Transformers: Stormbringer #4

Credits

Writer - Simon Furman / Art - Don Figureroa / Letters - Sulaco Studios / Colors - Josh Burcham

Story

Following the destruction of Bludgeon's command chair, Thunderwing races back to Cybertron, and the Autobots on Cybertron prepare to face him despite daunting odds. Optimus Prime vows to stop Thunderwing at any cost, even if it means destroying Cybertron itself. Meanwhile, in the Decepticon warship Thanatos orbiting overhead, Razorclaw prepares an orbital barrage to raze the planet in one mega-cycle, then orders the the Predacons to stand by...

Landing on Cybertron, Thunderwing stands immobile as he experiences flashbacks of his previous life -- his warnings about the deterioration of Cybertron's atmosphere, Megatron's rejection of his plan to graft Transformers with protective symbiotic shells, and his subsequent self-experimentation that resulted in failure and madness. Enraged, Thunderwing suddenly goes berzerk, detonating the planet's surface. Springer and the Wreckers rush to attack, but their best efforts fail to even slow the mad Decepticon. Watching from orbit, Razorclaw grudgingly respects their courage, then orders Bombshell to assemble two assault teams for some assistance before the barrage begins.

Underneath Cybertron's surface, as Prime listens helplessly to the Wreckers' efforts, Jetfire and Technobots report a new vulnerability -- the ultra-energon that powers Thunderwing is unstable, and it drains faster the more he attacks. The obvious solution is to engage him further, but Prime wonders where they can find anything else to attack with...

On the surface, the Wreckers are getting thoroughly decimated, but are suddenly relieved by the arrival of both Razorclaw's Decepticon squads, a platoon of hastily-repaired Centurion droids, and Optimus Prime. The combined effort staggers Thunderwing at first, but he responds by transforming into a more powerful "ultra mode"; with his renewed power, Thunderwing quickly destroys the Centurions, and Razorclaw orders the Decepticons to retreat before the barrage begins. However, Optimus Prime refuses to surrender -- he holds his ground, fighting at point-blank range, eventually driving Thunderwing to lock up from energon depletion. With Thunderwing neutralized, Razorclaw cancels the barrage with mere nano-clicks to spare.

Though the Technobots confirm that Thunderwing is harmlessly inert, Optimus declares that the danger isn't over, and orders an investigation into Bludgeon's research. Jetfire later reports that Bludgeon had found an old energon-seeding project called Regenesis -- though the fragmented clues of its origins are vague, the signs all somehow involve a remote planet called Earth. Recalling that Prowl had previously reported that the Decepticons on Earth had abruptly entered Seige Mode (from issue #1), Prime immediately sets course there...

Notes and Comments

• The text of the inside front cover reads:
  
  loren ipsum
• The events of the Decepticons on Earth were covered in the Transformers: Infiltration limited series.
• The Regenesis Project was first referenced in Transformers: Spotlight #1.