Stranger Eons

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	"Stranger Eons" {{#if: \| {{#if: \|; (')}} {{#if:\|; ""}}}}
Publisher	IDW Publishing}}
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First published	July 25, 2018}}
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Cover date	Late July, 2018}}
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Written by	John Barber}}
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Art by	Alex Milne}}
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Colors by	Sebastian Cheng}}
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Letters by	Tom B. Long}}
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Editor	David Mariotte}}
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ist}}{{#if: \| by}}	}}
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{{#if: TFUnicron2_cvrA.jpg | {{#if: IDW Publishing | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: July 25, 2018 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Late July, 2018 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: John Barber | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Alex Milne | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Sebastian Cheng | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: Tom B. Long | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: David Mariotte | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: IDW Generation 1 continuity | {{#if: Current era | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: |

{{#switch:{{#sub:xx|2|14}}|dark cybertron=}}

Starscream orchestrates a Decepticon retaliation against Unicron, while Bumblebee goes to Omega Supreme for answers about the planet-eater's origins.

Synopsis

Disparaging all those leaders who have come before him, Starscream explains to the assembled populace of Cybertron and the survivors of the destroyed colonies his plan to eliminate Unicron. Starscream has sent Bludgeon out into the universe to round up the many scattered cells of surviving Decepticons who never returned to Cybertron after the war ended. Between them, these Decepticons form a vast communications network that allows them to track down Unicron's location and intercept it. Now, this united "Decepticon Vengeance Division" surrounds the monster planet with a stasis web that prevents it from teleporting away...

Still dealing with the loss of Caminus, Aileron finds no comfort in Arcee's stoic assurance that they will be able to get through the threat of Unicron. Before the pair can argue their feelings out, Bumblebee apologetically interrupts to question Arcee; the sight of the Omega Sentinel they found inside Unicron clearly unnerved her, and he wants to know why. Aileron is ready to defend Arcee's honor, but Arcee confesses the secret reason: long ago, she fought alongside the Sentinels during the first disastrous attempts at Cybertronian expansion to other worlds. She assumes one of the Sentinels must have found Unicron, long ago, and suspects it could have been sent by Shockwave. Since they obviously can't trust anything Shockwave would tell them, Bumblebee heads off to see the only other 'bot who might have the answer, but when Aileron tries to tag along, 'Bee is reluctant to let her. Aileron explains that she needs something to do in this time of crisis, an urge Bumblebee himself is very familiar with, and agrees to let her join him as he visits the hangar containing the comatose Omega Supreme. Of course, since the giant Autobot has been offline for years, there's no way 'Bee can actually talk with Omega; he is just here to scope out the situation, hoping perhaps Soundwave can be called upon to read Omega's mind. That becomes unnecessary, however, when 'Bee rests his hand upon Omega's forehead, and a crackle of dark energy overcomes the little 'bot, darkening his eyes...

The Torchbearers watch from afar as Pyra Magna silently looks out over the horizon, still clutching the deceased Mistress of Flame's forgehammer. Pyra thinks the gift of the hammer was one last parting jab from the Mistress, to remind her of what the Mistress believed she should be; bitterly, Pyra stabs the hammer's shaft into the ground, and leaves it standing here as she walks away, angrily certain that she could never forget the Mistress, even if she wanted to.

Starscream joins Optimus Prime and the rest of the Council of Worlds in their war room, though he is far from welcomed by his old political partners. Starscream assures them he's not who he used to be, revealing Shockwave's plan to build a new Decepticon empire after letting Unicron eat Cybertron, and how he has no desire to go along with it. Windblade proposes adding the rest of the Cybertronian fleet to the Decepticon armada for the attack on Unicron, but Starscream insists they can do it alone, while Optimus remains confident in his belief that Starscream intends to betray them all. The argument is interrupted by a transmission from G Nebula 89, which turns out to be from the starship Sabre captained by the long-absent Chromia, who was sent to search for Liege Maximo months ago. Maximo's reappearance on Cybertron had led all to assume the Sabre was lost, but it turns out they had a run-in with the Maximals and sustained damage to their comms which has only just now been repaired. And none too soon, because the Sabre has just run across the Decepticon fleet as it begins its attack on Unicron!

Somehow merging minds with Omega Supreme, Bumblebee is granted a glimpse into the distant past, where Unicron's origins are hinted at. Long ago, on a distant, unknown world consumed by war, an alien scientist created a doomsday device that would end the conflict by ending all life. The energies released by this device tore across the cosmos, causing mutations in other races, sweeping across the world of Prysmos, giving birth to the Dire Wraiths... and obliterating the war-torn world's star system, leaving only a black star, orbited by the now-dead world.

Chromia and her crew watch in awe as the Decepticon fleet unleashes an unspeakable amount of firepower against Unicron, to no apparent avail. Bursting through the conflagration, the Maximal army comes flying up from Unicron's surface, the sight of which is enough for Chromia to call retreat. But the crew of the Sabre are not the only ones departing the scene; Unicron too warps away, the stars once again winking out in its wake. As the Maximals close on the fleet, the Decepticons think they're in for a fight, but all is not as it seems; Bludgeon reveals that Unicron is his true master, and welcomes the Maximals aboard his ship! There, the Eukarian-looking Transformers shed their beast-skins to reveal their true forms—spiked devil-robots cast in the image of their progenitor Liege Maximo—as Bludgeon declares that they shall be the final evolution of the Decepticons!

His knowledge imparted, Omega Supreme dies, leaving Aileron to rouse Bumblebee from his trance. The pair race outside in respond to the sounds of chaos, and stare into the sky to see that Unicron has arrived, and has transformed into a titantic robot form that now looms over Cybertron. But Bumblebee has learned what Unicron is... and knows that the only way to stop it is for all the Transformers to die!

Featured characters

{{#if:*Optimus Prime (1)

Windblade (3)
Bumblebee (6)
Arcee (12)
Aileron (13)
Omega Supreme (14)
Pyra Magna (15)
Stormclash (16)
Skyburst (17)
Rust Dust (18)
Dust Up (19)
Chromia (28)|

{{#if:*Optimus Prime (1)

Windblade (3)
Bumblebee (6)
Arcee (12)
Aileron (13)
Omega Supreme (14)
Pyra Magna (15)
Stormclash (16)
Skyburst (17)
Rust Dust (18)
Dust Up (19)
Chromia (28)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Optimus Prime (1)
Windblade (3)
Bumblebee (6)
Arcee (12)
Aileron (13)
Omega Supreme (14)
Pyra Magna (15)
Stormclash (16)
Skyburst (17)
Rust Dust (18)
Dust Up (19)
Chromia (28) }}{{#if:*Starscream (2)
Soundwave (4)
Wideload (7)
Broadside (8)
Sledge (9)
Bludgeon (10)|

Autobots }}{{#if:*Starscream (2) Soundwave (4) Wideload (7) Broadside (8) Sledge (9) Bludgeon (10)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:*"Megatron" (33) "Optimus Primal" (34) "Inferno" (35)\|	Maximals }}{{#if:*Fireshot (20) Vanquish (21) Moonracer (22) Knock Out (23) Obsidian (24) Strika (25) Elita One (26) Greenlight (29) Lancer (30)\|	Other Cybertronians }}{{#if:Rom (5) Unicron (11) Marissa Faireborn (27) Dire Wraiths* (31) Prysmosians (32)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Starscream (2) Soundwave (4) Wideload (7) Broadside (8) Sledge (9) Bludgeon (10) }}{{#if:*"Megatron" (33) "Optimus Primal" (34) "Inferno" (35)\|	"Megatron" (33) "Optimus Primal" (34) "Inferno" (35) }}{{#if:*Fireshot (20) Vanquish (21) Moonracer (22) Knock Out (23) Obsidian (24) Strika (25) Elita One (26) Greenlight (29) Lancer (30)\|	Fireshot (20) Vanquish (21) Moonracer (22) Knock Out (23) Obsidian (24) Strika (25) Elita One (26) Greenlight (29) Lancer (30) }}{{#if:Rom (5) Unicron (11) Marissa Faireborn (27) Dire Wraiths* (31) Prysmosians (32)\|	Rom (5) Unicron (11) Marissa Faireborn (27) Dire Wraiths (31) Prysmosians (32) }}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"Starscream was right about me. I pretty much never know what I'm doing."

—Bumblebee

"You didn't know when to stop talking about me, Mistress. You claimed I abandoned the Way of Flame... but I never relinquished my duty to Caminus or her people. I simply refused to serve the Primes' hypocrisy—or yours. Did you give me the forgehammer to remind me of what you thought I should be? To hammer my spark down a bit? Well, you didn't need to, Mistress. I will never forget you... not matter how hard I try."

—Pyra Magna eulogizes the Mistress of Flame

"The star system gone... the heart of the storm remained... the ghosts fled... no... not ghosts... Wraiths... spread far away... power coalesced... a lone planet... orbiting a black star... lifeless... alone... Unicron."

—Bumblebee has a vision

Notes

Continuity notes

Windblade still believes Bludgeon is dead following the events of Salvation, but we learned he was still alive back in issue #13. Starscream must have sent him off into space somewhere between issue #14 and his subsequent loss of power in the 2017 Till All Are One annual.
Wideload sarcastically derides Bludgeon's battle talk as from "the first civil war".
Arcee's history with the Omega Sentinels as part of Cybertron's attempted expansion was detailed in Optimus Prime #18.
As we noted last issue, Omega Supreme has been offline since sustaining severe injuries in Robots in Disguise #11.
This is the first time that the Mistress of Flame's hammer-shaped badge of office has been given a name: the Forgehammer.
Chromia left Cybertron to pursuit Liege Maximo in Till All Are One #9. Her fate, and that of her team, has been a hanging question until now, what with Liege's reappearance in Optimus Prime #15, and Windblade's own inquiry about what happened to them in #16 going unanswered. Turns out they were okay, folks.
It's not entirely clear from the visuals, but it appears that the energies released by the alien doomsday weapon were responsible for the destruction of Prysmos, an event which, per Transformers vs. Visionaries #1, the former inhabitants of the planet believe was caused by the de-alignment of its three suns. This makes the narration a little confusing, however, as it implies that the magicks of Prysmos were created by Unicron's birth.
The Dire Wraiths were established to hail from the Dark Nebula in More than Meets the Eye: Revolution. Though the presence of a "black star," left by the activation of the alien device, might make it seem that this region of space is the Nebula, Rom vs. Transformers #1 established that the Space Knights destroyed what was considered to be the {{#if:||Dire Wraith homeworld}} centuries ago. The Wraiths don't contest this ({{#if:ROM #14|ROM #14|Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4}} revealed they infiltrated Earth specifically to transform it into a new home), indicating that the world the Knights destroyed was merely the planet to which the Wraiths migrated following their creation.
The visual of a "dead world" orbiting a "black star" has been a component of the Onyx Prime/Unicron mytharc since 2015's Transformers #47. We still don't have the full picture, but Unicron was shown orbiting a black hole in his debut in First Strike #6, and the 2017 Transformers annual would show that the planet Antilla, home of Shockwave/Onyx Prime following the end of the first Cybertronian Civil War, did the same...
Bludgeon spoke of the approach of a "master" back in issue #14; the most logical choice at the time was that he was referring to the impending arrival of Onyx Prime (especially since Onyx later turned out to be Shockwave, who actually used to be Bludgeon's master), but it turns out that, like we speculated, he was indeed referring to Unicron!

Transformers references

The three Decepticons we see Bludgeon recruit are the Demolition Team, a squad of Mini-Cons released as part of the 2006 Transformers: Classics toyline. Unsurprisingly, they're not Mini-Cons here!
In addition to the Worldsweepers, which should be familiar to any longtime IDW readers, other types of ship seen in the Decepticon Vengeance Division fleet include Warworlds (originally from the Marvel Generation 2 comic, but which have also shown up in IDW continuity), and multiple ships cast in the image of the Nemesis from the Generation 1 cartoon, and the Revenge from The Transformers: The Movie.
Bumblebee and Aileron walk past Robots in Disguise Scorponok on page 6.
Chromia's ship is named the Sabre, after the Cybertronian spacecraft from the Marvel Generation 2 comics.
G Nebula 89 is a region of space featured in the Super-God Masterforce and Victory cartoons.
The panels illustrating Unicron's transformation are "shot"-for-shot matches to elements of his transformation sequence from the 1986 movie.

Other franchise references

The airships seen above Prysmos are scaled-up and redesigned versions of the Visionaries Sky Claw chariot.

Real-world references

The title of this issue, "Stranger Eons," is a reference to a quote from the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}H. P. Lovecraft|{{#if:||H. P. Lovecraft}}]] horror story [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Nameless City|{{#if:||The Nameless City}}]]: "That is not dead which can eternal lie/And with strange aeons, even death may die." The concept of "death dying" goes hand-in-hand with Bludgeon's line that, in killing Unicron, the Decepticons "will kill death."

Errors

Should Firestar be on the cover of this issue? The theme of the scene is Starscream and the council; has Firestar been drawn in place of actual council member Moonracer? Firestar isn't in the issue itself!
On page 2, Sledge calls Wideload "Sledge".

Deathlist

Omega Supreme; finally succumbs to his injuries after mind-melding with Bumblebee

Other trivia

This issue also includes a four-page G.I. Joe back-up strip, "Last Stand," a short coda for the unfinished Scarlett's Strike Force that seems to be set a little further into the future than the events of the main story this issue, as it shows the Maximals attacking Earth. Since we covered that series on this wiki, it's got its own article here.
Other backmatter includes the first installment in a series of interviews with creators from IDW's past. This issue, it's the IDW's second-ever writer Transformers Nick Roche and All Hail Megatron scribe Shane McCarthy.

Covers (4)

Cover A: Starscream and the council by Alex Milne and Sebastian Cheng
Cover B: Bumblebee, Starscream, Bludgeon, Chromia, Elita One, Virulina and Matt Trakker by James Raiz and David Garcia Cruz; connects to Raiz's other covers for the series to form a larger image
Retailer incentive Cover A: Optimus, Bumblebee, and Windblade, by Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove
Retailer incentive Cover B: Bumblebee by Francesco Francavilla; connects to Francavilla's other covers for the series to form a larger image

Off the chart sassiness.
Game over, man!
Heroes about to fall?
The killer of the IDW franchise... and Unicron.

External links

Preview

Stranger Eons

Contents

Synopsis

Featured characters

Quotes