IDW - Transformers #48

Title: Conquerors Part 3: Helden

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Andrew Griffith

Colours by: Josh Perez

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Plot

D.O.C. encounters Buster, the resident dog of the EDC and Thundercracker's belovedpet, however due to her apparent lack of use, D.O.C. dismisses her as unhelpful. Thundercracker appears from the corridor and mistakes D.O.C. for one of the EDC's drones. D.O.C. uses some holograms to try and tell Thudnercracker what's been happening, but he fails to understand it's meaning. D.O.C. wanders off to try and find his friends, and Buster follows, and leads him into the kitchen area, where she uses a machine to dispense some dog food for herself. D.O.C. hacks into the dispenser and brings up a map of the facility, but finds a power source leading to nothing, so he decides to investigate it.

Buster alerts the drone that some humans are coming, and creates a distracting by peeing on the floor, allowing D.O.C. to hover away unseen.

Before he can get too far away however, D.O.C. is mistaken for one of the resident drones and is captured by a truck, who takes him away for some reason. Buster watches this, but decides that D.O.C. is her friend now, and wants to rescue him.

Buster heads through the base, and locates the truck, biting at the clamps keeping D.O.C. in place,a nd freeing her new friend, who now accepts her as useful and a friend too.

The dynamic duo go through some tunnels and find an empty room, off the grid, and notices the roof leaking with some "bad water". D.O.C. ignores Buster's barks and cuts a hole in the oof, and causes it to flood the lower floor too. D.O.C. and Buster swim up to the top of the "water" they find the captured Autobots restrained, being slowly dissolved, however D.O.C. manages to break their restraints and begins cutting open the ceiling again.

Thundercracker, Faireborn and Jones are running down the corridor to locate Buster and the "runaway drone" and find the floor being burned open, just before the Autobots escape. Before a fight can break out though, Buster and D.O.C. explain, with Jetfire and Thundercracker translating for the others, that they were found in a hidden room. Marissa had no idea about any of this, and figures that it must be all Blackrock's doing.

In Spike's cell, Blackrock keeps trying to get him to explain who he really is, and reveals that he wants Spike to do this because he knows Cybertronians better than anyone else. Spike suddenly twigs on and deduces that Blackrock is a Cybertronian in some way, which is why he has no past, or soul etc. Blackrock dismisses this, but the cell is suddenly broken into by the Autobots and EDC. Spike restrains Blackrock and Marissa takes his data-pad from him, revealing to her what he's been up to, including capturing the Ark in orbit, and spying on the world. She prepares to release the ship when suddenly Galvatron teleports in (with a now freed Skywarp) and confirms that Blackrock was planted on Earth by Onyx Prime to capture the Enigma of Combination for him, but now Galvatron wants him so he can continue his war against the Primes, before grabbing Blackrock, welcoming him as his Cybertronian brother....

Characters

Autobot

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Jazz - Sports Car

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Kup - Pick-Up Truck

Cosmos - Orbiter (Hologram)

Prowl - Police Vehicle (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Galvatron - Tank

Skywarp - Cybertronian Jet

Soundwave - Personnel Carrier (Hologram)

Human

Marissa Faireborn

Ayana Jones

Sanjay Bharwanay

Spike Witwicky

EDC Troops

Cybertronian

Garrison Blackrock Captured by Galvatron

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet

Nexus Prime (Mentioned)

Onyx Prime (Mentioned)

Other

Buster the Dog

D.O.C.

Thrust-Dirge Clone Combiners - Jets (Hologram)

Notes

• Due to both main characters in this issue not being to talk "properly" we get specific panels with their language translated for us...it is quite hilarious.
• Also, when Buster is "in charge" of the story, the colours are somewhat more muted, due to dogs having a more limited colour-range.
• How did D.O.C. get footage of Soundwave and Cosmos on the Jupiter commune?
• Faireborn and Jones are dressed up in clothing similar to Lady Jaye's from GI Joe. In previous series' Jaye was Marissa's mother.
• One of the posters in the EDC rec-room says to "Visit Poverty Flat" that was the town that was caught in the middle of the fight between the Autobots and Decepticons after they returned to Earth following Dark Cybertron.
• It has also been "40 days" with no accidents. The last "accident" was probably when the Autobots attacked the EDC base and General Witwicky was killed.
• Human language to Buster is translated into anagrams of most words, with specific key words being unscrambled, such as "Hi", "Buster" and "Dog".
• We saw Jazz being slowly melted away by Blackrock in an earlier issue, but now we know all the captured Autobots are in that same pool as well
• Thundercracker can apparently accurately translate what Buster says....odd.
• If it is true that Blackrock is one of Onyx Prime's followers in disguise and under deep-cover, then this would explain how Blackrock was able to re-translate "Ark" as "Vanguard" in the previous issue
• Also, even if it turns out to be a trick of some sort, it now seems likely that the "Black Angel" that Blackrock mentioned before is most likely Onyx Prime, since his traditional appearance has wings, which could be seen as angelic, and the word "Onyx" even means black!
• Also, this issue implies that Onyx Prime still lives somewhere, since he more than likely planted Blackrock on Earth in the more recent past.
• Skywarp has been freed from the Nemesis...let's see if he stays that way now?

IDW - Sins of the Wreckers #1

Written and Drawn by: Nick Roche

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Plot

Arcee detects Prowl's signal on Earth, but suddenly it disappears, at the same time, Kup blacks out whilst riveting the bull of the Ark. Arcee manages to pull the older Autobot inside the ship, and questions why he passed out at the same moment as Prowl turned up. She's determined to find out what happened, so she orders Kup to unseal Prowl's old quarters, which Kup claims to be impossible, due to Prowl's extreme security measures.

Elsewhere in space, Impactor is watching over Guzzle, who has been locked into a crate to try and calm him down whilst at the Wreckers space station, Debris. Roadbuster joins him, taking a break from watching over Springer's still near-death body. The duo discuss how peace has essentially ended the need for the Wreckers, and all they are now is a group of baby-sitters for their leftover members. Impactor gets fed up of wasting his time, and takes Roadbuster elsewhere in the station.

Back on the Ark, Kup manages to quickly unlock Prowl's quarters, which Arcee grows a bit suspicious of. Soon the two Autobots locate some files mentioning Garrus-9, and find an image of Verity Carlo holding a copy of the Aequitas files, and threatening Prowl with releasing it. Kup explains to Arcee who Verity is, and correctly guesses that Ironfist made her a copy of the files before his sudden death on the way back from Garrus-9.
After the discussion, Arcee deems Verity a major risk due to her holding Autobot war secrets, and having the ability to send secret messages to the head of Autobot Special ops, but Kup doesn't agree. Soon, a hologram of Prowl appears in the room, having been left in case of his own disappearance, and asks for Springer to be called in to help find him. Arcee is shocked as she can't believe that Prowl trusts Springer more than her, despite them hating each other. Kup prepares to contact Debris, but Arcee knocks him out before he can, and heads out to confront Verity herself....

Somewhere, Prowl wakes up and soon finds himself in a place called the "Noisemaze" where he appears to be suffering from visual and audio disruptions. He's greeted by a shadowy figure, his apparent kidnapper.

In Nome, Alaska, Verity is sick with an unknown illness, and is almost attacked by a bear whilst travelling through the wilderness, however she is rescued by Stakeout, an Autobot assigned to protect her by Ultra Magnus following their separation. Despite his worries about her condition, Verity seems glad to see the Autobot, and allows herself to go into the back-seat of his police car mode. The two drive off, with Stakeout apologizing for not being with her for so long, but also reprimands her for trying to expose Prowl, and shattering their loose peace with the Decepticons. Verity claims that Prowl deserves to be punished for all he did, especially to her Wrecker friends, but STakeout points out that if she does release the information, then they died for nothing. Verity however, still wants to do this, before it's too late for her.
Before long, Stakeout is shot off the road by Arcee, who captures Verity and sword-point, demanding to know where Prowl is, before Verity passes out.

On the Ark, Kup manages to contact Debris, where he confides to the comatose Springer that he hasn't been to see him, because he doesn't know what he'd do, especially knowing that Springer would do anything to save him if their places were reversed. He then orders Springer to wake up, and cuts off communications.

On Debris, Impactor and Roadbuster are walking through the Wrecker monument and Impactor asks Roadbuster about letting Springer die with dignity, which starts an argument again. However this one is cut short when Hubcap, the station's new admin officer interrupts to tell them that Guzzle is over-heating his crate and will cause a fire soon. Suddenly the alarms hooked to Springer's life-signs goes off, alerting the Wreckers that he has no signs of life any more.
Roadbuster rushes to the medical bay, where he refuses to go inside, as he can't handle it, but Impactor forces him inside, where they find Springer...has gone...

Back on Earth, Arcee has taken Verity to an old warehouse where she interrogates her for Prowl's location. Verity admits to having threatened him due to him needing to pay for his evil acts in the past, but she had no part in him going missing, not that she's upset about it. Arcee threatens to destroy Verity's bag, which assumedly contains the Aequitas files (and probably medicine for her illness) unless she gives her Prowl, she gets interrupted however, when the Wreckers, led by a now healthy Springer, appear, ready to fix the problem.

Characters

Autobot

Arcee - Sports Car

Kup - Pick Up Truck

Springer - Rocket Car/Helicopter

Impactor - Tank

Roadbuster - Jeep

Hubcap - Car

Guzzle - Tank

Stakeout - Police Car

Prowl - Police Vehicle Trapped in the Noisemaze

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport (Mentioned)

Threnody (Mentioned) Dead

Crest (Mentioned) Dead

Hyperion (Mentioned) Dead

Ironfist (Mentioned) Dead

Rotorstorm (Name on Memorial) Dead

Rack (Name on Memorial) Dead

Pyro (Name on Memorial) Dead

Decepticon

Overlord - Jet and Tank (Mentioned)

Human

Verity Carlo

Other

Prowl's Captor

Polar Bear Injured by Stakeout

Sharkticons (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Notes

• This is the sequel series to the hit series "Last Stand of the Wreckers" but also includes some lot lines carried over from the comics released since then (Such as Prowl went missing, and Arcee is in command of the Earth forces in The Transformers)
• The art style of this comic has a more muted colour palette than it's predecessor.
• Kup's connection to Prowl is more than likely due to his secret "Pretender" process that allowed Prowl to subliminally control the older Autobot. This was referenced before during Infestation, where Prowl was able to control the zombified Kup.
• Guzzle and Impactor were last seen working alone in space taking down residual Decepticon groups in the LSOTW Hardcover edition. Roadbuster was also noted as taking care of Springer in the same book, as well as Ironfist giving Verity a copy of the Aequitas files.
• Prowl's missing eye is due to the fight he had with Optimus, following his attempted coup.
• Judging from the basic shadow shapes, and the audio-based attack being used on Prowl, I'm going to guess that the kidnapper will be revealed as Hubcap, and is probably as revenge for Pipes' death at Overlord's hands (foot) which was indirectly caused by Prowl as well.
• It's strongly implied that the police car seen at the end of Last Stand of the Wreckers was actually Stakeout beginning his new job as Verity's guard.
• Verity's mystery illness appears to be in relation to Cybertronians, as she is seen suffering with pain whenever one appears. Stakeout also seems worried about touching her or even being near her. More than likely she caught this "disease" whilst with Magnus or the Wreckers, as Jimmy wasn't shown as suffering when he reappeared in recent comics.
• Kup's comments on how Springer would do anything to save Kup if he was ill is a reference to Spotlight: Kup, where Springer authorized the deaths of many Autobots just to rescue the insane Kup.
• Why didn't Debris go down when all the other Autobot outposts were knocked out during All Hail Megatron? We know it was around before those events, since Impactor put up his pre-emptive memorial slab before his arrest.
• Guzzle has grown A LOT since we last saw him, with him now being larger than Roadbuster, last time we saw him be was the shortest of the current Wreckers.
• Judging from the letter to the readers, and small doodle in the corner after the comic, at least three Autobots will die in tis story....eep!
• Due to them being around in "The Transformers" after this, we can assume that Kup and Arcee will survive at least.

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #47

Title: The Lopsided Triangle

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Brendan Cahill

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Plot

In "Visages", Getaway tells Tailgate the story of his own birth and the reason he was named Getaway (since he ran away during his first battle). After a brief conversation about how Getaway reminds Tailgate of how Cyclonus told him stories and tried to teach him Old Cybertronian songs in the past, before Getaway uses Nautica's wrench to reveal Ravage in the bar too. Ravage claims to be just drinking, and wasn't even hiding, but Getaway decides to leave with Tailgate regardless.

Cyclonus wakes up in his hab-suite to find Tailgate gone, he heads to Swerve's bar to try and find him, but Swerve just tells him that Tailgate was at Getaways hab-suite. He then gives Cyclonus a free drink to say thanks for his help when he was depressed on "Swearth". Cyclonus leaves.

At Getaway's hab-suite, the creepy Autobot gives Tailgate some mnemo-surgery needles as a gift, claiming that Tailgate always talks about how he loves Chromedome's set. Getaway then reveals to Tailgate that he's been trying to perform the act of becoming Tailgate's Conjunx Endura, but the final thing they need, is for Tailgate to prove his love for him too...which he agrees to....

Cyclonus heads to Whirl's hab-suite, where the duo talk about Cyclonus having strong feelings for Tailgate, and how he's worried that his little friend is being messed around with by Getaway. Whirl laughs this off, since Cyclonus doesn't have feelings normally. Whirl tells Cyclonus that Tailgate might just like Getaway more than him, and he has to accept that. Cyclonus goes to leave, and thanks Whirl for being brutally honest with him, as he knows Whirl doesn't care about his feelings, and isn't afraid of him, so he would just tell the truth on this matter, leaving Whirl a bit shocked.

Soon, Whirl has called his cohorts, Getaway and Atomizer to his hab-suite where he asks them to call off the plan of using Tailgate to get Megatron thrown off the ship or killed, as he's having second thoughts now. Getaway flat-out refuses as he's spent too much time "grooming" the small Autobot, and has convinced him to use his mnemo-surgery needles to use Shadowplay on Megatron to administer an "Anti-Villain Virus" into their co-captain, and make him nice. However, both the virus and needles are fakes, and he plans for Megatron to flip out the moment he sees the needles, due to his phobia, and kill Tailgate, forcing the crew to either kill Megatron in anger, or have him sent back to Cybertron in disgrace. Whirl repeats his dislike of the plan and starts fiddling with his home-made clocks, when Atomizer points Getaway's Nudge Gun at his head, and shoots him point blank.

Whirl's mind is slowly being erased of information of the plan, but as he's losing his mind, he sends out his holo-avatar across the ship to get help from Cyclonus, who sees he avatar out his window, and sees it seemingly choking on something, leading him to rush off.

Soon, Cyclonus arrives at Whirl's hab-suite, passing the leaving Atomzer and Getaway, only to find Whirl with a head-ache, and no recollection of anything from the last day. Cyclonusbegins to leave when he notices that Whirl has set all of his clocks to 1:13, telling Cyclonus to go to suite 113, Megatron's hab-suite.

At suite 113, Tailgate sneaks in, ready to "cure" Megatron, when suddenly Ravage finds him and calls for Megatron to wake up, upon seeing the needles, Megatron does indeed flip out, and grabs Tailgate by the head. Luckily however, Cyclonus suddenly appears, stabs Megatron with the Great Sword, knocks out Ravage, and smacks down Megatron with his own recharge slab, before running off with Tailgate.

The two friends run towards the shuttlebay, where Tailgate realizes that Getaway lied to him, and tried to get him killed. Along the way Tailgate begins to ask Cyclonus about the "Four Acts" of becoming Conjunx Endurae, but decides to wait before revealing that the two of them, had accidentally done all four acts when Tailgate was dying from Cybercrosis. Cyclonus held his hand whilst singing in Old Cybertronian, Tailgate admitted he was afraid of death, he gave Cyclonus his replacement horn, and finally, Cyclonus shared his spark energy to give Tailgate enough power for the treatment process, meaning that the two are in fact already a couple.

The duo reach the shuttle bay, but find the doors locked, and security waiting for them. Cyclonus reaches for his sword again, but Security opens fire on him, Cyclonus shields his friend from the fire, and bids him a sweet goodbye before collapsing.

Tailgate leans across Cyclonus' body and starts to panic, begins tearing again, then lets out a bright light that fills the entire ship, before suddenly stopping, and the ship seemingly begins to drift away....

Characters

Autobot

Megatron - Tank Pummelled by Cyclonus

Tailgate - Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter Shot by Atomizer with Nudge Gun

Getaway - Car

Atomizer - Race Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Chromedome - Car

Swerve - Van

Crosscut - Van

Velocity - Race Car

Rollout - Bulldozer

Jackpot - Car

Grotusque - Winged-Cat Monster

Powerflash - Jet

Strafe - Jet

Dogfight - Jet

Boss - Race Car

Aquafend - Baja Buggy

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette Beaten by Cyclonus

Cycbertronian

Cyclonus - Jet Shot, maybe killed by Security

Ten

Scalp - Head (Mentioned)

Tyrest (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue reveals the truth behind Getaway's interest in Tailgate, which, as assumed before, is not a good thing! He even calls it grooming...that's creepier still!
• It's revealed here that Sparks that were stored during the war were in fact kept frozen, until they were needed
• The process of becoming a Conjunx Endura with someone is revealed in this issue, which is done via intimacy, disclosing a secret, giving a gift, and the recipient making a gesture to show their love in return.
• Whirl's cohorts who tried to help him with getting Megatron "exposed" at the start of season two are revealed to be Getaway and Atomizer. Atomizer was also previously shown trying to upset the captains of the ship with a fake list of people who voted him off the ship himself.
• Getaway's "Nudge Gun", the twin of Skids' which was a plot point from season one, is back in Getaway's possession now, since it was confiscated by Tyrest when he captured him.
• Atomizer's body is shown in some detail here which shows that he most likely has a race car alternate mode.
• Tailgate's old friend Scalp, who turned into a head, is revealed to have been a Mnemo-surgeon, like Chromedome.
• Whirl was previously shown to be able to transmit his holo-avatar across the ship when he was detained in his room by Ultra Magnus, and still left via it to go to the bar.
• Cyclonus similarly shielded Rewind from an explosion in season one, but seemed to fair a bit better afterwards there...
• Tailgate's panicked eye effect appears to actually be a manifestation of some Outlier power he's unknowingly had all along.
• Tailgate's "power" giving off a rainbow coloured light in the aftermath is possibly a reference to the rainbow being the "flag" of homosexual culture, which is arguably what Tailgate and Cyclonus could be classed as part of.