Shining Armor issue 2

Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	August 23, 2017
Cover date	August 2017
Written by	John Barber and Christos Gage
Art by	Alex Milne
Colors by	Josh Perez
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Late 1830s or early 1840s

Autobots, Decepticons, Space Knights, and Dire Wraiths clash, and Stardrive is caught in the middle.

Synopsis

In the Huni System, on a planet freshly invaded by the Decepticons, a group of Dire Wraiths led by Vekktral approach Starscream with the offer of an alliance. Starscream is initially disinterested and quite ready to kill the shapechangers... until Vekktral tells him about Stardrive. Observing Starscream's sudden interest, Dirge voices contention, but Starscream silences him by explaining that, to keep Stardrive alive, the Solstar Order must possess a source of energon—something that is in vanishingly short supply these days, the acquisition of which will make them heroes...

Weeks later, in the Zugzwang Cluster, a small Autobot shuttle happens upon the wreckage of a Galactic Council vessel recently destroyed by Decepticons. Spotting two 'Cons apparently standing guard over the wreck, ship's captain Ultra Magnus orders gunner Sky Blast to fire upon the 'Cons, obliterating them both. When Magnus and Bumblebee head out to inspect the wreckage, they discover that the Decepticons had been attempting to destroy the remains of the Council ship and its crew to hide what they had done. Recognizing this strange behavior as a link in a chain, Magnus taps the ship's network, and learns that it was heading for the planet Xetaxxis...

Another week later, Magnus and Bumblebee arrive on Solstar Order station Orchid Crossing, in orbit around Xetaxxis, just after Starscream's Decepticons and Vekktral's Wraiths—impersonating the Galactic Council crew the Autobots had found dead—strike. Rom is quick to attack the Autobots, thinking they are with the Decepticons, but just as the Space Knight is realizing his mistake, Ultra Magnus's short temper and shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later attitude come into play, and he blasts Rom, Stardrive, and Starscream all at once. Amid the chaos of the four-way battle ripping the station apart, the more open-minded Bumblebee tries to approach Stardrive to get the full story from her, but her Solstar upbringing, and Magnus's aggressive actions, have not left her open to talking, and she zaps 'Bee rather than listen to him.

With the damaged station held together only by its own forcefield, Sky Blast leaves the Autobots' shuttle to help Magnus and 'Bee, but no sooner has he arrived than he falls victim to one of the Wraiths. When the alien attempts to possess his body, however, the result is that Sky Blast is transformed into a horrific bio-mech monster whose very existence is pain—a monster that runs out of control, attacking enemy and ally alike. Opting for the better part of valor, Starscream orders Doomwings to help him grab the energon synthesizer and beat a hasty retreat—but before they can get near the device, the Sky Blast-Wraith seizes Doomwings and rips him to shreds.

Bumblebee continues trying to make Stardrive listen to reason, explaining that he and Magnus are not working with either the Wraiths or the Decepticons. It seems Stardrive might be on the verge of coming around... until Magnus breaks up their discussion with the announcement that he has deactivated the station's forcefield, allowing it to break up in hopes it will take the Sky Blast-Wraith with it. Everyone rushes to evacuate, with Stardrive caught between going with Rom and the Knights, or leaving with 'Bee and Magnus—but the latter option is soon taken off the table when a well-aimed shot from Starscream destroys the Autobots' shuttle, stranding them on the disintegrating station. While Decepticons and Wraiths flee, Stardrive makes her decision, ordering the other Knights to get themselves clear while she rescues the two Autobots from the clutches of the Sky Blast-Wraith. The station subsequently explodes, hurling Stardrive and the Autobots down toward Xetaxxis; Livia believes that Stardrive has chosen her own kind over the Knights, but Rom retains an open mind as they head down to the planet to recover her. Also on the way down are the Decepticons and Wraiths, hoping to recover the energon synthesizer from the wreckage... but as they descend, they spot the Sky Blast-Wraith, still alive and still deranged, falling alongside them...

Down on the surface of Xetaxxis, Stardrive, Bumblebee, and Ultra Magnus make a dramatic crash-landing, but survive the impact in one piece. Magnus attempts to arrest Stardrive for breaching the Tyrest Accord (for sharing Cybertronian technology—herself—with the Solstar Order), which the downhearted Stardrive takes in stride—she has lived her whole life being distrusted and never accepted by the Solstar Order, so she finds it only fitting that Cybertronains would treat her the same way. She tells Magnus to do as he likes, but requests that the Autobots help her find the rest of the Knights first; Bumblebee agrees, but Magnus has no time for the notion, dismissing the organic knights as "barely lifeforms"... at which point a blast from Rom's neutralizer streaks in and nails Magnus dead center! Rom, Livia, and Sata crest the horizon and demand that Bumblebee surrender or join Ultra Magnus in death!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Solstar Order	Others
Ultra Magnus (13) Sky Blast (14) Bumblebee (15)	Dirge (1) Starscream (2) Ramjet (3) Bulldozer Decepticon (11) "Plasma torch guy" (12) Astrotrain (17) Thrust (19) Blitzwing (20) Doomwings (21)	Nikomi (6) Orphion (7) Rom (8) Stardrive (9) Livia (10) Sata (18)	Vekktral (4) Assorted Dire Wraiths (5) Galactic Council captain and crew's bodies (16)

Quotes

"Dirge, if witlessness could kill Autobots, you would have ended the war a million years ago."

—Starscream

"Bumblebee—grab a gun and come with me. We're going to see if anybody lived through this."
"Um. Why do we need guns for a rescue mission?"
"To make sure nobody lived through this."

—Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee

"A dead Council starship, and now Knights of the Solstar Order standing with Decepticons—even encasing one in their armor? If you have any questions left Bumblebee... we can analyze their bodies when we're done."

—Ultra Magnus

"WRAAAIGH! HWRAZAH!!"
"Eloquent fellow."

—The Sky Blast-Wraith and Starscream

"You do not consider your soldiers expendable? How... quaint."

—Vekktral

Notes

Continuity notes

An Ultra Magnus eager for battle, who rushes in without thinking? Who shoots firsts and asks question later? Who displays open racism for organics? Who uses informal nicknames and figurative language?? Surely that can't be Minimus Ambus inside the armor!
- Speaking of, Minimus Ambus not being Ultra Magnus less than 200 years prior to the present day isn't strictly an error, but it does seem odd, considering that Ratchet mentioned in "The Sound of Breaking Glass" that he'd known every wearer of the Magnus Armor but knew Minimus longer than the rest of them. Issue #5 will elaborate on this subject.
Ultra Magnus places Stardrive under arrest for violating the Tyrest Accord which Ultra Magnuses are charged with enforcing.

Transformers references

The Decepticon Ultra Magnus describes as a "plasma torch guy" is based on the Transformers: Prime aerial Vehicon design.
Sky Blast is a direct import—and upsizing—of the Armada Mini-Con of the same name. "Rescuing" Bumblebee from Stardrive, Sky Blast quips that it's time for her to "blast off", which was his Armada counterpart's preferred battle-cry, according to his Dreamwave More than Meets the Eye profile.

Real life references

The Huni System owes its name to the Egyptian pharaoh.
The Zugzwang Cluster is named after the situation in chess.

Errors

The "Roll Call" page erroneously gives Sky Blast's name as "Blast Off."

On page 18, in the third-to-last panel, where the Decepticons come soaring through the sky, the text "Loremvipsum" is written on top of Blitzwing. The words "Lorem ipsum" are typically the first two words used in example texts that acts as a placeholder in layout design.

Covers (3)

Cover A: Starscream and the Dire Wraiths, by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
Cover B: Rom and the rest of our cast, by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham
Cover C: Rom, Astrotrain, Stardrive, and a Dire Wraith background, by Bart Sears and David García Cruz