IDW - Lost Light #18

Title: The Everlasting Voices Part 3: You Are Here

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

The majority of the crew have gathered under the giant Matrix in the Afterspark, along with the already dead friends, and prepare to ascend to the next level.

Meanwhile, at Ward Zero inside the temple, Rodimus, Drift and Ratchet are attacked by a group of Omega Guardian throwbacks, when they are joined by Magnus, who helps them take down the stone golems.

Downstairs, Nautica enters the Scavenger's cell, where the group insist that they are in Garrus-9, even pointing out a sign saying so...however Nautica sees the sign as an extract of the Primal Sacrament, also causing everyone else to see both, causing the illusion in the room to shatter, revealing a sign pointing to "M10". The group follow the sign and enter the room, explaining to Nautica where they are...

Now that the Guardians are dead, Ratchet examines the power source in the middle of the room, and believes that the organic aliens are powering it, and that tampering with it may reveal what is happening. Magnus receives a call from, Whirl, who is worried that the rest of the crew are about to die, having seen Nightbeat's previous painful ascension, which Magnus agrees with. Ratchet goes to destroy the power source, but is stopped by Drift, who asks him to consider that this IS the Afterspark, and doing this will damage it, possible sending them out of it forever....Ratchet considers this for a second, then throws a chair through the power source, destabilizing it.

With that, the room, and the temple all-together reshapes into it's true form, a medical suite, and the landscape of the Afterspark, including the giant Matrix starts to disappear too.

Ratchet recognizes the symbols and room as being Mederi, or at least an old facility, namely the original one created by the Omega Guardians millions of years ago, which is powered by telepathic aliens to use their powers to keep a patient happy and content...whilst they are being euthanized!

The group realize that they must have been in range of the artificial moon of Mederi when they abandoned Skip, and were drawn in, repaired for their comfort and placed into a state of artificial reality when they woke up. 

They were made to believe they were in the Afterspark due to Cyclonus' will to be sent there to reunite with Tailgate, leading to them having other past friends appear as well, just at the right time, to help them eventually pass on. Magnus has Whirl relay this discovery to the others, and to give them the chance to say their goodbyes.

The group are about to leave, when Nautica rushes into the room with the Scavengers, carrying the dead body of Axe, a member of the Circle of Light, whom they found inside "Morgue Ten", and she explains that there were hundreds more like him there. Rodimus now understands what has happened, he asks Drift to mark out a map from Cybertron to Mederi for him, revealing that it matches perfectly with their map to Cyberutopia....hey have arrived!

Rodimus goes on to have Drift look up the earliest Cybertronian patients to the facility, from just over 10 million years ago, with atrophosia, a disease like cybercrosis, caused by exposure to organics, causing them to go to the new and advanced Mederi, where upon arriving they are placed into the artificial reality, giving them their deepest wish, a paradise-like Cybertron. They engrave a map to this "Cyberutopia" into the Matrix, held by them, and send it back to Cybertron, hoping others will join them, not realizing that they are just inviting others to be euthanized in the process!

The crew, whilst happy to have closure on their quest, are now also feeling dejected for not having a mission now, and for it to end so mundanely, but they decide to head back to Cybertron...

At the "Ascension Point" the dead friends are slowly fading away, and Cyclonus finally admits his love to Tailgate, who feels like he is about to vanish too, the two embrace as everyone else is feeling terrible about this discovery.

Rodimus and the others arrive, about to tell the rest of the team about the truth of Cyberutopia, but are stopped by Whirl, who wants to give Cyclonus a moment. He approaches him, only top be shocked to see Tailgate still there! Somehow Tailgate is real and was sent to Mederi in the past. The team are happy with this one good ending, and decide to figure out what happened later, so they could at least have this moment....

Unfortunately at that moment, Fulcrum points out something horrible in the skies above Mederi, an army of Sparkeaters raining down on them...but not just Sparkeaters, they are Sparkeaters made from the Lost Light crew!!

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Drift - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ratchet - Ambulance

Nautica - Submarine

Velocity - Race Car

Swerve - Van

Brainstorm - Jet

Tailgate - Car

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Rung - Photon Crystal Generator

Nightbeat - Car Dead

Perceptor - Tank Turned into a Sparkeater

Mainframe Turned into a Sparkeater

Hound - Jeep Turned into a Sparkeater

Hoist - Crane Turned into a Sparkeater

Trailcutter - Van Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Pipes - Truck Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Dominus Ambus - Turbofox Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Original Rewind - Data Slug Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Dealer - Rocket-Launcher Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Misfire - Jet

Krok

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb

Crankcase - Van

Spinister - Helicopter

Nickel - Rocket Buggy

Skip - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Roller - Truck

Axe - Jet Dead

Sparkeater Army

Quark - Electron Microscope Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Springarm - Motorcycle Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

The Knights of Cybertron (Footage Only) Died of Atrophosia

Titan of the Knights - City/Space Ship (Footage Only)

Mortilus (Mentioned)

The Guiding Hand (Mentioned)

Ten (Mentioned) Dead

The Circle of Light (Mentioned)

Chief Justice Tyrest (Mentioned)

Other

Omega Guardian Throwbacks Defeated by Rodimus, Drift, Ratchet and Magnus

Telepathic Aliens Comatose

Original Omega Guardians (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue marks the end of the "Everlasting Voices" storyline, and resolves a fair few long-lasting plots from the entire series
• This issue seems to hint at a possible budding relationship between Swerve and Velocity, with them subtly holding hands (look at the picture in the Characters section) and their flirty conversation at the start of the issue about how Swerve is better when he is being heartfelt.
• I find it a bit disturbing that Chromedome is holding hands with Dominus Ambus, along with both Rewinds...why is he so touchy with his Conjunx's ex Conjunx?
• Ultra Magnus throwing Rodimus at the Omega Guardian throwbacks seems to be a reference to the "Fastball Special" from the X-Men comics.
• The Mederi centers have been mentioned sporadically throughout Lost Light, but referring to the offshoot branches and not the original one, seen here.
• It's confirmed here that the Scavengers were never sent to Garrus-9, but rather to Mederi, furthering my opinion that the Magnificence is indeed one of the Guiding Hand/Knights of Cybertron, and it sent them to the planet to help out in the upcoming fight.
• So...is the Mederi Moon staffed by actual doctors, or anyone beside the Omega Guardian throwbacks? Otherwise those psychic aliens must have extremely long life-spans.
• Axe was last seen during Drift's original mini-series, as part of the Circle of Light, as mentioned here. This issue implies that he was also part of the team who went to search for the Knights on their own, and evidently "found them"
• The panel where Rodimus declares that they are in Cyberutopia is a direct remake of the scene in MTMTE #1 where he announces the start of the mission itself, bookmarking the journey.
• In the background of the footage of the Knights, we see them leaving a Titan, which we were previously told acted as "chariots" for them in the past. We can tell it's a Titan, and that it seems to match Metroplex's body-type due to the partially visible head, the chest and arm parts being visible and the general silhouette.
• On the banners held by the Knights we see the gear symbol used by the Grand Architect, confirming that the Knights did use the symbols for their "clans"
• Awww Cyclonus finally told Tailagte, the REAL Tailgate that he loves him...cute :)
• So, I'm going to go on a limb here and say that getaway probably used that Sparkeater gun of Brainstorm's on the Lost Light bridge crew or something at some point.
• I would be more upset that Nightbeat has been all but confirmed as dead, or that so many of the Lost Lighters we've grown to love over the years are now Sparkeaters, but since this continuity is ending a couple of months, it just doesn't seem worth it.
• The ending with the Sparkeaters raining down on the team really brings to mind Drift's prophetic dream from issue 1 of Lost Light huh? I mean if we assume that the Grand Architect is assumed, then that would add Worldsweepers to the mix, and add my below thoughts on Pharma being involved, then all we're missing is Grimlock!
• Okay, here's my big theory to answer the questions left over by the crew in this issue. I think that Tyrest and his crew of Pharma and Star Saber caused three of the four unanswered mysteries to happen. Tyrest used a code to make Ten start talking and also sent him the coordinates to send the crew to Mederi, Pharma did some science and made Ratchet start to randomly die, causing the need for Mederi in the first place. Finally, Star Saber may have used a transporter to abduct Tailgate from, Necroworld so he could leave him at Mederi, and cause him to be Euthenized, driving Cyclonus to madness.
• As I mentioned earlier, I believe the Decepticons were sent to Mederi by the Magnificence so they could help Team Rodimus to save the day, because the Magnificence is Epistemus, and wants to either help or stop the leader of the Grand Architect's crew, Adaptus.

IDW - Lost Light #7

Title: After Megatron (A Dissolution Epilogue)

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Inks by: John Wycough

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Following their return from the Functionist Universe, the Transformers on Necroworld are recovering from their recent adventures and hardships. Rung is told about how his counterpart was a figurehead, Anode reveals her secrets to the newly reborn Lug, and Nightbeat questions how Brainstorm managed to move the entire world to another universe.

Before long, Rodimus calls for a meeting at Megatron's now inactive statue plinth and announces that one of the dead Decepticons is able to turn into a space ship, so they're going to force him into vehicle mode, mass displace him, and pilot him to a space port, before heading off in a new ship to go after the Lost Light. Everyone seems okay with the plan, despite it involving the mutilation of a corpse. Following the meeting, Drift and Ratchet notice that the crew seem a little more relaxed now that Megatron is gone.

Minimus Ambus visits the medibay, where he learns that Kaput has taken on Fangry, now recovered from his Tailgate-inflicted injuries, and reveals to the spark doctor that the Ultra Magnus armour isn't working any more.

Outside, Tailgate is using his super strength to reconfigure the dead Decepticon, Skip, into his ship mode, when Cyclonus appears and wants to talk to him, however, to Cyclonus' surprise, Tailgate doesn't want to spend time with him, citing his experience with Getaway manipulating him as the reason...

Kaput spends a while examining Ambus, who says that he can wear the suit, but it won't move any more, which he believes was caused during the trip to Cybertron. Kaput cannot find anything noticeably wrong with Ambus, but is interrupted by Rodimus calling him, reminding him that he's late for the ship inspection, leading the Autobot to run off.

At the ship-site, Roller is throwing Lug into the air for fun, with Anode and Nautica watching, both happy to see the newly revived Lug seeming to have her old memories, up to her time of death. Anode inquires about Nautica's new eye patch, but Nautica dismisses it as Kaput having already looked at it.

Rodimus calls out to the crew that they are planning to leave within minutes...

Cyclonus finds Tailgate and tells him that it's time to head off, but Tailgate states that he wants to remain behind, and wants Cyclonus to leave without him. Cyclonus protests this decision, but Tailgate tries to ignore him, and even tries to return the phial of innermost energon that Cyclonus gave him when he was near-death, which Cyclonus refuses to take, allowing it to fall to the floor...#

Rodimus drags an immobile Ultra Magnus inside the Skip ship, where he learns that Ambus attempted to use the suit again, and is now trapped inside it, unable to do anything. Magnus gives a half-assed inspection of the ship, and Rodimus recognizes that Magnus misses Megatron, so he admits to the larger Autobot that Megatron was a good guy, who just made some bad life decisions. On hearing this, Magnus snaps and denounces Megatron as a monster who used them, and left the second he had the chance to, never realizing that the suit has started to work for him again.

Drift enquires as to what happened, and Rodimus explains that Magnus' suit uses a neural signature interface, so with Ambus being so conflicted over his "friend" Megatron "betraying" them, it messed with him, so Rodimus pushed him over the edge by making him snap over the betrayal, admitting that he doesn't really forgive Megatron after all.

As the ship begins to take off (following another proper inspection by Magnus), Cyclonus sits alone, and begins to self-harm again, only to be stopped by Whirl, who sits silently with him..

Outside, Tailgate and  Kaput watch the ship take off, when Kaput reveals to Tailgate that Cyclonus came to see him before take off, and asked him to treat Tailgate's self-inflicted wounds for him. Kaput then suggests that he could try some procedures to power down Tailgate, allowing him to be safe again.

After a few days of tests, Kaput has set up an isolation chamber deep into the planet's surface, and plans to have Tailgate placed in there for six months and hit with Neutronic Radiation, which is normally fatal, but due to his abnormal spark, he COULD be fine.

Tailgate enters the chamber, and prepares to be locked in, but before the chamber is sealed off, he hears Fangry's voice over the intercom into the chamber. He has killed Kaput, and has reset the lock-down settings, changing the time period from six months to SIX MILLION YEARS, all as revenge for Tailgate humiliating him before. Fangry buries the chamber, and enough time passes for grass and flowers to grow over the chamber.....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Minimus Ambus/Ultra Magnus - Minesweeper/Vehicle Transport

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Velocity - Race Car

Nautica - Submarine

Kaput Killed by Fangry

Tailgate - Car Trapped in Isolation Chamber by Fangry

Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Swerve - Van

Brainstorm - Jet

Nightbeat - Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned) Left in Functionist Universe

Getaway - Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Fangry - Winged Wolf

Rapidfire - Off Road Vehicle

Skip - Spaceship Dead, body used as ship for Team Rodimus

Deathsaurus - Dragon (Mentioned)

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned) Dead

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Roller - Truck

Ten

Censere (Mentioned) Dead

The Functionists (Mentioned)

Functionist Rung - Photonic Crystal Generator (Mentioned) Dead

Notes

• Considering how they haven't mentioned contacting Cybertron again so far, I'm starting to wonder if Brainstorm's teleporting trick actually worked, or if Necroworld was sent to some other universe?
• Rung was shown to be feeling a bit worthless whilst Rodimus and his crew were on Cybertron, so Rewind and Chromedome telling him how he was an idol on that version of their planet will certainly reinvigorate his feelings again.
• So...Lug grew up really fast huh? Considering the crew are said to have been there for seven days now, they arrived there, stayed overnight before the battle with the DJD, then had the last storyline take place over about 2 days, so I guess Lug took three or four days to fully develop...that's quick!!
• Megatron's statue being "turned off" is likely due to him being in another universe, and thus the Necrobot's computer's cannot pick him up any more.
• Kaput's comments on Estriol Positive being a discredited spark type is a joke regarding how Nautica was originally mentioned as having that same spark type, before it was changed in the trade version (and canon in general) as potentially being offensive.
• Tailgate's question on how difficult it is to turn a hand into a thruster seems to be addressed to the toy collecting audience...I can't tell you how many times I have screamed at Mach Kick and other awkward figures for being too hard to transform.
• Nautica's eye was damaged when the Rodpod was destroyed, she spent the last few issues of MTMTE with half of her face missing in fact, though she says it's okay, and why would she lie about that?
• Amongst the Transformers who have left Necroworld on Rodimus' new mission are Anode, Ultra Magnus, Cyclonus, Rewind, Chromedome, Drift, Ratchet and Whirl. I'd assume that Lug would tag along with Anode too, and the "next issue" teaser shows us Nautica as well. So given Rodimus' estimate of about 20 bots fitting inside the shuttle there are still nine unidentified crew members.
• Cyclonus is shown scratching himself seemingly out of grief for his "fight" with Tailgate, he was shown doing something similar when he learned that Tailgate was dying at the end of MTMTE season one.
• It's implied that Whirl's unseen conversation with Tailgate from earlier in the series was him telling him about him hurting Cyclonus when he was recharging, which is also why Tailgate has been avoiding Cyclonus recently, out of fear for hurting him further.
• Tailgate's fate at the end of this issue brings his story full circle so far, where he is trapped under the surface of a planet for (seemingly) six million years...lets hope he causes an explosion and half kills Whirl again soon, or he'll be missed!
• So...Kaput lasted a long time didn't he?! What's it been? 2-4 issues?
• I wonder if Kaput's body has been hidden by Fangry? Is he smart enough to know to hide the body, or would he just assume no-one would notice he was dead...or missing....isn't he one of the main doctors on the planet now!?

IDW - Lost Light #2

Title: Dissolution Part 2: Anomie

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Rodimus and the others are confused by where they are, but Rewind manages to figure out for certain that they are in the Functionist Universe, where Megatron was never allowed to be born. The team are soon taken into custody due to Twelve-of-Twelve believing them to be parts of the Anti-Vocationist League. Megatron suggests they go freely, so they can hopefully discuss the situation with the rest of the council. The Functionists however destroy the Time Den, since they see it as pointless, since it wasn't "born".

Back on Necroworld, Lug is hanging out at the Memorial to the Disappeared, having just been repairing relations with the Autobots following Anode's insults to them, when Anode arrives. The two discuss how if Anode wanted to leave, then she would have by now, leading Anode to reveal that she's interested in finding Cyberutopia with the Autobots, she claims to want to settle down there, but Lug believes she just wants to ransack the place. Before the two can really argue though, Fangry suddenly gets thrown between them by Tailgate.

In the Functionist Universe again, the newcomers are paraded through the streets of Cybertron by the Functionists, to act as examples to anyone thinking of rebelling against them. Along the way, the team notice several countdowns on the monitors and begin to wonder what it is counting to. Drift is shocked when he sees a giant statue of Primus, in his warrior persona, with the words "Survive and Thrive" under it. Seeing this, Drift quickly tells Ratchet about the vision he had on Necroworld, and reveals that the world he saw was covered in several old and ominous phrases, just like that one. Before much else can be done though, a grenade is thrown near them by the newly arrived members of the Anti-Vocationist League!

On Necroworld, Tailgate continues his assault on Fangry. Anode tries to stop his attack, but is thrown away by Tailgate before she can, all of which scares off the remaining assembled Decepticons. Cyclonus approaches him, and, upon seeing that Fangry has been knocked out, he asks Tailgate to come with him somewhere...

Nearby, Lug finds Anode skewered on a piece of scrap metal in the field, and calls for help, only to be approached by a certain wheeled individual...

On Cybertron, the AVL are being easily beaten down by the Functionists, so the Lost Lighters decide, after seeing how pathetic they are, to help. Megatron easily frees himself from his cuffs, and begins to coordinate the others.

On Necroworld, Cyclonus takes Tailgate to see all the Decepticons he killed during the battle with the DJD, and tries to make him realize that his new super-strength powers are causing him to lose control, and are also making him run through his Energon reserves too fast. Tailgate denies this, just as he passes out....

At the Medi-bay, Anode wakes up, remembering something from her past, she has been patched up by Kaput, another of the Disappeared, who also happens to be a medic. Before long, Velocity, Nautica and Swerve storm in, with Velocity determined to make a citizen's arrest on Anode for her past actions. Having discovered that more "Disappeared" are appearing, the group realize that more of them could still be waking up from their pods. Swerve goes to check on the pods, just in case, whilst Nautica and Velocity start to interrogate Anode about "The Lighthouse"

On Functionist Cybertron, the Lost Lights are tearing through the Functionists, and rescue their prisoners. Despite his previous bravado and cool demeanour, Twelve-of-Twelve is teleported away in an emergency, the moment one of the Autobots attack him. With his retreat, the remaining Functionaries run off.

The Lost Lighters join forces with the AVL members, and their leader, Clicker, prepares them for transport to their base, Cyberutopia!

Before the group are able to leave though, the countdown reaches zero, and Six-of-Twelve appears on all the screens across Cybertron, announcing that he has identified the use of the "Useless One", the figure-head of the AVL...Rung....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Sports Car

Megatron - Tank

Minimus Ambus - Minesweeper

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Rewind - Data Slug

Chromedome - Car

Velocity - Race Car

Nautica - Submarine

Swerve - Van

Tailgate - Car

Kaput

Pharma - Jet (Mentioned)

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Fangry Beaten Unconscious by Tailgate

Rapidfire - SUV

"Energon Divebomb" - Eagle

"Cybertron Hardtop" - Dune Buggy

Jack-Knife Dead, Killed by Tailgate

Several of Deathsaurus' Troops Dead, Killed by Tailgate

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned) Dead

Anti-Vocationist League

Clicker - Laser Pointer

Green Data Slug - Data Slug

Two Lunabots - Space Shuttles

Blue Rung Lookalike

Green Rung Lookalike Eyes Gouged Out by Functionits

White Rung Lookalike Eyes Gouged Out by Functionits

Functionist

Six-of Twelve

Twelve-of-Twelve

Functionary Enforcers

Monitor-Head Functionary Killed by Roller

Sky-Spies

Other Functionist Council Members (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Roller - Truck

Terminus - Mining Vehicle

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Jet

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Functionist Universe Rung

Functionist Universe Civilians

Primus (Statue)

Epistemus (Mentioned)

The Old Senate (Mentioned)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

The Guiding Hand (Mentioned)

Sparkeater Swarm (Mentioned)

Other

Black Box Consortia (Mentioned)

Flash-Flame (Mentioned)

Notes

• Twelve-of-Twelve's levitation is still not commented on really...maybe that's just an ability he always had?
• The Functionists destroy the time den due to it not being a Transformer, and therefore not really having a purpose is a bit confusing....especially since they are using some non-Transformer handcuffs in the same scene...
• Amongst the names on the Memorial for the Disappeared is someone named Shock, at first you may believe it to be the Duobot of the same name, but it is a different character with the same name according to James Roberts on Twitter (Here)
• On the same topic, none of the named "Disappeared" are shown on the memorial...Maybe the list updates itself when they are located? Kaput makes an appearance just after it appears though...
• Lug is revealed to be a female Transformer.
• Amongst the crowd in the Functionist Universe are more cameos from past Transformers franchises like Robots in Disguise and the Unicron Trilogy.
• The image of Primus being a warrior god is revealed to be an older version of his representation in continuity, as he is now seen as a benevolent god.
• Drift reveals that the previous vision he had, that was mentioned last issue was what brought him and Ratchet to Necroworld. He also reveals that the fleet of Worldsweeper ships in the new vision was the "Phantom Fleet" which went missing the Dark Nebula.
• The Dark Nebula was previously mentioned in the Revolution tie-in issue for More Than Meets The Eye, as being where the Dire Wraiths were, and the reason Megatron steered clear of the place.
• It's not confirmed here, but Clicker's appearance makes me think he turns into a laser pointer, like the previously mentioned Shimmerstick
• Megatron proves just how string he is by tearing apart his cuffs without any real effort.
• Velocity and Nautica both know who Anode is, so she and Lug are likely Camiens who just happened to get to Cybertron to excavate that snowflake thing from last issue.
• Swerve's lack of emotion last issue, along with possibly Nautica's lack of sadness appears to be due to Nautica performing some sort of medical treatment, possibly some sort of Mnemosurgery.
• As mentioned by Chromedome, Six-of-Twelve now has a Matrix-styled head, probably to further show his authority. Since this is a universe where war never broke out, it is likely that the actual Matrix is still hidden on the Undergrid...Maybe the Lost Lighters can recover this new Matrix to use it's map to Cyberutopia?
• Clicker claims that his base of operations is on Cyberutopia, it's likely not THE Cyberutopia, but a place named after the idea of it.
• So, turns out the Functionists didn't kill Rung last time we saw them after all!

IDW - Lost Light #1

Title: Dissolution Part 1: Some Other Cybertron

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours by: Joana LaFuente and John-Paul Bove

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Anode and her assistant Lug are attacked by a Cybernought whilst excavating a crystalline snowflake, and are about to be killed by their enemy when the Necrobot appears, and rescues them into the future...

A little over 450 years later, the duo wake up from their stasis pods at the Necrobot's Fortress, where they encounter Ultra Magnus giving a debriefing to several other of "The Disappeared" and explains that the Necrobot rescued them from their assumed deaths, before being killed himself.

Nearby, Rewind is introducing Roller to everyone, when the Decepticons Fangry and Rapidfire aren't buying Magnus' story about the Necrobot, and think this is all an Autobot trick. They decide to try and make themselves seem the strongest there by taking out the current strongest, then they notice Tailgate showing off his super-strength by lifting up the giant Roller to everyone's amusement.

Cyclonus warns Tailgate to not show off, but Tailgate is confident that he's fine, just as Fangry purposely knocks into the two of them, leaving them annoyed.

Elsewhere, Swerve introduces himself to Anode and Lug, and tries to pull off his "Crew-ditions" trick again, like he did following the Dark Cybertron crew reshuffle. During it however, he gets insulted when Anode suggests that he doesn't sound too grief-stricken for Skids' death, which Swerve suggests that she was being rude due to her timesickness, and mentions that Velocity should examine her. Anode is visibly unnerved when she hears that Velocity is a part of the crew.

Nearby, Rodimus is having his paintjob remade by Drift to symbolize his conversion to the Spectralist religion, like Drift, but Drift is worried bout the meaning of the colours he is using, as they imply that he intends to kill someone (Getaway), which Rodimus neither confirms or denies. Suddenly the planet shakes, causing everyone to notice!

A few moments later, the tremor stops, and Megatron wonders what it was, from his location with Terminus, at Ravage's now vacant holo-statue, but Terminus isn't too bothered, being used to tremors on Messatine. Megatron points out that the planet is hollow and shouldn't have any sort of sub-surface activity, so they decide to return to the fortress. Megatron says goodbye to Ravage and prepares to leave, just as Rung and Nightbeat emerge from the ground, like a pair of zombies!

Soon, the crew all convene in the control room, where Brainstorm shows them his new invention, a transporter, which everyone claims to look like a den. Brainstorm reveals that he tested it to rescue Nightbeat and Rung from underground (nearly anyway) which leads Nightbeat to explain that they encountered a geo-bomb underneath, but it burned out, rather than detonated, which explains the tremor from before. Rodimus announces that once the den is recharged he'll lead a team to Cybertron, acquire a ship, then return for the others, and go after Getaway.

After the meeting, Rung asks Ratchet where Skids is, leading to Ratchet having to give him the horrible news....

Rung stays at Skids' bed-side that night, but has a strange reaction and seems to vomit up something into his hand, much to his shock...

Meanwhile, Tailgate finishes his recharge at the Energon Suite, when he sees Cyclonus returning from somewhere, clearly badly beaten up. Tailgate gets angry and figures out that Fangry did this, and goes after him, leaving Cyclonus to moan at him to not kill him.

Anode and Lug arrive at the den, intending to use it to escape, before Velocity can reveal something about them to the others, but Drift appears and refuses to allow them entry, since they need all the power to get to Cybertron. Anode is intrigued by Drift's sword (not a euphemism) and tries to touch it, but Drift again refuses, and touches her chest to stop her. Suddenly he gets a shock of energy through him...

Drift, Rodimus and Grimlock are suddenly in a fiery field, facing down an army of Sparkeaters and Decepticon Insignia ships, led by Pharma, and the Lost Light flies at a strange angle. Drift looks downwards and sees an ominous warning etched into the ground....

Drift wakes up after being knocked out for 10 minutes to find Ratchet taking care of him, but declines telling him about his vision of the future, since no one believed him after his previous one.

Rodimus leaves Cyclonus in charge of the team, whilst he heads off with Drift, Chromedome, Rewind, Minimus Ambus, Roller, Terminus, Megatron and Ratchet through the den to Cybertron.

The team arrive on Cybertron, which Roller confirms on his GPS system, and Terminus looks out upon the planet, but is surprised to see it looking so good, considering how Megatron told him it was in ruins. Megatron thinks he's just being poetic about Cybertron always being beautiful, but instead finds the planet looking as it did before the war!

Everyone is confused by where they are, but are soon confronted by Twelve-of-Twelve of the Functionist Council, and a group of his enforcers, and some prisoners. Rewind, having experienced this universe through his database being encroached by it, recognizes it as being the Functionist Universe created when Perceptor tampered with the Paradox Locks on Brainstorm's Time-Case!

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Sports Car

Megatron - Treaded Vehicle

Minimus Ambus/Ultra Magnus - Minesweeper/Vehicle Transport

Drift - Race Car

Nightbeat - Sports Car

Rung

Ratchet - Ambulance

Tailgate - Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Velocity - Race Car

Nautica - Submarine

Swerve - Van

Brainstorm - Jet

Wavelength

Syphon

Skids - Van Dead

Pharma - Jet (Vision)

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Vision)

Orion Pax/Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Getaway - Race Car (Mentioned)

Lost Light Crew (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Rapidfire

Fangry

Most of Deathsaurus' Crew Dead

Cybernought Pilot (Flashback)

Decepticon Justice Division (Mentioned) Dead

Ravage - Cassette (Mentioned) Dead

Functionist

Twelve-of-Twelve

Sky-Spy

Functionist Enforcers

Functionist Prisoners

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Jet

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Roller - Truck

Terminus - Mining Vehicle

Other "Disappeared"

Censere (Flashback) Dead

Starscream - Fighter Jet (Mentioned)

"Techy" (Mentioned)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Other

Ten

Sparkeater Army (Vision)

Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Notes

• This is the new series continuing the story of More Than Meets The Eye, renamed and renumbered to better conform to the post Revolution IDW Hasbroverse.
• From appearances, Anode looks like she turns into a jet.
• Lug turns into a piece of back-pack equipment for Anode, and appears to use the same base design and engineering as the Titans Return Rewind toy.
• Lug refers to "Techy" being the one who hired them for their ill-fated mission. Assuming this is referring to a pre-existing character, it is likely Heretech, one of the Warriors Elite.
• Since they are apparently the last ones to wake up, it seems that Anode and Lug were the last two to be rescued by Censere.
• For some reason Velocity appears to be very dismissive to Roller in this issue, and even drags Nautica away from him.
• Also, Nautica has finally gotten away from Skids' death-bed, and appears to have cheered up again over night.
• Rodimus' new darker colour scheme is based on his Dark Rodimus colourscheme from various toys. In continuity though these colours are supposed to stand for grief (over Skids' death) and a promise for death (to Getaway for causing all of this).
• The "Time Den" even looks like a cut up version of Megatron's old cannon, albeit much larger than it was before.
• Rung has a strange reaction when he's alone with Skids' corpse, he seems to weep, then his spark shines bright, then he vomits up something into his hand (there is something solid there, it's just very obscured by his hand) which seems to shock him.
• Grimlock appearing with Drift and Rodimus in Drift's vision of the future implies that the Scavengers and Team Rodimus will meet up at some time in the near future. Also Pharma seems to be alive too!
• Twelve-of-Twelve appears to be hovering on the spot at the end of this issue...is he a wizard?
• Isn't it a bit weird that last time Brainstorm messed with time travel he aided in the creation of the Functionist Universe, and his next attempt to perform long-distance transport, he winds up sending the team to that universe.
• Also, Team Rodimus easily travelling to the Functionist Universe essentially spits in the face of the Shroud from the Fun Publications stories, which makes multi-dimensional travel near impossible now...pity....
• The reason for Drift's new colourscheme with his return to the series at the end of last season are implied to be due to his Spectralist beliefs, and them giving some sort of a message.
• Here's my theory for this season's overall plot: The Snowflake that Anode has stored in her chest caused Drift's vision, and also triggered Rung's weird "power". The snowflake is a part of Rung that explains his alternate mode, which is the key to something related to the gear-symbol faction.

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #54

Title: The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long & Christa Miesner

Editor: John Barber

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The abandoned Lost Lighters are fighting with the DJD, but are surprisingly doing well despite the impossible odds, with even Chromedome punching Overlord away after being angered by him. Tarn dismisses this as just a "final flail" but Deathsaurus disagrees, thinking they've been tricked somehow.

A little earlier, during the group hug, Ratchet comments that Tailgate's grip feels like a car compactor, which gives Velocity an idea, using her new knowledge about Tailgate affecting the security team who were near him with his spark detonating, so thinks that if they can replicate the effects then the Lost Lighters can have a fighting shot however to do this the person who's spark detonates will be put to death's door. Nautica and Ratchet think that it's amoral to do this to someone, but Skids volunteers.

Skids tells Chromedome to reveal his hidden memories to him, as he knoes that they will be an extreme trauma and will give the crew a power boost. Chromedome agrees due to the circumstances, and triggers his memories by mentioning Quark's name. This causes his spark to detonate, combined with the residual temporal energies in his system to give an added power boost to the rest of the team.

Back in the present, the Lost Lighters are taking down the DJD, and Rodimus even uses his old "flame out" trick to incinerate a few of them, but then suddenly starts losing power.

Back at the Fortress, Skids is hooked up to a life support machine, with his spark being just a pinprick now. Megatron comes in when Ratchet asks him to help look after Skids whilst Ratchet joins the fight. Megatron admits that he's not afraid of the DJD, but he's afraid of what will happen when he fights again, and worries he'll turn evil once more if he has any violence exposed to him.

Ratchet reveals that Megatron's "Fool's Energon" is just a placebo, as any real inhibitors wouldn't work due to what Shockwave did to Megatron's internal organs, and that Megatron has been purposely supressing his power to not harm anyone, like Whirl, Perceptor and Tailgate over the past year or two. On the monitor behind Ratchet, Megatron sees Tarn tearing Ravage into two pieces.

Skidsfalls out of his bed and tries to find Brainstorm to tell him what happened to Quark in Grindcore prison, as that was the whole purpose to him creating his time machine for hundreds of years. Ratchet tries to get Megatron to help him put Skids back on life-support, but the former Decepticon has gone missing....

On the battlefield, Brainstorm attacks Lugnut, but finds that his power boost, as well as everyone else's has been depleted, he bumps into Skids' memorial statue, but notices that his holographic statue has just vanished, as Skids has just passed away as Ratchet watched.

The Lost Lighters are surrounded by the DJD, and all seems lost, until a sudden fusion cannon blast takes out several members of the DJD. Megatron has taken the new fusion cannon built by Brainstorm and has joined the battle

Megatron slaughters the DJD, nearby Tarn has Vos recall the rest of the main DJD to safety, whilst having Deathsaurus's troops sacrifice themselves to weaken Megatron for them.

Megatron collects up Ravage's front half and gives him to Rodimus to return to the Fortress with so Ratchet can save him. The Lost Lighters leave Megatron to take down the DJD alone.

Megatron's fusion cannon is shot by Nickel and Vos, rendering it useless, and Megatron appears to give up, falling to his knees.

Inside the Fortress, the crew have learned about Skids' death, which visibly hits Nautica the worst, and the crew watch the footage of the battle on the monitors whilst Velocity starts working on Ravage's injuries.

Tarn and Overlord approach the defeated Megatron, aim their cannons at him and decide to execute him together.

Three gun shots ring through the air.....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank

Maximus Ambus - Vehicle Transport

Skids - Van Died by Spark Detonation

Drift - Car

Swerve - Van

Rewind - Data Slug

Chromedome - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Velocity - Race Car

Nautica - Submarine

Tailgate - Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Brainstorm - Jet

Quark - Electron Microscope (Flashback) Dead

Ironhide - Van (Statue Only)

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned)

Perceptor - Tank (Mentioned)

Powerflash - Jet (Mentioned)

Strafe - Jet (Mentioned)

Rewind Mk I - Data Slug (Mentioned) Dead

Dominus Ambus - Turbofox (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette Torn in half by Tarn

Overlord - Tank and Jet

Deathsaurus - Dragon

Tarn - Tank

Nickel

Vos - Rifle

Helex - Mobile Smelting Chamber

Tesarus - Mobile Metal Shredder (Mentioned)

Lugnut - Jet

Blue Bacchus - Helicopter

Doryu

Deathsaurus' Troops Most Slaughtered by Lost Lighters and Megatron

Leozack - Jet (Mentioned)

Shockwave - Mobile Artillery (Mentioned)

Warriors Elite (Mentioned)

Other

Cyclonus - Jet

Ten

Notes

• Maximus Ambus' armour is large enough for at least two Mini-bots to sit in the shoulder sections. This makes it somewhat similar to the Optimus Maximus toy from Transformers Prime who had a similar feature.
• Rewind has still not told Ambus about what happened to his brother.
• Ambus comments that he can't "deal with that now" in this issue. This is a reference to the 80's movie.
• Velocity appears to have some super-speed abilities here. This could be partly due to the effects of Skids' spark detonating, or a skill we simply haven't seen before.
• Overlord claims that he slowly killed the original Rewind to Chromedome in this issue, but due to the physics of the Slow Cell, it seems unlikely that he had the time to do anything to the poor little guy.
• We get to see Deathsaurus' alternate mode this issue. It is both adorable and fearsome :)
• Skids' memories of Grindcore and what happened to Quark are fully revealed to him in this issue...it doesn't go too well!
• Rodimus uses his "flame out" ability that we last saw in Maximum Dinobots. It appears to have a side-effect of him using up a lot of energy in the process however.
• Megatron's "Fool's Energon" is revealed to just be a placebo, and is simply just unfiltered and untreated Energon to make it taste different. Megatron's apparent changes since his trial are therefore purely psychosomatic.
• Tarn tears Ravage in half just like how Overlord did to Guzzle back in Last Stand of the Wreckers.
• Brainstorm uses his vehicle mode jet boosters to propel himself during his fight with Lugnut
• Megatron's fusion cannon blasts are now Autobot-orange instead of Decepticon-purple.
• Several of the Lost Lighters who were part of the battle with the DJD are unnacounted for at the end of this issue, including Swerve, Rewind, Ambus, Cyclonus and Tailgate. Nightbeat and Rung are still investigating the hollow planet under the fortress. Lets hope the former guys are all okay.
• Nautica hugging her dear friend Skids' corpse and crying into his chest is an image that will haunt me for the rest of my days....I JUST GOT THE SKIDS TOY AS WELL!!!! BLOODY ROBERTS!!!

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #50

Main Story Title: The Dying of the Light Part 1: How Bright their Frail Deeds

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Additional Inks by: Brian Shearer

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

Side Story Title: No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases

Art by: Brendan Cahill

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Publisher: Ted Adams

Main Story Plot

Optimus and Jetfire on Earth pick up a communication from the Lost Lighters, which displays the last wills and words of several crew members. Optimus is disturbed and asks Jetfire who else knows about it.

Like that, all across the galaxy Cybertronians are picking up the messages too, and all reacting to them in their natural manners, entertainment, fear, worry. When Jetfire tells Optimus that he can't get in contact with the Lost Light, Optimus is determined to save his friends, and orders for the space bridge to link up to the Lost Light, and use their quantum engines for a power source, but Jetfire bursts that bubble when he reveals that the messages were sent three weeks earlier...

Three weeks earlier, the Lost Lighters liberate the planet Miliarium from the Rust Giants, and are gathering a good reputation from the local galactic media. The crew returns to the ship, where Megatron hosts one of his classes on the Knights of Cybertron, where he discovers that the crew have encountered a strange gear symbol in the past, and as a group they determine that it must belong to one of the Knights, as a coat of arms, however during the class, Megatron falls ill and briefly attacks Minimus Ambus. He promptly leaves and heads to the Medibay.

At the Medibay, Megatron receives his "fools Energon" from Velocity, and she warns him about his usage of the substance as it may have unknown side-effects, beyond it weakening him, but Megatron claims that he's fine, and has never been happier.

velocity examines Megatron's head when she notices some dents on his helmet, and he explains that it was just a headache when he heard screaming. Suddenly she receives a message from Swerve, claiming that he and several other crew members also suffered the same weird phenomenon.

Later, all the affected crew members are gathered by Rodimus, who, along with Rung and Brainstorm explains that they were all attacked by a cerebral weapon of some sort from an unidentified location. So they're going to investigate it as a team.

Soon, the affected crew members, along with Rodimus, Velocity and Whirl for added muscle, take the Rodpod out towards the location, and use the new "teleport drive" on the ship to reach the destination instantly, but find themselves inside a large dark sphere. They use the drive again to reach the surface of the sphere, which they discover to be the Necrobot's planet.

The crew take in the sight, but not for long. Suddenly the team are attacked by several attack craft, forcing them back to the Rodpod. Rodimus discovers that the engines of the ship have been drained, despite there beiug enough to power two long distance teleports. The crew instead decides to head to the Necrobot's "fortress" where they plan to hold their ground.

The Rodpod is destroyed by the attack craft, but the crew manage to escape to the fortress, inside Nightbeat quickly finds the body of Censerre, the Necrobot dead, and stuffed with several of his flowers. Velocity can't determine whether he was killed by the gun shots or being overloaded by the energon flowers.

Ravage leaves the fortress to investigate one of the crashed attack crafts to determine who attacked them, whilst the rest of the crew work on the Necrobot's communications array. They manage to get it working and contact the Lost Light, however the call is answered by Getaway, who reveals that he was released by the crew, as they've decided to perform a mutiny on their captains, due to Megatron being a monster and not deserving redemption like High Command wants, and Getaway thinks Rodimus is a terrible commander.

Getaway explains that he and Atomizer have been trying to take down Rodimus and Megatron since they returned to Cybertron for Dark Cybertron, and have been using Getaway's Nudge Gun to ask people how they would react to a mutiny, and if they didn't like the answers, then they would have their memories wiped of the conversation.

Getaway ends the call, just as he coyly hints that they will be visited by the DJD soon. Ravage returns to the fortress, having been attacked by Tarn, and reports that there's hundreds of other Decepticons with Tarn this time.

The crew await their deaths....

Side Story Plot

Shock and Ore make their way into the empty bar of the Lost Light before it's launch and Shock is sure it's the same ship they were meant to serve on a long time ago, and even finds a tag he left under the bar's counter. The Duobots are ordered by Prowl to attach Overlord's cell onto the ship's hull, as a spectral version of Skids watches them...

A little later on, Skids opens up the bar as "Swerve's" and hosts a secret grand opening party, whilst there, Pipes and Drift sit together and Pipes tells Drift about his desire to find a lover, and Drift suggests Tailgate to him, which Pipes seems interested in, as a shocked, and invisible Tailgate watches them...

Later, following the Messatine visit, Ambulon asks First Aid to keep his embarrassing leg-alternate mode a secret, but First Aid points out that Swerve has an obsession with alternate modes, just as he throws a ball at his head, and forces him into leg mode, causing Swerve to make fun of him. Velocity and a diagnostic drone watch on from another time and place....

A little later on, Rewind has Rung set up in the bar, ready for another story-telling session that he's hoping will wake up the comatose psychiatrist, so he can ask him about the still missing Dominus Ambus. Out of his view, a grieving Chromedome is watching him tearfully, whilst Rung tells him that his time is up....

During Overlord's rampage, Perceptor rushes into the bar, which is being used as a triage station, since the Medibay is blocked, and he brings Tripodeca to Hoist for repairs, Perceptor leaves to rejoin the fight, ut is immediately grabbed by Overlord. Nearby, another Perceptor silently watches as Tripodeca dies on the bar....

Following the Legislator's attack on the ship, Swerve is trying to repair the damaged bar, but is joined by several crew members who bargain with him to keep the place open, if they all help him to fix the place, which he agrees to. Swerve then asks for them to keep an eye out for a salvageable Legislator for him to use as a bouncer, which is soon found by Jackpot. Ten watches as he is dug out of the rubble, looking happy....

Before the ship takes off following Dark Cybertron, the new crew members are taken on a tour of the ship, including the bar, where they meet their new friends, unaware that they're all being watched by the crew in secret from another time..

Perceptor brings the crew back from their trips, and explains to Minimus Ambus that Brainstorm's time cases had a side-effect, creating some holes in time that the crew can use to look back at the past in certain areas, one being in the bar. They can only observe, so their presence cannot affect the past, so this is just for interest, and to pay final tributes to their fallen friends.

Rodimus suggests to Ambus that he should use the time hole himself before it closes, but Perceptor corrects him that it's not closing, just fluctuating. Even after it is gone, it will return one day. Rodimus looks forward to that, and raises a toast to their fallen friends...

Unknown to them, Getaway is using the time hole in the future, saying farewell to the soon-to-be dead crew members himself.....

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus - Vehicle Transport/Minesweeper

Nautica - Submarine

Swerve - Van

Skids - Van

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Rung

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Nightbeat - Car

Brainstorm - Jet

Velocity - Race Car

Tailgate - Car

Getaway - Car

Atomizer - Buggy

Mainframe

Thunderclash - Truck

Perceptor - Tank

Blaster - Acoustic Tank

Crossblades - Helicopter

Slamdance - Cassettes

Riptide - Boat

Hound - Jeep

Xaaron

Grapple - Crane

Crosscut - Van

Jackpot - Car

Bluestreak - Car

Hoist - Crane

Siren - Car

Brawn - Van

Inferno - Fire Truck

Fervor

Grotusque - Cat Monster

Highbrow - Helicopter

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab

Jetfire - Fighter Jet

Metroplex - City/Space Ship

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Fortress Maximus - Tank

Red Alert - Car

Wheeljack - Race Car

Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet

Other Lost Lighters

Original Rewind - Data Slug (Only in Time Holes)

First Aid - Ambulance (Only in Time Holes)

Ambulon - Leg (Only in Time Holes)

Ratchet - Ambulance (Only in Time Holes)

Powerglide - Jet (Only in Time Holes)

Mirage - F1 Race Car (Only in Time Holes)

Sunstreaker - Sports Car (Only in Time Holes)

Blades - Helicopter (Only in Time Holes)

Ore - Treaded Vehicle (Only in Time Holes)

Shock - Treaded Vehicle (Only in Time Holes)

Gears - Van (Only in Time Holes)

Smokescreen - Car (Only in Time Holes)

Trailcutter - Van (Only in Time Holes)

Pipes - Truck (Only in Time Holes)

Drift - Race Car (Only in Time Holes)

Sandstorm - Buggy/Helicopter (Only in Time Holes)

Toaster - Toaster (Only in Time Holes)

Tripodeca - Tripod (Only in Time Holes)

Dipstick - Car (Only in Time Holes)

Waverider - Submarine (Only in Time Holes)

Rad - Car (Only in Time Holes)

Crosshairs - Van (Only in Time Holes)

Aquafend - Buggy (Only in Time Holes)

Joyride - Buggy (Only in Time Holes)

Landmine - ATV (Only in Time Holes)

Sprocket (Only in Time Holes)

Skater (Only in Time Holes)

Flex (Only in Time Holes)

Borer (Only in Time Holes)

Doubletap (Only in Time Holes)

Prowl - Police Vehicle (Statue)

Huffer - Truck (Footage)

Boss - Car (Footage)

Firestar (Communications Screen)

Autobot High Command (Mentioned)

Dominus Ambus (Mentioned)

Hubcap - Car (Mentioned)

Quark - Electron Microscope (Mentioned)

Slapdash - F1 Race Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette

Misfire - Jet

Krok

Crankcase - Van

Fulcrum - Bomb

Spinister - Helicopter

Tarn - Tank

Tesarus - Grinding Device

Helex - Smelting Pod

Vos - Rifle

Kaon - Variable Volt Harness

The Pet

Deathsaurus

Blue Bacchus - Helicopter

Killbison - Tank

Drillhorn - Drill Tank

Leozack - Jet

Guyhawk - Jet

Other members of Deathsaurus' crew

Overlord - Jet and Tank (Only in Time Holes)

Kicker - Leg (Mentioned)

Swing - Arm (Mentioned)

Arm-Or - Arm (Mentioned)

Abdominus - Torso (Mentioned)

United Cybertron

Starscream - Fighter Jet

Scoop - Front End Loader

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Ten

Censerre Killed by the DJD

Legislators (Only in Time Holes) Dead

Bob the Insecticon (Only in Time Holes)

Diagnostic Drone

Chief Justice Tyrest (Mentioned)

Circle of Light (Mentioned)

Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Scraplets (Mentioned)

Other

Rust Giants Defeated by Lost Lighters

Miliarians

Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Notes

• Presumably, the beginning section of the comic takes place about the same time as the end of Transformers #50, but Wheeljack should be on Earth, not on Cybertron. Unless he got the space bridge working properly in that time?
• Rung appears to be more afraid of his alternate mode than before, maybe something happens in the time between the main part of the story and making the message to the future again.
• Both Optimus and Megatron give the same responses when another character says no one is answering from the Lost Light.
• Riptide's disliking of tests was previously mentioned during their time travelling adventures
• The Mystery Gear symbol is bought up again here, where Nautica explains that a curator told her it was a coat of arms of some sort, much like the Autobot and Decepticon insignias are.
• The Galactic Council apparently like to experiment with cerebral weaponry, much like the Mind Bomb created by Blackrock in Transformers...hmm.....
• The Necrobot uses technology that is based on the Aequitas device from Garrus-9, so he can determine who was responsible for which death for his flower hobby...how did he get that?
• I'll be very shocked if ALL of the Lost Lighters not in the Rodpod team were willing to go through with a mutiny against Rodimus and the others, and leave them to be killed by the DJD. More than likely some of them, like Perceptor, Thunderclash and others, are just pretending and plan to betray Getaway.
• I mean seriously! If this is true then about 200 Autobots are going to be court-marshalled by Optimus or something when they eventually turn up after locating the Knights!
• If you remember, one of the effects of the Nudge Gun is to push someone into thinking something differently...maybe that's what happened to some of the crew?
• Deathsaurus' sword appears to be based on the Star Saber sword from the Prime cartoon.
• Ten found the time to collect an armful of the Necrobot's flowers...n'awwww!
• The side story acts as a celebration of the series so far, and gives us some bittersweet moments with some of the deceased characters from the series.
• Shock and Ore were supposed to be on the U-1/Unitrex-1/Lost Light when it was first launched, but it went missing, thanks to the Lost Lighters, before it's first launch, we also see the other side of the conversation that Prowl had on his communicator all the way back in issue 1
• It's revealed that Pipes was so eager to make new friends because he was looking for a lover, and he was actually interested in Tailgate thanks to a recommendation from Drift.
• Pipes confirms that the Hubcap that he knew and was good friends with is the same one who is currently starring in Sins of the Wreckers.
• Pipes comments that he could have had a big crush on Drift.....he would later be HORRIBLY MURDERED BY BEING CRUSHED!!!
• The combiner team that Ambulon was a part of is revealed to be called the "Combicons", but we don't know what the gestalt's name was yet :(
• Ambulon's leg mode is seen for the first time, and it even has a peg like the ones seen in the Combiner Wars toys, however it remains the same size as Ambulon, meaning he wasn't fitted with a mass-shifting device like the main ones appear to.
• Swerve's alt mode curiosity has been shown several times in the series, where he begged Tailgate to transform for him, and his quest to identify Rung's alternate mode before Dark Cybertron too.
• It's revealed that Rewind wanted Rung to have his brain fixed early in the series because he wanted to ask him about Dominus Ambus....did they know each other?
• Also, from Chromedome's reactions to him, it seems to be from before they found the other Rewind, meaning the time-hole was there in "Season One", but the hole was created by Brainstorm's time cases....maybe it's a timey wimey thing!?
• Tripodeca is revealed to turn into a tripod...poor fella....a BMX, like the robot he's based on (Armada High Wire) might have been better....JUST!
• Swerve's decision to reopen the bar, even after he was determined to close it before the "Remain in Light" storyline is explained here.
• Perceptor finding Quark's head funny is interesting, since it was based on his Transformers: Animated counterpart's design.
• Also, Brainstorm has his faceplate off and the briefcase attached to his arm....first off, that's where his Decepticon insignia is hidden. Silly double agent! And the briefcase should have been confiscated at the door due to the bar's rules.
• Sandstorm is shown amongst the bar patrons in the last time jump, meaning the events take place just before the ship takes off following Dark Cybertron.
• The "present" scene is set during the Holiday Special, as evident by the "Christmas lights" that are still hung up.
• The "present" also dates the Holiday Special as being set between issue 49 and 50, since Thunderclash and Tailgate are both up and about, wow that's cutting it close!
• Mirage comments that Swerve's bar is a dump, foreshadowing his decision to open his own bar.
• HOLY FUCK THIS ONE TOOK ME AGES TO DO!!!