Maximals Strike Back, Part 3
From Transformers Wiki
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| "Maximals Strike Back, Part 3" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | January 26,2022 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | January 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Erik Burnham | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Jake M. Wood | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte,Jazmine JoynerandRiley Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Transformers: Beast Wars | ||||||||||||
The remaining Maximals seize the Golden Disk at the same time that Megatron springs his latest trap... but to make it off the battlefield alive, both sides might have to lose to win.
Contents |
Synopsis
Outside theDarksyde,Optimus Primaltries to keepMegatron's attention long enough forNyxandRattrapto complete their respective missions without drawing undue attention—while Megatron ruthlessly pummels the Maximal commander, Nyx successfully shoots out the stolen starship'stranswarp drive;when an enragedTarantulaspounces, Nyx incapacitates him with a custom-built taser weapon designed to keep the mad scientist at arm's length. Meanwhile,Rattrapfinds himself caught in a difficult situation: removing theGolden Diskfrom the ship's optical drive has tripped theDarksyde's defences and locked Rattrap in Megatron's private quarters. Nyx races to rescue her comrade asCheetorfinally gets even withBlackarachniaby baiting her into accidentally firing onScorponokinstead, allowing an enragedSkold,still reeling fromRazorbeast's death, to grab his paralyzed body and uses it as an improvised bludgeon to hitRhinoxin the face. While a woundedDinobotuses hisoptical lasersto eliminateWaspinatorfrom the fight, Nyx struggles to free Rattrap and radios Primal for backup. Rescuing his comrades will clue Megatron into theirrealgame, but there's no other way—the Maximal leader feigns weakness long enough for an overconfident Megatron to close in for the kill; when he recieves a gorilla fist in the face for his troubles, Megatron charges up his weapons moments before Optimus impales him through hisbeast modehead. The catastrophic explosion immolates Megatron's beast body in a fiery explosion, and knocks him unconscious just long enough for Primal to abandon the fight and break into the Predacon base.
Watching from afar, a horrified Blackarachnia realizes that her new leaderisn'tunbeatable: as she scuttles away to reconsider her allegiances, an enraged Skold continues pummelling Rhinox and screams at him to fight back. Despite everything that's transpired, however, Rhinox won't raise a hand against her: Rhinox has befriended and even loved Predacons, and despite everything that's transpired between their two factions on this planet he understands her loss. If hurtinghimhelps her to come to terms with that pain, then he'll gladly take a few punches... but those words cause Skold to close her eyes and admit that she'd find no satisfaction in killing him. Furious with the Maximals, the Predacons, and herself, Skold quietly tells him to leave now, before she changes her mind.
In theDarksyde,Optimus and Nyx struggle to rescue Rattrap; although they just barely manage to force the doors open long enough for Rattrap to make it out with the Golden Disk, they're not far from the exit when a force field bars their way. On the other side of the field, Tarantulas and a damaged but still-functioning Megatron bar their way, and Megatron gloats that as soon as he's out of aCR chamberhe'll annihilate the three of them. Optimus, however, has a different play in mind, and calmly informs the Predacons that, if they don't walk free, then he'll destroy the disk entirely. Without a functioning transwarp drive, they'll be stuck on this planet forever... and if Megatron tries to hijack their ship, theAxalon,then they'll trip the self-destruct mechanism and kill everyone. Tarantulas hisses that Primal's bluffing—the shiphasno automated self-destruct function—but Rattrap reminds him that the last time he broke into their computer system, Rattrap threw him out the window before he could access the ship's primary network. Optimus calmly offers a compromise: he'll return the Golden Disk,ifMegatron lets him and all of the other Maximals walk freely. A furious Megatron screams in rage... but ultimately accepts their terms.
As the remaining Maximals board their improvised shuttlecraft, Nyx laments that they went through all that for nothing; they're no closer to retrieving the disk than they were when they set out. Fortunately, Rattrap has a surprise for them—before their faceoff with Megatron, Rattrap took the precaution of copying all the files on the disk! Dinobot growls that they should've taken Megatron prisoner while they had the chance, but Optimus reminds him that they're not going to jail Megatron aboard their ship until they'recertainthat they can fly it back toCybertronto face justice. Rattrap demands to know when Primal planned to tell the rest of them about this self-destruct mechanism... but Primal reveals that the entire ploy was a very convincing bluff.
As Tarantulas and Megatron watch them leave, Megatron growls that he's once again underestimated the Maximals, and that bad habit has cost him the best chance yet to dispose of Optimus and his crew permanently. For the moment, Megatron will put aside his dreams of galactic conquest: all that matters now, he vows, is impaling Optimus Primal's severed head on a pike. Tarantulas, meanwhile, has plans of his own: as night falls, he laysTerrorsaur's mangled body on a slab and gets to work, musing that death does not necessarily mark the end of one's usefulness...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons |
|---|---|
|
Quotes
"A long time ago, there was a warrior from an alien race. He'd let his opponents hammer away at him until he had them where he wanted them, and then he fought back. I think he called the strategyrope-a-dope.No idea why. "
- —Optimus Primal
"I believe that Cybertronians are more alike than different. I've befriended some Predacons, loved some. I'd bedevastatedto see them die, so I understand your pain. And if a few free punches help you cope...then I can take them. "
- —Rhinox
"So when were you going to tell me that theAxalonhad a self-destruct there, cap? I don't want someone to accidentally trip it while we rewire the bridge... "
"Self-destruct? We don't have one of those. You should know that."
"But you--... I amneverplaying cyber poker with you again. "
- —RattrapandOptimus Primal
"Deciphering this disk is no longer my top priority. Nor is the conquest of Cybertron. Now, more than anything else... I want Optimus Primal'sheadon apike.I want to watch thelight fade from his eyesand to decorate my throne room with this trophy as a warning. I will have this, Tarantulas.So swears Megatron."
- —Megatron
"There can be lifebeyonddeath, oh yes... shall we see how long it takes to get there? "
- —Tarantulasdissects Terrorsaur
Notes
Continuity notes
- As she battles Tarantulas, Nyx reminds him of their last confrontation back inissue #3.The exchange reveals that she's added a new, electrified taser weapon as a back-up weapon, should the Predacons ever capture her again.
- When Blackarachnia pulls astun beamon Cheetor, the Maximal notes that he suggested taking a full complement of stun guns board their ship before their fateful voyage—although it hasn't really come up sinceissue #1,that installmentdidshow him acting as the ship's primary gunner and weapons specialist.
- While talking down an enraged Skold, Rhinox notes that he's befriended and even loved Predacons—he's spent most of the series thus far advocating a non-violent approach to their problems; inissue #4,he pointed out that Maximals and Predacons have cooperated for centuries.
- With Optimus Primal caged behind a force field, Megatron gloats that he got the idea from their last encounter—in the climax ofissue #6,Optimus and his forces retreated by using theAxalon's force field to deflect enemy fire. In the same exchange, Rattrap recalls his fight against Tarantulas in the same issue, which ended when he used acargo-loading exoskeletonto punt the Predacon out the window.
- Two issues ago, inissue #10,Tarantulas saved Terrorsaur from Megatron; as he reminded Terrorsaur then, however, this was simply out of a practical concern that if Megatron atomized him then there'd be nothing left for him to salvage. Now that Terrorsaur's gone, it seems as though Tarantulas will make good on that promise...
Transformers references
- Shocked by the sight of Megatron's defeat, Blackarachnia skitters away and grumbles that she'll have to reconsider her allegiances. That's exactly what she did in the third season of theoriginalBeast Warscartoon,when she joined the Maximals after realizing that Megatron's attempt to change history would eraseherfrom existence as well.
- Buoyed by Optimus's victory over Megatron, Cheetor gloats that his commander has the spark of a "big bot" after all—this was, of course, his nickname for the Maximal leader in theBeast Warscartoon.
- Although Megatron survives the catastrophic failure of his weapons system, the explosion burns away all of the synthetic flesh on his tyrannosaur head and reduces it to a metallic endoskeleton. As it happens, the metallic head is drawn to resembleAnimatedGrimlock,who began life as a rubbery theme park animatronic who later lost his outer coating. Coincidentally, both characters were voiced byDavid Kaye.
- Megatron's fantasy features another glimpse of Cybertron's unique "gashed" moon, an astronomical feature that first appeared in theBeast Machinescartoonand later appeared inissue #1of this comic.
Real-world references
- In his battle with Megatron, Optimus feigns exhaustion, then hits back at a surprised Megatron to catch him off-guard. He notes that he got the idea from a legendary "alien warrior" who called the tactic "rope-a-dope" —he's likely referring to thehumanboxerMuhammad Ali,who popularized the strategy in his famous1974 matchagainstGeorge Foreman.
- "Alas, poor Terrorsaur", quips Tarantulas as he holds his comrade's severed head, paraphrasing the famous monologue from Dinobot's belovedHamlet.Ironically, Dinobot said the same thing about Tarantulas himself when the Predacons faked their deaths in the cartoon episodeVictory.
Other trivia
- Notably, this issue's "Maximal Mailbag" feature includes editorDavid Mariotteteasing the possibility of a crossover between IDW'sBeast Warscomic and their2019Transformersreboot.However,the crossover miniseries that would've brought them together,intended for release at some point late in 2022, never made it to publication.
Covers (3)
- Cover A:Optimus and Megatron doKing Kong,byJohn Yurcaba
- Cover B:Optimus and Nyx try to rescue Rattrap, byPhilip Murphy
- Retailer incentive cover:Optimus and Megatron, byJamel JonesandRonda Pattinson
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- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#125
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.
Beast Wars,Vol 2; cover art byJohn Yurcaba
