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===Other notes===
===Other notes===
* The comic ends with a note that simply reads "Ectotron will return..."; author [[Erik Burnham]] teased the possibility of a sequel miniseries several times. However the abrupt, inexplicable disappearance of all of IDW Publishing's ''Ghostbusters'' material from digital storefronts in early [[2021]]—indicating a possible loss of license—followed by their loss of the ''Transformers'' license the following year, any chance of Ectoron's return  
* The comic ends with a note that simply reads "Ectotron will return..."; author [[Erik Burnham]] teased the possibility of a sequel miniseries several times. However the abrupt, inexplicable disappearance of all of IDW Publishing's ''Ghostbusters'' material from digital storefronts in early [[2021]]—indicating a possible loss of license—followed by their loss of the ''Transformers'' license the following year, any chance of Ectoron's return seems to have given up the ghost.
seems to have given up thee ghost.


===Covers (3)===
===Covers (3)===

Revision as of 01:23, 27 November 2022

« Transformers/Ghostbusters #5

Aw, don't leave yet. Well, listen, maybe if we start dancing, other people will join in!
"Ghosts of Cybertron Part 5"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published October 2, 2019
Cover date October 2019
Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Dan Schoening
Colors by Luis Antonio Delgado
Letters by Christa Miesner
Editor David Mariotte and Tom Waltz
Continuity Transformers/Ghostbusters

The Autobots and Ghostbusters must work together to save New York City from Megatron and his ghostly Decepticons.

Synopsis

The battle is on at Grosbeak Generating Station as Optimus Prime battles against Megatron's ghost, his proton-charged energon-axe keeping the Decepticon leader at bay. Furious, Megatron shouts for his ghostly followers—Starscream, Shockwave, and Soundwave—to destroy his old nemesis... but Shockwave refuses, pointing out that they'll need to work with the Autobots if they have any hope of regaining their corporeal bodies, a sentiment that Soundwave agrees with. Disgusted with his old lackeys, Megatron turns his attention back to his nemesis, berating the Autobot commander for abandoning their homeworld just before Gozer's arrival. From the sidelines, the four Ghostbusters watch as the fight unfolds, but are taken by surprise when they're jumped by Starscream, who wants nothing more than to exact revenge on Peter Venkman!

Shockwave wonders if they should stop the Air Commander from this rash course of action, but then decides that, after a thousand years as a prisoner of Kremzeek, it would be an entertaining change of pace to destroy some lesser beings. Assailed by spectral laser fire, the four humans draw their proton packs and Winston manages to quickly entangle Soundwave—but is unprepared when the Decepticon unleashes his three minions: Ravage, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw, now reincarnated as slime-spewing phantoms! Though they're briefly sidetracked by the ghostly cassettes, Winston is able to take out Soundwave with a ghost trap, which promptly dissipates his minions, but not before their dispersal leaves Ray covered in slime.

In the meantime, Peter tangles with Starscream, who's intent on making the Ghostbuster pay for humiliating him, while Ectotron is up against Shockwave, with the Autobot scientist eager to prove his worth in his first real fight. When a blast from the one-eyed Decepticon nearly scorches Peter, however, Starscream is able to break free of the proton stream; although the Decepticon briefly contemplates revenge, the Seeker realizes that he's at a disadvantage and promptly retreats, laughing that one day he'll make Venkman pay. After capturing Shockwave, Peter himself is more interested in watching Optimus duke it out with Megatron. As they fight, Prime tries to reason with Megatron: he wants to help his old foe, telling him that their war is long over... but a punch from the Autobot leader sends Megatron's ghost flying back... directly into Ectotron!

Now possessing Ectotron's body, Megatron is quick to turn the tables on Optimus Prime—gloating aloud that he knows that Prime would never harm a fellow Autobot, the Decepticon leader uses his newfound corporeality to send Prime to his knees. As the Ghostbusters weigh up their options, Peter notices that Ray's carrying a canister of mood slime, and the four hatch a desperate plan to force Megatron out of their friend's body. Ray shouts for Prime to get Ectotron flat on his back; as Megatron goes in for the kill, Prime is able to flip the possessed Autobot with a surprise kick and pin him down. While he's incapacitated, Ray is able to scramble up and dump the slime into Ectotron's mouth. As Megatron breaks free from Prime's grip, he finds his ghost forced back out of his host, rematerializing in a monstrous new form.

Megatron taunts Prime, by pointing out that his last plan was been short-sighted: why possess an Autobot and destroy Prime when he can simply possess Optimus himself, seize leadership of the Autobots, and assemble a new Decepticon Empire? Megatron lunges for Prime, but, at the last second, he finds himself restrained by a lone proton beam: a beam that belongs to Ectotron! Ray hurls a trap at the Decepticon leader, and, in a flash of light, Megatron is finally captured.

As the Ghostbusters and their Autobot allies take stock of their victory, Prime announces that he'll be taking the three captured Decepticons with him, rather than letting the Ghostbusters drop them in their containment unit. Prime hopes that they'll find a way to restore them to full corporeality, and then, perhaps, find a way to rehabilitate their old enemies... even Megatron. Ectotron will also be leaving Earth, though he promises that he'll repair the Ecto-1 and the firehouse before he does. He won't be returning to the Ark, however, not after learning that ghosts really do exist—he's got something else planned.

Peter jokes about the possibility of the first intergalactic Ghostbusters franchise; although they don't have a uniform in his size, they can at least give him a name tag. Ectotron agrees, using his nanochromatic camouflage to instantly generate one as he explains his plan: the universe might be full of Cybertronian ghosts that need saving... that is, if Optimus agrees. The Autobot leader graciously does so: Ectotron's adventure has proven himself as both an Autobot and a Ghostbuster. Ray eagerly speculates about the possibility of ghosts in outer space, but Winston and Peter shut him down—they have enough problems to deal with down on good old terra firma.

Egon wonders just what Ectotron will find out there, however. Some time later, as the newest Ghostbuster blasts off for new adventures, he's blissfully unaware that someone else is watching his departure, smirking as the last Cybertronian leaves the Solar System behind... Starscream!

Characters in italic text appear only in a fantasy sequence.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Ghostbusters

Quotes

"I feel like we should be doing something."
"No kidding. If I'd known two robots were gonna fight, I'd'a brought a camera or something."

—Winston and Peter


"You will taste my wrath yet, Pete Venkman!"
"Does it taste like orange sherbet? That's my favorite."

—Starscream vs. Peter


"Portable nuclear power, how amusing."

—Shockwave forgets that he has a nuclear reactor in his chest.


"Analysis: confinement imminent. Strategies: unlikely to succeed. Conclusion: oh, scrap..."

—Soundwave analyzes his own entrapment.


"We can't do that. Ectronymous is a sentient living being—organic or not. ...though the autopsy would be fascinating."
"Egon! We're not going to kill him. He's one of us. You wouldn't try to kill... most of us."

—Egon and Ray


"Megatron—struggling is how we learn to succeed!"
"How about that? Pop psychology made it to space."

—Optimus Prime takes on Megatron while Peter offers commentary


"I'm not gonna let you dirty up anyone else's body, Megatron! Not while I have the tools to stop it! Er, Ray, you guys—you do have another trap, right? Please?"
"What? Oh, sure. Thought maybe you had a speech going or something to that effect. Didn't want to interrupt."

—Ectotron and Ray


"You kinda want to step on him right now, don't you? Be honest."
"Well... it had crossed my mind."

—Peter and Optimus Prime discussing the trapped Megatron

Notes

Continuity notes

Transformers references

"No! Nobody ever made them like this! I mean, the architect was either a certified genius or an authentic wacko!"
  • Megatron's possession of Ectotron—and his eventual capture via ghost trap—both feature a purple-outlined partial cross-section of Megatron's internal workings, a screengrab lifted directly from the 1986 animated film during the character's transformation into Galvatron.
  • After being forced out of Ectotron's body, Megatron rematerializes in a new body based on his "Aligned" counterpart; more specifically, he takes the form of that version of Megatron as he would have appeared in the cancelled Transformers Universe MMORPG. The brilliance of a ghost turning into a character from a dead video game is not lost on us.
  • Megatron's fantasy includes a vision of him sitting on Galvatron's throne from "Starscream's Ghost".
  • As Optimus explains his plan to restore the Cybertronian ghosts, Ray points out that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings," one of Prime's most famous catchphrases (causing the genuine article to feel a sense of déjà vu); the Autobot leader, in turn, expresses his hope that by doing so, "all will be one again."
  • Ectotron's shuttle, which he flew to Earth back in issue #1, had not appeared on-panel prior to this issue, which reveals that it's based off the Autobot lifepod from the The Transformers episode "Dark Awakening."

Ghostbusters references

  • Ray recalls the time when they used mood slime to animate the Statue of Liberty, as per the climax of Ghostbusters II. Additionally, the slime’s ability to exorcise ghosts from possessed bodies was an ability first introduced in that film; both the 2009 video game and IDW’s tie-in media would go on to connect the slime’s origin back to the cult of Gozer from the original film.
  • On cover B, the billboards have various characters and objects from the franchise, including the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, the Statue of Liberty (which, as mentioned, was animated in Ghostbusters II), Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters II, and Holtzmann from the 2016 reboot.

Real-world references

  • Winston notes that the battlefield reminds him of a G.I. Joe cartoon, specifically citing excessive laserfire as the cause; this is presumably a dig at the 1983 cartoon, and its decision to substitute real-world firearms with more family-friendly laser weapons.
  • Megatron notes that "there is no trying", referencing the famous quote of Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back. Venkman even comments on "pop psychology" having made it to space.
  • In a non-Ghostbusters reference, the Twitter avatar of Transformers fan Shaun K can be seen on a billboard for a hat store on cover B.

Other notes

  • The comic ends with a note that simply reads "Ectotron will return..."; author Erik Burnham teased the possibility of a sequel miniseries several times. However the abrupt, inexplicable disappearance of all of IDW Publishing's Ghostbusters material from digital storefronts in early 2021—indicating a possible loss of license—followed by their loss of the Transformers license the following year, any chance of Ectoron's return seems to have given up the ghost.

Covers (3)

  • Cover A: Egon and the Autobots vs. several Decepticons, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado, part 5 of a 5-part composite cover
  • Cover B: The Ghostbusters and their new friends dance down the streets of New York City, in a homage to the original Ghostbusters music video, by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham
  • Retailer incentive cover: Optimus and the Ghostbusters, by Evan Stanley

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