IDW - Robots in Disguise #15

Title: A Plan for Everything

Written by: John Barber

Pencils by: Andrew Griffith

Inks by: Brian Shearer

Colors by: Josh Perez

Letters by: Chris Mowry

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Plot

At the Med Center things are hectic, when suddenly Jazz comes in with a badly injured Mirage saying that they need to leave, but too late, as Devastator tears open the roof of the med center. The still able bodied start evacuating the injured and fighting off the giant Decepticon, and the ground troops.

Back at the Black Room Megatron gloats to a still alive Bumblebee that Optimus won't be coming back this time to stop him, as Shockwave's had his followers send him on a chase elsewhere, when Megatron suddenly realizes that Shockwave's no longer in the room, which Soundwave quickly makes an excuse for.

The Med Center has fallen, and the Decepticons are taking on the last remaining fighters, when Ironhide and the Dinobots appear and aid their friends, and even bring along the giant Aerialbot Gestalt Superion for good measure to take on Devastator. A full on battle takes place across the city.

Megatron watches the battle from the Black Room on his monitors when Bumblebee asks Arcee why she's helping the Decepticons, since they're connected with Jhiaxus, her arch nemesis. Arcee explains that she had a long time to thing about things whilst she was repeatedly killing Jhiaxus in the past,a nd she reveals...that she HATES Decepticons, and skewers Bombshell's head, cutting off his control of Prowl and Devastator, who shut's down. She then signals Sideswipe, whom she didn't really kill last issue to start firing on the Decepticons, and chucks a gun to Bumblebee to help them out in battle.

Outside, the battle has turned in the good guy's favor (can't really say "Autobot's" here, can I?), and Skywarp escapes with his teleporting abilities. Starscream is dragged away by the other Decepticons, and Arcee reveals to Bumblebee that Megatron's plan all along was for him, himself to be the head for Devastator.

Elsewhere, Prowl, has been talking to himself about the situation over the past few years, until he reaches a single point, Spike Witwicky, at which point his thoughts, and the other five Constructicons are united as one, and their minds merge into a true Devastator, and wakes up.

At the Black Room, the good guys decide to go after Starscream and rescue him. Meanwhile, Devastator creeps up on Superion, and tears him to shreds, as his first true, uncontrolled act.

Characters

Autobot

Bumblebee - Car

Prowl - Car/Head (Part of Devastator)

Jazz - Car

Fixit - Ambulance

Ironhide - Van

Arcee - Car

Sideswipe - Car

Streetwise - Car

Scattershot - Jet

Tracks - Car

Cliffjumper - Car

Sizzle - Car

Slag - Triceratops

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Swoop - Pteranodon

Snarl - Stegosaurus

Superion - Aerialbot Gestalt Torn apart by Devastator

Aerialbots - Jets (Part of Superion)

Mirage - Car Injured

Optimus Prime/Orion Pax (Mentioned)

Wheeljack - Car (Mentioned) Dead

Broadside (Mentioned) Maybe Dead

Green Guy Killed by Turmoil

Decepticon

Megatron - Head

Starscream - Jet

Soundwave - Van

Bombshell Killed by Arcee

Turmoil - Tank

Tankor 

Dirge - Jet

Needlenose - Jet Maybe Killed by Slag

Astrotrain

Blitzwing

Apeface Smooshed by Superion

Buzzsaw - Cassette

Laserbeak - Data Disk

Ravage - Cassette

Rumble - Tank

Frenzy - Tank Knocked Out by Ironhide

Slugslinger - Jet

Skywarp - Jet

Acid Storm - Jet

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt

Constructicons (Part of Devastator)

Shockwave (Mentioned)

NAIL

Metalhawk - Jet Injured Still

Sky-Byte - Flying Shark

Tappet - Car

Zetca

Hipotank - Tank Maybe killed by Turmoil

Other

Jhiaxus (Mentioned)

Ardurian Rocs (Mentioned)

Spike Witwicky (Mentioned)

Other Guys in CR Chambers

Notes

• Fixit screaming at Broadside over the communicator is of course a carry over from the end of the previous issue...where Broadside apparently gets killed by Devastator
• Mirage seems to have tried to sneak into the Decepticon camp or something, which is how he got so badly injured
• Jazz being a stone cold killer is a reference to his past as a special ops guy, and his cold murder of the human cop in the Ongoing
• Shockwave goes missing early on in this comic...Megatron doesn't seem to know why, but Soundwave and Bombshell act odd around the time he asks about it...hmmmm....
• Arcee's revealed to have known about Prowl being mind-controlled since it happened, as she says to him "I know your secret" back in issue 5, and she's just been playing along til she could get to Bombshell to get rid of him.
• The new Devastator is designed to be modular, meaning his parts can be exchanged when killed. Maybe a reference to the Scramble City style combiners.
• Megatron's new body is implied to be able to convert into a new head for Devastator if needed
• When Superion is torn apart, you can see the Aerialbots inside him screaming.
• Devastator is truly born as a real guy, rather than just a jumble of minds is when all the componants remember their hatred for Spike Witwicky.
• So yeah...Spike is STILL causing problems for the Transformers after more than a year since his last appearance.

IDW - Robots in Disguise #10

Staff

Title: Syndromica (2)

Written by: John  Barber

Art by: Livio Ramondelli

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Plot

The Reflector Trio, fresh from stealing Turmoil's ship on Cybertron on Shockwave's orders, run into planet LV-117, a ghost world that appears from nowhere, and which starts sending the trio into the future, where they see Spectro dead in his chair with someone talking around him. When the vision ends the ship is sapped of it's energon and they fall into the planet's atmosphere. Orion Pax's ship follows them towards the planet, having picked up a Decepticon signal after hunting down Bludgeon and his crew, and mistakes them for them. Wheelie is frightened as he never wants to return to LV-117 when the crew also see the vision of Spectro's body. The team take their ship down to see what's happened.

On the planet's surface the team find the drained Decepticon ship, and find Spectro's dead body in his chair, just as they saw in the vision, and Hardhead says he's been there for over 70 years, despite them having just been following them 10 minutes before. Orion goes exploring and finds an orb (the time machine), and sees a vision of himself holding something and being told that Wheelie wouldn't leave without him. Orion touches the orb and is sent to another time where he sees a ship flying away whilst something screams behind him. He then warps to another time where Monstructor is being formed and defeats some local fauna, and then he reforms again, Bludgeon appears behind Orion and says that now they will understand all about "Ore-1", as he tried to explain before, but Orion's confused as Bludgeon never tried to explain anything last time he saw him on Arduria. Bludgeon is confused too, but then realizes that he hasn't had this conversation yet, and leaves on the ship with his master.

Orion is sent to another time, whee he finds Turmoil in front of his ship, where he has an army of aliens working on constructing his time machine, on Shockwave's orders he's there to investigate the effects of Ore-1 on the planet. After talking with the Decepticon for a while, Orion notices Bludgeon with one of the aliens skewered on his sword and chases after him. Turmoil tries to use one of the aliens as a bartering chip and threatens to kill him if Orion doesn't give up, but Orion just smashes his eye and runs off with the alien. When he jumps to another time again, along with the alien, whom he tries to communicate with, but is attacked by him (and introduces himself as Varta). Orion is able to calm down Varta, when they see the Decepticon ship falling from the sky, and Varta goes off to try and see what it is (leading into Spotlight: Wheelie). Bludgeon attacks Orion now, but doesn't seem to remember ever running from him before. The two are transported to the dark future (the planet is falling apart) where Orion meets with Wheelie and Varta, but of the past, Varta recognizes Orion and tells him to come with them on their ship before it's too late, but Bludgeon skewers the alien before he can finish.

Jhiaxus is there this time and reveals that when he saw the same future that Ironhide did after Chaos fell and that he now knows that his and Nova's old dream from the distant past is to come to pass. Jhiaxus declares that True Chaos is coming and that he plans to bring up the Gorlam Prime he saw, and the Orion will help him. Orion of course declines this offer, and Wheelie shoots at a door on his ship and releases two of the animals he was bringing with him to another world, who attack Monstructor, Wheelie then shoots at Jhiaxus and make shim drop the device he was going to use to bring forward the future of Gorlam Prime, which also helped to control the timeline too, which Orion catches and is sent back to his present where he finds the Time Machine ship gone, as well as the Decepticons and Jhiaxus, and he can't stop them, as he already saw them leave, so he can't alter the future, he's picked up by his crew and they tell him he was gone for a month and they leave the planet, having lost another 2 weeks and they try to figure out what Jhiaxus' true plan is by following him again, and also wonder what could have destroyed LV-117

Characters

Autobot

Orion Pax - Truck Cab

Hardhead - Personnel Carrier

Wheelie - Car

Wheeljack (Mentioned)

Prowl (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Bludgeon

Monstructor - Gesalt

Turmoil - Tank

Spectro Killed in Ship Crash

Viewfinder Killed by Wheelie in Spotlight

Spyglass Killed by Wheelie in Spotlight

Turmoil's Troops

Shockwave (Mentioned)

Other

Jhiaxus - Jet

Varta Killed by Bludgeon

Garnak

Arachnosaur

Chaosteros

Varta's People

Primus (Mentioned)

Nova Prime (Mentioned)

"True Chaos" (Mentioned as coming)

Notes

• Sorry if the plot section makes no real sense, but due to the messed up timeline here it's kind of confusing.
• This issue manages to sort out a few continuity burbs in the past, such as the Reflector Trio being killed in Spotlight: Wheelie, where Turmoil got his ship, where the ship went and a few more.
• The Reflector trio's deaths were shown in Spotlight: Wheelie
• This issue is very timey-wimey. Optimus and Bludgeon also seem to be meeting each other in the planet's timeline in opposite directions
• LV-117 seems to be being destroyed in a red field, much like what Unicron used on Lithone in the g1 Movie...hmmmm
• The planet LV-117 seems to be in a weird time-frame of it's own because of Shockwave's Regenesis Project, which seems to fling the inhabitants across time at random (with Orion etc being more affected due to the time machine ship. The era you are sent to is based on how you enter the atmosphere as well (which is why the Reflectors landed 70+ years before Orion and the others.
• Orion didn't know Turmoil is alive since he's been off Cybertron since he returned, this also places the attempt on his life (Spotlight: Drift) 5 years ago, however Turmoil is actually in an earlier time on the planet's history due to the planet's nature.
• The appearance of LV-117 fauna on LV-118 is explained here, as Wheelie bringing some with him to the planet when he left it (sort of like an Ark) This also shows that his ship was the Quintesson one he later used as a home on that planet, this implies that the Quintessons were on the planet at some time.
• Varta's people were indigenous to LV-117
• Orion is the one who smashed Turmoil's eye which needed him to wear a patch when we see him on Cybertron later (from his perspective)
• The Regenesis missile has a Quintesson image over the Decepticon insignia...dun dun dah!!!
• Due to LV-117's weird Ore-1 induced time-field it's impossible to tell if it's been destroy already or not (in terms of the present) However this does imply that Wheelie was still on LV-117 until the planet was destroyed and then left, being thrown back in the past (if it hasn't happened yet)....I know, confusing as hell!!!!

IDW - Robots in Disguise #7

Comic Staff

Title: Interference Patterns

Written by: John Barber

Art by: Brendan Cahill

Colours by: Joana Lafuente

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editor: Carlos Guzman

Storyline

A Decepticon ship appears out of nowhere above Cybertron and wants to land on the now rebooted planet. Bumblebee calls Wheeljack to help them figure out how they appeared from nowhere, and whether it's a cloaking device of some sort. The ship lands and Prowl's team surrounds it, ready to take down the occupants on Bumblebee's orders, but Metalhawk advises them caution, however when he sees that it's Turmoil on the ship he changes his mind and tells them to just kill him on sight.

Bumblebee and the others meet with Turmoil later and he claims the device he used isn't a cloaking device, but something more beneficial to everyone. Metalhawk tells everyone to not trust him, and it's revealed to him that Turmoil wasn't involved in the Dabola campaign, which caused Metalhawk to leave the war, but Drift was.

Later Starscream takes Metalhawk to Maccadam's to see Blurr, one of the surviving members of the team that supposedly killed Turmoil before, and he agrees that Turmoil is too dangerous to keep around. Elsewhere, the Autobots decide to investigate what Turmoil used to get this close to Cybertron unnoticed, and Wheeljack infiltrates the ship (which is shown throughout this issue in pieces). Wheeljack learns that the device is actually a time machine, not a cloaking device, and that it was created by a race of aliens that Turmoil imprisoned, who were then ejected into space when they heard the call to return to Cybertron when Vector Sigma was rebooted.

Wheeljack is caught hacking into the ship's systems by Turmoil, who summarily blasts a hole through the Autobot's chest, just as he goes to finish him off though, Wheeljack places his new invention around Turmoil's leg and traps him in a bubble. Turmoil tries to break free with his cannon, but it just explodes inside the containment field.

The rest of Turmoils men appear and start beating on Wheeljack, who is then suddenly saved by Metalhawk, who had infiltrated the ship like Wheeljack had. Wheeljack recovers the belt from Turmoil's injured body and Wheeljack and Metalhawk roll out in the bubble it generated, eventually smashing out of the ship. Metalhawk called for Prowl and his team to raid the ship and arrest every Decepticon, all whilst Wheeljack decides to keep the Time Machine, just in case.

Character List

Autobot
Bumblebee - Car
Wheeljack - Car Injured by Turmoil
Prowl - Car
Broadside
Blurr - Race Car
Jazz - Car
Streetwise - Car
Drift - Car (Mentioned Thought to be Dead
Kup's Team (Mentioned)
Lost Light Crew (Mentioned) Thought to be dead

Decepticon
Starscream - Jet
Turmoil - Tank Injured by Wheeljack, Imprisoned
Turmoil's Crew Imprisoned

NAIL
Metalhawk - Jet
Sky Byte - Flying Shark
Tappet - Car
Hipotank - Tank

Other
Crystal City (Mentioned)
Cybertronian Crowds
Varta's People (On Monitors) Killed by Turmoil's crew

Notes

• Turmoil somehow survived the explosion of his ship from Spotlight: Drift
• It's revealed here that the planet from the start of the Drift mini-series is called Dabola, and that Metalhawk wasn't aware that Drift led that attack.
• Metalhawk didn't run from the war out of fear after Dabola, he left because he was afraid of the anger that he felt growing after the battle
• Jazz and Sky Byte seem to have bonded, with them forming a music-poetry duet
• This story seems to imply that Sandstorm was either killed in the Chaos story, or left on the Lost Light (as it's claimed that Roadbuster and Blurr are the only ones left from the team in Spotlight: Drift left). Roadbuster's also been forgotten about, as he's on Debris looking after Springer right now!
• The alien species who build the Time Machine for Turmoil are the same species as Varta from Spotlight: Wheelie
• Metalhawk's wings act like swords
• This story ends with Wheeljack seeming to keep hold of the Time Machines...could this have any bearing on the message from the future from MTMTE#1?
• Unusually the front cover of this comic (well the one I have anyway) looks like an extended view of a scene that actually happened in the comic itself!
• Wheeljack's new "toy" is a belt that can generate a bubble around him that allows him to defy gravity and is protected from attacks...he likes to mess with science!

IDW - Drift

Characters

Knights of the Circle of Light

Dai Atlas - Jet/Tank

Wing - Jet Killed by Braid

Axe

Drift - Speeder Joins Autobots

Other Knights

Autobot

Drift - Race Car

Sunstreaker - Speeder

Metalhawk - Jet Injured in Battle

Boss - Car

Road Rocket - Speedbike

Electro - Car Killed in Battle

Gobots - Car Killed in Battle

"Skrum" - Speeder Killed in Battle

Hot Wire - Pick Up Truck Killed in Battle

Ironhide - Van

Bumblebee - Speeder

Autobot Guards (Flashback)

Decepticon

Deadlock/Drift - Speeder Defects to Circle of Light

Turmoil - Tank

Lockdown - Speeder

Megatron - Tank (Flashback)

Starscream - Tetrajet (Flashback)

Thundercracker - Tetrajet (Flashback)

Skywarp - Tetrajet (Flashback)

Soundwave - Acoustic Tank (Flashback)

Motor Master - Truck (Flashback)

Runamuck - Speeder (Flashback)

Tankor - Truck/Jet (Flashback)

Fear Swoop - Jet

Dread Wing - Stealth Bomber

Smokesniper - Jet

Drench - Car Accidentally killed by Turmoil

Hydrodread - Car

Snare - Jet

Windrazor - Jet

Aquablast - Car

Sky Dive - Jet

Talon - Jet

Take-Off

Terradive - Jet

Falcon - Jet

Charger

Windsweeper - Jet

Staxx - Truck

Jetstorm - Race Car

Ransack - Jet

Road Pig - Motorcycle

Horri-Bull

Roadgrabber - Attack Vehicle

Skyjack - Jet

Carn-Evac Killed by Deadlock

Cybertronian

Civilians

Gasket - Pincer Vehicle Accidentally killed by Autobot Guards

Senator Decimus (Flashback)

Hot Shot Killed by Thundercracker

Glit Killed in Battle

Other

Braid Killed by Drift

Slavers

Storyline

Deadlock leads an attack on an Autobot team led by Sunstreaker and leads them to retreat. After the Autobots leave, one of his troops threatens to report Deadlock to their commander to attacking the Autobots first despite his orders, Deadlock responds by killing the Decepticon and asks the other Decepticons present who will join him in overthrowing Turmoil.

Back on the ship Deadlock is restrained and Turmoil goes to execute him for treason, but Deadlock uses his awesome skills to escape, gets to an escape pod and speeds away, also disabling the ship from following and tracking him. Turmoil announces that Deadlock has been banished and is to be killed on sight.

Deadlock crashes onto a planet and finds a facility where he meets a stranger called Wing who asks him to help him in releasing the prisoners in the facility and he'll let him take one of the ships. The two attack the facility and Wing is revealed to be a Transformer as well, but not allied to either faction. The two robots prepare to release the prisoners when Deadlock (now calling himself Drift) sees a ship and runs for it. Drift is ambushed and injured by Braid and his slavers and goes offline.

Later Drift wakes up in a medical facility in a newly rebuilt body surrounded by non-allied robots. Drift gets startled and heads to the door wondering where he is when he sees that he's in a large Cybertronian city, New Crystal City.

Long ago when the war was still new the third faction, the Knights of the Circle of Light left Cybertron to make a settlement in secret and they set up the New Crystal City, allowing it's people to live alone and in peace away from the war. Wing and Drift compare ideologies with Wing trying to show Drift that his warlike ways are just self destructive, and ended up destroying Cybertron rather than saving it like was originally planned.

Later Wing meets with the Circle of Light and is reprimanded for bringing a Decepticon into the city, he's then told to stay with Drift at all times so he can't corrupt any of their people. Wing goes outside and tells Drift to come with him and tells him to prove why he's the strongest by beating him in a hand-to-hand fight. The two do this for weeks and Drift eventually manages to just touch Wing and he reveals that he didn't join the Decepticons to be a conqueror, he joined because he needed to join something to make changes and tells him about how someone who helped him once was killed by some Autobot Guards by accident leading him to killing them, going on the run and eventually developing his gun skills, leading to him becoming a bodyguard at first and then joining the Decepticons.

Wing and Drift are called to the control room as they've picked up on a coded signal and asks Drift if he can understand it, Drift lies and says that he can't. Later that night Drift leaves the city alone and speeds along to meet with the slavers as the message told him to and Lockdown reveals himself to Drift and says that Megatron is displeased.

Drift returns to the city later and Wing asks where he's been, Drift speeds off to talk to the Knights about what had just happened, and warns them that he's just had to sell them out. He reveals that he's had to admit that there's a some Transformers on the planet to the slavers because they noticed his new body and they saw Wing before. Drift tells Dai Atlas and the others that they have to fight back. The Knights agree with Drift (except Dai Atlas anyway) and they plan to fake a ship crash near by the city so they can keep the city hidden and still defend their ways. The Knights set up the ship crash and Drift is refitted to have swords and some new colours and details on his robot mode so he can join them in the fight as well.

The Knights and Drift begin their battle against the slavers with Drift honing his skills on the battlefield, inside the city Dai Atlas watches from the war room. Braid, the slaver leader challenges Wing to a battle, whilst Lockdown, seeing Drift with the Knights challenges him. During the battle Lockdown is knocked away by an explosion and Drift sees Wing being killed by Braid, so he jumps the slaver. Dai Atlas sees this as well and screams out in rage and leaves the war room. Drift and Braid fight it out, but Braid seems to be winning until he sees a nearby mountain split in half and a large city rise out from the ground.

Dai Atlas opens the city gates and leads the Cybertronians of the city in battle against the Slavers. Drift recovers enough and grabs Wing's ancient sword and slices Braid in half killing him as Lockdown watches and seethes. The battle ends and the New Crystal City Cybertronians mourn Wing and Dai Atlas gives Drift his ancient sword as a thank you and welcomes him into the Knights.

Dai Atlas decides that they can't hide any more and that they have to spread their message to the universe instead, Drift says that he's going to go alone but will still keep the lessons he's learned at heart.

Later Drift is in Japan on Earth and has finally found peace with himself.

Notes

• Several characters being shown killed in this comic actually appear in later set comics, so I've renamed those ones as different characters where appropriate
• The clothes Drift wore in his Spotlight issue is seen on Wing in this comic
• It's unclear when the last few pages, where Drift is driving around in Japan, is set, just most likely he was sent to Japan on a Skywatch operation and took a few moments to just look outwards in a cherry blossom storm before fighting some off-screen Japanese exclusive characters.
• Drift's name before Deadlock was Drift! That's easy to remember!

My Thoughts

Art

Strong lines and colours, very detailed, very nice as with most of the recent side story series'

Story

Gives Drift a pretty thorough back story showing him joining the Decepticons, leaving them, then joining the 3rd faction.

Continuity

Leads directly into Spotlight: Drift. Start is set before Infiltration.

Other

Lockdown is based on his Revenge of the Fallen toy