Spotlight: Nightbeat: Difference between revisions

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|edits by=[[Chris Ryall]] & [[Dan Taylor (IDW)|Dan Taylor]]
|edits by=[[Chris Ryall]] & [[Dan Taylor (IDW)|Dan Taylor]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline#Infiltration|late ''Infiltration'']]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline#2006-7|2006-7]]
}}
}}


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==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] is an [[Autobot]] officer attracted by mystery and enigmas. When a mercenary named [[Krakon]] offers him the flight recorder of the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' (the first [[Autobot]] spaceship, which had disappeared many eons before), he accepts. But when he makes contact, he finds Krakon very dead, his ship intact with all its valuable cargo still there... save the flight recorder. Nightbeat puts himself on the scent, leading him to the remote planet [[Gorlam Prime]], eager to uncover a clue to the mystery of the lost ''Ark''.
[[Autobot]] officer [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] has always been a 'bot fascinated by mysteries, enigmas, and puzzles. When a mercenary named [[Krakon]] proffers the would-be detective an ancient flight recorder -- one that supposedly belonged to the original ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', Nightbeat can't help but accept the offer. But when he makes contact with his benefactor, things quicky take a turn for the strange: when Nightbeat arrives to pick up the flight recorder, he finds that Krakon is on the brink of death; the alien's last words are a sputtered warning about a "hole in the world...."
Unable to turn down the lure of this mystery, Nightbeat quickly puts himself on the case. Everything in Krakon's collection, he notes, is untouched -- everything, that is, except for the flight recorder that Nightbeat came to collect in the first place. Nightbeat reflects upon the mystery of the first ''Ark'' -- originally commissioned to plot a course from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to the [[Benzuli Expanse]], it was lost to history without ever reaching its destination. And altough some 'bots think that the circumstances behind its disappearance should ''remain'' a mystery, Nightbeat is not one of them.


After an [[orbital jump]] lands him planetside, the detective reformats himself to transform into a local automobile and heads for the nearest city. Oddly, Gorlam's people have a technical development more advanced than the [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronians]] believed them to be; rampant bio-mechanical upgrading of their organic forms and some mysterious excavations, all indicating an external force at work, pushing the society to further evolution.
Nightbeat's first stop is the distant world of [[Gorlam Prime]], the world where the light recorder was excavated in the first place. Having already reformatted his body to [[transformation|transform]] into a local automobile, Nightbeat slips in via [[orbital bounce]] and merges with the local traffic as he takes in he local scenery. He immediately clues into the fact that something's isn't right: although the people of Gorlam Prime only had their industrial revolution a few centuries ago, they've rapidly evolved in the interim -- far beyond the projected development -- and have developed into a civilization of mechanically augmented cyborgs. Combined with a series of mysterious, deep-reaching excavation shafts, Nightbeat immediately suspects that an off-world presence is secretly interfering with the cultural and technological development of Gorlam's inhabitants.
Upon reaching the fourth such excavation site, Nightbeat finds evidence that seemingly confirms his suspicions: metal fragments of Cybertronian origin that date back to the era of the original ''Ark''! His curiosity undeniably piqued, Nightbeat sends a summary of what he's uncovered so far to his ship as a precaution, and heads deeper into the shaft to investigate further, unaware that he's been tailed by a quartet of [[Micromaster|tiny Transformers]]...


Upon reaching an excavation site, Nightbeat sends a summary of what he's found so far to his ship as a precaution, then heads in to investigate further. Curiosity and lack of prudence gets the better of him, and he discovers a massive "portal" of an undetermined nature, looking like a sea of silver. Nightbeat is soon surrounded by [[Micromaster|four smaller Transformers]], then some creatures exit from the portal. Nightbeat runs for his freedom, but it's ultimately useless; he is chased down and captured by the tiny Transformers.
Nightbeat continues to explore the depths of Gorlam Prime, discovering another oddity: a network of tunnels scaled to [[Transformer]] proportions. Compelled ever onwards, Nightbeat finally reaches a the strangest feature of all: a gigantic "sea" of silvery liquid, stretching in all directions. Further investigation reveals that the "sea" is, in fact, a gigantic portal to somewhere else: the "hole in the world" Krakon warned him about. Nightbeat takes a few cautious steps into the shallows, but is unsettled by the sensation and retreats immediately, coming face-to-face with the four small Transformers.


Nightbeat flashes in and out of consciousness, strapped on an operating table, while [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] alters his brain,<ref>According to the [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=82441#82441 script] for "[[Spotlight: Hardhead]]".</ref> placing a cerebral implant into him that configures him into a sleeper agent.
Though Nightbeat tries to communicate with the unknown Cybertronians, the diminutive robots surround him... and when strange, silvery creatures rise from the portal, Nightbeat realizes he's in over his head and makes a break for it.  Unfortunatelky, his four pursuers are faster, more agile, and better-armed than he is; dodging a [[neural disruptor]], Nightbeat is unprepared for two more of the small 'bots to deploy a payload of explosives in front of him, causing him to swerve into a branching tunnel. Too late, Nightbeat realizes that that's what his pursuers ''wanted'' him to do. Trapped in the dead end, he is knocked offline by another neural disruptor and captured by the tiny Transformers.
Strapped on an operating table, Nightbeat flashes in and out of consciousness as a shadowy figure alters his brain. Nightbeat, unable to move or resist, realizes that he'd been deliberately lured to Gorlam Prime thanks to the false promise of the flight recorder, and drawn into the depths of Gorlam Prime to fulfill the needs of his captors. As Nightbeat overhears snatches of conversation about a "[[Dead Universe]]" and an "[[Expansion]]", his captor places a cerebral implant inside his head that configures him into a sleeper agent...


Later, Nightbeat is on his ship, in his pre-Gorlam body, sweeping the [[Durzan Sector]], with no memory of the events that happened since Krakon contacted him. At that moment, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] calls, needing his services on [[Earth]].  
A routine sweep of the [[Durzan Sector]] proves no challenge for Nightbeat, who's back aboard his ship with no memory of his adventure. Bored and desperate for a good mystery to solve, he's fortuitiously interrupted from his humdrum mission by a transmission from [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] who requires his deductive services on [[Earth]].


Still, Nightbeat can't shake the feeling that he's missing ''something''...
Nightbeat eagerly agrees, but not before first suffering a minor cerebral surge that he can't explain. In fact, he muses as he sets a new course for Earth, he just can't shake the feeling that he's missing ''something''...


==Featured characters==
==Featured characters==
Line 50: Line 53:
===Continuity notes===
===Continuity notes===
* When seeing the inhabitants turning from organic to mechanical, Nightbeat wonders if Cybertron has a similar origin. Remember that, it becomes [[Spotlight: Hardhead|important]] [[Spotlight: Sideswipe|later]].
* When seeing the inhabitants turning from organic to mechanical, Nightbeat wonders if Cybertron has a similar origin. Remember that, it becomes [[Spotlight: Hardhead|important]] [[Spotlight: Sideswipe|later]].
* How Nightbeat changes his alt-mode is... odd. He transports down to Gorlam Prime with his standard robot mode. He then transforms into a Gorlam Prime-specific vehicle mode. When he transforms back his robot mode is different than it was before. At the end of the issue, after his memory has been wiped, he is back in his original robot mode. Whilst this kind of on-the-go alt-mode switching wouldn't be out of place in some other continuities, where Transformers can quickly [[trans-scan]] new vehicle modes, subsequent IDW fiction would cement that in this continuity changes in body require manual reconstruction.
* As Nightbeat first confronts the Micromasters, three distinct figures can be seen emerging from the void. They never appear on panel after becoming fully formed, but it was likely some combination of [[Nova Prime]], [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]], and according to the below referenced script, Straxus.
* As Nightbeat first confronts the Micromasters, three distinct figures can be seen emerging from the void. They never appear on panel after becoming fully formed, but it was likely some combination of [[Nova Prime]], [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]], and according to the below referenced script, Straxus.
* One of the Gorlamite Micromasters appears to be [[Blackjack]], but ''another'', non-Micromaster Blackjack debuted in 2015 in [[First Contact (IDW)|''The Transformers'' #39]].
* Just before the comm signal from Optimus Prime arrives, Nightbeat considers dusting off one of the "Big Three" mysteries. Thanks to [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|''More than Meets the Eye'' #29]], we know he's referring to the aforementioned [[Ark (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|first ''Ark'']] and the [[Moonbase One|Seething Moon]], but the third mystery is still unknown. It's possible that this might have something to do with the [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]s or the [[Knights of Cybertron]], but given Nightbeat's pragmatism it's unlikely he considered these folk stories worth investigating.  
* Just before the comm signal from Optimus Prime arrives, Nightbeat considers dusting off one of the "Big Three" mysteries. Thanks to [[World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|''More than Meets the Eye'' #29]], we know he's referring to the [[Ark (G1)#IDW Generation 1 continuity|first ''Ark'']] and the [[Moonbase One|Seething Moon]], but the third is unknown. Possibly it involved something to do with the [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]]s, but given Nightbeat's pragmatism it's unlikely he considered the legendary [[Knights of Cybertron]] something tangible enough to investigate.
* '''First appearances:''' Nightbeat, Straxus (unnamed), and the various Micromasters.


===Other trivia===
===Transformers references===
* The ''Ark'' is the traditional name for just about any given Autoobt spacecraft; appearing in both the Generation 1 cartoons and comics as the primary mode of transportation for Optimus Prime's Autobots. The concept received a drastic reinvention for its appearance in the IDW continuity: later issues would reveal that the original ''Ark'' we see in this isuse was helmed by ''[[Nova Prime (G1)|Nova Prime]]'', and that all future Arks -- such as the ones that appear in the concurrent ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'' miniseries -- were named in honor of the original lost vessel.
* The four tiny Transformers that puruse Nightbeat are [[Micromaster]]s: more specifically, [[Hyperdrive (Micromaster)|Hyperdrive]], [[Blackjack]], [[Road Hugger (G1)|Road Hugger]],and [[Detour (G1)|Detour]], reimagined here as the artificially engineered end-point of Gorlamite evolution. None of these little Transformers will show up again outside of Furman's run -- except for Blackjack, due to some [[To sell toys|extenuating circumstances]]... (see Trivia)
 
===Real-life references===
*As he drives through the streets of Gorlam Prime, Nightbeat observes the cybernetically-augmented inhabitants and wonders if his own race once went through a similar transitional phase. While no concrete origin story has yet been established for the IDW Transformers, a similar origin story was concocted for those "distant dimensional analogues" of the Transformers, the [[GoBot]]s.
 
===Errors===
* This issue predates later fiction that would more clearly establish how Transformers in this continuity acquire vehicle modes, so we can't label it as an ''error'', per se, but how Nightbeat changes his vehicle mode is at odds with what we'd later learn. He transports down to Gorlam Prime with his standard robot mode, and then, seemingly on the fly, transforms into a Gorlam Prime-specific vehicle mode, with his robot mode adjusted to match. At the end of the issue, after his memory has been wiped, he is back in his original robot mode. Whilst this kind of on-the-go alt-mode switching wouldn't be out of place in some other continuities, where Transformers can quickly [[trans-scan]] new vehicle modes, subsequent IDW fiction would cement that in this continuity, require manual reconstruction.
* Compounding this oddity, Nightbeat mentions that he's "[made] refinements to his exostrucutre" as he lands on Gorlam Prime, but the accompanying art shows him in his Cybertronian robot before switching to his Gorlamite sedan form.
 
===Other trivia===  
* The shadowy figure who's seen operating on Nightbeat here goes unnamed and largely unseen, but ''[[Spotlight: Hardhead]],'' released  a few years later would reveal that it was [[Straxus]]. <ref>According to the [http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=82441#82441 script] for "[[Spotlight: Hardhead]]".</ref>
* Blackjack maeks his debut here as a Gorlamite Micromaster, explicitly confirmed in later issues to be the product of experiments conducted on Gorlam Prime's population. ''Another'', non-Micromaster Blackjack debuted in 2015 in [[First Contact (IDW)|''The Transformers'' #39]]  to advertise the concurrently-released [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] toy. This phenomenon will crop up a few more times!
* This issue was released with four different covers, including a "sketch" version of the MD Bright cover. For [[BotCon 2006]], IDW sold an [[exclusive]] version of the comic with all four covers stapled together as a single thick book. This multi-cover issue was sold well before the issue hit comic stores.
* This issue was released with four different covers, including a "sketch" version of the MD Bright cover. For [[BotCon 2006]], IDW sold an [[exclusive]] version of the comic with all four covers stapled together as a single thick book. This multi-cover issue was sold well before the issue hit comic stores.


Revision as of 01:20, 10 February 2018

« The Transformers: Spotlight #2 »

Nightbeat, P.I.?
"The Transformers: Spotlight #2 Nightbeat"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published October 18, 2006
Cover date October 2006
Written by Simon Furman
Art by MD Bright
Colors by John Rauch
Letters by Sulaco Studios
Edits by Chris Ryall & Dan Taylor
Continuity IDW continuity
Chronology 2006-7

Lured by an ancient relic, Nightbeat discovers something sinister...

Synopsis

Autobot officer Nightbeat has always been a 'bot fascinated by mysteries, enigmas, and puzzles. When a mercenary named Krakon proffers the would-be detective an ancient flight recorder -- one that supposedly belonged to the original Ark, Nightbeat can't help but accept the offer. But when he makes contact with his benefactor, things quicky take a turn for the strange: when Nightbeat arrives to pick up the flight recorder, he finds that Krakon is on the brink of death; the alien's last words are a sputtered warning about a "hole in the world...." Unable to turn down the lure of this mystery, Nightbeat quickly puts himself on the case. Everything in Krakon's collection, he notes, is untouched -- everything, that is, except for the flight recorder that Nightbeat came to collect in the first place. Nightbeat reflects upon the mystery of the first Ark -- originally commissioned to plot a course from Cybertron to the Benzuli Expanse, it was lost to history without ever reaching its destination. And altough some 'bots think that the circumstances behind its disappearance should remain a mystery, Nightbeat is not one of them.

Nightbeat's first stop is the distant world of Gorlam Prime, the world where the light recorder was excavated in the first place. Having already reformatted his body to transform into a local automobile, Nightbeat slips in via orbital bounce and merges with the local traffic as he takes in he local scenery. He immediately clues into the fact that something's isn't right: although the people of Gorlam Prime only had their industrial revolution a few centuries ago, they've rapidly evolved in the interim -- far beyond the projected development -- and have developed into a civilization of mechanically augmented cyborgs. Combined with a series of mysterious, deep-reaching excavation shafts, Nightbeat immediately suspects that an off-world presence is secretly interfering with the cultural and technological development of Gorlam's inhabitants. Upon reaching the fourth such excavation site, Nightbeat finds evidence that seemingly confirms his suspicions: metal fragments of Cybertronian origin that date back to the era of the original Ark! His curiosity undeniably piqued, Nightbeat sends a summary of what he's uncovered so far to his ship as a precaution, and heads deeper into the shaft to investigate further, unaware that he's been tailed by a quartet of tiny Transformers...

Nightbeat continues to explore the depths of Gorlam Prime, discovering another oddity: a network of tunnels scaled to Transformer proportions. Compelled ever onwards, Nightbeat finally reaches a the strangest feature of all: a gigantic "sea" of silvery liquid, stretching in all directions. Further investigation reveals that the "sea" is, in fact, a gigantic portal to somewhere else: the "hole in the world" Krakon warned him about. Nightbeat takes a few cautious steps into the shallows, but is unsettled by the sensation and retreats immediately, coming face-to-face with the four small Transformers.

Though Nightbeat tries to communicate with the unknown Cybertronians, the diminutive robots surround him... and when strange, silvery creatures rise from the portal, Nightbeat realizes he's in over his head and makes a break for it. Unfortunatelky, his four pursuers are faster, more agile, and better-armed than he is; dodging a neural disruptor, Nightbeat is unprepared for two more of the small 'bots to deploy a payload of explosives in front of him, causing him to swerve into a branching tunnel. Too late, Nightbeat realizes that that's what his pursuers wanted him to do. Trapped in the dead end, he is knocked offline by another neural disruptor and captured by the tiny Transformers. Strapped on an operating table, Nightbeat flashes in and out of consciousness as a shadowy figure alters his brain. Nightbeat, unable to move or resist, realizes that he'd been deliberately lured to Gorlam Prime thanks to the false promise of the flight recorder, and drawn into the depths of Gorlam Prime to fulfill the needs of his captors. As Nightbeat overhears snatches of conversation about a "Dead Universe" and an "Expansion", his captor places a cerebral implant inside his head that configures him into a sleeper agent...

A routine sweep of the Durzan Sector proves no challenge for Nightbeat, who's back aboard his ship with no memory of his adventure. Bored and desperate for a good mystery to solve, he's fortuitiously interrupted from his humdrum mission by a transmission from Optimus Prime who requires his deductive services on Earth.

Nightbeat eagerly agrees, but not before first suffering a minor cerebral surge that he can't explain. In fact, he muses as he sets a new course for Earth, he just can't shake the feeling that he's missing something...

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Others

Notes

Continuity notes

  • When seeing the inhabitants turning from organic to mechanical, Nightbeat wonders if Cybertron has a similar origin. Remember that, it becomes important later.
  • As Nightbeat first confronts the Micromasters, three distinct figures can be seen emerging from the void. They never appear on panel after becoming fully formed, but it was likely some combination of Nova Prime, Jhiaxus, Galvatron, and according to the below referenced script, Straxus.
  • Just before the comm signal from Optimus Prime arrives, Nightbeat considers dusting off one of the "Big Three" mysteries. Thanks to More than Meets the Eye #29, we know he's referring to the aforementioned first Ark and the Seething Moon, but the third mystery is still unknown. It's possible that this might have something to do with the Titans or the Knights of Cybertron, but given Nightbeat's pragmatism it's unlikely he considered these folk stories worth investigating.

Transformers references

  • The Ark is the traditional name for just about any given Autoobt spacecraft; appearing in both the Generation 1 cartoons and comics as the primary mode of transportation for Optimus Prime's Autobots. The concept received a drastic reinvention for its appearance in the IDW continuity: later issues would reveal that the original Ark we see in this isuse was helmed by Nova Prime, and that all future Arks -- such as the ones that appear in the concurrent Infiltration miniseries -- were named in honor of the original lost vessel.
  • The four tiny Transformers that puruse Nightbeat are Micromasters: more specifically, Hyperdrive, Blackjack, Road Hugger,and Detour, reimagined here as the artificially engineered end-point of Gorlamite evolution. None of these little Transformers will show up again outside of Furman's run -- except for Blackjack, due to some extenuating circumstances... (see Trivia)

Real-life references

  • As he drives through the streets of Gorlam Prime, Nightbeat observes the cybernetically-augmented inhabitants and wonders if his own race once went through a similar transitional phase. While no concrete origin story has yet been established for the IDW Transformers, a similar origin story was concocted for those "distant dimensional analogues" of the Transformers, the GoBots.

Errors

  • This issue predates later fiction that would more clearly establish how Transformers in this continuity acquire vehicle modes, so we can't label it as an error, per se, but how Nightbeat changes his vehicle mode is at odds with what we'd later learn. He transports down to Gorlam Prime with his standard robot mode, and then, seemingly on the fly, transforms into a Gorlam Prime-specific vehicle mode, with his robot mode adjusted to match. At the end of the issue, after his memory has been wiped, he is back in his original robot mode. Whilst this kind of on-the-go alt-mode switching wouldn't be out of place in some other continuities, where Transformers can quickly trans-scan new vehicle modes, subsequent IDW fiction would cement that in this continuity, require manual reconstruction.
  • Compounding this oddity, Nightbeat mentions that he's "[made] refinements to his exostrucutre" as he lands on Gorlam Prime, but the accompanying art shows him in his Cybertronian robot before switching to his Gorlamite sedan form.

Other trivia

  • The shadowy figure who's seen operating on Nightbeat here goes unnamed and largely unseen, but Spotlight: Hardhead, released a few years later would reveal that it was Straxus. [1]
  • Blackjack maeks his debut here as a Gorlamite Micromaster, explicitly confirmed in later issues to be the product of experiments conducted on Gorlam Prime's population. Another, non-Micromaster Blackjack debuted in 2015 in The Transformers #39 to advertise the concurrently-released Menasor toy. This phenomenon will crop up a few more times!
  • This issue was released with four different covers, including a "sketch" version of the MD Bright cover. For BotCon 2006, IDW sold an exclusive version of the comic with all four covers stapled together as a single thick book. This multi-cover issue was sold well before the issue hit comic stores.

Covers (4)

  • Cover A: Nightbeat with flashlight, by MD Bright and Josh Burcham (colors).
  • Cover RI-A: Nightbeat with an Ark hologram, by James Raiz and Josh Burcham (colors).
  • Cover RI-B: Nightbeat and metal sea, by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham (colors).
  • BotCon Exclusive Sketch Cover: Uncolored Cover A (front) and B (back)
  • Where's the fedora and trenchcoat?
    Where's the fedora and trenchcoat?
  • Lose your head, buddy?
    Lose your head, buddy?
  • Yeeeaaagggghhhh!!!!!
    Yeeeaaagggghhhh!!!!!
  • 2006 BotCon Cover
    2006 BotCon Cover

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Reprints

References

  1. ↑ According to the script for "Spotlight: Hardhead".
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