IDW - Unicron #3

Main Story

Title: Our Finest

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Sebastian Cheng & David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Side Story

Title: Reunion

Written by: Brandon Easton

Art by: Juan Samu

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Lettered by: Curtis Fandango

Edited by: David Mariotte

Main Story Plot

Cybertron begins to counterattack against Unicron, with all available fliers and all shuttles going into orbit to fight. Elita recruits the Torchbearers to join her on Carcer to directly attack Unicron. Chromia returns to Cybertron in her shuttle, but is also joined by the Decepticon fleet, having been corrupted by Unicron.

Inside Metroplex's brain chamber Windblade and the others are discussing what to do about Unicron, with Starscream advocating for evacuation to Earth, but due to the colonists being outside of the city, they wont be teleported away with the city.

Chromia contacts Carcer to see why they are going directly to Unicron, with Elita explaining that Victorion is going to infiltrate Unicron's body and kill him from inside, and Carcer will give her backup.

Bumblebee arrives at the brain chamber with Aileron, and declares that Unicron was a doomsday device created by an alien race that also created the Dire Wraiths with Visionary magic, which Rom is disbelieving of. Aileron herself doesn't believe this, until Arcee arrives and explains what happened, as she was there...

When Cybertronians led by Onyx Prime invaded the planet Antilla, Onyx manipulated things to make the Antillans to attack them first, making Alpha Trion believe them to be the aggressors. A scientist used a device to kill everyone on the planet, and also turn it into Unicron, in order for him to get revenge against their attackers, and gets stronger with every world it devours.

The battle in orbit is going badly for the Cybertronians, and Victorion is fed up of watching people die. She attacks the lead Worldsweeper and slashed through the corrupted Decepticons inside, however, when she confronts Bludgeon he summons Monstructor to fight the powerful combiner. The two fight, but Monstructor defeats her by tearing off one of her legs and knocking her down.

Shockwave confirms Arcee's story about Antilla, but also explains that after he left Cybertron following the wars between the Primes, he and his loyalists wound up on Antilla, where Shockwave learned about Unicron and finds the Talisman, the device used to create it. He has the Talisman shipped away towards Earth, for it to be used to later poison Cybertron.

Optimus relays this story to Windblade, who isn't shocked now by all this nonsense. Starscream starts again about letting most of Cybertron and the colonists die, if it means Unicron will be deathly wounded, which drives Windblade to screaming that this is all Cybertron's fault and not the colonists, yet it is them who are being hurt.

Arcee points out that despite it being a terrible thing to happen, without Antilla, NONE of the other colonies would have been created, and none of the colonists would have been born in the first place. Windblade heads off, with Arcee grabbing hold of her, not allowing her to run away. However Windblade isn't trying to escape, but rather has a plan, and just needs some time to enact it.

In orbit, Carcer is under heavy fire, so Elita, in a last ditch attempt to protect Cybertron orders for the ship to ram into Unicron, only for the Chaos Bringer to shoot the ship with his eye beams and obliterates the dead Titan and everyone aboard along with him.

Back at Metroplex, Soundwave returns with the Enigma of Combination, intending to use to combine the entire population of the planet into a giant force to stop Unicron, however Jetfire reveals that even if they did that, they would only be at about a third of the size of Unicron. Soundwave realizes that the others are starting to consider using the space bridge and leave the people outside of the city to die, so he alerts the Decepticons outside, and they begin to riot, and storm the city, as Soundwave has given them a chance now.

Arcee returns and says that Windblade has a plan to save them, but she needs time, which Starscream agrees they have to allow her, as she has allowed them all to try before now.

All across Cybertron, the displaced colonists and Cybertronians watch and Unicron starts digging his claws into Unicron's surface...

Side Story Plot

On Earth, the MASK team have reunited and save some people from the natural disasters and destruction in the city. The team eventually arrive at one of their team, Julio Lopez's emergency medical centre where they learn that they have inspired the normal people of the city and the world to help each other and fight back, so they'll continue to do so, up to the end...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Arcee - Sports Car

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Chromia - Speedbike

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Skyburst - Helicopter

Stormclash - Helicopter Seemingly Killed by Monstructor

Dust Up - Sports Car

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Victorion - Torchbearer Gestalt

Tracks - Muscle Car

Sizzle - Car

Silverbolt - Concorde Jet

Skydive - Fighter Jet

Fireflight - Fighter Jet

Not-Slingshot - Fighter Jet

Scattershot - Jet Killed by a Worldsweeper

Cloudraker - Jet Killed by a Worldsweeper

Fastlane - Car Killed by a Worldsweeper

Firestar

Metroplex - Iacon City (Voice and Interior Only)

Prowl - Police Vehicle (Mentioned)

Kup - Pic k Up Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Shockwave/Onyx Prime - Flying Artillery

Bludgeon - Tank

Monstructor - Monster Gestalt

Wideload - Dump Truck Killed by Victorion

Sledge - Backhoe-Payloader Killed by Victorion

Needlenose - Fighter Jet

Fat Tankor - Tank

Tall Tankor - Oil Tanker/Cargo Plane

Decepticon Ghetto Denizens

Decepticon Vengeance Division Mutated into Unicron's Minions

Maximal

Domitius Major - Sauropod (Flashback Only)

Centurion - Beetle (Flashback Only)

"HOS Prowl" (Flashback Only)

Maximal Troops (Flashback Only)

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Elita One - Car Sent Adrift in orbit by Unicron's Attack

Obsidian - Osprey Helicopter Crushed by debris in ship

Vigilem - Carcer Ship Destroyed by Unicron

Swift - Helicopter

Zetca

Greenlight

Lancer

D.O.C.

Cybertronian Fleet

Colony Survivors

Carcerian Warriors Most Killed in Unicron's Attack

Alpha Trion - Tumbler (Flashback Only)

Galvatron - Tank (Flashback Only)

Omega Supreme - Rocket Base (Flashback Only)

Omega Sentinels - Rocket Bases (Flashback Only)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned)

Solus Prime (Mentioned)

Human

Matt Trakker/Spectrum (Side Story Only)

Gloria Baker/Aura (Side Story Only)

Brad Turner/Eclipse (Side Story Only)

Julio Lopez/Gulliver (Side Story Only)

Human Survivors (Side Story Only)

Med Centre Staff (Side Story Only)

MASK Fanboy (Side Story Only)

Miles Mayhem (Mentioned)

Solstar Order

Rom

Imperator Carax

Elonian Survivors

Other

Unicron - Ringed Planet

Antillans (Flashback Only) Dead

Unicron's Creator (Mentioned)

Dire Wraiths (Mentioned)

Visionaries (Mentioned)

Notes

• Slingshot is amongst the Aerialbots going into battle (albeit slightly miscoloured) he's supposed to be dead...but then again everyone else will be dead soon, so no long term harm!
• Swift appears to be amongst the Decepticons again...please make up your mind on your faction Decepticons!!
• Just like we saw a mass of Decepticon ships in the last issue, we get an Autobot fleet here with several existing ship types, like the different Arks, shuttles and a few generics.
• This issue reveals that the world we saw Onyx Prime and his group attack in a flashback was Antilla, which was also the world we saw turn into Unicron last issue, confirming that the planet orbiting the dark star was Antilla/Unicron, and is thirteenth colony world (implying that Unicron may have his own natural Ore too)
• Considering some Omega Sentinels were on Antilla when the Unicron device activated, it's likely that the one we saw inside Unicron in issue 1 was one of the attackers, rather than one that just found Unicron.
• Along with their ships, the Decepticon crew inside them are turned into Maximal-esque monsters. This is likely a reference to an old Unicron concept where he could corrupt individuals and turn them into his servants.
• Bludgeon is shown with an aura around him and what looks like his Void Spectre again, this is likely why he seems to have his mind intact rather than being mindless like the other Decepticons.
• Bludgeon reveals that Victorion's gravity powers are caused by her exposure to Ore-4 on Caminus.
• Shockwave's flashback reveals that the Talisman IS the device that created Unicron, which he found on Antilla after arriving there and sending it away to Earth with some of his followers (the guys who would later become the Hearts of Steel Transformers)
• It keeps getting mentioned how Metroplex can only spacebridge the people within his city mode away
• I still think there's another world out there with an Ore on it, since Liege Maximo's "world" is just a Titan ship, and not a planet, also Unicron just blows up Carcer, and doesn't devour it.
• Elita appears to survive her ship's destruction, as she is seen floating in space (why would they bother giving us a close-up if she was just dead?)
• The back-up strip is a MASK one of all things! It doesn't give us any real future spoilers, and just shows that Earth is under attack in the near future and that the MASK team are performing rescue missions to save the day.
• Since we last saw them, it looks like Brad Turner has been recovered, after being captured and replaced by Zartan.
• Also Matt Trakker is not a part of GI Joe anymore it seems...good for him!