Revolutionaries

Marvel IDW Team-Up.

Revolutionaries is an eight-issue comic book series published in 2017 by IDW Publishing. Spinning out of the Revolution event, the series sees several supporting characters from The Transformers join forces with Action Man in an adventure involving multiple characters and events from across IDW's Hasbro Universe, featuring numerous rotating "guest stars" drawn from different corners of the new universe. It runs alongside sister titles Optimus Prime, Lost Light, and Till All Are One, basically an honorary "fourth" Transformers title.

The series sets up the events of 2017's First Strike maxi-series, bringing together some of the human supervillains working under the command of Baron Ironblood and his ultimate weapon: the Talisman.

«	Revolutionaries issues	»
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 First Strike

Overview

Searching for more information about his recently revealed Cybertronian Titan Master heritage, Garrison Blackrock investigates a mysterious Talisman in Schleteva, which sparks an international crisis when its energies accidentally transform all the humans in the city of Verenya into Dire Wraiths. Mayday's G.I. Joe squad teams up with Rom to investigate, discovering that Ian Noble, Britain's latest Action Man, and his new pal Kup are also on the case. Hoping to use the Talisman in a genocidal attack on Cybertron, Baron Ironblood's Iron Ring recruit the Oktober Guard, who steal the artifact and teleport it—and Ian—to a temporary base on the moon.

Hoping to rescue Action Man and learn more about the Talisman, the unlikely heroes make a deal with the dimensionally-marooned Micronauts. Together, they storm Ironblood's repurposed Cobra moonbase, rescuing both Action Man and the Talisman. After learning that the Talisman has ties to the dimension of Microspace, Ian uses his contacts in the SIS to dig up files on the men who discovered the Talisman in the 1980s: Joe Colton and his globetrotting Adventure Team. A meeting with Richard Ruby turns into a history lesson when the retired adventurer recounts the team's 1980s adventure to Egypt, their chance encounter with Soundwave, and the unusual effect the Talisman had on disabled superhero Mike "Atomic Man" Power's mechanical limbs. From Ruby, the heroes learn that the Talisman passed into the possession of the missing Garrison Kreiger, founder of I.R.O.N.

Armed with this knowledge, the team heads off to investigate Kreiger's number-two shareholder in Kalistan: malevolent dictator Count van Rani, better known as the Iron Klaw. Infiltrating van Rani's Kalistanian castle with the help of Snake Eyes, they discover that Kreiger is still alive, having forcibly enslaved and experimented on the Predacons to produce the combiner "Predaking." Though the Revolutionaries succeed in putting down Predaking for good, their interference leads Ironblood to scrub their patsy Tomax Paoli and turn his mission to retrieve data on "Project: Ice Man" into a trap for the heroes.

Arriving in San Francisco, the team attempts to apprehend Paoli, but are unprepared for his secret bodyguard Centurion, a lost Transformer who awoke in the 19th century and allied with Kreiger following the death of his commander. Learning of this forgotten Transformer incursion, the heroes take in Tomax and convince Centurion to stand down as they set course for Brasnya to investigate the mystery of the missing Atomic Man. A subsequent meeting with Stalker sees the Revolutionaries join forces with M.A.S.K. in their fight; storming the Ice Man bunker, the Revolutionaries spring Kreiger's trap and contend with the Talisman-empowered Mike Power, Kreiger's IRON Troopers, and reanimated Cybertronian corpses. Action Man's words inspire a moment of self-reflection in the cyborg superhero, who chooses to take his own life. His passing energizes the Talisman one last time, which, in turn, disgorges a surprising occupant: Sgt. Savage, thought dead since his disappearance in World War II.

In Buenos Aires, the Revolutionaries take stock of their recent adventures as they prepare to turn over the captured Kreiger to G.I. Joe custody. But Centurion is still loyal to Kreiger, and backstabs Kup to allow Baron Ironblood's forces an avenue in. In the chaos, Savage — remembering a previous adventure in the 1990s that saw him catapulted further into the future — tackles Ironblood and rips his helmet off, revealing Joe Colton! The subsequent fracas sees Blackrock use his Titan Master abilities to return the afflicted Verenyans to normal while Colton's alliance escapes with the Talisman, but not before using it to unleash a final wave of mutagenic energy. Centurion throws himself into the energy to protect the humans, sacrificing his life to save theirs... only for him to spring back to life, now a fusion between Centurion and Mike Power's consciousness, preserved within the Talisman. Though the Revolutionaries have let the Talisman escape, they vow to work harder than ever to keep the Earth and its inhabitants safe.

Creative team

John Barber continues as writer from Revolution, with Fico Ossio and Sebastian Cheng continuing in art and colors respectively.

Collections

• Revolutionaries, Volume 1: Crisis Intervention (August 2, 2017) ISBN 1631409212 / ISBN 978-1631409219
  • Collects Revolutionaries issues #1–4
  • Bonus material consists of art from most covers.
  • Trade paperback format.

• Revolutionaries, Volume 2: Power and Glory (November 1, 2017) ISBN 1684050154 / ISBN 978-1684050154
  • Collects Revolutionaries issues #5–8
  • Bonus material includes a cover gallery.
  • Trade paperback format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 82: Revolutionaries (March 18, 2020)
  • Collects Revolutionaries issues #1–8
  • Bonus material includes a two-page timeline of major IDW continuity events from issue #1, the character profiles also from issue #1, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Three: Volume 1 (November 17, 2021) ISBN 1684058422 / ISBN 978-1684058426
  • Collects Revolution issues #0–5, Till All Are One: Revolution #1 & issues #5–8, The Transformers (2012): Revolution #1, Action Man: Revolution #1, More than Meets the Eye: Revolution #1, and Revolutionaries issues #1–4.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Three: Volume 3 (September 27, 2022) ISBN 1684059070 / ISBN 978-1684059072
  • Collects Revolutionaries issues #5–8, Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #2: "Upgrade", Lost Light issues #8–9 & #10–12, Optimus Prime issues #7–8 & #9–10, Transformers Annual 2017, and Salvation.
  • Hardcover format.

• 
  Volume 1: Crisis Intervention – cover art by Fico Ossio and Sebastian Cheng
• 
  Volume 2: Power and Glory – cover art by Pierre Droal
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 82: Revolutionaries – cover art by Dreamwave Productions and Fico Ossio
• 
  The IDW Collection Phase Three: Volume 1 – cover art by Sara Pitre-Durocher
• 
  The IDW Collection Phase Three: Volume 3 – cover art by Sara Pitre-Durocher