Beast Wars: The Gathering # 3
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by Don Figueroa

Summary:

We open up at the base of Optimus Primal's group of Maximals, who have thus far been unaware of what has been transpiring between Razorbeast and Magmatron's respective groups thanks to said groups' being "chronally out of synch" with them.  Optimus Primal, Rhinox, and Cheetor stand at the open blast doors, with Primal feeling something wrong in the air.  Cheetor and Rhinox aren't so sure about their leader's discomfort; Rhinox thinks it's just a side effect of the changes Primal's gone through recently.  Razorbeast, Bonecrusher, Optimus Minor, and Snarl walk right past the three confused Maximals, totally invisible to their perception, as Razorbeast once again explains how the chronal displacement applies to all the protoforms that have been awakened since Magmatron and company had arrived.  Razorbeast's gang moves past the remnants of the Axalon and towards the Ark as Snarl asks why they can't pilfer Maximal tech which would obviously be more compatible with the Transwarp signal booster they need to repair.  Razorbeast explains to Snarl that they need to take spare equipment from the Ark, because Primal's Maximals might notice stuff gone from their own systems.  Meanwhile off in some remote swamp area, Transquito leads a Predacon hunting party consisting of Scourge, Insecticon, Powerpinch, and Retrax in search of stray Maximals that may have awoken.  Insecticon is dubious that any Maximals would inhabit this region, but Transquito spies a target flying several yards ahead of them.  The Predacons open fire, tearing up the area, but Retrax suddenly notices movement in the water behind them.  Before he can react, the Predacon pill bug is viciously attacked by a giant barracuda that emerges from the water and transforms into a scorpion, stinging Retrax in the chest and knocking him over.  Powerpinch sees this and tries to warn the others, but a large alligator springs up from his other side and tears the Predacon's leg off.  Scourge and Insecticon desperately search for attackers, but they have apparently vanished.  Up ahead, Transquito has caught up with the initial prey; a large white owl.  As he targets the seemingly hapless Transformer from the back, the owl suddenly whirls around and transforms into a large polar bear, lunging for Transquito and claiming that this region is for "Mutants"- no Predacons and Maximals allowed!  With Transquito being viciously mauled, Scourge and Insecticon wisely retreat, meekly concluding that there is nothing in this sector to report.  Elsewhere, Magmatron, Iguanus, and Drill Bit have located a blank stasis pod that has not been activated yet.  Magmatron plans to install Ravage's spark core in it, giving the Tripredacus Agent a new body.  Drill Bit isn't sure this is a good idea, but Magmatron knows they are behind schedule and the Tripredacus Council will expect results soon.  To allay the Council's suspicions, Magmatron plans to go after Megatron as originally intended, while Ravage coordinates the hunting parties to eliminate the rest of the Maximals running about.  Iguanus inquires at to the trustworthiness of Ravage; after all he is an agent of the Council.  Magmatron assures his soldier that despite Ravage's title, the former Decepticon serves whoever provides the best means for his own advancement.  Plus, Ravage is by far the best and most experienced candidate for hunting Razorbeast's gang down in Magmatron's eyes.  The stasis pod finishes its replication process and Ravage emerges, reborn in his new Transmetal 2 body!  Meanwhile in the Ark, Razorbeast reports that he can adapt the tech they've found to the signal booster, but they'll only have enough power for a short time and probably only one try.  The group notices that Snarl is missing, but he fades out of cloak right in front of Razorbeast.  Razorbeast is suitably startled and annoyed, but Snarl has some news; he fired up one of the Ark's high altitude sensor drones and has been tracking Magmatron's movements.  Razorbeast realizes from the direction the Predacon general is headed in that Magmatron is going after Megatron!  Elsewhere, said Megatron is returning to the Predacon base with Inferno and Rampage after securing the remains of the Maximals' Sentinel program (the episode "Changing of the Guard").  He orders Inferno and Rampage to begin stowing the components in the base, and then stops for a moment and transforms; he feels something is off.  Suddenly, Magmatron phases into view right in front of Megatron (thanks to an armband that synchs him up with Megatron's chronal phase).  Caught by surprise but still quickly on the offensive, Megatron counters Magmatron's initial strike, and blasts his opponent.  The renegade Predacon smugly informs Magmatron that it will take more than a solitary agent sent by the Council to stop his schemes.  Unfortunately, Megatron has surmised incorrectly; Magmatron isn't alone.  Iguanus and Drill Bit phase into chronal synch behind Megatron as well and jab him in the neck with stun pikes.  Megatron falls unconscious, and Magmatron orders him "tagged".  Iguanus sticks a device on Megatron's form to align him with their chronal phase and a second later all four Predacons phase out of sight, leaving an approaching Inferno and Quickstrike wondering where their leader went.  Meanwhile Razorbeast's gang makes their way along the landscape, having successfully retrieved what parts they needed from the Ark.  Snarl doesn't see why Magmatron's move against Megatron is such a big deal, and Razorbeast explains that it means Magmatron is ready to return to Cybertron.  Once back on Cybertron, Magmatron will be able to implement his final coup and even possibly divert any warning signal the Maximals could send.  That means Magmatron has to be distracted at least until the Transwarp signal booster is completed.  Razorbeast orders Bonecrusher and Snarl to return to base camp and start on that, while he and Optimus Minor do what they can to frustrate Magmatron's return to Cybertron.  As the Maximal pairs split up, Minor inquires as to what the plan is and Razorbeast responds that he's been repeating the "Gathering" signal (From issue # 1) ever since they established the base camp.  He activates his signal dish and does so again, hoping that nearby stray Maximals hear it and come to assist.  Elsewhere, Ravage leads a hunting party of Predacons to find just where Razorbeast's group has established a base camp.  He orders the five Predacons to act as his eyes and ears, scouting every possible avenue until they locate the Maximals.  Buzzsaw inquires as to what to do when they find the base camp, and Ravage responds that they will report back to him and he will take it from there.  The Predacons transform into beast modes and scatter; the hunt is on the move.  Meanwhile at the Maximal base camp, Ramulus keeps a stern lookout for enemies as Wolfang approaches.  Ramulus reports that there is no sign of friend or foe, and that he's getting restless with waiting around.  Wolfang comments that B'Boom is the same way, but since they are at a disadvantage at the moment, they cannot act without reinforcements; only hope that the enemy doesn't find them yet.  Elsewhere, Iguanus and Drill Bit have readied the still-unconscious Megatron for a Transwarp shunt back to Cybertron.  Magmatron instructs his two troops to set the Transwarp gantry to self-destruct after they leave so no one follows them.  Above the Predacons, Razorbeast and Optimus Minor spy from a concealed location.  Razorbeast notes that the recall sequence has begun, and Minor wonders what can be done at this point.  Razorbeast suddenly spies a device discarded on the ground near the Predacons that may be of some use; one of the armbands that allowed Magmatron and his cronies to phase into Megatron's chronal phase and capture him.  He tells Minor that there is only one chance to stop Magmatron now, and he needs a distraction.  Down at the Transwarp gantry, Drill Bit suddenly announces an approaching hostile; whoever it is has a "resonant spark signature off the scale".  The saurian Maximal comes into view and Magmatron inquires of him a name, to which the giant raptor proclaims "Me Grimlock".  TO BE CONTINUED!       


Slagged!:

-Retrax, Powerpinch, and Transquito get torn up by the Mutants, with Powerpinch losing at least a leg.  Their final fates, however, are somewhat ambiguous.  But if Insecticon and Scourge aren't willing to stick around, whatever those Mutants did must have left a lasting impression.

-Megatron's more than willing to throw down with Magmatron, blasting him in the side.  But Magmatron's decided to play dirty, and has Iguanus and Drill Bit sneak up from behind and zap Megatron into unconscious-land.


Sightings:

-The Mutants seen here include Poison Bite (barracuda/scorpion), Soundwave (alligator/bat), and Icebird (owl/polar bear).

-Ravage is reborn in his Transmetal 2 body; the toy was simply a re-colored Transmetal 2 Cheetor and I believe was a Wal-Mart exclusive.  Since Hasbro did not have the rights to the name "Ravage", they named the toy "Tripredacus Agent", which of course was his role in the show as well as this series.  Interestingly in this issue, Ravage never transforms to robot mode, but instead walks on his hind legs in beast mode; a sort of "were-jaguar".  A unique take on the character's design and presence by Don Figueroa, and possibly a nod to Ravage's Japanese "Metals" toy, which had the beast mode head the same as the robot mode head.

-Megatron, Rampage, and Inferno are seen here returning from the events of the TV show episode "Changing of the Guard".  While Megatron was not present in the field in that episode, it's likely he met his troops halfway to secure the Sentinel remains and return them to base.

-Ravage's hunting party of Predacons includes from left to right (initial appearance in this issue); Lazorbeak, Sky Shadow, Buzzsaw, Jetstorm, and Injector.  Is it a little ironic to you that Ravage's hanging with two guys named Lazorbeak and Buzzsaw, or is that just me?

-Grimlock makes his appearance on the final page, as foretold by Furman some months back.  He's probably a Utahraptor, that being the largest species of raptor in the dinosaur world.  The speech pattern and swelled "spark signature" that Drill Bit was going on about would imply that this is indeed the original Gen 1 Grimlock.    


Hearings:

-Rhinox mentions that Optimus has gone through some changes recently, alluding to Primal's recent merge with Optimus Prime's spark and his conversion into "Optimal" Optimus in the episode "Optimal Situation".

-Grimlock's spark signature is apparently beyond the usual scale for Maximals and Predacons, going with what was established in the TV show with the original Optimus Prime and Megatron's sparks.  Autobot and Decepticon sparks apparently possess much greater power than Maximal or Predacon ones do.

-"Me Grimlock"; apparently three hundred years hasn't improved Grimlock's grammar in the least. 


Wreck and RULE!:

-It's kind of stupid to comment on Don's artwork again, seeing how consistently great it is, but I'll be sure to let you know when I see something bad!  He gets to draw some of the TV show cast this time around, and they are indeed awesome renditions.

-Furman turns in another solid script, with a few niggles that I'll discuss down there.

-Along with Razorbeast and Magmatron, Snarl makes a good show this issue, showing that he is indeed, not "stoopid".  And I admit I chuckled when he scared the crap out of Razorbeast by de-cloaking right in his face.

-Furman's using Grimlock again; you nay-sayers can start your moaning.  But when you think of it, it's not like he's shoehorning Grimmy into the story.  Grimlock does have a Beast Wars toy, and his absence would be a little conspicuous in the wake of all these toy characters showing up, wouldn't it?  And Grimlock is, after all, a character that Furman has great affection for and writes extremely well.  Plus, it makes for a killer cliffhanger and gives Magmatron an opponent he can go claw-to-beak-to-fin-to-claw with (that joke sounded better in my head).

-Uhhhhhh, huh.  I can't think of much else to put here.  It was a solid issue, an enjoyable read, and another dose of fanboy overload. 


Wreck and ROT!:

-I still don't exactly follow the logic behind taking stuff from the Ark.  Not only is it harder to adapt to Maximal tech (As Snarl points out), but isn't there a much greater risk of distorting history that way?  Then again, the Maximals were willing to try and get the Ark airborne again in the TV show, so I guess desperate times and such.

-The scene with the Mutants is kind of a bit of wasted space, as it does nothing but say "Hey!  Here's the Mutants".  I guess a bit more action was needed before the big stuff happens next issue, but it sort of came off as Furman trying to cram more characters into an already over-crowded cast.  Pretty fun to see em' take some Predacons down, though.

-I wish Ravage got a bit more panel-time.  I understand that Furman needed him in the mix fast, and skipped any possible "Magmatron gets Ravage up to speed on current events" scenes, but with the cliffhanger last issue, I was to understand that Ravage would have a bigger role this issue.

-"Hunt is on the hoof"?  "Dexterous digits"???  Sorry Furman, "dash of Decepticon dogma" was cute, but a few cases of alliteration too many.


Final Judgment:

Despite my criticisms and witticisms, there isn't much wrong with this issue.  You do get the feeling that this story would "feel" better as six issues rather than four, then maybe so many characters wouldn't feel so squashed in.  Still, things are clearly headed towards an end, and Chris Ryall's comments on the letters page lead one to believe there will be further Beast Wars comics, so we'll probably get another chance to explore the many characters in the background.  Mr. Figueroa continues to prove that he is the best Transformers artist, so there isn't much more I can say positive towards him without sounding constantly gushy.  A great issue, a fun series, and I can't wait to see how this ends.  Peace.

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