IDW - Robots in Disguise #6

Comic Staff

Title: Syndromica [1]

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Livio Ramondelli

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Storyline

Shockwave arrives at Arduria to investigate why the gas giant planet has suddenly frozen over, and he learns that it's due to one of his Regenesis Missiles. Whilst there he encounters some of the residents, the Ardurian Rocs who are dying and freezing, so Shockwave puts them out of their misery and kills the remaining members.

500,000 Years later, in the present day the travelling Orion Pax (formerly Optimus Prime) meets with Hardhead, Wheelie and Garnak who are travelling as well to keep a dangerous cargo away from Cybertron. They tell Orion that they've picked up a signal from Ardurian space, despite the residents there being gone for a long time now. Orion agrees to help them investigate it.

On their ship Orion meets with Hardhead's cargo, Jhiaxus, who seems to have gone mad from the reformatting of Cybertron after the Chaos event, and he sarts rambling about Shockwave's 13 missiles.

The ship later lands on one of the Ardurian Aeries, where the signal was detected and they discover the bodies of the Rocs left by Shockwave years earlier and also discover the frozen form of Monstructor as well, reaching for a missile. 

Whilst asking Wheelie to look up Monstructor's files from the ship when Monstructor breaks free from the ice and goes in to attack Orion and Hardhead, and Orion suddenly remembers that last time he was seen it was with Bludgeon, whom is now on the ship and has attacked Garnak and Wheelie.

Orion and Hardhead fight Monstructor and learns that someone has removed Monstructor's weakness, which Orion learned when he first fought him years earlier from Omega Supreme. Monstructor willingly separates and barges past the two Autobots and return to their own ship which is leaving the Aerie.

Orion returns to the ship and finds Jhiaxus gone and Wheelie and Garnak left for dead. Later on, after the Autobots are healed up (albeit with Garnak losing an eye) the group are hunting down Bludgeon's ship and they figure out that they're heading to the Lenocinium Velnero system, the system where Wheelie was stranded for centuries. Optimus says they have to go there, which visibly disturbs Wheelie to the extent that he doesn't even rhyme. Optimus says that they still need to go there to stop Bludgeon from doing whatever he's doing, especially since it seems to be involving the Regenesis Missiles.

Characters

Autobot
Orion Pax - Truck Cab
Hardhead - Personnel Carrier
Wheelie - Car
Bumblebee - Car (Mentioned)
Dynobots (Mentioned)
Rodimus - Speedy Car (Mentioned)
Crew of Light Light (Mentioned)

Decepticon
Bludgeon - Tank
Wildfly - Monster
Slog - Monster
Scowl - Monster
Icepick - Monster
Birdbrain - Monster
Bristleback - Monster
Monstructor - Gestalt
Shockwave - Ray Gun (Flashback)

Cybertronian
Jhiaxus - Jet Driven mad by Reformatting 
Galvatron (Mentioned) Destroyed during Reformatting

Other
Garnak
Ardurian Rocs Killed by Regenesis Missile/Shockwave
Station Bar Patrons
Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Comic Notes

• The Regenesis Missiles are what created the Ore-13 on Earth, and Froze Arduria, it's also been implied that one of them created the energon crystal laden world where Kup was trapped in his Spotlight as well.
• Orion learns from Hardhead that Rodimus is dead, but Orion doesn't believe it and is sure that he survived his ship's destruction (As the reader knows is the truth too). This also shows that Rodimus hasn't bothered to get in touch with Cybertron since their apparent deaths...I mean the Lost Light has basically EVERY scientist from Cybertron onboard! Seriously!! Why no radios?!
• Shockwave is mentioned as being on Cybertron right now
• In a nice touch, Orion and the others in this series are in their bodies from Chaos.
• The Ardurians are distant cousins to Transformers, much like how they are related to Battle Beasts in the 80's lines
• Jhiaxus is revealed to have survived his apparent death in Chaos, however he went mad from the reformatting.
• All the characters who were in some serious danger during Chaos are now accounted for
• It looks like we'll be getting some answers about what happened to Wheelie in the years between his Spotlight and Space Opera
• Oh look! The Monstructor Components have Alternate modes! Still no real name for their group yet though...