Unification Day: Dawn

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"Unification Day: Dawn"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published October 18, 2017
Cover date September 2017
Written by John Barber
Art by Guido Guidi and John Wycough
Colors by Thomas Deer
Letters by Tom B. Long
Editor David Hedgecock
Assistant editor David Mariotte
Continuity 2005 IDW continuity
Chronology Current era

The Revolutionaries join forces once more when Blackrock and Centurion become targets during Baron Ironblood's attack on Cybertron.

Synopsis

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Optimus Prime and Marissa Faireborn are interviewed regarding Earth's induction into the Cybertronian Council of Worlds. Prime talks about the history his relationship with Earth, and his changing opinion of it and its people, while Marissa details how her own understanding of Transformers has changed with time. Optimus believes it is the Autobots' duty to work side-by-side with humanity, not to merely be its protector, while Marissa has accepted that if humans do not learn to live with Cybertronians, they will be fighting them forever.

As the day of Earth's induction into the council dawns, Optimus Prime meets with Garrison Blackrock and his new ally: Centurion, the steampunk Transformer whose mind was recently merged with that of the human cyborg Mike Power, the Atomic Man. To try and help the fused Centurion/Power entity sort through his composite memories, Optimus has him relate his life story, but Centurion can recall only jumbled snatches, including the suffering both of his component selves suffered at the hands of Garrison Kreiger. Blackrock promises to stay with Centurion and help him until he is well again, while Optimus departs to meet with the delegates arriving from Earth via space bridge, neither noticing a sudden crackle of energy in Centurion's eyes...

Outside, on the roof of the tower in which Centurion's quarters are housed, Kup watches as the crowd gathers for the induction ceremony, joined by his human friend Action Man, who is thrilled to be visiting another planet. Presently, the pair are joined by Arcee, who vaguely remembers Action Man from the battle in Monument Valley they both fought in months earlier. She can't stay long, though, as she has to join Optimus Prime and Pyra Magna for the ceremony. Down below, in the procession, Marissa reconnects with her former right-hand officer Mayday. The pair are able to briefly catch up, observing (with a little concern) all the unfamiliar robots surrounding them, until Marissa's father comes to drag her away to meet with the press and public. Also greeting the cameras are Optimus and Pyra, the latter having already started in on her usual passive-aggressive questioning of everything Optimus does, this time focusing on the publicity and spectacle of the day. Arcee arrives to place a hand on Pyra's shoulder and coolly suggest she let this one go; Pyra retorts that Arcee's vigilance would be better directed towards the humans, rather than her own kind. In front of the news cameras, Prime urges them both to be accepting of their human guests and look to the future.

Back in Centurion's room, he and Blackrock watch the pomp and pageantry out the window. Centurion is unsure what to make of it, seeing only "two civilizations bent on self-destruction," but Blackrock assures him it's a good thing, and should be taken as proof that there are both good Cybertronians and good people out there—something both he and Centurion should find reassuring, both of them being human-Cybertronian hybrids who don't fully know their own pasts. Unfortunately, there are bad people out there too—bad people whose arrival is heralded by a huge explosion down on the ground that Centurion instantly knows must be the work of Kreiger. Optimus, Pyra, Arcee, Kup, Action Man, Marissa, and Mayday all spring into action, facing off against the legions of Red Shadows ninja and robotic Iron Grenadiers now sweeping across the plaza. Prime orders that protection of the human dignitaries takes precedence, but Pyra takes issue with the command, since humans are also the ones behind the attack.

During the chaos, Kup and Action Man become separated when Action Man spots the bounty hunter Colditz, an old enemy once in the employ of his arch-foe Doctor X, making his way across the battlefield. Action Man is nearly crushed by the corpse of a Transformer Colditz shoots dead, then finds himself set upon by platoon of Grenadiers, only for Optimus Prime himself to come to his rescue. When Action Man points out Coldtiz, heading in the direction of Marissa's group, Prime thinks the bounty hunter is targeting her, and so transforms to truck mode, carrying Action Man inside him, to try and intercept the villain. As it turns out, however, Faireborn is not Colditz's target; instead, he launches a grappling line and quickly scales the tower, heading straight for Centurion's room. Through the window, Colditz extends an offer to Centurion to return to Kreiger's ranks... an offer that the Transformer part of Centurion's mind decides to accept, leading him to shoot Blackrock in the back.

Down on the ground, Kup (searching for Action Man) links up with Arcee, who then defends Marissa and Mayday from an attack by a Stinger—a Cobra vehicle that Mayday is alarmed to see, as it indicates the ruthless terrorist organization, thought defeated, is back in business. The group then spots Prime and Action Man climbing the tower after Colditz, but by the time they reach the top, it's too late: Centurion is gone, absconded with the villains, and has taken Blackrock with him. Action Man, Mayday, Kup, and Arcee take up the task of hunting them down, while Optimus and Marissa go to meet with Windblade and the other council members to discuss what to do next.

Optimus and Marissa's interview continues, turning to the subject of the attack. Both agree that the sight of humans and Transformers working side-by-side on the field of battle to solve the crisis gives them hope that all will be well—for if they are to survive this day, and all that the uncertain future brings, it must be by standing together.

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(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots G.I. Joe The Iron Ring Others

Cybertronians

Humans

Quotes

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Kup: "How ya doin', kid?"
Arcee: "Don't 'kid' me, old man. Who's your human?"
Kup: "This is Ian."
Action Man: "We met in Monument Valley."
Kup: "After all that nonsense with the hooha and the whatsis."
Arcee: "That's right. You're the one who actually calls himself Action Man."


"Let him have the moment."
"Is that a threat?"
"A friendly request."

—Arcee cautions Pyra Magna


"You'd think two-thousand light years of travel would ninja-proof an event."

—Marissa


"Hey, kid! Why are you hanging off the side of a building with another 'bot? I thought that was our thing."

—Kup gets a bit jealous of Action Man and Optimus working together


"Friendship doesn't care if your skin is metal or flesh. The future is all we have, and there is only one way to reach it. We must stand together if we are to stand at all."

—Optimus Prime

Notes

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Continuity notes

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  • This issue is a tie-in to IDW's First Strike crossover, published in addition to September's regular issue of Optimus Prime, with which it runs roughly concurrently. The story begins shortly before the start of First Strike #1 and runs parallel with that issue, then continues in the Transformers: First Strike one-shot. The story also follows on from the events of the eight-issue Revolutionaries series (itself a prequel of sorts to First Strike), bringing the stars of that book—Blackrock, Mayday, Kup, and Action Man—back into the orbit of the ongoing Transformers storyline.
  • The backstory of Centurion was explained in Revolutionaries #5, retconning the events of the previously not-in-continuity Hearts of Steel mini-series into the mainstream IDW universe. Centurion alludes to these events by recalling how the Talisman wiped his mind, and "a man with one eye" (Shockwave) exploited this to make Centurion think he was "someone else" (Bumblebee). While he recounts his history, we see flashbacks to Domitius Major fighting the Elder God from Infestation 2 #2, and Mike Power encountering the Talisman from Revolutionaries #3. Power and Centurion were merged in Revolutionaries #8.
  • Centurion believes that, in his memories, he saw Cybertron's sun "shining black." He doesn't know it, but he's recalling the same vision both Blackrock and Pyra Magna have witnessed (in The Transformers vol. 2 #47 and the 2017 Transformers annual, respectively) of a black star and a world of rust, somehow connected to the looming threat of Onyx Prime, Centurion's old master.
  • Kup mentions that at one point he knew everyone on Cybertron, given that there were only a dozen or so inhabitants back when the planet was "radioactive or some such nonsense" referring to the Autobots' exile on Cybertron during the first half of All Hail Megatron.
  • Arcee objects to Kup calling her a "kid", since they're both super-old, hailing from the ancient pre-Great War days of Cybertron. To be fair, though, Kup's actually billions of years older after his time spent in the Dead Universe, so everyone's like a kid to him!
  • Action Man and Kup remind Arcee of the "hooha and the whatsis" in Monument Valley, referring to the final battle with Baron Karza in Revolution #5.
  • Flint interrupts Marissa before she can tell Mayday what Thundercracker is working on now; it's a biopic about G.I. Joe agent Chuckles, whose life he learned about from Chameleon in Optimus Prime #3.
  • Colditz previously appeared in Action Man #2, in which he served in the employ of Doctor X—a criminal connection that is undoubtedly how he has come to be involved with X's new partner, Baron Ironblood, and his cabal of villains.
  • Cobra has been reassembling itself throughout G.I. Joe vol. 5, having completed much of its rebuilding and establishing a new Commander in the final issue of the series. First Strike has shown Cobra members Destro and Doctor Mindbender to be involved with Baron Ironblood's cabal, but the rest of the organization is busying itself on Earth in G.I. Joe: First Strike.
  • Kup calls the act of hanging off a building with Action Man "their thing"; in addition to simply hanging out on the roof of the tower in this issue, they also "did a King Kong thing" in Revolutionaries #5.
  • Blackrock's numerous built-in weapon systems were established in his Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook profile.

Transformers references

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  • Generic Transformers seen among the crowd on page 7 include recolored versions of several characters from the various Japanese-exclusive Generation 1 series, drawn based exactly on their original animated character models. They include a blue version of Tacker, a white-headed Tackle, a red-white-and-black Shouki, a minty-colored Blacker, a yellow Braver, and a purple Laster, along with the lower leg of Sixknight in a mostly-accurate blue, but with yellow accents.

G.I. Joe references

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Real-life references

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  • Marissa expects to be interviewed by "a giant version of Joan Rivers from Spaceballs", a double-reference to comedian Joan Rivers, who was famous for her red carpet awards show interviews, and to the robotic character she played in the 1987 movie Spaceballs, Dot Matrix.

Errors

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  • The flashback depicts Centurion-as-Bumblebee fighting alongside Domitius-as-Optimus during their showdown against the Elder God, though Bumblebee was one of the only Autobots not to appear at Port Cenotaph during the events of Infestation 2. He's also sporting his WWII automobile form from Revolutionaries #5 as opposed to the streetcar body he used in that miniseries.
  • The flashback also features Garrison Kreiger in a toy-based red uniform (like the Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook), rather than the green uniform he actually wears in-story.

Other trivia

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  • Originally solicited for released in September, this issue arrives a few weeks late, in mid-October.

Covers (4)

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  • Someone turn off the wind machine, wouldya?
    Someone turn off the wind machine, wouldya?
  • "Can I go back to Hearts of Steel?
    "Can I go back to Hearts of Steel?
  • There can be only one!
    There can be only one!
  • Mission Impossible
    Mission Impossible

Advertisements

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Reprints

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  • Optimus Prime Volume 3 (June 6, 2018) ISBN 168405270X / ISBN 978-1684052707
    • Collects Optimus Prime issues #11–14 & First Strike #1, and Transformers: First Strike #1.
    • Bonus material includes art from most covers.
    • Trade paperback format.
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