Transformers: Spotlight #7 - "Kup"

Credits

Writer - Nick Roche / Art - Nick Roche / Letters - Robbie Robbins / Colors - Andrew Elder

Story

Stranded on a desolate planet, the battered Autobot Kup is trapped in a never-ending cycle of despair. His days are spent in grim desolation, with naught but the remains of Outback to keep him company. Worse, his evenings are inevitably disrupted by ghostly visions and hordes of zombots plodding after him for some unknown purpose. Despite his fears and his lack of downtime, Kup draws on his inner reserves of strength, each night fending off the monsters until they retreat with the dawn. His only comfort comes from spending his days among the planet's numerous crystals, listening to their quiet songs of comfort.

As another night begins, the zombots return, breaking into his ranshackle shelter. Kup bludgeons them away, but one manages to swipe at his chest, exposing his sputtering sparkcore. The brightness of his spark scares the monsters, and as Kup curses them, he fails to notice as the sole survivor teleports away...

...to the Autobot Ark-17 in high orbit. The surviving Autobot argues with Springer and Perceptor on the futility of trying to rescue Kup from the volatile crystalline planet. The crystals' intense radiation have fried the veteran Autobot's mind to the point of paranoia and madness; the only way the Autobots can reach him is by approaching him at night while wearing antiquated anti-radiation armor -- which Kup's madness perceives as a monster attack. Springer argues for continuing their mission despite the rising number of Autobot casualties, and insists that a specialist is en route to help.

Via communication, Springer argues with Prowl over the futility of their mission. Prowl, too, argues that the effort is far too much just to rescue one Autobot, but Springer insists on saving Kup out of gratitude for his past service to the Autobots. As Prowl reluctantly relents and agrees to keep the mission a secret from Optimus Prime, Springer is informed that his long-awaited specialist has finally arrived.

That evening, Kup is once more confronted by slathering zombots, and draws on his ebbing reserves of strength to slay them, but during the fight, his previously-damaged sparkcore begins to melt down. As Kup runs out of his shed, he is blocked by Trailbreaker, who uses his force field to contain Kup's exploding spark. As Kup collapses from system shutdown, the Autobots beam back to their ship.

Afterward, Springer and Trailbreaker discuss the aftermath of their rescue mission; though Kup's condition has been stabilized, his antiquated systems cannot be easily repaired, leaving him connected to a network of life-support machinery to sustain him. As Springer watches the helpless Kup, he wonders yet again if the rescue mission -- and its high price -- was truly worth the result...