IDW - Till All Are One #5

Title: Ping

Written by: Mairghread Scott

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Joana LaFuente & Priscilla Tramontano

Letters by: Tom B. Long & Chris Mowry

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Out in space, the Titan Ship Carcer picks up a disturbing signal on it's sensors, Greenlight and Lancer inform Elita of this troubling news.

Windblade returns to Cybertron, following her involvement in the Revolution on Earth, and she is fed up, she doesn't appreciate how Optimus doesn't listen to her any more, and feels tired of all the problems she's had lately with Chromia, Bruticus and every thing on Earth. Obsidian consoles her, and tries to convince her to stay on Cybertron as she's needed there, just as he received a message on his communicator...

Elsewhere, Starscream has been called to see Ironhide in his office, and he demands that the Enigma of Combination be given to him for safe-keeping following the various thefts lately, but he ends up arguing with him about it, culminating in Ironhide pointing out how Starscream hasn't done anything to earn the respect of the Cybertronians yet, so he isn't trusted with something as powerful as the Enigma, just as they all receive a message too.

A little while later, the Council of Worlds are convened at the Spire, where Obsidian and Windblade request for a declaration of war to be made, and explains that an army of undead Titans have been detected approaching Cybertron (heading from Luna-1). The council start to panic, but Starscream finally takes charge, and gives everyone their orders to prepare the planet for battle.

The injured are all sent to Caminus, and the Spacebridge is deactivated for safety, the healthy are armed and prepared for battle, all shuttles around Cybertron are conscripted for the battle, and Carcer is brought into orbit, whilst Metroplex is ordered to transform and prepare for battle too.

Soon, the Titan Swarm arrives, and is immediately attacked by the united Cybertron, with the skies being defended by the Titan Ship Carcer and the other shuttles.

Everyone works together to take down the Titans, but there are just too many to handle. Starscream contacts Elita on Carcer and asks her to transform the ship to robot mode, so he can help in the battle, but she simply refuses and hangs up on him, just to Starscream's shock and horror...

Characters

Autobot

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Ironhide - Van

Metroplex - Iacon City/Space Ship

Fizzle - Car

Sunder - Cassette

Bumblebee - Car (Ghost)

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Flashback)

Chromia - Speedbike (Flashback)

Sentinel Prime - Truck/Jet (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Fat Tankor - Tank

Tall Tankor - Truck/Cargo Plane

Sparkstalker - Insect Monster

Combaticons (Mentioned) Brain Damaged

Bruticus - Combaticon Gestalt (Mentioned)

United Cybertron

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Rattrap - Mole Rat

Zetca

Colonist

Mistress of Flame

Elita One - Car

Obsidian - Osprey Stealth Jet

Strika - Battle Tank

Lancer

Greenlight

Carcer - Space Ship

Knock Out - Sports Car

Moonracer - Sports Car

Prime Breakdown - Armoured Truck

Airazor - Falcon

Tigatron - Tiger

Razorbeast - Boar

Vanquish - Part of Jet

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Other Cybertronian

Titan Swarm Undead

Injured Cybertronians Sent to Caminus

Ironhide's Security Force

Cybertronian Fighters

Notes

• This story acts as the TAAO part of the Titans Return event which MTMTE and Ongoing ended a couple months ago. This story occurs after Revolution's conclusion, but also follows on from the cliff-hanger at the end of MTMTE's part of the event.
• It's revealed that the Combaticons are brain damaged following their forced de-combination from Bruticus in the last issue
• Why are all of the injured being sent to Caminus? Isn't that the colony with the energy crisis? Why not send them to Eukaris, Divisiun, Velocitron or even Luna-1? I could understand them not going to Earth due to the delicate situation there, but wouldn't anywhere else be better?!
• I'm going to assume that Razorbeast is from Eukaris, since he has a beast mode and didn't know Fizzle during the war.
• So after all this time of building a city around Metroplex for people to live in, they have him transform and basically destroy it...PROGRESS!!
• Carcer has been moved into orbit around Cybertron...did he get spacebridged there? Was he just nearby? I'm genuinely curious here!
• Strika's statement that the Titans cannot take the ship, and Elita's refusal to allow Carcer to transform for the battle adds to the mystery of who Carcer really is, and what Elita's true motives are.