![[cover]](covers/g1vol3_1.jpg)
Plot Summary:
We see Starscream looking at his reflection in the mirror, dreaming about his future coronation ceremony. He's interrupted by Jazz who is quickly trounced by Bruticus. We see that Wheeljack, Windcharger, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have also been incapacitated. Brawn and Ratchet are the only Autobots left of the group and they're shown speeding towards the Ark. Unfortunately they are targeted by the Ark's defense systems; Ratchet makes it through, but Brawn finds himself staring into the barrel of one of the defense cannons. Cut to Cybertron where we see Runamuck and Runabout, who seems to have survived his run in with Gnaw back in War & Peace. The two goons are torturing some helpless Powerdashers when they stumble upon several pods filled with Transformers that are unfamiliar to them. Suddenly, one of them emerges from a pod and attacks the two Decepticons. He makes short work of them before he blasts off right into space. Back to Earth, where we see Brawn covered in coolant that Ratchet used to get him away from the Ark Defense Cannon. We see that several Decepticons are imprisoned within the Ark. The Ark alarm goes off and we see that Bruticus is attacking the facility and has freed the captured Decepticons. On a shuttle heading towards Earth, we see Bumblebee and a band of Minibots getting an urgent message from Brawn. He relays them video footage of their battle with Bruticus, and Bumblebee prepares the crew for battle. Back on Earth, Bruticus is breaking into the Ark. Ratchet programs the Ark to self-destruct. The two Autobots evacuate just before the place blows up with Bruticus right in the middle. Bruticus emerges from the explosion, while Starscream blasts Ratchet and Brawn in the back. Bumblebee and his crew are just arriving outside of Earth's atmosphere when a mysterious golden Seeker, who seems to be heading for Earth with a purpose, suddenly overpasses them.
Transformers/Humans Featured (In rough order of appearance):
Starscream, Sideswipe (Inactive), Wheeljack (Inactive), Windcharger (Inactive), Jazz, Bruticus, Sunstreaker (Inactive), Brawn, Ratchet, Random Powerdasher, Runabout, Runamuck, Powered Convoy (Inactive), Microman Perceptor (Inactive), Soundblaster (Inactive), Stepper (Inactive), Twincast (Inactive), Sunstorm, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave, Rumble (Inactive), Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Powerglide, Seaspray, Bumblejumper, Cosmos, Brawl, Onslaught, Vortex, Blast-Off, Swindle.
Other Notes:
Starscream's opening line was a quote from his coronation ceremony in Transformers: The Movie. The crown he was seeing on his head in his reflection was the crown he wore in Transformers: The Movie. The shot of an inactive Wheeljack and Windcharger lying side by side was an homage to their death scene in Transformers: The Movie. A comic in the pocket behind the passenger seat within Brawn's truck mode had a Dreamwave symbol on its top-left corner. Runabout was presumed dead after his run-in with Gnaw in War & Peace, but apparently he was only injured. All the Transformers in the pods in Shockwave's laboratory, excluding Sunstorm, are from Japanese Transformer Toy lines. The Katakana under Soundblaster's pod spells his name, and the Katakana on the monitor that Runabout is looking at says, 'Sunstorm'. There's also a picture of Vector Sigma on that screen which may or may not be a hint towards Sunstorm's origins. The Orion shuttle, which Bumblebee and Co. were using has been compared to both Galaxy Shuttle and Armada Jetfire. The facemask that Brawn uses is an homage to his toy. Brawn calls Bruticus 'Tall, Dark and Gruesome', which is what he called Shockwave in "The Ultimate Doom part 3" of the original G1 cartoon series. There is a Maximal symbol on the back door to the Ark which indicates that the Beast Wars was a part of the Dreamwave timeline.
Memorable Lines:
Starscream: Autobots are so much more tolerable when they've been deactivated!
Runamuck: Ha! Ha! Talk about your on-the-job perks. Now, don't go burning youself out there!
Sunstorm: It is time to surrender... to give in. Do not be afraid. For soon, the rest of you kind shall join you.
Sunstorm: I beg of you, grant me the wisdom needed to further my crusade... as well as the power necessary to vanquish my enemies.
Bruticus: UHRRRUUHHH! Bruticus Angry! Bruticus destroy Autobots!
Starscream: Indeed.
Ratchet: Er! What's that blasted access code?
Brawn: Out of the way! I got the code right here!
*Brawn punches through control panel*
Ratchet: Whatever works.
Sunstorm: These hardships I must endure only help to solidify my loyalty to my crusade, and I take solace in the fact that this minor suffering is nothing compared to the agony that awaits any who would stand against me.
Review:
This issue does a great job in kicking off the new ongoing series. Brad Mick gives us a story that for the first time in Dreamwave´s G1 history doesn´t center on Optimus Prime, Megatron or Grimlock. Instead we get a story that features two old favorites (Ratchet and Brawn) as the main characters with Starscream and Bruticus playing the roles of antagonists. Mick has a tendency to reference old G1 dialogue, which is interesting because Dan Figueroa loves to throw in references to G1 and other past continuities as Easter Eggs in his artwork. The two play off each other very nicely in that respect. Mick also sets up Sunstorm as a very threatening and intriguing character from the get go. He has virtually total control of Sunstorm´s character, and so far is using him quite nicely. Figueroa´s artwork is beautiful here and the colors and shading was done very nicely. I´m especially impressed with his design for Ratchet, which is slightly different from the design he had in the G1 cartoon. There´s a shot of Bruticus breaking Skywarp and Soundwave out of their cell that is particularly gorgeous. The team of Brad Mick and Don Figueroa has done a great job with the premier issue to what will hopefully be a long and intriguing run.
Review by Blitzwing