The Reign of Starscream issue 2
From Transformers Wiki
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 Where's my crown of leadership, you putz!? | |||||||||||||
| "Transformers: The Reign of Starscream Issue Number Two" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 4,2008 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | May 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Chris MowryandChris Ryall | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Alex Milne | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | Josh Perez | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Chris Mowry | ||||||||||||
| Edits by | Denton J. Tipton | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Movie continuity | ||||||||||||
Starscream goes to the Hoover Dam to find Frenzy. He kills a lot of people.
Contents |
Synopsis
Starscream arrives atHoover Damto find a number of soldiers there to meet him. He gives thepuny flesh creaturesa chance to surrender. Their response: a bazooka shot to his face. Starscream makes it clear that this was a bad idea via his cluster bombs, but even so, the humans' assault starts to overwhelm him. More irritated than injured, Starscream's priority is nevertheless to find Frenzy, and he flies into the dam's interior to do so.
Once inside, Starscream can sense residualAllSparkenergy, amused by howMegatronmust have been driven insane by its closeness during his captivity. He can also sense Frenzy nearby, but is unable to pinpoint him due to interference (of the bullet kind) from nearby pests. He exterminates this annoyance and continues deeper into the dam, through narrow corridors that almost hinder his search, but not quite.
Outside,Sector SevenAgent Salazar contacts his troops. After ensuring that AgentsSimmonsandBanachekandSecretary Kellerare out of the area, he tells them to get out now that "N.B.E.-3" is apparently trapped.
Meanwhile, Starscream has reached the dam's radio room, monologuing on how hisSeekerattributes have not been hindered by this planet, nor has his ability to adapt. He detaches his hand from his arm, his wrist stretching out into little more than ropy wires, and reaches one of those wires into the room, pulling out Frenzy, as well as two human scientists. Surprisingly, he allows the two scientists to live, providing they give up Frenzy without a fight. They comply, and Starscream stores the little spy in his cockpit before rocketing quickly upwards out of the dam.
Outside, Sector Seven is waiting. Starscream cannot waste anymore time or energy fighting. He intends to run, but one of the humans addresses him by name, surprising him.
Agent Salazar orders Starscream to stand down. Starscream is not amused, but still cannot risk a fight. Sector Seven does not see it that way, and Salazar unleashes a "secret weapon":L.M.-1.Starscream senses an odd energy signature from the vehicle and realizes what it must be as it begins to transform. Even though it cannot complete its transformation, Starscream's curiosity gets the better of him, and he lowers his guard, giving Sector Seven a window in which to attack. Berating himself, Starscream pounces on Salazar's jeep, captures it and the agent, and takes off into the sky.
Apparently, merely flying is rela xing to Seekers, as Starscream's energy reserves begin to recharge. Using this time to his advantage, he tosses the jeep back toEarthand begins his interrogation of Salazar, demanding to know how the agent knows his name. Salazar uses the excuse that he's not authorized to tell Starscream anything, and an irritated Starscream drops him, then dives down and catches the plummeting flesh-creature, saying its job is now to tell Starscream what it knows or else be "returned" to its planet. Salazar stubbornly still refuses. With fighter jets appearing on the horizon, Starscream can no longer waste time with this game. He shoves Salazar into his cockpit, intending to take him back toDecepticonHQ. Transforming back to F-22 mode, Starscream prepares for his journey toMars,confident that his Earth alternate mode can survive the trip.
His "passenger"? Not so much.
Approaching Mars, Starscream hopes his subordinates aboard theNemesishave made themselves useful, theorizing that it's only a matter of time before they are discovered. As acertain, green spaceshipobserves him entering Mars' atmosphere, transmitting his findings to his friends on the planet's surface, Starscream's theory proves correct.
Almost out of energy, Starscream arrives at theNemesisjust in time, and"one of his own"is there to help him. Starscream has no time to waste in answering stupid questions and is quickly taken to theregeneration device.
After his recovery, while comfortably seated in his command chair, Starscream muses to his fellow Seeker on how interesting humans are, capable of great achievements, like destroying Megatron and the AllSpark. Thundercracker expresses confusion at this, since apparently Starscream had told him thathehad the AllSpark. Belittling his subordinate for stupidity, Starscream explains that he does not have the AllSpark itself, but rather a way to recreate it andCybertron—under his rule, of course. Thundercracker, apparently confused, instead questions Starscream's Earth mode. Starscream assures him that while they may look like Earth vehicles, their adaptive abilities mean that they are not limited to the vehicles' abilities, and the modes will prove useful when they rule Earth. However, his priority is to rule their own planet, and the data in Frenzy's memory is the key to doing so.
Starscream orders Thundercracker to plug in Frenzy and start transmitting the data to Cybertron, also asking if aspace bridgeterminal has been constructed. A view outside confirms that one has been, but due to their distance from Cybertron, it will not be a straight trip, but rather a connection through multiple space bridges. This makes no difference, as Frenzy's data can be sent back to Cybertron ahead of Starscream making the trip himself. He is confident that withOptimus Primeon Earth, nobody will be able to stop his conquest of Cybertron.
Nobody, except perhaps the team ofAutobotsheading his way.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"This planet hasn't robbed me of my Seeker attributes... or my species's inherent ability to adapt."
- —Starscreamconfirms what we allsuspected.
"It would be impossible to shift forms now. But it looks as if my Earth mode will survive the trip. The same cannot be said for the human."
- —Starscreamexplains why he left Earth's atmosphere in F-22 mode, and Salazar meets his end with a rather sickening "POP!"
Notes
- Fast Action Battlersget some fiction love: in addition to the appearance of Smokescreen, Starscream uses the arm blades featured on his FAB toy.
- In order to better fit inside the narrow Sector 7 corridors, Starscream angles his wings upward, and... Grows an extra pair of legs. No attention is given to these extra limbs, but they can be seen coming back together to form his regular legs when he flies up the vertical shaft to escape the dam.
- The line "This planet hasn't robbed me of my Seeker attributes..." is changed in the trade to "This planet hasn't robbed me of mywarriorattributes... ". This was perhaps done to avoid confusion withRevenge of the Fallen's usage of theterm.
Errors
- In Salazar's word bubble on page 6, Agent Banachek's name is misspelled as "Banechek".
- Contrary to popular belief, someone's head wouldnotexplode due to lack of air in space, the person would simply die.
Covers (4)
- Cover A:Starscream vs Landmine and Sector 7; art & colors by Alex Milne
- Cover B:Starscream closeup; art byJames Raiz& colors byKieran Oats
- Incentive Cover RI-A:Uncolored lineart of Cover A
- Incentive Cover RI-B:Uncolored lineart of Cover B
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