Savage Landing Part 3
From Transformers Wiki
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| "Savage Landing Part 3" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | April 7,2021 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | April 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Erik Burnham | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Jake M. Wood | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte,Tom WaltzandRiley Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Transformers: Beast Wars | ||||||||||||
Unbeknownst to the Maximals, the Predacons have captured Nyx—but Megatron's brutal approach to interrogation leaves Dinobot questioning his allegiance.
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Synopsis
As night falls on theDarksyde,thePredaconshave jury-rigged an electrical torture device for theirMaximalprisonerNyxand allowedMegatronto take charge of their interrogation session. Initially, the Predacon leader puts on an air of civility, but makes his intentions clear—if Nyx doesn't answer his questions, he'll turn her over toTarantulas,who will surely find a creative way to break her. While the spider-bot enthuses at the prospect of a new guinea pig,Dinobotexcuses himself from the proceedings and scowls at the sound of Nyx's screams...
On theAxalon,Cheetorworries that Nyx still hasn't returned from her scouting mission.Optimus Primalsuggests that the excitable pilot might have just gotten distracted and lost track of time; when Cheetor suggests organising a search party, however, his captain shoots him down—they can't risk sendingmoreMaximals into unknown territory after nightfall. Primal suggests that Cheetor try to establish a link with thestasis podscurrently in orbit around the planet to expand their sensor range. Cheetor agrees... but leaves grumbling under his breath that he should've just gone to search the jungle by himself. As Optimus andRhinoxhead down a different corridor, Rhinox wryly points out that Optimus has lucked himself into the middle of the adventure he so craved: they're shipwrecked on an unfamiliar planet with a crew member missing in action. Rhinox commends his captain for keeping a level head in the midst of the crisis, but can offer no theories regarding Nyx's disappearance—shecouldhave simply gotten lost and hunkered down for the night, but ultimately they have no way of knowing for certain.
Despite the terrible torture the Predacons inflict upon her, Nyx refuses to crack—when Megatron offers her another chance to give up what she knows, Nyx defiantly mumbles that no one will remember him, just likehis namesake.Incensed by the jibe, the Predacon leader cranks the torture device to maximum and blasts her again with a near-fatal surge of electricity. The agonizing sound finally prompts Dinobot to step in; he does his best to try and talk his leader down, even pointing out that a dead prisoner can't give them any useful information, but his sensible advice only only goads Megatron into a towering rage. Furious at this insubordination, Megatron grabs Dinobot by the throat over the warrior's protests that a worthy foe deserves an honorable death... but it's Tarantulas who finally speaks up and breaks the stalemate. Nyx might not be talking, but hersilencespeaks volumes—if she were the sole survivor of the crash, he deduces, then she'd have no comrades to protect and no reason to stay silent. Pleased by this hypothesis, Megatron rewards Tarantulas... by allowing him to the freedom to use Nyx for his experiments. The mad scientist cackles that she'll make an excellent test subject for his prototype inventions, while Megatron forgives Dinobot for his outburst, but delivers a final ultimatum: donotdefy his will again.
Some time later, Nyx comes to on the desert ground just outside theDarksyde.At first, she writes the whole experience off as a bad dream... until Megatron's voice draws her attention to the sight of all seven Predacons, gathered just outside the ship to watch her execution. Thinking quickly, Nyx tries to transform and fly off... only to fall flat on her face when her systems malfunction, trapping her inrobot mode!As heronboard computerwarns that shemusttransform or face deactivation, Tarantulas reveals his prototypetransformation lock lens:as long as he trains its beam on her, she'll be unable to transform or even enter protectivestasis lock.Nyx tries to fight back, but discovers her onboard weapons have been sabotaged; with no other option but to make a run for it, the Predacons gleefully take potshots at the Maximal until she finally succumbs to the ambientenergon radiationand collapses.Terrorsaurinvites Dinobot to get in on the action before the fun's over; Dinobot obliges, and lines up a shot with hiseye lasers... only to blast Tarantulas's invention to pieces! Relieved, Nyx uses the last of her strength to change back into herbeast modeas the Predacons turn on the troublemaker. Megatron orders his loyalists to kill the traitor, but the honorable Predacon is a canny fighter: he first takes out Tarantulas, thenScorponokand Terrorsaur, and finally punches outWaspinator.WhenSkoldleaps into the fray to kill the traitor, Dinobot explains that he's anything but—by turning on his comrades, he hasnotbetrayed himself or his ideals, and it's not too late for Skold to realize that she too can aspire to be more than just an amoral thug. With one final condemnation of Megatron, Dinobot manages to hurl the little Predacon at Megatron's face, then speaks aloud the code to force theDarksydeinto full lockdown, trapping all the Predacons inside their own ship!
While the other Predacons gripe, Megatron grudgingly admits that Dinobot's treachery is almost impressive. Still, he muses, they won't be trapped in their ship forever—and when Megatron gets his hands on his former underling, there will be another execution...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"Good evening, my dear, and welcome to theDarksyde.I amMegatron,and we're going to have a wonderful conversation, you and I. "
- —Megatroninterrogates Nyx
"Meantime, hey, little elbow grease'll take your mind off things!"
"I've been working on the sensor systems all day, Rattrap! My elbows arefully greased."
"Promise me you'llneversay those words out loud at a metadisco. "
- —RattrapandCheetor
"When you go dark, Maximal, it will be for good... and then I'll take you apart, piece by piece, andconsumeyour tender circuits, cooked to perfection in an energon bath. It'll be so much fun! "
- —Tarantulas
"History barely remembers theoriginalMegatron. It'snevergoing to remember you. "
- —Nyxburns Megatron, past and present.
"That prototype was one of a kind! You destroyed mybaby!"
"Your baby was anabomination."
- —TarantulasandDinobot
"I have not betrayed myself, or the principles I believe in. I've just stopped pretending that Megatron and the others believe in anythingIcan respect. It's not too late for you, Skold. You can still be better than they are. A Predacon worthy ofrespect."
- —Dinobotvs Skold
Notes
Continuity notes
- While interrogating Nyx, Megatron refers to theAxalon's "cowardly attack" upon theDarksyde;he can't know it, but Nyx was the Maximal responsible for spearheading the space battle against Megatron's stolen starship. Indeed, her impulsive decision to ram the Darksyde inissue #1makes her the one responsible for strandingallof them on the planet.
Transformers references
- Nyx notes that "history barely remembersthe original Megatron"—while many modernBeast Warsspinoffs have depicted theMaximalsandPredaconsas just one generation removed from, and sometimes contemporaries with, theAutobotsandDecepticons,the originalBeast Warscartoon was much more ambiguous, and the characters treated their ancestors as quasi-mythical figures of ancient history. That said, theIronhideof this universeisapparently still alive and kicking...
- Thetransformation lock lensappeared in theBeast Warsepisode "The Probe",an invention ofTarantulas's designed to trap its victims in theirbeast modes.Its origins and appearance are faithfully replicated for this comic, right down to the dark red electrical blasts it uses to keep its victims mode-locked, but Tarantulas uses it for theoppositepurpose: here, he keeps Nyx trapped in her unshieldedrobot modeuntil she succumbs to the planet'senergon radiationand collapses.
- Tarantulas enthuses at the prospect of dissecting Nyx and consuming her circuits; he expressed a similar desire to kill and eat a capturedCheetorin theBeast Warsepisode "The Web".
Errors
- Nyx uses the "maximize"activation codeto transform into heralternate mode.This is theoppositeof its intended use, however; in the television show, the Beast Warriors used it to transform into their robot modes, and transformed into their beast modes by simply saying... well, "beast mode".
Covers (3)
- Cover A:Nyx is a bit tied up right now, byJosh Burcham
- Cover B:Tarantulas and Rattrap, byDan SchoeningandLuis Antonio Delgado.
- Cover RI:Toyetic Beast Warriors, byJosh Perez
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Reprints
- The Transformers: Beast WarsVolume 1(March 23,2022)ISBN 1684058589/ISBN 978-1684058587
- CollectsBeast Warsissues #1–6.
- Bonus material includes alternate covers, a sketch gallery byJosh Burcham,and a Q&A with writerErik Burnhamand artist Burcham.
Beast Wars,Vol 1; cover art byJosh Burcham
