IDW - Transformers #25

Title: War World: Prime

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: Joana LaFuente 

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Following his rescue of the Winged Moon, Wheeljack crashes on Cybertron, looking for help in rescuing it again from a team who have usurped it again. Unfortunately he only finds the Battlechargers, who attack him on sight, but gets rescued by Streetwise and Slapdash and taken to safety.

At the Senate building, the captured Guards are stuck in one of the lower cells, whilst Sentinel Prime and Orion Pax are imprisoned in the high security cells above them, guarded by Ravage and Laserbeak, and both taunted by Megatron.

At a security facility, Chromia, Hound, Novastar and Ironhide are debating how to deal with the Decepticons and save the Senators when Wheeljack is brought in, who tells them about the Decepticon team capturing the Moon, prompting Nova Star to lead a team to rescue it, while Wheeljack is sent for repairs.

Whilst planning, Megatron declares that the Decepticons are in charge now, and imposes a lockdown, on punishment of death, until their enemies are all gone.

Kip is given a new team to lead, replacing the firm Heavies from the old war, and everyone is given their missions, Prowls team is to stay behind for back up at a safe house, while Ironhides crew breaks into the Senate to resume the captured bots and Kup's crew provide a distraction by attacking the senate building from the outside.

Inside the building, Megatron us trying to convert the captured Senators to the Decepticons when he hears the explosions from outside, and sends Strika and HER new team of Heavies to confront them.

Ironhide's team break into the cell holding the guards, quickly freeing them and break into the upper cells, where they chase off Laserbeak and Ravage before freeing the isolated Senators. Ironhide splits his team up again, with half of them escorting the two Senators to the safe house, whilst the rest will join him in trying to free the other Senators. Megatron learns of this attack from laserbeak, and redirects Strika's team to take them out.

Roulette is quickly killed, and the rest of the crew are pinned down by the other Heavies. Forced to escape, Ironhide, Groove and Backstreet break out of the Senate building, but Chainclaw is killed by Clench's roof mounted rail gun.

Bumper tries to save Chainclaw, but I'd also shot by the Decepticon. Sideswipe goes to help out Bumper, while their sniper, the recently recovered Javelin, is having a panic attack.

Sunrunner drops a beacon next to Clench from the air, allowing Flak and Sidetrack to use homing missiles to destroy the gun and it's operator.

In the aftermath, Sideswipe appears cradling the dead body of Bumper, and requires medical attention himself.

Soon, Sentinel and Orion are brought to safety, but Sentinel rushes away to get to a communications tower to let the people know he is still in charge. Clench spots his launch and warns Megatron, who sends the Rainmakers after him.

Sentinel tries to outfly the Rainmakers, but gets grounded by them, before being mortally wounded by the trio after a quick battle.

Chromia, Orion, Brawn and Flare-up arrive too late, with Sentinel's last words being to pass the Matrix to Ultra Magnus and to kill Starscream. Orion takes the Matrix, intending to fulfill his promise, but the Matrix reacts to him, and compels him to place it within his own chest, reforming it to hold the Matrix, and Orion collapses.

Inside the Matrix, Orion is met by the Mediator, in the form of his own mentor, Codexa, where it shows him the past if Cybertron and the lineage if Primes, warning Orion of the upcoming shadow, and their need if the true "Thirteenth Prime" to save them all.

Orion wakes up in reality again, and declares his name as Optimus Prime

Characters

Autobot/Security Forces/Senate Guard

Orion Pax/Optimus Prime - Truck

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle Killed by the Rainmakers

Chromia - Car

Novastar - Car

Ironhide - Van

Hound - Jeep

Kup - Pick-up Truck

Springer - Helicopter/Car

Sunrunner - Bomber Jet

Sidetrack - Anti-aircraft Tank

Flak - Missile Tank

Top Shot - Self Propelled Gun Truck

Prowl - Police Car

Streetwise - Police Car

Slapdash - Race Car

Bumper - Car Killed by Clench

Strongarm - Police Vehicle

Pointblank - Car

Javelin

Sideswipe - Car

Zetar - Drill Tank

Brawn - Van

Backstreet - Car

Pipes - Truck

Groove - Motorcycle

Chainclaw - Bear Killed by Clench

Flareup - Motorcycle

Roulette - Car Killed by Blitzwing

Subsea - Submarine

Grotesque - Winged Tiger Monster

Decepticon/The Rise

Megatron - Mining Vehicle

Soundwave - Hovercraft

Laserbeak - Cassette

Ravage - Cassette

Nova Storm - Jet

Ion Storm - Jet

Acid Storm - Jet

Strika - Battle Tank

Snap Trap - Turtle

Heavywait

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Clench - Truck Killed by Flak and Sidetrack

Refraktor - Hovercraft

Crasher - Race Car

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Team Stream (Mentioned)

Mindwipe - Bat (Mentioned)

Quake - Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Other Cybertronian

Wheeljack - Race Car

The Senate Most Captured by the Decepticons

Primus (In Matrix/Statue Only)

The Thirteenth Prime (In Matrix Only)

Nominus Prime - Jet (In Matrix Only)

Zeta Prime - Truck (In Matrix Only)

Nova Prime - Truck (In Matrix Only)

Other Matrix Bearers (In Matrix Only)

Prediction (In Matrix Only)

Halonix Maximus (In Matrix Only)

Zarak Maximus (In Matrix Only)

Solus Prime (In Matrix/Stained Glass Only)

Vector Prime (Stained Glass Only)

Codexa (Image Used for The Mediator)

Exarchon (Mentioned)

The First Forged (Mentioned)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned)

Solomus (Mentioned)

Mortilus (Mentioned)

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft (Mentioned)

Starscream - Jet (Mentioned)

Vigilem - Titan War Ship (Mentioned)

Warpath - Tank (Mentioned) In Stasis

Powerglide - Jet (Mentioned)

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Rubble (Mentioned) Dead

Tether Victims (Mentioned) Dead

Swindle - Van (Mentioned)

Ratchet - Ambulance (Mentioned)

Hoist - Tow Truck (Mentioned)

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport(Mentioned)

Perceptor (Mentioned) 

Other

Flying Eye Drones

The Mediator (In Matrix Only)

"It" (In Matrix Only)

Turbofoxes (In Matrix Only)

Slaargs (Mentioned)

"The Coming Shadow" (Mentioned)

Notes

• The Autobots, Security Forces and Senate guards are pretty much acting as one faction from this issue, so we can probably assume that the Autobot moniker will be applied to all of them soon
• Wheeljack's crash landing back on Cybertron is following the cliffhanger from issue 24 where the Stream Team started their attack on the Moon.
• Sentinel's fear that if Cybertronians venture too far from Cybertron with expansion etc will cause the rest of the universe to fear and hate them, much like what happened to them in the previous IDW continuity.
• Zetar is seen transforming in his brief cameo, but doesn't parts-form like his recent toy does.
• Nova Storm is referred to as female here, much like her Cyberverse counterpart
• The new character Heavywait was previously seen in flashbacks in the Optimus Prime comic, albeit her gender and name weren't revealed then.
• Clench's railgun weapon is most likely a reference to his original toys weaponry
• Javelin's inability to use her gun is most likely due to her getting shot the last time she used one.
• Bumper's death here continues the seeming tradition of him dying early on, or having horrible things happen to him.
• The bar where Sentinel has his final stand-off is called the "Slaarg and Turbofox". We learn in Escape #1 that Slaargs are extinct, either meaning this place was established before their extinction, or this would be the human equivalent to calling your bar "the Dodo and the fox"
• Through the Mediator, we see Codexa in her full glory for the first time.
• Through the Matrix journey we learn that the Hate Plague occured in Cybertron's past, and this version caused a lot if death, with several sparks returning to the Allspark.
• Exarchon is mentioned to have not returned to the Allspark, implying he is still alive, like Cyclonus suggested earlier in the series.
• The journey through the Matrix implies that the Thirteen Primes being connected to Primus has been restored, after the previous continuity made them just bots used by Shockwave for his grand scheme.
• Among the past Matrix-bearers we see who can be assumed to be Nova Prime, using his Timelines toy as the basis.
• Zeta Prime in this comic is based on his retconned appearance from the G1 cartoon, rather than his unique design from the previous IDW continuity.
• The Mediator mentions a "coming shadow", which is likely not the Decepticons, since they're already a threat, implying a future terror for Cybertron (Quintessons, Unicron, Exarchon, who knows?)
• Orion Pax's design doesn't change when he becomes Optimus Prime. Just saying, he has a lot of WFC figures that could have been used to distinguish the evolution.