IDW - Optimus Prime #20

Title: The Falling Part 5: Endless Forever

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Kei Zama

Finishes by: Casey W. Coller (Pages 14-19)

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Back during the rule of Zeta Prime, Orion Pax brings his new recruit, Bumblebee with him on a raid of Swindle's weapons workshop, where Bee notices and is concerned by Pax's growing violence towards the Decepticons. Jetfire comments that this ISN'T the same person who challenged the old Senate in the past any more...

Eventually Pax reformed and went against his old friend Zeta Prime, helping Megatron to kill him, beginning the true civil war.

During the Dark Cybertron event, Bumblebee was killed by Shockwave and his body was consumed by a singularity caused by a repentant Shockwave, and has been trapped in Infraspace ever since then, but is now joined by Optimus Prime as well.

The two trapped Autobots worry about what is happening on Cybertron without them, but Optimus is confident that Arcee and the others can save their world, despite them being all but dead right now.

On Cybertron, Arcee tears through the Maximals, but even with her skills is eventually captured by Liege Maximo and his guards, but he reveals that they will not kill her, since "Onyx Prime" has need of her.

Nearby, Devastator and Victorion battle it out, with Devastator using brute force to overcome Victorion's gravity bending powers. Shockwave watches the battle as Starscream, whose entire life has been revealed to be pointless and manipulated, slinks away, intending to return to his jail cell.

Aileron and Jetfire make it to Metrotitan's body where they find the Titan has been definitely killed, Jetfire explains to Aileron who Shockwave is, explaining that he's pretty much pure evil and tried to destroy reality once. Aileron is pleased however, since he is just a real guy, and not a Prime, it's possible that he can be killed.

Back in Infraspace, Bee theorizes that he was able to connect to Starscream in the "real world" because he was always uncomfortable in his own body, and since the people trapped in Infraspace are without true bodies too, they must be able to use him as an anchor of sorts.

Back on Cybertron again, Windblade returns to the rest of the council after looking for Optimus, only to find a riot forming on the streets below between the Decepticons and Prime's loyalists, especially since some of them questions WHICH Prime to follow!

Hiding from the crowd, Soundwave is with Needlenose, the former of which is now hated by everyone for his involvement in Horri-Bull's murder being revealed. Starscream, on his way back to jail, is found by the Decepticons and they ask him to lead them once again, since he didn't do that bad of a job last time, however, upon hearing this, Soundwave is reinvigorated to get "his" Decepticons back...

Inside Infraspace, the two Autobots discuss how this world is pretty much just made up of thoughts and ideas, giving Optimus the idea to use the Matrix...or at least the memory of it, to help them escape...

Aileron and Jetfire make it towards the Crystal City singularity, where they find the anomaly larger and surrounded by light, as well as the dead bodies of several Maximals and Arcee's discarded jetpack, they worry about what is happening, until Shockwave arrives and is glad to see Jetfire, as he needs his help for the final stage of his plan....

Characters

Autobot

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Arcee - Sports Car

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Victorion - Torchbearer Gestalt

Roadmaster - Van

Metrotitan - Autobot City Dead

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax - Truck Cab Trapped in Infraspace

Bumblebee - Muscle Car Trapped in Infraspace

Zeta Prime (Flashback Only) Dead

Megatron - Tank (Flashback Only)

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport (Flashback Only)

Prowl - Emergency Vehicle (Flashback Only)

Ironhide - Van (Flashback Only)

Rodimus - Car (Mentioned)

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck (Mentioned)

Wheeljack - Race Car (Mentioned)

Silverbolt - Concorde Jet (Mentioned) 

Decepticon

Shockwave/Onyx Prime - Flying Artillery

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Needlenose - Fighter Jet

Acidstorm - Fighter Jet

Tall Tankor - Oil Tanker/Cargo Plane

Swift - Helicopter

Flip Sides - Cassette

G'Nur

Submarauder - Submarine

Skullgrin - Tank

Garboil - Cassette 

"Armada Thrust" - Fighter Jet

Decepticon Rioters

Swindle - Van (Flashback Only)

Space Case - Fighter Jet (Flashback Only)

Road Pig - Motorcycle (Flashback Only)

Snarler (Flashback Only)

Finback - Hovercraft (Flashback Only)

"Armada Cyclonus" - Helicopter (Flashback Only)

"Cybertron Sideways" - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Maximal

Optimus Primal - Gorilla

Beast Megatron - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Thunderhoof - Elk Killed by Arcee

Steel Jaw - Wolf Killed by Arcee

Powerhug - Pill Bug Killed by Arcee

"Mutant Soundwave" - Bat/Alligator Killed by Arcee

Diver - Toad Killed by Arcee

Icebird - Owl/Polar Bear Killed by Arcee

Posion Bite - Barracuda/Scorpion Killed by Arcee

Mantis - Praying Mantis Killed by Arcee

Lazorbeak - Pteranodon Killed by Arcee

Tasmania Kid - Tasmanian Devil Killed by Arcee

Rockbuster - Fiddler Crab Killed by Arcee

Bigmos - Mosquito Killed by Arcee

Drill Nuts - Boll Weevil Killed by Arcee

Scuba - Squid Killed by Arcee

DJ - Cicada Killed by Arcee

Snapper - Snapping Turtle

Scylla - Squid

Archadis - Archaeopteryx

Dead End - Ammonite

Apache - Mandrill 

Cohrada - Cobra 

Jawbreaker - Hyena

Heinrad - Tanuki

Moon - Rabbit 

Seaclamp - Lobster (Claw Seen)

Other Maximals

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Liege Maximo

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Elita One - Car

Mistress of Flame

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Fat Tankor - Tank

Prime Loyalists

The Old Senate (Mentioned)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned)

Vigilem - Carcer Ship (Mentioned)

Trypticon - Earth Embassy (Mentioned)

Lightbright (Mentioned)

Metalhawk - Fighter Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Other

Marissa Faireborn

Notes

• The opening scene is set just after Bumblebee met Optimus in the 2017 Annual, and leads into his ruthless cop persona from the start of Autocracy
• Among the Decepticons in Swindle's workshop are Armada Cyclonus and Cybertron Sideways...has Unicron been manipulating Cybertron using Sideways this whole time?!
• Arcee claims to have avoided the Lost Light to also avoid wordplay...I guess she hates Swerve...
• In the Infraspace realm, Optimus appears to have a purple colour scheme, much like his Shattered Glass counterpart
• Bumblebee apologizes to Optimus for not doing a good job leading the Autobots during Optimus' self-imposed exile from Cybertron. Optimus says that it's okay, but he was pretty mad with Rodimus when he learned that he messed up too, seems a bit biased...
• Submarauder and Skullgrin are seen in their Pretender shells here...but if you remember all the way back to Stormbringer they were seemingly killed before they ever received them. (We saw before that Skullgrin survived his "death" so it can be assumed that at least some of the other proto-Pretenders did too)
• Fat Tankor is mentioned to be "unaligned"....since when?
• I'm assuming that the condor cassette in this issue is Garboil, since Laserbeak and Buzzsaw should be still on the Jupiter Decepticon colony
• Seaclamp's claw is shown amongst the dead bodies of the Maximals, however he prominently appears in the upcoming Unicron #1, so he must have just lost an arm (I would normally assume it's a repaint's body, but his only repaint is Gimlet, who is part of the Autobot's Earth crew)
• For some reason, Shockwave needs Arcee and Jetfire for his big plans, we don't know why, not even with the early released Unicron #1, set after this issue, and the next!
• Last issue's solicit for this issue said that "only one will survive" regarding Victorion and Devastator's battle...did the conclusion get moved back an issue for some reason? Their battle lasted all of two pages here...