IDW - Lost Light #15

Title: The Scavengers in: Kill All 'Cons

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Brendan Cahill and Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Grimlock, shackled, is taken to meet with Scorponok and Flame, where he demands to know what has been going on, and even feigning that he doesn't know or care about the Scavengers, whom he killed in his cell just before.

Scorponok and Flame explain that they took the Magnificence from Grimlock's chest, but that it has developed some sort of moral code, not answering anyone that it deems untrustworthy, however due to Scorponok having human brain patterns inside his head, thanks to his previous bonding with Abraham Dante, he is still able to get answers from it. Soon however, the Scavengers arrive and surround Scorponok and Flame, taking the Magnificence from them. They explain that Nickel was able to force Grimlock into his dinosaur mode, letting him think clearer, thanks to her theory that he has extra pressure on his brain module in robot mode, making him unable to think properly. Spinister is allowed to examine his brain in this mode, so he can be back to his old self. In the process Krok gets the idea to have Nickel and Spinister carefully take the Scavengers to pieces and make it look like they've died, so they can get Grimlock out, and escape when the guards leave the cell open, since why would someone lock up a cell of corpses?

The team try to figure out what Scorponok's ultimate goal is, but he is unwilling to tell them, however Fulcrum just asks the Magnifence. Scorponok, unwilling to let someone else take his thunder, he opens his chest and reveals his ultimate goal...a purple baby human with a Decepticon insignia printed on the face inside a pod. He plans to transplant all Decepticon sparks into organic bodies, allowing them to reproduce and create a massive army that they will then be transplanted into new mechanical bodies, to finally take down the Autobots.

Scorponok offers to let the Scavengers join him as commanders in his new army, if they simply kill Grimlock. The crew however immediately decline the offer, stating that they don't want to go back to war.

Scorponok is disappointed, but simply waves his hand, taking control of all their sparks, utilizing their badges being made from their spark casing as weapons. He intends to use their sparks to power the next few organic Decepticons, however before he can succeed, Nickel reaches the Magnificence, which gives her the solution, she throws her communicator to Scorponok, telling him it's a call for him.

Scorponok puts the communicator to his head, where he hears Tarn, who's voice slowly and painfully paralyses him. Flame calls for help from the other troops on the ship, whilst Grimlock prepares to finish off Scorponok, being stopped by Misfire, who wants to rescue the baby, since she's innocent in all this.

Soon, the Scavengers, now with the Firstborn of the new Decepticon army and the Magnificence in tow fight their way to a transmat suite, led bythe Magnificence's direction, where Misfire explains his plan, they should head to Garrus-9, so they can use their spark extractor technology to remove the Decepticon spark from the baby, and place it back inside one of the many dead bodies in the prison.

The Magnificence gives them the galactic coordinates to Garrus-9, but brings up that the organic baby will not survive a trip through the transmat chamber. Grimlock takes the baby's pod and places it inside his Magnificence brace, keeping it safe. However Misfire realizes that this means Grimlock can't join them in escaping, which he is not allowing. The Scavengers huddle up to decide what to do, but Grimlock just shoves them through the portal and destroys the controls, and gets ready to fight their oncoming attackers alone, declaring that he'll protect the baby, like Misfire protected him...

The Scavengers arrive inside Grimlock's old cell in Garrus-9, where they find the door locked, their communicators are all gone or broken, and the Magnificence has stopped working....leaving the crew to ask Krok what they should do now....

Several years earlier, Flywheels is rescued from floating in space by Krok and his crew, the Foragers, who have just stolen a prison escort ship, and Misfire starts trying to think up a new name for their group...

Nearby, Scorponok and Flame met a large ball of light which declares itself as "The Grand Architect" and tells them that they belong to him now....

Characters

Autobot

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Decepticon

Misfire/Flyhigh - Jet Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

Spinister - Helicopter Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

Crankcase - Van Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

Nickel - Rocket Ppowered Car Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

Krok Trapped in Grimlock's Old Garrus-9 Cell

"The Firstborn"

Tarn - Tank (Voice Recording)

Flywheels - Tank/Jet (Flashback Only)

Rat-a-tat-tat (Mentioned) Spark used to Power "The Firstborn"

Thundersaur (Mentioned) Dead

Grand Architect's Faction

Scorponok - Scorpion Paralyzed by Tarn's voice message

Flame - Car

Worldsweeper Crew

The Grand Architect (Flashback Only)

The Infinites (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Agnoizer/The Curator (Mentioned)

Sparkeaters (Mentioned)

Human

Abraham Dante (Mentioned) Presumably Dead

Notes

• Further adding to the theory that the Magnificence is the remains of one of the Knights of Cybertron, it is said to have developed a moral code, rather than just answering every question asked.
• Scorponok mentions that he still has traces of Abraham Dante in his head, this implies that they are not binary bonded any more, likely meaning that he was removed in Garrus-9, and possibly died It's also likely that the Firstborn's genetic information likely came from Dante, since it does look quite human.
• I totally called it last issue with Nickel and Spinister making it just look like they were all killed by Grimlock!
• It's revealed that Grimlock's brain damage for the last few years has been due to pressure being applied to his brain...maybe if Spinister had of given him an actual check-up over these last years then he would have been fixed ages ago!
• Okay....having a baby human inside Scorponok is getting us dangerously close to pregnant transformers being canon and not just a creepy fan-art sub-genre...I agree with Fulcrum, it's disgusting...
• I don't get Scorponok's plan...I mean I'm sure he can transplant sparks into organic bodies, that's not much different to having organic alternate modes, or the Treecons from last issue, what I has a problem with is the reproduction thing, and then using the sparks from the offspring to create a massive Decepticon army in the future....why would a spark, which would be added to the body following birth naturally, also be reproduced too? That's not how sparks work...if he was making a Decepticon Matrix or something, then sure, but this makes no real sense to me.
• This issue confirms an earlier reveal that the Decepticon insignia is made using a piece of the Decepticon's own spark chamber, and that Scorponok used this process to control other Decepticons, as he did with making Grimlock sleep and wake up last issue. This is also likely further reasoning for the Decepticons and even Drift acting weird and combining during the Chaos event.
• Tarn is shown to have recorded a special message for Nickel on her communicator, allowing her to paralyze an opponent if needed. We learned last issue that he could use his vocal powers over a communicator when he did it to Shockwave, so it also turns out that he can do it via recordings.....did he never just try using this skill over a loudspeaker or something?!
• We don't see Scorponok again after the Scavengers get the Firstborn out of his chest, so he might actually have been killed by Tarn's voice message! (Also Grimlock was about to skewer him with his sword before he was stopped so they could rescue the baby)
• So, Grimlock actually does appreciate Misfire's help over the past few years, and now wants to do the same to keep the Firstborn safe. I wonder how long until he gets captured by the Worldsweeper's crew or Scorponok using his spark control power again?
• So, the Scavengers arrive in Grimlock's old cell in Garrus-9...I have a couple of questions....Why would the Magnificence send them there? They wanted to get to the spark extractor room, so why send them to his cell? Also during Last Stand of the Wreckers, the team find Grimlock's cell empty....why did they lock it back up after opening it?
• I'm not too worried about the Scavengers however, we saw in issue 12 that Agonizer could find them on a random planet to rescue them, so I'm sure he can do it again!
• It's revealed that Crankcase, before properly joining the Scavengers, was the pilot of the prison ship carrying Misfire to prison. The ship appears to be the Weak Anthropic Principle, and it was shown that Crankcase was the ship's pilot in More Than Meets The Eye.
• Just as with the corpse theory from last issue, I also called that Flywheels' disappearance from the group after leaving the Garrus-9 escape ship would lead to him meeting the other Scavengers for the first time.
• To my utter shock however, it turns out that Scorponok is NOT the Grand Architect, but rather some other figure who takes the form of a ball of light in space...intriguing....
• Okay, here's my theory on the finale of this series now: The Knights of Cybertron, are the Guiding Hand, and the five symbols we've seen repeatedly representing them are their individual sigils. The Grand Architect will be revealed to be Adaptus, who is known for being the supposed originator of the transformation cog, and his sigil resembling a gear. If true then my theory on Epistemus being the Magnifence, Solomus being the crystal inside the Matrix (creating the original map to Cyberutopia), Primus being Cybertron itself, and Mortilus just being an alternate name for Unicron, we have information for all members of the mythical quintet.
• If my theory is true, then the Grand Architect is not evil, and is just trying to prepare for the upcoming return and rampage of Unicron/Mortilus.

IDW - Lost Light #14

Title: The Scavengers in: The Ties That Bind

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher and Brendan Cahill

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Several years ago, Shockwave flies away from Garrus-9 during it's occupation by Overlord, he has several other prisoners with him for plans that he is keeping quiet for now. Shockwave received a call from Tarn of the DJD during his escape, and the two exchange pleasantries, Shockwave knows that he is at the top of the DJD's hit-list and offers the rest of his crew, other people on the list, in place of him going free. Tarn rejects the offer, since he plans to complete the list in exact order. This causes Shockwave to have a small meltdown since it makes no sense to do things in that way, leading Tarn to use his manipulative voice ability to try and cause Shockwave's spark to explode.

Flywheels and Flame have been listening to this call in secret and rush to Scorponok to escape before the DJD can actually kill Shockwave, and come after them afterwards. The three of them jump from the ship, just before Shockwave shoots his communicator, stopping Tarn's attack. Before the DJD can go after him again however, Bludgeon and his team arrive on the scene to rendezvous with Shockwave, forcing the DJD to abandon this target for now...

Today, Nickel tries calling Deathsaurus on his own communicator from Troja Major, which is where she and the Scavengers were spirited to before by Agonizer. Nickel is unimpressed by the Scavengers, especially Grimlock however since he was a major target on the DJD's list.

Nickel soon joins the Scavengers inside Agonizer's store where they are informed that Flame stole the Magnificence from a friend of Agonzier's, Mengel, and that after studying her files on it, believes that the Magnificence is one of the Knights of Cybertron's final forms. He asks the Scavengers to retrieve it in exchange for literally anything they want. They agree for an absurd amount of money and are warped to the planet, Confluence, where Flame's signal was last located.

The team arrive on the planet, in the middle of a forest, however Fulcrum realizes that something is wrong, as Confluence is supposed to be a desert planet. Suddenly the trees around them transform and surround the Scavengers, reminding them of the first time they found Grimlock and saw a dead one of these robots in a chair on the ship.

Grimlock goes to action and takes down the "Treecons" with ease. During the battle, Nickel reveals that she is a member of the DJD, but before the Scavengers can do anything, Grimlock tells them to leave her alone, as she is one of them now.

Soon, Scorponok explodes from the ground and attacks the Scavengers, Grimlock goes to attack him, but Scorponok just waves a claw, sending Grimlock unconscious.

Scorponok's crew put the Scavengers on their Worldsweeper ship and leave the planet. The Scavengers, bar Grimlock wake up in a cell, where the team explain how they found Grimlock on Clemency and have been trying to fix his mind ever since. They decide to look inside Grimlock's chest to see if Scorponok has a device in there that allowed him to knock him out before, but all they find inside is an empty cavity, with what looks like a brace for the Matrix to sit inside....

Scorponok arrives with Flame and some guards, who reveals that it's not for the Matrix, but the Magnificence. He and Flame reveal that they stole it from Grimlock after driving him mad and discarding his body on the ship he was found on.

Scorponok wakes Grimlock up using his claw trick again, having determined that the Scavengers are not part of the group he thought they were originally. Upon seeing Spinister next to him seemingly messing with his inner-chest parts, Grimlock reacts badly and tears off his arm. Scorponok and the others leave as Grimlock proceeds to seemingly attack his cellmates as they scream in pain...

Later, the guards notice one of the bars on the cell is shorting out, so they approach it, where they find Grimlock standing over his dismembered friends, demanding to speak to Scorponok...

Characters

Autobot

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Decepticon

Misfire - Fighter Jet Torn Apart by Grimlock

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb Torn Apart by Grimlock

Spinister - Helicopter Torn Apart by Grimlock

Crankcase - Van Torn Apart by Grimlock

Krok Torn Apart by Grimlock

Nickel - Rocket Car Torn Apart by Grimlock

Damus/Tarn - Tank (Flashback Only)

Amp/Kaon - Variable Voltage Harness (Flashback Only)

Scissorsaw/Tesarus - Metal Grinder (Flashback Only)

Crucible/Helex - Smelting Chamber (Flashback Only)

Dominus Ambus/Vos/The Pet - Turbofox (Flashback Only)

Forestock/Vos - Rifle (Flashback Only)

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Flashback Only)

Flywheels - Tank/Jet (Flashback Only)

Bludgeon - Tank (Flashback Only)

Skip - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Bomb-Burst - VTOL Jet (Flashback Only)

Finback - Hovercraft (Flashback Only)

Skullgrin - Tank (Flashback Only)

Kakuryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Rairyu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Doryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Goryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Birdbrain - Monster (Flashback Only)

Bristleback - Monster (Flashback Only)

Scowl - Monster (Flashback Only)

Icepick - Monster (Flashback Only)

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Deathsaurus - Dragon (Mentioned)

Overlord - Tank and Jet (Mentioned)

Howlback - Cassette (Mentioned)

Mystery Gear Faction

Scorponok - Scorpion

Flame

Prison Guards

"Treecons" - Trees Many Killed by Grimlock

Other Cybertronian

Agonizer/The Curator

The Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Other

Mengel (Mentioned) Killed by Black Block Consortia 

The Black Block Consortia (Mentioned)

The Omega Guardians (Mentioned) Ascended to a Higher Realm

Notes

• So we finally see who was in Shockwave's specially selected team! It was a bunch of Decepticons who were also on the DJD's list, so he could use them as bargaining chips for his own freedom. Good guy! Judging from the Dinoforce and Skip being amongst the guys there however, it seems likely that they ended up joining with Deathsaurus after Shockwave abandoned them some time after this flashback scene.
• This also shows how Scorponok and Flame escaped from Garrus-9, which was where we last saw them in continuity.
• Bomb-Burst, Skullgin and Finback were last seen during the Stormbringer era where they appeared to be killed during the story. I guess it's possible they survived their "deaths" and were captured afterwards though.
• Also the planet Garrus-9 is officially named as Elba in IDW now, after being named that in the Animated continuity
• The Vos seen in the opening flashback is clearly supposed to be Dominus Ambus in disguise, with the hooked hands, but he's otherwise drawn like the later Vos, which was not his character model.
• Flywheels isn't seen floating with Scorponok and Flame in space after escaping the ship, most likely he's flown away in jet mode to eventually join with the other Scavengers.
• Bludgeon's role in this story is a bit confusing. Scorponok's dialogue implies that Bludgeon and his crew were amongst the escapees with Shockwave. However Shockwave was freed after the bulk of the opening attacks from the Purge, when we saw Bludgeon and his team going after Kup's team at the very start of the Purge...so...was he somehow freed early and kept in touch with Shockwave in some way?
• So, turns out I was wrong, and the guy who rescued the Scavengers and Nickel last we saw them was Agonizer. He was previously mentioned as being familiar with Krok in the past, so I guess this makes sense!
• It's implied by Nickel that Grimlock was the one who caused Tarn's facial scars.
• It's theorized in this issue that the Magnificence was originally a member of the Knights of Cybertron who shed his body to focus solely on knowledge. This is somewhat similar to the story of Epistimus, one of the Guiding Hand who was reduced to a brain module in the final battle of the Hand...maybe this is the same brain?
• Nickel confirms this issue that Grimlock WAS at one point a Decepticon, and defected to the Autobots.
• Wow this issue resolves a lot of loose plot threads around the Scavenger's adventures! The Treecons, Worldsweeper, Grimlock locked in a Stasis Pod and even the strange experiments they encountered on Clemency were all caused by Scorponok's group
• The mystery around Grimlock's condition is also explained. When Garrus-9 was attacked, the Magnificence, which was previously stored under the Aequitas computer was moved into a special brace placed into Grimlock's chest, which could only be opened by Grimlock being broken mentally. Scorponok used the Warren (currently being used by Getaway to reach Cyberutopia) to steal Grimlock from G-9 and drove him mad to release the orb.....wait...then why did it end up in Mengel's hands if they got it out of Grimlock's chest?
• Hmmm...looking at the bodies of the Scavengers, none of them look any worse than just piecing themselves back together, especially since both Spinister and Nickel are medics.I doubt they're dead (plus the solicit for next issue seems to imply they survive too)
• I don't know why, but the weird storm on Troja Major makes me think that it's going to be under attack from Unicron soon...maybe the radiation is an early attack of his in this universe?

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye: Revolution

Title: The Scavengers in: Nothing Will Ever be the Same Again!

Written by: Nick Roche and James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Chris Mowry

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Four weeks ago, Crankcase began talking to an individual called "Cons4eva" on The Big Conversation, and within a couple weeks the two have sparked a near-romantic relationship, and decide to meet up on Earth...

Today, Grimlock is rampaging through Texas, and causes horrible damage everywhere he goes. A member of GI Joe from the area is trying to investigate the situation, but he has no idea what he's doing. Soon, two apparent agents of MASK appear and suggest they work together to solve the giant dinosaur attack. The GI Joe member, MP3, heads out in his "Action Van", whilst the MASK agents summon their vehicles, a pink Cybertronian jet and a purple helicopter, emblazoned with Decepticon insignias...

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Crankcase is panicking about his imminent meeting with his new love, and he reveals to Krok and Fulcrum that he hasn't seen him, or even learned his real name. The two other Decepticons leave with him for moral support, but decide to leave Misfire and Spinister behind, since they're "playing nice" with Grimlock in his room (unaware that Grimlock is on a rampage, and the others are chasing him right now). Outside, they come face-to-face with Cons4eva, who is revealed to be...THUNDERWING?!

Spinister and Misfire follow the path of destruction to chase Grimlock, when they realize that MP3 has disappeared, they back-track and find him with his van broken down. MP3 decides to drop out of the mission, so the "MASK agents" take off their masks to say goodbye, Spinister's "head" underneath is just a smaller version of his mask, and Misfire's is a deformed cyclops creature, causing MP3 to pass out in shock. After his passing out, the Decepticons hear about Grimlock rampaging on his radio, so they begin to head out again.

Back at the Weak Anthropic Principle, the Decepticons are scared of Thunderwing being present, since he destroyed Cybertron and Nebulos in the past. They attack him, and return to the ship, planning to get Grimlock's help in the fight, however Thunderwing manages to smash his way into the ship, then turns back into his true form, a Dire Wraith...

Spinister and Misfire arrive in Arlington, where they witness a paramedic revive a human who had stopped breathing, then realize that MP3 was probably not dead like they decided...Spinister quickly heads back to where they buried him hoping to save him.

Back at the WAP, the Dire Wraith is revealed to be Cons4eva, and he wanted Crankcase's help to initiate "The Crossover" a ceremony from Temptoria where three separate species work together to open a portal to a new universe. Crankcase says he doesn't wish to come with him, but will help him to travel to the new universe though, but they still need a third species to help them....Just then, Spinister returns with an unconscious MP3 in his arms, asking for help.

Grimlock has stopped his rampage, and digs into the ground of a building site, when Misfire appears, Grimlock draws a sword from, the ground and rushes towards Misfire, but stops just before hitting, so he can show him the names of the other Dinobots on the hilt, Misfire realizes that the sword was a gift from his friends, and also remembers that this was where he was arrested and sent to Garrus-9, the last time he saw the other Dinobots. Grimlock calms down, and both of them return to the ship...

Later, MP3 agrees to help with the Crossover, after realizing that this is what he's been waiting for, and the reason he didn't resign from GI joe like the rest of his team had. The trio of misfits work together to open the portal, but it's much too small for any of them to enter.

Later on, Cons4eva hitches a ride with the Scavengers to the next starhub, as he doesn't believe in the mission on Earth and wants a fresh start. MP3 agrees to join the Scavengers as their first human member, so he sends his resignation letter through the portal, which can send things anywhere the user desires, but before he can get onto the ship, Fulcrum takes off, refusing to allow him aboard, since he hates humans so much (it's all those pores!) Leaving MP3 to rummage through the portal, hoping to get the letter back before Scarlett an read it!

Characters

Decepticon

Misfire - Jet

Spinister - Helicopter

Crankcase - Van

Fulcrum - Bomb

Krok

Thunderwing - Space Ship (Illusion Only)

"Starscream's Ghost" (Chat Room Only)

"Trypticat" (Chat Room Only)

"Cassette Man" (Chat Room Only)

"Till All Are Con" (Chat Room Only)

Autobot

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Slag - Triceratops (Mentioned)

Sludge - Apatosaurus (Mentioned)

Snarl - Stegosaurus (Mentioned)

Swoop - Pteranodon (Mentioned)

GI Joe

MP3

Scarlett (Mentioned)

Duke (Mentioned)

Webcam (Mentioned) Resigned from GI Joe

Startup (Mentioned) Resigned from GI Joe

Blue Tick (Mentioned) Resigned from GI Joe

Tommy Staples (Mentioned) Resigned from GI Joe

Other Human

Brandon

Amarillo Police

People in Arlington

MASK (Mentioned)

Other

"Cons4eva"

The Brand (Mentioned)

Temptorians (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue continues the new trend of the MTMTE parts of crossovers not including the regular cast of the series. Titans Return focused on the Luna-1 crew, and this one focuses on the recurring Decepticon team called "The Scavengers".
• We see in this issue that "The Big Conversation" is just a Decepticon forum board/chat room where everyone has profiles etc. It's also apparently accessible from other networks, like the Earth's internet!
• People not being as scared as you may think they'd be when Grimlock is rampaging across Texas is probably due to the Transformers being known to exist on Earth again over the past year or so.
• Spinister's holomatter model appears to be female, despite the height and male name.
• Crankcase's history with Thudnerwing was shown in Stormbringer, where he was part of the Nebulos Infiltration Team, where most of the team were killed by the zombie-like Decepticon.
• Spinister's comments that no one knows what MASK is, is likely due to both their recent forming in continuity, and the series only just beginning in the real world.
• So...Spinister and Misfire thought MP3 was dead, so they buried him...AND HE WAS STRUGGLING AS IT HAPPENED!! Hey I guess it's lucky they didn't pull him apart for spare parts like they did to Flywheels after his death!
• The entire dialogue regarding "The Crossover" is littered with jokes regarding the concept on crossover comics. It's hilarious if you are in the know :)
• Grimlock's sword is located underground in a building site, implying that the Machination base that was at that location was demolished at some point since Maximum Dinobots.
• The Admin Force are quite pathetic in the GI Joe troops, they make their own names, costumes and technology. They're basically the "unofficial fan club " of GI Joe rather than a real part of it.
• It's unclear how Cons4eva could turn himself into Thunderwing, since the Dire Wraiths in this series are parasites and not just shapeshifters like they were in Marvel. It's possible that he used the often mentioned black magicks of the group to change his appearance.
• Slug's name is still "Slag" here, due to the sword being gifted BEFORE his name change due to Arcee's complaints of inappropriateness.

IDW - More Than Meets the Eye #46

Title: Animals

Written by: James Roberts

Pencils by: Alex Milne

Inks by: Brian Shearer, John Livesay, John Wycough, and Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long & Chris Mowry

Editor: John Barber

Plot

Fort Max flies his shuttle, the Concordat, towards Tebris VII, where he plans to confront the criminal Demus. On the way he detects the Scavengers' ship on the planet's surface, and Red Alert gives him some information on the team, unfortunately for Red though, the Scavengers had previously modified their own articles on Autopedia, meaning that Red gives Fort Max a lot of wrong information, making the Scavengers sound like great terrors, prompting him to arm himself to the teeth for the confrontation.

A short time later, Fort Max has executed Demus for his crimes, and turns his attention to the Scavengers, who deny having done anything wrong (to be fair, they haven't, they were just looking for a job with Demus). Seeing that he wont change his position on the matter, the Scavengers distract Max and go off hiding within the Scrapyard.

Amongst the aisles Misfire starts arguing with Krok about him playing with his "clicker" again, when he pulls it from his grasp and points out that it's just a finger from one of his old team-mates' hands. Krok reveals that he knows it's a finger, but it's also a communictor and scanner due to it once belonging to a friend who turned into a telecom system. Suddenly he notices that there's actually hundreds of signals around him, when normally it doesn't detect anyone.

Fort Max reveals to them (from another aisle) that Demus had been capturing beastformers for years, and had been gutting, lobotomising, and packaging them to be sold to organic parties to use as "torture dolls". The Scavengers point out that they didn't know anything about this, but Max doesn't listen.

Crankcase takes the moment to communicate to the team about how he hopes Max doesn't learn about Grimlock being on their ship, which Red intercepts and reports to Max, he quickly races off towards the ship, to recapture a lost prisoner.

Afterwards, Krok explains to Misfire that he wanted the money offered by Demus to open up a clinic for Cyebrtronians with mental issues, like himself, to help them recover from the toils of the war. Fulcrum however dismisses this, as Fulcrum was willing to sell Grimlock, a mentally disabled Transformer, just to fund his benevolent dream, which Krok cannot deny.

Crankcase reappears and reveals that he planned for Max to intercept the message, so he'd go and recover Grimlock and give them a chance to leave, but Misfire points out that Grimlock is an escaped prisoner, so Max will more than likely kill Grimlock rather than help him.

Due to Demus having the team take a transformation-suppressor before, they can't transform to save Grimlock in time, but Crankcase notices something they can use to travel with...

Fort Max arrives on the Weak Anthropic Principle and calls out to Grimlock, who is busy writing something in his quarters. Max calls out that Grimlock ran away when Overlord attacked Garus-9, which causes the Dinobot to smash through the door and attack his old warden.

Fort Max gets into the fight, and decides that Grimlock has rejoined the Decepticons, and isn't an Autobot any more.

The Scavengers return to the ship, using some of the Roboids (some Equinoids in this case) and stop Max from continuing the fight with Grimlock.

In the calm after the fight, Misfire and the others reveal that they found Grimlock in a brain-damaged state some time ago, and have been trying to help him recover ever since. Max decides that it's best if Grimlock comes back to Luna-1 with him to be worked on by some of their staff there, but Grimlock says he wants to stay with Misfire.

Max doesn't care though, since he's still determined to arrest the Scavengers anyway, so they will be with him anyway. The Scavengers however trick Max into thinking there's a bomb inside Demus' office, which they'll set off if they are arrested, and that will kill all the Roboids.

Max heads off with the Equinoids and goes to diffuse the bomb. The Scavengers take off in their ship to avoid encountering Max again, and decide to make something of their lives now, and plan to travel to several worlds where Decepticons have been stranded, and help them out, however not before another game of "Shoot Shoot, Bang Bang".

Later, Misfire escorts Grimlock back to his quarters and promises to have his door fixed soon, but without an exterior lock this time, prompting Grimlock to thank him, as he appreciates it, confusing Misfire and making him wonder what Grimlock's going to do next to surprise him...ignoring the white board in the quarters with the Mystery Gear symbol and the phrase "Prepare, Confront, Repel" underneath.

Later still, Fort Max leaves the planet in his shuttle and contacts Rung about his world-view, and Rung suggests that the Scavengers, just trying to live their lives now, may be how all Decepticons are since the end of the war, and maybe Max simply has to change his views of the faction. Max then reveals that Spinister left him instructions on how to simply reverse the lobotomies of the Roboids, allowing Max to turn them back to normal, and escort them back to Luna-1 with him for safety.

Later on still, a Decepticon Worldsweeper arrives at the scrapyard, and two robots with the Mystery Gear symbol on their chests decide to abort their mission on this planet and decide to start again elsewhere, since this location has been compromised....

Characters

Autobot
Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex
Fortress Maximus - Tank
Red Alert - Car
Rung (On Communicator)
Topspin - Jet (Flashback)
Springer - Rocket Car/Helicopter (Flashback)
Roadbuster - Jeep (Flashback)
Ironfist - Van (Mentioned)
Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport (Mentioned)
Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned)

Decepticon
Misfire - Jet
Spinister - Helicopter
Crankcase - Van
Fulcrum - Bomb
Krok
Demus Killed by Fortress Maximus
Radar - Portable Telecoms System (Flashback) Killed by Roadbuster
Krok's Old Squad (Flashback) Dead
Overlord - Tank and Jet (Mentioned)
Killmaster (Mentioned)
Thunderwing (Mentioned)

Other
Mystery Gear Guys
Roboids
5 Equinoids
"Nook"
Galactic Council (Mentioned)
Cerebros (Mentioned)
The Grand Architect (Mentioned)

Notes

• It's referenced that Ironfist left hidden messages in the Wreckers: Declassified articles he created...wonder if this will be important later in the series?
• The Weak Anthropic Principle's design looking like the G1 cartoon's incarnation of the Ark is referenced here, as it is revealed to be an actual Autobot ship, simply taken by the Scavengers.
• The "Roadbuster Affair" mentioned as being why Roadbuster wasn't involved in the Garrus-9 mission in Last Srand of the Wreckers is revealed here to be when he was using Syk, and made a Decepticon eat his own spine during battle....seems reasonable!
• Grimlock is mentioned as having "ran" from Garrus-9 during Overlord's occupation of the prison, but that is impossible due to the defences on the planet. It is more than likely he was abducted  (more than likely by the Mystery Gear Guys)
• Fort Max references that Grimlock used to be a Decepticon, which has been hinted at for a while now in the series.
• It's implied at the end of the issue that Grimlock COULD be acting up his brain-damage, as he manages a perfectly normal sentence, much to Misfire's surprise.
• I love Spinister's handwriting :3
• Whoever the Mystery Gear Guys are, they have some Worldsweepers at their disposal, which most likely means that the one that Grimlock was found on belonged to them too
• It is revealed in this issue that Demus wanted Grimlock in order to return him to his allies within the Mystery Gear faction, as he appeared to escape from them at some point in the last few years.
• Red Alert refers to someone on Luna-1 named Cerebros, this is a reference to Fort Max's traditional Headmaster partner, here though he sounds like a neuroscientist based on the context he is mentioned in
• It's revealed here that Luna-1 has kept in contact with the Lost Light since they parted ways, possibly meaning they know about Tyrest going missing.

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #45

Title: Some of my Best Friends are Autobots

Written by: James Roberts

Pencils by: Alex Milne

Inks by: Brian Shearer with Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Page 1 Photograph: Maziar Shahsafdari

Letters: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Plot

Since we last saw them, the Scavengers have had a slew of adventures, from landing on a planet where they are forced to sing, having Shockwave exiting a data-pad, saving the universe from a being using a Jenga set, and strangest of all, ending up as toys on a strange photo-realistic planet.

Today, the Scavengers have been turned against each other, Fulcrum, Krok and Grimlock have been taken out, and Misfire is under heavy attack from Spinister, however before Spinister can finish off his target, Crankcase swoops in and shoots his own rubber dart at Misfire's head, winning the game.

The group start to moan at Crankcase, since he wasn't even playing the game, when Krok suddenly realizes that no-one's piloting the shuttle, which quickly crashes into a mountain.

Four hours later, Misfire is trying to teach Grimlock how to write his name down, Grimlock manages to write down a scrawled "G", Misfire congratulates him, until he notices that Grimlock has spilt energon on the floor, causing Misfire to briefly get angry, but then asks what happened to him, resulting in Grimlock grabbing Misfire's neck.

Fulcrum and Crankcase are hanging out in the TV room where they are watching the stand-up routine of Skullcruncher, who has become a self-deprecating Decepticon comic, who is very popular on Cybertron right now. During the stand-up he mocks how the Infiltration process makes no sense, and claims that he always knew Megatron would switch sides.

Krok wakes up in the corridor, having been still unconscious from the crash when he heads to the TV room and gets annoyed that Skullcruncher has made a new life for himself, like several of his other old contacts and friends, and he's jealous of their abilities to leave the war, and smashes the TV.

Suddenly Grimlock smashes into the TV room (or I guess room-room now) with Misfire hanging off his neck, trying to calm him down. Crankcase manages to stop him by blasting him with his shoulder cannons, knocking him out. The other Scavengers moan at Misfire about how he's now rehabilitated the Dinobot yet, when Spinister appears in the room, to tell them that the "giant TV" is talking to him again.

On the bridge, Krok and Misfire respond to the communication from Krok's old friend Demus, who has a business proposition for them on his private moon.

The team head over there, and Demus insists that the Scavengers take a temporary suppressant to hinder their alternate modes, as he becomes violently ill if he sees an alternate mode. Demus takes the Scavengers to his office where he offers to buy their prisoner, Grimlock, from them for half a billion Shanix each. Demus receives a message and leaves, allowing the Scavengers to discuss their decision. Most of them are happy to do this, but Misfire has become attached to Grimlock, and doesn't want him hurt, whilst Fulcrum is concerned with why Grimlock, who is brain damaged, would be worth so much money to Demus.

In the scrapyard, Demus is talking to a mysterious party over his communicator about how they had a deal for both of their protections, when he suddenly comes face to face with someone he's been hiding from...

In the office, the Scavengers have voted 3-2 to sell Grimlock, suddenly Demus is thrown through the window, and executed by the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, Fortress Maximus, who asks the Scavengers "who's next?"

Characters

Decepticon

Misfire - Jet

Krok - Monoformer

Crankcase - Van

Spinister - Helicopter

Fulcrum - Bomb

Demus - Monoformer Killed by Fortress Maximus

Skullcruncher - Alligator (On TV)

Overlord - Jet and Tank (Mentioned)

Ratbat - Cassette (Mentioned)

Agonizer (Mentioned)

Biteback (Mentioned)

Deathsaurus - Dragon (Mentioned)

Gatoraider (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned)

Autobot

Fortress Maximus - Tank

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex Brain Damaged

Other Cybertronian

Demus' Contact (On Communicator)

Starscream - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Militant Monoform Militia (Mentioned)

Notes

• The Scavengers are back! YAY!
• In place of the usual "previously" page, this issue has a special "previously" section for the Scavenger's adventures since we last saw them.
• It's possible that the panel where Shockwave is exiting a data pad is set during the end of Dark Cybertron, where Shockwave was distorting reality.
• Last time we saw the Scavengers, they were playing Jenga on their ship, here it is revealed that they once saved the universe by playing Jenga too (despite having their memories of the event erased)
• The photograph of the Scavengers as toys uses their G1 toy counterparts, despite most of them having updated toys in recent years.
• The Weak Anthropic Principle is revealed to be based on the G1 Ark's cartoon model, but in more Decepticon colours. It even crashes into a mountain and wakes up "later" like the original ship.
• Misfire has learned since they took him in, that Grimlock didn't escape or get released from Garrus-9 during Overlord's invasion, he simply went missing mysteriously...
• The "G" Grimlock writes on the wall is more than likely a clue of his to what happened to him, possible the first letter of a location or individual that affected him (Maybe Garrus-1?)
• I'm doing this review a week or so late due to illness, but turns out this was a good thing, as in the week after his issue came out, a new Skullcruncher toy was announced by Hasbro...coincidence? MAYBE!?
• Krok was supposedly named after his dead pet. His Action Master accessory partner in the G1 toy line was Gatoraider, who was a crocodile.
• Krok is revealed to be a member of the MMM, a reference to his original Action Master state in the toys.
• Hey look it's Fort Max! ....did you know he's getting a new toy in Titans Return too? HUH!?
• The thing in Krok's hand mentioned in their first appearances is revealed to be a clicker, that he has an obsessive habit of clicking when agitated