IDW - Lost Light #20

Title: Crucible Part 2: Lustrare 

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Casey W. Coller

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

On Mederi, the team left on the surface continue to barricade themselves into Ward Zero, where First Aid manages to hack into Mederi's files discovers a possible cure for the Sparkeater disease, but it is a concussive medicine, meaning it has to be "punched" into the victims. They prepare to use a generator to administer the cure, but Misfire worries that the organic aliens in the ward could be harmed by the generator. First Aid agrees that this is a risk and tries to find another cure, only for Nickle to turn it on anyway. Outside the Sparkeaters are knocked out, and Velocity commends Nickel, since the organics would have been killed regardless if the monsters got inside, but luckily the generator didn't hurt them anyway. Nickel plays it off that she knew that...and not that she just didn't care about the aliens...

On the Lost Light, Cyclonus has flown off through the corridors with Star Saber chasing him, the two having unfinished business since their last encounter on Luna-1. Rodimus is left with Getaway and Scorponok, the former of which just watches as Scorponok pummels the Autobot. Rodimus taunts Getaway about how he'll never be a Prime, not just because of him not being worthy, but because "Getaway Prime" sounds stupid, to which Getaway just orders Scorponok to kill him.

In the now flooded Shuttle Bay Four, Grimlock manages to slice the Scraplet combiner in half, but it quickly reforms. It starts to grab for the team, until it notices Whirl and speeds off towards him. Whirl screams out a "No!" before being shocked at the Scraplets reforming into a hand and caress his face gently....

Back in the corridors, Star Saber is getting bored with just flying in circles, that is until Cyclonus transforms and draws his sword, bisecting the still speeding Star Saber from end to end, seemingly killing the murderous zealot. He offers him a brief prayer to hope Primus forgives his sins, as he also hopes the same for himself one day.

On the Bridge, Scorponok is about to squish Rodimus' head, but is teleported away by Tyrest, since the Grand Architect needs his "lieutenants" with him for the next stage of their plans. Getaway is left alone with Rodimus, and decides to run for his life rather than fight him there.

On Mederi, some of the Sparkeaters are brought into Ward Zero to complete their treatment, when suddenly the aliens begin a count-down, leaving everyone to worry about what they are counting towards...

Back on the Lost Light, Rodimus follows Getaway to the furnaces, where he contacts Cyclonus to let him know where he is, and he is ambushed by Getaway. The two fight, with Getaway threatening to use some Nucleon rods to destroy the ship. The two talk, and Getaway explains that when they arrived on "Cyberutopia" they found nothing, since the crew didn't have a consensus of what Cyberutopia would be like, and were soon attacked by the Grand Architect's Worldsweepers. Getaway managed to save his own life by claiming that Rodimus and Megatron, along with their allies would be coming to stop the Architect's plans, and offered to help them fight them off. As payment and a show of loyalty, he had his crew handed over to Scorponok to be turned into Sparkeaters.

Getaway admits that everything he ever wanted was pointless now, Cyberutopia was just a fantasy, and he'll never be a Prime. The only thing he has left is to kill Rodimus. Rodimus declares that Getaway is obsessed with him, but Getaway claims the opposite to be true, since he chased him across the universe, and rather than help out his crew on the surface of Mederi, he opted to come to the ship to kill him. This makes Rodimus pause for a moment to consider it, giving Getaway a chance to detonate the Nucleon rods...

LUCKILY, Cyclonus arrives and slices off Getaway's arm, leading him to run off in fear into the open furnace, planning to die by his own hands. Rodimus, having reconsidered things, runs in after his long-time enemy and recovers him, carrying him out as his paint job reverts back to its original state.

Rodimus puts Getaway on the ground as he and Cyclonus look for the sprinkler system controls to put out the furnace flames before they spread too far, however Getaway wakes up and grabs Cyclonus' discarded great sword. He goes to skewer the ancient Cybertronian, when he is stopped by an image of Primus himself in the now-activated Sprinklers. Primus holds out his hand to Getaway, which he takes to mean he has been chosen as the new Prime, he hold's his god's hand and is finally happy.

Then Primus breaks apart into the Scraplet army and tear Getaway apart, killing him in a violent fashion, leaving just a few scraps behind.

Behind the Scraplets, Whirl explains that the Scraplets that he looked after as a baby that snuck on the Lost Light from Luna-1 a few Christmas' ago were a part of the swarm and they have taken control of them. They hacking into the Mederi computers and gave Getaway his happiest wish, validation from god, before killing him.

All seems well, until Rodimus receives a call from Ratchet on Mederi, he explains about the organics having completed their countdown and tells his captain to look out the window, as there's a massive tear in space above Mederi.....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Drift - Car

Getaway - Car Eaten by Scraplets

Ratchet - Ambulance

First Aid - Ambulance

Velocity - Race Car

Brainstorm - Jet

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator

Swerve - Van

Tailgate - Car

Nautica - Submarine 

Riptide - Boat

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Thunderclash - Truck

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Sparkeater Inferno - Fire Truck Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Waverider - Submarine Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Siren - Car Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Slamdance - Cassettes Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Gears - Van Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Powerflash - Jet Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Other Lost Lighter Sparkeaters Knocked out by Concussive Medicine Wave

Sparkeater Bluestreak - Car (Flashback Only)

Sparkeater Hound - Jeep (Flashback Only)

Sparkeater Hoist - Crane (Flashback Only)

Skids - Van (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Nickel - Rocket Powered Buggy

Misfire - Jet

Spinister - Helicopter

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb

Crankcase - Van

Krok

Other Cybertronian

Scorponok - Scorpion

Star Saber - Jet Bisected by Cyclonus

Cyclonus - Jet

Roller - Truck

Wipe-Out - Car

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Primus (Scraplet Construct Only)

Tyrest (Voice Only)

Other

Scraplets

Alien Telepaths Comatose on Mederi

The Grand Architect (Mentioned)

The Beast (Mentioned)

Notes

• You may think it's harsh of Nickel to use the concussive wave generator around the organics, before they tested if it was safe for them, but do remember that her homeworld of Prion was destroyed by organics...so I guess it's okay for her to be a little kill-happy with them!
• Despite being the focus of the cover I got (Hey I love Star Saber!) His fight with Cyclonus lasts all of five panels....yay....we don't even get to see him transform into robot mode...
• Also....DAMMIT CYCLONUS! DON'T KILL MY STAR SABER SENPEI!! 
• Rodimus gets annoyed with Scorponok for referring to him as "Hot Rod", similarly to how he got annoyed with Fortress Maximus for the same reason. This is what you get for renaming yourself!
• Oh...what a shock...the scraplets are being controlled by the ones Whirl befriended in the Holiday Special...I totally didn't call that in the previous Lost Light review....
• According to Rodimus, Drift believes in what are essentially guardian angels named Slivers...hope they're not related to the poo aliens from the movies of the same names...
• Rung has "heard" the pronounced coat of arms for the Knights of Cybertron/the Grand Architect's faction before in the past...I wonder if this has some connection to his still unexplained alternate mode?
• Having finally taken back his ship, and gotten "revenge" on Getaway by not killing him like he wanted, but intending for him to be taken into custody for his crimes, Rodimus' colour scheme, which Drift gave him to signify that he wanted to kill someone, burns away in the flames, and returns to his classic look.
• Tyrest states that "The Beast" approaches. Considering this issue was originally meant to be released before Unicron #1 coming out, we can assume that this is referring to the planet eater.
• The crack in space near Mederi looks similar to the tear in time/space from the Marvel UK Time Wars event.
• My updated idea for the plot now, is that The Grand Architect's plan is to use the threadbare space created over the past few issues to try and trap Unicron within it, to try and save the Universe (obviously it'll fail, but whatever)

IDW - Lost Light #19

Title: Crucible Part 1: A Dance Before Dying

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: E.J. Su

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Rodimus, his team, and the Scavengers look on in horror as the mutinous crew of the Lost Light rain down on them, now turned into Sparkeaters. Brainstorm approaches the now "zombified" Perceptor and tries to reason with his old friend and lab-mate, but the Sparkeater just sprays acidic vomit from his mouth on the Autobot. Nautica gets him out of the way and the group flee from their old friends.

A shuttle appears above them and drops what they believe to be a bomb, but is revealed to be Grimlock, who proceeds to crush some of the Sparkeaters, and slices up Mainframe. Magnus uses Crankcase as a gun to stop Grimlock, explaining that those are Autobots his is killing. Soon, the shuttle fires lasers at the monsters, causing them to scatter, before it lands, revealing First Aid, Riptide, Thunderclash and Wipe-Out inside.

With this moment of calm, the Scavengers reunite with Grimlock, to Magnus' shock, and First Aid and the others explain what Getaway's been doing on the Lost Light, and how they all met up on Troja Major. All of a sudden, the Lost Light appears in the sky and fires upon Wipe-Out's shuttle, damaging it, and Rodimus is horrified to see the Grand Architect's symbol on the bottom of his ship.

Inside the Lost Light, Getaway is talking to someone over a communicator about how they need to take out Rodimus and the others before they can proceed with the Grand Architect's plans. He denies to the other person that he wants them to get back onto the ship, as he watches the Scraplets in the Oil Reservoir combine into a massive form...

Back on Mederi, the crew watch as the Lost Light flies away, and the weather starts to change to a stormier scene, however before they can do anything about it a second wave of Sparkeaters appear and start attacking Rodimus and his crew. They try their best to disable the monsters, without killing their friends, but due to their bodies being messed up they keep causing them to die.

Rodimus soon realises that this is part of Getaway's plan, to make him murder his own crew, so he does as Whirl suggested earlier...think like Megatron, and gets a plan..

Back aboard the Lost Light, Getaway is being admonished by another person, Tyrest over a communicator, for his plan taking too long, and states that they're sending in some help. Tyrest states that Getaway's mission is pointless since Megatron isn't even with Rodimus and his crew now, and he's the "dangerous one" they're there to take out. Which Getaway just declares that they didn't need Megatron to defeat him last time...

Several of the Mederi team have barricaded themselves into Ward Zero, so they can distract the Sparkeaters from Rodimus and the others, who have repaired Wipe-Out's shuttle and infiltrate the Lost Light. Whilst there, they can use the advanced medical facility to try and cure the Sparkeaters, and return them to their old Autobot states.

Rodimus and his team manage to get onto the Lost Light, as the doors to Shuttle Bay Four are open and they exit to find no guards or crew. As soon as they land, the doors start to close, but Rodimus and Cyclonus manage to escape just in time. The ceiling to the shuttle bay detonates, and the oil reservoir above them floods into the room, leaving them trapped in oil with a massive combined red Scraplet monster!

Rodimus and Cyclonus rush towards the bridge, where Rodimus is certain Getaway will be, also sure that the others can handle anything that comes at them in the shuttle bay. The duo are stopped however when they reach the bridge to find Getaway, flanked by Star Saber and Scorponok....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Velocity - Race Car

Brainstorm - Jet

Nautica - Submarine

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Tailgate - Car

Swerve - Van

Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator

Thunderclash - Truck

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

First Aid - Ambulance

Riptide - Boat

Getaway - Car

Sparkeater Perceptor - Tank

Sparkeater Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Sparkeater Hound - Jeep

Sparkeater Hoist - Crane

Sparkeater Brawn - Van

Sparkeater Crosscut - Van

Sparkeater Xaaron

Sparkeater Powerflash - Jet

Sparkeater Hosehead - Fire Truck

Sparkeater Siren - Car Crushed by Grimlock

Sparkeater Gears - Van

Sparkeater Huffer - Truck

Sparkeater Mainframe Killed by Grimlock

Sparkeater Slapdash - Race Car Killed by Krok

Sparkeater Bluestreak - Car Killed by Ratchet

Sparkeater Jackpot - Car Killed by Thunderclash

Sparkeater Lost Light Crew

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Krok

Misfire - Jet

Crankcase - Van

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb

Spinister - Helicopter

Nickel - Rocket Powered Buggy

Scorponok - Scorpion

The First Born (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Roller - Truck

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Wipe-Out - Car

Star Saber - Jet

Tyest (Hologram)

Agonizer/The Curator (Mentioned)

Other

Red Scraplets

Alien Telepaths Comatose

The Grand Architect (Mentioned)

Notes

• A small update: Last issue I questioned whether the organic aliens were long living or being cared for on Mederi. I remembered since that issue that there was a massive store of organics in pods under Demus' facility, so that's most likely where they were coming from.
• This issue marks the start of the seven-issue finale to Lost Light, which will also in some way link into the overall finale to the IDW universe along with the Unicron series and finale to Optimus Prime
• This issue features E.J. Su, the artist who did the art for the early IDW series, such as Infiltration, Revelation and others. In this case he is emulating Jack Lawrence's style, which in turn was emulating Alex Milne...this is confusing!
• So...following their leaving the Lost Light, First Aid and the others were heading to Troja Major to repair Thunderclash, along the way they run into Grimlock, who escaped from Scorponok's Worldsweeper, and on the planet they hire Wipe-Out for his ship and hunt down the Lost Light, which First Aid left a tracer on before he left...so that was a whole lot of coincidence just to get all these side characters to arrive on Mederi to save Rodimus and his crew huh?! Who wants to bet that Fort Max and the Luna-1 crew will also turn up before the finale?
• Unshockingly, Getaway has joined forces with the Grand Architect's crew, which also includes the long missing Tyrest and Scorponok.
• Mederi is now beginning to suffer the same weird weather as what was beginning on Troja Major. The two worlds were mentioned to be on the same spiritual ley-lines last issue, indicating that they are linked...who wants to bet they are in some way under attack from Unicron here?
• It's kind of funny that Rodimus refers to First Aid as "loyal" since we learned that he was actually amongst those who agreed to mutineer against Rodimus in an earlier issue.
• Okay, I understand most of the choices for the crew to return to the Lost Light. Rodimus and Cyclonus want first hand revenge on Getaway. Drift, Grimlock, Magnus, Roller, Whirl and Thunderclash are all good fighters and can handle themselves in a crisis, as mentioned in the issue, and Crankcase was needed for his piloting skills...but why are Anode and Lug here? They have no connection with the Lost Light, haven't shown any battle skills and have no connections with any of the other characters. my only guess is they're there for a plot point involving Scorponok or someone else on the ship to be revealed later.
• We learn in this issue that the Oil Reservoir is located above Shuttle Bay Four...what would Getaway have done if they chose to enter the ship in any of the OTHER shuttle bays?
• I'm getting the feeling that the Scraplets, or at least some of them, may be revealed to be the "baby" from the Holiday Special, and they recognize Whirl as their "father" and help him out.
• From how empty the ship is, it can be assumed that the entire crew, minus Getaway and Star Saber, have been turned into Sparkeaters now...I wonder if that includes Sunder and Froid though....

IDW - Lost Light #12

Title: The Plotter's Club Part 3: Journey's End

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence & Andrew Griffith

Colours by: Joana LaFuente, John-Paul Bove & Priscilla Tramontano

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Assistant Editor: David Mariotte

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Getaway counts to 30 and declares Riptide dead, having had him in the oil reservoir for long enough for the Scraplets to have eaten him now. Atomizer expresses his distaste for what just happened again, but Getaway ignores him, concentrating more on how the security team seem unwilling to fire n Autobots, so he plans to have Sunder work on them, or even bring in someone without a connection to the crew...

The Lost light exits the Warren for a recharge, and Perceptor is shocked that the ship appears to have time travelled a short time whilst in the Warren. The crew is about to re-enter the Warren to reach Cyberutopia when Getaway informs Blaster that they have a rendezvous to make...

In the Oil Reservoir, now alone, Riptide manages to escape the oil, having retained his transformation skill despite Getaway using the Nudge Gun to remove that skill.

Getaway, Froid and Atomizer meet in Swerve's bar, where they experience one of the time windows showing Rodimus and the other guys that were betrayed by Getaway hanging out before their exiling. Froid asks Getaway if he thinks they survived the attack from the DJD, which Getaway seems confident that they did, then begins to wax on about how he'll be named a Prime after finding Cyberutopia. Froid partially diagnoses Getaway as having Primus Apeothesis, and that he is trying to become like Optimus. He then goes on to say that hopes Rung survived the attack, since he was one of the "good guys" in life.

Later, Getaway takes Atomizer to the Medibay where he orders him to kill either Hot Spot, First Aid or Rook, stating that doing so will stop the potential threat of Defensor combining. Atomizer takes some time to decide, but ultimately kills Rook, likely due to him not knowing him. He immediately regrets the choice, as he figures he could have just shot him into space instead of killing him. Getaway now states that Atomizer has blood on his hands now, just like him, meaning he's no better than him now...unaware that Riptide is watching from a panel in the ceiling....

Meanwhile, the Scavengers are raiding an old Decepticon base on the planet Frayus, when they leave and discover the Black Block Consortia fighting with both the Galactic Council and the Decepticon Justice Division, now under the command of Nickel, and made mostly of Deathsaurus' troops. The Scavengers try to teleport away to their ship, but the signal is unable to lock on, as they ship might be damaged. However they are saved when someone rescues them through a spacebridge portal, which they run through, soon followed accidentally by Nickel being blown into the portal by an explosion.

Back on the Lost Light, Riptide frees the comatose Autobots, they mourn Rook's death, and First Aid determines that Riptide must be immune to the Nudge Gun due to his lower intelligence. They head off towards the shuttle bay to escape the ship, after taking Ambulon's body from the morgue. Mirage scouts ahead and tells the others that the shuttle bay is filled with security, so they decide to combine, using Ambulon as a replacement for Rook.

Inside the shuttle bay, Getaway and the others are welcoming a new shuttle, containing their new security chief, when Defensor smashes through the wall and attacks the security team. Thunderclash strikes Getaway, but before he can do much more, he is shot in the side of his head by Star Saber, the new security chief, and is knocked out.

Getaway orders his new recruit to take Defensor apart, since he is an "unbeliever" Mirage tries to reason with Star Saber, but the fanatic simply slices him to pieces, much to Atomizer's horror. Star Saber soon attacks Defensor and slices him into his component parts, and the security team kill Streetwise, Blades, Groove and Hot Spot as they fall. He goes towards First Aid and Riptide, who are dragging Thunderclash to safety, when Atomizer jumps him and shoots him in the neck, giving the others the time to steal Star Saber's shuttle and escape.

Later, Getaway calls Froid to have Sunder alter the memories of the security team to make them think that Thunderclash killed Atomizer, in order to cover for him just killing him himself, but the doctor is demanding more and more spinal cords as payment. Before they can agree on the price however, Blaster contacts Getaway with some good news...they have arrived at Cyberutopia...a beautiful rainbow hued version of Cybertron!

Characters

Autobot

Getaway - Car

Atomizer - Car Killed by Getaway

Sunder - Car

Thunderclash - Truck Injured by Star Saber

Riptide - Boat

Mirage - Race Car Killed by Star Saber

First Aid - Ambulance

Rook - Armoured Personnel Carrier Killed by Atomizer

Hot Spot - Fire Truck Killed by Security Team

Groove - Police Motorcycle Killed by Security Team

Blades - Rescue Helicopter Killed by Security Team

Streetwise - Police Car Killed by Security Team

Ambulon - Leg Dead

Defensor - Protectobot Combiner Most of Team Dead, so Defunct

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Mainframe

Perceptor - Tank

Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Jackpot - Car

Smokescreen - Car

Inferno - Fire Truck

Pointblank - Car

Aquabat - Winged Monster/Boat

Grotusque - Winged Sabertooth Tiger

Doublecross - Two Headed Dragon

Dogfight - Jet

Powerflash - Jet

Boss - Car

Other Lost Light Crew Members

Rodimus - Car (Flashback Window Only)

Megatron - Tank (Flashback Window Only)

Minimus Ambus - Minesweeper (Flashback Window Only)

Skids - Van (Flashback Window Only)

Nautica - Submarine (Flashback Window Only)

Brainstorm - Jet (Flashback Window Only)

Swerve - Van (Flashback Window Only)

Tailgate - Car (Flashback Window Only)

Velocity - Race Car (Flashback Window Only)

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Rung - Photon Crystal Generator (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Fulcrum - Bomb

Misfire - Jet

Spinister - Helicopter

Crankcase - Van

Krok

Nickel - Rocket Car

Deathsaurus - Dragon

Eaglebreast - Chest Piece

Tigerbreast - Chest Piece

Liokaiser - Breastforce Combiner

Previous Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned) Dead

Starscream - Jet (Mentioned)

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned) Dead

Tarn - Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Genericons (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Star Saber - Jet

Froid - Jet

Red Scraplets

Cyclonus - Space Jet (Flashback Window Only)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

Other

Galactic Council Troops

Black Block Consortia Troops

The Scavengers' Saviour (Voice Only)

Notes

• Getaway claims at the start of the issue that the security team is unwilling to fire on other Autobots, yet at the end they slaughter the Protectobots. This either means that Getaway is wrong, or he has already made arrangements with Sunder to alter their minds further.
• It's off-handedly mentioned that travelling through the Warren causes the ship to travel backwards in time briefly...I'm gunna guess that that will be an important plot point later...
• Riptide managed to survive his swim with the Scraplets. From the looks of things he launched himself out of the oil which got him to safety, but how did he avoid getting eaten by them? He's obviously been bitten from his small wounds, but still! Eaten within 30 seconds remember?
• Getaway is shown looking into the past at Swerve's bar, as we also saw in MTMTE #50. We can probably assume that this happens at the same time as Getaway's last panel view into the past in that issue, since the window is only open for a short period of time.
• So turns out that Getaway DOES know about the Protectobots being able to combine into Defensor. I guess the Lost Light got a dossier about the events of Combiner Wars then?
• Getaway's logic that killing a Protectobot that turns into a leg or the torso of Defensor to disable the combiner is technically sound, except the Protectobots he names as legs haven't been shown as legs in IDW so far. Also since Mirage is also able to turn into a limb for Optimus Maximus, he could have stood in. The only real option for this logically would be to kill Hot Spot, being the only one who turns into a torso in the group.
• Also speaking about this scene, where is Mirage in the medibay? We see an empty slab, so was he just invisible whilst in a coma? Was he just offscreen and they left an empty bed for some reason?
• Shockingly we actually see the conflict on the planet Frayus that Getaway ignored the SOS to last issue. Though maybe it was a good thing that he had them ignore the call since the DJD turned up to join in on the fight too.
• It's revealed that Deathsaurus was the one who sent Fulcrum to prison in the first place. Seems he's changed his thoughts on aiding "criminals" over the past few years.
• Hey look! Nickel has an alternate mode! It's a cute rocket powered car of some sort!! Awww
• It's unclear who recued the Scavengers, but my guess would be either Scorponok, Fortress Maximus, Prowl, or someone on Necroworld.
• Oh wow...Liokaiser....where do I start here? We saw that MOST of the Breastforce were in Deathsaurus' troops when we last saw them at the end of MTMTE, but this appearance is confusing for a couple of reasons. First, how are they combining? Successful multi-bot combinations were unstable before Devastator, and later the Enigma of Combination, so unless Deathsaurus somehow "borrowed" the Enigma to combine them, then this should be an unstable combiner. Secondly, Guyhawk is seen as part of the combination...Guyhawk was a member of Gigatron's forces in Drift: Empire of Stone...a series where he died on-screen....maybe this is his cousin Galhawk?
• First Aid claims to have not gotten to know Rook....HE WAS PART OF YOUR COMBINER TEAM!!!! It's been established since combiners became commonplace in IDW that once you combine, you get a fragment of the other members of your team's mind inside yours forever, as clearly shown with the Constructicons and even Optimus starting to act more Prowl-like in his mannerisms.
• So Riptide was immune to the Nudge Gun because he is dumb? I personally prefer my theory that the gun just malfunctioned on him due to Getaway forgetting to recharge it now...
• Oh...Ambulon is back in his robot mode? Wasn't he reconfigured into a gun on Luna-1? I guess he got put back together since then? Also he can still be used for combination. Last time we saw a dead Transformer used as part of a combination was when Scrapper's corpse was used for Devastator's leg...which wasn't able to move properly...yet Defensor is fine here....yup...
• Ohh! Star Saber! YAY!!!
• He kills Mirage and easily defeats Defensor? Booo....
• Getaway alludes to how Star Saber agrees to join the crew as a means to get revenge on Cyclonus, who managed to defeat him last time they met.
• As predicted, Atomizer turns against Getaway at the climax of this issue, allowing First Aid, Thunderclash and Riptide to escape....then he gets murdered by Getaway...I wasn't expecting that part!
• Okay conspiracy theory time! I think most of the end of this issue is a false looped memory of Getaway's. I think Froid is fed up with him, when he learns that Rung is probably amongst the dead on Necroworld now, and he had Sunder trap him either just before or just after Rook's death, and gave him all he ever wanted to keep him placid (finding Cyberutopia, getting a powerful ally like Star Saber, defeating Defensor and the others etc).
• Hey, notice how annoyed Getaway looks when Skids calls Nautica his best friend in the flashback window? I wonder if Getaway will justify his old friend's death because of this moment?

IDW - Lost Light #11

Title: The Plotter's Club Part 2: Filling in the Blanks

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence & Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente & Priscilla Tramontano

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Not long ago, Getaway sees Froid, Rung's psychiatrist rival, and asks for his opinion on what has been happening on the ship for the past few months.

He explains that following their return to Cybertron for Dark Cybertron, he and Atomizer started interviewing the crew to see who they can trust in the case of a mutiny against Megatron and Rodimus, as they believe the quest is getting side-tracked by Megatron on purpose to delay his trial, they manage to get most of the crew on their side, but of course have Rodimus' allies and 25 undecided to contend with. They even manage to convince Thunderclash, who thinks it's a good plan, but admits that things went wrong quite rapidly.

Following his failed attempt to get Megatron to kill Tailgate, he was arrested, which the rest of the crew took as a cue to get Rodimus and the others off ship, release Getaway, and then abandon the "Rod Squad".

Getaway is taken to the bridge, where the ship receives it's call from Rodimus, and Getaway brags about how the crew is sick with them and have put him in charge, however it soon becomes apparent that the crew are not actually fully on his side, and were unaware that Getaway has involved the Galactic Council in this, and sent them after Megatron too, or that he was going to be captain of the ship. Getaway soon states that once they reach Cyberutopia he'll step down as captain, if the crew want him to, and also claims that he told the Galactic Council to leave the other Autobots alone, and to only go after Megatron.

Getaway soon makes his way to Rodimus' former office where he tries to contact the Galactic Council to change the terms of their deal, to indeed keep the other Autobots safe, but they aren't interested and cut him off. Atomizer suggests that he do something big in order to make the crew respect him after the situation on the bridge, and he knows exactly what to do...

A couple weeks later, Getaway visits Perceptor in his lab, where he has been studying something for him that he learned about on Luna-1. He has located a system of tunnels in space that Tyrest was originally planning to use to get to Cyberutopia.

Getaway assembles some of the crew to discuss the Warren and promises that they'll be in Cyberutopia within weeks, but they wonder why Tyrest ever gave up on the tunnels, which Geatway just ignores.

Blaster receives an SOS message from the planet Freyus, who are caught in the crossfire between the Galactic Council and the Black Block Consortia, but Getaway declines their request for help, as he doesn't want to get distracted, this angers the crew as they still want to help others, but the argument is cut short....the message sent three weeks earlier from Necroworld has reached the Lost Light and is automatically playing.

Rodimus uses his segment of the message to expose Getaway as having sold him and the others to the DJD, who are about to kill them. He asks for his innermost energon to be sold, as it is Matrix enriched and for the money to be used to hire a Bounty Hunter to kill Getaway using a gun made from his own body. Before the message can continue though Getaway cuts it off and claims that it is fake, and has the crew leave. Thunderclash stays behind and demands answers. Getaway tries to explain that he had to cut off the call, or the DJD would trace it to them, but Thunderclash points out the contradiction immediately. He states his plans to go back to Necroworld to save Rodimus and the others, and he's sure the rest of the crew will too.

Atomiser shoots him with an arrow, leading him to turn to attack, but he is shot by Getaway using his Nudge Gun, and even empties the cartridge into the "Greatest Autobot Ever", putting him into a coma. He notices that Riptide has been watching this scene from the door, he runs, but Getaway soon finds him, and shoots him too.

Back in the present, Geatway reveals that all of that has only just happened, and Riptide is under the bench he was laying on. He gets onto his real objective, he wants Sunder, Froid's patient, to use his long-range Mnemosurgery skills to convince the crew that Rodimus and his friends decided to leave the ship on their own terms, and make them forget about the message about the DJD, and also trap Thunderclash into a looped memory.

Sunder agrees to do this, in exchange for 25 crew member's brain modules with life-cords attached, so he can feed on their memories. Getaway isn't sure, but is manipulated by Froid into agreeing. Getaway does, much to Atomizer's ire, but decides to use the first 25 names on the list of undecided mutineers, as he considers them threats to his plans, but also suggests one amendment to their plan, the security team need to believe that the crew members they are set upon are Decepticon spies, so they wont question their orders...

Eventually the Protectobots return to the Lost Light, and learn what happened to Rodimus and the others, and are attacked by security as they try to escape to warn Optimus and the rest of Cybertron. Riptide reveals that he was never mind-wiped from the gun shot, since the gun had been drained from Thunderclash's shots. Riptide starts insulting Getaway for his stupid plan, so he decides to take him for a "swim".

On their way to the Oil Reservoir, Getaway hears from Powerflash that the Protectobots have been captured and placed in cells. Riptide is taken into the Reservoir, where he is shown it is filled with domesticated red Scraplets, which have been trained to eat a Cybertronian, leaving only the life cord and brain module behind. He shoots Riptide with the Nudge Gun again, commanding him to forget how to turn into his boat mode, and knocks him into the oil.....

Characters

Autobot

Getaway - Car

Atomizer - Car

Thunderclash - Truck Trapped in Looped Memory by Sunder

Riptide - Boat Knocked into Oil Reservoir filled with Red Scraplets by Getaway

Sunder

Mainframe

Perceptor - Tank

Hoist - Tow Truck

Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Crosscut - Van

Hound - Jeep

Xaaron

Megatron - Tank

Rodimus - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Tailgate - Car

Swerve - Van

Skids - Van

Rewind - Data Slug

Grapple - Crane

Inferno - Fire Truck

Smokescreen - Car

Siren - Car

Bluestreak - Car

Dipstick - Car

Rollout - Bulldozer

Huffer - Truck

Gears - Van

Joyride - Buggy

Slapdash - F1 Race Car

Jackpot - Car

Hosehead - Fire Truck

Sprocket - Aircraft

Pointblank - Car

Boss - Car

Grotusque - Winged Cat Monster

Dogfight - Jet

Strafe - Jet

Rook - SWAT Personnel Carrier

Streetwise - Police Car

Powerflash - Jet (Voice Only)

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Sentinel Prime - Truck/Jet (Mentioned)

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned)

Chromedome - Car (Mentioned)

Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator (Mentioned)

Nightbeat - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance (Mentioned)

Highbrow - Helicoper (Mentioned)

Fervor (Mentioned) Possibly Fed to Sunder

Turbine (Mentioned) Possibly Fed to Sunder

25 Undecided Mutineers (Mentioned) Fed to Sunder

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette

Overlord - Tank and Jet (Mentioned)

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Froid - Jet

Cyclonus - Jet

Red Scraplet

Chief Justice Tyrest (Mentioned)

Necrobot (Mentioned)

The Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Other

Galactic Council Agent (On Screen)

Death's Head (Mentioned)

General Neech (Mentioned)

Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Black Block Consortia (Mentioned)

The Fraynians (Mentioned)

Notes

• Alex Milne and Priscilla Tramontano's art credits in this issue are due to the reuse of the scenes from MTMTE #50
• Thunderclash being up and about whilst Getaway is creeping on Tailgate is technically a mistake since he should be in a coma until the climax of that plot-line. However when questioned about it on Twitter, James Roberts mentions that this happens during a brief relapse of Thunderclash's, which is going to be mentioned in a future "retcon".
• Froid and Sunder are shown to STILL be on the Lost Light, but in the brig until this issue.
• It is confirmed here that my theory that the crew was either mis-informed or brainwashed to be okay with Rodimus and the others being left on Necroworld were BOTH sort of correct. The crew were originally mis-led, but when they found out the truth they were "brainwashed" by Sunder's long-range Mnemosurgery. This also shows us that the strange behaviour last issue was due to the brainwashing, and not a forged dream for the Protectobots.
• In contrast to the assertions last issue, the crew actually do want to help other planets out, rather than ignoring them like Getaway does in order to get to Cyberutopia faster.
• We were shown during the "Dying of the Light" finale of MTMTE we saw Getaway trying to contact Neech to renegotiate the terms of their deal, so we know this part of the story wasn't fabricated at all.
• The Warren was briefly mentioned last issue, here we learn that it's basically a series of subspace tunnels that lead across the galaxy...Think of it sort of like the Borg subspace tunnels seen at the end of Star Trek Voyager.
• As mentioned in this issue, Getaway was held prisoner by Tyrest on Luna-1, which we learn here gave him insight into his theories and plans before ignoring him at some point.
• So...this issue brings up another issue I have with the continuity in IDW right now...we see that Rodimus DID mention in the video-will that Getaway sold them out to the DJD (he didn't know about the DJD being there, but whatever)...SO WHY HAS OPTIMUS NOT SENT A CREW AFTER THEM YET?!?!?!? WE KNOW HE GOT THE MESSAGE, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ON CYBERTRON!!!
• The Bounty Hunter that Rodimus is referring to in his will is Death's Head....I can't see him actually appearing in an IDW comic, but he has been referenced in other IDW material before.
• Sunder is still talking in his regular voice, rather than the Mortilus impression...we know this due to the speech bubble being white instead of black.
• The brain modules with teeth marks from last issue are revealed to be the payment for Sunder brainwashing the crew of the ship, who were chosen due to being undecided on whether to mutiny or not
• The security crew's attitude is also shown to be under the impression that anyone who disagrees with Getaway is a Decepticon spy...this explains their gun-happiness last issue.
• The Scraplets in this issue are designed after the Aligned continuity versions of the species, just coloured red.
• Despite his apparent collusion with him, we see throughout this issue that Atomizer is becoming less sure about this plan, and keeps glaring at Getaway...my guess is he will be in some way responsible for Getaway's inevitable all next issue.
• The Protectobots are mentioned as having been locked in separate cells, does Getaway and the crew know about Defensor yet or not?!?
• Last issue we saw Getaway lead First Aid to the Oil Reservoir before hearing what he had to say...we can assume that he was about to send him to the Scraplets too if he said something he didn't like. 
• Here's a question...just how many shots do the Nudge Guns have? When Brainstorm analysed Skids' one before, he said it had two canisters for two shots...we see Getaway shoot Thunderclash at least half a dozen times here...
• We can assume from this issue that the hidden thrusters on Luna-1 were built to enable the planetoid to travel through the Warren before Tyrest started his Space Bridge plan.
• It's explained that Getaway has an irrational desire to become a Prime, this actually explains a fair few things about his character and even design. He has a mouth plate and general helmet design of a traditional Prime. Also his massive ego and power grabbing personality make sense knowing this...maybe this is also why he hates Rodimus, he's jealous that he has natural Matrix-affinity and even held it for a while, along with Thunderclash who held the Matrix for Optimus for a short while.
• Since it took me a while to get to their issue, I have seen the profiles for issue 12, and see that Riptide does survive his "swim". My guess is that Getaway never recharged his Nudge Gun, and it is still empty when he uses it to make Riptide forget how to transform.

IDW - Lost Light #10

Title: The Plotters' Club, Part 1: Full Circle

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence 

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The Protectobots and Mirage finally return to the Lost Light, which appears to be under radio silence, but their shuttle is damaged and they are running on fumes, they wind up crashing into the shuttle bay, only to find a heavily armed security team greeting them, instead of a welcoming party. Getaway soon appears and greets them as friends, but he is cagey about the whereabouts of Rodimus, Megatron and the others, and suggests that First Aid take Blade to the medibay, as he was injured in the crash.

At the medibay, First Aid talks with Blades as he repairs him, and they find it odd how they STILL haven't seen their captains, and start reminiscing over Rodimus' antics. First Aid thinks something is happening, which makes Blades panic that there's a virus on the ship that's going to kill everyone. First Aid ignores this suggestion, but finds that the medibay's computer is now password protected to keep him out. First Aid uses another machine to perform a spark scan of the ship, and is shocked that there is less crew than there was before they left, but also finds that one of the sparks is in a locked room in the medibay.

Blades leaves to find some help, whilst First Aid takes out a blowtorch and tries to break into the room, only to be stopped by a newly arrived Getaway, who claims the door isn't actually opened, and shows him Thunderclash, who is back in a coma again. He claims that Hoist has tried everything, but cannot wake him up.

First Aid asks him about the missing crew members and the passwords on the computer. He says that he'll fix the password, but lies that Rodimus and the others left the ship to look for the Knights of Cybertron with the Necrobot without dealing with the antics of the rest of the crew. Getaway suggests that he go see Hoist about Thunderclash's situation, directing him to "Visages" which has taken "Swerve's'" as the go-to bar on the ship.

First Aid soon arrives at the bar, where he does indeed find most of the crew. He locates Hoist after a few awkward stares from Atomizer and the security crew. He learns from Hoist and a few others the names of the crew who "left" with Rodimus, and also that they are apparently only a couple of weeks away from Cyberutopia now, but First Aid begins to become further worried and leaves the bar...

First Aid finds his way to the locked-up "Swerve's" where he finds the power turned off, and he summons the rest of the Protectobots and Mirage for a talk. He expresses his concerns to them about the crew lying to them about what happened to Rodimus, and recalls a conversation about a possible mutiny with Getaway before they left Cybertron following the Dark Cybertron event, which the other Protectobots claim to have never been spoken to about. Mirage is unwilling to even discuss this as he trusts his friends, but Riptide soon appears in the bar and confirms the theory, but also adds that he believes that the DJD were summoned by Getaway to kill Rodimus, Megatron and the others, as well as him putting Thunderclash into a coma for also having second thoughts of the mutiny.

Getaway appears and dismisses the claims that he attacked Thudnerclash, but explains that he placed him into a looped memory coma, keeping him trapped inside his memories, reliving his decision to leave the ship. Streetwise finds the light switch and turns it on, revealing that the Engex distilleries are holding several severed brain modules inside them, revealing the location of the missing crew members.

Mirage turns invisible and attacks Getaway with a glass, and the returned Autobots are soo attacked by the security team. Riptide stays behind to buy the Protectobots time to escape, as they run off to the shuttle bay, intending to return to Cybertron to tell Optimus and everyone else what has happened on the ship. Blades' arm is injured in their escape, in the same way it was when he was patched up by First Aid at the start of this adventure....

The Protectobots find their own ship, fully repaired in record time, and take off within it. They are shot by a proton missile from the Lost Light, which damages their shuttle, and they are caught in a tractor beam, and forced back towards the Lost Light...and the events from the start of the issue start again...ending with First Aid being suggested to repair Blades again, with apparently no memory of what just happened....

Characters

Autobot

First Aid - Ambulance Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Hot Spot - Fire Truck Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Streetwise - Police Car Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Groove - Police Motorcycle Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Blades - Rescue Helicopter Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Rook - Armoured SWAT Van Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Mirage - F1 Race Car Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Riptide - Boat

Thunderclash - Truck Trapped in Looped Memory Coma

Getaway - Car

Atomizer - Car

Hoist - Tow Truck

Hound - Jeep

Xaaron

Bluestreak - Car

Jackpot - Car

Crosscut - Van

Mainframe

Powerflash - Jet

Strafe - Jet

Boss - Car

Doublecross - Two Headed Dragon

Repugnus - Insect Monster

Grotusque - Winged Cat Monster

Sureshot - Baja Buggy

Pointblank - Car

Waverider - Submarine

Highbrow - Helicopter

Rad - Car

Dipstick - Car

Rollout - Bulldozer

Grapple - Crane

Siren - Car

Gears - Van

Smokescreen - Car

Inferno - Fire Truck

Brawn - Van

Huffer - Truck

Ammo

Aquabat - Hovercraft/Bat

Rodimus - Car (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus - Vehicle Transport/Minesweeper (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Nightbeat - Car (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Skids - Van (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Velocity - Race Car (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Nautica - Submarine (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Chromedome - Car (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Rewind - Data Slug (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Rung - Photon Crystal Generator (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Swerve - Van (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Tailgate - Car (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Prowl - Police Car (Mentioned)

Perceptor - Tank (Mentioned)

Blaster - Acoustic Tank (Mentioned)

Hosehead - Fire Truck (Mentioned)

Tiretread - Race Car (Mentioned)

25 Lost Light Crew Members (Mentioned) Missing

Decepticon

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned)

Ravage - Cassette (Mentioned) "Exiled"

Other Cybertronian

The Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

The Necrobot (Mentioned)

Ten (Mentioned)

Cyclonus - Jet (Mentioned)

Other

The Black Block Consortia (Mentioned)

The Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Notes

• This is the first part of the "Mutineers Trilogy", following the return of both the Lost Light, it's mutinous crew and the Protectobots.
• It's mentioned that the Protectobots have been gone for "months". It has been over two years in real world time since they left for "Combiner Wars". I know time doesn't pass exactly the same in the comics as it does in the real world, but this seems a bit strange. However since they are stuck in a looping memory, it's possible that they actually returned a few months ago and have just been trapped for a while now.
• Similarly to the above note, how did the Protectobots never receive the message from the trapped Lost Lighters on Necroworld...also now I think about it, did that message ever mention the mutiny or Getaway betraying them? You'd think one of them would want that information to reach Optimus or the other authorities right?
• It's mentioned in the "Story so far" that Rook was just a random Autobot who just happened to be standing near the Protectobots when they were merged into Defensor...oops?
• Hoist being the interim medical officer on the Lost Light makes some...kind of sense...he was shown to have some medical knowledge when he worked on Tripodeca during Overlord's assault on the ship, though his patient did end up dying....
• First Aid asks Mirage for a "pint" of Engex. I would say this was a mistake, since a "pint" would be a relatively small drink for a Transformer, but after asking James Roberts on Twitter, this is just a Cybertronian equivalent to a pint (like it's short for a "mega-pint" or something)
• It's mentioned that Perceptor was shocked when he learned that Brainstorm left with Rodimus, considering that he is known for being the subject of Brainstorm's stalking, and him being absent from the bridge during the issue the crew were exiled, it's possible that he wasn't aware of what was happening with them. In fact, his absence in this issue could be due to him being one of the "missing" crew members.
• On the other hand, Mirage's assertion that Bluestreak would never do anything deceptive like mutiny is somewhat wrong, as he WAS amongst the bridge crew who was present during Getaway's talk with them.
• From the dialogue, it seems clear that Mirage and First Aid originally agreed to a mutiny with Getaway, but the latter has since changed his mind, the rest of the Protectobots rejected the plan and got their minds wiped. This is somewhat confirmed at the start and end scenes where Getaway only really talks to or addresses Mirage, First Aid and Rook, the latter of which wasn't a part of the crew before now.
• The teethmarks on the spinal columns of the detached brain modules are likely an attempt by Getaway to make it look like Helex of the DJD attacked these crew members, as that was his main method of torture.
• Mainframe was the one who suggested that Whirl leave with Rodimus back in Issue 50 of MTMTE, his glee at him having left here really shows what a jerk he is!
• Considering this issue is set within what is essentially a shared dream, it's possible, and likely that the events depicted were either modified by Getaway to make the crew seem happier, or to alter some facts.
• I'm going to assume that since Defensor is never brought up in this issue that the Protectobots will be freed from their looped memory coma by combining, since getaway doesn't know about him yet.
• My guess as to the main back story here, is that the Lost Light picked up the distress signal from Necroworld, which led the bridge crew at least to know that their exiled crew members were seemingly given to the DJD by Getaway, leading to Riptide's suspicions, Thunderclash's attempted escape and the fates of the missing 25 crew members. I'm also going to guess that most of the crew either weren't told about the exiled crew not actually leaving on their own, or have been lied to since the beginning by Getaway.
• The four pages at the end of the comic are a reprinting of the first four, with only the title being added at the end, and the final panel's dialogue having a single difference...First Aid saying "Ah", instead of "Oh". Also Getaway's dialogue is completed on this panel, instead of continuing to the next, non-existent page.
• For some reason, First Aid keeps proclaiming "God" rather than the usual "Primus" or another Transformers-related explicit.