IDW - Micronauts #11

Written by: Cullen Bunn & Jimmy Johnston

Art by: Max Dunbar

Colours by: Ander Zarate

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Hedgecock

Assistant Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The Heliopolis is still being followed and attacked by the strange Acroyear swarm, but they fight back when they invade the ship. Phen figures out that due to them being able to keep up with the Heliopolis, they must be purely mechanical, rather than cyborgs, since flying at this speed would kill anything organic without a ship.

The team are easily outmatched by the Acroyears, but Oz gets the idea to use an EMP blast to knock them out, whilst having his robotic teammates and machinery turned off to stop them from going down too.

Now that the Acroyear swarm have been dealt with, the crew head off to find Rhonda Conway again, to make sure she is safe

Rhonda Conway, and her son Billy have gone into hiding at her stepsister, Betty's house, but Commander Klain, who is after her and the Micronauts on Miles Mayhem's orders, has located her and takes the small family hostage, and threatens to kill them for information on the location of the Micronauts.

Bitron manages to hack into the smart TV in the living room of the house, and see through the camera that they are being held hostage by Klain, and decide to save them.

Klain is about to hurt Rhonda for information, but Acroyear saves her by throwing his "weapon" at his head, knocking him out. The Micronauts fly in on the Heliopolis, and meet their human ally and her family.

The two groups meet in the kitchen, where they explain that they wanted to make sure she was safe, due to Klain promising to come after her, so they want to help keep her and her family safe now, thus they should stick together and stay on the move to avoid further conflict with Klain and his group, which the humans agree to.

Meanwhile, in Microspace, Karza has built an army of his purely mechanical Acroyear units and other machines, and prepares to invade Earth, to make it into a new home for the remaining people of Microspace...no matter the cost.

Characters

Micronauts

Oziron Rael

Larissa

Phenolo-Phi

Acroyear

Microtron

Biotron

Time Mask

Other Microspace Denizens

Baron Karza

Acroyear Swarm Defeated by EMP Blast

Karza's New Acroyear Swarm

Karza's Giant Acroyear Army

Time Travelers (Mentioned)

Human

Rhonda Conway

Billy Conway

Betty Conway

Commander Klain Knocked out by Acroyear's Weeble

G.I. Joe (Mentioned)

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (on Billy's Pyjamas)

Notes

• It's not mentioned here, but I'll assume that Betty is also a "Conway" since Rhonda is referred to as "Ms"
• As promised, Acroyear is STILL using the doggie Weeble he took from Billy's room as a weapon.
• Microtron exclaiming "Happy Birthday!" when he turns back on after the EMP is likely a reference to Frosty the Snowman saying the same when he is born.
• Commander Klain managed to recover his severed finger and has it attached to his remaining hand since his fight with Acroyear.
• Billy has pyjamas with Optimus Prime's head patterned on them...guess clothing designers like the Cybertronians for marketing reasons.
• Also, Billy knows of GI Joe, and name drops other Hasbro products, he is such a marketing tool!
• It's shown here that Larissa and Phen still can't speak English. We know they will learn before long though, since they were able to communicate with Blackrock and the others in Revolutionaries
• Hey look! Baron Karza survived the explosion at the end of Revolution! This would be a surprise had we not had it spoiled with the upcoming Mini-Series being "Wrath of Karza" and he is the one who sent the purely mechanical Acroyear swarm to Earth. Something that was pretty much confirmed with the flash-forwards to the Earthwar in the Annual story.

IDW - Rom #9

Title: Reinforcements Part 5 

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Pencils and Inks by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The Wraith sorcerers work with The Absence to complete their mission, despite the Space Knights having defeated all their troops above, but they have an unexpected ally, Rom is distracting the other Knights from attacking them...

Above, Orphion starts to charge his energies into the drill heading to the core of the planet, but Rom continues to fight him, despite being weakened himself. Livia is forced to fire on Rom by an order from Orphion, and knocks him out. Before anything else can happen though, The Presence appear and slams his arm through Livia's chest, draining her of her energy. He turns to Orphion, who tries to attack him, only to find him intangible. The fight continues to go bad for Orphion, but Rom suddenly appears, and fires his Neutralizer from inside The Presence, causing him to explode.

Orphion thanks Rom for his help, but goes back to charging the drill, whilst informing him that Livia is close to death now, and he has to choose, either save her life, or stop him from destroying the Earth.

Meanwhile, in Pawtucket, Darby has brought Ruan home with her, and her grandmother is surprisingly understanding about it (though still shocked that he's an alien). They explain that they are going to try and stop the Dire Wraiths from conquering the world, so she gives Darby a suitcase filled with weapons to help her out (she'd been stocking them up since the Transformers returned to Earth)

Rom tries to save Livia, but his energy is too depleted to heal her, Orphion continues to send his energy into the drill, unaware that the energies are being syphoned by the Wraiths below into a device.

Luckily, Rom is able to convince Orphion that saving his loyal and obedient partner is more important that rashly destroying a planet, which manages to convince Orphion of his mistake, so he helps Rom to heal Livia.

Livia wakes up, but is angry that they would "sacrifice" this world to the Wraiths just to save her. Orphion reveals that he hasn't given up on his plans to destroy Earth, but wishes to allow Rom a chance to prove to him why it should be saved instead...

Down below, the energies of Orphion's Neutralizer has killed the Sorcerers, and The Absence reforms following his fight with Rom. He is annoyed that their plan is not complete yet, but is also glad, since it is still within his sights, and he is still waiting for "The Presence" to awaken....

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik

The Absence

Acolyte Sorcerers Killed by Orphion's Energy

The Presence (Mentioned)

"Friends of our Enemies" Staff (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

Grandma Gay-Lyn Mason

Grandpa Mason (Mentioned) Dead

Notes

• Orphion mentioned "The years of solitude" regarding Rom, this implies that his partner died a while ago. We know that the upcoming Shining Armour crossover is set about 200 years ago, so it's likely that we'll see the identity and death of his partner in that (Most likely the Cybertronian member)
• "The Absence" refers to him as the absence of a Wraith, and is shown to be impervious to most attacks, implying that he is either ghost-like, or simply projecting himself to Earth in some way.
• Grandma keeps a suitcase filled with armed guns in her house?! HIDE!!!!
• "The Absence" mentions someone else named "The Presence" who seems to be his opposite....wouldn't ALL of the Wraiths other than he be classed as "present" though...

IDW - Aw Yeah Revolution! #1

Written and Drawn by: Art Baltazar

Edited by: David Hedgecock

Assistant Edits by: David Mariotte

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

In the land of Microspace, Baron Karza happily reads his copy of "Aw Yeah Revolution!" and decides that he likes Snake Eyes, and wants to add him to his collection. He finishes reading and begins his next plan to acquire ultimate power, by heading to the nearby Solar System to collect a mysterious gem.

Elsewhere, Rom is hunting down some Dire Wraiths, and manages to track some down to an asteroid, and he soon begins a fight with them, however before he can o too much, he is attacked by Baron Karza, who transports himself and Rom somewhere else, leaving the Wraiths confused.

On Earth, a GI Joe team are fighting against a group of Cobra Troopers, led by Cobra Commander himself and are having a hard time against them. Suddenly Karza appears, starts to fanboy over Snake Eyes, then abducts him too, leaving Scarlett and the others to fend for themselves.

Elsewhere on Earth, Karza transports inside a mountain, and obtains the conspicuously Micronaut scaled Orbsah Gem, which sets off a reaction that makes the mountain shake. Outside, the Transformers, who were fighting over the Gem themselves start to vacate the area following the sudden earthquake, when suddenly Karza appears and abducts Optimus Prime too, leaving the other Autobots shocked.

Back in Microspace, Rom and the other captives wake up to find themselves inside some force bubbles as Karza announces that he plans to use the Gem to drain them of their powers, and use them to control the universe.

Elsewhere in Microspace, Space Glider and the other Micronauts discover that Karza's new collection of larger beings is disrupting Microspace itself, and head out to stop him and his plans!

Characters

Micronaut

Baron Karza

Andromeda

Acroyear

Space Glider

Biotron

Microtron

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Abducted by Baron Karza

Arcee - Sports Car

Bumblebee - Hatchback Car

Decepticon

Megatron - Gun

Soundwave - Cassette Player

GI Joe

Snake Eyes Abducted by Baron Karza

Duke

Scarlett

Roadblock

Cobra

Cobra Commander

Cobra Troopers

Other Macroverse

Rom, the Space Knight Abducted by Baron Karza

Dire Wraiths

Notes

• This series is set outside of the Hasbroverse, and is more of a comedy line that the main series. If I was more bored than I am right now, then I would try to work out the universal designation.
• Baron Karza appears with Andromeda here, who hasn't properly made an appearance in the main series, only combined with Karza himself.
• Karza classes Snake Eyes as a super hero...his definition of super heroes is getting a bit lenient
• The Orbsah gem is of course named after "Hasbro". It appears to be taking the place of Ore-13 from the actual Revolution event.
• Speaking of differences between this version of Revolution, and the main one: Megatron is still a Decepticon, Soundwave is an enemy of the Autobots, Rom is not on Earth, GI Joe is still in active combat, Cobra is still a thing, Cobra Commander is still alive, Karza is kidnapping random heroes, Bumblebee is alive, the Micronauts are not in the Entropy Cloud, and Oz and Larissa are not amongst the Micronaut roster. YIKES!
• I have to say, the characters in this art style are very cute, even the evil Dire Wraiths :3
• Karza being a fanboy of Snake Eyes may be a reference to the other Micronauts mistaking Snake Eyes for a giant Karza when they meet him.

IDW - Lost Light #4

Title: Dissolution Part 4: Bad Moon Rising

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The AVL are shocked about the return of Luna-2, and are concerned for what this could mean, especially since it appears to be approaching the city. Megatron, Terminus and Ratchet approach Rodimus and reveal that they think Rung is being forced into this much larger alternate mode, and is nearly being torn apart. They consider going to rescue him, and to also try and stop the Council's mission to Vector Sigma as a side mission. Before anything can be decided though, Luna-2 starts to change shape...revealing a strange circular device on the surface..

On Necroworld, Whirl and Cyclonus continue their battle with Killmaster, but it is short lived, when Cyclonus tells Whirl to use the wand on Killmaster, making him disappear like it did to Swerve and Ten. Cyclonus plans to take the wand to Brainstorm to try and figure out where they were sent, but Whirl needs to talk to Cyclonus before he allows him to leave...

Back on Functionist Cybertron, Nine-of-Twelve explains that the rest of the Council must have actually continued with a previously cancelled plan to turn the moon into a harvester, which they must be planning to use on Adaptica, to take down the AVL and their allies. Rodimus realizes that the harvester must have some sort of mass transporter on it to send the harvested materials on, but Megatron gets annoyed, since he thinks Rodimus is obsessing with his vendetta against Getaway and wants to get back to their universe for that rather than helping these people. Rodimus takes that to mean that Megatron doesn't want to leave this universe so he can avoid his upcoming trial. The two argue, but are forced to work together to solve the immediate danger. Rodimus heads off to rescue Rung and take down the Council with his team, whilst Megatron stays behind with his crew to help protect Adaptica from the attacking moon.

On Necroworld again, Anode locates Lug at the memorial for the disappeared, and explains to her that she lied about why she left Caminus because she was ashamed. She was goaded into attempting to shape a weakened protoform before she had the proper training, and the protoform ended up dying as a result. She felt so bad, that she did everything possible to leave her profession and planet, even falsifying a robbery. Lug is still angry, since Anode let her believe that she left for HER, and leaves her along again

Under the planet's surface Whirl asks Cyclonus about his violent injuries, and manages to deduce that Tailgate has been hurting him. Cyclonus confirms that Tailgate has been thrashing in his sleep, and seems to be trying to tear out his spark, forcing him to restrain him, causing his injuries. Cyclonus requests that Whirl not discuss this with Tailgate however, and he wants this to be hidden from him.

Back on Cybertron, Rodimus' team manages to fight their way to a short distance matter transporter outside Iacon, and head to the centre of the planet, where they find the seal around Vector Sigma's chamber has already been broken into, and also locate Rung left abandoned in vehicle mode OUTSIDE the chamber.

The harvester has begun sucking up refugees in Adaptica, whilst Megatron and the others set out to use any weapons that have in the city as well as any aerial-based alternate modes to be turned against the harvester. After this decision, Minimus Ambus tells Megatron that he doesn't think he's trying to avoid his trial, leading to the former Decepticon smiling.

Back outside the Primal Chamber, the team discover that most of Rung's alternate mode is false, and Ratchet sets about looking for Rung's transformation cog, so he can force him to transform and free him from his pain.

Six-of-Twelve appears from the chamber to taunt the team, but Rodimus simply talks at him to distract him, and sends him flying back into the chamber. The rest of the team, sans Ratchet enter the chamber too, but are shocked by what they find...

Outside the chamber again, Ratchet manages to free Rung, transforming him back to his smaller robot mode, and he orders Ratchet to do exactly what he says...

On Necroworld, Tailgate completes his recharge cycle, and finds Whirl waiting for him, who wants to tell him about a love story without a happy ending......

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Sports Car

Megatron - Tank

Minimus Ambus - Minesweeper

Drift - Race Car

Chromedome - Sports Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Ratchet - Ambulance

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Tailgate - Sports Car

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned)

Swerve - Van (Mentioned) Missing via "Zapping"

Decepticon

Killmaster/Murderking"Zapped" by Whirl

Anti-Vocationist League

Nine-of-Twelve - Part of Key to Vector Sigma

Anode - Bi-Plane

Clicker - Laser Pointer

Obsolete Refugees Some "Harvested" into Luna-2

Functionist Council

Six-of-Twelve - Part of Key to Vector Sigma

Other Councillors - Parts of Key to Vector Sigma

Functionaries Some Defeated by Drift

Other Cybertronian

Roller - Truck

Terminus - Mining Vehicle

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Bi=Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Functionist Rung - Super Fake Mining Drill

Lighthouse Employee - Van (Flashback)

Polyhedral New Born (Flashback) Dead

Adaptus (Statue Only)

Ten (Mentioned) Missing via "Zapping"

Vector Sigma (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Lighthouse Staff (Mentioned)

The Necrobot (Mentioned) Dead

Other

Black Box Consortia (Mentioned)

Notes

• The concept of Nominative Determinism is likely a reference to Transformers having names that happen to match their personality/job. Such as Ratchet being a doctor. The example given in this issue, Killmaster originally being called Murderking, is seen as going against that principle as both names mean the same thing.
• Just going to call it here again, Killmaster's wand being able to transport things, and the past knowledge that he had a hand in making the Geobomb design is likely going to end up resolving this universal-displacement problem.
• It's revealed that Luna-2 was never really given to the Black Box Consortia, and was instead converted into a harvester unit, since the council couldn't explain an otherwise useless moon being created by Primus without it messing up their whole ideology
• Rodimus outright points out that Megatron plans to remain in the Functionist Universe after they've resolved the current situation. He believes it is to avoid the conclusion of his trial, but it's more likely because he simply can't stand seeing an oppressed people like he has seen in this universe so far.
• The Lighthouse facility worker seen in Anode's flashback appears to be based on Robots in Disguise Strongarm, but with a more generic alternate mode, and a new head.
• It's confirmed here that Cyclonus' injuries were caused by Tailgate, but rather than it being something unexplainable, it is just that he's been hurting him whilst he is recharging, without any knowledge of it. This is includes the injuries that Tailgate assumed were caused by Fangry and pummelled him for.
• It's revealed that the Functionist Council are combiners, and form the Key to Vector Sigma....that was what I thought Rung would be revealed to be :(
• As shouldn't be a shock to anyone, it's confirmed that the tank was not Rung's real alternate mode, with most of it being faked, and Rung artificially mass shifted.
• Considering their back-story and his mention of a "love story" I'm going to wager that Whirl and Killmaster were once either a couple, or had a one-sided relationship.

IDW - Optimus Prime #5

Title: New Cybertron Part 5: Future Glories Lost

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Kei Zama

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Four million years ago, Orion Pax and Prowl set up Jetfire to meet with some Decepticons, to get more information on the gun-running, and are shocked to discover that Soundwave is in fact the one organizing the guns himself!

Orion is livid over Soundwave lying to him about the gun-running, and decides that all Decepticons are just trouble, and vows to take them all down...

Jazz continues to follow and annoy the Mexican woman, trying to explain about his species to her, but before they can talk, the Sharkticons start raining from the sky, having been ordered to attack by the Junkions.

At the Matterhorn, the Junkions are at full war against the Transformers and Humans, the Autobots evacuate the Human delegates who were called to Autobot City for their safety. The Autobots are able to hold their own against their enemies, and Arcee sneaks off by herself to try and save Sideswipe from his coma...

On the surface, Cosmos is being treated for his injuries by Soundwave and GI Joe, and Soundwave is surprised to learn from Cosmos that the Sharkticons are kept in essentially a cage on the ship. He realizes that the Sharkticons are slaves to the Junkions, and so he works with his speciality, manipulating a class war... He flies towards the Sharkticons and starts quoting the works of Megatron to them.

The battle continues, and Oiler is killed by one of the Junkions, who is in turn killed by his partner Slide, who then starts to grieve. Metrotitan transforms, and attack sthe Junkion ship himself, along with the combiner Victorion.

Wreck-Gar sneaks inside Metrotitan, and is soon encountered by Arcee, who orders him to give her the positron core, so she can heal Sideswipe, which Wreck-Gar quickly reveals that he has it on him, as he fully intended to give it to them, despite Rum-Maj's wishes, but Arcee still holds him at sword-point, clearly uncertain as to his true motives still.

Outside, all the of Sharkticons suddenly stop attacking the Humans and Transformers, having listened to, and accepted Soundwave's lessons, and are soon set upon their cruel masters, the Junkions....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax - Truck Cab

Arcee - Sports Car

Jazz - Sports Car

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Victorion - Torchbearer Gestalt

Pyra Magna - Fire Engine

Dust Up - Sports Car

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Skyburst - Helicopter

Stormclash - Helicopter

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Midnight Express - Bullet Train

Roulette - Muscle Car

Bump - Armadillo

Gimlet - Lobster

Slide - Part of Oil Tanker

Oiler - Part of Oil Tanker Killed by a Junkion

Metrotitan - Autobot City

Cosmos - Orbiter Injured, being fixed by GI Joe

Sideswipe - Sports Car Comatose

Prowl - Police Vehicle (Flashback)

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Zeta Prime - Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Hardhead - Battle Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Soundwave - Personnel Carrier

Starscream - Jet (Flashback)

Needlenose - Jet (Flashback)

Horri-Bull (Flashback)

Decepticon Goons (Flashback)

Hefter - Forklift (Mentioned) Dead

Galvatron - Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Junkion

Rum-Maj

Wreck-Gar

Sharkticon Swarm - Sharks

Random Junkions

Other Cybertronian

D.0.C.

Primus (Mentioned)

GI Joe

Talon

Spike

Hi-Tech

Mainframe

Random Joe Soldiers

Other Human

Madame President

Other World Leaders

Jazz's "Friend"

Mexican Townsfolk

Daniel Witwicky (Mentioned) Dead

Jazz's "Friend's" Co-workers (Mentioned)

Notes

• It's mentioned in the credits that the Megatron quotes were written by James Roberts, as we have previously seen in his pre-war scenes in More Than Meets The Eye.
• In the Hasbroverse, Facebook appears to be replaced by "Onyx Blackbook". Blackrock needs to cut down on his global technology monopoly...
• Considering the close ups on some insignias, and the mention of inter-Autobot communications from Aileron, it seems that her and the colonists may be Autobots now after all. I wish we'd get some actual clarification on this!
• Amongst the Decepticons in the flashbacks we see some guys with clearly mining-based alternate modes, this is a nice note that most Decepticons were from the "lower" castes of Cybertron, like miners and manual workers.
• Optimus' ability to rise Titans is shown again here, where he is able to command Metrotitan to transform into robot mode.
• Arcee's narration in this issue appears to imply that she was willing for Jhiaxus to change her gender in the past. Then why did she spent centuries trying to hunt down the mad scientist to get revenge on him?
• Arcee is also mentioned as being from "The Darklands" the same place where Galvatron came from, likely meaning that she also came from the tribe of Megatronus.
• There's no mention of what happened to Rumble and Frenzy still...did the Sharkticons actually eat them?
• Orion Pax's sudden disdain for Decepticons at the end of the flashbacks bring him pretty much to the point we saw him at the start of Autocracy, where he saw Decepticons as just problems to be dealt with, rather than a different ideological view.
• So Oiler dies here....I wonder what that means for Slide since they were partner Divisens?
• Rum-Maj swears by the "Sacred Voice of Weirrall" this is likely a reference to Weird Al Yankovich who voiced Wreck-Gar in Transformers Animated, and also sang the song "Dare to be Stupid" from the Junkion battle scene from the 1986 Movie.
• Soundwave manages to turn the Sharkticons against the Junkions just like Grimlock did against the Quintessons in the 1986 Movie.

IDW - Till All Are One #8

Title: Rubicon

Written by: Mairghread Scott

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Metroplex, still with his brain disconnected from his own body detects that Windblade has made contact with Vigilem, and laments how he shouldn't have lied to her about the true identity of "Carcer" and wonders if he should have had him killed in the past, rather than just self-imprisoned for his war crimes.

Windblade is struggling with Vigilem's mind, but she does manage to transform the Titan into robot mode, and sends herself into battle against the Titan Swarm, taking full control of Vigilem's body, much to everyone's glee. Soon though, Vigilem manages to fight back, and starts taking control of his own body again, agreeing to take down the zombie Titans, but just so he can destroy the planet himself later, for revenge.

Metroplex, aware what Windblade is doing, manages to get in contact with Chromia, who is now in prison, and frees her from her captivity so she can rescue Windblade herself.

Vigilem manages to destroy the Swarm, but then starts to head towards Metroplex, intent on killing him too, but Windblade stops him. Unfortunately though, Vigilem starts to open a hidden chamber in his body, a chamber that is being aimed at by Strika's attack force, ready to destroy whatever is coming out of it.

Elita makes her way to the brain chamber, intent on destroying Vigilem's brain, to prevent his master from returning, but the other council members plead with her to wait until Windblade is disconnected, however when she sees that Vigilem is now in control of Windblade's body too, she opens fire on the brain of her Titan, utterly destroying it and knocking out Windblade, who was still connected to it, just as Chromia rushes into the room.

Unfortunately, Elita was too late, and the chamber finishes opening up, and Strika's team is immediately knocked down in the presence of Liege Maximo himself! The Liege thanks his now dead Titan, and promises to avenge both of them, as he teleports away.

Starscream and the other Cybertronians cheer over the defeat of Vigilem and the Titan Swarm, unaware that Windblade has been badly injured, and Chromia is left cradling her seemingly lifeless body....

Characters

Autobot

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet Mind Damaged by Vigilem

Chromia - Speed Bike

Ironhide - Van

Metroplex - Iacon City Brain Module detached from Body

Bumblebee - Car (Ghost Only)

United Cybertron

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Carcerian

Elita One - Car

Strika - Battle Tank

Obsidian - Stealth Osprey Helicopter

Carcerian Soldiers

Lancer (Mentioned)

Other Colonists

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Moonracer - Sports Car

Tigatron - Tiger

Knock Out - Sports Car

Airazor - Falcon

Other

Liege Maximo

Vigilem - Titan Ship Carcer Killed by Elita One

Titan Swarm Destroyed by Vigilem

Cybertronian Populous

Prison Guards and Prisoners

Chela (Flashback)

Caminus (Flashback)

Primus (Mentioned)

Solus Prime (Mentioned)

Notes

• Vigilem's master being Liege Maximo was previously revealed in Till All Are One: Revolution, here we see that he was turned into a "prison" for his master too.
• Also, this issue confirms why the Carcerians have been so guarded about their ship, they were afraid that people would discover Liege Maximo inside the ship.
• Despite the ship Carcer clearly having some sort of artificial gravity on it (people weren't just floating around on the ship) Vigilem does not have artificial gravity whilst in robot mode, at least not in the non-brain module chamber parts of his body any way, or at least not intuitive gravity, since Elita and her troops are sent off the flooring in the corridor, with the latter being sent flying off.
• Vigilem is shown to have a battle mask that he deploys in battle...this is probably the largest battle mask ever seen...
• Liege Maximo's design is based on his Aligned continuity design, which further makes t seem likely that the IDW version of the Thirteen are going to all be the same as their Aligned counterparts.
• Windblade being injured during the battle was spoiled for us early on in the new Optimus Prime series, and we now that the Mistress of Flame is due to take her place on the Council for a period of time.
• The Carcerian pride in honesty is revealed somewhat to be due to their "founder" being known as a manipulator and a liar.

IDW - Rom #8

Title: Reinforcements Part 4

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Pencils and Inks by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Orphion speeds towards an oil rig, which is infested with Dire Wraiths, and goes about killing them all. Livia and Rom go after him, with Livia just tagging along, but only to accompany Rom. The Joes below are feeling down for being defeated by the Space Knights so easily, but decide to make a new plan with some "smaller friends" of theirs.

Orphion tears through the Wraiths on the oil rig, but makes sure not to damage the rig itself, as he's planning to use it to channel the neutralizing energies that he's going to use to destroy the Earth with, however before he can, Rom and Livia catch up to him.

Elsehwere, in Rhode Island, Darby and Ruan are sitting in a coffee shop, when Ruan soon reveals that he is a Dire Wraith, Darby understandably freaks out, and runs away. Ruan chases after her, leading Darby to fight back. However, Ruan soon reveals that he's not her enemy, he was a sleeper agent from birth, and has chosen to side with Earth against the other Dire Wraiths, and he needs her help to save the world.

Back at the oil rig, Rom tries to convince Orphion not to destroy the planet, but Orphion just sees him as a traitor and attacks him, ordering Livia to help him in attacking the traitor. Orphion keeps Rom busy, whilst sending Livia down below to clear out the remaining Wraiths. Rom and Orphion have a vicious fight, and Livia is overrun and isn't going to be able to defeat them. Orphion soon disables Rom, and prepares to destroy the planet.

Underneath, the Sorcerers are trying to power up "The Absence", but become concerned that the Space Knights are right above them. One of the Sorcerers, Kagan Knight, (the preacher from last issue) gives his life to "The Absence" and fully powers her. The Sorcerers want her to help them defeat the Knights, but she simply announces that there is no need, since the Knights are going to give them all they need, and kill each other in the process.

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik

The Absence

Kagan Knight Absorbed into The Absence

Sorcerers

Oil Rig Workers Most Killed by Orphion

GI Joe

Beach Head

Grunt

Scarlett (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

The Mason Family (Mentioned) Killed by Wraiths

Notes

• Very quickly, since the last issue's release we've all seen the announcement of a new prequel event called "Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armour" in which a young Cybertronian is raised by the Solstar Order and a conflict arises from it. Last issue Orphion mentioned that when Dire Wraiths merged with Cybertronians it was bad news....I think we may now have a clue about what he was referring to.....
• Grunt's comments about "think smaller" leads me to believe that he's going to ask the Micronauts to help in taking down the Space Knights
• Oh no! Darby's sudden new friend Ruan is revealed to be a Dire Wraith! Shocker! (He is a good one though, so that's a shock!)
• On the point of Ruan though, his comments that he was raised as a human and was a sleeper agent could be also what "Cons4eva" from the MTMTE Revolution tie-in was too, and why he wasn't interested in the invasion of Earth. Just food for thought.
• The strange creature we've been seeing glimpses of and mentioned as "Legion" last issue is named as "The Absence" here....wonder what new name we'll be giving it next issue?

IDW - Transformers vs G.I. Joe The Movie Adaptation

Written, Drawn, Coloured and Lettered by: Tom Scioli

Additional Production by: Chris Mowry

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

In the past, Transformers visited Earth and battled alongside some humans , over time these battles passed on into myth and legend.

In the present day, Scarlett joins GI Joe, and as part of her first mission, she and her team are sent to an approaching planet, Cybertron, to stop it from colliding into the Earth. Soon after arriving, the Joes join forces with the Autobots, whilst the forces of Cobra, also on the planet for some reason, join the Decepticons.

Scarlett begins to bond with Optimus as they fight the evil factions, but thankfully before they can do anything too creepy they are captured by Cobra. Scarlett is taken to a hospital and is treated by Doctor Venom, who claims that she has just been having a bad dream about the Transformers and GI Joe having a pointless crossover, but she doesn't believe him, and escapes revealing that she was inside Scorponok all along, and not in a hospital.

Scarlett returns to their base, and reports that Optimus' head has been captured by the Decepticons and Cobra (I forgot to mention that earlier, it's not important). Scarlett decides to take on the form of Optimus' head and leads the Autobots and Joes against their foes.

The battle lasts for about five pages, and the Autobots win, with Optimus' head being returned to his body, and Alpha Trion announces him as the king of the universe.

In the aftermath Cobra Commander parachutes down and is beaten up by the Joes, but in the end it's revealed that he is Snake-Eyes' father!

DUN DUN DUHHHH!!!! (Don't care)

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Alpha Trion

Metroplex - Slug Monster

Bumblebee - VW Beetle

Hound - Jeep

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Wheeljack - Race Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Cosmos - Orbiter

Fortress Maximus - Prison City

Autobot Army

Decepticon

Megatron - Gun Killed by Optimus/Scarlett

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Shockwave - Ray Gun

Scorponok - Scorpion City

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Laserbeak - Cassette

Cyclonus - Jet Killed by Hawk

Kickback - Locust

Bombshell - Boll Weevil

Shrapnel - Stag Beetle

Decepticon Army

GI Joe

General Flagg

Scarlett - Optimus' Head

Snake-Eyes

Roadblock

Hawk

Duke

Falcon

Lowlight

Beach Head

Stalker

Bazooka

Shipwreck

Flash

Breaker

Snow Job

Blowtorch

Deep Six

Clutch

Lady Jaye

Mutt

Mainframe

Random Joes

Cobra

Cobra Commander

Destro Killed by Hawk

Doctor Venom

Baroness

Serpentor

Torch

Zartan

Firfly

Major Bludd

Storm Shadow

B.A.T's Three Destroyed by Scarlett

Cobra Troopers

Other

Abernath the Hawk-Helmed (Flashback)

Scarlett's Sister (Mentioned)

Galileo (Mentioned)

Steven Hawking (Mentioned)

Notes

• UUUggggghhhhhhh It came back! Luckily it's just a one-shot thing though, so just get through this one, and forget about this dark era of Transformers and GI Joe history once again.
• The concept behind this comic is basically that it's an adaptation of a fictitious movie based on the events of the actual comic series, as such it is a condensed version of the story, which was already overly sped up, and omits most of the end events, and recasts several characters with different ones...maybe I should skip this due to my policy on reviewing "adaptations"...no? Awww....
• The narration boxes are positioned to emulate a letter being written to Snake's sister.
• Oh dear god, please don't let Scarlett talk to Optimus about love! We had enough of that with Kiss Players!
• Here's a bad thing. Megatron, the "main villain" of this series only appears in SIX panels. three of those are a background appearance, he speaks in one panel, and the last panel is him lying there defeated/dead.
• So...the end of this has Laserbeak and Cosmos helping the Joes to return Optimus' head to his body following Megatron's defeat....why is Laserbeak doing this exactly?
• Oh and Cobra Commander is Snake Eyes' dad in this comic. Very well.
• I won't be mentioning the extra features here, but they are basically faux-articles on the production of the movie along with some real-world background on the comic. One interesting thing from this back-stuff is that the cast list uses either the character's real names as the actors (ie Destro is played by James McCullen) or is a fun reference to the brands (Optimus Prime is played by O. Ryan Paxton, aka Orion Pax, Optimus Prime's original name)