Skybound - Transformers #1

Writer, Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Colourist: Mike Spicer

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Editor: Sean Mackiewicz

Publication Design: Andres Juarez

Plot

Sparkplug is in a bar, drinking away his troubles, following the death of his son, Jimmy, during a rocket launch. His surviving son, Spike, wakes him up, but upsets him when his dad notices his last son with Jimmy's telescope. Sparkplug is picked up by his friend to take him to work, while Spike goes off stargazing with his girlfriend, Carly.

Spike and Carly hike up a mountain and start to set up, when an earthquake hits, and the two tumble into a new crevasse, landing inside a long lost Spacecraft, the Ark, filled with seemingly dead, giant robots.

Soon, another robot, Jetfire, flies in, and plants a cartridge into Teletraan-1, the ship's computer, which gives it information about Earth vehicles, and starts repairing the other robots...

The first to wake up is Starscream, who immediately shoots the nearby Bumblebee in the head, killing him, whilst thanking the shocked Jetfire. The latter tries to stop Starscream from continuing his slaughter, but is shot by his old friend in the torso.

Before he can finish off their saviour, Starscream is stopped by the newly revived Optimus Prime, who also soon notices his human voyeurs and works to protect them.

Ratchet is soon revived too, along with Skywarp, clueing Starscream to Teletraan reviving them at random, prompting him to start dragging the other Decepticons closer to the computer.

Optimus realises they will be outnumbered soon, so orders Ratchet to load as many of their fellow Autobots into his new trailer as he can, for them to escape.

Soundwave is revived next, attacking Optimus, who is distracted when he finds the body of Bumblebee, and mourns for his friend, bringing back memories for Spike...

Starscream ambushes Optimus when he is distracted, and Soundwave deploys Ravage to assist him, but the humans manage to push Optimus' Ion Blaster to him, allowing him to blast Ravage and avoid the other Decepticons. Knowing he'll be too outnumbered if he doesn't stop the revival process, Optimus shoots and badly damages Teletraan-1, before escaping with Ratchet, the downed Autobots and the humans.

Starscream and Skywarp give chase, but Skywarp is quickly depleted of his energy, forcing them to return to the Ark, but not before Jetfire tries to repent by defeating Starscream, only to be fatally injured by his old friend.

Spike directs the Autobots to an old quarry for them to hide out in, where Jetfire apologizes for his rash actions, and believes their planet, and species itself is doomed to death now...as he dies himself...

At the Ark, Soundwave reveals that Teletraan-1 is beyond their current repair capabilities, but if they have materials and Energon, they may be able to repair it, and revive the rest of the Decepticons. Starscream is pressured into doing a solo resource run, due to the others being energy-depleted, and him being their leader now

The Decepticon leader soon finds a power plant, where Sparkplug happens to be working, where he attacks the electrical pylons, he soon notices Sparkplug's scared friend, whom the Decepticon picks up, and crushes to death, laughing about how pathetic the life on this planet was...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Ratchet - Ambulance

Bumblebee Stasis Locked, Head blasted out by Starscream

Jazz Stasis Locked 

Cliffjumper Stasis Locked 

Prowl Stasis Locked 

Hound Stasis Locked 

Wheeljack Stasis Locked 

Windcharger Stasis Locked 

Other Autobots (Mentioned) Stasis Locked 

Decepticon

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Skywarp - Fighter Jet

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Ravage - Cassette Badly Injured by Optimus 

Thundercracker Stasis Locked

Reflector Stasis Locked 

Laserbeak - Cassette (Mentioned)

Megatron (Mentioned)

Other Decepticons (Mentioned) Stasis Locked 

Other Cybertronian

Jetfire - Cybertronian Jet Killed by Starscream

Teletraan-1 Destroyed by Optimus 

Human

Spike 

Carly

Sparkplug

Davey Killed by Starscream 

Danny

Jerry

Army Guy (Flashback) Likely Dead

Jimmy (Mentioned) Killed in Shuttle Explosion

Carly's Dad (Mentioned)

Notes

• This series follows on from Jetfire's departure in Void Rivals #1, with him making his way to Earth to wake up the Transformers (though I'm sure we'll learn how he found them and why he didn't go to Cybertron as he planned later)
• Of the characters on the Autobot cover of this issue, only Optimus and Ratchet are actually shown active this issue
• The Transformer character designs are based on the original designs of the characters from the 80s, unlike previous series where some level of toy synergy has been noted in recent years.
• Along with this, the series appears to be set around the 80s as well, with imagery of the Vietnam war and the (potential) Challenger explosion.
• Sparkplug is shown to be an ex-army guy, who lost a friend in war. I wonder if he'll be connected to GI Joe in this continuity?
• Spike is revealed to have had a brother named Jimmy, who died in a spacecraft explosion (who wants to bet that it'll be revealed to have been caused by a Cybertronian somehow?)
• The Cybertronians in this issue appear to be speaking in English, since the human characters don't need any translations.
• So...how do we think Bumblebee's going to be revived? GI Joe? Junkions? Something else?
• In the Marvel comics Teletraan believed that vehicles were the dominate form of life on Earth, here Jetfire knew the humans were, most likely due to his knowledge of other species (like the Aggorians and Zertonians)
• Optimus is shown to hold the Matrix in his chest at the moment, and reveals it has the power to heal, but not (seemingly) to revive the dead.
• Megatron is partially mentioned, but Starscream interrupts pointing out that HE is the leader now...what did you do to him Starscream?
• Sparkplug's friend is squished in front of him by Starscream...I think this version of the character will be anti-Cybertronian, like his Marvel counterpart.
• Jetfire knows Optimus' name, but didn't know he was the Prime yet, implying this version of the character was never known by an earlier name (like Orion Pax or Optronix)

IDW - Transformers #40

Title: A Dust of Crystals 

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Strika leads a large army of Decepticons to the edge of Crystal City, the last stand for the Autobots.

The Autobots, having sent all non-combatants to Darkmount for safety, make their final preparations for the upcoming battle, despite knowing they are likely to fall here.

The Decepticons start their assault, forcing the Autobots to hold them off, hoping to give time for their evacuees, and also hope for some reinforcements to arrive from space.

The battle for the city is tough, with many buildings being obliterated by the Decepticons, and the Autobots are all eventually forced to one fortified building, awaiting their fates.

Luckily however, the last Titan, Lodestar returns, still injured from her battle with Vigilem, but still towering over the city, bringing fear to the Decepticon army...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Pyra Magna - Truck

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ironhide - Van

Chromia - Car

Novastar - Car

Streetwise - Police Car

Smokescreen - Car

Arcee - Car

Greenlight - Car

Gauge - Energon Detector Machine

Ratchet - Ambulance

Sunstreaker - Car

Groundbreaker - Jet

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Jumpstream - Car

Groove - Motorcycle

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Elita-1 - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Sideswipe - Car

Strongarm - Van

Slapdash - Race Car

Bumper - Car

Vibes

Flareup - Motorcycle

Backstreet - Race Car

Kup - Pickup Truck

Flak - Tank 

Topshot - Tank

Sidetrack - Tank Killed by Obsidian

Sunrunner - Jet

Brawn - Van

Pipes - Truck

Subsea - Submarine

Crystal City Defenders

Perceptor (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Strika - Battle Tank

Obsidian - Helicopter

Blitzwing - Jet/Tank

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Lugnut - Jet

Heavywait - Van

Snaptrap - Turtle

Crasher - Race Car

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Barricade - Police Car

Ravage - Cassette

Weirdwolf - Wolf

Battleslash - Helicopter

Roadtrap - Van

Hotlink - Jet

Red Wing - Jet

Wingstun - Jet Killed by Sidetrack

Storm Cloud - Jet

Decepticon Attack Force

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Jhiaxus - Jet (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Lodestar - Titan Ship

"House"

Crystal City Evacuees

Solus Prime (Flashback Only)

Alchemist Prime (Flashback Only)

Solomus (Flashback Only)

Halonix Maximus (Flashback Only)

Termagax - Van (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned) Gone

Notes

• The hammer that Strika weilds this issue resembles a recoloured Smashdown...just a coincidence or.....?
• The story of the creation of Crystal City shows us that the Primes are larger than average Cybertronians, as they were described several years ago during the Aligned continuity days (assuming Solomus isn't just tiny that is).
• The story also implies that Solomus is younger than the Primes, which is a reversal of their ages in the previous IDW continuity.
• Additionally, we also see Alchemist Prime using his powers to form the original crystaline towers of the city, showing that these versions of the Primes have abilities, again like their Aligned counterparts.
• The Crystal City is revealed to have been rebuilt multiple times over the years, explaining why the current iteration doesn't look crystaline.
• The civilians and bon-combatant Autobots from Crystal City have evacuated to Darkmount, a city previously abandoned by Straxxus and his followers during the Escape comic series
• Even though they haven't been Autobranded yet, I think it's safe to say that Elita-1 and Bumblebee have joined the Autobots at this point.
• Next to Elita-1 in the last stand building is a bot holding a rifle, similar to Javelin's, however the eyes look wrong to be her. This could just be a random extra, or just a miscolouring.
• Lodestar has finally returned to Cybertron, following her mission to chase down Vigilem, resulting in his death, from the Transformers Annual. We can assume that the Technobots and Lightbright are inside her too (it would also be nice if she picked up the Wreckers on her way too)

IDW - Transformers #39

Title: Darkness, Once Gazed Upon, Part Three

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Andrew Lee Griffith

Colours by: John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Nathan Widick

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Smokescreen tries to get Swindle to arm the unarmed members of their team, Magnus, Elita and Bumblebee, but the bar owner insists he doesn't have any weapons in his bar 

Suddenly, the wall blows in, with Sixshot leading a crew of Decepticons inside, and orders them to kill everyone except Magnus, as Megatron wants him alive...

In the basement, Headlock is trying to make it to the hidden tunnels before the fight can start, when he finds "Ruckus" exploring, interested in what is inside one of the Immersion Chambers.

During the battle, Smokescreen finds Swindle's secret weapons cache, and arms himself with as much as he can carry, rejoining the battle in full force.

Elsewhere in Iacon, Cyclonus finds "Provoke" leaving the medical center, and confronts her, pointing out her recent contradictions and odd behaviour, forcing her to reveal her true identity as Exarchon, intending to take his body as a replacement. After a short battle, Cyclonus tears out her spark, and destroys it, realising that Ruckus is likely to also be an Exarchon host, he knows what needs to be done...

Meanwhile, "Flatline" has made his way to Shockwave's secret base, where he is repairing Skywarp from his recent injuries caused by Sky Lynx, and reveals his identity as Exarchon to his former follower...intending to finish their old mission.

After a hard battle, the Autobots manage to escape from Swindle's bar, but Swindle as his staff are left behind. In the underground tunnels, the Autobots, plus Bumblebee and Elita, regroup, but they know they're unlikely to get back to Crystal City before the Decepticons attack the city to try and take down the Autobot army.

In the aftermath of the battle, the bar is destroyed, and Sixshot warns the owner to stay in line from now on, or this will be the least of his troubles.

Swindle starts to complain about his lot on life now, when he notices Ruckus' corpse in the basement. Suddenly Deathsaurus, now infested by Exarchon, bursts through the remains of the roof, and heads into the skies, intending to crush Cybertron under his feet again, and to keep it crushed this time....

Characters

Autobot

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Chromia - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Arcee - Car

Smokescreen - Car

Decepticon

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

Shockwave - Flying Artillery

Ravage - Cassette

Catgut

Treadshot

Gutcruncher

Cindersaur - Lizard Monster

Flamefeather - Bird Monster

Jolt - Car

Scatterspike - Van

Green/Orange Security Guard Killed by "Provoke"

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Three-fold Spark

Flatline/Exarchon - Van

Provoke/Exarchon - Big Wheeled Vehicle Killed by Cyclonus

Ruckus/Exarchon - Buggy Killed Self to Infest Deathsaurus

Deathsaurus/Exarchon - Dragon

Other Cybertronian

Swindle - Van

Trickdiamond - Car

Roughstuff - Truck Joins Decepticons

Headlock - Forklift

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Elita-1 - Car

Cyclonus - Jet

Skywarp - Jet Under Repairs from Shockwave

Gridlock (Ghost)

Highfire (Ghost)

Grudge (Ghost)

Paragon (Ghost)

Provoke (Ghost)

Notes

• Roughstuff is shown switching sides to the Decepticons here, confirming that the Devepticon badge he had a couple issues ago was just a mistake.
• Flatline is confirmed to have been taken over by Exarchon this issue, after being attacked by the ancient evil in issue 36 
• Following her physical death, Provoke returns to being one of Cyclonus' ghosts again
• Deathsaurus was shown to be in the immersion chambers previously in the series, having decided to live out his days killing Cliffjumper in there...wonder if Exarchon will have an urge to kill Cliffjumper now too?

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 - Shattered Glass #4

Written by: Danny Lore

Art by: Daniel Khanna

Inks by: Priscilla Tramontano

Colours by: John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Neil Uyetake 

Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: David Mariotte

Design by: Jake Wood & Johanna Nattalie

Plot

Following his fatal shooting by Megatron, during the final battle on Earth, Bumblebee is rebuilt into Goldbug by Ratchet, only to be disheartened when he learns that Optimus only allowed it, since they just happened to have spare Protoforms on the ship.

Some time later, Goldbug attempts to warn Optimus that Prowl is plotting against him, but the Autobot Commander is uninterested, since he doesn't see Prowl as a threat. Goldbug insults him, leading the Prime to knock him out with a jackhammer, taken from a worker. Shortly afterwards, Prowl approaches Goldbug, and attempts to convince him of plans for Cyberton again...

Later, Goldbug has been convinced by Prowl, and attempts to assassinate Optimus, though he fails, he escapes from his city, and makes his way to a city, he later renames Gold City...

In the present, Starscream is being held captive by Goldbug at Gold City, being tortured by Jetfire on his orders to gain access to the Seeker's ability to awaken the sleeping Titans.

An intruder alert is sounded, leading Goldbug to leave and deal with it himself. He quickly locates Skywarp, who has infiltrated to find Starscream, but the Autobot Warlord quickly defeats and decapitates him.

Goldbug returns to the torture chamber, and throws Skywarp's severed head at Goldbug, to try and scare him into using his Titan control powers for him, but Starscream is still defiant, and continues to insult Goldbug for his obsession with both Optimus and Megatron...

The Insecticons invade the facility next, taking out as many guards as they can along the way, however Goldbug goes after them by himself too, tearing through them, one by one...

After killing the Insecticons, Goldbug has had enough, and decides to speed up the matter, deciding that Jetfire is possibly stalling due to some lingering feelings for his old friend, he returns to the torture chamber, and threatens to kill Starscream too, to Jetfire's horror!

Characters

Autobot

Goldbug/Bumblebee - Hatchback

Jetfire - Jet

Slicer - Race Car

Tap-Out - Hatchback

Freeway - Hatchback

Searchlight - Hatchback

Wideload - Dump Truck

Random Autobots

Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback)

Prowl - Police Car (Flashback)

Ratchet - Ambulance (Flashback)

Decepticon

Starscream - Jet

Skywarp - Jet Killed by Goldbug

Kickback - Locust Likely Killed by Goldbug

Skrapnel - Stag Beetle Killed by Goldbug

Bombshell - Boll Weevil Killed by Goldbug

Ransack - Locust Likely Killed by Goldbug

Venom - Cicada Killed by Goldbug

Megatron - Jet (Flashback)

Thundercracker - Jet (Flashback)

Other

Miners (Flashback)

Titans (Mentioned)

Notes

• Unlike the previous issue, this issue was also released with a Shattered Glass figure of the cover character, in this case, Goldbug, (Starscream is currently delayed until early January)
• Confirming what was assumed previously, Megatron's attack on Bumblebee is what prompted him to get upgraded to Goldbug.
• Goldbug uses a pair of electrocuted rods to fight Skywarp this issue...his toy does not come with these...sadly...
• A character named Slicer is featured this issue, he's based on the G1 Decepticon character of the same name, which was also the colourscheme used for Shattered Glass Wheeljack in the past...so who knows what's going on there! (Most likely there's a planned Slicer toy release, which will be reusable as Shattered Glass Wheeljack too)
• Most of the troops working under Goldbug appear to share the same toy mould as him, but with different heads.
• We only see Kickback and Ransack get knocked over during the battle, but it's very likely that Goldbug killed them too
• Optimus is shown using an axe in the flashback, but his toy doesn't feature one...again, very sad...

IDW - Transformers #33

Title: Lord of Misrule: Swindle's II

Written by: Brian Ruckley 

Art by: Beth McGuire-Smith

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Sixshot inspects the newly reopened Swindle's Bar, and agrees to allow it to stay open, but ONLY if they serve Decepticons exclusively.

Elsewhere, Skywarp raids an Energon facility to refuel, witnessed by Gutctuncher, who knows this is bad news...

Back at the bar, Bumblebee and Rough stuff are working underground in secret while Swindle greases up a few Decepticons who he thinks will spill some secrets to him.

After a while, Swindle approaches Bee and informs him that Elita-1 is being moved to the former Senate building to join the Senators in prison, and he thinks this is a good time to break her free to join their underground resistance.

Joined by a couple of Decepticons that Swindle has bribed, Charger and Fire Beast, Bee intercepts the prisoner see detail to save Elita, but he stalls when he realizes that Barricade is part of the and intends to kill him, untill he realizes that he's only in this situation because he killed Quake for revenge before, so he decides to end this vicious cycle, and let Barricade live before leaving. Charger however decides that he doesn't want Barricade to shoot them in the back, so he scorches his hand, still holding the gun.

Bee and Elita return to the bar, where Swindle says that he knew Barricade was in the area, but didn't know where, but he would have informed Bee if he knew he was in Elita's detail. Swindle also reveals that his recent intelligence gathering session revealed that he knows where the Enigma of Combination is, along with other Decepticons secrets.

Bee says they need to pass this information onto Optimus and the Autobots, so they can take out the Decepticons and bring things back to normal...

Skywarp  ontinues exploring and finds the new status quo on Cybertron interesting, so he hunts down a Decepticon, Off-Road, and asks to see his leader...

Characters

Decepticon

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

Barricade - Police Car

Jolt - Car

Ravage - Cassette

Charger 

Fire Beast - Equipment Accessory

Off-Road - Van 

Crasher - Race Car

Windsweeper - Jet

Tentakil - Squid 

Nautilator - Lobster

Twirl - Bomber Jet

Refraktor - Hovercraft

Cindersaur - Lizard Monster

Apeface - Ape/Jet 

Gutcruncher

Slicer

Treadshot

Catgut

Deveptiçon Patrons

Seekers - Jets 

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Soundwave - Hovercraft (Mentioned)

Autobot

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Orion Pax/Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback Only)

Other Cybertronian

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Elita-1 - Car

Swindle - Van

Trickdiamond - Car

Headlock - Forklift

Roughstuff - Truck 

Skywarp - Jet 

Deathsaurus - Dragon In Immersion Suite

Proxima (Flashback Only)

Devastator - Construction Gestalt (Flashback Only)

Big Wing (Flashback Only) Killed by Devastator 

Rubble's Forging Audience (Flashback Only)

Starscream - Jet (Mentioned)

Perceptor (Mentioned)

Cyclonus - Jet (Mentioned)

Rubble (Mentioned) Dead 

The Senate (Mentioned) Imprisoned

The Iron Hope 100 (Mentioned)

The Mentor Assessors (Mentioned)

Mayalx Inhabitants (Mentioned) Dead

Other

The Voin (Mentioned)

Notes

• Swindle and his crew are openly operating out of Swindle's bar, except for Bumblebee and Rough stuff, who are both in a hidden area of the complex.
• During the flashback to Devastator's attack on Mayalx we see a bot being killed by the combiner, who we can assume is Trickdiamond's mentor, Big Wing.
• We also learn here that the massacre on Mayalx has been covered up as being caused by an asteroid strike.
• We're told here that Charger and Fire Beast were part of the Iron Hope 100, and thus survived on Nucleon and lost the ability to transform....though we see here that Fire Beast can transform into some armour accessories...how does that work?
• With us seeing the Iron Hope 100 members so far being all traditional Action Masters, we can probably assume this to be true of all action Masters and partners, unless we see them transform in a comic.
• We see Sentinel Prime amongst those in attendance of Rubble's forging, but he's supposed to be off-world doing his colonybtour at this point in continuity (unless he came back just for this I guess)

IDW - Transformers/Back to the Future #4

Written by: Cavan Scott

Art by: Juan Samu

Colours by: Candice Han

Letters by: Neil Uyetake

Editors: David Mariotte & Chase Marotz

Plot

In the dark 2015, the few remaining Autobots are fighting, and dying to the giant Decepticon, Watchtower. 

Gigawatt gets fixed by Doc Brown, allowing him to time travel again, but before he can, he gets shot by Watchtower, protecting Marty and Doc. Gigawatt transforms and Marty gets inside regardless, but he can't build up speed, forcing Skilz and Doc to push the Autobot to speed him up to 88 mphnto time travel. They're successful, but everyone else is dead, with Watchtower about to step on the left behind Doc and Skilz...

Gigawatt and Marty arrive in 1984, and intercept Rumble in the real time machine, his human slave, Biff Tannen turns against Rumble, but the Decepticon manges to escape after shooting Gigawatt again.

Rumble makes his way into the crashed Ark, intending to wake up the Decepticons, but finds the Autobots having been awoken by Gigawatt and Marty already. Rumble tries to escape again, but Biff and Marty dump the collected Energon on top of him, crushing him.

In the aftermath, Optimus thanks Marty for his help, but he's distracted by the dying Gigawatt. Optimus convinces him to return the time machine to Doc Brown in the real 2015, and end this time disruption...

Marty arrives in 2015, to see everything back to normal, and Doc shows him that Gigawatt is alive after all, thanks to the Autobots and their allies. Optimus reveals that in his time, the Autobots are living in secret, protecting the humans, but can now fight and live in the open, thanks to his work.

Gigawatt, Marty and Skilz return to 1985, where life is back to normal, or better. Gigawatt and Skilz look over their human friend from a distance, as Marty is gifted a new truck from his parents...one which weilds a small purple insignia on the grill...

Characters

Autobot

Gigawatt - Modified DeLorean Time Machine

1984/Good 2015 Optimus Prime - Truck

1984/Good 2015 Bumblebee - VW Beetle

1984 Jazz - Porsche

1984 Ratchet - Ambulance

1984 Brawn - SUV

Good 2015 Hot Rod - Sports Car

Good 2015 Skilz - Hoverboard

Bad 2015 Rodimus Prime - Caravan Killed by Watchtower

Bad 2015 Bumblebee - VW Beetle Killed by Watchtower

Bad 2015 Skilz - Hoverboard Likely Killed by Watchtower

Decepticon

Bad 2015 Watchtower - Hill Valley Courthouse

1985 Rumble - Cassette Crushed under Energon Cubes

1984 Megatron Disassembled in Ark 

1985 "Marty's Truck" - Pick-up Truck

Human

Marty McFly

1984/Good 2015 Biff Tannen

1985/Bad 2015 George McFly

1985/Bad 2015 Lorraine Baines-McFly 

Good 2015 Doc Brown

Bad 2015 Doc Brown Likely Killed by Watchtower

Other

Good/Bad 2015 Einstein, the Dog

Notes

• It's kind of ironic that the series about time travel is several months overdue, isn't it?
• The giant Decepticon isn't named in the comic itself, but the rollcall page informs us he is "Watchtower". Due to his size, he is probably a Titan as well.
• We never saw the future, successful version of Megatron in this series, maybe because the concept would destroy our minds?
• Rumble recognises Gigawatt as an Autobot, but he was a Decepticon originally. Unless he was always supposed to join the Autobots after waking up on the Ark?
• Biff's outfit in the good future seems to be based on the regular outfits of the Witwicky family in the G1 cartoon
• The ending implies that Marty's new truck is a Decepticon in disguise, it's unclear who it could be, but the first thing that comes to mind would be one of the Dreads from the Movie series.

IDW - Transformers #28

Title: War World, Part 4: Hunt

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

Cyclonus breaks into the Decepticon Gladiator Pit base, knocking out several guards in the process, so he can finally confront Sixshot over his destruction of the Memorial Crater.

Elsewhere, the Decepticons are continuing their takeover of the planet's main systems, including the Energon Distribution Centers and the Titan Network Hub, but when they reach the prison cells, they find that Swindle's business partners, Trickdiamond and Headlock have broken him, and a couple other prisoners, Roughstuff and Bumblebee, free already.

At the Gladiator Pit, Andromeda is forced into a staged interview to broadcast, framing the Autobots as corrupt and the Decepticons as the greater good, where they also announce Sixshot as the new head of the Decepticon Guard, and claim that the Rise was just a story made up by the Autobots to scapegoat their own mistakes.

Elsewhere, Starscream has Refractor pass onto an Autobot guard, Vibes, to ask Perceptive about "Titansparks" so that both sides have the information at hand, and to try a convince Megatron that he needs his intelligence gathering skills to win this war...

Later at the Gladiator Pit, Cyclonus finds Sixshot, and attacks him, despite the latters uninterest in the fight, and quickly ends it by informing Cyclonus that the Autobots have released Pyra Magna from prison, after consulting another of his ghosts, he offers to bring Sixshot Pyra's head...

Following their prison break, Swindle's crew, including Bumblebee, who still wants to kill Barricade, enter a hidden chamber under Swindle's bar, where Bee notices Deathsaurus inside an Immersion Chamber, where Swindle explains he's been there's since getting repaired following his injuries from an off-world mission some time ago, and will be there until he disengages himself.

Inside the chamber, Deathsaurus continuously chases and kills Cliffjumper, the one who almost killed him before....

Characters

Autobot

Grapple - Crane Truck

Hot Spot - Fire Truck

Wheel Blaze - Fire Truck

Zetar - Drill Tank

Seawatch - Boat

Stakeout - Police Car

Slapdash - Race Car

Vibes

Pyra Magna (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank

Soundwave - Hovercraft

Strika - Battle Tank

Ratbat - Cassette

Skytread - Tank and Jet

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

Mindwipe - Bat

Sparkstalker - Insect Monster

Bitstream - Jet

Crasher - Race Car

Treadshot

Catgut

Battleslash - Helicopter

Refraktor - Hovercraft

Nautilator - Lobster

Twirl - Jet

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Swift - Helicopter

Howlback - Cassette

Ravage - Cassette

Singe Imprisoned

Storm Cloud - Jet Imprisoned

Other Random Decepticons

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned)

Jhiaxus - Jet (Mentioned)

Gutcruncher (Mentioned)

Quake - Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Barricade - Police Car (Mentioned)

Elita-One - Car (Mentioned) Confined to Quarters 

Other Cybertronian

Starscream - Jet

Cyclonus - Jet

Swindle - Van

Trickdiamond - Car

Headlock - Forklift

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Roughstuff - Truck

Deathsaurus - Dragon In Immersion Chamber

Andromeda - Car

Blaster

Playback

Wavelength

Gizmo - Buggy

Glyph - Car

Tap-Out - Car

Steeljaw

Immersion Chamber Users

Cliffjumper - Car (Simulation Only)

Grudge (Ghost) Dead

Provoke (Ghost) Dead

Gridlock (Ghost) Dead

Highfire (Ghost) Dead

Paragon (Ghost) Killed by Pyra Magna

The Titans (Mentioned) Slowly Crashing

Termagax - Armoured Van (Mentioned)

Fake Termagax (Mentioned) Killed by Megatron

The Senate (Mentioned) Overthrown by Decepticons

Perceptor (Mentioned)

Turmoil (Mentioned)

Breaker (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Bruteforce (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Ultimatum (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Kickstart (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Frontrunner (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Stormwave (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Outsider (Mentioned) Killed during War of the Threefold Spark

Other

The Thraal (Mentioned)

The Voin (Mentioned)

Skitters (Mentioned)

Notes

• Cliffjumper and Deathsaurus were last seen in Galaxies 6, which is now confirmed to have occurred "kilocycles" ago.
• Amongst the prisoners seen by Swindle are Singe (who was arrested and interrogated by Prowl) and Storm Cloud who was left behind during the fight at Swindle's bar, and Roughstuff, who was shot and left for dead by the Risers during their escape from Leviathan.
• I'm pretty sure with his opinion in them leaving him for dead, that Roughstuff has probably left their group now (the others are probably still fine with them though)
• Gutcruncher is mentioned as having joined the revolution, which we have been seeing in the Escape comics.
• Elita is being implicated as a traitor, but I'm not sure why...she was a loyal Ascenticon, but disagreed with how Soundwave did things.
• Vibes finally gets an in-story namecheck for the first time!
• Paragon is confirmed to be a former lover of Cyclonus' who was killed by Pyra Magna, which also confirms why she was imprisoned, for mass murder.
• Paragon's ghost doesn't appear to have any damage on it, implying that it was either a lower body damage-based death (since we only see him from the chest up) or he was killed internally perhaps?
• Flatline is mentioned to be giving Starscream some cosmetic surgery for his injuries, but he still appears to be neutral so far, and just working in repairs for everyone who needs them.

IDW - Transformers/Back To The Future #2

Written by: Cavan Scott

Art by: Juan  Samu

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Neil Uyetake

Editors: David Mariotte & Chase Marotz

Plot

In 1985, Gigawatt tries to get Marty to help him to save the future, but the human is scared at the sight of another giant robot, assuming he's with the ones who have enslaved his family. As a result, Starscream attacks the newcomer, and almost takes him out, until Marty throws the skateboard he's carrying at the Seeker, and it unexpectedly transforms into the Autobot Skilz, who manages to knock down Starscream, allowing Gigawatt to transform, and Marty and Skilz get onboard, and they time travel to 2015.

The 2015 they arrive in, turns out to be one where the Decepticons have been ruling the planet for over 30 years now, with the remaining Autobots led by Rodimus Prime. Once there, the Autobots explain to Marty that Emmett Brown is responsible for this future, as when he travelled to the original version of 2015, Rumble stowed away, a D feigned innocence to get Emmett to fix him up from his I juries following the earlier battle with Bumblebee.

Now in the future, Rumble contacts Megatron, telling him that he's finally gotten ahold of the time machine, and gives his location in Emmett's lab, but when he arrives, Megatron is revealed to be beaten down and near dead, having been overwhelmed by Optimus and the Autobots. seeing this sad sight, Rumble steals the time machine and travels back to 1974, where he enslaved Biff Tannen, and forces him to help him collect Energon for ten years.

In 1984, the future version of Rumble leads Tannen to Mt St Hillary, where they activate the Ark, and command it to only revive the Decepticons, allowing Megatron to slaughter most of the still sleeping Autobots. Afterwards, Megatron decides they don't need two Rumbles, so he kills the time travelling one, but saves his head, so the scientists can study it to learn his secrets.

One of the Decepticons, Gigawatt, realized just how evil Megatron is when he executed some humans for their teams getting behind schedule, so he scans the captured Time Machine, and escapes, quitting the Decepticons, but gets shot in his chest, damaging his flux capacitor.

Afterwards, Gigawatt joined the Autobot resistance and told them about what happened. Gigawatt intended to travel to 1974 to stop Rumble's mission from the start, but his flux capacitor's damage sent him to 1985 instead, where he happened to find Marty. Rodimus, knowing of Marty from their data on Emmett Brown ask if he knows how to fix the flux capacitor, but he states that the doctor is the only one who knows his to do that, and they don't know where he is now...

Meanwhile, in the Hill Valley Workcamp, George McFly stumbles out of exhausting, prompting Scrapper to prepare to terminate him and his wife, until he is shot from behind and electrocuted by Emmett Brown, who asks the McFlys if they will help him to save the world from the Decepticons...

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus Prime - Caravan

Gigawatt - Modified DeLorean Time Machine

Skilz - Skateboard

Bumblebee - VW Beetle

1984 Optimus Prime (Flashback Only) Killed by 1984 Megatron

Hound (Flashback Only) Likely Killed by Megatron

Jazz (Flashback Only) Likely Killed by Megatron

Original 2015 Optimus Prime - Truck (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Scrapper - Front End Loader Electrocuted by Doc Brown

1985 Rumble - Cassette (Flashback Only) Killed by 1984 Megatron

1984 Megatron - Gun (Flashback Only)

Original 2015 Megatron - Gun (Flashback Only) Near Death

Soundwave - Cassette Player (Flashback Only)

1984 Rumble - Cassette (Flashback Only)

Flamewar - Motorcycle (Flashback Only)

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet (Flashback Only)

Shockwave (Flashback Only) Being Rebuilt

A Seeker (Flashback Only) Being Rebuilt

Other Decepticons (Flashback Only) Being Rebuilt

Human

Marty McFly

Doc Emmett Brown

George McFly

Lorraine Baines-McFly

Other Hill Valley Slaves

Biff Tannen (Flashback Only)

Pasadena Workcamp Coordinator (Flashback Only) Killed by Megatron

Arleta Workcamp Coordinator (Flashback Only) Killed by Megatron

Other

Einstein, the Dog

Notes

• Skilz, the newly introduced Autobot who was disguised as a skateboard is (obviously) based on the Armada character, Grinder, but with a slimmer body and new colour scheme
• From the characters available in the dark future of 2015, we can assume that bumblebee was the only survivor of the Autobot slaughter in 1984, with Rodimus, and others like Skilz arriving afterwards from Cybertron.
• Due to the nature of time travel, some alternate versions of the same character appear in this issue, so the character list might get a bit confusing....I'm assuming this will be the same in the next two issues too...
• As I guessed in the last issue, Rumble snuck aboard the DeLorean and used it to manipulate the timeline in the Decepticon's favour.
• Gigawatt being a former Decepticon could be a reference to his toy not featuring an Autobot insignia.
• So, if Gigawatt can scan the DeLorean to turn into a fully working time machine...can the others do the same too?