The Gathering issue 4

<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em;">

<tr style="background-color:#e7d492;text-align:center;font-size:12px;"> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center"> <table width="100%" style="background-color:transparent">

<tr style="font-size:14px;"> <td class="tti_buttonlink">« </td><td align="center">Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering #4 </td><td align="right" class="tti_buttonlink">» </td></tr> <tr class="tt1_secondarynav"> <td class="tti_buttonlink"> </td><td align="center"> </td><td align="right" class="tti_buttonlink"> </td></tr></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center"> <img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/2/2e/Thegathering4a.jpg/230px-Thegathering4a.jpg" width="230" height="349" border="0" /><br />Me Grimlock star in musical called life is pain. Percussions: Predacons. </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center"> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Publisher </td><td> IDW </td></tr> <tr> <td>Date published </td><td> April 5, 2006 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Cover date </td><td> April 2006 </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Written by </td><td> Simon Furman </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Sript <small title="source in context">[sic]</small> consultant </td><td> Ben Yee </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Art by </td><td> Don Figueroa </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Colors by </td><td> Josh Burcham </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Letters by </td><td> Tom B. Long </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Edits by </td><td> Chris Ryall & Dan Taylor </td></tr>

<tr> <td>Continuity </td><td> Beast Wars cartoon continuity </td></tr>

</table> Magmatron's plans go awry when Grimlock attacks! Ravage's troops locate the Maximals' base.

Synopsis

Sky Shadow locates the Maximals' base, and Ravage moves in.

Grimlock tears through Drill Bit and Iguanus, then engages Magmatron. Optimus Minor takes advantage of the distraction and steals a small device.

Snarl fixes the transwarp signal amplifier, using the spare parts he gathered from the Ark.

Magmatron's triple dinosaur modes finally overpower Grimlock, knocking him unconscious. Magmatron returns his attention to sending Megatron through the transwarp shunt back to Cybertron.

Ravage and the Predacons have gathered outside the Maximals' cave. As the Maximals finally prepare to send a warning signal to Cybertron, the Predacons attack. Bonecrusher], B'Boom, Ramulus, and Wolfang rush off to face the threat while Snarl tries to get the signal off.

Razorbeast, meanwhile, reveals himself to Magmatron. The smaller Maximal quickly gains the upper hand by altering his chronal placement.

The Predacons outnumber the small band of Maximals, and round them up. But just in time, Torca and the rest of the wayward Maximals arrive and battle the Predacons.

Back at Magmatron's camp, Razorbeast's scuffle is the perfect distraction for Optimus Minor to reach the prone Megatron and attach the device, shifting the rogue Predacon back into his native chronal phase. Magmatron is outraged and reaches for Minor, who is sitting on the Transwarp device. The agile Maximal avoids Magmatron's advance, and Razorbeast sends Magmatron through the shunt.

At the Maximals' cave, the Predacons have been beaten, and they retreat. Torca assists in freeing Snarl from the collapsed cave. Snarl has managed to send off the signal, but there's no way of knowing if it was received. While Ravage and the Predacons regroup, the Maximals settle in, building a new base. Razorbeast mulls over his decision to "rescue" Megatron, but Prowl insists that they must concentrate on their own Beast War.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

<table border="5" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" align="center" style="border:#800000"> <tr> <th style="background:#FFEEEE"> Maximals</th><th style="background:#EEEEFE"> Predacons </th></tr> <tr> <td style="background:#FFEEEE" valign="top">

• Optimus Minor (3)
• Razorbeast (4)
• Grimlock (6)
• B'Boom (10)
• Bonecrusher (11)
• Snarl (12
• Wolfang (13)
• Air Hammer (27)
• Armordillo (28)
• Bantor (29)
• Claw Jaw (30)
• Cybershark (31)
• K-9 (32)
• Night Glider (33)
• Noctorro (34)
• Polar Claw (35)
• Prowl II (36)
• Sonar (37)
• Stinkbomb (38)
• Torca (39)
• Cheetor (40)
• Optimus Primal (41)
• Rhinox (42)

</td><td style="background:#EEEEFE" valign="top">

• Sky Shadow (1)
• Ravage (2)
• Drill Bit (5)
• Iguanus (7)
• Magmatron (8)
• Megatron (9)
• Manterror (14)
• Buzzzclaw (15)
• Insecticon (16)
• Scavenger (17)
• Scourge (18)
• Snapper (19)
• Spittor (20)
• Terragator (21)
• Buzz Saw (22)
• Lazorbeak (23)
• Injector (24)
• Razorclaw (25)
• Scarem (26)

</td></tr></table>

Errors

• Razorbeast's decision not to destroy the hapless Megatron because of "respect [for] the timeline" makes more sense from a real-world perspective than in-fiction. When the comic was published, the Beast Wars cartoon had ended seven years earlier. Razorbeast's comment seems in line with the writer's desire to leave the original continuity unaffected by his new story. However, within the fiction, Razorbeast was Megatron's contemporary; when Razorbeast left his future Cybertron, the Beast Warriors had not yet returned. Megatron was still as much in the process of "tampering" with the timestream as Razorbeast was. The logic of time-travel is dicey at best in the Transformers multiverse, but this situation would seem to afford Razorbeast a lot more leeway than he gave himself.

Items of note

• The "Maxi-Mail" section featured mail answered by Chris Ryall and short ads for next month's issues: Infiltration #6, Hearts of Steel #1, Generations #4.

Covers (6)

<table class="gallery" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px;"> <div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0; width: 150px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 120px;"><img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/c/cf/Thegathering4b.jpg/79px-Thegathering4b.jpg" width="79" height="120" border="0" /></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> Cover B

</div> </div></td> <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px;"> <div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0; width: 150px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 120px;"><img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/e/ef/Thegathering4c.jpg/79px-Thegathering4c.jpg" width="79" height="120" border="0" /></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> Cover C

</div> </div></td> <td><div class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px;"> <div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0; width: 150px;"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 120px;"><img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/5/53/Thegathering4d.jpg/79px-Thegathering4d.jpg" width="79" height="120" border="0" /></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> Cover D

</div> </div></td> </tr> </table>

• Cover A: Magmatron vs Grimlock by Don Figueroa
• Cover B: Ravage by Nick Roche
• Cover C: Magmatron beast modes vs Razorbeast by Nick Roche
• Cover D: Magmatron by Guido Guidi
• Cover RI-A: Foil stamped cover D
• Cover RI-B: Uncolored cover A

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