IDW - Transformers: Escape #5

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Beth McGuire-Smith

Colours by: Priscilla Tramontano

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

The Insecticon Clone Swarm have begun their attack on the evacuation party outside Darkmount, and despite managing to fight off many of them, some of the Evacuation team are killed for their Energon, including Powerflash.

Some of the organic aliens work with their anti-Cybertronian weapons to fight off the Insecticons, while Straxxus orders the Arks to launch immediately, to evade the Insecticons.

Upon launch, the rear Ark, which held the terraforming compounds and Energon harvesters, required for their relocation is attacked and destroyed by the Insecticons, killing all aboard, as well as several Insecticons. Straxxus and his crew continue to fly off, while the remaining Insecticons fly back to their base.

At their base, the real Insecticons devour the returning clones so they can create more Ultra-Energon, so they can make more clones and conquer the planet.

Back at Darkmount, the Cybertronians agreed to give the leftover third Ark to the organics to get them to safety, joined by Dai Atlas to protect them, and plan to repair the final, fourth Ark to allow them to escape too in the future....

Characters

Autobot

Wheeljack - Car

Gears - Pick-up Truck

Hound - Jeep

Hoist - Tow Truck

Nautica - Submarine

Road Rage - Flying Car

Cromar - Jet/Back-mounted Weapons

Mudslinger - Truck

Powerflash Killed by Insecticons

Insecticon

Kickback - Locust

Bombshell - Boll Weevil

Skrapnel - Stag Beetle

Skystalker - Car

Clone Swarm - Insects

Darkmount Denizens

Straxxus - Tank

Ark-B Commander Killed by Insecticons

Ark-B Crew Killed by Insecticons

Ark-A Crew 

Other Cybertronian

Dai Atlas - Flying Tank

Speeder - Car

Leviathan - Metal Harvester

Cybertronian Evacuation Team

Clone-Drone Swarm - Jets (Flashback)

Exarchon (Mentioned)

Other

A'ovan Evacuees

Urtuskan Evacuees

Four-armed Alien

Other Evacuees

Left-over Organics (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue marks the end of the Escape mini series, but as seen in issue 31 of the main series, the storyarc will have a part in the ongoing series.
• The four-armed alien isn't name, nor is his species name given, but this story shows that his species have a history of violence against Cybertronians, implying either a previous war, or that deterrents created for them during the expansion were developed in the past. But he seems fine with Cybertronians now, since he shares the technology with Wheeljack and Gears.
• Cromar is shown converting into back mounted weapons armament here, but isn't not the same configuration that the real world figure would take on.
• I'm guessing that the destruction of Ark-B and their relocation efforts being messed up, which he blames on Wheeljack and the others, is what will eventually being Straxxus to joining the Decepticons like he does in most other continuities.
• It's not clear, but it's very likely that Speeder probably joined Dai Atlas in protecting the evacuated organics.
• The final, damaged Ark is revealed to be coloured and loosely designed to resemble the traditional G1 Ark design, implying this will be the one that will eventually being Optimus and his crew to Earth.