Editing Primus: All Good Things

{{Comicstory
|series=rid|TPB=Annual 2012
|prev=Night and the City
|next=
|caption=
|image=RIDAnn2012_cvrA.jpg
|title="Primus: All Good Things"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 26]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=September 2012
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Brendan Cahill]]
|flashback art by=[[Guido Guidi]]
|color by=[[Joana Lafuente]] 
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''Across both the past and the present, ancient powers result in the rise of new leaders for Cybertron... but will they save the planet, or doom it?'''

==Synopsis==

===In the past...===

Ages ago, on the war-torn planet of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], home to a race of shape-changing robots, a leader emerged who ended the fighting: [[Nova Prime]]. Seeking to rediscover the lost principles of their legendary gods, [[Primus]] and the [[Guiding Hand]], Nova gathers his closest friends and advisors, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]], and leads them on a quest into the bowels of the planet. There, they find the home of the Guiding Hand, [[Crystal City]], and its guardian [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], who allies himself with Nova to help accomplish his goal of bringing peace and prosperity back to the wounded world. Together, they raise Crystal City to the surface and usher in a new age of freedom... but in time, Nova's ambition begins to grow, and he has an [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] built that he may travel to countless other worlds and share his gift of freedom with them. Additionally, further studying the legends of the Guiding Hand, he explores ways to fulfil the prophecy that claims "[['Til all are one|all shall be one]]", and tasks Jhiaxus with re-engineering [[Pretender Monster|six volunteers]], giving them the ability to combine their bodies and minds. Horrified at this perversion of the ancient texts, Dai Atlas informs Omega Supreme, who shares his concern: it's not just freedom Nova seeks for all, but freedom from individual will. Omega attacks the monstrous new combined Transformer, [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]], causing the beast to rage out of Nova and Jhiaxus's control, resulting in a battle that devastates Crystal City. Dai Atlas despairs, but Nova dismisses the city as having outlived its usefulness, and departs to make ready for the launch of the Ark. In time, Omega triumphs over Monstructor, and reveals to Dai Atlas the great secret of the crumbling Crystal City, which he never shared with Nova: beneath it dwells a slumbering [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]]. It is not for them to awaken it, however; that task will be carried out by a great Cybertronian in the future. For now, its energies will be used to aid Dai Atlas in leaving the planet himself when the time comes, to preserve the teachings of the Guiding Hand when Cybertron once again feels the inevitable grip of war. As the Ark departs and Crystal City completes its collapse beneath Cybertron's surface, Dai Atlas remarks on Omega's apparent knowledge of the future, but Omega explains he knows merely the path, not the destination. Uncertainty allows Dai Atlas a measure of optimism, but Omega sees little point in having hope.

===In the present...===

Disregarding [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s instructions, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] takes [[Metalhawk]] into the wilderness outside [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] to help search for the missing [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. There, they spot [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] doing the same, forcing Metalhawk to realise that Starscream was correct: Bumblebee was lying about waiting until morning before sending anyone out, fearing that Metalhawk and Starscream would curry favour in public elections if they helped find the missing Autobots. When a patch of ground explodes in front of Blurr, the pair decide to go down and help, but he rebuffs their offer and instead calls in Autobot High Command to secure what he had found in the subterranean cavern revealed by the explosion: an underground city, and the dormant body of a Metrotitan. Rather than Bumblebee—who is busy dealing with a disappeared Decepticon spaceship—the call is answered by [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], the latter staying up-top to guard the entrance while Blurr leads the others into the cavern. Wheeljack is quick to detect teleportation energy and realizes that the Metrotitan has [[quantum jump]]ed to Cybertron with foreboding results: its molecules enmeshed with those of the city, the Metrotitan's anti-protons are interacting with the city's regular protons, threatening to cause the impending explosive collapse of local reality.

A call from Sideswipe brings Prowl back to the surface, where it turns out Starscream has had the Decepticons peacefully assemble with the express purpose of letting them know the Autobots are hiding something from them. Prowl gives them some sparse facts about what has occurred and tries to get a perimeter set up to protect lives (though Blurr objects to his taking charge of the situation), and then angrily returns below for an update from Wheeljack, who has discovered that the Metrotitan is still alive. Their options are two: use a containment field to contain the impending antimatter explosion, or save the titan by halting the flow of anti-protons with the possible side-effect of collapsing Cybertron and its star system into a [[black hole|singularity]]. Prowl chooses the first option, but then realizes that Starscream is spying on them, and leaves Wheeljack to work while he chases after the Decepticon. The chase brings Prowl and Starscream directly in front of the Metrotitan's head, with a most unexpected result... the Metrotitan awakens. The titan credits the presence of Starscream as the cause, identifying him as the great Cybertronian who will unite the planet, something even Starscream himself has trouble believing. Labels of "good" or "evil" matter not: in Starscream, the titan sees a conqueror. Happy to have been activated one final time, the titan shuts down, and a dumbfounded Starscream asks Prowl what they should tell everyone. Prowl advocates silence, naturally... but unfortunately for him, all the other Decepticons and Autobots entered the cavern while they weren't looking, and heard the whole exchange.

Everyone pulls out so Wheeljack can contain the explosion, and the Decepticons return to Iacon carrying Starscream on their shoulders, spreading the word that he is their new conquering savior. Wary of the Metrotitan's choice of words and the populace's acceptance of a power they do not understand, Metalhawk watches from afar, and is approached by Omega Supreme, who knew the titan from ages past. Asked by Omega for his opinion, Metalhawk admits his long-held opposition to the idea of conflict and conquest as the only way to unity is badly shaken, and Omega ponders his own long-standing belief in the hopelessness of the Cybertronian race. But perhaps, Omega speculates, the Metrotitan returned to make them question their beliefs and paths... and in questioning them, allow them to change. Having departed Cybertron in the past because of his fear that the war would change him, Metalhawk is given pause to realise that change is not immutable or inevitable—it is something brought about by the individual, and it is something he can help bring about for his planet.

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in flashbacks.)<br>
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (8)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (10)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (11)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (12)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (6)
*[[Tankor (BM)|Vehicon Tankor]] (22)
*[[Wingspan]] (23)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]]? (25)
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] (26)
*[[Apeface]] (27)
*[[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (28)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (30)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (31)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (32)
*[[Acid Storm (G1)|Acid Storm]] (33)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (34)
*[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (35)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (36)
{{!}}}
|c4=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*''[[Nova Prime]]'' (1)
*''[[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]'' (2)
*''[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'' (3)
*''[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]'' (4)
*''[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'' (5)
*[[Metalhawk]] (7)
*[[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] (9)
*''[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]'' (14)
*''[[Bristleback]]'' (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* ''[[Icepick (G1)|Icepick]]'' (16)
* ''[[Wildfly]]'' (17)
* ''[[Scowl]]'' (18)
* ''[[Birdbrain]]'' (19)
* ''[[Slog]]'' (20)
* ''[[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]'' (21)
* [[Sky-Byte (G2)|Sky-Byte]] (24)
* [[Hipotank]] (29)
* [[Tappet]] (37)
{{!}}}
}}

==Quotes==

"'''''Primus''' is the voice—his words '''lead''' to the '''truth.'''''<br>
'''''Primus''' is the steel—his is our '''body''', his our '''spark.'''''<br>
'''''Primus''' is the sun—the '''hope''' for a better '''tomorrow.'''''<br>
''I am his '''bullet'''—I am the '''promised dawn''' made '''real.'''"<br>
"That's... charming. I didn't think you '''cared''' for poetry, '''Starscream.'''"<br>
"I'm not particularly religious either, but that part about the '''bullet''' is pretty '''funny,''' right?"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Metalhawk'''


"Hey, Starscream. What do you get when you cross '''Prowl''' with '''no witnesses?''' That's not a '''joke.''' Shut up or '''get shot.'''"
:—'''Sideswipe'''


"It's, on a scale from '''reasonable''' to something '''Brainstorm''' would come up with... about 0.6, 0.7 '''Brainstorms.'''"<br>
"Meaning...?"<br>
"If I start this '''going''' and the '''anti-protons''' keep '''accumulating,''' we'll get an '''uncontrolled antimatter reaction''' and a cascading effect of protons falling to a '''point''', probably creating a '''singularity.'''"<br>
"Meaning...?"<br>
"'''Planet-sized fireball''' and our entire solar system turning into a '''supermassive black hole.'''"<br>
"That's '''0.6 Brainstorms?"'''<br>
"You, uh, you '''do''' know what he gets up to, right?"
:—'''Wheeljack''' and '''Prowl'''


"Your castle '''falls''', Prime."<br>
"I have no '''need''' of this '''city''' any '''longer.''' It was a mere '''symbol,''' Dai Atlas."<br>
"I was the '''legacy''' of '''Primus.'''"<br>
<big>"'''I am the legacy of Primus!'''"</big>
:—'''Dai Atlas''' and '''Nova Prime'''

==Notes==
[[Image:PrimusAllGoodThings-introdump.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
* This issue contains the second of two interlinking stories with the title prefix of "Primus", told through the 2012 ''Transformers'' annuals. The stories' unifying theme is that of exploring and revealing a lot of new information about the earliest days of life on Cybertron, embodied in the presence of the Metrotitan, which appears in this story following its disappearance at the conclusion of the [[Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|''More than Meets the Eye'' annual]]. The flashback sequences in both these issues are drawn by Guido Guidi in a retro style gloriously evocative of the original [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel Comics series]]—particularly the inking work of [[Ian Akin]] and [[Brian Garvey]] and the limited-palette, not-always-entirely-inside-the-lines coloring of [[Nelson Yomtov]]—which he has also showcased in the variant "B" covers of ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]''.
*This issue takes the whole "retro" thing substantially further than the ''More than Meets the Eye'' annual did, with many more flashback pages and many more loving references to the classic Marvel series. The first page of the comic is a direct homage to the first page of the [[The Transformers (issue)|first Marvel issue]], and the whole comic is filled with scripting that deliberately evokes early Marvel quirks, including unnaturally stilted and florid dialogue and narration, as well as an awesome Decepticon [[introdump]] that specifically homages the [[:Image:Introdump decepticons marvelus01.jpg|classic panel]] from the first issue. It even gets to bust out the classic Marvel square-with-pointy-corners robot speech balloons!
* The title, "All Good Things" is a shortened version of the phrase "all good things come to an end."
* This is the first time we learn that there was war on Cybertron ''before'' the Autobot/Decepticon conflict. By establishing this, the issue repairs a continuity error from the best-forgotten [[Heart of Darkness issue 3|''Heart of Darkness'' #3]], in which [[Thinkbox]], hailing from a time of war, was able to recognise Galvatron, despite the fact that he left the planet before the 'Bot/'Con war began. Now that we know there was another war, this makes sense.
*As in the ''More than Meets the Eye'' annual, an "opposite" of Primus is referred to as a figure of fear but never named, keeping up IDW's long-standing refusal to name-drop [[Unicron]].
*Crystal City is visually based on its original appearance from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode, "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]", which is also the origin of Omega's role as its guardian. This is the first appearance of the original city in IDW continuity; its successor, a second city built by Dai Atlas and his [[Circle of Light]], appeared in the [[The Transformers: Drift|''Drift'']] mini-series.
*The first panel on page 18 is an homage to [[:Image:Generic autobots marvel 1.jpg|this panel]] from the first Marvel issue, with added Omega Supreme and ''More than Meets the Eye''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]].

===Errors===
* TBD

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' The Metrotitan looms over Starscream and Prowl, by [[Tim Seeley]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Cover B:''' Omega Supreme versus Monstructor as Nova Prime and Jhiaxus look on, by [[Andrew Griffith]] and Joana Lafuente
*'''Cover RI:''' Prowl, Bumblebee and Wheeljack and half a Metrotitan, linking with the ''More than Meets the Eye'' Annual 2012 RI cover, by [[Jimbo Salgado]]

<gallery>
Image:RIDAnn2012_cvrA.jpg|Cover A
Image:RIDAnn2012_cvrB.jpg|Cover B
Image:RIDAnn2012_cvrRI.jpg|Cover RI
</gallery>

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*''Robots in Disguise'' #10
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