Prime Directive issue 2

Publisher	Dreamwave Productions
First published	May 8, 2002
Cover date	May 2002
Writer	Chris Sarracini
Penciler	Pat Lee
Inker	Rob Armstrong
Backgrounds	Edwin Garcia
Colorist	Ramil Sunga, Gary Yeung, Alan Wang
Letterer	Dreamer Design
Editor	Roger Lee
Continuity	Dreamwave continuity
Chronology	Modern era

This article is about the Dreamwave issue. For the IDW issue, see Prime's Directive, Part Two.

Spike brings back an old friend, Transformers go berserk, and Lazarus gets a surprise.

Synopsis

With the prone body of Optimus Prime laying before them, General Hallo and Spike Witwicky stand over the Autobot leader's opened chest. Spike sorrowfully muses about Prime's promise to bring his father back safe and sound from Cybertron. He takes a strange bauble from a chain around his neck, places it into the empty Matrix chamber, and then squints at the radiant light that emanates from inside.

At the Smitco Oil Refinery in the Arctic, an unexpected delivery by helicopters draws the refinery workers' attention. From inside the huge metal box bursts forth a horde of silent giant robots who smash everything in sight, and maim or murder members of the refinery crew.

Meanwhile, Lazarus and a multinational group are watching the attack remotely. When finished, Lazarus turns to the group and asks what the assembled outlaws and criminals will bid for his war machines. As bidding reaches a feverish pitch, Lazarus unveils his first lot—Megatron. Before he has his hands on the cash, he learns that the Decepticon leader wasn't quite deactivated. As the bidders flee for their lives, Lazarus finds himself at Megatron's mercy, giving the terrified human an ominous grin.

General Hallo, his staff and Spike stand on a glacial shelf at the feet of the newly resurrected Optimus Prime. Prime removes the Matrix of Leadership from his chest and holds it aloft. The mystical device raises Jazz, Mirage, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Trailbreaker and Superion from the depths of the frigid ocean. Nearby, the helicopters are returning to Lazarus's headquarters with their Transformer cargo. However, as they try to land, an explosion rips the building apart and out bursts Megatron, destroying the helicopters.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Optimus Prime (3) Grimlock (6) Bumblebee (7) Prowl (12) Jazz (17) Mirage (18) Sideswipe (19) Sunstreaker (20) Trailbreaker (21) Wheeljack (22) Superion (23)	Soundwave (8) Starscream (9) Rumble (10) Ravage (11) Laserbeak (13) Megatron (15)	Spike Witwicky (1) Robert Hallo (2) Sal (4) Ralf (5) Lazarus (14) Lou (16)

Quotes

"Perfect killing machines. Reliable and ruthless. Packaged and ready to meet all your...political aspirations."

—Lazarus

"Eighty-two [million] and a harem of wives!"

—One bidder's top bid for Megatron

Notes

When Soundwave appears among the other deployed Cybertronians, he is visibly missing his iconic shoulder-mounted cannon. However, when seen from a top-down angle, there is a visible mounting and empty-socket where the cannon would normally be attached, implying either incorrectly referencing the original G1 Toy or intentionally leaving the weapon off.
Following the success of the first issue, this issue again topped Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts, with 115,655 copies ordered for May 2002.^[1] Like the first issue, this issue also saw a second printing run due to high demand.
The middle of the comic contains a two-page spread by James Raiz and Alan Wang with Kenny Li featuring a group of Generation 1 Autobots.
Following the story is a two-page spread by Pat Lee and Alan Wang with Kenny Li featuring a group of Generation 1 Decepticons and members of Cobra. A corresponding Autobot/G.I. Joe spread was published in the pages of Image's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #6 as a cross-promotion.