Ride-Along

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Get your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty Costa!
"Ride-Along"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	April 21, 2010
Cover date	April 2010
Written by	Mike Costa
Art by	E. J. Su
Colors by	Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Editor	Andy Schmidt
Assistant editor	Carlos Guzman
Associate editor	Denton J. Tipton
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Pre-Transformers #1

What happened to Prowl after All Hail Megatron.

Synopsis

Passages in italics are set in flashback.

Prowl sits in vehicle mode with two similar police cruisers in the parking lot of a Los Angeles liquor store. His narration explains that the store has just been robbed. The cops are inside, trying to talk to the clerk, whose English is mostly limited to curses. But they manage to learn that the thieves were two tattooed punks with a shotgun and a tricked-out Celica. So when Prowl and his driver get a call about a Celica that ran a red light and struck a bicyclist, they hit the lights and sirens and rush down the road. Prowl ruminates on how even a major cataclysm just three years earlier couldn't change some things...

Two years ago, Optimus Prime and Prowl walked through the ruins of New York City, surveying the aftermath of Megatron's reign of terror and the massive battle that ended it. Prime asked how they could have let the devastation happen, and Prowl answered that there were a lot of reasons, none of them necessarily the Autobots' fault, but what mattered was that they had stopped it and won. Prime didn't see it as a victory, given the cost to the Earth; he thought the Autobots were obligated to help the humans rebuild. Prowl advised against getting involved in the humans' affairs, since they were unlikely to trust any Transformers after having spent more than a year being attacked and subjugated by the Decepticons.

Optimus Prime agreed, but rather than abandon the humans, he simply ordered Prowl to help them in disguise. Prowl obeyed, spending eight months in silent observation as a police officer unknowingly drove him around. Prowl saw how the city behaved with virtually no infrastructure, a condition he thought of as "humanity's lowest point". He valued his time spent "doing nothing", even while others like Hot Rod were berating Prime for the same. Prowl saw it as an opportunity to learn things, such as humanity's capacity for quick adaptation (manifested in the creation of the Skywatch crash suits). He also learned that the less people have, the more fearful they are of losing what remains—a tendency exacerbated by how very little the alien war had left them with. And he learned that they would never forgive the Transformers, nor let them repeat the offense.

As a case in point, Prowl witnessed several policemen discussing what to do about an incapacitated Decepticon holed up in an abandoned building. With the army an hour away, the cops decided to take matters into their own hands by setting the building on fire and letting it collapse on the fugitive. Prowl sat silently as the execution was carried out.

Back at headquarters, Prowl saw Seaspray, Windcharger, and Jetfire talking with Ratchet, and he remarked to Optimus Prime about the stream of new arrivals. Prime explained that the Decepticons were disorganized and had lost control of most of the conquered Autobot outposts, but there were still many refugees in need of asylum. Earth was in a conveniently central location and was a suitable place to reinforce in any case. Prowl argued that reinforcement was unnecessary due to the lack of Decepticon resistance on the planet, and Prime replied that it would therefore be a good place for the battle-weary to rest. Prowl objected, since the repopulation and reclamation of New York would force the Autobots to find a new base soon, but there was nowhere to go, and the execution of Thrust demonstrated the humans' bloodthirsty mood. Prime expressed sympathy for the humans' point of view, then announced that he was calling everyone but Prowl in from their missions; Prowl, meanwhile, would continue his incognito assignment. Prowl asked what the point of his assignment was, and Prime answered with a platitude about everyone being on their own journey. That reminded Prowl about Bumblebee, who had been out of contact for a while. Prime told him that Brawn had sent Bumblebee on a mission to Detroit to scout for a new base. While Prowl acknowledged the value of the location, he worried about the chain-of-command breakdown that had kept him out of the loop. Prime suggested that a chain of command is only proper for a military unit, but with Megatron out of commission and the Decepticons scattered, perhaps the Autobots should change to something more democratic.

Prowl went back to work, again allowing his unsuspecting driver to facilitate his observations of the humans. Prowl's logical mind worked the mathematics of human existence, how there were billions of them in contrast to the less than ten thousand Transformers, but each human life occupied only a fraction of a century—a "shutterclick". Their crimes and creations were petty and ill-conceived, the sum total amounting to nothing more than a swarm. The unavoidable mathematical conclusion was that one human life could not be worth one Transformer. He didn't fear or resent them, but there was danger in maintaining cover; the only logical strategy was avoidance.

Then one day, as he pondered this line of thought, Prowl was shocked into action by a simple accident. His driver had parked him by a reconstruction site as a cleanup crew hauled a Transformer gun (with a hand still attached) across a street. One of the workers put his hand on the trigger, asking his partner how many pounds of pressure he thought it would take to activate it. His partner told him not to touch it, but the worker pressed it anyway, sending an energy beam into the top of a nearby building. As rubble fell down towards a little girl, Prowl ran through the earlier population math and ended with, "One of me."

Leaping into robot mode, Prowl pushed the girl out of the way as the rubble fell on him instead. Prowl's driver told everyone to stay back, and Prowl asked him if the girl was okay. He said she was, which pleased Prowl, and the cop expressed his shock that Prowl had stayed incognito for so long, only to break cover just to save the girl—especially since the people would kill him if given the chance. Prowl explained that he had seen too many things happen and done nothing for the sake of maintaining cover. He didn't know who was in charge anymore or where things were going; all he knew was that "the numbers are accurate... but they're not right." In that moment when he could save the girl's life, he decided to stop worrying about what might happen and just do the right thing. The cop understood and identified with the sentiment, but he said he was obligated to call the incident in. However, given the fact that Prowl was trapped and the situation wasn't an emergency, the cop thought they had about an hour before Skywatch would arrive. In that time, Prowl managed to escape.

Prowl and the other Autobots moved west as planned, and after hiding in plain sight for another year, he again broke cover, this time being captured by Skywatch as a result. But in the end he considered it worthwhile, because things changed.

And now, Prowl has struck out on his own, seeking to transcend the "binary tactics" that proved useless against evolving threats with undefined goals. As he and the other two police cars form a barricade around the runaway Celica, Prowl considers that, with five billion humans and ten thousand Cybertronians, he would put his own life on the line for any one of them.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Humans
Prowl (1) Optimus Prime (2) Hot Rod (4) Bumblebee (5) Ratchet (6) Seaspray (7) Windcharger (8) Jetfire (9) Brawn (10) Sideswipe (11) Hound (12)	Prowl's cop driver (3)

Quotes

"Sarge! We got one in there."
"How big?"
"Big one. Red-and-black. Looks like it was a jet. Incapacitated, but it's still kicking."
"How incapacitated?"
"Well, it told us it wanted to kill us, and then it didn't, so I'd say pretty incapacitated."

—A human police officer gives a nice, professional report to his Sergeant.

"The chain of command has been steadily breaking down here."
"Chain of command is for a military unit."
"Well, what do you call this?!"
"I don't know. Our main objective is accomplished. Megatron is neutralized, and the Decepticons are scattered. Perhaps we should become something more... democratic."

—Prowl and Optimus Prime discuss the Autobots' future.

"I don't fear them, but keeping this up is dangerous. I don't resent them, but the only strategy is one of avoidance. I don't hate them, but—five billion of them. Ten thousand of us. One of me."

—Prowl calculates his thoughts on the humans.

Notes

Continuity notes

• Prowl claims the Transformer population of the IDWverse to be around 10,000. The Death of Optimus Prime would later establish that his estimates were "way off", as there were thousands of neutrals he didn't account for.
• We learn that Autobots have been travelling to Earth for refuge, explaining their swollen ranks in the ongoing series as compared to All Hail Megatron.
• Bumblebee is on patrol in Detroit, noted to be further behind in its recovery, and has not been responding to messages. Presumably, then, this flashback is concurrent with All Hail Megatron #16's "Hidden", which saw Bumblebee stranded without communications in an unnamed desolate city.
• Brawn apparently outranks Bumblebee, having dispatched him on the aforementioned mission.
• Prowl's change of heart will be mentioned in "Devisive", where we learn Prowl really did think he could change until his later clashes with Spike Witwicky in "Police Action".
• Much, much later, in Sins of the Wreckers #3, Mesothulas would mock Prowl's tendency to try and change his morally-questionable ways, with the implication that the change of heart shown here was but one in a series of attempted personality reinventions.
• First appearances: Seaspray

Real-life references

• The "to protect and to serve" seen on Prowl's door is the motto of the real-life Los Angeles Police Department, occasionally shortened to "to protect and serve."
• A law enforcement member is seen drawing a chalk outline around a corpse, but this rarely if ever occurs anymore in real life: it can be interpreted in court as contamination of the crime scene and render some evidence inadmissible.

Trivia

• Includes some concept sketches of Prowl by E. J. Su.
• Prowl also comments that there are around 5 billion humans on the planet. As the real-world population was 6.7 billion in 2008 (when All Hail Megatron started) this suggests human casualty figures were massive, at least over 25% of the population. That may have just been a mistake here, Costa simply getting the wrong number when trying to indicate humans outnumber Transformers (the story doesn't have anything else to indicate that many dead), but the subsequent story "Edge of the Earth" would have the President of the United States say a billion humans had indeed died!
• A note on the inside cover states, "The events in this story take place prior to TRANSFORMERS #1." This is true for most of the story, which is explicitly set in flashback, but in the L.A.-based framing sequences of the first and last few pages, Prowl's narration looks back on events from as late as The Transformers #6.
• According to IDW story editor Andy Schmidt, this story was originally going to be told in the ongoing series (as is perhaps indicated by the fact that it was then the only Spotlight with a title). But when fans reacted badly to Prowl's characterization in the first issue of that series, IDW decided to jump the gun and publish the story early as a Spotlight. It is intended to reconcile his new, rashly self-sacrificial portrayal with the methodical, vehemently anti-hotheaded-maverick personality he had exhibited previously. But that reconciliation doesn't actually address the core concern of many of those upset fans, who wanted not just explanation, but reversion to the subversive schemer that Prowl had recently developed into.

Errors

• The chronology established in narration and dialogue is questionable. The present-day bits are said to be "three years after a major cataclysm," but the Autobots are seen walking around the ruins of New York unmolested "two years ago," and at that point Prowl says the humans have "been attacked and subjugated by Decepticons for over a year." Given that these statements occur within two consecutive pages, it seems likely that they're purposeful and meant to fit together. This would make the events of All Hail Megatron span an entire year, which is true to its real-life publication but is much, much longer than its in-fiction timespan appears to be.
• The Autobot insignia on Prowl's hood changes color from red to white to gray throughout the book.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Noir-style cover of Prowl standing in a rainy alleyway with the Hollywood Sign in the background, art by Nick Roche and colors by Josh Burcham.
• Cover B: Prowl standing in the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, by E. J. Su.
• Cover RI: Text-free sketch variant of Cover A.

• 
  Baby you'll be famous Chase you down until you love me Papa-Paparazzi
• 
  Call me "Snake."
• 
  Black and white ARE Prowl's colors.

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Reprints

• The Transformers Volume 6: Police Action (February 15, 2012) ISBN 1613771649 / ISBN 978-1613771648
  • Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #25, #27 & #29, and Spotlight: Prowl.
  • Bonus material includes art from most covers, and a B&W art page from #25: "Police Action: Part 1".
  • Trade paperback format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume Six (May 9, 2012) ISBN 1613771835 / ISBN 978-1613771839
  • Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #1–6, Bumblebee issues #1–4, Last Stand of the Wreckers issues #1–5, and Spotlight: Prowl.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: Spotlight Omnibus Volume 2 (September 9, 2015) ISBN 1613779429 / ISBN 978-1613779422
  • Collects Spotlight: Mirage, Wheelie, Cyclonus, Hardhead, Doubledealer, Sideswipe, Blurr, Jazz, Drift, Cliffjumper, Metroplex and Prowl.
  • Trade paperback format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 45: Last Stand of the Wreckers (May 16, 2018)
  • Collects Last Stand of the Wreckers issues #1–5, Spotlight: Prowl, and The Transformers (2009) #1.
  • Bonus material includes an interview with Nick Roche, pre-production sketches and story drafts for Last Stand.
  • Hardcover format.

• 
  Volume 6: Police Action – cover art by Brendan Cahill and Priscilla Tramontano
• 
  The IDW Collection Volume Six – cover art by E. J. Su
• 
  Spotlight Omnibus Volume 2 – cover art by Jeffrey Veregge
• 
  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 45: Last Stand of the Wreckers – cover art by Don Figueroa, Nick Roche and John Wycough