Transformers: Exiles

« Transformers: Exiles
Does it feel like a trial?/ Does it trouble your mind the way you trouble mine?/ Does it feel like a trial?/ Now you're thinking too fast/ You're like marbles on glass/
Publisher	Del Rey Books
First published	October 4, 2011
Writer	Alex Irvine
Continuity	Aligned continuity family
ISBN	ISBN 0345519868 ISBN 978-0345519863
Page count	384
Price	$7.99 (US)

As the Autobots search for the Allspark in the depths of space, Optimus must discover the secrets of the Thirteen.

Synopsis

Following the destruction of Cybertron's last working Space Bridge, Optimus and his crew aboard the Ark find themselves teleported into interstellar space. However, Optimus's Matrix of Leadership projects a star map, which guides them to the long-lost world of Velocitron, one of the colony worlds that was abandoned milennia ago and left to its own devices. Taking a small group of Autobots, Prime discovers that the planet is still inhabited by a culture of speed-obsesed Cybertronians. Encountering Ransack, a surly co-ruler of the planet, he and his party travel to Delta, the main capital of the planet. There, Optimus sees the full extent of Velocitronian culture- a hyper-specialzed lifestyle that has eschewed all other forms of transport besides wheels- and meets Override, the other ruler of the planet, who won her position through a race.

The Velocitronians falsely believe that the Cybertronians have arrived to save them. Override confines in Prime that their society is gradually collapsing; not only is their sun in its final period of its life, they have been running short on planetary resources for a while. Nevertheless, they are preparing for the great Speedia race to determine the fastest Velocitronian. As he watches the race, Optimus mulls over the fact that these races are similar to the gladiatorial matches that allowed Megatron to begin his rise to power. As a way of showing the Velocitronians that the Autobots are powerful, Optimus orders Silverbolt to fly over the race as it ends (Blurr is the winner), which awes most of the Velocitronians but only angers Ransack.

Eventually, the other Autobots land the Ark at Delta and commence repairs on their ship. Optimus takes advantage of this to explore the world of Velocitron, travelling with a young Velocitronian named Clocker to the remnants of the planet's Space Bridge.

Meanwhile, Ransack and his bodyguard are contacted by another mysterious Cybertronian, who only goes by the name "777". 777 tells them about the coming Decepticons and Megatron, which intrigues Ransack and his group.

Meanwhile, back at the Space Bridge, Optimus communes with the Matrix, which shows him a cryptic vision- but, at the same time, alows him to encounter a mysterious piece of metal, which Optimus believes to be a part of the mythical Star Saber. However, the two come under fire from a group of Decepticon sympathizers. Clocker and Optimus manage to escape and return to Delta.

Upon returning to Delta, Optimus consults with the other Autobots about the meaning of the metal shard. They are interrupted by Blurr, who realizes that the trophy he won at Speedia contains a similar shard. Not long afterwards, the Ark is sabotaged. As the Autobots try to repair it, Ransack strikes with his acolytes, trying to wrest leadership from Override. Override responds in kind, and as the Autobots try to escape from Cybertron, Velocitron is plunged into civil war.

The Autobots manage to escape, and find themselves in orbit around an even stranger world; a planet of garbage and trash. Optimus and a small crew encounters an eccentric bot named Wreck-Gar, who claims to be the leader of the scavenging tribes on the world. His mind temporarily cleared by the power of the Matrix, he and the other Junkions pledge their allegiance to Optimus and vow to help repair the Ark.

Characters

Autobots	Decepticons	Thirteen	Star Seekers	Others
Optimus Prime Ultra Magnus Sideswipe Prowl Jazz Silverbolt Ratchet Perceptor Bumblebee Bulkhead Springer Hound Ironhide Wheeljack	Megatron Starscream Shockwave Makeshift Slipstream Thundercracker Skywarp Lugnut	Alpha Trion Vector Prime Solus Prime Nexus Prime Clocker Mainspring Chaindrive Cannonspring Pinion	Thundertron Brimstone Cannonball Sandstorm Axer Tidal Wave	Velocitronians Override Blurr Backfire Ransack Hightail Armco Syncol Blueshift Junkions Wreck-Gar Shearbolt Detritus Arclight

Transformers references

• The entire book revisits the idea of lost Cybertronian colony worlds; something was initially explored in the Cybertron franchise. Velocitron and many of its inhabitants are re-imagined versions of Cybertron Velocitronians.
• Junkion first appeared in the Generation 1 continuity family.
• Wreck-Gar's cheerful proclamation of "that's what I'm good for, garbage!" recalls a different Wreck-Gar and his perceived lot in life.

Notes

• Irvine said that the space bridges will play an important part in the sequel, "and they lead to some unexpected places". The focus remains on Optimus Prime and Megatron, but the original Thirteen Primes and their Artifacts "comes to play in this book too, but in unexpected ways".
• Originally, the title was going to incorporate Prime.

Errors

• In chapter three and the start of chapter four, the first team sent down to Velocitron is composed of Prime, Bumblebee, Jazz and Perceptor, with Perceptor getting several bits of analytical dialogue. But from page 23, Silverbolt suddenly replaces Perceptor, and has an important role in the climax of the Speedia race.
• Similarly, page 25 identifies the second Velocitron landing team as Sideswipe, Hound, Ironhide and Prowl, but from page 29, Ironhide is replaced with Ratchet.
• At the end of chapter five, Optimus Prime and Clocker drive away and leave the monolith behind, but then at the start of chapter seven, they're suddenly back in front of it again as if they'd never left.
• Page 209 makes the claim that Makeshift cannot even change his facial expressions while in the statis field, but the rest of his interrogation scene repeatedly describe him doing just that.
• On page 218, Optimus decides to have Silverbolt provide the transport for the mission to the space bridge, rather than using the ship they had previously salvaged. This notion is carried through, with the Aerialbot described as carrying Prime and Bumblebee into orbit (p. 234), and they subsequently move around the space graveyard without a ship. However, when the group departs from Solus Prime's tomb, they go "back to the ship", and are said to board the salvaged spacecraft with Sideswipe at the helm (p. 267). This doesn't last long, as when they enter the other space bridge and return to Junkion (p. 271), it is back to just the "four bots" (Chaindrive has joined them), with no ship.
• On page 276, Sideswipe joins the conversation, despite Ratchet and Jazz being the only Autobots described as joining up with Optimus' party.
• It's never explained how exactly Optimus manages to travel to Velocitron's south pole and back in such a short time.

External links

• Amazon.com page
• Random House page