Characters
Autobot
Springer - Helicopter/Rocket Car Injured by Overlord
Impactor - Tank
Ironfist - Van
Pyro - Truck
Guzzle - Tank
Rotorstorm - Helicopter Killed by Overlord
Perceptor - Tank
Kup - Pick Up Truck
Topspin - Jet Spark Extinguished for Aequitas
Twin Twist - Drill Tank Died with Topspin
Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier
Roadbuster - Armoured Vehicle (Flashback)
Whirl - Helicopter (Flashback)
Rack'N'Ruin (Flashback)
Sandstorm - Buggy/Jet (Flashback)
Broadside - Jet (Flashback)
Dipstick - Car
Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback)
Prowl - Police Car
Fortress Maximus - Tank Comatose
Kick-Off - Car Killed by Overlord
Turbofire - Pick Up Truck Killed by Decepticons
Spin-Out - Car Killed by Overlord
Garrus-9 Staff Killed by Decepticons
Xaaron (Flashback)
Skyfall - Jet (Referred to)
Rad (Flashback)
Jackpot (Flashback)
Nautilus (Flashback) Killed in Battle
Flame - Tank (Flashback)
Tyrest (Flashback)
Nightbeat - Car (Flashback)
Bumblebee - Sports Car (Mentioned)
Ratchet - Ambulance (Mentioned)
Decepticon
Overlord - Tank and Jet Captured by Impactor
Stalker - Rocket Mounted Personnel Carrier Killed by Springer
Snare - Jet Killed by Impactor
Skyquake - Jet Killed by Overlord
Macabre (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Tornado (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Triton (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Earthquake - Bulldozer (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Ferak - Jet (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Crosscut - Jet (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Fang - Spiked Vehicle (Flashback) Killed by Impactor
Fearswoop - Jet
Treadshot Killed by Impactor
Wingblazer - Jet Killed by Overlord
Wingblazer's Buddy - Jet Killed by Overlord
Borehole - Drill Tank Killed by Kick-Off
Megatron - Tank (Flashback) Near Death
Black Shadow - Jet (Flashback)
Sixshot - Jet/Car/Tank/Gun/Winged Wolf (Flashback)
Shockwave - Ray Gun (Flashback)
Skyquake/Overlord's troops
Garrus-9 Prisoners
Human
Verity Carlo
Hunter O'Nion (Picture) Dead
Jimmy Pink (Picture)
Storyline
Three years ago at the start of Megatron's big attack Garrus-9 is hit by Skyquake's Predator forces but the Autobots, led by Fortress Maximus are fighting back until the rogue Decepticon Overlord arrives on the planet and takes command by killing Skyquake. Overlord leads the Decepticons in tearing apart the Autobot guards and even takes down Fortress Maximus himself. After the battle ends Overlord offers everyone to stay on Garrus-9 and he'll reward them, and starts releasing all the prisoners to increase his troops, he then throws a badly injured Maximus into a crowd where he is torn apart by the inmates, but not killed.
Two years and four months later (8 months before the then present) a group of new Wreckers are on the Igue-Moor Fuel Depot and are causing disruptions for the foreman, Dipstick. Ultra Magnus arrives and picks them up to meet up with the other Wreckers for their mission. ON the ship they meet with Verity who greets them, and then Springer, Kup, Perceptor and the Jumpstarters turn up and starts their debriefing and Springer welcomes them into the Wreckers.
As far as two years ago the Decepticons on Garrus-9 started hunting down the Autobot guards for sport under Overlord's rules, and they start to grow more fearful of him and find all of this pointless. Back in the present Ironfist wakes up after having fainted and tries to seem okay still, even with the Jumpstarters in the room. Ironfist goes off on his own and Springer begins to worry about him, he and Kup and called up to the bridge to see something.
A month before the story began Kick-Off is fighting one of the Decepticons in a gladiator battle and brutally kills him, Overlord then offers him a reward. Back in the present the Wreckers and Verity monitor a badly damaged Decepticon ship when the ship explodes, and then they see a figure floating from the ship towards Magnus' ship...It's Impactor, the former leader of the Wreckers!
A long time ago, Overlord is fighting off a team of Autobots (including Kup) when he's called by Megatron and told that he, Sixshot and Black Shadow are to be part of his new Phase-Six system, meaning that he'll only be involved in battles for that phase from now on, and that if he refuses him then he'll just have to kill him personally. Overlord doesn't know what to do.
Back in the present the Wrecker's are speeding towards Garrus-9 to liberate it and the newcomers wonder what's going on with Impactor reappearing and why he was in Garrus-9 himself until now.
Perceptor works on Impactor and discovers the deterrence chip in his head that's used on Garrus-9 to punish the prisoners if they try to get away etc. Impactor explains that he escaped thanks to a Decepticon, Snare who wants to be rid of Overlord, and knows that Impactor is the only one on the outpost who can get off the planet for reinforcements to take him down. Magnus is concerned now as he hadn't expected Overlord to be on Garrus-9 when they got there. Springer and Impactor argue and Impactor leaves, Springer begins to rethink his plans. Magnus tells Springer that Prowl gave them a secondary mission as well, to recover Aequitas.
Later the ship approaches Garrus-9 and all the Wreckers are brought up to speed about Overlord, which naturally freaks them all out, and Kup explains who he is to Verity, who is naturally in the dark, he also tells her that he was the one whom he told he was defecting and to pass it on to Megatron, before flying off in the distant past.
The Wreckers are told their missions, rescue as many Autobots as possible from G-9, Recover Aequitas and to now kill Overlord, he then explains that they'll go down in two teams in prod pods, both piloted by Rotorstorm (one by remote control) so they can bypass the shields. The Wreckers make their final rounds before the mission, with Ironfist giving the others some of his Cerebro-Sensitive Bullets, Impactor thinking in quiet about what he did in the past, the Jumpstarters worrying about their Vicarious Perception getting worse lately, Verity writing a letter to Magnus whilst looking at a picture of herself, Hunter and Jimmy, Magnus worrying about Ironfist fainting earlier and Rotorstorm being annoyed at himself for trying to be so cool around the others.
Ultra Magnus launches the two drop pods, but stays on his own ship (he was just giving them a lift) and the Wreckers prepare to enter the atmosphere when Verity comes out of a storage area having stowed away on board. The drop pods get through the shields and are immediately met by a huge force of Decepticons, the Wreckers fight their way through the defences and the pod with Verity in it crashes right into Overlord's throne room, with Overlord looming right over Verity.
Two years ago Overlord frees Shockwave from Garrus-9 and allows him and a hand-picked crew of his own choosing in exchange for him removing the blind spot from his body that Megatron put inside him (it makes him unable to harm Megatron),
Back in the present, the other drop pod landed elsewhere in the complex and the crew are being chased by a load of Decepticons but they manage to fight them off, Twin Twist reports that they others are alive after their crash (he can tell due to the Vicarious Perception). In the throne room Overlord is disappointed that it's Autobots who have come to fight him, and not some of Megatron's own men. Rotorstorm makes a joke that the Wreckers should combine which makes Overlord laugh, then he puts his gun up to Rotorstorm's forehead and kills him, covering the other Wreckers in the room with viscera.
The other Wrecker team have taken care of their pursuers and locate the Cell Block where the prisoners are under them, Twin Twist goes into drill mode and digs through. In the throne room (the Pit) Verity looks over Rotorstorm's dead body and starts to lose it. Pyro grabs Verity on Perceptor's orders and places her in his chest cavity for safety whilst the other Wreckers go up against Overlord. At the Southern Wing the Wreckers have dug through the floor and Twin Twist plummets through the hole, but Springer manages to save him from hitting the ground by catching him in helicopter mode, Impactor free falls behind them as Kup and Guzzle go elsewhere for another purpose. Springer is attacked by a Decepticon guard, but he skewers him with his harpoon, when they reach the ground the find Kick-Off's dead body after Overlord tore him apart. Unfortunately they've set off a security alarm and the three of them get electrocuted before they can escape the area.
Overlord manages to easily defeat the Wreckers in the Pit and he receives word about another batch of Wreckers in Cell Block F, Overlord makes an announcement over the communicators saying that any Decepticon who can bring him the head of a Wrecker may leave freely. Perceptor and the others make a run for it and manage to escape by detonating a fuel cell. Once they're in hiding Ironfist completely freaks out about the situation and Topspin tells him essentially to shut up and get over it, also revealing that they were forced to bring Ironfist with them rather than him being voted in like the others.
On the way to the Maximum Security Cells Guzzle and Kup start talking where Guzzle alludes to the fact that some of his good friends were killed whilst trying to rescue another Autobot (Kup) but without actually saying who it was. Perceptor's team have arrived at the Last Resort and Perceptor starts trying to find Aequitas there, whilst Topspin explains about him and Twin Twist having a branched spark and that's why they feel each other's pain, then Pyro suddenly remembers about Verity and lets her out of his chest plate moaning at him.
Perceptor finds Fortress Maximus comatose and hooked up to the door being used to try and open the doors to Aequitas. Perceptor unhooks Maximus and unlocks the doors (he was given the codes before) and they enter the Aequitas chamber. Meanwhile Stalker has Springer, Impactor and Twin Twist tied up inside the Spark Extraction chamber (now call Spark Extinction chamber) where he starts to operate on Twin Twist whilst he's still concious.
Eight months ago Prowl contacted Ironfist at the Kimia facility and offered him a place on the Wreckers for the Garrus-9 mission, and that they need a weapons expert since the one they chose had to be refused (also revealing that he knows about his accident before).
Today in Garrus-9 Kup beats down the guards around Grimlock's cell when they find the thing empty. Snare appears behind them and says that Overlord had him removed and forced to watch what was happening to drive him mad, and asks if he can help the Wreckers out. Perceptor reveals to the others that Aequitas is a super computer used to judge other Transformers for their crimes, whilst the Decepticons are trying to blast their way into the room. Topspin has an attack of pain thanks to Stalker torturing Twin Twist, so Ironfist and Verity have to watch over him, and Verity asks him to tell her a story about the Wreckers to keep them from freaking out.
In the Spark Extraction Chamber Springer wakes up and Impactor tells him that Stalker's gone off for some more tools when the two Autobots start talking about what happened, and how Springer thought they'd go easy on him, and now send him to Garrus-9 for his crimes. Stalker returns.
Ironfist tells Verity about the fight on Pova between the Wreckers and Squadron X where the Autobots managed to defeat the Decepticons and capture them when they escaped and Impactor is forced to kill them all to save the day. After he finishes the story Perceptor explains that to reactivate Aequitas they need a Transformer to willingly extinguish their own spark (as a fail safe without G-9's command crew present) and Ironfist realises that this is why Prowl wanted him to come, since he knew that he'd be the one to have to kill himself rather than one of the others due to his injury.
Ironfist gets ready to sacrifice himself when Topspin steps up and says that he's rather do it himself, so he can end Twin Twist's pain as well. Top Spin activates the device and kills himself and Twin Twist to allow Perceptor access to Aequitas. Stalker is confused by what has just happened, but shrugs it off and turns to Springer and Impactor next.
In the Aequitas Chamber Perceptor has access to all of G-9's systems and locates the hoard of Decepticons right outside and sees Impactor and Springer being worked on by Stalker (all whilst Verity is just looking at Topspin's smoking body). The Decepticons are breaking through so Perceptor has Ironfist download all the Aequitas program into his brain so they can make a run for it. Stalker is about to slice Impactor's eye when Guzzle, Kup and Snare break into the room and shoot him, Stalker blasts Snare in the head, and Kup frees Springer and Impactor, Springer grabs Stalker's staff and plunges it through his head, killing the Decepticon.
Snare is lying there dying, and he reveals that Overlord's done all of this to get Megatron's attention and that Stalker called for him before he was killed so he's coming. Impactor puts Snare out of his misery by crushing his brain module. Impactor blasts his way into the room. In the Aequitas chamber Ironfist is mumbling about how he knows everything now. Perceptor says that he can activate the deterrence chips and kill all the former prisoners, but it would kill Impactor as well, they vote on whether to do it and kill Impactor, and Ironfist shocks everyone by saying that Impactor should die (despite being his biggest fan).
Overlord has just torn Guzzle in half (but not killed him) and Springer, Kup and Impactor keep going up against him full on but to no real avail. At the Aequitas Chamber Verity has convinced the others that they can't just kill Impactor like that and Perceptor agrees. Pyro volunteers to stay behind and distract the Decepticons whilst the others run for it. Ironfist, Verity and Perceptor (with Maximus in tow) ride away and Pyro is torn apart and killed by the Decepticons. On the way to rendezvous with the others Ironfist explains that his sudden switch on the loyalty to Impactor was because he learned through Aequitas about the true story about Pova and how obsessed Impactor became, even almost killing Springer in the process. He also reveals that Prowl had told Impactor back then that Pova was neutral territory so they couldn't arrest Squadron X there, and they'd have to be released, Impactor lost it and executed the whole team whilst they were tied up and none of the Wreckers, bar Springer tried to stop him.
Overlord has beaten down the other Wreckers and mocks Springer by revealing that he's had all the Autobot prisoners (former guards and staff) killed as soon as he learned of the Wreckers being on the planet. Before he can kill Springer however Perceptor and the other arrive and shoot him out of his grip, Ironfist throws a new gun to Springer which he blasts into Overlord, but it seems to do nothing, leading to Overlord swiping off Springer's face and tearing out his eye. He swats away the others when Ironfist reveals that the bullets fired into Overlord were Deterrence chips that are now taking effect, and that Ironfist has learned how to activate only certain chips instead of them all, so he activates them and causes them to explode inside Overlord.
Ironfist starts to overload and falls over, Verity goes to help him when a flaming and badly damaged Overlord walks out of the flames and whimpers about how he couldn't deal with Megatron in this state. Verity reveals to him that Megatron's dead already (which is what is believed by everyone) and Overlord falls to his knees depressed. Impactor attacks the now defeated Decepticon but doesn't kill him, as Springer wouldn't have wanted that. Overlord has given up, Impactor calls for a pick up, the Decepticons all start to leave in wake of Overlord's defeat and Ironfist wakes up, all is good!
Later Prowl is informed by Ultra Magnus about all that happened and how four of the team died in the prison, he explains that Springer is alive, but heavily injured and on Spark Support along with Maximus on Earth. Impactor and Guzzle took a ship for themselves and have gone off into the skies, and then reports that Ironfist succumbed to an injury caused in the past with a Cerebro-Shell and died after transferring the Aequitas data onto a data-slug. Prowl reveals to Magnus that he planned for Ironfist to die for the Aequitas Chamber's lock rather than Topspin and that the whole reason for the mission was so that the Aequitas data wouldn't go public and cause a nightmare in Autobot public relations (as some Autobots tried with it had done awful things that even Optimus didn't know about).
Magnus gives Prowl the data-slug for him to do with as he pleases, and Prowl starts to put pressure on it. Elsewhere Verity finishes Ironfist's last report on Earth and sends it off whilst beginning her life again on Earth.
Notes
- The whole point of this story is that good people die pointless deaths.
- Garrus-9 is the only place who's codes were not stolen through Hunter, since Fort Max is the ONLY one who has the codes, see paranoia is a good thing some times!
- Almost certainly as a direct result of this series the character Ironfist, Pyro and Guzzle have received their first new toys in any continuity since this series.
- The Pova incident happened 20 years before this story
- From the dialogue it sounds like it took eight months between the Wreckers meeting up on the fuel depot and arriving on Garrus-9, so maybe they had other missions between those times?
- Ironfist writes entries for Autopedia (a parody of TFWiki, a Transformers Wikipedia
- Ironfist also writes the Wreckers: Declassified files which are very popular, all under a pseudonym of Fisitron of course (anagram of his name). The final issue was written by Verity.
- The Pova story is told twice, the first time is colourful and very idealized, but the second is much darker, bloodier and shows Impactor's truly amoral side, such as using Springer as a shield and slaughtering the Squadron X members
- The Wreckers even have a reputation for dying in the IDW continuity!
- Look back over all the past issues where Garrus-9 has appeared and look at all the staff...it's very likely that all of them have died as of this story....
- Ironfist is totally a fanboy
- Verity now has a tattoo of an alien skull on her shoulder, in homage to Hunter
- The reaosn Pyro looks and tries to act like Optimus Prime is due to him suffering from Primus Apotheosis, which makes him try to emulate Optimus after seeing him in action.
- Despite his attempts to emulate Optimus, Pyro is actually quite selfish
- Ironfist was the one who designed Optimus' Ion Blaster, though this honour is mistakenly given to Skyfall by everyone due to a misunderstanding
- Verity's exo-suit is much more form-fitting than the ones from the G1 TV series.
- Prowl's amoral nature is shown here where he's willing to send Ironfist on this mission for the sole purpose of him killing himself
- Ironfist has a mouth and a different nose in the pre-war flashback, rather than a mouth plate
- Guzzle's sole reason for joining the Wreckers was to get at Kup
- At Auto Assembly 2011 Nick Roche (artist and writer) released a print showing how all the Wreckers who died at Garrus-9 (Pyro, Rotorstorm, Twin Twist and Topspin) looked post-mortem....it's quite disturbing (yet I have a copy on my wall lol)
- The TPB also featured a mosaic issue and a prose story that adds to the back story of this comic.
- Grimlock's fate has yet to be revealed after being driven crazy off screen here.
My Thoughts
Art
The artwork is in Nick Roche's style, which means it has a cartoon-look and the colours are just beautiful.
Story
SO.BEAUTIFUL....Should have sent...A POET!!!!
Continuity
This story is set mostly after All Hail Megatron (during the 2 year gap) and during the events of For All Mankind, the events are mentioned during International Incident as well.
Other
The new characters in this comic series are based on their G1 toys, but modernized and made Cybertronian
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