Beast Wars: The Ascending # 2
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by Don Figueroa
Colors by Josh Burcham (Mistakenly attributed to Mark Bristow in the actual book)

Summary:

In a secret location on Cybertron, an astral projection of the dark god Unicron speaks to his servants, the Blentrons.  Unicron has sensed Magmatron’s presence interfering with the time stream and wants him stopped immediately.  The Chaos-Bringer orders Drancron and Elephorca to continue bringing Angolmois capsules to “the vessel” while Rartorata is to journey to Earth in the era of the Beast Wars.  Speaking of said Beast Wars, we cut to Earth where Ravage’s Predacons continue their all-out assault on Razorbeast’s Maximal forces.  Wolfang and Bonecrusher notice that while each side is evenly matched, the Predacons have the numerical advantage in the skies and thus are beginning to overwhelm them.  Snarl emerges from within the Maximal base and Wolfang asks where Razorbeast is.  Snarl notifies them that Ravage got inside, but the situation’s been dealt with.  Wolfang urges Snarl to go retrieve Razorbeast quickly, as the battle isn’t going well outside.  The Predacon ground forces move in, pinning a group of Maximals down behind some rocks.  However, Grimlock appears from behind the group of Predacons, barreling through them in beast mode and allowing the other Maximals a chance to gain some ground.  But Predacon aerial forces strafe the position, forcing the Maximals to take cover once again.  Meanwhile inside the Maximal base, Razorbeast is busy binding the unconscious Ravage with some cables when Snarl comes in and asks for his presence outside.  Taking a quick glance back at the downed Ravage, Razorbeast decides the Predacon isn’t going anywhere and moves to join his comrades in battle.  Unfortunately, as soon as Razorbeast and Snarl depart, Ravage easily shreds his restraints and stands, having been playing opossum this whole time.  He comments that he’s been underestimated and vows to make Razorbeast pay for it.  Locating the chronal phase armbands that Razorbeast carelessly hid nearby, Ravage resolves to free Megatron and then slaughter every Maximal on the planet.  However as soon as Ravage activates the armband, he finds himself face-to-face with Magmatron!  The Predacon general is able to “freeze” Ravage in transit between chronal phases.  Magmatron explains how he came to exist in this state to Ravage and asks him to seek out Razorbeast.  Ravage assumes Magmatron wants him to kill Razorbeast in revenge, but the Predacon general stuns the feline Transformer when he tells him to form a truce with the Maximal!  Meanwhile on Cybertron, the Maximal Imperium, composed of Prowl, Ironhide, and Silverbolt (the Magnaboss team) meets to discuss recent events on the planet.  There has been a recent, drastic unrest among the populous and the Imperium fears that if left unchecked, they will fall into civil war again.  They know they must get to the root of the problem and find out who or what is causing this upheaval.  To that end, they send an order out to summon Big Convoy.  A short time later, Ikard finds Big Convoy and Tasmania Kid, who are investigating a certain location.  Ikard mentions that the Maximal Imperium wants to see Big Convoy immediately.  Big, however, tells Ikard that he is busy handling things on the outside and he’s discovered something important.  He indicates an empty, discarded capsule on the ground, which Ikard immediately recognizes as once having held Angolmois.  What’s more, they’ve discovered a mangled corpse nearby.  As far as Big Convoy can figure, the individual came to take a “hit” of Angolmois.  But as soon as he tried, the energy’s strange properties drew a mob of Transformers to him, who then proceeded to tear the unfortunate bot apart.  Ikard mentions that he thought they had seen the last of that “stuff”, but Big knows it must be back in circulation.  Ikard agrees to report back to the Imperium himself and Big Convoy mentions that the mob that killed this individual was an equal mix of Maximals and Predacons.  That means that until they figure out exactly who is behind this, no one on Cybertron is safe.  Meanwhile in a dark tower somewhere in a secret part of Cybertron, Shokaract tosses aside empty Angolmois capsules and demands that his followers find more.  He claims he can feel the energy changing him from within, and is certain he will soon ascend to godhood.  Drancron and Elephorca reassure Shokaract that his agents are still searching everywhere for more capsules and he will ascend very shortly.  Back at Earth, a Maximal shuttle comes out of transwarp over the planet.  Inside it, Lio Convoy and the Pack regard the planet, wondering if this is indeed the place Razorbeast is currently stranded on.  Stampy is impatient, wanting to try his new beast mode out in battle.  Lio Convoy wants confirmation that this is the correct planet.  After some banter with Apache, Break confirms that he’s picking up multiple contacts from the surface- they’ve arrived in the right place.  On the surface, the battle continues to rage.  Ravage exits the Maximal base, now wearing an armband and out-of-synch with this iteration of the Beast Wars.  He observes as the Maximals and Predacons tear into each other and briefly considers just leaving.  Suddenly, the combatants all cease fighting as a shuttle appears in the sky.  Razorbeast immediately recognizes it as the Pack’s transport and can scarcely believe that they’ve finally arrived.  Lio Convoy, Apache, Longrack, Stampy, and Mach Kick leap down from the shuttle’s underside and Lio orders them to convert to beast modes.  The Pack’s leader himself converts into his fearsome white lion mode and lands in front of Iguanus and Drill Bit.  But the two Predacons aren’t impressed and raise their weapons to him.  Lio proves quicker on the draw though, and deploys hidden missile launchers in his mane, which blast Iguanus and Drill Bit away.  The other members of the Pack begin to turn the tide, beating their way through the hordes of Predacons on the ground.  Razorbeast walks up to greet Lio Convoy, clearly excited as the prospect of going back to Cybertron.  But suddenly Ravage deactivates his armband and appears in-between the two Maximals.  He’s immediately greeted with blasters in his face, but Ravage implores them all to listen.  He informs them about Magmatron’s warning about something bad happening on Cybertron and someone called Shokaract using Angolmois to bring about the end of the planet.  Ravage is about to explain further when suddenly Rartorata appears out of nowhere in his new beast mode.  Claiming that all will be consumed on Cybertron and no one here on Earth will survive either, he flies directly at Ravage and the others.  Lio Convoy tries to shout a warning, but it’s too late as Rartorata stabs Razorbeast with his stinger.  Razorbeast crumbles to the ground, twitching as his friends rush to his aid.  But Ravage warns them to stay back, as Razorbeast begins to grow in size and mutate.  The infected Maximal converts to beast mode, Angolmois energy freely foaming from his mouth and nostrils and a look of pure primal rage in his eyes.  TO BE CONTINUED!


Slagged!:

-Most of the issue is a pitched battle between the Maximals and the Predacons.  Grimlock barrels through some Predacons, sending them flying in all directions.  Geez, last issue Torca, this time Grimlock- the Preds should look into getting a part-time job as bowling pins!

-Big Convoy and Tasmania Kid find the mangled body of some random druggie.  He didn’t die pretty.

-Something particularly painful happens to Spittor, likely at the jaws of Grimlock.  We see his upper body flying one way and one of his limbs flying in the opposite direction!  Don’t worry- he’ll probably stick himself back together.  Or not.

-The Pack get their turn roughhousing with the Predacons- Lio Convoy blasts Iguanus and Drill Bit away at point-blank range using his mane-mounted missile launchers.  Longrack uses Buzz Saw to knock Transquito away, Mach Kick kicks Scourge square in the chest, and Stampy rebounds off Scavenger and Manta Ray.

-Rartorata stabs Razorbeast with his Angolmois-laden stinger, prompting a hideous mutation/transformation in our favorite heroic warthog.


Sightings:

-Unicron’s astral head projection shows him to look the same as he’s always looked, for the most part.  The Blentrons have new Cybertronian forms, but Rartorata receives his hideous Fuzor beast mode at some point between the first and last scenes in the book.

-The Maximal Imperium’s tower looks to be shaped like the Maximal symbol.  Similarly, the Pack’s transwarp cruiser is also shaped like the Maximal symbol.

-The Maximal Imperium is composed of Prowl (different Prowl than the Transmetal 2 owl currently on Earth with Razorbeast’s group), Silverbolt, and Ironhide.  The three came together in the same package as toys and could combine into a gestalt mode as Magnaboss.  Here, they are given new Cybertronian forms by Figueroa, although we only see their robot modes for now.  Much like the Tripredacus Council is for the Predacons, the Imperium appears to be the governing body for the Maximals, and possibly the entire planet of Cybertron in this time of relative peace.

-Big Convoy, Tasmania Kid, and Ikard all debut, with new Cybertronian redesigns by Figueroa.  We don’t see what their alt modes are yet, but you can be sure that Big’s got a BIG gun in his.

-The Pack have adapted to beast modes sometime in-between last issue and this one.  Apache is drawn slightly differently from his toy to differentiate him from B’Boom, who shares the same mold.  Basically, Don uses his animation model from BWII and gives him a more pronounced mohawk.  If you didn’t know what to look for, you might be fooled.  Also the bridge of the Pack’s transwarp cruiser features a zebra-skin rug for some reason.  Oh, and check Stampy eating a carrot!  Heh.  Cute.


Hearings:

-Apache’s mention of Break “shooting snowballs out of his (posterior, he was going to say, no doubt.)” is actually a nod to a running fan joke in regards to Break’s “weapon mode”.  When in that form, he basically fires a missile from what becomes his penguin mode’s butt.

-Apache and Mach Kick mention how enjoyable it is to beat up Predacons, because thanks to the Pax Cybertronia, they haven’t gotten the chance to do that in awhile.  The Pax Cybertronia is the peace treaty signed between the Maximals and the Predacons, and was mentioned several times in the Beast Wars TV show.


Wreck and RULE!:

-Don’s art, once again, impresses beyond all means.  And Josh Burcham’s colors, so sorely missed last issue, only serve to enhance it.  Don gets to show off more of his Cybertronian redesigns with Big Convoy, the Magnaboss trio, and better views of the Blentrons and Shokaract’s new designs.  And he adapts equally well to drawing characters that have appeared in cel-drawn animation, like the Pack.  That scene of the Pack descending from their ship in the sky is particularly cool, as is Rartorata’s first appearance in his beast mode and Razorbeast’s mutated form at the end.  And Don’s fight scenes always pack proper “umph”.

-Furman introduces a lot more characters and plot threads again, but still manages to keep the focus tight for the most part.

-The Pack make a cool and proper full-on debut, and definitely seem like the Beast Wars era version of the Wreckers.  Lio Convoy’s scene with Iguanus and Drill Bit is a personal favorite.

-Razorbeast’s elation at the possibility of being able to go home is a nice touch, which makes the cliffhanger to this issue all the more wrenching.  Let’s hope our “main” character can pull out of this predicament alright in the end.


Wreck and ROT!:
-Wolfang and Bonecrusher have incorrectly-assigned word bubbles on the first panel of the third page, which makes it seem like Wolfang is referring to himself in the third person.

-There is the problem of too many characters to keep track of and if you aren’t familiar with Rartorata, you wouldn’t be able to identify him in the last scene with his new beast mode.  The Beast Wars Sourcebooks being released are a good guide to keeping everyone straight for the most part, but they really shouldn’t be necessary to sorting all the repaints and Japanese characters running around.  And it doesn’t help that a second Prowl is introduced here on Cybertron, when there already is a character named Prowl running around on Earth.

-Does Razorbeast honestly believe tying Ravage up will keep him down?

-The Angolmois energy is ill-defined by nature, and generally ill-defined in the confines of this plot.  The casual reader is probably still wondering what the hell it is and what it does.  Hell, Furman might still be wondering what exactly it does!

-I thought it was kinda silly how Ravage suddenly becomes “exposition-o-bot” at the end there.  Wasn’t particularly Ravage-like either.


Final Judgment:

The plot moves forward on multiple fronts, and I was generally satisfied.  However, this series is not for Beast Wars newbies.  Hell, it’s barely for Beast Wars vets, what with the heavy reliance on the Japanese fiction that never saw the light of day over here.  I guess Furman is figuring the Sourcebooks will fill in any blanks, but I hope the reliance on them fades in the next two issues.  This story has the potential to either go far off the rails or maintain a steady course.  I hope Furman keeps it steady, because it’s generally rewarding for diehard fans.  Peace.


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