IDW - Transformers: War's End #4

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Inks by: Matt Froese, Rik Mack & Maria Keane

Colours by: John-Paul Bove

Colour Assists by: Ed Pirrie & Ben Pirrie

Letters by: Jake M. Wood & Nathan Widick

Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editors: David Mariotte & Tom Waltz

Plot

Exarchon attempts to infest the body of Devastator, but due to his gestalt spark, he can resist, much to Exarchon's shock. The stress of the defiance causes Devastator to fall apart into his component parts.

Exarchon turns to the other bots assembles around him to usurp one of them instead, leading to most of them to run away in fear.

Flamewar is left behind by accident, as she was asking the Constructicons what it was like to be combined, when Exarchon attacks her, intending to take her body, but is interrupted by Soundblaster, who informs him that there are enemies nearby, taking him down below again. Flamewar runs away too, before she can be attacked again.

Elsewhere, the assembles Autobots and Decepticons work on their plans, when the Decepticon scientists arrive, revealing their plan to use the last Titanspark, whose casing has been rigged to trap Exarchon if he tries to usurp it. They are also going to have Mindwipe hypnotize Exarchon to make him attempt it. The assembled forces agree with this plan, despite it sacrificing a future Titan...

Down below, Exarchon infestsbgis spark into the giant drill and launches it towards the Allspark, where he intends to fuse with the planet itself, and conquer the world.

The Autobot team inside the base hear all of this, and start tunneling to intercept the drill with Zetar.

Exarchon ends up returning to the surface with the Clone-Drones, whist Soundblaster and his Infiltration Troopers go after the Autobots, to allow the plan to succeed.

On the surface, the combined forces meet with Exarchon's troops, and a full battle erupts, leading to Mindwipe managing to hypnotize Exarchon, and Cyclonus opens the Titanspark casing for him to usurp.

With Exarchon seemingly defeated, Onslaught and the others are forced to surrender, and Sixshot collects the spark to bring to Megatron, however Pyra Magna shatters the spark, not allowing Megatron to have an Exarchon-infused Titanspark.

The underground team manage to reach the drill, but are attacked by Soundblaster and his crew, Zetar does manage to core through the drill, destroying it, but hurting himself, and causing a large explosion in the process.

The Autobots escape the drill tunnel before it collapses in on itself, and Landmine deliberately leaves Frenzy there, recognising him as the one who killed Brainstorm, and starting this whole situation.

On the surface, Sixshot and Pyra Magna split up their forces, due to their differing ideologies, and Cyclonus decides to remain in the Canyons, now that his war is finally over. Sixshot returns towards Iacon with the Constructicons, and Pyra is intending to extract the Autobots still down below.

Landmine and the others down below make their ways out of the tunnel, and into the lab, where they hear a "worp" sound, and notice that the Imploder that was on display in the lab is now missing...

Characters

Autobot

Pyra Magna - Truck

Sunstreaker - Car

Jumpstream - Car

Windcharger - Car

Landmine - Plough Buggy

Geomotus - Radar Buggy

Sureshot - Buggy

Pointblank - Car

Zetar - Drill Tank

Decepticon

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

Slipstream - Jet

Shadow Striker - Car

Flamewar - Motorcycle

Hyperdrive - Car

Blackjack - Car

Bitstream - Jet

Mindwipe - Bat

Sparkstalker - Insect Monster

Flamefeather - Bird Monster

Cindersaur - Lizard Monster

Swift - Helicopter

Tracer - Helicopter

Roughstuff - Truck

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Shockwave - Flying Artillery (Mentioned)

Threefold Spark

Exarchon/Deathsaurus - Dragon Body Abandoned for Titanspark

Exarchon - Drill Cores by Zetar

Soundblaster - Hovercraft Likely Trapped in Tunnel Rubble

Rumble - Cassette Likely Trapped in Tunnel Rubble

Frenzy - Cassette Trapped in Alternate Mode, Trapped in Tunnel Rubble 

Onslaught - Tank Captured by Sixshot

Brawl - Tank Captured by Sixshot

Vortex - Helicopter Likely Captured by Sixshot

Clone-Drone Army - Jets

Other Cybertronian

Last Titanspark Rigged to trap Exarchon, destroyed by Pyra Magna when Infested

Cyclonus - Jet

Skywarp - Jet 

Scrapper - Front End Loader

Bonecrusher - Bulldozer

Scavenger - Excavator

Long Haul - Dump Truck

Hook - Crane

Mixmaster - Mixing Truck

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt 

Grudge (Ghost)

Highfire (Ghost)

Paragon (Ghost)

Provoke (Ghost)

Gridlock (Ghost)

Primus (Mentioned)

Brainstorm - Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Notes

• This issue marks the finale of the Wars End series, and is concurrently the end of the Transformers main comic series, to be followed up by Fate of Cybertron at the end of June.
• Exarchon refers to the Clone-Drone Army as "Seekers" this issue, this is a bit of an error, since the Seekers were formed to counter the Clone-Drones.
• Strangely, we don't see the Deathsaurus body, post-Exarchon's extraction. While previous issues clarify that he would be dead, we never see it here 
• We don't see what happens to Vortex, Soundblaster, Rumble or Frenzy at this issue's climax. It can be assumed that Vortex was captured along with the other Combaticons, but the latter three appear to be trapped underground. I wonder if Fate of Cybertron will show us anything about them?
• Zetar cores through the drill that was infused with Exarchon's spark, which was designed to infect the Allspark, and never speaks, or shows his eyes after the attack...so is there a chance that Exarchon somehow infested inside Zetar when he destroyed the drill?
• Skywarp steals the Imploder that he appeared with at the end of Transformers #43 from Exarchon's Sonic Canyon base, and we know that he goes to intercept Optimus and his crew on their way to Darkmount with it.
• Cyclonus seems to retire this issue from fighting, now that Exarchon is finally (hopefully) dead.
• So it seems like, if the original timeline would have been maintained, then Exarchon's drill would have hit the Allspark, and infested the planet, making it inhospitable for Cybertronians, leading to their deaths or enslavement.

IDW - Transformers #35

Title: Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust II

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz & Evan Gauntt

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

The Autobot team, led by Pyra Magna arrive to fight off the Insecticon Swarm, and manage to kill many of them, forcing the rest to retreat. Pyra and Wheeljack head inside "House" to meet with the reclusive scientist.

Skywarp arrives outside Shockwave's lab, and tries to reunite with his former teammate, but the former Exarchon follower simply arms up, prepared to fire on the teleporter. Skywarp asks what the deal with the clones swarming to the Sea of Rust is about, with Shockwave explaining it briefly as being due to the Enigma of Combination, leading to Skywarp to teleport away, saying he'll be back soon....

At Termagax's "House" she meets with Pyra, who simply wants to have permission to place sentries in the facility too, to prepare for the upcoming battle. Wheeljack tells Landmine and Geomotus that they should leave before the battle begins, as they aren't fighters.

Soon, the Autobots fortify the area around "House" whilst waiting for the rest of the attack force, led by Optimus Prime to arrive.

Optimus meets with Termagax too, with Termagax determined to make it clear that she will NOT choose a side in this war, and will not give him the Enigma either. Optimus however rebutes that Termagax, as both the founder of the Ascenticons and Megatron's mentor, is the one person who cannot be allowed to remain neutral, and she has to choose a side.

Sixshot leads a team of Decepticons to the Sea of Rust, and begins the attack on "House", sending the Rainmakers in first, however Pyra knew this would happen, and has the sentries ready. Arcee and Sureshot use their sniper skills to take down Ion Storm and Acid Storm, an Windcharger internally crushed Nova Storm too, after a bit of trouble with her impenetrable bodyframe.

A full-on battle begins between the Autobots and Decepticons. Inside "House", Termagax has made her choice, as she deploys an army of Spectrosynth Drones onto the battlefield....

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Pyra Magna - Fire Truck

Ironhide - Van

Novastar - Car

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Springer - Helicopter/Car

Blades - Helicopter

Rust Dust - Motorcycle

Groundbreaker - Car

Sunstreaker - Car

Smokescreen - Car

Arcee - Car

Sureshot - Buggy

Windcharger - Car

Wheeljack - Race Car

Flareup - Motorcycle

Groove - Motorcycle

Inferno - Fire Truck

Javelin - Car

Brawn - Van

Subsea - Submarine

Pipes - Truck

Grotesque - Winged Beast

Backstreet - Race Car

Pointblank - Van

Zetar - Drill Tank

Powertrain - Truck

Highjump - Van

Big Daddy - Car

Trip-up - Car

Other Autobots

Nominus Prime - Jet (Mentioned) Dead

Sentinel Prime - Space Shuttle (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

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

Shockwave - Flying Artillery

Shadow Striker - Car

Hyperdrive - Car

Flamewar - Motorcycle

Slipstream - Jet

Nova Storm - Jet Internals Crushed by Windcharger

Ion Storm - Jet Shot Out of Sky by Arcee

Acid Storm - Jet Shot Out of Sky by Sureshot

Roadtrap - Van

Battleslash - Helicopter

Runamuck - Car

Runabout - Car

Cindersaur - Lizard Monster

Flamefeather - Bird Monster

Skytread - Tank and Jet

Gutcruncher

Crasher - Race Car

Nautilator - Lobster

Twirl - Jet

Swift - Helicopter

Refraktor - Hovercraft

Direct-Hit - Truck

Power Punch - Truck

Weirdwolf - Wolf

Offroad - Van

Scatterspike - Van

Insecticon Swarm - Insects Some destroyed by Autobots

Other Decepticons

Megatron - Tank (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Termagax - Armoured Van

Geomotus - Buggy

Landmine - Buggy

Skywarp - Jet

Constructicons (Mentioned)

Other

"House"

Spectrosynth Drones

Rust Worms

Termagax's Specimens In Jars

Notes

• Wheeljack is the only major character from the Escape miniseries to join the defense of Termagax. Most likely the others (like Nautica, Hound etc) are busy fortifying Darkmount.
• Shockwave's extra weapons and armour is based on his Siege figure's extra accessories. I believe this is the first time we've seen the extra parts of a figure on panel in this series so far.
• Subsea mentions that the Senate Guard have renamed themselves as the "Prime Guard"
• Termagax reveals that she has possessed the Enigma of Combination since it was used on the Constructicons, with permission by both Nominus and Sentinel Primes. Most likely this was in effort to stop Cybertronian expansionism, like we saw with the population control in earlier issues.
• It's unclear if the Rainmakers survived their attacks in this issue, but after two getting shot through their jet modes, and plummeting to the ground, and Nova Storm getting internally crushed by Windcharger, before also plummeting, I'd expect them to at least have some bad injuries...
• The final panels make it pretty unclear if Termagax is sending her drones to attack the Autobots, Decepticons or both!
• Based on the title of this storyline referencing Skywarp, and him not really appearing much in the story itself in the past couple of issues, I'm going to guess that he will teleport in at the end of the fight, and either abduct Termagax or steal the Enigma (again, possibly both)

IDW - Transformers #34

Title: Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust I

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Anna Malkova

Colours by: David Garcia Cruz & Evan Gauntt

Letters & Design by: Jake M. Wood

Editor: David Mariotte

Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer

Supervising Editor: Tom Waltz

Plot

Geomotus and Landmine investigate the crash site of the Titan Citadel in the Sea of Rust, and find the rust worms in a frenzy. Termagax appears behind them, still on the run from the Decepticons, and explains that the worms devoured Citadel's body, and are now hungry for more.

The two researchers are invited inside House, where she offers them her hospitality. Unfortunately, a team of Decepticon Seekers find them, and intend to take down Termagax for Megatron. Red Wing decides to head back so he can report this to Megatron, but the others intend to impress their leader by taking her out themselves. However, Termagax isn't helpless, and launches House's arsenal on them, forcing Wingstun to also flee and Space Case to crash into the Sea of Rust, to die.

At the Crystal City, Optimus has officially dubbed his resistance against the Decepticons as the Autobots, and begins plans to search for Termagax, as he has learned that she possesses the Enigma of Combination, thanks to Bumblebee's intel. Highbrow reports that he actually knows where she is, since Geomotus reported that he's met with her, before entering a suppression field.

In Iacon, Megatron meets with Skywarp, who tries to convince the Decepticon leader to allow him to join his side for himnto have fun, but Megatron is unconvinced.

Soundwave reports Termagax's location at the Sea of Rust, and decides to use the Shockwave's troops to attack her, since he's closer, which Shockwave outsources to the Insecticon Swarm, to simply overwhelm her. Shockwave intends to use this to seizebthr Enigma for himself, do he keeps the monopoly of Combiners, since Devastator is under his influence in space....

In the medical center, Jumpstream wakes up from her brief coma, to be good by Perceptor that her "dimension hop" was actually time travel, terrifying her, as she reveals that this means Exarchon is still out there, and that he will win another eat in the future!

Back at the Sea of Rust, the Insecticon Swarm approaches House, and it begins fighting them off. Inside, Termagax explains that the reason the Decepticons want her is because she holds the Enigma of Combination, and also reveals that even though she is sceptical of the existence of the Thirteen Primes, she has experienced two of their artefacts, so she has surmised that the others also exist somewhere, and she is determined to find them.

House's arsenal finally runs out, and Termagax apologizes to her friends for getting them killed, when House detects more arrivals, a team of Autobots have come to rescue them!

Characters

Autobot

Optimus Prime - Truck

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Pyra Magna - Truck

Highbrow - Helicopter

Chromia - Car

Ratchet - Ambulance

Perceptor

Jumpstream - Car

Windblade - VTOL Jet

Springer - Helicopter/Car

Blades - Helicopter

Sky Lynx - Space Shuttle

Arcee - Car

Kup - Pick-up Truck

Ironhide - Van

Strongarm - Van

Huffer - Truck

Inferno - Fire Truck

Blaster

Vibes

Tap-Out - Car

Chromedome - Car

Pointblank - Car

Grapple - Crane

Decepticon

Megatron - Tank

Soundwave - Hovercraft

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

Nova Storm - Jet

Red Wing - Jet

Wingstun - Jet

Space Case - Jet Eaten by Rust Worms

Shockwave - Flying Artillery

Soundblaster - Hovercraft

Bombshell - Bill Weevil

Kickback - Locust

Skrapnel - Stag Beetle

Insecticon Swarm Many Destroyed by House

Nacelle - Jet (Mentioned)

Shockwave's Insecticon Clones (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Termagax - Armoured Van

Geomotus - Buggy

Landmine - Buggy

Skywarp - Jet

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt (Flashback)

Abominus - Terrorcon Gestalt (Flashback)

Nexus Prime (Flashback)

Solus Prime (Flashback)

Vector Prime (Flashback)

Quintus Prime (Flashback)

Micronus Prime (Flashback)

Alchemist Prime (Flashback)

Liege Maximo (Flashback)

Exarchon (Mentioned)

Citadel - Titan Ship (Mentioned) Dead, Eaten by Rust Worms

Bumblebee - Winged Hovercraft (Mentioned)

Primus (Mentioned)

The Other Primes (Mentioned)

The Firstforged (Mentioned)

Other

"House"

Rust Worms

Termagax's "Samples" In jars

Notes

• This issue opens by revealing that the largest Titan, Citadel, was eaten by the rust worms when he crashed.. guess he has no chance of revival now then!
• Both Geomotus and Landmine are familiar with Termagax, implying that both are relatively older, since she's been in seclusion since shortly after the Nominus Editcbwas enforced.
• Red Wing previously ran away when he saw Windcharger was amongst the Autobot reinforcements, who ended up badly hurting Nacelle. This time he manages to escape being eaten alive by the rust worms! He's a smart fella!
• It's still unclear if House is a sentient being here. But we have learned that he's armed to the teeth.
• It's taken 34 issues, but the Autobots are now officially the faction of Optimus and his followers, instead of just the political party he was associated with.
• We get a brief cameo from Blaster in the Autobot groupshot, but I can't tell if he's a virtual retool of Siege Soundwave or a new design yet...there are rumours of a new Blaster toy in the pipeline though...
• Huffer's character model has been modified from being based on his Power of the Primes toy to one closer to (but not quite) his Kingdom toy.
• It's confirmed that Soundblaster is a clone here, but the circumstances of it, and whether Soundwave is aware of him is still unknown.
• The Insecticon Clone army we saw at the end of Galaxies is referenced here, as Shockwave explains that he doesn't want anyone to know if their existence yet.
• Shockwave mentions that there are fourteen artefacts of the Primes. We see in her fantasy that the Matrix and Star Saber are separate here, rather than the Matrix just being a part of the sword.
• Also, we see a mask among the artefacts, if we assume that is the Triptych mask then it's a little different to the one we've seen in the past, which had three faces, one for the past, future and present. It's possible it's the Lenses of Alchemist Prime, but, why is there a full face there?