IDW - Shattered Glass #5

Written by: Danny Lore

Art by: Guido Guidi

Inks by: Matt Froese

Colours by: John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Neil Uyetake

Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: David Mariotte

Design by: Jake Wood & Johanna Nattalie

Plot

The Decepticons, led by Megatron, have started their assault on Gold City to try and usurp it from Goldbug, and rescue Starscream from his clutches.

Inside the lab, Goldbug tries to force Starscream to give him access to the Titan codes within his spark, but he refuses, and Jetfire continues to try and defend his old friend from his current boss.

Eventually however, Starscream gets shot in the back by Goldbug, and his his spark ripped out through his back by the warlord.

Goldbug leaves, clutching the Seeker's spark casing, intending to use it to control the dormant Titans, and conquer Cybertron for himself. Jetfire is left behind, mourning over his dead friend, blaming himself for forcing him into this war, since he knew Starscream only ever wanted to live in peace.

Jetfire takes out Goldbug's guards, and once the Decepticons break into the building, he leaves, cradling Starscream's corpse.

Megatron sees this, and stops him, mistaking him for trying to do something to the body, but Jetfire soon breaks down, blaming himself for everything. Megatron soon manages to calm him down, and offers to help him take revenge on Goldbug for what he's done, which Jetfire considers...

Slicer makes his way into a sewer tunnel, where he makes contact with his real boss, Ultra Magnus, who isnt concerned with Goldbug having the Titan-control coded spark, as he's sure Optimus and Prowl allowed him to go this far, as they plan to take him out themselves so they can get the Titans instead...

At the Titan excavation site, Goldbug starts to reactivate the long dormant Metroplex....

Characters

Decepticon

Megatron - Jet

Starscream - Jet Spark Torn out by Goldbug

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Barricade - Police Car

Dirge - Jet

Refraktor - Hovercraft

Astrotrain - Train/Space Shuttle

Random Decepticons

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Goldbug - Hatchback

Prowl - Police Car

Jetfire - Jet

Slicer - Race Car

Blaster - Boom Box

Jazz - Car

Chromedome - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport (Holo-Communicator Only)

Gold City Security Team - Hatchbacks Killed by Jetfire

Random Autobots

Other Cybertronian

Metroplex - Titan Ship Awakening

Notes

• Just as an update, in the sheer amount of time since I actually received this comic (with Jetfire) Hasbro have finally released issue 3 with Starscream, so the collection is now complete (so far)
• It's kind of hilarious, now I have the Jetfire figure, how out of scale the characters are in this series, in terms of the toys they are being used to promote.
• Refraktor was last seen as a victim of the Autobot Bodyscrappers, so seeing him here either means that was just one aspect of him (like Viewfinder or Spectro etc) or he managed to escape them.
• Jetfire's possible defection at the end of this issue is most likely a reference to the faction-switch feature on the toy, carried over from his Siege counterpart.
• Slicer working for Ultra Magnus, against Optimus, is likely a reference to his role in the Invasion comic, where Ultra Magnus is aided by Wheeljack to destroy another Universe...hopefully this doesn't happen again though...that was a mess to clean up!
• Metroplex is shown awakening at the end of this issue. However he appears to have been buried up to his head again, unlike how we saw him in issue one...

IDW - Transformers #38

Title: Darkness, Once Gazed Upon, Part Two

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Megatron meets with Mindwipe in secret, to entrust a Titanspark to him, intending for him to use it to create a new Titan, and eventually restore the Forge to create a new Decepticon army for Megatron's cause.

Soundwave calls Megatron away to deal with the newly imprisoned Ultra Magnus. The war general tries to make Megatron see sense, and warns him that Ruckus is somehow connected to a returning Exarchon.

The Decepticons don't believe him, and Megatron has him imprisoned with the captured Senators. Strika however, knowing that Magnus wouldn't lie, suggests that they do look into Ruckus, in case there's any validity to Magnus' claims.

Elsewhere, Cyclonus goes to see "Provoke" again, but finds her researching Cybertron's history some more, and not seeming to have regained her own memories any further.

After leaving, the ghosts of his former teammates/his inner thoughts further suspect Provoke isn't actually herself due to her strange behaviour and even speak patterns...

The Autobots send a small strike team into Iacon to recover Ultra Magnus, with Smokescreen getting them inside using a hidden tunnel through Swindle's bar, calling in a favour with the bartender to give them free passage to leave the city later.

Magnus is taken to the Senate prison, where he finds the Senators dying, but refusing to give in to Megatron's demands.

The Autobot team break into the prison, and manage to free Magnus, but can't manage to save the Senators as well, due to their limited numbers and time, with the rest of the Autobots reinforcing Crystal City for an expected attack from Megatron.

Magnus joins the other Autobots in escaping, reluctantly leaving the Senators behind, potentially to die, and manage to get to a closed Swindle's.

Swindle tries to protest having the Autobots there, due to the Decepticon's rules, but he's ignored by the Autobots, who also want him to allow Bumblebee and Elita-1 to escape with them, and to arm the two of them, as well as Magnus, so they can defend themselves when the Decepticons give chase.

Unknown to any of them, Trickdiamond disapproved of Swindle's deal with Smokescreen, so she informed Starscream, who passed it on to Sixshot, who is now outside the bar, ready to kill everyone inside....

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Chromia - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Smokescreen - Car

Arcee - Car

Greenlight - Car

Gauge - Energon Detector Vehicle

Optimus Prime - Truck (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank

Soundwave - Hovercraft

Sixshot - Jet/Car/Tank/Gun/Winged Beast

Strika - Battle Tank

Starscream - Jet

Slipstream - Jet

Flamewar - Motorcycle

Blackjack - Car

Mindwipe - Bat

Twirl - Jet

Tentakil - Squid

Nautilator - Lobster

Cy-Kill - Motorcycle Crushed Under Senator Prison Door

Offroad - Van

Triton

Scatterspike - Van

Cindersaur - Lizard Monster

Flamefeather - Bird Monster

Jolt - Car

Ravage - Cassette

Gutcruncher

Treadshot

Catgut

"Green Horns" Killed by Smokescreen

"Green Antennae" Kicked into Senate Prison by Chromia 

Rest of Sixshot's Team

Ruckus/Exarchon - Buggy (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Provoke/Exarchon - Big Wheeled Vehicle

Crisscross Dying from lack of Energon

Swindle - Van

Trickdiamond - Car

Roughstuff - Truck

Kaskade Comatose

The Imprisoned Senators Dying from lack of Energon

Highfire (Ghost)

Paragon (Ghost)

Gridlock (Ghost)

Grudge (Ghost)

Flatline - Van (Mentioned) Missing

Termagax - Van (Mentioned)

Streetwise - Car (Mentioned)

Motormaster - Truck (Mentioned)

Headlock - Forklift (Mentioned)

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft (Mentioned)

Elita-1 - Car (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Insecticons Swarm (Mentioned)

Other

The "last" Titanspark

Rust Worms (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue confirms the assumption that just about everyon had, that Megatron did recover at least one of the Titansparks from the Pyramid Forge before it was destroyed. He says it was just the one that survived, but I think it's safe to say he's lying again...
• We've known that Arcee was part of the Autobots for a few issues now, but we now learn that Greenlight and Gauge joined her.
• Soundwave appears to be under the impression that Ruckus is still comatose, and no-one seems to deny this. We learned he (really Exarchon) joined the Decepticons last issue, so maybe they're just letting anyone join, without going through Sixshot and the others now?
• Gridlock mentions that his body was taken by Termagax to try and figure out the weapon that killed him. We have seen his head amongst her belongings whenever we've seen inside "House". This also implies that she probably doesn't know the answer still though.
• Roughstuff has lost his Decepticon badge since last issue, so maybe he only has it for when on duty?
• The Senate building being turned into a prison has been referenced since the uprising, but we actually see it here. The main Senate meeting room is holding the shackled Senators, who are being deprived of Energon until they join the Decepticons. The windows and holes in the walls and ceiling are also covered in energy grates that can slice up anything on contact.

IDW - Beast War #11

Title: Maximals Strike Back, Part 2

Written by: Erik Burnham

Art by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Editor: Jazmine Joyner

Supervising Editor: David Mariotte

Plot

Megatron is alerted to the Maximal's attack on the Darksyde, and leaves the ship to join the battle, only to get quickly ambushed by Dinobot, who wants revenge for his ambush and injuries in the past.

With most of the Predacons out, Rattrap, Cheetor and Nyx sneak into the Darksyde for their own missions.

Cheetor finds and attacks Blackarachnia, while Nyx makes her way to the engine room, to try and disable it, when Tarantulas attacks her, leading the two to fight again too.

Rattrap eventually finds Megatron's room, where he locates the Golden Disk, but thinks it might be trapped in some way, so he spends some time analysing the device holding it.

Outside, the other Maximals are fighting with the Predacons, with the Maximals only going for non-killing blows. Eventually, Razorbeast explains this to his Predacons friend, Skold, and says that they just want to recover the Golden Disk, when he is launched into the air by Terrorsaur, who leads him to one of the strange floating islands nearby, and drips him onto some volatile Energon crystals, causing them to detonate and seemingly kill the Maximal, devastating Skold.

Whilst fighting with Dinobot, Megatron notices that he's favouring his right side during their fight, meaning he's still injured from the previous fight, giving him the edge. Megatron prepares to kill his former soldier, when Optimus appears, and challenges Megatron himself.

Whilst everyone else continues their own fights, Terrorsaur reappears to Skold, and starts belittling Razorbeast and herself, causing Skold to snap. She tears Terrorsaur's spark out of his chest, leaving his body limp and turning grey, discarding the spark afterwards, simply saying that she always hated him...

Afterwards Skold finds an injured Waspinator, and says that they just lost Terrorsaur. Waspinator misunderstands that to mean that the Maximals killed him, and decalres that he'll avenge their friend, but Skold doesn't correct him, thinking about Razorbeast....

Characters

Maximal

Optimus Primal - Gorilla

Dinobot - Velociraptor

Rhinox - Rhino

Cheetor - Cheetah

Rattrap - Rat

Nyx - Bat

Razorbeast - Wild Boar Seemingly Killed by Terrorsaur

Predacon

Megatron - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Scorponok - Scorpion

Waspinator - Wasp

Tarantulas - Tarantula

Blackarachnia - Black Widow Spider

Skold - Alligator Snapping Turtle

Terrorsaur - Pteranodon Spark Torn from Body by Skold

Notes

• Megatron's rubber ducky appears to have regenerative powers, as it is shown healed from its destruction by the end of the issue.
• Okay, so after praising the series for not sidelining Razorbeast last issue, they seemingly kill him off this one...
• Terrorsaur's death is quite ironic too, since his new Kingdom toy is due out soon...I wonder if he'll come with a detachable Spark too?
• It's possible that Razorbeast and Terrorsaur could be revived in some way, since we've seen bots survive having their sparks removed in the past, and we never actually see Razorbeast getting killed, only an explosion...I think we may be looking at two of the Vok's future experiments...

IDW - Transformers Wreckers: Tread & Circuits #3

Written by: David Mariotte 

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Brittany Peer & Rebecca Nalty

Letters by: Val Lopez & Jake M. Wood

Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

The race is underway, but Mayhem, including Axer, quickly start attacking the track and the racers, killing at least Road Pig in the process, and severely injuring many others like Road Rocket, Override and Sideways.

The security force lose. Intact with the drones on the track, and send out troops to save anyone they can.

The Wreckers, as part of the race, manage to take down most of the Mayhem members, but are stopped by Security from finishing them off, unknown to the racers and Wreckers, the Mayhem members shed their Pretender shells to escape, while being obstructed from view by security.

Acer catches up wit Knock Out, who is in the front of the race, but the surgeon mocks him, bidding him farewell, as Breakdown shoots a missile at Axer, killing him on the spot, revealing his complicity bin this race-fixing plot!

Knock Out soon speeds into the stadium, winning the race, and being named as the new First Senator of Velocitron, with the remaining racers walking behind him, behind Breakdown.

The Wreckers meet up at the end of the race, and aren't happy with this result, and think something more is happening here...

Characters

Autobot/Wrecker

Thunderclash - Truck

Aileron - Jet

Hot Shot - Jeep

Ricochet - Car

Minerva - Car

Mayhem

Octopunch

Skullgrin

Submarauder

Axer Killed by Breakdown

Thunderblast - Boat Crushed by Racers

Slugslinger - Twin Nosed Jet Knocked Out by Hot Shot 

Velocitronian

Knock Out - Car

Breakdown - Armoured Van

Drag Strip - F1 Racer

Leadfoot - F1 Racer

Override - Race Car Blasted by Mayhem

Sideways - Motorcycle Crashed by Mayhem

Road Rocket - Motorcycle Skewered by Mayhem

Road Pig - Motorcycle Killed by Octopunch

Scrounge - Wheel

Signal Lancer - Traffic Light

Lickety-Split - Tricycle

RoadHauler - Crane

Clampdown - Police Car

Burn-Out - Van

Dirt Rocket - Motorcycle

Moonracer - Car

Armada Mirage - F1 Racer In Stasis Lock from Rockslide 

Orange Cybertron Crumplezone - Rocket Trike 

Green Cybertron Clocker - Convertible Crushed by Skullgrin 

Purple Armada Downshift - Race Car

Red/Yellow RID2015 Sideswipe - Car

Green RID2015 Quillfire - Van

Purple RID2015 Blurr - Race Car

White/Yellow RID2015 Blurr - Race Car

Light Blue RID2015 Blurr - Race Car

Other Racers

Sec-Ops Officers

Race Spectators

Other Medics (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Xaaron

Primus (Mentioned)

Iron Hope 100 (Mentioned)

Notes

• There are so many virtual redecoes and transplants from older series' this issue. I've tried to identify them all, but a few have probably passed over my head.
• On the note of virtual redecoes, I wouldn't be shocked of some of them (RoadHauler, Clampdown, Burn-Out, as well as the ones featured last issue, like Leadfoot and Knock Out) get new toys in the near future.
• Knock Out is mentioned as being endorsed by the Ascenticons...I'm gonna go out on a lead and say the results of this race were all part of Megatron's big plan for revolution...
• The use of the term "Ascenticon" here, means that this issue IS set earlier in the timeline than its contemporary comics.
• Submarauder is shown leaving a Pretender shell, with his inner robot designed to resemble a Prime Master figure. We can probably assume that Skullgrin and Octopunch have the same ability.
• The boys designed after the Museum guards from Robots in Disguise that I thought were just bouncers last issue, are shown to actually be part of Breakdown's corrupted security force.
• There's still no clue on whether Xaaron is a Velocitronian or just a visiting signatory yet...he just doesn't feel like a member of the speedy planet's population to me! 
• Axer is revealed to have been a member of Mayhem this issue, planning to overrule the Velocitronian way of deciding its leadership. However it also appears that the main force of Mayhem were also working with Breakdown and Knock Out to cause enough havok to enable Knock Out to win the race, before betraying and killing Axer...this is confusing!