Verity Carlo
- Verity Carlo is a human from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Make no mistake; Verity Carlo is intelligent, nimble, resourceful, self-reliant, and cunning. Problem is, she likes to think she's tougher, smarter, and has more guts than pretty much everyone else. It's a good part of what allows her to maintain her rootless teen-aged existence hitch-hiking across the United States, living on theft and what little kindness she receives from strangers (although two mace sprays nestled in her backpack attest to how little she's willing to trust said strangers).
Something happened to Verity when she was a child, though, something that hurt her so badly that she refuses to form a serious bond with anyone or show any sign of fear. It's been with her so long that she abandoned several foster homes and (presumably) welcoming families when she was in her mid-teens. Because of that hurt Verity sees most people as marks, dupes or threats. Fear of getting hurt again keeps her moving when she maybe ought to settle down, and makes her abrasive and superior.
Whether it'll get her killed one day is anyone's guess, but joining the Wreckers sure doesn't help.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
While on the run, as usual, Verity had the (mis)fortune of stealing the palm computer of a Machination agent—a computer she couldn't know mapped out secret Decepticon bases. After fleeing the bus the two were on and hitching a ride with Hunter O'Nion, the Battlechargers and Thundercracker pursued the pair, destroying Hunter's bus. Fortunately, Ratchet was nearby, and offered them aid. Infiltration #0 They fled to the garage of Verity's friend Jimmy Pink, but they had been followed, and Jimmy was forced to join them on the run. Infiltration #1 Infiltration #2 Infiltration #3
Verity was not content to just wait at Autobot HQ, though. When the Autobots discovered the Decepticons' abandoned Oregon base, Verity, Hunter, Jimmy, Ratchet, and Bumblebee disobeyed orders in order to reconnoiter it. Verity was almost killed by Decepticons trying to cover their tracks when she went deeper into the base, finding the corpses of people turned into facsimiles, and Megatron. Infiltration #4 She went into shock at the sight of Megatron, fear shattering her tough image, and had to be rescued by her friends when the Decepticon base began to collapse and almost buried her alive, Infiltration #5 but initially still tried to act unbothered and like she wanted to continue. Hunter had to tell her that in this situation, it was okay to show she was scared. Infiltration #6
When the Machination seemingly killed Hunter and Sunstreaker while under Optimus Prime's orders to return the humans home, Verity became visibly distraught, despite her "tough girl" personality. Escalation #1 Escalation #2 The hope that Hunter could still be alive compelled her, Jimmy, Ratchet, and Ironhide to break Autobot orders again. Jimmy's mechanic skills and Verity's hacking skills led the quartet to a Machination facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Escalation #3 Verity and Jimmy managed to break into the compound, hidden under an auto parts store. Verity located a strange business card, emblazoned only with an "M". Unfortunately, soon after, the two were knocked out with gas. Escalation #4 Escalation #5 Spotlight: Galvatron Ironhide and Ratchet managed to save the duo, but at the expense of Ironhide; the facility exploded, severely damaging Ironhide. No one knew it yet, but the unconscious Verity, safe inside Ratchet, was clutching the "M" card. Escalation #6
The palm-top which Verity stole was examined by Nightbeat and contributed to the Autobots' decision to relocate the Ark-19. Devastation #1 Unfortunately, the vessel was shot down by Sixshot; Ratchet, Verity and Jimmy ejected in an escape pod before the crash. Devastation #2 Verity was injured by Sixshot's attack, but Ratchet's avatar was able to treat her wounds. Sixshot located the Autobot and his human guests and gave chase. When escape seemed impossible, Ratchet dropped off his human friends for their own protection. Devastation #3
As the other Autobots arrived and battled Sixshot, Verity overheard plans for an all-out human airstrike on the warring parties. She and Jimmy stole a motorboat and police megaphone, using them to warn Ratchet of the incoming strike. With seconds to spare, Ratchet took the two humans along with him as the Autobots escaped via orbital bounce to the orbiting Ark-32. But the process was too traumatic for the humans to endure, leaving them lifeless. Devastation #4 Ratchet did manage to restore Verity and Jimmy's vital signs, but only after a prolonged flatline whose final effects on the pair were unknown. Devastation #5 The Ark-32 then left orbit for Garrus-9, apparently with the two humans still aboard. Devastation #6
Verity and Jimmy apparently survived the ordeal just fine, even getting some new clothes to replace their very smelly Earth duds. They had a joyful reunion with Hunter after his rescue from the Machination. Maximum Dinobots #5 Too bad it didn't last.
Around two years later, under unrevealed circumstances, Verity was able to secrete herself aboard a spaceship belonging to Ultra Magnus and left the Earth, victim of a massive Decepticon attack in which Hunter had died, far behind. Once her presence on the ship was revealed to Magnus, she worked hard to be a valuable presence, performing many important duties and even acquiring a suit of powered armor for herself. She felt close to her "Uncle Magnus," though the only outward sign of affection he showed her was not immediately taking her right back to Earth. After about a year of working together, the pair were called in to transport the Autobot commando unit known as the Wreckers on a mission to the prison planet of Garrus-9, control of which had been seized by the Decepticon sadist Overlord. The new batch of rookie team members were taken aback by her presence; Rotorstorm assumed Magnus kept her around because she was a "good cleaner," leading Verity to mock his "cyber-sexism." Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 As the ship neared Garrus-9, Verity overheard Magnus informing Springer that, once the Wreckers had been dropped off, he would be heading to Earth in response to a summons from Prowl. Refusing to return to the world she had willingly left behind, Verity stowed away in one of the drop-pods with the Wreckers, preferring to join them on their deadly mission. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
Verity and the Wreckers' pods crash-landed directly in front of Overlord, who immediately killed Rotorstorm. At Perceptor's instruction, Pyro bundled Verity into his chest cavity to keep her safe, but quickly forgot she was in there as the Wreckers fought to escape. Twisted up and unable to get his attention, Verity could do little but be carried along for the ride until the team arrived at their objective: the chamber containing the adjudication computer, Aequitas. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3 While Perceptor worked to bring the computer online, Verity asked Wreckers historian and fanboy Ironfist to tell her a story to keep her mind occupied; he told her of the Wreckers' victory over their enemies Squadron X on Pova. Soon, it was revealed that Aequitas could only be unlocked by the willing donation of a spark—a dilemma that earned Pyro Verity's scorn when he voiced his belief that Ironfist should be the one to sacrifice himself, since Pyro had done too many "great things" to die that way. However, the issue was decided when Topspin stepped up and sacrificed himself to give him and his branched-spark brother Twin Twist a dignified death. As Verity mourned Topspin's death, Ironfist downloaded the contents of Aequitas into his brain. Soon after he completed the task, a new problem presented itself: The Decepticons were burning down the door to the chamber, and the only way to stop them was to use Aequitas to detonate the deterrence chip inside the head of every prisoner at G-9, which included Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Though the others voted in favour of the move, Verity vigorously argued against it was able to convince Perceptor not to go through with it. Instead, Pyro volunteered to sacrifice himself, buying precious time for the others to run free. They made it outside and joined Springer against Overlord, causing the Phase Sixer tremendous damage...but he still kept coming. In the end, it was Verity who delivered the most crushing blow of all against Overlord when she told him that Megatron—who Overlord had rebelled against, and had spent his life obsessing over—was already dead, having never even spared Overlord a second thought. The beating Impactor subsequently gave Overlord was hardly necessary; Verity's revelation had defeated him in spirit.
The surviving Wreckers were collected by Ultra Magnus, who took them to Earth to deliver the Aqueitas data to Prowl. Alas, on the way there, Ironfist perished, the borrowed time he had been living on since one of his own cerebro-centric bullets, which had been making its way through his head since before the mission even began, finally running out. Emotionally devastated, Verity returned to "normal" life on Earth as best she could, penning a final volume of Wreckers: Declassified for Ironfist, number 332 in a 4-issue limited series. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
She still had one last thing to remember Ironfist by: a second backup he took of the Aequitas trials, secretly given to her for safe-keeping. In Word and Deed Stakeout, one of Magnus' allies in the Tyrest Accord, guarded her and the two became friends. Sins of the Wreckers #1 Sins of the Wreckers #2
Verity left an impression on the memories of many. Though he had never been outwardly warm to her, Ultra Magnus had genuinely considered her a friend, and used her likeness for his holomatter avatar. Cybertronian Homesick Blues Twenty Plus One Overlord remembered her well, as Chromedome saw when he used his mnemosurgery to view and edit the Decepticon's memories of his defeat. Remembrance Day And during his time spent opposing Onyx alongside Spike Witwicky, Jimmy Pink kept a picture of himself with Verity, Hunter, and Prowl to remind him of their adventures. Vs.
In time, Verity realised she was dying from her exposure to Aequitas and that, to Stakeout's dismay, exposure to Transformers only made it worse. She'd had big plans with Ironfist to expose Prowl but in the face of death, she got scared and wanted some control. She sent Prowl a threatening message that she had the data in the hope that he'd then cut a deal, getting the information to bury in return for saving her life. Sins of the Wreckers #4
Notes
- Verity likes Volkswagen Beetles.
- In Last Stand of the Wreckers #1, Verity sports a small green alien head tattoo on the back of her right shoulder, in memory of her late friend Hunter O'Nion, who wore an "Alien Death Ray" shirt with a similar head on it throughout Infiltration.
- In Last Stand of the Wreckers #2, Verity is seen having a photo of herself, Hunter O'Nion and Jimmy Pink in their Infiltration-era clothes, acting goofy. One could say they never really had time to have such a picture taken, but the Autobots did have a camera trained on them while they had the three in custody.
- At the end of Last Stand of the Wreckers #5, Verity is seen owning a book by or about renowned British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
- The children's storybook "I Am Optimus Prime" features a human ally to the Autobots based on Verity. Likewise, the two other male human allies in the story are based on Hunter O'Nion and Jimmy Pink.
