Children of the Vok

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"Are you reaaaaady?" "No, I'm not ready at all! In fact, I still got lots more plans!"
"Children of the Vok"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	May 4, 2022
Cover date	May 2022
Written by	Erik Burnham
Art by	Winston Chan
Colors by	Ellie Wright
Letters by	Nathan Widick and Jake M. Wood
Editor	David Mariotte, Jazmine Joyner and Riley Farmer
Continuity	Transformers: Beast Wars

Captured and imprisoned by a third faction of Transformers with their own agenda, Optimus Primal and Megatron forge an uneasy alliance.

Synopsis

Optimus Primal wakes with a start... and finds himself in an unfamiliar cavern next to Megatron! Still under the effects of the aggression-enhancing energon, Primal immediately leaps for Megatron... only for an electrified force field to activate and shock the Maximal leader into submission. As Primal swears violent vengeance upon the Predacon leader, Megatron gloats that Tarantulas's weapon worked better than he expected, only for Optimus to realize that the jolt has purged the last of the corruption from his systems and restored his faculties. Although Megatron's content to sit tight, confident that his forces will eventually put out a search for him, a newly lucid Primal suggests they put their differences aside for the moment and work together to escape. Primal does his best to punch and slash his way free as Megatron simply stands back and watches; when Primal asks if the Predacon leader can remember anything about the ones who kidnapped him, Megatron points out that they could manipulate holograms; they might not even be in a cave at all. At that moment, an unfamiliar voice cuts in to assure the pair that, while a clever deduction, they are exactly where they think!

That voice belongs to Tigatron, who introduces both himself and the rest of his comrades—Polar Claw, Saberback, Inferno, and Airazor—as neither Maximal nor Predacon, but as the "Children of the Vok", a group of wayward Cybertronian protoforms who seek to live in harmony with their environment under the watchful eye of their alien benefactors. Megatron demands to speak with these Vok, but Tigatron just scoffs that Megatron isn't worthy. Airazor and Polar Claw explain that the Vok want the Maximals and Predacons gone: whether that means leaving the planet or merely entering stasis until the aliens have completed their fragile experiments. A defiant Megatron growls that he'll do no such thing, and demands a direct audience with the Vok; when he tries to blast Tigatron, however, the shot merely bounces off the force field prison. As Tigatron and the others take their leave, Megatron rounds on Optimus for saying nothing during the confrontation. The Maximal leader calmly points out that, while Megatron blustered, he was focussed on something else: a potential way out. The force field deflected their weaponsfire, but easily allowed the dust they kicked up to pass through; furthermore, the Children all transformed into their beast modes to exit the cavern. Quickly deducing the nature of the trap, Primal transforms into gorilla mode and completely bypasses the forcefield, much to Megatron's astonishment, and proposes a temporary truce until they can escape and return to their respective factions.

From afar, the three Vok watch the uneasy alliance with some interest: while Tonrar's tired of the Cybertronians and wishes to see them permanently destroyed, Pakak suggests they engineer a second encounter between the Vok-allied Cybertronians and their enemies. If they survive, then they'll open a dialogue with the two... if they don't, then they'll have eliminated two problems at once. Indeed, by the time that the two make it out into the jungle, the Children of the Vok have already coordinated a holographically-assisted ambush against the pair, and as Optimus and Megatron bicker, Tigatron and the others spring the trap! While Optimus deals with Tigatron, Airazor, and Saberback, Megatron takes out Polar Claw with a blast from his tyrannosaur mouth-cannon, then contemplates killing his rival amidst the chaos... but ultimately decides against it, and spins around to bifurcate Saberback as he and Inferno try to sneak up on the Predacon leader.

Before he can do the same for Inferno, however, a new voice cuts through the chaos: the voice of Pakak himself, who's puppeteered Polar Claw's corpse and turned it into a suitable avatar to speak with the Predacon leader. The Vok have no wish to see any more of their new subjects destroyed, but they are not happy with the Cybertronians: the longer they stay on the planet, the further they contaminate and jeopardize the long-term progress of their experiments. Optimus points out that they didn't intend to land on this planet, nor can they leave; although he suggests they pursue a policy of coexistence, Megatron refuses to hear them out and simply blasts Pakak's avatar. Although Megatron briefly believes that he has killed the Vok, he's merely given them the opportunity to drop all pretenses and show themselves as they really are; barely able to grasp their true form, Megatron writhes with pain as the aliens begin to snuff out his own spark before Optimus intervenes; although the aliens wonder why he'd save the life of an enemy, Optimus explains that he fights in self-defense—murder is something else entirely. An exasperated Tonrar orders the other two Vok to destroy them, but Primal, playing on their innate curiosity, points out that the Vok would pass up an opportunity to learn something new: what happens when two opposing factions put aside their differences in the face of a greater threat? To find out, they'll need seven cycles to prepare, without any kind of interference... to Megatron's surprise, the aliens take up the offer and promptly return to unspace. Megatron's convinced they're doomed, but Optimus is confident that they still have a chance to outwit the Vok...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Oh my. You are still feeling a bit angry, aren't you, yesss? I'll have to congratulate Tarantulas on how well his device worked. Did any of your precious underlings feel the power of your fury? Let me know in detail."
"This anger—it was Tarantulas' doing?"
"On my command, yes. Tell me at least you destroyed the rodent."

—Megatron and Optimus Primal

"Cybertronian culture on this new world is binary. There are Predacons, and there are Maximals. If you are neither of those—then you are nothing."

—Megatron

"Oh, this is less fair a fight off the ground! Release me and fight more honorably!"
"No."
*SHKROOM*

—Polar Claw dies to Megatron

"You're a fascinating and contradictory being, Optimus Primal. It's almost a shame you won't survive longer."

—Pakak

Notes

Continuity notes

• Optimus Primal notes that he's heard the name "Vok" before; he heard Cheetor utter the word back in issue #13 after the young Maximal woke up from a coma.
• The Vok scold Optimus and Megatron for disrupting a lode of specialized red energon—as per the editor's note, this occurred in the previous issue, which saw Tarantulas weaponize the substance and turn it against the Maximals.

Transformers references

• The gang's all here! In addition to Saberback and Polar Claw, the other Children of the Vok comprise the three remaining characters who debuted in the first season of Beast Wars—Tigatron, Airazor, and Inferno. Of the three, Tigatron and Airazor have a pre-existing connection with the enigmatic aliens: they were abducted by the Vok during the "Other Visits" storyline, and returned as the merged "Tigerhawk" entity in the third season episode "Other Victories" to act on behalf of the Vok.
• It's probably no coincidence that Tigatron, the apparent spokesman of the group, is the one who most strongly advocates for a wild, naturalistic existence—the Beast Wars television show consistently depicted Tigatron as a 'bot with close, quasi-spiritual ties to Earth's biosphere.
• Inferno, on the other hand, never really had a close encounter with the Vok, but does speak of them as his "god-queens" and the "colony" in reference to his cartoon counterpart's insane, ant-like behavior.
• When Optimus and Megatron emerge from the cave, a Rafflesia flower is seen prominently in the background, apparently part of Saberback's hologram. This could be a reference to Saberback's third flower-like 'Claw-Trap mode'.

Other trivia

• Originally solicited for April 27th, this issue arrives just one week late.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Optimus and Megatron versus the Vok, by John Jennings
• Cover B: Nyx versus Waspinator, by Andy Duggan
• Retailer incentive cover: Megatron tortures an Optimus Primal doll, by James Marsh

• 

  It's not my fault! (Mea Cupla!) I'm not to blame! (Mea Culpa!)

• 

  Nyx and Waspinator playing sky chicken.

• 

  A dramatic reenactment of a nightmare sequence from "Desperately Seeking Stanley."

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Reprints

• The Transformers: Beast Wars Volume 3 (October 5, 2022) ISBN 1684059380 / ISBN 978-1684059386
  • Collects Beast Wars issues #13–17, and Beast Wars Annual 2022.
  • Bonus material includes alternate covers, and an one-page sketch by Burcham.

• 

  Beast Wars, Vol 3; cover art by Colm Griffin

External links

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