Escape Part Three

	"Escape Part Three"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	May 19,2021
Cover date	February 2021
Written by	Brian Ruckley
Art by	Beth McGuire-Smith
Colors by	Priscilla Tramontano
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	David Mariotte,Tom Waltz,andRiley Farmer
Continuity	2019 IDW continuity

The besieged Autobots arrive at Darkmount to begin the final stage of their evacuation efforts, while Shockwave's remaining troops contend with Bombshell's betrayal.

Synopsis

Having ambushed theAutobotrefugee caravan and isolated their rearguard, theInsecticonsprepare for a feast—whileNauticaescorts the nearest organics to safety,Hound,Road Rage,andMudslingerstruggle to keep the monstrous Transformers at bay.Toteuses hisalternate modeto shield a group ofA'ovan;althoughKickbacktries gnawing his way through Tote's vehicle mode roof, he doesn't make much headway beforePowerflashandHighjumpbreak off from the front of the convoy and provide some much-needed reinforcements. With the entire Autobot force bearing down on them,Bombshellorders a retreat, andSkrapneluses his powers to kick up a cloud of electrostatic dust to confound their foes as the Insecticons escape.

In Shockwave's hidden bunker,OnslaughtconfrontsSkystalkerwhen he sees the ex-Cityspeakerloading up theThunder Arrowwith vital scientific equipment. Still acting under the influence of Bombshell'scerebro-shells,Skystalker evades his questions... but when Onslaught pushes the issue, Skystalker uses a hidden electrical weapon to paralyze theCombaticoncommander before he takes off in his stolen ship.

Once they're back underway, Hound updatesDai Atlason the situation: though they successfully drove off the Insecticons, the Decepticons absconded with two organics and the CybertronianScrambleras they retreated—and yet, despite the mounting body count, he cannot believe that the general—the war hero who vanquishedAbominus—will not take up arms against this threat. Dai Atlas does his best to explain: when he stood against Abominus, the people ofCybertrontruly believed that thecombinercould not be reasoned with or controlled. When the Threefold Spark threatened the planet, Dai Atlas sawExarchonas an existential threat and met force with force—but came away from the conflict increasingly unsure of the role he played in perpetuating the cycle of violence. When he finally wentimmersantafter the war against theThraal,his spiritual journey convinced him that everyspark—dead, alive, those yet unborn—are all, truly, one... and if allareone, then any kind of violence is inherently self-destructive, for hurting one being hurts them all.

Elsewhere in the wilderness, the three Insecticons squabble over Scrambler's remains as they soar towards their new base of operations inside the hollowed-out head of an immersantTitan.Their inside man Skystalker has served his purposes well: he's already landed theThunder Arrownearby and unloaded his stolen equipment to establish a makeshiftcloningmachine based on the model Shockwave developed during the war. Once they've metabolized theenergonthey've produced from their latest feast, the device will harvest the planet'sliving metaland reshape it into an entire clone army. Bombshell gloats that Shockwave's arrogance will prove his undoing: he's not the only 'bot smart enough to use the machine, and soon everyone will see the Insecticons as the hunters they were born to be...

As their convoy arrives atDarkmount,Wheeljack andHoisthave picked up some more civilians along the way—including the giantLeviathan,who's been left paralyzed and unable to transform since her run-in withQuake.The pair do what they can to repair her while Nautica shoos away some overeager A'ovan children playing on her face before telling Wheeljack there's someone here to see him: his menteeGears.As the two reunite,Highbrowarrives; though he's intrigued to see the rumors of Dai Atlas's return, he's really there to relay a message from the ever-reclusiveStraxxus.Straxxus is glad to offer whatever assistance he can spare... but orders the Autobots to come no closer to the city limits. Accommodating a massive influx of new arrivals would only jeopardize his own progress on theArkproject, he explains; as the city's representative, he must considerallpotential dangers and take the appropriate steps.

Meanwhile,Ragehas finally limped back to Rise headquarters, but does not receive a warm welcome: neither Shockwave nor his henchmanSoundblasterare pleased that he blew their cover during the recent skirmish in the badlands. Still, the scientist offers a way back into his good books by ordering Rage to find the rogue Insecticons and recover what they've stolen. Rage isn't happy to hear that he'll be working withHydradreadbut makes the best of a bad situation when the eccentric weaponsmith unveils his extensive arsenal of bespoke weapon prototypes in his lab. The hunt for Bombshell, Rage decides, is as good a time as ever to give these gadgets a test run!

Featured characters

(Characters initalic textappear only in flashback.)

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots

Decepticons

Others

Dai Atlas(13)
Kup(14)
Blitzwing(15)
Abominus(16)
Speeder(17)
Quake(18)
Hardhead(19
LeozackorLyzack(23)
Leviathan(26)
Gears(27)
Highbrow(28)
Straxxus(30)

Threefold Spark

Skywarp(20)
Exarchon(22)

Quotes

"I fought because I saw all around me the living, and I thought he threatenedallof us. When the war began, I saw the living. By the time it ended, all I could see was the dead. The greatheapsof them that Exarchon and us, together, had piled up. And I... I was unsure. "

—Dai Atlas

"The span of our individual sparks... it's notallwe are. I can't see it clearly any more, but I truly think there's a unity that precedes it, and follows it. Even my enemies... they areme.If I use violence against them, I use it against all of us. "

—Dai Atlas

"We'llbe the hunters now. That's our nature, and our destiny, and our fate. "

—Bombshell

"Everything that's happening, it's all so appalling. So ugly and purposeless. It doesn't feel like my world any more. I want to mend and fix and build. But the only things that need mending right now are broken bodies."

—Wheeljack

"Hydradread?!Megatron really has taken everyone worth having, hasn't he? Hydradread's a deranged tinkerer! What possible point...oh,fine."

—Rage

Notes

Continuity notes

The "Constructicons Rising" arc ofTransformers: Galaxiesintroduced Abominus as an ancient combiner who had once terrorized Cybertron in the days before theWar of the Threefold Spark,thoughTermagaxdid not specifically name him, and only described him as an "abomination". The revelation that Dai Atlas helped bring him down is a new one, however; this would presumably be the battle ofRivets Fieldthat took place at some point before the events ofGalaxies#1.
The second flashback shows Dai Atlas during the War of the Threefold Spark, and includes a cameo from the now-deceased Quake, a notable veteran of the war who struggled to readjust to peacetime.
Bombshell notes that Shockwave and Exarchon experimented withcloningtechnology during theWar of the Threefold Spark,but their attempts to clone Skywarp's teleportation power resulted in the "clone-drone swarm"that appeared inTransformers#15and the prologue toGalaxies#10.To counter this army, Nominus authorised the creation of aSeekerarmy of his own;Starscream's report inTransformers#24had previously noted the existence of "war-forged Seekers", suggesting that most, or possiblyall,of the many characters with this body-type were mass-produced during the war.
The flashback shows another "iteration" of the elusive Exarchon. This must take place at some point before his fateful encounter withMegatroninTransformers#15, however; his lanky-limbed body appeared in #15, whereWarpathblew it up.
Just as he did inissue #1,Wheeljack observes aTitanskimming the atmosphere of Cybertron—as this story runs parallel to the events playing over in the mainTransformersongoing, this story must take placejuuustbefore the events ofTransformers#29,which ended with the Decepticons deliberately de-orbiting the Titans and sending them all crashing into Cybertron.
The gigantic Leviathan last appeared inTransformers#22,where she accidentally defeated Quake after the reckless warrior shot her in the knee and sent her toppling.
Wheeljack's mentee Gears last appeared inTransformers#27;along with the other members of Wheeljack's engineering crew, he helped defend theWinged MoonfromSlipstream's Decepticons untilNovastarand her team rescued him from "Team Stream".
Ragelast appeared inTransformers#21,where he abandoned his fellow Risers when it became clear the battle wasn't going in their favor. In his argument with Soundblaster, he correctly recalls thatTriggerhappybailed on them partway through the battle, whileFangryconspicuously disappeared right after their transport fell into a crevasse.

Transformers references

TheThunder Arrowcargo transport is, of course, based on thetransforming shuttle basethat came with Skystalker's 1989 toy, though thenamefor the ship comes from theVictorycartoon, whereDeathsaurusused it as his main flagship.
TheZonestory pages introduced the AutobotMicromasterSpeeder as Dai Atlas's son—naturally, his one-panel cameo shows him as a soldier under Dai Atlas's command.
A jet-former in Bombshell's flashback is drawn to resembleLeozack'sTimelinestoy, though it's not clear if this is meant to depict Leozack himself or his sisterLyzack,who both used this inFun Publications'Wings Universestories. The framing of this scene leaves it ambiguous if they're members of Skywarp's clone army or the mass-producedSeekerssent to hunt them down.
Bombshell describes the special energon he and his compatriots produce as "ultra-energon", an alternate term forOre-13in theInfiltrationminiseries.
Rage and Hydradread both debuted in1994as members of the DecepticonStormtroopers.Like many otherGeneration 2toys, the Stormtroopers were built around awater-squirting gimmick,and the comic hybridizes this play feature with hisWings Universeincarnation by depicting Hydradread as a mad tinkerer who specializes in unusual fluid-based weapons.
Hydradread namedrops a number of weapons as he shows off his arsenal:acid pelletswereProwl's weapon of choice in theMarvelandGeneration 1 cartooncontinuities, whileTranniswielded a pair ofquagma riflesas perAsk Vector Prime.Hydradread also mentions something to do with "exothermic cryo-" before Rage cuts him off...Cryo Saber?Cryo-inducer?Cryo-gas,maybe? You decide!

Errors

The energon the Insecticons produce in this issue is colored blue instead of purple—an artistic choice likely inspired by the substance's depiction in the popularTransformers: Primecartoon. This is not thefirst timethis phenomenon has occurred.

Other trivia

Originally solicited for February 24, this issue's long-overdue May 19 release marks the lengthiest delay betweenTransformersissues so far—inching out the previous record-holder,Sins of the Wreckers#4,by one week.

Covers (3)

Cover A:Hound and Wheeljack escort the A'ovans to safety, byBeth McGuire-Smith
Cover B:Hanging out in theA'ovan habitat,byUmi Miyao
Retailer incentive cover:Insecticons, byJeffrey Veregge