blame, and in the meantime sent Arcee to deal with Ratbat. Even though she mercilessly murdered the Decepticon, the two agreed afterwards that she had acted in self-defense and had no other choice. {{storylink|The World & Everything in It}} Prowl later addressed to the Decepticons in the wake of Ratbat's death, claiming that evidence suggested suicide. Starscream stepped in and backed the cover story, much to Prowl's discomfort. Very shortly thereafter, mysterious explosions began striking Cybertron, leading Prowl to believe the Decepticons were responsible. Metalhawk questioned this, adding in some cutting remarks about the war not being over for Prowl yet. Eventually Wheeljack figured out the origin of the explosions and that all parties were innocent in the matter. Much to Prowl's displeasure, Starscream came up with a plan to protect the civilians while Wheeljack ended the threat. When Starscream was granted a place in the new government thanks to his actions, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] became enraged and struck Prowl, who had tried to calm him down. {{storylink|Stick Together}} 

[[File:Prowl Bombshell Devisive.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Reports of this headshot may have been greatly exaggerated.]]
Starscream immediately began undermining Bumblebee's position in the new government, adding to Prowl's growing frustration. When the Decepticon [[Skydive (Predator)|Skydive]] was found murdered, Prowl saw to the investigation. While interrogating the only witness, [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], Prowl found a [[cerebro-shell]] implanted on the Decepticon, leading him to the conclusion that [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] was the murderer. Prowl and Arcee used the entranced Dirge to track Bombshell down, finding the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] ensnaring [[Sunstorm (G1)|another victim]]. After a scuffle where Prowl found out that Bombshell's I/D chip wasn't functioning, he ordered [[Blurr (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Blurr]] to pursue the fleeing suspect. Prowl and Arcee soon caught up and found Blurr being accosted by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. While Arcee was ordered to save Blurr, Prowl kept on with his pursuit of Bombshell, eventually cornering him. When Bombshell refused to give him any information or the identity of any possible collaborators, a fed-up Prowl coldly executed the deranged Insecticon. The cerebro-shell fell off Dirge, and he witnessed the aftermath of Prowl's actions. Dirge managed to escape and Prowl ordered Arcee to pursue him while he dealt with the Constructicons. Utilizing a hidden override code on the I/D chips to overcome whatever was blocking the signal, Prowl activated their chips and disabled all five Constructicons at once. Later, an injured Blurr gave Prowl a piece of his mind for being ordered after Bombshell without backup, calling him "crazy" and "paranoid". Prowl ignored Blurr's concerns, and pointed out that there was something larger at play with the Decepticons, telling Bumblebee that they had to "take control" of this new era. {{storylink|Devisive}}

When the NAIL [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] arrived, Prowl kept close tabs with him along with Sideswipe. Later on, he was informed that Sky-Byte was having a secret meeting with the Decepticons and broke into their hiding place with Streetwise and Sideswipe and after a brief fight, managed to capture Sky-Byte and Needlenose. They were about to lynch them in public when Ironhide stopped Prowl after saying that it was a way to have a better future of equality for Autobot and Decepticon. When questioned the next day at [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] of his new attitude, Ironhide said he had a vision that he and Alpha Trion were telling war stories on Gorlam Prime and that every Autobot and Decepticon by that time, were dead along with their old grudges. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}

[[File:Sideswipe Prowl and Wheeljack vehicle Primus All Good Things.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7]]
When the Decepticon captain [[Turmoil]] landed his ship on Cybertron, Prowl and his security forces were ordered in by Bumblebee to attack if necessary. When the order was given by Metalhawk, the Autobot forces stormed in to capture the Decepticons. {{storylink|Interference Patterns}} Prowl saw the Dinobots, Sky-Lynx and Ironhide off when they headed out into the wilderness in response to a distress signal. After they were out of earshot, Prowl noted that he was uncomfortable with the Dinobots retaining their Earth altmodes, and wish they would return to "normal." Bumblebee responded that things had been far from normal recently. He then joined Metalhawk and Starscream in their criticisms about the free elections being stalled on Cybertron, though Bumblebee insisted that they were forthcoming. He later explained to Bumblebee that he desired the elections to take place because he had confidence that Bumblebee would be elected as the planet's leader. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} When [[Turmoil]]'s ship, containing a sort of time machine, disappeared under Bumblebee's nose, Prowl arrived to assist the investigation. {{storylink|Night and the City}} He was later present when a Metrotitan appeared beneath Cybertron's surface and declared Starscream as the Cybertronian conqueror who would unite the planet. {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things}} 

[[File:CityOnFire-NewProwl.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|<---o The Verge]]
A short while later, Omega Supreme was bombed in a terror attack, and Prowl used the opportunity as pretense to arrest the Decepticons still working under Soundwave and Shockwave. To allow him to spirit the Decepticons away to secret captivity, Prowl had Arcee infiltrate their hideout, disable them with a special stasis bomb, and then planet explosives throughout the pen. Prowl then lead his public arrest force to the pen, where he purposely tripped the explosives to present the appearance that the Decepticons had booby-trapped their own base and had perished in the blast. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} The blast left Prowl in a serious, although stable, condition, but he soon mysteriously disappeared from his [[CR chamber]]. A short while later, when Decepticons had begun rioting in response to Megatron's return, Prowl reappeared in an upgraded body, and shot [[Staxx]] to save Wheeljack, who had been corned by the angry mob. {{storylink|City on Fire}} He subsequently led the Autobot engineer to the [[Black Room]], where the Decepticons Prowl had previously 'killed' were waiting, repaired and upgraded. Wheeljack was taken hostage, and soon the escaped Megatron arrived, with a stunned Starscream in tow. {{storylink|The Verge}} 

[[File:IDWRID14 prowlstator.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Deva-prick? Prick-astator?]]
When a group of Autobots, joined by Metalhawk, Dirge and Swindle arrived at the Black Room, Prowl was holding Starscream and Wheeljack at gunpoint. The engineer tried to remind Bumblebee of what was "most important", but was shot through the head by his captor. Bombshell and Prowl revealed to their audience that the Autobot law enforcer had been taken by one of the Insecticon's mind control devices as he attempted to execute him, and had been a pawn of the Decepticons ever since. Bombshell also noted that Prowl had been easily controlled due to his memories already being damaged in some manner. With that concluded, Megatron declared that the Autobot had outlived his usefulness as a secret pawn, and announced that he would now become part of the next generation of Decepticon warrior. Briefly freed from Bombshell's influence, Prowl collapsed to the ground, aghast that his friends had never suspected his being controlled, but was suddenly wracked with pain as his body transformed against his will... into the head and shoulders of a reborn Devastator! The behemoth proceeded to attack the Autobot command center and snatch [[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]] out of the air, before proceeding, under Bombshell's influence, to the med-center, where the highest concentration of Autobots was. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

The Prowl-Devastator remained conscious under Bombshell's control, but unable to direct his own actions. He was confronted by Ironhide's newly arrived Autobot gestalt, the former Aerialbots known as [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], and battled the giant. Prowl-Devastator's mind temporarily shut down when Arcee revealed her true colors and executed Bombshell. The gestalt soon started back up again, however, as Prowl's mind interfaced with the Devastator gestalt and began willingly causing vast amounts of destruction. The Devastator-Prowl started rampaging again, completely out of Decepticon control, and tore his way through Superion. {{storylink|Plan for Everything}}

Ironhide managed to get through to Prowl inside Devastator's psyche, convincing him to stop the devastation. Prowl re-exerted control over himself and Devastator long enough to rip the gestalt's head from its shoulders, separating Prowl and the Constructicons back into their component parts. Undeterred, Megatron prepared to enter the Devastator gestalt personally with his new body. Luckily, Bumblebee deciphered Wheeljack's last words in time, and he, Prowl and Ironhide spoke the access code for Wheeljack's system bypass, reactivating the force field bubble the engineer had secretly implanted in Megatron's spark casing. Unfortunately for the Autobot government, however, the NAILs had had enough after this latest outbreak of warfare. Led by Starscream, they cast both Autobots and Decepticons out of new Iacon. {{storylink|Heavy Is the Head}}

===Suffering the consequences===
Almost immediately after departing, the Autobots were confronted by the Constructicons, who wanted to join up with Prowl since their unification had given them a glimpse into Prowl's mind, and they had liked what they had seen. Bumblebee attempted to rationalise that Prowl had only done all the terrible things he had done under Bombshell's influence, but Arcee, thinking she was helping, pointed out that Ratbat's assassination ''had'' been Prowl. She later attempted to apologise for revealing this. {{storylink|Second Exodus}} When Tyrest's [[universal killswitch]] was activated, Prowl was among those affected. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} Luckily Prowl was saved thanks to Rodimus and Perceptor. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} Later, when a bright light mysteriously appeared, {{storylink|Second Exodus}} Prowl and the other Autobots approached it, only for a [[Necrotitan|Titan]] to emerge from the ground in front of them. {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}}

As Bumblebee tried to organise an offensive, he asked Prowl if it was that same Titan that had proclaimed Starscream would rule, Prowl admitted he wasn't sure since his memories from his time under Bombshell's control were fuzzy. Despite insisting that attacking immediately was their best course of action, Bumblebee protested, leading Prowl to argue that it was Bumblebee's indecisiveness that led to him losing Iacon, at which point they were suddenly attacked by Soundwave's Decepticons. {{storylink|Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2|Black Metal}} However, when Starscream arrived to confront the Titan, Prowl once again became infuriated with Bumblebee's hesitation in allowing Arcee to take him out and with his sudden collaboration with Soundwave on the situation. The final straw came when the Titan unleashed a wave of energy, injuring several of the Autobots, leading Prowl to outright blame Bumblebee for their problems. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}}

While Prowl thought they should press the attack Bumblebee favored a more logical approach, which was when Soundwave heard Megatron screaming.{{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} Following the sound, the combined force found Shockwave's lab, where [[Nova Prime]] and Galvatron were attempting to emerge from the [[Dead Universe]] through a space bridge in Megatron's chest. While battling Shockwave's forces, Prowl tried to order Bumblebee to focus on fighting rather than reaching the resurrected Metalhawk, but when Shockwave called in the Necrotitan, Prowl ordered a retreat. {{storylink|Finest Hour: Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|Finest Hour}} Prowl called for the combined Autobot and Decepticon forces to retreat to Iacon, retorting [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop's]] protest that they wouldn't be leading it there since it was already heading towards the city. {{storylink|No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|No Exit}}

They eventually made it back to Iacon, where [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] led them to the self-pitying Starscream. Prowl, recognizing that Shockwave was relying on them to fight among themselves, decided to play things logically and took charge of the situation, organizing the treatment of the wounded, the evacuation of the survivors, and preparing a counter-strike against the Titan. While coordinating with Soundwave, he questioned whether the Decepticon understood Shockwave's logic, but Soundwave admitted he never understood Shockwave, and as Prowl scoffed at his belief that they could still defeat him, Bumblebee arrived with an injured Megatron. Furious that Bumblebee would rescue their longtime enemy, Prowl was prepared to shoot the Decepticon leader, however as they all argued, Metroplex and the ''Lost Light'' arrived via quantum jump to fight the Necrotitan. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} After greeting the ''Lost Light'' crew as they disembarked, Prowl smugly reprimanded Bumblebee for allowing Megatron to disappear with a portion of Metroplex's thumb; when Bumblebee aggressively told him to piss off and that he'd made a choice, Prowl looked smug indeed about the little guy having made a decision like he'd wanted. Luckily too, the Decepticon leader did not adandon them as Prowl thought; Megatron teleported into Metroplex's hand to give him the Regenisis ore in the thumb, allowing Metroplex to defeat the Necrotitan. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}}

[[File:TheBecoming-throw.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Cybertron's hottest new sport, prick toss.]]
After reluctantly admitting that Bumblebee was right to trust Megatron, Prowl then sought out Chromedome, having realised that the mnemosurgeon had worked on him, which was what had allowed Bombshell to control him. Taunting him on the recent loss of Rewind, the pair fought, and Prowl found himself cheered on by the Constructicons until Ultra Magnus arrived to break up the fight. Magnus then gave Prowl a few choice words, pointing out that Prowl had been indirectly responsible for many problems on the ''Lost Light'', and that he had never suffered through any of his own actions. Prowl was left alone with his admirers after a final remark from Magnus citing that he was the loneliest person he had ever met and was now among like-minded company. Before too long, however, the calm was ended by the arrival of Shockwave's army of [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Seeing that [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]] was about to harass Metroplex, a hesitant Prowl was convinced by the Constructicons into reforming Devastator, {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} who managed to defeat the original combiner with help from the ''Lost Light''. After the fighting was over, Prowl was among the crowd who witnessed Optimus and Megatron exit the ''Lost Light'', with the Decepticon leader having defected. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

In a meeting to discuss what to do with Megatron, Prowl urged that they simply move forward with executing him rather than go through the mockery of a trial, however it was decided that a trial would go ahead to show the public that the Autobots didn't operate outside the law. Prowl was pleased to hear Optimus appoint him prosecutor. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} As the trial progressed, Prowl had many testimonies against Megatron made, including ones from [[Gripper (G1)|Gripper]] and Starscream. However, when Megatron changed his plea from guilty to not guilty {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} and made clear his desire to be tried by the Knights of Cybertron, a legal loophole possible because of the trial taking place on Luna-2 where the laws were different. Prowl insisted that they move the trial back to Cybertron so that it wouldn't be an issue, however Ultra Magnus pointed out that they couldn't do so for their own convenience. As a result, Optimus ended up allowing Megatron to join the ''Lost Light'' in order to have the former Decepticon's fate decided by the Knights. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}}

Prowl let his fury at Optimus fly, but when Optimus pointed out that Megatron was accepting his mistakes and the wrongness of his actions, Prowl admitted that he too had been ruthless throughout the course of the war, and that Bumblebee's death was clouding his judgement. Accepting Optimus's offer to join him on another mission to Earth, Prowl hoped that he might learn more from the planet. When the Constructicons, whom Prowl had reluctantly accepted, asked if they were joining the ''Lost Light'' under Megatron, Prowl raged that he would never stand with Megatron, and told them they would be going to Earth, knowing that Optimus was making a mistake and that he would have to be there to fix things. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] attempted to discuss the result of the trial with Prowl, but Prowl instead preferred to vent his frustrations to the lonely Autobot, sarcastically stating that a bold new future awaited them. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} Before they departed, Prowl offered his opinion to Arcee on the difference between her and the Camiens, and was pleased when she asked Optimus permission to join their mission. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}}

===Erratic behavior===

As they approached Earth, Prowl stated it was good to be home, to the confusion of Cosmos, who pointed out how personally Prowl took Spike Witwicky's betrayal. Prowl brushed aside the comment, and asked if Cosmos trusted Prime's leadership, revealing that he asked him to come along because he needed someone he can trust on the mission. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 5: I Dream of Wires|I Dream of Wires}} Arriving in Earth's orbit, the Ark-7 was immediately attacked by Cybertronian-like weapons, and Prowl protested against falling back to the moon since the humans knew they were coming. As Optimus organised a team to go to the surface aboard [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], Prowl was ordered to remain with Arcee and Sky Lynx to investigate who launched the missiles, and Arcee suspected Prowl was unhappy with being sidelined. {{storylink|Earthfall Part 1: Hello Cruel World|Hello Cruel World}} As a battle between Optimus's team and the allied [[Earth Defense Command]] and Galvatron-led Decepticons erupted, Prowl sent Arcee and Sideswipe to back them up while he and Sky Lynx gathered the Constructicons. When the battle moved into the small town of [[Poverty Flat]], Prowl revealed his plan to force the Decepticons into revealing themselves, and combined with the Constructicons into Devastator, {{storylink|Earthfall Part 2: Detonation Boulevard|Detonation Boulevard}} thereby threatening the EDC's attempt to cover up the return of the Cybertronians. Once the EDC pulled the Decepticons out, Prowl dismissed Optimus's concerns about the recklessness of Prowl's plan and his horror at Prowl's expectation that the EDC would have executed the civilians, pointing out that he had exposed the EDC's mind bomb weapon, which was doubtlessly designed thanks to access to a Cybertronian brain, giving them a lead as to the captured Alpha Trion's location. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 3: The Mind Bomb|The Mind Bomb}}

As the Autobots worked on a way to infiltrate the base, Optimus was unhappy with Prowl's presumption about leading the rescue mission, and ordered him to remain with Sky Lynx. Arcee took a moment to confide in Prowl that she thought that [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] was a spy, however Prowl wasn't concerned with that, only if she had told Optimus. After asking if she was still loyal to him, Arcee responded that she was loyal to the Autobot cause, a fact that Prowl found highly amusing. As Optimus's team started their attack, Prowl used the distraction to disembark Sky Lynx and infiltrate the base himself, where he caught up with Jazz, who had found Alpha Trion. Holding a gun to his comrade's head, he stated that Trion wasn't going anywhere, {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}} and with Jazz's attention on him, pointed out the alarms set up around Alpha Trion. Having realized that the humans couldn't have used Alpha Trion to create their mind bomb in the short time he was their captive, Prowl and Jazz began searching their base for clues. When Prowl was apparently knocked out by the mind bomb, he used the connection to the EDC's mainframe, but lacking time to go through their encrypted files, took control of their weapons and take out the Decepticon worldburner. After Jazz carried him to their teammates, Prowl awoke to reveal that Scavenger's leaking of information to the Decepticons was his plan to make events play out as they did. After forming Devastator to cover the rescue of Alpha Trion, Prowl counted the mission as a complete success. While Optimus was furious about Prowl's actions and secrets, Prowl insisted that it was all justifiable in this dangerous new era.

Meanwhile, Galvatron murdered [[Sparkplug Witwicky|General Witwicky]], and claimed that Prowl had been the culprit, and was believed due [[Marissa Faireborn|Marissa Faireborn's]] awareness of the animosity between Prowl and his son. {{storylink|Earthfall Chapter 5: I Dream of Wires|I Dream of Wires}}

When Optimus and Alpha Trion journeyed to the moon for a private conversation, Prowl used a stealth-painted Cosmos to listen in as Trion explained his role in history, and of the mysterious [[Enigma of Combination]] that could allow Cybertronian's to merge located on Earth. When Alpha Trion asked whether Optimus would share this information with Prowl, due to his control of the only truly successful combiner in eons, Optimus questioned why he wouldn't share what he had learned from his friend. {{storylink|The Crucible}}

As Prowl learned of the resurfacing of Spike Witwicky, Optimus prepared to head back to Cybertron, leaving Prowl in charge, but warned him against taking more unnecessary risks. Overcome with anger over Optimus's weakness and suffering from another nosebleed, which were getting more frequent, Prowl gathered the Constructicons and informed them that they were going after Spike {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part One: Signals, Calls, and Marches|Signals, Calls, and Marches}} Believing that Spike knew of the Enigma of Combination's whereabouts, Prowl and the Constructicons took on a dangerous pursuit through the streets of Tokyo for their target. Momentarily halted in his pursuit by Arcee, who was concerned about him putting innocent humans in danger, Prowl finally managed to capture his quarry just as the Decepticons arrived, also in search of Spike.

Escaping to the cover of a nearby forest, Spike expected to be executed, but Prowl proclaimed that he had forgiven Spike. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Two: Vs.|Vs.}} While Spike was quick to assume that it was because he was justified in defending the preservation of his own species, Prowl corrected him by saying he now understood how destructive his own race was and that they needed to be stopped. Requesting Spike's help in recovering the Enigma, Prowl and the Constructicons headed to [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock's]] facility in Wanmu. Using Spike to infiltrate and confirm the Enigma's presence, and upon hearing from Cosmos that the Decepticons were inbound, Prowl then ordered the Constructicons to combine so that they could take the Enigma, and that Spike was only a secondary target, having lied about his forgiveness. {{storylink|Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON|ONoffON}} While Devastator did manage to retrieve the Enigma, his components' shared hatred for Spike derailed the combiner's objective, throwing the Enigma away as he attempted to squash Spike. Arcee finally managed to reach Prowl by revealing that the Enigma had been taken by [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] during his blind attack. After taking a [[space bridge]] as a bonus prize, Prowl blamed the Constructicons for taking control of Devastator from him, but they pointed out Prowl was as much to blame, and Arcee suggested that Prowl find a way to explain his actions to Optimus. {{storylink|The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati|The Obliterati}}

As he showed off the space bridge to Jetfire, Prowl received word from Rattrap about Starscream's recent contact with the colony of [[Caminus]] and his acquisition and use of the Enigma of Combination. Furious, Prowl contacted Optimus, demanding to know what he was thinking in allowing Starscream access to colonies, accusing Prime of not seeing the bigger picture. As Optimus terminated the call, omitting the fact that Starscream had combiners, Prowl seethed with rage at not being trusted, and decided to act himself. Having Rattrap use Metroplex's space bridge to provide a connection to Cybertron, Prowl and the Constructicons traveled through. Seeking to prevent Starscream from achieving an empire, Prowl stated that Caminus and the other colonies would need to be cut off, ensuring the safety of the universe, even if it came at the cost of Cybertron and everyone on it. {{storylink|The Possible Light}}

[[File:Mistakes&Mayhem-ProwlArested.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]

Interrupting the clean-up on Caminus, Prowl and Constructicons formed Devastator and ordered all Cybertronians to return through the space bridge, but [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia's]] protest and [[Sparkstalker|Sparkstalker's]] refusal led to Devastator opening fire. After besting Superion once again and dragging him through the space bridge to Cybertron, the Prowl-controlled-Devastator stated that he was doing what was necessary and began destroying the space bridge. Optimus tried to convince Starscream and [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] that Prowl could be reasoned with, but Starscream used the Enigma of Combination to heal Superion and force the "[[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]]" to merge into [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]], and together both combiners defeated Devastator. While Starscream sought Prowl's death, Optimus and Windblade managed to convince him other, but as Prowl was arrested and dragged off, Prowl raged that Starscream would never change and Optimus was playing with fire. {{storylink|Mistakes and Mayhem}}

When Optimus visited the imprisoned Prowl to talk over recent events, Prowl was unconvinced by Prime's attempts to put a system in place to curb Starscream's ambition, and pointed out that Starscream still needed the combiners on his side since Superion and Defensor were likely more loyal to Optimus, and would likely recruit Devastator. Believing that Prowl had been twisted by numerous betrayals he feels he has suffered, Prowl retorted that Optimus could include himself in that list. As Prowl insisted that he has always been the one to make the tough calls Optimus couldn't, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] broke free and formed [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], starting a battle between him, Superion, Defensor and a Scoop-included Devastator. When Rattrap arrived with the Enigma of Combination, Prowl ordered him to use it, forcing Prowl, Optimus, Ironhide, Mirage and Sunstreaker to form [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|a new combiner]], who quickly confronted the other combiners and stated that it was time for him to take control. {{storylink|You, Me, and the Universe}}

[[File:NowAndOnEarth-PrimePunchesProwl.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=1.025|Prowl's had this coming for how long now?]]

Devastator recognized that Prowl was in control of the new combiner, due to his previous experience in combining, and was furious that he had been rejected by his former component for an upgrade. Suddenly the combiner collapsed as Prowl began fighting his fellow components for control within the combiner's psyche. One by one, Optimus, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Mirage rallied, refusing to look at the world only as numbers and statistics the way Prowl does, instead sharing their belief in the power of people that can change and be there to help one another. Synchronized by this shared belief, their minds slowly came together, and while Prowl refused to accept their way of thinking, his refusal was what allowed him to finally understand them, and in that understanding, all five were unified and Optimus Maximus was truly born. Alongside Superion and Defensor, Optimus Maximus defeated the other combiners, and then willingly separated himself so that Prowl could be arrested, knowing they could not be above the law. {{storylink|All That Remains}}

With Prowl now in custody, Optimus hoped that he could talk some sense into his old ally. Prowl simply replied that morality had nothing to do with military strategy, and that spending time as Devastator meant that he could no longer tell the difference between himself and the Decepticons. The two former friends finally came to blows, although Prowl's knowledge that a part of him would always exist within Prime convinced the Autobot leader to spare his life. However while Optimus's back was turned, Rattrap spirited Prowl away; with both their plans having failed, he stated that Prowl owed him a victory. {{storylink|Now and On Earth}} Prowl was branded a fugitive for his actions, and wanted signs were scattered throughout Iacon. {{storylink|The Transgressors}}

=== Gone Too Far ===
[[File:SinsOfTheWreckers2-ProwlWebbedUp.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Prowl web of lies have come back to bind him, literally.]]
Prowl received a message from Verity Carlo, who had a copy of the Aequtias data and threatened to release it. Getting to Earth quickly by utilizing his mind link to Kup, Prowl prepared to confront Verity in Nome, Alaska when he suddenly was attacked and kidnapped. When Prowl woke up, he was in a strange landscape which attacked his sensors, and lost consciousness again as a blurry figure welcomed him to the Noisemaze. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 1|Sins of the Wreckers #1}} After having a dream in which Prowl's recent actions had resulted in peace coming to Cybertron and Optimus thanking him, Prowl awoke to find himself trapped in a giant web. Recognising his captor's voice, Prowl asked what Mesothulas wanted, though the scientist responded that he no longer answered to that name and stated that Prowl had something he wanted, threatening to expose his dirty secrets. Once he was alone, Prowl used his mind-link to Kup to address the recently awakened Springer and the Wreckers, fully exposing his manipulation of the older bot, but explained as much as he could about his situation before being cut off. 

[[File:SinsOfTheWreckers3-Tarantulas'FinalOffer.jpg|left|thumb|300px|]]Mesothulas then returned, revealing his possession of the Aequitas data Verity had had, resigning Prowl to agree to talk. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 2|Sins of the Wreckers #2}} Mesothulas then fully revealed himself to Prowl, shocking the Autobot with his new form, and his new name, Tarantulas. Prowl suspected that Tarantulas had come to the conclusion that he had pushed him into the Noisemaze, and intended to use the war crimes data from Aequitas to blackmail him as revenge. However, Tarantulas merely wished to work with Prowl again, to recreate the symbiosis of their original relationship. When Prowl refused, he was placed in the company of his would-be rescuers: Verity, Springer, Roadbuster, and Arcee, and forced to watch as their most shameful, damning thoughts were bared to him thanks to Tarantulas's new invention, the guilt-extracting [[Impetus]]. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 3|Sins of the Wreckers #3}} 

Prowl tried to reason with [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]], whom Tarantulas had recruited as a mole within the Autobots, but the intelligence analyst had been infuriated by his early-releasing of Roadbuster, and verbally tore into Prowl for his various crimes. At that moment, Verity revealed that she had not intended to release Aequitas, but had only wanted to force Prowl to help treat her for the illness caused by her exposure to Aequitus, and Prowl lamented that he wished she had just asked. Before Tarantulas could hook him up to Impetus, Prowl attempted to make the scientist give up on another partnership by claiming that he had killed Ostaros, though this failed. At that moment, Kup used their connection to inform his that rescue was on its way, but only because of Prowl's value and not because he deserved to be saved. Finally convincing Hubcap not to release the Aequitas data, the analyst freed him and the other captives. Prowl pulled a gun on Hubcap, believing he had too much incriminating data to be allowed to live. Hubcap pleaded for his life, arguing that killing him would only continue the cycle of violence and secrecy that has resulted in their current situation. Though Prowl was swayed by Hubcap's logic, Impactor believed it was too great a risk and shot Hubcap. Insisting that they destroy all of Taratulas' work, Prowl and the others began preparing to collapse the Noisemaze, just as Tarantulas returned. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 4|Sins of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:SinsOfTheWreckers5-kuppunchesprowl.jpg|right|300px|thumb|YOU punch a car! And YOU punch a car! EVERYBODY PUNCH A CAR!!!]]

After failing once more to convince his former partner to give up, Prowl listened as Impactor revealed the truth of what happened, at which point Tarantulas realised Springer was Ostaros and went after him. Ordered by the Wrecker to get out of the maze, Prowl prepared to force [[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]] to consume the [[Obtenteum]] in order to collapse the Noisemaze. After meeting up with Kup and Guzzle, the former got in a good hit on Prowl's jaw for his manipulations of him, and Guzzle took care of Tidal Wave. However once they escaped into Debris, Guzzle pulled his weapons on Prowl and Kup, determined to take revenge for the friends he had lost because of them, forcing Impactor to put him down. Later, Prowl went back into the remains of the Noisemaze to rescue the still-alive Springer, and severed his link with Kup. Neither Kup nor Arcee wanted to deal with him further, and decided to let Prowl go for the time being, yet not informing Optimus about the crisis either. {{storylink|Sins of the Wreckers issue 5|Sins of the Wreckers #5}}

When Optimus annexed Earth into the Council of Worlds and broadcast a message, Prowl watched and refuted his former friend's claim that he was bringing freedom to Earth. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth|Once Upon a Time on Earth}}

His time on Earth was remembered by [[Scarlett]] and [[Joe Colton]] as they discussed the threat the Cybertronians posed to Earth. {{storylink|Secret Raiders: A Revolution Prelude|Secret Raiders}} 

After [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] came back to life, casually murdered people and kidnapped Optimus and Soundwave via a [[Space bridge|Space Bridge]], Arcee contacted Prowl, who knew exactly where his old boss would go. {{storylink|White Light}}

[[File:TenToMidnight-ProwlStrugglesToRemember.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Statistically it was just a matter of time before one of the blows to the head caused a slight amnesia.]]

That place was [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]] where Prowl suspected Sentinel would try to raise the graveyard of Titans as the former Prime had dreamed of using a Titan army before the Great War began. When Prowl arrived on the moon, he was attacked by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] for [[Garrus-9]] before [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]] held back his boss. It was only after that Prowl actually recalled the Garrus-9 fiasco before he warned them and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] of great danger to Luna 1. Prowl explained Sentinel's return to life, that Titan plan and that he himself was here to deactivate Luna 1's Space Bridge. The trio, specifically Red Alert, were skeptical of Prowl's words before [[Beak]] arrived with proof of Prowl's claims which led Red to believe he was stalling them and working with Sentinel. Nonetheless, the four Autobots set out to stop the Prime. On the way Prowl spoke to Max about the [[Team Rodimus]] and the fact that the ''[[Lost Light]]'' was non-responsive to hails. Their trail led them to the [[Planetary engine|massive engines]] which prompted Max to question Sentinel's age if he knew exactly where and what they were. When they arrived to confront Sentinel in a Titan's brain module, they found the unwilling [[Sovereign]] strapped to the giant's CPU from which the other Titans rose up. Before any action could be taken, Sentinel took control of Red Alert who shot Prowl into stasis. {{storylink|Ten to Midnight}}  

[[File:LastLight-Prowl'sStaying.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Oh good. Prowl's staying. Yaaaaaay...]]
As Sentinel gloated, Cerebros placed a shell on Prowl that allowed the former to control his motor functions. He used this to hit Sentinel over the head with a [[Mobile Autobot Repair Bay|M.A.R.B.]] before the three Autobots escaped. When Prowl awoke, he was dismayed to learn what Cerebros had done and that he was being left out the loop for once. Max and Cerebros planned to use the body of the Titan they were based in to stop Sentinel's army but the [[Transformation cog|T-Cog]] was stuck in place. Prowl casually used his table flipping skills to manually complete the transformation. While Maximus fought off the Titan army, Prowl and Cerebros confronted Sentinel who promptly shot them both down where he tried to force Red Alert to execute Prowl. Red Alert managed to break free and separate Sentinel's [[Titan Master]] self from his true body. Sentinel would have forced Red to kill himself had Beak not pushed the Prime into one of the thrusters. Prowl asked how deep the thrusters were (one and a half miles) before casually noting that Sentinel was dead. Prowl had his missing optic replaced before he took Sovereign back to Earth and then decided to stay on Luna-1, intending to take a long overdue sabbatical. He sympathized with Maximus over his fears of change and endings before an alert came through pertaining to information regarding the ''Lost Light''. However the message seemed to just be gibberish and the quartet ignored it before they resumed cleaning the Titan's T-Cog. {{storylink|Last Light}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|New Cybertron Part 2: A Lonely Pillar on the Plain|A Lonely Pillar on the Plain}} {{storylink|New Cybertron Part 3: Behind My Bleeding Back|Behind My Bleeding Back}}}}

==INSIRT continuity==
Long ago on Cybertron, [[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity#INSIRT continuity|Chromedome]] served in the [[Autobot Police]] and harbored an interest in the field of mnemosurgery. Over time, he was able to use his highly decorated partner Prowl's status to pursue his interest in mnemosurgery, developing the ability to extract information directly from a suspect's mind. {{storylink|Chromedome (G1)#Timelines|''Timelines'' Chromedome bio card}}

==Ask Vector Prime==
[[File:Megatron cam.jpg|left|upright=0.9|thumb|I think this is a killing joke!]]
In [[Primax 708.10-R Lambda]], [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] cracked the codes to an Autobot forward listening outpost. He walked in, shot Prowl, and then laughed and took a photo of what he had done. Prowl would be unable to transform for many stellar cycles. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*[[James Roberts]] has said that pre-war Prowl and Chromedome had a, ah, "stronger bond" than just being partners.<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 17:17 - 14:58</ref> This would put their tension in the present day as more personal than we thought (and Rewind's constant insults against Prowl as being the new boyfriend having a go at the crappy ex).
*According to IDW story editor [[Andy Schmidt]], ''[[Ride-Along|Spotlight: Prowl]]'' was originally going to be told in [[The Transformers (IDW)|the ongoing series]]. But when fans reacted badly to Prowl's characterization in [[...For All Mankind|the first issue of that series]], IDW decided to jump the gun and publish the story early as a ''Spotlight''.<ref>[http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/1002/19/schmidt.htm Comics Continuum video interview with Andy Schmidt]</ref> It is intended to reconcile his new, rashly self-sacrificial portrayal with the methodical, vehemently anti-hotheaded-maverick personality he [[The Transformers: Infiltration|had]] [[The Transformers: Escalation|exhibited]] [[All Hail Megatron issue 15|previously]]. But that reconciliation doesn't actually address the core concern of many of those upset fans, who wanted not just explanation, but ''reversion'' to the subversive schemer that Prowl had recently developed into.<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=7345 IDW forum thread practically begging for Prowl's new characterization to be undone.]</ref> John Barber eventually saw fit to explain this snapback in [[Devisive|''Robots in Disguise'' #4]].
*Prowl's design in the first portion of ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' is based on a [[:File:BluestreakWFCconceptart.jpg|concept drawing of ''War for Cybertron'' Bluestreak]] that never saw its way in to the game.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Strategists]]