The Landscape of Fear
From Transformers Wiki
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| "The Landscape of Fear" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | March 23,2022 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | March 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Brian Ruckley | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Anna Malkova(pg. 1-11)Blacky Shepherd(pg. 19-20) | ||||||||||||
| Colors | David García Cruz | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Jake M. Wood | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte,Tom WaltzandRiley Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 2019 IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
Unexpected reinforcements shift the siege of Crystal City in favour of the Autobots, but with Cybertron itself under threat Optimus Prime must do the unthinkable.
Contents |
Synopsis
LesserDecepticonsflee fromLodestaras the woundedTitantouches down in the ruins ofCrystal City,butStrikaand herHeaviesaren't so easily intimidated. As she and the remaining Decepticons regroup, Lodestar'scityspeakerLightbrightcontactsOptimus Prime--although her Titan's all but comatose after suffering severe damage, that's not theonlyasset she's brought to the fight--with the pull of a lever, a cargo hatch disgorges her secret weapon:Scattershotand hisTechnical Solutions team,the five Autobots join the battle as the mightycombinerComputron!
Undeterred, Strika and her team quickly swing into action; despite their combined martial prowess, however, Computron easily shrugs off their attacks, and his retaliations affordIronhideand the remaining Autobots the chance to arrestObsidianand the other members of the Heavies.Apefacegives the giant Autobot trouble to the point where a single punch knocks him over, but the distraction gives enough time for Optimus and the other Autobots to regroup and order the remaining Decepticons to stand down. Strika defiantly sneers that it'll take more thanthatto convince her to stand down... but abruptly agrees to the temporary ceasefire when Lodestar summons enough energy to slam a building-sized fist into the ground. WhilePyra Magnaexcuses herself after receiving a distress call from the planet'sSonic Canyons,Optimus considers how best to spin this unexpected development in his favor, and implores the Decepticon lieutenant to take a look at the damage they've caused: a piece of Cybertron's history has been reduced to shards, whilerust wormsandInsecticlonesrun rampant. As existential threats pile up, there's only one 'bot who can end this madness once and for all:Megatron.When the Autobot leader turns his attention to Scattershot, the Autobot explains that a freak encounter with theCombination Corein deep space somehow allowed him to absorb its power; before he can explain more, however, Lightbright interrupts to point out that her Titan requires immediate medical attention. Optimus understands, but has one last request for the pair: can they make it toDarkmount?
In Darkmount itself,Houndand his allies--includingTap-Out,Road Rage,Gears,and even a few bravealienimmigrants--have had their hands full bravely fending off increasingly bold Insecticon clones. No sooner do they mop up the remnants of one swarm before another darkens the sky... but before the latest swarm can descend, a blast of artillery blows the entire swarm apart. That artillery heralds the arrival ofTermagax's walkingHouse,andWheeljackpops his head from the top of the building to greet his allies.
Despite Ironhide's misgivings, Strika opens a diplomatic channel with Megatron inIacon:although the Decepticon leader initially has no patience for negotiating with his hated enemy, Optimus points out that his own life is immaterial compared to the problems that now threaten Megatron's grander ambitions: ravenous Insecticon swarms, rapaciousrust worms,and a rebornExarchonall undermine Megatron's own plans for the planet. If solving these immediate problems requires temporary surrender to Megatron, that's a sacrifice Prime will willingly make; grudgingly, Megatron agrees to this unexpected truce.
On the outskirts of Darkmount, Hound outlines their situation to Wheeljack and Termagax: as Insecticon attacks ramp up, the city's supplies ofenergoncontinue to dwindle, while organic refugees go hungry. As the Insecticons continually probe their boundaries, Hound worries that a single coordinated Decepticon attack could push them over the brink. Their only hope is thatPerceptor,Highbrow,and the other remaining scientists can get the lastArkoperational, but not even that might be enough to stop the Insecticlones from pursuing them. The sight of one of the Insecticlones carrying a rust worm gives Termagax an idea: if the Autobots can capture a fully functional Insecticlone, and ifGlyphcan develop a sophisticated enough data package, the Autobotsmighthave a way to cut the infestation off at its source--ifthey can scrape together a strike team in time to carry out a suicide mission, deep into the heart of theCybertronian Mountains...
Featured characters
(Characters initalic textappear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons/Ascenticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"The unfocused warrior is a blunted blade."
"Whatever you say, Obsidian. Whatever you say."
- —ObsidianandApeface
"At our source, and in the end, we are one. Cybertron itself is a part of that whole, or we a part of its unity. Jumpstream has seen a dark future for this planet. For us all. The present darkness may make even that darkness unreachable."
- —Optimus Prime
"We cannot blindlyfightif the struggle itself consumes that which we claim toprotect.But I surrender nothing, I promise you. Ipreservewhat I can, for us toreclaimwhen that time comes. "
"Very well. A truce. Until other threats are overcome. We should discuss the practicalities of myinheritance... "
- —Optimus PrimeandMegatron
"I was convinced that retiring to Darkmount might be wise. And that it would be...kind... to transportyouback there. But I wasn't volunteering for companionship or constant chatter. Nothing personal, but I am unused to company. "
"Might be for thebest,since when youwereused to it, you lit the forge that spat out the Decepticons. "
- —TermagaxandWheeljack
Notes
Continuity notes
- Airwavelast appeared inthe first issueof 2021'sEscapeminiseries.
- Heavywait remarks that Computron resembles "what theConstructicons"turned into; as explained in thefirst arcofGalaxies,the Constructicons used theircombined formfor the first time to reconstruct Iacon after theWar of the Threefold Sparkravaged the city.
- Apeface's snippy remarks about Blitzwing carry on from their appearances inissue #29,where an argument over who had the betteralternate modeseventually culminated in Apeface "accidentally" shooting Blitzwing in the back.
- Upon capturing Strika and the other members of the Heavies, Ultra Magnus triumphantly tells Strika that it's her turn to see what it's like being a prisoner--the Decepticons captured Ultra Magnus in the final scene ofissue #37,although the Autobots rescued him two issues later.
- Optimus refers toJumpstream's trip to an Exarchon-dominated future, which occurred in issues#31and#32.
- In his conversation with Scattershot, Optimus notes that he witnessed the loss of theEnigma of Combinationduring the battle of theRust Seainissue #36.All is not lost for the combiners, however: as he notes here, the2021 annualended with Scattershot falling intoAirachnid's artificialCombination Coreand somehow absorbing its power.
- Hound, Gears, and Road Rage last appeared in thefinal issueofEscapewhere they defended Darkmount against a swarm of Insecticon clones. They're joined by one of the four-armed, helmeted aliens that appeared briefly inEscapewielding the same anti-Cybertronian technology seen inEscape#5, though it's not immediately clear if this is the same individual or just another member of the same species.
- In a later conversation with Termagax, Hound remarks that Highbrow, Perceptor, and other scientists are working to get the finalArkoperational after its mothballed stardrive exploded at some point before the events ofEscape#4.As per dialogue inthe previous issue,Perceptor left Crystal City for Darkmount well in advance of the battle, presumably so that he could collaborate with the other scientists in the city.
- Tap-Out and Glyph were among the many Autobots ousted from Iacon after Megatron seized the city inissue #28;Tap-Out formally joined the Autobots inissue #34,but must've left the city ahead of the Decepticon advance to join his romantic partner Glyph when she evacuated to Darkmount.
- Termagax's autonomousspectrosynth dronesmake a brief appearance in this issue shooting down the Insecticlones--evidently, she must've been able to either salvage a few from the battle of the Rust Sea, or she's manufactured more in the time since.
- The Insecticons are still based out of theCybertronian Mountains,the Titan graveyard that first appeared all the way back inissue #1.However, after the events ofEscape,the Titan's head has been burned away to reveal a skull-like visage, presumably the result ofEmissarycrashing into the mountains inEscape#4.
Transformers references
- In an odd bit of toy fidelity, Gears possesses an "M" shaped decal on his backside, an apparent reference to his the moulded detail on hisoriginal toywhich was itself a remnant of the enigmatic "Mysterians"toyline.
Errors
- On page thirteen, one of the Bombshell-type Insecticlones possesses a black and red abdomen.
Other trivia
- Originally solicited for a March 16th release, this issue arrives just one week late.
Covers (3)
- Cover A:Our heroes entangled by rust worms, byUmi MiyaoandPriscilla Tramontano
- Cover B:Computron versus the Heavies, byEd Pirrie
- Retailer incentive cover:Lodestar approaches Darkmount, byJuan SamuandThomas Deer
Advertisements
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Reprints
- Transformers Volume 6: War's End(November 16,2022)ISBN 1684059410/ISBN 978-1684059416
Volume 6: War's End– cover art byCryssy Cheung
