IDW - Transformers vs Visionaries #5

Title: The Curtain

Written by: Magdelene Visaggio

Art by: Fico Ossio

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Lettered by: Shawn Lee

Edited by: Sarah Gaydos & David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Leoric makes it to the outskirts of New Prysmos, where he is met by Cryotek, and is snuck into the city, when inside, they make it to Witterquick and Mortdred's torture chamber, where they free the former, and leave the latter to die (I guess?). Leoric soon amasses the other Spectral Knights and brings them under his command again, leading them against the Darkling Lords.

Leoric quickly reaches Virulina's throne room, and the two fight it out, but it ends when Virulina uses a corruption spell on Leoric to try and kill him. However it turns out that Merklynn has betrayed her, and the spell she uses also affects her too. The two leaders slowly die as Merklynn announces his plans to use Arzon as his proxy and take over the planet.

Outside, Arzon slashes the Counter-wave bomb, but only damages the case, allowing the Autobots to still use it, assuming they can get to Vector Sigma in time to unleash it.

The group fights, with Ironhide taking the bomb into his chest to act as the casing. Galadria rushes to him and uses a healing spell on the Autobot, which spreads into the bomb, and further into the Talisman. The city is covered in a green light which soon spreads to the planet's surface.

One week later, Leoric and Virulina are recovering in a hospital, when Galadria comes to them, and explains that her spell reacted well with the bomb and Talisman, sending New Prysmos to the planet's surface, creating new plants and animal life, and even healing the corruption of Cybertron's Energon.

At Wheeljack's lab, Waspinator has been healed from his magic-induced wounds, along with Ironhide, and everything is starting to go back to normal. Tankor informs Ironhide about the patch of land taken over by the Prysmosians, which Ironhide says is fine, they can live together after all they've been through. Tankor suggests that he should learn how to do magic, which drives Ironhide to laughter.

In New Prysmos, Leoric finds Arzon and forgives him for his betrayal, and they begins planning to rebuild hey society anew.

In the dungeons of the city, Cindarr delivers some food for Merklynn in his jail cell, and promises to get him released. However Merklynn has seen the future and knows there is no point in trying to rebuild again...the end of the world is coming....

Characters

Autobot

Ironhide - Van

Wheeljack - Car

Kup - Pick Up Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Fat Tankor - Tank

Waspinator - Wasp Cured of Magic Poisoning

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Breakdown - Armoured Van

Vector Sigma (Mentioned)

Spectral Knight

Leoric

Galadria

Ectar

Witterquick

Cryotek

Arzon 

Craggor

Ramak

Hydron

Other Spectral Knights

Feryl (Mentioned)

Darkling Lord

Virulina

Mortdred

Lexor

Cravex

Cindarr

Darkstorm (Mentioned)

Other Prysmosian

Merklynn Imprisoned by Prysmosians

Valorak Warlocks (Mentioned)

Other

Unicron - Ringed Planet (In Scrying Pool)

Notes

• Um....why are people acting like Mortdred did actually betray the Spectral Knights? He was captured and tortured along with Witterquick...
• This is really stupidly hypocritical when you remember that Leoric instantly forgives both Cryotek and Arzon, who DID literally betray him!
• Turns out the Visionary armour is able to change colour by tapping on the armour's shield...maybe it requires a spell from the faction's leader (we only see them being tapped) but wouldn't this make treachery an easy task for them?
• It isn't shown on screen, but due to the colour of his trousers, I'd guess that Arzon rejoined the Spectral Knights after his betrayal failed
• Just a small nit-pick, but the Leoric background on page 7 is really awkwardly stretched out..if you removed the panels his face would be way too long.
• Apparently Virulina and Galadria's spells are actually based on the ones featured in the Marvel comic series.
• Oh, turns out Merklynn was planning to betray Virulina all along...in order to put Arzon in charge? Did he plan this all along? That seems like a dumb plan.
• We don't know it yet (technically) but in Unicron #0 we learn that the pulse of energy that transported New Prysmos to Cybertron's surface sent out another message into space, saying "Unicron"
• Okay, my question remains. Why does New Prysmos have an atmosphere that they can breath, and seemingly has a nice breeze (based on Leoric's flowing hair). They only terraformed a couple hundred square miles of Cybertron....
• So...I wonder if Leoric decided to punish any of the Prysmosians who overthrew him and his team earlier in the series?
• Oh cool, Waspinator is okay after being turned into a chariot for Virulina...I bet he'll survive the events of the Unicron series.....
• Oh there's Fat Tankor! Last time we saw him he was guarding New Prysmos, and then we were told all the Cybertronians in the city were killed....I guess he ran away?
• Ahh what a happy ending. I bet nothing horrible will happen to New Prysmos or Cybertron in the Unicron series!
• So yep! My worry that the day would be saved by a deus ex machine turned out to be right! Galadria used a never established before spell to send healing energy into the counter wave bomb, so as to heal Cybertron and make everything okay again.
• I am actually shocked that they didn't bring back Kup with the power of love or something in this story!
• So...what was the point of Ectar exactly? I think he only said one line in this entire series!

IDW - Optimus Prime #18

Title: The Falling Interlude: The First Who Was Named

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher and Livio Ramondelli

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Optimus, now chained up by Shockwave asks what happened to his old friend, and how he is posing as Onyx Prime. Shockwave happily explains it all to his friend...

After he was drawn into the singularity in Crystal City, he was launched twelve million years into the past, badly injured, but still alive. He is soon found by a roaming shepherd, the original Onyx, who asks if he can help him. Without hesitating Shockwave kills Onyx, sending his beasts running to safety. One of the "beasts", a biped remains, who Shockwave named Megatronus.

Soon, Shockwave manages to gather the beasts again, and becomes known as Onyx Prime. Along with Megatronus, he teaches them to fight, creating an army of his own. Before long, he sends Megatronus out to create his Darklander army and begin his siege on other territories. Shockwave dons his full disguise as Onyx and sets out to unite the Thirteen Primes to create their new society.

Following their founding of society, Shockwave manages to convince the others to attempt Expansionism, and spread their message to the stars, however on the first world they encounter Shockwave manipulates things so the Cybertronians attack the natives, slaughtering them, and traumatising Alpha Trion, who was there to document the mission.

When they returned to Cybertron, Prima had a screaming match with Megatronus, blaming him for the slaughter on the unnamed planet. This eventually leads to Shockwave manipulating Liege Maximo into, in turn, manipulating Megatronus into attempting to kill Prima. During their battle, Solus rushes to help Prima, but she ends up being run through by her own Star Saber, Megatronus escapes, taking the sword with him, and the other Primes renounce him as "The Fallen".

Liege Maximo is captured for his manipulation of Megatronus, imprisoned inside his own Titan, Vigilem, with his people charged to be his wardens and keep him away forever. After Vigilem is sent away, Prima leads a mission with "Onyx" and Trion to hunt down Megatronus aboard his own Titan, Emissary.

Soon, Prima and Onyx encounter Megatronus on planet Tsiehshi, where Megatronus manages to cleave Prima in half with ease, however "Onyx" betrays Megatronus and decapitates him, and brings their bodies back to Emissary, where he tells Trion that they died fighting each other. Trion believes his story and they are interred back on Cybertron.

Emissary takes Prima's body into space, however "Onyx" sabotages Emissary, causing him to eventually crash onto the prehistoric world of Elonia, bringing about the end of the era of the Primes...

Back in the present, Shockwave explains that all he has done has been to spear-head the progress of Cybertron, even these dark days he has brought about by attacking the planet. Optimus disagrees, which Shockwave always knew he would. 

He decides to give Optimus the chance to change his mind, by sending him into the Singularity too...as he pushes him right into it....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab Thrown into Crystal City Singularity by Shockwave

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Metrotitan - Autobot City Seemingly Dead

Decepticon

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Needlenose - Fighter Jet

The Primes

Onyx Prime/Shockwave

Liege Maximo

Megatronus/The Fallen (Flashback Only) Killed by Shockwave

Prima (Flashback Only) Killed by Megatronus

Solus Prime (Flashback Only) Killed by Megatronus

Alpha Trion (Flashback Only)

Alchemist Prime (Flashback Only)

Amalgamous Prime (Flashback Only)

Nexus Prime (Flashback Only)

Quintus Prime (Flashback Only)

Vector Prime (Flashback Only)

Micronus Prime (Flashback Only)

"The Arisen" (Flashback Only)

Maximal

Iguanus - Iguana

Snarl - Lion

Backstop - Rhino

Ramulus - Ibex

Other Maximals/Herd Members (Flashback Only)

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Mistress of Flame

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Devastator - Constructicon Combiner

Original Onyx (Flashback Only) Killed by Shockwave

Vigilem - Space Ship (Flashback Only) Lobotomized by The Primes

Emissary - Space Ship (Flashback Only) Crashed into Elonia by Shockwave

Arcee - Cannon (Flashback Only)

Galvatron - Cannon (Flashback Only)

Omega Supreme - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Omega Sentinel Army - Space Shuttles (Flashback Only)

Darklander Army (Flashback Only)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Ancient Headmasters (Mentioned)

Other

Primitive Elonian (Flashback Only)

Cybertron's First Victims (Flashback Only) Dead

Notes

• Wow sometimes being behind schedule on these things does have it's benefits! The planet that Emissary is shown crashing on has been confirmed as being Elonia in Unicron #0
• So...turns out Shockwave is pretty much responsible for everything that happened in Cybertronian history, even the seemingly coincidental stuff, such as the Eukarian ship that would end up doing the Hearts of Steel re-enactment being filled with a crew that just happened to look like the main G1 cast of Transformers. We know that "Onyx" sent them towards Earth, where he knew his younger self was going to experiment on them...YIKES!
• Shockwave has immense knowledge of what happened on Cybertron in the early years of the Primes because he listened to the stories told by Alpha Trion.
• It's revealed here that Shockwave was launched twelve million years into the past when he was drawn into the Crystal City singularity. We learned a while ago that Bumblebee was somehow alive inside the Singularity, and thanks to the Unicron #0 preview, we knew he was going to be returning to the "real world" soon anyway. So at least this isn't out of the blue I guess?
• In an astonishing amount of detail, the original Onyx, whom Shockwave killed and replaced is shown to be a quadruped, where the Shockwave version of him has been mostly bipedal...and people just thought that was an art error!
• It's revealed here that Shockwave named Megatronus here, explaining why his name is similar to Megatron's, given that in this continuity Megatronus' name was unknown until recently.
• This issue explains that Shockwave, knowing of their doomed futures, managed to manipulate the Primes to doing as he pleased, especially when manipulating Megatronus and Liege Maximo
• It's revealed here that, despite what was shown in earlier stories, Solus Prime was killed by Megatronus stabbing her with her own Star Saber.
• This issue confirms that the Matrix was indeed originally the hilt to the Star Saber
• Briefly during the flashback we see a heavily silhouetted figure of "The Arisen". We should presumably discover who he really is, and his supposed connection with Optimus soon

IDW - Lost Light #17

Title: The Everlasting Voices Part 2: The God War

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

On the Afterspark, Ultra Magnus examines the area where Rodimus was struck by Primus' lightning, the group determine it wasn't normal lightning, since there would be remains. Suddenly Magnus is approached by his deceased brother, Dominus Ambus, who tells him that he has been watching over him and is proud of everything he has done. After hearing this, Magnus begins to ascend into the Matrix.

Elsewhere on the planet, Anode and Lug are pillaging the soft Ununtrium from a temple they found, as Anode isn't sure this even is the afterlife, she rations that if they are dead, then it doesn't matter, but if they are still alive, then she can get this rare alloy to set her and Lug up for life. The two thieves fly off to examine the Matrix, as Lug wants some of the blue crystals.

Nightbeat notices some crystals on the floor and starts to follow them, leaving Nautica, Brainstorm and Drift alone...that is until Drift is also struck down by divine lightning too.

Drift soon arrives by Rodimus' side in front of the Guiding Hand, soon followed by Ratchet and Ultra Magnus (who is peeved as he was about to ascend when he was scooped away). Rodimus has called his friends to help him convince the Guiding Hand to revive them, so they can get back to their real lives. At first Rodimus feels that he just wants revenge on Getaway for stealing his ship, but he quickly realizes that he really wants his friends to be happy again, and the Lost Light is where everyone was happy last. The Guiding Hand however reject this notion, since his crew are happy here in the Afterspark, and if they revived them now, they can never return. The Hand sends Rodimus and his team away, back into the Afterspark to await ascension.

Back in the Afterspark, Cyclonus and Tailgate catch up on what happened since they last saw each other. Cyclonus admits that he should never have left Necroworld without Tailgate, and the two promise to never separate again, as they travel towards the Matrix.

Rodimus and the others arrive back outside the temple, where Magnus immediately leaves to go be with Dominus some more, however, Ratchet notices some words over the archway into the temple, words that only he can see announcing "We are all trapped light".

On the other side of the temple, Nautica and Brainstorm are exploring, with Brainstorm convinced that the place is trying to distract everyone from exploring, and seems to be splitting them up. Just then, Brainstorm's crush, Quark appears and announces that he has always loved Brainstorm and wants to be his spark-mate. Brainstorm, despite knowing this is probably a trick drops his Early Early Warning Device and leaves with Quark. Nautica, now left alone notices that the device is now red hot, and also now notices a door reading "Danger. Do not enter" on it. She goes to open it, when Skids suddenly appears behind her, asking her to come walk with him...

Back with Rodimus' group, they follow a tunnel that leads them to a room bearing the markings "W0" on the door, again, with only Ratchet being able to see it. Inside the room, they all see an eclectic group of aliens hooked up to a device generating some light. The aliens all start chanting "Prepare. Confront. Repel" in unison and the group are surrounded from the shadows

Outside, Nightbeat has followed the trail of Crystals back towards the main group under the Matrix. He locates Whirl, who he asks where Rung is, because he wants to tell him his new discovery...the TRUE purpose to his alternate mode, however, upon announcing this, he rises up, and his spark is ripped from his body, re-entering the Matrix.

Inside the temple again, Nautica is unmoved by Skids' appearance, despite his best attempts to get her to come with him, she just dismisses him...causing his form to glitch out and start to distort. Nautica takes this to mean that she is doing the right thing, and opens the dangerous door, and coming face-to-face with the Scavengers, still stuck inside Grimlock's old cell on Garrus-9!!

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Drift - Car

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus - Vehicle Transport

Ratchet - Ambulance

Nautica - Submarine

Brainstorm - Jet

Nightbeat - Car Ascended into Matrix

Velocity - Race Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Swerve - Van

Tailgate - Car (After Spark?)

Pipes - Truck (After Spark)

Trailcutter - Van (After Spark)

Dominus Ambus - Turbo Fox (After Spark)

Quark - Electron Microscope (After Spark)

Skids - Van (After Spark)

Getaway - Car (Mentioned)

Kaput (Mentioned) Dead

Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator? (Mentioned)

Chromedome - Car (Mentioned)

Rewind - Data Slug (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Misfire - Jet

Spinister - Helicopter

Krok

Crankcase - Van

Fulcrum - Bomb

Nickel - Rocket-Powered Buggy

Skip - Space Shuttle (Mentioned) Dead

Other Cybertronian

Primus (After Spark)

Mortilus (After Spark)

Solomus (After Spark)

Adaptus (After Spark)

Epistemus (After Spark)

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Ancient Cybertronians (Flashback)

Vector Sigma (Flashback)

Ten (Flashback) Ascended into Matrix

Beta Trion (Mentioned)

Other

Trapped Light Aliens Attached to Strange Device

Verity Carlo (Mentioned)

Notes

• Hey look, we finally see Dominus Ambus in his "true" robot mode body, we briefly saw him in a schematic file at the end of MTMTE, but this is his first proper appearance
• Okay if anyone still thinks that this is the Cybertronian afterlife, when we have non-Cybertronians being held there, the dead characters appear to be glitching out or acting out of character amongst all the other issues, then they really need to read more comics...
• Rodimus' choice of Magnus, Ratchet and Drift to help him talking with the Guiding Hand is a light mirror to what Tyrest did with himself, Pharma and Star Saber, representing the three pillars of most societies, law, science and religion. Funnily enough, according to James Roberts on Twitter, he originally planned to have Rodimus refer to them as "Rodimus' Trinity", a further reference to "Rossum's Trinity" (aka the connection of the brain, spark and T-Cog in Transformers)
• Drift's story of the Guiding Hand is a little different to the one told by Cyclonus back in the MTMTE Annual, further implying that it was just a story, or not the complete truth. 
• If you pay attention, you'll notice that the Guiding Hand do not confirm or deny Drift's story of their conflict. This makes me think that they may be, at least partially, the real deal. Perhaps they are trying to keep Cybertronians safe here to preserve them following Unicron's oncoming attack.
• Also, one of the members paraphrases Unicron from the 1986 movie, when he warns Magnus that they will "proceed directly into oblivion". We previously saw that the mysterious "Grand Architect" did the same thing with Scorponok and Flame when he rescued them and conscripted them into his faction. Also the aliens in this issue repeat the phrase "Prepare. Confront. Repel." which is known to be related to that same group. Looks like my theory on Adaptus being the Architect may be true after all!
• I also want to believe that Tailgate is the real one here, having been transported to the "Afterspark" from his isolation cage on Necroworld, neither he nor Cyclonus appear to be acting off, so it doesn't match up with Pipes and the others. (Also given the logic of this world, wouldn't Cyclonus and/or Tailgate have ascended right after they reunited)
• Nightbeat realizes in this issue that because Rung creates his photonic crystals whilst in robot mode, that means his alternate mode's purpose has not been revealed after all. Well Nightbeat claims that he knows what it is, but he ascends right as he's about to mention it. Personally I believe his purpose is my original idea from all the way back at the start of MTMTE, he's a key of some sort.
• Rung is mentioned as being with Rewind and Chromedome. None of them have appeared in this storyline (at least not outside of flashbacks) This seems a little suspect. Also, wouldn't Rewind and Chromedome have ascended straight away, they have no known unfinished business, and they are known for being happiest when together.
• In case you forgot, the reason Nautica doesn't remember why she and Skids are best friends is because she had her emotions linked to him removed earlier in the series. It left her memories and experiences with him, but none of the emotions attached.
• Huh...that ending sure asks me two questions. Were Team Rodimus sent to Garrus-9 somehow, or were the Scavengers sent to the "Afterspark". I personally believe it would be the latter, since the Magnificence gave the Scavengers the coordinates to Garrus-9, and if my theory on that being Epistemus turns out to be true as well.