The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10

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"The Becoming" Dark Cybertron Chapter 10
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	March 12, 2014
Cover date	March 2014
Written by	James Roberts and John Barber
Art by	Alex Milne, Brendan Cahill, and Livio Ramondelli
Additional inks	Brian Shearer
Colors by	Josh Perez and Livio Ramondelli
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era (2014)

As the Autobots and Decepticons enjoy a brief moment of peace and downtime following the Necrotitan's defeat, some old wounds are opened wide... and at long last, the terrifying enormity of Shockwave's plan is finally revealed.

Synopsis

With the Dead Universe contracting around them at increasing speed, Optimus Prime and his team are distressed to discover that the portal they used to cross over from the living universe has closed. Nightbeat discovers a miniscule tear in the fabric of the universe, large enough only to admit a short message from Wheelie, who can do nothing but verify their dire straits. Kup proposes that the others use the portal within him to escape, but Nightbeat refuses; having observed that all Dead Universe residents seem to have a link connecting the worlds within them, he suggests that he, being dead already, be the one to sacrifice themselves. Prime tries to speak up, but Rodimus shouts him down, unwilling to let him give up his life again... except that wasn't what Prime was going to say. From somewhere, he and Cyclonus can hear singing...

On Cybertron, Shockwave at last initiates the final stage of his plan. With Galvatron held fast in Monstructor's arms, Jhiaxus uses his former ally's link to the Dead Universe in conjunction with the chronal drive of Turmoil's ship to drain the life-energy out of the Dead Universe from its very beginning (in turn, causing it to be, and always have been, dead). In response to Galvatron's demands, Shockwave explains the history of his Regenesis ores, and how they are being employed: by combining Ore-14 and Ore-2 in the Necrotitan and then exposing the result to the transmutative Ore-7, brought by Metroplex, he has fundamentally altered the nature of life and death... by merging Ore-6 with Ore-8 he has gained mastery of the potential energy of all matter... and by blending Ore-1 with Ore-13, time is now at his command... all to facilitate the very real "Dark Cybertron" prophecy. His pontifications are observed by Metalhawk and a puzzled Waspinator, who realize that things are much worse than they originally believed—a conclusion that has also been reached by the discorporated Skywarp, who manages to solidify himself long enough to teleport the pair out of the cavern.

In the wake of the Necrotitan's defeat, the Autobots and Decepticons accomplish the unlikely achievement of celebrating together. Bumblebee has Megatron's wounds tended to by Ratchet, though the medi-bot is less than happy about the task, even in the face of Megatron's genuine compliments as he goes about his work, including the revelation of his own pre-war desire to become a medic. The Constructicons arrive to continue gushing over a frustrated Prowl; Ultra Magnus tries and fails to convince a reluctant Chromedome into using his mnemosurgery skills on Metroplex; and most everyone else retires to Swerve's for a drink and a song. Just as Brainstorm—grumpy from a "sparkache"—is taking Bluestreak to task over his linguistic quirks, Swerve is reduced to a quivering mass by the arrival of his hero, Blurr, who he promptly embarrasses himself in front of.

A little later, Prowl visits the med-center to see Bumblebee, arriving just as Ratchet, Fixit, and Flatline have completed the task of rebuilding Arcee with a new body; asking if she has made the change as part of a fresh start, he only gets sarcasm in return. 'Bee is busy talking with Megatron—who is recalling the Simanzi Massacre and starting to call into question much of his approach to the war—so instead, Prowl goes looking for Chromedome, finding him brooding on a cliff overlooking the city. The talk that follows is curt and tense, with Prowl angry at Chromedome for invading his mind, and Chromedome angry at Prowl for putting Overlord on the Lost Light, leading to Rewind's death... and when Prowl fails to suppress a self-satisfied smirk, Chromedome snaps, grabs him, and hurls him over the cliff edge!

Within Metroplex, Ultra Magnus gets an update on the Titan's condition from Windblade and Nautica, as he heals thanks to the infusion of Ore-7. Though answers are sparing, Windblade has at least discerned that Metroplex picked up the ore at some point in the past, and jettisoned it from his body in his thumb when he was attacked by the Ammonites, who then infected him with the alchemical virus. Nautica realizes that Magnus wants to ask Metroplex about the Knights of Cybertron, the object of the Lost Light's quest, and is able to tell him that she once asked the same question, only to be told by the Titan that none of them deserved to know the truth. Their discussion is interrupted when Magnus receives a communication alerting him to Chromedome and Prowl's fight, and he heads out to break it up; although he stops their fighting, he makes no secret of his anger with Prowl, rattling off the laundry list of transgressions he has committed that have caused trouble for the Lost Light. The exchange grows heated, at which point the Constructicons step in to defend the object of their affection, and Magnus leaves Prowl alone with his Decepticon fanboys.

Elsewhere, the hale and hearty Starscream, accompanied by Rattrap, busts the glum Scoop's chops a little over everything that has gone down. Curious as to where he heard the "Dark Cybertron" prophecy in the first place, Starscream's jaw drops when Scoop reveals that Shockwave told him about it, before the war, at the Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology. As if on cue, Skywarp teleports onto the scene with Metalhawk and Waspinator, here to recruit them for what lies ahead—though Metalhawk does shoot Starscream once, quickly, for a little payback.

Back in Crystal City, with the blended ores now infused into his system, Shockwave lays bare for Galvatron the full enormity of his plan. Regenesis was always about the control of resources, and that has not changed: using the combined power of his ores, fueled by the energy stolen from the Dead Universe, Shockwave will take control of the fabric of all of time and space, collapsing it into a single point—past and future, life and death, all will be united in an ultimate singularity that, directed by Shockwave himself, will feed the energy of all creation into Cybertron itself, sustaining the planet for eternity. Across Cybertron, all eyes turn to the heavens as the stars appear to go out... only for it to soon become apparent that the stars are not being extinguished, but instead blotted out by an army of seventy billion Ammonites that descend upon Cybertron to defend Shockwave as he ascends to godhood!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

* see "Errors", below

Quotes

"What's with the rhyme? Is he takin' the—"
"No, that's just how he speaks. He can't help it."
"Aw, shoot. Now I feel lousy. Can't be easy standin' out 'cause a'yer cockamamie speech patterns."
"..."

—Kup and Rodimus, on Wheelie

"You may look black and white, but underneath—you're Constructicon green."
"Just - ugh."

—Mixmaster makes Prowl an unwilling honorary Constructicon

"I wanted to be a medic."
"Really? I wanted to be a genocidal despot. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?"

—Megatron and Ratchet discuss broken dreams.

"It's not every day we get to defeat a Necrotitan."
"Er—sorry, Bluestreak, defeat a what?"
"A Necrotitan."
"A Nek-ro-titan? What's a Nek-ro-titan?"
"How do you say it?"
"The proper way. Knee-cro-titan."
"Ugh. You're weird."

—Bluestreak and Brainstorm

Blurr: "Quart of Engex, please. Hot. Smelting pool hot."
Swerve: (incomprehensible babbling)
Blurr: "Or... a shot of Nightmare Fuel if you're out of the pink stuff."
Swerve: (high-pitched whine)
Skids: [...] "Swerve's cause of death: hero worship."

"Starscream. His victory reminded me of something I swore never to forget: winning means winning people over. The closest I came to outright victory wasn't Simanzi. It was four million years ago, before my Decepticons took up arms—back when I had the people on my side. I lost the war the moment I gave the order to fight."

—Megatron

"You cast a long shadow, Prowl. You may not have been on board the Lost Light, but your presence was always felt. You put Overlord on board, you sent Skids and Getaway to remove Tyrest..."
"Your point?"
"Your action have consequences—only you're never there to suffer them! Never!"
"You want to talk to me about consequences? Talk to Chromedome! He gave the Decepticons the keys to my head!"
"You spend your life loading guns and asking other people to fire them—and when innocents get caught in the crossfire, you dismiss it as collateral damage."
"Sorry, soldier, it's not for you to decide whether the ends justify the means."
"But where's it going? Is there any line you won't cross? Any mark you're not prepared to overstep? We beat the Decepticons. We defeated Tyrest. Once we've taken down Shockwave, who does that leave? Who else wants to control everything?"
"Is that a threat? Are you threatening me, Minimus Ambus?"
[...] "We'll leave you to your new friends, Prowl. I'm glad you've found company... because I think you're the loneliest person I've ever met."

—Ultra Magnus lets Prowl have it

"I do not seek to change anything. I shall remove the very concept of 'change'—of 'past' and 'future'—from the very physics of this universe. All of space and of time shall exist as a single point, an ultimate singularity—an ultimate black hole. Here—on Cybertron. And this world will consume all the resources of the universe in one never-ending moment—the only space and the only moment that has ever or will ever exist. Cybertron will feed on the universe forever, and the very concepts of 'forever' and 'the universe' shall exist only to feed Cybertron. All of the universe, all of history—shall collapse into me. A single point of light against the infinite darkness. And to defend my becoming, from across the universe comes my army of Ammonites—seventy billion strong. And that, Galvatron... that is how one dominates."

—Shockwave in full on villain-monologue mode

Notes

Continuity notes

• In the double-page spread at the start of the issue, Mirage and Sideswipe are seen happily welcoming Sunstreaker back, alluding to these characters' past disputes (Sideswipe's had issues with his brother since the beginning of the IDW continuity, as seen in Spotlight: Sideswipe, and Mirage took the fall when Sunstreaker betrayed the Autobots in All Hail Megatron) and pleasantly indicating that they have put their differences behind them.
• Ratchet refers to "the last time he was in a room with" Megatron, which took place in issue #22 of the 2009-2011 ongoing series.
• The little serving robot from Swerve's seen in issue #4 pops up again this issue.
• Brainstorm argues with Bluestreak over the correct pronunciation of "Necrotitan", another gag about Brainstorm's British accent, akin to "MARBs or MAABs" from issue #17.
• Skywarp vanished back in Chapter 5.
• Blurr requests a shot of Nightmare Fuel, a beverage mentioned in Spotlight: Trailcutter and seen in issue #11.
• Simanzi and the massacre that took place there were originally mentioned in Rotorstorm's profile in Last Stand of the Wreckers #1; we got a brief flashback to the time in issue #16.
• The peak that Prowl finds Chromedome on is the same one that Cyclonus and Whirl fell from in issue #1.
• We saw Chromedome invade Prowl's mind in issue #14; the repercussions of that act unfolded in Robots in Disguise #14.
• Rewind, of course, died in issue #15. That Prowl should take some twisted pleasure in this is the height of prickitude, but no great surprise; he and Chromedome were heavily implied to be romantically involved during the "Shadowplay" storyline in issues #9-11, and Chromedome's ex and new beau clearly never got along, as evidenced by issue #16's crack about how Rewind liked to imagine Prowl being beaten up.
• The "alchemical virus" with which Metroplex was infected is revealed to be have been the result of exposure to the death ore from Gorlam Prime.
• The alien ocean planet on which Metroplex was hiding out is revealed to be named "Hydrophena".

Transformers references

• When describing Galvatron and Nova's unification of ancient Cybertron, Shockwave refers to "Thirteen Tribes", a number with great significance in Transformers lore. An ancient tribe known as the Diaclona Tribe was previously mentioned in Spotlight: Orion Pax, and may be one of these thirteen. More information on the Thirteen Tribes would be given in Robots in Disguise #34.
• Given the multiple Transformers: Generations toy tie-ins involved in "Dark Cybertron", it was logical at the time of publication to assume that Arcee's new body was based on her then-upcoming Generations toy, but the toy that was eventually released (a good six month after this issue) bore little resemblance to the comic. It turned out this was because production on the comic was so far ahead that artist Alex Milne had to draw Arcee into this issue based on only concept art of the toy, which he further modified to incorporate characteristics from Arcee's IDW design.^[1] Further exemplifying the changes the toy underwent, Arcee's reddish-orange coloration in this issue was at the request of Hasbro,^[2] only for the finished Arcee toy to be colored in her standard pink. The comics didn't end up reconciling the designs, giving Arcee a new Earth body in Robots in Disguise #28, and restoring her pink color scheme in The Transformers vol. 2 #35.
• And speaking of Generations toys, front and center in the swarm of Ammonites of all shapes and sizes on the last page is Centuritron, combined form of the Mini-Con Assault Team.

Real-world references

• The huge double-page spread at the start of this issue contains mostly recognizable regular cast members of both books, but a few NAILs do slip in along the bottom of the page. Colorist Josh Perez colored them to resemble assorted characters from Toei's Metal Hero series of TV shows: the purple, gold, and silver trio next to Blurr are done up as Tentou, Kabuto, and Kuwagar, respectively, from B-Fighter Kabuto (Saban Entertainment aficionados may remember those three better as the Platinum Purple, Chromium Gold, and Titanium Silver Beetleborgs from the second season of Big Bad Beetleborgs, respectively); the blue and red pair by Sky-Byte are the title characters from Space Sheriff Shaider and Kyojuu Tokusou Juspion, again respectively (and again, Saban fans may remember Shaider as being the source footage for Ryan Steele's second suit in VR Troopers); the blue 'bot with the golden shoulderpad beside Jazz is SolBraver from Super Rescue Solbrain; and lastly, breaking the theme, the golden bot by Jazz and SolBraver is colored as Captain Power, from Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future.
• Nautica calls Ore-7 "magical mystery ore", a reference to the Beatles album, Magical Mystery Tour.

Errors

• The "Death" ore was identified as Ore-2 in Robots in Disguise #19, but it is named Ore-3 in this issue. This is fixed in the pack-in version of this issue available with Generations Deluxe Class Jhiaxus, although the ore's property is renamed (see below).
• Back in Robots in Disguise #20, artist Andrew Griffith redesigned Scoop's partners Tracer and Holepunch with construction vehicle alternate modes, but they wound up getting colored like the Micromaster characters Groundpounder and Takedown. The two characters reappear, still sporting these colors, in the double-page spread at the start of this issue, standing by their Construction Patrol buddies from that issue, Quickmix, Landfill, Ricochet and Boomer... except this time, based on the details visible, Alex Milne appears to have actually drawn them as Groundpounder and Takedown.
  • To say nothing of the fact that both 'bots previously appeared in Chapter 3, drawn in their Generations toy bodies, colored correctly.
• Milne has drawn Bumblebee's "Goldfire" body to the specifications of the original comic design of the character's ongoing-era body, rather than to the specs of the toy it inspired, which is how it has appeared in Robots in Disguise and "Dark Cybertron" up to now. Specifically, the toy has hood-and-bumper kibble on its shoulders, where the original comic design has roof-and-windscreen kibble there.
  • Also, he draws the head with a mouthplate and normal eyes, rather than the full mask—including oversized "eyes" - he's been hitherto given.
• In the panel where Arcee formally meets the female trio of Camiens, Windblade is weirdly huge compared to Chromia and Nautica. She's usually about the same height as them in all other scenes and going forward.
• The Ammonites are revealed to have been behind the attack on Metroplex, in order to obtain the Ore-7 for Shockwave... but Metroplex jettisoned the Ore-7 from his body in response to this attack at some point prior to Spotlight: Trailcutter (set between More than Meets the Eye #5 and #6), while the Ammonites are not supposed to have begun working with Shockwave until after More than Meets the Eye #13.

Edits

Similar to the pack-in versions of various other existing IDW comics, the version of this issue available with the Generations Deluxe Class Jhiaxus toy was also subject to some changes:

• On page 1 (not counting the "previously" page), Optimus Prime's "Dammit." speech bubble in panel 4 is omitted entirely.
• Even unfinished expletives are not safe: On page 2, Kup's first speech bubble in panel 3 is shortened from "What's with the rhyme? Is he takin' the—" to simply "What's with the rhyme? Is he—", with the speech bubble itself resized accordingly.
• Edits galore on page 3: In panel 2, Shockwave's second speech bubble has "Though we kill a universe" changed to "Though we destroy a universe"; panel 4 not only has the erroneous reference to the "Death" ore as "Ore-2" in the first speech bubble fixed to "Ore-3", but also has its name changed from "death" to "mortality", with the speech bubble resized accordingly; furthermore, in the same panel, the third speech bubble has "the nature of life and death" shortened to simply "the nature of life", with the speech bubble itself retaining its size; and lastly, in panel 5, the first caption has "capable of causing heat-death, of stopping motion at a subatomic level—" shortened to simply "capable of stopping motion at a subatomic level—", with the caption itself resized accordingly.
• On page 4, Bumblebee's speech bubble in panel 2 has "shooting" replaced with "blasting".
• On page 7, Ratchet's first speech bubble in panel 2 is changed from "Really? I wanted to be a genocidal despot." to "Really? I wanted to be an evil despot." without the speech bubble itself resized.
• On page 8, Nightbeat's third speech bubble in panel 2 is changed from "I screwed you around and I'm dead" to "I messed you around and I'm not really alive", with the speech bubble resized accordingly. Furthermore, Rodimus's third speech bubble in panel 3 is changed from "You are not—in any way, shape of form—dying so that we don't have to." to "You are not—in any way, shape of form—destroying yourself to save us.", also with the speech bubble resized accordingly.
• Three edits on page 9: Hound's second speech bubble in panel 1 completely omits the last three lines, "of continents piled high with corpses.", and is resized accordingly. Furthermore, his speech bubble in panel 2 is changed from "…and we all end up in the bar." to "…and we all end up here.", and also resized accordingly. Lastly, Brainstorm's second speech bubble in panel 3 changes the word "kill" to "blast", without any resizing.
• On page 10, Skids's speech bubble in panel 3 has "Swerve's cause of death" changed to "Swerve's ultimate downfall", with the speech bubble resized accordingly. Meanwhile, Swerve's "I-think-I'm-gonna-die" phrase in the very same panel is left completely unchanged.
• On page 13, Bumblebee's second speech bubble in panel 2 is changed from "You didn't say it was a stupid question." to "You didn't say it was a dumb question.", without the speech bubble itself being resized. Furthermore, Bumblebee's speech bubble in panel 4 has "Simanzi was a massacre." changed to "Simanzi was a disaster.", also without the speech bubble itself being resized.
• On page 15, the second caption in panel 4 has "they tried to kill him by infecting him with a… a death ore" changed to "they tried to destroy him by infecting him with a… an extermination ore", with the caption resized to accommodate five instead of four lines of text.
• On page 17, Prowl's third speech bubble in panel 2 has "I'm sorry that Rewind died" changed to "I'm sorry that Rewind's gone".
• On page 18, Ultra Magnus's second speech bubble in panel 2 has "loading guns" changed to "loading blasters", with the speech bubble itself resized accordingly.
• On page 20, Starscream's third speech bubble in panel 3 is changed from "So, you're here to kill me." to "So, you're here to destroy me.", with the speech bubble itself resized accordingly.

Trivia

• Artist breakdown: Regular More than Meets the Eye artist Alex Milne returns to the series, drawing 13 of the 19 pages set on Cybertron (pgs 3–7, 11-16 and 21–22) ; Brendan Cahill illustrates the other 6 (pgs 9-10 and 17–20) while Livio Ramondelli remains on art duties for the Dead Universe pages (pgs 1-2 and 8).
• The ambiguity surrounding which Generations toys the previous two chapters would be included with continues with this issue, as the Jimenez/Fajardo cover features Sky-Byte, whose Voyager Class Generations toy did not include a comic. The Hasbro exclusive cover variant of this issue is actually included with Generations Deluxe Class Jhiaxus, though one might reasonably surmise that the issue was originally intended for inclusion with Arcee, given the relative spotlight shone her new body.

Covers (4)

• Cover A: Swerve and Blurr behind the bar, while Arcee and Whirl arm-wrestle and Slug and Swoop take an interest in Brainstorm's briefcase, by Casey Coller and Josh Burcham
• Sub cover: Sky-Byte by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
• Cover RI: The empowered Shockwave and his goon squad, by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
• Hasbro exclusive cover: Jhiaxus by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr., exclusively available with Generations Deluxe Class Jhiaxus.

• 

  A barroom brawl is sure to follow.

• 

  Jabber Jaws

• 

  This cannot end well.

• 

  Gee, axe us?

Advertisements

• "Dark Cybertron" checklist, highlighting Robots in Disguise #27
• Transformers Legends
• Regeneration One #100
• IDW: Getting Into Your Head for 15 Years (back cover)

Reprints

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 2 (June 11, 2014) ISBN 1613779984 / ISBN 978-1613779989
  • Collects Robots in Disguise issues #25–27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material includes covers of each issue.
  • Trade paperback format.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron (February 11, 2015) ISBN 163140072X / ISBN 978-1631400728
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–27, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material unknown at this time.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 6 (October 18, 2017) ISBN 1684050855 / ISBN 978-1684050857
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–27, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–27, Dark Cybertron Finale, and Windblade (2014) issues #1–4.
  • Hardcover format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 60: Dark Cybertron, Part 2 (February 21, 2018)
  • Collects Robots in Disguise issues #25–27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material includes a "blow-by-blow account of Dark Cybertron's hidden secrets", a cover gallery and a forward by Simon Furman.
  • Hardcover format.

• 

  Dark Cybertron Volume 2 – Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

• 

  Dark Cybertron – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente

• 

  The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 6 – cover art by Marcelo Matere and Tom B. Long

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 60: Dark Cybertron, Part 2 – cover art by Mark Brooks (Brainstorm) and Andrew Griffith (retro)

References

External links

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