Stormbringer # 4
Written by Simon Furman
Penciled by Don Figueroa
Colors by Josh Burcham


Summary:

Thunderwing is approaching Cybertron again; its purpose unknown.  Deep under the planet's surface in Bludgeon's hidden lair, the Autobots take note of this fact.  Jetfire explains that although they destroyed the axis cradle that Bludgeon was using to control Thunderwing, there still exists some unconscious “homing instinct” in the beast that compelled it to return to Cybertron and likely finish what it started long ago.  Optimus Prime asks Springer and Jetfire for options.  Springer tells Optimus that the Wreckers are ready for a fight, but it will be difficult on Cybertron's harsh surface, as Thunderwing has the protection of its bio-grafted shell and the Autobots have no such natural defense.  Jetfire is going through Bludgeon's encrypted computer files and is trying to determine how the Decepticon re-animated Thunderwing using the “Ultra-Energon” hybrid power source.  While he's not sure at the moment what Thunderwing is going to do, Optimus orders Jetfire to find something, anything to counter the beast at any cost, even that of Cybertron itself.  Jetfire is a bit apprehensive of the idea of destroying Cybertron, after all the effort Prime put into preserving it, but Optimus knows they may have no choice in the end.  Meanwhile in Cybertron orbit, the Decepticon warship Thanatos under Razorclaw's command patiently awaits Thunderwing's arrival.  Razorclaw orders Rampage to prepare warheads for orbital bombardment, but decides to wait a short while before proceeding.  The Predacon leader isn't quite sure that destroying Cybertron is necessary yet, and feels a bit of a sentimental attachment to home.  But he knows that if it comes down to disobeying Megatron's orders or blowing the planet up, he'll comply with the Decepticon commander's wishes.  Thunderwing emerges from a rupture in space at that moment and immediately descends to Cybertron's surface, as the Decepticons aboard the Thanatos watch.  Once upon the planet's surface, Thunderwing pauses; a memory of his former existence as a Decepticon scientist flickering briefly.  Nearby, Broadside, Roadbuster, and Scoop watch the behemoth stand there and wonder what action the beast will take.  As Thunderwing stands still, more flickers of memories dance through his mind; of Megatron rejecting his grafting process and dismissing his ideas.  This particular memory appears to enrage Thunderwing and he roars and unleashes an expanding explosion of energy.  Roadbuster radios Springer as he and the others quickly dash away from the blast.  Up ahead, Springer, Whirl, and Sandstorm approach in aerial modes and prepare to attack Thunderwing, who is now moving towards them.  On the ground, Topspin and Twin Twist make a foolhardy frontal assault, but are both violently halted by the giant Decepticon.  Springer reprimands Twin Twist for not sticking to “hit and run” and commands Roadbuster and Broadside to get Thunderwing's attention.  They open fire, along with Scoop, but Thunderwing claps his hands together and creates a shockwave that knocks the other ground-bound Autobots away.  Meanwhile aboard the Thanatos in Cybertron orbit, Razorclaw and the others watch the Wreckers give their all against Thunderwing.  Razorclaw admits that such courage is worthy of their respect and orders Divebomb to organize two strike squads to go to the Autobots' aid on the surface.  However, if the time for the orbital bombardment approaches and no headway is made towards defeating Thunderwing, the strike squads are to withdraw and leave the planet and any Autobots on it to burn.  Under Cybertron's surface, in Bludgeon's hidden lair, Optimus Prime tensely waits for any word from Jetfire as he listens in to radio transmissions from the battle above, which is not going well.  Quite frustrated, Prime compares this situation to the first time Thunderwing went on a rampage and asks if Jetfire has made any progress decrypting Bludgeon's files yet.  Jetfire responds that he's given up on that and is instead having the Technobots helping him analyze the power source used to re-animate Thunderwing.  He explains to Prime that the “Ultra-Energon” that Bludgeon used is unstable and feeds on itself.  They simply need to get Thunderwing to burn through his energy faster, and that means fighting him even harder.  But Prime wonders aloud what they could possibly throw at Thunderwing that would drain his energy to that extent.  Meanwhile on the surface, Thunderwing ionizes the air, knocking out the flyers' personal energy shielding.  A microwave burst from the massive Decepticon ignites gas pockets secreted in the planet's surface, causing a massive explosion that knocks many of the Autobots away.  Thunderwing snatches Springer out of the air and tosses him hard to the ground.  But before Thunderwing can finish Springer, he is attacked from behind by the Decepticon strike squads that have landed on Cybertron's surface.  Divebomb leads the aerial attack saying that he always wanted another crack at Thunderwing, and on the ground Tantrum adds that saving the Autobots in this case is merely coincidental.  Some distance away, the ground splits open and Optimus Prime and Dogfight emerge, followed by all the Centurion units that Bludgeon had reactivated.  Dogfight performs some last minute maintenance, and then gives Prime the go ahead.  The dozens of Centurion units, lead by Prime, open fire on Thunderwing and from underground, Jetfire notes that this attack is actually draining on the behemoth.  But it doesn't last for too long as Thunderwing retaliates and destroys a great deal of the Centurions.  The still-standing Autobots and Decepticons renew their attack, but Thunderwing undergoes a transformation- his wings wrap around his main body and his thrusters become giant clawed arms.  The Autobots and Decepticons realize Thunderwing has a secondary “Ultra” mode and the battle has just gotten more hopeless.  On the Thanatos, Rampage reminds Razorclaw that if they want to abort the bombardment, it has to be soon.  Deciding that the fight is a lost cause, Razorclaw orders his Decepticons to pull off the planet and has Rampage begin the final countdown to orbital bombardment.  Back on Cybertron's surface, Optimus Prime gets Thunderwing's attention and barrages the beast with all his considerable firepower.  Thunderwing slowly pushes forward through Prime's blasts, as Optimus yells that everyone is responsible for Cybertron's destruction.  Prime calls Thunderwing's actions to save himself by bio-grafting with the shell misguided and claims they only exacerbated the situation.  As the time for the orbital bombardment becomes measured in seconds and Thunderwing stalks forward, Optimus acknowledges his own fears and mistakes regarding Cybertron and proclaims that he will stop Thunderwing now or die trying.  Finally, Thunderwing halts in his tracks right before Optimus, seemingly drained of his Ultra-Energon power source.  At the last second, Razorclaw orders an abort of the orbital bombardment and Cybertron is spared total destruction.  In the aftermath, the Autobots examine Thunderwing's dormant form, and Lightspeed concludes the beast is inert once again.  Optimus can't help but wonder where Bludgeon sent Thunderwing earlier and what damage the beast did.  He also wants to know where the Ultra-Energon came from and orders Jetfire to investigate as things could soon get even worse.  Some time later, Optimus talks to Jetfire from aboard the Ark-27.  Jetfire has uncovered some of what Bludgeon was doing; the fanatical Decepticon was unraveling a project dubbed “Regenesis”, which Jetfire explains as some kind of cosmic seeding project.  What's he uncovered so far is vague, but Jetfire notes that Bludgeon's trail of research leads to a planet called Earth.  Prime recognizes the planet as the one Prowl's squad sent a pulsewave message from before this whole business with Thunderwing started.  Seeing that there is more at work here than mere coincidence, Prime orders the Ark-27 to Earth.


Slagged!:

-The Autobots do their best to fight Thunderwing, but he repulses most of their attacks and deals some damage of his own.  Twin Twist gets stepped-on, Roadbuster, Broadside, and Scoop get “thunder-clapped”, and Springer gets torn out of the air and tossed into the ground.  The Decepticons try to lend a helping hand, but their firepower is insufficient as well.

-Dozens of Centurion drones are sent to help burn off more of Thunderwing's power source, but he destroys and ravages them wholesale.  Their attack forces him to convert to his secondary “Ultra-Mode” however.

-Prime unloads his full firepower (and some angst) on Thunderwing, which seems to do some damage to the Con's outer shell, but in the end Thunderwing simply runs out of juice and grinds to a halt right in front of Optimus.


Sightings:

-The Decepticons seen on the bridge of the Thanatos include the Predacons- Razorclaw, Rampage, Tantrum, Divebomb, and Headstrong on the main floor, and Windsweeper, Spinister, Quake, and Carnivac up on the upper level.  There's also some guy between Windsweeper and Spinister that I can't ID, I think it might be either Krok or Snapdragon.  As ever, all have been redesigned or tweaked by THE man, Don Figueroa.

-We see Thunderwing in his pre-Pretender “inner” robot mode in flashback again briefly.  Bit of a runt compared to Megatron.

-Scoop engages Thunderwing with the Wreckers, but I still get the impression he's only tagging along and not actually a member himself.  The fact that Broadside has to pull him out of the way of danger and that Springer only addresses Roadbuster and Broadside when he radios them speaks to this theory.

-We get a closer look at Whirl's alt mode and I'm definitely gonna say that Don had Beast Machines Obsidian in mind when he drew this design.

-Thunderwing does his “thunder-clap” move again.  I guess he stole it from the Hulk.

-The aerial Decepticon strike squad that attacks Thunderwing includes from left to right; Blast-Off, Divebomb, Triggerhappy, Windsweeper, and Spinister.  The ground-bound ‘Con strike squad includes from left to right; Tantrum, Carnivac, Barrage, Headstrong, and Quake.

-Thunderwing's secondary Ultra-Mode is a neat little bit that Don figured into the design, and has no basis in the original toy.  Hasbro, please make a new Thunderwing toy based on this design, please, I'll be good.

-Just as Thunderwing halts in his tracks, you can see Prime ejecting his shoulder cannons and dropping his rifles, presumably because they were overheating after being fired so intensely.

-The Autobots seen aboard the Ark-27's bridge along with Prime are Pointblank, Crosshairs, and Override.


Hearings:

-Aside from Dogfight, we don't see any of the other Autobots from Prime's spacecraft (Ark-27) present during the fight with Thunderwing, but when Prime is still underground, we hear radio transmissions referring to Pointblank, who was part of the Ark-27 crew.  So I guess most of them came in and got thrashed off-panel.  They probably all survived though, as Pointblank is seen on Ark-27's bridge at the end of the issue.

-Jetfire is using the Technobots to help analyze Bludgeon's files, subtly hinting at their combined computation power in their gestalt mode of Computron.  Of course, we don't know if they possess the ability to combine yet in this continuity, but the implication is there.

-As Jetfire discovers, Bludgeon was in the process of going through an archive of files, including a project called “Regenesis”.  What Jetfire doesn't know is that these files were formerly Shockwave's (as shown in the Shockwave Spotlight), and Regenesis is the project Shockwave began to seed other planets with Energon deposits.  Bludgeon and his followers likely found one of the planets Shockwave seeded and reaped the “Ultra-Energon” developing there for their own use in reviving Thunderwing.  However, it was mentioned in the Shockwave Spotlight that Shockwave needed to return to the planets after awhile to re-stabilize the Energon reactions.  He managed to stabilize Earth's Energon deposits, as evidenced by the so-called “Ore-13” Starscream's group found there in Infiltration.  But the Energon used to power Thunderwing was NOT stabilized, which is how he eventually burned through it quickly and went off-line again in this issue.  Optimus makes the connection that the Decepticons on Earth engaged Siege Mode because of their discovery of the Regenesis-produced Energon on that planet and decides to head to Earth to personally attend to this development, as seen in Infiltration # 6.  Phew.


Wreck and RULE!:

-Don turns in another solid installment art-wise; Thunderwing, as ever, looks appropriately menacing and his Ultra-Mode is another showcase of Don's designing talent.  Prime's showdown with Thunderwing is also a very nice piece of work.

-Furman manages a nice wrap-up here; the pacing went a little fast in terms of the battle with Thunderwing, but everything wrapped-up neatly at the end.  Furman has a knack for turning in rushed endings sometimes, but I was reasonably satisfied with how this ended up.  Most everything was explained and the “big bad” was defeated using elements already established earlier in the story arc.

-There was very nice characterization for the Wreckers as a unit; they're used to hopeless situations and manage to keep good humor about even impending doom.  Razorclaw also gets some welcome light shed on him, showing him to be an honorable, but realistic commander with a little touch of sentimentality for Cybertron.  And of course, Optimus Prime faces his demons, conquers his doubts, yadda, yadda, and so on as always, like normal.  Even the seemingly mindless Thunderwing gets a smidge of characterization through a few flashbacks which shows he was quite frustrated with Megatron for not taking his “Pretender shell” idea seriously.


Wreck and ROT!:

-Don isn't infallible, of course.  A few bits of art, mostly focusing on the battle with Thunderwing, seem a bit cluttered.  Combined with a bit of off-looking inking and coloring, some panels simply look a bit rougher than others.  Thunderwing's Ultra Mode transformation isn't exactly made clear, and Thunderwing's walking forward slowly only to halt in his tracks sequence could have been a bit clearer as well.

-As I mentioned the pacing went a little fast this issue; Furman wanted to capture the epic-ness of this battle, but only had so much room.  Events like Prime's Ark-27 crew attacking Thunderwing and the Decepticon strike teams withdrawing from Cybertron are relegated to off-panel and only referenced through radio transmissions and dialogue.  And the method of Thunderwing's defeat is also somewhat glossed-over; initially it seems either Prime just shot him until he stopped or talked him down, but a closer reading of the exposition earlier from Jetfire implies that Thunderwing simply exhausted his Ultra-Energon supply.

-What happened to Cybertron's harsh environment?  At the end, everyone is just standing around without a care in the world, whereas in Stormbringer # 1 Jetfire and the Technobots needed to watch out for ionized storms that could interfere with their personal shielding.  Thunderwing even makes a point in this issue to ionize the air and take down Springer, Whirl, and Sandstorm's personal shields.  I guess everyone got their personal shield harmonics realigned in the short time between Thunderwing's defeat and their examination of his inert body.


Final Judgment:

Despite my gripes about the pacing, everything still wrapped up rather nicely.  The links to Spotlight # 1 and Infiltration were nice, but might discourage some who haven't read those issues.  That's one downside of Furman being in control of this entire continuity; you might have to read all of the material to get a complete picture of what is going on here and abouts.  But as someone who IS following everything, I found this conclusion to be generally rewarding in the end.  After the cosmic nature of this arc, I'm about ready to return to Earth for Escalation.  Bring it on.  Peace.


A Thunderwing review