IDW - Transformers #42

Title: Radical Time

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Andrew Lee Griffith

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Optimus laments the destruction of more of Cybertron's natural beauty by their war, and worries about what is happening in the Sonic Canyons, due to communications being bad there.

Meanwhile, at Darkmount, Termagax wants to create a data packet and capture a live Insecticlone, so they can use them to defeat the Insecticons in general.

Blaster and Glyph work together to create the program, whilst Hound, Glyph and Road Rage go on an Insecticlone hunt...

Meanwhile, Novastar's team are hunting for the Insecticon base, to try and take them out now, with Smokescreen following some drones to the fallen Titan mountain they are based at. He returns to the group, to have their fliers act as a decoy for the Insecticons to focus on, whilst the rest of the team can deal with them in person...

Optimus' group are on their route to Darkmount, when they are blocked by heavy fire from the Decepticons under Jhiaxus' crew, under the pretense of fighting off some Insecticons. Unfortunately the Rust Worms are closing in on the Autobots from the other side, blocking them in place.

Before Optimus can make his orders, he is pulled into the Matrix by the Mediator, who warns him of the Allspark being under attack by Exarchon, and tells him that if it is a taken by him, then all of Cybertron will fall....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ironhide - Van

Chromia - Car

Elita-1 - Car

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Highbrow - Helicopter

Perceptor

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Novastar - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Wheeljack - Car

Blaster

Tap-Out - Winged Hovercraft

Glyph - Car

Hound - Jeep

Road Rage - Flying Car

Javelin - car

Blades - Helicopter

Springer - Helicopter/Car

Smokescreen - Car

Pipes - Truck

Subsea - Submarine

Backstreet - Car

Groove - Motorcycle

Vibes

Cromar - Jet

Sideswipe - Car

Strongarm - Police Vehicle

Other Autobot Soldiers

Pyra Magna - Truck (Mentioned)

Sureshot - Buggy (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Jhiaxus - Jet

Heavywait - Tank

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Airwave - Battle Platform

Power Punch - Tank

Windsweeper - Jet

Red Wing - Jet

Thundercracker - Jet

Other Seekers - Jets

Other Decepticon Soldiers

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Strika - Battle Tank (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Termagax - Van

Insecticlones

Primus Within Matrix

Past Cybertronians Within Matrix

Mountain Titan Long Dead

Codexa (Flashback Only, Image used by Mediator)

Lodestar - Titan Ship (Mentioned)

Bombshell - Boll Weevil (Mentioned)

Exarchon (Mentioned)

Other

Rust Worms

The Mediator Within Matrix

Notes

• This marks the penultimate issue of the main series :( 
• Tap-Out and Glyph learned the language of SDS-359 during the Valentine's Special.
• Javelin has joined Novastars strike team, since their usual sniper, Sureshot, is based at the Sonic Canyons, as seen in War's End.
• Smokescreen is seemingly revealed to have a past with Bombshell, possibly being responsible for the Insecticons during their "clean-up missions" during the first war.
• Even though the Autobots and Decepticons are allied right now, Jhiaxus is forcing the Autobots to remain in one location, likely to either backstab them easier later, or to stop them from being seen as the heroes of this situation.
• The Mediator confirms that the Matrix chose Optimus to be it's next bearer. Previously it appeared that it just accepted him, following Sentinel's murder.