Editing Dawn of the Predacus

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{{comicstory
|seriesissue=[[BotCon]] comic
|prev=Cybertron's Most Wanted
|next=
|seriesissue2=''[[Combiner Wars (franchise)|Combiner Wars]]''
|prev2=
|next2=The Hot Rod
|title="Dawn of the Predacus"
|image=DawnOfThePredacus-cvr.jpg
|caption= I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret, or make me frown...
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 7]], [[2016]] ([[BotCon 2016]])<br>
|writers=[[John-Paul Bove]]
|art=[[Corin Howell]]
|colors=John-Paul Bove
|color assists=[[Ed Pirrie]]
|letters=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|price=
|continuity=[[Beast Wars timeline (IDW)|IDW ''Beast Wars'' continuity]] (see Notes)
|chronology=Circa [[2035]]
}}

'''At [[BotCon 2016|the end]] of [[Fun Publications|an era]], a [http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_the_Predacus&oldid=1085435 huge] [http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Dawn_of_the_Predacus&oldid=1085554 fight] ends in [[The Transformers (franchise)|disaster]] for many of [[Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)|our heroes]]...'''

==Synopsis==
In the last days of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] hovers next to a big hole and reports to the [[Autobot High Council]] at the [[Nova Plenum]] with shocking news: [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] is [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dead]].

Meanwhile, [[Cicadacon]], [[Sea Clamp|Seaclamp]], and [[Ram Horn|Ramhorn]] are in the middle of <s>infodumping</s> discussing the [[transmatter]] experiment they have been performing on Decepticons when [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] rushes in to report that [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is dead. The group are immediately contacted by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], who delivers the same news, then ignores Cicadacon's orders to stand down, instead claiming that he and his troops have orders to keep fighting... which is an inconvenience to Cicadacon's group, who need a ceasefire so they can [[reformatting|reformat]] as many living Autobots and Decepticons as possible into a new form!

Back at Nova Plenum, the Autobot High Council–now Optimus Prime's collective successor, the [[Primal Council]]–discuss next steps. [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] advises caution and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] demands immediate action, but [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] insists that the Decepticons be given the chance to surrender. [[Under-3|The last survivor]] of [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor's]] Unit-3 objects, wanting to avenge his teammates, but the like-minded Ironhide calms him down and offers him a part in a contingency plan, leaving Prowl and Silverbolt to ponder what Perceptor had found: signs of [[transwarp]] reactions. They send the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' to investigate...

At the former site of [[Omega Spaceport]], [[Tigatron]] leads Unit-2 as a peace envoy, and are rewarded with an attack by Megatron's Decepticons, including the massive [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]].  Tigatron engages Megatron in swordplay while Airazor, beset by [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]], defeats them both handily, in particular throwing Waspinator under Predaking's foot. But then, while the Autobots are occupied with Predaking, Megatron and his soldiers escape... headed for the Primal Council.

Now, several things happen at once. Airazor insists that Tigatron hurry to the council, and he arrives shortly after Megatron's troops, and combines with Ironhide, Silverbolt, Prowl, and Unit-3 into [[Magnaboss (BW)|Magnaboss]]. Meanwhile in orbit, the ''Axalon'' has found the location of the transwarp signature: [[Unicron]]'s head, where Cicadacon's group has finished their [[transmatter bomb]]. The ''Axalon'' partially deflects the blast with its shields, but streaks of light still rain down onto Cybertron, causing combatants to "melt" into [[protoform]]s. Cicadacon's group arrives at the former Omega Spaceport and combines to form [[Predacus]], who kills Predaking with his own sword.

As Magnaboss and Megatron stare at the transmatter bomb's victims in confusion, Tarantulas arrives to blame the effect on a supposed doomsday device left behind by Galvatron, and falsely presents Predaking's death as suicide committed out of guilt. Megatron's attempt to press on anyway is cut short when he is shot down by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], and Cicadacon ends the Great War with the Decepticons' surrender.

With the war over, the Autobots and Decepticons agree to set aside those factions in favor of Maximals and Predacons, the latter named in honor of Predaking. Those turned into protoforms by the transmatter bomb, Airazor among them, are placed in life support pods, to hopefully be reconstituted at a later date. Ravage and Tarantulas are granted amnesty because they "took great risks for peace," and laugh all the way to the proverbial bank, while those who can be connected directly to the worst atrocities are punished.

And Cicadacon begins work on [[Magmatron|his next project]]...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Autobot]]s / [[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (1)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (2)
*[[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (3)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (4)
*[[Tigatron]] (13)
*[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (14)
*[[Lio Convoy]] (15)
*[[Big Convoy]] (16)
*[[Under-3|Unit-3]] (17)
*"[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]" (18)
*[[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (19)
*Fourth ''Axalon'' crew member (20)
*"[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]]" (21)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (23)
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (28)
*[[Razorbeast]] (29)
*[[Magnaboss (BW)|Magnaboss]] (35)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (37)
*[[Air Hammer]] (39)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|White Propionica]]<ref>The [[BotCon 2016]] script reading, "[[The Hot Rod]]" established this name as Blackarachia's pre-Earth name in this continuity.</ref> (40)
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (42)

|h2=[[Decepticon]]s / [[Predacon (disambiguation)|Predacon]]s|c2=
*[[Cicadacon]] (5)
*[[Sea Clamp|Seaclamp]] (6)
*Decepticon experiments (7/8)
*[[Ram Horn|Ramhorn]] (9)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (10)
*[[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (11)
*[[Retrax]] (12)
*"[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]" (22)
*[[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (24)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (25)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (26)
*[[Terradive (G1)|Terradive]] (27)
*[[Buzz Saw (BW)|Buzz Saw]] (29)
*[[Drill Bit (BW)|Drill Bit]] (31)
*[[Manta Ray (BW)|Manta Ray]] (32)
*[[Beetle]] (33)
*[[Snapper]] (34)
*[[Predacus]] (36)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (38)
*"[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]" (41)
*[[Magmatron]] (43)

|h3=Others|c3=
*[[Unicron]]'s head (30)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Blades''': —ime is dead. I rekkkkrr— —Optimus Prime is dead.<br>
'''Silverbolt''': No...<br>
'''Ironhide''': RAGH! ''(punches wall)''<br>
'''Blades''':—zzt—Do you copy? Kkkkkrt—<br>
'''Prowl''': Yes...we copy...
:—The Autobots react to Optimus Prime's death.



'''Tarantulas''': Generals! Galvatron is dead!<br>
'''Ram Horn''': Oh... How awful.<br>
'''Cicadacon''': Mmm.
:—The Decepticons react to Galvatron's death.



"He was a smart old son of a glitch, wasn't he? <br>
"That he was." <br>
"And he had quite the mouth on him, right?" <br>
"That he did." 
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Silverbolt''' eulogize '''Perceptor'''



"Our world is deeply scarred. Its surface runs '''black''' with the blood of our fallen brothers. It need not continue. No more need perish, no more need be lost."
:—'''Tigatron'''



'''Terrorsaur''': You're mine!<br>
'''Waspinator''': Wing-lady not stop Waspinator!<br>
'''Airazor''': Firstly, I belong to no one. Secondly, talking in the third person is not a healthy thing. You should look into doing something about that. Third—<br>
'''Waspinator''': Eep. ''(gets stepped on by Predaking)''<br>
'''Airazor''': —Never mind.
:—Thus began Waspinator's memorable career.



"You're right, of course, it ''is'' the end. The end of your insipid red badges and your pointless nobility. The old ways! So what if our cities fall down? We will build '''better''' ones. We will got to other worlds and we will build over theirs. Accept your fate. Before the end of this day, your line, your entire pathetic race will be—"<br>
''(Predaking grabs Tigatron.)''<br>
"ARRRGH!"<br>
"—I... I wasn't finished and I do ''so'' enjoy a speech... Never mind."
:—'''Megatron's''' speech to '''Tigatron''' is interrupted.



"... I '''fought''' Megatron. He '''killed''' me. And I '''came back'''. What makes you think you can frighten me, you cheap, third-rate '''knock-off?!'''"
:—'''Ironhide''' threatens '''Megatron'''

==Notes==
===Production notes===
*We're going to remind you now that the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon did not establish a definitive in-universe history for itself, merely making it highly plausible that events closely resembling (but not precisely matching) the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]] and/or the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comic]] happened offscreen. While "Dawn of the Predacus" is likewise light on details about the precise details of the Great War, the author notes that this story takes place thirty years after ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'',<ref>[https://twitter.com/wordmongerer/status/716433907621736448 Tweet by John-Paul Bove, 2016/04/02]</ref> pushing it closer towards the ever-popular "Generation 1 cartoon as background" route that most other ''Beast Wars'' tie-ins have utilized.
*This book was produced by [[IDW Publishing]] instead of [[Fun Publications]]. As such, it was promoted as being in continuity with IDW's other ''Beast Wars'' books as well as Fun Publications' "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]" <ref>http://wordmongerer.tumblr.com/post/142758963250/this-past-weekend-my-first-transformers-story</ref> - although it doesn't slot in perfectly into that chronology either (see "[[#Continuity errors|Continuity errors]]" below).
* Several background characters were initially going to be pre-existing characters, only for the author to change his mind about including them. Among these was [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], whose appearance on the ''Axalon'' was deliberately modified because it was decided he wouldn't be part of the crew quite yet. Another generic is noticeably based off of [[Terradive (TF 2010)|Terradive]] from the [[Live-action film series|live-action movie franchise]].
* Before it was given to IDW, [[Jim Sorenson]] was asked to write a pitch for this as a ''[[Beast Wars: Uprising]]'' story. He briefly mentioned "the ghost of [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Prowl II]] maybe)" working to create [[Magnaboss (BW)|Magnaboss]] as a [[Builder of Cybertron|Builder]] weapon. In the end, the Tripredacus Council would have to stop its rampage by forming Predacus.<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/133737-beast-wars-uprising-ama/?p=3360055 Beast Wars Uprising AMA at Allspark]</ref> Sorenson and [[Jesse Wittenrich]] later added more detail: that Magnaboss was created after the Tripredacus Council and [[Predacon Secret Police]] had started investigating combiners, and the plot would have also had Megatron creating the beast mode upgrade (a plot later done in the prose fiction). Prowl had left behind a "[[Prowl II|Prowl 2.0]]" backup copy with a plan for a last-ditch weapon and when Tigatron, Airazor, and Tarantulas try to stop it, Tigatron just becomes part of the Magna-beast. "Predacus rises to (more-or-less) heroically battle Magnaboss to the death." The ending would have Megatron's beasties (who'd have just saved Airazor) taking advantage of the power vaccuum created after the combiners died trashing the Predacus and [[Maximal Command Security Force]] armies, with Tarantulas and his combiner knowledge now working for Megs...<ref>[https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/140167-ama-bish-jesse-jim/?p=3516260 Wittenrich at Allspark]</ref><ref>[https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/140167-ama-bish-jesse-jim/?p=3516969 Sorenson at Allspark]</ref>
**Sorenson warned us too that ''all of this'' (and anything else demanded) would have to fit into 22 pages "and FP or Hasbro might have said no. So, don't romanticize it too much."<ref>https://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/140167-ama-bish-jesse-jim/?p=3517483</ref>

===Continuity notes===
*Ironhide references [[The Transformers: The Movie|having been killed]] by Generation 1 Megatron before.
*The profile card for Optimus Primal's BotCon 2006 toy stated that he was a veteran of "the last Great War" which resulted in the defeat of the Predacons. However, see ''[[#Continuity errors|Continuity errors]]'' below.
*The profile card for Razorclaw's BotCon 2009 toy (tying into his appearance in "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]") stated that he was doublecrossed and assassinated by the Tripredacus Council. However, see ''[[#Continuity errors|Continuity errors]]'' below.
*The death of Optimus Prime in the final battle of the Great War was alluded to in "[[Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search|The Search]]".
*The presence of Lio Convoy and Big Convoy on the Primal Council is thematically appropriate given their later roles in ''[[Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering|The Gathering]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars: The Ascending|The Ascending]]''.
*Unicron's head is still in orbit of Cybertron following the events of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*The destruction of Unicron's head explains its absence by the time we see Cybertron in ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
*Some trends that would be in evidence in the Beast Wars—Tarantulas's manipulation of Megatron, Waspinator's terrible luck—are seen here for the "first" time.
*Megatron is seen reading a [[Covenant of Primus]] shortly before announcing his name; Megatron taking his name from the Covenant was established in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]".
*Many of the characters are not wearing faction symbols. The author has stated that clear factions (especially on the Decepticon side) had fallen down after the events of "[[The Rebirth]]" and Autobots and Decepticons at the time of the story do not necessarily correspond to future Maximals and Predacons.
*Rattrap seems to give Optimus Primal his name here, as a mocking nickname in reference to his resemblance to Optimus Prime and their mission from the Primal Council. This isn't just a cute bit: [http://wordmongerer.tumblr.com/post/142758963250/this-past-weekend-my-first-transformers-story on his tumblr], Bove stated that he'd found it a "contradiction" that Primal had Prime's face and name despite being low-ranked, and he wanted to make it "less of a stretch" by saying Rattrap stuck the guy with it.
*Dinobot is seen standing over Grimlock's stasis pod, implying that he got the idea for his Beast Wars name from the Autobot subgroup. This made even more apparent in the accompanying BotCon 2016 script reading "[[The Hot Rod]]", in which the yet-not named as such Dinobot was presented as an admirer of Grimlock.
*Tarantulas is already named "Tarantulas" 300 years before he ever gets a spidery [[alternate mode|beast mode]]. Surprisingly, that's technically not an error or dramatic conceit (at least not by Bove): in "[[The Agenda (Part 2)]]", Tarantulas is introduced by Ravage as "Lieutenant Tarantulas of the [[Predacon Secret Police]]", suggesting this may have always been his name, despite all reason.

===Transformers references===
*Magnaboss references the "such heroic nonsense" line from ''The Movie''.
*The [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]] is mentioned.
*One of the Decepticons under Megatron's command very strongly resembles the 2010 ''Transformers'' toyline character [[Terradive (TF 2010)|Terradive]].
*The [[universal greeting]] is referenced.
*Cicadacon laying down the Decepticon sigil echoes Optimus Prime's surrender in "[[Surrender!]]".
*Ramhorn mocks the inconsistent units of time used in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1]] and ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' cartoons.
*Optimus Primal tells the yet-unnamed Rattrap to shut his "trap."
*This would not be the last time Primal would have [[Other Voices, Part 1|an encounter with Unicron's head]].
*Plans for [[Magmatron]]'s body and Ravage's [[transwarp cruiser]] are seen.
*Unnamed 'bots who resemble pre-beast forms of [[Air Hammer]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] are seen walking around in the epilogue. Additionally, the accompanying BotCon 2016 script reading, "[[The Hot Rod]]", featured a pre-beast Blackarachnia named "White Propionica". It is likely safe to say that this is her.
*Tigatron's team is Unit-2.  In "Dawn of Future's Past," Tigatron himself was known as Unit 2

===Real-life references===
*Ironhide refers to Megatron as a "[[Knockoff|knock-off]]."

===Continuity errors===
*The profile card for the "Dawn of Future's Past" version of Generation 1 [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] says that after the defeat of the Decepticons in the Great War, he led the nascent Predacon faction against the Autobots until the Tripredacus Council seemingly assassinated him. In addition, [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] appears alive in "Dawn of Future's Past", and the profile card for "Dawn of Future's Past" [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] says that Divebomb recruited Ravage to the Predacons. Here, however, Razorclaw's entire team is killed off by Predacus in the final battle of the Great War before any of that can happen.
*The profiles in "Dawn of Future's Past" for Optimus Primal and Megatron state that the Maximals defeated the Predacons in the "last" Great War; the ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook|Beast Wars Sourcebook]]'' established that there was ''another'' war between the Maximals and Predacons between the end of this comic and the start of ''Beast Wars''. In that case, Megatron is now going to be a known warmonger but nobody brings it up or acts like he's a big noise in either "Dawn" or ''Beast Wars''.   
*Waspinator is already named "Waspinator" in his pre-beast mode and, unlike Tarantulas, it conflicts with his 2011 [[Transformers Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] bio that declared his pre-Earth name to be just "Wasp". 

====Contentious continuity====
To put it ''very'' mildly, this story was quite controversial within the fandom—aside from the admittedly subjective "''Beast Wars'' isn't supposed to be all about Generation 1" complaints, many fans perceived it as stomping all over the continuity it was supposed to fit into like, well, a combiner stomping on Waspinator. Some of these issues have their origins in plot points that author John-Paul Bove had in mind but either didn't have time for or didn't realize were unclear, which he has gone on to clarify [http://wordmongerer.tumblr.com/post/142758963250/this-past-weekend-my-first-transformers-story on his] [http://wordmongerer.tumblr.com/post/143819209495/greetings-now-i-am-not-the-most-online-person Tumblr]. Bove has stated that the story was originally meant to be part of a miniseries set after "The Rebirth", which would have expanded on the political scene following the end of the Great War and explained some of the developments behind [[beast mode]] technology. It's possible some or all of these points would have been clearer in that context, but...

*In the cartoon, characters treated the ancient Autobot-Decepticon war in the same way we discuss Arthurian legend - characters spoke reverently of their "ancestors" with the implicit acknowledgement that a great deal of time had passed between their heyday and the current state of affairs on modern Cybertron. ''Dawn of the Predacus'' made the controversial decision to depict Maximals and Predacons co-existing with their legendary "ancient ancestors", fighting alongside their respective progenitor factions in the twilight of the Great War. Bove tries to explain this by pointing out that most of them aren't seen to ''interact'' with any Autobots or Decepticons, but they're still shown to have existed in the same time frame as characters who were supposedly part of the distant past. Indeed, many major participants in the Beast Wars played very crucial roles during the war's end:
**''Beast Wars'' Megatron seizes a role of authority following Galvatron's demise, commanding Predaking and organizing the final charge against the Autobots. When the Autobots want to negotiate an end to the war, Tigatron and Airazor are sent to ''him''. Bove would clarify that he [[Authorial intent|hadn't intended that]], and that Megatron isn't a big player yet but just a chancer with big ambitions.
**Tigatron is an ''incredibly important Autobot'', to the point that he's not only a seating member of the Primal Council, described by Prowl as being "respected by all sides for his desire for peace", but is also sent as an emissary to the Decepticons due to his widespread reputation. "Dawn of Future's Past", which takes place after this comic, depicts him as a low-ranking beat cop of no significant recognition or reputation, and nobody will recognize him when he takes on a [[beast mode]] after waking up on prehistoric [[Earth]].
**Airazor is a close associate of Tigatron's and ends up in a stasis pod, which makes the status quo of "Dawn of Future's Past" - where she's an unnamed mid-ranking pilot - difficult to extrapolate. Clearly, at some point Airazor was brought back, but without any of her memories (or possibly even her ''name''—despite it having been ''written on her pod'')... and by all indications Tigatron doesn't recognize her when they meet up again in "Dawn of Future's Past". Which isn't impossible, but ''wow'' she has the ''worst'' luck.
**While Bove has declared Optimus Primal to be an unimportant, low-ranking ship captain in this comic (as he was in the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon) Primal is shown here to have the authority to take possession of the new protoforms and assume the responsibility of caring for them. Who is he to do this if he's supposed to be this "nobody" that Bove claims him to be? Wouldn't it make more sense for an actual authority figure, like ''any'' of the Primal Council members, to do this, or to at least give Primal the authority to do this, instead?
*This story predates the [[Great Upgrade]]. There is no indication that any sort of downsizing has taken place yet, yet the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' is already in service, apparently scaled to the comparatively massive Autobots and Decepticons. Bove argues that ships and buildings were retrofitted to accommodate smaller inhabitants - although he does note that the ''Axalon'', even taking an empty lower deck into account, would have been fairly cramped for a G1 crew. "[[Optimal Situation]]" has a cross section of the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge moved into the ''Ark'', and we can see how big Optimal Optimus—who was larger than his fellow Maximals but much smaller than Optimus Prime - is in relation to the inside of the ship, which already housed a grand total of two levels of ''Maximal''-sized decks. As Optimal Optimus is tall enough to span the height of the ''entire'' hull (which is ''why the cross-sectioning happened'' for out-of-universe reasons), that the ship could have once housed Generation 1-sized guys is essentially impossible, unless they were scooting around inside it on their butts within the space of a single deck spanning the entire volume of the ship's hull.
* Protoform technology is implied to be the byproduct of a Decepticon bioweapon, with its victims placed into life support pods that, while eerily similar to the [[stasis pod]]s from the cartoon, aren't supposed to be the same devices as Bove claims. Optimus Primal takes possession of some of the protoforms, noting that he'll "do what he can" for the fallen Transformers inside. Taking the comic at its word, it sounds as though Primal is going to carry them around in the ''Axalon'' until the ship's infamous transwarp voyage, at which point they'll become the future Earth-born Maximals and Predacons. Bove later clarified that this sequence was meant to show the ''beginning'' of protoform technology; by the time of ''Beast Wars'' it would have evolved into the less disturbing concept we see presented on the show. 
*One victim of transmatter is none other than [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], who's placed into a life-support pod (naturally) labeled "Inferno". Taking the aforementioned note into account, the comic seems to imply that he'll become [[Inferno (BW)|''Beast Wars'' Inferno]] - this wouldn't ''really'' be a continuity error, but it ''would'' be incredibly stupid. Bove stated at [[BotCon 2016]] that this cameo was deliberately left open to the reader's interpretation; he hasn't ruled out Generation 1 Inferno's return if the story were to be continued. He later noted that some of the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s pods would still contain ex-Autobots and Decepticons - this isn't an idea that started with him, as [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] made an appearance in ''The Gathering'' as one of the many characters aboard the Axalon. 
*There appears to be a ship identical to Ravage's [[transwarp cruiser]], which will be considered "experimental" 300 years later, flying around. Bove explained that it's just a similar design, similar to the various ''[[Star Trek|Enterprises]]''.
*In "[[The Agenda (Part 1)]]", General Ram Horn pontificates that "ever since the Autobots defeated our Decepticon ancestors, we Predacons have worked secretly towards the day where we might rise up and take what is rightfully ours,". In this story, we learn that the Tripredacus Council WERE those Decepticon ancestors and that they defeated ''themselves''... on purpose. Bove admits that he ignored that line in favour of the episode "[[Other Victories]]", where we learn from Tarantulas that the Council are ''not'' Decepticon descendants - and let's be honest, ''Beast Wars'' gave no craps about "Victories" clashing with Ram Horn's line. Nevertheless, regardless of the Council's true heritage, Ram Horn was still unambiguously referring to a group of individuals separate from that of himself and his fellow generals, which this story instead depicts as being one and the same as Ram Horn, Sea Clamp, and Cicadacon themselves.
*Rattrap ''really'' shouldn't be working with Optimus Primal yet. Bove defends this by saying nobody ever said how long they'd been serving together, but while nobody establishes a ''precise'' timeframe, "[[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]" makes it ''abundantly'' clear that Rattrap is new to Primal's command, unfamiliar with Primal on a personal level, and on top of that strongly suggests that ''Primal himself is new to command'' Making them former comrades 300 years earlier weakens the backbone of Rattrap's entire first-season character development, as it's grounded in him learning to know and trust Primal as a friend and commander. (Bove propses that Rattrap is learning to respect his commander as a military tactician rather than as a scientist, but this is an iffy workaround at best.) There's some wiggle room, but it's hard to argue that there are ''three centuries'' of it.
*The death of [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]], a being composed of mammals and birds, is commemorated with... an insect face?

Although this comic is meant to be in continuity with IDW's ''Beast Wars'' comics, there are several points of conflict between this comic and those comics, particularly the ''Beast Wars Glossary'' of the ''Beast Wars Sourcebook'':
*According to the ''Glossary'', "Galvatron's eventual fate is the stuff of legend and conjecture". Yet, in this comic, his fate is anything but legend or conjecture—he died in battle. Case closed.
*The ''Glossary'' states that the ''Axalon'' was one of many space exploration vessels whose construction was commissioned by the Maximals in "the age of the [[Pax Cybertronia]]". Yet, it is seen here already built and in service (of the ''Autobots'', even) during the end of the Great War prior to the signing of the Pax Cybertronia.
*The ''Glossary'' lays out the timeline of this continuity quite differently than what is seen in this comic. For one, the ''Glossary'' refers to a second conflict after the Great War that was ''also'' known as the "Great War", in which the Predacons tried to renew the "age-old" Autobot/Decepticon conflict between themselves and the Maximals at a point after the [[Great Upgrade]]. Furthermore, the ''Glossary'' states that the Pax Cybertronia was then signed after this second conflict had ended, making the timeline be " Autobot/Decepticon Great War → Great Upgrade (''ages'' pass between the two wars) → Maximal/Predacon Great War → Pax Cybertronia". This is all completely contradicted by this comic instead depicting the Pax Cybertronia as being signed on the ''same day'' as the end of the Autobot/Decepticon Great War, thereby moving the Great Upgrade to come ''after'' the Pax Cybertronia's beginning, and seemingly preventing the Maximal/Predacon Great War from ever existing in this timeline, despite the ''Glossary'' saying otherwise.
*In the ''Glossary'', the Pax Cybertronia was "signed and sealed by both the [[Predacon Alliance]] and the [[Maximal Imperium]]". While the individuals who would later come to govern each of these entities did sign the treaty in this comic, the signing occurred before either of these entities even existed in this comic's timeframe, as the Maximal and Predacon factions themselves only just start to come about ''after'' the treaty is signed. As a result, the comic inadvertently retcons this claim from the ''Glossary'' to be only true on a technical level instead of the likely-intended literal one.
*The ''Glossary'' strongly implies that the three members of the Tripredacus Council only rose to power after the Predacon Alliance was formed and after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia, yet here the three are already in power as high-ranking authority figures in the ''Decepticon'' faction during the Great War, and even personally sign the peace treaty with the Autobots.
*Outside of the ''Glossary'', the ''Sourcebook'' profile for [[Magnaboss (BW)|Magnaboss]] states that he was created in response to the introduction of [[Tripredacus]]. In this story, it is Predacus, rather than Tripredacus, who exists, and from whom Magnaboss seems to exist completely independently, with his components displaying seemingly no awareness of Predacus's existence.

===Other notes===
*An early plan was to have Optimus on the Primal Council as Head of Science but that was dropped as "making him too prominent".
*Unit-3 is asked to "fill some big shoes" and later becomes a leg (and foot) for Magnaboss. Ahaha. ''Haha.'' '''''Ha.'''''
*This was originally planned as a miniseries. Cut bits would include:
**An explicit [[canonizing|canonization]] of the fan theory that [[Pretender]] and [[Micromaster]] tech had been the starting point for the Beasties (half of this longstanding theory appeared in 2013 in ''[[Beast Wars Shattered Glass]]'').
**The Golden Age, as established in "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]", had indeed happened with just pockets of Decepticon rebellion but Galvatron blew it all up. It would've been more clearly established that there were many fighters who weren't in either main faction but were allied to them (Bove comparing this to how in the [[World War II|Second World War]], there were multiple countries, groups, and sympathizers attached to the Allies and Axis).
**There would have been material on "the status of a number of Autobots before DotP and the some of the Cold War events after to properly begin to fill in some of the picture of a post-war world."
*Anyone wanna clue us in as to just what exactly "Transmatter" is supposed to be?

===Covers===
*'''BotCon Attendee Edition:'''
*'''BotCon Vendor Edition:'''
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==References==
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[[Category:IDW issues]]