Invasion Prologue

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"Invasion Prologue"
Publisher	Fun Publications
First published	February 29, 2012
Writers	Pete Sinclair & Jesse Wittenrich
Pencils	Will Mangin
Inks	Jake Isenberg
Colors	Josh Burcham
Letters	Jesse Wittenrich
Managing editor	Pete Sinclair
Continuity	TransTech

The Transcendent Technomorphs register a largescale multiversal event, one that will change everything forever.

Synopsis

In Axiom Nexus, home of the multiversal observers known as the TransTech, alarms begin to sound off. Prowl and Megatron watch as Rhinox receives multiple reports of anomalous phenomena across the mutliverse, including, much to Rhinox's shock, the supposedly destroyed univeral stream Primax 1291.0 Zeta, which he had himself logged. Rhinox traces the energy back to one solar cycle ago from Primax 207.0 Epsilon, a universe with its fair share of problems. Bring the universe up on screen, the three watch as the local Overlord, known as "Gigatron", cuts down a RUNT mech. Uninterested in the humans, Gigatron orders his Decepticon forces forward to the Autobot Ironworks base.

There, Autobot guards Mainframe and Rad are taken by surprise, as Gigatron blasts a hole through the base, knocking them back. Luckily, the Autobot Pretender Metalhawk appears overhead, engaging with his Decepticon rival, who reveals that he is there for the Rarefied Energon. Back at Axiom Nexus, Rhinox explains that the rarefied energon Gigatron speaks of is unique to this universe, and that it is rumored to have a connection to the Thirteen. Megatron has him speed forward, and after a bit, spots an inter-dimensional gateway. Megatron asks Rhinox if he can detect the origin, but Optimus Prime, having just arrived with 5 shadowed figures, reveals it for him: Primax -408.24 Epsilon, the negative polarity universe. With this event, Prime reveals that balance has been destroyed, and declares that the rules of the multiverse have changed, as the figures step forward to reveal themselves; the Primes of multiple universes!

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only on computer screens.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	SG Autobots
Rhinox (1) Prowl (2) Ursa Magnus (4) Ironworks (14) Mainframe (15) Rad (16) Metalhawk (17) Broadside (18) Outback (19) High Chancellor Optimus Prime (23) Sentinel Maximus (24) "Hero Prime" (25) "Ignition Prime" (26) "Leo Prime" (27) "Beast Prime" (28)	Megatron (3) Gigatron (5) Thrust (7) Skullgrin (8) Octopunch (9) Stranglehold (10) Snarler (11) Carnivac (12) Horri-Bull (13)	RUNT mech (6)	Tracks (20) Ultra Magnus (21) Wheeljack (22)

Quotes

"Your willingness to die will entertain my troops... ...but as you are not my quarry... ...they will need to seek their entertainment elsewhere."

— Gigatron

"Well. You're not supposed to be here."

"I could say the same thing about you, Gigatron! Last I saw you was in Kitakyushu. Looking for a magical sword."

"Hn. These humans exaggerate the power of their trinkets. But this rarefied energon you Autobots have brought here... I can sense its strength. It is more powerful than anything I have ever felt before. It will be MINE!"

— Gigatron and Metalhawk

"They also seem to have a functioning Overlord. A little on the short side though."

— Megatron states what we are all thinking.

Notes

• Characters mentioned but not seen include: Musashi (online version only) and the Thirteen.

Continuity notes

• The world of the TransTech hasn't been seen much since the original "Transcendent" storyline and prose stories published in 2008. Megatron, Prime, and Prowl made various appearances throughout said stories, while "Withered Hope" was Rhinox's sole previous appearance.
• Primax 1291.0 Zeta, the world of Marvel UK Transformers story "Another Time & Place" from the Transformers Annual 1992, was previously noted to have been destroyed by Primax 207.0 Epsilon (AKA the "Classicsverse") creation in "Withered Hope", due to their overlapping frequency. With its return, it hints at the fate of the "Classicsverse" in the main comic itself.
• The RUNTS (a group replacing the original anti-Transformer government agency RAAT from the original The Transformers comics) and Rarefied Energon were both originally seen in 2007's Club storyline, "Crossing Over". The Caretaker noted the Rarefied Energon would be moved from its original location in South America to keep it out of evil's hands; evidently, it's been entrusted with the Autobots since then.
• Gigatron's group of Decepticons includes Thrust, who was last seen under Megatron's command in "At Fight's End"; Octopunch and Stranglehold, last seen in space in "Cheap Shots"; Skullgrin and Horri-Bull, last seen with Bludgeon's forces near the end of The Transformers run; and Snarler and Carnivac, last seen attempting to assassinate Spike Witwicky in The Transformers issue #51. Gigatron himself makes his debut appearance in "Classicsverse" continuity here.
• On the Autobot's end, Metalhawk, Mainframe, and Ironworks make their first appearances. Rad, meanwhile, previously showed up in a one-panel cameo in The Transformers issue #76. Broadside and Outback also appear as tiny cameos on page 5.
• Aside from Ultra Magnus and Tracks, the third Shattered Glass Autobot that briefly appears is Wheeljack, last seen exploring other dimensions for Rodimus in "Generation 2: Redux".
• Sentinel Maximus was last seen in "Revelations Part 6", meeting with the main Autobot forces circa the end of the Cybertron cartoon. It's not indicated here, but the Robots in Disguise Optimus seen in this story is the same one who Sentinel worked with in the "Revelations" storyline.
• It had previously been established in past TransTech stories that Primes were barred from Axiom Nexus; evidently, TransTech Optimus considers the threat great enough to bypass this rule.

Transformers references

• The screens in the control room depict various scenes from other Transformers cartoons and comics, including:
  • A screencap of Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Minerva from Victory episode "The Tide Is Turned! The Ultimate Weapon, the Victory Unification".
  • A screenshot of Cybertron from the original The Transformers cartoon.
  • A teeny screenshot of Bulkhead from Animated.
  • A screenshot of the gathered Autobot forces from The Transformers episode "Cosmic Rust".
  • A screenshot of Optimus Primal and Lio Convoy from the Beast Wars II theatrical special, "Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!"
  • The title page and a panel showing the revived Megatron being destroyed by Optimus Prime and Grimlock from "Another Time & Place" (with pencils by Staz, inks by Lesley Dalton, and colors by Caroline Steeden).
  • A screenshot of BlackZarak from Super-God Masterforce episode "God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon".
  • A screenshot of Hot Shot from Armada episode "Carnival".
  • A screenshot of Optimus Prime from Robots in Disguise episode "Bullet Train to the Rescue".
  • A screenshot of Great Convoy from Beast Wars Neo episode "End of the Maximals!?"
  • The final page of Infiltration issue #6, depicting Optimus Prime (with pencils and inks by E. J. Su and colors by John Rauch).
  • Part of a panel from the final page of "Invasion", depicting Carnivac watching as the "Classicsverse" is destroyed (pencils by Dan Khanna, inks by Jake Isenberg, colors by Josh Perez). This was not known at the time of this comics release, only becoming evident after "Invasion" was itself released.
• Gigatron and Metalhawk's rivalry obviously stems from them both being from the Super-God Masterforce series.
• The Autobot base is Ironworks' Construction station, simply called "Ironworks" here, a Micromaster base from the 1989 year of The Transformers toyline. Rad and Mainframe, meanwhile, are both Action Masters from the 1990 range of figures.
• TransTech Optimus' group of Primes includes:
  • Generation 2 Hero Optimus Prime.
  • Sentinel Maximus, OTFCC 2004 exclusive (kind of).
  • Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime in his Universe 2003 yellow toy body.
  • Lio Convoy in his Universe 2008 "Leo Prime" toy body.
  • Cybertron Optimus Prime in his Jungle Planet toy body.

Real-life references

• In the online version, Metalhawk notes Gigatron was looking for "Musashi's sword"; this is in reference to the historical Japanese swordsman, Musashi Miyamoto. (However, see "other triva" below.)
• Ursa Magnus, a fan-character created by the Allspark forum member of the same name, can be seen on page 1, panel 2.

Errors

• Not an error per se, but Rhinox looks far more humanoid here than he was described as in "Withered Hope".
• Page 1, panel 3 originally had Rhinox say "multiple phenomenons," an incorrect form of plural for "phenomenon". This was corrected in a later revision.
• Rarified Energon was spelled as "rarefied". This was also corrected in a later revision.

Other trivia

• Initially released exclusively online, this six-page comic later got a print release as bonus content in the Diamond Edition of "Invasion". The print version of the story alters some dialogue, eliminating the overtly Japanese elements of Metalhawk and Gigatron's encounter (the print version is quoted above; originally, Metalhawk added an "okimi" suffix to Gigatron's name, and the "magical sword" was "Musashi's sword"), and entirely changing the exchange about Rarified Energon, saying basically the same thing in an entirely different way.
• Octopunch was originally depicted in his toy colors, much like "Cheap Shots", before later being edited into his Marvel colors.
• Pete Sinclair said that three of Gigatron's Decepticons remained offpanel. These were revealed in "Invasion" to be Spinister, Weirdwolf, and Dreadwind.

External links

• "Transformers: Invasion Prologue" preview comic page