Swarm (issue)
| The name or term "Swarm" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swarm (disambiguation). |
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 "Excuse me, will you please stop watching our horrible deaths, you sick freak?" | |||||||||||||
| Swarm | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 1994 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | July 1994 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Penciler | Manny Galan | ||||||||||||
| Inker | Jim Amash | ||||||||||||
| Colorist | Sarra Mossoff | ||||||||||||
| Letterers | Richard Starkings with Comicraft | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Rob Tokar | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity | ||||||||||||
The Autobot-Decepticon Alliance discovers the secret of the Swarm... just in time to be attacked by the Cybertronian Empire.
This issue contains a main story, "Swarm", and a backup story, "Tales of Earth Part Six".
"Swarm"
Synopsis
On J'asik, fourth moon of Kol, the Autobot-Decepticon Alliance finds nothing but corpses and a world sucked dry. Prime's visions are now reality. Something is consuming worlds, and Prime fears it's related somehow to the Transformers. He orders a complete science sweep. Megatron thinks this is a waste of time, but is content simply to complain while he finishes healing.
Elsewhere, on the planet Karn, the furry purple locals are dealing with a threat no less lethal: the Cybertronian Empire. The Imperials, under the command of Mindset, go about exterminating the humanoids with emotionless efficiency. When they lose contact with their northwest perimeter watch, they investigate, and discover the consuming menace of the Swarm. They fight back, briefly. As the Swarm consumes them, however, it recognizes something familiar in them. When Mindset transforms in front of it, the Swarm becomes certain that it has found what it is looking for.
Then it eats him. As Mindset dies, "billions" of light years away, the Decepticon Onslaught doubles over with pain. His fellow Combaticon, Blast Off, asks him what's wrong, but he just shrugs it off. Over the millennia he has forgotten about budding, and even if he remembered, he would be unaware that he can feel it when a descendant of his is killed. Prime also feels it, and can somehow identify the cause.
On Ethos, where the Alliance recently defeated the Imperials, Jhiaxus surveys the results. A stranger approaches. It's Starscream, and he wants to make a deal...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Cybertronians | Others |
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Items of note
- A caption refers to the Combaticons as "fusilateral-quintrocombiners", one of the more complicated canonical terms for "combiner".
- Given what is understood about budding and the history of the Empire, in order for Onslaught to be Mindset's ancestor, Onslaught would have to be millions of years old, and be from Cybertron. The origin of Onslaught and the Combaticons is not explicit in U.S. continuity, but it's strongly implied they were created on Earth in the mid-80s, in much the same manner as the Stunticons. (In the UK continuity, this is more explicitly the case.) This discrepancy is not explained.
- Billions of light years? The Cybertronian Empire must have seriously advanced space travel technology, when one considers that Cybertron was originally orbiting Alpha Centauri in the Marvel comics continuity.
- A robot that looks a heck of a lot like Crow T. Robot is lying among the dead Cybertronians on page 3.
"Tales of Earth Part Six"
Synopsis
At Autobase on Earth, Prime, Megatron, and their science team examine the data regarding the destruction on J'asik. Perceptor reports that they found traces of matter that is unmistakably genetically related to the Transformers. Megatron accuses Prime of having known this was coming. Prime explains the visions he's been having, and tells Megatron about budding. Just as they resolve to confront this offshoot of Transformer reproduction, however, the base shakes. Time's up: The Empire is attacking in force.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Cybertronians |
|---|---|---|
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Items of note
Covers (1)
- The Swarm attacking Jhiaxus' troops by Derek Yaniger
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