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The War to End All Wars, Part 5

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"The War to End All Wars" Part 5
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published March 19, 2014
Cover date March 2014
Writer Simon Furman
Pencils Andrew Wildman (1-10)
Geoff Senior (11-20)
Guido Guidi (21-32)
Finishes Stephen Baskerville (1-10, 21-32)
Geoff Senior (11-20)
Colorist John-Paul Bove
Letterer Chris Mowry
Editor John Barber
Continuity Marvel Comics continuity

The Autobots fight the foes across Cybertron, Nebulos and Earth as Rodimus Prime returns to Zero Space and finds himself in the fight of his life against the corrupted power of the Matrix.

Contents

Synopsis

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"We're not based on an active toyline! Anyone could die at any moment! I'M FREAKING OUT!"

Returning to Cybertron following their defeat of Jhiaxus and his forces, Rodimus Prime and the Autobots are aghast to discover that their homeworld has been reduced to a barren wasteland during their time away. As they explore the deserted streets, events suddenly crystallize for Rodimus: their absence, he realizes, was orchestrated by someone—specifically, the dark entity that has recently been posing as Primus. Punctuating this realization, the Autobots come under attack from streamers of living shadow that suck the life from anyone unfortunate enough to feel their touch. Blaster corrals one of these "shadow-leeches" in a sonic bubble long enough for Perceptor to examine it, leading to the horrifying revelation that it used to be Iguanus, and that all the leeches are former Transformers, transfigured into this new form along with their world. With conventional weaponry having no effect on the creatures, Rodimus sends Jetfire to fetch the Sword of Primus, but just after he departs, help arrives in the form of the Dinobots; Grimlock's prior possession by the dark entity has granted him a form of immunity against the leeches, and the power to slay them, with the other Dinobots having been saved from transfiguration by their proximity to their leader. Appalled at Grimlock's willful slaughter of creatures that used to be fellow Transformers, Rodimus vows to find another way; when Jetfire returns with the sword, Rodimus is able to use its energies to hold the leeches at bay. The Dinobots explain that Galvatron has taken the space bridge network offline, save for the portal linking Cybertron to Earth and Nebulos, which reminds Rodimus of a passage from the Covenant of Primus that spoke of a trinity of planets that served as a gateway to the multiverse he previously glimpsed through Zero Space. He orders Ultra Magnus to lead a team in retaking the space bridge network in the Star Chamber, while he prepares to confront the architect of their situation.

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He chose...poorly.

Within the void of Zero Space, the voiceless presence continues to torment Spike Witwicky, this time appearing before him in the form of his father Sparkplug and subject him to guilt over his abandonment of his family. As Spike howls in despair, the crack in Zero Space widens, though which glimpses of many other universes become visible, the barriers between worlds slowly being broken down by the chaos the dark entity has instigated. That chaos spreads now, as the entity directs Galvatron to Nebulos, there to raze the last of the three planets that it requires be reduced to rubble to facilitate its crossing!

Now aware that the dark entity has been manipulating him all along, stoking his rages with visions of slaughter, Rodimus uses the Covenant of Primus to open a portal to Zero Space to confront the creature, which now stands revealed as the fragment of corrupted energy from the Creation Matrix that possessed the Deathbringer. The entity explains to Rodimus that, left on Earth after the Deathbringer's destruction, it returned to Cybertron along with all the other Transformers when Primus recalled them there prior to the battle with Unicron. Possessing an Acolyte of Unicron, the entity discovered a subterranean graveyard of Transformers who had made pilgrimages to Primus's chamber, and learned that it could drain the lingering traces of their spark energy. It controlled the Primordials into abducting more victims for it to feed upon, and thrived in the chaos of Cybertron's recreation, integrating itself inextricably into the planet, becoming as one with it as Primus once was. But peace did not suit its plans, and so it whispered in Soundwave's ear, leading him to re-ignite the war, and even manipulated Scorponok into his Gene Key experiments. Now, the creature has grown as much as it can within this universe, and so seeks to ascend into the multiverse—but to do that, it requires a Matrix, and so Rodimus Prime must die! From throughout this timeline, the entity summons three versions of Optimus Prime and orders them into battle.

Magnus leads a team of Autobots to the Star Chamber, with Kup and the Dinobots electing to merely blast their way in rather than wait for Nightbeat to hack the system. The complex proves to be alive with shadow-leeches, but the Dinobots hold them off while the other Autobots split into two squads; Magnus's takes a unit to Nebulos, while Roadbuster takes his squad to Earth, where they immediately come under fire from Linda Chang's forces. Fortunately, Roadbuster recognizes the humans and is able to quickly explain the situation to them, leading Chang to propose they join forces to head back through the space bridge and rescue Spike, who they believe to be on Nebulos.

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And your second wish is?

Faring poorly in his battle with the three iterations of Optimus Prime and unable to reach Spike to snap him out of his trance of despair, Rodimus recalls the previous glimpse of the multiverse the entity offered him, and uses the Covenant to send out ripples through space and time. The Optimuses descend upon him, the entity mocking his actions as a last, desperate gasp... until suddenly, in response to his call, a small army of other incarnations of Rodimus from through the multiverse arrive to join the fight!

On Nebulos, Ultra Magnus's team tracks down Galvatron, whose rampage has halted briefly as Rodimus's actions in Zero Space draw all of the entity's attention for a moment. Magnus engages Galvatron hand-to-hand, and with brutal finality, snaps his neck, and crushes his head, killing the future Decepticon at last. The corrupted Fortress Maximus suddenly appears and almost shoots Magnus in the back, but the other Autobots, together with Chang's forces, arrive to join the fight.

As the army of Rodimuses turn their weapons on the entity, its control over Optimus falters, and the former Autobot leader is able to shake it off long enough to give Rodimus advice. The entity cannot be destroyed, Optimus warns, merely contained—Primus's grand plan will ultimately result in the creation of an optimum universe from the best elements of all realities, so to prevent the plan from being contaminated by the dark entity, this reality must be severed from the multiverse. Though hesitant, Rodimus realizes this truly is the only course of action, and succeeds in reaching Spike and making him understand that the death of his family was not his fault. As the furious entity descends upon them, Spike breaks free of his bonds, and the crack in Zero Space begins to close. The entity makes a last dash for the fissure, but Rodimus brings down the Sword of Primus upon the crack, and in one flash of energy, the crack, the entity, and the alternate Rodimus and Optimus Primes vanish, and "our" Rodimus, Optimus, and Spike reappear on Cybertron in Primus's chamber. With his final words, Optimus thanks Rodimus for saving Primus's dream, then passes away in his protege's arms.

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Eons pass...

Far in the future, an aged, withered Rodimus Prime walks the molten surface of a dead Cybertron. He reflects upon the millennia past, on how the Transformers, cut off from the multiverse and Primus himself, have slowly died out. But it has not been a wasted life... the inhabitants of Earth and Nebulos have been brought together and have thrived, rebuilding their broken worlds, while the Transformers, with Cybertron lost to them, spread out across the galaxy, bringing peace to other races. Even enemies like Shockwave, Starscream, and Ravage were changed, the lust for war having left them. But now, Rodimus is the last Cybertronian left, and has returned to their homeworld to die. As he collapses, the last traces of energy leave his body, and surge across the planet's surface... into the only structures yet remaining: the cocoons into which the primordials sealed themselves so long ago. Like a blooming flower, an energized cocoon opens... and the first of a new breed of Cybertronian emerges.

For after all... it never ends.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans/Nebulans Others

Quotes

"Grimlock! The Dinobots! Boy am I glad to see your ugly mugs!"
"Stand back. When it come to shadow-leeches, me have the touch."

—Blaster and Grimlock


"Everyone-- Max up your molecular cohesion. There's no telling what...UNH!"
"HEFF! What? Humans?"
"Not just any humans, robot. Mean and ticked-off humans... with big guns!"

—Prowl and Kup, surprised that Linda Chang isn't happy to see them


"What? Have... you...done.. I am- the- the-"
WHOOM
"Oh, sorry. Thought you'd finished. Our bad."

—Galvatron is rudely interrupted by a direct shot to the chest from Swoop.


"When first we met, you threw down a gauntlet. Insisting that somehow, you and I are destined to fight again and again and again. Win or lose. Live or die. Well, no more. It's over...finished!"

—Ultra Magnus slips in one last Furmanism before finally killing Galvatron.


"Do not grieve, Rodimus Prime. You...have...saved us. Thanks to you, the dream-- will not--die-"

—Optimus Prime's last words

Full Circle

This oversized issue contains "Full Circle", a bonus section with several extra features:

  • Lineart and a script extract describing a panel of Prime and Megatron's battle from issue #85
  • "King of Shadows", a short prose story by Simon Furman describing Ravage's activities during the Dark Matrix creature's takeover of Cybertron, featuring an illustration by John-Paul Bove
  • Pin-up by Stephen Baserkville
  • "It Never Ends", a farewell letter from Andrew Wildman
  • "The Feeling", reflections on the series from John-Paul Bove
  • Pin-up by Jason Cardy
  • Complete cover gallery of the entire Marvel series and Regeneration One
  • "End Words", a closing letter from Simon Furman

Notes

Continuity notes

  • The dark entity possessed Grimlock back in issues #93 and #94.
  • The entity is also revealed to have been responsible for awakening Galvatron from his icy tomb in issue #85.
  • The Transformers were recalled to Cybertron by Primus at the climax of issue #73.
  • Rodimus found the graveyard in the Primus chamber in issue #93.
  • The dark Matrix entity is revealed to have been behind the attacks carried out by the Primordials in issues #75 and #76. The scene of Runabout's capture from the end of #75 is recreated here, complete with Ben-Day dot color effects.
  • Also recreated is Dreadwind and Darkwing's rush for cover amid the planet's chaotic recreation from the start of issue #77.
  • The flashback to Soundwave's subtle corruption shows him in his original Marvel purple coloration; the same was true of flashbacks to earlier Marvel stories in #80.5, firmly indicating that his change to his more recognizable blue scheme was an actual in-universe change the character underwent at some point after this, and not just a coloring whim.
  • The versions of Optimus Prime that the entity summons up represent three of his forms from throughout the Marvel continuity: his original body, his Powermaster form, and his battered present-day form (distinguished form his original body by, among other things, his white biceps).
  • Rodimus glimpsed other incarnations of himself back in #93.
  • Ravage is shown with Starscream and Shockwave; the details of how he hooked up with the pair following their last appearance in the previous issue are covered in "King of Shadows", the short story included in this issue's bonus section.

Transformers references

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  • As he slices into the shadow-leeches, Grimlock professes to have the touch.
  • Grimlock instructs Slag to "Melt metal!", paraphrasing the famous Dinobot quote "Munch metal!" from The Transformers: The Movie.
  • All the various Rodimuses who appear in this issue also showed up in issue #93, with one change: Exillion Red Version swapped in for Powerlinx Hot Shot.
  • As he brings down the Sword of Primus on the crack, Rodimus declares: "I am Alpha. I am Omega. I am the beginning... and the end!" While a biblical quote in and of itself, it is also a paraphrasing from the Covenant of Primus previously heard in the Furman-penned Beast Wars episode "Nemesis Part 2".
  • "Do not grieve," Optimus tells Rodimus as he lies dying, a direct lift from his dying speech in the movie.
  • The idea of a wizened Rodimus reflecting on the Transformers' past is evocative of the UK storyline, "Aspects of Evil!".
  • When Grimlock tells Kup, "This my specialty! GO!", his energo-sword crackles with a "Zarak" sound effect.

Errors

  • The number of Autobots present in this story varies wildly. When they are first surrounded by shadow-leeches, only ten robots are visible. Later, in the Star Chamber, closer to FIFTY heads can be counted.
  • Scattershot's presence at the Star Chamber appears to be erroneous, given that he was also present during the attack on the Hub with the Lancer One crew in #98.
  • During Rodimus' final, dying monologue, he laments how he "denied susentance and renewal" - obviously, that should be "sustenance and renewal".

Furminated

  • Hosehead, Slingshot, and Tailgate are taken out by the shadow-leeches; Streetwise goes down later as well.
  • Iguanus is revealed to be one of the undead shadow-leeches.
  • Sparkplug Witwicky is revealed to be dead, to nobody's surprise.
  • Scattershot, last seen outside the Star Chamber, is heavily implied to be one of the shadow-leech victims.
  • Magnus kills Galvatron.
  • Prowl and Kup take out the possessed Fortress Maximus.
  • Optimus Prime dies from his wounds, inflicted by Fortress Maximus in the real world and possibly by the Hot Rod Squad in Zero Space.
  • ARE ALL DEAD, as the many Transformers converted to shadow-leeches are killed off by the Primus sword (see Shadow-leech for a list of known victims), and the remaining survivors eventually die off over the eons, culminating in the aged Rodimus doing a faceplant onto Cybertron's surface. His essence causes one of the Demons to evolve into Botanica though, so IT NEVER ENDS.

Other trivia

  • The cover gallery is selectively edited when it comes to the first 80 issues, due to the fact that they were published by Marvel Comics and not IDW Publishing. Obviously, the Marvel logo from the top left of each issue is missing. A generic border is shown for #22 instead of the original Marvel Comics 25th Anniversary border used for every Marvel comic released that month in 1986, showcasing their universe of characters. Other elements that are intrinsically part of the original covers remain, such as #33–#34 referencing "The House of Ideas" and "Marvel Majesty!" And yeah... Spider-Man.
  • Continuing the humor from issue #80 of the original Marvel series, this issue was billed as #100 in a four-issue limited series.

Covers (6)

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    Cover A

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    Cover B

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    Cover RI-A

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    Cover RI-B

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    Subscription cover

  • (thumbnail)

    Convention cover

External links

Reprints


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