IDW - Go-bots #4

Story/Art/Letters: Tom Scioli

Edits: David Hedgecock

Plot

The Astronaut quartet wander around an overgrown and barren city street on what is now revealed to be Earth, within Gobotron's core. They remove their breathing apparatus before Turbo and Scooter arrive, with Spay-C, who they force to explain what happened.

Spay-C reveals that he learned about the Go-bot revolution against the humans a long time ago, but decided to keep them safe and frozen until it was safe for them, a time that never came.

Soon the Astronauts are taken to see what remains of humanity, a bunch of naked, primitive humans, who idolize Scooter, and Turbo explains that they protect them from whatever comes after them.

The Thruster soon arrives in the skies, having followed the Guardians into the core and some Renegades capture a bunch of humans, including two of the astronauts. Spay-C tries to rescue them, but he is sent plummeting to the ground, seemingly to his death. Soon, Zod is also deployed from the Thruster and begins to wreak havoc on Earth.

Upon impact on the Earth, Leader-1 is given another vision, this time from the god, Courageous, who beckons him to see him.

Leader-1 leads his forces towards where he believes Courageous was leading him, where they come across Spay-C's now deactivated body, and are accosted by Turbo, with Scooter seeming excited to see Leader-1, despite his apparent harm of him in the past. They join forces to retrieve the lazer lance so they can kill Zod and protect the humans and Gobotron alike, and Scooter reveals that he knows where the lance it.

On board the Thruster Cy-Kill rummages through the pile of humans he's just captured and is interested in the "blue ones" (the astronauts) and tries to see what the humans can do, only to discover that it is nothing.

Down below, Scooter leads the Guardians to Skull Rock, where he has seen the lazer lance in a dream, along the way they are attacked by the Go-lems, who ask what they are there for, but decide to let them continue on their trek, before returning to the rocks to meditate.

Inside Skull Rock, the Guardians come across a board of Vamps, including the original one, still holding the living, but mutated body of Braxis inside, who recognizes Scooter from before the war, bringing up A.J. and they humans allies, bringing Turbo to disliking Leader-1 more for her death, however Leader-1 tries to explain that things didn't happen as he is saying, but before they can discuss it further the Vamps attack.

Elsewhere, the Renegades explore Earth, only stopping when they encounter Spay-C's body and use it to determine where the Guardians are. The two astronauts escape, and get inside Spay-C's body, intending a hard reboot of his systems.

Back inside Skull Rock, the Guardians are forced to split up, but Scooter manages to find the lazer lance, being held by the physical body of Courageous himself, allowing Leader-1 to take it, and Courageous' body breaks into it's component parts. The Vamps escape, hearing Zod approaching, so the Guardians prepare for battle, donning the Courageous armour components to help fight.

Before they can use the lance on Zod, Cy-Kill steals it, and breaks it in half, despite how bad it looks, the Go-lems appear and cause a chasm to form, causing all the Renegades, including Zod to fall into it.

Cop-Tur manages to stay on high ground, and challenges Leader-1 to a leadership battle, but he is easily beaten down by Leader-1. Soon, Leader-1 leads a team, wielding the two halves of the lance to go after Zod and after a short battle, they manage to use it, deactivating the giant Go-bot.

The team make it back up to the surface, ready to celebrate their success, when the Command Center arrives and starts shooting at the Guardians, and abducts some of them, including Scooter, revealing the ship has been taken over by the Renegades, and they leave to parts unknown.

In the aftermath, Leader-1 is found to have been hit by the Command Center's guns, and has seemingly died, the group inter him within the torso section of the Courageous god and mourn his life and death. Turbo, Spay-C and the astronauts decide to go after the Renegades to rescue Scooter and the others, unaware that Eno, the Leader-1 looking angel is watching over them, being beckoned to the afterlife by Nick Burns, Leader-1's former human partner....

Characters

Guardian

Leader-1 - Fighter Jet Seemingly Killed by Command Center gunfire

Small Foot - 4x4 Truck

Bolt - Twin propeller Plane

Blaster - Missile Tank

Scratch - 4x4 Truck

Royal-T - Harrier Jet

Pathfinder - Spaceship

Major Domo - Sports Car

Rest-Q - Ambulance

Sparky - Sports Car

Good Knight - Vintage Car

Dozer - Bulldozer

Command Center - Fortress Captured by Renegades

Guardian Army

Renegade

Cy-Kill - Motorcycle

Crasher - Race Car

Cop-Tur - Helicopter Defeated by Leader-1

Fitor - Jet

Tank - Tank

Warpath - Gunship

Waterwalk - Seaplane

Loco - Locomotive Engine

Buggyman - Beach Buggy

Screw Head - Drill Tank

Zod Killed by Lazer Lance 

Thruster - Space Ship

Renegade Army

Go-lem

Boulder - Tungsten

Solitaire - Diamond

Nuggit - Gold

Granite - Granite

Marbles - Cristobalite

Pulver-Eyes - Dolomite

Brimstone - Brimstone

Stick n' Stones - Coal and Magnetite

Tombstone - Quartz

Spearhead - Kyanite

Magmar - Igneous Rock (Mentioned)

Other Go-bot

Turbo - Race Car

Scooter - Scooter Abducted by Renegades

Spay-C - Space Shuttle

Multiple Vamps - Monstrous Cars

God Courageous - Power Suits 

Dark Angel Eno - Fighter Jet (In Afterlife, possibly Leader-1?)

Human

Lee Spencer

Venyamin Alexander

Charlotte Scott

Other Astronaut

Professor Braxis Attached to Original Vamp

Primitive Humans

A.J. (Flashback Only) Dead

Nick Burns (In Afterlife) Dead

Notes

• This issue continues the Planet of the Apes motif from last issue by showing the remains of human civilization and even primitive humans
• Two more astronauts are named in story now, Lee and Venyamin, leaving just the fourth one annoyingly unnamed.
• It's confirmed in this issue that some time has indeed passed between issues two and three, as we see A.J. having aged and mentioned to have died elderly, albeit as a hero.
• Spay-C is revealed to have learned about the Go-bot revolution before arriving on Gobotron, but kept it from his humans to protect them
• Umm...why are the astronauts removing their helmets, just because they are on Earth? This Erath has been encased inside another planet's core for years...it might not have a good atmosphere!
• It's unclear is Screw Head is a Guardian or Renegade here, or even if he was working with Turbo on Earth like Scooter, but since most other characters are in their traditional factions now, we can assume he's just a "good" Renegade.
• Despite how barren it looked last issue, we see lost of cities and remnants of humanity on Earth
• The traditionally named Rock Lords are revealed to be "Go-Lems" here, and were created by "the gods" rather than humans before the revolution.
• Cop-Tur. who is normally seen as loyal beyond compare (like G1 cartoon Soundwave) but here is shown to be seemingly planning to overthrow Cy-Kill and Leader-1, a role more similar to Starscream, or Zero in Go-bots lore.
• It's revealed/hinted that Eno from last issue is actually Leader-1 from the afterlife, his name coming from the "one" in his name being reversed, which itself comes from the after-life version of Nick Burns, who speaks in reverse.