Editing Strange Visitors

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Revolutionaries]]'' #5
|prev=The Iron Klaw
|next=Power and Glory
|image=Revolutionaries5 cvrRI.jpg
|title="Strange Visitors"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[June 14]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=April 2017
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Fico Ossio]] (pg 3-4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18-20)<br>[[Guido Guidi]] (pg 1-2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17)
|colors by=[[Sebastian Cheng]] (Ossio pages), Guido Guidi (own pages)
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Hedgecock]]
|assistant editor=[[David Mariotte]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=Current era
}}

'''The secret of the steampunk Transformers and their connection to the Talisman is revealed as our revolutionaries go up against the new Cobra Commander!'''

==Synopsis==
{{note|This story is told in non-linear form. This synopsis presents it in chronological order for ease of reading.}}
''Thousands of years ago, the spacecraft ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' from the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] colony of [[Eukaris]] draws close to prehistoric [[Earth]], still in the throes of its ice age. The vessel, captained by [[Domitius Major]], has been sent on a mission across the stars by [[Onyx Prime]], but has diverted to Earth upon detecting the [[energon]] on the planet that they need to replace their dwindling supplies. As they draw near to the planet, however, the crew of the ''Axalon'' receive a peculiar transmission, sent by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], meant for [[Ark-19|another vessel]]—which the Eukarians quickly realize has been bounced to them by another Cybertronian craft that now streaks towards them on an attack vector. This mystery ship shoots the ''Axalon'' down, then follows it down to Earth's surface, where its sole occupant is revealed: [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]], come to Earth to check on the progress of the [[Regenesis]] [[Ore-13|ore]] with which he has seeded the planet.

''Under Shockwave's watchful eye, the first of the ''Axalon'' crew to recover from the crash is a little 'bot named [[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]], but his memories are jumbled, and the first thing he sees as he awakes is the still-looping transmission from Optimus and Bumblebee. The passing resemblance between Centurion and Bumblebee confuses the Eukarian, and he thinks he ''is'' Bumblebee—a misconception that gives Shockwave an idea for another of his terrible experiments. The Decepticon scientist replaces the lost memories of the entire ''Axalon'' crew with data on the Autobots and Decepticons of Cybertron so that he can pit them against one another, playing out the Autobot/Decepticon war [[Ice Age Wars|in miniature]] to study. As Centurion had become "Bumblebee," Domitius Major becomes "Optimus Prime," and so on, with Shockwave even patterning one of the Eukarians after himself. He spends a century observing their conflict, and further, watches as, under its own power, a mysterious device from the ''Axalon''—the object key to the Eukarians' mission, that which would become known to humans as the [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]]—creates an army of robotic drones out of the wreckage of the ship. But, eventually, Shockwave has to leave his experiment to tend to the Ore-13, only to wind up entombed in lava by the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]]. His "creations" fight on until their energon runs low, whereupon they enter hibernation beneath the Earth.''

''The Eukarians, still believing their false memories, awake in the mid-to-late 19th century to find Earth populated with [[human]]s. The "Autobots" defeat most of the "Decepticons" with the aid of the human [[John Henry]], and soon after, combat the rise of an [[Elder God]]. But time marches on, and as war grips the planet, one by one the Eukarians perish, including "Optimus Prime" himself, their implanted memories of endless war doing little to prepare them for the real thing. Eventually, during [[World War II]], only Centurion and "Shockwave" remain, and their final clash is observed on the battlefields of [[France]] by [[Sgt. Savage]] and his [[Screaming Eagles]]. Centurion destroys "Shockwave," and, left as the last of his kind, he requests the help of Savage and his men in finding the wreckage of the ''Axalon'' so that he can return to his ship to die in peace.''

''Savage and [[Garrison Kreiger]] help Centurion locate the ''Axalon'' in [[Brasnya]], but as they approach its remains, the [[IRON Trooper|Talisman-created drones]] gather to stand in their way. The team plough through the robots and enter the ''Axalon'', where they discover that the Talisman has been removed from its housing and is nowhere to be seen. Before Centurion can tell them any more about the device and his original mission, the drones resume their attack, this time linked together and wearing the corpse of Domitius Major like a suit of armor. Kreiger—fascinated by the machines since the Screaming Eagles' first encounter with them in [[Kalistan]]—steps out of the ''Axalon'' to get a better view of Centurion's battle with this effigy of his former leader, but as he looks on, both the drones and the ship begin to glow with the power of the Talisman. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the ''Axalon'' vanishes—taking Sgt. Savage with it. Centurion proceeds to triumph over the Domitius effigy, but is distraught at having lost what was to be his final resting place. Kreiger offers to help him, intending to locate and take the Talisman and its power for his own...''

[[File:StrangeVisitors-FastballSpecial.jpg|thumb|left|250px|And then he started calling everyone '[[Wolverine (superhero)|Bub]]'.]]
In the present day, [[Tomax and Xamot|Tomax Paoli]] returns to his office in the [[I.R.O.N. Army|I.R.O.N.]] building in [[San Francisco]], leaving Centurion outside in vehicle mode. His secretary [[Violet (IDW)|Violet]] informs him that [[Garrison Kreiger]] is in his office; Paoli fires her for not leaving per previous instructions, feigning anger when, really, he is just trying to get her out of the inevitable line of fire. Kreiger—in fact, a holographic projection beamed in from [[Iron Klaw]]'s headquarters in Kalistan—warns Tomax of the recent attack on the [[Iron Castle]] by [[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]], [[Action Man]], [[Ayana Jones|Mayday]], and [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]], and that they will be coming for Tomax next. Left with little choice, Tomax begrudgingly dons the "[[Cobra Commander]]" uniform given to him by [[Baron Ironblood]] to get ready for a fight—and immediately, the helmet's scanners detect Action Man lurking in a nearby corridor. Tomax quickly sends the British super-agent flying out a window, but he is safely caught by Kup, who is waiting outside. In revealing himself, however, Kup prompts Centurion to transform to robot mode and initiate his own attack on his fellow Transformer, considering himself and all of his kind abominations who need to die. Kup "[[w:Fastball Special|fastball special]]"s Action Man back into the building, right at Tomax; Action Man's forcefield protects him, and hurls Tomax into a stairwell, down which Ian and Mayday then pursue him.

With the fighting serving as a cover, Blackrock accesses the I.R.O.N. database and learns the truth about Centurion's past from it. Realizing that they are both agents and pawns of Onyx Prime, Blackrock is able to calm Centurion down, and explain to him that, in fact, he is not the last of his kind: there are many planets' worth of Transformers still alive out there. Knowing he is not longer alone in the universe, Centurion stands down, and asks that he be taken to meet the real Optimus Prime. Concurrently, Action Man and Mayday manage to take down Tomax, with a precision shot from Mayday striking the only non-bulletproof spot between his suit and helmet and nicking his throat. The wounded Tomax surrenders, but has no useful information to give the team on the other villains' plans. Fortunately, Blackrock has discerned their next destination from the I.R.O.N. database: Brasnya.

For it is in Brasnya that the villains' "Project: Ice Man" facility, containing the body of Domitius Major, is located, and where [[Doctor X]] now readies a teleporter to transport Kreiger and Ironblood in to finish their scheme. The good doctor herself does not plan to be there when they do, though; she wants to be long gone by the time Mayday and co. arrive and see what the villains have done to their other prisoner: former [[Adventure Team]] member, the long-thought-dead Mike Power, the [[Atomic Man]]!

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.<br>
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*''[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]]'' (6)
*''[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]]'' (7) 
*[[Kup (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Kup]] (18)
*[[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign]] (21)

|c2=
*''[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]]'' (8)

|h3=[[Eukaris|Eukarians]]|c3=
*''"[[Eukarian Ironhide|Ironhide]]"'' (1)
*[[Centurion (IDW)|Centurion]] (2)
*[[Domitius Major]] (3)
*''"Prowl"'' (4)
*''"Ratchet"'' (5)
*''"Soundwave"'' (14)
*''"[[Eukarian Shockwave|Shockwave]]"'' (15)
*''"Bombshell"'' (16)
*''A "[[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]"'' (17)

|h4=The [[Iron Ring]]|c4=
*[[Tomax and Xamot|Tomax Paoli/<br>Cobra Commander]] (9)
*[[Garrison Kreiger]] (11)
*[[Doctor X]] (25)
*[[Iron Klaw]] (26)
*[[Baron Ironblood]] (27)
*[[Storm Shadow]] (28)

|h5=Other humans|c5=
*[[Violet (IDW)|Violet]] (10)
*[[Action Man]] (12)
*[[Ayana Jones|Mayday]] (13)
*''Various [[Screaming Eagles]]'' (19)
*''[[Sgt. Savage]]'' (20)
*''[[John Henry]]'' (23)
*[[Atomic Man]] (29)

|h6=Others|c6=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
*''[[IRON Trooper]]s'' (22)
*''[[Elder God]]'' (24)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==
"Anybody ever tell you a '''mirror mask''' and a '''fascist overcoat''' makes you look like a '''bad guy?''' The powder blue doesn't really '''mitigate''' anything."
:—'''Action Man''' critiques Tomax's Cobra Commander outfit


"The only thing we bring is '''war''' and '''destruction!'''"<br>
"Those are '''two things'''—but aside from that, you're makin' a '''philosophically sound''' argument."
:—'''Centurion''' and '''Kup'''


"Bulletproof suit and helmet means you're still risking your '''neck''', Paoli. Hands in the air, or I '''really''' go for the '''jugular.'''"
:—'''Mayday'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s not above wordplay


"My '''trousers''' aren't bulletproof—you could have shot me in the '''leg.''' And won't you take this '''helmet''' off? It keeps trying to see through walls."<br>
"I heard '''Cobra Commander's helmet''' is explosive."<br>
"I assure you, I wouldn't... '''oh.''' Kreiger '''would.'''"
:—'''Tomax''' and '''Mayday'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*So, our big takeaway from this issue is that the events of ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' and ''[[Infestation 2]]'' did, in fact, happen in mainstream [[IDW Generation 1 continuity]]—because the characters in it, who appeared to be Optimus Prime and all our other favorite recognizable Generation 1 'bots, were actually explorers from Eukaris whose memories had been tampered with by Shockwave for shits 'n' giggles. [[John Barber]] has noted that the other story that was set in what we perceived as the "Hearts of Steel continuity," ''[[The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Transformers|The X-Files: Conspiracy]]'', did ''not'' happen in IDW continuity—the story was a self-cancelling time-loop so to be fair, it had already "unhappened" as soon as it was over, but it wouldn't have been possible for it to fit even if that hadn't happened. Or... hadn't... ''not'' happened. Or didn't... not unhapp—look, just don't worry about it, okay?
*Shockwave is on Earth to observe the progress of the [[Ore-13]] he implanted there, as seen in ''[[Spotlight: Shockwave]]''. Accordingly, Guidi's rendition of Shockwave in this issue tends toward the thinner, pointier, more stylzed appearance artist [[Nick Roche]] drew him with in that issue.
*The rank "[[Major]]" being held by the pre-modern era Transformer Domitius is fitting, as the only previous use of this rank system in IDW continuity was by [[Nova Prime|Nova Major]] in the final stages of the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]], as depicted in [[The Crucible|''Robots in Disguise'' #34]].
*The message from Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that Shockwave bounces to the Axalon has Optimus attempting to contact [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] on the [[Ark-19]]. This vessel, under Prowl's command, was the base of operations for the Autobot infiltration team on [[Earth]] in the original IDW mini-series ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'' and its sequels, but this story is set ''long'' before it would ever arrive on Earth.
*Savage and Kreiger recall their earlier encounter with IRON Troopers in Kalistan, as seen in [[The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb|issue #3]].
*Tomax sarcastically inquires after [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] and [[Chameleon (G.I. Joe)|Chameleon]]; he spent some time working with them while he was on the outs with [[Cobra]], in {{i|G.I. Joe: Cobra vol. 2|''Cobra'' vol. 2}}, before inevitably betraying them in {{i|G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files|''The Cobra Files''}}.
*The ''Axalon'' crashes in what becomes modern-day Brasnya, the breakaway Russian state that was the setting for ''[[The Transformers: Escalation|Escalation]]''.
*"Ironhide" remains green after Shockwave's conditioning, the only one of the ''Axalon'' crew seen to retain their original colors. This is no mistake: Ironhide was one of several characters given arbitrary new colors for the opening Ice Age scenes of [[Hearts of Steel issue 1|''Hearts of Steel'' #1]].
*Per issue #3, Atomic Man is presently believed to have died at Kreiger's hands under unspecified circumstances. The final page of this issue reveals otherwise!

===Transformers references===
*''Hearts of Steel'' began by showing the "Autobots" and "Decepticons" engaged in a ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Wars]]''-like [[Ice Age Wars|conflict]] set on prehistoric Earth, and this issue plays up the similarities. The Eukarians arrive searching for energon, as the Beast Warriors did, and their ship is the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' from the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoon, while Shockwave's ship—unnamed—is the [[Darksyde (BW)|Predacon spaceship]] from the same series. 

===Hasbro franchise references===
*Tomax's "Cobra Commander" outfit is the classic Commander uniform, based on the original action figure, which hasn't been worn by anyone in IDW continuity before.
*The idea of Sgt. Savage "disappearing" with the ''Axalon'' is IDW's slant on the original ''Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles'' backstory, in which the Sarge, like a certain other [[Captain America|Sentinel of Liberty]], disappeared during the war, only for it to be discovered in modern times that he had been cryogenically preserved. 
*Mayday refuses to remove Tomax's helmet for him, having heard it is "explosive." This idea goes back to issue #24 of the original Marvel ''G.I. Joe'' comic book, in which it is noted to be lined with plastic explosive as an anti-tamper mechanism; it's previously been used in "Transformers" media in ''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]'', where it [[The War Never Ends|ended up killing its wearer]].

===Real-life references===
*The title of this issue comes from one of [[Superman]]'s famous taglines: "strange visitor from another planet". This probably stems from the fact that the character that became Centurion was initially conceived as a Superman pastiche who "grew up" on Earth!<ref>[http://hasbrouniverse.libsyn.com/episode-14-revolutionaries-never-die Interview with John Barber at the Action and Adventure podcast]</ref>
*As Kup carries Action Man up the side of the I.R.O.N. Building, Ian notes the Autobot is "doing a [[King Kong]]," but qualifies that he is referring to the original movie, not the "Vietnam metaphor" of 2017's ''{{w|Kong: Skull Island}}''.

===Errors===
*During the flashback sequences, Kreiger is missing his facial scar and eye injury, acquired in issue #3 during the Screaming Eagles' first encounter with the IRON Troopers.
*Centurion/"Bumblebee" is drawn in his mid-19th century automobile body during the flashback to the original ''Hearts of Steel'' miniseries. 
*''[[Spotlight: Shockwave]]'' established that Shockwave came to Earth 10,000 years before the present, but a caption on page 13 says that Centurion is stepping into the ''Axalon'' for the first time in ''20,000'' years. This is probably down to the last Ice Age taking place longer ago than that.

===Other trivia===
*Whence ''Hearts of Steel''? Early on, John Barber unsuccessfully pitched a story about a Transformer "ghost" left behind from an earlier era. A later pitch involved a Cybertronian who was raised in isolation from their species. While this latter pitch certainly inspired the character of [[Stardrive]] in ''[[Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor|Shining Armor]]'', [[Michael Kelly]] suggested that Barber do something with the largely-forgotten ''Hearts of Steel'' continuity. Barber initially balked at the idea, realizing that it was fundamentally irreconcilable with the modern IDW universe, but slowly warmed to the idea after realizing the story potential and possible connection to current big-bad [[Onyx Prime]], crafting the alternate backstory for the universe we see presented here. Both of Barber's earlier pitches found their way into the character of Centurion: a remnant from the ancient past unaware of other Transformers. <ref> John Barber Q&A at TFCon 2017 </ref>
*Originally solicited for release in April, this issue arrives significantly late, two months after the fact, halfway through June. The solicitation for the issue erroneously described issue #6's story, as a result of Barber briefly intending to adjust the order of events,<ref>[https://twitter.com/GenericOverlord/status/821870033873801218 John Barber on Twitter]</ref> but some of this issue's covers also seem to have been intended for next issue too. Both issue #5 and #6 were intended for release before [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 1|issue #1]] of the ''[[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]]'', but because of these delays, they were not, and the details of Centurion's backstory were consequently spoiled by the sourcebook a week in advance of this issue's release.
*Original ''Hearts of Steel'' artist Guido Guidi returns to the characters with this issue, drawing all the flashback pages that chart their history. All of his pages are done in the retro-style previously seen in the 2012 [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|''More than Meets the Eye'']] and [[Primus: All Good Things|''Robots in Disguise'']] annuals, emulating the coloring and printing of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|original Marvel ''Transformers'' comic]].
*The ''Hearts of Steel'' stories included versions of [[Insecticon (G1)#Hearts of Steel|the three "main" Insecticons]] (with a memorable "[[Insectrain]]" combined mode), but as per ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'', those three Insecticons shouldn't exist at this point for Shockwave to base the Eukarians on. "[[Shockpoint]]" confirmed there to be an earlier, separate [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]], so we suppose there were also earlier versions of the other Insecticons (such as the [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] who showed up in [[Megatron Origin issue 4]]) for these ones to be based on? [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 1|Issue #1]] of the ''[[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]]'' notes that the Insecticons were a pre-existing Cybertronian sub-race that were experimented on in ''All Hail Megatron'', which goes some way to backing that notion up.
*In a similar vein, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], sporting a fanciful zeppelin alternate mode, was one of the "Decepticons" involved in the conflict on 19th century Earth. His [[Scourge (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|real counterpart]] had vanished from public knowledge long before the outbreak of the Great War and the formation of the Decepticon faction.
*Pierre Droal's retailer incentive cover shows a unique design for Cobra Commander with a {{w|Red Hood}}-esque helmet, one that goes unused in the story proper.

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Cobra Commander calls in a squadron of [[Rattler]]s on "Optimus Prime" and "Bumblebee", by [[Robert Atkins]] and [[Simon Gough]]; Cobra Commander is here drawn in the uniform worn by deposed commander [[Krake]].
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Kup, [[M.A.S.K.]], and the [[Adventure Team]]'s "Big Trapper" in a wacky race, by [[Jed Dougherty]] and [[Sebastian Cheng]]
*'''Subscription cover B:''' The forces of M.A.S.K. reflected in Cobra Commander's helmet, by [[Tone Rodriguez]] and [[Thomas Deer]]; the Commander's mask is here drawn as the one worn by {{i|Cobra Commander|the original modern-day Commander}}, who died at the end of IDW's first ''G.I. Joe'' series.
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Cobra Commander looms as Centurion takes out another 'bot, by [[Pierre Droal]]

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===Advertisements===
*''Revolutionaries'' #6
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting April's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 5|''G.I. Joe'' #5]], [[Wrath of Karza issue 1|''Micronauts: Wrath of Karza'' #1]], [[New Cybertron End: Feel Safe Without Regrets|''Optimus Prime'' #6]], [[Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production|''Lost Light'' #5]], and [[Heavy|''Till All Are One'' #9]]
*[[Wrath of Karza issue 1|''Micronauts: Wrath of Karza'' #1]]
*''[[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]]''
*"FIND YOUR HERO" IDW house ad featuring Optimus Prime; art by [[Casey Coller]]
*[[Free Comic Book Day]] 2017 (which had already taken place over a month prior to the late shipping of this issue...)
*IDW ''Yokai Watch'' comic

==External links==
*[http://www.comiccrusaders.com/exclusive-preview-revolutionaries-5/ Preview]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Revolutionaries issues]]