IDW - Transformers #41

Title: The Landscape of Fear

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova & Blacky Shepherd

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Most of the Decepticons flee from the battlefield when Lodestar arrives, but Strika and her Heavies remain to try and counter the Titan.

Lodestar however, is not really in a condition to battle, with her extensive damage, and sensory problems, she is relying on Lightbright for almost everything right now.

Computron leaves Lodestar and takes on the Heavies by himself, easily swatting them all away, with only minor hits from his enemies.

Soon, the Decepticon Heavies are captured, but Optimus offers a truce instead, and asks Strika to open a communication to Megatron, despite his cohort's concerns.

Whilst it is being set up, Lightbright requests somewhere for Lodestar to receive repairs, to which Optimus suggests Darkmount...

Outside the walled city of Darkmount, the Autobots and their allies are fighting off the Insecticon swarm, which is being relentless in it's raids, but they receive a boost in firepower when the refugees from Crystal City, in listing Termagax in her "House" arrive.

Back at Crystal City, Strika opens the communication to Megatron, whom Optimus offers a peace truce in order to counter their joint threats, the Rust Worms, Insecticons and Exarchon, and the. Allow them to rebuild their world, before the Autobots cede the planet to Megatron. Megatron agrees after some discussion, but has to arrange the details later, due to some new news he has received.

During the talks, Pyra Magna receives a message from the team in the Sonic Canyons, and has to leave to investigate it. Ultra Magnus questions Optimus' plan to give the planet to Megatron, but the Autobot leader explains that they can retake it later, after it is saved.

At Darkmount, the Autobots are trying to repair the final, damaged Ark, for them to try and evacuate the dying planet, while Termagax gets a plan, she wants to lead a team to locate and destroy the Insecticon Swarm's homebase, but for this plan, she will need a fully intact Insecticon Clone...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Pyra Magna - Truck 

Ironhide - Van

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Sunstreaker - Car

Wheeljack - Car

Hound - Jeep

Road Rage - Flying Car

Gears - Truck

Tap-Out - Winged Hovercraft

Scattershot - Jet

Strafe - Jet

Nosecone - Drill Tank

Lightspeed - Car

Afterburner - Speedbike

Computron - Technobot Combiner 

Autobot Soldiers

Perceptor (Mentioned)

Highbrow - Helicopter (Mentioned)

Glyph - Car (Mentioned)

Jumpstream - Car (Mentioned)

Sonic Canyon Team (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank

Strika - Battle Tank

Heavywait - Tank

Lugnut - Jet

Obsidian - Dual Propeller Plane

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Airwave - Battle Platform 

Decepticon Soldiers

Other Cybertronian

Termagax - Van

Lodestar - Titan Ship Injured 

Lightbright

Kickback - Locust

Bombshell - Boll Weevil

Skrapnel - Scarab Beetle

"House"

Spectrosynth Drones

Darkmount Refugees

Insecticon Swarm - Insects 

Cybertronian Mountains Titan Long Dead

Exarchon (Mentioned)

Constructicons (Mentioned)

Devastator - Constructicon Combiner (Mentioned)

Ark Repair Crew (Mentioned)

Other

Four-armed Alien

Rust Worms

Turbofoxes (Mentioned)

Organic Alien Refugees (Mentioned) Getting Sick and Hungry

Notes

• Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the Wreckers were aboard Lodestar. So I guess we won't be seeing them again before the finale of the continuity :( 
• Lightbright refers to Optimus Prime as "Orion" here, presumably because she just doesn't know about his name change, or just forgot about it.
• Tap-Out appears to have had a slight design update, making his body and alternate mode matching closer to Bumblebee's, which also makes him similar to the Origin Bumblebee toy...new repaint hint perhaps?
• I have a feeling that the end of this series will see the injured Lodestar be either rebuilt with the Ark's parts or die, and be used to fix the Ark, either way, she will become the Ark in essence.

IDW - Transformers #40

Title: A Dust of Crystals 

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Strika leads a large army of Decepticons to the edge of Crystal City, the last stand for the Autobots.

The Autobots, having sent all non-combatants to Darkmount for safety, make their final preparations for the upcoming battle, despite knowing they are likely to fall here.

The Decepticons start their assault, forcing the Autobots to hold them off, hoping to give time for their evacuees, and also hope for some reinforcements to arrive from space.

The battle for the city is tough, with many buildings being obliterated by the Decepticons, and the Autobots are all eventually forced to one fortified building, awaiting their fates.

Luckily however, the last Titan, Lodestar returns, still injured from her battle with Vigilem, but still towering over the city, bringing fear to the Decepticon army...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Pyra Magna - Truck

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ironhide - Van

Chromia - Car

Novastar - Car

Streetwise - Police Car

Smokescreen - Car

Arcee - Car

Greenlight - Car

Gauge - Energon Detector Machine

Ratchet - Ambulance

Sunstreaker - Car

Groundbreaker - Jet

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Jumpstream - Car

Groove - Motorcycle

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft

Elita-1 - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Sideswipe - Car

Strongarm - Van

Slapdash - Race Car

Bumper - Car

Vibes

Flareup - Motorcycle

Backstreet - Race Car

Kup - Pickup Truck

Flak - Tank 

Topshot - Tank

Sidetrack - Tank Killed by Obsidian

Sunrunner - Jet

Brawn - Van

Pipes - Truck

Subsea - Submarine

Crystal City Defenders

Perceptor (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Strika - Battle Tank

Obsidian - Helicopter

Blitzwing - Jet/Tank

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Lugnut - Jet

Heavywait - Van

Snaptrap - Turtle

Crasher - Race Car

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Barricade - Police Car

Ravage - Cassette

Weirdwolf - Wolf

Battleslash - Helicopter

Roadtrap - Van

Hotlink - Jet

Red Wing - Jet

Wingstun - Jet Killed by Sidetrack

Storm Cloud - Jet

Decepticon Attack Force

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Jhiaxus - Jet (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Lodestar - Titan Ship

"House"

Crystal City Evacuees

Solus Prime (Flashback Only)

Alchemist Prime (Flashback Only)

Solomus (Flashback Only)

Halonix Maximus (Flashback Only)

Termagax - Van (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

The Thirteen Primes (Mentioned) Gone

Notes

• The hammer that Strika weilds this issue resembles a recoloured Smashdown...just a coincidence or.....?
• The story of the creation of Crystal City shows us that the Primes are larger than average Cybertronians, as they were described several years ago during the Aligned continuity days (assuming Solomus isn't just tiny that is).
• The story also implies that Solomus is younger than the Primes, which is a reversal of their ages in the previous IDW continuity.
• Additionally, we also see Alchemist Prime using his powers to form the original crystaline towers of the city, showing that these versions of the Primes have abilities, again like their Aligned counterparts.
• The Crystal City is revealed to have been rebuilt multiple times over the years, explaining why the current iteration doesn't look crystaline.
• The civilians and bon-combatant Autobots from Crystal City have evacuated to Darkmount, a city previously abandoned by Straxxus and his followers during the Escape comic series
• Even though they haven't been Autobranded yet, I think it's safe to say that Elita-1 and Bumblebee have joined the Autobots at this point.
• Next to Elita-1 in the last stand building is a bot holding a rifle, similar to Javelin's, however the eyes look wrong to be her. This could just be a random extra, or just a miscolouring.
• Lodestar has finally returned to Cybertron, following her mission to chase down Vigilem, resulting in his death, from the Transformers Annual. We can assume that the Technobots and Lightbright are inside her too (it would also be nice if she picked up the Wreckers on her way too)

IDW - Transformers #30

Title: War World: We are Not Meant to be Darkness

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Optimus wants to try and end this war before it can go any further and tries to have Pyra Magna arrange a meeting between him and Megatron, however she convinces him to do the meeting over holo-casters, and to escape Iacon during the meeting, as she knows Megatron will betray this truce. Optimus asks if he can trust her to follow orders, since she disobeyed the orders for amnesty from Nominus Prime to kill Turmoil, and his ship full of prisoners, and she hopes that she can be trusted this time...

Later, Pyra and Strika meet in the ruined Iacon, where they act as the proxies for their leaders and project their holograms for the meeting. The conversation goes about as well as expected, with Megatron claiming that Optimus only cares about the apparent destruction of the Titansparks, as he wanted to use them against him.

Megatron ends the transmission, and Strika activates a suppressor spear, so no one can hear them, or teleport in. Strika won't kill her herself, since they were comrades in arms, and respect each other too much, but she does allow a new recruit of Sixshot's to take her out, Cyclonus, who wants revenge on her for killing Paragon, who was onboard Turmoil's ship.

Once the spear is activated, the Companions, a group of Cybertronians loyal to Pyra, come out from hiding behind a shimmer field and head off to help their leader. The Decepticons mistake them for Sec-ops members and are easily taken out by the war veterens.

Pyra is willing to allow Cyclonus to kill her, as penance for her ear crimes, but the manifestation of Paragon in his mind stops him from killing her, and he doesn't know what to do now. Pyra doesn't know what he needs if it's not to kill her, as breaks the spear blocking their Comms.

Realising the spear is gone, the Companions quickly reunite with their leader, and ask her what to do now, with her deciding to join Optimus, but allows the others to do what they want...

Optimus and his followers evacuate Iacon, using the meeting and fight as a cover. As Pyra believed, Megatron did try to betray them, and only took the meeting to try and locate Optimus' hiding place to take him and his followers out. Now he won't be satisfied with his victories until Optimus is finally dead!

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Pyra Magna - Truck

Chroma - Car

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Ironhide - Van

Perceptor

Nightbeat - Car

Pipes - Truck

Vibes

Groove - Motorcycle

Grapple - Crane

Brawn - Van

Autobot Evacuees

Sentinel Prime - Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Nominus Prime - Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank 

Strika - Battle Tank

Soundwave - Hovercraft

Sixshot - Tank/Jet/Car/Gun/Winged Beast

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Flywheels - Tank and Jet

Ion Storm - Jet

Nova Storm - Jet

Acid Storm - Jet

Nautilator - Lobster Beaten down by Rust Dust

Scatterspike - Can

Red Wing - Jet 

Hooligan - Jet Shot down by Jumpstream

Nacelle - Jet Badly Injured by Windcharger

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned)

Infiltration Troopers - Cassettes (Mentioned)

Most of the Seekers - Jets (Mentioned)

The Companions

Sunstreaker - Car

Jumpstream - Car

Windcharger - Car

Groundbreaker - Jet

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Demolisher - Battle Tank (Flashback Only)

Rest of Pyra's Crew (Flashback Only)

Three-fold Spark

Turmoil - Tank (Flashback Only) Possibly Killed in Ship Explosion

Megabolt (Flashback Only) Possibly Killed in Ship Explosion

Turmoil's Crew (Flashback Only) Possibly Killed in Ship Explosion

Exarchon (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet 

Immersant Titan Part of Mountain Range

Paragon (Ghost)

Captured Senators (Mentioned) In Decepticon Custody

The Titans (Mentioned) Crashed into Cybertron

The Sixteen Titansparks (Mentioned) Apparently Destroyed

Turmoil's Prisoners (Mentioned) Possibly Killed in Ship Explosion

Other

Green, the Flyt 

Notes

• This issue was released on the same day as issue 29...so it was kind of annoying when my copy of 30 arrived first, giving me a couple of spoilers of 29 :/
• Megatron claims that all the Titansparks were destroyed when the Pyramid was destroyed...but, let's face it, he's the leader of a group who willingly call themselves DECEPT-icons....I don't think he can be trusted ...
• We can't easily identify most of  Pyra Magna's past crew members, but one prominent one is based on Armada Demolisher, who is traditionally a Decepticon. Wonder if that means anything for a future plot?
• The only member of Turmoil's crew I can identify is based on RID Megavolt, who is based on a Grand Mal version of Beast Megatron from Beast Machines (though presumably not the same size as him, otherwise Turmoil must be humongous!)
• The members of the Companions who come to help Pyra Magna includes Groundbreaker in Pyra Magna's colours. It was mentioned before by Jumpstream that some bots have taken on her colours in protest for her imprisonment. Everyone else is in their normal colours 
• Pyra mentions that MOST of the Seekers have joined the Decepticons, implying some have not. My guess would be the others would be characters like Jetfire and the Aerialbots.
• Scatterspike is a straight transfer of her RID2015 character model.
• So...Windcharger has finally been allowed to show off how a bot with the power of magnetism would be VERY scary on Cybertron.
• Cyclonus is stopped from killing Pyra Magna by the manifestation of Paragon. However, we learned last issue that Provoke, one of his other ghosts, is still alive...so, again, are these just Cyclonus' mind playing tricks on him, or something more sinister?
• I think it's pretty safe to say now that any bots seen in the group leaving Jacob with Optimus are now part of his Autobots, if even just by association. This is notable mainly for Perceptor, who noted last issue that he doesn't see the Matrix as a "boss token"
• The final shot of Optimus looking over the ruined Iacon, with the Tether still draped across the landscape is a direct parallel to the scene from issue one, where Rubble looks over the landscape himself, before the chaos all began.
• The preview text for next issue says it is 40 cycles later, possibly setting it near to when Ultra Magnus should be returning home after his time-dilated journey

IDW - Transformers #29

Title: War World: Titans

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Following the capture of the Titan Hub, the Decepticons have tried to reactivate the Titans, but have discovered that their data bomb worked too well, and they can't restore them. Fearing that the Autobots could find a way to reverse the effects themselves, Megatron orders them to accelerate their crash-sequences so they won't fall into their enemies hands...

Elsewhere, Javelin has transferred to Ironhide's former Senate Guard team where she is welcomed by the team.

Later, the Guard escort Optimus Prime, the last of the Senators they can protect as he visits the Forge Pyramid, where all Cybertronians are born.

Inside, Optimus meets with Perceptor, the head of the facility to discuss with him about Titansparks, following Sentinel Prime's final words and Starscream's leaked information regarding them. Perceptor admits that the public have been lied to about the number of Titansparks to emerge from the Allspark since the last war, and the sixteen have been placed into storage, though he thought that Optimus had been told already...

Outside, Strika and her team have been assembled to attack the Pyramid to take the facility, and the Titansparks for Megatron.

Sec Ops and the Senate Guard fight them off, but are being overwhelmed, during the battle the mag-field system is damaged, which begins to release plasma throughout the facility. Nova Storm tries to attack the group, but Optimus stops her, and orders her to warn the Decepticons about the plasma leak, so they can get to safety, leading her to fly off immediately.

The Pyramid staff and Optimus' crew break out of the facility, with the Decepticons following by example.

Outside, Optimus watches with Perceptor, angry with the scientist for hiding living  sparks from the population, as the Pyramid explodes and melts down.

Meanwhile, the Decepticon scientists manage to fulfil Megatron's order and accelerate the descent of the Titans. Chela smashes into Kali's, causing massive structural damage, Citadel crashes into the Sea of Rust, who disrupts the rust worms that were under the surface, and Cargohold crashes into, and finally destroys the remains of the Memorial Crater...

Later, Roadtrap and Gutcruncher explore the crash site at the Memorial Crater, where they find a Cybertronian buried underneath. At first they think she's just an Immersant or a forgotten corpse from the last war, but not only is she alive, but Roadtrap recognises her...it's Provoke....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Ironhide - Van

Javelin

Grotusque - Winged Cat

Vibes

Backstreet - Car

Subsea - Submarine

Brawn - Van Injured by Obsidian

Pipes - Truck

Flareup - Motorcycle

Groove - Motorcycle

Kup - Pick Up Truck

Strongarm - Police Van

Flak - Mobile Missile System

Topshot - Self-propelled Gun Truck

Sunrunner - Jet

Carzap - Car

Inferno - Fire Truck

Nightbeat - Car

Other Former Senate Guards

Nominus Prime - Jet (Flashback Only) Dead

Sentinel Prime - Jet (Flashback Only) Dead

Hound - Jeep (Mentioned)

Sideswipe - Car (Mentioned) Injured

Bumper - Car (Mentioned) Injured

Chainclaw - Bear (Mentioned) Dead

Roulette - Car (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank

Strika - Battle Tank

Mindwipe - Bat

Bitstream - Jet

Sparkstalker - Insect Monster

Catgut

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet

Apeface - Ape/Jet

Lugnut - Jet

Heavywait - Van

Obsidian - Helicopter

Snaptrap - Turtle

Nova Storm - Jet

Acid Storm - Jet

Twirl - Jet

Visper - Jet

Windsweeper - Jet

Power-Punch - Cannon Mounted Truck

Direct-Hit - Truck

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Roadtrap - Can

Gutcruncher

"Annoying Seeker" - Jet

Decepticon Fliers - Jets

Other Cybertronian

Perceptor

Chela - Titan Ship Crashed into Cybertron

Citadel - Titan Ship Crashed into Cybertron

Cargohold - Titan Ship Crashed into Cybertron

Provoke Buried Alive

Pyramid Staff

Lodestar - Senate Ship (Flashback Only)

Losestar's Forging Attendees (Flashback Only)

16 Titan Sparks (Flashback Only) Held in Storage

Starscream - Jet (Mentioned)

Croaton - Titan Ship (Mentioned) Killed by Citadel

Cybertronian Evacuees (Mentioned)

The Senators (Mentioned) imprisoned

The First Forged (Mentioned)

The Three-fold Spark Army (Mentioned)

The Other Titans (Mentioned) Most Likely crashed into Cybertron

Other

Rust Worms

Alien Evacuees (Mentioned)

Notes

• Following her freezing up during her last mission, Javelin has switched from Sec Ops to Senate Guard...though that doesn't really mean much since they've both been pretty much rolled into the Autobots now.
• Bumper is mentioned as being injured here...he looked quite dead last time we saw him...are they pulling a Windblade here again? If he is just injured he's probably in the convoy heading to Darkmount in Escape.
• We finally see the interior of the Pyramid! Pity it didn't last much longer...
• We also see that the roof is able to open up to allow Titans to exit. Would have been nice to see that before now....
• Perceptor appears to be using his Titans Return design, as we should all be well accustomed to now.
• Chela previously appeared in the old IDW continuity, but only in bird/robot mode. Citadel and Cargohold are new creations for this continuity.
• Carzap is in his Timelines toy design, which is based on the Thrilling Thirty Bumblebee mold.
• Starscream's role as head of Intelligence, and ousting Soundwave from the role is heavily hinted in this issue as being due to him blackmailing Sentinel with his knowledge on the Titansparks existing.
• We actually get a look at Optimus' alternate mode here. The cab is based on his Galaxy Upgrade toy, but the trailer is completely made up, but colour-wise it matches his traditional trailer.
• Hound's evacuation efforts in Escape are mentioned by Optimus this issue. Though this storyline and Escape started at the same time, Escape is currently only on issue 3 of 5, while this Storyline in the main series is complete....hope we don't get spoilers for the end of Escape in the next couple of issues....
• Cristin is revealed to have been killed by Citadel after he was usurped by Exarchon.
• Huh...Provoke is alive...then what is up with her "ghost"? Is she, and the others by extension, just coping mechanisms for Cyclonus or something else?
• From their dialogue it sounds like Roadtrap and Gutcruncher don't know that the Rise were always a secret extension of the Ascenticons/Decepticons.

IDW - Transformers #23

Title: Rise of the Decepticons, Part 5: We Have Deceived You

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editors: David Mariotte & Tom Waltz

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Plot

The special session of the Senate has come to discuss the recent actions of the Rise and for Sentinel to formally denounce the Ascenticons, however Megatron and his Ascenticon co-Senators arrive, uninvited, as this is about them. Orion Pax allows them to enter since they ARE elected officials, but also requests more guards inside the senate building.

At the prison, Bumblebee is being held for the murder of Quake, and Starscream visits him, and implies that the world is about to change, and he may have a place for him in this new world...

At the meeting, Megatron takes the podium where he accepts the name "Decepticon" for his faction, and claims that he will no longer wait around while the Autobots let the world fall apart around them. He claims that the Rise have surrendered to him, and implies that the Autobots were the ones to destroy the Tether...

Outside, the Decepticons make their move, attacking the guards outside and breaking into the main Senate hall, where Ion Storm uses his abilities to shoot an EMP through the assembled Senators, though draining him at the same time. During the attack, Strika grabs hold of Sentinel, intending to bring sanity back to Cybertron.

Several guards are killed or captured, but Strika chases Ironhide and a couple others out of the Senate building. From the front doors, she declares that the Decepticons are now here to rule Cybertron, and the crisis caused by the Autobots is over....

Characters

Autobot

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle

Orion Pax - Truck

Security Operations

Prowl - Police Vehicle

Strongarm - Police Vehicle

Bumper - Car

Vibes

Nightbeat - Car

Sideswipe - Car

Chromia - Car (Mentioned)

Senate Guard

Ironhide - Van

Grotusque - Winged Beast Detained by Decepticons

Chainclaw - Bear Detained by Decepticons

Brawn - Van

Groove - Motorcycle

Backstreet - Car

Roulette - Car

Pipes - Truck

Subsea - Submarine Seemingly Killed by Nova Storm

Flareup - Motorcycle Seemingly Killed by Nova Storm 

Decepticon

Megatron - Mining Vehicle

Strika - Battle Tank

Ratbat - Cassette

Acid Storm - Jet

Ion Storm - Jet Drained from using Powers

Nova Storm - Jet

Apeface - Jet/Ape

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Clench - Truck

Ravage - Cassette

Howlback - Cassette

Laserbeak - Cassette

Buzzsaw - Cassette

Squawktalk - Cassette

Beastbox - Cassette

Refraktor - Hovercraft (Mentioned)

Sixshot - Gun/Car/Jet/Winged Beast/Tank (Mentioned)

Quake - Tank (Mentioned) Dead

Other Cybertronian

Starscream - Jet

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft Imprisoned

Proxima

Andromeda

Voxpop

Cyclonus - Jet

Assembled Senators Hit by Ion Storm's EMP

Crowd Outside Senate Building

Highfire (Ghost)

Gridlock (Ghost)

Grudge (Ghost)

Provoke (Ghost)

Primus (Mentioned)

Other

The Thraal (Mentioned)

The A'ovan (Mentioned)

Notes

• Voxpop's theory about the Thraal dropping to Tether to try and take out the A'ovan actually sounds plausible since one of their compounds was destroyed in the fall. Though we know from an outsider's perspective that it was caused by the Rise.
• Megatron has now formally adopted the Decepticon name for the Ascenticons, and claims that the Rise have surrendered to them. I think it's safe to just stop pretending that they're separate factions now.
• Proxima is revealed to have been made head archivist now, the position that Orion was primed to take on before taking on his senatorial position.
• Flareup appears to be a scaled up and bulked up version of her original toy, so I'm assuming she still turns into a motorcycle here too.
• Starscream knows about the attack on the Senate this issue because of his mole within the Decepticons, Refractor.
• We don't see which of the Rainmakers shoots the electricity that takes out Subsea and Flareup, but since we see Ion Storm's ability, and we can assume the acid rain is from Acid Storm, it's most likely that Nova Storm is the one who blasts them.
• The Infiltration Troopers mentioned earlier in the storyline are revealed to be Soundwave's future cassette minions.
• Clench's trailer is designed to eject the troopers out of it...this is something I never knew I needed from an earth vehicle mode for Soundwave...

IDW - First Strike #3

First Strike

Written by: Mairghread Scott & David A. Rodriguez

Art by: Max Dunbar

Colours by: Ander Zarate

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Assistant Editor: David Mariotte

Editor: David Hedgecock

Publisher: Ted Adams

The Origins of Evil

Written by: John Barber

Pencils by: Netho Diaz

Inks by: Walden Wong

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz

Plot

First Strike

The Joes, MASK, Soundwave and the Helicopter Twins storm Castle Destro on multiple fronts and take down just about all of the Iron Grenadiers stationed there. Soon the team locate the MASS device and the Twins hook up their device to turn it into a mock-Space Bridge. Scarlett orders Quick Kick and Doc to remain on Earth in case something goes wrong so they can inform the others of the attack, as the rest of them step through the portal.

They arrive on Cybertron, in the middle of the battle, just as the Space Bridge detonates as predicted. Soundwave sends the Twins to scout the area so they can have a feel for the layout of the battlefield, and locate where Optimus and the other delegates are located, as well as seeing how far the battle has progressed. The Joes and MASK steal some abandoned vehicles from Ironblood's Alliance and use them to ram through their enemies. Soon, Soundwave uses his sonic powers to attack their foes and disorients them, allowing Scarlett to locate and tackle Baron Ironblood, she attempts to arrest him and removes his helmet, only to be shocked when Doctor Mindbender is revealed to be under the helmet, instead of Joe Colton, revealing that he is just a decoy. He refuses to talk further, but Scarlett gets another idea...

In the tunnels heading towards the planet's core, the main villains begin placing sound-dampeners so they can hide themselves from scans and even from Soundwave's enhanced hearing. Mayhem starts insulting Shazraella, so she pulls some wires, setting off some wall-mounted weaponry that shoots at Mayhem. She doesn't kill him, but just wants to show that she CAN kill him if she wants to. The masked figure who is with them removes his mask, revealing himself to be Joe Colton, and tells the others to work together.

The team continue their descent into the tunnels when Mayhem receives an automated message from a Trojan-Bot from the surface informing him of Scarlett's arrival. Colton is concerned as she is working faster than expected, but Mayhem doesn't care since she is "just a woman", a comment that gets his rope cut by Storm Shadow, sending him plummeting the rest of the way down the tunnel. Again he survives this but Colton just tells him to stop pissing off the rest of the team.

Back on the surface, Scarlett and her team examine the databanks in one of the Trojan-Bots and discover Colton's plan to use something to detonate Cybertron's core, but also sadly learns that Colton is not under mind-control or coercion as she was hoping. Soundwave is sure that there is no way a human to detonate Cybertron's core, but does agree that they need to stop them from even trying.

The team race towards Metroplex so they can access the tunnels to the planet's core from there, but are stopped along the way by Strika, who intends to kill any humans she finds. She battles against Soundwave briefly, but is stopped ultimately by the newly arrived Ironhide and Sunstreaker. Scarlett tries to explain what they learned to Ironhide, but he needs them to get permission from the Council to access the tunnels, given the current situation, so they are escorted to them...

...once inside the Council Chamber Elita One sentences the humans to death!

The Origins of Evil

Part 3: A Little Bit of Mayhem

A while ago, Colton visits Mayhem in his workshop, as he is tearing apart more pieces from the still living Blitzwing, and has been working on improving his vehicles using his parts. Colton reveals that he has been working with Kreiger and the Talisman and wants to use it to destroy Cybertron and save the world, and he needs Mayhem to help him provide the expertise to attack the planet...

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Stormclash - Helicopter

Skyburst - Helicopter

Ironhide - Van

Sunstreaker - Sports Car

Decepticon

Soundwave - Cassette Player

Blitzwing - Tank/Jet (Origins Only) Badly Damaged by Miles Mayhem

Cybertronian/Colonist

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Elita One

Strika - Battle Tank

Badgeless Officers

Primus (Mentioned)

GI Joe/MASK

Scarlett

Matt Trakker

Gloria Baker

Lady Jaye

Roadblock

Doc

Quick Kick

Talon or Flint

Ironbood's Alliance/VENOM

Joe Colton

Miles Mayhem

Storm Shadow

Garrison Kreiger

Shazraella

Destro

Doctor Mindbender/Decoy Baron Ironblood

Buzzer

Ripper

Iron Grenadiers

Red Shadow Ninjas

Trojan-Bot Defeated

Sly Rax (Origins Only)

Other

Richard Ruby/Bulletman (Origins Only, Flashback)

Mike Power, Atomic Man (Origins Only, Flashback) Dead

Joe Colton Wraith (Mentioned) Dead

Notes

• I can understand Scarlett's logic in Quick Kick being kept behind whilst they go to Cybertron, since it wouldn't do much to punch Cybertronians or similar beings...but then why did she still bring Lady Jaye and the MASK duo? Jaye has some sticks, and the MASK team aren't bringing their vehicles with them...
• Why do the Helicopter Twins seem to know their way around Iacon? They are from Caminus, and were only on Cybertron for a few months before relocating to Earth, and in that passage of time, the city has been changed somewhat.
• Turns out the guy we thought was Colton the past two issues, was actually Mindbender in disguise, the real Colton was the previously unidentified masked figure with the rest of the main villains heading into the core of Cybertron.
• Shazraella appearing to understand how to activate the weaponry in the route to the core adds to her new host not being Eukarian but rather a Cybertronian, then again maybe Antagony was just a Eukarian who was assigned to work on the tunnels and Shazraella just got lucky with her body choice?
• Soundwave's comments about not being sure of the motives of someone important to him are of course a reference to Megatron, who denounced the Decepticon cause following Dark Cybertron, and was the reason he sent Ravage to spy on him whilst he was on the Lost Light.
• Due to him being on Earth or the Solar System for most of the last couple of years, it's unsurprising that Strika has never met Soundwave, though you would think she'd have seen a picture of a prominent Decepticon, being part of the very paranoid and militant Carcer crew...
• Unshockingly after all this time, despite being prominent on the cover, Pyra Magna and Acroyear never appear in this issue, and Optimus and Windblade only have brief, non-speaking cameos.
• It's confirmed that it was Joe Colton's Dire Wraith imposter who handed Blitzwing over to Mayhem, and likely was never part of the creation of the Spectrum team in the first place.

IDW - Till All Are One #7

Title: Desperate Measures

Written by: Mairghread Scott

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Ironhide's troops are fighting the Titans on Cybertron's surface, as Windblade's team attacks Carcer, planning to try and convince him to help in the battle against the others. Starscream and the remaining council members are watching the action unfold from the Spire, and Starscream admits that he really does hope that Windblade succeeds, but feels like she wont, since heroes tend to die...

Devastator is tearing into Carcer's hull, but is soon confronted by an attack force led by Strika, who seems to be matched up to him in terms of strength.

Obsidian notes how the shuttles seem to be acting strange in the area, and orders for the nearby ones to be struck, in case of any infiltrators. The shuttle carrying Windblade's team is hit, and detonates, but Fireshot is able to get them out safely by having everyone hide within rubble, and crash onto the hull, leading to them making it into an airlock.

Inside the Titan, the team splits into two groups, one to reach the armoury, the other to the brain chamber. Obsidian soon detects the team heading to the armoury, and reports this to Elita, also reporting that Windblade is with them. Elita, assuming that this is Starscream's doing, leads a team to intercept them herself.

She attacks the team, and manages to clip Windblade's wing, and swatting the others away at the same time, she goes to finish off Windblade personally, but "Windblade" is revealed to just be Lightbright having used a holo-projector to disguise herself as her, much to Elita's distaste.

Windblade's real team arrives at the brain chamber, having avoided detection by going through the vents. Windblade prepares to interface with Carcer's brain, but is interrupted by Obsidian, who figured that something was going on, and reasoned that the brain was the better tactical decision for Windblade to go for, rather than the armoury.

Obsidian tries to convince Windblade that reactivating Carcer is a mistake, but she insists that he is needed for the battle. Obsidian unleashes his weapons, and opens fire on the team, who work together to disable the Carcerian delegate, allowing Windblade to link up to Carcer's brain, even as Obsidian continues to call for her to stop.

Windblade taps into the mind of Carcer, and manages to reactivate him, realizing too late why the Carcer crew refused to allow him to fight...he isn't really Carcer...he is the evil Titan Vigilem, who was loyal only to Liege Maximo....

Characters

Autobot

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Blurr - Race Car

Metroplex - Iacon City/Space Ship Knocked Out

Bumblebee - Cybertronian Car (Ghost)

Ironhide - Van (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Sparkstalker - Insect Monster

United Cybertron

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Metalhawk - Fighter Jet (Flashback) Killed by Starscream

Ironhide's Security Force (Mentioned)

Colonist

Tigatron - Tiger

Airazor - Eagle

Knock Out - Sports Car

Moonracer - Sports Car

Prime Breakdown - Armoured Van

Lightbright

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Carcerian

Elita One

Obsidian - Stealth Osprey Helicopter

Strika - Battle Tank

Lancer

Greenlight

Carcerian Troops

Other

Titan Swarm - Space Ships

Vigilem - Spaceship Carcer

Notes

• Despite being on the roll call page, and being mentioned as fighting the Titans, Ironhide doesn't actually appear in this issue
• Also, despite all appearances, Windblade doesn't actually appear on the issue cover. That's Lightbright in disguise.
• Starscream's getting a bit sloppy in his chats with Bumblebee's ghost. He does so in front of Airazor and Knock Out in this issue, with the former even commenting on it.
• Strika is strong enough to fight off Devastator....yikes!
• With the revelation that Carcer is actually Vigilem, the Titan mentioned to be loyal to Liege Maximo in the Revolution tie-in issue, it's quite likely that the former captain, who currently acts as Elita One's throne is ACTUALLY Liege Maximo's body!
• It is assumed that the secret device Sparkstalker gave Windblade was he holo-projector that Lightbright used this issue.
• All members of the Council of Worlds appear in this issue, except for Vanquish.

IDW - Transformers: Windblade #7

Title: The Will of the Few

Written by: Mairghread Scott

Art by: Corin Howell

Colours by: Thomas Deer with John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Plot

Windblade and Starscream return to Cybertron from Eukaris, having secured their place on the Council of Worlds, but Windblade is furious at Starscream for having killed Chela, the Titan. Starscream dismisses her complaints due to him having saved her life, and having secured Eukaris for them. Chromia comforts Windblade over her guilt over "helping" with Chela's death, and they decide to see Metroplex and ask about the last located Colony World they found.

Windblade tells Metroplex about Chela's death, and he forgives her for her part in it, as he knew Chela would never concede to her and Starscream. The Titan then gives Windblade information about the last colony, formed from the Titan Tempo, who was carrying philosophers, and tried to find some new truth to bring back home...

The next day, Starscream and Windblade head to Tempo.

On the hull of Tempo, two members of the crew are guarding the Space Bridge, in case of more Cybertronians coming through, when suddenly it activates, the guards call for back-up. Starscream and Windblade walk through the portal and are confronted by a small army, led by Strika, who don't want Cybertronians on their ship. After a very brief battle, Elita One appears and greets the two newcomers, agreeing to meet with them in her throne room, and explains that their last encounter with Cybertronians was violent.

Going through the ship, Elita explains that the ship is now called Carcer, not Tempo, and tells the newcomers that their goal changed from knowledge to a more militaristic one, but they hold truth as their highest law. She also explains that the ship has been being repaired over the years by using their dead crew members as spare parts, so they can mourn and remember the dead.

Starscream tries to appeal to Elita's war-like nature, by suggesting she adds her army to his, so they can protect and build up Cybertron some more, to maintain it's current peace.

Sadly for Starscream however, Obsidian and Elita reveal that they know Cybertron isn't "peaceful" as Obsidian saw the battle between Optimus Maximus and Devastator on their ship's hull during the Combiner Wars, and believes that Starscream is more likely to try and enslave her people rather than treat them as equals. Worst than that though, she believes he was lying just then, which is a capital offence on Carcer, and orders Strika to execute him.

Windblade steps in, and asks for her to give Starscream leniency for now, and she believes that all the colonies and Cybertron truly do need each other, as all of them have something that the others need, and they can only survive by working as one.

Elita One considers her options, and agrees that Carcer should join the Council of Worlds, and has a representative head to Cybertorn to check it out.

After returning to Cybertron, Windblade learns that Carcer IS NOT a nickname for Tempo, but is the name of another Titan, meaning that despite her words, Elita isn't telling the whole truth about her people. She decides to keep this information a secret for now though.

Two weeks later, Carcer's representatives, Strika and Obsidian sign their names to the charter, and the Council of Worlds is formed. The Combaticons watch the signing on a television, and get angry that Starscream is hiding the fact that Swindle and others were killed for this council to be formed, but they won't let him stay forgotten....

Characters

Autobot

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Wheeljack - Race Car

Chromia - Speedbike

Metroplex - City/Space Ship

Optimus Maximus - Autobot Gestalt (Flashback)

Decepticon

Onslaught - Anti-Aircraft Truck

Brawl - Tank

Vortex - Helicopter

Blast Off - Space Shuttle

Swindle - Van (Mentioned) Dead

United Cybertron

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Rattrap - Rat

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt (Flashback)

Badgeless Officers (Flashback)

Carcerian

Elita One - Car

Obsidian - Helicopter

Strika - Battle Tank

Carcer - Space Ship

Greenlight

Lancer

Carcer's Crew

Carcer's old Commander (Flashback) Died in "Accident", built into ship

Velocitronian

Moonracer - Sports Car

Knock Out - Sports Car

Eukarian

Tigatron - Tiger

Airazor - Falcon

Chela (Flashback) Killed by Starscream

Divisen

Vanquish - Part of Jet

Fireshot - Part of Jet

Other

Council of Worlds Formed

Tempo - City/Space Ship (Footage)

Tempo Crew (Footage)

Primus (Mentioned)

Caminus (Mentioned)

Notes

• Wait...if Metroplex knew that Chela would be a problem for Windblade and Starscream last issue, then why didn't he warn Windblade?
• Apparently Engex can be pronounced in different ways, like "tomato" and "potato"
• It seems like most of the warrior members of the Carcer crew use female character models.
• Strika's line of "I terminate!" is a reference to her activation code of "TERMINATE" when transforming in Beast Machines.
• One of the silhouettes of the Carcer crew seems to be based on TFA Sentinel Prime (I won't put him in the character list because it's impossible to tell, but still!)
• It's revealed that the ship's décor of dead body parts is just the past members of the crew being recycled as the ship is old. The throne that Elita One uses uses the previous commander's body...at least that's the story she's giving us...
• Seriously, the front cover makes her look quite evil and murdery....
• More than likely the Carcer crew invaded the Tempo, killed the crew and took their place, maybe using Tempo as repair parts for Carcer.
• The Carcer crew also appear to have built-in arm cannons and other weapons, like the characters from the Prime cartoon.
• Despite the previous decision for one representative per planet, as mentioned when Divisiun joined the council, there appears to be 2 reps per planet (except Caminus and Cybertron).
• The Combaticons are reunited, minus the dead Swindle of course, but he is mentioned through graffiti...could this be due to the upcoming Combiner Wars Combaticons? Hmmm...
• This is the last issue of the Windblade comic, but the story will continue in 2016 in the rebranded "Till all are one" comic series
• Depending where this issues falls in continuity, Brawl may have stayed behind on Cybertron following him and Needlenose returning to recruit others to the Jupiter colony.
• The signing scene appears to resemble a similar Pax Cybertronia signing shown in Dreamwave's unfinished Age of Wrath comic series...let's hope this isn't an omen.....