Heart of Darkness issue 1

The Transformers: Heart of Darkness #1 »
Fill me with the power of Darkness!
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	March 23, 2011
Cover date	April 2011
Written by	Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by	Ulises Fariñas
Colors by	Andrew Crossley
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Editor	Andy Schmidt
Assistant editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	2010, before Infestation.

Galvatron and his minions investigate the mysterious disappearance of Gorlam Prime's population.

Synopsis

Galvatron thinks of Gorlam Prime during its peak, with mechanical citizens bustling through the cities that cover its surface. According to Galvatron, it always was this way...

Galvatron stands in a decimated city on Gorlam Prime. The dead litter the street, and Galvatron compares the state of the city and the entire planet to "an intricate mechanism that has wound down and broken". As Galvatron studies the landscape, perplexed at how this might have happened, Scourge and Cyclonus return and report to Galvatron that Gorlam Prime is completely devoid of life, "cybertronic or otherwise". Galvatron compares Gorlam Prime to the Marie Celeste before transforming and ordering Cyclonus and Scourge to follow him.

As Galvatron and the Seekers travel to parts unknown, Galvatron muses on the power that he had found when Optimus Prime tossed him into a solar polar. Galvatron thought at first that the sheer amount of energy would kill him, but instead, it awakened the power of the Dead Universe's Anti-Matrix which had been dormant inside of him. The Anti-Matrix joined to him and became "The Heart of Darkness". After gaining this power, Galvatron climbed out of the solar-pool and was discovered by two Garrus-9 guards. However, they were terrified by his power, and let Galvatron leave. Galvatron took a ship and traveled to Gorlam Prime to seek guidance from his fellow Seekers.

Once he had arrived, Galvatron found Scourge and Cyclonus on the brink of death. During his time in the solar-pool, years had passed, and after being separated from the Dead Universe, they had begun to waste away. Galvatron revived them using the power of the Heart of Darkness and told them they had a new mission as "catalysts of change". Immediately, Scourge sent out his Sweeps to find the cause of Gorlam Prime's emptiness, as Scourge and Cyclonus had no memory of the events which had left Gorlam Prime so deserted due to their degenerative state.

Once the Seekers reach their destination, Excavation Site 4, Galvatron explains his plan- if they can't find the cause of the disappearance of all life signs on Gorlam Prime, they would find Jhiaxus and the trans-dimensional portal. Cyclonus finds the entrance to the portal buried beneath the rubble and the bodies of several Micromasters. Galvatron tells Cyclonus to stand aside and blasts away the rubble in his tank form. Cyclonus, who had not stood aside before Galvatron began blasting, is helped to his feet by Scourge. Cyclonus then leans against the wall and begins to say they should examine the Micromaster remains before being cut off by Scourge and the rock slide caused by Cyclonus' carelessness. Galvatron holds up the collapsing tunnel, however, and asks if Scourge and Cyclonus could get a move on.

As they approach the excavation site, Cyclonus notes the way back is blocked. Galvatron tells him they're clear it on the way out, and as Seekers, never worry about what's behind them. When they enter the excavation site, they find the portal to the Dead Universe gone. Cyclonus remarks that the excavation is empty. A badly damaged Jhiaxus taps Cyclonus on the shoulder and states it's not quite empty and asks to be killed. He then explains how Arcee spent years beating him to a pulp because of what he had done and then disappeared with Hardhead in a flash of light. Galvatron orders Scourge and Cyclonus to grab the broken pieces of Jhiaxus and put them near him. Then, using the power of the darkness, Galvatron reassembles Jhiaxus. Jhiaxus is amazed at his new form and begins to ask Galvatron how he could ever repay him. Galvatron cuts him off and tells him to help him to find the portal. Jhiaxus sets down a tunnel and the Seekers (Cyclonus somewhat reluctantly) follow. The tunnel leads into a humongous cavern filled with ancient carvings and statues. At the center of the cavern is a sphere made of the same quicksilver material as the Dead Universe portal.

Galvatron extends his hand and tries to touch the portal. Before he can, however, he is shot in the back, and Arcee and Hardhead begin to blast at the Seekers, Arcee telling Hardhead to destroy them all...

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Continuity notes

• The presence of Autobot guards on Garrus-9 places Galvatron's revival either before All Hail Megatron or after Last Stand of the Wreckers, as the facility was under Overlord's rule in all the intervening time.
• Being dead seems to agree with Hardhead as he got an extra cannon out of the deal!

Transformers references

• The dead "Micromaster" that Cyclonus uncovers is a generic, despite some color and head-shape similarities to the Mini-Con Dirt Boss.

Real-life references

• Galvatron compares Gorlam Prime to the human ghost ship Marie Celeste, though it is unclear when he had time to delve into human culture like that.

Errors

• The timings given here are a little wonky. As this is set pre-Infestation, presumably either during or before the first arc of the ongoing, it's been at most three or four years since Galvatron was thrown into the solar pool. When last seen during the Revelation arc, Gorlam Prime was shown as still being in transition. This seems like a mightily small amount of time for it to become one of "the pinnacles of cyber-organic culture in the Galaxy".

Other notes

• As originally released, this issue featured an odd number of pages between its two double page spreads, necessitating the inclusion of an unusual (for IDW) mid-story advertisement to even things out. To take the ad's place when the series was collected in trade paperback and The IDW Collection Volume Eight, a newly-drawn splash page of Galvatron inside the solar pool was inserted between the original issue's sixth and seventh pages, with the first three caption boxes of page 7 moved onto it.

Covers (4)

• Cover A: Galvatron; art by Ulises Fariñas and colors by Andrew Crossley.
• Cover B: Scourge, Galvatron, and Cyclonus; art by Casey Coller and colors by Joana Lafuente.
• Cover RI-A: Uncolored version of Cover A.
• Cover RI-B: Signed version of Cover A.

• 

  Buy this book or die!

• 

  The Brothers Grimm.

• 

  Whoever didn't color me shall pay dearly!

• 

  I tire of this cover!

Advertisements

• Superstar
• The Transformers: Heart of Darkness
• G.I. Joe: Tales from the Cobra Wars
• Shockrockets
• Infestation
• Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters