IDW - First Strike #5

Main Story

Written by: Mairghread Scott & David A Rodriguez 

Art by: Max Dunbar

Inks (Page 9-10) by: John Wycough

Colours by: Ander Zarate

Letters by: Gilberto Lazcano

Assistant Editor: David Mariotte

Editor: David Hedgecock

Publisher: Ted Adams

The Origins of Evil Part Five

Title: One Unholy Machine

Written by: John Barber

Pencils by: Netho Diaz

Inks by: Walden Wong

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Main Plot

Windblade reports that she just witnessed Ironhide and Sunstreaker's teams being defeated on the security footage to Optimus, only to discover that he has vanished. She is concerned that he is going to do something stupid, and decides to go after him, despite Metroplex suggesting that he knows what is best.

Optimus manages to get Arcee and Soundwave to help him, as they break into the holding cells and free Scarlett and her team so they can help them stop Colton. Arcee gives the humans their weapons, but they are soon joined by some of the prison's guards. They manage to escape when Optimus smashes through the exterior wall, and Soundwave uses a pulse to disable their pursuers. Having predicted Optimus' plan, Windblade tries to stop him from going against the Council's wishes, but Optimus manages to convince her that he may be right this time. She allows him to leave, but promises to never allow his Prime-hood to manipulate her again. Optimus and the others enter a tunnel and head after Colton and his team.

Windblade soon arrives at the Council Chamber, where she intends to tell Starscream about Optimus freeing the humans. Starscream already knows however, as he was monitoring the prison, and Elita already tries to inform him too. They agree that Optimus has to be arrested for this, and the humans re-detained before anything else can happen to Cybertron. However, upon heading out, Elita orders Obsidian to kill the humans on sight so they can be dealt with permanently.

Using all their skills, Optimus and his allies easily travel through the tunnel, until they reach an acidic river that they cannot cross, however Scarlett remembers how Matt told her about Mayhem's hologram technology, and realises that Colton must have chosen all his team members for a reason. She leaps into the river, and reveals that it is a hologram, one so strong that even Soundwave's scans read it as real, allowing them to continue on.

Colton's team are extremely close to the core now, but the planet itself is fighting back, with electrical storms and Insecticons being sent out to stop them. Despite them still in-fighting, the Iron Ring manage to break through, and find the core's chamber, only to find Optimus and his team, waiting, having been given a shorter route.

Scarlett tries to convince Colton to give up, but he refuses, forcing his former protégé to fight him...

The Origins of Evil Plot

The Iron Ring are preparing to head off to Cybertron, but Colton decides to ask Kreiger why he has been so obsessed with the Talisman, he reveals his history of being in World War II and about all his adventures, leading to him discovering the Talisman and becoming obsessed with unlocking its secrets and mastering them for his ultimate mission...to conquer new worlds past Cybertron...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Arcee - Sports Car

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Metroplex - Iacon City

Ironhide - Van

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck (Mentioned)

Sunstreaker - Sports Car (Mentioned) Possibly Dead

Decepticon

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Elita One

Obsidian - Stealth Bomber Helicopter

Natural Insecticon Swarm

Badgeless Officers

Prison Guards

Primus (Mentioned)

Sunstreaker's Team (Mentioned) Dead

GI Joe

Scarlett

Roadblock

Lady Jaye

MASK

Matt Trakker

Gloria Baker

The Iron Ring

Joe Colton/Baron Ironblood

Miles Mayhem

Garrison Kreiger

Destro

Lady Shazraella

Storm Shadow

Red Shadow Ninjas

Trojan-Bots - Cannon Turrets

Gorky (Origins Only)

Major Bludd (Origins Only)

Horrorshow (Origins Only)

Doctor Mindbender (Origins Only)

B.A.T.'s (Origins Only)

Other

Sgt. Savage (Flashback, Origins Only)

Iron Troopers (Flashback, Origins Only)

World War II Soldiers (Flashback, Origins Only)

Plutarch (Mentioned)

Alexander the Great (Mentioned)

Notes

• Still sorry about being behind schedule on these reviews, my comic supplier is still being silly, but my pre-orders with them should be finished in December...anyway.....
• Once again, Pyra appears on the cover despite never appearing in the comic itself...were her scenes cut or something? I know Rom's on the cover too, but we know he's on Earth doing his own stuff, where is Pyra?
• Rather than being Badgeless officers, the two guards in the prison shown here are new random designs.
• If Metroplex believes that Optimus is doing what is right, then why is he not helping him in his escape and rescue of the humans?
• To further add to the thought that Soundwave is back to his cassette player mode, he doesn't transform when Optimus and Arcee do....though saying that he must be a fast runner, since he can easily keep up with them in speeding vehicle mode.
• The devices that the Trojan-Bots were shown deploying in issue four are revealed to be EMP mines here.
• Matt Trakker's experience with Miles Mayhem's powerful holograms were shown at the end of the first MASK storyline where he made him believe his Mother was being killed in front of him.
• It was briefly mentioned in the Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook that Bob was a clone of the Insecticon sub-species. This issue confirms that rather than that being a Decepticon sub-group originally, it was a type of Cybertronian Fauna, much like they are in the Aligned continuity.
• In the Origins story Kreiger uses terms like how he "arrived" in America and how it seemed "alien" to him...these are some interesting terms to use, given the spoiler for next issue that I wont mention here yet...He even refers to Earth as Colton's world...not his...oh my!