Countdown to Extinction (issue)

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Television really is bad for you.
"Countdown to Extinction"
Publisher	Dreamwave Productions
First published	August 27, 2003
Cover date	August 2003
Story	Brad Mick
Pencils	Pat Lee
Inks	Rob Armstrong
Colors	Espen Grundetjern, Pat Lee, Alan Wang, Rob Ruffolo, Ramil Sunga, Gary Yeung
Letters	Ben Lee
Continuity	Dreamwave continuity
Chronology	Modern era

As the Autobots begin their final push against Shockwave's oppression, Ultra Magnus finally meets with Shockwave for explanations.

Synopsis

The Autobot resistance rushes into battle against Shockwave's fortress, defended by the Guardian robots. While Optimus Prime leads the united front, Hot Rod recounts how only three breems ago, Optimus quickly brought together the divided Autobot resistance groups into a single fighting force.

Ultra Magnus consults with Perceptor over the state of the Dinobots. Magnus orders the Dinobots to be quickly repaired (despite the hostility Grimlock retains towards Magnus). Magnus then leaves to go finally meet with Shockwave and get a much-needed explanation.

Shockwave, repaired after his battle against Grimlock, is glad to see that all events are proceeding as he arranged. The one loose end, however, is Starscream. On Shockwave's command, Reflector (from the monitoring womb) locates Starscream in the alleyways. But their input deceives them as Starscream ambushes Reflector and takes control of the womb. Soundwave arrives to join Starscream, who pays for Soundwave's service with the cassette-bot, Ratbat.

Ultra Magnus finally confronts Shockwave and demands an explanation on why Shockwave has let the situation on Cybertron degenerate (suspecting Shockwave was responsible for the unleashing of Menasor after discovering a component of Frenzy at the site of the rampage). Shockwave, as usual, dismisses Magnus to go defend against the Autobot attack. As Ultra Magnus leaves (unsatisfied with the meeting), Shockwave readies his gun.

Witnessing the murder of Ultra Magnus on a nearby monitor, Optimus Prime transforms and drives into Shockwave's citadel, while the other Autobots provide cover-fire. Making his way into the command tower, Optimus only briefly stops to demand information regarding Shockwave's whereabouts from Skywarp.

In Shockwave's throne room, all Optimus finds is Ultra Magnus. The two leaders make amends with each other, and Optimus vows to find the underlying cause of the events. Magnus points Optimus in the direction that Shockwave has retreated to, where Optimus finds a secret tunnel. Carefully venturing towards the grand heart of Shockwave's scheme, Optimus opens a door with a mysterious logo, but the glorious light from inside blinds him.

Outside, the Autobots continue their battle against Shockwave's army, without their leader. Where Hot Rod's gunfire fails, Ironhide succeeds using some ingenuity and liquid nitrogen. Before the two have time to relax, Springer reminds the two the battle isn't over.

Inside, Shockwave overpowers Optimus Prime, tearing open and pulling the Matrix out of his chest. From the pinnacle of Shockwave's Tower, a bright light shines magnificently, with a solid beam of light shooting off into the distances of space to some unknown destination. Deciding that Shockwave's agenda has gone far enough, Starscream decides to lead his team off-planet again.

While Shockwave starts to gloat that everything has gone perfectly according to plan—Ultra Magnus reawakens!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"The way Kup and the others would talk about him...using words like 'fearless'...'noble'...'selfless'...I mean...you'd think he was some kind of...hero."

—Hot Rod finds that Optimus Prime lives up to the hype

"I can't exactly have you rampaging through my city."

—Ultra Magnus talks down to a damaged and helpless Grimlock

"Quit yapping, pretty-bot, and lay down some cover fire — now!"

—Ironhide to Hot Rod

"Old One-Eye pulled it off. First he takes over Cybertron — then he defeats Megatron — and now this. Well, it looks like our business here is finished."

—Starscream decides to cut and run after Shockwave defeats Optimus Prime

Notes

• Hey, see that combined Autobot-Decepticon logo? Remember that, it becomes important later.

Continuity notes

• Grimlock's still recovering from when Mags shot him in the head with a missile last issue.
• Starscream recovered Ratbat while he was poking about the detention facility in issue four.
• Ratbat is silent in this issue, while in the (chronologically earlier) series War Within: The Dark Ages he was quite verbal. Soundwave continues to remain speechless.
• Although unstated, it was presumably Starscream and Soundwave who directed footage of Shockwave's betrayal of Ultra Magnus to the outside.
• Dude, Unicron. Does Shockwave know that his use of the Matrix sent some kind of signal to Unicron? The world may never know, though Shockwave's statement about "what lies ahead" suggests he does.

Transformers references

• The caption to the flashback measures time in breems, the time-unit given in the old Marvel comics.
• The title of this issue was borrowed from the Generation 1 episode "Countdown to Extinction".
• Ultra Magnus turns gray as he deactivates, much like Prime turned gray during his death in The Transformers: The Movie.
• When Optimus opens the door to the secret chamber, one of the panels is seen from Shockwave's perspective. On his heads-up display, "The Transformers Are All Dead" is written (mirrored). This quote comes from the memorable cover of early Marvel issue "The New Order".

Real-life references

• That's the Greek alphabet on the door to Shockwave's secret chamber.

Other trivia

• The previous issue asked: "But is the altruistic Prime fully prepared to sacrifice Cybertron's newfound peace?" The answer is wholeheartedly "yes".
• The "Wavelengths" page has a letter from the desk of Don Figueroa.
• The "DW Letters" page which has fans' mail answered by Matt Moylan and a piece of fan art by Minoh Kim.

Courtesy of my...

• Carrying over from the previous issue, Hot Rod's photon laser pistols are still off-model.
• Ironhide uses his "water gun" to shatter a Sentinel's claw hand with liquid nitrogen.

Covers (2)

Urge...to...pelvic thrust...impossible to resist!

• Cover A: Starscream and Laserbeak monitoring events (right), and
• Cover B: a video display showing Optimus standing over a defeated Ultra Magnus (above), art on both by Pat Lee. The covers can connect to form a single image. Note: Laserbeak doesn't appear in the issue itself.

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