All Hail Megatron issue 15

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"Lost & Found" redirects here. For other stories with that title, see Lost and Found (disambiguation).
« The Transformers: All Hail Megatron #15 »
File:AllHailMegatron15 CoverA.jpg
Insert Saving Private Ryan quote here for maximum effect.
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published September 16, 2009
Cover date September 2009
Written by Nick Roche with assistance from James Roberts "Everything in Its Right Place"
Denton J. Tipton "Lost & Found"
Art by Nick Roche "Everything in Its Right Place"
Casey Coller "Lost & Found"
Colors by Kris Carter "Everything in Its Right Place"
Joana Lafuente "Lost & Found"
Letters by Chris Mowry
Editor Andy Schmidt
Assistant editor Carlos Guzman
Associate editor Denton J. Tipton
Continuity IDW continuity
Chronology pre-All Hail Megatron

Kup and Perceptor get a second lease on life.

"Everything in Its Right Place"

Synopsis

Prowl admits to himself that Springer's arrival on Ark-17 could not have begun any other way. Indeed, the Autobot tactician had predicted Springer's reaction to finding the convalescent veteran Kup missing from the Autobot ship: a sudden uppercut to Prowl's jaw. Letting Springer vent, Prowl rights himself while he internally laments that so many of the Autobot forces follow the Wrecker commander's example and have become mavericks and loose cannons. Seeing his opportunity, Prowl silences Springer with the revelation of why Kup is not on the ship, the fact that Perceptor and his team of scientists have gotten the old codger up and running again. Springer expresses doubt, having seen the emaciated madman that Kup had been reduced to. Prowl counters by revealing that Perceptor had teamed with the talented Autobots of the Kimia Facility and had achieved a technological breakthrough with some rather unusual procedures. Springer is wary, as due to his role as Wrecker leader his primary experience with the facility has been in testing experimental weaponry. Prowl reminds Springer that the facility was also where the successful refinement of the Pretender process reverse-engineered from Decepticon technology was accomplished. He then explains that the same principles were applied to resolve Kup's technological incompatibility with modern upgrades, with Kup's cerebro-cortex interfacing with his new body in a nearly identical manner, though he cannot separate from his pretender carapace.

Springer's reactions are still mixed until Prowl shows him footage of Kup's new body in combat trials. Indeed, it appears that Springer's old commanding officer is fully rehabilitated, in a body that moves like it's in the prime of youth. Springer however notices a foreign object in Kup's mouth, a cy-gar. Asking why Kup has such a relic of the decadent pre-war days of Cybertron, Springer is told by Prowl that this is how Perceptor keeps the veteran from lapsing into flashbacks of his time stranded on the alien world. Emitting a synthetic replica of the radiation Kup had become addicted to, the cy-gar manages his cravings and keeps him mentally stable. Internally, Prowl notes that without Kup's continued mental stability his own plans for the veteran would be for naught. Reassuring Springer, he notes that Kup is a potent symbol to rally the Autobot troops behind.

Don't do drugs, Kup.

Finally allowed to see Kup in person, Springer's doubts are nearly all laid to rest. Kup is undergoing a final diagnostic disassembly before resuming field duty, and is jovial, joking with his former subordinate. However when seeing his own arm laying on the nearby table, Kup briefly begins to have a flashback, only snapped out of it by Perceptor supplying his cy-gar to him. Stabilized, his friendly demeanor returns and a still-nervous Springer expresses gratitude to see him rejoining their ranks.

Prowl recalls his meetings with Perceptor and the scientist's reluctance to be assigned directly to Kup in the field. He had to remind Perceptor that the Autobot ranks look up to Kup, and that if their secret actions at reforming the way Autobots look at tactics were to be successful they needed the veteran stable and able to capably lead others by example. In so doing, they might turn the tide of the war and have the Autobots fighting more effectively overall, bringing about peace sooner.

Meanwhile, Prowl and Springer discuss that Kup will never be told what he did while stranded on that remote planet. Prowl addresses Springer's concerns, stating that all involved have been contacted and sworn to silence.

After Springer departs, Prowl muses further on the streak of individuality and insubordination that inevitably undermines all Autobot tactics. Even Optimus Prime, he notes, seems more inclined to listen to the bellicose plans of Ironhide than his own more sound battle strategies. That is all about to change, if the personality subroutines installed in Kup take hold. Personality subroutines that will have Kup give the advice that Prowl wants him to give...

He recalls another conversation with Perceptor, in which the scientist noted with no small amount of irony that in doing this Prowl had gone maverick himself, conducting secret plans beyond the chain of command. Prowl felt no contradiction in this, as what separated him from an individual like Hot Rod was the fact that none of what he was doing was something he sought recognition or admiration for. Instead, his only concern was the shared success of the Autobot forces and the final resolution of the Cybertronian civil war.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons

Quotes

"Tell me you didn't just drag Kup here to reverse-engineer some kind of weapon that can inflict that sort of radiation damage on a Decepticon?"
"No, Springer--"
But don't think I didn't consider it.

—Springer, Prowl, and Prowl's narration


"The average Autobot default setting is daredevil, maverick. That's not us, Perceptor. We can subdivide this war into its purest mathematical form and generate solutions all we want, but unless we happen to be surfing on a meteoroid at the time, no one will pay attention."

—Prowl


"But with Kup, everyone wants to hear what he has to say. So now, when he speaks... you won't even see my lips move."

—Prowl

Notes

  • "Everything in its Right Place" is the title of a song by English rock band Radiohead. This is not the first time a Radiohead reference would be found in Roche's work.
  • "Surfing on a meteoroid" may be a nod to "Spotlight: Hot Rod", which Roche also drew.
  • The implication of page 10 is that Optimus was listening to people like Ironhide during All Hail Megatron and that's how the Autobots blundered into a trap.
  • Grimlock has 113 files devoted to his insubordination. The number is likely a reference to issue #113 of the Marvel UK Transformers comic, the issue which got James Roberts hooked on the series. It reappears multiple times in the Roberts-written Last Stand of the Wreckers and More than Meets the Eye.
  • Thunderwing is depicted as his pre-Pretender self.
  • This is not the first time Prowl has shown annoyance with his situation: Devastation issue 5
  • Prowl has been labelled a prick before because he's a bit of a jerk to the cool characters. Now he's an all-out ambiguous figure, willing to do highly amoral and immoral actions in order to win the war quickly and efficiently, and all without an interest in getting credit for doing it. Which makes him... well, frakking scary, to be honest. Writer Mike Costa has said these eleven pages "defined" the IDW version of the character.[1] Then he changed him.

Errors

  • In panel 4 on page 4, the markings on Prowl's door read "Highway Patrol Patrol" instead of "Highway Patrol Police".
  • While the presence of Hot Rod in the "insubordination files" is not out of place by itself, one of the reported insubordination in question is quite odd, as it seems to refer to the events shown in Spotlight: Hot Rod, which specifically displays him following, for once, the protocols of the mission by prioritizing the securing of the Magnificence first, a key-essential artefact in the conflict, rather than playing hero and come back rescue Dealer instead. This can hardly be considered "Loss of lives under his command while on non-essential missions" or even be classified as insubordination. Maybe the file refer to a different event, but in this case, we haven't seen yet Hot Rod display the similar kind of guild he had grown over the retrieving of the Magnificence.

"Lost & Found"

Synopsis

Aboard the starship Trion, Drift has managed to teach patience to Blurr through the use of the Earth game "Go". The two of them muse on their lives before the war, while Perceptor's damaged body looms above them in a CR chamber.

Bludgeon has goo for a face.

One hundred games later, Kup is haranguing Blaster over his inability to hail any other Autobot outposts. Drift admonishes his impatience, and Kup explains that all the Autobot distress signals have him antsy. Blurr arrives and announces that Perceptor is online once more.

The crew goes to see Perceptor in his lab, where he is fervently working on reinforcements and refinements to his body. Among them is a new chest panel that will presumably prevent the grievous wound that sidelined him from ever occurring again. Shortly afterward, he installs stabilizers in his arms to improve his aim. Kup objects, as Perceptor is more valuable in the lab than on the field. Perceptor however feels he can be more useful in battle, and thus repay the debt he feels he owes for the saving of his life. Kup lectures him, but is interrupted by Blaster, who has received a patchy transmission from Hot Rod. The hotheaded Autobot is being pursued by a Decepticon ship under the command of Bludgeon. The Trion moves to intercept, but Perceptor is warned to stay behind.

At the crash site of Hot Rod's shuttlecraft, Bludgeon orders the Monstructor Six to execute the Autobot. Kup's crew arrive via orbital jump to even the odds. However the Autobots are quickly overwhelmed by the formation of Monstructor, and the odds of the battle seem bleak. In the nick of time, a precise burst of laser fire hits the vulnerable connector joint of the immense combiner, reducing Monstructor back into its component Decepticons. The stunned Autobot crew turns to find that their savior is Perceptor himself. Blaster expresses vehement misgivings on Perceptor having "defiled" himself by repurposing his body to combat specifications. Kup deflects this by telling Blaster to tend to the wounded Springer, and takes Perceptor along to give chase to the fleeing Decepticons.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons

Quotes

"Just doin' my job."

—Perceptor's upgrades apparently include a "can't pronounce the g at the end of his verbs anymore" function.

Notes

  • Perceptor has two different bodies in this story; his G1 look (from "Spotlight: Blaster" and "Spotlight: Drift") and his semi-updated look from All Hail Megatron.
  • Hot Rod was seen piloting the Decepticon ship he acquired in his Spotlight, given a fresh coat of paint to match its new owner.[2]
  • The Decepticons appear to have reverse-engineered and now drafted the Monstructor Six.
  • The ending appears to lead into Hot Rod's flashback tale in All Hail Megatron #5.

Errors

  • Why are Drift and Blurr playing an Earth game? None of the team were on Earth until All Hail Megatron. (Psst—it's because Go, an ancient Chinese game, is commonly thought to be Japanese. IDW is just reminding us, in case we ever forgot, that Drift is Japanese.)
  • If Decepticon Pretenders are presented as supremely powerful horrors, why is Bludgeon retreating because Monstructor is down? He alone should be capable of wiping out the Autobots.
  • Speaking of Bludgeon, why is he not in Garrus-9? And when did he get his mind back?! And why is he suddenly loyal and working with the other Decepticons?! Denton J. Tipton said we'd find out what happened at Garrus-9 in Last Stand of the Wreckers,[3] but as it turned out, Bludgeon was not seen or mentioned at all in that series, and in any case the events that took place would not explain Bludgeon's sudden sanity. Yes, Denton, we know we're not supposed to be concerned with continuity.[4]

Notes

Covers (3)

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Reprints

References

  1. ↑ Moonbase 2 interview with Mike Costa ("Special Guest")
  2. ↑ http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=6643&start=60#151871
  3. ↑ http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=6643&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30
  4. ↑ Comment made on the IDW message boards on September 22nd, 2010.
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