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.