Maximals Strike Back, Part 1

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"Maximals Strike Back, Part 1"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	November 24,2021
Cover date	November 2021
Written by	Erik Burnham
Art by	Josh Burcham
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	David Mariotte,Jazmine JoynerandRiley Farmer
Continuity	Transformers: Beast Wars

Terrorsaur's ambitions get the better of him as the Maximals gear up to take the fight to Megatron.

Contents 1Synopsis 2Featured characters 3Quotes 4Notes 4.1Continuity notes 4.2Transformers references 4.3Other trivia 4.4Covers (3) 4.5Advertisements 4.6Reprints 5References 6External links

Synopsis

Since their crash-landing,Optimus Primaland theMaximalshave hunkered behind theAxalon's impenetrable shields while attempting to contactCybertronusing atranswarpbeacon. But afterBlackarachniabreached their shields and sabotaged more than half of their orbitingstasis pods,this passive stance is no longer an option, and Optimus is ready to take decisive action. In the ship's main hangar, the Maximal leader briefs the assembledMaximalsto announces that they're launching a full-scale attack on theDarksyde,hitting thePredaconswhere it hurts, and using that advantage to liberate theGolden Diskfrom theDarksyde.ThoughRattrapopenly voices his doubts,Dinobotsnarls that the secrets encoded on the Golden Disk givesMegatronan incredible advantage, and recounts the story of the artifact's discovery.

While searching forenergonin theUpsilonus Belt,Dinobot explains, a lone prospector discovered awrecked space probeof alien origin, salvaged the mysterious golden disk it carried, and returned the artifact to Cybertron. When Cybertron'sScience Ministryanalyzed the disk, they detected signs of transwarp energy—a clear indicator that the artifact had repeatedly travelled through time at some point—and even managed to decode one of the disk's files, but ultimately chose to downplay the significance of their findings.One Predacon scientistdisagreed with their decision; when the Ministry refused to reverse their ruling, he went outside the law, sought the assistance of an upstart Predacon named Galavar... and the rest is history. That first file on the disc led both theAxalonand theDarksydeto this mysterious, energon-saturated world: what other secrets might the disk contain?

Optimus lays out their objectives: incapacitate theDarksyde,retrieve or destroy the Golden Disk, and sabotage the Predacons to prevent them from mounting an effective counterattack—sinceBlackarachniacan slip past theAxalon's defenses at will, the Maximal leader wants to ensure that the Predacons will have their hands full for as long as possible while the Maximals search for as many downed stasis pods as possible and reactivate theprotoformswithin. Although Primal's hopeful that they might be able to capture the Predacons alive, and even someday return them to Cybertron to stand trial, Dinobot grumbles that Primal is far too merciful. Rattrap points out a more pertinent problem: how can they get all the way across the valley without attracting undue attention? Fortunately, Optimus already has that covered, and unveils their secret weapon—he and Dinobot have refitted one of the ship's escape ships into a jury-rigged shuttlecraft. As the Maximals pile aboard the ship, Dinobot takes the controls, and the ship rockets off toward the Predacon base. Although Dinobot's eager to leap into glorious combat, new recruitRazorbeasthas his doubts. Although Optimus tries to assure him that there's no other way, Rattrap scoffs at how Primal's itching for action, despite the fact that the ragtag crew under his command is a far cry from the army hewantsto lead. As the shuttle closes on their destination, Optimus lays out their battle plan: while Dinobot andNyxbreak into the Predacon ship to sabotage the vessel'stranswarp drive,Rattrap will secure the Golden Disk while the rest of the team makes a big enough distraction to keep the Predacons occupied. Although Rattrap still has his doubts, and openly bristles at the idea of taking orders from ex-Predacon Dinobot, he reluctantly falls in line when Primal presses the issue.

At theDarksyde,the Predacons have troubles of their own: althoughScorponok's been put in charge of drilling the Predacons into shape,Terrorsaurhas no patience for these repetitive exercises. The disagreement escalates into an argument, and eventually Terrorsaur's ambitions are laid bare when he shouts thatheshould lead the Predacons. But Terrorsaur didn't bargain on Megatron himself showing up within earshot of his outburst; although the Predacon leader is at first merely amused by Terrorsaur's insolence, he quickly orders Terrorsaur to prove himself in one-on-one combat! Terrorsaur first tries to fight back, then to flee, but Megatron snatches the flier from the sky, pins him under his foot, and prepares for an execution... but when he unleashes a blast from his weapon, he's shocked to see that Terrorsaur's gone! As it turns out,Tarantulashas used a portable force bubble to save Terrorsaur at the last second, and the spider-bot reminds his leader that they can't afford to throw away potentially useful warriors. When Terrorsaur asks why Tarantulas went out of his way to save him, Tarantulas coldly replies that it was mere pragmatism: if Megatron had melted him on the spot, there'd be nothing to salvage from his corpse.

With only minutes to go, the Maximals prepare: while Rattrap gets on Dinobot's nerves,Rhinoxadmits to Nyx that he's willing to fight if it means peace in the long run, but Dinobot points out that Megatron has no room for peace in his worldview. Although Primal orders Dinobot to set them down behind a nearby mountain to launch a surprise attack, Dinobot has a plan of his own, and softens up their targets by unleashing a payload of explosives that send Waspinator and the other Predacons diving for cover! At first, Scorponok can't understand who's attacked them, since Maximals never strike first... but that illusion is quickly dispelled when a furious Optimus steps forward and demands to see Megatron!

Featured characters

(Characters initalic textappear only in flashback.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"It's nice you're feelin' soresponsible,but I think we're doing more than our share right now. "
"We haven't been doinganything!"
"Not true. We defended ourselves, like,twice.Not bad for a science squad. "

—RattrapandCheetor

"Goin' on the offensive is like adreamfor you. But you don't have anarmy...you got two bots who suffered a trauma, two that aren't keen on fighting, one bot that moves before he thinks half the time, andme.And I only decided to come because if everyone I know is about to die, I want to know about it when it happens! "

—Rattrap

"Yousavedme? Why? "
"Because if Megatron had melted you to slag, there would've been no usable parts left. Like I said... a conservation ofresources."

—TerrorsaurandTarantulas

"If we're successful today, it might bring about some peace."
"There will beno peaceuntil Megatron eitherrulesor isdestroyed.His ego doesn't leave room for any other options. "

—RhinoxandDinobot

Blackarachnia:Wait, what's that sound?
Terrorsaur:I don't hear anything.
Waspinator:I do... It'zzzfamiliar.I-- --!Everybody down! Now!
<cue missile strike>

—Waspinatorrecognizes the sound of impending doom

"We're being attacked!"
"But the only ones who could, wouldn't—they don't—"
"I guess you learned somethingnewtoday. Now... where'sMegatron?"

—Blackarachnia,Scorponok,andOptimus Primal

Notes

Continuity notes

• In his speech, Optimus alludes to Blackarachnia's recent attack on the ship inissue #9,in which she bypassed their shield by dint of herMaximalspark signature.
• Inissue #7,Megatron decoded a section of the disk and briefly glimpsed a fragmentary message from an alternate version of himself—as he notes to Terrorsaur here, he believes that this "other" Megatron hails from the future. The veracity of this theory is not yet clear, but this issue suggests that the Golden Disk itself is saturated with transwarp energy as a result of multiple trips through time.
• Wheeljackmakes an appearance as a researcher working on the Golden Disk.Issue #1featured the Golden Disk being kept at a research lab flanked by a pair of Wheeljack statues, withCybertronixplaques identifying the building as the "Wheeljack Ministry of Science".
• Razorbeast notes that he owes his life to one of the Predacons in reference to his encounter withSkoldinthe previous issue.Although they're back on opposing sides of the conflict, the pair seem to maintain a healthy respect for one another as a result of their shared adventure.
• While dismissing Optimus Primal's ambitions, Rattrap notes that two 'bots under his command have already suffered trauma: Nyx was captured and tortured by the Predacons inissue #3,and Dinobot suffered debilitating injuries after a near brush with death inissue #6.
• Cheetor's eager to get even with Blackarachnia after the last time they crossed paths inissue #8,which ended with her fooling Cheetor into retreating back to theAxalonwhile she made her escape.

Transformers references

• It probably goes without saying that the mysterious vessel in the Upsilonus Belt is, of course, the originalVoyagerspace probe,which carried the Golden Disk into interstellar space in both real life and in the originalBeast Warscartoon. The idea that the probeitselftravelled through transwarp, however, didn't originate with theBeast Warscartoon, but shares some conceptual DNA with the recentWar for Cybertron Trilogycartoon, which showed a time-travellingGalvatronflinging the disk back in time to a younger Megatron in an attempt to change the past.
• The asteroid miner who stumbles across theVoyagerspace probe is based onEnergonLandmine.While the greyscale flashback makes it impossible to tell which version of the character he's supposed to be, artistJosh Burchamclarified that it's meant to be a Generation 1 version of the American-exclusive characterLandquake.^[1]
• TheBeast Machines-original characterBotanicamakes an appearance on two, although she's sporting a humanoid body based on her brief appearance in theBeast Wars: Uprisingmagazine comic. She's accompanied by another Maximal who's using Rattrap's Cybertronian body fromissue #1;according to Burcham, this is actually theUprising-original characterLabrat.^[2]Also present is Wheeljack, sporting the design ofTransformers AnimatedWheeljack^[3]instead of the Generation 1-based design his statues had in issue #1, and a coneheaded Predacon who leaks news of their findings to the young Galavar. Although he's not named in the issue, Burcham has clarified that this is a new version of theUniversecharacterReptilionand not theBeast WarscharacterIguanus.^[2]
• A passerby on page one of panel four appears to be based onPrimeSoundwavewith a new head.
• While bickering with Dinobot, Rattrap sardonically implores him to "kiss [his]skidplate",an insult lifted fromthe first episodeof the originalBeast Warscartoon.
• On the final panel, Optimus deploys hismouthplate;hisanimated counterpartalso featured a retractable face plate, which featured prominently in the episode "Gorilla Warfare".

Other trivia

• In addition to the long-running "Maximal Mailbag" feature, backmatter for this issue also includes artist Josh Burcham's concept art forRazorbeast.

Covers (3)

• Cover A:Fly the friendly skies, byAnna Malkova
• Cover B:The Maximals, byFreddie E. Williams IIandJeremy Colwell
• Cover RI:Strike a pose, byCasey CollerandJohn-Paul Bove

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Reprints

• The Transformers: Beast WarsVolume 2(June 29,2022)ISBN 1684059038/ISBN 978-1684059034
  • CollectsBeast Warsissues #7–12.
  • Bonus material includes alternate covers, and an one-page sketch by Burcham.

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  Beast Wars,Vol 2; cover art byJohn Yurcaba

References

External links

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