White Heat

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"White Heat"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	September 28, 2016 (digital) October 5, 2016 (print)
Cover date	September 2016
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Livio Ramondelli
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

Optimus Prime and Soundwave find themselves a captive audience for Sentinel Prime in the shadow of Prion.

Synopsis

Having passed out due to the sudden, unexpected Spacebridge transit, Optimus Prime awakens to find that he and Soundwave have been transported to the blasted, corpse-laden surface of another world, where the ruined hulk of a Titan lies. Sentinel Prime tells them that the giant is Prion, one of the colony Titans, who was abandoned by his master Micronus Prime, leaving him and his Mini-Con populace to be slain by the Black Block Consortia. Sentinel goes onto explain that he and Sovereign—Garrison Blackrock's true form—are Titan Masters, the heralds of Nexus Prime and Onyx Prime respectively, and that they have abducted Prime not to battle him, but to invite him to join them. Soundwave points out that Sentinel is not even a true Prime himself; Sentinel is amused to see that the Decepticon, previously such an opponent to the notion of Primes, has become a believer in their power after witnessing the raising of Earth's Titan. Sentinel declares that Soundwave can at least die as a believer... whereupon Sovereign, controlling Alpha Trion's body as its head, slashes his sword deep into Soundwave's body!

Back on Earth, the Autobots and Decepticons still cleaning up after their battle with Galvatron's troops in the Indian Ocean come under attack from the newly-restructured Earth Defense Command, staffed now with members of G.I. Joe, including an ever-enthusiastic Wild Bill. Rumble and Frenzy are keen to fight back, but Swift refuses to let them; Sky Lynx tries to run interference instead, but Blitzwing is able to exploit the distraction to slip out of Tracks's grip and make a run for it. Just as he bursts out of the water, however, he is impaled by the wing-blade of Zilong Qian's mecha and taken captive. Intent on ending the conflict, the Torchbearers merge into Victorion, who uses her gravity powers to interfere with the EDC's weaponsfire. At Jetfire's order, she reluctantly levitates the 'bots and their prisoners away. Spike Witwicky is just as reluctant to let them go, but Qian—now going by the Joe codename "Talon"—is happy, considering the capture of Blitzwing and the remains of the Nemesis and the routing of the Transformers a victory.

As Sovereign slowly sinks his sword into Soundwave, Sentinel talks about his own humiliation at the hands of the Decepticons millions of years ago, and declares their eradication a "holy duty." But Sentinel does not realize how un-tempting his offer is to Optimus; striking quickly, the Autobot leader tackles Sentinel, knocking him back into Sovereign, who loses his grip on his sword. Soundwave grabs the blade, pulls it out of his body, and uses it to lop Sovereign off of Alpha Trion. With a pinpoint-precise sonic manipulation, Soundwave re-writes the neural signals within Sovereign's neocortex, unlocking and reinstating the little 'bot's "Blackrock" personality programming. This does not dissuade Sentinel, however; he snatches up Blackrock and vanishes through Prion's Spacebridge, his departing words a warning of the devastation he will bring upon Cybertron, and the chance Optimus had to escape it. Soundwave proves unable to divine his destination from the ancient Spacebridge, but Optimus, spying Alpha Trion's decapitated head on the ground nearby, is not interested in following.

A short time later, Optimus and Soundwave arrive on Cybertron and bring Alpha Trion's head and body to Fixit, who confirms that the old sage can be safely repaired. Optimus blames himself for not stopping Sentinel right away, but Soundwave and Windblade urge him to take his victories where he can find them. Prime bids Windblade farewell as he and Soundwave prepare to return to Earth, but just before they step through the bridge, Soundwave lays his hand on Optimus's shoulder and prepares to tell him something. Having sensed the recent death of Ravage, Soundwave explains, he has been reminded of his first meeting with the cyber-cat—how he saved him, and how he opened his eyes to the need for equality among Transformers. Soundwave compromised his morals in pursuit of that belief as a Decepticon, just as Optimus compromised his when he blackmailed Soundwave into their alliance... but despite this, Soundwave has come to truly believe in Optimus's mission, and understands that equality applies not to just to Transformers, but to all sentient life. Soundwave says that he can never repay this debt, and that the compromises that brought them to this point must be forgotten. Sentinel and Galvatron have both warned them: something from their ancient past is returning, and the Autobots and Decepticons must be ready to face it together.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
Optimus Prime (1) Alpha Trion (4) Infinitus/Sentinel Prime (6) Sky Lynx (10) Stormclash (11) Pyra Magna (12) Dust Up (13) Rust Dust (14) Sunstreaker (15) Jetfire (17) Tracks (25) Kup (26) Jazz (27) Victorion (32) Ironhide (33) Wheeljack (34) Fixit (36) Windblade (37) Arcee (42)	Soundwave (3) Galvatron (8) Slugslinger (18) Rumble (19) Frenzy (20) Swift (21) Needlenose (23) Blitzwing (24) Dreadwing (28) Mindwipe (29)	Wild Bill (9) Deep Six (22) Zilong Qian/Talon (30) Spike Witwicky (31)	Prion's corpse (2) Sovereign/Garrison Blackrock (5) Nexus Prime (7) Thundercracker (16) Lightbright (35) Aileron (38) Buster (39) Bob (40) D.0.C. (41)

Quotes

"'Sentinel' was a persona I adopted—a false Prime to serve the real, while I awaited Onyx's return. Then Megatron—and his Decepticons—turned me into a... a chair. Do you understand what it means to serve a higher power, only to be brought down by the lowliest class of creatures imaginable? Your Blackrock has come to grasp this. He acknowledges his holy duty to kill Decepticons. Starting with yours."

—Sentinel Prime

"Sentinel... or whatever you call yourself. If you think the lure of joining the Primes you serve is any temptation... you don't understand what being Optimus Prime means!"

—Optimus Prime

"I am Sovereign! I control my future!"
"Uncomprehending creature. None of us controls that."

—Sovereign and Soundwave

"Long ago, when I was at my lowest, [Ravage] came to me. And through him I found salvation... I realized all Cybertronians were one in the eyes of Primus. Together we followed Megatron into battle for the Decepticon cause. Along the way, despite our intentions, we compromised our principles. This is not something you are unfamiliar with, Optimus Prime. You coerced me into joining your cause... but through it I learned all—not all Cybertronians, but all—are one before Primus. This is not a debt I can repay. Whatever compromises we made in the past, Optimus... we must set them aside. Galvatron and Sentinel are warnings from the past... telling us the future is coming. And it is up to us to prepare for it... old friend."

—Soundwave closes out the series

Notes

Continuity notes

Maybe it's her little sister Penny.

• The Titan colony founded by Prion was first mentioned in More than Meets the Eye #39. It was in that issue that the colony's razing by the Black Block Consortia was recounted, by the sole survivor Nickel, who is also referenced here. In the two-page spread that reveals Prion's corpse, the foreground is littered with smaller corpses and on the far right a dead Transformer with Nickel's design can be seen.
• Windblade vol. 2 explained that the colony Titans are each connected to one of the original thirteen Primes; Prion is here revealed to be Micronus Prime's Titan, and thus, that the colony was one populated by Mini-Cons.
• The question of what became of Micronus Prime is answered in the Micronauts: Revolution one-shot, released the same day as this issue, in which—via a one-panel appearance of Micronus himself—it is revealed that he created, and retreated into, Microspace, the sub-atomic dimension that is home to the titular heroes.
• We get a flashback to Galvatron killing Nexus Prime, Sentinel's holographic image being directly lifted from issue #34.
• We knew previously that Blackrock/Sovereign was an agent of Onyx Prime, and we learn in this issue that Sentinel/Infinitus is the herald of Nexus Prime. It would make sense, then, that Sentinel knew about Sovereign and his mission, as issue #34 showed us that Onyx and Nexus had previously conspired together. That issue also showed that Nexus was responsible for creating Headmasters out of both their followers with his Enigma of Combination, but it is unclear whether or not Sentinel and Sovereign's ability to turn into heads has any connection to that. In IDW continuity, are Titan Masters a natural race with the power to control Titans and turn into heads, or are Sentinel and Sovereign the only two, created by Nexus? Or are they members of a natural race able to control Titans, who were given the power to turn into heads by Nexus? If they are not the only two, does that mean each Prime has a Titan Master herald?
• Sentinel claims that Micronus Prime betrayed both Onyx and Liege Maximo. It was said in issue #34 that Maximo was responsible for the conspiring to start the war between the Primes; makes you wonder what kind of a guy Micronus was.
• Blitzwing's capture by the EDC leads into his appearance in the Revolution prelude, and his role in the creation of M.A.S.K.
• Spike remembers Victorion's use of her gravity powers "at the White House last month," as seen in issue #51. However, see "Errors," below.
• Sentinel recalls how the Decepticons turned him into "a chair," a reference to how Megatron refashioned his Apex Armor into a throne in Megatron: Origin #4.
• Sentinel and Sovereign depart to go and star in the More than Meets the Eye portion of the Titans Return crossover, which actually began last month in More than Meets the Eye #56 as part of a deliberate—if a pinch confusing—non-chronological release order.
• Soundwave laments the death of Ravage, which he felt across the stars in More than Meets the Eye #55. He also recalls his first meeting with him, and how Ravage saved him, as recounted in issue #22.
• This issue hints at a confrontation between Optimus Prime's forces with Onyx Prime as a future storyline. Not long after this issue, Hasbro revealed of the next chapter of the Prime Wars Trilogy to be titled Power of the Primes, but in the end, Barber was able to conclude his storyline without needing to tie into the toyline.
• Optimus blackmailed Soundwave back in issue #52.

Real-life references

• Together with the previous issue, the title of this two-part Titans Return tie-in is taken from The Velvet Underground album, White Light/White Heat.
• Sky Lynx mentions the planet Huizenga; here's a list of what that might potentially refer to.

Errors

• Kup told Needlenose to "get your brother onta Sky-Byte", which should be Sky Lynx, as even if Sky-Byte was in this issue (which is not), he could not have been a recommended transport for the wounded which, according to Thundercracker, is almost everybody.
• Victorion used her gravity powers at the White House the previous day, not "last month" as Spike describes.

Other trivia

• This is the final issue of The Transformers vol. 2. Following a one-shot tie-in to the Revolution crossover, the series relaunches as Optimus Prime in November 2016 and continues from where it left off.
• The print version of this issue, originally solicited for September, arrived a little late, in the first week of October. The digital version, however, was accidentally released a week before it, er, on time.

Covers (3)

• Regular cover: Optimus and Soundwave, by Livio Ramondelli
• Subscription cover: Jetfire and Thundercracker come under attack from G.I. Joe, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
• Retailer incentive cover: Sentinel Prime rips his own head off as Optimus Prime stares in horror, by Marcelo Matere and Priscilla Tramontano

• 
  Two great tastes in one!
• 
  "This will make a great screenplay!"
• 
  Fort Max did it better.

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• Revolution
• The Transformers: The Movie 30th Anniversary reissue (back cover)

Reprints

• The Transformers: Titans Return (January 14, 2017) ISBN 1631408216 / ISBN 978-1631408212
  • Collects Titans Return #1, The Transformers (2012) issues #56–57, and More than Meets the Eye issues #56–57.
  • Bonus material unknown at this time.
  • Trade paperback format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 75: Titans Return, Part 1 (February 7, 2018)
  • Collects Till All Are One issues #1–4, Titans Return #1, The Transformers (2012) issues #56–57, and More than Meets the Eye issues #56–57.
  • Bonus material includes a two-page article on the beginning of More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise, a cover gallery and a forward by Simon Furman.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 12 (February 10, 2021) ISBN 1684057469 / ISBN 978-1684057467
  • Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #51–55 & #56–57, Till All Are One issues #1–4, Titans Return #1, and More than Meets the Eye issues #56–57.
  • Hardcover format.

• 
  Titans Return – cover art by Priscilla Tramontano
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 75: Titans Return, Part 1 – cover art by Don Figueroa (Arcee) and Livio Ramondelli (retro)
• 
  The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 12 – cover art by Marcelo Matere