Pax Cybertronia (issue)
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| File:Ongoing 31 Cover.jpg Ironhide is right, he is out there! | |||||||||||||
| "Pax Cybertronia" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | December 7, 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | December 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Story by | Mike Costa | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Casey Coller | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Joana Lafuente | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Neil Uyetake | ||||||||||||
| Editor | John Barber | ||||||||||||
| Associate editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | Far future | ||||||||||||
In a new era of peace, Ironhide and Alpha Trion reflect on what has happened...
Synopsis
On Gorlam Prime, it is a time of peace, and Alpha Trion entertains a group of three young Autobots with tales of times past. The four speak of Megatron's insurrection, the Dinobots' attack on Shockwave, and Optimus Prime's defeat by Megatron. The stories are cut short when the fireworks for the upcoming Remembrance Night ceremony begins and Alpha suggests the youths go home. One youth expresses preference for Alpha's stories over the media-tron—his experiences are much more real. This comment prompts an arriving Ironhide to rebuff Alpha's supposed presence at events during the Great War. The young Autobots are in awe of the veteran and, after a question, leave for their homes to prepare for the ceremony. At the ceremony, the speaker establishes that it has been fifteen million years since the end of the Unification War and the Great Years. He introduces the key speaker for the event, the last veteran at Gorlam, Ironhide. Ironhide makes his speech, noting that the prosperous time they live in is what the Autobots fought for all those years. He recalls the fight against Thunderwing, Megatron's invasion of Earth, his own fight against the Insecticon swarm, and Megatron's battle against the D-Void. Ironhide finishes his speech, expressing that his time has passed and leaves the hall.
Outside, Alpha Trion finds Ironhide looking at the stars. Alpha asks the old Transformer if he believes Megatron is still out there and comforts him with the thought that Optimus Prime, too, is still out there. Ironhide doesn't understand why he is being honored—he did little else but punch Decepticons. Now, he's just a relic of a bygone era who did nothing to build the current civilization. Alpha Trion tells him that the future is based on the past, and that Ironhide's contributions are vital to understanding what is to come. One of the three young Autobots comes up to the pair and asks Ironhide what would happen if Megatron returned. When Ironhide points out that they stopped him before and can stop him again, the young one asks him to tell him the story of Megatron's defeat.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"If Prime were here, he'd know what to say. Over the years, I got to thinkin'. What Prime had... what made him great, it wasn't that he was so strong — even though he was — it was that he could talk... and what he said, it made you feel as strong as he was. I really do wish Prime was here right now."
- —Ironhide addresses the audience
"What "everything"? I didn't build any of this. All these beautiful things, all these 'bots running around... I didn't have nothin' to do with that. It's been millions of years, Trion. Honor me nothin'. All I ever did was punch guys in the face."
"I remember."
"These are the Great Years. All of this. How do they not see that?"
- —Ironhide and Alpha Trion take in the future
"The story never ends, Ironhide. It just changes into something else."
- —Alpha Trion has heard of reboots
Notes
- This was deliberately written as a potential "last issue" for the whole of The Transformers; it was also a homage to Peter David's last issue of The Incredible Hulk, where an older Rick Jones was interviewed about the Hulk, and a Starman issue where the immortal Shade was telling stories to children a million years in the future (with Alpha Trion always meant to be the Shade). [1]
- What has happened to Cybertron and why are they on Gorlam Prime? Mike Costa tells us this question is "very interesting, I guess you're going to have to keep reading the comic!"[1]
- The young Autobots sport the Generation 2 Autobot insignia.
- The future Autobots have multiple alternate modes; the idea Ironhide only has one is fascinating to them.
- Statues of Bumblebee, Cosmos, Rodimus, and Optimus Prime adorn the scenery of Gorlam Prime in this issue.
- Alpha Trion is deliberately drawn as younger than Ironhide, to show that Trion is constantly changing but Ironhide remains the same. Originally, it was going to be Bumblebee as the last veteran, but it was then decided to use Ironhide, as he had an established history with Alpha Trion.[1]
- This issue was released as part of IDW's Photo Cover Month, which also includes "Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime".
- The issue's title is from the Pax Cybertronia established in Beast Wars, a reference to "Pax Romana", a term for an era of peace and stability in the Roman Empire.
Errors
- On page 4, Megatron is seen with his Decepticon symbol neckchain. However, in Megatron Origin, when he was about to give his deathblow to Sentinel Prime, he never wore this chain. Casey Coller admitted on his deviantArt page that he added it in to make the scene look cool.
Covers (3)
- Cover A: Revoltech Megatron toy; photo by Rik Alvarez
- Cover B: Close-up of Ironhide staring at the stars; art by Casey Coller and colors by Joana Lafuente
- Cover RI: The Transformers: The Movie poster homage, with Optimus Prime, Rodimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Prowl replacing Ultra Magnus, Kup, Springer, Arcee and Blurr respectively; art by Trevor Hutchison
