First Contact (IDW)

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"First Contact"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	March 18, 2015
Cover date	March 2015
Story by	Mairghread Scott and John Barber
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Livio Ramondelli
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

Optimus Prime and Windblade make preparations to establish peaceful contact with Caminus, but Starscream has his own plans for the colony world... plans that involve the Enigma of Combination!

Synopsis

It's a hot night on Cybertron, as Scoop returns from Earth to deliver the Enigma of Combination into Starscream's waiting hands...

Making their way through the Decepticon ghetto on the outskirts of Metroplex, Optimus Prime and Windblade are attacked by a group of malcontents, including the Stunticons, who are unhappy to see Autobots on their territory. Swindle watches the fight from nearby, enjoying the show, until Chromia and Ironhide appear from the shadows behind him. A little show of force from Chromia ends the fight, and after Ironhide and Optimus reconnect, Windblade asks to speak to them all in private. Swindle watches them depart, only to then find himself surrounded by the Stunticons, who still hold a grudge over the time he forged them into a barely-functional combiner on Earth. Swindle brushes them off, and heads off to get a drink.

Windblade and the others take Prime to meet with Wheeljack in the bowels of Metroplex, where they explain that Metroplex's space bridge is now functional and poised to re-established contact with Caminus and the other lost colony worlds. Aware that Starscream has Wheeljack repairing Superion, and concerned that he may exploit the space bridge to create a new Cybertronian empire by having the combiner conquer the stricken colony worlds rather than aid them, Prime appoints Chromia and Ironhide to guard the space bridge while he and Windblade talk to Starscream directly. Starscream, meanwhile, is spending time picking out a new body for himself, much to Scoop's annoyance, but is happy to talk with his two Autobot guests when they reveal to him that the space bridge is operational. Starscream insists that Superion's repairs be completed before contacting Caminus, in the name of "security", and although Windblade and Prime claim it unnecessary, he refuses to negotiate otherwise, highlighting the fact that Prime already has a combiner working for him by showing them footage of Devastator rampaging on Earth. An angry Optimus starts to warn Starscream that he has no right to issue orders to a Prime, but Starscream retorts that he was elected by his people, and that the Prime title—and, indeed, the very fact that that title was all it took to make him leader—are representative of the problematic old ways of Cybertronian society they are trying to move beyond. Unable to actually disagree, Prime relents, but insists that a council of representatives from each world must be formed once contact is made, and a constitution established for Cybertron.

Some time later, Starscream and Scoop visit Wheeljack as he continues his work on Superion, and present him with the Enigma of Combination to speed his work to conclusion. Not long after that, Starscream tracks down Swindle and brings him into the fold with a simple offer to make him rich. Entrusted with the Enigma, Swindle is sent to the Stunticons' bolt-hole, arriving just as they are trying to explain how different things are nowadays to their new teammate Offroad. Motormaster is none too pleased to see the slimy Combaticon, but the sight of the Enigma changes things...

Optimus Prime contacts the Lost Light to invite Rodimus back to Cybertron for the momentous first contact with Caminus, but Rodimus is only annoyed by the prospect—after all, what sort of quest involves going home for a while and then starting up again?—and it is instead agreed that some representatives from the ship will return to their homeworld via shuttle. No sooner has the call ended, however, than Windblade detects a change in Metroplex's frequencies that alerts them to trouble: Ironhide and Chromia have been knocked unconscious, and someone has gone through the space bridge!

Across the galaxy, it's a hot night on Caminus... as Swindle emerges through the space bridge with the new and improved Menasor, and prepares to rob the planet blind!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"They were like that when I found 'em! Optimus Prime and Windblade were talking down the street. A bunch o' Decepticons got in their faces. An' you know who wins in a fight like that? The viewer."

—Swindle

"I really thought you were going to beat Optimus Prime. I mean, I know literally millions of Decepticons have tried for literally millions of years, but I seriously thought tonight was the night, bud."

—Swindle gets sarcastic with Motormaster

"How can you waste time like this, Starscream?"
"Scoop, my friend, what am I?"
"You know."
"Say it."
"Grrr.'"
"Scoop...?"
"The Chosen One."
"I am the Chosen One. A Titan said so, and the people of Cybertron agreed. You don't get chosen without making good decision, ergo, choosing a fresh new me is by definition a good idea. Hey, nobody ever said you have to like the one you believe in, right Scoopster?"

—Scoop and Starscream

"'Saving the Aerialbots is a worthy goal. Do your best.' Thanks, Prime. I'm glad to see me alive and kicking, too."

—Wheeljack, muttering to himself

"Seriously? We, like, just left. We came home, we saved the universe, you made Megatron an Autobot—remember that? That was probably a lot easier a thing to live with if you don't have to actually live with it because he's on a space ship half a galaxy away—and we resumed our quest. You get what a quest is, right? You don't start a quest, take a few days off and go home, then restart a quest. If you do that, the quest never ends."
"The quest never starts."
"The quest never starts! Thank you, Magnus."

—Rodimus and Ultra Magnus

"Talk to you later, Prime. Megs says "Hi," by the way."
"I said no such—"
CLICK

—Rodimus gives Optimus Megatron's (unwanted) regards

Notes

Continuity notes

• This issue occurs directly after Punishment; Windblade and Optimus are returning from their visit to the site of Optimus's transformation from Pax to Prime.
• Ironhide reminisces about his time spent teaching Optimus, detailed back in All Hail Megatron #13.
• A minor point, but it is finally revealed that Optimus still has both halves of the Matrix container. He was only ever shown giving away the crystal core halves in The Death of Optimus Prime, and one half of the container abruptly reappeared in issue #29 when Prime reclaimed Bumblebee's half.
• Wildrider is revealed to have abandoned the Stunticons, his spot on the team having been filled by Offroad, because the Combiner Wars toy line featured a toy named "Offroad" in Wildrider's place, and this comic story's main purpose is to sell toys.
• The Stunticons are still mad at Swindle over how badly their first combination into Menasor went, back in issues #5-6 of the 2009-2011 ongoing series.
• The activation of Metroplex's space bridge, the discovery of the colonies, and Chromia's "rash actions" all took place in issue #4 of the first Windblade mini-series.
• It is revealed that there were thirteen Metrotitan colony ships, which implies a connection to the Thirteen Primes, and/or their Thirteen Tribes, who were established in issue #34 to have vanished from Cybertron. Though later issues will reveal that Solus Prime and Onyx Prime apparently departed with two of the colony Titans, it is evident that not all of the Thirteen each left with one of the Titans—the planets the Thirteen settled on were the worlds later seeded with Regenesis ores, and the Regenesis worlds we have seen, while not exactly matching the colony worlds, are still based on locations associated with the Primes.
• This isn't the first time Starscream pretends not to remember Earth's name; he did the same when Optimus arrived on Cybertron in Punishment. Just like then, Optimus reminds Starscream that he knows the place—Starscream has spent quite an amount of time there, beginning all the way back in Infiltration up until the end of All Hail Megatron.
• Regarding the reason for Wildrider's departure from the Stunticons, Dead End refers to an incident when the Stunticons were all defeated by "one Autobot"—no surprise he doesn't mention which Autobot, since it was Bumblebee, in Spotlight: Bumblebee!

Transformers references

• Having already stolen Armada Starscream's look, Starscream's list of potential new bodies (pictured, right) consists of all the other major alternate Starscreams: Beast Wars II Starscream (which is the one he seems to be referring to when he mentions a body having "bestial power", wink wink), Animated Starscream, Prime Starscream, and juuust poking in on the left-hand side, live-action movie Starscream. The design in the center, which had been revealed through solicitations for future issues as the one he'll end up going with, is Starscream's own Combiner Wars Leader Class figure—a toy that hadn't actually been officially confirmed by Hasbro as existing at the time of this issue's publication.
• Menasor and the Stunticons all now appear with their new Generations Combiner Wars toy designs. While the Enigma could be blamed for Menasor's new form, no explanation is offered for how the Stunticons have changed their bodies—though that wouldn't have been an issue with IDW comics a few years prior, body changes are usually addressed in-story these days, and it's especially odd for a bunch of guys living in a ghetto to have been able to accomplish it.
• Among the crowd of Camiens at the end of this issue are a new Generation 1 incarnation of Animated Lightbright and the Generation 1 counterpart of Armada Hot Shot. Hot Shot has appeared in the 2005 IDW continuity before, dying in Drift #2 in an artist's Easter-egg cameo we can certainly write off at this point, and in the alternate timeline seen in More than Meets the Eye #35.

Errors

• The simplified summary of Chromia's actions from Windblade #4 on this issue's recap page claims she "inadvertently" killed innocent Cybertronians, when said issue made it perfectly clear she knew exactly what she was doing.

Other notes

• Drag Strip is not in evidence at any point during the story, only appearing as Menasor's arm on the final page. It seems sort of like new member Blackjack has (accidentally?) been drawn in his place, given that he talks as if he was a regular member of the team around in the "old days", which he certainly wasn't. And speaking of Blackjack...
• Soooo... obviously, Blackjack's appearance in this story is a toy-mandated thing and unavoidable, but the character has previously appeared in IDW continuity in his original Micromaster form, as one of the Gorlamites upgraded by Jhiaxus. This happened before when Dropshot appeared in All Hail Megatron #11 and when Tailwind appeared in More than Meets the Eye #12.

Covers (10)

• Regular cover: Menasor reaches for Optimus Prime, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
• Subscription cover: Optimus and Prowl leg it as Superion gets ready for battle, by Livio Ramondelli; combines with subscription cover to Windblade #1 to form a complete image.
• Retailer incentive cover: Swindle in Menasor's palm, by Sara Pitre-Durocher
• Hasbro exclusive cover: Artwork of Ironhide by Ken Christiansen and Volta, based on his Generations Combiner Wars Deluxe Class toy, available with said toy in the United States, Australia, and Asia. Rebranded as Combiner Wars #15.

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  I must break you!

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  You don't wanna be here when these guys start fighting!

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  Swindle sold himself to Menasor.

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  Hasbro exclusive cover available with Ironhide toy.

• A piece of art by Travis Sengaus, with colors by Josh Burcham, of Superion was used as the basis for a number of store-exclusive covers. Credits below reflect who illustrated the store on the cover:
  • BuyMeToys exclusive cover: Superion and the BuyMeToys store; art by Sengaus, colors by Burcham
  • Giant Robot Comics exclusive cover: Superion and the Giant Robot Comics store; art and colors by Burcham
  • Midtown Comics exclusive cover: Superion and the Midtown Comics store; art by Sengaus, colors by Burcham
  • Midtown Comics exclusive cover: Superion and the 4 Color Fantasies Comics store; art and colors by Burcham
  • St. Mark's Comics exclusive cover: Superion and the St. Mark's Comics store; art by Sengaus, colors by Burcham
  • G & B Comics exclusive cover: Superion and the G & B Comics store; art and colors by Burcham

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  Cover RE-A

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  Cover RE-B

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  Cover RE-C

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  Cover RE-D

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  Cover RE-F

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• Windblade #1 - Combiner Wars, Part 1
• The Transformers #40 - Combiner Wars, Part 2
• More than Meets the Eye #39
• Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #6
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Vol. 1 (back cover)

Reprints

• The Transformers: Combiner Wars (August 12, 2015) ISBN 1631403869 / ISBN 978-1631403866
  • Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #39–41, and Windblade (2015) issues #1–3.
  • Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
  • Trade paperback format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 65: Combiner Wars (October 31, 2018)
  • Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #39–42, and Windblade (2015) issues #1–4.
  • Bonus material includes an article on the Prime Wars Trilogy.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 9 (June 19, 2019) ISBN 1684054842 / ISBN 978-1684054848
  • Collects The Transformers (2012) issues #39–41, #42–43, Windblade (2015) issues #1–3 & #4–5, and More than Meets the Eye issues #41–44.
  • Hardcover format.

• 

  Combiner Wars – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente

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  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 65: Combiner Wars – cover art by Don Figueroa (Defensor) and Livio Ramondelli (retro)

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  The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 9 – cover art by Marcelo Matere

External links

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