South of Heaven

|- {{#if: TF43 regcvr.jpg | | colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center" | {{#if: It's time to play the music. |
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|colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center" | "South of Heaven" {{#if: |

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While investigating the Decepticons' Jupiter commune, Cosmos goes up against Soundwave.

Synopsis

From his hiding spot amid the space debris of Jupiter's rings, Cosmos observes the arrival of Astrotrain at the satellite commune being built in orbit of the giant planet for the Decepticons by Onyx. He delivers a report back to current stand-in leader Arcee, and, ever put-upon, Cosmos goes in for a closer look to discover just who has come to pay the commune a visit...

Soundwave, Brawl, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Garrison Blackrock, Marissa Faireborn, and Ayana Jones all disembark Astrotrain for a tour of the commune. Blackrock walks them through some of the science involved in generating the station's breathable atmosphere, while Brawl complains about the lack of artificial gravity, since Soundwave refuses to provide the technology to the humans. After being shown the living quarters, dining, entertainment, and recreation areas, Soundwave excuses himself for a private look around.

Outside, Cosmos scans the station, but can learn little, and the log entry he is trying to record turns into him morosely complaining about his lot in life, constantly stuck up in space with nobody seeming to care about what happens to him. He is snapped out of his self-pity when he nearly flies straight into Soundwave, and reflexively attacks the Decepticon. Soundwave makes no counter-move so Cosmos makes a break for it, taking refuge in the rings of Jupiter, but Soundwave pursues, his enhanced senses easily outstripping the concealing abilities of Cosmos's stealth paint. Realizing he cannot hide, Cosmos makes a stand, but Soundwave is able to knock him out of the air; Cosmos assumes he is about to be tortured and vows to never break, but Soundwave calms him, revealing that he wishes merely to talk.

Back on the commune, the sounds of Cosmos and Soundwave's battle have reached the ears of the others, but Blackrock plays them off as simply the "weird noises" the station sometimes makes, secretly observing Soundwave and Cosmos's interactions on a viewscreen while the others are none the wiser. Faireborn and Jones are incredulous, and whisper among themselves about Blackrock's perturbingly calm demeanour; the suspicious Jones wonders if Blackrock's story about supposedly being descending from Gilgamesh is true, while Faireborn notes that there are no records of Blackrock's existence from more than three years prior. Either way, Faireborn knows that she would rather have Blackrock working for the EDC than operating on his own...

Soundwave proposes an alliance between his Decepticons and the Autobots to Cosmos, that the Decepticons might gain access to the space bridge the Autobots' recovered from Blackrock. Surprised to find that he is going to be allowed to leave, Cosmos is nonetheless rankled when Soundwave asks him to give "his masters" the message; he refutes the notion that anyone is his "master", but is given silent pause when Soundwave leads him to think about how little regard the other Autobots have for him. The observant Soundwave extends an open invitation to Cosmos to come and live on the commune, free from war and servitude, and tells him to contact him if he wishes. In return, Cosmos decides to let Soundwave know about the ancient Cybertronian code that forms the backbone of the Onyx operating system, and questions why Soundwave has allied with humans at all. The departing Soundwave replies that they make expedient allies, but are lesser life-forms to whom the Decepticon notion of "equality" does not extend, no different to animals—or, Cosmos leadingly suggests, drones like his friend D.0.C..

While Soundwave returns to the commune and questions Blackrock over the Cybertron code—which Blackrock freely admits to using—Cosmos heads back to the Ark-7. He tells Arcee nothing of what has transpired, and retreats to his recharge slab to think things over, where D.0.C. lovingly curls up at his feet.

Featured characters

{{#if:* Cosmos (1)

Arcee (2)|

{{#if:* Cosmos (1)

Arcee (2)|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
Cosmos (1)
Arcee (2) }}{{#if:* Astrotrain (3)
Brawl (5)
Soundwave (6)
Laserbeak (10)
Buzzsaw (11)
Megatron (12, memory image)|

Autobots }}{{#if:* Astrotrain (3) Brawl (5) Soundwave (6) Laserbeak (10) Buzzsaw (11) Megatron (12, memory image)\|	Decepticons }}{{#if:* Stockbridge (4) Marissa Faireborn (7) Ayana Jones (8) Garrison Blackrock (9)\|	Humans }}{{#if:* D.0.C. (13)\|	Others }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}{{#if:\|	Misc }}
Astrotrain (3) Brawl (5) Soundwave (6) Laserbeak (10) Buzzsaw (11) Megatron (12, memory image) }}{{#if:* Stockbridge (4) Marissa Faireborn (7) Ayana Jones (8) Garrison Blackrock (9)\|	Stockbridge (4) Marissa Faireborn (7) Ayana Jones (8) Garrison Blackrock (9) }}{{#if:* D.0.C. (13)\|	D.0.C. (13) }}{{#if:\|	}}{{#if:\|	}}

Quotes

"Okay, yeah, that's definitely Astrotrain. He's got some tanks strapped to his, uh, his undercarriage."
"Typical. Decepticons arming a supposedly peaceful satellite. Do you recognize them? Is it Brawl?"
"What? No. No, not, ah, war tanks. Like, tanks that hold gases or liquids or... stuff."
"Ah. Tanks."
"You're welcome."
"What?"

—What Cosmos and Arcee have here is a failure to communicate

"Hey Buzzsaw, did you see Brawl is airborne?"
"Squack—yeah, it was the only way to raise his I.Q.!"

—Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. DOOO-HOHOHOHOHOHOHO!

Brawl: "Soundwave, how come you're standin' an' I'm floatin' around like a chump?"
Soundwave: "The metal of the station is ferrous."
Brawl: "It's... what?"
Blackrock: "Magnets! How do they work?"
...
Blackrock: "Eh? Eh?"
...
Blackrock: "Nobody? Really? That was gold. You're ignoring my gold material."
Laserbeak: "Gold is not ferrous, human."
Buzzsaw: "And he calls himself a scientist."

"It's like I always say, Laserbeak—there's nothing like a brave warrior!"
"Right! And he's nothing like a brave warrior!"

—Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, on Brawl. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOHOHOHOHOHOHO!

Notes

Continuity notes

Blackrock is having Ore-13 shipped from Earth to the commune where it can be distilled to regular energon, the first reference to the super-fuel still existing on Earth that we've had in yonks.
When Blackrock calls the Transformers "robots," Marissa corrects him; Skywarp told her they weren't robots back in issue #30.
Cosmos refutes Soundwave's claim that the war was started in the name of equality by bringing up Varas Centralus, the world on which the most horrific battle of the entire war was waged, as we learned in Punishment.
Having been referred to as simply "Jones" since her first appearance, we learn her first name this issue: Ayana.

Real-world references

As with last month, the issue is named after a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Jim Thompson (writer)|{{#if:Jim Thompson|Jim Thompson|Jim Thompson (writer)}}]] novel.
Laserbeak and Buzzsaw's whole routine this episode—perching up high and tossing down two-man feed-line/punchline jokes and insult comedy at everyone else—makes them the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Statler and Waldorf|{{#if:||Statler and Waldorf}}]] of the IDW universe. Cementing it as a deliberate reference to [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}The Muppets|{{#if:||The Muppets}}]], Cosmos later drops [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Fozzie Bear|{{#if:||Fozzie Bear}}]]'s catchphrase, "Waka waka", as a weird battle-cry that leaves Soundwave perplexed.
When describing the difficulties in moving the gases needed to create an artificial atmosphere, Blackrock mentions the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Hindenburg disaster|{{#if:||Hindenburg disaster}}]].
Blackrock references the [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Insane Clown Posse|{{#if:||Insane Clown Posse}}]] song "[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Miracles (Insane Clown Posse song)|{{#if:Miracles|Miracles|Miracles (Insane Clown Posse song)}}]]", or rather, the Internet meme it spawned regarding the ever-mysterious functionality of f**kin' magnets.
Cosmos makes like Captain Kirk as he tries to record an entry in his log: "Cosmos's Space Log, space date... uh... one."
Blackrock mentions famous computer programmers [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}John Backus|{{#if:||John Backus}}]] and [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Rasmus Lerdorf|{{#if:||Rasmus Lerdorf}}]].

Covers (3)

Regular cover: Soundwave and Cosmos, by Andrew Griffith
Subscription cover: Soundwave pursues Cosmos, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
Retailer incentive cover: One of a series of "Pan Cybertronian Spaceways" travel posters by James Biggie that make up the Retailer Incentive covers on IDW's July Transformers titles; this one promotes the Arvassian Range on Nebulos, seen in the first issue of the original Marvel Headmasters mini-series.

Reprints

The Transformers Volume 8 (March 16, 2016) ISBN 1631405853 / ISBN 978-1631405853
- Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #42–45.
- Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
- Trade paperback format.

The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 9 (June 19, 2019) ISBN 1684054842 / ISBN 978-1684054848
- Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #39–41, #42–43, Windblade (2015) issues #1–3 & 4–5, and More than Meets the Eye issues #41–44.
- Hardcover format.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 67: Conquerors (July 24, 2019)
- Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #43–49, and Combiner Hunters #1.
- Bonus material includes development art by Andrew Griffith, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.
- Hardcover format.

Volume 8 – cover art by Andrew Griffith and Josh Perez
The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 9 – cover art by Marcelo Matere
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 67: Conquerors – cover art by Don Figueroa and Andrew Griffith

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