Transformers (2023) issue 18
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| Publisher | Image Comics Skybound Entertainment | ||||||||||||
| First published | March 12, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | March 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Daniel Warren Johnson | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Jorge Corona | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Mike Spicer | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Rus Wooton | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Ben Abernathy | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Energon Universe | ||||||||||||
While the Autobots on Cybertron have gained a powerful new ally, their comrades on Earth face enemies old and new.
Synopsis
On Cybertron, outside the Well of Sparks, Bluestreak, Warpath, and Blurr are pinned down by a trio of attacking Decepticons: the Seekers Bitstream and Hotlink and the bestial Carnivac. Bluestreak tries to call Elita One, but sadly can't get through to the Autobot commander. However, as Carnivac prepares to chow down on Bluestreak, he is saved by the timely intervention of a black van crashing into the Decepticon wolf. Shredhead transforms and uses their energy sword to quickly dispatch the three Decepticons. The Autobots are then joined by Cliffjumper and Elita, who believes their newest soldier has just turned the tide.
On Earth, Beachcomber, Spike, and Carly camp inside Ultra Magnus' makeshift fort on the San Juan Islands while Arcee confers with her Iron Intercessor. Like the other Autobots, Magnus is captivated by the beauty of Earth, but admits that he's unable to appreciate it, so clouded by the trauma of his imprisonment at the hands of Shockwave. Arcee tries to assure Magnus that they can still face the future, but the mighty warrior is too despondent. Carly sympathizes with Magnus, as she and Spike also had their lives destroyed by the Decepticons. She thinks that their pain is what brings them together, reassuring Magnus that he’s not alone. However, at that moment, Magnus sees a group of soldiers moving towards the fort. In a panic, he fires on them. Arcee tries to get him to stop, but the group is quickly beset by attack helicopters, triggering flashbacks to Magnus' imprisonment and causing him to attack them. Beachcomber and Spike escape, but a tranquilizer dart knocks out Carly. Arcee grabs her iron apprentice, but an explosion knocks them to the ground. As she recovers, she can only watch as both Carly and Ultra Magnus are carried away by the soldiers.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, the remaining Autobots do what they can to evacuate the humans from the chaos caused by the brawl between Bruticus and Devastator. Unfortunately, they can only do so much as the two combiners tear through the city. Starscream provides the Combaticons air support aboard Astrotrain, but is taken down by Soundwave ejecting Rumble, sending Astrotrain crashing onto the top of a skyscraper. Bruticus goes to rescue his leader with Devastator in pursuit, each giant climbing the tower. As they near the top, Devastator grabs Bruticus in a chokehold, sending them both crashing back to Earth and leveling a city block, much to Optimus Prime's horror.
Soundwave corners Starscream on the roof, berating him for how low his actions have brought him and readying to execute him. Starscream then gets a second wind and retaliates, ripping open Soundwave's chest compartment and pulling out Ravage’s still inactive body, mocking Soundwave’s concern for his tapes. However, their fight is interrupted by the return of Megatron, who orders them to stop with a single word. He picks up Ravage and, using his own spark, reactivates him as a reward for Soundwave’s loyalty. As Optimus looks up in horror to see his old nemesis alive, he gives his fellow Autobots a single order: retreat.
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
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Quotes
"You guys ready to shred?"
- —Shredhead to the Decepticons
"But all I see now is the unknown. The vastness. The dark. Shockwave ruined it all."
"But… he’s gone now. He can’t hurt us anymore. Prime made sure of it."
"It’s too late, Arcee. Shockwave taught me the depths of what one Cybertronian can do to another. How can I believe in anything anymore?"
- —Ultra Magnus and Arcee
"NO, NO, NO! WHY CAN'T ANYTHING GO MY WAY?!"
"Because you are stupid Starscream. Guided only by fear. Hate. Selfishness. You cannot even move yourself without the Earthlings' technology. What a pathetic end for you."
- —Soundwave to Starscream
"What a good soldier you are, small thing. And what a faithful servant your father is."
- —Megatron
Notes
Continuity notes
- Rumble is still missing his right piledriver arm after loosing it to Jazz back in issue #5.
- We saw firsthand what became of Magnus while he was captured by Shockwave back in issue #7, and the debilitating effects it had on him when he fled from battle in issue #11.
- Arcee tells Magnus that Shockwave can no longer hurt him, having been killed by Optimus Prime in issue #12.
- The soldiers that attack Magnus and company are shown to be wearing the star emblem of G.I. Joe, making it the first explicit reference to the highly trained special mission force in this series. While these soldiers are mere nameless troops, not the more colorfully costumed individuals we’re used to seeing from the main team appearing in the G.I. Joe series, the G.I. Joe segment of the Energon Universe 2024 Special did hint that the organization was larger than initially seemed.
- Soundwave has been trying to repair Ravage ever since Optimus shot him in the first issue.
- Starscream is shocked to see Megatron alive, believing he had killed the Decepticon leader in the Transformers segment of the Energon Universe 2024 Special. However, readers of Cobra Commander know that Megatron was found by the secret society of Cobra-La before escaping and being found by Laserbeak in issue #16.
- Astrotrain has been nursing his own grudge against Megatron, for reasons not yet fully revealed, though issue #16 hinted Megatron was responsible for killing Astrotrain’s love.
Transformers references
- Bitstream and Hotlink were both originally generic Seekers that appeared as the "welcoming committee" in the first episode of the Generation 1 cartoon, "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1". They were given names and personalities when released as exclusive toys for BotCon 2013.
- Elita’s comment that they’ve “turned the tide” echoes Kup’s line from The Transformers: The Movie.
Errors
- On page 1, panel 6, Carnivac interrupts Hotlink, but based on their colors, it's Bitstream who was talking (that, or Hotlink was just consistently miscolored as Bitstream and vice versa).
Other notes
- The cover art for this issue was originally created for Skybound's pitch to Hasbro.[1]
Covers
- Cover A: Starscream and Bruticus, by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer.
- Cover B: Megatron and Laserbeak, by Jorge Corona and Mike Spicer.
- Cover C: Connecting cover by Karl Kerschl.
- Cover D: Two teenage Transformers fans watch Bruticus and Devastator battle, by
- Cover E: Optimus and Arcee, by Oliver Ono.
- Cover F: Shredhead, by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer.
Advertisements
- Explore the Energon Universe in G.I. Joe #5, Void Rivals #18, and Transformers #17.
- Energon Universe hardcovers
- Invincible Universe: Battle Beast
Reprints
- Transformers Volume 3: Combiner Chaos (May 28, 2025) ISBN 153432559X / ISBN 978-1534325593
- Collects issues #13–18 and the Transformers story from Energon Universe 2024 Special.
- Trade paperback format.
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Volume 3: Combiner Chaos – cover art by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer
