IDW - Transformers #27

Title: War World: Moon

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Fico Ossio

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Novastar's team, on board Sky Lynx, approach the Winged Moon, which has been attacked by the Decepticons, using the element of surprise due to the Moon having communications problems.

On the surface, Team Stream are trying to break into the inner facilities, but the engineers left on the Moon to try and save it have managed to barricade themselves in securely.

Shadow Striker leads some of the team, via a drill, directly into Enemy's holding cell, unaware that he was even stationed there, much to the Infiltration Trooper's annoyance.

On the surface, Astrotrain detects Sky Lynx approaching, and goes after him, however he doesn't know that only half of the giant Autobot is approaching, his other half has already landed carrying the Autobot team, who attack the Decepticons, and seem to have the upper hand.

Inside, the Decepticons sneak around to find the Energon stores, but find the corridors booby-trapped, so go after Systems Control instead, to take the whole Moon instead if just the Energon.

Sunstirm tries to break in, but the engineers rig the Energon supplies to detonate, sending Sunstorm into orbit, irradiating him in the process.

Seeing this, Slipstream calls for a retreat, and they collect the now glowing Sunstirm, mumbling about seeing something, and head back to Cybertron.

Back on the Moon, Sky Lynx collects the Autobots and engineers to return them to Cybertron too, but Cosmos opts to remain on the Moon to defend it from further attacks, but asks Lancer to deliver a message to Blast-Off, inviting him to join him....

Characters

Autobot/Security Forces/Senate Guard

Novastar - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Springer - Car/Helicopter

Sureshot - Buggy

Smokescreen - Car

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Decepticon/The Rise

Slipstream - Jet

Shadow Striker - Car

Flamewar - Motorcycle

Astrotrain - Trackless Train/Space Shuttle

Sunstorm - Jet Irradiated by Energon Explosion

Hotlink - Jet

Hyperdrive - Car

Blackjack - Car

Tracer - Helicopter

Enemy - Cassette Missing In Action

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned)

Blast-Off - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cosmos - Orbiter

Huffer - Truck

Gears - Van

Lancer - Car

Wheeljack - Race Car (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue's story presumably takes place just following Novastar leaving during the crisis meeting in issue 25, meaning it is likely occuring during the previous issue's events.
• Fico Ossio was the main artist for the Revolutionaries series as well as a few other series in the old IDW continuity, this is his first appearance on interiors in the new continuity.
• The engineer team refer to the Decepticons as "Risers" here. This is due to them not knowing about Megatron's uprising and their true nature yet.
• Sunstorm's newly irradiated firm is most likely a reference to his Dreamwave character, especially with his comments about seeing something afterwards. Maybe we'll finally get some proper use out of the character this time around!
• Enemy disappears from the Decepticon team before they can leave the Winged Moon, my guess is that this will be a recurring joke for the poor guy in this series...always getting left behind in horrible situations.
• It's unclear yet if Cosmos knows that Blast-Off is a member of the Decepticons or not.

IDW - Transformers #17

Title: The Change in Your Nature, Part Five

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova & Bethany McGuire-Smith

Colours by: Joana LaFuente & John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Jake M. Wood & Neil Uyetake

Editors: David Mariotte

Plot

The Risers leave the Titan hub building, noting that even if someone can track what they've done, they cannot stop it, so they're heading back to their headquarters, to wait for the inevitable to happen...
At the remains of the Memorial Crater, Cyclonus is thinking about what to do next, and his to avenge the destroyed monument, when he is asked to move along, for his safety by Hot Spot, who tells him that Sixshot and the Rise caused this, giving Cyclonus a target for his anger...

At the Winged Moon, Wheeljack has discovered a siphon and transmitter that was sending Energon to the Rise base at the monument, and reports this to Lancer, so she can relay it to Perceptor. Gears has an accident and almost goes flying into orbit again, but is quickly rescued by Wheeljack. Cosmos arrives, but not to save Gears this time, he wants to know why a Titan is heading right towards the Moon...

At the primary Titan hub in Iacon, Blaster and his team can't get ahold of Vigilem, who is heading right for the Moon, and can't reach any other dormant Titan in orbit, due to the Rise's sabotage. Luckily they remember that Lodestar was still active due to only just returning, and Lightbright remaining aboard, so they decide to call her for help.
Aboard Lodestar, Lightbright is informed about the situation, and they set out to intercept the rogue Titan, who seems to just ignore them, and just quotes Codexa's writings about the Titans, worrying the others, before during upon them.
Lodestar tried matching his firepower, but Vigilem is more powerful than her. Seeing the attacks from the Winged Moon, Wheeljack orders everyone to go deep inside the Moon for safety.
Vigilem soon lands on the underside of the Moon and attacks the Tether attaching it to Cybertron. Lodestar tried to stop him again, but the more powerful Titan cripples her, and sends Lightbright flying around inside her. Lodestar reports something terrifying to Lightbright, despite her injuries...the Tether is falling.....

Characters

The Rise

Slipstream - Jet
Shadow Striker - Car
Astrotrain - Trackless Train/Space Shuttle
Flamewar - Motorcycle
Tracer - Helicopter
Skystalker - Car
Blackjack - Car
Sixshot - Car/Tank/Jet/Gun/Winged Beast

Security Forces/Autobot

Blue/white Guy's Body Dead

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Lodestar - Titan Spaceship Badly Damaged by Vigilem
Vigilem - Titan Warship
Lightbright
Wheeljack - Car
Gears - Van
Huffer - Truck
Lancer - Car
Cosmos - Orbiter 
Blaster
Playback
Gizmo
Wavelength
Cyclonus - Jet
Hot Spot - Fire Truck
Groundbuster - Bulldozer
Others in Search & Rescue Team
Gridlock (Ghost)
Highfire (Ghost)
Provoke (Ghost)
Grudge (Ghost)
Primus (Mentioned) The Thirteen (Mentioned)
The Knights of Legend (Mentioned)
The Dormant Titans (Mentioned)
The Other Titan Cityspeakers (Mentioned)
The Reversionists (Mentioned)
Paragon (Mentioned)
Froid - Jet (Mentioned)
Perceptor (Mentioned)
Codexa (Mentioned)
Waypoint (Mentioned)
Chela (Mentioned)
Tempo (Mentioned)

Other
The Szorian Empire (Mentioned)

Notes

• The majority of this issue is drawn my Malkova, with McGuire-Smith providing the art for cyclonus' scene and the first scene on the Winged Moon
• Astrotrain is huge in this continuity. He's at least three times the size of the other Ascenticons in robot mode in this issue!
• Huffer uses his toy character model from his Combiner Wars toy. Whilst that IS the most recent Generations toy for him, it doesn't look a lot like his traditional design.
• Gear being found adrift in space was previously a plot point in the valentine's Day special
• The previously unnamed Titan who acted as Sentinel Prime's ship is named as Lodestar in this issue
• Blaster's team at the Titan net hub is filled with previously one-off characters with Wavelength and Gizmo coming from the previous IDW continuity, and Playback coming from the G1 cartoon.
• Continuing my thoughts from the previous issue, the City Speakers in this continuity still feel more like Titan Masters in design here, since each one is assigned to a specific Titan.
• Velocitron is mentioned in the song Lightbright is dancing to during her introduction, confirming it's existence in this continuity.
• Vigilem quoting Codexa's writings could be a part of Megatron's plans, since she was Orion Pax's mentor, and this could be a way to discredit the Autobots. Maybe?
• Two of the other mentioned Titans, Chela and Tempo were both either named or appeared in the previous IDW continuity, whilst Waypoint appears to be a completely new creation.
• It's not clear, but I believe that Vigilem landed on the underside of the Winged Moon and is shooting the tether near the top, based on Wheeljack being nearby when he lands and the star field being behind the "ground" during the panel where Lodestar shoots at Vigilem.
• Whilst it dies end on s clear cliffhanger, solicits mention that next issue focuses on Arcee and Greenlight getting Gauge off the planet, so I'm assuming that the next issue will be technically a continuation of this story, as well as another sixth issue stand alone story.

IDW - Transformers Valentines Day Special

Written by: Patrick Ehlers & Sara Pitre-Durocher

Art by: Jack Lawrence & Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Josh Burcham & Sara Pitre-Durocher

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editors: David Mariotte, Tom Waltz & Riley Farmer

Main Story Plot

Following her hard work and requests, Glyph's request for an assignment to research the languages of Planet SDS-359 has been accepted. She tells her friend, the former gladiator Tap-Out, who s feeling useless in the modern world and offers him a role in her mission as a bodyguard.

The two arrive on SDS-359, where they quickly encounter the mammalian natives, but Glyph seems to offend them with her attempts to communicate, leading to them unleashing a guardian beast to attack the Cybertronians. Tap-Out, always eager for a fight, immediately attacks the monster, leading to Glyph's embarrassment, but the native's delight

Over time, more guardians are unleashed, and Tap-Out defeats them all, whilst Glyph is failing to translate their language properly. She tells Tap-Out that they need to leave the planet soon, and if she doesn't translate the language, or make any progress before then, then her mission will be deemed a failure.

Tap-Out tries to speak to the natives again, but they simply summon another monster. He goes to attack it, but s run down by Glyph, who attacks instead, gaining the respect of the natives. She realized, that she knows their language through their preliminary studies of the planet, but that she couldn't use the language properly because the species only respects violence, and she needed to respect that for her to fully comprehend and speak the language itself.

The two soon leave, speaking the native language fluently, having completed their mission...

Back-up Story Plot

Space Security Chief Cosmos is a bit bored of his job, all he ever does is collect debris and the occasional adrift Gears from orbit, to keep Cybertron safe from space-bound problems. However all this work is very lonely.

One day whilst in space, Cosmos receives a ping and assumes it is Gears adrift again, but instead it's another space-traveller, Blast Off, who is also a bit bored and alone. The two soon make friends and talk whilst on their respective jobs. One day, Cosmos realizes that he doesn't even know what his new friend looks like, so he sends him a group shot of him and several others, before appearing right behind him.

Characters

Cybertronian

Glyph - Car

Tap-Out - Car

Nautica - Submarine

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Xeno-Relations Division Employees

Cybertronian Civilians 

Cosmos - Orbiter (Back-Up Story Only)

Blast Off - Space Shuttle (Back-Up Story Only)

Gears - Van (Back-Up Story Only)

Tailgate - Car (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Onslaught - Tank (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Brawl - Tank (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Vortex - Helicopter (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Swndle - Van (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Quake - Tank (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Hardhead - Tank (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

First Aid - Ambulance (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Tow-Line - Van (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Tidal Wave - Battleship (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Giant Aileron - Space Shuttle (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

TFA Blackout - Helicopter (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

TFA Lugnut - Bomber Jet (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Armada Jetfire - Space Shuttle (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Armada Scavenger - Bulldozer (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Classics Jetfire - Jet (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Others in Photo (Back-Up Story Photo Only)

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Other

SDS-359 Native Mammals

SDS-359 Guardians

Notes

• Obviously, this story is a special issue released around Valentines day 2020, with both stories being set n continuity with the current IDW series, with both stories seemingly set before the events of the man series.
• Gladiatorial matches have been mentioned to be banned in the past, though this issue states that Sentinel Prime banned them, its been implied before now that Nominus was the one who banned them
• Glyph and Tap-out's story, following them being alone on an alien planet and growing close, essentially makes this an updated retelling of their backstory from the Extended Universe 3H comic days.
• It's unclear in the story itself, but the later released Transformers #17 confirms that Gears keeps ending up adrift in space because of his work on the Winged Moon, and him not adjusting for the lack of gravity when working there
• Blast Off's "class picture" that he sends to Cosmos includes a load of cameos, but a lot of them are just generics made by the artist to fill in space. A few of them are also based on toys, but don't appear to be the actual character (like the Classics Jetfire, who should be using the Siege Jetfire in this series instead)
• It's not stated, but the reveal the Blast Off and most of the Combaticons are in the Rise in Galaxies #4 could imply that he is carrying Risers or supplies for them during this story
• The solicits at the back of this issue shows how late the man series has been being released recently, with the "next issue" to be released being marketed as #19, and stating that #5 of Galaxies is available already...both of which being VERY wrong...

IDW - Optimus Prime #4

Title: New Cybertron Part 4: Dance Among the Shadows

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Four Million years ago, Zeta Prime gives a speech to the people of Cybertron, announcing that Orion Pax and his team have revealed the truth about Hefter being a Decepticon gun-runner, and announces the inquiry closed. Orion is annoyed by this and questions Zeta about this, but Zeta doesn't believe that Hefter is worthy of real investigation, since he was a traitor to the people, and even starts quoting old propaganda pieces to prove his point to Orion. Zeta then shows off the Matrix in his chest, which he uses to point out that despite it being a fake, it still holds power across Cybertron, and even suggests that this could all be his one day, if he just tows the line.

Jetfire is released from custody by Prowl, and immediately punches the officer. Jetfire walks off, but is noticed by Horri-Bull and Needlenose, who think that he needs a way to "protect" himself in the future....

Later, Orion Pax and Prowl meet up at the abandoned Cosmic Carnival, where they also meet with Jetfire, who reveals that the Decepticons gave him a gun, and agrees to tell them when the next shipment is arriving on Cybertron, revealing that his release and fight with Prowl was all staged.

Today, Rumble, Frenzy and Cosmos fight off the swarm of Sharkticons in the Junkion shuttle, but are soon captured. Rum-Maj uses this to prove that the Autobots were trying to betray them, but Wreck-Gar points out that she never really intended to help them out, be he still does, she however ignores this, and deems that they need to be destroyed...

Optimus and Aileron return to Earth from their meeting on Cybertron, where Aileron is irritated by the Colonists all kneeling before their Prime, when they are called to the control room. Once there, Optimus contacts Soundwave to have him call all the Earth's leaders to Autobot City for an emergency meeting to solve the situation between the Junkions and them. Aileron is worried about this and asks Optimus to speak to her alone...

At the foot of the Matterhorn, below Autobot City, Soundwave has received Optimus' request and sets off to send out the invites, but is worried about Cosmos and the others not being back in contact yet.

In Cairo, Thundercracker walks through a market town with Marissa, and manages to convince her to talk to her father again, pointing out that he probably didn't JUST come to see her to ask her to join the team, but also wanted to see her.

Aileron speaks with Optimus on the hull of Autobot City, and questions his actions, and wonders why he seems to be trying to invoke the Tyrest Accord and risk war between the Earth and Cybertron. He reveals that he is confident that this will force the Earth into the Council of Worlds, despite Starscream's reluctance on the matter, and admits that he doesn't believe in the magical properties of the Matrix, but does think he can use it to control those who do believe in it! Pyra Magna overhears this, and calls him out on abusing his position and toying with the loyalty of others.

Chameleon and Flint are flying off following their meet-up with Marissa, but, along the way, they are stopped by Thundercracker, who has Marissa on board, who wants to talk to them again.

The two aircraft land in Cattedrale Di Palermo, where Marissa explains to her father that she didn't refuse the position in GI Joe because of him, but simply because she doesn't believe they can win against the Cybertronians and other threats.

At Autobot City, Pyra strikes down Optimus, cracking a hole in his faceplate, but he refuses to fight back, claiming that violence is not the way to take command. Pyra however retorts that everything Optimus has ever done has been in violence, which is even why the Junkion's planet was destroyed. Pyra reneges on her promise to teach Optimus to use the Matrix properly, and even accuses him of not being a believer in his own Prime-hood in front of the Colonists. Optimus however doesn't acknowledge her claims, and orders the troops to prepare for the Human delegates.

The next morning, the Autobots and Human leaders meet at Autobot City to discuss the potential alliance between Earth, Cybertron and the Junkions. The Junkion's shuttle arrives above the city, but Rum-Maj simply discards an injured Cosmos out of the door, and announces that the infiltration is being seen as an act of war against them. The Junkion ship lifts off, and a hatch opens, releasing a massive swarm of Sharkticons upon the city, to attack everyone.

The Autobots and Humans prepare to fight back against their new shared enemy, and Pyra wonders who will win Optimus' game this time...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax - Truck Cab

Arcee - Sports Car

Pyra Magna - Fire Engine

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Skyburst - Helicopter

Stormclash - Helicopter

Dust Up - Sports Car

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Cosmos - Orbiter Beaten by Sharkticons and Junkions

Sideswipe - Sports Car Near Death in Repair Tube

Zeta Prime (Flashback Only)

Prowl - Police Vehicle (Flashback Only)

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Tracks - Muscle Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Soundwave - Personnel Carrier

Rumble - Motorcycle Probably Beaten by Sharkticons

Frenzy - Motorcycle Probably Beaten by Sharkticons

Horri-Bull (Flashback Only)

Needlenose - Fighter Jet (Flashback Only)

Hefter - Forklift Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Colonist Allies

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Midnight Express - Train

Roulette - Muscle Car

Oiler - Part of Oil Tanker

Slide - Part of Oil Tanker

Gimlet - Lobster

Bump - Armadillo

Mistress of Flame (Mentioned)

Junkion

Wreck-Gar

Rum-Maj

Sharkticon Swarm

Other Cybertronian

Metrotitan - Autobot City Ship

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet

D.O.C.

Cybertronian Population (Flashback Only)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned)

Council of Worlds (Mentioned)

Starscream - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

GI Joe

Flint

Chameleon

Talon

Spike

Mainframe

Hi-Tech

Mayday (Mentioned)

Human

Marissa Faireborn

Madam President

World Leaders

Earth Nations Observation Forces

Random Civilians

Marissa's Mother (Mentioned)

Earth Defense Command (Mentioned) Defunct

Other

Buster the Dog

Notes

• Though not shown on panel, it's likely that Rumble and Frenzy were also captured and/or eaten by the Sharkticons
• It's revealed that, unsurprisingly, Rum-Maj was planning to betray the Autobots all along, however Wreck-Gar appears to still be willing to help them save Sideswipe's life.
• Zeta Prime shows off his fake Matrix in the flashbacks for this issue, seems a bit unusual here, but maybe this has something to do with the Matrix appearing in Lost Light, which is also likely the fake one.
• Optimus' admittance that he's using the Colonist's reverence of the Matrix to control them REALLY adds to the theory that Prowl's mind has influenced Optimus following their combination during Combiner Wars
• Marissa reveals here that the real reason she is travelling Earth with Thundercracker and Buster is because she believes that the Cybertronians are going to destroy the Earth in the end, and she just wants to see it all before it's gone. To be fair, it was almost destroyed because of Ore-13 a few weeks earlier...
• Though not mentioned in dialogue, the place Prowl and Orion Pax meet up in is the Cosmic Carnival, as seen in the Marvel comics.
• It's not mentioned, but it seems likely that Marissa's mother isn't Lady Jaye in this continuity, since she isn't mentioned as being part of GI Joe, and is mentioned as a drunk.

IDW - Optimus Prime #3

Title: New Cybertron Part 3: Behind my Bleeding Back

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Kei Zama

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Four Million years in the past, Jetfire leads Prowl and Orion Pax to see his boss, Soundwave, whom Orion recognizes as being involved in the murder of the Old Senate, he refuses to discuss the events as there is no evidence, and asks for him to get to the point.

Orion and Prowl ask Soundwave if it is true that Hefter, the dead Decepticon, was involved in smuggling weapons from off-world into the Decepticon's hands. Soundwave outright refuses this notion, as the Decepticons are not like that, implying further that Hefter was murdered just for being a Decepticon.

Orion and the others leave, and Starscream comes out of hiding, having just received a new shipment of off-world weapons, much to Soundwave's shock.

In the present day, Soundwave, Jetfire and Arcee discuss the Junkion's offer of a cure for Sideswipe, in exchange for Ore-13, but they don't know if they can trust Rum-maj, so they decides to start an investigation of their own. Soundwave contacts Sanctuary Station, and asks Cosmos to return to Earth to investigate the Junkion's ship using stealth paint to get past their advanced scanners.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, Thundercracker is performing his calculations on the Junkion ship for GI Joe, whilst Flint has coffee with his daughter, Marissa, and offers her a position on GI Joe, as per Thundercracker's fee to help them.

On Cybertron, Optimus' request for permission to trade the Ore-13 with the Junkions is denied by the council, since Earth isn't officially a member of the council yet and it would be in violation of the Tyrest Accord, especially now that Cybertron is recovering from the war with the Titans, and cannot risk arming an alien race with weapons.

Back on Earth, Jazz tries to talk to a woman he met in Mexico City, but she doesn't want to listen, since the Transformers killed half of her family, however Jazz wants to talk, as he's tired of no one talking out their problems, and just wants someone to listen to him..

Back in Cairo, Flint finishes talking to Marissa, just as Thundercracker finishes his calculations, Thundercracker asks if she accepted the offer, but he just glares him down, prompting Thundercracker to quickly forward his data to the other Joes.

The data arrives at the Matterhorn, but they still can't figure out how many Junkions are on board, as their jamming field extends too far. Suddenly Soundwave arrives, having been in contact with Mainframe, and he assists them in decrypting the Junkion's data, despite Talon hating the idea of Soundwave helping them.

Optimus and Aileron leave Cybertron, despite not getting the permissions needed from the council, but Optimus now feels that the path for Earth joining the council is more vital and clear than ever.

Cosmos arrives at the Junkion ship, along with Rumble and Frenzy as back-up. They infiltrate the ship, but are soon located by the Junkions. Cosmos wanders into a seemingly empty room, only to find it filled with Sharkticons, who immediately start attacking him.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax - Truck Cab

Arcee - Sports Car

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Cosmos - Orbiter

Jazz - Sports Car

Prowl - Emergency Speeder (Flashback Only)

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet (Mentioned) Injured

Sideswipe - Sports Car (Mentioned) Dying

Decepticon

Soundwave - Personnel Carrier

Rumble - Motorcycle

Frenzy - Motorcycle

Buzzsaw

Laserbeak

Ravage (Flashback Only)

Hefter - Fork Lift Truck (Hologram Only)

Junkion Crew

Rum-Maj

Wreck-Gar (Hologram Only)

Junkion Crew Members

Sharkticon Hoard

Colonist

Mistress of Flame

Airazor - Eagle

Tigatron - Tiger

Obsidian - Osprey Stealth Bomber

Strika - Battle Tank

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Vanquish - Part of Jet

Moonracer - Sports Car

Knock Out - Sports Car

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Earth-based Colonists (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Metrotitan - Autobot City Outpost

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet

Circuit

Longtooth

Crowds at Spacebridge

Old Senate (Mentioned) Dead

GI Joe

Flint

Talon

Spike

Mainframe

Hi-Tech

Chameleon

Scarlett (Mentioned)

Chuckles (Mentioned)

Other Human

Marissa Faireborn

Jazz's Mexico City "Friend"

The Misfits (Poster Only)

Madame President (Mentioned)

Earth Defense Command (Mentioned) Defunct

Other

Buster the Dog

Notes

• Wreck-Gar's only appearance in this issue is as a hologram...aww :(
• Similarly, despite being prominent on the cover,  Bumblebee makes no appearance in this issue, either past or present era. It is likely that this is leading into the Transformers: Annual 2017 storyline, which is supposed to explain how Optimus met Bumblebee.
• Thundercracker is revealed to have sold his services to GI Joe in exchange for Marissa being offered a place on the team.
• Flint and Marissa are finally "on-screen" mentioned to be related. This is the first time in about 30 years...
• This story is set just after the events of he Till All Are One Titans Return tie-in, and as such there are some minor spoilers for the event's outcome here. For example, the Carcer delegates are still on the council, so it is likely they will not be turned against the others like they seem to be at the moment, Windblade is injured at some time, and the Cybertronians win the battle.
• The girl Jazz screams at has a Misfits poster, adding more of the Jem and the Holograms franchise to the Hasbroverse.
• It might seem bad that Starscream was dealing with off-world weapons in the past, but remember that this was set during the early war, and therefore BEFORE the Tyrest Accord being drafted. So he isn't really being a hypocrite here!
• Last time we saw the Sharkticons, they were on the Planet Junkion, however Sharkticons are more commonly associated with Quintessons, who are the usual users of the Junkion's ship....curious....
• One of the Sharkticons appears to have a lure on his head, evoking the look of an Angler fish,