IDW - Robots in Disguise #17

Title: Shockwaves
Written by: John Barber
Art by: Livio Ramondelli
Letters by: Tom B. Long
Editor: Carlos Guzman

Plot

Shockwave and Dreadwing fly away from Iacon into the Wilds, to the crater where the Metrotitan was found, and exploded, inside, expecting ruins, Dreadwing is shocked to find the Crystal City still intact, despite being ground zero for the explosion. The two of them wonder why this is, when Shockwave blasts a hole in his chest, killing him. Shockwave then waits...

In the distant past, Shockwave is planting something in the Crystal City when Jhiaxus appears and points out that there's a massive battle going on, between Omega Supreme, and his greatest creation Monstructor. They watch as Monstructor is defeated and before long Jhiaxus is on the Ark, before he can be disgraced, leaving Shockwave in his stead. The Crystal City is buried under ground, and life continues. After a while, Shockwave is made a Senator and sets up the J.A.A.T. to much applause from his fellow Senators.

Afterwards, Dai Atlas approaches the newcomer, and tells him his concerns, as he wasn't fond of Jhiaxus, but Shockwave assures him that he's not Jhiaxus. Proteus then comes up for a chat, but first physically assaults the Cybertronian who was working as Shockwave's projector, this disgusts Shockwave, and denounces Proteus' Functionalist beliefs, to which Proteus comments that such emotion is unbecoming of a senator.

Later, Shockwave watches some miners being transported to Luna-2, which Shockwave hates that they need, and he comments that he planted a seed before Jhiaxus left on the Ark, and says that he plans to create artificial Energon to replace their needs on the real stuff (beginning the plans of his Regenesis Project). Dai Atlas warns Shockwave not to do anything too outrageous, especially with the Senate seeming to be becoming corrupt.

Over time, the Senate starts to split, with Proteus running things behind his puppet Primes, so Shockwave starts finding new potential Primes of his own, including Orion Pax. After a while, Shockwave is taken captive and is placed under Shadowplay and Empurata, turning him into his more familiar form.

After his Empurata, Shockwave remains a Senator, but rather than being weakened by the effects of the processes he is made more determined, and without emotions, he can work without limits etc. After a Senate meeting, Shockwave is greeted by Starscream who takes him to meet the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron. Who wants to use Shockwave's knowledge on Gestalts (via Jhiaxus' research) to build his own one. Shockwave says it'll be a long process, which Megatron doesn't mind, as he has a long-term plan.

Soon, Shockwave has a lab of his own, where he's experimenting on random Cybertronians, and over time, he starts to figure some things out.

One day Orion Pax approaches him in the street, worried about him, but Shockwave doesn't care about his friend's concerns, as he's not really the same person anymore. Later, Megatron begins his plans for destroying the Senate in Kaon, and tells Shockwave of this, who in order to help in some way, replaces his claw hands with a blaster and a normal hand.

Soon, Shcokwave goes to visit Dai Atlas, and shoots him at point blank range, sparing him from dying with the rest of the Senate.

Over the years, Shockwave has seeded 13 worlds with his Ores, which created various effects, but then remarks that his most powerful Ore is still on Cybertron. Dreadwing wakes up, and his wound is healed,a nd he's alive, thanks to the power of Ore-14, resurrection! With this, he'll be able to bring about his final cataclysm.

Characters

Autobot/Future Autobot

Orion Pax - Truck (Flashback)

Nominus Prime (Flashback) Dead

Sentinel Prime (Flashback)

Omega Supreme (Flashback)

Impactor (Flashback)

Bumblebee - Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon/Future Decepticon

Senator Shockwave - Flying Gun

Dreadwing - Stealth Bomber

Megatron - Armoured Truck (Flashback)

Starscream - Tetra Jet (Flashback)

Soundwave - Acoustic Van (Flashback)

Senator Ratbat (Flashback)

Monstructor - Gestalt (Flashback) Defeated by Omega Supreme

Bristleback (Mentioned)

Scowl (Mentioned)

Slog (Mentioned)

Icepick (Mentioned)

Wildfly (Mentioned)

Birdbrain (Mentioned)

Devastator - Gestalt (Mentioned)

Other

Senator Proteus (Flashback) Dead

Senator Dai Atlas (Flashback) Injured by Shockwave

Jhiaxus (Flashback)

Nova Prime (Flashback)

Cyclonus (Flashback)

Galvatron (Flashback)

Projector-Bot - Holo-Projector (Flashback)

The Senate (Flashback) Dead

Shockwave's Victims (Flashback) Dead

Shielded Guards (Flashback)

Miners (Flashback)

Metrotitan - City/Space Ship (Mentioned) Dead

NAILS (Mentioned)

Civilians (Flashback)

Primus (Mentioned)

Vector Sigma (Mentioned)

Notes

• You have to wonder...if everything down in the Crystal City can be revived like this...then where is the Metrotitan?
• Shockwave and Dreadwing went missing from the battle in Iacon, this is where they ended up.
• The pre-empurata Shockwave is shown to be kind of sly as well, as he plants the Ore-14 in Crystal City years before he begins his mass-plan to seed other worlds
• Shockwave was witness to the battle between Monstructor and Omega Supreme, shown in the RID Annual 2012, and was also witness to Megatron being shipped off to the mines
• Dai Atlas appearing in this flashback, and throughout Monstrosity as well somewhat builds up to Dai Atlas maybe returning in the present
• Shockwave originally had claw hands, rather than his now common blaster, it's shown that he can change his hands over by simply removing and replacing them
• Shockwave DOES seem to have some emotion left, as he makes sure that Dai Atlas is kept away from the Senate-Cull (from Megatron Origin) by injuring him in his lab, thus allowing him to survive
• The planet where Kup crashed in his Spotlight is confirmed here to be a world seeded by Shockwave