IDW - Transformers (2019) #2

Title: The World in Your Eyes, Part Two

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Angel Hernandez & Cachet Whitman

Colours by: Joana LaFuente & Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editors: David Mariotte & Tom Waltz

Plot

Following the discover of Brainstorm's body, the security forces have been called in, and Rubble is somewhat uncomfortable, soon he is sent on his way with Bumblebee to visit Wheeljack at his lab, but is also asked to keep this discovery a secret for now. As he leaves, Chromia wonders if Rubble could be the killer, much to Windblade's disapproval, but she just points out that they need to consider all angles in the case. After they finish examining the body, they prepare to have to moved for further studies, and Chromia contacts Orion Pax, to let him know they haven't determined a cause of death yet, besides being murdered. Pax informs Chromia about the upcoming Ascenticon rally in Tarn, and asks for extra security, in case it all goes wrong there...

Bumblebee takes Rubble to the Tether, where Wheeljack runs aperations there, and has Rubble work with him for a while, doing various odd-jobs around the facility, as a reward for his hard work, Wheeljack suggest he goes to the roof so he can watch the day's harvest of Energon into the Winged Moon, whilst on the roof, Rubble worries about talk he's heard of factions on Cybertron, and whether he has to choose a side, but Bee tells him to not worry about that, at least until he's chosen a life for himself to lead first, if he eventually chooses a side, then that's his choice for later.

Soon, the Moon activates, and opens it's wings, revealing an ornate design inside, gathering the Energon to be processed for the planet's use, both of the viewers agree that it's an amazing sight.

Meanwhile, the Ascenticon rally has begun in  Tarn, and despite it being a vocal success, something goes wrong, and the stage Megatron is standing on explodes, soon he is shot at by an unknown attacker from a tower, but the attacker vanishes before he can find out his identity, but Megatron vows to get answers for this attack....

Characters

Autobot

Orion Pax - Truck

Ascenticon

Megatron - Treaded Vehicle

Soundwave - Hovercraft

Skytread/Flywheels - Jet and Tank

Elita One?

Ascenticon Rally Attendees

Termagax (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Bumblebee - Car

Rubble

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Chromia - Car

Wheeljack - Car

Gears - Pick-Up Truck

Brainstorm - Jet Murdered

Tether Employees

Security Officers

Nominus (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

The Rise (Mentioned)

The Primals (Mentioned)

The Reversionists (Mentioned)

Other

A Skitter

A'ovan Species (Mentioned)

Voin Scavenger (Mentioned)

Notes

• Again, the art of this issue is divided up as last issue. The murder/Rubble storyline is done by Hernandez, whilst Megatron's rally is done by Whitman.
• Yes, this means we still have the toy's peg holes and recesses in the Whitman drawn parts, and it IS still very distracting...
• Rubble mentions that Cybertronians don't grow old, but some volunteer to go to "sleep" or merge with the planet itself, explaining the "Sleeping Titans" seen last issue.
• Despite how it looked last issue, Brainstorm does appear to have a new character model, and not just a carbon copy of his MTMTE design, with a noticeably different chest-piece.
• The only recognizable character, other than Wheeljack, to work at the Tether is Gears, he is also the only character to transform in this issue, much like how Windblade was in the previous issue.
• Termagax, referenced a couple of times last issue is revealed here to be the first to be named an "Ascenticon" and is also mentioned as being an engineer or designer, due to her being involved in the construction of the Tether and the Winged Moon.
• On the topic of the Winged Moon, Bumblebee mentions that harvesting Energon with this method is actually not very efficient, and is likely just used due to have impressive it looks. This could mean that this version of Cybertron, at least in this pre-war era, is more focused on things looking aesthetically pleasing, rather than being functional, explaining the magnificent looking vistas in the series so far, and also the civil unrest And also the lack of public knowledge of death and the such.
• The A'ovan species was previously present in the Titan Movie comics from the UK, here we only see a rodent called a Skitter, but maybe they'll return in the future?
• When discussing the Voin Scavenger from last issue, it is only referred to as a singular entity, implying that only the flying brain thing was the scavenger, with the alien monkey things being just extensions of him.
• This version of Cybertron is apparently okay with organic aliens with the A'ovans sending refugee ships sent there, and the Voin Scavengers being allowed to exist there, if they have a permit.
• Bumblebee reveals that there are many factions on Cybertron, but a lot of Cybertronians are still unaligned.
• It appears from how Bumblebee describes the relationship/differences between the Rise and Ascenticons that they are probably related in someway, more than likely we'll learn that Starscream or Shockwave run the Rise, but on Megatron's orders, just to make his faction seem more reasonable in contrast. Much like how real world extremist groups seem to be used, such as Antifa.
• So, who wants to bet that the Winged Moon will be captured and used as a weapon before the end of this storyline?
• The character that was noted as Elita One last issue is now shown to have wings, much like Thunderblast's back kibble, making her look somewhat like the Timelines version of her toy, however this version appears to have wheels on the inner section of the wings...quite an interesting character design we have here!
• Amongst the Ascenticons we see in the crowd is Skytread/Flywheels, otherwise it just appears to be a bunch of generics, with some featuring some familiar body types from the previous IDW continuity.
• Soundwave appears to be Megatron's assistant or at least a confidante in this series, which is somewhat poetic, considering he was Ratbat's assistant in the previous continuity before the Decepticon uprising....should I be concerned that he's going to turn Megatron into a cassette too?
• Megatron mentions the "Nominus Edict" this is likely related to Nominus (Prime), it's unknown if he was Prime in this continuity though. Nominus was the Prime in between Sentinel and Optimus in the previous IDW continuity.