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How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Revision as of 19:20, 25 November 2019 by Bluestreak7(talk | contribs)(→Errors: I wouldn't say that. He's just partially faded in the background. Looks more pink and yellow)
maximum dinobots|transformers maximum dinobots|transformers: maximum dinobots|the transformers maximum dinobots|the transformers: maximum dinobots=The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots
premierecollection|premiere collection|the transformers: the premiere collection=The Transformers: The Premiere Collection
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the idw collection|the transformers: the idw collection=The Transformers: The IDW Collection
the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)=The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers vol. 1
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infestation 2=Infestation 2
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robots in disguise|transformers: robots in disguise=The Transformers: Robots in Disguise
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the transformers: windblade=The Transformers: Windblade
sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers
gijoe5|gijoevol5|g.i. joe vol. 5|gi joe vol 5=G.I. Joe vol. 5
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
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wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
first strike=First Strike
ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
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scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
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[[{{#switch:{{{series}}}
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{{{series}}}}}
{{#switch:prime
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{{#switch:primeadaptation
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{{#switch:ragedinobots
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{{#switch:rid2015
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{{#switch:{{{series}}}
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all hail megatron|transformers all hail megatron|transformers: all hail megatron|the transformers all hail megatron|the transformers: all hail megatron=The Transformers: All Hail Megatron
the idw collection|the transformers: the idw collection=The Transformers: The IDW Collection
the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)=The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers vol. 1
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the idw collection|g.i. joe: the idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection
infestation=Infestation (IDW)|Infestation
infestation 2=Infestation 2
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tdoop|death of optimus prime|the death of optimus prime|transformers: the death of optimus prime=Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime
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robots in disguise|transformers: robots in disguise=The Transformers: Robots in Disguise
dark cybertron=Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron
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the transformers: windblade=The Transformers: Windblade
sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=The Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers
gijoe5|gijoevol5|g.i. joe vol. 5|gi joe vol 5=G.I. Joe vol. 5
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
micronauts=Micronauts (comic)|Micronauts
wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
first strike=First Strike
ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries
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the transformers|the transformers (ongoing)|the transformers (idw)=IDW The Transformers
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till all are one|Till All Are One|transformers till all are one|transformers: till all are one|the transformers till all are one|the transformers: till all are one=Till All Are One
revolution=Revolution
revolutionaries=Revolutionaries
action man=Action Man
gijoe5|g.i. joe vol 5|g.i. joe vol. 5|g.i. joe volume 5|g.i. joe (vol. 5)|g.i. joe (volume 5)=G.I. Joe vol. 5
g.i. joe idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection
first strike=First Strike
hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
micronauts=Micronauts
wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza
rom=ROM
rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths
romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts
rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs. transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor
m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force
transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries
requiem of the wreckers|transformers requiem of the wreckers|transformers: requiem of the wreckers=Requiem of the Wreckers
After a final "lap of honor" it's time for the Lost Light crew to say goodbye and move on with their lives... until tragedy reunites them one last time.
This story is told in non-linear form. This synopsis reorders it for ease of reading.
Some time after the defeat of the Functionist Council, Prowl arrives on "Functionist Cybertron" to survey the situation. His visit is to be a short one; the planet is largely to be left to its own devices while the universe's native Cybertronian population begins their new lives on Earth following the apocalyptic attack of Unicron, but the billion new sparks that have ignited from Luna 1's hot spot must be dealt with, and most importantly, with the Knights of Cybertron having been proven not to exist, Megatron must stand trial once again, this time with the Galactic Council presiding. Rodimus objects, but Megatron himself agrees. Prowl also announces his intention to remove the Lost Light's quantum generators and use them to double Functionist Cybertron's energon reserves, for use in bringing the sparks to term; again, Rodimus initially refuses, before finally giving in, on the condition that Prowl allows him and the crew to take one final "victory lap" trip aboard the ship before it is decommissioned.
The crew are granted one day for their trip, and it passes without incident. Rewind makes a complete recording of every corridor and room on the ship for posterity; in the process, he and Chromedome come upon Rung's old quarters, but tragically, they and the rest of the crew have already lost all their memories of the terminally-forgettable psychiatrist. The pair rejoin the rest of the crew on the bridge as the Lost Light turns to head back to Functionist Cybertron, and conversation turns to the inevitability to endings, and how to make the most of them; Rodimus remarks that he would rather see the Lost Light decommissioned than allowed to become a monument or "just another spaceship," so that its meaning can never be diminished. Swerve announces one last party in his bar, but just before everyone heads off, Nautica, Brainstorm, and Perceptor take Rodimus aside to propose one final, risky, complicated, ludicrous stunt for the Lost Light to pull: when they quantum jump back to Functionist Cybertron, there is the infinitesimally slim chance they can intentionally recreate the accident from the ship's original launch that caused the creation of a quantum duplicate of it and the crew, and shunt the duplicate into a parallel universe so that there will be no risk of its existence being cancelled out like the last one, thereby allowing the crew to continue adventuring on their own terms in a new world. Rodimus puts the idea to a vote, and the crew agrees.
Of course, there's no way for the crew to know if the idea succeeds, since from their point of view, all that happens is that they successfully quantum jump back to Cybertron, and settle in for one last night of drinks, singing, and stories at Swerve's. Anode and Lug decide to give up adventuring and settle down on Luna 1; Fortress Maximus makes peace with the Scavengers; and Drift and Ratchet—now finally romantically involved—explain to the crew their theory that the "visions" that have been guiding Drift since the start of their quest were actually messages sent back through time via the Warren by the telepaths from Mederi. Thunderclash hauls Rodimus's desk into the bar, and everyone pores over the map etched into its surface, reminiscing about the places they have been and the things they have seen and done on their quest. Inspired by the revelation that Megatron pseudonymously wrote his favorite poem, Ultra Magnus delivers a toast to the ship and its crew, and to the unexpected joy that he found when the crew turned from colleagues into true friends. Swerve tries to declare a lock-in, but, to punctuate the finality of the moment, construction cranes abruptly begin tearing into the ship as it sits on the spaceport runway, beginning its disassembly.
Thus does the parting of the ways begin. Grimlock and the Scavengers head back to Troja Major, where Crankcase—having taken Cyclonus's advice on love—plans to reunite with CONS4EVA. Chromedome and Rewind head off on a trip to Milnex; Nautica and Velocity are taken to visit Earth by Chromia; Cyclonus places a tender kiss on Rodimus's cheek to thank him for everything. Prowl takes Megatron into custody, and Magnus goes with them, leaving Rodimus alone. After a moment, he hollers "Till All Are One" after Magnus, but his words go unheard.
Some time later, Megatron's trial is held. Magnus acts for his defense; Rodimus testifies and lies on the stand, claiming that Megatron was the one who was able to open the final Matrix of Leadership when he could not. While a jury is deliberating over "execution" or "infinite imprisonment," Rodimus visits Megatron in his cell for one last conversation, during which Megatron reveals that he still has the Rodimus Star Rodimus gave him, having held onto it for nearly a millennia, through all his centuries in the Functionist Universe. Presently, Megatron and Magnus are called in for sentencing; Megatron bids Rodimus farewell, and Magnus tells Megatron that he will take his advice and destroy the Magnus Armor, living the rest of his life as his own 'bot.
Years pass.
Life goes on.
In their eyes, I see you, Alexander, I see you every time...
Many of the crew settle on Functionist Cybertron. Swerve successfully turns his bar into a franchise, but it eventually fails and he has to close all but one location. Nautica writes a memoir of the crew's quest. Rewind becomes obsessed with learning everything there is to know about the history of the Functionist Universe, but winds up overloading and corrupting his brain, contracting the neuro-degenerative disease Delta's Malady; he becomes trapped in data stick form when he forgets how to transform, but continues to live and love with Chromedome. Brainstorm injures himself in a lab accident, requiring him to use his infamous briefcase as a mobile life support system. Magnus no more, Minimus Ambus helps with the resettlement of all the new "Lunarian" 'bots born from the sparks from Luna-1, totally unaware that they all resemble Rung. Bereft of direction, Whirl returns to his old troublemaking ways, and soon finds himself in and out of prison. Still eager for adventure, Rodimus signs onto the crew of Thunderclash's new ship, the Exitus. And Ratchet and Drift become Conjunx Endura... until the day that Ratchet's advanced age finally catches up to him, and it is discovered that he is going to die of "age-related burnout."
Ratchet's peaceful passing brings the crew of the Lost Light together again for his funeral in Rivets Field; Drift arranges for Whirl to be granted day release from prison to attend. Cyclonus and Tailgate have been off-planet for an extended period of time and have been out of touch with their old friends, so after the ceremony, Swerve, First Aid, and Brainstorm bring them up to speed on what has been happening with everyone. Dismayed to discover what has become of Whirl, Cyclonus and Tailgate invite him to come and live with them when he is next released, and he happily accepts. Whirl is so moved by their act of compassion that he begins to find worth in himself again, and turns down a gift from Drift—Ratchet's hands, to replace his own, lost so long ago—on the basis that he is not broken and does not need to be fixed.
Rodimus arrives late, after the ceremony has already concluded, and places Megatron's Rodimus Star—entrusted to him when the ex-Decepticon was taken away to his unrevealed fate—among the other offerings by Ratchet's grave. Drift can tell that the haggard Rodimus has been drinking, and expresses concern for him, knowing that life as part of Thunderclash's crew can't possibly compare to the way things used to be. One by the one, the mourners take their leave, until only Drift and Rodimus are left, whereupon Drift raises the subject they swore they'd never speak of: does Rodimus think the attempt to recreate the accident worked? Rodimus doesn't believe they will ever know one way or the other... and he tells himself that that is good, because that way, they can always pretend it did. The pair promise to keep in touch, and Rodimus departs.
Many years earlier, the Lost Light quantum jumps back to Functionist Cybertron... but instead, the ship and crew find themselves in uncharted space, further than they have ever traveled before, with no idea of where they are. Realizing that they have succeeded in blasting themselves into another universe, the crew celebrate, with Perceptor crediting their accomplishment to knowledge gained from Brainstorm's earlier time travel experiments. Brainstorm is thrilled to finally have Perceptor's recognition, and Perceptor admits that the pair are "simpatico" after all. With co-captains Rodimus and Megatron at the helm, the Lost Light sets course for adventure in a new universe.
"A week, a month, a year... what's the difference? There'll always be an ending—and if you're lucky, you get to see it coming."
—Ratchet
"I'm grateful for one more day. Especially a day like this."
"Er—literally nothing happened. We flew past some planets and talked."
"Yes. And I wouldn't have changed a thing."
—Megatron and Whirl
"Treat him well, Doc. He's a keeper."
—Rodimus congratulates Ratchet on his new relationship
"That's how we should measure our lives. Not in distance traveled, or time passed, or worlds conquered, but in moments... and the rush of joy—of grace—that exists within them."
—Megatron
"Rodimus. Whatever happens next—whatever my fate—I deserve worse."
—Megatron's final words
"Megatron... before we go... I've been thinking a lot about what you said—about how I should let the world look me in the eyes—and yes, I'll do it. I'll destroy my armor."
"Good. Because you're so much bigger without it."
—Ultra Magnus and Megatron
"Turns out being at a loose end is bad for me—and even worse for society."
—Whirl
"WITHOUT LOVE THERE IS NO MEANING."
—The inscription on Ratchet's grave marker
Rodimus: "Crankcase? Set a course for high jinks and mild peril!" Swerve: "I've just heard the best order that's ever been given." Ultra Magnus: "How long will it take us?" Rodimus: "What, to explore the entire universe?" Ultra Magnus: "I will accept an estimate." Rodimus: "Well, if I had to guess... taking account of all known variables and allowing for every possible outcome... if I had to guess, I'd say it'll take us more or less... forever. What do you think, co-captain?" Megatron: "What do I think?" Rodimus: "Yeah." Megatron: "I think forever sounds about right."
The concept of "age-related burnout"—the Transformer equivalent of dying of natural causes—is a very new concept for both the Cybertronian race, and Transformers stories in general, with essentially all past media having presented the spark as immortal. The idea was introduced back in More than Meets the Eye #17, in which Ratchet himself observed the first case had only been reported recently.
Though it was deliberately and intentionally released first, the flashforward portions of this issue represent the chronologically-final installment in the 2005 IDW continuity, taking place after the final issues of the Unicron mini-series and Optimus Prime. The present-day portions, meanwhile, take place between those two issues, and technically "spoil" that Prowl, Windblade, and the planet Earth survived the apocalyptic events of Unicron (although if that last one surprises you, we don't know what to tell you). This highlights the continuity problem we previously pointed out in our notes for issue #22, which claimed that only a month had passed for Team Rodimus since the beginning of the series; the events of Unicron did not occur until "a few years" after the series began. Therefore, we have to conclude that the team's trip through the Warren in issue #16 involved them travelling through time as well as space (but it does still feel like an after-the-fact fix for what was initially a goof).
Prowl proposes setting up the decommissioned Lost Light as a monument on the Mitteous Plateau, a region of Cybertron introduced all that way back in More than Meets the Eye #1, adjacent to the ship's original launch site.
The bottle of Nightmare Fuel Swerve serves up at the final party comes from the departed Trailcutter's private stash, which is where Swerve got the first bottle of it we ever saw, back in More than Meets the Eye #11. The bottle is dated to 2012, the year that the series began.
Ultra Magnus shows Brainstorm a piece of writing about a character named "Sprinklor"; this is the "sprinkler fan-fiction" Rodimus mentioned in issue #20, which Swerve had told him Magnus writes. Magnus describes Sprinklor as "very by-the-book, very rule-driven," proving that even the ex-Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord isn't above creating "Self-Insert" fanfic.
The figurines on the table during the crew's last night in Swerve's are from Ten's collection of hand-crafted figures, and are of the crewmembers who didn't make it: Trailcutter, Skids, Ravage, Nightbeat, and Ten himself.
Bluestreak reminisces with Lug and Anode about how he tried to kill them (after being turned into a Sparkeater) on Mederi, which we saw in issue #19.
Nickel and Roller appear to have hit it off, flirting with each other in Swerve's. Nickel was shown surreptitiously "checking him out" back during a group scene in issue #21. It only makes sense that she'd be attracted to someone of Roller's build, considering he was a chief suspect among the fanbase for Tarn's identity for a long time.
Fortress Maximus makes peace with the Scavengers after their previous rather violent meeting in More than Meets the Eye #46. As he does so, Misfire is seen marveling over the guns in his legs, an attribute of Max's that was previously the subject of some humorous focus in More than Meets the Eye #6.
Aside from Swerve's recollection of the crew's trip to Hedonia in More than Meets the Eye #13, the rest of the escapades the crew remember all happened "off-panel" and have never been mentioned before, but they are framed as happening "near" places we know the ship visited: Temptoria in More than Meets the Eye #12, and Scarvix in More than Meets the Eye #40. Notably, they laugh about an encounter with the "Improbability Police" that saw the Lost Light being impounded for "unlikely crimes" and Ultra Magnus getting them off by claiming the charges themselves were "too far-fetched"—a story that would have been told during the comic's third "season" had the decision not been made to end the IDW universe.
The phrase "You flare, you flicker, you fade" was previously quoted by Shock in More than Meets the Eye #3, and is here revealed to be a line from "Afterlight," a poem written by Megatron in his youth. Megatron wistfully notes the poem was also Impactor's favorite.
Ultra Magnus isn't kidding when he opens his toast by saying "I never thought I'd say this... but it's been fun." He was incapable of saying the word "fun" in More than Meets the Eye #5.
Hot Spot, Blades, Streetwise, and Groove all appear along with First Aid during Magnus's toast, proving that they survived their rather fatal-looking injuries in issue #12.
The Scavengers are presumably heading back to Troja Major because issue #19 told us Grimlock left the Firstborn in the care of the Curator following the events of issue #15.
Nautica mistakenly refers to Earth as "Swearth," the name the crew gave the holomatter duplicate of the planet they visited in More than Meets the Eye #43.
Minimus notes it's been years since he worked on "Terms of Peace," the rulebook he was established to be writing in issue #13.
The harvest of Luna 1's hot spot is termed the "Bronze Harvest," after the Silver Harvest, the population boom from around five million years ago first mentioned in More than Meets the Eye #31.
Ratchet makes good on the promise that Whirl could have his hands after he died, made in More than Meets the Eye #15.
Both Whirl and Megatron spend time incarcerated in Garrus-10, the newest in the "Garrus" series of prisons that you'd assume was only constructed after the fall of Garrus-9 in Last Stand of the Wreckers.
Rodimus and Megatron's final talk in the latter's cell mirrors their first, from back in More than Meets the Eye #28, with Rodimus no longer believing Megatron deserves the fate he is destined for.
Megatron was revealed to have been given a Rodimus Star ("for abandoning his evil ways") in More than Meets the Eye #38. Megatron's fate is not explicitly stated in the text of the comic, but the fact that Rodimus is in possession of the star in the future certainly seems intended to imply that the jury voted for "execution."
Whirl and Cyclonus's final on-panel interaction is a mirror of one of their earliest, from More than Meets the Eye #2; there, Cyclonus caught Whirl in a surprise hug, with two question marks hovering over the shocked Autobot; here it's Whirl who does the surprise hugging, while exclamation marks hover over Cyclonus.
The crew encountered the original quantum duplicate of the Lost Light in More than Meets the Eye #32-33. Nautica calls replicating the accident a "magic trick," since More than Meets the Eye #28 told us that "magic=science Rodimus doesn't understand."
Perceptor finally admits that he and Brainstorm are "simpatico," tapping him on the forehead with his index finger in the same way Brainstorm did to him when he originally used the phrase, back in More than Meets the Eye #24. Later, on twitter, James Roberts would confirm that this indicated the two were a couple. More interestingly though, it would seem Brainstorm has a type.
All the way back in Infiltration, the very first story-arc of this continuity, Ratchet was the first Autobot to be introduced, when he rescues Hunter O'Nion and Verity Carlo from Thundercracker. While not the last issue in terms of release, it is the last to happen chronologically, thanks to the scenes that take place during Ratchet's funeral years after the end of the quest. The entire continuity begins and ends with Ratchet.
Transformers references
"The guard gave him what could loosely be called an old-fashioned look. It was practically neolithic."
As the group parts ways, Chromedome and Rewind leave to visit the census center on the planet Milnex—a final tip of the hat to longtime regular More than Meets the Eye artist, Alex Milne.
Similarly, Rodimus arrives late because the Exitus was on the other end of the "Acklaw System", a reference to series artist Jack Lawrence.
The Exitus itself is likely a reference to writer James Roberts' exit from IDW comics.
In one last final pair of references to James Roberts's signature recurring number, "113," Swerve is noted to have 113 locations in his "Swerve's" franchise, and Whirl refers to the Lunarian Transformer who performs Ratchet's funeral as "Lunarian 113."
Real-world references
Nautica's book, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," is named after [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}There Is a Light That Never Goes Out|{{#if:The Smiths' song of the same title|The Smiths' song of the same title|There Is a Light That Never Goes Out}}]].
Whirl's holo-avatar's shirt reads "ASK ME ABOUT MY FEMINIST AGENDA," a garment made famous by Marvel Comics character [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Mockingbird (comics)|{{#if:Mockingbird|Mockingbird|Mockingbird (comics)}}]] when she wore it on the cover of issue #8 of her self-titled series in 2016.
Drift is shown to have started referring to Ratchet by the pet name of "Ratty" during their relationship. The name is a reference to [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Wind in the Willows|{{#if:||The Wind in the Willows}}]] character Rat, who was known as "Ratty" to his friends.
Errors
Among the mourners at Ratchet's funeral on page 1 is Bluestreak, coloured like Prowl. As this scene is set in the far future, of course, it is not impossible for this to actually be Prowl, having reverted at some point over the years to a Cybertronian body-design like Bluestreak (versus the Earth SUV design he has in the present-day segments), and indeed, Roberts claimed on Twitter that it was Prowl... but given that absolutely everybody else at the funeral is or was a Lost Light crewmember, and "Prowlstreak" is specifically standing with Bluestreak's fellow mutineers and recurring crew B-and-C-listers Hound, Blaster, and Perceptor, it really does feel like a goof that's being covered for.
On page 16, panel 2, Minimus Ambus says: "500 million sparks brought to term. 500 Lunarians given somewhere to live..." That ought to be "500 million Lunarians," a restatement of the previous sentence in different terms, rather than the implication that only 500 of the 500,000,000 sparks had been given homes and jobs. This is corrected in the trade paperback.
Soundtrack
"Human" by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Killers|{{#if:||The Killers}}]]
"Go West" by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Pet Shop Boys|{{#if:||Pet Shop Boys}}]]
"Let's Get Out of this Country" by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Camera Obscura (band)|{{#if:Camera Obscura|Camera Obscura|Camera Obscura (band)}}]]; specifically envisioned as the "end credits" song of the series
Originally announced for release in October, this issue arrives a little late, in the first week of November.
Items from throughout the series seen on Cover B include: Anode's trowel, Tailgate's hoverboard, the replacement horn Tailgate made for Cyclonus in More than Meets the Eye #21, a nudge gun, a string of "signal boosters"/Christmas lights from The Transformers Holiday Special, a bottle of Nightmare Fuel, a Great Sword, Nightbeat's magnifying glass, a curly straw, a datapad displaying "Towards Peace," Rewind's head camera, one of the Necrobot's spark-flowers, the Autobot symbol patch from Whirl's holomatter avatar's dungarees, a tray of drinks from Swerve's, Swerve's "My First Blaster," a sparkeater tentacle, the vial of innermost energon Cyclonus gave Tailgate in More than Meets the Eye #49, Nautica's wrench, the canister of "Fool's Energon" from More than Meets the Eye #29, Ultra Magnus's ridiculously long nameplate from More than Meets the Eye #5, a photonic crystal, Rung's glasses, Brainstorm's briefcase, Rodimus's empty half of the Matrix casing, the keys to the Lost Light seen on the cover of More than Meets the Eye #30, a Rodimus Star, and fluttering above it all, the "WE'VE ACHIEVED SOMETHING" banner from More than Meets the Eye #41. Roche misspelled it "ACHIEIVED" and nobody noticed until the cover was revealed online; it was then corrected for the final release.
The "Story So Far" recap on the inside front cover this issue simply reads: "You're joking, right?"
The language used by Rodimus to describe the fate of the Lost Light is a metaphor for the comic itself, and the broader concepts of stories about ongoing licensed properties, changing creative teams, and the rarity of definitive endings in that industry in general. Were the Lost Light allowed to go on with someone else at the helm, Rodimus laments, over time, bit by bit, "they'd end up replacing it with (...) a bad copy," and he would rather see the ship get a "proper ending" from which there is "no going back."
Similarly, the crew's discussion about the new universe they find themselves in at the end of the story alludes to the end of the current IDW universe and the impending launch of a brand new continuity from the company. "What [will it] be like?" wonders Misfire. "Too soon to say," replies Drift. "It could be virtually identical to ours, or it could be fantastically different."
This final issue features 24 story pages instead of the usual 20, plus a three-page letter from James Roberts to close out the series, reflecting on it and More than Meets the Eye before it and thanking the audience and his many creative collaborators. Of particular note: Roberts once remarked in a tweet from February 2016 that "the last line of the last issue" of the series had already been written, but he explains in this letter that this final line was not used in the end. The line was "OVER TO YOU," to be scrawled graffiti-style on top of "THE END" on the final page, as both a handing-over of the reins of the IDW Transformers universe to the next creative team, and in another sense, the handing of the "alternate universe" Lost Light to the prolific community of fan writers and artists, who will produce works starring these incarnations of the characters long after the series is over, and to whom Roberts is implicitly giving his "blessing" with the gift of a universe where those adventures can happen, forever. Roberts doesn't elucidate, but it's easy to interpret the line being dropped due to the fact that the current IDW universe is ending, and there is no next creative team, and this really is... *sniff* ...the end for these characters.
Cover B: A departing Rodimus casts a Lost Light-shaped shadow, containing many artifacts from throughout the series (see "Other trivia," above), by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham
{{#if: They made something of it. |
And we sailed out on orders from him but we found
The maps he sent to us
Didn’t mention lost coastlines...
