Editing Primacy issue 4

{{Comicstory
|series=primacy|issueno=4
|prev=Primacy issue 3
|next
|caption=
|image=Primacy4_regcvr.jpg
|title=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[November 19]], [[2014]]
|coverdate=November 2014
|story by=[[Chris Metzen]] &<br/>[[Flint Dille]]
|art by=[[Livio Ramondelli]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Early in the war]]
}}

'''As the Autobots counterattack, Megatron makes a desperate attempt to purge the evil of Pentius... but will Optimus Prime fight to stop him, or help him?'''

==Synopsis==

The vision of [[Pentius]] he has just witnessed leaves [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] disoriented and distracted as the [[Decepticon]]s' aerial forces bombard the [[Autobot]]s' command position, but soon, the villains' tactics start working against them. The atmospheric alterations brought on by the acid rain they previously unleashed starts to affect the Decepticons' systems, and they begin dropping out of the sky; once on the ground, they are met in battle by the fighting-mad Autobots—joined at last by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]—who have survived their bombardment thanks to [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]'s forecefield. Leaving his men to fight, Megatron makes for [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s fallen body, hoping to transfer Pentius's spark out of the giant before the Quintesson restores him, in order to save [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] from being consumed by the beast. Before departing, he gives [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] one last order: if he fails, burn [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] to the ground to spare it that fate.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] comes up against [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]], but is saved by his old friend [[Slinger]], who now sees the error he made in joining the Decepticons. No sooner have the two comrades made peace, however, than Slinger is ripped limb from limb in a surprise attack by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], leaving Hot Rod to face them alone. Fortunately, help soon arrives for the young Autobot: having slain his old foe [[Blackwall]] by stabbing him through the head with his [[Energo weapon|firesword]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] rallies his [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] and brings them to Hot Rod's aid. Hot Rod and Grimlock take on [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] together, and Grimlock shatters the Predacon leader's jaws by pulling them apart with his bare hands.

Megatron easily fights his way through the Autobot unit at the base of Trypticon, but is given momentary pause when faced with [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]], who can see fear in Megatron's eyes. Though impressed with the little 'bot's courage and perception, Megatron impales him on some debris and carries on his way. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] spots his old enemy and heads after him; [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] tries to bar his way, but as the two charge each other in vehicle mode, Optimus proves himself King of the Road, barrelling into the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] leader and hurling him aside. Omega Supreme deals with the rest of the Stunticons, preventing them from interfering with Optimus's mission, and the Autobot leader soon catches up to Megatron atop the fallen Trypticon's head. As the pair engage in combat with energy weapons, Megatron cryptically warns Optimus of the threat posed by the Quintessons, and tries to goad the Prime into killing him, seeing it as the only way to destroy Pentius—the essence of whose [[spark]] remains fused to his own—before he can revive Trypticon. Realizing what Megatron is trying to force him to do, Optimus offers to help him find a way to destroy the malign presence, but Megatron believes it impossible without his death. Optimus refuses to accept this, and unleashes the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership]]; its burning white fire successfully eradicates Pentius, but Megatron expresses no gratitude, vowing instead that he will never stop hating Optimus despite what he has done for him. Optimus, sadly resigned to the fact that the spark of the 'bot he once considered a friend became corrupt long before Pentius influence touched it, knocks the weakened Megatron out with a single punch.

Moments later, Prime addresses the Autobots and Decepticons via a huge hologram broadcast, announcing Megatron's defeat, calling for an end to the fighting and vowing that the Decepticons will face justice. Megatron is subsequently imprisoned, and Optimus's surety in, and dedication to, the Autobot cause is left stronger than ever.

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] (8)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (9)
* [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (10)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (11)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]? (12)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (13)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hot Rod]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (16)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (17)
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (18)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (22)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (24)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (38)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (39)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (40)
* [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (41)
* [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (44)
* [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (45)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (46)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (47)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (48)
{{!}}}
|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (1)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]? (2)
* [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] (3)
* [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (4)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* Another Seeker (7)
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (19)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (20)
* [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gar]] (21)
* [[Blackwall]] (23)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (25)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (26)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Slinger]] (27)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (28)
* [[Headstrong (G1)|Headstrong]] (29)
* [[Tantrum (G1)|Tantrum]] (30)
* [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (31)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (33)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (34)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (35)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (36)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (37)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (42)
{{!}}}
|c4=
* [[Pentius]] (43)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Tantrum:''' "I can smell the fear on this Autobot."<br>
'''Divebomb:''' "He'll taste sweet—like '''molten steel'''. First bite's '''mine.'''"
'''Hot Rod:''' "It won't be that easy, Predacon".<br>
'''Grimlock:''' "I think they almost believed ya, kid."<br>
'''Hot Rod:''' "Grimock?"<br>
'''Grimlock:''' "Just a thought—but next time someone's tryin' to kill you, use your big-boy voice."

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Megatron refers to the "torture [Bumblebee] experienced at [his] hands", a callback to [[Rise|''Autocracy'' #10]]. 
*A pointy-headed robot shows up in the background of the first panel on page 16, just over Swerve's shoulder; he's a NAIL who previously appeared ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|#1]], [[The World & Everything in It|#2]] and [[Stick Together|#3]] (in which he died), and whose color scheme was based on the "[[GoBots (franchise)|Super Go-Bots]]" [[redeco]] of the [[Cy-Kill (GoBots)|Cy-Kill]] toy.
*Sandstorm appears with the design he had in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]''; previously, this was the chronologically earliest appearance Sandstorm had in IDW continuity, so his physical appearance here is in-keeping with that.
*Megatron's imprisonment adds a note of finality to Dille and Metzen's IDW trilogy, but of course, we know he cannot stay incarcerated for long. Chronologically, the next known event in Megatron's timeline is probably his battle with Optimus on [[Sherma Bridge]] (mentioned in [[Chaos Theory Part 1|issue #21]] of the [[The Transformers (IDW)|2009-2011 ongoing]]), still in the early phases of the war. 

===Transformers references===
*Optimus and Megatron wheel out their [[energon-axe]] and [[energon mace]], originally seen in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode, "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".

===Errors===
*We didn't get a proper look at Breakdown when the Stunticons were introduced in [[Primacy issue 2|issue #2]] so we don't have any evidence to say whether it's consistent with the new designs created for the team, but he's coloured red instead of his traditional off-white as Omega Supreme takes the Stunticons out.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave, by [[Livio Ramondelli]]. Part of an interlocking image with the regular covers of the other three issues.
*'''Subscription cover:''' Optimus vs. Megatron, by [[Sarah Stone]].
*'''30th Anniversary cover:''' The second in October's series of three 30th Anniversary covers by [[Andrew Griffith]],  depicting [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]]'s battle from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''
<gallery>
File:Primacy4 regcvr.jpg|
File:Primacy4 subcvr.jpg|
File:Primacy4 cvrRI.jpg|
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===External links===
*[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=24640 Preview]

[[Category: Primacy issues]]