Foundation and Wreckage Part 1: Deadly Aim
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| "Deadly Aim" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Transformers Collectors' Club (online exclusive) | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 27, 2016 | ||||||||||||
| By | Jesse Wittenrich | ||||||||||||
| Story | Jesse Wittenrich & Pete Sinclair | ||||||||||||
| Illustrations by | Tomoya Hosono | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Cover | Marcelo Matere and Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Of Masters and Mayhem | ||||||||||||
| Page count | 24pp | ||||||||||||
The Wreckers recruit two more members in their attempt to get revenge against Thunder Mayhem...but they may have created an even greater monster in the process.
Synopsis
On the planet Abraxas, the former Aerialbot trainee Alpha Bravo has laid low on the planet, after the razing of Cybertron at the hands of Thunder Mayhem. Integrating himself as a helicopter in the emergency services, he believes himself to be the last Cybertronian left, and now spends his days as a seemingly ordinary vehicle, rescuing those in need. One day, however, changes all that: when reports of a meteorite blare across the Abraxan radio frequencies, Alpha Bravo's sensors are able to tell that the seemingly ordinary "rock" is actually a Cybertronian ship. Excited by the prospect of meeting another survivor, Alpha Bravo quickly activates a hologram of his pilot, Junior Lieutenant Jorrval, and heads out to the impact zone. Finding the crashed ship—more of an escape pod rather than a space-worthy vessel—Alpha Bravo lands and transforms, initially believing that it might have just been a derelict ship. However, inside the flames, he spots something he hasn't seen in years; a fellow Cybertronian.
Much later, Alpha Bravo and his new friend, the former Stunticon Offroad, have gotten used to their lives as rescue vehicles on Abraxas, growing close to one another. However, they are eventually are approached by Impactor and the Wreckers, who seek to take down Thunder Mayhem. Offroad—pretending to be bored by the prospects of living on Abraxas forever as a lifeless machine—quickly accepts Impactor's offer. Alpha Bravo, having gotten used to his new life, is initially reluctant, but eventually accepts the offer as well, happy to be with the remnants of his own kind. Brought on board, Impactor explains his plan: to create a combiner of their own to take down Thunder Mayhem. Alpha Bravo points out that they'll need an emotion strong enough to unite them, but Fractyl points out that the Mayhem Attack Squad have a different source for their power. Counterpunch interjects, pointing out how all the other combiners had just as strong of a will uniting them up against Thunder Mayhem—a will to live, and yet they still fell before him. Counterpunch's comments cause Impactor, Alpha Bravo, and Offroad to grow gloomy, remembering what had happened to Superion and Menasor, while Toxitron, trying to obfuscate his excitement to finally be a part of something bigger than himself, cracks some ill-timed jokes. Fractyl ignores him, and begins to explain that, having hacked Shockwave's encrypted files at the base where the Wreckers found Toxitron, he has found the source of Thunder Mayhem's power: a sixth spark! Instead of being the result of a merging of personalities, Thunder Mayhem is his own entity, taking control of the combined Mayhem Attack Squad. Fractyl goes on to explain that Toxitron also has a link with Thunder Mayhem: having been created as a clone of Optimus Prime, Toxitron was used by Shockwave to grow a replica of the Creation Matrix's container; a revelation which causes Toxitron to fume with anger, remembering the torture he experienced under the hands of Shockwave and his assitants. Shockwave the proceeded to implant a powerful spark within this "matrix", that of Decepticon mad scientist Thunderwing, who turned his spark green when experimenting with his CNA. Finishing, Fractyl explains that while he can't replicate Thunderwing's process with any of their sparks, the greenergon that he picked up while on Chicxulania radiates the same energy signature as Thunderwing's spark. For the first time in a long time, Impactor smiles: the Wreckers have a shot.
On Abraxas, Offroad has taken well to his new job as the truck for excitable Junior Lieutenant Feenliess, while Alpha Bravo is still piloted by Jorrval, now promoted to Captain. For the most part, their tasks have been fairly easy, including rescuing lost hikers and delivering pregnant mothers to the hospital, but their biggest rescue yet occurs when a Ghepisn Manufacturing chemical plant goes up in flames. Alpha Bravo is already at the scene when Offroad arrives, and while the Decepticon wishes to join his partner in getting closer, Feenliess leaves him parked back, unable to contribute. Alpha Bravo and the other helicopters try pouring water onto the burning facility, but the highly combustible fuel additive the plant manufactures proves tenacious. Offroad radios Alpha Bravo, asking him to provide for a distraction; the Aerialbot begins to complain, but when one of the vats inside erupts in a tower of flame and engulfs him, Alpha Bravo uses it to distract the rescuers on the ground as Offroad slips away, heading towards the back of the facility. Busting through, Offroad finds himself in the warehouse containing the ingredients for the fuel additive. His sensors pick up a muffled cough, and Offroad pushes through the narrow aisles in vehicle mode, the heat melting his tires. Finding a freezer, Offroad uses his energy axe to free four Abraxan scientists trapped inside. The four of them quickly enter Offroad's cab (with the Decepticon generating a hologram of the Junior Lieutenant to create the illusion of a driver), and as he cranks his onboard air conditioning to the max, Offroad tries his best to rush out of the warehouse, struggling to gain traction with his metal tires. He finally manages to escape, and as the carbon monoxide emitted from his engines deprives the fire of oxygen, the flames die down and give the rescuers outside a better shot at putting out the flames. Finally, after several hours, Alpha Bravo and Offroad return to the station with the other rescuers; Offroad is given new tires, while Alpha Bravo is given a wash. After finishing up, Jorrval and Feenliess head out to get a celebratory drink together, allowing Offroad and Alpha Bravo to transform. Offroad is upset he didn't get a bath, but Alpha Bravo points out that he got new tires. When Offroad mopes about missing his old ones, Alpha Bravo playfully tells the Stunticon that he'll get use to them, and Offroad smiles, noting that he's gotten "used to" Alpha Bravo as well...
Featured characters
Characters in italics appear only in flashbacks or in visions.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons/Predacons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
- Characters mentioned but not seen include: the Mayhem Attack Squad, Thunder Mayhem, Superion, Defensor, Bruticus, Menasor, Wheeljack, Powerglide, the Aerialbots, Shockwave, an information thief, Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Thunderwing, Needlenose, Gnash, J'oh, and the Vespoids.
- In case you didn't pick up on it, there are serious romantic undertones to Alpha Bravo and Offroad's relationship – so much so that the subtext is practically text. However, they're only ever referred to as "friends" – this is, apparently, due to the Of Masters and Mayhem universe being a Marvel-style universe, where there are "no men, no women... no mates".[1] This doesn't account for the female Transformers present in the earlier OMAM stories, however.
- It is heavily implied that Impactor planted a kill-switch in Wreckage. This makes Alpha Bravo's actions all the more tragic, for being unnecessary. Of course, Impactor couldn't exactly have TOLD anyone about the kill-switch.
- Originally,[2] Rook was going to be in this story in place of Offroad; however, Fun Publications decided to make Wreckage 1.0 a Decepticon by majority.
Errors
- On page 22, the Agonizer Blade is misspelled "Angonizer Blade".
Continuity notes
- Impactor and Counterpunch picked up Fractyl and greenergon in "Life Finds a Way".
Transformers references
- Alpha Bravo and Offroad were introduced in the Combiner Wars toyline as new limbs for Superion and Menasor, respectively, both of whom are mentioned as deceased in this story.
- Alpha Bravo compares the whine of Cybertronian engines to the jingle of the Cosmic Carnival.
- To no one's surprise, it is explained that the all-powerful planet-devastating combiner Thunder Mayhem in some fashion houses the consciousness of Thunderwing, whose 2005 IDW counterpart devastated Cybertron, a story element which Of Masters and Mayhem homages.
- Abraxan Blue Lava Fireball was a drink featured, appropriately enough, in the story "Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?".
- The planet of origin of the aforementioned drink was previously identified as Abrax, but is here called Abraxas. Oops.
- With Cybertron in ruins, Alpha Bravo and Offroad disguise themselves as civilian rescue vehicles on another planet, working covertly to help the natives while disguising their true nature. Coincidence...?
Real world references
- Fractyl at one point says "I'm a geochemist, not a medical doctor", paraphrasing Star Trek's Doctor McCoy's famous line of "I'm a doctor, not a...".
References
External links
- "Deadly Aim" at The Official Transformers Collectors' Club
