IDW - Optimus Prime #23

Title: Time Will Rust

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Priscilla Tramontano

Colours by: Josh Burcham

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Six Months ago, some of the original denizens of Devisiun were sitting around a fire, listening to an elder tell them the story of when the colonists arrived, and how once they did, they turned their vibrant and lush world into a metallic one...

In the present day, Jazz is in GI Joe's custody after his surrender, but Marissa arrives with her Dinobot allies to try and negotiate his release, when all of a sudden Sky Lynx arrives, with the colonist recruits in tow, who attack the Joes and Dinobots intending to free Jazz from his cell, as he doesn't deserve to be entrapped there. Flint gives the order for the Joes to use lethal weaponry on them, but they decide against it, sue to them knowing and caring about Cybertronians now.

At the Junkion City, Wreck-Gar and Rum-Maj are listening in on the altercation and decide that if this continues then their new world may be destroyed like their old one, especially with Unicron's threat looming on them, so they decide to head out too...

Jazz laments his coming to Earth in the first place, having been sent to scout it out, and then slowly bringing in Optimus, and eventually the invasion, even killing a Human in a very public setting. He breaks out of his chains and leaves his cell, deciding to try and calm the situation, since he's responsible for all of this now.

Gimlet recalls how he wanted to come to Earth, feeling more comfortable with a world that wasn't mechanical, and wanted to help another organic colony belong with the Cybertronians. However in the battle, he smashes into a Joe vehicle, mortally wounding Mainframe in the process. He immediately regrets what he did and apologises, only for Slug to slash him in half, killing the Eukarian.

As Mainframe is dying, he remembers how he used to hate the Cybertronians for being near indestructible and for bringing their war to Earth, but after working with some of them, he grew to like them and even see them as friends. He asks Hi-Tech to not allow all their hard work go to nothing as he tries to heal him.

Sky Lynx attacks Slug for killing Gimlet, as Bump mourns over his corpse. Jazz holds back Slide, who is seeing red now for another colonist being killed on Earth, but she escapes and attacks Slug, accusing him of being no better than Optimus.

Slug takes this hard, as he dislikes Optimus and how he has double standards, and how he used the Dinobots to do things he wouldn't do himself, but eventually they saw a new life when they witnessed the new Cybertronian lives being born within Trypticon and vowed to protect them.

Slug soon realises his mistake, and is distressed over killing Gimlet. Hi-Tech tries to get help for Mainframe, only for Marissa to declare him as already having died, to which Flint points out that this is what Cybertronians do.

Strafe pins down Slide to calm her down, only for the Junkions to arrive with a fleet of Sharkticons, planning to end the battle. Jazz quickly jumps to action and calms down the Junkions, reminding them that they're friends, but Slide is still furious at them for a Junkion killing Oiler, her bonded partner, and also at Optimus for both allying with the Junkions and allowing their worlds to be devoured by Unicron...

As if on cue however, Unicron appears in the skies above Earth, ready to finish off his ultimate goal of destroying the Cybertronian race....

Characters

Autobot

Slug - Triceratops

Swoop - Pteranodon

Jazz - Sports Car

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Slide - Part of Oil Tanker

Gimlet - Lobster Killed by Slug

Bump - Armadillo

Midnight Express - Bullet Train

Roulette - Muscle Car

Optimus Prime - Truck (Flashback Only)

Aileron - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Flashback Only)

Sludge - Apatosaurus (Flashback Only)

Snarl - Stegosaurus (Flashback Only)

Oiler - Part of Oil Tanker (Flashback Only) Dead

Metrotitan - Autobot City (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Soundwave - Cassette Player (Flashback Only)

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt (Flashback Only)

Starscream - Fighter Jet (Flashback Only)

Unnamed Decepticon Team (Flashback Only) Killed by Dinobots

Shockwave/Onyx Prime (Mentioned)

Junkion

Wreck-Gar

Rum-Maj

Vajra - Shark

Sharkticons

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Trypticon - Earth Embassy

Strafe - Two Headed Dragon

Black Arachnia - Spider (Flashback Only)

Snarl - Tasmanian Devil (Flashback Only)

Long Rack - Giraffe (Flashback Only)

Other Eukarians (Flashback Only)

New Protoforms (Flashback Only)

"The World Breaker" - City/Space Ship (Flashback Only)

Early Devisen Colonists (Flashback Only)

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

GI Joe

Flint

Spike

Talon

Mainframe Killed by Gimlet

Hi-Tech

Scarlett (Flashback Only)

Doc Sr. (Mentioned)

Doc Jr. (Mentioned)

Other Human

Marissa Faireborn

John Powell (Flashback Only) Killed by Jazz

New Yorkers (Flashback Only) One Killed during Invasion

Madame President (Mentioned)

Other

Unicron

Serpentine Aliens (Flashback Only) Killed in Battle between Dinobots and Decepticons

Native Devisens (Flashback Only)

Notes

• This issue taps into an abandoned storyline from Till All Are One, where it would have looked into the culture and daily life of the colony worlds. Here showing the early days and daily life of Devisiun and a glimpse into the life of Eukaris (both worlds now of course destroyed by Unicron)
• It's fully explained here that the sparks that were cultivated on Devisiun were remade to be paired with another one due to exposure from the planet's binary star system.
• Devisiun is revealed to be a world that still have some natural plantlife on it, rather than being fully cyberformed or an otherwise barren world (like Caminus, Velocitron etc)
• The native Devisen people are shown to have evolved from being quadrupedal bunny rabbits to bipedal bunnies since the Cybertronian colony was formed.
• Awww the GI Joe member Mainframe dies here, having been a fairly major character since he was brought into this continuity...I guess he can join his Autobot name counterpart now...
• The alien race seen during Slug's flashback to a battle with some Decepticons look kind of like Orphion's race from the Rom series...huh....
• One of the Sharkticons gets named in this issue, and it is "Vajra" (named after the weapon of Indra) ...I was kinda expecting Gnaw...
• Unicron's arrival at the end of this issue places it slightly ahead of the concurrently released Unicron #4, where Unicron has only just arrived at Jupiter by that story's end and is still on the way to Earth at that point.
• In both this issue, and the concurrently released Unicron #4 there are instances of a character calling Unicron a "unicorn"...we really need new jokes about Unicron's name guys!
• The Dinobots are shown in their flashback battling some Decepticons in their dinosaur alternate modes...there's a problem there though, they were never an active team in those modes. After taking on the forms they were trapped under rubble for several millennia, then after waking up Grimlock was taken away to Garrus-9 and they've been separated ever since.

DW - Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front #1

Staff

Title: Targets of Opportunity

Dedicated to: Larry Hama

Writers: James McDonough and Adam Patyk

Pencils: Pat Lee (Hiiiisssssss)

Breakdowns: Nick Kilislian

Background: Edwin Garcia

Inks: Rob Armstrong

Colours: Anthony Washington and Alan Wang

Letters: Ben Lee

Plot

At a harbor in New York City, GI Joe attack a Cobra team, led by Destro, raiding the harbor for some reason, it seems to be going well until Cobra starts using their high tech weapons and vehicles against the Joes and start chasing them off. Destro starts to retreat but one of the troopers tries to take his place in a flight pod. Scrap-Iron kills the trooper and allows himself and Destro to escape, leaving a missile for the Joes to deal with.

The next day, Flint is back at the Utah Joe HQ where he has a talk with Duke about his recent run of bad missions, and he's told to go to The Pit for some R&R. Later a small spaceship crashes into a forest near Mount St. Hilary in Oregon, which Cobra detects and has a local team look into the crash./

Over Cobra Island, Starscream, in a new F015 Jet mode is flying around watching the Cobras move out to the crash-site, and he plans to use the ship as a means to escape Earth in his energy depleted state, when they bring it back to base.

Flint is working out in the weight room, when he gets a call in about the crash and is called out to lead a team to Oregon, along with a new team led by Spirit, who were training in the area at the time.

The two groups meet up in the forest and immediately start attacking the Cobras, who have something under a tarp being airlifted away. The Joes cause the helicopter to explode, and the cargo falls, unveiling two robots, Perceptor and Blaster, unconscious.

Later the Joes return to base with their cargo, where Flint and Spirit are taken to meet with Duke, Scarlett and Stalker, who were all in the team from the Fera Islands in 1939, and they're told about the Transformers and about how Cobra was formed....

and then the company went down, and the series was cancelled.....FUN!!!

Characters

G.I. Joe

Duke

Scarlett

Stalker

Flint

Spirit

Shipwreck

Snake-Eyes

Cover Girl

Gung-Ho

Clutch

Rock 'N' Roll

Blowtorch

Grand Slam

Quick Kick

Airtight

Bazooka

Doc

Wild Bill

Alpine

Barbecue

Mutt

Junkyard

Cobra

Cobra Commander

Destro

Scrap-Iron

Agent Smith

Cobra Troops

Autobot

Perceptor Unconscious from Crash

Blaster Unconscious from Crash

Optimus Prime (Footage Only)

Decepticon

Starscream - F-15 Jet

Megatron - Gun (Footage Only)

Notes

• Yeah...there was only one issue of this series due to Dreamwave imploding in on itself
• Most likely characters like Flint, Destro and Snake Eyes are related in some way to the characters in the first G.I. Joe crossover from Dreamwave
• Whilst the artwork in this comic is nicer than that of the previous series...it's still not very nice...most of the human characters look like they're melting or something
• Pretty much every time they show a reflection of something it's just a reprinting of an image seen elsewhere in the comic...it just seems lazy to me
• Starscream being the only Decepticon shown active in this comic may have been because he was disabled before the Matrix blast...but of course there's no way to find out now...
• Yeah...the scene in the weight room is just weird.....(see above picture for most of it)
• Flint doesn't seem to be as good as the Flint from the first crossover
• It seems that one of the Joes on the Fera Islands must have had a camera since they have footage of Optimus and Megatron fighting.

DW - Transformers/G.I. Joe

Plot

Cobra attacks the Fera Islands in the winter of 1938, where during their raid they awaken Megatron who was hidden behind a wall behind a statue and makes contact with Major Bludd, and starts re-activating his fellow Decepticons.

A year later in the summer of 1939 in Virginia several highly trained soldiers are brought together and are debriefed about the recent attacks by Cobra in several countries, with several people going missing in the process. The assembled soldiers are all brought together as a new team: G.I. Joe, who are set to take down Cobra, and it's revealed they have their location, during the meeting Snake-Eyes notices a strange creature in the rafters, and everyone starts shooting at it (Laserbeak) who easily escapes.

The next day Laserbeak returns to Soundwave at the Terrordrome on the Fera Islands. Cobra Commander is trying to be in charge still, despite being surrounded by giant killing robots and other strong Cobra members like Destro. Cobra doesn't care about the Joes being formed as no one knows where they are, and even if they do come, they have the Decepticons to defend them (which Commander has in check with the Matrix he wears around his neck)

At the Joe's launch point in the Shetland Islands and Jaye and Scarlett reveal that they have a map to the Terrordrome, which was scrawled into the hull of a ship. The team head towards the Fera Islands. Meanwhile, some of the Decepticons are in the English Channel discussing their plans to kill Cobra Commander and take the Matrix from him, and then proceed to attack a batch of local aircraft and then raid a power plant of some sort for energy.

Later the Joes airdrop onto the Fera Islands and are immediately attacked by Stormshadow, who challenges Snake-Eyes to a fight due to their past. The rest of the Joes escape and are split up, one group walks into the ruins on the island, and come face to face with a big deactivated robot's head.

The Joes investigate the "dead" robots and accidentally activate the Sky Spy probe, which shoots into the air, scans the local vehicles and remains of vehicles, and proceeds to repair and reactivate the deactivated Autobots and gives them local alternate modes. The Joes get scared and attack the giant monster robot, but end up ceasing when Ironhide saves them from killing themselves with the ricocheting bullets.

Snake-Eyes and Stormshadow continue their fight, Snake-Eyes has his face sliced up, but he's spared death when Stalker saves himwith his gun, chasing off Stormshadow. However rather than regrouping with the others, Snake-Eyes decides to follow Stormshadow again.

Stormshadow orders some Cobra troops to kill Snake-Eyes when he follows him, but the Joe ninja sneaks up on the troops and kills them instead, leaving Stormshadow without backup. Snake-Eyes staunches his wounds and burns his face.

At the site of the Ark's ruins, where the Autobots have just been awoken they tell the Joes about their past and connection with the Decepticons, and make peace with them. The Joes leave to deal with Cobra and the Decepticons, and the Autobots decide to join them.

Megatron learns of the Autobots being revived when he sees the Sky Spy returning. Elsewhere, things aren't going well for Cobra, as the Commander and the others inside the Terrordrome can't contact their troops outside, even Stormshadow. The Commander decides to call in Zartan, despite him being a psychopath.

Elsewhere, the Joes are travelling on foot, when some Decepticon Seekers attack them. Grimlock smashes out of the ground and attacks the Decepticons in his new tank mode.

Snake-Eyes continues to slaughter Cobra troopers in the ruins whilst following Stormshadow, when he finds him, and the giant robotic jaguar Ravage ready to fight him.

The second team of Joes are hiding from some Decepticon Seekers. Elsewhere Stalker is being followed by a Cobra trooper, but manages to kill him and continues looking for the rest of his team, when he encounters an Aerialbot and the rest of the Autobots and Joes from his earlier team, when more Seekers start attacking again.

Elsewhere, Megatron tries to end his partnership with Cobra, but the Commander uses the Matrix to hurt him instead, revealing that he knows the Matrix isn't just some symbol of authority, but capable of hurting Transformers too.

Snake-Eyes fights with Ravage and manages to send him over the edge of the cliff they're on, and drops a grenade on him, knocking him out, he then proceeds to kill the other Cobra troopers in the area, then begins fighting Stormshadow all over again.

A short while away Breaker watches an explosion from the ruins when Zartan appears behind him, shortly "Breaker" finds Flint and asks him to explain their mission plan again. The Autobots and Joes are tearing through some Cobra troops when they encounter Rumble in a Cobra uniform, who uses his pile-drivers to smash up the ground in front of them.

Flint realizes that Breaker is an impostor when he uses the wrong radio to try and call in some reinforcements, and Zartan reveals that he killed Breaker, Soundwave appears from seemingly nowhere and abducts Flint, and attacks the remaining Joes in the area. Zartan and Sounwave fly off with Flint as a prisoner. The rest of the Joes continue with their mission and find a Cobra Airfield.

On another island Rumble is tearing the place up, sending everyone flying. Everyone is overwhelmed, but Scarlett rides Bumblebee above Rumble and drops a grenade on him, disabling him. The Autobots free themselves from the area, but Grimlock's having problems and is falling into a sinkhole. Optimus has the Aerialbots combine into Superion to save him.

The two ninja continue their fight, which ends up in the water, where Stormshadow is attacked by a shark. At the Terrordrome Destro and Starscream look upon their joint project, Bruticus who may need to be activated if the Autobots and Joes continue their mission.

Inside one of the ships at the Cobra airfield, Beach Head tries to get access to the ship's systems, when he's attacked by Frenzy. Beach Head grabs some powercables from the power box on the ship to use as a weapon against the Decepticon.

Outside Lady Jayes sees an explosion from the ship and hopes Beach Head is okay, then enters one of the Cobra planes and starts flying it, with the Cobra pilot Wild Weasel following her in the air.

Snake-Eyes comes out of the water with Stormshadow in his arms, and he dies after acknowledging that Snake-Eyes is a true warrior. Snake-Eyes then finds Ravage injured nearby, so he skewers his head with his blade.

In the Terrordrome, Flint is being held prisoner and is tortured and interrogated by Dr Mindbender and Baroness. At the Airfield,  Beach Head and Frenzy both escape the ship without the explosion causing any damage really, Frenzy is led into an ambush where the Joes shoot at a plane he's near and cause it to explode, badly injuring the Decepticon.

In the air nearby, Wild Weasel goes after Jaye in her plane, but she outmaneuvers him and shoots him out of the sky herself. The team regroup with the Autobots and the other Joes at last.

In the remains of the town of Torhavn near the Terrordrome, Cobra Commander orders that everyone there is to be rounded up and used as a human shield around the base, to stop the Joes and Autobots from attacking.

Back with the Joes and the Autobots, Snake-Eyes, long thought to be dead now, returns and has an emotional moment with Scarlett.

The Autobots and Joes proceed towards the Terrordrome through the water, glad to see there are people being used as slaves there, as that means the Cobras didn't just kill all their prisoners.

Megatron has Shockwave convert to his warship mode and has him shoot at the Autobots, blasting Superion in the process.

The Autobots and Joes are under fire from Shockwave, which causes some of their makeshift boats sink, resulting in Grunt drowning. Jaye and Duke wind on one of the shores and find Major Bludd and the Dreadnoks waiting for them, but they're dispatched by Flint, however Jaye knows that he's a faker, Zartan, and throws a sharp branch at his face, killing him.

The Autobots and some Joes reach the shore as well and engage the Decepticons and Cobras. Megatron reveals that using Shockwave's weapon so much has caused him internal damage, but if the Commander uses the Matrix on him he can be fixed, but Commander doesn't care, and refuses.

Snake-Eyes and Scarlett arrive on the shore together and start off to try and regroup with the others again, when they find Bruticus in the scaffolding of the Terrordrome. Starscream sees Baroness, who reveals that she and Destro are working together against Cobra for their own goals, then she shoots Starscream with a special weapon which disables him. Destro activates Bruticus and has him attack anyone who gets in his way.

Bruticus' awakening causes the mountain to break apart, and traps Cobra Commander under a landslide, his legs are now trapped and he can't get free. Megatron offers to help him by converting into his gun mode, and lands right next to him. Everyone starts attacking Bruticus as he's against everyone.

The Commander can't bring himself to commit suicide, but Baroness arrives, grabs Megatron and kills the Cobra Commander for him. Scarlett then appears behind her and forces her to surrender, dropping Megatron, who transforms again and is attacked by Opitmus before he can grab the Matrix. Snake-Eyes grabs the artifact and Optimus tells him to smash it, as the energy could destroy Bruticus. Snake-Eyes does so and causes a bright explosion.

Destro and Baroness are taken into custody by GI Joe and the Joes look out at the Autobots, who are also dead, with the Matrix having killed them too, and they realize that Optimus knew what would happen all along. Scarlett weeps in Snake-Eyes' arms.

Characters

Autobot - All killed by Matrix Blast

Optimus Prime

Ironhide - Tank

Grimlock - Tank

Bumblebee - Motorcycle with Sidecar

Jazz

Prowl

Ratchet

Wheeljack

Hound - Jeep

Aerialbots - Propeller Planes

Superion - Aerialbot Gestalt

Decepticon - All killed by Matrix Blast

Megatron - Gun

Starscream - Propeller Plane Disabled by Baroness

Shockwave - War Ship

Soundwave 

Laserbeak

Ravage Killed by Snake-Eyes

Rumble Killed by Scarlett

Frenzy - Part of a ship Killed by Joes

Skywarp - Propeller Plane

Seekers - Propeller Plane

G.I.Joe

Flint Killed by Zartan/Mindbender/Baroness

Snake-Eyes

Duke

General Hawk

Lady Jaye

Scarlett

Stalker

Roadblock

Beach Head

Leatherneck

Lifeline

Grunt Drowned

Breaker Killed by Zartan

Other Joes

Cobra - Either Killed offscreen or arrested

Cobra Commander Killed by Baroness

Baroness

Destro

Storm Shadow Killed by Snake-Eyes and a Shark

Zartan Killed by Lady Jaye

Wild Weasel Killed by Lady Jaye

Major Bludd

Dr Mindbender

Cobra Troops

Dreadnoks

Other

Bruticus Killed in Matrix Blast

Sky Spy

Fera Island Monks

Fera Island Slaves/Prisoners

Arashikage Clan (Mentioned)

Notes

• This series is similar in design and basic concept (the Transformers in an older setting on Earth) to those seen in IDW's Hearts of Steel and Sector Seven comics. And like those comics, the artwork and designs are very annoying....
• Snake-Eyes got his name from his throwing dice at people, and it landing as two 1's (ie Snake Eyes) or so it seems from this comic
• From the looks of it, Cobra were a pre-cursor to the Nazi's (unless the Nazi's didn't exist in this continuity, and Cobra takes their place...we'll never know of course).
• The Cobra members seem to keep talking about "the Americans" which implies that Cobra is a foreign organization to the USA.
• Snake-Eyes' bad facial scars were caused in this continuity by him pouring gunpowder from his bullets onto his face and then setting it alight, to staunch his bleeding face
• Cobra Commander must have stolen the "Matrix" (which looks more like just a fragment of it to me) from that statue at the start of the comic, as it has a similar glow on it's chest. It also for some reason can hurt Transformers when in it's presence....I'm thinking it was actually something else, but again, we'll never know due to the collapse of Dreamwave.
• Bruticus is a Cobra invention in this continuity, and Starscream had a hand in his creation...sort of similar to his creation in the G1 Cartoon
• Baroness's weapon was most likely designed through studying the Matrix that Cobra Commander owns, as it seems to disable Starscream with great ease
• Ravage seems to be wearing a parachute when he's first seen, implying that he was airdropped in from one of the Seekers.
• I've decided since the sequel series ended after one issue, that if anyone seems to die in this story, and they aren't seen alive in the sequel, then I'll just say they're dead here...simple enough.

DDP - GI Joe vs The Transformers Black Horizon

Plot

In Tibet, 1978, The Adventure Team (Joe Colton, Atomic Man and Cok-Pa) are hiking through to avoid the Chinese when suddenly they're found by them and attacked. The Team hide, but are stunned when the planes are attacked by some strange organic weapons and a flying man. Chok-Pa gets scared and itentifies them as Kohbrala, the men under the mountain, and insists they leave immediately. The Pretender Bludgeon suddenly appears to stop them from leaving, and briefly fights Atomic Man (whom he kills). He is however stopped from killing the other two when Pythona arrives and says she needs a new pet....

Today, in Denver, Colorada, a now retired Hawk wakes up from another apocalyptic dream about the future thanks to the Matrix which he downloaded into himself before. He's retired due to the lies told about the Cybertronians, and the whole Serpentor incident, and is now being called insane and a traitor by people, especially for his refusal to go public about his beliefs. Hawk later agrees to meet with Ms. Allen, a reporter who he intends to tell the whole story to, but during the interview Skids sends him a message from their ship and insists he comes with them for an important mission. Hawk cuts the interview short and leaves, and gets picked up by Cosmos (in flying saucer mode) which shocks Ms Allen into believing Hawk's story a little more.

In Cuba, Destro is making an Arms Deal with Mr Calandero for some of the remaining SNAKES, but it's interupted by Eject, Prowl and Sideswipe, who easily defeat Destro and his troops, however they're called away by Skids as well before they can arrest Destro, and before the Joes arrive. Firewall picks up a message from space stating "I RETURN". This hurts Hawk and he insists that Optimus needs to come to Earth now to help.

On Cybertron, Optimus leaves for Earth, with Hot Rod wondering why he's not sending a team instead of going himself, which he correctly guesses is because of what happened to Bumblebee during the Serpentor incident.

In Tibet, Pythona informs a still captive Joe Colton (GI Joe) that Unicron is on his way. Back in Cuba, Flint is contacted by Hawk in secret and asks him if he wants to join him on a mission to Tibet (as they know that's where the strange signals for Unicron are coming from). Back at Cobra-La, in Tibet, Mindbender warns Golobulus that they've detected an aircraft, most likely the Joes heading towards Cobra-La, Golobulus tell shim to fortify the defenses and to summon the Pretenders.

Optimus Prime, Hawk and Flint airdrop into Tibet, thanks to a contact of Hawk's in the Chinese military and they use the Matrix's powers to try and locate the problem. On the edge of the Solar System some aliens are planning on pillaging Earth for resources when suddenly they're attacked by Unicron, who devours them and their ship. Back on Earth, in Destro's Silent Castle Destro is thanked (via video) for his role in the grand scheme by transporting their mushrooms in his ships, despite them being lost when the ships were destroyed in battle. Destro feels like he might have just sold out humanity some how (but the money probably made those dark thoughts go away). In Cobra-La Pythona reveals to Mindbender that the mushrooms are actually eggs of the Nyarath, which radiate a spore that the Nyarath can follow, and since the Autobots got so close to them, the Nyarath can find them, despite any stealth tech they might be using.

Off the coast of California a large flying creature (the Nyarath) flies towards the Autobots, whoa re all just relaxing in their ship, underwater. Suddenly the ship is attacked and the Moster Pretenders beak in, and start attacking everyone in sight.

In Cobra-La Optimus and his group are ambushed by Bludgeon and some Royal Guards. Bludgeon manages to injure Optimus, but Hawk uses his Matrix powers to download music into Bludgeon's mind and distracts him enough for the group to escape. Golobulus has been watching this and is angered that his plans might be foiled so late in the game.

At the ocean again Cosmos is nearly hit by the Nyarath when he sees Eject bringing Firewall to the surface of the water, both of whom having avoided being attacked by the Monsters. Cosmos takes Firewall with him to rendezvous with Optimus and the others in Tibet, whilst Eject stays behind to try and save the Autobots left behind.

In Cobra-La Pythona tells Colton that a team calling themselves "GI Joe" are coming, giving him hope, once Pythona leaves, Colton uses a long hidden small piece of bone to pick his shackles and free himself.

At The Pit, the Joes are looking through their "wanted" list of Cobra agents when suddenly Firewall appears on the screen and tells them all she knows to be happening.

In Cobra-La again Optimus and the others have found some markings on a wall telling them of Unicron arriving on Earth, but making a deal with the people of Cobra-La, who had a fungus weapon that devours metal. Unicron agreed to return when Humanity itself had reached a level of power worthy of him to devour, but to leave the planet itself for the people of Cobra-La to live on. After reading this Optimus confirms that he always thought of Unicron as just a "boogeyman" but this shows him that he is real and they must stop him.

The group are found again by Bludgeon and his Royal Guard team, but the two Joes and Optimus ar ehelped out by a now freed Joe Colton!

Cosmos and Firewall arrive in Tobet and start looking for Optimus and the others, when Firewall is dragged underground, and Cosmos falls in shortly afterwards. In the undergorund Firewall is confronted by a Yeti. Elsewhere in Cobra-La, Golobulus is chastising Pythona for allowing Colton to escape, and orders her to awaken Nemesis Enforcer.

Back at The Pit, GI Joe are being outfitted for a mission to Tibet, and Duke and Jaye get official permission from Flagg to allow this mission. Unicron draws ever closer, and even NORAD's sensors start to pick up Unicron's message, which blows out their systems.

Optimus and the others are running through the caverns in Cobra-La trying to avoid Bludgeon and his crew, but are found by them on a bridge. Optimus fights Bludgeon whilst Colton fights the Royal Guards an dthe other two try to get away (and to free Flint from his random binds). Bludgeon is knocked off the bridge, Optimus tries to save him, but Bludgeon's pretender shell is infested with the metal eating sungus spores and it starts to eat Optimus' hand, so he has to let go, and Bludgeon falls to his death. Flint is freed from his binds, and Colton has defeated the Guards. Optimus blasts the bridge behind them to stop anyone else from following them. Elsewhere, Pythona awakens Nemesis Enforcer from his chamber and tells him there's someone she wants him to destroy.

Unicron is nearing Earth now, and poeple can start to see his planet mode from the surface as a star. Unicron blocks Earth's communications so they cant call for outside help etc. In the caverns Firewall is told by Mindbender that the people of Cobra-La are going to use her as a sacrifice to Unicron. Nearby, Colton and the others find the chamber filled with metal eating fungus and are forced to fight the Yeti who guard it for Cobra-La. Cosmos arrives from a hole in the ceiling in UFO mode and helps out, whilst also explaining that Firewall's gone missing. Colton interrogates one of the Yeti's for Firewall's location.

The Joes arrive in Tibet but are immediately attacked by the Monster Pretenders, who have merged into Monstructor.

Flint goes inside Cosmos with a load of the metal eating fungus spores (they're safe in their pod forms) and they fly up into the sky and enter the now arrived Unicron's mouth (he just transformed) hoping to use them on him. The people of Cobra-La are gathered together for the sacrifice to Unicron and their victory, when Optimus Prime drives through with the Humans inside. An all out battle ensues with the Creatures of Cobra-La being summoned to attack Optimus as well.

Nemesis Eneforcer faces Colton, as he was the target, in which Colton slices off Nemesis Enforcer's wings. In orbit, Unicron starts his attack on Earth, causing weather disturbances and earthquakes first due to his proximity, whilst Cosmos is flying through and encounter's the crew inside Unicron, who start to fight them off. Optimus and the Joes are being pinned down by their foes, but Optimus manages to free himself.

Hawk rescues Firewall by shooting Golobulus before he can kill her, and a battle ensues between the two. Outside Monstructor is causing havok and kills some of the Joes, until the Laser Squad blasts off his head, taking out the whole team. 

Inside Cobra-La, Nemesis Enforcer is about to kill Colton, when Pythona changes her mind and instead kills Nemesis Enforcer, admitting to Colton how she feels for him. Unicron is demolishing cities on Earth, but Cosmos manages to reach his brain chamber, but Cosmos is injured by a blast, so Flint leaves him, carrying a bag of the spores and goes on foot the rest of the way.

Hawk frees Firewall, but is attacked by Golobulus again, who still wants to kill Firewall, but luckily she's saved by Optimus, who punches the snake-man into the ground, killing him. The rest of GI Joe arrive at the city and the tide of the battle is changed in the human's favor.

Inisde Unicron, Flint defeats several of Unicron's crew, including Carcass (one of the aliens Unicron devoured earlier) and then shoots the spores, causing them to spread. Unicron's head starts to erupt, but Cosmos and Flint manage to escape in time.

Later on, the people of Cobra-La are arrested, with the leaders intended to be tried for crimes against humanity, and everyone reunites. In the aftermath everyone is fixed up, and Optimus spends some time relaxing with Firewall and Eject watching some trashy TV shows. Later again, Joe Colton is made the head of a team to investigate Unicron's body and to try and see if any of his crew need rescuing or help.

In Denver, Hawk reunites with his girlfriend and they walk off into the sunset together...with Unicron's body floating in orbit...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Cosmos - Flying Saucer

Eject - Cassette

Skids - Van

Prowl - Police Car

Sideswipe - Sports Car

Hot Rod - Car

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier

Bumblebee (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Bludgeon Killed by Optimus Prime

Slog

Icepick

SCowl

Birdbrain

Wildfly

Bristleback

Monstructor - Monster Pretender Gestalt Defeated by Laser Squad

Serpentor (Mentioned) Dead

GI Joe

Hawk

Firewall

Flint

General Flagg

Snake-Eyes

Lady Jaye

Duke

Mainframe

Cover Girl

Outback

Scarlett

Bushido

Snow Job

Windmill Killed by Monstructor

Sci-Fi

Flash

Red Spot

Payload

Countdown

Cobra-La

Golobulus Killed by Optimus Prime

Pythona

Nemesis Enforcer Killed by Pythona

Dr Mindbender

Royal Guards

Cobra-La Civilians

Yetis

Creatures of Cobra-La

Cobra-La Ancestors (Flashback)

Adventure Team (Defunct)

Joe Colton/GI Joe (Joins GI Joe)

Atomic Man Killed by Bludgeon

Chok-Pa Died in Captivity

Cobra (Mostly Defunct)

Destro

Mistress Armada

Iron Grenadiers

SNAKES Destroyed by Autobots

Baroness (On Screen)

Zartan (On Screen)

Firefly (On Screen)

Iron Klaw (On Screen)

Tomax (On Screen) In Custody

Overlord (On Screen) In Custody

Darklon (On Screen) In Custody

Other

Unicron - Ringed Planet Brain attacked by Metal Eating Spores

Ms Allen (Reporter)

Carolee 

Mr Calandero

NORAD Staff

Human Civilians

Chinese Military

Beastformers Unicron's Servants

Lobotomaxx (Lunartix) Devoured by Unicron, Maybe made into Slave

Predacon (Lunartix) Devoured by Unicron, Maybe made into Slave

Carcass (Lunartix) Unicron's Servant, Killed by Flint

Notes

• Think of this series as the 80's GI Joe movie, crossed with the 80's Transformers movie
• The Pretender tech is explained here to have been made by Cobra-La, makes sense since it's an organic-like substance. This is to keep them safe from the weather etc in that part of Earth.
• I think Atomic Man is the fastest named human character to be killed off!  (after 6 pages)
• Even though it seemed that the people of the world knew of Cybertronians in the past, it seems like the Transformers are being covered up, which Hawk isn't happy about (most likely due to his visions of the future)
• Cobra is basically gone now, with Destro acting as a normal arms dealer, and most of the agents either on the run, or captured by now.
• The work Mindbender did for Cobra-La was to help fix their "God Beacon", which of course is what they use to summon Unicron back to Earth.
• Cobra-La seem to have access to human currency, as they pay off Destro to carry mushrooms in his ships
• The Autobots seem to have cut off ties with GI Joe, barring a couple of rogue's like Hawk and Firewall
• The Matrix apparently has over 11 million traditional Cybertronian songs in it...maybe Nova Prime liked music?
• Unicron can be defeated by metal eating fungus.....
• Unicron uses some psionic powers to start tearing apart Earth, instead of just eating it, this is likely part of the deal made with Cobra-La, so they can retake the Earth properly after humanity is gone
• Joe Colton has Kung-Fu Grip...
• Nemesis Enforcer appears to have been kept in a state of suspended animation for some reason, but can be revive with blood (or at least Pythona's blood anyway)
• The Anti-Bodies/Crew inside Unicron are the Battle Beasts, and the aliens who were "devoured" by him earlier...it's probably safe to assume that Unicron ate their world, kidnapped some to act as his crew and mind-controlled them. It's not clear what happened to them after Unicron "dies" but it's likely they either died with him, or they were freed from his control
• Pythona seems to love Joe Colton, and it's possible that Joe feels the same way, from some glances
• Eject likes bad TV and football
• By the end of this story, Unicron is seem floating in orbit around Earth, a parallel of his fate at the end of the 80's Movie (albeit he was just a head then)