#4 - "The Omega Effect"/"Running With the Devil"

"The Omega Effect"

Credits

Writer - Brad Mick / Pencils - Don Figueroa / Inks - Elaine To / Letters - Ben Lee / Colors - Espen Grundetjern

Story

In flashback, Starscream is on Cybertron, facing Megatron's wrath for "creative interpretation" of Megatron's orders. The flashback ends in Starscream's Alaskan hideout, where Omega Supreme has captured Sunstorm and is out to get him as well. Unable to fight Omega Supreme on his own, Starscream destroys Sunstorm's inhibitor, instantly reawakening him to join the battle!

On Cybertron, Prowl has lost himself in the Autobase computer lab, trying without success to decipher the energy anomaly from Shockwave's tower (see issue #1) and the Decepticon's experiments with Vector Sigma. He receives a call from Ultra Magnus, who tells him that preparations for tomorrow's meeting are ready. Taking Magnus' advice, Prowl decides to get some rest.

Back on Earth in Oregon, Warpath and Bumper are dredging a lake for the Autobots that Starscream had hidden, unaware that they're being watched from the woods. After the last deactivated Autobot gets pulled ashore, spotlights flood the area! Their foes are a squad of human soldiers, led by Marissa Fairborne of the Earth Defense Command, and equipped with enough firepower to make the Autobots surrender immediately...

Jetfire flies Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Brawn to Alaska, where they find the Orion after Starscream hijacked it (implied from last issue). Finding the other Autobots on board temporarily disabled, their attention is suddenly drawn outside, where Omega Supreme and Sunstorm are battling each other with unbridled fury! Despite his best efforts, Sunstorm is unable to break through Omega Supreme's armor, and is eventually brought down by a barrage of plasma blasts. Taking his target into custody, Omega Supreme raises his protective visor -- and Sunstorm strikes again...!

"Running With the Devil"

Credits

Writer - Brad Mick / Pencils - James Raiz / Inks - Erik Sander / Letters - Ben Lee / Colors - Elliot Kravchik

Story

Previously abandoned by Starscream, Megatron floats in deep space, a near-dead husk awaiting his death. However, he is saved by a passing shuttle, and brought aboard by Wreck-Gar, who begins to effect repairs. This reawakens Megatron, who leaps from the table and quickly cowers the Junkion to do his bidding...

Cut to the present, on the planet of Junk. Wreck-Gar has served Megatron well, salvaging pieces for Megatron to build three new warriors, emotionless clones discarded from long ago. Megatron thanks Wreck-Gar for his help, commending his dedication -- and stabs him in the back. It is time for Megatron's retribution to begin, and unpredictable allies have no place in his grand scheme...

Notes and Comments

• The Cybertronian forms for Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave are from Dreamwave's Transformers: The War Within limited series.
• Marissa Fairborne and the Earth Defense Command are taken from the third season of the original Transformers cartoon series. Though it was never officially stated, Marissa Fairborne is apparently the daughter of Flint and Lady Jaye, two characters from Hasbro's G.I. Joe cartoon series.
• Megatron's earlier appearances are from issue #1 and issue #6 of the Dreamwave Transformers: Generation 1: War and Peace limited series, and from issue #0 of the ongoing series.