Heart Like a Wheel

« The Transformers #13 »
File:Transformers 13B.jpg
"Heart Like a Wheel"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	November 10, 2010
Cover date	November 2010
Written by	Mike Costa
Art by	Nick Roche
Colors by	J. Brown
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Editor	Andy Schmidt
Assistant editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era (2010)

Rodimus goes after the Matrix and gets slagged.

Synopsis

Megatron's back, now in new Shadow Blade flavor!

Still piloting the shuttle he stole from Ultra Magnus for his getaway on Earth, Rodimus begins his daring assault on the Decepticons' asteroid base. On the ground, Acid Storm notices the incoming Autobot craft. Too late to call it in, Shrapnel makes the decision to blow it out of the sky, inadvertently destroying the Decepticon defense grid when the debris of Ultra Magnus's shuttle crashes into the base. Bombshell reports the incident to a withdrawn and disinterested Starscream, who is still wearing the Matrix around his neck. The Matrix catches Bombshell's eye, but when he reaches out for it, Starscream snaps at him and orders him away.

Back outside, Rodimus emerges from the osmium-alloy safe he hid in to survive the ship's destruction. Bombshell, Acid Storm and Shrapnel show up, looking for useful items to scavenge from the wreckage. Rodimus ambushes them and takes them out in short order, including using part of the safe as armor to block Bombshell's cerebro-shell attack. Thinking himself safe, Rodimus is then ambushed in turn by Razorclaw. Before Razorclaw can eviscerate him, Rodimus grabs the cerebro-shell and stuffs it down Razorclaw's throat, temporarily mind-controlling him.

Inside the base, Rodimus sends Razorclaw to attack Starscream. Starscream easily defeats the mind-weakened Razorclaw and then is confronted by Rodimus. Starscream is unimpressed, noting that his new position as Decepticon leader has led him to armor himself beyond anything Rodimus could damage him with. Without missing a beat, Rodimus shoots the Matrix instead, causing a discharge of energy which sends Starscream to the ground in a crumpled heap. Rodimus grabs the Matrix, feeling the pieces are falling into place for his destined escape...

...when he runs into a fully rebuilt Megatron. Rodimus holds up the Matrix threateningly, but Megatron blasts him through the torso, then blasts him into space with the Matrix. With Starscream having lost possession of the Matrix, Megatron orders Soundwave to gather the Decepticons, as they have work to do. Rodimus floats adrift in space, the Matrix still chained around his neck...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Hot Rod/"Rodimus Prime" (1)	Acid Storm (2) Shrapnel (3) Bombshell (4) Starscream (5) Razorclaw (6) Astrotrain (7) Megatron (8) Soundwave (9)

Notes

• The issue is likely named after Linda Ronstadt's #1 hit 1974 album of the same name (or the Human League song, or the Steve Miller song, or the Black Sabbath song, or the 1983 movie, or the McGarrigle Sisters song, or...).
• Nick Roche uses Don Figueroa's designs for Hot Rod and Magnus's ship, but adapts them to his own cartoonish style.
• For some reason, Razorclaw has been redesigned as his familiar mechanical lion alt-mode.
• Even though, according to All Hail Megatron, the Matrix was one of Megatron's main motivations for starting the war, after he went to so much trouble to take it from Optimus Prime, it is now apparently just a "bauble" of Starscream's. Of course it's possible that his new "indestructible" body has really gone to his head and he just thinks that he doesn't need the Matrix now.
• Cover A mimics IDW's cover for "Matrix Quest!", itself naturally based on an iconic frame from The Transformers: The Movie.
• Among the generic items contained in Ultra Magnus's weapons locker are a set of his shoulder missiles as well as the smokestack shotgun his Classics incarnation carries.
• It's unclear if Razorclaw survived getting blasted by Starscream. His eyes are still glowing which seems to suggest he's alive but it's not explicitly stated....

Errors

• The colorist consistently colors the half "hump" towards the top of the back of Acid Storm as a section of the cockpit canopy. It isn't.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Starscream, wearing the Matrix of Leadership, throttles Hot Rod; art by Don Figueroa, colors by J.Brown.
• Cover B: Hot Rod dives off a rock; art by Nick Roche, colors by J.Brown.
• Cover RI: Concept drawing of Kup; art by Don Figueroa.

• This is bad comedy.
  This is bad comedy.
• Here I come to save the daaaayyyyyy!
  Here I come to save the daaaayyyyyy!
• He used to be Nick Fury, now he's Mr. Magoo.
  He used to be Nick Fury, now he's Mr. Magoo.

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• TBD