IDW - Rom: Dire Wraiths #3

Writer: Chris Ryall

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Main Story Title: One Small Step for Dire-Wraith-Kind, Part 3

Main Story Artist: Ron Joseph

Main Story Colourist: Jim Boswell

Side Story Title: One Small Step for a Spaceknight, Part 3

Side Story Artist: Guy Dorian Sr. & Maria Keane

Side Story Colourist: Ross Campbell

Main Story Plot

On the Moon, the Human astronauts figure out that the last surviving Wraith soldier is too weak to take them on, causing him to run away towards the remains of their gateway, hoping to escape them, but the humans chase him.

When the Wraith reaches the remains of the portal, he stalls for a moment , allowing Dodger to leap at him, but the astronaut goes right through the illusion, and into the portal, activating it again. The real Wraith grabs one of the remaining astronauts to further power the portal to send him back to where he came from, but Rom, on the other side of it fires on the monster, killing him.

As the portal closes, Rom congratulates the humans in their victory and salutes them...

On the Advebture-One Station the Mystic, Aby'ss, is searching for the only Human onboard, Sandra Shen, so she can be absorbed too, however the human scientist is smarter and manages to blast her with an energy weapon, and jabs needles into the alien to take samples for humanity to be prepared to take them on better in the future, killing the creature in the process

In the aftermath, the remaining astronauts complete their moonwalk, and replant the American flag. Shen contacts them and says she will complete the cleanup of the lander site, and lock down the area so noone will know what happened as the duo return to their shuttle.

Reunited with Collins on the Apollo shuttle, the three astronauts head back towards Earth, with two if them unaware that Collins was replaced by a Wraith whilst waiting for them....

Side Story Plot

The adrift Solar Knights manage to take down the Wraith-possessed Dhorian, finally putting their old friend out if his pain. Unfortunately the portal that sent them to this distant part of space is closing, forcing Nikomi to send Rom through alone, while he hibernates until he can be found again...

Rom, grateful for the sacrifice doesn't waste his time, now back where this all started, he opens up the portal again, and sees two Human astronauts being harassed by a line Dire Wraith, whom he kills, congratulating and saluting the two Humans in the process and flying off to continue his long mission to defeat the evil species....

Characters

Adventure Team

Sandra Shen

Dodger/James Brightside Killed by the Wraith Portal

Mixmaster/Martin Flannery (Mentioned) Dead

Arsenal/Anatoli Kiev (Mentioned) Dead

Scalpel/Elmo Aubreyson (Mentioned) Dead

Hank Armstrong (Mentioned, Images used by the Wraiths) Dead

NASA

Neil Armstrong

Buzz Aldrin

Mike Collins (Mentioned, Replaced by Sky'sm) Dead

Other Human

Franco Columbo (Mentioned)

President Eisenhower (Mentioned)

President Kennedy (Mentioned)

Dire Wraith

Mystic Aby'ss Killed by Sandra Shen

Mystic Sky'sm (Posing as Mike Collins)

Third Mystic (Posing as Dhorian) Killed by Rom

Axlar Killed by Rom

Sular (Corpse Only) Dead

Solar Order

Rom

Nikomi Stranded in Deep Space

Dhorian (Corpse Puppeted by Wraiths) Dead

Notes

• This issue was VERY delayed, but after about a year, this three issue miniseries is finally complete!
• Since they never get properly identified this issue, I've decided to use logic to name the Mystics who have different dates this issue. Aby'ss is the one who dies and Sky'sm is the one who survived. If a later story changes that, then oh well.
• As I speculated last issue, it's revealed that Collins has been replaced by the surviving Wraith at the end of this issue.
• Somehow, the Wraith who attacks Sandra turns into Hank to try and trick her, and is implied to be the one who absorbed him, but the one who replaced Collins was also the one who replaced Hank and this is confusing....
• Nikomi being lost in space, seemingly acting as a "death" this issue really loses its edge when you remember this is a prequel, and we see Nikomi later, alive and well.
• And as the series ends, we still don't have a name (or status) for the third Wraith soldier, orca name for the Mystic who took over Dhorian's suit/corpse.
• Rom somehow knows that the beings on Earth's Moon are Humans, despite not knowing about them later in the timeline before Earthfall.

IDW - Rom: Dire Wraiths #2

Writer: Chris Ryall

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Main Story Title: One Small Step for Dire Wraith-Kind, Part 2 

Main Story Artist: Luca & Andrea Pizzari

Main Story Colourist: Jim Boswell

Side Story Title: One Small Step for a Spaceknight, Part 2

Side Story Artist: Guy Dorian Sr. & Scott Hanna

Side Story Colourist: Ross Campbell

Main Story Plot

The Wraiths on the Moon attack Armstrong and Aldrin, intending to take their bodies to head to Earth, but are stopped when the Adventure Team arrive, Kiev shoots at Axlar, despite being told to not risk them all with weapon's, and the Wraith seems to vanish.
Adventure One docks with the Apollo 11 Command Module, where he congratulates Collins on humanity getting this far, but tells him that it's over, as their journey is beginning now...
Back on the Moon, Armstrong tries to contact Houston, but their signal is still baf, but they do hear him saying that they are under attack, and Sulor attacks the line Human, before he is joined by some of the Adventure Team to fight the alien off by freezing him with and ice cannon.
Nearby, Kiev starts to pass out, after Axlar secretly drilled into her foot, and replaced her. Sulor breaks free of the ice, and destroys Flannery's helmet as revenge for the ice cannon, but also absorbs his essence to use his knowledge to their advantage.
Axlar reveals his identity to the others and bites off Aubreyson's head, instantly killing him too.
Aldrin grabs the historic American flag from the ground and spears it through Sulor, killing the Wraith surprisingly easily.

The second Mystic finds the Adventure Two shuttle, where she taps into it to learn how to pilot it, when she picks up an SOS from the Adventure Team's satellite, where Sandra announces Hanks murder and asks for a reply, or she's going to sound the alarm to Earth.
The Mystic decides to head to the satellite to use it to head to Earth to join the bulk of the invasion.

The last member of the Adventure Team, Dodger, tries to get Armstrong and Aldrin into the lunar lander to return to the Command Module to get back home to safety, whilst he stays to fight Axlar, however the Wraith still plans to possess one of them to go to Earth, as they need to help in rebuilding it to a new homeworld, as the Solar Order do t know anything about their plans here yet, and they're the only ones who can possibly stop their spread.
Axlar bulks out, ready to destroy the astronauts and take over one, whilst the second Mystic approaches the satellite and Collins looks ominously ahead, completely alone in the Command Module....

Side Story Plot

Rom and Bikini arrive on Marn-33, where they find Dhorian's lifeless body and a portal to an unknown-to-them part of space, which they cannot enter.
The two Knights mourn their fallen ally, and wonder whether the armour could possibly live on without the living Knight inside. On cue, Dhorian wakes up, and attacks his allies, revealing that it's a tally a Wraith-Mystic using his corpse as a puppet, who launches herself and the two Knights through to portal, leaving them adrift near a red planet...

Characters

Adventure Team

Dodger/James Brightside
Arsenal/Anatoli Kiev Killed and Replaced by Axlar
Scalpel/Elmo Aubreyson Killed by Axlar
Mixmaster/Martin Flannery Killed by Sulor
Sandra Shore
Hank Armstrong (Mentioned) Killed and Replaced by a Mystic 

NASA 

Neil Armstrong
Buzz Aldrin
Mike Collins Possibly Replaced by a Mystic
Houston Operator (Voice Only)

Dire Wraith

Mystic Aby'ss
Mystic Sky'sm
Axlar
Sulor Killed by Aldrin
Third Mystic (Side Story Only)

Solstar Order

Rom (Side Story and Flashback Only)
Nikomi (Side Story and Flashback Only)
Dhorian (Side Story Only) Dead, Body Possessed by Third Mystic
Orphion (Flashback Only)
Livia (Flashback Only)
Fy-Laa (Flashback Only)
Guar (Flashback Only)
Maur (Flashback Only)
Other Space Knights (Flashback Only)

Notes

• Sorry for the delay on this again, when I'm not at work I'm busy playing Animal Crossing (maybe I'm not sorry)
• Due to the current pandemic, comics are being delayed right now, so a lot of the newer releases haven't been shipped here to the UK yet, or are just postponed for a while. Sorry, but that's life right now :/ 
• I'm still not sure about the identities of some characters because the mages have the same character models, and the NASA astronauts all look very similar. The only way I know Collins is the one in the Orbiter, is because I know Armstrong and Aldrin were the first to walk on the moon from history.
• So...I'm guessing my hopes for an Inhumanoids comic are dashed now, since most of those characters are dead now!
• Despite us seeing last issue that the Wraiths actually absorb their victims, and imitate them, rather than possessing their bodies....Kiev appears to just get possessed by Axlor.
• Sandra is revealed to have been hiding whilst Hank was killed last issue.
• Due to the Hank-Wraith being a sent from the scene, and Collins looking a bit sinister at the end, we can probably assume that he's been taken by the Wraiths too.
• Apparently the other Wraith-Mystic can absorb the ability to fly the Adventure Two shuttle from accessing it's systems....okay then....
• The Wraith possessing Dhorian's body in the side story appears to be the Mystic that he seemed to kill last issue...so what happened to the other soldier Wraith??!!

IDW - Rom: Dire Wraiths #1

Writer: Chris Ryall

Main Story Title: One Small Step for Dire Wraith-Kind, Part 1

Side Story Title: One Small Step for a Spaceknight, Part 1

Main Story Artist: Luca Pizzari

Main Story Colourist: Jim Boswell

Side Story Artist: Guy Dorian Sr. & Sal Buscema

Side Story Colourist: Ross Campbell

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Main Story Plot

It's July of 1969, and the Apollo 11 shuttle is heading to the Moon to make it's passengers famous as the first men to walk on the Moon. The crew go into radio silence with Earth and make contact with their companion team, the crew of a orbital base designed to watch the Earth for alien threats, who they are planning to meet with on this mission. 

Unknown to either team however, there is a third faction on the Moon, some members of the evil alien species, the Dire Wraiths, who have been stranded there following a portal (from the side story). They notice the landing module and decide to make their move, they head towards the landed astronauts, whilst one of the Mystics heads to the newly arrived shuttle belonging to Adventure-One, the second Moon team.

On  Earth, NASA begin to get worried about the unexpectedly extended radio silence with Apollo 11, but chalk it down to a solar flare.

On the Moon, the Apollo Team are taking photos and making the most of their time on the Moon's surface, when they are attacked by the Dire Wraiths, who have jammed the lander's communications.

Four of the Adventure-One Team members head out to meet with the Apollo Team, unaware of the attack, and leave Hank alone in their shuttle, where he is attacked and assimilated by the Mystic Wraith, who drains Hank of his essence and takes on his appearance and memories, and uses his skills to take off and take over Adventure-One's base...

Side Story Plot

On the planet Marn-33 one of the Solstar Knights, Dhorian, has been captured by a group of Dire Wraiths, who intend to kill him, and use his life force to open a portal to Earth, so they can join in with the invasion there. Dhorian manages to kill one of the Mystics, but is killed himself by the Soldiers in revenge.

Two fellow Solstar Knights, Rom and Nikomi are flying nearby and see a signal fired by Dhorian before his death and head to the site, however they are too late as the Wraiths walk through the portal, and leave Dhorian's corpse behind them... 

Characters

NASA

Neil Armstrong

Buzz  Aldrin

Michael Collins

JoAnn Morgan

Kennedy Space Center Crew

Adventure-One

Dr Herman "Hank" Armstrong Killed, Assimilated and Replaced by a Wraith Mystic

Dr Sandra Shore

Dr James Brightside/Dodger

Colonel Anatoli Kiev/Arsenal

Dr Elmo Aubreyson/Scalpel

Dr Martin Flannery/Mixmaster

Dire Wraith

Mystic Aby'Ss

Mystic Sky'Sm

Axlar

Sulor

Third Mystic (Side Story Only) Killed by Dhorian

Third Soldier (Side Story Only)

K'Allor (Mentioned)

Solstar Order

Rom (Side Story Only)

Nikomi (Side Story Only)

Dhorian (Side Story Only) Killed by Wraith Soldiers

Other Human

Rick Ruby/Bulletman (Mentioned)

Mike Power/Atomic Man (Mentioned)

Neil Armstrong's Father (Mentioned)

Ray Bradbury (Mentioned)

Isaac Asimov (Mentioned)

Ralph Ellison (Mentioned)

"The Russians" (Mentioned)

Other

The Inhumanoids (Mentioned)

Notes

• This story marks the return to the original IDW Hasbroverse, although it's a prequel to most of the action in the series
• At this point in history, the Earth already has a load of Dire Wraiths living on it (as they arrived in the 1800's originally) and there should be only Centurion still alive on Earth of the Maximal team he was a part of, so we shouldn't likely see any robots in this series.
• Considering the brief knowledge of Cybertronians existing, it's not too shocking that this universe has an outpost near the Moon monitoring space for aliens. It's very likely that the Adventure-One we see here will eventually become the Skywatch we are introduced to in the main series time line.
• The Adventure-One team are, quite unexpectedly, based on characters from the Inhumanoids franchise. Sandra Shore's name is taken directly from her counterpart there, Herman Armstrong's counterpart went by the nickname of "Herc" instead of "Hank" in the original, and Anatoli Kiev was "Anatoly Kiev", a male character in the original.  The other characters seem to be new characters, but still sport uniforms coloured to match the original series'.
• The Inhumanoids themselves are referenced, as Kiev apparently encountered them in Russia. The Inhumanoids were originally set to appear in issues 4 and 5 of the Sitterson GI Joe series (the one with Skywarp as a team member), but they were replaced with the "Fatal Fluffies" as Hasbro didn't hold the licence to the property any more. It's currently unclear if the rights have been bought back by Hasbro, or if the human character tweaks mentioned before were to accommodate to the property ownership change.
• It's unclear which of the Mystics attacked and assimilated Hank this issue, as they look identical (trust me, I examined both of them in detail and found no visible differences in them, or their personalities)
• This is the first time we properly see a Wraith assimilation, and it confirms that they kill the humans and mimic their appearances, rather than possessing their bodies, something only really hinted at before with their ability to copy Joe Colton, despite his survival. It does bring to question how Camilla ended up fusing with a Wraith though...
• Amongst the Wraiths we see in the Side Story are 3 Soldiers, and 3 Mystics, one Mystic is killed during the story, but the third soldier isn't present in the main story...did he die on the way to the Moon, or is he still on the previous planetoid?
• We keep hearing mention of a "K'Allor" in a god-like fashion. Could this be the real name for the Wraith-God "The Presence"?

IDW - Unicron #5

Main Story

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Side Story

Title: A World and a Future

Written by: Magdalene Visaggio

Art by: Fico Ossio

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Lettered by: Curtis Fandango

Edited by: David Mariotte

Main Story Plot

Shockwave watches on from the CN Tower in Toronto as his Maximals continue to destroy the city, readying it for a new Cybertronian Empire. And he determines that the Talisman must have been transported to Earth with the Transformers, so he links up with his Titan, Nemesis, who is within Unicron to scan the planet to find the device so he can retrieve it and use it on Unicron. He is however unaware that Snake Eyes and a group of Ninjas are currently approaching his location...

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Thundercracker is helping to put out fires and rescue trapped Humans, due to Unicron's proximity to Earth causing natural disasters. He soon realizes that he forgot to return a call to Marissa, which he tries to do, but is told they cannot talk, as she is in a meeting.

Marissa hangs up on her friend as she stands with Scarlett, Flint and a few world leaders, preparing a mission with the assembled forces of Earth, including the Action Man programme, GI Joe, Cobra, Dire Wraiths and the Dinobots, amongst others. Soon, the meeting is intruded on by Shockwave, Swift, Ironhide, Rom and Livia, who are acting as representative of Cybertron and the colonies.

After a short altercation between the Solstar Knights and Dire Wraiths, Trypticon orders everyone to get along, for the sake of everyone, including the still forming new Cybertronians within him.

Back in Africa, the refugees from Cybertron are preparing for battle, and reuniting with their friends  when Prowl's shuttle arrives with his crew and the Autobot Colonists in tow, willing to help in the final battle.

Soon, Jetfire calls everyone together to explain to them that Unicron devoured the black hole that his original planet form orbited, which is why he is also blinking out he stars whenever he devours a planet, meaning this threat is to everyone and everything, not just them. Optimus appreciates this, but they have to focus on defeating Unicron before fixing the damage, and they plan to use the Talisman to do it...

Shockwave has located the Talisman using the Nemesis and relays it's location to Bludgeon, ordering him to bring it to Unicron to kill him before he gets to Earth. Unfortunately Bludgeon's loyalties are now with Unicron, so he sends the Maximals down to destroy it instead....

In a moment of quiet, Optimus looks out to the stars and is joined by Arcee, who is now worried for her future, since she is finally happy with Aileron, and is worried that she'll lose her in this war. Optimus tells her that despite what happens, she has to cherish what she has now, and not dwell on what could happen. Their moment is soon ended however when Aileron reports that the Maximals are approaching the city.

Earth's militaries, including GI Joe meet the Maximals head-on, with several being killed on both sides, but the Maximals manage to slip past them. Luckily they gave the city enough time and Destro links his Mass transport device to Metroplex, allowing the city and all the ships around it to be transported away, to the confusion of the Maximals.

Thundercracker reaches Mount Rushmore, which Trypticon has also left and gives Buster to Marissa to look after for him, shocking her as Thundercracker loves his dog more than anything. He leaves to join the battle and asks her to explain that she left her out of love..

In Toronto, the Ninjas attack Beast Megatron, whom is shot in the throat by Helix with a sniper rifle, soon Stardrive arrives to help them out with Prowl heading to the CN Tower to take on Shockwave himself.

Thundercracker joins up with Starscream and Skywarp as they head towards Unicron, seemingly alone, with Thundercracker carrying the Talisman whilst the others carry Optimus and Arcee in their undercarriages. Bludgeon sees this and laughs at Starscream's feeble attack, sending Monstructor to kill him, unaware that the surviving Torchbearers have been handing onto the side of the ship this whole time.

Before Monstructor can get too far, Metroplex and Trypticon appear before him, and unleash the entire Cybertronian army, and other space-faring warriors upon him, utterly shocking Bludgeon.

Whilst the bulk of the forces face off with the corrupted Decepticons and Maximals, Starscream and the others sneak the Talisman, Optimus and Arcee to Unicron, for their final battle...

Side Story Plot

Virulina wakes up on what she assumes is Earth, but soon finds foliage and landmarks that tells her it is actually Prysmos, despite the planet's destruction. She is soon joined by Galadria, Cindarr and Witterquick, and they toy with the idea that they are in heaven, but Cindarr soon explains that they are actually on an ancient version of Prysmos, having been transported there by the Talisman.

The team start to look for more of their people and start planning some shelters, but find themselves on a cliff-ledge where they bask in the beauty of their untouched world, ready to start anew.

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Arcee - Sports Car

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Chromia - Speedbike

Bumblebee - Car

Ironhide - Van

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Jazz - Sports Car

Metroplex - Cybertronian City

Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign - Head

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Wheelie - Car

Goldbug - Car

Slide - Part of Oil Tanker

Bump - Armadillo

Roulette - Muscle Car

Midnight Express - Bullet Train

Sandstorm - Buggy/Helicopter

Slug - Triceratops

Swoop - Pteranodon

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Tracks - Muscle Car

Sunstreaker - Sports Car

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Dust Up - Sports Car

Skyburst - Helicopter

Primus (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Shockwave - Flying Artillery

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Tall Tankor - Oil Tanker/Cargo Plane

Fat Tankor - Tank

Needlenose - Fighter Jet

Acid Storm - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Red Wing - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

Dirge - Fighter Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Maximal/Corrupted Decepticon

Bludgeon - Tank

Monstructor - Monster Gestalt

Broadside - Tank

Sledge - Backhoe-Payloader

Wideload - Dump Truck

Decepticon Vengeance Division

Beast Megatron - Tyrannosaurus Rex Throat Shot out by Helix

Optimus Primal - Gorilla

Rhinox - Rhino

Inferno - Ant

Maximal Army

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Trypticon - Earth Embassy

Thundercracker - Fighter Jet

Stardrive - Car/Jet

Centurion - Luxury Car

Swift - Helicopter

Strafe - Car/Two Headed Dragon

D.O.C.

Bob the Insecticon

G2 Sideswipe - Sports Car

Next Generation Cybertronians

Cybertron/Colony Survivors

Nemesis - Unicron's Eye/Titan Ship (Mentioned) Merged into Unicron

GI Joe

Skywarp - Fighter Jet

Scarlett

Flint

Stalker

Snake Eyes

Agent Helix

Mayday

Spike

Talon

Slip-Stream Killed by Maximals

Ace

Chameleon

Hi-Tech

Action Man Programme

Action Man, Ian Noble

Terrence Salmons

Bryce Chan

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia

Cobra

Cobra Commander/Krake

Cobra Commander/Tomax

Cobra Commander/Baroness

Major Bludd

Destro

Tempest

Red Shadow Ninjas

Storm Shadow (Mentioned)

Iron Ring

Joe Colton

Miles Mayhem

Colditz

Iron Klaw

Doctor X

Lady Shazraella

Dire Wraith

Countdown

Various Wraiths

Other Human

Madame President

Chinese President

British Prime Minister

Marissa Faireborn

Sergeant Savage

Bulletman

Jet Pilots Many Killed by Maximals

Toronto Civilians Being Killed by Shockwave's Maximals

L.A. Civilians

L.A. Emergency Responders

Visionaries

Virulina

Cindarr

Galadria

Witterquick

Leoric (Mentioned)

Other

Unicron

Buster the Dog

Garnak

Notes

• How does Shockwave not know that the Maximals now work for Unicron? He seems to know literally everything else in the Hasbroverse! Why is he being out of character in trusting Bludgeon so much to assume that he is blindly loyal to him and no-one else?
• The Nemesis is revealed to have actually been a Titan, and that was how it's absorption into Unicron gave him a T-cog. Apparently Shockwave also still has contact with it, and can see through it....making my earlier point about him not knowing that the Maximals have betrayed him even worse now....
• It's still unclear whether Beast Megatron, Optimus Primal and Rhinox are actually still loyal to Shockwave, or if they are just acting as double agents for Unicron.
• Matt Trakker is mentioned as being missing from the assembled heroes and villains of Earth, he was shown to be in Detroit with his team back in an earlier side story, showing them helping protect the people from the effects of Unicron's arrival.
• Amongst the assembled villains are THREE Cobra Commanders! The Krake version from before the Revolution event, Tomax, who was shown inheriting the title in Revolutionaries, and Baroness who became the new Commander for the last few issues of the Sitterson GI Joe run.
• Also, noticeably absent from the crowd are most of the cast of Sitterson's GI Joe team, further implying that they were probably killed in the Maximal attack on the Lemuria.
• Destro mentions that he has repaired Skywarp's teleportation powers, which have been messed up since the start of Robots in Disguise.
• Unicron having devoured and become a black hole explains how he can consistently devour planets without getting "full". It also explains the side-effect of the stars blinking out of existence whenever he eats a world, rather than it just being a poetic ending to this continuity.
• Not to be that guy, but this issue confirms a fear I had regarding Arcee and Aileron's new relationship. It was only started up because they wanted to give Arcee someone to worry about and not want to lose, rather than just having her not want to let her friends and family (aka the Autobots) die horribly...yay...
• The Earth forces include a ton of GI Joe vehicles, but since I'm not really a Joe fan, I wont be talking about them beyond this.
• It's revealed in this issue that not all of the new Cybertronians have actually be fully formed yet, with G2 Sideswipe and a couple of other generics being the only ones
• Thundercracker, assuming that he will die and not wanting to risk Buster's life in space, returns her to Marissa, who gave the puppy to him as a peace offering at the start of Season Two of Robots in Disguise.
• Tempest mentions that she wants to see if she is equal to her predecessor, implying Storm Shadow...but she lost that title when another/the original Storm Shadow arrived...maybe he died in the unreleased issues of Scarlett's Strike Force and she ended up taking the title back
• Tempest and her Red Shadows gained their Dire Wraith powers from the Talisman before the events of Revolutionaries.
• Amongst the Maximals appear to be characters using the models of the Predacons from Prime and Dinobots from Age of Extinction. Though due to the block colouring and some simplified details it can't be certain
• Uh oh, the last time Prowl and Shockwave battled it resulted in the destruction of Junkion...good luck Toronto!!
• All three original Seekers, albeit all in different body deigns, are reunited for the first time since the events of All Hail Megatron.
• If you look closely to Starscream and Skywarp in space, you can just see Arcee and Optimus underneath them, albeit heavily shadowed.
• Centurion, despite not being a Titan Master, has apparently had some sort of training from Blackrock to allow him to assist Trypticon in battle.
• Bludgeon's text box is white in his last lines, implying that he's been putting on a scaryvoice before now (much like Sunder did in MTMTE)
• This story ends with a "To be Continued". Shouldn't that be "Concluded" since it's the final issue?
• The Visionaries are revealed to have been sent to a prehistoric Prysmos, from before their civilization developed, without weapons and with a fresh start, implying this could be the backdoor pilot to a new series...
• HOWEVER! This isn't exactly a good thing for them! Assuming this isn't another dimension and was just time travel, that means that they are doomed to eventually lose their planet in the same way, with their descendants ending up on Cybertron and everything happens again
• Why does everyone act like Virulina got them to Prysmos? It was Leoric who used the Talisman to do this (you can tell this was his plan from his face last issue!)

IDW - Unicron #4

Main Story

Title: Road's End

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Sebastian Cheng & David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Side Story

Title: Transition

Written by: Christos Gage

Art by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Mattia Iacono

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Edits by: David Mariotte

Main Story Plot

In Deep Space, Prowl is informed by Stardrive that they have lost contact with Cybertron, which the Autobot is not shocked by he reveals that he always assumed Cybertron would fall, and that he always believed the final battle would be held on Earth...

On Earth, the President is informed that they have also lost contact with Cybertron whilst she is visiting a GI Joe facility, holding Joe Colton prisoner, where they are discussing a recent attack on GI Joe from what looked like Cybertronians and he brings up the Talisman, a device that can be used to kill Cybertronians..

On Cybertron, Windblade arrives at New Prysmos, where she tells Leoric her plan to use the Talisman to transport everyone off the planet to Earth, as the Talisman once managed to move the city to the planet's surface, which the Visionary leader agrees too, seemingly with his own  plans too...

Unicron continues to tear Cybertron apart, as the population of the planet starts to panic and flee for their lives. Blurr sees this from his bar, and also notices the Talisman's magical ribbons transporting anyone it touches away. He rushes outside and starts throwing anyone he comes across into the beams of energy before running for one himself, however before he can reach it, he is caught by an underground explosion, and is torn apart.

Optimus is still talking to Shockwave in his cell, where the latter reveals that he has always had a transporter ready to save himself, and urges his old friend to join him on Earth. Optimus sees the energy ribbons and dives into it, radioing Aileron to have her bridge away the city and everyone they can to Earth.

In orbit, Unicron starts swatting at the ships still fighting him, as they are being transported away by the magic too. To give them extra time, the still barely alive Elita One pilots the remains of Carcer into Unicron's face, killing herself, but giving the fleet a few moments to be rescued...

Now alone, Unicron tears Cybertron in two and begins feasting upon it, with the stars in the sky behind him all blinking away in the process.

Shockwave and some loyal Maximals arrive in Toronto on Earth and immediately start slaughtering the humans they come across and destroying the city so Shockwave can begin his new empire, confident that Unicron was killed when he ate Cybertron, and the Talisman.

At Sanctuary Station, in orbit of Jupiter, Cosmos is trying to make contact with Cybertron when Bludgeon and his corrupted Decepticon fleet arrives, still loyal to Unicron and starts attacking the station. Cosmos, Sky-Byte, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak go out to stall the fleet and allow the remaining denizens escape to Earth, whilst the station plummets into Jupiter, and the four defenders are slaughtered one by one.

Soon, Prowl's team arrives and Stardrive is sent in to slaughter the Maximals and corrupted Decepticons one by one, however she stops in her tracks when Unicron teleports in behind her, leaving everyone in shock at his magnitude.

Back on Earth, Shockwave watches as Toronto is being destroyed, but becomes aware that Unicron is still alive, meaning that the Talisman wasn't on Cybertron when it was devoured...

At the Zambia/Zimbabwe border, Windblade and Ironhide are alone with the Talisman, and Windblade believes that everyone else was killed on Cybertron and despairs, however the survivors of Cybertron's destruction begin to teleport in and she embraces Optimus with joy at everyone having been saved.

Everyone starts to reunite with their friends and take stock, with Starscream even getting punched by Arcee for his negative attitude when Optimus receives a call from Prowl, informing him that Unicron is approaching Earth and they need to stop him there in their final stand....

Side Story Plot

The Micronauts learn that Baron Karza, the now-ruler of Microspace is preparing for war, due to something happening in the larger Macroverse. They discuss whether they should try a revolution whilst he is distracted, or if they should go to help their allies, like Rom and the Autobots.

The team's former leader, Oziron Rael appears before the team, now as a Time Traveler to explain to them that something big is happening in Macrospace, something that will cause great change, but even he cannot see what will happen next. He urges them to put any affairs they have in order, and prepare for an upcoming change on the horizon.

The team ultimately decide that regardless of what happens, they want to continue to adventure together, as a team, for as long as they have left....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Metroplex - Iacon City

Arcee - Sports Car

Aileron - Space Shuttle

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Cosmos - Orbiter Killed by Decepticon Vengeance Division

Bumblebee - Hatchback

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck

Skyburst - Helicopter

Jumpstream - Sports Car

Ironhide - Van

Blurr - Race Car Killed by Explosion on Cybertron

Tracks - Muscle Car

Strongarm - Police Vehicle

Chromia - Speedbike

Roadmaster - Truck

Firestar

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Wheelie - Car

Omega Supreme - Rocket Base Dead

Other Torchbearers (Mentioned)

Mainframe (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Shockwave - Flying Artillery

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Fat Tankor - Tank

Needlenose - Fighter Jet

Sky-Byte - Flying Car Killed by Decepticon Vengeance Division

Buzzsaw - Motorcycle Killed by Decepticon Vengeance Division

Laserbeak - Motorcycle Killed by Decepticon Vengeance Division

Bludgeon - Tank

Monstructor - Monster Decepticon Gestalt

Broadside - Tank Under Unicron's Thrall

Wideload - Dump Truck Under Unicron's Thrall

Sledge - Backhoe-Payloader Under Unicron's Thrall

Decepticon Vengeance Division Under Unicron's Thrall

Maximal

Optimus Primal - Gorilla

Beast Megatron - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Rhinox - Rhino

Unicron's Maximal Army

Other Cybertronian/Colonist

Elita One - Car Kamikaze's self into Unicron's Face

Vigilem - Carcer Ship Remains crashed into Unicron's Face

Moonracer - Sports Car

Vanquish - Part of Jet

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Stardrive - Car/Jet

Skywarp - Fighter Jet

Swift - Helicopter

D.O.C.

Cybertronian/Colony Survivors 

Turbofoxes Killed with Cybertron

Insecticons (Mentioned)

Human

Madame President

Scarlett

Joe Colton

GI Joe Troops

Secret Service Troops

Toronto Denizens Several Killed by Maximals and Shockwave

GI Joe Mainframe

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia

Sata

Nikomi

Q'b

Guar

Elonian Survivors

Visionaries

Leoric

Galadria

Other Visionaries

Microspace

Oziron Rael/Time Traveler (Side Story Only)

Larissa (Side Story Only)

Phenolo-Phi (Side Story Only)

Acroyear (Side Story Only)

Biotron (Side Story Only)

Microtron (Side Story Only)

Baron Karza (Side Story Only)

Acroyear III Army (Side Story Only)

Reptos Army (Side Story Only)

Other

Unicron

Garnak

Notes

• So...if Unicron only got his alternate mode, and therefore his head when the Nemesis was merged with him...then why does Prowl have a bust of his head in his store of old Cybertronian artefacts? Maybe him or Shockwave will travel through time with this image soon?
• Scarlett references the attack on GI Joe, seen in the side story from issue 2 of this series. This confirms that it was happening before Unicron arrives on Earth in the next issue.
• During Scarlett's talk about the events of issue 2, she says that the Maximals almost annihilated GI Joe, implying that some of the Joes did die. Since we haven't seen them here, or earlier, we could assume that the death toll includes characters like Salvo and Spitfire.
• Joe Colton is revealed to have been transported to a GI Joe facility on Earth, instead of remaining on Cybertron. This COULD explain how several Cobra villains were seen on Earth following their capture, assuming they somehow escaped jail en-route to the Joe base.
• Again, Cybertron is seen in it's planet-wide city appearance, despite it supposed to be mostly a wasteland still...maybe the planet just had some layout lines on it for future developments? Oh well I guess it doesn't matter any more!
• Strongarm, a character imported from Robots in Disguise 2015, makes her first speaking role this issue. She previously appeared amongst the new Wrecker recruits in Requiem of the Wreckers, and is shown to have a personality similar to that of her RID counterpart here.
• As mentioned in my review of Optimus Prime #23, Blurr makes reference to the Unicron/Unicorn joke.
• Blurr reveals that when he is using his super-speed his brain works faster too, explaining how he can act fast and make corners without crashing due to his high-speed
• NOOOO!!! They forgot to rescue the Turbofoxes from the dying Cybertron!! And here I thought Soundwave was all about protecting ALL life, including the animals....
• Rhinox, Optimus Primal and Beast Megatron (yes, that's his official name in this series) travel to Earth with Shockwave. We knew Rhinox was loyal to Shockwave still, but last time we saw the latter two they were showing off their demon insides to Bludgeon and his crew...so whose side are they actually on now? Unicron or Shockwave? Is Shockwave even aware of their demon insides? Considering the duplicates we've seen, it's possible that the ones we saw with the demonic innards were just copies of the real ones who ARE loyal...I dunno...
• Bludgeon explains that Unicron merging with the Nemesis not only gave him an eye, but also a T-Cog, allowing him to transform, something that Shockwave was not apparently aware of.
• Bludgeon's crew are shown alive, despite Victorion seemingly killing them last issue, though they can apparently talk again now!
• The destruction of Sanctuary Station here was foretold in Optimus' prophetic dream back in Optimus Prime #50, implying that the few remaining parts of the dream are still to come to fruition in this event.
• The timeline is getting a bit wobbly again! We know from Lost Light that their events are happening at least a year before this story, so when Buzzsaw and Laserbeak discuss how Mainframe is on the Lost Light, and how they may lose contact with them next. It seems a bit odd. This seems to imply that they are in contact with the Lost Light again, but if that is the case then why wouldn't they know that Mainframe was killed on Mederi, and why wouldn't Rodimus and his crew have been called back home to help with the battle, considering the Lost Light is arguably one of their best vessels?
• So, despite Optimus and most of the population being transported to Earth by the Talisman, and Metroplex space bridging the rest to safety, they not only all arrive on Earth at the same time, but also at the same location? How convenient....
• Judging from the art, before they were being transported, it looks like Firestar was defending some Elonians, since they are seemingly between her legs as she is sitting on the floor.
• Also, amongst the Elonians, we can see that kid with his alien-dog that Bumblebee befriended in issue 0.
• Windblade seems to finally forgive Optimus for his past mistakes as she hugs him after believing him and the others to have died on Cybertron.
• The Visionaries not being amongst those transported to Earth seems to imply that they were sent to another world/universe to continue their own solo series later (I'm sure this will be elaborated on in a future side story, most likely in Unicron #6)
• The Micronaut's side story was originally planned for release in issue 2, but was moved to here for no known reason.
• Oz finally returns, having left the team after dying to become a Time Traveler!
• Oz explains that regardless of what happens in the Macroverse, the Microverse will be affected, even if Unicron never comes there. My guess is that this is a potential reference to a future continuation of Micronauts, but with them staying in Microspace (depending on if the Earth survives Unicron's attack that is).