IDW - Dark Cybertron Finale

Title: Dark Cybertron Chapter 12: ...And The Damage Done

Written by: John Barber and James Roberts

Layouts by: Phil Jimenez

Pencils by: Brendan Cahill

Inks by: Brian Shearer

Colours by: Josh Perez

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Plot

The battle with the Ammonites isn't going well, despite all the heavy hitters and brave fighting, the Ammonite army has only suffered a small loss to their numbers, leaving the command crew on the Lost Light to hope that the team in Crystal City will succeed in their mission.

At the Time Ship in Crystal City, Jhiaxus, in his Starscream "cosplay" armour fights with Starscream, whilst Metalhawk and Rattrap try to figure out how to stop what's happening all around them. Metalhawk realizes that he can burn out all the ores that are causing all the problems, but knows it'll be at a great cost.

Nearby, Optimus and his crew have left the portal created in Brainstorm's chest and have defeated Bludgeon, however Nightbeat, Kup and Cyclonus, who were all "part" of the Dead Universe all begin to feel ill. Brainstorm says he can whip up a medicine to save them, but he needs the help of one of the "hero types" left to get them back, forcing Rodimus, Magnus and Optimus to decide who should stay out of the "final battle".

Shockwave and Megatron continue their battle, and Shockwave states that his final goals are to make Megatron's goals a reality, by making everyone equal, since no-one shall exist any more! Megatron says that's not what he wants, when he is joined by Optimus and Magnus.

Shockwave quickly blasts Magnus out of the fight, but starts to feel strange as he begins to remember his past life as the Senator.

Rodimus, Skids and Brainstorm help the ill Transformers towards the Lost Light so they can reach Brainstorm's lab, but when they reach the planet's surface they find the sky filled with several moments in Cybertronian history, meaning that reality is beginning to fold in on itself.

Back in the Time Ship, Starscream is losing the battle, until Metalhawk finally connects himself into the Ore's power-system (as he was revived using another Ore) and pushes them off balance, resulting in both his death and the destruction of the Ores. In the process he overload's the ship's power and kills all the Ammonites, who were connected to the Ores as well.

In the aftermath Starscream finally kills Jhiaxus using the swords he didn't even know he had until Jhiaxus just showed him.

On the planet's surface the Transformers are confused as to why the Ammonites are suddenly all dead, but the Autobots think Metroplex used some Titan power to kill them all.

Inside Metroplex's brain chamber, Windblade claims that Metroplex is laughing over the sight of the Ammonites burning up and dying. The Lost Light contacts Windblade and tells her that they're going to ram the ship into Monstructor to tear him apart and that they need their help to take out his component parts afterwards. To which she happily agrees...

Brainstorm and the team reach the Lost Light after it's ramming, and make it to the lab, where Brainstorm admits he's not sure if he can do it, however Rodimus uses Brainstorm's obsession with perceptor to convince him that he can do it.

Down in Crystal City, Optimus tellls Shockwave that he's not going to try and reason with him, as he knows the friend he once knew died the moment he had the Shadowplay implemented, however Megatron instead takes the insignia from Bumblebee's corpse and places it on his own chest and declares that he no longer wishes to be at war with the Autobots, but wishes to join them, having seen the error of his ways.

Shockwave, in a fit of confusion and rage attacks Megatron, convinced that he's just trying to mess with his mind, but Megatron assures him that he is being sincere. However he does admit, along with Optimus that all of this is to try and bring back the old Shockwave, the one they all remembered from before he was changed.

All of a sudden, Shockwave begins to collapse in pain, his timeline has re-aligned and he's been restored to his pre-Shadowplay personality, and is horrified over what he has become. He also reveals that the Time Drive can no longer be removed from his body, leaving only one choice for Optimus and Megatron. The two promise to remember him as who he wass once, and shoot him.

The impact creates a black hole from the Time Drive, Optimus, Megatron and Magnus try to escape, but are being caught up on by the expanding black hole, Bumblebee's body is left behind as he'd just slow them down. Luckily however the Lost Light appears and rescues the trio

The Lost Light escapes the blast and reaches the surface where Soundwave sees Megatron on the ship, and readds his mind, confirming that Megatron is indeed intending to be an Autobot now, and is disgusted after all they did together to oppose the Autobots in the past.

Galvatron, along with Dreadwing and Skywarp arrive at the moment and seem to be glad that he's seeing things like that, and perhaps they need a new approach...

Starscream and Rattrap escape the Crystal City as well, and Starscream immediately begins plans to twist events to make Metalhawk out to be a genocidal maniac who just killed an entire species...then the crew of the Lost Light appear behind him, making him reconsider things...

Later, Optimus and Megatron discuss things on the Lost Light, and Megatron promises Optimus that he is being honest about his desire to join the Autobots and end the war once and for all. Optimus decides to believe him and the duo leave the ship, to find their combined forces waiting for them outside....

To be continued in "Dawn of the Autobots"

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Rodimus - Sports Car

Bumblebee - Muscle Car Dead

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Prowl - Emergency Vehicle

Hound - Jeep

Metroplex - City/Space Ship

Brainstorm - Jet

Nightbeat - Sports Car

Kup - Pick Up Truck

Windblade - Jet

Chromia

Nautica

Arcee - Car

Perceptor

Mainframe

Rung

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Swerve - Van

Skids - Van

Chromedome - Car

Ironhide - Van

Swoop - Pteranodon

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Slug - Triceratops

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Cosmos - Orbiter

Highbrow - Helicopter

Jetfire - Jet

Drift - Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Megatron JOINS AUTOBOTS

(Senator) Shockwave - Flying Artillery Killed by Optimus Prime and Megatron

Soundwave - Van

Buzzsaw - Cassette

Ravage - Cassette

Frenzy - Tank

Rumble - Tank

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Mixmaster - Mixing Truck

Long Haul - Dump Truck

Devastator - Gestalt

Dreadwing - Stealth Bomber

Skywarp - Jet

Monstructor - Gestalt Destroyed by Lost Light

Bludgeon - Tank Possibly Killed by Optimus' Team

United Cybertron

Starscream - Jet

Rattrap - Mole-Rat

Scoop - Front End Loader

Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Galvatron - Laser Tank

Jhiaxus - Jet Killed by Starscream

Metalhawk - Jet Killed in Ore-explosion

Chief Justice Tyrest (In Timestream only)

Tailgate - Car (In Timestream only)

Nova Prime - Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Tailpipe - Motorcycle (Mentioned)

Other

Ammonites Killed by Metalhawk

The Decptigod (In Timestream only)

Notes

• Whirl fully acknowledges and even jokes about his being the reason the Great War began (and also for escalating the Ammonite/Terradore war by killing the Terradore leader)
• It's revealed here that the Dead Universe team used Nova Prime's corpse in the Dead Universe as the opening point for the portal they used to escape, which was linked up to Brainstorm's one in the Living Universe.
• Shockwave's merging of space/time of course caused his past self to emerge in his preset body, thus essentially undoing the Shadowplay that turned him into the monster he has become.
• Nightbeat misnames Tailgate as Tailpipe, whom was the Ark-1 crew member who's name was shown on the Ark-1 memorial that Tailgate seemed to try and impersonate earlier on (and who also appeared in Chapter 1 of this event)
• The events shown in the timestream above Cybertron include several past events in the comics, and the aged Ironhide from the "Pax Cybertronia" future, which shows us that that future is indeed likely to happen, and wasn't just some planted memory by some dark force or something.
• With Metalhawk's actions it seems like all the Ores which have been plaguing the IDW continuity since it's beginning have been rendered inert.
• Most likely Metalhawk was the only one revived using Ore-14 to die because he was physically linking himself with the others to overload them.
• Starscream is shown to have not known all the features of his new body, until Jhiaxus showed him how to use them with his reactive armour.
• Nightbeat seems a bit intrigued by the Lost Light, much like the rest of us fans, he thinks there's more to it, than meets the eye.
• Brainstorm's obsession with Perceptor is used against him here as Rodimus uses that to force Brainstorm to make the medicine for the Dead Universe infectees.
• Optimus seems a bit cold when he tells Megatron to leave Bumblebee's corpse to be sucked into the black hole...maybe he was mad with him for losing the planet to Starscream?
• Galvatron appears to have joined forces with some of the Decepticons now...maybe he's finally "joining" them?
• From the looks of things Scoop wa amongst the guys Galvatron was trying to "recruit" as well...wasn't he an Autobot?
• The Lost Light is referred to as the Autobot's "Flagship" here, despite it not technically being an Autobot ship (as Perceptor said earlier in the series)
• Small Note...Waspinator may have been killed by Bludgeon last issue after all...he isn't shown here at all!!