The Gathering issue 2

	; Three heroic characters... who are nowhere in this issue.
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	March 15, 2006
Cover date	March 2006
Written by	Simon Furman
Art by	Don Figueroa
Colors by	Josh Burcham
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Edits by	Chris Ryall & Dan Taylor
Continuity	Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Magmatron sees Razorbeast as a distraction and hunts him down. Meanwhile, Razorbeast must find a way to warn Cybertron of Magmatron's plans.

Synopsis

A new army of Predacons gathers to receive orders. Magmatron sends his troops to hunt down Razorbeast's diffuse band of Maximals. Spittor and Drill Bit accompany Magmatron on his own mission to hunt down Razorbeast.

Razorbeast has met up with Snarl, B'Boom, Optimus Minor, Bonecrusher, Wolfang, and Ramulus. Deciding he needs to contact Cybertron, Razorbeast splits up the group to locate Ravage's Transwarp cruiser.

Other groups of Maximals continue their journey to answer Razorbeast's summoning call. Stinkbomb, Bantor, Noctorro, K-9, and Armordillo help free Torca from some mud. Claw Jaw and Cybershark travel together in water, while Night Glider, Sonar, Prowl, and Air Hammer take to the skies. Polar Claw treks alone across the Arctic.

Ramulus is defeated by Spittor, and Magmatron's triple dinosaur modes attack Razorbeast, Wolfang, and Bonecrusher.

Optimus Minor, meanwhile, has located the cruiser. Drill Bit got there first though and has been lurking in wait for a Maximal to kill... a dumb move as Snarl ambushes and dispatches him! The two Maximals return with their prize, a signal amplifier.

Although Magmatron briefly attains the upper hand, Razorbeast and his teammates escapes after the boar ambushing his foe with a cannonfire-caused landslide. They rendezvous with Minor and Snarl to assess their situation. The signal amplifier is broken, but it may be fixable. But the only place with the tools they need are on the Ark....

Despite his failure to stop Razorbeast's gang, Magmatron still has reason to celebrate. He has managed to salvage Ravage's mangled body, which still houses a viable spark!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals	Predacons
B'Boom (21) Wolfang (22) Bonecrusher (23) Razorbeast (24) Optimus Minor (25) Ramulus (26) Snarl (27) Stinkbomb (28) K-9 (29) Armordillo (30) Torca (31) Bantor (32) Noctorro (33) Claw Jaw (34) Cybershark (35) Night Glider (36) Prowl (37) Sonar (38) Air Hammer (39) Polar Claw (40)	Jetstorm (1) Buzz Saw (2) Lazorbeak (3) Snapper (4) Razorclaw (5) Scavenger (6) Terragator (7) Powerpinch (8) Retrax (9) Sky Shadow (10) Buzzclaw (11) Injector (12) Scourge (13) Insecticon (14) Manterror (15) Transquito (16) Iguanus (17) Magmatron (18) Drill Bit (19) Spittor (20) Ravage (41)

Quotes

"The seven of us against Magmatron and his however-many Predacons?! I relish an uphill struggle, but we're talking mountainous here!"

—Ramulus

"Don't look to them, Razorbeast. They can't help you. No one can."

—Magmatron

"Magmatron, for once in your miserable existence, put up... or shut up!"

—Razorbeast

Notes

Production notes

In the reprints in Titan's Transformers, a recap called the goodies "the Autobot Maximals".
The "Maxi-Mail" section featured mail answered by Chris Ryall and short ads for next month's issues: Infiltration #4, The Gathering #3, and Generations #2.

Continuity notes

The comics decide here that the Beast Wars take place 70,000 years ago.
Magmatron refers to the events of "The Agenda (Part III)": the start of it was the last report the Tripredacus Council received. The Council and Magmatron correctly guess the big attack went wrong.
It's revealed Ravage's involvement in Magmatron's scheme wasn't that he cared about it, but that he was basically paid off.
The wall in the Predacon base has stylised icons of the Generation 1 Predacon's beast modes.
The imprint left by Rampage in "Optimal Situation" is seen in the rock wall next to the crashed Transwarp Cruiser.