Dispatches

Transformers Animated: The Arrival #1 »
I'm having so much gosh-darn fun I can't stand it!
"Dispatches"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	August 13, 2008
Cover date	August 2008
Written by	Marty Isenberg
Pencils by	Dario Brizuela
Inks by	Leandro Corral
Colors by	Liam Shalloo
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Edits by	Denton J. Tipton
Continuity	Animated cartoon continuity

A million stellar cycles of peace is threatened when the Transformers and the AllSpark arrive on Earth.

Synopsis

Ultra Magnus informs the Elite Guard of the current situation as regards to Optimus Prime's crew, the AllSpark, the Decepticons, and their subsequent disappearance. He confirms that there are search and rescue crews at work, but as yet they have found nothing.

On Earth, Optimus is in stasis, dreaming of his battle with Megatron, where he was the only thing standing between the Decepticon overlord and ultimate power.

On the colony New Kaon, Blitzwing hosts Megatron's funeral, having erected a monument to his leader, and vows vengeance... and mustaches. Meanwhile, at the Autobot Memorial Plaza in Iacon, Sentinel Prime is forced to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of Optimus' crew. Afterward, Longarm Prime pushes that they continue the search, but Sentinel thinks it's best to leave things buried. Meanwhile, a furious Lugnut refuses to accept Megatron's death, destroys Blitzwing's monument and the two begin to fight.

On Earth, Isaac Sumdac discovers Megatron's head, and over the next 50 years, progresses from simple attempts at reverse engineering to the establishment of Sumdac Systems.

The Autobots awaken, and meet Sari, establishing themselves as Detroit's new heroes.

On the Decepticon warship, Starscream is reviewing footage of the Autobots at work, when an intruder alert goes off. Blackarachnia arrives, and during a scuffle offers to team up. Starscream declines and Blackarachnia makes her escape, placing a tracer on him. The distraction causes Starscream to miss a proximity warning, and he promptly crashes into the Moon.

Sometime later, Starscream attacks, and during the battle, the AllSpark is briefly opened. The resulting energy burst is detected by both the Autobots and the Decepticons, and the two groups make tracks for Earth.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

Icy Blitzwing: It is with heavy sparks that we who proudly display the Decepticon symbol must learn to accept the inevitable conclusion, however unpleasant... Our leader has fallen. Megatron is no more. Rest assured, he will not be forgotten.
Hothead Blitzwing: But first we will CRUSH the miserable Autobot scum responsible for destroying him!
Random Blitzwing: Oooh! And then we'll paint mustaches on their faceplates! Mustaches are funny! Hahahahahaha!

—No funeral is safe sane when Blitzwing is around.

Notes

• Blackarachnia's face plate is seen for the first time, the only other time it is featured is in issue #4.
• This issue's story was given the title "Dispatches" in the trade paperback collection of The Arrival.
• The plot is a retelling of "Transform and Roll Out", but from different perspectives and with many additional details.
• At Megatron's funeral, there are a large number of unnamed generic Decepticons.
• Longarm questioning Sentinel if they are sure Megatron's dead and asking him to continue the search for Optimus' crew is explained in "Autoboot Camp".
• The font used in a panel depicting language aboard the Nemesis is not Cybertronian but rather, Huttese, from a galaxy far, far away....
• When Seibertron.com reported the upcoming publication of this issue, it did so using a piece of fanart by Milne of Bumblebee and an aged-up Sari. Milne would later remark on how he'd "fooled you" into "[thinking] that the sari be mine pic was going to be a cover" when he posted the real cover on his DeviantArt account. His depiction of Sari as a teenager proved remarkably prescient.

Errors

• Both Sentinel and Longarm bear the wrong symbol, with Longarm wearing the Elite Guard emblem, and Sentinel possessing the standard Autobrand.
• Sentinel Prime refers to his generation knowing war and hiding the All Spark. While it's possible (Prowl turned out to be around during the war), he has never before or since been shown to be that old. Of course, knowing Sentinel, he could just be trying to inflate his credentials.
• Blackarachnia is able to survive in space, despite her organic half.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Sari, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Sparkplug, Tutor Bot, and a lot of balloons; art by Alex Milne & colors by Josh Perez.
• Cover B: The Autobots half of the RI cover; this art was reused for the TPB cover.
• Incentive Cover RI: Front to back cover of the Autobots and Sari vs the Decepticons and the Angry Archer; art by Marcelo Matere.

• 

  2 Kool 4 Skool!

• 

  Um, who are we battling?

• 

  Oh yeah, the Decepticons! Get 'em!!!

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