IDW - Lost Light #25

Title: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It: Part 2

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Following the Functionist Council's defeat, Prowl has arrived on Functionist Cybertron to check up on the newly ignited Hot Spot on Luna-1, but he also tells Rodimus that he is there to also re-arrest Megatron for a new trail, since his appeal for the Knights of Cybertron to preside over his trial is now impossible. Megatron agrees to go with him, but Prowl also has more bad news. He wants to have the Lost Light's engines removed to help power up the new Cybertron. Rodimus reluctantly agrees, but has one request, a lap of honour in the ship for him and his crew...

One day later, the crew finish their lap, having had no problems and begin their trip back to Functionist Cybertron, with Rewind taking footage of the entire ship for posterity and everyone agrees that they should allow the ship to be scrapped rather than having it repurposed and/or replaced with something else. The team head off to toast their journey's end, when Nautica, Perceptor and Brainstorm approach Rodimus with a radical idea...

The trio of scientists believe they can recreate the original accident that caused the ship to duplicate itself, but to also shunt it into an alternate universe, thereby preventing the risk of them being deleted from existence like last time. They won't know if it worked, as they would just see themselves as arriving back at Functionist Cybertron, but they have a chance of continuing their journeys in uncharted space. Rodimus agrees to try if the rest of the crew agree in a vote...

Unaware if their plan worked or not, the crew toast the journey in the bar and say their goodbyes. Swerve tries to lock everyone inside the bar, but it fails when the hull of the ship is being ripped apart with them still inside, telling them that it's time to wrap it all up.

The crew soon head off on their own ways, with Nautica and Velocity heading to Earth to visit it and everyone else starting a new life. Prowl officially takes in Megatron, with Magnus joining them, leaving Rodimus alone.

Following Megatron's new trial, presided over by the Galactic Council, Rodimus goes to visit Megatron, who is waiting for his sentencing, which is either death or infinite imprisonment, and Megatron gives Rodimus the Rodimus Star that he was given over 800 years earlier, from his perspective and asks him to look after it for him. Soon, they are called back to the court for the verdict, but before they go, Magnus tells Megatron that he plans to destroy the Magnus armour, and live his life out as his true self, Minimus Ambus, which Megatron is very happy to hear. 

Over the intervening years, Drift and Ratchet become Conjunx Endura and settle down happily until Ratchet's old age catches up to him and he slowly dies. Rewind becomes obsessed with the history of the Functionist Universe and overloads, trapping him in his alternate mode, and Chromedome spends his time taking care of him. Swerve starts up a bar franchise, but eventually loses all but one of them. Nautica writes a semi-autobiographical book about her adventures. Most of the crew settle down on New Cybertron, with Ambus and Anode working on Luna-1 to bring the new "Lunarian" Cybertronians to term. Whirl is going in and out of prison at an alarming rate, and Rodimus is now working on a ship under Thunderclash's command. At some time, Brainstorm has a lab accident which now requires him to use a life-support device, housed in a briefcase, to survive.

Some time later, the crew are gathered together again for Ratchet's funeral, where they catch up and mourn their fallen comrade. After the funeral. Drift gifts Whirl Ratchet's hands to replace the ones he lost a long time ago, but he refuses to take them, as he doesn't see himself as broken any more.

Rodimus arrives at New Cybertron, just after the service, due to the Exitus being too far away to get there in time. He leaves Megatron's old Rodimus Star as an offering to Ratchet.

Cyclonus learns about Whirl's time in and out of prison and offers to take him in to his and Tailgate's home when he is released again, prompting a hug from his one-time nemesis.

Rodimus prepares to return to the ship when Drift approaches him and asks Rodimus whether he thinks their last plan worked or not, but Rodimus reminds him that they promised never to discuss it, but admits that he hopes that it did. He leaves, but promises to keep in touch with Drift...

Back in the past, the new quantum duplicate of the Lost Light arrives in uncharted space, and the crew celebrate their successful plan, and head off for new adventures in a completely unknown land...

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank Imprisoned or Killed by Galactic Council

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus - Vehicle Transport/Minesweeper Magnus Armour Destroyed

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance Died of Old Age

Fortress Maximus - Tank

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Thunderclash - Truck

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug Trapped in Alternate Mode

Swerve - Van

Tailgate - Car

Brainstorm - Jet

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Nautica - Submarine

Velocity - Race Car

Perceptor - Tank

First Aid - Ambulance

Hot Spot - Fire Truck

Blades - Helicopter

Groove - Motorcycle

Streetwise - Police Vehicle

Huffer - Truck

Xaaron

Bluestreak - Car

Crosscut - Van

Grapple - Crane

Hoist - Crane 

Gears - Van

Hound - Jeep

Riptide - Boat

Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Red Alert - Car

Garrus-10 Guards - Vans

Duplicate Rodimus - Car

Duplicate Megatron - Tank

Duplicate Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus - Vehicle Transport/Minesweeper

Duplicate Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Duplicate Brainstorm - Jet

Duplicate Perceptor - Tank

Duplicate Drift - Car

Duplciate Chromedome - Car

Duplicate Rewind - Data Slug

Duplicate Swerve - Van

Duplicate Nautica - Submarine

Duplicate Ratchet - Ambulance 

Duplicate Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Duplicate Tailgate - Car

Nightbeat (Toy)

Trailcutter (Toy)

Skids (Toy)

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Chromia - Speedbike (Mentioned)

Impactor - Drill Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Rung/Primus - Matrix Forge (Mentioned) Dead and Forgotten

Decepticon

Misfire - Fighter Jet

Crankcase - Van

Spinister - Helicopter

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb

Krok

Nickel - Rocket Powered Buggy

Duplicate Crankcase - Van

Duplicate Misfire - Fighter Jet

Duplicate Krok

Ravage (Toy)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Roller - Truck

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Clicker - Laser Pointer

Funeralbot

Rodimus' Pilot

Other Lost Lighters All get duplicated

Duplicate Anode - Bi-Plane

Duplicate Lug - Backpack Equipment

Duplicate Cyclonus - Jet

Ten (Toy)

Functionist Council (Mentioned) Dead

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Population of Functionist/New Cybertron (Mentioned)

Lunarians (Mentioned)

Other

Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Mederi Telepaths (Mentioned)

The Improbability Police (Mentioned)

Beryl, the Sentient Rust (Mentioned)

CONS4EVA, the Dire Wraith (Mentioned)

Notes

• The title of this issue is a reference to issue one of More Than Meets The Eye
• So, despite an unknown amount of time (quite a while we can guess from the dialogue) no one has changed their body from the present? It's not impossible, but seems very unlikely seeing how most characters change bodies every couple of years, if not more.
• The earlier mentioned issue with the timeline is not fixed in this issue. It will probably be waved off as being because of the Lost Lighters traveling through the Warren, causing about two years to pass without notice, but it just seems kind of lazy writing as an explanation.
• This issue was released a week before Unicron #6 was released, meaning that Earth's survival in that issue, along with Prowl, Windblade and Chromia surviving was spoiled by this issue.
• Prowl mentions that Cybertron is trying for membership with the Galactic Council. This makes IMMENSE sense due to the majority of their worlds being destroyed by Unicron.
• After a while, Functionist Cybertron gets officially renamed to New Cybertron.
• The G-10 guards escorting Whirl in the future scenes are based on the museum guards from the Robots in Disguise cartoon.
• Swerve mentions that there's a large omission in Nautica's book, which mostly hurts her own part in it, this is likely due to her erasing her emotions connected to Skids and effecting that narrative
• So...we aren't told how long has passed between the events of the previous issue and the start of this story's present scenes, but it can't be more than a few weeks....how has everyone forgotten about Rung in that time?! They have footage of him, and there's historical record of him (even a psychological procedure named after him!) Hell, even the Functionist Universe version of him was remembered about 800 years after his death (Since the council mention him amongst the dead, and we learn this issue that Megatron was holding onto his Rodimus Star for over 800 years). This is just silly!
• Also, if they don't remember Rung, where did they think they got a dozen Matrixes to save the day last issue?
• Lug refers to Anode as her wife here....why? The term used in continuity for spouse is Conjunx Endura.
• Oh and Bluestreak is alive again! I guess it was sad he was killed as a Sparkeater on Mederi, but...how did this happen?
• Similarly, the also very dead looking Protectobots are seen alive here too! (sans Rook that is). I eagerly await seeing Mirage and Atomizer stapled back together and alive too!
• Whirl's avatar's shirt stating "Ask me about my feminist agenda" is based on the one worn by Mockingbird on a controversial comic cover from Marvel. Bit of a brave choice to have a murderous literal psychopath who starts wars being the declared feminist of the crew, but whatever!
• Ratchet suggests that Drift's visions at the start of the series were due to the Mederi telepaths sending him images of the final battle through the Warren....okay....
• Ultra Magnus is revealed to have originally joining the crew to build up his contact list
• One of the guards accompanying Prowl to re-arrest Megatron is based on Kup's Titans Return toy.
• Despite being under oath, Rodimus lies in his testimony about Megatron and claims that he was the one to open the Matrix on Functionist Cybertron, and not Rodimus.
• The Lunarians are revealed to all resemble Rung, at least their heads do, making me also question how none of Rung's old friends have had a flash of memories about him yet!
• So....how did the crew recreate the original accident? Did they sacrifice someone to be partially absorbed into the engines again?
• The ending with the crew entering a new, unknown universe and debating what it would be like is very much a metaphor for what if happening in the real world Transformers comics, as the universe is being rebooted for a new one, which we don't know anything about yet.
• So...who wants to bet that in the new IDW Universe we'll eventually bump into the new version of the Lost Light?