Transformers: Spotlight #1 - "Shockwave"

Credits

Writer - Simon Furman / Art - Nick Roche / Letters - Sulaco Studios / Colors - Josh Burcham

Story

Millions of years ago, with cold, emotionless rationality, Shockwave predicted the downfall of Cybertron as its energon levels eventually became depleted. Secretly, he takes responsive action, using rockets to seed uninhabited planets with raw energon. Later, he travels to one of those planets -- prehistoric Earth -- and begins to implant global dampeners to regulate the future development of the planet's energon seams.

Unknown to Shockwave, however, he has been followed by Grimlock and his team of Dynobots, who seek payback for an earlier defeat at Shockwave's hand. To shield themselves from the dangerously high levels of energon, Slag suggests they wrap themselves in synthetic flesh and reconfigure themselves to resemble local lifeforms. Grimlock reluctantly agrees, but discards the native bison and moose forms for fossilized dinosaurs.

Didn't I see this in Marvel's Transformers #8?

Finishing his work, Shockwave summons his ship, and is distraught when it fails to respond. He is suddenly attacked by the Dynobots, who quickly overwhelm him with their primal strength. Badly bruised, Shockwave surrenders to his base instincts, quickly demolishing the Dynobots with his own rage-driven fury. Girmlock is the last to fall, and Shockwave watches in silent satisfaction as he succumbs to energon-induced stasis lock.

But before Shockwave can make plans to hijack the Dynobots' spaceship in orbit, it opens fire -- following a firing sequence previously programmed by Grimlock -- and vaporizes a nearby volcano! The volcano erupts, and the resulting tremors send Shockwave tumbling into the lava, which quickly paralyzes him.

Back on Cybertron, Megatron has noted Shockwave's absence; he orders Bludgeon to seal Shockwave's lab and investigate his activities. And on present-day Earth, two archeologists at a dig near Eureak, Nevada are astonished at their newest find -- a giant metal hand, caught in situ in a seam of solidified lava...

Notes and Comments

• Bludgeon's research into Shockwave's activities appear to be a precursor to events shown in the Transformers: Stormbringer limited series.