IDW - Optimus Prime #19

Title: The Falling Part 4: The Hallowing

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Starscream mused to himself, via his memoirs about his rise to power, but that Optimus Prime kept getting in his way, so now that he is witnessing Onyx Prime throwing Optimus from his ship, and into the Crystal City singularity, seemingly killing him, he is glad.

Starscream has Devastator carry him towards the downed Metrotitan, so he can try and talk to him again, and along the way, Devastator puts forth his theory that Starscream is the reincarnation of Megatronus, the Fallen Prime. Starscream doesn't believe it, but thinks he can spin it in his favour.

At Shockwave's ship, the Nemesis, he orders Liege Maximo and his Maximals to head to Metrotitan to finish off the survivors, since he knows the crew have survived, as well as the Titan. Shockwave proceeds to remove his Onyx Prime disguise and prepares the next stages of his grand scheme...

At Metrotitan, Arcee, Aileron, Jetfire and the Torchbearers emerge from the crashed Titan, uncertain of what to do now, having also witnessed Optimus' apparent death. Devastator reaches Metrotitan as Maximo and his beast troops also arrive. Bumblebee's "ghost" starts talking to someone unseen to Starscream, confusing him, as Bumblebee simply vanishes before him. Starscream heads off to Metrotitan's head alone, and sends Devastator off to deal with the Autobots, and possibly the beasts.

Maximo and his troops start hunting the Auotbots, who are hiding. Arcee plans to take down the beasts and Maximo alone, knowing she's strong enough to handle them. Aileron is ordered to get the injured Jetfire to safety, whilst the Torchbearers are forced to combine into Victorion to fight the newly arrived Devastator. Victorion uses her gravitational powers to try and stall Devastator, but he is stronger than she expects and still continues towards her...

In Iacon, Windblade and the Mistress of Flame watch in shock at the battle going on at Metrotitan. Marissa Faireborn tries to get Trypticon and the Dinobots to join in on the fight, but Trypticon refuses to risk the lives of the new generation of Protoforms he holds within him, so he opens up a Spacebridge and sends himself and the Dinobots to Earth to both keep them safe, and replace Metrotitan as the Cybertronian city-link on Earth.

Starscream reaches Metrotitan's head, where Metrotitan confirms Starscream's claim to be the reincarnation of Megatronus. Starscream is elated to be so important, but is quickly put in his place by Shockwave, who appears behind him. Shockwave reveals that he used his Ores to alter the mind of Metrotitan to make him name Starscream as the Chosen One, having also created the Dark Cybertron prophecy as well, then used more Ores to send the Titan through space and time to place him in Crystal City and under Earth at the perfect times to manipulate Cybertron into electing Starscream it's leader. He reveals that he did this to weaken the planet by having a weak leader instead of someone like Optimus, Megatron or even Arcee.

Shockwave shoots Metrotitan in the face, finally killing him, his purpose being fulfilled, leaving Starscream distraught...and he asks for Bumblebee to come back to help him again...

Optimus wakes up in a dark, destroyed city, he first thinks it's the Afterspark, but soon realizes that he is in Infraspace, and notices some markings from others who have been there in the past, including himself and Blackrock. Soon he is greeted by an old friend...Bumblebee, who has been wondering where he was for some time now!

Characters

Autobot

Arcee - Sports Car

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck

Stormclash - Helicopter

Skyburst - Helicopter

Dust Up - Sports Car

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Victorion - Torchbearer Gestalt

Metrotitan - Autobot City Killed by Shockwave

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Slug - Triceratops

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax - Truck Cab Sent to Infraspace

Bumblebee - Car Stuck in Infraspace

Ironhide - Van (Flashback Only)

Prowl - Police Car (Flashback Only)

Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign - Head (Mentioned)

Metroplex - Iacon City (Mentioned)

The Dinobots (Mentioned)

Zeta Prime - Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank (Flashback Only)

Soundwave - Acoustic Tank (Flashback Only) 

Maximal

Striker - Stegosaurus

Triceradon - Triceratops

Longhorn - Bull

Snarl - Lion

Quickstrike - Wolf

Night Viper - Viper

Iguanus - Iguana

Geckobot - Gecko

Rav - Raven

Dillo - Armadillo

Mol - Mole

Rest of Beast Hoard 

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Devastator - Construction Gestalt

Onyx Prime/Shockwave

Liege Maximo

Trypticon - Earth Embassy City

Mistress of Flame

Strafe - Two Headed Dragon/Car

Turbofoxes

Tux - Car (Flashback Only)

Grid - F1 Race Car (Flashback Only)

Past Cybertronians (Flashback Only)

Scoop - Front End Loader (Mentioned)

Solus Prime (Mentioned)

Megatronus/The Fallen (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

New Generation Cybertronians (Mentioned)

Human

Marissa Faireborn

Rashid Nasir

Notes

• The Cybertronian whom Starscream tries to sell a badge to in the past is based on the Go-Bot character Tux...since there's nothing that would contradict that, I'll say it is him! (Yay!)
• Starscream's senator-era partner is based on Armada Swindle, his Mini-Con partner. Due to there already being a Swindle in this continuity, I'll just name him Grid here, after his Japanese name.
• I'm guessing that Shockwave exposed his true identity to his beasts and Liege Maximo at some point in the past, since none of them appear to question taking orders from this one-eyed guy wearing their master's skin as a suit...
• So turns out, except for a few scratches, the only Autobot to be injured during Metrotitan's fall was Jetfire, who looks kind of mangled
• I love how Aileron and Starscream both point out how Optimus is likely to come back to life, despite his apparent death. They must read a lot of comics :)
• Liege Maximo mentions how Arcee, being an ancient Cybertronian knows more than the rest of her team about Onyx and the other Primes. This is true, since she (in her original form) was present when the Primes were united.
• Maximo also mentions how he can sense the spawn of Solus Prime amongst the Autobots, referring to the Torchbearers and Aileron, who all come from Caminus, Solus' colony. How he knows they are amongst them is another question though...does he have some sort of mind-reading power like Soundwave?
• Devastator mentions how he has been a combiner much longer than Victorion has, and how he once helped to conquer Earth... except that was two Devastator's ago, the one with Scrapper as a member.
• I ADORE how Shockwave is so condescending towards Starscream when he points out how he used the Ores to manipulate things to make him the leader of Cybertron, rather than a competent leader.
• We learn this issue that the Crystal City we saw Bumblebee in, in the past was actually Infraspace, the Cybertronian limbo.
• OH MY GOSH I NEVER THOUGHT BUMBLEBEE WOULD BE BACK IN THIS CONTINUITY! ESPECIALLY NOT AFTER READING THE EARLIER RELEASED UNICRON #0 WHICH HEAVILY FEATURED HIM!
• Just a real-world anecdote here, the same day I received this comic the same day I bought Power of the Primes Starscream, and the bio card was of "Megatronus Starscream". Seems kind of perfect considering Starscream's sub-plot this issue being that he might be the reincarnation of the Fallen :)