Editing Now and On Earth

{{Comicstory
|series=exrid|issueno=42
|seriesissue2=[[Combiner Wars]]<br>Epilogue
|prev=You, Me, and the Universe
|prev2=Combiner Wars Part 5
|next=The Transformers issue 43
|next2=Windblade v2 issue 4
|caption=
|image=TF42 subcvr.jpg
|title="Now and On Earth"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[June 17]], [[2015]]
|coverdate=June 2015
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Livio Ramondelli]] (Cybertron) and [[Andrew Griffith]] (Earth)
|colors by=Livio Ramondelli (Cybertron) and [[Josh Perez]] (Earth)
|letters by=[[Tom B. Long]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era]]
}}

'''While Arcee meets with Galvatron on Earth, on Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Prowl finally come to blows.'''

==Synopsis==

Over a communications channel to [[Earth]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] catches [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] up on recent developments on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] has allowed [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] to reform, and he and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] even now guard the [[space bridge]] as [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] and [[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] return from a mission to another of the colony worlds. Arcee asks what has become of [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]], and Prime reveals that the police-bot is in his custody... though when Arcee inquires what his fate will be, Prime finds himself unable to answer.

After hanging up with Prime, Arcee turns her attention to a meeting that she had secretly arranged with [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]]. The [[Decepticon]] leader soon arrives aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], repulsed by her chosen meeting place deep within a swamp; Arcee immediately pounces on him, blade drawn, as he was supposed to come alone. Galvatron waves off her concerns, and they get to business, discussing the information Arcee has gained from Optimus regarding the recent happenings surrounding the [[Enigma of Combination]] on Cybertron, the discovery of the colony planets, and the formation of the [[Council of Worlds]]. Intrigued by the potential alliances that may result from these new players entering the game, Galvatron brings up the subject of the [[Autobot]]s' space bridge, but Arcee, assuming he wants to use it, laughs in his face. Galvatron corrects her; it is not for himself he asks, but for the sake of [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]'s dream. He tells Arcee about the construction of the Decepticons' [[Jupiter]] commune, but expresses distrust in the human allies helping to build it, and provides Arcee with something that may be able to tell them more about [[G.B. Blackrock|Garrison Blackrock]]'s true intentions: a purloined [[Onyx]] datapad. 

Back on Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Prowl sit down to talk. Prime is hopeful that Prowl has at last seen the error of his way, but when Prowl makes it clear that morality does not enter into his thought processes, the furious Optimus, at the end of his rope, finally throws a punch. Prowl fights back, but Prime kicks him out a window, onto the roof outside, then follows him to continue their brawl, with each combatant arguing all the while that peace has caused them the other to lose sight of themselves. Prime angrily insists that Prowl foments chaos by manipulating his friends, but Prowl retorts that he creates ''order'' for the good of his planet, and that no 'bot is his friend. Prowl seizes an antenna and stabs Prime with it, but Prime headbutts him, a shattering blow that knocks him off the roof and leaves him lying dazed. Prime reluctantly draws his gun and holds it on Prowl, pleading with him to stay down, and to try and understand that everything Prowl does only harms the attempts they are making to build a new and better Cybertron. Prowl admits that his experiences as a combiner ''have'' changed him; he is sickened to admit that that he can no longer see the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] as enemies, but as part of himself. In the same way, however, he knows that their brief time as [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|Optimus Maximus]] has made him a part of Prime, and so he goads Prime to pull the trigger, knowing that with his death, the part of him that is within Prime will become indelible, unforgettable, a living-dead memory that will push Prime to live up to his ideals and reclaim Cybertron for the Autobots. Prime lowers his gun and turns his back to Prowl; he will not kill him, but he knows he is too dangerous to live. Unsure of what to do, he turns to look at his wayward friend... only to find that Prowl has disappeared...

Arcee returns to ''[[Ark-7]]'', quickly dismisses the other Autobots' questions about where she has been, and hands the Onyx tablet over to [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] for study. Examining the base code of the pad's operating system, Jetfire soon discovers ancient Cybertronian source code, and while he sets to work on it, Arcee assigns [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]—who has made friends with [[D.O.C.]] to pass the many quiet hours he spends being ignored by everyone—the job of investigating the Decepticons' Jupiter commune.

Back on Cybertron, nestled in a secret bolt-hole, the wounded Prowl has little in the way of thanks for his saviour: [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]]. Not having expected Prowl's plans for the colony worlds to have failed, Rattrap knows that it's only a matter of time before Starscream finds out he betrayed him and marks him for death... unless he and Prowl can manufacture a victory of their own first. 

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (2)
*[[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (3)
*[[Chromia (G1)|Chromia]] (4)
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (6)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (7)
*[[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] (10)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (11)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
*[[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] (9)

|c4=
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (5)
*[[D.O.C.]] (13)
*[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==

"You said you'd come '''alone.'''"<br>
"Indeed. '''Astrotrain''' was the most reliable manner of conveyance to such a... '''teeming''' location. Shall I kill him?"
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Galvatron'''



"'''Yes''', attacking the spacebridge without coming to you was '''wrong''', but..."<br>
"I'm glad to see you coming to grips with the '''morality''' behind your actions."<br>
"What? I mean, '''tactically''', it was wrong. I wound up a '''prisoner.''' What's '''morality''' got to do with any of this?"
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Optimus Prime'''



"You know what it's like to be a combiner, Prime. It's hard to '''stop'''... so maybe I got  '''out of line''' with the Constructicons.  '''Maybe.''' But I can't look at them the way I '''used''' to. They're not just '''enemies'''. They're a '''part''' of me. The '''Decepticons''' are a part of me. And '''I'm''' a part of you, Prime. You gave Megatron—'''Megatron!'''—more of a chance than you gave '''me'''. But if you '''kill''' me, I'll '''burn''' into your spark forever. You'll '''never''' forget me... what I '''represent'''... what I '''believe in'''. You've lost your way, but with me gone... you'll '''find''' it again. You'll '''tear down''' Starscream and '''destroy''' Megatron. So '''do''' it."
:—'''Prowl''' tries to goad Prime into killing him

==Notes==
===Continuity===
*Astrotrain doesn't have the visor he's been sporting since [[Earthfall Part 3: The Mind Bomb|issue #30]], and accordingly, is seen using a pair of binoculars instead. We learned he had "bad eyes" and carried binoculars to compensate back in [[No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6|''More than Meets the Eye'' #25]].
*Prowl's speech about how killing him will burn him into Prime's spark forever because he is now a "part" of him seems to be an explanation for Prowl repeatedly calling the Constructicons "[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]]" over the last year, as the memory of the dead Constructicon has been burned into Devastator.

===Transformers references===
*When Arcee meets with Galvatron, she uses the color-changing stealth-paint seen in numerous previous issues. However, she doesn't simply turn completely black, as past users of the paint did: rather, she adopts a partially-black color scheme based on her upcoming San Diego Comic-Con exclusive ''Combiner Hunters'' toy, and wields the giant sword the toy comes with. Her body design remains the same, and is not modified to resemble the actual toy to any greater extent.
*Sky Lynx name-drops [[Metascan Alpha]], a planet from [[Blackthorne Publishing]]'s ''[[Transformers in 3-D]]''. He alludes to the native [[Logicon]]s, calling them "big-headed fleshlings", which they certainly were.

===Errors===
*On the recap page, Starscream and Windblade are said to "vye for control". That's an obsolete spelling, which ought to be "vie".

===Other trivia===
*"D.O.C." is revealed to stand for "Dynamic Zero-Phase Chalcogenide", which is the type of memory unit he has. Zero, O, y'get it?

===Covers (4)===
*'''Regular cover:''' Optimus Prime bein 'all sad and the like, by [[Andrew Griffith]]
*'''Subscription cover:''' Prime versus Prowl, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Retailer incentive cover:''' Galvatron by [[Naoto Tsushima]] and [[Lei Kagami]]
*'''Convention cover:''' ''Combiner Hunters'' Arcee, by [[Sara Pitre-Durocher]], available exclusively from IDW at San Diego Comic-Con 2015.
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===Advertisements===
*''The Transformers'' #43
*''[[The Transformers: Windblade|Windblade]]'' #4
*''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' #42
*''[[Transformers vs. G.I. Joe]]'' [[Headmasters (issue)|#7]]
*''Ghostbusters Get Real''
*IDW ''Transformers'' graphic novel library
*''Monster Motors'' trade paperback (back cover)


==External links==
*[http://www.newsarama.com/24802-the-combiner-wars-are-over-in-this-transformers-42-exclusive-preview.html Preview]