Assembly (Unicron)

« Transformers: Unicron #5 »
"We got one advantage. He's coming to us."
"Assembly"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	October 10, 2018
Cover date	September, 2018
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Alex Milne
Colors by	David García Cruz
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	David Mariotte
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

The forces of good and evil rally on Earth in preparation for the final strike against Unicron.

Synopsis

Shockwave's twelve-million-year-long plan is at risk of being ruined; rather than die upon the destruction of Cybertron, Unicron has survived to menace Earth, thanks to the poisonous Talisman being removed from the Transformers' homeworld before it could be consumed. While his Maximals purge the city below, Shockwave assembles machinery atop the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, that allows him to make contact with the remains of Nemesis—now forming Unicron's right eye—so that he can use the dead Titan to scan Earth for the Talisman's location. Shockwave is confident everything can be rectified and his plan brought back on track, but he is unaware that G.I. Joe are about to throw a wrench in the works, as Snake Eyes, Agent Helix, and their Cobra allies Tempest and the Red Shadows make their way into Toronto...

In Los Angeles, Thundercracker helps the emergency services deal with fires and other disasters triggered by Unicron's appearance in Earth orbit. Realizing he never called Marissa Faireborn back after she recently phoned him, Thundercracker does so, but this time, it's Marissa who can't talk—because she's in the middle of a counterattack planning session being held inside Trypticon in South Dakota between the leaders of the world, G.I. Joe, Cobra, Joe Colton's Iron Ring, the Dinobots and their allies, and many other heroes and villains of Earth. The huge group is presently joined by Soundwave, Swift, Ironhide, Rom, and Livia, representing the recent arrivals from Cybertron. So grave is the situation, the two Space Knights are even willing to temporarily overlook their ancient feud with the Dire Wraiths in attendance; Slug is a little less willing to let bygones be bygones given his team was recently attacked by Optimus Prime's colonist soldiers, but Trypticon urges him to set his hostility aside, in the name of saving the world for the next generation of Cybertronian life the Titan carries within him.

In Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Africa, the recently arrived Cybertronian and colonist refugees take stock. Heads are counted; Windblade and Chromia reunite; Starscream takes abuse from Needlenose and the Tankors; and Prowl's crew arrives on the scene in the Peaceful Revolution, having picked up Jazz and the colonist soldiers after their recent clash with the Dinobots at Mount Rushmore. Information provided by Prowl allows Jetfire to deduce why the stars appear to "go out" every time Unicron feeds; the first thing Unicron consumed, it turns out, was the supermassive black hole around which it previously orbited, which now interacts with the Regenesis ores in the colony worlds to siphon energy from stars via quantum tunnels, making Unicron a threat not just to the Cybertronian race, but to the fabric of the galaxy itself. Jetfire holds a meeting to explain this to Optimus Prime's inner circle, but Starscream isn't particularly interested in the science, and Optimus Prime actually agrees, urging Jetfire to cut to the chase and tell them where they need to drop the Talisman in order to kill the planet-eater.

Back in Toronto, Shockwave successfully uses Nemesis to zero in on the whereabouts of the Talisman. He contacts Bludgeon, at the head of the Decepticon Vengeance Division fleet in orbit alongside Unicron, instructing him to send the Maximals to recover the Talisman so they can use it to kill Unicron themselves, leaving the Earth free to become the heart of Shockwave's new empire. But Bludgeon's allegiance has shifted; he has dedicated himself to Unicron, and sends the Maximals to remove the Talisman from Earth so his new master can begin the consumption of the planet!

Looking out over Victoria Falls in a moment of solitude, Optimus Prime senses that the Maximals are coming. Arcee approaches him, but he suggests that, given the likelihood that they are about to face their final hour, she should go and be with her new love, Aileron, instead. Arcee smiles sadly; the fear that, for the first time in her life, she has something to lose is a new experience to her, and she doesn't quite know how to handle it. Prime and Arcee take solace in their shared sense of uncertainty... whereupon Aileron comes running up with some good news: the united forces of Earth are on their way to help! A huge air squadron led by Mayday, Spike, and Talon intercepts the Maximals, and though many human pilots perish in the attempt, they successfully hold the invaders back long enough for Destro to remotely link his M.A.S.S. Device to Metroplex's spacebridge, enabling the weakened Titan to teleport himself, along with all the Cybertronians and colonists and the Talisman, away to safety.

In Toronto, Snake Eyes, Tempest, and the Red Shadows engage Beast Megatron, keeping him distracted until Helix can take him out from afar with a sniper shot through his neck. Optimus Primal and Rhinox come running, at which point Stardrive appears on the scene to join the fight. While she and the ninjas keep the Maximals busy, Prowl sneaks by them, heading right for the CN Tower and Shockwave...

At Mount Rushmore, Thundercracker arrives to see Marissa "one last time." Fearing he may not be coming back, he gives Marissa Buster to take care of, then transforms and heads up into orbit, where he rendezvouses with Starscream and Skywarp. The Seeker trio, reunited for the first time in years, flies straight for the Decepticon fleet, prompting Bludgeon to send Monstructor out to deal with them. Pyra Magna and the surviving Torchbearers—revealed to have survived the Cybertronian fleet's attack on Unicron by clinging to the outside of Bludgeon's warship's hull—watch as the monstrous combiner clambers out... only to have both Metroplex and Trypticon materialize in front of him! With Garrison Blackrock and Centurion serving as Titan Masters to guide them, the two giants deploy a veritable army of Autobots, Decepticons, Space Knights, and everything and everyone in between, who descend upon Bludgeon's fleet with Rom and Bumblebee in the lead! With this attack drawing all the attention, it's easy for Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp to slip past... carrying their secret cargo—Optimus Prime, Arcee, and the Talisman, clinging to the three jets' undersides—straight toward Unicron!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"This is the end. One way or the other."
"Thank Primus, I was afraid I'd have to hear one of your inspiring speeches."
"Sorry, Arcee. I can think something up if you give me a minute."

—Optimus Prime and Arcee find levity in their darkest hour

"If this is the end... if we... if we... well. I have something to lose now. And I thought I was all out of new experiences."
"You've seen more than I, Arcee, but I feel we never run out of the new. When it comes to saving things, and losing them... I wish I had answers. I've saved more than most. But that's not what sticks with you. I savor these moments before..."
"Yeah. When the impossible is still possible."

—Arcee and Optimus Prime discuss the end

"Hey... are you people Wraith hybrids too?!"
"Of a sort."
"Well, let's compare notes. I've been feeling alone for a while."

—Stardrive finds unusual common ground with Storm Shadow

Skywarp: "Brave talk, Starscream. But I'm the only Seeker who actually followed you. No Acid Storm, no Redwing, no Dirge—"
Starscream: "Dirge died."
Skywarp: "Dirge? Aw, hell, I kinda liked that idiot. Well, at least You-Know-Who isn't—"
Thundercracker: "Hey, guys! I thought we were meeting up in low orbit, so it's a good thing I found you."

—The Seekers reunite after nine years of separation

"This is for everybody who ever died in this stupid war—and for everybody who's about to."

—Aileron heralds the final attack

"Wait, they're called the Decepticon Vengeance Division? The D.V.D.? And you guys don't think that's funny?"

—Thundercracker

Notes

Continuity notes

• The Nemesis is revealed to be a Titan named Nemesis, thereby explaining last issue's observation that its integration into Unicron's body provided Unicron with a transformation cog. This continues the theme of each colony planet having its own associated Titan, Prime, and Regenesis ore.
• Marissa phoned Thundercracker in Optimus Prime #23. At the time, he had to hang up because he was meeting with a celebrity's agent, but the subsequent appearance of Unicron at the end of that issue has kept him busy.
• The UK Prime Minister and the Chinese President in this issue were previously seen in Optimus Prime #4. You would be forgiven for not realizing this as neither of them were clearly identified in that issue.
• Centurion, Sandstorm, the Dinobots, and Trypticon have been on Earth since spacebridging there in Optimus Prime #19, and what they've been up to since has been covered in Optimus Prime #23-24. Sandstorm and Centurion weren't actually seen in any of those issues and it wasn't clear if they were part of the group until now, but it was always likely as they've been hanging out with the Dinos and Trypticon since the events of Optimus Prime #14.
• He's not name-checked, but the human-looking Dire Wraith seen in this issue is G.I. Joe member Countdown, who is a Wraith in this continuity, as established in ROM #1, and appeared several times in that series. (Whether Countdown the Wraith stole a human's identity or constructed it from scratch was never addressed.)
• It's a hat trick of Cobra Commanders! Two holders of the title present in this issue are recent appointees, having taken up the mantle in 2017; Tomax in Revolutionaries #5, and the Baroness in G.I. Joe vol. 5 #9. The third, however, has borne the name for quite a while; he is Krake, who became Commander back in 2011's G.I. Joe vol. 2 #8. Krake disappeared from Joe comics following a timeskip after G.I Joe vol. 3 in 2014, with no explanation ever having been given for where he went, and his reappearance here goes likewise unexplained.
• The absence of Matt Trakker and M.A.S.K. from the gathering of Earth's heroes and villains is called out, and it is noted they are in Detroit, as seen in issue #3's back-up story.
• As for the rest of these guys, look, just go read Revolutionaries and First Strike, okay? They're all in there!
• Destro notes that he has finally been able to restore Skywarp's teleporting ability, which has been on the fritz since he sustained injuries way back in 2013's Robots in Disguise #16. G.I. Joe secured Skywarp's services by promising to repair him, but all they could do was deactivate his powers entirely, with Scarlett's Strike Force #2 revealing that they had actively refused to take the risk of repairing him.
• Prowl's team, including Slide and the colonist soldiers, join the main Cybertronian force following the events of Optimus Prime #24.
• Jetfire refers to the "last time" Prowl was around, when he "tried to take over Cybertron," as seen in the Combiner Wars story arc.
• Bumblebee expresses his happiness at seeing Stardrive again, having previously met her almost two hundred years prior in Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor.
• Starscream jokes about having already heard the story of someone having a black hole in their chest, referring to the urban legend (as far as anyone here knows) of Megatron being able to channel a black hole's power.
• Optimus notes he's survived black holes before, referring to the second half of the The Falling arc.
• Shockwave specifically notes that it is Windblade who has "defied expectations" and thrown his plan off-course, by calling on the Visionaries for help and moving the Talisman off Cybertron. This makes quite a bit of sense, since Shockwave didn't know Windblade before he was thrown back in time in Dark Cybertron Finale (since she had only just arrived on Cybertron); therefore, there's no way he could have accounted for her in his planning.
• Spike recounts how he "fought off Megatron," a slightly biased but not wholly inaccurate take on the events of All Hail Megatron #12.
• Stardrive observes that Storm Shadow and the Red Shadows are "Wraith hybrids"; Storm Shadow replies "of a sort." Specifically, unlike Stardrive, who is a lifeform who became infected with biomatter from a living Wraith, the Cobra ninjas are humans who were mutated through the power of the Talisman. The Talisman was revealed to have this power in Revolutionaries #1; it eventually transpired in Unicron #2 that this was because the Talisman created the Wraiths in the first place.
• The three classic Seekers reunited! They haven't all been together, on the same side, since All Hail Megatron back in 2009. The three each feature different designs at this point, with Thundercracker retaining his reconstructed design from The Transformers vol. 1 #4, Starscream sporting his evergreen design, and Skywarp rocking the classic Seeker design.
• Skywarp namedrops Redwing, a Seeker originally invented by Fun Publications who put in a one-shot appearance in IDW back in The Transformers vol. 2 #50.
• Starscream informs Skywarp of Dirge's death in issue #1.

Transformers references

• Destro invokes a Furmanism at the tactics meeting on Earth, when he declares their mission "will not—can not—be a failure". Later, Starscream does the same as he flies towards Unicron, observing "Everybody's going to fight and die for us..."

G.I. Joe references

• Numerous recognizable G.I. Joe vehicles enter the fight against the Maximals, including Skystrikers, Conquest X-30s, and Phantom X-19s. The presence of X-19s in the fight would indicate that the craft's principal pilot, perennially overlooked Joe Ghostrider, is somewhere in the midst of the action, even if he doesn't appear on-panel.
• Also not appearing on panel, but name-checked by Slip-Stream, is Joe member Quarrel. She previously appeared in Revolutionaries #1.

Real world references

• Amidst the wreckage of Toronto is one of one of the city's signature red streetcars.
• Thundercracker compares himself, Starscream, and Skywarp to the title characters of the 1986 movie, Three Amigos.

Errors

• On page 2, Thundercracker's name tag reads "Decepticon writer" while he is no longer a Decepticon.
• On both page 3 and Cover B, Strafe is colored in classic Dinobot grey-and-red. While a neat idea, this hasn't been previously established anywhere else, and on page 19, she's in her usual yellows.
• Destro is drawn with his classic G.I. Joe design, with a metal mask and bare chest. Problem is, Destro doesn't wear an iron mask in IDW Joe continuity—as of G.I. Joe vol. 2 #8, his skin is actually made of metal.
• On page 4, Rom claims the Dire Wraiths are "hiding" in the crowd, but page 3 shows them standing in plain sight, unmorphed, alien appearances on full view. Rom might just be misreading the situation, though; Cobra and Miles Mayhem have allied with the Wraiths in the past, so it's entirely possible, if not likely, that the Wraiths are there by invitation, not subterfuge.
• From the way his dialogue cuts off mid-stream and Ace has to take over what he was saying, it seems pretty clear Slip-Stream dies. But the aircraft shown blowing up at this moment is a Phantom X-19; Slip-Stream should really be piloting a Conquest X-30, as that's the classic vehicle he's always been associated with, and the one his toy came packaged with. Maybe him and Ghostrider died at the same time?
• In his last panel of dialogue, Bludgeon is not given his usual black dialogue bubbles. This is corrected in the trade.

Deathlist

• Slip-Stream; one of many human pilots who die during the dogfight with the Maximals.
• Beast Megatron seems to have been killed, shot through the neck. Other Maximals are killed by the Joes.

Other trivia

• Intended for release in September, this issue arrived a bit late in the second week of October.
• This issue also includes a four-page Visionaries back-up strip, "A World and a Future". The fifth in a series of strips serving as "farewells" to the various Hasbro Universe properties as everything heads towards a close, it reveals that, following their disappearance last issue, the Visionaries have been sent back in time to prehistoric Prysmos. No Transformers appear in the story.
• Other backmatter includes the fifth installment in a series of interviews with creators from IDW's past. This issue, it's "season three" newcomers, Lost Light artist Jack Lawrence and Optimus Prime artist Kei Zama.

Covers (4)

• Cover A: Bumblebee, Stardrive, and Strongarm save humans from Unicron's spawn, by Alex Milne and Sebastian Cheng
• Cover B: The Dinobots, Trypticon, Stardrive, Rom, Miles Mayhem, and Leoric, by James Raiz and David García Cruz; connects to Raiz's other covers for the series to form a larger image
• Retailer incentive Cover A: Optimus Prime holds his ground as Unicron sucks up everything around him, by Fico Ossio
• Retailer incentive Cover B: Soundwave by Francesco Francavilla; connects to Francavilla's other covers for the series to form a larger image

• 

  Save the squishies!

• 

  Honestly, Unicron can devour Mayhem. We don't mind.

• 

  Optimus Prime doesn't suck.

• 

  You can't go wrong with Soundwave.

Advertisements

• Transformers: Unicron #6
• Transformers: Unicron
• Optimus Prime #24
• Lost Light #24
• Unicron checklist (which is behind in its dates)

Reprints

Other than reprints of the full series

• N/A

External links

• Preview