It's Mammoth versus Magnus on Classicsverse Earth as Ultra Magnus's scheme comes closer to fruition!
Synopsis
Onboard theAnnex,Galvatronapologizes toUltra Mammothover the viewscreen for being unable to provide support, and thanks him for allowingGrimlockto come with them. Mammoth is understanding, wishing him luck, although he informs him Grimlock does as he pleases. As the transmission ends,Prowl,Ironhide,andSilverbolt,having been reformatted into vehicular forms byNeedlenoseandSpinister,prepare to board thestellar spannerto join the fight against the evilUltra Magnus.StonecruncherandExcavatorfire it up, although their mentions of a test drone exploding does little to reassure Prowl. A beam launches into the sky, sending them to a small canyon on Earth. Silverbolt arrives in total darkness, assuming they've been destroyed, but Ironhide tells him to open his optics, as heroic Autobots and Decepticons engage with evilJunkionsand Autobots. Mammoth is annoyed thatTreadshotstarted the attack without him-Treadshot replies by telling him he couldn't let them get away, and that he wouldn't follow orders from a Magnus anyway. Mammoth tells him to stick to calling him by his new name, and engages his evil counterpart. The evil Magnus manages to knock Treadshot out of the fight as he squares off against Mammoth; when his heroic counterpart brings up his issues with authority, Magnus angrily informs him thathis brotherhas no authority over him, and soon, he won't have it over anyone. Magnus reveals that while the universes affected by his destruction of Mammoth's homeworld have been destroyed, their power hasn't, and is spread across the multiverse. Using theRarefied Energonas a magnet in tandem with a collector built by the Junkions, he plans to use this power to conquer Cybertron. Mammoth, no longer having any illusions about bringing his evil counterpart to the side of light, blasts him back with his cannon, but is still unable to pull the trigger on someone who is essentially himself. Magnus takes this opportunity, slashing Mammoth's chest with theTerminus Blade,revealing theOrigin Matrixwithin. However, the energies of the Matrix and the Blade begin to interact, and a surge is sent through the sword; Mammoth reveals that Magnus isn't the only one with an artifact of theThirteen,and the surge moves through Magnus, causing him to cry out in pain...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Quotes
- "The only thing aboutyouthat reminds me ofmyselfis yourface...it looks like mineusedto. And I want that faceback."
- --Ultra Magnus on Ultra Mammoth.
Notes
Continuity notes
- After being mentioned for the last few years, Stonecruncher finally reappears in a story since 2009's "Do Over",with an all new body (see" Transformers references "below.
- Silverbolt calls the stellar spanner a "space bridge", the name he's far more used to.
- Magnus and his group were last seen in "Invasion",where they gathered the Rarefied Energon they use here, revealing their plan. Treashot, Octopunch, Scoop, and Warpath were all last seen in" Invasion "as well; the latter two have gotten new bodies, with Warpath having done so out of necessity after being heavily damaged by the Terminus Blade. Tracks was also heavily damaged by the Blade, and was seen in"Solar Requiem"with his new body after being repaired.
- Magnus had his face ripped off by Optimus, as shown in flashbacks in "Invasion".
Transformers references
- Silverbolt's new body is that of hisGenerations Combiner Warstoy. Prowl's is based on theinitial preliminary design (furthest left)of hisAnimatedcounterpart,with the black and gold colors of his finished designs and tweaked somewhat (especially in the head) to fit the G1 aesthetic. The same is true for Ironhide, who is based (somewhat more loosely) on one of hisAnimatedcounterpart'sunused "season 4" designs.
- Stonecruncher's new body (and Excavator's body) are based on those of their postive-universe counterparts. Stonecruncher's colors are based on Autobot Micromaster andAstro SquadmemberBarrage,while Excavator's are based on Barrage's partnerHeave.
- Warpath and Scoop's new bodies are theirGenerationstoyline figures (specifically Warpath's Deluxe class figure, and Scoop's "Thrilling 30" figure).
Other trivia
- The Terminus Blade is revealed to be an artifact of the Thirteen here; Mammoth probably learned that fromAquariuslast chapter.
