Editing Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers:<br>Lost Light]]'' #3
|prev=Dissolution Part 2: Anomie
|next=Dissolution Part 4
|image=LL3_regcvr.jpg
|title="Dissolution Part 3:<br>A World Misplaced"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[February 22]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=February 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''While Rodimus and company learn more about the history of the Functionist Universe, Whirl comes up against an old nemesis.'''

==Synopsis==
In the depths of the [[Censere|Necrobot]]'s fortress, [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]], [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], and [[Ten]] discover one last stasis pod, threateningly oversized and ominously locked. Swerve attempts to contact [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] for advice on how to proceed, but Whirl, being Whirl, decides to just open it. From within, a massive hand clutching a glowing wand emerges...

Elsewhere in the fortress, [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] is spending his time analyzing the planet's spark-flowers (which turns out to be a massive waste of time, since the Necrobot kept detailed records on them) while an increasingly worried [[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] tries to make contact with [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]]. When Rodimus's voice finally crackles over the comm, Brainstorm and Nightbeat are both thrilled to hear the news that they have wound up in a [[Functionist Universe|parallel universe]]—''not'', Brainstorm deduces, as a result of the teleport den, but thanks to the [[geobomb]] which went off inside [[Necroworld]], transplanting the entire planet and ''all'' of them into the other universe. Rodimus's team have now relocated with the [[Anti-Vocationist League]] to their base in the sacred city of [[Kalis|Adaptica]], nicknamed "[[Cyberutopia]]", a lawful haven for those deemed obsolete by the [[Functionist Council]] overseen by estranged council member, the sympathetic [[Nine-of-Twelve]].

Back in the stasis pod chamber, Swerve, Whirl, and Ten scatter as Whirl's old nemesis, the monstrous, wand-wielding [[Killmaster]], bursts out of his pod and immediately begins attacking them. Whirl admits to lying when he claimed to have slain Killmaster, but his dishonesty is the farthest concern from Swerve's mind when the hulking [[Decepticon]] blasts Ten with his wand, leaving only a pair of smoldering footprints where once the [[Legislator]] stood. Blind with rage at the seeming death of his friend, Swerve charges at Killmaster and is effortlessly backhanded. Whirl leaps in, urging Swerve to contact Cyclonus and have the super-strong [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] come to help... because, Whirl reluctantly admits, he's never actually ''beaten'' Killmaster in a fight...

While [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] and [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] become more acquainted with the foot soldiers of the AVL, Rodimus and the others attend a briefing with Nine-of-Twelve and his second-in-command, the parallel-universe version of [[Anode]]. They learn that a mysterious UFO has recently appeared just outside [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s orbit, but that the planet no longer has any spaceships or teleporters that will allow them to investigate it, or which Rodimus's team can use to return to Necroworld. To help the tired and confused travelers, Nine-of-Twelve provides them with more information on the history of their universe, in which the [[Senate]] and the Council came into conflict over the Senate's use of [[Nova Prime]]'s [[Silver Harvest|spark stockpile]] to increase the planet's population. The Council deemed the trapping of spark energy in [[photonic crystal|artificial containers]] to be heretical, and in response, the Senate sealed [[Vector Sigma]] behind a wall of [[ununtrium]], leading the Council to raise an army of followers and execute the Senate for blasphemy. Nine-of-Twelve ultimately defected when [[Six-of-Twelve]], who took the [[Matrix of Leadership]] from [[Nominus Prime]] and came to believe that [[Primus]] spoke to him through it, began committing such blasphemy himself, transplanting existing 'bots sparks into new bodies in an effort to "fortify" Cybertron against a war "Primus" tells him is coming.

Back on Necroworld, after completing her checkup of Anode and deeming her phyiscally fine, [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] briefly excuses herself to administer a "[[mood suppressant]]" to Nightbeat—a means the various 'bots are using to block out their grief over [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]'s death. While she is out of the room, [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] insists that Anode tell her more and her's and Velocity's shared past. The pair, it turns out, knew one another on [[Caminus]], where Anode trained as a "[[blacksmith]]"—a Cybertronian obstetrician, who helps struggling [[protoform]]s find their shape. The snowflake-like treasure she recovered from [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]] is a piece of [[sentio metallico]], a rare example of a bloom left over from an unharvested [[spark]]. Velocity returns to the room in the middle of the story and reveals how Anode threw her career away when she fled Caminus with a batch of sentio metallico stolen from the [[Lighthouse]] medical facility, but Anode explains that she is innocent: she actually just modified records to make it ''look'' like she'd committed the theft. The deed was a pretext to force herself to leave the planet, as the existing reasons she had were not enough—reasons she has never told another soul. Realizing that her friend has kept this secret from her all this time, the emotional [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] runs from the room, and Anode chases after her.

Whirl's battle with Killmaster goes poorly, and Cyclonus's arrival, sans Tailgate, does not portend an improvement in matters... since Cyclonus has somehow become horrifically injured since last seen, with half his face and his left arm torn off his body! Distracted by the horrible sight, Swerve is hit by a blast from Killmaster's wand and reduced to a smoking spot on the ground, just like Ten!

On Functionist Cybertron, the populace gathers in readiness for Six-of-Twelve's promised revelation: the purpose of [[Rung (G1)|Rung]]'s alternate mode, which will validate everything about their theology. Even Rodimus's team is curious about the answer to this longstanding mystery... but they are all immediately skeptical when the transformed Rung is revealed to be an absolutely colossal mining tank, complete with a massive crystalline drill bit that seems distinctly out of place. Six-of-Twelve professes that Rung's purpose is to drill through the ununtrium wall that still surrounds Vector Sigma, his "alternate mode" a predestined choice by Primus for this precise moment in history. Alarming as the moment is, however, Anode is forced to tear Nine-of-Twelve away from the viewscreen with even more shocking news: it turns out the UFO is Luna 2, given to the [[Black Block Consortia|Black Box Consortia]] by the Council years ago, but now back in Cybertron's orbit once more!

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashback.<br>
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (1)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (2)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (4)
*[[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]] (5)
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]] (7)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (8)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (11)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (12)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (13)
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]] (14)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Minimus Ambus]] (15)
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (25)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (26)
*[[Kaput]] (28)

{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Killmaster]] (17)

|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ten]] (3)
*[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (6)
*[[Clicker]] (9)
*[[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] (10)
*[[Nine-of-Twelve]] (16)
*Two [[Lunabot]]s (18)
*Other [[Anti-Vocationist League]]rs (19)
*[[Anode]] (20)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Nova Prime]]'' (21)
*''[[Nominus Prime]]'' (22)
*''[[Twelve-of-Twelve]]'' (23)
*[[Six-of-Twelve]] (24)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (27)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]] (29)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (30)
*Multiple [[Functionary|Functionaries]] (31)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"I just performed a forensic operation on a '''petal''', Brainstorm, you could at least '''try''' to sound impressed."<br>
"Old news. '''Kaput''' was in here earlier, stealing your thunder."<br>
"He was decoding the flowers?"<br>
"He was '''going''' to... 'til he found out that the Necrobot's archive '''already''' matches sparks to flowers."<br>
"So I just wasted two hours of my life?"<br>
"Massively."<br>
"Why didn't you say something earlier?"<br>
"Because, like me, you're much better company when you're '''occupied.'''"
:—'''Nightbeat''' and '''Brainstorm'''


"I haven't been this ramped since '''Perceptor''' asked me to be his '''lab partner'''."
:—'''Brainstorm'''


"'''Look''' at him. No banter, no set up, no discernible motive beyond wanting to kill as many people as possible. Such a pro..."
:—'''Whirl''' on Killmaster


"So it's a form of protest."<br>
"A very '''crude''' one."<br>
"The best kind."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Ratchet''' on the AVL's eye-removal


"Avoidance is addictive."
:—'''Nautica''' worries about the mood suppressants


"I can't believe both of you '''literally''' refer to the other one as your nemesis. It's the best worst thing '''ever.'''"
:—'''Swerve''' analyzes Whirl and Killmaster


"Faith is not faith until it is tested."
:—'''Six-of-Twelve'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Nightbeat lists [[Turmoil]] as one of the sparks whose echoes make up the flower he is studying. As Turmoil was killed by [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] in [[Heavy Is the Head|''Robots in Disguise'' #16]], the rules of how the flowers work would mean that all the 'bots named here are Starscream's kills. That, in turn, would mean that the "Piston" also included in the list is the [[Piston (mechanic)|mechanic]] seen back in ''[[Spotlight: Blurr]]'', who died at the hands of a Decepticon unit led by Starscream.
*Kaput's time on [[Kimia Facility|Kimia]] is mentioned by Brainstorm, as previously featured in "[[Zero Point]]." He is a "spark specialist," which fits with the work he did on [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] in that story, diagnosing his [[zero point|titular condition]].
*The revelation that the geobomb was of a different kind, intended to displace Necroworld rather than destroy it (a "different flavour," Brainstorm calls it), explains why the bomb appeared blue in [[The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|''More than Meets the Eye'' #55]] when it had previously been stated that the world-destroying variety was red in [[Animals|issue #46]].
*Whirl talked about his rivalry with Killmaster, and professed to have killed him, back in [[Cybertronian Homesick Blues|''More than Meets the Eye'' #13]].
*As we [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|surmised]], the lack of optics on the AVLers seen in the previous two issues is indeed a reaction to the implantation of cameras in the eyes of the populace, as detailed in [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]]. Other aspects of society introduced in that story which reoccur here include the idea that 'bots had been "deported" (to Adaptica, we now realize), the sale of Luna 2 to the Black Box Consortia and the isolation of Cybertron, and the explosive [[obsolescence chip]]s used to kill those deemed no longer useful (against the effects of which the inhabitants of Adaptica are protected by a jamming signal).
*Nova Prime's creation of new sparks from the Matrix was originally detailed in [[Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|''More than Meets the Eye'' #19]]. The fact that the sparks were stored in [[photonic crystal]]s was covered in [[The Lopsided Triangle|issue #47]].
*Swerve hinted at the existence of the mood suppressants (or "grief shots" as Nautica calls them) last issue, with Anode having drawn attention to his apparent lack of sadness in issue #1.
*The mechanics of the birth of a Cybertronian have been covered in various ''More than Meets the Eye'' stories. We saw the ignition and subsequent fading out of a [[hot spot]], unharvested, in [[Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|issue #17]], while the workings of [[sentio metallico]] were explained in [[Silent Light|''The Transformers Holiday Special'']].
*Minimus is suspicious of Six-of-Twelve's "revelation", and he's got every right to be. The readers have already seen Rung's alt-mode, all the way back in "[[Little Victories]]", and it sure didn't look like no frakking huge drill-tank back then. It therefore probably isn't a coincidence that Swerve and Nightbeat, both of whom have ''definitely'' seen Rung's alt-mode with their own eyes—Swerve in the aforementioned story, and Nightbeat had been shown studying it briefly in [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|issue #29]]—are not present, since they would be able to cry foul on whatever the Council's game is.

===Real life references===
*"First the council targeted the intellectuals, then they came for the experts," remarks Nine-of-Twelve, paraphrasing the {{w|First they came ...|famous statement}} by {{w|Martin Niemöller}} regarding the rise of the Nazi party in Germany ("First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist..."). Nine's speech, and later comments made by Clicker that also focus on the political tactic of speaking to "fears over facts," are intended to allude not merely to that period in history, but to the surge in {{w|right-wing populism}} that took place in the western political landscape in 2016. The use of the word "experts," in particular, evokes the language used by British politician {{w|Michael Gove}} during the United Kingdom's {{w|United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016|2016 referendum on the country's membership in the European Union}} when he dismissed predictions of negative economic fallout in the event that the "Leave" vote won by infamously saying "the people in this country have had enough of experts."

===Errors===
*In his single-panel appearance, Nova Prime has his inverted "Nemesis Prime" color scheme, which he wouldn't take on until going to the [[Dead Universe]].
*Nautica is misspelled as "Nautical" on the recap page.

===Other trivia===
*In addition to Turmoil and Piston, the 'bots who make up the flower Nightbeat studies are named Lodestar, Flexor, Adjudicus, Maruader, Darkstar, Questex, Jab, Swivel, Hydronaut, and Poleaxe. "Adjudicus" was a name originally conceived by Roberts and [[Nick Roche]] for the character who would become [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]].
*Nine-of-Twelve looks very different to how he previously appeared in issue #35; he's gone from green to red, and has a different head shape. The only specific design element he seems to share with his earlier appearance is a pair of circular protrusions on each of his forearms. We'd call it an error, but we've been burned once too often by jumping to that conclusion. Tricksy Robertses.

===Soundtrack===
For all of "Dissolution":
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEI75kn9FTc Neither Here Nor There]" by {{w|Lost in the Trees}}

For this issue alone:
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQTxfKoRCks Those Kind of Songs]" by {{w|Anthony Reynolds}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me9MAS6ShMQ A Stone]" by {{w|Okkervil River}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyznTJfpegw The Summer of Speed]" by Andreas Mattsson

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] skids along the ground, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Nautica reaches for a coffin, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Subscription cover B:''' Nautica, Cyclonus, Brainstorm, Swerve, and Tailgate, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Megatron and Rodimus by [[Nelson Daniel]]; one of a series of robot mode/alt mode covers by Daniel for February's ''Transformers'' titles.

<gallery>
File:LL3 regcvr.jpg|
File:LL3 subcvrA.jpg|
File:LL3 subcvrB.jpg|
File:LL3 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #4
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting February's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows|''Optimus Prime'' #4]], ''Till All Are One'' #8, [[Enter The Shadow|''Revolutionaries'' #2]], and [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 3|''G.I. Joe'' #3]].
*''[[Aw Yeah Revolution!]]''
*''Transformers'' 2017 Annual
*''[[Revolution]]'' deluxe hardcover
*''Cosmic Scoundrels''
*IDW at the NC Comicon

==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/33228-preview-transformers-lost-light-3.html Preview]

[[Category: Lost Light issues]]