IDW - Animated: The Arrival

Dispatches

Plot

Optimus and his team manage to defeat Megatron and keep the Matrix away from him by launching him out an airlock, causing him to burn up in orbit. Elsewhere the Auotbots and Decepticons all mourn their losses, and Isaac Sumdac finds Megatron's old head in a field.

At a later date, the Autobots have woken up, and save Detroit from a Nano-bot monster that was created by accident and become heroes and later become friends with the humans. Starscream picks up on footage of thise from his ship when Black Arachnia appears and they fight, leading to the Nemesis's crash on the Earth's moon. Black Arachnia however places a tracer on Starscream's back, so she can follow him to the Allspark's location (as he's found it).

The Autobots move into and old factory and during a ceremony, Starscream arrives and attacks them, leading to a fight between them for possession of the Allspark, which Optimus wins.

The activation of the Allspark alerts the Transformers elsewhere in the universe to the Allspark's location, and they start heading there.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (Former Cybertronian Truck Cab)
Bumblebee - Hatchback (Former Cybertronian Car)
Ratchet - Ambulance (Former Cybertronian Treaded Vehicle)
Prowl - Police Motorcycle (Former Cybertronian Motorcycle)
Bulkhead - SWAT Van (Former Cybertronian Bulldozer)
Ultra Magnus - Cybertronian Truck
Jazz - Cybertronian Car
Sentinel Prime - Cybertronian Plough
Longarm - Cybertronian Crane
Blurr - Cybertronian Race Car
Other Autobots

Decepticon

Megatron - Cybertronian Jet Reduced to a Head

Blitzwing

Lugnut

Black Arachnia - Spider

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Other Decepticons

Human

Sari Sumdac

Isaac Sumdac

Captain Fanzone

Mayor Edsel

Detroit Civilians

Other

Sparkplug

Notes

• This is set during the opening movie of Transformers Animated, showing the events from other perspectives
• Blurr is seen in this comic in various places, but usually from behind
• Sentinel and Longarm's insignia's were switched in this comic, Sentinel should have the Elite Guard one, and Longarm shouldn't have it
• Also it's implie din this comic that Sentinel fought in the great wars as well, even though he's too young, like Opitmus.
• The Nemesis crashes on Earth's moon because Starscream and Black Arachnia fought on it and caused it to crash, also Black Arachnia knows where Earth is because She placed a tracer on Starscream's back. It's shown how she reached the planet in a later issue.
• It seems that the Elite Guard picked up the Allspark's signal in this issue, but it takes them much longer to arrive on Earth than the Decepticons take.

Attention Surplus Disorder

Plot

Bumblebee and Prowl accidentally reveal that local super hero, The Wraith is a phony and uses holograms to fight crime, and he vows revenge on the Autobots. He tricks Bumblebee into ending up in a wheel clamp, and then uses his holograms to look like the Autobot and at.tack innocent people. Eventually Bumblebee gets free and exposes this, along with the other Autobots.

The Wraith ends up in a mental hospital.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Ratchet - Ambulance

Prowl - Police Motorcycle

Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Human

The Wraith

Angry Archer

Colossus Rhodes

Detroit Residents

Notes

• It seems that car wheel clamps can stop a Transformer from transforming...at least for a while...

Whatever Happened to Whatisname?

Plot

Starscream wakes up after the fight with Optimus in Detroit low on power when Professor Princess appears and helps to "fix" him by making him look more pretty. Starscream gets angry and Princess attacks him with her energy weapons, which repowers him, and he gets ready to kill her, when she shows him a recordng of him looking pretty, and says she'll send it to everyone (maybe even reaching th Decepticons). Starscream decides to leave, not knowing he still have some pretty pictures on his back.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (Flashback)

Decepticon

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Human

Professor Princess

Other

Powdered Sugar

Notes

• HA! Starscream in his prety colours is funny!
• Powdered Sugar seems to be somewhat sentient, as when Screamer grabs it, it's eyes go very wide and frightened

Stilletto

Plot

One of the Sumdac labs is ranacked by Stiletto, who has stolen and metal that can basically cut through anything, and goes on the run.

The Autobots chase her but manage to stop her on a bridge before she can do too much damage.

It's revealed after the fact that Megatron hired Stiletto to test out the metal on the bridge for him to use for his  new sword when he gets a body back.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab
Bumblebee - Hatchback
Ratchet - Ambulance
Prowl - Police Motorcycle
Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Decepticon

Megatron (Head only)

Human

Isaac Sumdac

Captain Fanzone

Stiletto

Detroit Police

Notes

• Despite being the (mis-spelt) titular character, Stiletto doesn't actually talk
• Stiletto's heels are made of the same metal later used for Megatron's swords
• The bike Stiletto steals seems to be based on Movie Arcee

'Bots of Science

Plot

Ratchet is sent into a warzone where everyone is dead, thanks to an outbreak of Cosmic Rust. He finds a Decepticons survivor, Oil Slick, who helps him design an anti-dote, which saves Oil Slick's life, however Oil Slick thanks him by infecting him and well and drives away at full speed.

Rtachet manages to use his electromagnetic abilities to grab the antidote again and cures himself, and drives back home with it for future use.

Characters

Autobot

Ratchet - Cybertronian Treaded Vehicle

Ultra Magnus (Voice)

Decepticon

Oil Slick - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Other

Dead Guys Killed by Cosmic Rust

Notes

• This comic was later adapted into another book for an even younger audience, and featured many recognizable cameos
• This comic also introduces Cosmic Rust and Oil Slick into the Animated continuity, both would later appear in Transwarped. This comic also shows that there is a cure to Cosmic Rust, so fans of Rodimus should be happier about that appearance.

The Insincerest Form of Flattery

Plot

Porter C. Powell starts rebranding some vehicles based on Bulkhead's vehicle mode as "The bulkhead" and makes them very popular, much to Bulkhead's annoyance. Later when chasing Angry Archer and Professor Princess he discovers that the vehicles are really dangerous and explode with very little cause.

Powell sets up a contest where people customize theit vehicles, which Sari and Bulkhead enter in disguise, and kidnap Powell, forcing him to reveal the faults in the engines on live TV, forcing him to end this line of vehicles.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab
Bumblebee - Hatchback
Ratchet - Ambulance
Prowl - Police Motorcycle
Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Human

Sari Sumdac

Porter C. Powell

Angry Archer

Professor Princess

Carly

Spike

Daniel

Civilians

Other

Powdered Sugar

Notes

• This comic shows a lot of possible repaints of Bulkhead
• A nice little added piece in this comic is that when Bulkhead transforms from his repainted vehicle mode, the paint is still on his robot mode (which is something that sometimes gets forgotten in comics.
• I wonder is his paint job was thanks to Electronic Paint, or just normal?

A Few Loose Strands

Plot

Lockdown arrives on the Moon at the Nemesis' wreckage and starts looking for more clues about where Optimus is (as he's been hired to find the one who destroyed Megatron) and he finds Black Arachnia, and the two fight it out, resulting in Black Arachnia winning.

Lockdown later wakes up and finds the fem-bot gone, but decies to ignore it and ehads to Earth, takes on an alternate mode and goes to hunt Optimus down. Black Arachnia leaves the ship and goes into the city herself as well, looking forward to seeing Opitmus once again.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime (On Screen)

Bumblebee (On Screen)

Ratchet (On Screen)

Bulkhead (On Screen)

Decepticon

Black Arachnia - Spider

Blitzwing (Flashback)

Lugnut (Flashback)

Oilslick - Cybertronian Motorcycle (Flashback)

Megatron (Mentioned)

Starscream (Mentioned)

Other

Lockdown - Muscle Car

Notes

• This issue shows Lockdown and Black Arachnia arriving on Earth, in time for their appearances in the series.
• The Nemesis computer shows the Ark's crew as missing Prowl, this is appropriate because he joined the crew AFTER the mission began and was just a tag-along.
• Black Arachnia absorbs a load of Lockdown's upgrades, and it hurts her

Survival Skills

Plot

Optimus is in a simulated environment on a test and fights Megatron, the Decepticon in the end wins, but Ultra Magnus congratulates the cadet on his good work.

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Cybertronian Truck

Optimus - Cybertronian Truck Cab

Elita - Cybertronian Car

Sentinel - Cybertronian Plough

Decepticon

Megatron - Cybertronian Jet (Virtual)

Notes

• Most of this issue is set in a virtual reality setting

Everything Must Go

Plot

Blitzwing is contacted by Lockdown, who has captured Opitmus Prime, and Lugnut gets angry that his partner hired a bounty hunter, despite their lack of honour. The two of them keep having all out battles, with Swindle arriving and outfitting both of them with over-the-top weapons to keep fighting. In the end the two realize that Swindle is just escalating their fighting for a profit, so they turn on him, and leave him in a crumpled mess on the floor.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (On Screen)

Decepticon

Blitzwing

Lugnut

Swindle

Megatron (Mentioned)

Other

Lockdown - Muscle Car (On Screen)

Notes

• This issue introduces Swindle long before he'd appear in the TV series (continuity wise)
• Swindle has many, many weapons that he sells to the two Decepticons, many seem to be based on previous weapons in the franchise
• This issue shows the other side of the conversation seen in Thrill of the Hunt between Blitzwing and Lockdown over the communicator

First (and Second) in Flight

Plot

The Autobot Elite Guard have captured Starscream and take scans, however Starscream escapes shortly. The guard then begin a new prject to create Auotbots with flight capabilities. They take in the almost dead bodies of two twins, who are refitted with the flight capabilities they scanned from Starscream.

The twins are taken through traing, where they quickly become arrogant, but with due reason to be.They run out of training exercizes, so Perceptor designs a virtual exercize using Starscream's data to create a virtual enemy for them, however the program starts to take over the program, which begins to overload.

In the "game" the twins learn how to use their elemental abilities and even how to combine into Safeguard as well, and defeat the programs, freeing themselves.

After they finish they are promoted into the Elite Guard and sent with Sentinel and Jazz to Earth to hunt down the fugitive Wasp.

Characters

Autobot

Jetfire - Jet

Jetstorm - Jet

Safeguard - Gestalt Jet

Ultra Magnus - Rocket Truck

Jazz - Sports Car

Sentinel Prime - Snow Plough

Perceptor - Cybertronian Mobile Lab

Wheeljack - Cybertronian Race Car

Red Alert - Cybertronian Race Car

Horsepower - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Sparkride - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Pre-Jet Twins - Cars Rebuilt as Jetfire and Jetstorm

Other Autobots

Decepticon

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Starscream Program - Harrier Jet Destroyed by Jet Twins

Other

Wasp - Cybertronian Car

Notes

• This story shows how the Elite Guard used Starscream's data to create Jetfire and Jetstorm from two "dead" Autobots, and also shows their whole accelerated training, and their mission of hunting Wasp down begins
• This was originally sold only with the Safeguard toy set, but was included in this comic TPB
• Sentinel wanted to call both the twins "Jetfire" originally, but this mistake was pointed out to him by Jetfire himself.

IDW - Beast Wars The Ascending

Plot

Magmatron, who since The Gathering is trapped in the timestream, is in the near future of the Beast Era Cybertron, where he witnesses, yet again the destruction of his world at the hands of Unicron, and decides that he must stop this from happening. He returns to prehistoric Earth where he sees a battle between the Maximals and Predacons from his Beast Wars beginning another full-on battle, which itself is just a ruse for Ravage to sneak into the Maximal's lair and steal the temporal devices the Maximals stole at the end of The Gathering when Magmatron went missing, as he plans to use them on Megatron to rescue him from being taken prisoner to Cybertron by the "other" Maximals. Razorbeast and Snarl confront him and knock him out, or so they think, as they leave to continue the battle Ravage starts waking up and can see the devices.

Magmatron goes back in time by a few weeks and arrives at the point when Snarl is sending the message to future Cybertron, and carries it himself into the future to be picked up by The Pack. Those Maximals on Cybertron pick up the message and prepare to head to prehistoric Earth to rescue their team-mate, Razorbeast, which Magmatron hopes might be enough to save the day, however elsewhere Shokaract is being fed Angolmois Energy by the Blendtrons to give him the power to become Unicron's avatar.

Unicron contacts the Blendtrons and warns them that tehre's a disruption in the time stream, that might threaten his plans, he orders Rartorata to Earth to deal with the problem.

On prehistoric Earth the battle continues outside with Razorbeast and Snarl rejoining it, whilst inside the lair Ravage breaks free and activates the devices, which allows Magmatron to contact him, and begins to warn him about Unicron's arrival.

On Cybertron the Maximal Imperium are worried about the recent increase in violence occurring on Cybertron, and call for Big Convoy to meet with them to deal with it, but Big is too busy, as he's just found some Angolmois capsules, which they've had experience with in the past and know this is what's causing the violence. Elsewhere Shokaract wants more Angolmois, as it's slowly turning him into a god, and is told to be patient as his agents are out hunting down more from across the universe.

The Pack travels back in time to Earth and find Razorbeast's group at last (after a few wrong jumps). The Pack have all taken on beast modes, just in case of a need for disguise. On the planet, the battle continues, and Ravage walks through the battlefield in his different time frame, seemingly disturbed by what Magmatron's just told him, when the Pack's ship arrives in the sky, and the Pack join the fight, subduing the Predacons and ending the fight. Ravage reveals himself and starts to tell them what Magmatron told him, but too late as Rartorata appears and stabs Razorbeast, injecting him with Angolmois, mutating him into a feral form.

On Cybertron, Big Convoy and his team arrive outside Shokaract's base and try to find a way in, as they've detected Angolmois in there, Shokaract is bored and decides to "greet" them himself, much to the annoyance of the Blendtrons, he goes outside through a portal, and kills Tasmania Kid, the other Maximals in the team start fighting Shokaract too.

On Earth, Razorbeast has gone feral and starts attacking everyone, alone with Rartorata. The factions join forces and Ravage tells Lio Convoy everything that Magmatron told him before about Unicron.

On Cybertron Big Convoy is killed by Shokaract and knows that Unicron will be arriving next. On Earth again, Rartorata and Razorbeast are both restrained  Lio Convoy manages to calm down Razorbeast enough for him to actually be able to talk. 

The Pack gets everyone fit to leave to head to the ship, but before they can leave the other two Blendtrons arrive and start attacking everyone, to stop them from returning home. Razorbeast breaks free of his restraints and fights Elephorca, distracting the others, and allowing most of the Maximals and Predacons to leave on the ship and return home. Lio, with a sample of Rartorata's venom, plans to use it to make an antidote to the Angolmois energy for anyone affected, with the help of Bump on Cybertron.

The Pack's ship arrives on Cybertron just after Tasmania Kid is killed, and distracts Shokaract, thus reversing Big's death, however Shokaract shoots down the ship, causing it to crash, just as his heralds retunr to Cybertron through some small portals with more Angolmois.

Shokaract sends out his Heralds to spread the Angolmois across Cybertron and help him in his (actually Unicron's) plan. Big locates Bump who was called in by Lio, and then finds the Pack's ship as well nearby, uniting the groups. Ravage goes to speak to Magmatron again in his dimension to talk strategy, ie to send Shokaract to Magmatron's dimension, whilst Lio tells Bump to make enough antidote for the Angolmois for the entire planet.

On Earth Razorbeast is being ganged up on by the Blendtrons, so the remaining Transformers on the planet join the fight.

On Cybertron, Shokaract starts absorbing the Angolmois spread around Cybertron through his Dark Matrix, whilst the Transformers on Cybertron start attacking him on mass. Whilst on Earth, the Blendtrons are dead, but Razorbeast has lost all control and starts heading towards his friends again.

On Cybertron again, Snarl manages to sneak up to Shokaract, and plants the temporal device on the demi-god, sending him to Magmatron's dimension who proceeds to show him to the future.

On Cybertron, the Heralds are confused about where Shokaract has gone, which allows Ravage to attack them, scaring them away. Shokaract is shown the future where Unicron uses him as a portal into this reality, and he is shocked, he tears out his dark matrix, which kills him instantly, and ends Unicron's plans, and also causes a space-time rift that frees Magmatron from his dimension and rejoins the normal time line, and also affects the shuttle taking the "other" Maximals from Earth to Cybertron. Magmatron reveals that before he was shunted back he looke din on Earth and reports that Razorbeast was killed by Optimus Minor, who euthenized him.

In the aftermath, the Transformers are united and start rebuilding their world, hoping there are no more terrible things happen before they can finish, just as Megatron arrives on the planet...

Characters

Maximal

Lio Convoy - Lion (Former Mechanical Lion)

Big Convoy - Spider Tank

Razorbeast - Wild Boar Killed by Optimus Minor

Apache - Mandrill (Former Speeder)

Long Rack - Giraffe (Former Excavator)

Mach Kick - Horse

Stampy - Rabbit (Former Speeder)

Drill Nuts - Boll Weevil (Former Drill Tank)

Break - Penguin

Survive - Tank

Cohrada - Jet

Bump

Tasmania Kid - Car  Killed by Shokaract

Ikard

Prowl - Speeder

Silverbolt - Jet

Ironhide - Treaded Vehicle

Prowl II - Owl Killed in crossfire

Grimlock - Giant Raptor

Torca - Elephant-Orca

Snarl - Tasmanian Devil

Optimus Minor - Spider Monkey

Ramulus - Ibex

Claw Jaw - Squid

Air Hammer - Owl-Hammerhead Shark

Cybershark - Hammerhead Shark

Wolfang - Wolf Killed by Shokaract

B'Boom - Mandrill

K-9 - Dog Killed by Shokaract

Noctorro - Bull-Bat Killed by Shokaract

Armordillo - Armadillo

Bonecrusher - Bison

Bantor - Tiger-Mandrill Killed by Drancron

Polar Claw - Polar Bear

Stink Bomb - Skunk

Optimus Primal - Ape/Jet/Treaded Vehicle

Santon

Motorarm

Tonbot

Scuba

Rockbuster

Gimlet

Sharp Edge

Randy - Motorcycle (Alternate Future Only)

Predacon

Magmatron - Seasaur, Landsaur, Skysaur

Ravage - Jaguar

Materror - Mantis

Retrax - Pill Bug

Snapper - Snapping Turtle

Injector - Hornet-Lionfish

Lazorbeak - Pteranodon Killed in Angolmois Reaction

Sky Shadow - Lizard-Dragonfly

Jetstorm - Dragonfly

Transquito - Mosquito

Scourge - Locust

Buzzsaw - Yellow Jacket

Buzzclaw - Lizard-Mantis Killed by Rartorata

Powerpinch - Earwig

Spittor - Poisonous Toad Killed in Angolmois Reaction

Terragator - Alligator-Turtle

Insecticon - Beetle Killed by Shokaract

Iquanus - Frilled Lizard

Manta Ray - Manta Ray Killed by Drancron

Drill Bit - Boll Weevil

Scavenger - Ant

Megatron - Dragon

Autocrasher

Crazybolt

Archadis

Vice Grip Killed in Angolmois Riot

Dirgegun - Jet (Alternate Future Only)

Saberback - Treaded Vehicle (Alternate Future Only)

Killerpunch - Tank (Alternate Future Only)

Halfshell - Tank (Alternate Future Only)

Guiledart - Tank (Alternate Future Only)

Unicron's Heralds

Shokaract - Tank Suicide

Drancron - Lizard-Dragonfly (Former Jet) Killed in Angolmois Reaction

Rartorata - Hornet-Lionfish (Former Jet) Killed in Angolmois Reaction

Elephorca - Orca-Elephant (Former Land Vehicle) Killed by Earthbound Transformers

Max-B - Wolf

Hellscream - Shark

Antagony - Ant

Hardhead - Pachycephalosaurus 

Thrustor - Raptor

Other

Unicron (Essence Only)

Cybertronian Civilians

Notes

• Most of the guys still on Cybertron in this story are from the Japanese and Botcon Beast Era franchises, and are also mostly still in their Cybertronian modes
• This story is set during the final episode of Beast Wars, beginning with the Maximals preparing to leave Earth with Megatron, and ending with Megatron breaking free and arriving on Cybertron before Primal and his team.
• The cause of Megatron's freedom is implied to have been because of Shokaract's death causing temporal distortions.
• The signal to the future failed originally, but thanks to Magmatron's interference, it succeeds.
• Transquito mentions to Injector about how he looks similar to Rartorata, referencing that they share the same toy mold.
• The Pack's ship is shaped like the Maximal insignia
• So by the end of this story, some of the Maximals and Predacons were left behind on Earth with no way off, either they were rescued at some point after this story, or they were just abandoned.
• Long Rack's pre-Earth mode is based on his Cybertron series toy

IDW - Beast Wars The Gathering

Plot

Magmatron is sent to prehistoric Earth (in a state of being out of sync to normal time for stealth) to capture Megatron on behalf of the Tripredacus Council along with a small crew, however it's revealed that when there, he does indeed intend to capture Megatron, but also intends to convert the Maximal stasis pods into an army of Predacons (also out of sync with normal time) to use against the Maximals on Cybertron and take over the planet.

Unknown to Magmatron, one of his men, Razorbeast, who is the one sending out the signal to the Stasis Pods to activate a Predacon shell program, is actually a Maximal double agent working for The Pack, a black ops group led by Lio Convoy, who sends out a virus in the transmission that makes the shell program fail in some of the pods.

The Predacons confirm that some of the newly awakened Transformers are Predacons, but then some turn out as Maximals, much to Magmatron's surprise. Razorbeast runs off in his beast mode and sends out a signal to any Maximals to converge on his signal. Magmatron declares the Beast Wars open again.

The Predacons converge at Magmatron's location and are sent out to hunt down the Maximals that woke up instead of Preadacons, as well as Razorbeast.

Elsewhere, Razorbeast has met up with some Maximals and they learn about Razorbeast's back story and what's just happened. The group head towards where Ravage last made contact with the future, and decide to use his technology to contact The Pack, however the group are attacked by the Predacons, who were also in the area looking for the equipment.

Optimus Minor gets into the ship during the battle above, but is ambushed by Drillbit, who in turn is ambushed by Snarl, and the two Autobots leave with the communicator, whilst above, Razorbeast manages to defeat Magmatron in the battle by causing a landslide on top of one of his components, disabling the other two, the Maximals run away to safety.

The Maximals regroup in a cave where they find the communicator needs repairs, and decide to take any technology from the Ark, which is on the planet still in secret. Elsewhere, Magmatron rips the spark of Ravage out of his body, planning to re-use it.

The Maximal's take advantage of their being out of sync, and sneak past the local Maximals into their base to access the Ark. Elsewhere, some Predacons are hunting down Maximals when they find the Mutants, who attack them, chasing them out of their swamp.

Magmatron locates a blank Protoform and implants Ravage's spark into it, reviving him from his previous death to lead his Predacons, as Magmatron needs to return to the future with Megatron soon. The Maximals have the parts for their repairs from the Ark, and Snarl reveals he launched a small probe into low orbit to keep an eye on the Predacons, which tells them that they're approaching Megatron.

Magmatron attacks Megatron (disabling the sync device briefly to do so) and along with some of his other troops manages to capture the Predacon leader, and putting him out of sync as well. Razorbeast realizes that this means Magmatron plans to return to Cybertron soon, so he needs to confront him before that, so he and Optimus Minor head out, whilst the others remain behind to work on the communicator and guard their base.

Ravage sends out the flying Predacons to hunt down the Maximals.

Razorbeast and Minor arrive at the site of the temporal teleport and Razorbeast gets an idea about how to stop Magmatron, but he needs a distraction for it to work, as if on cue, Grimlock who was awoken from a stasis pod, turns up ready to fight.

Sky Shadow locates the maximal's base, and Ravage has all the Predacons converge on his signal for a full out battle, all whilst Grimlock is taking on Magmatron, Drillbit and Iguanus whilst Optimus Minor is removing the temporal devices from Megatron.

The Communicator is fixed, and the Maximals prepare to contact The Pack in the future, not knowing that the Predacons have found their location. Magmatron manages to defeat Grimlock and prepares to leave with Megatron, when razorbeast appears and challenges him to a fight, which Magmatron wants to do as revenge.

Ravager begins his attack on the Maximal's base, and Snarl remains inside to send the message, whilst the others go out to fight the Predacons. Magmatron and Razorbeast begin their fight, with Razorbeast winning due to him utilizing the temporal device to make himself impervious to attacks, and then reforming to attack.

The Maximals are being pummeled by the Predacons when suddenly the other, previously missing Maximals awoken arrive and join the fight turning the tide of the battle.

Elsewhere Optimus Minor removes the last of the temporal devices on Megatron, Magmatron runs at him to try and reclaim him, but Razorbeast shoots him into the teleporter, causing it to malfunction, sending Magmatron elsewhere.

The Predacons retreat and the Maximals all get acquainted, and rescue Snarl from the now collapsed cave, who tells them he sent the message, but isn't sure if it sent out, and now it's broken beyond repair.

Within two weeks, during the final battles of the other Beast Wars, the Maximals have made a small colony for themselves to ride out the wait, and Razorbeast is sure The Pack didn't get their message, but seems content on just staying on Earth now

Characters

Maximal

Razorbeast - Wild Boar (Former Motorcycle)

Ramulus - Ibex

Snarl - Tasmanian Devil

Bonecrusher - Bison

B'Boom - Mandrill

Wolfang - Wolf

Optimus Minor - Spider Monkey

Grimlock - Giant Raptor

Polar Claw - Polar Bear

Cybershark - Hammerhead Shark

Torca - Elephant-Orca

Bantor - Tiger-Mandrill

Armordillo - Armadillo

Noctorro - Bull-Bat

Stinkbomb - Skunk

K-9 - Dog

Claw Jaw - Squid

Night Glider - Flying Squirrel

Prowl - Owl

Sonar - Bat

Air Hammer - Hammerhead Shark-Owl

Lio Convoy - Mechanical Lion (Flashback)

Heinrad (Flashback)

Big Convoy - Spider Tank (Flashback)

Optimus Primal - Jet/Treaded Vehicle/Ape (Former Ape)

Cheetor - Cheetah

Rhinox - Rhino

Depth Charge - Manta Ray

Rattrap - Rat (Opening)

Dinobot - Raptor (Opening)

Airazor - Falcon (Opening)

Tigatron - Tiger (Opening)

Silverbolt - Winged Wolf (Opening)

Maximal Imperium (Mentioned)

Predacon

Magmatron - Skysaur, Seasaur, Landsaur (Former Jet, Truck, Sea Vehicle) Lost in Time

Ravage - Jaguar (Former Cassette)

Drillbit - Boll Weevil (Former Drill Tank)

Iguanus - Frilled Lizard

Spittor - Poisonous Toad (Former Walker Tank)

Transquito - Mosquito (Former Helicopter)

Manterror - Mantis (Former Hot Rod Car)

Retrax - Pill Bug

Snapper - Snapping Turtle

Jetstorm - Dragonfly

Insecticon - Beetle

Buzzsaw - Yellow Jacket

Lazorbeak - Pteranodon

Razorclaw - Fiddler Crab

Scavenger - Ant

Terragator - Alligator-Turtle

Powerpinch - Earwig

Sky Shadow - Lizard-Dragonfly

Buzz Claw - Mantis-Lizard

Injector - Hornet-Lionfish

Scourge - Locust

Scarem - Beetle

Megatron - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Later Dragon)

Inferno - Fire Ant

Quickstrike - Cobra-Scorpion

Rampage - King Crab

Terrorsaur - Pteranodon (Opening)

Tarantulas - Tarantula (Opening)

Waspinator - Wasp (Opening)

Black Arachnia - Spider (Opening)

Killer Punch - Tank (Flashback)

Dead End - Wheel (Flashback)

Sea Clamp (Flashback)

Ramhorn (Flashback)

Cicadacon (Flashback)

Mutant

Poison Bite - Barracuda/Scorpion

Soundwave - Alligator/Bat

Icebird - Polar Bear/Owl

Other

Optimus Prime (Opening)

Starscream (Opening)

Notes

• This story is set during the 3rd series of Beast Wars
• This story features almost every character from the Beast Wars toy line that didn't appear in the TV series, the only regular figure that was missed off seems to be Jawbreaker!
• The stasis pods ejected by the Axalon in the first episode of the cartoon are shown to have scattered all over the planet, which is likely why they weren't found in the series.
• This story clears up a major plot hole in the Beast Era cartoons...the Maximals left all of the unclaimed stasis pods on prehistoric Earth...WHAT THE HELL?!?!
• The Grimlock from the Beast Wars toy line is explained to be THE Grimlock of Dinobot fame in G1
• It's....odd that we never saw any more of the giant stasis pods, ie larger than the one that held Rampage in it, for Torca and Grimlock
• Magmatron knows about the stasis pods and other deatils about prehistoric Earth from Ravage and Tarantulas' reports to the Council

IDW - Rodimus vs Cyclonus

Staff

Written by: Simon Furman

Art by: Boo

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Chris Mowry

Assistant Editor: Carlos Guzman

Editor: Andy Schmidt

Plot

Ultra Magnus has been killed, and Galvatron has claimed the Matrix for himself, he then gloats about how he is so close to victory as Autobot City has been razed, Cybertron is mostly defenseless and most of the more powerful Autobots are out of the way, he then tells Cyclonus and Scourge to hunt down the remaining Autobots, and that the one who has the highest head count will be made his new second-in-command. The two split up and chase down some Autobot ships.

Hot Rod/Rodimus, Kup and the others leave Quintessa on their stolen ship and start to hunt down their friends with Wheelie driving the ship. They soon locate the shuttles remains on the Planet of Junk and begin to head that way when Cyclonus appears from nowhere and starts attacking the ship. Rodimus tricks Cyclonus into stopping his attack by challenging him to one-on-one combat inside the ship, which the Decepticon agrees to. The two fight inside the ship, with Cyclonus taking the lead very early on.

Kup contacts another Autobot ship nearby who is under attack from Scourge to come near their ship, as he's figured out that the two aren't too fond of each other and will fight on sight right now. Rodimus gets Cyclonus to punch a radioactive pipe which shoots off in his face and he defeats Cyclonus in battle, forcing him to leave, outside he sees the other shuttle and he and Scourge fight, allowing the two ships full of  Autobots to escape on their own courses.

The shuttle with Kup on it lands on the Planet of Junk shortly later.

Characters

Autobot

Hot Rod/Rodimus - Sports Car

Kup - Pick Up Truck

Wheelie - Car

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Swoop - Pteranodon

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Slag - Triceratops

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Grapple - Crane

Warpath - Tank

Tracks - Muscle Car

Jazz - Sports Car

Bumblebee - Beetle

Arcee - Sports Car

Wreck-Gar - Motorcycle

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier Killed by the Sweeps

Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback) Killed by Megatron

Blurr - Race Car (Flashback)

Perceptor - Microscope (Flashback)

Decepticon

Galvatron - Laser Cannon

Cyclonus - Space Jet

Scourge - Stealth Bomber

Sweeps - Stealth Bombers

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Lugnut - A10 Thunderbolt Jet

Rumble - Tank

Frenzy - Tank

Other

Unicron - Ringed Planet

Notes

• There's no reason why this story couldn't be counted in the canon of the IDW Movie adaptation, the only possible problem would be the character models. The last panel even seems to be mostly lifted from that issue as well!
• Most of the characters in this comic are based on their Reveal the Shield or Generations toys. Some however use their older character models, despite modern equivalents being available, like with Tracks, Optimus, Perceptor or Bumblebee.
• This comic was made available with the Rodimus vs Cyclonus box set
• My version of this comic is the European version, and thus is has the trilingual text boxes...yaaaaay
• Cyclonus is angry that he didn't get troops like Scourge did

IDW - The Animated Movie

Plot

Unicron approaches, attacks and devours the peaceful metallic world of Lithone, leaving few survivors.

Cybertron has been conquered by the Decepticons, but the Autobots have outposts on the 2 moons. Optimus orders Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet and Brawn on a shuttle to Earth for an energy run to help them power a full scale assault, however Laserbeak has been watching this and reports it back to Megatron on Cybertron.

Megatron leads an attack on the shuttle and slaughters the Autobots on board, taking the ship to slip past the early warning systems.

On Earth, Hot Rod and Daniel are fishing when the shuttle approaches the city, the two youngsters go to Lookout Mountain to watch it land, but Daniel notices a hole in the shuttle, leading Hot Rod to look himself, and starts attacking once he realizes there are Decepticons on board. The Decepticons leave the ship and proceed to attack the city and the surrounding area.

Autobot City converts to it's battle mode so the Autobots can fight back, as Hot Rod and Kup manage to get back into the city before it closed itself off.

Perceptor has Blaster transmit an SOS to Optimus, and SOundwave sends his pets to attack the radio tower, to which Blaster releases his team as well to fight them off. Blaster mentions how Omega Supreme and several others are busy fighting off the Decepticon Gestalts at the Ark, which is why they can't get to Autobot City to help with the battle.

The Decepticons seem to be winning the fight, especially with Devastator on their side, when Optimus' shuttle appears with the Dinobots in tow. Optimus rolls through the Decepticons until he reaches Megatron, and the two fight, eventually leading to Optimus winning, but Megatron takes a foolish Hot Rod hostage, and blasts Optimus with a nearby weapon. Megatron approaches him to finish him off, but Optimus smacks him off a cliff, sending him down to the floor.

Starscream calls for the Decepticons to retreat in Astrotrain. Later Perceptor announces that Optimus' wounds are fatal...

Optimus passes the Matrix of Leadership to his selected successor, Ultra Magnus and dies. Unicron witnesses this by hacking the security cameras in the city and roars in anger whilst the Autobots mourn their leader's death.

Inside Astrotrain, the Decepticons decide to jettison their dead weight and injured troops, including Megatron into space, after which a battle ensues about who should become the next leader. Megatron and his fellow discarded Decepticons float towards Unicron, who makes a deal with Megatron that if he helps him to destroy the Matrix, as it's the one thing that he fears, then he will rebuild him, Megatron reluctantly agrees, and is rebuilt as Galvatron, and his troops become Scourge, Cyclonus, the Sweeps and the Armada, also providing them with a new ship as well.

On Cybertron, Starscream has just been crowned the new leader, when Galvatron arrives on the planet and immediately kills his successor, taking his place as leader once more.Unicron approaches Cybertron and begins devouring the Moons, Jazz and Cliffjumper call Earth for help but are swallowed by Unicron, shortly after followed by the other moon, with Spike and Bumblebee on it. Galvatron is angry with Unicron for destroying his property, but Unicron punishes him, causing Galvatron pain and forcing him to continue his mission to Earth.

The Autobots on Earth decide to head to Cybertron to deal with the monster planet, when Galvatron and his troops attack the city again, forcing the Autobots to head to the shuttles and escape into space, however the ships are attacked shortly afterwards, causing Hot Rod, Kup and the Dinobot's ship to crash on Quintessa, and leaving Ultra Magnus' ship to fake destruction by detonating the rear section and escaping on the front. Galvatron fools for it and thinks the Matrix is destroyed, which angers Unicron again, causing him pain. Galvatron heads back to Unicron to see what is wrong. Ultra Magnus and his teamhead towards the Planet of Junk for repairs, whilst Hot Rod and the others are split up on Quintessa, with Hot Rod sinking underwater.

Hot Rod fights off the Quintessa Flora and Fauna and rescues Kup from a mechanical squid, who has suffered major damage. The other shuttle crashes on the Planet of Junk, and the group start work on fixing the ship, with Daniel helping in his exo-suit. The local Junkions don't seem to happy about this.

Hot Rod fixes Kup up on Quintessa, and the two of them go to find the Dinobots when they are attacked and captured by a group of Allicons, whilst being watched by Wheelie. Soon the two Autobots are taken to a Quintesson court house, where they meet Kranix, who tells them what Unicron is, and then witness the Quintessons execute Kranix by feeding him to the Sharkticons.

Elsewhere, the Dinobots are wandering around Quintessa when Wheelie appears and tells them he'll show them where their friends are.

Unicron tells Galvatron that the Matrix is on the Planet of Junk with Ultra Magnus, and sends him there to destroy both of them. On the Planet of Junk, the Autobots are fixing their ship when the Decepticons appear and destroy the shuttle remains. Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to stop Galvatron, but it wont open for him. Galvatron has the Sweeps kill Ultra Magnus, but he takes the Matrix for himself to turn Unicron into his slave, which of course angers the god once again.

On Quintessa the Autobots are dropped into the Sharkticon pool, but manage to break free and fight off the Sharkticons. The Dinobots and Wheelie arrive and help them to fight off the Quintessons and Sharticons, after the battle, Wheelie points out the Quintesson ship for them to take.

On the Planet of Junk the remaining Autobots mourn Ultra Magnus' death when the Junkions attack, however the battle abruptly ends when a Quintesson ship lands on the planet, reuniting the Autobots and Hot Rod makes peace with the Junkions, who in return rebuild Ultra Magnus. Magnus reveals that Galvatron has the Matrix.

The Autobots decide that they need to get to Galvatron, retrieve the Matrix and use it to defeat Unicron, which Hot Rod is sure will work. The Junkions reveal their own ship, and the two shuttles head off to Cybertron.

Galvatron tries to open the Matrix, but fails, Unicron converts to his robot mode and proceeds to attack Cybertron in revenge of Galvatron's betrayal, killing several Decepticons, including Shockwave, Reflector and the Coneheads. Galvatron attacks Unicron, but is swallowed by the monster. 

The Autobots appraoch Unicron and the Quintesson ship smashes through one of his eyes, and the Autobots evacuate the ship, entering the monster's body. Hot Rod is split up from Springer, Arcee, Blurr and Daniel, whom are all attacked by Unicron's anti-body weapons. Hot Rod finds Galvatron and the Matrix, they try to team up, but Unicron forces Galvatron to kill Hot Rod to redeem himself. The two start battling.

Outside, the Dinobots attack Unicron's exterior to no avail, and inside Arcee ruptures a water pipe causing a flood, that separates Daniel from the group, and he find shimself at a smelting pool where the survivors from the Moons are about to be dropped, including his father, he uses his exo-suit to blast the pool shut, and saves them.

During the battle between Hot Rod and Galvatron, Hot Rod grabs the Matrix from Galvatron's neck and it's revealed that he's the true chosen leader, and he ascends to Rodimus Prime, now much stronger he is able to literally throw Galvatron out of Unicron's body and through space. Rodimus opens the Matrix and causes Unicron to start exploding, he reunites with the other Autobots and leads them out of Unicron's other eye, just as the monster detonates.

Rodimus and the others arrive on the now abandoned Cybertron and reclaim it for the Autobots, and cheer for their victory, while Unicron's head is all that remains, and orbits the planet, replacing the moons he devoured before.

Characters

Autobot

Hot Rod - Sports Car Reformatted as Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime - Caravan

Optimus Prime - Truck Killed by Megatron

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier

Kup - Pick Up Truck

Arcee - Sports Car

Springer - Helicopter/Rocket Car

Blurr - Race Car

Perceptor - Microscope

Wheelie - Car

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Swoop - Pteranodon

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Slag - Triceratops

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Blaster - Boom Box

Eject - Cassette

Rewind - Cassette

Ramhorn - Cassette

Steeljaw - Cassette

Jazz - Porsche

Cliffjumper - Porsche

Bumblebee - VW Beetle

Ironhide - Van Killed by Decepticons

Prowl - Police Car Killed by Decepticons

Brawn - SUV Killed by Decepticons

Ratchet - Ambulance Killed by Decepticons

Huffer - Truck Cab

Hound - Jeep

Sunstreaker - Sports Car

Omega Supreme - Rocket and Base

Defensor - Protectobot Gestalt

Superion - Aerialbot Gestalt

Wheeljack - Race Car Killed in Autobot City Battle

Windcharger - Sports Car Killed in Autobot City Battle

Decepticon

Megatron - Gun Reformed as Galvatron

Galvatron - Laser Cannon Launched into Space by Rodimus Prime

Cyclonus - Space Jet

Scourge - Space Shuttle

Sweeps - Space Shuttles

Armada - Space Jet Killed by Grimlock

Starscream - Fighter Jet Killed by Galvatron

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet Reformed as Scourge

Skywarp - Fighter Jet Reformed as Armada

Bombshell - Boll Weevil Reformed as Cyclonus

Kickback - Locust Reformed as Sweeps

Shrapnel - Stag Beetle Reformed as Sweeps

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Laserbeak - Cassette

Ravage - Cassette

Ratbat - Cassette

Rumble - Cassette

Frenzy - Cassette

Astrotrain - Train/Space Shuttle

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Shockwave - Ray Gun Killed by Unicron

Reflector - Camera Killed by Unicron

Ramjet - Fighter Jet Killed by Unicron

Dirge - Fighter Jet Killed by Unicron

Thrust - Fighter Jet Killed by Unicron

Menasor - Stunticon Gestalt

Bruticus - Combaticon Gestalt

Hook - Crane

Mixmaster - Mixing Truck

Long Haul - Dump Truck

Bonecrusher - Bulldozer

Scrapper - Front End Loader

Scavenger - Excavator

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Junkion

Wreck-Gar - Motorcycle

Other Junkions - Motorcycles

Quintesson

Judges

Allicons - Alligators

Sharkticons - Sharks

Flora and Fauna

Baliff

Prosecutor

Human

Spike Witwicky

Daniel Witwicky

Other

Unicron- Ringed Planet Destroyed by the Matrix

Lithonians Devoured by Unicron

Kranix Killed by Quintessons

Arblus

Notes

• This is an adaptation of the G1 Movie for the 20th Anniversary
• Some scenes were removed, edited or added to make the story make more smooth, or to explain some plot holes (such as where some of the season 2 characters were during the battle, or what happened to Shockwave, replacing already dead characters with living ones in certain scenes and so on)
• This version clearly shows Bombshell as becoming Cyclonus...sorry Skywarp fans!
• This comic is very loyal to the character models from the G1 cartoon rather than replacing any with modern toys, which is a common situation in Transformers comics
• It's totally possible to place the Rodimus vs Cyclonus comic in this comic's continuity as well, but just with different character models
• There's no mention of what the year is, most likely due to the original setting being 2005, which was the past when this was published

IDW - Hearts of Steel

Plot

In the Ice Age the Autobots and Decepticons are fighting over control of the cold planet for it's resources, when the conditions get too bad, and they have to go into hibernation. Epochs later, Bumblebee wakes up when he hears a lot of hammering outside the Autobot cave, he heads outside and sees John Henry and his crew working on the railway and seems interested.

In San Francisco Bay, Tobias Muldoon is showing off his new invention, the Submarine when it explodes and sinks, humiliating Tobias in front of potential investors and other people. The sinking submarine crashes into a stasis pod at the bottom of the bay, and reactivates a Decepticon.

Later, Bumblebee wakes up Prowl and Ratchet and asks them whether they should wake up Optimus, but they see no need as the humans on this world aren't too advanced yet. Bumblebee runs off when they say no, as he's bored of just sleeping in the cave. One of John's workmen thinks they see something outside, so Bumblebee quickly takes on a new alternate mode based on the steam engine, much to the confusion of the workers.

Elsewhere, Tobias has taken his girlfriend and her father to a hotel for dinner, when he realizes he can't afford the meal since his invention failed. Mr Merriweather then has him wash dishes to pay it off (due to him owning the hotel). Tobias walks along the harbour humiliated later, when a warship transforms near him, and introduces himself as Shockwave, and says that his kind are there to reshape Earth.

Bumblebee, working as a driver-less vehicle helps the workers build the railway, which John isn't too happy about, as he doesn't like the idea of machines taking over the role of people.

Underwater, Tobias has been taken to meet the other Decepticons by Shockwave, who explains that they're aliens and they want his help as a scientist to collect energy and take on appropriate alternate modes etc, who agrees, so long as they can fund him to do so.

Elsewhere, John is angry with the new locomotive for stealing jobs etc when Bumblebee transforms and assures him that he doesn't want to steal his job, he just wants to help. John accepts this and the two become friends.

On another patch of rail line a train full of money is attacked by the Insecticons, who steal the money. On the surface, Tobias and the Decepticons are going over his plans for factories etc, when the Insecticons come up with the money to help fund his work for them. A short while later, the materials are being brought to him, and he begins work.

Word about the Insecticons attack has appeared in the papers, which John and his crew are reading, Bumblebee rolls off upon hearing of this and tells the other Autobots and they decide to help the humans against the Decepticons.

The Decepticons have had their first factory built up, and have started taking on more advanced alternate modes, including "futuristic" plane forms. Starscream monologues about how their plan is to have Astrotrain essentially smash into New York city, and it's all thanks to Tobias' help. Tobias hears this and runs away. He arrives at Kitty's house again and starts to tell everyone what's happening.

Jacob Lee Bonaventure approaches the Decepticons about helping them out (after somehow hearing about them), and is told by Starscream that he can be their intermediary to keep them secret for now, and is then told about how their ultimate goal is to turn Earth into a technological paradise like Cybertron.

In San Francisco, no one is believing Tobias' story about giant killer robots, until Ravage smashes into the house and goes to kill Tobias (no doubt sent by Starscream to silence him). Ravage tears apart the house, but all the humans inside it escape, and even defeat him by throwing a cigar into the house, causing an explosion (somehow) sending the Decepticon flying...NOW everyone else believe's Tobias!

Vanflint (a railway operator of sorts) has been brought into the Decepticon operation by Bonaventure and he reports the strange yellow locomotive from before, which Starscream immediately identifies as Bumblebee, and calls out to all Decepticons to be on the lookout for other Autobots too.

Bumblebee comes to see John later that night and says goodbye, as he needs to fight the Decepticons now. John volunteers to help him out, which Bumblebee seems fine with, and also introduces his co-workers to the Autobots too to help.

Th army has been called in, but the factory has been vacated already, Tobias works out that they must be already on their way to New York, building the rail as they go, the Auotbots and their human friends chase after them on the rails.

Astrotrain continues on his trek, smashing through the blockades set up to try and stop them with ease, and is heading towards New York at full speed. The Decepticons know the Autobots are following, as so they deploy Scourge in his blimp mode to stop them from following.

Scourge is defeated by Sideswipe, who partially transforms whilst rolling through a tunnel, causing Scourge to crash into the mountain and explode. The mountain is attacked whilst the Autobots are travelling though, leaving some caught behind some rubble. Bumblebee however continues along with John chasing the Decepticons, whilst the others are trapped/helping free the others. Bumblebee manages to just overtake Astrotrain on a parallel line and allows John to smack the line switch, causing the Decepticons to change tracks to an incomplete one, sending them, Vanflint and Bonaventure off the cliff. The trapped are all rescued, and the Autobots return home to rest once more.

Characters

Autobot

Bumblebee - Steamhammer Locomotive (former Armored Beetle)

Ironhide - Box Car Locomotive (former Ankylosaurus)

Prowl - Box Car Locomotive

Ratchet - Box Car Locomotive

Sideswipe - Box Car Locomotive

Gears - Box Car Locomotive

Tracks

Blaster

Huffer - Alligator

Cliffjumper - Armored Beetle

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Slag - Triceratops 

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Swoop - Pteranodon

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Optimus Prime - Apatosaurus (In Stasis)

Other Autobots

Decepticon

Starscream - Propeller Plane (former Dragon)

Skywarp - Propeller Plane (former Dragon)

Shockwave - Iron Clad War Ship

Astrotrain - Flying Train

Kickback - Piledriver Locomotive (former Locust)

Shrapnel - Scissors Locomotive (former Scarab Beetle)

Bombshell - Turret Locomotive (former Boll Weevil)

Ravage Injured/Killed by Mark Twain

Squawkbox

Scourge - Blimp Killed by Sideswipe

Octane

Soundwave

Frenzy

Thrust

Blitzwing 

Other Decepticons

Human

John Henry

Brawley

Cletus

Tobias Muldoon

Kitty Merriweather

Stanford Merriweather

Mark Twain

Jacob Lee Bonaventure Killed in Astrotrain Crash

Vanflint Killed in Astrotrain Crash

Smythe

Jules Verne

Abner

Dodd

Cleveland

Quincannon

Enterprise Captain

President (Mentioned)

Other Humans

Notes

• This mini-series was a standalone for a long time, until it had a sequel in the form of Transformers: Infestation 2 (Which I'll be getting soon, so I figured I'd put this one up before that)
• The alternate modes seen in the Ice Age and cave scenes are most likely a reference to Beast Wars (and also, most of the characters identified are just guesses before anyone asks for proof etc)
• The Decepticons don't seem to understand the concept of money in this story
• Aerial modes are created in this story by using designs for (near) future vehicles, like propeller planes and blimps etc
• There's several mistakes in this story (not talking about historical mistakes, like John Henry being real or anything like that) such as the Autobots being seen as the trailer parts to Astrotrain in some scenes
• Despite in most continuities the Transformers seeming to have renewable power sources in them, Bumblebee seems to require water and coal to run on the tracks
• Why exactly is Bumblebee the lead vehicle on the train? Wouldn't Prowl or someone else higher up be a more reasonable choice?
• Why are you falling down the chasm Astrotrain? YOU CAN FLY!!!!

DW - Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front #1

Staff

Title: Targets of Opportunity

Dedicated to: Larry Hama

Writers: James McDonough and Adam Patyk

Pencils: Pat Lee (Hiiiisssssss)

Breakdowns: Nick Kilislian

Background: Edwin Garcia

Inks: Rob Armstrong

Colours: Anthony Washington and Alan Wang

Letters: Ben Lee

Plot

At a harbor in New York City, GI Joe attack a Cobra team, led by Destro, raiding the harbor for some reason, it seems to be going well until Cobra starts using their high tech weapons and vehicles against the Joes and start chasing them off. Destro starts to retreat but one of the troopers tries to take his place in a flight pod. Scrap-Iron kills the trooper and allows himself and Destro to escape, leaving a missile for the Joes to deal with.

The next day, Flint is back at the Utah Joe HQ where he has a talk with Duke about his recent run of bad missions, and he's told to go to The Pit for some R&R. Later a small spaceship crashes into a forest near Mount St. Hilary in Oregon, which Cobra detects and has a local team look into the crash./

Over Cobra Island, Starscream, in a new F015 Jet mode is flying around watching the Cobras move out to the crash-site, and he plans to use the ship as a means to escape Earth in his energy depleted state, when they bring it back to base.

Flint is working out in the weight room, when he gets a call in about the crash and is called out to lead a team to Oregon, along with a new team led by Spirit, who were training in the area at the time.

The two groups meet up in the forest and immediately start attacking the Cobras, who have something under a tarp being airlifted away. The Joes cause the helicopter to explode, and the cargo falls, unveiling two robots, Perceptor and Blaster, unconscious.

Later the Joes return to base with their cargo, where Flint and Spirit are taken to meet with Duke, Scarlett and Stalker, who were all in the team from the Fera Islands in 1939, and they're told about the Transformers and about how Cobra was formed....

and then the company went down, and the series was cancelled.....FUN!!!

Characters

G.I. Joe

Duke

Scarlett

Stalker

Flint

Spirit

Shipwreck

Snake-Eyes

Cover Girl

Gung-Ho

Clutch

Rock 'N' Roll

Blowtorch

Grand Slam

Quick Kick

Airtight

Bazooka

Doc

Wild Bill

Alpine

Barbecue

Mutt

Junkyard

Cobra

Cobra Commander

Destro

Scrap-Iron

Agent Smith

Cobra Troops

Autobot

Perceptor Unconscious from Crash

Blaster Unconscious from Crash

Optimus Prime (Footage Only)

Decepticon

Starscream - F-15 Jet

Megatron - Gun (Footage Only)

Notes

• Yeah...there was only one issue of this series due to Dreamwave imploding in on itself
• Most likely characters like Flint, Destro and Snake Eyes are related in some way to the characters in the first G.I. Joe crossover from Dreamwave
• Whilst the artwork in this comic is nicer than that of the previous series...it's still not very nice...most of the human characters look like they're melting or something
• Pretty much every time they show a reflection of something it's just a reprinting of an image seen elsewhere in the comic...it just seems lazy to me
• Starscream being the only Decepticon shown active in this comic may have been because he was disabled before the Matrix blast...but of course there's no way to find out now...
• Yeah...the scene in the weight room is just weird.....(see above picture for most of it)
• Flint doesn't seem to be as good as the Flint from the first crossover
• It seems that one of the Joes on the Fera Islands must have had a camera since they have footage of Optimus and Megatron fighting.