Transformers: Armada #5

Credits

Writer - Chris Sarracini / Pencils - James Raiz / Inks - Rob Armstrong, Erik Sander, and Ferd Poblete / Backgrounds - Edwin Garcia / Lettering - Dreamer Design / Colors - Shaun Curtis, Alan Wang, Ramil Sunga, Rob Ruffolo, David Cheung, Chris Walker, and Elliot Krauchik

Story

At a wrecking yard outside of town, the workers' routine is interrupted when they find a robot trapped inside the car compactor. Longarm, hiding nearby, hears their panicked cries, then goes out with Liftor and Jolt to rescue Rollbar from the compactor. They return to their hideout beneath the garbage, and Rollbar says that he still couldn't get their communicator to tune in to terran signals. Liftor, however, has managed to repair an old television set, and they turn it on just in time to see a news broadcast on Megatron's attack in Science City. The Minicons catch a glimpse of Sparkplug in the melee, and reluctantly agree to go out and rescue him.

In a canyon gorge outside Science City, Megatron and Optimus Prime are busy trash-talking each other. The human kids wonder why they're just making speeches, when Smokescreen rams into the base of the cliff and sends Megatron and Demolishor tumbling down. The Decepticons recover quickly, however, and a full-scale brawl quickly erupts. Despite the Autobots' efforts, the Decepticons soon manage to get the upper hand. With Optimus Prime down, Megatron closes in for the coup d'grace, attaching his own Minicons for the extra strength to finish off the Autobot leader. Smokecreen tries to ambush Megatron, but is effortlessly swatted aside.

Demolishor is toying with a captured Rad when Longarm and his Minicons arrive. They quickly disable Demolishor, then attach themselves to the fallen Autobots -- which activates new weapons and powers for them. Megatron orders the Decepticons to counterattack, but Starscream blames him for hoarding all of their Minicons for himself. With a frustrated snarl, Megatron activates the Space Bridge and teleports the Decepticons back to Cybertron.

The remaining humans, Autobots, and Minicons quickly introduce themselves; the Minicons agree to work with the Autobots if they can be treated as equals, to which Optimus agrees. Finally, he orders the Autobots to scan for terran vehicle forms to download, and prepare for establishing a base on Earth.

Notes and Comments

• The city where the Armada series takes place is finally identified as "Science City." Don't let the dazzling brilliance overwhelm you...
• No explaination is given for where Rollbar, Liftor, Jolt, and Longarm have been all this time. Did they survive the initial Minicon crash several million years ago? Were they reactivated automatically when the Minicon beacon was activated? Who knows?