Shattered Glass II issue 5

	; It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life.
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	December 14,2022
Cover date	December 2022
Written by	Danny Lore
Art by	Guido Guidi
Inks	Matt Froese
Colors	John-Paul Bove
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	David MariotteandRiley Farmer

In the belly of the beast, Soundwave and an unexpected ally confront Ultra Magnus in final battle.

Synopsis

It's all-out war asMetroplexjoins the battle between evil Autobots and heroic Decepticons!Soundwavetries to carry his wounded leaderMegatronto safety, even as the Decepticon leader orders his lieutenant to ignore him and stopUltra Magnus.As he works to patch up Megatron's injuries, the Decepticon leader explains that Magnus has already capturedOptimus Primeand recruitedRatchetto oversee a procedure that will allow him to take Prime's place. Soundwave's worried--not just by the idea of an emboldened Magnus commanding Metroplex, his ownWreckers,andthose Optimus Prime loyalists who won't see through the deception, but also what his enhanced senses tell him: Metroplex isn't roaring in rage, he's screaming in agony... and, beneath that, he can hearStarscream's voice.

As he moves forward, Soundwave spiesSlicer,half-crushed beneath one of Metroplex's digits--after he first knocks the overconfidentSpringerunconscious as the Wrecker tries to catch him off-guard, the compassionate Soundwave successfully frees the trapped Autobot... who promptly pulls his blaster on the would-be rescuer. Despite the imminent threat, however, Soundwave's telepathy picks up a jangled mess of conflicting emotions; as he tries to talk down Slicer, he lets slip that Megatron knows about Magnus's ultimate plan, and exactlywhyit is they can't control Metroplex. At that moment, however, a recovered Springer makes a second pass on the Decepticon... only for Slicer to unload his gun in Springer's face! Listening to Soundwave's transmissions throughBlaster's jury-rigged head has given the amoral engineer an odd fondness for the 'bot he'd normally see as an enemy... and, grimly, Slicer decides to join Soundwave on his quest to take down Ultra Magnus once and for all.

Together, the two scale the Titan's hull and make their way up to a convenient ledge, where Soundwave uses his voice-disguising powers to briefly misleadJazzandRicochetbefore he can non-lethally incapacitate the pair, brushing off the wounded Slicer's repeated offers to assist. The unlikely allies make their way through Metroplex's empty hallways as they discuss their possible next moves, before Soundwave makes a ghoulish discovery--Ultra Magnus's severed leg! Slicer wonders if Metroplex's erratic movements might've complicated the surgery, but the two soon discover therestof Ultra Magnus nearby... a mangled shell, using a disabled voice box to scream silently. As the two soon discover, however, that body now belongs to Optimus Prime: therealUltra Magnus has come out the other side wearing Optimus Prime's stolen body!

Soundwave puts up a cool façade, hoping to keep his captors off-balance--indeed, his jibes quickly start to overwhelm the already-erratic Magnus as the Wrecker leader adjusts to his new body's motor functions. Fortunately for the pair, Magnus doesn't realize that Slicer's changed sides--when he orders his ex-underling to execute Soundwave, Soundwave has just enough time to read Slicer's mind and learns that he plans to take out the Wreckers, grab Ratchet, and run. Worse yet, Metroplex and Starscream's mind patterns are growing closer and closer: if they merge, then Starscream is gone for good. At that moment, however, Metroplex rears backwards, and the sudden shift buries Magnus in debris and gives Slicer and Soundwave the opening they need to make their move.

In the ensuing chaos, Soundwave takes outTailgateandDrift,and Ratchet winds up taking a shot fromRodimusintended for Slicer--and, amidst the chaos, Soundwave breaks his own oath and kills both Drift and Rodimus. After freeingJetfire,Soundwave informs him that Starscream needs him; the pair arrive at Metroplex'ssparkchamber in time to sever the connection, incapacitating Metroplex and allowing Jetfire to scoop up Starscream's disembodied spark. Without his power source, theTitanpromptly topples to the ground as Jetfire escapes through one cracked eye, leaving Soundwave to face an enraged Magnus alone in the head of the falling Titan. The enraged Autobot, attacks... only for Soundwave to scan his thoughts and correctly deduce that this whole mad scheme stemmed from Magnus's own self-confidence issues: he had to steal Optimus's body because he didn't think he could lead the Autobots as himself. Before the berserk Autobot can kill Soundwave, however, a shot from below nails Magnus in the chest! Magnus plummets out of Metroplex's shattered eye... and Soundwave glimpses at the ground below, where he sees Slicer and Ratchet--by saving him, they've repaid their debt.

As the Titan plummets,Laserbeakswoops in to rescue his master as the rest of the Decepticons crowd in to congratulate Soundwave on saving the day. Elsewhere, Jetfire retreats to theStatic Zonewith Starscream's spark, while Slicer and an injured Ratchet recuperate in a nearby cavern. Optimus Prime,Goldbug,and Ultra Magnus might be gone, but there are stillothersout there who would do harm... and as long as Soundwave and the other Decepticons still stand, they'll never stop fighting for what's right!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Decepticons	Autobots	Others
Laserbeak(1) Frenzy(2) Soundwave(4) Megatron(5) Rumble(6) Ravage(7) Starscream(20) Flamewar(21) Slipstream(22) Hotlink(23)	Cosmos(8) Springer(9) Slicer(10) Jazz(11) Ricochet(12) Optimus Prime(13) Rodimus(14) Ultra Magnus(15) Drift(17) Tailgate(18) Ratchet(19) Prowl(24)	Metroplex(3) Jetfire(16)

Quotes

"So you've listened to my voice through... Blaster's head? I'm stuck in your head like ahit song.I'd like to think that meanssomething."
"Then let's gokill my Boss,Mister DJ. "
"That simple?"
"Yup."

—SoundwaveandSlicer

"Iwouldhave expected one of Megatron's spies. Or assassins. Not his... grief counsellor? Music bot? What do you fancy yourself these days,Soundwave?"

—Ultra Magnus

"I will do whatOptimuswas tooarrogantto do! I will crush every Decepticon spark myself! I will guarantee the end-- "
"Save it for someone who can't read your mind and know the truth--you had to stealOptimus' skinbecause you were too scared to openly leadwithoutit. "

—Ultra MagnusversusSoundwave

"Slicerwasn't supposed to save me. And I get the feeling he'll never let me thank him for it either. "

—Soundwave

"I went into battle because there's life on the other side of the war for all of us if we are brave enough to face it. If we are determined to livewith ourselvesand what we'vebecome.It may getworsebefore it getsbetter.But I will never stop believingpeaceisworth it.Because Cybertron is worth fighting for. "

—Soundwavesays that's all, folks

Notes

Continuity notes

Slicer's revealed to have survived his impromptu defenestration at the hands ofFlamewar,which occurred inthe previous issue.
Ultra Magnus sardonically calls Soundwave "Megatron's grief counsellor"; as established inissue #3of IDW's firstShattered Glassminiseries, Soundwave ran an underground radio station that allowed him to reach out to any Decepticon stragglers in distress.

Transformers references

The concept of Starscream's consciousness somehow persisting after death ties this story back to the long-standing concept of Starscream surviving as a "ghost", as popularized by theThe Transformersepisode "Starscream's Ghost".
Ultra Magnus's ultimate scheme involves him switching bodies with Optimus Prime; after the switch takes place, Magnus's new body is colored blue in reference to the inner robot that came with his2022Generationstoy.However, in the comic, his new body is very clearly based on theEarthriseOptimus Prime mold that formed the basis forGenerations Selects Shattered GlassOptimus, and makes no attempt to integrate any features from Ultra Magnus's own toy.
Wheeljack switching sides from an Autobot to a Decepticon may be a reference toWheeljack (Armada)

Errors

There’s no real in-fiction explanation given as to why Magnus-in-Optimus’s-body turns blue, beyond the need to advertise hisGenerationsplay feature—the same thing doesn’t happen to Optimus-in-Magnus’s-body, and it would seemingly run counter to the idea of him needing to wear Prime’s skin to feel confident.

Other trivia

While individuals who ordered Soundwave fromHasbro Pulsereceived this issue more than a month in advance, its mass-market release in December 2022 marks the very last issue of the finalTransformersminiseries ever published byIDW Publishingafter an astonishing seventeen-year run. Truly, they were... an IDW Publishing'sThe Transformers.

Covers (4)

Cover A:Soundwave and Starscream’s ghost, byAndrew Griffith
Cover B:Soundwave, byL. Kershaw
Retailer incentive cover:Graffiti-style art of Soundwave and his cassettes, byMark MaherandReggie Graham
Hasbro Pulse exclusive cover:Soundwave leaps into action, byCasey Coller