The Killing Jar (issue)
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| "The Killing Jar" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Story by | John Barber | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Livio Ramondelli | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Tom B. Long | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | Current era (2014) | ||||||||||||
The new suspects: the Dinobots.
Synopsis
Optimus Prime takes Sandstorm's gun and comforts the former Autobot when he expresses regret that he almost gave in to his baser emotions. Windblade, on the other hand, is expressedly critical of the Autobots and their apparent reversion to the war. Barricade cooly notes that, despite all the firepower and violence, the Firecons are still alive, albeit barely.
The next morning, the Firecons are kept in a cell, whining about their treatment. Windblade berates the Autobots on their vicious nature, and Sandstorm continues beating himself over almost killing Sparkstalker. Optimus notes that the Firecons are innocent, as they would have no need for infernus bullets to produce fire. Optimus continues on to explain that the attack on Gutcruncher's bar was meant to instigate animosities, and he sets out to confront a "friend".
Optimus meets the Dinobots near a statue of himself. Optimus and Slug walk off together and into memory lane about the Dinobots' encounter with the Firecons at the bloody battle at Varas Centralus after the Decepticon pyromaniacs burned an outpost at Varas Extrinsecus. The conversation leads to Optimus blankly accusing Slug of the murders, an accusation that Slug doesn't appreciate. Just as the other Dinobots join the brawl, Starscream contacts Optimus and, after berating him for accusing the Dinobots, points to another massacre, this time of Skram, Fireball, Lander, and Diver in Metroplex.
Knowing that nobody would stand for dead Autobots, Starscream calls for a raze of the Decepticon ghetto, but Barricade, sick of selling out his people, refuses the order. After receiving an unexpected commendation from Optimus Prime, Barricade goes right to investigating, noting the escape route: a large access duct that leads to the statue of Optimus.
But the discussing leads to another fight between Optimus and Slug, with the former revealing that he remembers all too well what the Dinobots did at Varas Centralus and that they were no better than the Decepticons then. He accuses the Dinobots of being the worst of what Cybertron has to offer, refusing to adapt to the new peace. Windblade has to pull Optimus away from the rant, and he tells her that he knows who the true culprit is...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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