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Rise of the Decepticons: We Have Deceived You

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"Rise of the Decepticons: We Have Decieved You"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published September 16,2020
Cover date September 2020
Written by Brian Ruckley
Art by Anna Malkova
Colors by Joana Lafuente
Letters by Jake M. Wood
Editor David Mariotte,Tom WaltzandRiley Farmer
Continuity 2019 IDW continuity

Sentinel Prime's controversial speech at the Senate gives Megatron the opening he needs... and Cybertron will never be the same again.

Contents

Synopsis

For the first time,Sentinel Primeintends to convene theSenatewithoutMegatronor theAscenticonparty he represents, and his decision has only further strained tensions on aCybertronpushed to the breaking point. In the Senate, a grim-facedIronhidebriefs theSenate Guardon their posts; on the streets, overstretched members ofSecurity Operationsstruggle to keep the peace as supporters, protesters, and demonstrators surround the building, whileProwlcracks down on another interview betweenAndromedaandVoxpop.Just as Prowl warns a hesitantBumperto keep his head down and do his job, the crowd silently parts to reveal a far more ominous problem: Megatron,Strika,andRatbathave arrived.

Orion Paxwatches them approach, but advises caution: the threearestill elected Senators, regardless of Sentinel's rhetoric. Megatron demands they let him in, and Orion makes one last attempt to get his former friend to stand down. Though Megatron protests that chaotic change is inevitable if measured change is impossible, Orion delivers his final warning: if he continues down this path, then his means and his message will become the same—one of violence and death. Megatron disregards Orion and stalks inside the Senate building to meet his destiny, snarling that Orion should've stayed a lowly archivist as he leaves. Orion apologizes to the head archivistProxima,but she has other concerns: no matter what happens, Megatronwillinflame his supporters, who even now gather around the Senate building. Orion takesGrooveandFlareupwith him into the Senate to keep an eye on Megatron; Ironhide protests that this move will weaken their final line of defense, but Orion doesn't care: Megatronisthe greatest threat to Cybertron, and he might just be on the cusp of victory. Indeed, as the Senate convenes and Sentinel Prime begins his thunderous condemnation of the deceitful Ascenticons, Megatron arrives, demanding the right to address the Senate and refute these charges!

Elsewhere,Starscreampays a visit toBumblebee's cell. As Head of Cybertronian intelligence, Starscream has his fingers in many pies; one of his informants has tipped him off that today will mark the birth of a new Cybertron. Starscream's connections will let him ride out the storm in comfort—heknowswhat Bumblebee's been up to, and that's why he wants to propose an alliance. Caged and resentful, Bumblebee says nothing...

As Prowl does his best to keep the crowd outside the Senate at bay, he findsCyclonus,who wants to askChromiafor information onSixshot.As Megatron's supporters take up a chant, Prowl tells Cyclonus to leave; Cyclonus does so, musing thatthisfight won't be his... but the ghosts in his mind feel otherwise.

Orion, Flareup, and Groove arrive in time to see Megatron take the pulpit and begin his speech, but this is no attempt to defend himself, or parley as equals. Megatron's fiery speech condemns the Autobots and everything they stand for: in response to widescale civil unrest and the loss of theWinged Moon,the Autobots only tightenenergonrations and impose curfews. Sentinel Prime may have denounced the Ascenticons as "Decepticons",but Megatron smiles: it is an apt name, for theyhavedeceived Cybertron. For too long, he and his followers had concealed their desire for change, convinced the Senate that they would work within the system to get what they wanted—but that lie ends today. Already, the Decepticons have done what the Autobots and the Senate could not: today marks the end ofThe Rise,who have already surrendered to the Decepticons. If the bloated, complacent Senate could not achieve such a simple task, then what could they possibly do for the people of Cybertron? Today, he announces, marks theendof the Senate—and, right on cue, Megatron's concealed warriors begin their attack. Outside,Clench,Apeface,RunamuckandRunaboutoverwhelmPipesandChainclawand bash right through a side door; on the roof,Nova Storm,Ion Storm,andAcid Stormtake outSubsea.Chaos reigns in the Senate Hall as Strika pins Sentinel and senators rush the podium, while Orion shouts for Flareup to seal the doors... but doesn't get far before Acid Storm uses his powers to eat right through the Senate's roof, allowing Ion Storm to incapacitate the Senators with a devastating electromagnetic blast. Clench breaches the loading bay and disgorges a squadron ofInfiltration Troopers,who overwhelm Roulette, Grotusque, and Flareup. As the dust settles, Megatron orders Strika to secure the building and tell all of Cybertron of their triumph. When Ironhide,Brawn,andBackstreetbreach the building, they don't get far before Strika, Apeface, and Clench bulldoze right over the three and blast them right back out the door with a single missile barrage.

Confident that they've taken the Senate, Strika and her compatriots activate the Senate's built-in projectors and pose triumphantly in front of the crowd. Backlit by their insignia, Strika announces the good news: the crisis is over, Megatron has triumphed, and the Decepticons are here to open the way!

Featured characters

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

Autobots Decepticons Cybertronians

Quotes

"I do not know what ends you are pursuing, but the meanswillconsume the ends.Howa thing is done becomes the thing itself. You willbecomethe means you employ, Megatron. "
"We must become what the timesrequireof us. "

—Orion PaxandMegatron


"We have concealed the true extent of our determination. We haveconcealedtheextremityof our hunger for renewal. We havepretendedto a patience, a tolerance forfailurethat we do not possess. We have allowed you to believe that we would waitforeverfor this Senate, for the Autobots toawaken.No more. Whileyouhave stagnated, we have worked.Wehaveimagined."

—Megatron


"Hey, aren't youClench?I saw you and Apeface fight in the arena! Long time ago, but— "
"Yeah. Long time ago. But if you're a fan, guess I shouldpretendto be sorry about—THIS!"

—Never meet your heroes, withPipesandClench


"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing. So let ushave donewith you! I say you are no Senateworthyof the name! In the name of Primus,go!"

—Megatron


"We have no need for your Senate Guard in here, Ironhide! We have no need fora Senate!"

—Strika


"A new horizon opens, andMegatronand theDecepticonshave come to show you the way! Cybertron!The crisis is over! Order and freedom are within reach!"

—Strika

Notes

Continuity notes

  • After first denouncing their deceptive ways inissue #15,Sentinel coined the appellation "Decepticon" inissue #20.He had previously threatened to outlaw the Ascenticons and convene the Senate without them inissue #21.
  • Ever the conspiracy theorist,Voxpopwonders if the alienThraalwere the ones responsible for destroying theTether.We learned about the fraught political situation between the Thraal and theA'ovaninissue #12—and, to be fair, thisdoesseem like the kind of terrorist attack that the Thraal hardlinersNauticamentioned in that issue might plan.
  • In a nice bit of artistic consistency, the steps to the Senate feature the same spherical statue that appeared inissue #10.
  • Proximamakes her visual debut in the comic, althoughStarscreammentioned her inissue #16,andissue #18featured an excerpt fromone of her books.
  • Cyclonuslearned aboutSixshot's destruction of theMemorial Craterinissue #17.
  • Bumblebee was arrestedlast issueafter he killedQuake.
  • Starscream mentions an informant who's tipped him off about the impending attack on the Senate building, but advises Bumblebee not to "reflectfor too long "on who this might be. It's a sure bet that Starscream's being coy aboutRefraktor,his mole in theAscenticon Guard,while also playing on how the character is traditionally named "Reflector."
  • Pipesrecognizes gladiatorsClenchandApeface;Frenzyowned an old poster of one of Apeface's bouts inissue #20.Before that, we saw the tail end of Apeface's career in theTransformers Valentine's Day Specialas he performed in front of a bored crowd alongsideTap-Out.That issue had Pipes walking on the street past Tap-Out soon afterward.
  • Megatron recruited the trio ofNova Storm,Ion Storm,andAcid Stormdirectly fromThe Riseinissue #19.In that same issue, Megatron sentRatbatto ready the "Infiltration Troopers" seen here—it wasn't clear what he was talking about at the time, but this issue reveals that Megatron was talking about the future members of theDecepticon Mini-Cassettes.

Transformers references

  • Subseadebuted inMarvel UKstory "Underworld!"as a hi-and-die generic; more recently, he showed up inissue #22ofOptimus Primeas... uh, well, a hi-and-die generic. His cameo here suggests he's on a winning streak!
  • Grotusque's complaints about Cybertronians prejudiced against individuals withbeast modesseems like a call-back to thefirst IDW continuity'sfunctionistsystem, which discriminated against both Transformers who turned into beasts, and Cybertronians with animal-like robot modes. Of course, as Ironhide points out here, that kind of institutionalized prejudice doesn't seem to exist on this version of Cybertron, where newly forged Transformers can choose to become whatever they'd like. Future issues would show this Cybertron venerates theAge of the Firstforged,with several tales of humanoid biped heroes likeHalonix MaximusandBig Bangwarring against bestial Cybertronians likePreditronorGaidoraand theturbofoxes.It's possible the prejudice Grotusque alludes to dates back to this era.
  • The parting crowd on page three includes a pair of Cybertronians drawn to resembleAnimatedScrounge.
  • Ion Storm incapacitates the Senate using a powerful electromagnetic pulse, but the effort involved makes him collapse from overexertion. Both of these traits have their origin in the 2015Ask Vector Primefeature that originally named both him andNova Storm.
  • The cassette team includes familiar mainstaysRavage,Laserbeak,andBuzzsaw,second-stringersBeastboxandSquawktalk,and left-field cameoHowlback—a character who, up until now, has been limited to bit parts and namedrops. In an odd detail, Laserbeak is drawn to resemble hisSiegetoyand sports that toy's streamlined, mono-optic head, but both Buzzsaw and Squawktalk possess their regular bird heads (But see "Errors", below...)

Real-life references

  • Megatron's statement to the Senate, as quoted above, is a nigh-direct quotation ofOliver Cromwell's statement to theRump Parliamenton the 20th April 1653. Megatron goes just a little further than Cromwell, who merely had the members dragged out.

Errors

  • ColoristJoana Lafuenteappears to have mistakenBeastboxforApeface,and has colored him as such. (Perhaps Beastbox is just a big fan?)
  • On page seventeen, the panel of Laserbeak attacking Roulette has him sporting a two-eyed head.
  • Flareupis shownturning greyafter the cassettes attack her, suggesting that she's dead. That said, this universe is just ateensybit inconsistent on whether or not characters turn grey when they die—Rubbledid, as did Cyclonus's ghostly compatriots as well as a generic civilian inissue #19,butBrainstormand Quake did not.Issue #25will show that Flareup survived the attack, which retroactively makes this an error.

Other trivia

  • Originally solicited for June, this issue was pushed back to September as a result of IDW Publishing suspending operations. It was released digitally on September 16, and saw a print release on September 30.

Covers (3)

  • TF2019 23 cvrA.jpg
  • TF2019 23 cvrB.jpg
  • TF2019 23 cvrRI.jpg

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