IDW - Spotlight Volume 3

BLASTER

Characters

Autobot

Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Silverbolt - Jet

Perceptor - Treaded Vehicle

Beachcomber - Hover Buggy Stasis Locked

Inferno - Truck

Bluestreak - Speeder

Mirage - Race Car

Trailbreaker - Van

Cosmos - Orbiter

Kick-Off - Car

Gunrunner - Jet

Pincher

Searchlight - Speeder

Crosshairs - Car

Downshift - Speeder

Overdrive - Speeder

Dogfight - Jet

Backstreet - Car

Override - Speedbike

Nightbeat - Pontiac Solstice

Springer - Helicopter/Rocket Car

Fortress Maximus - Tank

Kup - Pick Up Truck (Flashback)

Getaway - Car (Flashback)

Huffer - Truck Cab (Flashback)

Broadside - Jet (Flashback)

Landfill - Dump Truck (Flashback)

Jazz - Speeder (Flashback)

Smokescreen - Speeder (Flashback)

Decepticon

Soundwave - Acoustic Tank (Flashback)

Bombshell Prototype (Flashback)

Trypticon - Battle Platform (Flashback)

Divebomb - Jet (Flashback)

Headstrong - Armoured Vehicle (Flashback)

Rampage - Armoured Vehicle (Flashback)

Razorclaw - Drill Tank (Flashback)

Spinister - Helicopter (Flashback)

Needlenose - Jet (Flashback)

Dreadwind - Jet (Flashback)

Darkwing - Jet (Flashback)

Thunderwing - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Other

Ku'Arn (Ilxian Captain)

Storyline

Blaster is found floating in space by some Ilxians and returned to the Autobot Orbital Command where Blaster reveals that he doesn't know who tried to assassinate him before. Perceptor patches him up and Silverbolt reveals that the assassin has to be an Autobot. News of Blaster's return, and Autobots start returning to the Hub to see him again. However whilst going through some old files, Blaster is attacked again but doesn't know who again, so he starts to investigate the situation himself.

Blaster uses himself as bait and sets a trap for the assassin to come after him again, whilst thinking back on all that happened, and narrows his suspects down to four, Mirage, Beachcomber, Inferno and Bluestreak, as all four were around during both attacks. Later whilst giving a speech again, the studio where blaster was broadcasting form is attacked and destroyed, but Blaster appears behind the assassin, Beachcomber, and reveals that that was a pre-recorded message made to lure out the assassin. Beachcomber goes on the attack and reveals that he was made a sleeper agent of sorts by Soundwave for the sole purpose of killing Blaster. Blaster manages to get through to Beachcomber however and break's Soundwave's control, but short-circuits Beachcomber's mind and he goes into Stasis Lock.

Later Beachcomber is on Spark Support and Perceptor has removed the Cerebro-Shell from his mind, whilst Blaster vows to have revenge on Soundwave for what he did to Beachcomber.

Notes

• Kup is shown healthy just after the Thunderhead event
• Despite this being a mystery story, Beachcomber is very clearly the culprit throughout through the use of silhouettes etc
• Blaster was targeted by an assassin because he was an inspirational speaker.

My Thoughts

Art

The artwork in this comic is pretty standard for IDW, it uses strong colours and bold lines

Story

This story introduces a plot line of Blaster vowing to kill Soundwave...which has yet to be fulfilled, so it is just purely filler.

Continuity

Silverbolt has been put in charge of the Autobot Orbital Hub after Optimus left for Earth in Stormbringer. Blaster was left for dead sometime before the events of Spotlight: Soundwave, Beachcomber will be seen up and about in For All Mankind. Soundwave is shown with a Bombshell prototype in the flashback, Bombshell will be created properly in All Hail Megatron. Blaster has not taken revenge on Soundwave yet.

ARCEE

Characters

Autobot

Arcee - Car

Fortress Maximus - Tank

Jetfire - Jet

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier

Strafe - Jet

Scattershot - Jet

Lightspeed - Car

Nosecone - Drill Tank

Afterburner - Speedbike

Cloudraker - Jet

Fastlane - Car

Kick-Off - Car

Rad - Car

Jackpot - Car

Rollout - Truck Cab

Over-Run

Skyfall - Jet

Sprocket

Vroom - Dragster

Windbreaker - Car

Turbofire - Pick Up Truck

Repugnus (Imprisoned Spark)

Longtooth (Imprisoned Spark)

Double Dealer - Rocket Mounted Truck (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Banzaitron

Onslaught - Anti Aircraft Tank

Brawl - Tank

Blast-Off - Space SHuttle

Vortex - Helicopter

Gutcruncher - Tank

Axer - Car

Roadblock - Tank

Skyjack (Imprisoned Spark)

Ransack (Imprisoned Spark)

Bludgeon (Imprisoned Spark)

Expansion

Jhiaxus - Jet

Cybertronian

Slog

Birdbrain

Scowl

Icepick

Wildfly

Bristleback

Monstructor - Gestalt (Monitor Only)

Other

Van-Deman Cartographers

Storyline

Whilst hunting down Jhiaxus, Arcee is tearing apart the Stella Cartography Archive in the Van-Dema System that he was connected to to try and find him. Ultra Magnus confronts her and the two fight, and Ultra Magnus manages to take her down, and transports her to Garrus-9, the Autobot's prison world. Later two of the workers at the archive contact Jhiaxus and tells him what happened, confirming that the Nega-Core wasn't detected.

Later on, at Garrus-9 Fortress Maximus checks in on Jetfire who, with the Technobots are examining the unconcious Monstructor Six, unaware that a Decepticon team led by Banzaitron are approaching the planet to kidnap the Gestalt team, after a tip from Double Dealer. The Decepticons attack the outpost and the officers and staff there fight them off. Maximus decides to use some of the prisoners to help fight off the invading Decepticons, when the computer suggests Arcee as the most suitable warrior. Maximus revives Arcee and entices her to help by mentioning that the Monstructor Six, the guys who are being targeted by the Decepticons are more of Jhiaxus' experiments. Arcee agrees.

Arcee helps to turn the tide of the fight, but the Combaticons have grabbed the Monstructor Six, and used an Orbital Jump on them, taking them up to Banzaitron's ship. Arcee volunteers to go after them, but Fort Max is totally against it, and Arcee reveals to him and Jetfire that Jhiaxus changed her fundamentally by turning her female and she wants revenge for him doing it.

Fort Max is against the idea, but is distracted by Jetfire as Arcee escapes, with Jetfire saying he'll go with any excuse he can come up with for her going missing.

Notes

• Garrus-9 looks somewhat like his G1 toy's city mode in places.
• Fortress Maximus is a prison warden in IDW
• Arcee seems to know that something is happening with Jhiaxus, possibly as a side effect of her being altered by him.
• The Nega-Core is explained further in Revelation.
• Autobots and Decepticons are imprisoned at Garrus-9
• Transformers are reduced to bodiless sparks when imprisoned, with their bodies kept elsewhere.
• Transformers decided sometime in the past to just refer themselves as male pronouns, with Arcee now being referred to as female pronouns after Jhiaxus' meddling.
• Everyone is afraid of crazy old Arcee!
• The Ransack shown as an imprisoned spark is most likely the G2 Jet guy, as the Insecticon was seen in Spotlight: Sixshot
• Kick-Off has moved from the Orbital Hub to Garrus-9 now, where he stays until his death.
• Swindle isn't with the other Combaticons because he's on the run from Ultra Magnus still

My Thoughts

Art

The art in this comic is very nicely done, the lines are highly detailed and the colours are toned in a very realistic way to show tones and contours in the characters

Story

This story gives a reason for why female Transformers exist, which has been a question for a long time, it also connects directly into the main storyline and gives Arcee some major backstory.

Continuity

Arcee will later be seen in Revelation finally catching up with Jhiaxus and returns afterwards for the Chaos and Heart of Darkness stories in the 3rd Series of stories. Ultra Magnus was introduced as a police officer in his own Spotlight series. Garrus-9 is later used heavily in Revelation, but is taken over by the Decepticons in Last Stand of the Wreckers where Overlord turns it into a torture camp of sorts. Bludgeon is mentioned as one of the inmates, this is later important in Revelation. The Monstructor Six were captured in Spotlight: Optimus Prime.

Other

Fortress Maximus' new character model seems to be based on Armada Megatron's somewhat

GRIMLOCK

Characters

Autobot

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex (former Armoured Vehicle)

Slag - Triceratops (former Armoured Vehicle) Stasis Locked

Sludge - Apatosaurus (former Armoured Vehicle) Stasis Locked

Snarl - Stegosaurus (former Armoured Vehicle) Stasis Locked

Swoop - Pteranodon (former Jet) Stasis Locked

Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback)

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Scorponok - Scorpion Tank

Megatron - Gun (Flashback)

Starscream - F-22 Jet (Flashback)

Sixshot - Gun/Jet/Car/Tank/Winged Wolf (Flashback)

Shockwave - Ray Gun (Flashback)

Human

Joshua Red (Skywatch)

Weston (Skywatch)

Kloss (Skywatch - Machination Spy)

Abraham Dante - Scorponok's Head (Machination)

Skywatch Employees

Machination Employees

Storyline

In Carson City, Nevada Skywatch begins to revive the still disabled Grimlock after all the recent attacks by Transformers, however despite them planning to have his memories suppressed as well, that system was disabled by a Machination spy and he is fully revived back to his old self and goes on a rampage around the base, Grimlock transforms and escapes. The SKywatch team are disappointed, but at least they still have the other five robots they found.

The Machination spy, Kloss contacts Dante and tells him that Grimlock is on the run. Grimlock runs aorund looking for anything familiar, but is confused. Dante combines with Scorponok and they head out to see Grimlock, who has found a quiet spot for him to contemplate things. He can't go home because he think's he's an outlaw now, suddenly Scorponok Orbital Jumps right in front of Grimlock and he tries to recruit the Autobot into his organization. Grimlock is tempted, but reminds Scorponok of the time that Scorponok stole some Solar Agitators he stole from him in the past and attacks him. Scorponok fights back, and Grimlock learns that Skywatch disabled his weapons as well, Grimlock manages to excape by activating an Orbital Jump and landing inside his now crashed ship, the Skyfire, where he begins to work on what to do next.

Dante is informed that Skywatch are getting ready to activate the other Dynobots soon, which Dante and Scorponok plan to use them for themselves against Grimlock.

Notes

• Despite running around several populated areas in dinosaur mode, Grimlock isn't mentioned in the news etc at any other point after this story.
• Grimlock can activate an Orbital Jump automatically to his ship.
• The Skyfire is named here.

My Thoughts

Art

The artwork in this comic isn't as detailed as most of the other Spotlights, but still looks very good regardless. The colouring is very detailed instead.

Story

Grimlock is finally brought into the storyline again, and sets in motion the events for Maximum Dinobots.

Continuity

This story acts as a sequel to Spotlight: Shockwave and a prequel to Maximum Dinobots. Grimlock was shown to be being brought online by Skywatch, and Shockwave was restored in Devastation.

MIRAGE

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Hound - Military Jeep Killed by Mirage

Bumblebee - VW Beetle (Used as Disguise) Killed by Mirage

Ratchet - Ambulance

Jetfire - Jet Badly Injured in Battle

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Main IDW Universe)

Mirage - F1 Race Car (Main IDW Universe)

Hound - Military Jeep (Main IDW Universe)

Bumblebee - VW Beetle (Main IDW Universe)

Ratchet - Ambulance (Main IDW Universe)

Decepticon

Mirage - F1 Race Car Seemingly Killed in Zodiac Energy Explosion

Megatron - Gun (Monitor Only)

Starscream - F-22 Jet

Soundwave - Cassette Player Killed by Hound

Astrotrain - Train/Space Shuttle

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Megatron - Gun (Main IDW Universe)

Starscream - F-22 Jet (Main IDW Universe)

Soundwave - Cassette Player (Main IDW Universe)

Astrotrain - Train/Space Shuttle (Main IDW Universe)

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet (Main IDW Universe)

Storyline

Mirage wakes up from a regeneration cycle remembering his recurring dream that he's an Autobot. He reports to Megatron and promises to get the last few Autobots to him, but for a price.

In the Pegasus Star Cluster Ratchet is tending to Jetfire's serious wounds whilst Optimus and Hound talk about potentially converting the newly found Zodiac Energy into an Energon substitute. Bumblebee enters the base and starts attacking the security system, suddenly Bumblebee morphs into Mirage, who was using his holographic abilities to mimic him, and he allows his fellow Decepticons into the base, the two factions fight it out. Mirage ends the fight by taking Jetfire hostage. Once the Autobots surrender Mirage contacts Megatron and informs him of the Autobot's surrender, Megatron tells him that he'll give him his reward if he kills the Autobots on the spot, despite Mirage promising to keep them alive if they just surrendered.

Mirage knocks down Hound and holds a psike up against his head. Optimus tries to reason with his good side, but he ignores him and kills Hound, Optimus, in a rush of rage rushes into Mirage and knocks him into the Zodiac Energy, causing it to explode.

Back in the normal IDW reality a injured Mirage is woken up by Prowl and taken back to back for a regeneration, remembering a dream where he was a Decepticon...

Notes

• This story is set mostly in an alternate/dream reality where Mirage is a Decepticon.
• This main universe story is most likely set in the period between Revelation/Maximum Dinobots and All Hail Megatron
• This story acts on the usual suspicion that Mirage is a Decepticon (which is later brought up in All Hail Megatron anyway)
• Mirage has a holographic driver in vehicle mode (very important for an open top race car)
• The Pegasus Star Cluster hasn't been seen in the main storyline yet.
• In the alternate reality there are Decepticon controlled Energon mines, possibly meaning that Earth was conquered by them and it's referring to Ore-13 rather than normal Energon, which is only found on Cybertron.
• Zodiac Energy has Cross-Dimensional properties, meaning that it can connect between realities.

My Thoughts

Art

The art is pretty standard to IDW work, the colours are very strong as usual.

Story

This story is mostly a "what if?" story about Mirage

Continuity

The framing pieces of this comic seem to be set between the end of Revelation and Maximum Dinobots and All Hail Megatron, this is due to both Hound and Mirage having Earth modes in the framing pieces.

Other

Mirage and Hound's new character models seem to be based on their G1 Character models rather than their existing IDW ones (since those were just Cybertronian ones)

WHEELIE

Characters

Autobot

Wheelie - Car

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier

Hot Spot - Truck

Jetfire - Jet

Springer - Helicopter/Rocket Car

Perceptor - Treaded Vehicle

Hubcap - Speeder (On Data Pad)

Bumper - Speeder (On Data Pad)

Scrounge -Wheel (On Data Pad)

Roller - Attack Buggy (On Data Pad)

Decepticon

Viewfinder Killed in Ship Crash

Spectro Killed in Explosion

Spyglass Killed in Explosion

Other

Varta

Arachnosaur

Chaosteros

Quintesson Judge (Image only)

Storyline

Wheelie is chosen to go on a mission by Hot Spot to scout worlds when he ship crashes on planet LV-117, he makes a temporary home for himself there and tries to survive, but quickly has to grow up and mature, and despite all his attempts to contact the Autobots but hears nothing, although one night he sees a shooting star and assumes it's a falling ship, so he tracks it.

After travelling to the crash site, Wheelie finds the ship, a Decepticon cruiser with a Reflector Trio manning it, he sees Spectro and Spyglass bullying a restrained alien and frees it to distract the Decepticons into leaving. Wheelie enters the ship and finds Viewfinder dead in his chair, impaled by a large shard of glass, Wheelie ransacks the ship for parts.

Later Wheelie makes it to a ruin of a civilization that once lived on the planet and finds an abandoned ship inside it, in the ruin he is attacked by the alien, Varta who mistake shim for a Decepticon and the two bond, with Wheelie having to rhyme for Varta to understand him. Varta tells Wheelie that the ship is just lacking power, which is exactly what Wheelie has in his Energon converter, so he rugs it up.

As the two get ready to take off, Spectro and Spyglass attack Varta from behind and knock him out, forcing Wheelie to leave the ship and let them take it themselves, once they're safely away, Wheelie reveals that he sabotaged the Energon Converter and the ship explodes, killing the Decepticons.

A year later Wheelie and Varta are making a home on the planet using salvage from the detonated ships and Wheelie has gotten used to speaking in rhyme, he gives up on working on being rescued, but still hopes to go home again one day.

In a nearby temple an image of a Quintesson Judge's eyes glow a bright green....

Notes

• Wheelie has had to harden himself whilst being stuck on this planet, and fighting it's strange inhabitants
• Varta is a shapeshifter and can make himself grow larger
• Due to his left arm being damaged whilst being ingested by the Chaosteros, so transforming is painful for him now
• Even Wheelie found rhyming annoying at first...
• Wheelie's mission began before the Thunderhead event from the looks of things.

My Thoughts

Art

The artwork is very cartoony and quite expressionistic

Story

This story mostly acts as filler, it explains why Wheelie talks in rhymes and removes him from the story for a while as well, so all's good.

Continuity

Wheelie's distress signal was picked up by Optimus in his Spotlight. Wheelie will be stuck on the planet until the Space Opera section of Chaos Theory's TPB. The Reflector Trio seen here are most likely different to the guys seen later in All Hail Megatron, as there's no other way to explain how they got there. Wheelie's alien buddy Varta isn't with him when he is rescue, so maybe he died some time? The Quintesson hint at the end has never been picked up.