Verity Carlo
From Transformers Wiki
- Verity Carlo is a human from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Make no mistake—Verity Simone Carlo is quick, resourceful, independent, and crafty. The problem is that she likes to think she's wiser and braver than pretty much everyone else. It's a good quality that lets her sustain her rootless teenage existence hitchhiking across the United States, living on theft and what little kindness strangers give her. However, two mace sprays in her backpack attest to how little she's willing to trust said strangers.
When she was a child, something happened to Verity that hurt her so badly that she refrains from bonding deeply with anyone or showing any sign of fear. It's been with her so long that she abandoned several foster homes and presumably welcoming families in her mid-teens. Because of that pain, Verity sees most people as marks, dupes, or threats; fear of getting hurt again keeps her moving when she might settle down and makes her abrasive and pompous.
Whether it'll get her killed one day is anyone's guess, but joining the Wreckers sure doesn't help.
Contents |
Fiction
2005 IDW continuity
Verity was separated from her mother at a young age. Requiem of the Wreckers She lived in several foster homes over the years, ultimately running away from all of them. Social services tried their best to find her a place she'd feel she could stay but never succeeded, and Verity embraced a life of hitchhiking and pickpocketing. Infiltration #4 Verity's drifter lifestyle changed forever in Phoenix, Arizona, when she spotted what she thought was a long-distance salesman possessing a palmtop computer. Pickpocketing a nearby family's ticket, Verity followed the man onto a bus for Los Angeles and quickly stole the computer from his bag. She proceeded to fake an upset stomach to get the bus to pull over. Free and clear, she hitched a lift with the passing motorist Hunter O'Nion. However, what Verity had no way of knowing was that the victim of her theft was a Machination agent; his computer held photographs of secret Decepticon bases on Earth. Possession of the device immediately made her and Hunter targets, and it was only a short time later when Thundercracker attacked them. Fortunately, the Autobot Ratchet appeared to offer aid. Infiltration #0
Though the alien conspiracy theorist Hunter understood the true nature of the alien robots they found themselves caught between, Verity was less than convinced. Using the palmtop to contact her old friend Jimmy Pink, she had Ratchet take them to Jimmy's garage. There, Hunter peeked through the palmtop and realized its significance—a breach of trust that caused Verity to storm out in anger only to come running back a moment later, pursued by the Decepticons Runamuck and Runabout! Infiltration #1 Verity endured an outright panic attack as the pursuit forced her, Jimmy, and Hunter to flee with Ratchet, but several Autobots from Ratchet's unit soon saved them from the pursuing Decepticons. Infiltration #2
Taken back to the Ark-19, the Autobots' spaceship at the bottom of Lake Michigan, Verity and her friends were placed in a cell as the Autobots debated their next action. Verity tried to blackmail the 'bots into releasing them and giving them answers by threatening to delete all the palmtop's data, but none noticed. When unit leader Prowl refused to act on Ratchet's intel, the medic took matters into his own hands, releasing the three humans and studying the palmtop's data. Learning that the Decepticons recently broke their normal infiltration protocol by relocating from a Nebraska base to one in Oregon, Verity and her friends insisted they be allowed to help by investigating the abandoned Nebraska facility. Infiltration #3
In short order, they located the underground base, and Verity, Hunter, and Jimmy spelunked their way inside to investigate. Verity thought finding the corpses of people the Decepticons turned into facsimiles was traumatic enough, but turning a corner and seeing the Decepticon leader Megatron paralyzed her with fear. Infiltration #4 Fortunately, Megatron had below no interest in a mere human and ignored her. Verity barely escaped the base, nearly being buried alive when Skywarp and Blitzwing bombed it to cover their tracks. Infiltration #5 Rescued from the wreckage by her friends, Verity tried acting aloof and objected when Ratchet tried to take them back to the Ark-19 rather than follow Megatron. Hunter and Jimmy admitted they were overwhelmed and afraid and that it's okay for Verity to feel likewise, after which she finally released her suppressed emotions and burst into tears. Infiltration #6
Accustomed to feeling unwanted, Verity was bitterly unsurprised when Optimus Prime arrived and ordered the Autobots to return her and her friends to their normal lives. On the trip back home, however, Machination agents attacked them, seemingly killing Hunter and their escort Sunstreaker. Escalation #1 Verity was visibly distraught but hope soon developed when the Autobots examined Sunstreaker's remains and discovered they were phony. Escalation #2 Believing the Machination held Hunter and Sunstreaker captive, Verity and Jimmy merged their respective hacking and engineering skills to track down likely Machination facilities. They, Ratchet, and Ironhide disobeyed orders again to investigate one in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Escalation #3 Verity and Jimmy infiltrated the compound, hidden under an auto parts store, and Verity found a strange business card decorated only with an "M" before a security failsafe dosed the pair with knock-out gas. Escalation #4 Ironhide and Ratchet penetrated the facility Escalation #5 and safely extracted the pair, but the facility self-destruct went off, severely damaging Ironhide. Escalation #6
Recovered, Verity and Jimmy listened in on a call Ratchet had with Sideswipe, who was adamant on coming to Earth to locate Sunstreaker. They bitterly noted to Ratchet that everyone else currently on Earth seemed too preoccupied with other matters to continue looking for Sunstreaker or Hunter. Spotlight: Galvatron Verity gave the "M" card to Autobot detective Nightbeat, whose studies of it and the stolen palmtop prompted him to recommend the relocation of Ark-19. Verity and Jimmy found themselves blocked from the discussion, blown off, and given vague answers when they tried getting some answers from Jazz about the search for Hunter. Devastation #1 Unfortunately, Sixshot shot down the vessel in mid-transit; Ratchet, Verity, and Jimmy ejected in an escape pod before the crash. Devastation #2 Sixshot's attack injured Verity, but Ratchet's avatar was able to treat her wounds. Sixshot located the Autobot and his human guests and gave chase, forcing Ratchet to separate from the humans for their protection. Devastation #3
As the other Autobots arrived and battled Sixshot, Verity and Jimmy tried explaining the situation to local law enforcement, who understandably didn't believe them. The officers' chatter revealed plans for an all-out airstrike on the warring parties; the kids stole a motorboat and police megaphone, using them to warn Ratchet of the incoming strike. With seconds left, Ratchet took the two humans with him as the Autobots escaped via orbital bounce to the orbiting Ark-32. However, the humans' vital signs ceased as the process was too traumatic for them to endure. Devastation #4 Ratchet managed to restart their hearts after a dangerously long flatline, Devastation #5 and the pair remained aboard the Ark-32 to recover as it left orbit for Garrus-9. Devastation #6 A short time later, the hale and hearty Verity and Jimmy were reunited with Hunter after the Autobots rescued him from the Machination. Maximum Dinobots #5
Sadly, the happy reunion wasn't to last. Always running from others, Verity stowed away aboard Ultra Magnus's spaceship as he left to take the captive Shockwave, Scorponok, and Grimlock to Garrus-9, leaving a note for Hunter and Jimmy to explain her going. In Word and Deed Once Verity revealed her presence on the ship, she worked hard to prove her value to Magnus, performing many essential bridge duties; she even acquires a powered armor suit for herself. Verity felt close to her "Uncle Magnus," though the only outward sign of affection he showed her was not returning her to Earth immediately. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
About three years after leaving Earth, Verity and Magnus were summoned to transport the Autobot commando unit known as the Wreckers on a mission to the prison planet of Garrus-9, as the Decepticon sadist, Overlord, seized control of it. The new batch of rookie team members was taken aback by her presence. Rotorstorm assumed Magnus kept her around because she was a "good cleaner," leading Verity to mock his "cyber-sexism." Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 As the ship neared Garrus-9, Verity overheard Magnus telling Springer that, once Magnus dropped off the Wreckers, he'd be heading to Earth in response to a summons from Prowl. Refusing to return to the world she willingly left behind, Verity stowed away in one of the drop-pods with the Wreckers, preferring to join them on their deadly mission. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
Verity and the Wreckers' pods crash-landed directly in front of Overlord, who immediately killed Rotorstorm. At Perceptor's instruction, Pyro bundled Verity into his chest cavity to keep her safe but quickly forgot she was in there as the Wreckers fought to escape. Twisted up and unable to get his attention, Verity could do little but be carried along for the ride until the team arrived at their objective: the chamber containing the adjudication computer Aequitas. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3 While Perceptor worked to bring the computer online, Verity asked Wreckers historian and fanboy, Ironfist, to tell her a story to keep her mind occupied; he told her of the Wreckers' victory over their enemies Squadron X on Pova. Perceptor soon revealed that only the generous donation of a spark could unlock Aequitas. This revelation caused a dilemma that earned Pyro Verity's scorn; he believed Ironfist should sacrifice himself since Pyro did too many "great things" to die that way. However, the issue was decided when Topspin stepped up and sacrificed himself to give him and his branched-spark brother Twin Twist a dignified death. As Verity mourned Topspin's death, Ironfist downloaded Aequitas's contents into his brain. Soon after Ironfist completed the task, a new problem arose: The Decepticons were burning down the chamber door, and the only way to stop them was to use Aequitas to detonate the deterrence chip inside every G-9 prisoner's head, including Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Though the others voted in favor of the move, Verity strenuously argued against it and convinced Perceptor not to go through with it; instead, Pyro volunteered to sacrifice himself, buying precious time for the others to run free. They made it outside and joined Springer against Overlord, causing the Phase Sixer tremendous damage, but he still kept coming. In the end, it was Verity who delivered the most crushing blow of all against Overlord. She told him that Megatron—whom Overlord rebelled against and spent his life obsessing over—was already dead, having never even spared Overlord a second thought. The beating Impactor subsequently gave Overlord was hardly necessary; Verity's revelation defeated him in spirit.
Ultra Magnus collected the surviving Wreckers and took them to Earth to deliver the Aequitas data to Prowl, but Ironfist perished en route. The borrowed time he was living on since one of his own cerebro-centric bullets, which was making its way through his head since before the mission even began, was finally running out. Emotionally devastated, Verity returned to "normal" life on Earth as best she could, penning a final volume of Wreckers: Declassified for Ironfist, number 332 in a 4-issue limited series. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
She still had one last thing to remember Ironfist by—a second backup he took of the Aequitas trials, secretly given to her for safekeeping. In Word and Deed One of Magnus's allies in the Tyrest Accord, Stakeout, guarded her, and the two became friends. Sins of the Wreckers #1 Sins of the Wreckers #2
Verity left an impression on the memories of many. Though he was never outwardly warm to her, Ultra Magnus genuinely considered her a friend, so much so that he used her likeness for his holomatter avatar. Cybertronian Homesick Blues Twenty Plus One Overlord also remembered her, as Chromedome saw when he used his mnemosurgery to view and edit the Decepticon's memories of his defeat. Remembrance Day And during his time spent opposing Onyx alongside Spike Witwicky, Jimmy Pink kept a picture of himself with Verity, Hunter, and Prowl to remind him of their adventures. Vs.
Several years passed, and Verity found herself growing sick. Stakeout conducted tests, revealing that she was dying due to "overexposure to intense energy of Cybertronian origin." Sins of the Wreckers #4 Proximity to Transformers only worsened the pain, so Stakeout abandoned Verity for her safety. On her own once again, Verity headed north to Nome, Alaska, hoping to fulfill a lifelong dream to see the aurora borealis before she died. Sins of the Wreckers #2 Scared and alone, Verity desperately felt the need to regain some measure of control in her life and saw a chance to do so in the Aequitas data backup. She and Ironfist intended to expose Prowl with it; however, she used the data for blackmail instead, sending Prowl a threatening message hoping that he'd cut a deal with her, exchanging the information for life-saving treatment. Sins of the Wreckers #4
Prowl teleported to Earth to meet with her but, upon arrival, the mad scientist Tarantulas, Aequitas's creator and an old ally of Prowl's who sought revenge for a past betrayal, abducted him. Tarantulas's Chimeracon muscle, disguised as regular animals, hunted Verity across the frozen landscape to obtain the Aequitas data from her. Polar Claw nearly caught her until a repentant Stakeout arrived to save her. Arcee and the Wreckers, who came to solve the mystery of Prowl's disappearance, soon confronted the pair. Sins of the Wreckers #1
Verity and Stakeout reconciled as the big 'bots talked, which resulted in Verity dropping her guard just enough for a Chimeracon rabbit to snatch the Aequitas data slug. Stakeout gave chase, running into the larger Chimeracon forces, and the Wreckers soon went to back him up. En route, Verity tried telling Springer about her condition, but Chimeracon leader Carnivac attacked them before she could finish. As battle broke out, Verity, Arcee, Springer, Hubcap, and Roadbuster made their way inside the body of the largest Chimeracon, Tidal Wave. Sins of the Wreckers #2 They used the portal built inside him to transport themselves to Tarantulas's secret base, the pocket dimension known as the Noisemaze. Though unaffected by the maze's harmful effects on Cybertronian senses, Verity was captured along with her disoriented comrades by the traitor Hubcap and given to Tarantulas for study. Sins of the Wreckers #3
Tarantulas discovered that it wasn't merely daily contact with Transformers that caused Verity's illness; it was the energy burst Aequitas released during Ironfist's download of its data. Sins of the Wreckers #4 Purely to score imaginary points by proving himself Prowl's superior, Tarantulas healed Verity's illness, Sins of the Wreckers #5 and then held her prisoner as he subjected the others to his new guilt-extracting computer, Impetus. As Tarantulas grew more manic in his plan to ruin Prowl by releasing the Aequitas data, Hubcap finally had second thoughts and released Verity and the others. They quickly made their way to the heart of Tarantulas's base, the Tor, to destroy it. Sins of the Wreckers #4
"Yes!"
"...May I see it?"
"...Yes."
:-)
Tarantulas tried to stop them, growing to enormous size and snatching Verity up, but the Autobots managed to free her. While Arcee and Impactor kept Tarantulas busy, Verity and Prowl exited the Tor with some Obtenteum crystals, finding Kup and Guzzle fighting more Chimeracons and the Wreckers' orbital HQ Debris partially breaching the Noisemaze. When Tidal Wave damaged Debris, its mausoleum was breached and began spilling the coffins of dead Wreckers into the Noisemaze. Verity was horrified when Ironfist's coffin landed right in front of them and exposed his corpse. She quickly recovered and watched in glee when Kup smacked Prowl across the face with his rifle, before she explained the plan to forcibly feed Obtenteum to Tidal Wave. Guzzle did so and after an overcharged Tidal Wave was forced to transform by Carnivac, the mass conversion triggered a gravimetric crunch that caused the entire Noisemaze to begin imploding. Verity made it back safely aboard Debris with the other Wreckers, and was quickly forced to try and talk a vengeful Guzzle down from killing Prowl and Kup. However, he was too far gone, and Impactor had to neutralize his comrade while Verity and the others watched.
With her whole life ahead of her again in the wake of Tarantulas's defeat, Verity returned to Earth with Springer and finally got the chance to see the Northern Lights. Sins of the Wreckers #5
Verity and Springer hid in a barn for two years before leaving after Springer—shocked by Kup's death—decided to meet up with Impactor. On their way to the meeting, Decepticons attacked them and abducted Springer. Pursuing them, Verity discovered what seemed to be a political rally by "Megan Guiglione," who happened to be a disguised Overlord. He kidnapped Verity, saying he never forgave her for ending his revenge fantasies against Megatron, and introduced her to his new partner: Tarantulas! They were both working on a time travel experiment despite the tense and bitter partnership, for which Verity teased them. Then Overlord announced that he was abandoning their original partnership terms to use the time machine to kill Megatron repeatedly throughout history, for which Verity teased him some more. Overlord destroyed Tarantulas before Verity and Springer use the time machine to send Overlord's separate vehicle halves into different eras. Verity also found the secret bank account for "Megan Guiglione"'s speaking tour while interfacing with Tarantulas's computers; feeling owed for all the personal troubles the Cybertronian war caused her, she wired the entire campaign fund to herself: over $17 million. Then Verity complied with Springer's final wish and helped return him to the distant past so he could try to prevent the war from starting, giving him a greeting card to thank him. Now that the war was finally over for Verity, she returned to her mother's home for the first time in years. Verity tearfully offered a greeting card with the message "For my Mom," and was welcomed back. Requiem of the Wreckers
Notes
- Verity likes Volkswagen Beetles.
- In Last Stand of the Wreckers #1, Verity sports a small green alien head tattoo on the back of her right shoulder, in memory of her late friend Hunter O'Nion, who wore an "Alien Death Ray" shirt with a similar head on it throughout Infiltration.
- In Last Stand of the Wreckers #2, Verity is seen with a photo of herself, Hunter O'Nion and Jimmy Pink in their Infiltration-era clothes, acting goofy. Of course, one could say they never really had time to have such a picture taken, but the Autobots did have a camera trained on them while they had the three in custody.
- Verity's middle name, as established in Requiem of the Wreckers is "Simone" because of course.
- The children's storybook, "I Am Optimus Prime," features a human companion to the Autobots based on Verity. Likewise, Hunter O'Nion and Jimmy Pink inspired the two male human allies in the story.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Verity Carlo (ベリティ・カルロ Beriti Karuro)
