Editing Unstopped and Unstoppable

{{Comicstory
|series=op|issueno=22
|prev=The Falling, Chapter 6: Unforgivable
|next=Time Will Rust
|seriesissue2=''[[Transformers: Unicron]]''
|next2=Unicron issue 1
|caption=
|image=OP22 cvrA.jpg
|title="Unstopped and Unstoppable"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[August 8]], 2018
|coverdate=Late July 2018
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[David Mariotte]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''No sooner are Optimus Prime and Bumblebee back in the land of the living than the threat of Unicron makes itself known.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] sets to work finding a way to restore [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] to the physical world, building them new bodies, using photonic material from [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] to grow them new sparks, and finally, transferring their consciousnesses out of [[Pyra Magna]]'s mind. Bumblebee is restored first, and is caught up on current events by [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] while Wheeljack repeats the process with Prime, who awakens with a start from another nightmare about the [[Dark Cybertron (prophecy)|Dark Cybertron prophecy]]. Relieved to see that Bumblebee was not merely a figment of his imagination, Prime embraces his old friend, and begins to tell him about his nightmare, before Windblade interrupts with matters of greater importance.

Windblade plays back a video recording from an hour earlier, showing a three-man team of [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], [[Subsea]], and [[Rest-Q (G1)|Rest-Q]] departing via [[space bridge|Space Bridge]] for [[Velocitron]] to investigate a loss of contact with the planet. The trio step through the portal to find the the populace of Velocitron scattering in a mad panic in response to the appearance of a huge, horned, planet-size object in the sky, at which point the recording cuts out. The identity of the object is a mystery, but Windblade believes that [[Transformers vs. Visionaries|recent events]] that took place while Optimus was offline hold the answer. A second message was beamed into space by the [[Talisman (G1)|Talisman]], this time containing a word that Windblade translates as "uncreator," the opposite of [[Primus]], which she believes is the name of the monster planet: [[Unicron]].

On [[Earth]], [[Rom]] the [[Space Knight]] engages in battle with a group of humans he believes have recently come into contact with a [[Dire Wraith]]. Presently, [[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] arrives on the scene, having traced a line of black market Cybertronian technology to the humans, and helps Rom subdue them. Suddenly, Rom's body is wracked with pain; he senses his homeworld of [[Elonia]] is in danger as Unicron approaches it, and further, knows he will be unable to return there in time to defend it. Jazz believes he knows someone who can help...

Back on Cybertron, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] is led through the streets to prison. As he goes, he rambles aloud to no-one in particular, relating the story of how, following the Age of Primes, he and the [[Maximal]]s relocated to the planet [[Antilla]], only to find that it "belonged to another." His escort, [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], snaps at him to shut up, telling him that nobody is listening to him... but Beachcomber couldn't be more wrong, as among the crowds, Shockwave's ancient servant [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] has heard his words...

Out in space, former Space Knight [[Stardrive]] also senses the threat now faced by Elonia. [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] reminds her that she owes Elonia nothing, and that she and the rest of his team are already occupied tracking the [[Maximal]]s. The beast-robots have been hunting down Cybertronians all across the galaxy, and Prowl's team is now on their trail following their flight from Cybertron...

On Earth, [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] has taken up residence in [[South Dakota]], near [[Mount Rushmore]]. While he and [[Slag (G1)|Slug]] chat—with Slug grumbling over the fact that [[Victorion]], rather than the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], got to be the one to take down [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]—the [[President of the United States]] argues with [[Marissa Faireborn]], determined to have Trypticon sent back to Cybertron to alleviate security concerns. Their debate is interrupted by the arrival of Jazz and Rom; realizing the importance of Rom's mission to protect his homeworld, Jazz, still wanted by human authorities, surrenders himself to military custody in return for Rom being allowed to use Trypticon's Space Bridge to go to Cybertron and rally aid for Elonia.

In the [[New Cybertron]] refugee commune on [[Marshall Islands|Bikini Atoll]], [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] brings the news of Jazz's arrest and the attacks on the colonies to the Autobot colonist soldiers stationed there. Most of the group take the situation calmly, confident in Optimus Prime's ability to set it right, but of course, [[Slide]] is full of nothing but rancor for Optimus.

[[Our Darkest|Alas, even with the might of the Cybertronian fleet backing Rom up, they are unable to stop Unicron from consuming Elonia]]. Worse yet, news soon comes in that contact has also been lost with [[Eukaris]]. Rom is distraught, but [[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] is all business, determined to hunt Unicron down and destroy it. Pyra Magna reveals that she has recently been in contact with Prowl, and contacts him so he can join their planning. Prowl teleconferences in live from the midst of a battle between his team and the Maximals over [[Devisiun]], which Unicron is on the cusp of devouring. Learning about the fate of the other colonies, Prowl reasons—much to Stardrive's disgust—that they must abandon Devisiun and follow the fleeing Maximals to Unicron's ''next'' target, in order to set a trap for it there. In short order, Prowl is able to deduce that that target is [[Caminus]], and the Cybertronian space fleet makes ready to defend it. Optimus Prime has a dangerous plan in mind, and warns that the price will be a high one indeed: they will evacuate the entire population of Caminus and ''let'' the planet be destroyed, buying Prime time to venture within Unicron in hopes of learning more about it.

On Cybertron, [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] and the [[Decepticon]]s hole up in the corpse of [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]], where Starscream tells his followers about his plans to reunite the various Decepticons cells scattered throughout the galaxy. Presently, Rhinox arrives, and invites Starscream to accompany him to Shockwave's cell.

A news broadcast from [[Circuit (G1)|Circuit]] regarding the destruction of the various colonies and the arrival of surviving refugees on Cybertron reaches New Cybertron on Earth. Having been informed of Prime's plan for Caminus by Pyra Magna, Slide tells her fellow colonists that Prime let ''all'' the colonies be destroyed, and declares it's time to end his reign for good.

==Featured characters==
Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.<br>
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Wheeljack]] (2)
*[[Pyra Magna]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (5)
*[[Subsea]] (6)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (7)
*[[Rest-Q (G1)|Rest-Q]] (8)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (9)
*[[Jazz (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Jazz]] (13)
*[[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (17)
*[[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (18)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (21)
*[[Goldbug (IDW)|Goldbug]] (22)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slug]] (25)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (32)
*[[Gimlet]] (33)
*[[Bump]] (34)
*[[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] (35)
*[[Slide]] (36)
*[[Arcee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Arcee]] (37)
*[[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]]'s corpse (44)
*[[Aileron]] (45)
{{!}}}

|c2=
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave/''Onyx Prime'']] (15)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (39)
*[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]] (40)
*[[Acid Storm]] (41)
*[[Tankor (BM)|Fat Tankor]] (42)
*[[Octane|Tall Tankor]] (43)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Soundwave]] (46)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (26)
*[[President of the United States]] (27)
*[[Marissa Faireborn]] (28)
*[[Zilong Qian|Talon]] (29)

|h4=[[Maximal]]s|c4=
*''"[[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]"'' (14)
*''"[[Megatron (BW)|''Beast Wars'' Megatron]]"'' (16)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (19)
*[[Archadis]] (38)

|h5=Others|c5=
*[[Swift (G1)|Swift]] (10)
*[[Unicron]] (11)
*[[Rom]] (12)
*[[Stardrive]] (20)
*[[Garnak]] (23)
*[[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (24)
*[[Detritus (G1)|Detritus]] (30)
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (31)
*[[Circuit (G1)|Circuit]] (47)
}}

==Quotes==
"'''Sitting up''' real fast and '''yelling''' always lets a 'bot know when a procedure '''worked.'''"
:—'''Wheeljack''' cheerfully responds to Optimus Prime awakening from his nightmare


"Selling out the '''living''' for the sake of expediency. I was an '''idiot''' to believe in you. Elonians... Wraiths... Cybertronians... we're '''all''' the same... we '''deserve''' each other."
:—'''Stardrive'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Optimus Prime once again dreams of the [[Dark Cybertron (prophecy)|Dark Cybertron prophecy]], including the image of himself holding [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]'s head on a pike, as he did before in [[All Hail Optimus Part 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth|''The Transformers'' #50]]. The title of this issue, "Unstopped and Unstoppable," is the final line of the prophecy.
*The events of the ''[[Transformers vs. Visionaries]]'' mini-series are revealed to have taken place in the few days between last issue and this one.
*For the last seven years, IDW stories have made occasional reference to "Primus's opposite," an oblique way of referring to Unicron without ever saying his name. It remains unclear if the name "Unicron" is actually known in Cybertronian legend or not; Windblade has never heard it before (simply "translating" it to mean "uncreator," concluding that it is Primus's opposite based on that) but she's from a planet with a differing belief system, so that's not concrete evidence. It's mentioned in [[Unicron issue 1|''Unicron'' #1]] in reference to him being Primus's opposite, but that still takes place after Windblade reveals his name this issue.
*Jazz was last seen in [[Primeless, Part 2|issue #12]], having gone rogue to hunt down humans using Cybertronian-derived tech following the events of [[What It's Really Like|issue #8]].
*Shockwave's monologue reveals that he deliberately founded [[Eukaris]] as a place where beastformers could live free of prejudice; while this might seem at odds with his personality, ''[[The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets the Eye]]'' did establish that, during his time as a Senator, Shockwave went out of his way to establish the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology|Jhiaxian Academy]], a similar "refuge" for a persecuted class of Cybertronian.
*Shockwave relates how, after the end of the Age of Primes, he and and his [[Maximal]]s relocated to [[Antilla]]. They were first revealed to have a presence on the planet during that time in [[Ghost Stories|the 2017 ''Transformers'' annual]].
*The caption isn't kidding when it says Rhinox "hasn't shown up for a while"; his sole previous appearance was four years ago, in [[The Crucible|''Robots in Disguise'' #34]]. He was an ancient servant of Onyx Prime's from millions of years ago who was left behind when his master left the planet. It's unclear where he's been in the interim, if he's lived on Cybertron or if he relocated to Eukaris or elsewhere.
*Appearing in the same scene as Fat Tankor also finally resolves the longstanding ambiguity of whether they were the same individual or separate individuals in IDW continuity.
*Prowl's team were last seen in [[The Dead Come Home, Part 2 (of 2)|issue #14]], in which issue it was revealed Prowl was in contact with Pyra Magna.
*The events of [[Our Darkest|''Unicron'' #0]]—including the destruction of both Elonia and Eukaris—take place between pages 13 and 14 of this issue. The audience is intended to have already read that story before this issue, as it was released several months earlier for [[Free Comic Book Day]]. The end of the story leads directly into [[Unicron issue 1|''Unicron'' #1]], which opens with Unicron's attack on Caminus, and includes Starscream meeting with Shockwave following Rhinox's invitation.

===Transformers references===
*As we already knew would be the case thanks to the issues of ''[[Transformers: Unicron|Unicron]]'' that had been released before this, Bumblebee's new body is based on his "[[evergreen]]" design.
*Subsea was a generic "hi-then-die" Autobot from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK]] story "[[Underworld!]]"
*Rest-Q is an Autobot [[Mini Vehicle]] created by [[Fun Publications]] and featured in a few of their "[[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]]" stories, based on a protoype version of [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] and named after [[Rest-Q (GoBots)|a Guardian GoBot]].
*Wreck-Gar's disembodied head is ferried around by a Junkion named Detritus, a character created by [[e-HOBBY]] in 2004 who was a recolor of the original [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] toy. This is literally the first appearance he's ever made in ''Transformers'' media under his own name, in his original body.

===Real-life references===
*After Marissa promises that "no Cybertronians are going to take over this place," the president replies "that's probably exactly what the Lakota said," sarcastically alluding to the unpalatable real-world history of {{w|Mount Rushmore}}; the mountain, originally a site sacred to the {{w|Lakota Sioux}} known as "The Six Grandfathers", was illegally seized from the Lakota by the United States government in 1877 despite the {{w|Treaty of Fort Laramie}} granting the {{w|Black Hills}} to the Sioux in perpetuity — something paralleled in Optimus's annexation of Earth against humanity's wishes. Who says that comic books can't teach you anything?
*Wreck-Gar emulates the [[Christmas]] carol "{{w|Good King Wenceslas}}" when he declares: "Good King Optimus went out to keep the peace or get even."
*One of the Maximal [[generic]]s on page 16 appears to transform into a robotic version of the Pokémon [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Crobat_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Crobat].

===Errors===
*Windblade's lower lip remains unpainted for the whole issue.
*Prowl's statement on page 17 that "There's six of us" is at odds with the seven members of his ship's crew: himself, Stardrive, Wheelie, Garnak, Goldbug, Chase, and Rollbar.

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for late July 2018, as the second of two ''Optimus Prime'' issues to be released that month, this issue arrived late, in the second week of August. However, it was released a week early on IDW's website by mistake, allowing a small number of purchases to be made before the error was spotted and the issue was taken down.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in the shadow of Shockwave and Unicron, by [[Kei Zama]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Cover B:''' Jazz and Rom, by [[Sara Pitre-Durocher]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Black-and-white lineart version of Cover A
<gallery>
File:OP22 cvrA.jpg|
File:OP22 cvrB.jpg|
File:OP22 cvrRI.jpg|
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Optimus Prime'' #23
*''[[Transformers: Unicron]]''
*''[[Transformers vs. Visionaries]]'' TPB
*''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]] vs. The Six Million Dollar Man'' TPB
*''The Comic Book History of Comics: Comics For All'' TPB
*''Full Bleed'' magazine
*[[Unicron issue 1|''Transformers: Unicron'' #1]]

==External links==
*[https://www.newsarama.com/41248-unicron-arrives-in-optimus-prime-22-preview.html Preview]

[[Category:Optimus Prime issues]]