The War Within issue 4

Writer: Simon Furman
Pencils: Don Figueroa
Inks: Elaine To
Lettering: Dreamer Design
Colors: Rob Ruffolo, Alan Wang

• Characters (in order of appearance): Optimus, Starscream, Shockwave, Motormaster, Megatron, Grimlock, Kup
• Release date: January 8, 2003
• Chronology: Early War

Synopsis

After falling down the deep chasm, Prime lies unconscious. When he's awakened by a magical, disembodied voice telling him about Cybertron, he wonders whatever happened to Megatron. Prime makes another attempt at looking within himself when Megatron arrives onto the scene. Megatron attacks, hoping to get Prime to surrender the Matrix of Leadership.

Over the remains of the Forum of Enlightenment, Grimlock meets up with his running crew and begins to explain his plan to let the Decepticons conquer Iacon while the Autobot army scatters, taking out Decepticons who expect the Autobots to be too busy defending their capital. Meanwhile, Grimlock's crew use lines to go downwards, where Optimus was last seen.

In Megatron's absence, Starscream takes his throne at Kaon. The takeover doesn't sit right with Shockwave, but he is too busy leading the Decepticon army against several Guardian robots to challenge the change in leadership. He makse it clear, however, that they will discuss the situation—after he succeeds in leveling Iacon and winning a major military victory. Taking information from Laserbeak, Starscream verifies Megatron's belief about Cybertron having a deeper geography. However, Starscream plans to use this hidden aspect of Cybertron in a radically different manner than Megatron intended.

Megatron batters Optimus, explaining how he needs the Matrix as a component in his "Make Cybertron into mobile dreadnought" plan. Prime isn't such a fan of the idea. The two battle (in a familiar manner), and Megatron gains the upper hand, cracking open Prime's chest to seize the Matrix.

The Matrix casts a blinding flash and when the light fades, Optimus and Megatron find themselves somewhere different.

Quotes

This place seems to twist and turn of its own volition. But when in doubt...
...blow a big hole in something.

—Megatron

Shee-ah!
Too much, I can't--

—Megatron

No! this is madness. where...
...Are we?

—Megatron and Optimus Prime realize that they are somewhere else.

Items of note

• Optimus and Megatron's battle borrows a moment from the scene in The Transformers: The Movie when Hot Rod battles Galvatron.
• Optimus has an Elita One bobble-head in his cab and on his mud-flaps in vehicle mode.

Coloring errors

• Motormaster is brown instead of gray
• Runabout and Runamuck are green instead of black and white.
• Brawl, Blitzwing, and Onslaught are miscolored in the attack on Iacon.
• A massive, miscolored Broadside stands next to a... female Autobot?
• Topspin appears in Salt-Man Z's colors, yet the Salt-Man toy uses Twin Twist's mold. A for Effort.

Covers (1)

• Megatron breaching the Matrix by Don Figueroa

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• The War Within #5
• Titan Books collections.
• Transformers posters
• War and Peace
  
  
  From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.