Editing Dissolution Part 6: This Machine Kills Fascists

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Lost Light|The Transformers:<br>Lost Light]]'' #6
|prev=Dissolution Part 5: Modes of Production
|next=After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)
|image=LL6_regcvr.jpg
|title="Dissolution Part 6:<br>This Machine Kills Fascists"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[June 7]], [[2017]]
|coverdate=May 2017
|written by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}
'''The Autobots' sojourn on Functionist Cybertron comes to an end, but not everyone makes it out alive... while on Necroworld, Anode risks it all to conquer death.'''

==Synopsis==
In response to [[Rung (G1)#The Functionist Universe|Rung]]'s challenge, the angry [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] simply slugs him across the jaw, and Rung crumples like a wet napkin. A scolding from [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] snaps some sense into Rodimus, and he takes up Rung's mission, ordering everyone else to evacuate while ''he'' steers [[Cog (base)|The Cog]] into [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. Unfortunately, outside, down below, [[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] chooses that moment to open fire on Luna 2 to to save [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] from its tractor beam, and one of his shots blows The Cog out of the sky!

On [[Necroworld]], [[Kaput]] leads [[Anode]], [[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]], and [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] through the [[Mortilus|Necrobot]]'s flower fields. Nautica tries to comfort Anode following her recent discovery that her partner [[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] was just a time-sickness-induced hallucination, and returns the bloom of [[living metal|sentio metallico]] to her. As the group nears its destination, Kaput reveals Lug's fate; she did indeed die on Luna 2 the day the Necrobot took Anode to safety. As was his practice, the Necrobot preserved a small, flickering portion of her spark energy in one of his flowers—a flower Kaput now plucks from the ground and holds out to Anode, offering her a way to say goodbye. Anode looks back and forth between the flower and the sentio metallico bloom... and suddenly bolts off back toward the fortress with both in hand.

[[File:This Machine Kills Fascists-Rodimus Shocked.jpg|left|thumb|''Bright astonishment!'']]

Rodimus and his team haul themselves out of the wreckage of The Cog just as Megatron and the rest of his unit come running up. [[Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Brainstorm]] contacts the group via their communicator to warn them they only have twenty minutes to use Luna 2's teleporter to return to Necroworld before [[Killmaster]]'s teleportational wand runs out of power... but before Rodimus can form a response, he is struck dumb by an awesome sight: over [[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]]'s protestations, Rung has tampered with the [[size changing|mass displacement]] generator the [[Functionist Council]] forcibly equipped him with, and has enlarged his robot mode to colossal proportions so he can directly attack Luna 2 with his city-sized fists! [[Clicker]] is most taken aback by this development—fearing that Rung's actions are proof that everyone ''does'' have a grand role to play—but Megatron assures him it is just the opposite, that ''choosing'' your function is the ultimate disproof of the Council's doctrine. Brainstorm tries to get everyone to focus on the problem at hand: they need to destroy Luna 2 to stop the Council, but if they do, they lose the teleporter that will take them home. [[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] has a casual brainwave, proposing that they turn Luna 2's teleporter outward, teleporting the whole moon away with them as they leave, back to Necroworld. Rodimus worries about the potential destruction that might cause, but Brainstorm reminds him Necroworld is hollow, and can easily contain the moon! With a plan in place, everyone heads off toward the nearest matter transporter that will take them up to the moon... everyone except Terminus, who tells Megatron he is staying in the Functionist Universe to help continue the fight against the Council. Megatron asks Rodimus for a moment to speak to his friend, but Rodimus is immediately suspicious that he is going to stay behind too in order to evade justice. Megatron gives Rodimus his word that he is not, and Rodimus begrudgingly grants his request.

Back on Necroworld, in the Necrobot's fortress, Anode reveals her plan: to release the trace of Lug's spark energy from the spark-flower into the sentio metallico, which will incubate the spark and which she can then sculpt into a [[protoform]], restoring Lug to life. Anode is unsure if her skills are equal to the task, but she boldly commences the process... and things are going well, until the protoform's temperature starts dropping rapidly...

As Megatron is saying his goodbyes to Terminus, Rodimus's team reaches the matter transporter. Unfortunately, it turns out to be non-functional, so they have to make a run to the next-nearest one, and Roller radios Terminus to update him on the situation. What is said between them is unheard, but afterwards—just as the dead body of the defeated Rung falls out of the sky in front of them—Terminus grabs Megatron's arm and leads him to where he needs to go. Time passes... and Megatron does not arrive at the transporter. Rodimus is incandescent with rage and refuses to leave without him... right up until [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Minimus Ambus]] speaks up, agreeing that Megatron should not be allowed to "get away." Reminded of the [[Getaway|true source of his anger]], Rodimus grits his teeth and orders the transporter activated, teleporting the group to Luna 2.

[[File:This Machine Kills Fascists-Functionist Glitch.jpg|right|thumb|170px|Here's hoping things go better this time...]]

Meanwhile, at the site of the original, broken transporter, a confused Megatron cannot understand why the group is not there. As he runs back out to question Terminus, Luna 2 disappears from the sky overhead, teleported back to Necroworld. Megatron cannot believe the others have left him behind, but Terminus tells him they have given him a second chance.

Brainstorm successfully uses Killmaster's wand to return Necroworld to the Autobots' home universe, and Rodimus's team returns from Luna 2 to the planet's surface, reuniting with their friends. Ratchet embraces a confused Rung... Roller admires Anode's new "backpack," the successfully-sculpted protoform Lug... and Brainstorm wonders where Megatron is, leading Rodimus to grind his teeth in fury once again.

Some time later, beneath the surface of Functionist Cybertron, Megatron visits an [[Anti-Vocationist League]] unit hidden in the mines of [[Nova Point]], the latest stop on a "speaking tour" as he rallies the organization's scattered cells together. This war, Megatron will fight with words, not violence; under his tutelage, the League will spread truth, and reach out to help those blinded to the evils of Functionism see it for what it is. One day, together, they will all achieve peace—peace through ''empathy''. His speech done, Megatron goes outside, and stares into the night sky with a heavy heart. His reverie is interrupted by the chime of his communicator... and the surprised Megatron cannot stop himself from smiling as, through the speaker, in response to Roller's previous attempts to reach him... crackles the voice of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity#The Functionist Universe|Orion Pax]].

{{-}}

==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"{{!}}
*[[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]] (1)
*[[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (4)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] (6)
*[[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] (8)
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]] (10)
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]] (11)
*[[Kaput]] (13)
{{!}}style="background:transparent;border:0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Minimus Ambus]] (17)
*[[Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Brainstorm]] (19)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (20)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (21)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (24)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (25)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (26)
{{!}}}

|h3=[[Anti-Vocationist League]]
|c3=
*[[Clicker]] (7)
*[[Nine-of-Twelve]] (18)
*A [[Lunabot]] (27)
*Various [[Anti-Vocationist League|AVL]] members (28)
*[[Tarn (DJD)|Glitch]] (29)
*[[Dominus Ambus]]? (30)

|c4=
*Functionist Universe [[Rung (G1)#The Functionist Universe|Rung]] (5)
*[[Terminus (G1)|Terminus]] (9)
*[[Anode]] (12)
*[[Lug (IDW)|Lug]] (14)
*''[[Mortilus|Censere]]'' (15)
*[[Roller (IDW)|Roller]] (16)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Cyclonus]] (22)
*[[Ten]] (23)
*Functionist Universe [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity#The Functionist Universe|Orion Pax]] (voice, 31)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's '''Brainstorm.''' He says—and I quote: You've got '''twenty minutes''' to get your backsides back to Necroworld before Killmaster's '''miracle stick''' runs out of '''super-juice''' and you're stuck in that nonsense-verse '''forever.'''"<br>
"What?"<br>
"Please don't make me say that sentence again."
:—'''Minimus Ambus''' and '''Rodimus'''


"I'm telling you, Brainstorm, he's the size of fifty [[Titan (group)|Titans]]. He— bloody hell, he just '''punched the moon!'''"
:—'''Rodimus''' is awestruck by Kaiju Rung.


"We can't leave until Luna 2's been destroyed! And once it's destroyed, we can't leave! '''Quid pro quo!'''"<br>
"Actually, Rodimus, I don't know if that's the '''correct use''' of the—"<br>
"Ah-ah-ah! '''Finger of silence''' and it's pointing at '''you.'''"
:—'''Rodimus''' and '''Minimus Ambus'''


"I liked him better when he was '''useless'''. We believed in him because there was nothing to believe in. He was a nobody. A glorious nobody. But if even '''he''' has a '''greater purpose'''—if even '''he''' is part of some '''Primal plan'''... surely we're '''all''' part of the plan? And if that's the case, the Functionists were right all along."<br>
"No. The opposite of Functionism isn't '''lack of function.''' The opposite of Functionism is '''choice.''' It's about doing what you '''want'''— regardless of what you were '''born''' to do, or what you're '''told''' to do, or what society '''expects''' you to do. No one can decide how you live your life except '''you.'''"
:—'''Clicker''' and '''Megatron'''


"If I stayed behind—if I went back on my word—I wouldn't be the person you think I am. And the person you think I am... that's the person I want to be."
:—'''Megatron''', to Terminus


"They've gone. They left without me."<br>
"They've given you a second chance."<br>
"They'd already done that."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Terminus'''


"What did we miss?"<br>
"Oh, you know, the usual. Life and death. Mainly life."<br>
"New backpack?"<br>
"[[Lug (IDW)|Kind of.]]"
:—'''Roller''' and '''Anode'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Velocity offers Anode "something to cope" with the grief of realizing Lug is dead; she's talking about the [[mood suppressant]]s that [[Dissolution Part 3: A World Misplaced|issue #3]] revealed the rest of the Autobots have been taking to cope with the recent death of [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]. Skids is, of course, the "someone" Nautica refers to having lost, his passing having taken place in [[The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage|''More than Meets the Eye'' #54]]. 
*Anode and Lug are revealed to have been outside the [[Raskol Arena]] when they were attacked by the [[Cybernought]] in [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|issue #1]]. The arena was previously seen in ''More than Meets the Eye'' [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|#28]]-[[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|30]], in which it played host to Megatron's trial.
*Lug was killed by forcefield feedback, the exact thing Anode cheerfully said would kill them in a ''comedy'' scene [[Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron|in #1]]. Ouch.
*Anode is outraged to hear the Necrobot performed a religious ceremony for Lug as she died, since she wasn't religious; as proof, Anode recalls when Lug wore a "[[Micro-Matrix]]" on her cheek for one day, and "threw it away because it itched." These symbols of religiosity have previously been seen several times in IDW continuity, first worn by [[Springarm]] back in [[Chaos Theory Part 2|"Chaos Theory," Part 2]], and most notably by Skids in various issues of ''More than Meets the Eye''.
*At the forefront of the crowd of AVL'ers listening to Megatron at the story's end is [[Tarn (DJD)|Glitch]], the once and future [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] of the "main" universe. His powers mean he has still been a victim of [[empurata]] in the Functionist Universe, and Megatron's words obviously still speak as strongly to him here as they did in Megatron's home reality.
*Also part of the crowd is a "flathead"—one of the unfortunate Cybertronians who have received a punishment worse than empurata, having had their head replaced with a flatscreen. We previously saw this practice in [[The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|''More than Meets the Eye'' #35]], in which [[Dominus Ambus]] was subjected to it. Dominus was identified as a rebel in that issue, so it's logical that he'd be among the AVL, but it's not 100% clear if this is supposed to be him; the colors and shape of this 'bot's body don't match with Dominus's in #35... but at the same time, this guy has two long, flat protrusions coming up over his shoulders and is a dullish grey-green in color, which were attributes of Dominus's ''true'' form, as seen in [[The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day|''More than Meets the Eye'' #53]].
*This speech scene takes place in the mines beneath [[Nova Point]], the significance of which should not be lost: this, ''More than Meets the Eye'' #28 told us, is where Megatron originally worked—where his story first began, and now, begins again.
*Though the voice coming out of the communicator is not identified on-panel, we know it's Orion Pax because Roller explained last issue how he had been attempting to contact him.

===Transformers references===
*We scarcely need to tell you that "peace through empathy" is an inversion of Megatron's classic motto, "peace through tyranny."

===Real life references===
*This issue takes its title from the {{w|This machine kills fascists|message}} musician {{w|Woody Guthrie}} painted on his guitar.
*As quoted above, Rodimus incorrectly describes the Autobots' situation with the Latin phrase, "{{w|quid pro quo}}," which means to trade one favor for another. Rodimus really wants to be using a term like "{{w|Catch-22 (logic)|catch-22}}" or "{{w|double bind}}," which refer to unwinnable scenarios in which one requirement for victory contradicts the other.

===Errors===
*Kaput is missing the lens on his forehead when he hands the flower to Anode and when he reports the protoform's drop in temperature.
*Raskol Arena is mis-spelled as Raskol Areana.
*On page 7, Anode is pictured running in with the group.

===Other trivia===
*Originally solicited for release in May, this issue continues IDW's ongoing series of delays and arrives in the first week of June.
*Lug's full name is given as "Lug of [[Celestica Tetracornacapria]]." As this is not a location that's ever been mentioned before, it remains unclear whether she is from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself or one of its colonies.
*As presented in the comic, it's ambiguous whether Terminus chose not to share Roller's information accurately with Megatron, or Roller's having not given Terminus the correct info in the first place. James Roberts would later [https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/873683917362126848 state], however, that Roller ''did'' give the correct coordinates, meaning Terminus told a fib...

===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=Y1t6m0WruMQ Cloudy Shoes]" by {{w|Damien Jurado}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V__I8QDP8lM Everything You Paid For]" by {{w|Scotland Yard Gospel Choir}}
*"[https://play.spotify.com/album/2ftNPsFN59VTmmiAjVW1a8 Favourite Colour Blue]" by {{w|Tom Brosseau}}
*"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRqcAw_I7XgI Won't Share You]" by {{w|Sixpence None the Richer}}

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Megatron charges into action, by [[Jack Lawrence]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Subscription cover A:''' Our heroes soar through space, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Josh Burcham]]
*'''Subscription cover B:''' Megatron fights the wheels of Functionism, by [[Alex Milne]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Rung by [[Marcelo Matere]]
<gallery>
File:LL6 regcvr.jpg|"I'm comin' to gitcha!"
File:LL6 subcvrA.jpg|You're supposed to use a spaceship, Rodimus.
File:LL6 subcvrB.jpg|Zombies?
File:LL6 cvrRI.jpg|"'Ello Guv'nah!"
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*''Lost Light'' #7
*"The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting May's [[Hasbro Universe]] titles, including this issue, [[G.I. Joe vol. 5 issue 6|''G.I. Joe'' #6]], [[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook issue 1|''Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook'' #1]], [[The Next Day, and the Next|''Optimus Prime'' #7]], [[Power and Glory|''Revolutionaries'' #6]], and [[The Price of You|''Till All Are One'' #10]].
*''[[Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook]]''
*''The Powerpuff Girls'' mini-series
*''[[Star Trek]]: The Next Generation—Mirror Broken''
*''Saucer State'' comic
*Funko products
*IDW ''Funko Universe'' one-shots (back cover)

==External links==
*[https://www.newsarama.com/34742-death-of-a-planet-in-transformers-lost-light-6-preview.html Preview]

[[Category:Lost Light issues]]