Road's End

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« Transformers: Unicron #4 »
"Road's End"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published September 5, 2018
Cover date Late August, 2018
Written by John Barber
Art by Alex Milne
Colors by Sebastian Cheng (pgs 2-7, 9-10, 17-20) &
David Garcia Cruz (pgs 1, 8, 11-16)
Letters by Tom B. Long
Editor David Mariotte
Continuity IDW Generation 1 continuity
Chronology Current era

In Cybertron's final hour, the Transformers and their allies are forced to abandon their home.

Synopsis

In deep space, aboard the Peaceful Revolution, Prowl regards a stone sculpture of Unicron and swears aloud that he will stop the planet-eater's rampage. Stardrive enters to inform him that contact has been lost with Cybertron—but Prowl merely remarks that Unicron is behind schedule. Prowl has already concluded that the loss of Cybertron was inevitable, and that the Transformers' last stand will come on Earth.

Meanwhile, on that very planet, the forces of G.I. Joe gather at a field headquarters in Trinity Bay, Texas. Aware of the attacks on Cybertron's colony planets, Scarlett fears that the recent assault on the Joes' Lemuria base by the Maximals is evidence that Earth is next on the list. Still incarcerated after his attempted invasion of Cybertron, Joe Colton reminds Scarlett and the President of the Talisman, suggesting it is what they need to protect the Earth.

On Cybertron, Windblade puts her plan into motion. She and Ironhide visit New Prysmos and inform the Visionaries of Shockwave's plan and the danger of Unicron, and appeal to them for help. Recalling how the Talisman was able to move New Prysmos from underground to Cybertron's surface, Leoric suggests that its magics maybe be able to move the Cybertronian race elsewhere as well...

All hope seems lost as Unicron begins physically tearing Cybertron to shreds, but salvation arrives as a ribbon of the Talisman's magic begins racing across the planet, teleporting everyone it touches away to safety. Blurr uses his super-speed to rescue other 'bots from the destruction exploding around them, hurling them into the magical light to save them—but he isn't fast enough to save himself, and perishes as the very ground explodes beneath his feet.

Unaware of Windblade's gambit, Optimus Prime believes the end has come. Shockwave calmly encourages him to have Metroplex space bridge to Earth, promising that what few survivors the Titan can bring him with him will have a place in the new empire he intends to build there... whereupon the cyclopean Decepticon teleports himself away, having always been ready for this moment. Looking out over the crumbling city, Optimus spots the magic saving the rest of the populace. After ordering Aileron to have Metroplex bridge out, Prime leaps into the magical light and disappears as well.

In orbit above, Unicron pauses from dismembering the planet long enough to finally turn its attention toward the Cybertronian fleet, whom the magic has not yet reached. And it seems that it never will reach them, as Unicron begins swatting ships out of the sky... until, in one last, defiant sacrifice play, Elita One crashes the flaming remains of Carcer directly into the chaos-bringer's face. The respite is momentary, but the time Elita has bought proves enough for the magic to reach the surviving members of the fleet and whisk them away. Left alone, Unicron finally rends Cybertron in two, and with the planet's death, the stars in surrounding space begin to wink out once more...

Shockwave reappears on Earth in Toronto, Canada, with his Maximals servants Rhinox, Optimus Primal, and Beast Megatron, and orders them to scour the city clean in preparation for the arrival of Bludgeon and the Decepticon fleet. News of the attack soon reaches the Decepticons' Sanctuary Station, but only moments later, Bludgeon's fleet appears and opens fire on the orbiting commune, their loyalties having shifted from Shockwave to Unicron itself. As the station's residents begin to evacuate, Cosmos announces his intent to say and fight to cover their escape, confident that Optimus Prime will save the day. Laserbeak is incredulous, but Buzzsaw reminds him of what Soundwave has always taught them: that somethings must be taken on faith. Together with Sky-Byte, Cosmos and the two birds fly out to meet the attacking Decepticon forces... and one by one, are summarily cut down, sacrificing their lives so that Sanctuary's inhabitants have a chance to survive. Minutes later, all too late, the Peaceful Resolution appears as well, and Stardrive plunges into the middle of the Maximal horde, using her Dire Wraith powers to slaughter her way through them. But even Stardrive's belief that she and her allies have a chance to win falters when Unicron materializes behind them...

Down on Earth, Shockwave is aghast to realize that Unicron has survived the destruction of Cybertron, concluding that this has only been made possible by the removal of the Talisman from the planet. He is correct; the ancient device now rests in the fields of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border in central Africa, along with Ironhide and Windblade. Seeing that they are alone, Windblade believes they have failed, but a second later, all the other survivors of Cybertron rescued by the Talisman's magic and Metroplex's space bridge (save for the Visionaries, who have mysteriously vanished) appear in a flash of light. Amid happy reunions, Optimus congratulates Windblade on saving everyone—but Starscream is full of nothing but complaints and bitterness, earning him a sock on the jaw from Arcee to shut him up. Prowl radios Optimus to alert him to Unicron's approach, and Prime vows that he will find away to stop the monster planet and save the Earth.

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Other Cybertronians Others

Visionaries

Space Knights

Others

Quotes

"We've lost contact with Cybertron."
"Already? Is it five o'clock?"

—Stardrive sets up that trademark Prowl prickery


"For an instant, I was worred—what is the magic was just disintegrating everybody? But it's like what Soundwave was always saying after three or four engex cocktails... you have to take some things on faith."

—Blurr


"You think you can swat us like Insecticons? Well, Unicron—Elita One is no Insecticon!"

—Elita One makes her sacrifice play


"I've lived my whole life alone... I don't care if I die alone, too."

—Cosmos prepares to lay down his life


Laserbeak: "Even if it's hopeless..."
Buzzsaw: "We still fight."
Cosmos: "You know what, guys—I lied. I'm really glad to finally be part of a crew that sticks together."

Notes

Continuity notes

  • The stone sculpture of Unicron was last seen in Prowl's possession in Optimus Prime #14, but first seen way back in Autocracy #12 as one of the artifacts in Zeta Prime's vaults millions of years ago.
  • The Maximals' attack on G.I. Joe took place in the back-up story from issue #2.
  • Joe Colton is still incarcerated in the same Transformer-scaled energy cell he was locked up in at the end of First Strike, but where that series showed his prison to be on Cybertron, this issue presents him as being in Joe custody on Earth. Assuming this isn't an error, the implicit idea that he was transferred back to his homeworld goes a little way to explaining how Colton's fellow prisoners Destro, Doctor Mindbender, and Tempest all made it back to Earth to appear in Scarlett's Strike Force, though their escape goes unaddressed.
  • The storytelling gap between First Strike and Transformers vs. Visionaries is also addressed a tiny bit, with the clarification that the Visionaries "appeared" on Cybertron, indicating they were magically teleported in.
  • As a footnote reminds us, the Talisman raised New Prysmos to the surface of Cybertron in Transformers vs. Visionaries #5. Also, Ironhide makes a remark about Tankor wanting to learn magic, a desire Tankor expressed in that same issue.
  • A version of Robots in Disguise Strongarm is seen trying to take charge of the panicking crowds on page 4. She was previously established to exist in the IDW Universe in Requiem of the Wreckers, but this is the first time she's referred to by name, and is established to have an officious, by-the-book personality that matches her Robots in Disguise counterpart.
  • Rhinox recently resurfaced over in Optimus Prime #22. He was established to be a servant of "Onyx Prime's" in the ancient past in Robots in Disguise #34.
  • Cosmos has been living on Sanctuary Station since The Transformers #55. He most recently appeared in Optimus Prime #12, which intimated he had retired from the Autobots.
  • Laserbeak confuses G.I. Joe's Mainframe with the Autobot of the same name, noting that the latter is on the Lost Light.
  • Bludgeon explicitly confirms what visuals from last issue implied: that the Nemesis has become Unicron's eye. Moreover, it is explained that, in merging with the ship, Unicron has gained a transformation cog, explaining his unexpected transformation to robot mode last issue. Of course, this does suggest he's never had a robot form before, hence he's never had a head for anyone to sculpt a stone statue of... but, uh, don't worry about that.
  • Wideload and Sledge turn out to still be alive despite the hacking-up Victorion gave them last issue; seems these new "Maximal-evolved" Decepticons are hardy (though Sledge notes he "still can't feel [his] face").

Transformers references

  • This issue's title, "Road's End," feels like it's deliberately evoking the recurring Transformers series finale title, "End of the Road."
  • Recurring Beast Wars cameo characters Optimus Primal and Megatron are referred to by name in narrative captions for the first time, revealing that, contrary to our expectations, they do indeed share the names of those two great Cybertronian warriors in this universe. Megatron, in particular, is referred to as "Beast Megatron," which was previously used as a name for the character in the Japanese Robotmasters franchise, to distinguish him from his Generation 1 counterpart.

Real World references

  • Blurr’s dialogue is heavily inspired by the writing style common to DC’s The Flash comic, particularly the 90’s Wally West era. The biggest call outs are his referencing the famous “fastest man alive” tag line and explaining his powers as “fun facts” which is a play on “Flash facts”, a term thrown out before the Flash explains either his powers or a plot point.

Other Hasbro franchise references

  • G.I. Joe's "field headquarters" is based on the Joes' stockade from the original 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon, which was itself based upon the "Headquarters Command Center" action figure playset.

Errors

  • Continuing an error from last issue, when seen from space, Cybertron is drawn with its classical "city-planet" look, forgetting that most of the globe is actually uninhabitable wilderness at this point in time.

Deathlist

  • Blurr; dies along with Cybertron
  • Elita One; goes out crashing Carcer into Unicron's face
  • Cosmos, Sky-Byte, Laserbeak, and Buzzsaw; perish at the hands of Bludgeon's fleet
  • Countless other Cybertronians potentially lost in the destruction of the planet and Unicron's decimation of the Cybertronian fleet

Other trivia

  • Intended for release in late August as the second two issues of Unicron released that month, this issue arrived a little late in the first week of September.
  • This issue also includes a four-page Micronauts back-up strip, "Transition," the next in a series of strips serving as "farewells" to the various Hasbro Universe properties as everything heads towards a close. No Transformers appear in the story.
  • Other backmatter includes the third installment in a series of interviews with creators from IDW's past. This issue, it's the Till All Are One creative team of artist Sara Pitre-Durocher and writer Mairghread Scott.

Covers (4)

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