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The Chosen One

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The name or term "Chosen One" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Chosen One (disambiguation).
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Till All Are One Annual 2017
TAAOAnnual2017 cvrA.jpg
Saying “Till All Are One” might be a bit too on the nose here.
"The Chosen One"
Publisher IDW Publishing
First published December 20, 2017
Cover date December 2017
Written by Mairghread Scott
Art by Sara Pitre-Durocher
Colors by Joana Lafuente
Letters by Tom B. Long
Editor Carlos Guzman
Continuity 2005 IDW continuity
Chronology Current era

Windblade strikes out on her own and competes against Starscream and Elita One in Cybertron's first election.

Contents

Synopsis

A new day dawns on Cybertron, and Windblade awakes to an Iacon still in ruins after the long string of disasters that has befallen it—most recently, Baron Ironblood's invasion. Windblade is saddened that the Transformers always find themselves rebuilding, unable to take the action so revered on Caminus and actually create anything new. Worse yet, she knows that the opportunity for such a thing is unlikely to present itself in the near future, with the threat of Liege Maximo looming over the planet—especially since the power struggle between Elita One and Starscream shows no signs of abating. Today is the day that Windblade retakes her place on the Council of Worlds, but before entering the council chamber in the Spire, she takes a moment to re-watch a message of encouragement left for her by Chromia, who has departed the planet on Starscream's orders to hunt Liege Maximo, along with a team that includes Carcerian volunteers Greenlight and Lancer.

Her heart buoyed by the words of her friend, Windblade enters the council chamber and is greeted with applause from the delegates. Windblade is a little surprised to find Starscream has arranged such a welcome for her... until it turns out news reporters Circuit and Longtooth are also present, and the whole thing is just a photo op. She starts to remark that Starscream is just trying to earn some goodwill before Liege Maximo returns, forcing an alarmed Starscream to have the Combaticons usher the reporters out before Windblade can finish her sentence. Windblade is appalled to discover that the council have not actually told the public about Maximo, and turns on the Mistress of Flame for going along with the deception. The Mistress sneers down at her, warning her to watch her tone; when Windblade refuses, and even profanes the name of the Primes, the Mistress slaps her across the face. That's the last straw for Windblade: she spins on her heel, exits the chamber, and catches up to Circuit and Longtooth. Before the Mistress can stop her, Windblade has told them the truth about Liego Maximo and his escape, which they immediately share with the rest of the planet.

Windblade is expelled from the council and the Mistress exiles her from Caminus, but she has no regrets for her actions—not even when she becomes a target for the angry, scared populace, who attack her outside her home. Blurr, Waspinator, and Fat Tankor come to her rescue, sending her attackers fleeing, after which Blurr reveals the surprising reason they have come to see her: the elections demanded by Elita One to appoint a new ruler of Cybertron are still going ahead, and Blurr wants Windblade to run for office! Tankor and Waspinator lend their voices to Blurr's, reminding her of all the good she has done, and she agrees to toss her hat in the ring.

Public support for Windblade picks up quickly, but Starscream proves surprisingly unconcerned, confident that he can win. The "ghost" of Bumblebee is apprehensive, cautioning Starscream that there is no way he going to be able to cheat his way to victory this time... but Starscream, it turns out, has no intentions of doing so. His experience sharing a mind with Windblade—during which he saw his "true self," the 'bot he would have become had his life taken a different track, buried deep within himself—has changed him; he genuinely wants to improve Cybertron, and is sure his honest, forward-looking objectives will win him the election. He draws up protocols for the election and the transfer of power and hands them off to Rattrap—who remains slack-jawed that Starscream is actually going through with it—to release to the press.

Windblade successfully gets enough signatures from the public to be added to the ballot along with Starscream and Elita. A party to celebrate is held at Maccadam's Old Oil House, but Windblade, overcome by the moment, runs away to Metroplex's brain module chamber, where the Titan listens as she tells him her worries. She shared a mind with Vigilem... how can she be sure that her agreeing to do this, to potentially take power in this manner, isn't his lingering personality affecting hers? With effort, Metroplex speaks "normally," and tells Windblade how she can prove it one way or the other: Vigilem listened to nobody but Liege Maximo, but if Windblade meets her constituents, and listens to and helps them just as she has helped Metroplex since they met, she will know she is acting free of the evil Titan's impulses.

Convinced by Metroplex's words, Windblade holds a special "rally" in Maccadam's, offering free drinks and speaking one-on-one with anyone and everyone. It's a long night, as one after another, people share their thoughts with her: Knock Out suggests she push to repopulate other areas of the planet; he dislikes how cramped Iacon is, but stays because his conjunx is happy there. Airazor recounts how she and Tigatron are ostracized for being together on their homeworld of Eukaris, but how nobody cares on Cybertron. Brawl reveals a shocking personal secret: despite being a soldier who reveled in warfare, his near-death experience as part of Bruticus has instilled a fear of death in him that has made him realize he does not want the war to return, and he believes only Windblade can prevent that. Finally, as dawn grows near, Rattrap is the last to approach her—but rather than seeking to talk, he has come with an offer. He reveals that he has been working against Starscream from the inside for a long time, having been the one responsible for guiding Onslaught in his uprising against Starscream, and that he has collected a briefcase's worth of evidence that can unambiguously bring his "boss" down... a briefcase he now hands to Windblade. Windblade asks why Rattrap doesn't simply blow the whistle himself; Rattrap admits that Starscream has begun acting differently since merging minds with Windblade, and that he can't tell if he's being genuine or if it's another trick. Therefore, he's essentially passing the buck and making it Windblade's responsibility. Windblade refuses to take the case, but Rattrap likewise refuses to take it back. He's blowing this pop stand and heading for Eukaris for a while, but he leaves Windblade with the knowledge that ignoring the incriminating information within the case is practically the same as condoning the crimes that were committed.

Windblade relents and reads the contents of the case, discovering all the illicit schemes Starscream has perpetrated while in office, from orchestrating the "Combiner Wars" to having Airachnid brainwash the Combaticons. Furious, she confronts Starscream in his chambers, and tells him that she will be telling the public everything at the upcoming electoral debate. As she leaves, storming out past Vortex and Blast Off, Starscream turns to the spectral Bumblebee and urges him to help assemble a "defense" against the claims, finding some way to poke holes in what Windblade is about to tell the world... but Bumblebee refuses. Starscream begs him; Elita is too dangerous to let win, and Starscream's own plans for the future will definitely change Cybertron for the better... isn't that worth something? Bumblebee assures him that it is... but that Starscream must now decide how much it is worth.

The night before the debate, Obsidian reports to Elita One aboard Carcer that his calculations indicate a sure victory for her in the election. He offers to help her prepare for the debate, but she orders him to instead draw up plans for Liege Maximo's attack, informing him that a 33% percent fatality rate is acceptable...

The following day, Windblade is chosen to give the first opening statement at the debate. She lauds Cybertron as a society that has transcended the differences of its people, a melting pot where 'bots of all forms and shapes from each of the more tribal colony worlds have been able to come together and be united by the things that set them apart from others. Starscream is momentarily lost in her words, but snaps back to reality when he is called to the podium to deliver his own speech. After a moment to gain his composure... of his own volition, before the eyes of all of Cybertron, Starscream confesses to every crime he has committed.

After that, there is virtually no contest—Windblade emerges victorious in the election and is installed as the new ruler of Iacon and head of the council. All her fear is forgotten; now, the chance to truly build something new is before her, and she is ready to take on the challenge. Two weeks after her victory, Ironhide comes to her office to have her sign the paperwork on Starscream's arrest and conviction; he is given life in prison, and Rattrap, Airachnid, and the Combaticons are all locked up as well. After signing, Windblade visits Starscream in prison to ask him why he confessed—but in truth, as Starscream tells her, thanks to their shared experience inside each other's minds, she already knows. As a parting token, Windblade gives Starscream a small holo-projector, containing the image of his true self—the "Chosen One," the uniter of Cybertron, the legend that he has finally managed to live up to.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Others

Quotes

"Are you here to try and stop me?"
"Strangely, no. I heard about your mission, and I believe you'll need some very good pilots."
"Seeing as we're going to be in orbit for a while..."
"...and Carcerians don't give up on our missions, we wanna help you."
"Then welcome aboard."

—Chromia gets some unexpected help from Obsidian, Greenlight, and Lancer.


"Of course, we'll all probably just die in space. But in case we don't, you better be there to greet me, or I'll slap you awake myself. See you soon, Windblade. Keep the planet spinning while I'm gone."

—Chromia being her usual charming self


"The other council members whisper about Elita One, frightened at her growing power and popularity. But what did you expect from someone who paints themselves the color of energon?"

—Windblade


"You may speak for the Primes, Mistress, but your words mean precisely scrap to me."

—Windblade lets the Mistress of Flame have it


"The only people who talk about 'the people' are people who don't give a scrap about anyone but themselves."

—Blurr


"Hey, where's Tall Tankor?"
"We're not welded together, you know."
...
"...Blurr needed someone to watch the bar."

—Windblade and Fat Tankor


"There are a lot of signs down there for Windblade."
"Yes, I do allow quite a bit of protest for a tyrant."

—Bumblebee and Starscream


"If you lead others to make your life better, you will be a tyrant. If you lead others to make their lives better, you will be a hero."

—Metroplex gives Windblade advice


"I don't want the war to come back. But it's gonna happen if any of us takes over. Or that Elita. It has to be you. You never fought a war. You never learned to like it."

—Brawl supports Windblade


"I like to do good more than be good."

—Rattrap


"What do you think they're talking about in there? Must be important if we weren't even allowed to stay in the building. Think they're planning a murder?"
"Murder? Really?"
"Conjunx Endura proposal then. She's doin' it right now."
"How does your brain even work?"

(Windblade storms out after confronting Starscream)

"Murder... If it was a proposal, I would have heard more screams."

—Vortex and Blast Off

Notes

Continuity notes

  • Windblade lists off all the recent chaos that has repeatedly wrecked Iacon: the events of Combiner Wars, Bruticus's rampage in issue #4, the attack of the undead Titans in issue #5-8, and most recently, the events of the First Strike crossover, which took place between the end of the regular Till All Are One series and this annual. She also observes the strangeness going on with Starscream and the Combaticons (unaware of the brainwashing he subjected them to in issue #10) and recalls her mental merge with Starscream and Vigilem, which occurred in issue #12, and in which she helped Starscream discover the "true self" at his core.
  • Liege Maximo escaped his imprisonment in issue #8. Chromia was subsequently charged with hunting him down in issue #9, leaving the planet at an unseen point thereafter. If the shot of them loading supplies onto her ship is anything to go by, it's apparent that the team going with her includes Lightbright and Sparkstalker.
  • Chromia expresses disdain for Firestar, a fellow Camien who appeared in More than Meets the Eye #41-42, and whose personality... well, let's say it's easy to see why Chromia wouldn't like her.
  • Though Airazor's outrage can be read as such, this is evidently not the first time the rest of the council is learning about Liege Maximo's escape; the matter was previously discussed openly by the whole council in First Strike #4.
  • After expressing her outrage towards The Mistress at the decision to not tell the whole council about Liege Maximo's escape, The Mistress sneers at Airazor to "watch your tone, beast". Evidently, the prejudice against beast-mode Cybertronians (which caused Eukaris to self-isolate and Chela to be charged with defending it from "standard-formers") carried over to the other colonies.
  • Waspinator remembers how Windblade was nice to him the first time they met, way back in Windblade vol. 1 #2.
  • Airazor talks about how she and Tigatron were banished from their tribes for being together, as originally seen in Windblade vol. 2 #6.
  • Rattrap was first revealed to be conspiring against Starscream in The Transformers vol. 2 #40. He reveals that he is the secret informant "DC-357," who Onslaught received a note from in issue #1, which in turn makes clear that the "coercion" he was under when he aided the Combaticons in issue #3 was for show on his part.
  • Windblade makes an offhand mention of "the creatures underground" in her speech; see Transformers vs. Visionaries for what's going on there!
  • Brawl's new-found fear of dying comes from combining with the other Combaticons, including the mostly-dead Swindle, in issue #4.
  • The title of this issue, "The Chosen One," is the epithet that Starscream has been using to describe himself for about five years now, ever since the 2012 Robots in Disguise annual, when the Titan Metrotitan identified him as the prophesied individual who would "unite Cybertron's scattered warriors." After years of trying to do that as their ruler, Starscream finally fulfills that prophecy this issue by uniting them against him, opening the door for Windblade's victory and the beginning of a new age for the planet.
  • The Till All Are One characters will next appear in Optimus Prime #15.

Transformers references

  • Circuit's news broadcast about Liege Maximo includes an "artist's rendition" of the evil Prime, which is based on the character's original, more monstrous appearance from the Marvel Generation 2 comic book.
  • Windblade refers to Elita as "painting herself the color of energon", a nod to a popular fan-theory about why the rather bloodthirsty IDW version of Arcee wears bright pink colors.

Other trivia

  • This double-length annual features 40 pages of story, followed by a letter from Scott wishing the readers farewell.
  • Had Till All Are One not been canceled, Scott stated she would have liked to used plotlines such as all the G1 cartoon fembots (Chromia, Greenlight, Lancer, Moonracer, Firestar, Elita One) teaming up for an issue; examination of the divides in Eukaris's tribal society; the antics of the patrons of Blurr's bar; the escapades of Ironhide's security company; and Elita One repopulating and militarizing the city-state of Kaon. Vestiges of these potential plots can be seen in the annual: Chromia, Lancer, and Greenlight (and a hinted-at Firestar) do indeed team up; Airazor discusses the difficulties of inter-tribal relationships on Eukaris; three of the patrons of Blurr's bar visit Windblade, and several scenes are set there; Fat Tankor, as a member of Ironhide's law enforcement team, breaks up a brawl; and many fear the war restarting if Elita One takes power.

Covers (2)

  • Cover A: Our cast, by Sara Pitre-Durocher
  • Cover B Elita, Windblade, and Starscream, by J.N. Wiedle; one of a pair of variant covers by Wiedle for December's Transformers titles
  • (thumbnail)

    And that's all she wrote!

  • (thumbnail)

    "I confessed to WHAT?"

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