The Coming Storm: Part 2

Cleanup in aisle six!

Synopsis

In the city of Trigon, Thunderclash and Metalhawk's Elite Guard squads are dealing with an invasion of large metal-eating robot insects. The overenthusiastic Ironfist uses his explosives to take out the bugs, but unfortunately, it knocks his comrades back as well. Even worse, the bugs turn out to be capable of flight, and the explosion has made the very angry. As the bugs swarm, Dion is annoyed, having wanted to fight real Decepticons. His rant is interrupted by Ironfist, who blows up one of the bugs, sending fluid all over Dion. The two begin to bicker, but Metalhawk cuts them off, having Over-Run sending his drone helicopter in to finish the bugs off.

With the battle over, Kup takes a moment to relax, but is startled when Magnum beeps in with a transmissions. The Elite Guard commander tells Thunderclash that he and his squad are being assigned to the Centry Quadrant, as trouble is beginning to brew in the area. Magnum has Metalhawk take them to Space Port Bravo on board the Hawk's Claw. After some friendly banter, the squads pack up, heading off to Space Port Bravo.

Arriving as the sun rises, the squads say their goodbyes. Dion is somewhat incredulous at Kup's insistence on calling him lad, only being a few cycles younger than him, and Kup notes he's the only bot he's ever served with that's younger than himself. Metalhawk hopes for some time to relax, but Dion is still eager as ever to fight some Decepticons. Over-Run questions if Dion has ever seen a Decepticon, and the young Autobot suddenly goes silent, walking off as Metalhawk shoots a nasty glare at Over-Run.

At Elite Guard Headquarters, Metalhawk is greeted by Magnum and Sentinel Major, and is surprised to see the former somewhere other than behind his desk. Magnum informs the group that Thunderclash's crew has been given the Beast With Wings, believing not even Landshark could wreck the massive ship. Magnum goes on to commend Metalhawk and his group for their victory in Trigon, noting they've even surpassed the skills of Thunderclash's squad. With this in mind, Magnum gives them a special mission; as Decepticon activity grows, most of the High Council is beginning to shift their support from the Elite Guard to Alpha Trion's new "Prime". Magnum, however, still believes that the Elite Guard is the Autobot's best chance, and for this, he has created a new special ops unit to go after alleged Decepticon leaders. Magnum opens up a door, and he introduces Metalhawk and the others to the Combaticons...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Promises, promises, eh, sailor?"
"For the last time, I worked on the docks, not the ships!"

—Ironfist cheeses off Dion... again, apparently.

"...and don't even think about asking to fly the Claw!"
"How about now? C'mon, I'm great at landing!"
"Is that why the crater next to the runway is named after you?"

—Over-Run is not impressed with Landshark's piloting skills.

"Thunderclash's crew is ready for takeoff. I've given them Beast With Wings. It's the biggest, sturdiest interstellar ship we have. It's survived a Turquillian asteroid shower with nothing but scratches."
"If they can wreck that ship, then they deserve a commendation."

—Magnum and Sentinel Major are not impressed with Landshark's piloting skills either.

Notes

• Mentioned characters include: the creators and a "Prime".

Continuity notes

• This takes place 10 years after the events of the "Wings of Honor" comic.^[1] Thunder Clash and his squad were established to be the first members of the Elite Guard in that story. Magnum also first appeared in that story.
• Dion was seemingly destroyed in Transformers episode "War Dawn". Variously Wingsverse materials indicated he was found by the Elite Guard and rebuilt by them. His job at the docks is brought up a few times in this story.
• Kup has a pet shrikebat; they were originally mentioned in The Transformers: The Movie, and showed up in Transformers episode "Chaos".
• Metalhawk mentions the "creators"; later stories would indicate these are vague memories of the Quintessons.
• Alpha Trion's "Prime" is Optimus, whom he rebuilt from Orion Pax in "War Dawn".
• The Combaticons are revealed to have originally been Autobots. The rest of the storyline will detail their defection to the Decepticons.

Transformers references

• Metalhawk originates from the Japanese Super-God Masterforce series. Unlike his main incarnation, Metalhawk is not a Pretender, but does use a suit of armor that resembles his armored human form.
• Ironfist was one of the Transformers' toys exclusive to Europe, as part of the Lightformer subgroup. Funnily enough, Ironfist received two appearances in fiction after years of being a toy-exclusive character, appearing in the seminal Last Stand of the Wreckers.
• Over-Run was one of the Action Masters in the final year toyline, part of the Action Blaster toys who came with transforming vehicles. Here, he's represented as a "virtual redeco" of Energon Bulkhead and able to Transform, but he still has his Attack Copter drone.
• The Virulent Clones were part of the BotCon 2005 "Descent into Evil" toys, clones of the Insecticons Dirge and Buzzclaw. Unlike the original clones, who had a set color scheme of yellow, black, and blue, these clones have three separate color schemes, with some being all yellow, some being all black, and some being all blue.
• Sentinel Major is based on Animated Sentinel Prime, his design specifically based off Prime's Cybertronian form. Like his Animated counterpart, he is a high-ranking member of the Elite Guard, serving directly under Magnum (his Animated counterpart being second-in-command to Ultra Magnus).
• Ricochet and Moonracer appear alongside Alpha Trion in flashback; Ricochet also originates from the BotCon 2005 toys, while Moonracer is repurposed from BotCon 2005's Chromia, a toy that was initially meant to be her, until trademark issues prevented her name being used. Recognizable characters among the crowd include Sky Garry from Return of Convoy, Sonic Bomber and Roadfire from Zone, and Blacker from Victory.
• Onslaught is based on his Universe Ultra-Class toy, while the other Combaticons are all Cybertronian versions of their cartoon bodies, including details like Swindle's windshield chest.

Real-world references

• Space Port Bravo takes its designation from similarly named Spaceport Bravo from Second Life.
• Buzz flies take inspiration from a line of dialogue in Crocodile Dundee: "Well, to get a buzz." "What, like a blowfly up your nose?"
• Magnum notes that the Beast With Wings has survived a "Turquilian asteroid shower"; the name takes inspiration from Scrubs character Christopher Turk.
• Trigon takes its name from DC Comics supervillain Trigon.

Errors

• Shrikebat is spelled "shreik bat".
• Over-Run is miscolored as Dion on page 1.
• Blacker's appearance is somewhat off-model, most noticeably with his head.

References

External links

• Page 1 at Transformersclub.com
• Page 2 at Transformersclub.com