TRANSFORMERS: MICROMASTERS #2

"THE GRAY RACE"
Writers: James "Brad Mick" McDonough & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Rob Ruffalo
Inks: Erik Sander & Rob Armstrong | Colors: David Cheung & Josh Perez | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: The Micromasters are rescued from the Insecticons by another Micromaster named Groundshaker. He takes the Autobot Hot Rod Patrol on to a secret meeting with a mysterious individual. Left behind, the Decepticon Sports Car Patrol is approached by Shockwave, who allows them to proceed to Little Iacon. But one of the Micromasters opts to remain behind with Shockwave and as soon as his friends have moved on, Shockwave feeds him to the Insecticons, hiding in a nearby cavern.

The Hot Rod Patrol meets with their benefactor, revealed as Countdown. He says he's learned much about the universe in his travels and would like their help on some unknown crusade. Big Daddy tells him they'll think it over.

The Autobot and Decepticon Micromasters are reunited in Little Iacon. At a bar, Big Daddy earns the ire of Road Handler, and the two get into a drag race, which Road Handler wins. Unknown to the Micromasters, they are observed from a distance by surveillance gear. Meanwhile, a ship carrying two Decepticon Micromasters arrives on Cybertron.

TRANSFORMERS: MICROMASTERS #1

"DESTINED FOR NOTHING"
Writers: James "Brad Mick" McDonough & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Rob Ruffalo
Inks: Erik Sander | Colors: David Cheung | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Autobot and Decepticon Micromasters do battle, resulting in the death of an Autobot named Crunch. This leads the Autobot Hot Rod Patrol to desert and head for their former home, Little Iacon. Meanwhile the Decepticon Sports Car Patrol deserts as well, and the two groups cross paths in the Wastelands, where they're attacked by a squad of Insecticons.

Continuity Notes: Though not explained in the story itself, this issue features a column by McDonough and Patyk describing the origins of the Micromasters in this continuity: they were a group of tiny, energy efficient Transformers created as a joint Autobot/Decepticon experiment with the intention of each side taking a number of Micromasters to fight for them once they had matured. What neither side counted on was the Micromasters "growing up" together in Little Iacon and becoming friends before separating for the two sides of the war.

This story takes place following the departure of Optimus Prime's and Megatron's respective crews for Earth. The Autobots are led by Fortress Maximus and Ultra Magnus, while Shockwave, Scorponok, and Ratbat are seen in command of three separate Decepticon factions in a setup similar to Simon Furman's WAR WITHIN: THE DARK AGE.

A Micromaster crew led by Countdown returns to Cybertron, having left some time earlier with Jetfire and Omega Supreme in search of the Ark. They reveal that the two larger Autobots split from the group to follow a lead, which would ultimately result in their appearance in the ongoing GENERATION ONE series.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #8

"EXTERMINATION"
Writers: James "Brad Mick" McDonough & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Don Figueroa
Inks: Elaine To | Colors: Espen Grundetjern | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Jazz and Marissa battle the Insecticon clones while Sideswipe and Sunstreaker descend beneath the movie theater and find glowing green larvae. Elsewhere, Insecticon Bombshell works on his captive, Bumper, while speaking to Shockwave over a video monitor. When Bombshell detects Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, he awakens Kickback and Shrapnel to join him in dealing with them. As soon as the trio departs, Bumper breaks free to escape. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Bumblebee pays a visit to Spike Witwicky and announces that he's quitting the Autobots.

Back in California, the Insecticons capture Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Meanwhile, Jazz and Marissa find sanctuary and compare notes on the Insecticons. They then head under the city and find the larvae, which Jazz torches with his flamethrower. The Insecticons leave their lair to investigate while Bumper frees Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, then goes off on his own. The remaining Autobots and Marissa unite to battle the Insecticons, and Kickback and Shrapnel are defeated.

Bombshell plays his trump card by summoning the mind-controlled town populace to attack. Unwilling to retaliate against these innocent humans, the Autobots prepare for their demise. But Bumper, having procured one of Bombshell's cerebro-shells, uses it to fry the Insecticon's brain and free the citizens from his control, saving the day.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #7

"INFESTATION"
Writers: James "Brad Mick" McDonough & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Don Figueroa
Inks: Elaine To | Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Jong-Im Lee | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: In a deserted small-town movie theater, two soldiers are accosted by... something. At Area 51, audio of their experience is played for Jazz, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker by Marissa Faireborn of the Earth Defense Command. Marissa reunites the Autobots with Warpath and Bumper, and asks them to help her investigate. Jazz agrees, but orders Warpath to remain behind and keep an eye on Wheeljack and Windcharger, who are still undergoing repairs by the EDC. Meanwhile, Starscream returns to Decepticon headquarters beneath the sea to find Soundwave, Rumble and Frenzy behaving suspiciously.

After a briefing, the joint Autobot/EDC force heads for the California border town of San Desto, which is supposed to have 9,000 citizens but appears deserted. The group splits up to investigate and chaos breaks out when Bumper vanishes inside the theater. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker head inside to find him while outside, Jazz, Marissa, and the EDC troops are surrounded by dozens of Insecticons.

TRANSFORMERS SUMMER SPECIAL #1

Note: TRANSFORMERS #4 featured a short story spotlighting Megatron as part of "Megatron Month". The TRANSFORMERS SUMMER SPECIAL continued Megatron's saga. I have opted to cover both stories together.

Note 2: Rest assured, the irony of reviewing a "Summer Special" on Christmas Day is not lost on me. This is just how the schedule happened to fall.

"RUNNIN WITH THE DEVIL"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: James Raiz | Inks: Erik Sander
Colors: Elliott Kravchik | Letters Ben Lee

The Plot: Megatron is found drifting in deep space by the eccentric Junkion, Wreck-Gar. Wreck-Gar nurses Megatron back to health and takes him to his homeworld, the Planet of Junk. There, Wreck-Gar salvages a trio of Decepticon clones to serve Megatron, then Megatron kills the Junkion.

"WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE"
Story: Brad Mick* w/Adam Patyk | Pencils: Pat Lee
Breakdowns: Joe Ng | Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Colors: Alan Wang | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: On the planet Beest, Megatron and his clones battle Razorclaw, the former leader of the Predacons, now locked in his lion mode with no memory of his past life. After fighting Razorclaw off, Megatron pursues him into the jungle and defeats him. Later, Megatron makes changes to Razorclaw's systems and reunites him with the rest of the Predacons. At Megatron's command, the Predacons unite to form Predaking.

Continuity Notes: Readers will recall that we initially saw Wreck-Gar pick up Megatron at the very end of WAR AND PEACE, and then the two of them were together, scavenging for clones on the Planet of Junk, in GENERATION ONE #0.

"Runnin..." makes it clear that six months have passed since Starscream jettisoned Megatron into space in WAR AND PEACE #1. I'm not sure if this fits very well with the timeline Mick has presented so far, as the events of WAR AND PEACE seemed to occur over a pretty short span, and the entirety of the Sunstorm arc in GENERATION ONE took place in roughly two days. I would suggest that time could have passed between the two series, but unless Starscream's crew spent six months traveling from Cybertron to Earth, that seems unlikely as well.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #6

"ATONEMENT"
Writers: James "Brad Mick" McDonough & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Don Figueroa
Inks: Elaine To | Colors: Espen Grundetjern | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Deep beneath the Earth's surface, as Sunstorm sinks into a pool of glowing liquid, Starscream prepares to execute Bumblebee. Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Prowl holds a meeting of several Autobots and they debate returning to Earth. Ultimately the decision is reached to do so. And back on Earth, Warpath and Bumper, along with the still-unconscious Jazz and the rest, are driven into the desert aboard a human truck, which descends underground via a concealed elevator. Elsewhere, Omega Supreme and Cliffjumper worry over their friends.

Back underground, Sunstorm rises once more and attacks Starscream, then grabs Bumblebee and prepares to kill him. But his body has a reaction to the liquid in which he was submerged and he begins to disintegrate. Jetfire comes around and enters the fray, causing Sunstorm to retreat back to the surface and into the sky. Jetfire appeals to the friendship he once shared with Starscream, then pursues Sunstorm. Starscream picks up the unconscious Bumblebee and returns to the surface.

Meanwhile, high in the sky, Jetfire realizes Sunstorm is on the verge of self-destructing. While Starscream deposits Bumblebee on a beach somewhere and departs, Jetfire pushes Sunstorm out of the atmosphere, where both are enveloped in a massive explosion.

On Earth, Bumblebee observes Jetfire's demise, salutes, and abandons his blaster on the beach as he walks away.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #5

"ORIGINAL SIN"
Writers: Brad Mick* & Adam Patyk | Pencils: Don Figueroa
Inks: Elaine To | Colors: Espen Grundetjern | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Jetfire check on the defeated Omega Supreme and Jetfire explains how he and Omega wound up on Earth. Leaving Cliffjumper behind to guard the recovering Omega, Bumblebee and Jetfire take off to find Sunstorm. Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Prowl and Perceptor discuss the mystery of Vector Sigma and Sunstorm's escape, and Prowl enters a meeting with several top Autobots.

Back on Earth, Jetfire and Bumblebee find Sunstorm forcing Starscream to open a seal on the ground in Alaska. The seal opens and the Decepticons enter, followed by the Autobots. Underground, Jetfire defeats Starscream but Sunstorm takes Bumblebee hostage. However Starscream reveals he was playing possum and takes out both Sunstorm and Jetfire.

Continuity Notes: Suddenly the series has begun to include editorial footnotes. This issue references MICROMASTERS #1, WAR AND PEACE #6, and GENERATION ONE #3.

Jetfire explains that he and Omega Supreme were dispatched from Cybertron some time ago to find the missing Ark and detected its energy signature on Earth -- but as they approached the planet they were attacked by an unknown Transformer (shown to readers as Scourge). Jetfire trapped the hostile in a stasis pod in Alaska and both were apparently caught in an avalanche, but the story is interrupted before Jetfire can explain what happened next.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #4

"THE OMEGA EFFECT"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Don Figueroa | Inks: Elaine To
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffalo | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: On Cybertron, millions of years ago, Megatron admonishes Starscream for acting without permission, and asserts his dominance as the Decepticons' leader. Then, in the present, Starscream is attacked by the Autobot battle station, Omega Supreme. Starscream deactivates the energy siphon the Autobots planted on Sunstorm, and Sunstorm challenges Omega.

On Cybertron, Prowl researches the supercomputer Vector Sigma and discusses the next day's important meeting with Ultra Magnus. Meanwhile, on Earth, Warpath and Bumper pull Jazz, Wheeljack, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker from a lake in Oregon, then are confronted by the Earth Defense Command.

In Alaska, Jetfire, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Brawn return to the Orion following their fight with Sunstorm, to find the crew all disabled. Meanwhile, Sunstorm and Omega Supreme fight, with Omega apparently victorious. But when Omega raises his protective face shield to inspect his downed foe, Sunstorm attacks again.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #3

"SKYFIRE"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Don Figueroa | Inks: Elaine To
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffalo | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: In a brief flashback, within Decepticon headquarters, Jetfire and Sunstorm skirmish, with Jetfire victorious. Then, aboard the Orion in the present, Jetfire and Starscream explain Sunstorm's capabilities to Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Brawn. Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Prowl and Ultra Magnus deal with civil unrest over the Autobots' return, and Kup prompts Prowl to consider moving the Autobots to another planet.

Back on Earth, the Autobots recharge Starscream's men to fifty percent power and let them go, in exchange for Starscream revealing the location of Jazz and the others. But first, Ratchet and Jetfire extract a genetic sample from Starscream, which they use to create a decoy to lure Sunstorm out. Bumblebee leads an Autobot team to fight the approaching Sunstorm, leaving Jetfire behind to guard Starscream. But Sunstorm proves too powerful, forcing Jetfire to abandon his post. With his help, using the decoy -- which doubles as an energy siphon -- the Autobots defeat Sunstorm, but he flies away.

Later, the weakened Sunstorm finds Starscream hiding out in Alaska, but he's followed by another unknown Transformer who ambushes the duo.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #2

"BLACK SUNSHINE"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Don Figueroa | Inks: Elaine To
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffalo | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Starscream's Earthbound Decepticons are attacked by Sunstorm, who defeats all but Bruticus and Starscream. The Autobot ship Orion arrives and subdues Bruticus, giving Starscream an opportunity to escape. Sunstorm gives chase after shooting down the Orion.

On Cybertron, Prowl and Ironhide supervise the combat training of a handful of Autobots, then check in on Optimus Prime's repairs and visit with Ultra Magnus, whose own repairs are complete. They also receive a report from the Protectobots, who have found the lab from which Sunstorm escaped.

Sunstorm follows Starscream to the Decepticon ship Nemesis beneath Earth's ocean, while Bumblebee and his crew hook up with Brawn and Ratchet at the ruins of the Ark, unaware a human helicopter is spying on them. Elsewhere, Starscream explains to Sunstorm how he and his men arrived on Earth, then Sunstorm is ambushed by a Transformer released from stasis by Starscream.

Finally, the Autobots cloak the Orion and head aboard, but Bumblebee is stopped before boarding by Starscream and his companion, Jetfire.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #1

"NIGHT OF THE COMBATICONS"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Don Figueroa | Inks: Elaine To
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffalo | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: Somewhere in Oregon, Starscream gloats over the defeated Earthbound Autobots but notices two are missing. He sends his minion, Bruticus, to track them down. Meanwhile, Ratchet and Brawn make their way back to the Ark and attempt to slip past its defense systems, on guard against any intruders.

On Cybertron, Runabout and Runamuck explore Shockwave's laboratory and accidentally release a mysterious robot who destroys both of them and leaves the planet. Back on Earth, Bruticus invades the Ark and releases the imprisoned Soundwave, Skywarp, and Thundercracker. Brawn contacts the Autobot relief shuttle Orion, en route to Earth under Bumblebee's command, and explains the situation on Earth. Meanwhile, Ratchet blows up the Ark to keep it out of Starscream's hands.

Starscream subdues Ratchet and Brawn while the Orion enters Earth orbit. But the shuttle is passed by the robot from Cybertron, revealed as a jet of the same type as Starscream and company.

TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE #0

Story: Brad Mick* | Art: Pat Lee, Don Figueroa, & Joe Ng
Inks: Elaine To, Rob Armstrong, & Erik Sander
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffalo | Flats: Kenny Li & Ferd Poblete
Additional Colors: David Cheung, Jong-Im Lee, Elliot Kravchik, Sigmund Torres
Letters: Ben Lee | President: Pat Lee | VP/Editor-in-Chief: Roger Lee
Creative Director: James McDonough | Project Manager: Derek Choo-Wing

The Plot: A mysterious narrative conversation recaps certain events in the universe, including Unicron devouring the planet Lithone and giving birth to Cyclonus, Scourge's discovery of Cybertron and betrayal by Shockwave, a human military unit's capture of several deactivated Transformers, Optimus Prime's comatose state and his team left on Earth, and Megatron's disappearance.

The conversation is revealed to be between a trio of Quintessons, who have plans to find Megatron and judge him.

Meanwhile, on the Planet of Junk, Wreck-Gar presents Megatron with a deactivated Transformer, which Megatron plans to use for some unknown purpose.

Continuity Notes: This issue serves as a recap of the previous two mini-series, as well as a prologue for the ongoing TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION ONE comic, but it comes with a few new nuggets of information, as well: Unicron created Scourge and has now created Cyclonus as well. And it seems the Scourge who discovered Cybertron in WAR AND PEACE was in fact one of a large fleet of identical Transformers. As a result, it's unclear to the Quintessons whether the Scourge who found Cybertron was the same one that appeared on Earth in WAR AND PEACE #1.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #6

"REVELATION"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblete | Letters: Ben Lee
Colors: Espen Grundetjern, Alan Wang, Rob Ruffolo, Ramil Sunga & Pat Lee

The Plot: In the Vector Sigma chamber, Shockwave explains to Optimus Prime that 7.9 million years ago, after the Autobots and Decepticons led by Prime and Megatron departed Cybertron, the entire planet and all Transformers on it went into hibernation. Then, three thousand years ago, Shockwave awakened and set about reactivating the others and taking control of the planet. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus slowly makes his way toward the chamber.

Outside, the Autobots and Decepticons fight while the ruling Autobot council debates whether to join the action. Meanwhile, Starscream, Soundwave, Rumble, Frenzy, Skywarp, and Thundercracker haul a quintet of deactivated Decepticons to the Autobot shuttle Sky Linx and attempt to leave the planet, but Sky Lynx has plans of his own.

Shockwave continues his story, claiming responsibility for the destruction of Ark II as a way to delay the Transformers' return to Cybertron, thus buying him more time to prepare his forces to invade Earth. Outside, the battle rages on as Grimlock joins the fray, followed in short order by the Autobot council.

Meanwhile, Shockwave declares that some secret knowledge about the history of the Transformer race lies buried on Earth and he intends to find it. But Ultra Magnus, sans his exterior armor, shows up and together he and Prime defeat Shockwave, sending him plummeting into a seemingly bottomless pit. Grimlock saves the pair and they exit Shockwave's citadel.

In deep space, Megatron's drifting body is found by a strange robot in a starship.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #5

"COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblete | Letters: Ben Lee
Colors: Espen Grundetjern, Pat Lee, Alan Wang, Rob Ruffalo, Ramil Sunga & Gary Yeung

The Plot: Optimus Prime leads the Autobot resistance to retake Iacon, as Hot Rod recalls the chain of events which led to this moment, recapping Prime concocting a plan of attack and uniting all of Cybertron's disparate resistance cells under one banner. Meanwhile, Perceptor provides Ultra Magnus with a damage report on the Dinobots and Magnus orders them repaired. Elsewhere, Shockwave is fully repaired following his fight with Grimlock and emerges from regeneration to find Iacon under siege. As he orders a counterattack, Starscream infiltrates Iacon's "monitor womb", where he's joined by Soundwave.

Ultra Magnus confronts Shockwave about the Stunticons' escape and Shockwave blasts him. Starscream broadcasts the altercation to the rest of Cybertron and an enraged Optimus Prime storms Shockwave's citadel alone. There he finds Ultra Magnus mortally wounded. With his dying breath, Magnus directs Prime toward Shockwave's escape route. Prime follows a hidden tunnel underground to find Shockwave waiting in the Vector Sigma chamber. Shockwave defeats Prime and seizes the Matrix of Leadership, which he uses to unlock Vector Sigma, an ancient supercomputer, as the remaining Transformers look on via Starscream's spy footage.

The Matrix releases a burst of energy which leaves Cybertron and, unknown to the Transformers, makes contact with the all-powerful Unicron. While, closer to home, Ultra Magnus's corpse is bathed with Matrix energy and he reawakens.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #4

"PASSIVE AGGRESSION"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblete
Colors: Espen Grundetjern, Alan Wang, & Gary Yeung | Letters: Ben Lee

The Plot: The Stunticons, united as Menasor, rampage through Cybertron's Quadrant Epsilon. Ultra Magnus and his team eventually take them out. Meanwhile, the Dinobots lay siege to Iacon and Grimlock corners Shockwave and Blitzwing. Elsewhere, the escaped Autobots are introduced to Smokescreen, a member of the Autobot resistance, who takes Prowl and Ironhide to meet other resistance members.

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime comes around in a different resistance cell's headquarters, where he meets some of its members, including Hot Rod. In Iacon, the Dinobots are defeated one by one by Ultra Magnus. Back at resistance HQ, Optimus Prime is introduced to the rest of Hot Rod's cell. Soon Smokescreen arrives with Springer, Prowl, and Ironhide, and reports that Shockwave has released the city's sentinel robots.

Continuity Notes: Ultra Magnus directly refers to Optimus Prime as his brother in the story's opening pages. After the fight, Ultra Magnus's men find a blaster belonging to Rumble or Frenzy in the detention center wreckage.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #3

"COLD WAR"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblete
Colors: Espen Grundetjern, Alan Wang, & Gary Young | Letters: Paul Villafuerte

The Plot: In the past, somewhere on Cybertron, Shockwave is attacked by Sharkticons and rescued by Scourge. In the present, Shockwave has the ancient Autobot Alpha Trion prisoner. On Earth, Jazz's team searches Alaska for Scourge's pod, but finds no trace of him or of it. They are secretly observed by human military operatives who have captured Scourge.

The Dinobots crash-land on Cybertron, observed by Autobots Hot Rod, Blurr, and Springer. Meanwhile, Shockwave sends Rumble and Frenzy on a secret mission, then argues with Ultra Magnus over the fates of the captured Autobots. Elsewhere, the Dinobots are found by Decepticons Octane and Sixshot. In a Decepticon detention center, Rumble and Frenzy carry out Shockwave's mission -- freeing the captive Stunticons -- but are stopped on their way out by Starscream.

An Autobot council debates Perceptor's recent findings that Shockwave's machinations may be behind Cybertron drifting through space. Ultra Magnus urges them to challenge Shockwave's authority, but the meeting is interrupted when it's discovered the Stunticons are wreaking havoc elsewhere. Ultra Magnus gathers a team to stop the escaped prisoners.

The Dinobots, having defeated Octane and hijacked Sixshot, head for parts unknown. Meanwhile, Shockwave orders the Autobots brought to him while Ultra Magnus is occupied. But Autobot loyalists free the prisoners instead, taking Optimus Prime one way and the rest of his team another. Meanwhile, the Dinobots lay siege to Iacon. In tunnels beneath Cybertron, Prime's guide, Sandstorm, is killed by the Decepticon Runabout, who is in turn eaten by a Sharkticon which turns its attention to Optimus.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #2

"BROTHERS' BURDEN"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblate
Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Alan Wang | Letters: Paul Villafuerte

The Plot: Ultra Magnus's team surrounds Autobot headquarters and demands the Autobots' surrender. Meanwhile, the Decepticons return to Cybertron, where Shockwave prepares to reintegrate them into society. On Earth, Optimus Prime surrenders his forces to Ultra Magnus, but not before secretly dispatching seven of his warriors to nearby Portland for an unknown purpose.

On Cybertron, chief scientist Perceptor finds that the planet has left its orbit and is moving. Meanwhile, Shockwave explains to the Deceptions that all Transformers now possess energy converters which allow the planet itself to provide them with unlimited power. On Earth, Ultra Magnus loads the captured Autbots aboard his shuttle, where they're reunited with Prowl's group, and takes off. In the Arctic, Grimlock finds a secret Decepticon base where Megatron was constructing a space shuttle, and sees his fellow Dinobots there as well, in stasis.

On Cyberton, most of the Decepticons join Shockwave's cause, while Starscream plots against him and captures Soundwave. Ultra Magnus makes his final approach to the planet and is informed by Shockwave that the Autobots will be deactivated upon landing.

TRANSFORMERS: WAR AND PEACE #1

"NEW WORLD ORDER"
Writer: Brad Mick* | Pencils: Pat Lee | Inks: Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds: Edwin Garcia | Layout Assists: Ferd Poblate
Colors: Espen Grundetjern, Alan Wang, & Paul Villafuerte | Letters: Paul Villafuerte

The Plot: In Alaska, the Autobots and Decepticons fight over an Autobot pod. The pod's occupant is revealed as Decepticon Scourge, but the fight is soon interrupted by a group of Transformers from Cybertron, led by Megatron's former military strategist, Shockwave. These forces subdue Megatron and capture the Decepticons, but the Autobots retreat, leaving a small force behind, led by Prowl, to monitor Shockwave's group. But Shockwave soon leaves Earth with the Decepticons, and dispatches another force to capture the Autobots.

At Autobot headquarters the next day, the Autobots debate whether to surrender to Shockwave, having been told by him that the war on Cybertron is over. Meanwhile, Prowl's team is ambushed by Shockwave's secondary force. In space, the ever-traitorous Starscream jettisons the unconscious Megatron from Shockwave's starship.

Continuity Notes: This story begins en media res a year after "Prime Directive" ended. Wheeljack, who was apparently killed at the conclusion of "Prime Directive", is seen among the Autobots. Also, Blitzwing, who was shown as an Earthbound Decepticon in an Ark II flashback in the previous story, is now among Shockwave's troops instead.

Grimlock, who, in "Prime Directive", betrayed the Autobots to join Megatron and then deserted the Deceptions as well, arrives in Alaska to aid the Autobots against Shockwave's team, then returns to Autobot headquarters. He's still wearing a Decepticon sigil on his chest, however.