Editing Earthfall Part 4: Full Fathom Five

{{Comicstory|
|series=rid|issueno=31
|prev=Earthfall Part 3: The Mind Bomb
|next=Earthfall Part 5: I Dream of Wires
|caption=
|image=RID31 subcvr.jpg
|title="Earthfall Part 4:<br>Full Fathom Five"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[July 30]], [[2014]]
|coverdate=July 2014
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Andrew Griffith]] (present day)<br>[[Guido Guidi]] (Jazz flashback)<br>[[Brendan Cahill]] (Decepticon flashback)
|colors by=[[Josh Perez]] (present day)<br>[[Joana Lafuente]] (flashbacks)
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[2005 IDW continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[2005 IDW timeline|Current era (2014)]]
}}
'''Jazz infiltrates the EDC's secret base in advance of an all-out Autobot attack, but the presence of the Decepticons is not the only unexpected surprise waiting within its walls.'''

==Synopsis==
''[[Jazz (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Jazz]] reflects on his recent history, recalling his killing of police officer [[John Powell]], and how that human's death proved to be the tipping point that turned him from black-ops killer into a 'bot tired of warfare and the destruction it brought to other worlds. After eliminating as much [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]] tech on [[Earth]] as he could, he returned to Cybertron and began a musical partnership with [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] until fighting broke out again, and his old life found him once more. Jazz remembers how, after the dust settled, he was approached by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]] with an invitation to join him on a mission back to Earth. Even after everything that had happened, Prime didn't think twice about asking Jazz, and so Jazz agreed.''

It is on that mission that Jazz now finds himself—coated in stealth paint and swimming through the Pacific Ocean, on course for the [[Earth Defense Command]]'s secret base below the [[Marshall Islands]]. After receiving Jazz's status report, [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] and the other [[Autobot]]s aboard [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], resting on the seabed several miles away, briefly turn their attention to the examination of recent events—thanks to images beamed in by a disgruntled, orbiting [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], five light-hours away from Earth, they are able to view the Decepticons' sudden arrival outside [[Thundercracker (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Thundercracker]]'s home prior to their battle that night, and verify that they are teleporting via a method other than [[orbital jump]]. [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] takes some pleasure in needling the highly-strung Cosmos, but Prime is more concerned with Prowl's presumptive attitude, and angrily reminds his strategist that ''he'' is the one in charge. Jazz chooses that moment to deliver a report that only confirms all of Prowl's suppositions about the base; he has managed to gain entrance, and has discovered [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]'s battered shuttle in the base's dock. Satisfied that no civilians will be at risk because of the region's history of atomic testing—though less than happy about how Prowl ''phrases'' that fact—Prime instructs the police-bot to remain with Sky Lynx while he leads the rest of the team in a frontal assault. As everyone prepares, [[Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Arcee]] takes Prowl aside and confides in him that she has observed some suspicious activity from [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] and believes he is a Decepticon spy; Prowl, however, seems unfazed by this "revelation", and merely asks if Arcee plans to tell Optimus, or if she is still loyal to Prowl. Arcee says she is loyal only to "the Autobot cause", to which Prowl responds with a sharp laugh, and a request that Arcee watch out for Prime on the battlefield.

Inside the EDC base, [[Sparkplug Witwicky|General Witwicky]] and [[Sanjay Bharwaney]] confer with [[Marissa Faireborn]]—stuck in [[Poverty Flat]] on clean-up duty and communicating remotely—on their use of the "mind bomb" and potential repercussions. Faireborn's concern that the [[Decepticon]]s could have tracked the signal of the device soon proves well-founded, as [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] and [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]] teleport directly into the base, smashing the comm-link so they can speak to Witwicky and Bharwaney alone. Witwicky defends the EDC's actions based on the precedent set by the Decepticons when they devastated Earth, and Soundwave proves sympathetic to his position, but Galvatron refuses to be placated—though he accepts their rationale, and is impressed by the effectiveness of the weapon, he promises to kill everyone in Bharwaney's home state if it is ever turned on the Decepticons again. The matter tersely settled, Galvatron raises the subject of the secret base, but Witwicky explains that in addition to weapons testing, they have also been using the facility to fulfil their end of the agreement they had made with the Decepticons—construction of a huge satellite that will serve as the Decepticons' new home.

''Six months ago on Cybertron, Galvatron and the Decepticons observe as [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] transforms into a city to replace the damaged [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. Galvatron inquires about the history of the Decepticons, and Soundwave explains their origins as working-class 'bots who rose up to throw off the yoke of [[functionism]]. Reminded of how Alpha Trion had given him direction and purpose in millennia past, and craving a new purpose now, Galvatron decides to ally with the Decepticons and help them establish a community of their own. Soundwave proposes abandoning Cybertron to explore new possibilities on Earth, but when Galvatron assumes that he means to ''conquer'' the planet, Soundwave corrects him, and insists they will follow the ''true'' path of the Decepticons—peace.''

As Bharwaney explains to Soundwave and Galvatron that the satellite is presently under construction around [[Jupiter]], the Autobots make their move and storm the beach above. As Prime's team blast their way through automated defenses, Prowl disobeys orders and leaps from the departing Sky Lynx; the other 'bots fail to notice, however, thanks to the sudden appearance of the Decepticons' spaceship in the sky above!

Elsewhere in the base, Jazz hides from soldiers rushing to respond to the situation, and follows a pronounced scrape in the floor to a chamber in which he discovers the unconscious form of Alpha Trion. But before he can make any moves to free the ancient Autobot, the cold metal of a gun barrel is pressed against the back of his head... a gun belonging to Prowl, who declares that Alpha Trion isn't going anywhere!

==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"{{!}}
*[[Jazz (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Jazz]] (1)
*''[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]'' (3)
*''[[Bumblebee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Bumblebee]]'' (4)
*''[[Gears (G1)|Gears]]'' (5)
*''[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]'' (6)
*''[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]'' (7)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]] (9)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
*[[Jetfire (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Jetfire]] (12)
*[[Arcee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Arcee]] (13)
*[[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] (14)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]] (15)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (16)
*''[[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'' (24)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Sideswipe]] (35)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (36)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] (22)
*[[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]] (23)
*''[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (25)
*''[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]'' (26)
*''[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]'' (27)
*''[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'' (29)
*''[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]'' (30)
*''[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]'' (31)
*''[[Skywarp (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Skywarp]]'' (32)
*''[[Needlenose (G1)|Needlenose]]'' (33)
|h3=[[NAIL]]s|c3=
*''[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]]'' (8)
*''[[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]]'' (28)
|h4=[[Human]]s|c4=
*''[[John Powell]]'' (2)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky|Daniel Witwicky]] (17)
*[[Sanjay Bharwaney]] (18)
*[[Marissa Faireborn]] (19)
*[[Ayana Jones]] (34)
|h5=Others|c5=
*[[D.0.C.]] (11)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Thundercracker]] (20)
*[[Buster (IDW)|Buster]] (21)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Prowl:''' "There—'''Kup, Jazz''' and '''Prime''' going inside. Like we're seeing '''back in time.''' I don't know '''why''' we don't do this more often."<br>
'''Cosmos:''' "'''Because I'm not just a camera!'''"<br>
'''Prowl:''' "No—you're a '''really good camera.'''"<br>
'''Kup:''' ''(grinning)'' "I '''dunno'''. It's pretty '''blurry'''..."<br>
'''Cosmos:''' "I'm five billion kilometers away and it was '''night! I will kill whoever said that!'''"


"[Radiation] levels have dropped enough that Earthlings can '''survive''' there, but the native population was '''relocated'''. Meaning—"<br>
"Meaning there are '''no civilians.'''"<br>
"I was going to say, 'meaning none of you '''kill''' anybody—but if you do kill somebody... well, they knew what they were '''signing on''' for.' '''Your way''' was more diplomatic, Prime."
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Optimus Prime'''


"'''You.''' You generated the '''signal''', tiny one? It is '''ingeniously''' painful. Make no mistake, if you use it again I will '''kill''' you and—'''where''' are you from?"<br>
"N-New Mexico."<br>
"If you send that signal again, I will '''eradicate''' all who dwell in this '''New Mexico'''... and, for good measure, the '''old''' one as well."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Bharwaney'''


"Kup, Jetfire—let's end this before anything '''else''' goes..."<br>
''(The shadow of the Decepticon spaceship falls over the Autobots.)''<br>
"<small>...goes '''haywire.'''</small>"<br>
"Now I get the idea behind that faceplate of yours... you need something to stop your '''foot''' from always goin' in your '''mouth'''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Kup'''
==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Jazz killed John Powell at the climax of [[Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|issue #17]] of the [[The Transformers (IDW)|2009-2011 ongoing series]]. Here we see for the first time the immediate aftermath of the event, as Bluestreak and Huffer lead a shellshocked Jazz away.
*Jazz went on to eliminate every piece of Cybertronian tech on Earth that he could in [[Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden|issue #29]] of the series.
*The scene of Jazz performing with Sky-Byte was previously seen in [[Interference Patterns|issue #7]].
*When fighting broke out again, Jazz grimly resigned himself to being "just a killer" in [[Plan for Everything|issue #15]].
*Jazz was seen taking Starscream's side in [[Second Exodus|issue #18]].
*A rare mention is made of [[orbital jump]] technology, the method by which Transformers teleported themselves around back during [[Simon Furman]]'s tenure. It's revealed that the Autobots have blockers in place preventing it, which is probably an out-of-universe explanation for why it's become such a non-thing since Furman's stories.
*Thundercracker references an [[Ardurian roc]].
*Scoop puts in a surprising appearance among the Decepticons during their flashback scene, looking a little uncomfortable. He was last seen at their side amid the chaos of [[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|the "Dark Cybertron" finale]], but it looks like that has gone beyond being just a battlefield alliance. 
*Soundwave recalls Galvatron's sparse past visits to Earth, from [[The Transformers: Devastation|''Devastation'']] and [[Infestation (IDW)|''Infestation'']].

===Real-life references===
*"Full fathom five" is a portion of the first line of "Ariel's Song" from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''{{w|The Tempest}}'' ("Full fathom five thy father lies"), referring to the drowning of the character's father in water five fathoms deep. The line has been repeatedly used, homaged and abridged in {{w|Full fathom five (catchphrase)|many other works}}.
*Jazz plays [[Aghartan electro-bass]], a reference to the album ''{{w|Agharta (album)|Agharta}}'' by ''jazz'' (ho-ho!) musician Miles Davis.

===Errors===
*"Five light hours" away from Earth would place Cosmos somewhere on the outer fringes of the [[Solar System]] — see below for how implausible his geostationary orbit is. Even if he was stationary rather than orbiting, the idea that he has a camera that has a sufficiently low {{w|diffraction-limited system|diffraction limit}} as to resolve Transformer-scale figures with a 5.4 billion kilometre range is fairly questionable, too - the famous "{{w|Pale Blue Dot}}" picture of Earth taken by the ''{{w|Voyager 1}}'' probe was taken from approximately six billion kilometres. The distortion of several kilometres of Earth's atmosphere (which causes stars to "twinkle" when seen from Earth) wouldn't help either.

===Other trivia===
*In order to intercept that five-hour old light, Cosmos must logically have faster-than-light drives or warp capabilities, in order to make it out to the vicinity of Pluto before the light itself got there.
*Having reached his monitoring position five light hours out, to remain above a fixed point on the rotating Earth, Cosmos is cruising at 1.3 times the speed of light.
*"You know how fast I have to '''constantly accelerate'''?" "I can do the math.": Not only must Cosmos be travelling at 1.3 ''c'', he needs to be continually accelerating to ''curve'' around the Earth. Unlike a normal geostationary orbit, gravity is negligible — Cosmos must be using his own power to accelerate at 2900 g. This is plausible, given that his tech spec rates him "10" for speed.
*The 30th Anniversary cover by [[Phil Jimenez]] and [[Romulo Fajardo Jr.]] is based on the ''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' ''[[Thrilling 30]]'' Deluxe Class [[Arcee (G1)/toys#Generations|Arcee]] figure. The same artwork was also used for the "Hasbro exclusive cover" of the [[...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|comic]] that was [[pack-in material|included]] with said Arcee toy.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Jetfire and D.0.C. by [[Andrew Griffith]] and [[Josh Perez]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Jazz by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]], in an homage to the album cover style of jazz record label [http://www.birkajazz.com/archive/bluenote1500.htm Blue Note].
*'''30th Anniversary cover:''' Arcee by [[Phil Jimenez]] and [[Romulo Fajardo Jr.]]
<gallery>
File:RID31 regcvr.jpg|
File:RID31 subcvr.jpg|
File:RID31 cvrRI.jpg|
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===Reprints===
*'''''The Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 6''''' <small>([[November 19]], [[2014]]) ISBN 1631401645 / ISBN 978-1631401640</small>
:*Contains issues #28 to #32
:*Bonus material: cover gallery.

*'''''The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 7''''' <small>([[March 21]], [[2018]]) ISBN 1684051495 / ISBN 978-1684051496</small>
:*Contains issues #28 to 34, and ''More than Meets the Eye'' issues #28 to #34.

*'''''Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 62: Earthfall''''' <small>([[August 8]], [[2018]])</small>
:*Hardcover collection of ''Robots in Disguise'' issues #28 to 34, ''More than Meets the Eye'' issues #26 to #27 and ''Dark Cybertron'': Finale one-shot.
:*Bonus content includes the lowdown on the (new) human cast and rare promotional posters for the [[Dawn of the Autobots]] event.

<gallery>
File:RID vol6.jpg|'''''Robots in Disguise'' Volume 6'''; cover art by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
File:IDWCollectionP2V7.jpg|'''''The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 7'''''; cover art by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Tom B. Long]]
File:DefinitiveG1Collection v62.jpg|'''''Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 62: Earthfall'''''; cover art by [[Don Figueroa]] (Galvatron) and [[Andrew Griffith]] (retro)
</gallery>

==External links==
*[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=22789 Preview]