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Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust II

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TF2019 35 cvrA.jpg
"Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust II"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published September 22,2021
Cover date September 2021
Written by Brian Ruckley
Art by Anna Malkova
Colors David García CruzandEvan Gauntt
Letters by Jake M. Wood
Editor David Mariotte,Tom WaltzandRiley Farmer
Continuity 2019 IDW continuity

It's all-out war on Termagax's doorstep as the Autobots and Decepticons battle for the Enigma of Combination.

Contents

Synopsis

WithTermagaxand herwalking fortressunder siege from a swarm of ravenousInsecticon clones,it'sSky Lynxand theAutobotsto the rescue: the giant flier uses his lower half to dropPyra Magnaand her team straight into the fray, while his upper body joinsWindblade,Springer,andBladesas they provide air support. From inside House, Termagax,Landmine,andGeomotuswatch as the elite Autobots dispatch the swarm, and Termagax reluctantly intrigued by the sight of the disgraced Pyra Magna walking free once more... particularly when Pyra turns her attention to Termagax's tower and requests to speak with the reclusive inventor at the behest ofOptimus Prime.

Elsewhere in the wilderness,Skywarphas foundShockwave's hidden bunker—and promptly runs afoul ofTeam Stream.Their leaderSlipstreamdemands to know where Skywarp's been the last two kilocycles; before Skywarp can explain himself, however, the door to the bunker opens to reveal Shockwave himself, clad in a suit of advanced power armor. Despite Skywarp's protests that Shockwave will be happy to see him again, the scientist turns out to be anything but: although Skywarp tries to remind his former ally of the good old days, Shockwave has no patience for his questions about the recent clone armies sweeping the planet, and tersely explains that theEnigma of Combinationis no concern of his: upon hearing that, however, Skywarp simply teleports away, leaving the Decepticons bewildered—all of them, that is, exceptFlamewar,who admits that shelikesthe mercurial 'Con.

Inside her fortress, Termagax welcomes Pyra andWheeljackinto her workshop; while she's pleased that the new Autobot leader has seen sense and released her from prison, theGreat Generalhas more pressing matters to discuss. Though Wheeljack tries to cut to the chase, Pyra warns Termagax that the Insecticons were only the first wave: the Decepticons are coming, and although Termagax tells them that she won't fight for the Autobots, Pyra informs Termagax that she's not here to force a decision, only to ensure that Termagax survives at all. Already, the Autobots are digging in for a protracted siege: asArcee,Sureshot,andWindchargertake up sniper positions on the roof of Termagax's tower, Sky Lynx melts a trench into the metallic ground, and Wheeljack advises Geomotus and Landmine to get to safety before things get ugly. On the balcony, Pyra has a conversation with Termagax about why Optimus sent them—and Termagax reveals that, despite their philosophical differences,Nominus Primeentrusted her with the Enigma of Combination, so long as she kept it hidden. For Pyra, the details aren't important: she can tell the whole sordid story to Optimus Prime, who's already on his way with the brunt of the Autobot forces.

As Optimus arrives,Ironhideand hisSenate Guard—now thePrimeGuard—take point; although Ironhide points out that Termagax could pose a threat, the Autobot leader has hope that, althoughMegatron's Decepticons are now beyond reason, there's still a chance that he can get through to Megatron's mentor. The moment he sets foot inside House, however, Termagax bluntly tells him that she willnotsurrender the Enigma of Combination to the Autobots, nor to the Decepticons, and no one will force her to choose between these two unappealing factions. Optimus insists that choice is what this entire conflict is about; their choices are who they are, and with imminent crisis on her doorstep a 'bot as influential as Termagaxcannotsimply stand back and refuse to pick a side. Indeed, the Decepticons are already on their way;SubseaandGroundbreakerspySixshotleading an entire Decepticon battalion, ready to seize the Enigma by force. The six-changer notes that the Autobots have already fortified their position, but dismisses his predecessorSkytread's attempts to undermine his command—they have theRainmakerson their side, and their devastating powers will surely clear a path for the main Decepticon force.

As the Rainmakers crest the horizon, Sunstreaker radios Pyra Magna that the Decepticon vanguard is inbound—fortunately, Pyra's already anticipated this maneuver, and two high-caliber shots from Arcee and Sureshot sendAcid StormandIon Stormcorkscrewing into the ground. But while Windcharger's confident that his magnets can haltNova Stormin mid-flight, he underestimates her impermeable armor plating—the yellowSeekerbarrels through the wall of House and drags Windcharger behind her before the Autobot can crush her internal systems with a powerful magnetic pulse. With their vanguard out of commission, Sixshot orders all his troops to prepare for a frontal assault, and uses his ownbeast modeto lead the charge! Although the Sea of Rust means that the Decepticons can't mount a flank attack, Pyra informs Optimus that there's no guarantee the Autobots will make it out alive—but Optimus reminds her that if the Decepticons win, all will be lost. Upon hearing this, Termagax explains that she's kept the Enigma hidden all this time because it belongs toallCybertronians, biding her time until Cybertronians can learn to stop being afraid of who they are. Optimus snaps back that, for all of Termagax' claims that Cybertronians fear their true power, the only thinghefears now is Megatron's nature. Everyone out there is fighting forher—and as the Autobots steadily lose ground to the Decepticons, Termagax finally makes a decision. Without warning, House's bay doors open to reveal an army ofspectrosynth drones,which promptly leap into action!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Ascenticons/Decepticons Others


Quotes

"He really is mad."
"I quite like him, to be honest."

—SlipstreamandFlamewaron Skywarp


"This is overly dramatic, don't you think?"
"It's a war. An excess of drama kind of goes with the territory.Whatexactly did youthinkwas going on? "

—TermagaxandPyra Magna


"Choice is what this isall about!Our choices are who weare.Some may avoid choosing in these times, but notyou."

—Optimus Prime


"Oh, I worry abouta lotof things. It gets in the way sometimes. So Groove said I should set aside a little bit of every cycle just for that. Do all the worrying then. I save everything up, until I get to my worrying time. Makes therestof the cycle go a bit smoother. "

—Subsea


"We're the anti-Rainmakers, we are. We're thedrought."

—Sureshot


"You know why I kept the Enigma all this time? You know why I agreed to keep it, but not use it? Because it is apartof us. Ithasto be. All the artifacts have to be. If we have not learned to use it wisely yet, wewill.If we made mistakes during the expansion, wecando better. But only if we stop being afraid of eventrying.If we stop being afraid of what weare."
"I am not afraid of whatIam. Only of whatMegatronis. And everyone out there fighting—dying,perhaps—to defend you...they'reafraid of that, too. "

—TermagaxandOptimus Prime

Notes

Continuity notes

  • Having tagged along with Pyra Magna's team, Wheeljack notes that he was already swarmed by Insecticon clones once before in the city ofDarkmount—he and his menteeGearsfought this bug war in thefinal issueof theEscapeminiseries.
  • Although the previous issue had already confirmed that Termagax still holds the Engima of Combination after several issue's worth of foreshadowing, the Ascenticon leader explains thatNominus Primeallowed her to keep the Enigma of Combination after theConstructiconfiasco inGalaxies#3—perhaps, as she implies in her conversations with Pyra and Optimus, as a means to ensure that such a destructive weapon wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.
  • Powertrainmakes a surprise return in this issue; he last showed up inGalaxies#10as a crewmember aboard the starshipFist of Iacon,and was later captured bySpinisterfor blackmail purposes. Presumably, he joined the Autobots at around the same time as his captainUltra Magnuswhen they returned to Cybertron inissue #31.He's later shown fighting alongside his usualOff Road PatrolcomradeHighjump,who fought the battle of Darkmount alongside Wheeljack inEscape#5.
  • In a conversation with Groundbreaker, Subsea notes that theSenate Guardare calling themselves the "Prime Guard" now—back in#29,Ironhide mused that therewasno Senate left to guard in the wake of Megatron's coup, and that they'd have to redirect their efforts to defending Optimus instead.
  • Sixshot clarifies that at some point off-camera between issues#26and#28,the Ascenticon Guard was absorbed into the Rise's command structure. As a result, former Guard captain Skytread no longer has a position of authority in the combined Decepticon forces.

Transformers references

  • Shockwave's new suit of armor is, of course, based on the accessories that came with theSiegetoyon which his character model is based upon, which could all be combined into a single powered-up mode.
  • Megatron had previously boasted about Nova Storm's impenetrable armor plating inissue #25.While this trait was, as we've mentioned elsewhere, lifted from the character's description in the 2015Ask Vector PrimeFacebook feature, this issue reveals that this invulnerabilitydoesn'textend to her internal systems.

Errors

Other trivia

  • Originally solicited for September 15, this issue drops just one week late, on the 22nd.

Covers (3)

  • TF2019 35 cvrA.jpg
  • TF2019 35 cvrB.jpg
  • TF2019 35 cvrRI.jpg

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