Loose Ends, Part 1

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"Loose Ends" Part 1
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	July 11, 2012
Cover date	July 2012
Writer	Simon Furman
Penciler	Andrew Wildman
Inker	Stephen Baskerville
Colorist	John-Paul Bove
Letterer	Chris Mowry
Editor	John Barber
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity
Chronology	2012

Frustrated by Optimus Prime's pacifism, Kup goes rogue in order to tie up as many loose ends as he can.

Synopsis

In the Strategy-Tank of the Wreckers' headquarters, Debris, Kup runs through a holographic training session in which he takes down two of the biggest unresolved threats left over from the war—Bludgeon and Galvatron—but the session is stopped by Springer just before the third and final holo-opponent, Megatron, takes Kup down from behind. Springer brings news that a group of Neo-Decepticons have holed up in the Pax Cybertronia Decommissioning Depot in Kalis, and are threatening to detonate a clutch of reclaimed Warbird cobalt-60 warheads. The Wreckers get ready for action, only to have Ultra Magnus inform them that Optimus Prime's refusal to permit hostile action against insurgents is still in effect.

Meanwhile, inside the facility, the insurgents in question—the Skyscorchers—are arguing amongst themselves over their raid going wrong. Windrazor contacts Ultra Magnus in order to arrange a surrender, intending to then trigger a small explosion using a warhead detonator cap that will cover their escape, but before terms can be arranged, Ransack, Chop Shop and Venom infiltrate the depot and take all four of them down. The three Insecticons have been sent into action by Soundwave with the order to make martyrs of the Skyscorchers by detonating one of the warheads, but the Wreckers suddenly burst into the room in defiance of orders, restrain the Insecticons in a detention-sphere, and with a little off-site help from Perceptor, disarm the ticking warhead.

Presently, Ultra Magnus and Kup visit Nova Point, where Optimus Prime grudgingly admits that the Wreckers' actions saved countless lives, leading him to refrain from handing down punishment. Magnus presses the issue, concerned about the influence of the Wreckers' war-hero reputation is having on his cadets, but Prime does not hear him, his mind consumed by a vision of Unicron, threatening to return and kill him again. Outside Prime's chambers, Kup and Hot Rod argue about over Prime's new outlook, with Kup angrily concluding that Prime's decision to mentor Hot Rod is a case of him looking for someone to take over leadership so that he can forget about the war entirely. Deciding that a more proactive attitude—like that displayed by the currently-absent Grimlock, off looking for a cure for Nucleon—is needed to deal with the threats that still exist, Kup returns to Debris and gathers up the other Wreckers. He announces his intent to visit Earth, Nebulos and the other worlds touched by the war to try and actually make a difference, and the whole team elects to join him.

Kup is not the only one going proactive—at Fort Scyk, Soundwave receives a communication from Bludgeon, off in the depths of space, who announces that he has gathered together the means to take revenge on the Autobots for his defeat on Klo. Only one element remains, and if Soundwave can acquire it for him, Bludgeon promises him all the firepower he will need to wage his campaign...

Kup and the Wreckers hitch a lift with the Cosmic Carnival to Earth's Solar System in return for a favour to be collected on later, and once at their destination, quickly release surveillance drones to scan Earth. The images the drones beam back are nothing short of horrifying: the entire planet has been devastated, great cities laid to waste, bodies of water boiled dry. And amidst the devastation, on a throne of rubble... sits Megatron! Remotely taking control of one of the drones in order to address the Autobots, Megatron mockingly wonders why it took so long for his actions to be noticed before launching a volley of nuclear missiles at the Wreckers and blowing their ship out of the sky!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"What do I think? I think Prime's lost his edge. His death and subsequent rebirth have turned a visionary leader into a blinkered, unrealistic optimist. And those years spent "mentoring" you are just symptomatic... of him passing the buck!"

—Kup gives Hot Rod a talking-to

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

• Hot Rod's color scheme has been changed since issue #80.5, and he now sports an orange chest and silver fists, more in-line with his cartoon appearance. Below the waist, he's still rocking the Marvel-originated silver thighs and magenta boots.
• The shape and design of Springer's chest constantly changes throughout the whole issue.
• As Terradive and Afterburner argue, either their speech bubbles are mixed up or Wildman has drawn in the wrong characters, as their names are swapped. The speech bubbles were corrected for the TPB.
• On the penultimate page of the story, poking between Kup and Springer, is the entirely grey face of some dude. He sorta maybe kinda looks like Sandstorm’s toy? But if it's him, it's got a bunch of details he wouldn't normally have and is missing its entire over-head propeller rig.

Continuity errors

• It's not clear how Kup can know anything about Galvatron, as up until this point in continuity the only Autobots to have gotten so much as a clear look at that character were Fortress Maximus in "The Last Autobot?" and Xaaron. The former never learned Galvatron's name or role, and the latter died soon thereafter.

Continuity notes

Surprise! We've been hiding in here since 1985!

• Kup's hologram version of Bludgeon is missing the left prong of its helmet-crest, just as Bludgeon was when he was last seen at the end of the original Marvel run.
• We get to see the Wreckers' base, Debris, for the first time—up until now, it's only been mentioned in passing, or appeared in prose stories.
• Twin Twist is conspicuous by his absence from the ranks of the Wreckers. He did die during the Time Wars, but we know that the UK stories don't count for Regeneration One,^[1] as evidenced by the fact that Topspin, Roadbuster, Rack 'n' Ruin, and Sandstorm all died during that conflict as well and appear alive here.
• Taking Twin Twist's place on the Wreckers is Leadfoot, which is a combined reference to Dark of the Moon Leadfoot, the Generation 2 comic (elements of which are part of this series), and his appearance in IDW's "Spotlight: Galvatron". Whether he has the same origin as the G2 comic Leadfoot is unknown.
• Ransack makes his Marvel continuity debut with this issue, though Barrage is strangely absent. Chop Shop and Venom previously appeared during the Time Wars, and like a chunk of the Wreckers, died. Just as the more famous Insecticon trio were able to do in the Marvel comic, these three are able to shrink to the size of actual insects, an ability Soundwave exploits to smuggle them around in his chest compartment!
• Kup notes that instead of inhibiting transformation across the board, Nucleon left other Transformers "mental or physical wrecks". The idea that Nucleon would have various different effects on those dosed with it was a story hook Furman was intending to explore back in the 90s before the Marvel series was cancelled, and he's obviously returning to it here.
• Seems that Berko returned to the Cosmic Carnival and took control of the whole shebang since his last appearance in "Recipe for Disaster!".
• Megatron still has a black helmet! Woooooooooooo!

Real-life references

• Kup's apparently been watching 80's-era Earth horror movies, his first words to Springer ("So thrill me, what's the play?") are more than reminiscent of Detective Cameron's catch-phrase in Fred Dekker's Night of the Creeps (1986). Like Kup, Cameron is a crusty, almost-retired cop pulled out for one last mission against an evil he previously defeated.
• The final pages, of the issue, with the Autobots camera coming across Megatron in a barren wasteland, homages the scene where Johnny Bates, AKA "Kid Miracleman", greets Miracleman and the others in his post-apocalyptic London, from Miracleman #15: "At last. Really, what must one do to get attention 'round here?"

Other trivia

Transformers references

• The provincial term "Orbital Torus State", which originated with Dreamwave's comics, makes its Marvel continuity debut here.
• Kup refers to Ultra Magnus as (formerly) "Cybertron's greatest warrior", the appellation he bore in the Marvel UK series.
• The Dark Ages get a mention, a portion of Cybertronian history that also originates with the Dreamwave War Within comics.
• Some kind of mold-thingy is mounted on the wall behind Bludgeon, and is pretty clearly cast in the shape of Thunderwing. The idea of Bludgeon attempting to resurrect a former Decepticon leader as part of his revenge scheme isn't new, as he did the same thing with Megatron in the original post-#80 continuation, "Another Time & Place". But Megatron isn't dead in this timeline! This is also a nod to IDW's Stormbringer, in which Bludgeon resurrects Thunderwing.
• That the first ruined city we see in this issue is San Francisco seems intended to echo the Marvel Generation 2 comic, where Frisco was blown to atoms in issue #11.
• A few elements from IDW's own Generation 1 continuity have evidently filtered into this universe in the intervening twenty-one years, including Kup as a member of the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus as an officious bureaucrat, and Bludgeon engineering the return of Thunderwing.
• The Pax Cybertronia Decommissioning Depot is evidently named for the Pax Cybertronia, the peace accords from the Beast Wars cartoon, which here have led to something called the Unified Cybertron Alliance.

Furminated

• Terradive, Afterburner, Eagle Eye, and Windrazor meet ambiguous fates at the hands of Venom, Chop Shop and Ransack.
• San Francisco, Tokyo, and Paris are revealed to be annihilated.

Covers (4)

• 

  Well, being cancelled for one.

• 

  It's 1986 again.

• 

  "I hope Geico covers this!"

• Cover A: Megatron on his throne amid the ruins, asking the audience "What kept you?", by Andrew Wildman and Jason Cardy.
• Cover B: Hot Rod, Kup and Ultra Magnus by Guido Guidi, in authentic retro-Marvel style, and featuring the Optimus Prime "corner box" that was a staple of the original Marvel run.
• Cover RIA: Optimus Prime charges into action, by Geoff Senior and Josh Burcham, in a retro-Generation 2 style.
• Cover RIB: Blank white cover featuring unique hand-drawn sketches by Dan Khanna.

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External links

• Commentary from Simon Furman:
  • Script (w)rap
  • Pages 1–5

References