Savage Landing Part 5
From Transformers Wiki
| |||||||||||||
| | |||||||||||||
| "Savage Landing Part 5" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | June 30, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | June 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Erik Burnham | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Josh Burcham | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Jake M. Wood | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Transformers: Beast Wars | ||||||||||||
As Megatron's forces prepare to eliminate their foes once and for all, Optimus Primal and Nyx grapple with the legacy of the Predacons as they try to judge Dinobot's true intentions.
Contents |
Synopsis
Inside the Axalon, Optimus Primal has detained Dinobot in a jury-rigged prison cell so that he can interrogate the Predacon warrior about his apparent change of heart. Though Optimus suspects treachery, Dinobot remains impassive; though he wishes to join the Maximals and fight at their side, he calmly suggests that they could always settle things the Predacon way by battling to the death and allowing the victor to seize command. Though Optimus snarls that it wouldn't be him who'd perish in a one-on-one duel, a freshly-repaired Nyx arrives at that moment and gently asks Optimus permission to speak with their prisoner alone—the Maximal leader allows it, but reminds her to report for a full debrief after she's done talking with Dinobot.
After Primal leaves, Nyx leads off the conversation with a simple question: why did he, a Predacon criminal, help her? Dinobot thinks for a moment, then tells her that she didn't deserve to die such an undignified death. Nyx counters that although they might officially be at peace, Maximals and Predacons have always struggled to harmoniously coexist; when Dinobot shrugs this off, Nyx snaps that he and the other Predacons are terrorists who attacked the Science Ministry on Cybertron, nearly destroyed the Axalon, and tortured her to the brink of death. Dinobot rises to his feet and growls that he did not torture her, then asks what she really knows about the Predacon race. When Nyx notes that Predacons are inherently aggressive, Dinobot agrees, and notes that Predacons are honorable warriors who crave conflict in all its forms. In times of peace, they channel that aggression into alternative venues: fields like athletics, law, science, or peacekeeping. Megatron recruited Dinobot to his cause by preying upon this innate sense of honor, arguing that the Maximals had disgraced themselves by hiding the Golden Disk's true significance, but Nyx's perseverance in the face of his compatriot's pointless cruelty opened his eyes to the possibility that there might be a better way. It's an inspiring speech... but Rattrap, who's watching the entire conversation play out from a remote monitor on the bridge, is far from convinced, and says as much to Cheetor when the younger Maximal asks what he's watching. At that moment, however, an alarm system blares as the ship's proximity alert flares to life...
Not far away, Megatron and the other Predacons have tracked the missing Dinobot to the crashed Axalon; ignoring Terrorsaur's idea to simply blitz the damaged ship from afar, the Predacon leader goes for the theatrical approach and orders a head-on attack. Aboard the Axalon, the Maximals watch as the Predacons close in for the kill—although Rattrap immediately suspects that Dinobot somehow contacted his fellow Predacons, Optimus just orders him to raise the defenses. Unfortunately, there's bad news on that front, as all the time they spent searching for Nyx distracted them from running repairs. With no other choice, Primal orders Rattrap to do what he can to get them up and running while he, Rhinox, and Cheetor buy him some time.
When Skold points out the Maximals are approaching on foot; Megatron deduces that they have no defense systems left to hide behind and orders Tarantulas to outflank the Maximals, slip into the ship, and find a way to destroy the Axalon from within. When Optimus and his troops arrive, Megatron introduces himself as the future ruler of Cybertron and delivers an ultimatum: lay down their weapons and he'll spare them. Optimus counters with an offer of his own: they're all under arrest, and they have one chance to surrender, but Megatron simply orders his warriors to charge! Inside the Axalon, Nyx overhears the sounds of battle and requests an explanation from the ship's computer. When the artificial intelligence reports that the ship's under Predacon attack, Dinobot asks Nyx to release him—the Maximals are outnumbered and unprepared, and without his assistance, they will fall...
As Cheetor goes up against Scorponok and Waspinator, Rattrap gets to work repairing the ship's systems, grousing all the while—when he hears an unusual noise, he breaks off to investigate and runs straight into Tarantulas! As the Predacon enthuses at the possibility of a snack, the scrappy Maximal manages to reach his arc welder just in time to torch the spider's face, giving him enough time to lose Tarantulas in the corridors as the mad scientist shouts that he'll deal with Rattrap after he destroys their ship. Outside, the battle rages on; though Megatron takes the upper hand against Optimus, the Maximal leader refuses to stay down. Waspinator and Terrorsaur keep Cheetor on the ropes, and even Rhinox finds himself overpowered when he fetches up against the tiny but tough Skold. As Megatron prepares to deliver the killing blow, however, a laser blast throws him off his feet—courtesy of Dinobot, who charges into battle alongside Nyx!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons |
|---|---|
|
|
Quotes
"I know there's been 'peace' between Maximals and Predacons for a long time, but that doesn't mean there's no animosity. It's ancient! Encoded deep in the spark! I mean, I went to university with a Predacon who nearly killed me during a lab project..."
"Yes. School is a difficult time."
"Don't make fun of me!"
- —Nyx and Dinobot
"Awww. Ain't that sweet."
"What are you watching?"
"Fantasy program 'bout a Predacon with a heart of gold."
- —Cheetor and Rattrap
"As I recently told a friend, I don't like falling— but in this case, it gives me an advantage!"
- —Optimus Primal
"There's only so long your lackeys can hold out before death comes for you... and it will come. After all—no one defies Megatron and lives."
"Come now, Megatron—we both know that's not true."
- —Megatron gloats before Dinobot joins the battle!
Notes
Continuity notes
- Dinobot gets defensive when Nyx brings up her capture and subsequent interrogation in issue #3, noting that he was not one of the Predacons who tortured her—indeed, he specifically advised Megatron and Tarantulas not to go through with it.
- Nyx and Cheetor were working on repairing the Axalon back in issue #2 until Optimus Primal sent Nyx on her ill-fated scouting mission. The remaining four Maximals devoted most of their time and effort to locating her, up to and including rewiring their entire onboard computer in the previous issue.
- As he faces off against Megatron, Optimus quips that he normally doesn't like falling, a sentiment he previously expressed in issue #1 during a sparring match against Rhinox.
Transformers references
- Dinobot suggests he and Optimus could duel to the death for command of the Maximals, something which he attempted to do during their first meeting in "Beast Wars (Part 2)".
- Cheetor joins the fight wielding his trademark quasar rifle from the original cartoon—an accessory that, notably, his War for Cybertron toy does not possess.
- On the flip side, our first glimpse at Scorponok's beast mode reveals that it's heavily based on his concurrently-released Kingdom toy, immediately recognizable by his red stinger and mandibles.
Errors
- The tactical readout on the Axalon shows five dots approaching the ship; assuming that each one corresponds to a Predacon, there should be six: Megatron, Tarantulas, Terrorsaur, Waspinator, Scorponok, and Skold. Early into the battle, Megatron does tell Tarantulas to break off from the group to execute his sabotage plan, which goes a ways towards explaining the discrepancy... but the first shot of the Maximal HUD takes place just before this exchange.
- While Waspinator's exchange with Terrorsaur in issue #2 used the third-person, Elmo-type speech pattern he adopted in the original Beast Wars cartoon, his one line of dialogue here has him using pronouns like "me" and "you".
Other trivia
- Originally solicited for June 23rd, this issue arrives just one week late.
Covers (3)
- Cover A: Dinobot behind bars, by Josh Burcham
- Cover B: Terrorsaur and Cheetor, by Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado.
- Cover RI: Rattrap versus Tarantulas, by Alex Milne and Sid Ven Blu
Advertisements
- Locke & Keye: Keyhouse Compendium
Reprints
- The Transformers: Beast Wars Volume 1 (March 23, 2022) ISBN 1684058589 / ISBN 978-1684058587
- Collects Beast Wars issues #1–6.
- Bonus material includes alternate covers, a sketch gallery by Josh Burcham, and a Q&A with writer Erik Burnham and artist Burcham.
Beast Wars, Vol 1; cover art by Josh Burcham