TFNation - Animated: Trial & Error

Script: Chris McFeely and Jim Sorenson

Cover Art: Josh Perez

Chapter One Art and SFX by: Ed Pirrie

Chapter Two Art by: Herzspalter, Colour Assist from Nathalie Suter

Chapter Three Art by: Gavin Spence

Lettering by: Andrew Turnbull

Plot

At the Metroplex in Iacon, Alpha Trion has called Sari Sumdac as well as some of her Autobot allies, along with her father, to a meeting to discuss the situation with the Allspark. Whilst he is glad that the Allspark has returned to Earth, and under Autobot custody, he is worried that due to it missing several shards, due to being used to create several Transformers on Earth, it is not at full power. He wants Sari to go to the Well of Allsparks to return the Allspark to it, and restore it to full power, due to her noted natural affinity with it. Isaac Sumdac is at first upset with this idea, but agrees when Sari simply states that she has to do this, as she can feel something calling to her. Bumblebee and Bulkhead join her as her bodyguards, which Trion agrees to.

Meanwhile at the Fortress Maximus, Sentinel has officially announced Megatron's trial as a public event, that will be televised across the planet. Optimus is unsure about how this will go down, but Sentinel is sure he can handle any possible insurgencies caused by this with the help of his new Powermaster armour, and he has some plans for how to render Megatron helpless during the trial as well.

At Trypticon Prison, Megatron is musing in his cell, following the failed rescue attempt by Team Stunticon, leading to their imprisonment too. Megatron gets the attention of one of the Mini-Con guards and requests to send out a message...

Sari and her group are led to the foot of Metroplex, where a tunnel will lead them directly towards the Well, during their goodbyes, Alpha Trion receives a message that distracts him and the groups split up. Sari is in good spirits to finally travel to the centre of Cybertron and learn who she really is...until some time passes and she gets bored in the long tunnels. Along the way, Bulkhead finds some etchings on the walls that explains the story of how the Allspark was a holy object that creates Cybertronians, and was one day placed into a contained, built by a powerful individual using a hammer that fell from the skies, and became the symbol of the Cybertronian leader, aka, the Magnus. Bumblebee interjects that the story is just a fairy-tale that was made up to show how strong the Autobots are. Bulkhead keeps on reading, and learns that the primitive Cybertronians created Centurion Droids to guard the Well from anyone who may want to harm it, including the monsters in the tunnels. Bumblebee dismisses the idea of monsters in the tunnels...until one appears behind them and attacks the group!

Elsewhere, at the Metroplex, Optimus Prime has been summoned by Alpha Trion on Megatron's request for him to act as his defendant, due to him being honourable and Megatron not trusting Sentinel to fairly conduct the trial. Though wary of the decision, the two Autobots agree to this request. At the Fortress Maximus, Sentinel is talking with a mysterious individual over the communicator, when he is interrupted by Cliffjumper informing him about Optimus' appointment as Megatron's defendant. He screams loud enough to interrupt the protestors below his office (they're unhappy with how the Decepticon prisoners are being treated)

Back in the tunnels, Sari and the others encounter another monster, and are trapped in a large spider-web. Soon, Blackarachnia appears along with Waspinator, and reveals that the two monsters are two of her new Predacons, Inferno and Antagony. Sari questions how she survived the transwarp explosion that seemed to kill her on Dinobot Island. Blackarachnia doesn't go into too much detail, but explains that she got the attention of the Decepticons by using residual transwarp energy from Waspinator's body. Arachnia plans to experiment on Sari to explore her technorganic origins to further her own research, but Sari uses her blades to free herself and the Autobots from the web, and run away...right into a chamber filled with Centurion Droids guarding the Well of Allsparks!

At the Jekka Amphitheatre, Sentinel begins the trial of Megatron, and reveals his plan to humiliate the Decepticon leader, by having him carted in on a pedestal, reduced to only his head. Alpha Trion reads Megatron a list of the crimes he is being tried for, and he declares himself as "Not Guilty". Sentinel screams at Megatron for his plea of innocence, and starts calling witnesses against the Decepticon...

In the Well Chamber, the Centurions prepare to attack the Autobots to defend the Well from attackers, but stop when they see Sari is carrying the Allspark, and declare their loyalty to her. The Predacons enter the chamber, and the Centurions attack them, in order to protect both the Allspark and it's bearer. Sari and the Autobots run towards the Well's inner chamber, whilst the Predacons are distracted.

They enter the inner chamber, and the Allspark reacts to the Well, and levitates itself into the Well. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the ghost of Prowl appears from the Well, and thanks Sari for what she just did, then shares the Allspark's power with her and the other Autobots to show her why she was created. The Allspark can see through history and knows everything that will ever happen, so it sent a special Protoform, designed to perfectly mimic humans when it was touched by one, and was able to access the full powers of the Allspark itself, to Earth as it knew it would eventually wind up there. Prowl fades back into the Allspark, but issues one last mission from it to Sari and the others...

Back at the trial, the witnesses, aka the inner-circle Decepticons, are declaring how Megatron will conquer Cybertron, and are making it so much harder for Optimus to defend him. Optimus eventually gets his turn to call witnesses, which Optimus simply calls one, Megatron himself.

Megatron addresses the court and paints himself as a freedom fighter against the oppressive Autobots, and claims that all of his actions were to protect Cybertron. The crowd appears to be wavering to his way of thinking, which Optimus suddenly realizes was Megatron's plan all along, to corrupt a younger generation of Cybertronians who never experienced the war, and to ensure Optimus made it happen

Trion calls for order in the court, but Megatron comments that it was long enough. Optimus notices this, as well as a beeping sound from Sentinel's wrist, just as one of the walls cave in, and Team Chaar, led by Strika, break in. The Autobots charge against them, whilst Sentinel sneaks away to get into his Powermaster armour, only to be disabled by Scalpel slicing into his neck and disabling him.

With Sentinel disabled, Strika has the rest of the team release a new body for Megatron, which he is attached to by Scalpel, greatly pleasing the Decepticon....

Inside Omega Supreme, Ratchet is too preoccupied on watching the trial on the monitors to notice that Cyclonus has entered the medical bay, and is heading towards Ultra Magnus, planning to kill the Autobot's true leader.

Megatron tears through the Autobots with his new triple changer body, leading to the Autobots being outpowered, and the remaining Decepticon prisoners being freed and joining the battle. Suddenly the Autbots, Predacons, Centurions and Sari from the tunnel are plonked into the court, having been teleported there by the Allspark. Sari is now fused with Allspark power, and shares a vision into the past with everyone present. Sentinel was contacted by Strika earlier, claiming to want Megatron executed during his trial, so she can take full command of the Decepticons, then Sentinel can "defeat" them using his new armour to be the hero for all of Cybertron. Which he agreed to.

In the aftermath of this revelation, the Autobots pretty much disown Sentinel, and Megatron gloats on his inevitable victory, however Optimus has taken the Powermaster armour, and wears it himself (much to Sentinel's horror), with the Magnus Hammer in hand to boot. Optimus and Megatron lead their respective armies in a final battle to decide Cybertron's fate once and for all.

Sari slips away to get to Omega Supreme, where she exposes Cyclonus' assassination attempt before he is successful, having been warned of it by the Allspark, she uses her new powers to recreate the Allspark Key and uses it to power up Ratchet, allowing him to overpower and blast Cyclonus out of the ship.

The battle at the court is fairly even, however Sari arrives to help out Optimus, she uses her abilities to superchange the Magnus Hammer, which exudes the Allspark energy throughout it, and Optimus, allowing Optimus to charge at Megatron, and cleave his head back off the Triple Changer body, defeating him, and dissuading the other Decepticons...

Some time later, the defeated Decepticons have been captured, and forced to work in the Nucleon mines, Megatron, still just a head, is under heavy guard and Alpha Trion has been named the new interim-Magnus. Sentinel has been demoted and removed from the Elite Guard, and now works as a repair-bot with Hosehead, Nightbeat and Siren, who are driving him mad. Optimus has been given Sentinel's old position in the Guard, and Sari is now the official liaison to the Allspark.

Optimus visits Ultra Magnus to tell him all about this, but just as he goes to leave...Ultra Magnus wakes up, and says that he was wrong when he told Optimus that he wasn't a hero...

The End.

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Missile Truck Comes off Life Support

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Sentinel (Magnus) - Cybertronian Truck Loses Rank

Alpha Trion

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Ratchet - Ambulance

Prowl - Police Motorcycle Dead, Part of Allspark

Jazz - Sports Car

Arcee - Sports Car

Rodimus Prime - Car

Ironhide - Treaded Vehicle

Red Alert - Ambulance

Brawn - Treaded Vehicle

Hot Shot - Car

Jetfire - Jet

Jetstorm - Jet

Safeguard - Jet Twin Combiner

Perceptor - Mobile Laboratory

Wheeljack - Race Car

Cliffjumper - Car

Autotrooper - Treaded Vehicle

Horsepower - Motorcycle

Sparkride - Motorcycle

Omega Supreme - Starship Orion

Dug Base - Mobile Platform

Leader-1

Grindor

High Wire

Jackpot - Car

Ransack - Motorcycle

Rattletrap - Motorcycle

Scrounge - Wheel

Lickety-Split - Motor-Trike

Lightbright - Hovercraft

Seaspray - Hovercraft

Wheelie - Car

Moscardo - Car

Tap-Out - Car

Mirage - Race Car

Tracks - Car

Botanica - Car

Glyph - Car

Warpath - Radar Tank

Chase - Car

Cosmos - Mobile Observatory

Rosanna

Sedan - Car

Ferak - Car

Star Upper

Dai Atlas

Chromia - Motorcycle

Hosehead - Snow Plough Pick Up Truck

Nightbeat - Sports Car

Siren - Hatchback

Cybertron Civilians/Crowd Filler

Powered Convoy Magnus - Armoured Vehicle (Flashback Only)

Wreck-Gar - Garbage Truck (Allspark Vision Only)

Blurr - Race Car (Allspark Vision Only)

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Allspark Vision Only)

Snarl - Triceratops (Allspark Vision Only)

Swoop - Pternodon (Allspark Vision Only)

Shattered Glass Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Allspark Vision Only)

Shattered Glass Bumblebee - Hatchback (Allspark Vision Only)

Decepticon - All implied to be incarcerated by end

Megatron - Tank/Jet, Formerly Osprey Helicopter Incarcerated

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Lugnut - Bomber Plane

Shockwave - Tank/Crane/Lomgarm

Strika - Battle Tank

Oil Slick - Motorcycle

Cyclonus - Space Jet

Sky-Byte - Bomber Plane

Scalpel

Mindwipe

Blot - Treaded Vehicle

The Motor Master - Truck

Drag Strip - Sports Car

Wildrider - Muscle Car

Dead End - Sports Car

Breadown - Race Car

Toxitron - Truck

Reflector - Light Cannon (Flashback Only)

Straxus - Jet (Flashback Only)

Starscream - Harrier Jet (Allspark Vision Only)

Slipstream - Harrier Jet (Allspark Vision Only)

Ramjet - Harrier Jet (Allspark Vision Only)

Skywarp - Harrier Jet (Allspark Vision Only)

Sunstorm - Harrier Jet (Allspark Vision Only)

Swindle - SUV (Allspark Vision Only)

Soundwave - Van (Allspark Vision Only)

Dirt Boss - Fork Lift Truck (Allspark Vision Only)

Scrapper - Excavator (Allspark Vision Only)

Mixmaster - Bulldozer-Mixing Truck (Allspark Vision Only)

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt (Allspark Vision Only)

Predacon - All implied to be incarcerated by end

Blackarachnia - Spider

Waspinator - Wasp

Inferno - Wasp

Antagony - Wasp

Other Cybertronian

Sari Sumdac - Young Human Woman

Centurion Droids

Primitive Cybertronians (Carvings Only)

Lockdown - Muscle Car (Allspark Vision Only)

Shattered Glass Sari Sumdac - Young Human Woman (Allspark Vision Only)

Human

Isaac Sumdac

Master Disaster (Allspark Vision Only)

Headmaster (Allspark Vision Only)

Slo-Mo (Allspark Vision Only)

Professor Princess (Allspark Vision Only)

Angry Archer (Allspark Vision Only)

Nanosec (Allspark Vision Only)

Porter C. Powell (Allspark Vision Only)

Meltdown (Allspark Vision Only)

Other

A Rocklord (Allspark Vision Only)

Kremzeek (Allspark Vision Only)

Notes

• This is a non-canon comic made for TFNation 2017 to help conclude the Animated TV series. It also has visual references to previous follow-up comics/stories, The Stunti-Con Job and The Return of Blurr.
• This comic utilizes some plans and concepts for the fourth season of Animated, a lot of which could be found in the Allspark Almanac books.
• This story is introduced by Vector Prime, simply explaining that he wanted to finally give some resolution to this universe. This design was made by Andrew Turnbull, the letterer for this comic.
• The new Centurion Droids were designed by Cover Artist, Josh Perez
• The two new Predacons, Antagony and Inferno, as well as Blackarachnia's new colour-scheme were first shown in the Almanacs
• One big difference in this comic to the information from the Almanac is that Ultra Magnus was going to eventually succumb to his injuries, but here he manages to survive.
• In the original plan, Megatron's trial would have been interrupted by Trypticon Prison being launched into space and towards Earth, leading to his experimentations with Blackarachnia to create his new Triple Changer body. This was fast-tracked here of course.
• The new Powermaster armour, which can be used by both Optimus and Sentinel is a detail lifted from the plans for the franchise from the Almanacs, though here we actually see it in full colour rather than a resin prototype.
• Unnamed here, the figure shown in the flashback to early Cybertron is Powered Convoy Magnus, the precursor to Ultra Magnus.
• The rat seen in the sewers is based on the Special Edition Japanese Metals Rattle (Rattrap) toy
• Quite a lot of the crowd-filler characters are generics, which seems a bit odd, since a lot of characters from the Almanacs didn't appear in this book, including most of the multitudes of Bumblebee mould-mates
• Amongst the crowd-fillers is a white Bumblebee remould with long ears. I'm not sure why, but I get a Ferak vibe from him, and so I will name him that! :D
• The flashback to Omega Supreme during the war is based on a planned scene from Transwarped that was scrapped, where Straxus and Reflector were due to appear too.
• The view into time from the Allspark shows us a few more aborted plot lines, including the Constructicons working on creating the Devastator Combiner, the Shattered Glass Animated Universe, and even the line up of the Autobots on Earth for Season Four (Ironhide, Elite Guard Bumblebee and Ratchet, all in new colours)
• Prowl returning as an Allspark ghost was also a planned plot point too, though he would have possessed other Allspark-powered Transformers in the series proper
• Megatron's new Triple Changer mode was first shown in the Allspark Almanac as well, in the series it would have been made by studying Blitzwing, but removing the insanity part, but here it was just gifted to him by Blackarachnia. His head was based on his first Beast Machines body
• The epilogue gives us a nice little bit of vengeance for Optimus, he swaps ranks with Sentinel, with Sentinel becoming a repair-bot, and Optimus becoming second-in-command for Alpha Trion, the new Acting-Magnus.
• Whilst it is unsaid, it seems likely that when Sari used the Allspark Key on Ratchet, the energies helped to heal Ultra Magnus, leading to his ultimate revival.
• Megatron's guards in the Epilogue are the very obscure characters Horsepower and Sparkride from the Jet Twin toy tie-in comic.
• I can understand Dirge and Thrust not getting shown in the Allspark vision...but where is Thundercracker?!

Fun Pub - The Return of Blurr!!

Plot

Sari joins Arcee's class on a tour of Metroplex so she can learn more about her Cybertronian origins, however her new classmates, Siren, Nightbeat and Hosehead all seem a bit disgusted by her organic nature, and her eating habits.

Arcee takes the class through the Cybertronian Intelligence Division offices, and Sari notices a disposal hatch to dump the remains of her lunch in, when she falls through the hatch.

At the bottom of the hatch, she touches a blue cube, that reacts with her residual Allspark energy and reactivates the spark of Blurr inside. Blurr explains how Shockwave crushed him into a cube and had Cliffjumper unknowingly dispose of him down the hatch.

Sari uses her tech-savvy powers to find an exit to the incinerator, when she accidentally activates an old Decepticon trap called Kremzeek...

Arcee and the rest of the class are inside the Council Chambers and realize that Sari is missing. The group start to look for her, when they hear an announcement about an intruder in the recycling center, leading to the class assuming it to be Sari.

Sari and the Blurr cube find themselves on a conveyor belt in the recycling center. Kremzeek reveals himself, and activates the conveyor belt, sending the two heroes towards a furnace, luckily however, Arcee and the other students manage to rescue them before they get killed by jamming the belt and other machinery.

Arcee speaks with Sari and Blurr about what is happening, but before long Kremzeek jumps into Nightbeat and tries to use her to get himself to Fortress Maximus so he can destroy the Autobots. Arcee manages to use a control panel to lock down the room, then attacks her possessed pupil with her laser blades.

Kremzeek jumps out of Nightbeat and into Siren, who uses his sonic powers to blow a hole into the wall. Hosehead tries to stop him from escaping by using his foam cannons, but Kremzeek switches bodies to Hosehead and runs away through the hole in the wall.

Sari transforms her scooter into her jet pack and catches Hosehead before he can reach Fortress Maximus, however Kremzeek instead jumps into the jetpack, ejects Sari from it and takes off at top speed.

All seems lost until Sari uses her strange powers to plug Blurr into her backpack and take on his super-speed powers, and Arcee tags along by holding onto her.

Sari and Arcee speed through Cybertron, going past Cheetor and Sideswipe, who are on patrol at the time, and head towards Fortress Maximus.

At Trypticon prison, Shockwave realizes that Kremzeek has been activated and is about to destroy everything. Shockwave admits to Megatron that he didn't intend to be on Cybertron when he was activated, much to Megatron's disappointment.

Inside the control center at Fortress Maximus, Jetfire and Jetstorm are manning their posts with Sentinel Magnus when Kremzeek lands inside the Fortress and takes it over, and begins to activate the photon pulse cannon, and points it towards the city if Iacon.

Sari, Arcee and the Blurr cube enter the room, and Sari manages to force Kremzeek into her body, however due to her being Techo-Organic he cannot fully control her. Arcee tells Sari that they need to contain Kremzeek somewhere. Sari remembers the soda bottle that she forgot to dispose of earlier and spits Kremzeek inside it, and seals it up, saving the day!

Later, at the CyberNinja Dojo, Optimus and Jazz use the Allspark fragments inside the Matrix to fully repair Blurr's body. Sari's classmates all sum up what they learned from the experience and Blurr happily races around the dojo, trying to find out what to do next, now that he is fully formed (and TFA season 4 was never produced).

Characters

Autobot

Arcee - Cybertronian Sports Car

Hosehead - Pick Up Truck

Nightbeat - Cybertronian Sports Car

Siren - Hatchback

Blurr - Cybertronian Race Car

Cheetor - Cybertronian Race Car

Sideswipe - Cybertronian Sports Car

Sentinel Magnus - Pick Up Truck

Optimus Prime - Truck

Jazz - Sports Car

Jetfire - Cybertronian Jet

Jetstorm - Cybertronian Jet

Cliffjumper - Cybertronian Car (Mentioned)

Bumblebee - Hatchback (Mentioned)

Ratchet - Ambulance (Mentioned)

Bulkhead - SWAT Van (Mentioned)

Prowl - Police Motorcycle (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Megatron - Helicopter Incarcerated in Trypticon

Shockwave/Longarm Prime - Cybertronian Tank/Crane Incarcerated in Trypticon

Starscream - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Skywarp - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Other

Sari Sumdac - Human Girl

Kremzeek Trapped in Soda Bottle

Original Longarm (Mentioned) Disposed of by Shockwave

Ultra Magnus - Armoured Missile Truck (Mentioned) Near Death from Shockwave Attack

Tutor-Bot (Mentioned)

Isaac Sumdac (Mentioned)

Notes

• This storybook is based on the 2015 Botcon script reading
• Due to this being based on a live script reading, it includes various fourth wall breaks, I'll be ignoring them here where possible however, unless it seems pertinent for the plot etc.
• This story is set during the Stunti-con Job comic story.
• The "Headmaster Jrs" is a title normally given to the repaint variants of these characters from Japanese continuities (Shuta, Cab and Minerva)
• The three Headmaster Jrs use existing character models, like with many background characters in comics. Siren uses Bumblebee's body, Hosehead uses Sentinel Prime's, and Nightbeat uses Arcee's. Out of the three of them, only Nightbeat was fully revealed before this story as she appeared in the Complete Allspark Almanac.
• The trio also feature exaggerated gimmicks, Siren screams everything, Nightbeat tries to use her detective skills on everything, and Hosehead is Canadian....yup...that's the joke!
• This story shows that Blurr was probably killed when he was crushed by Shockwave, but Sari revived him with the Allspark Key energy residues inside her.
• In this continuity Kremzeek was a Trojan horse program made by Shockwave to disrupt Autobot systems and other technology....why is he a popular image amongst the Autobots in drinks etc then!?
• Arcee was given her laser blades (from the toy) from Ratchet, who was attempting to make her pointers for her lectures.
• This story indicates that the Fortress Maximus is not located in Iacon (as it aims it's gun towards the city)

IDW - Bots of Science

Plot

The Decepticons attack the Hydrax Plateau and the Autobots send in reinforcements to deal with them, shortly afterwards the Autobots lose contact with the troops stationed there, so Magnus sends Ratchet in to see if anyone is injured.

Ratchet arrives and finds everyone dead from Cosmic Rust exposure, but finds a Decepticon, Oil Slick alive amongst the bodies, Ratchet ignores Ultra Magnus' orders to leave him, as he's a Decepticon, but Ratchet doesn't listen, justifying it that the soldiers wouldn't have known the effects of cosmic rust.

Oil Slick reveals that he knows of a cure to Cosmic Rust, that he and Ratchet can create together to save him. The two of them work together to create the anti-virus and Ratchet uses it to cure his new friend, but after being cured Oil Slick attacks Ratchet and infects him, as he leaves however, Ratchet uses his magnets to steal the gun with the anti-virus in it and cures himself, then drives off back home, with the anti-virus in tow.

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Truck

Ratchet - Treaded Vehicle

Brawn - Van

Hubcap - Car

Warpath - Sonic Tank

Wideload

Lightspeed

Strafe

Vroom

Nosecone

Whirl

Powerglide - Treaded Vehicle

Scattershot

Rapier - Car Killed by Cosmic Rust

Override Killed by Cosmic Rust

Scorch Killed by Cosmic Rust

Boss Killed by Cosmic Rust

Fire Convoy Killed by Cosmic Rust

Swerve Killed by Cosmic Rust

Slamdance Killed by Cosmic Rust

Slapdash Killed by Cosmic Rust

Sizzle Killed by Cosmic Rust

Red Scientist

Blue Scientist

Other Soldiers Killed by Cosmic Rust

Decepticon

Oil Slick - Motorcycle

Tarantulas Killed by Cosmic Rust

Snap Dragon Killed by Cosmic Rust

Motor Master Killed by Cosmic Rust - Later revived in Stunti-Con Job

Gigatron Killed by Cosmic Rust

Sentinel Supreme Killed by Cosmic Rust

Other Soldiers Killed by Cosmic Rust

Notes

• This story is mostly identical to the regular IDW Animated comic release of this same story, except that this version had a few extra pages as a prologue and has lots of narrative added (as this is an adventures in reading book)
• Wow! Lookit all those cameo characters! I look forward to seeing them all later in other med-Oh they're all dead....
• Some of the cameo characters (RID Optimus, Cybertron Megatron) already have existing counterparts in TFA, so I'll just use their Japanese names for the character lists instead
• Saying that though, Motormaster is later seen in the Botcon 2011 toyline and comic, and it was explained that following his "death" here he was repaired and placed in a new body
• The cosmic rust cure is later used off-screen on Rodimus after Oil Slick infected him in Season 3
• The Red scientist looks a bit like an altered Blurr, also one of the fighters looks like a yellow Blurr's vehicle mode.

IDW - Animated: The Arrival

Dispatches

Plot

Optimus and his team manage to defeat Megatron and keep the Matrix away from him by launching him out an airlock, causing him to burn up in orbit. Elsewhere the Auotbots and Decepticons all mourn their losses, and Isaac Sumdac finds Megatron's old head in a field.

At a later date, the Autobots have woken up, and save Detroit from a Nano-bot monster that was created by accident and become heroes and later become friends with the humans. Starscream picks up on footage of thise from his ship when Black Arachnia appears and they fight, leading to the Nemesis's crash on the Earth's moon. Black Arachnia however places a tracer on Starscream's back, so she can follow him to the Allspark's location (as he's found it).

The Autobots move into and old factory and during a ceremony, Starscream arrives and attacks them, leading to a fight between them for possession of the Allspark, which Optimus wins.

The activation of the Allspark alerts the Transformers elsewhere in the universe to the Allspark's location, and they start heading there.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (Former Cybertronian Truck Cab)
Bumblebee - Hatchback (Former Cybertronian Car)
Ratchet - Ambulance (Former Cybertronian Treaded Vehicle)
Prowl - Police Motorcycle (Former Cybertronian Motorcycle)
Bulkhead - SWAT Van (Former Cybertronian Bulldozer)
Ultra Magnus - Cybertronian Truck
Jazz - Cybertronian Car
Sentinel Prime - Cybertronian Plough
Longarm - Cybertronian Crane
Blurr - Cybertronian Race Car
Other Autobots

Decepticon

Megatron - Cybertronian Jet Reduced to a Head

Blitzwing

Lugnut

Black Arachnia - Spider

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Other Decepticons

Human

Sari Sumdac

Isaac Sumdac

Captain Fanzone

Mayor Edsel

Detroit Civilians

Other

Sparkplug

Notes

• This is set during the opening movie of Transformers Animated, showing the events from other perspectives
• Blurr is seen in this comic in various places, but usually from behind
• Sentinel and Longarm's insignia's were switched in this comic, Sentinel should have the Elite Guard one, and Longarm shouldn't have it
• Also it's implie din this comic that Sentinel fought in the great wars as well, even though he's too young, like Opitmus.
• The Nemesis crashes on Earth's moon because Starscream and Black Arachnia fought on it and caused it to crash, also Black Arachnia knows where Earth is because She placed a tracer on Starscream's back. It's shown how she reached the planet in a later issue.
• It seems that the Elite Guard picked up the Allspark's signal in this issue, but it takes them much longer to arrive on Earth than the Decepticons take.

Attention Surplus Disorder

Plot

Bumblebee and Prowl accidentally reveal that local super hero, The Wraith is a phony and uses holograms to fight crime, and he vows revenge on the Autobots. He tricks Bumblebee into ending up in a wheel clamp, and then uses his holograms to look like the Autobot and at.tack innocent people. Eventually Bumblebee gets free and exposes this, along with the other Autobots.

The Wraith ends up in a mental hospital.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Ratchet - Ambulance

Prowl - Police Motorcycle

Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Human

The Wraith

Angry Archer

Colossus Rhodes

Detroit Residents

Notes

• It seems that car wheel clamps can stop a Transformer from transforming...at least for a while...

Whatever Happened to Whatisname?

Plot

Starscream wakes up after the fight with Optimus in Detroit low on power when Professor Princess appears and helps to "fix" him by making him look more pretty. Starscream gets angry and Princess attacks him with her energy weapons, which repowers him, and he gets ready to kill her, when she shows him a recordng of him looking pretty, and says she'll send it to everyone (maybe even reaching th Decepticons). Starscream decides to leave, not knowing he still have some pretty pictures on his back.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (Flashback)

Decepticon

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Human

Professor Princess

Other

Powdered Sugar

Notes

• HA! Starscream in his prety colours is funny!
• Powdered Sugar seems to be somewhat sentient, as when Screamer grabs it, it's eyes go very wide and frightened

Stilletto

Plot

One of the Sumdac labs is ranacked by Stiletto, who has stolen and metal that can basically cut through anything, and goes on the run.

The Autobots chase her but manage to stop her on a bridge before she can do too much damage.

It's revealed after the fact that Megatron hired Stiletto to test out the metal on the bridge for him to use for his  new sword when he gets a body back.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab
Bumblebee - Hatchback
Ratchet - Ambulance
Prowl - Police Motorcycle
Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Decepticon

Megatron (Head only)

Human

Isaac Sumdac

Captain Fanzone

Stiletto

Detroit Police

Notes

• Despite being the (mis-spelt) titular character, Stiletto doesn't actually talk
• Stiletto's heels are made of the same metal later used for Megatron's swords
• The bike Stiletto steals seems to be based on Movie Arcee

'Bots of Science

Plot

Ratchet is sent into a warzone where everyone is dead, thanks to an outbreak of Cosmic Rust. He finds a Decepticons survivor, Oil Slick, who helps him design an anti-dote, which saves Oil Slick's life, however Oil Slick thanks him by infecting him and well and drives away at full speed.

Rtachet manages to use his electromagnetic abilities to grab the antidote again and cures himself, and drives back home with it for future use.

Characters

Autobot

Ratchet - Cybertronian Treaded Vehicle

Ultra Magnus (Voice)

Decepticon

Oil Slick - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Other

Dead Guys Killed by Cosmic Rust

Notes

• This comic was later adapted into another book for an even younger audience, and featured many recognizable cameos
• This comic also introduces Cosmic Rust and Oil Slick into the Animated continuity, both would later appear in Transwarped. This comic also shows that there is a cure to Cosmic Rust, so fans of Rodimus should be happier about that appearance.

The Insincerest Form of Flattery

Plot

Porter C. Powell starts rebranding some vehicles based on Bulkhead's vehicle mode as "The bulkhead" and makes them very popular, much to Bulkhead's annoyance. Later when chasing Angry Archer and Professor Princess he discovers that the vehicles are really dangerous and explode with very little cause.

Powell sets up a contest where people customize theit vehicles, which Sari and Bulkhead enter in disguise, and kidnap Powell, forcing him to reveal the faults in the engines on live TV, forcing him to end this line of vehicles.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab
Bumblebee - Hatchback
Ratchet - Ambulance
Prowl - Police Motorcycle
Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Human

Sari Sumdac

Porter C. Powell

Angry Archer

Professor Princess

Carly

Spike

Daniel

Civilians

Other

Powdered Sugar

Notes

• This comic shows a lot of possible repaints of Bulkhead
• A nice little added piece in this comic is that when Bulkhead transforms from his repainted vehicle mode, the paint is still on his robot mode (which is something that sometimes gets forgotten in comics.
• I wonder is his paint job was thanks to Electronic Paint, or just normal?

A Few Loose Strands

Plot

Lockdown arrives on the Moon at the Nemesis' wreckage and starts looking for more clues about where Optimus is (as he's been hired to find the one who destroyed Megatron) and he finds Black Arachnia, and the two fight it out, resulting in Black Arachnia winning.

Lockdown later wakes up and finds the fem-bot gone, but decies to ignore it and ehads to Earth, takes on an alternate mode and goes to hunt Optimus down. Black Arachnia leaves the ship and goes into the city herself as well, looking forward to seeing Opitmus once again.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime (On Screen)

Bumblebee (On Screen)

Ratchet (On Screen)

Bulkhead (On Screen)

Decepticon

Black Arachnia - Spider

Blitzwing (Flashback)

Lugnut (Flashback)

Oilslick - Cybertronian Motorcycle (Flashback)

Megatron (Mentioned)

Starscream (Mentioned)

Other

Lockdown - Muscle Car

Notes

• This issue shows Lockdown and Black Arachnia arriving on Earth, in time for their appearances in the series.
• The Nemesis computer shows the Ark's crew as missing Prowl, this is appropriate because he joined the crew AFTER the mission began and was just a tag-along.
• Black Arachnia absorbs a load of Lockdown's upgrades, and it hurts her

Survival Skills

Plot

Optimus is in a simulated environment on a test and fights Megatron, the Decepticon in the end wins, but Ultra Magnus congratulates the cadet on his good work.

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Cybertronian Truck

Optimus - Cybertronian Truck Cab

Elita - Cybertronian Car

Sentinel - Cybertronian Plough

Decepticon

Megatron - Cybertronian Jet (Virtual)

Notes

• Most of this issue is set in a virtual reality setting

Everything Must Go

Plot

Blitzwing is contacted by Lockdown, who has captured Opitmus Prime, and Lugnut gets angry that his partner hired a bounty hunter, despite their lack of honour. The two of them keep having all out battles, with Swindle arriving and outfitting both of them with over-the-top weapons to keep fighting. In the end the two realize that Swindle is just escalating their fighting for a profit, so they turn on him, and leave him in a crumpled mess on the floor.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Fire Truck Cab (On Screen)

Decepticon

Blitzwing

Lugnut

Swindle

Megatron (Mentioned)

Other

Lockdown - Muscle Car (On Screen)

Notes

• This issue introduces Swindle long before he'd appear in the TV series (continuity wise)
• Swindle has many, many weapons that he sells to the two Decepticons, many seem to be based on previous weapons in the franchise
• This issue shows the other side of the conversation seen in Thrill of the Hunt between Blitzwing and Lockdown over the communicator

First (and Second) in Flight

Plot

The Autobot Elite Guard have captured Starscream and take scans, however Starscream escapes shortly. The guard then begin a new prject to create Auotbots with flight capabilities. They take in the almost dead bodies of two twins, who are refitted with the flight capabilities they scanned from Starscream.

The twins are taken through traing, where they quickly become arrogant, but with due reason to be.They run out of training exercizes, so Perceptor designs a virtual exercize using Starscream's data to create a virtual enemy for them, however the program starts to take over the program, which begins to overload.

In the "game" the twins learn how to use their elemental abilities and even how to combine into Safeguard as well, and defeat the programs, freeing themselves.

After they finish they are promoted into the Elite Guard and sent with Sentinel and Jazz to Earth to hunt down the fugitive Wasp.

Characters

Autobot

Jetfire - Jet

Jetstorm - Jet

Safeguard - Gestalt Jet

Ultra Magnus - Rocket Truck

Jazz - Sports Car

Sentinel Prime - Snow Plough

Perceptor - Cybertronian Mobile Lab

Wheeljack - Cybertronian Race Car

Red Alert - Cybertronian Race Car

Horsepower - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Sparkride - Cybertronian Motorcycle

Pre-Jet Twins - Cars Rebuilt as Jetfire and Jetstorm

Other Autobots

Decepticon

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Starscream Program - Harrier Jet Destroyed by Jet Twins

Other

Wasp - Cybertronian Car

Notes

• This story shows how the Elite Guard used Starscream's data to create Jetfire and Jetstorm from two "dead" Autobots, and also shows their whole accelerated training, and their mission of hunting Wasp down begins
• This was originally sold only with the Safeguard toy set, but was included in this comic TPB
• Sentinel wanted to call both the twins "Jetfire" originally, but this mistake was pointed out to him by Jetfire himself.

Titan - Movie Volume 1 #24

Basic Information

Cover Characters: Starscream and Megatron

Cover Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt & Jason Cardy

Cover Date: May 2009

Price: £2.99

Comic Title: Revolution Part 2

Script: Simon Furman

Pencils: Andrew Griffiths

Inks: Gary Erskine

Colours: Digikore

Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft

Comic Plot

Starscream informs his troops that the Autobots are all dead, and sends them out to retake Earth for the Decepticons. At her home in Falls Church, Mikaela is depressed whilst watching footage of the ship's destruction.

The Decepticons begin a rampage, and none of the Military are allowed to intervene due to the mind control devices on their commanders, all hope is lost.

That is..until Stockade and his New Decepticons arrive. Stockade confronts Hardtop, who is powerless against the powerful Decepticon. Stockade has his team located the Fulcrum unit to Hardtop's team and has Fracture take control of it, turning all of Hardtop's Payload troops against him. Hardtop surrenders to Stockade and joins forces with him against Starscream.

Blackout reports Hardtop's defection to Starscream and says that Mudflap has either defected as well or was killed. Starscream is losing it at his base when suddenly he envisions Megatron telling him to revive him.

On Cybertron/Unicron the Autobots, having survived the explosion, have set up lights and are working on something inside the planet.

Comic Characters

Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Longarm - Tow Truck

Strongarm - Jeep

Ironhide - Pick Up Truck

Armorhide? - Truck Cab?

Salvage - Pick Up Truck

Evac - Rescue Helicopter

Grindcore - Front End Loader

Camshaft - Sports Car

Skyblast - Jet

Arcee - Motorcycle

Bumblebee - Concept Camaro

Elita One - Motorcycle

Decepticons

Megatron (Ghost)

Starscream - F22 Jet

Thundercracker - F22 Jet

Mudflap - Crane (either killed by or defected to New Decepticons)

Hardtop - Military Buggy (defects to New Decepticons)

Barricade - Police Car

Blackout - Military Helicopter

Payload Drones - Vans (some defected to New Decepticons)

"New Decepticons"

Stockade - SUV

Overcast - Fighter Jet

Storm Surge - Hovercraft

Incinerator - Osprey Helicopter

Fracture - F1 Race Car

Humans

Mikaela Banes

General Seward

President Allen (mentioned)

Comic Notes

• Blackout was coloured like Evac in one scene...which is very confusing in the situation...
• Also Thundercracker was coloured like Dreadwing in the same panel...ANNOYING!!!
• And Hardtop like Brawl.....ARGGGHHH!!!!
• Mikaela is drawn VERY unhealthy looking in her scenes...well maybe she's been crying?
• The mind controlled humans are stopping any military from taking action against the Decepticons.
• Stockade and his New Decepticons finally arrive on Earth, but they attack Starscream's forces (under Optimus Prime's suggestion)
• Stockade and his team are still powered up with Nucleon
• Fracture can use her powers to take apart a Fulcrum (command) drone and reassemble it under her control (thus taking over all it's subsidiary troops
• Hardtop and maybe Mudflap have defected to the New Decepticons, otherwise Mudflap was killed.
• Starscream has had statues made up with his head on them in his base.
• This is the first named Decepticon Civil War since Marvel
• Megatron's intentions are made clear here, when he convinces Starscream to revive him.
• The Autobots are hiding out on Cybertron and are refitting it for something.....
• The Autobots in the last 2 panels are either in the wrong colours or aren't drawn in too much detail (they are background characters after all) But it IS possible to work out who is who from the available cast
• The scanning beam from Overcast is pure black...this was likely meant to be a different colour originally
• Storm Surge can fly....
• Remember the red variant Payloads from the early issues in this timeline? Well now they have green, purple and grey ones!

TFA Comic Title: Megatron's Revenge

Script: Simon Furman

Pencils & Inks: John McCrea

Colours: John Burns

Lettering: Andrew James

Comic Plot

Megatron is inside Autobot HQ and has just killed Afterburn, and reveals to Bumblebee that Afterburn was just a spy drone that he's created. Then he turns on attacking Bumblebee who has juts been joined by Sari and the other Autobots.

The Autobots attack Megatron, and start to get the upper hand, when Megatron calls for Starscream, Lugnut and Blitzwing to help him. Optimus begins to set up a plan, when Bumblebee attacks Megatron head on, whilst the Autobots and Deceptiocns continue their fight, and Starscream gets a plan.

Sari heals up Bumblebee with her key and the Autobots start to win the fight. Nearby Starscream takes advantage of this by blasting a metal scaffold which falls onto Megatron, aiming to kill him, but then decides to take advantage of the situation and pretends to rescue Megatron, regaining his trust somewhat. The Decepticons retreat on Starscream's orders, taking Megatron with them.

In the aftermath Optimus wonders if anything was really accomplished, with their base destroyed and exposed (Ratchet moans that it'll take weeks to fix up). Optimus congratulates Bumblebee on his actions today, whilst Bumblebee silently mourns Afterburn.

Comic Characters

Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Prowl - Police Motorcycle

Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Ratchet - Ambulance

Afterburn - Off Road Car (killed by Megatron)

Decepticons

Megatron - Osprey Helicopter (injured by Starscream)

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Blitzwing - Jet/Tank

Lugnut - Bomber Plane

Humans

Sari Sumdac

Comic Notes

• There is no additional front cover inside this issue for this comic, and the lettering is done by a different person than usual, both indications that this wasn't completely finished at the end of TFA's run, but was completed especially for this printing.
• Did...did Megatron load Afterburn into his cannon and fire it? DUDE!!!
• It's revealed here that Afterburn was a spark-less drone and never truly existed...despite him having feelings and so on
• Megatron seems to act more like a stereotypical villain in this issue rather than his normal portrayal
• Bumblebee seems really upset over Afterburn's death and even calls him his friend...despite the two not seeming to get along at all before hand
• Starscream is back with the Decepticons...despite being a fugitive in Season 2 and a talking head in Season 3...
• Optimus seems a bit cold here as well, as he basically tells Bumblebee to forget about "that drone"

Extra Features

Adverts

Competitions

Megatron Origin reprint - Part 11

Web Word - Black Arachnia's crossword puzzle

The Purple & the Red - Colour in the Front Cover from issue 20

Way Past Cool! - Bumblebee reviews some games

Mystic Megatron's Transformers Horror Scope! - Megatron gets out his tarot cards

Beast Wars: The Ascending reprint - Part 11

Top Gear - Win stuff and look at it!

Star Screams - Starscream's fan mail page

Arcee's Soulmates - Arcee's running out of eligible bachelors

Titan - Movie Volume 1 #23

Basic Information

Cover Characters: Brawl

Cover Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt & Jason Cardy

Cover Date: Spring 2009

Price: £2.99

Comic Title: Revolution Part 1

Script: Simon Furman

Art: Lee Bradley

Colours: Jason Cardy

Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft

Comic Plot

The Decepticons are attacking all across America again, demanding that the Autobots be forced off of Earth or they'll continue. General Seward informs Optimus that the President wants to cave in to the Decepticon's demands, to no one's surprise. Optimus tells Ironhide to prepare and he does.

President Allen tells America that he is giving into the Decepticon's demands and is forcing the Autobots off world. Starscream (with Megatron in his head) is glad and prepares his army to begin a full scale invasion again.

Mikaela and Bumblebee say goodbye in Falls Church (Mikaela's home) when Dropkick arrives and interrupts them. Bumblebee forces Dropkick into chasing him, where he tricks the Decepticon into flipping himself.

Later Bumblebee and Mikaela arrive at Andrew's Air Base, where the other Autobots are waiting and they leave on a space ship. President Allen orders a Patriot Missile to be launched at the ship and it detonates, seemingly killing all the Autobots, to Mikaela and Seward's great shock.

Comic Characters

Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Ironhide - Pick Up Truck

Bumblebee - Concept Camaro

Evac - Rescue Helicopter

Skyblast - Jet

Arcee - Motorcycle

Longarm - Tow Truck

Salvage - Pick Up Truck

Salvage - Sports Car

Decepticons

Megatron (Ghost)

Starscream - F22 Jet

Brawl - Tank

Wreckage - Personnel Carrier

Barricade - Police Car

Mudflap - Crane

Hardtop - Military Buggy

Blackout - Military Helicopter

Thundercracker - F22 Jet

Dreadwing - Fighter Jet

Crankcase - SUV

Payload Drones - Vans

Dropkick - Pick Up Truck (injured by Bumblebee)

Humans

Mikaela Banes

General Seward

President Allen

Comic Notes

• Despite being the prominent feature of the front cover, Brawl only appears in one scene
• General Seward was the guy from Hard Spark who learns with Optimus about Allen's true allegiance.
• I like how all but six of Starscream's troops at his base in Georgia are all Payloads....
• The truck Dropkick drives past when chasing Bumblebee is based on G1 Optimus
• The Autobots escaping in a ship and faking their deaths (SPOILER!) is similar to what happened in DOTM
• Noooo...The Mudflap here isn't the same guy as the Twin..

TFA Comic Title: Divebomb

Script: Simon Furman

Pencils & Inks: John McCrea

Colours: John Burns

Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft

Comic Plot

Swoop and Grimlock have a fight, and Swoop leaves. He harasses some Human Jets and get's the Autobots moaned at by General Macadam. Swoop arrives at Autobot base to see if he can stay there, but upon getting shouted at by Optimus, he leaves again in a huff.

The next day Macadam is overseeing the test of the Wraith-X jet when Starscream attacks the base and takes control of the Jet, sets it's coordinates to Autobot HQ and activates it's warhead.

Macadam calls Optimus to warn him about the warhead and to ask for his help, when Optimus learns that there's a transmission leaking from the base. Bumblebee goes out to find Swoop to help them, which he agrees to do since Afterburn helped him out in the past.

Swoop counters the jet, redirects the trajectory and forces it into the water to explode away from anyone. Swoop is held up as a hero and is allowed to sly around Detroit all he wants to

Later, Afterburn has returned to base after a Special Ops mission and contacts Megatron, saying that he's communications are being detected and that people are questioning his background story, when Bumblebee walks in and sees Megatron blast his way into the base to kill Afterburn in person.

Comic Characters

Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Ratchet - Ambulance

Prowl - Police Motorcycle

Bulkhead - SWAT Van

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Swoop - Pteranodon

Snarl - Triceratops

Afterburn - Off Road Car

Decepticons

Megatron - Osprey Helicopter

Starscream - Harrier Jet

Humans

General Macadam

Simmons (Army)

Sari (mentioned)

Comic Notes

• Divebomb was Swoop's original name in Marvel UK and Dreamwave
• This comic was originally meant to be Issue 4 of the TFA magazine, but it was cancelled at the last minute, so this issue, and the next two were printed up in the last 3 issues of Volume 1 of the Movie comics
• Swoop joins the main Autobot cast in this comic, yet is never seen from again in this comic series (even the next issue which is set moments after this one ends
• This comic is the only one of the "leftover" TFA comics that uses the usual lettering system, most likely because it was the only one completed when the comic was cancelled. It's also the only one with a complete-looking "front cover"
• Swoop and Grimlock's big fight is over the answer to a TV show (which Grimlock was wrong on)
• Snarl never speaks, but Swoop talks offscreen
• Swoop has a Batman thing going on in this issue
• Macadam is clearly a reference to Maccadam's Old Oil House (just spelt differently)
• Bumblebee can go upside down using just his feet
• Afterburn was a spy all along? E-GADS!
• The Jet's name (Wraith-X) may be a reference to the IDW TFA hero/villain called The Wraith

Extra Features

Adverts

Competitions

Megatron Origin reprint - Part 10

Cybertronian Residency Exam - See if you can be a Cybertronian

Trans Doku - TFA themed Sudoku...it's...bizarre....

Way Past Cool! - Bumblebee reviews games

Character Profile - Magmatron

Beast Wars: The Ascending reprint - Part 10

Top Gear - More expensive things to try and win and lust over

Autobots Assemble! - Transformers Drawing contest

Star Screams - Screamer's losing his rag...

Arcee's Soulmates - Laugh at the poor saps who write into her column!