IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #36

Title: Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Plot

Four Million years ago, in the Alyon Region of Cybertron, Orion Pax and his team of Outliers and Roller are on the run from the Senate following the raid they took part in at the Primal Basilica. They have stopped to protect a new Hot Spot that has opened up from the Senate, whom they believe wants to destroy it (due to it seemingly being in the shape of a hand print). During the fight, the Senate's Elite Guard tries to run away when suddenly a group of strange robots teleport in, unknowingly to Orion and the others, from the distant fuure.

In the future, on the Lost Light Rodimus has finished explaining what Brainstorm is up to in the past, and has gathered a team of Lost Lighters with similar spark types to travel back to stop him. They equip themselves with several new weapons from the weapons store, and a "Time Phone" to keep in contact with the present, and work out where Orion Pax will be in this time period from Rewind's database.

Back in the past, Rodimus introduces himself and the others to Orion Pax, and after a small confrontation they join forces. Orion explains what they're doing there, and admits that he doesn't know what the strange platform hovering above the Hot Spot is either. During the introductions, the Trailbreaker of the past appears, causing a major shock to Rodimus, who has just seen Trailcutter's corpse back on the Lost Light.

The two groups start to interact with eachother where Rodimus takes Trailbreaker to one side to talk with him, and Rung learns that Roller spikes his drinks with circuit speeders to increase his power to keep up with the Outliers.

Orion Pax finds the Time Phone, and answers it when it rings, where Megatron speaks to him, and tells him in veiled terms about the future (under the disguise of his present self) but ends the call by saying that he's sure he'll join Orion's side eventually.

Rodimus finishes telling Trailbreaker to avoid going to Ofsted XVII, and is glad that he's saved his friend when Orion comes in and hands over the phone to Rodimus to talk to Megatron. Whilst talking, Rodimus finds out that the time machine is starting to fail due to too many uses, and also that some radiation is leaking into the present from the past, revealing to Rodimus that the platform is irradiating the Hot Spot.

Rodimus tells the group about this, and Rewind "theorizes" (actually accessing his modified database) that the Senate are trying to irradiate the new sparks so they can create Outliers artificially.

The group head outside, and set up Trailbreaker's forcefield around the Hot Spot, and they start harvesting the sparks, and teleport them to Nyon for maturation, whilst the platform has grown guns and starts attacking the forcefield.

During the battle, Roller is injured in an explosion, and goes missing, whilst Orion uses himself as a bullet whilst combined with Windcharger and Trailbreaker's powers to destroy the platform. Rodimus also receives a call from the future saying that Brainstorm has time jumped again.

Afterwards, Rodimus tells a lie that they have to leave for another mission, and has all of Orion Pax's team shake Chromedome's hand (which has been rigged to erase their recent memories to protect the timeline some more) but has ordered him not to touch Trailbreaker (so his memories of their conversation will be spared). It all goes to plan, until Trailbreaker insists on shaking Chromedome's hand, causing him to forget as well, just as the team are transported to another point in time.

In the aftermath, Orion's team are a bit confused as to what happened, and also appear to have forgotten about Roller as well, and decide to leave the area for a drink without him....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Megatron - Tank

Perceptor

Riptide - Boat

Rung

Chromedome/Tumbler - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Tailgate - Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter 

Elite Guardsmen (Past Only)

Nightbeat - Car (Mentioned)

Sentinel Prime - Truck (Mentioned)

Prowl - Emergency Car (Mentioned)

Wreckers (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned)

Orion's Outlaws

Orion Pax - Truck (Past Only)

Roller - Police Lock Up Truck (Past Only) Caught in explosion, gone missing

Trailbreaker - Truck (Past Only)

Skids - Van (Past Only)

Windcharger - Car (Past Only)

Glitch/Damus (Past Only)

Zeta of Sistex (Mentioned)

Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Senator Shockwave (Mentioned)

Senator Decimus (Mentioned)

Nova Prime (Mentioned)

Functionist Council (Mentioned)

Senate (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Notes

• The stuff set in the past is set just after Shadowplay, and seems to be just before the start of Megatron: Origin.
• Amongst the characters able to use Brainstorm's time machine are those with 2 spark types Vitreus Positive and Ferrum Negative. This implies that Brainstorm may have 2 spark types somehow.
• We learn that the reason why Prowl and Chromedome broke up was because of him joining Sentinel Prime's forces.
• Trailbreaker was hinted as being amongst the Outliers in Shadowplay, here it is confirmed
• Several of Roller's characteristics and features are shown to hint that he is Tarn in the present day (which has been a popular theory since his introduction). Some of these similar traits are his addictive personality, interest in reading Megatron's work, desire to be more powerful to keep up with the others and his injuries at the end of the issue (having a facial injury).
• It' heavily implied here that Rodimus' spark is amongst the ones protected in this issue, meaning that all of this was MEANT to happen, otherwise he wouldn't have existed.
• It seems a bit weird that none of the present-day characters would accidentally call Trailbreaker by his modern day name "Trailcutter"