IDW - Lost Light #14

Title: The Scavengers in: The Ties That Bind

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Sara Pitre-Durocher and Brendan Cahill

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Several years ago, Shockwave flies away from Garrus-9 during it's occupation by Overlord, he has several other prisoners with him for plans that he is keeping quiet for now. Shockwave received a call from Tarn of the DJD during his escape, and the two exchange pleasantries, Shockwave knows that he is at the top of the DJD's hit-list and offers the rest of his crew, other people on the list, in place of him going free. Tarn rejects the offer, since he plans to complete the list in exact order. This causes Shockwave to have a small meltdown since it makes no sense to do things in that way, leading Tarn to use his manipulative voice ability to try and cause Shockwave's spark to explode.

Flywheels and Flame have been listening to this call in secret and rush to Scorponok to escape before the DJD can actually kill Shockwave, and come after them afterwards. The three of them jump from the ship, just before Shockwave shoots his communicator, stopping Tarn's attack. Before the DJD can go after him again however, Bludgeon and his team arrive on the scene to rendezvous with Shockwave, forcing the DJD to abandon this target for now...

Today, Nickel tries calling Deathsaurus on his own communicator from Troja Major, which is where she and the Scavengers were spirited to before by Agonizer. Nickel is unimpressed by the Scavengers, especially Grimlock however since he was a major target on the DJD's list.

Nickel soon joins the Scavengers inside Agonizer's store where they are informed that Flame stole the Magnificence from a friend of Agonzier's, Mengel, and that after studying her files on it, believes that the Magnificence is one of the Knights of Cybertron's final forms. He asks the Scavengers to retrieve it in exchange for literally anything they want. They agree for an absurd amount of money and are warped to the planet, Confluence, where Flame's signal was last located.

The team arrive on the planet, in the middle of a forest, however Fulcrum realizes that something is wrong, as Confluence is supposed to be a desert planet. Suddenly the trees around them transform and surround the Scavengers, reminding them of the first time they found Grimlock and saw a dead one of these robots in a chair on the ship.

Grimlock goes to action and takes down the "Treecons" with ease. During the battle, Nickel reveals that she is a member of the DJD, but before the Scavengers can do anything, Grimlock tells them to leave her alone, as she is one of them now.

Soon, Scorponok explodes from the ground and attacks the Scavengers, Grimlock goes to attack him, but Scorponok just waves a claw, sending Grimlock unconscious.

Scorponok's crew put the Scavengers on their Worldsweeper ship and leave the planet. The Scavengers, bar Grimlock wake up in a cell, where the team explain how they found Grimlock on Clemency and have been trying to fix his mind ever since. They decide to look inside Grimlock's chest to see if Scorponok has a device in there that allowed him to knock him out before, but all they find inside is an empty cavity, with what looks like a brace for the Matrix to sit inside....

Scorponok arrives with Flame and some guards, who reveals that it's not for the Matrix, but the Magnificence. He and Flame reveal that they stole it from Grimlock after driving him mad and discarding his body on the ship he was found on.

Scorponok wakes Grimlock up using his claw trick again, having determined that the Scavengers are not part of the group he thought they were originally. Upon seeing Spinister next to him seemingly messing with his inner-chest parts, Grimlock reacts badly and tears off his arm. Scorponok and the others leave as Grimlock proceeds to seemingly attack his cellmates as they scream in pain...

Later, the guards notice one of the bars on the cell is shorting out, so they approach it, where they find Grimlock standing over his dismembered friends, demanding to speak to Scorponok...

Characters

Autobot

Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex

Decepticon

Misfire - Fighter Jet Torn Apart by Grimlock

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb Torn Apart by Grimlock

Spinister - Helicopter Torn Apart by Grimlock

Crankcase - Van Torn Apart by Grimlock

Krok Torn Apart by Grimlock

Nickel - Rocket Car Torn Apart by Grimlock

Damus/Tarn - Tank (Flashback Only)

Amp/Kaon - Variable Voltage Harness (Flashback Only)

Scissorsaw/Tesarus - Metal Grinder (Flashback Only)

Crucible/Helex - Smelting Chamber (Flashback Only)

Dominus Ambus/Vos/The Pet - Turbofox (Flashback Only)

Forestock/Vos - Rifle (Flashback Only)

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Flashback Only)

Flywheels - Tank/Jet (Flashback Only)

Bludgeon - Tank (Flashback Only)

Skip - Space Shuttle (Flashback Only)

Bomb-Burst - VTOL Jet (Flashback Only)

Finback - Hovercraft (Flashback Only)

Skullgrin - Tank (Flashback Only)

Kakuryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Rairyu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Doryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Goryu - Monster (Flashback Only)

Birdbrain - Monster (Flashback Only)

Bristleback - Monster (Flashback Only)

Scowl - Monster (Flashback Only)

Icepick - Monster (Flashback Only)

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Deathsaurus - Dragon (Mentioned)

Overlord - Tank and Jet (Mentioned)

Howlback - Cassette (Mentioned)

Mystery Gear Faction

Scorponok - Scorpion

Flame

Prison Guards

"Treecons" - Trees Many Killed by Grimlock

Other Cybertronian

Agonizer/The Curator

The Knights of Cybertron (Mentioned)

Other

Mengel (Mentioned) Killed by Black Block Consortia 

The Black Block Consortia (Mentioned)

The Omega Guardians (Mentioned) Ascended to a Higher Realm

Notes

• So we finally see who was in Shockwave's specially selected team! It was a bunch of Decepticons who were also on the DJD's list, so he could use them as bargaining chips for his own freedom. Good guy! Judging from the Dinoforce and Skip being amongst the guys there however, it seems likely that they ended up joining with Deathsaurus after Shockwave abandoned them some time after this flashback scene.
• This also shows how Scorponok and Flame escaped from Garrus-9, which was where we last saw them in continuity.
• Bomb-Burst, Skullgin and Finback were last seen during the Stormbringer era where they appeared to be killed during the story. I guess it's possible they survived their "deaths" and were captured afterwards though.
• Also the planet Garrus-9 is officially named as Elba in IDW now, after being named that in the Animated continuity
• The Vos seen in the opening flashback is clearly supposed to be Dominus Ambus in disguise, with the hooked hands, but he's otherwise drawn like the later Vos, which was not his character model.
• Flywheels isn't seen floating with Scorponok and Flame in space after escaping the ship, most likely he's flown away in jet mode to eventually join with the other Scavengers.
• Bludgeon's role in this story is a bit confusing. Scorponok's dialogue implies that Bludgeon and his crew were amongst the escapees with Shockwave. However Shockwave was freed after the bulk of the opening attacks from the Purge, when we saw Bludgeon and his team going after Kup's team at the very start of the Purge...so...was he somehow freed early and kept in touch with Shockwave in some way?
• So, turns out I was wrong, and the guy who rescued the Scavengers and Nickel last we saw them was Agonizer. He was previously mentioned as being familiar with Krok in the past, so I guess this makes sense!
• It's implied by Nickel that Grimlock was the one who caused Tarn's facial scars.
• It's theorized in this issue that the Magnificence was originally a member of the Knights of Cybertron who shed his body to focus solely on knowledge. This is somewhat similar to the story of Epistimus, one of the Guiding Hand who was reduced to a brain module in the final battle of the Hand...maybe this is the same brain?
• Nickel confirms this issue that Grimlock WAS at one point a Decepticon, and defected to the Autobots.
• Wow this issue resolves a lot of loose plot threads around the Scavenger's adventures! The Treecons, Worldsweeper, Grimlock locked in a Stasis Pod and even the strange experiments they encountered on Clemency were all caused by Scorponok's group
• The mystery around Grimlock's condition is also explained. When Garrus-9 was attacked, the Magnificence, which was previously stored under the Aequitas computer was moved into a special brace placed into Grimlock's chest, which could only be opened by Grimlock being broken mentally. Scorponok used the Warren (currently being used by Getaway to reach Cyberutopia) to steal Grimlock from G-9 and drove him mad to release the orb.....wait...then why did it end up in Mengel's hands if they got it out of Grimlock's chest?
• Hmmm...looking at the bodies of the Scavengers, none of them look any worse than just piecing themselves back together, especially since both Spinister and Nickel are medics.I doubt they're dead (plus the solicit for next issue seems to imply they survive too)
• I don't know why, but the weird storm on Troja Major makes me think that it's going to be under attack from Unicron soon...maybe the radiation is an early attack of his in this universe?

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #55

Title: The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

In orbit around the Necroworld, the Galactic Counvil ship, The Retaliator, is waiting for Overlord to finish off Megatron, whilst still complaining about how the DJD arrived on the planet before him. Getaway contacts them to find out whether they kept their promise on the safety of the other Autobots with Megatron, which the commander denies ever promising with a smile, all whilst pondering the use of a secret weapon...

On the planet's surface, Megatron is kneeling to Overlord and Tarn with their cannons, but activates the panic bubble from Trailcutter's corpse and protects himself from the shots, sending the Decepticons flying.

Tarn starts to panic about losing his chance to get Megatron, and has the rest of the DJD join him in attacking the forcefield manually, and orders Deathsaurus to send his troops to attack the other Autobots. Inside, Rewind activates the conscience weapon to affect any Decepticons who are susceptible, seemingly only hitting Deathsaurus, who is feeling guilty for the deaths of his men on this mission.

Nickel takes control of the situation and orders Deathsaurus' troops back to the Peaceful Tyranny to leave the planet with her, as she has lost faith in Tarn's vision now.

Overlord decides to leave now, as he sees no reason to go after Megatron any more, having seen him cower in fear inside a panic bubble.

Inside the fortress, Brainstorm questions how Megatron can use the panic bubble, since he's not an Outlier like Trailcutter was, but Ravage explains that Megatron always has a plan, and reveals that he also stole the Time Case following Brainstorm's time travelling attempt on his life as an escape plan, but gave up on that plan after visiting the Necroworld with the crew, and seeing all the death's that he had caused.

Outside, Tarn and the DJD have managed to smash their ways through the forcefield and prepare to finish off Megatron once and for all, however once inside, Megatron reveals that he wanted this all along, and easily tears off Tarnal fusion cannons, whilst mocking all of them.

Megatron reveals that he has finally mastered the ability to use a black hole to control antimatter, and now plans to use it to destroy every thing inside the panic bubble. Megatron unmasks all the DJD and destroys them with the antimatter, until just Tarn is left.

Whilst the Autobots are watching these events from the fortress, they are shocked when the long-lost Roller amongst others enter the room, asking what's happening, and Rodimus notices that Roller is holding one of the Time Cases.

Inside the bubble, Megatron has torn off Tarn's mask, revealing him to be the outlier Glitch, and declares himself a Decepticon once more before death. However Rodimus appears inside the bubble using the Time Case as a teleporter, and manages to get Megatron to escape with him just as Tarn is killed, and the bubble is filled with an anti-matter explosion.

Rodimus and Megatron return to the fortress, but the Time Case has burned out. Ratchet rushes Megatron to Ravage, who is getting worse, Ravage touches Tarn's mask on Megatron's chest and asks him not to change back, just as he dies from his injuries.

At that moment, at the Sanctuary Station, Soundwave feels the death of his long time ally and mourns him....

Back at the fortress, Megatron flips the table with Ravage's corpse on it, and threatens to kill everyone, following his harrowing experiences today. He decides to leave the crew....the from the shadows, his old friend Terminus appears, and is confused about where he is, Megatron ejects his fusion cannon and discards Tarn's mask, and embraces his long lost friend, stating that he lost his way.

The following day, Rewind explains to everyone that the new arrivals on the planet were actually people from the list of the lost, who the Necrobot decided to rescue following his discussion with Nightbeat on his last visit. However after a while he discovered that some of the people he rescued were actually just hiding, since they were on the DJD's list, and him bringing them to the Necroworld led them to him, so he hid them in stasis pods, disguised as organics, leading to his death.

Rewind walks off with Ambus to finally talk to him about his brother's death, whilst Drift and Rodimus wonder what Rung and Nightbeat found under the planet, as they have still not returned yet...

Inside the planet, Rung and Nightbeat discover that the planet appears to be a mould for Cybertron itself, and the sheer force of the anti-gravity inside it has been messing up their internal chronometers, making them think it's only been about 3 hours.

Suddenly two lights appear inside the mould, which Nightbeat recognizes as a geobomb, a weapon that the Galactic Council has been known to use, and they look ready to explode, leaving the interior in a bright white explosion.... 

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank

Minimus Ambus - Minesweeper

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Velocity - Race Car

Brainstorm - Jet

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Swerve - Van

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Tailgate - Car

Nautica - Submarine

Wavelength

Syphon

Skids - Van Dead

Nightbeat - Car Caught in possible Geobomb Explosion

Rung Caught in possible Geobomb Explosion

Dominus Ambus - Turbofox (Name Only) Dead

Getaway - Car (Mentioned)

Trailcutter - Van (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette Died from injuries caused by Tarn

Tarn/Glitch - Tank Killed by Megatron

Tesarus/Scissorsaw - Mobile Metal Shredder Killed by Megatron

Helex/Crucible - Mobile Smelting Chamber Killed by Megatron

Vos/Forestock - Rifle Killed by Megatron

Overlord - Tank and Jet

Deathsaurus - Dragon

Nickel

Deathsaurus' Crew

Soundwave - Personnel Carrier (At Sanctuary Station)

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned)

Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Ten

Roller - Truck

Terminus - Mining Vehicle

"The Disappeared"

Censerre/Necrobot (Flashback) Dead

Other

General Neech

Crew of The Retaliator

Galactic Council (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue reveals that Getaway actually made his deal with the Galactic Council and not the DJD. Also he asked explicitly for the Autobots to not be harmed, which obviously hasn't been complied with....
• Also, the reason for this plan was because the Lost Lighters had started rescuing organic life rather than just mechanical, thus making the Galactic Council seem needless.
• Trailcutter's hand was stolen by Megatron following his death at Kaon and Vos' hands, he had Ravage steal the last Time Case following the time travelling story, and abandoned it when the Lost Light located the Necroworld after that
• Megatron "swallowed" Whirl's arm in the opening story of season two, and is revealed to have been trying to locate it with his black-hole skill ever since.
• All members of the DJD with alias' have had their real names revealed as of this issue, except for Kaon who was killed by Tarn for his emotions.
• Also, it seems that the Autobots, or at least higher-up ones already know who the DJD really are.
• So...yeah...Tarn is NOT Roller, like everything pointed to...Roberts is evil. Glitch was a member of the Outlier team who helped Optimus out a few times, but seemed to stay in the background most of the time.
• Regarding Glitch, his Outlier power is revealed to have evolved from just disabling machinery to disabling fully-sentient machines, as shown by his "talking to death" skill.
• Also, Glitch was just a nickname from him due to his abilities, his real name was Damus, so Megatron calling him that as his "real name" was a bit wrong...
• Soundwave previously prematurely mourned the death of one of his cassettes when Frenzy appears to die in All Hail Megatron.
• Please note, in every panel she appears, Nautica is STILL crying into Skids' corpse, seemingly unwilling to leave him
• The stories of the Necrobot and his Portable Apothecary are revealed to have been created by the Necrobot time travelling with the Time Case to save certain Cybertronians from going missing.
• Hopefully Nightbeat and Rung aren't dead....but I doubt they are, Rung's alternate mode mystery is still unresolved, and Nightbeat has a new Titans Return toy out.

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 #52

Title: The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The newly arrived Drift and Ratchet protect the badly injured Ten from the DJD, but are greatly outnumbered. During the battle, Drift notices how attached Kaon is to The Pet, and takes it hostage, forcing Kaon to stop the attacks, as team leader. The crew are surrounded still, but are rescued by Ratchet's own shuttle hovering above them, and lowering a loading-platform. The team get onto the shuttle to find Ravage. Down below, Helex takes command from Kaon and orders the attack to begin again, hitting the ship's engines. Ravage still has control of the ship, and aims to towards the Necrobot's fortress.

Several miles away, at Megatron's statue, Megatron is surrendering to Tarn, under the condition that he lets the rest of his crew go free. Megatron apologizes to Tarn for turning him into a killer, and reveals that his new found pacifism is due in part to Brainstorm's recent attempt to kill him before his own creation, and found himself disappointed that he failed.

Tarn, sick of hearing his role-model talking like this, attacks him, and beats him down, but points out that he's doing this because he cares for him, but also hates what he's become.

Tarn says that he'll stop fighting him, if Megatron just fights back, but Megatron refuses, and tells Tarn that even though he thinks the Fool's Energon he has inside him is changing his mindset on life, he doesn't mind, as he feels happier now, and is better off this way. Tarn is furious at this, and shoots Megatron point-blank in his chest, declaring that he's be better off dead.

Tarn knows that Megatron isn't dead yet, since his statue is still visible, and would have gone out if he died, so he goes for the final blow. Except he is stopped...by.....OVERLORD!!!

The shuttle crashes outside the fortress, when inside Ten is taken for repairs by Magnus, and Swerve thanks his employee for leaving the message to use the flowers to power up the storm shield, and says that they think it'll work out.

Skids reunites with Ratchet, and learns that Ratchet is there because someone called him from this location and hung up. Velocity reveals that she called him, but thought it was First Aid she was reaching, and the DJD cut the call before it could go through. She then thoroughly embarrasses herself in front of Ratchet, leaving her embarrassed

Elsewhere, Rodimus reunites with Drift, and apologizes for not coming to find him after he left, out of fear that he's hate him. Drift forgives him, and Rodimus promises to protect him from the DJD, knowing he's on their list, but Drift doesn't believe it....

At the Megatrn statue, Tarn and Overlord are fighting over who gets to kill Megatron. During the fight, Overlord reveals that he was rescued from space by a mysterious group, who want him to kill Megatron as part of their plans. Tarn begins to suggest that they team up to kill Megatron together, but suddenly realize that he's escaped....

Unknown to either of them, he managed to drag himself to his space scooter and is now returning to the fortress.

At the memorial to the lost outside the fortress, Rewind is examining it to see if he can find any correlation between the names and when they disappeared, when Nautica appears and asks him about how the Conjunx Endura process works on Cybertron, as she wants to decide on something before it's too late...

Elsewhere on the planet, surrounded by mountains, Tarn and Overlord enter the Peaceful Tyranny, where immediately Overlord starts belittling the alliance between Tarn and Deathsaurus, despite their known hatred of each other.

During the encounter, Kaon returns and begs Tarn to help him rescue The Pet from the Autobots, making Overlord laugh louder at how domesticated he's become. Tarn embraces his friend, and comforts him...before he tears off his head. Tarn denounces emotions, as they caused Megatron to turn soft.

He goes to Overlord and crushes Kaon's head into his chest and tells him not to ridicule him on his ship any more, then decides to speed up the operation and has everyone begin their plans to attack the fortress now..

At the fortress, Rodimus and Ratchet bring a near-dead Megatron inside, watched by a worried Ravage, whilst Megatron still grasps his Autobot insignia (it broke off during the fight with Tarn)

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank Badly Damaged by Tarn

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ratchet - Ambulance

Drift - Car

Skids - Van

Velocity - Race Car

Nautica - Submarine

Rewind - Data Slug

Optimus Prime - Truck (Mentioned)

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned)

Chromedome - Car (Mentioned)

Tailgate - Car (Mentioned)

First Aid - Ambulance (Mentioned)

Dominus Ambus (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Tarn - Tank

Overlord - Tank and Jet

Deathsaurus

Nickel

Kaon - Variable Volt Harness Killed by Tarn

Helex - Smelting Chamber

Ravage - Cassette

Generic Deathsaurus Troops

Genericons (Mentioned)

Cybertronian

Ten Badly Damaged by the DJD

The Pet Abducted by the Autobots

Other

Overlord's Benefactors (Mentioned)

Notes

• Since the end of Empire of Stone, Drift and Ratchet have been travelling around space, fighting "Genericons".
• Despite him being a fairly high-profile target, Drift isn't apparently identified by the DJD.
• Gee it's a good thing the DJD destroyed Ratchet's shuttle, else the Lost Lighters may have had a chance to leave the planet!
• Megatron hints that Tarn's true identity is someone who was important to someone else, further adding to the theory that he is actually Roller.
• Megatron claims that he's fine with having his mind altered to be "nicer", despite his long-standing fear of having his mind altered.
• Oh, Overlord is back.....OVERLORD!!!!??? HIDE THE MINI-BOTS!!!!
• So, turns out that First Aid gave Velocity the same phone that Ratchet gave him earlier, meaning that he never gave her a chance to contact him....or never programmed his number into it? I dunno.
• Rodimus reveals that the reason he never went after Drift following his revelation about his involvement in the Overlord scandal is because he was afraid that he would hate him. Turns out Drift is okay with it!
• Oh look! Overlord transforms to his tank mode...I think this is the first time we've seen that since Last Stand of the Wreckerss.
• Though unnamed here, it's very likely that Overlord's benefactors are related to the Mystery Gear faction.
• Amongst the memorial for the lost, it appears that Roller's name is shown, further fuelling that he may be Tarn.
• This issue confirms that on some colonies Transformers begin relationships as Amica Endura, then become Conjunx Endura, but on Cybertron you can only be one or the other.
• This also implies that Nautica wants to become Conjunx Endura with someone in the group. She has connections to so many of the group that it could be pretty much anyone there.
• Tarn appears to be under a lot of stress. When Kaon was dying from Tyrest's attack in season one, he was comforting towards him, but now that he's panicking over his pet being captured, he gets killed on sight. Maybe Overlord and Megatron have that effect on people?
• Tarn crushing Kaon's head on Overlord's chest somewhat mirrors how Kaon crushed Trailcutter's spark on his forcefield at the start of the season.
• Despite his love for The Pet, Kaon apparently never gave him a more affectionate name...maybe he just owed him money and that's why he wanted him saved?
• The Pet isn't seen with his captors after they return to the Fortress...maybe they killed him on the way?
• Nickel appears to be horrified by how Tarn just killed Kaon for his emotions.

IDW - More Than Meets The Eye #51

Title: The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Alex Milne

Colours by: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: John Barber

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The DJD attack the Necrobot's fortress, but soon stop on Tarn's orders. The Autobots are relieved at first, until Megatron reveals that this is part of the DJD's "script" where they give a show of force, then leave the victims to their fears for a while. To his prediction, Tarn has left a message burned into the ground of "sunset", which Chromedome estimates at about 8 hours from then. Rodimus has the crew look around the fortress for anything they can use as a weapon.

Ten tries to show Rodimus some of the flowers, but Rodimus ignores him. Nearby, Velocity notices that the Necrobot has turned into dust, which Swerve identifies as old Sentio Metallico, and this happens when old Cybertronian metal loses it's spark, however Velocity finds a key amongst the dust, which intrigues her.

On The Peaceful Tyranny, Tarn and Deathsaurus meet up in Tarn's office, where Deathsaurus asks why they've stopped the attack, which Tarn justifies as it being to torture the Autobots for longer...

Back at the fortress, Velocity, Swerve and Nautica are looking for the lock that matches the key, and Swerve explains that he only brought Ten along with him on this doomed mission because he was starting to feel guilty for abusing him, just as Velocity finds a door that matches the key.

Later, the Autobots report their various findings to Rodimus, who is unimpressed, however Nightbeat reveals that he has found the Necrobot's quantum transporter, but it only has enough energy left for a short trip, but it should be enough to get them far enough away to call for help. Unfortunately Nautica and the others return and reveal that they found the room filled with life support pods containing organic life in the locked room, and the pods are too big to go through the teleporter.

The Autobots start to debate what they should do, but Megatron silences everyone when he announces that he's staying to defend the pods, and he invites the others to do so as well, which they of course do, prompting Rodimus to close the door to the teleporter.

Swerve perks up when he realizes that the DJD must have arrived on a ship themselves, so they can try and steal it to leave the planet, and take the pods with them. Ravage offers to go track it down, as he knows the DJD's scent, and goes to leave. Before he does though, he hands Megatron a communicator and asks him to call "him"

On the Peaceful Tyranny, the DJD and Deathsaurus plan out the rest of their assault, and Tesarus begins to worry that the Autobots will activate the fortress' storm-shield, but Tarn isn't worried, due to the lack of energy available to them. He begins to get concerned however when he suddenly gets a call on HIS personal communicator...

Back at the fortress, Megatron prepares to head out to see Tarn, but Rodimus asks him why he is willing to risk everything for some organics, given his known hatred of them. Megatron reveals that during the mental attack on him, he heard the screams of several species that he's helped to become extinct over the years, and he no longer wishes to hear that sound again.

Ravage makes his way to the DJD's make-shift field HQ, but doesn't see The Peaceful Tyranny, he detects Ten behind him, having followed the Decepticon to try and help, but Ravage decides to show his true colours, and tricks Ten into standing up, exposing himself to the DJD, who immediately start attacking him, allowing Ravage to speed past the other Decepticons and infiltrate their base.

Elsewhere, at Megatron's statue, Tarn meets with Megatron, who asks his old pupil to remove his mask, so he can see his face, but Tarn retorts that THIS is his face now. In response, Megatron offers his surrender to Tarn.

At the fortress, the Autobots begin to wonder where Ten has gone, but soon realize that he's been trying to help them out all this time when they see a pile of the Necrobot's energy flowers next to the storm-shield generator and a picture of Trailcutter using his forcefields next to them, using them to explain how to make the storm-shield work properly.

Back in the field, Ten is being brutally torn apart by the DJD, but before he can be finished off he is saved by two newcomers...Drift and Ratchet!

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Megatron - Tank

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Rung

Swerve - Van

Nautica - Submarine

Velocity - Race Car

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Tailgate - Car

Skids - Van

Brainstorm - Jet

Nightbeat - Car

Drift - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Trailcutter - Van (Picture Only)

Getaway - Car (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Ravage - Cassette

Tarn - Tank

Deathsaurus

Kaon - Variable Volt Harness

Vos - Rifle

Helex - Smelting Chamber

Tesarus - Metal Grinder

Nickel

The Pet

Lugnut - Bomber Plane

Guyhawk - Jet

Blue Bacchus - Helicopter

Deathsaurus' Crew

Heretech (Mentioned) Likely killed by DJD

Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Ten Brutally injured by DJD

Censerre Dead, reduced to dust

Messatine Miners Dead, Hung to Tarn's wall

Terminus (Mentioned)

Other

Sixty-ish Organics On Life-Support

Nibarians (Mentioned) Species Made Extinct by Decepticons

Torkulians (Mentioned) Species Made Extinct by Decepticons

Magisterians (Mentioned) Species Made Extinct by Decepticons

Praetons (Mentioned) Species Made Extinct by Decepticons

Notes

• Lugnut is shown to have been a part of Deathsaurus' crew. He was previously shown amongst the Titan Hunters under Lockdown's command, so I guess he changed teams since Remain in the Light?
• It's possible he joined Deathsaurus' crew as he was afraid that the DJD would come after him following is involvement in those events, which almost resulted in the death of Kaon and maybe some others on the team.
• Swerve reveals here that when an older Cybertronian dies, he turns into dust...wonder why that didn't happen to Ironhide when he died in the Costa ongoing series?
• The dead Cybertronians shown in Tarn's office in issue 49 are revealed here to be the dead miners that Terminus (Megatron's old friend) used to smuggle his early writings out of Messatine on. Tarn has collected them due to his obsession with Decepticonism.
• It's revealed fully here that the mental attack that occurred last issue had all those effected have their worst fears amplified in their minds. Swerve reveals that his was that Ten was shouting at him for not treating him like a real person, whilst Megatron heard the screams of the organic species that he's killed over the years.
• It's confirmed that the Necrobot used Quantum technology to transport himself from his planet to other worlds to perform his death audits.
• The life support pods under the Necrobot's fortress are similar to those seen under Demus' base in issue 46. This implies that the Necrobot is somehow related to the mystery gear faction, and the mystery bots associated with it.
• Tarn has a phone that only Megatron has the number to....this is sounding more like an abusive relationship with every issue!
• It's hinted here that Heretech was hunted by the DJD at some point, meaning that all, if not most of the Warriors Elite/Phase Sixers have betrayed Megatron in some way.
• Drift and Ratchet are back from their excursion away during Empire of Stone! Wonder if Mirage and the Protectobots will return in this story too?
• Ratchet's new design appears to be a hybrid of his previous look, but with cues from his Prime counterpart (mostly the helmet)
• Drift now has a new design with his great sword being stored horizontally rather than against his "spine", he has also be re-autobranded, and appears to now have formal face paint, like the Camien city speakers wear

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!!!