Termination: Difference between revisions
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
* Characters mentioned but not seen include: [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], the original [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]], [[Sizzle (G1)|Sizzle]], [[Architract]], and the original [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]]. | |||
* Characters mentioned in Strika's profile include: Optimus Prime, Megatron, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], Obsidian, and Jhiaxus. | |||
* Characters mentioned in Obsidian's bio include: Strika, Shockwave, and [[Unicron]]. | |||
* Characters mentioned in Megaplex's bio include: Jhiaxus, Megatron, Optimus Prime, and [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. | |||
* Characters mentioned in Thundercracker's bio include: Jhiaxus and Thundercracker's drones. | |||
* Characters mentioned in Mirage's bio include: Unicron and Electro. | |||
===Continuity notes=== | ===Continuity notes=== | ||
*As part of the [[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]], this story takes place in (a slightly different version of) the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] continuity. The Golden Age referred to at the start of the story dawned at the conclusion of the original cartoon, in "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]". | *As part of the [[Transformers: Wings Universe|Wings Universe]], this story takes place in (a slightly different version of) the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] continuity. The Golden Age referred to at the start of the story dawned at the conclusion of the original cartoon, in "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]". | ||
Revision as of 15:19, 13 May 2019
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| "Termination" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Fun Publications | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 27, 2013 (BotCon 2013) January 8, 2014 (retail edition) | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Jesse Wittenrich | ||||||||||||
| Art | Josh Burcham, Jimbo Salgado (pages 1 and 2) | ||||||||||||
| Layouts | David Reynolds | ||||||||||||
| Letters | Jesse Wittenrich | ||||||||||||
| Special Thanks | Lo, Jeremiah McNatt | ||||||||||||
| Creative Director | Lanny Lathem | ||||||||||||
| Managing editor | Pete Sinclair | ||||||||||||
| Editor in chief | |||||||||||||
| Continuity | Wings Universe | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Price | $4.95 | ||||||||||||
With Cybertron under the control of Megaplex and his clone armies, the scattered Autobot and Decepticon forces rally together in an attempt to retake their homeworld.
Synopsis
The second Golden Age of Cybertron has come to an end. The armies created by Jhiaxus, cloned from some of the most infamous Decepticons in history and led by Megaplex—clone of Megatron—have swept across the galaxy, devastating the forces of the Autobots and Decepticons wherever they are found. Optimus Prime falls in battle on Sigma Seven; with their leader left comatose, the understaffed Autobots on Cybertron divide their ranks, each polity headed by a City Commander charged with independently coordinating defense of their territory. A new war is looming: the Machine Wars.
Two days after the warning from Sigma Seven, as any and all able 'bots are being drafted for the coming conflict, Clamp Down interrogates Mirage and Electro, intending to offer them freedom to fight in exchange for a full confession implicating Earth commander Pyro in the smuggling of illegal war supplies to Cybertron. Electro defies him, insisting their actions (including the use of illegal body modifications on themselves) were necessary, but when an alarm starts blaring, Mirage quickly offers up the confession so that battle can be joined. They look out the window to see a huge fleet of bombers soaring overhead, wiping their city off the map. Frenzied communication between the Autobots ensues, but within half a day, every major city on the planet is conquered, and the surviving Autobots are forced into hiding.
Three-and-a-half days later, Thundercracker and a platoon of his drones respond to an incursion into his territory, but find that the trespassers are merely Empties from the Rad Zone. Believing they have merely come to scavenge the remains of the bombed-out city, he lets his guard down... and soon learns the folly of his actions, as the "Empties" cast off their cloaks to reveal that they are actually a rebel cell led by Obsidian and Strika! Battle erupts; the pacifistic Sandstorm is loathe to use lethal force, but when a Thundercracker drone charges him, he inadvertently shoots it at point-blank range and terminates it, much to his horror and Strika's grudging respect. As the other drones begin adapting to the rebel's attack patterns, Strika hurls an explosive sphere into the sky, blasting a path through the clone ranks that allows Obsidian and tagalong Decepticon Octane to take to the air. Octane rankles under Obsidian's command, though, and reminds him he is merely there to help his old friend Sandstorm. Presently, they defeat the drones, and, over Sandstorm's protestations against her violent tactics, Strika coerces the coordinates to Megaplex's location from Thundercracker.
In Iacon, Megaplex surveys the devastated planet, haunted by the exhilaration it makes him feel. Starscream warns him he is beginning to sound like Megatron himself, prompting Megaplex, his distaste for the comparison barely disguised, to caution Starscream that he should strive to be less like his own template. Skywarp arrives to report the capture of Thundercracker, and given that Starscream cannot send his drones in without fear of injuring their comrade, Megaplex decides to deal with the matter personally.
After waiting for an hour outside Iacon, Electro and Mirage are finally met by Obsidian's group, who have deliberately taken their time approaching to ensure they have been seen with Thundercracker, exploiting the clones' genuine concern for their own to prevent any attacks. Megaplex and his forces arrive and demand that Thundercracker be turned over, but Obsdian refuses, aggravating the clone commander by comparing him to Megatron. Casting his sword aside, Megaplex lunges for Obsidian, intending to crush him with his bare hands... at which points Obsidian orders Mirage to shut down his electro-disrupter, revealing the larger force of Autobots and Decepticons who have surrounded the clones. The Autobots withdrawing from the cities was a ruse, Obsidian reveals, allowing them to regroup and corral Megaplex's armies into one location. A mighty battle erupts; Electro seizes Megaplex's discarded sword and uses his Forestonite-granted Laser Rod powers to energize it, dispatching Starscream with its blasts. Megaplex is impressed, but as he battles Obsidian one-on-one, notes that he has plenty of impressive weapons of his own, like the fusion cannon he unleashes against the rebel leader. His rant is interrupted, however, by a howl of pain from Sandstorm, who undergoes a sudden change in personality, and vicious opens fire on Obsidian, cutting him down. Sandstorm is not, in the fact, the original pacifistic Autobot that everyone believed he was, but another of Jhiaxus's clones, hidden amongst the Autobot forces as a sleeper agent and trump card. Megaplex is indignant at Sandstorm's assumption of command, but moments later, Jhiaxus and the rest of his forces arrive on Cybertron to explain: the war has changed Megaplex, awakening the urges of his template within him. Jhiaxus has no need of a Megatron in his army, and so he offers Megaplex the same choice he gives the Autobots and Decepticons: leave Cybertron, or be destroyed...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Cybertronians | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
- Characters mentioned but not seen include: Fixit, Megatron, the original Starscream, Pyro, Sizzle, Architract, and the original Sandstorm.
- Characters mentioned in Strika's profile include: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Shockwave, Obsidian, and Jhiaxus.
- Characters mentioned in Obsidian's bio include: Strika, Shockwave, and Unicron.
- Characters mentioned in Megaplex's bio include: Jhiaxus, Megatron, Optimus Prime, and Galvatron.
- Characters mentioned in Thundercracker's bio include: Jhiaxus and Thundercracker's drones.
- Characters mentioned in Mirage's bio include: Unicron and Electro.
Continuity notes
- As part of the Wings Universe, this story takes place in (a slightly different version of) the Generation 1 cartoon continuity. The Golden Age referred to at the start of the story dawned at the conclusion of the original cartoon, in "The Rebirth, Part 3".
- Octane refers to his friendship with Sandstorm, seen in the cartoon episode "Starscream's Ghost".
- Jhiaxus's clone schemes percolated throughout A Flash Forward, the 2012 comic storyline published in the official club magazine. In particular, the "Machine Wars" were foretold by the precognitive Sizzle in the final chapter of the story.
Transformers references
- "Arms regulations SOU-246 and IRO-368" are references to the Arms Microns Sou and Iro.
- Established Transformers cities Iacon, Praxus, Protihex, and Nyon are mentioned; Trigat is new, while Durax has only previously been mentioned in the name of the Durax Hospital for Protoforms from the Shattered Glass continuity.
- Following on from A Flash Forward, which recast the assorted Generation 2 Go-Bots toys as clones of the characters they were named for, rather than the original characters themselves, this story repurposes many Machine Wars characters as clones as well.
Other notes
- An unrealized prologue to this story would have shown the battle wherein Optimus Prime and Galvatron were taken down by Jhiaxus's forces, led by Scourge (based on the contemporary Timelines toy).[1]
- Perhaps notably in contrast to the other "classic" characters in this story, Optimus Prime appears in his G1 cartoon design despite having numerous toy updates over the years. Not that we're complaining!
- Magnificus is in his e-HOBBY Generations body (a toy also sold through the Transformers Collectors' Club). Octane, meanwhile, is based on the Universe "Tankor" toy.
- Hauler is depicted as a "redeco" of Universe Inferno, whilst Jazz and Zoom-Zoom use the Reveal the Shield Jazz design in new color schemes.
- Soundwave, Prowl, Hubcap, and the Thundercracker, Sandstorm, and Starscream drones use designs previously created by artist Josh Burcham for a fan project, based on the original Machine Wars toys. Skywarp drones briefly appear in the background as identical to Skywarp, although this changes.
- The Diamond Edition contains profiles for Strika, Obsidian, Megaplex, Thundercracker, and Mirage.
Errors
- The art credit for Jimbo Salgado is omitted from the retail version of the comic.
- Probably due to a yet-unfinished toy design process, Megaplex and Starscream appear with their BotCon 2013 toy bodies in this story, but in "A Flash Forward, Part 6", their shadowed silhouettes clearly had the bodies of their original Machine Wars toys. Less explicable is Optimus Prime's classic Generation 1 design in this issue despite appearing in "A Flash Forward, Part 6" as his toy from the 2010 Transformers toyline.
Covers
- BotCon Edition: Art by Marcelo Matere and Evan Gauntt
- Retail Edition: Generation 1 Starscream, Megatron, and Soundwave, with Machine Wars Starscream, Megaplex, and Soundwave reflected beneath them, in homage to Frank Quitely's cover to the JLA: Earth 2 paperback graphic novel.
