The Age of Wrath issue 3

'''Autobots fight back.. with science!'''

Writer: Simon Furman Pencils: Joe Ng Inks: Tracy Ho, Erik Sander Additional Inks: Ferd Poblete Colors: Josh Burcham Additional Colors: Rob Ruffolo, Eric Burns Letters: Ben Lee


 * Original release date: December 1st, 2004
 * Preceded by: The Age of Wrath, Part 1
 * Followed by: (cronologically) Micromasters #1: Destined For Nothing
 * Followed by: (publication-ally) Dreamwave (unreleased issues)
 * Characters (In order of appearance): Starscream, Slamdance, Scorch, Boss, Flash (ahhh!), Hurricane, Shockwave, Rumble, Frenzy, Getaway, Nightbeat, Siren, Hosehead, Joyride, Slapdash, Blaster, Aerospace Extermination Squadron,
 * '' Chronology: The Age of Wrath

Synopsis
Around a campfire-like light, Slamdance tells his Autobot friends about how during Starscream's raid on the new Council Of Ancients, Slamdance fell into a fissure, into ancient Cybertron. The newly discovered caves suitible for housing the Autobots who managed to avoid capture by Megatron and his Aerospace Extermination Squadron. Perceptor interupts the story to bring the Turbomasters to the Think Tank. There, Perceptor explains how if Megatron survived the Space Bridge Incident, then logically, Optimus Prime must have survived as well... hopefully.

Nightbeat's team of Autobots have managed to defeat two of the Aerospace Exterminator drones that were chasing Getaway, causing the third on to mysterious go dormant. When Nightbeat approaches to attach an Inhibitor Claw (so the drone can be retrieved for study), the drone reawakens and materializes additional armaments to fight off all five Autobots at once. A flare blinds Siren, but together with Joyride, the two ram the drone backwards, impaling the onto a spike. Even this doesn't halt the drone, who tosses an explosion at the two, and then moves to terminate Slapdash. But moments before Slapdash can be executed, Siren locks the drone's activity by attaching the inhibitor claw to the drone's posterior.

Rumble and Frenzy try to explin how neither of them were responsible for, under their watch, one of Shockwave's machines exploding. Angry at the delay in his investigation of the Aerospace drone's technology, he leaves. Soon as he's gone, another machine explodes on it's own. The only clue why being a smiling face torn into the wall.

With Perceptor overseeing the kidnapping of the Exterminator Drone, the Turbomasters engage in a game of hide and seek beneath in the tunnels around the Autobots base. Flash cleverly doubles-base to hide in the Think Tank, but upon his return he's caught in some kind of anomaly from the Optimus-finding machine. Flash lands on a strange alien landscape.

Items of Note

 * For one panel, the soon-to-be-executed Slapdash is colored like Siren, making thr sequence more confusing than it needs to be.
 * The images on Perceptor's screens are from The Dark Ages, Part 5.
 * Frenzy lists the following Dead Autobots who never really existed: Galactica, Geronimo, Gizmo, and Glasnost. Grimlock's death was greatly exaggerated - apparently he gets better since Prime Directive on Earth


 * This issue contained advertisements for:
 * Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front #3: "In the line of Firefly", which was never released.
 * No Exit: "Throne Wars!" Energon #30.
 * Dreamwave pocket books. (back cover)
 * Dreamwave/Dynamic Forces exclusive covers.
 * The issue also contained a special five-page advertisement for Warlands: Malagen's Campaign.
 * Generation 1 Ongoing #12: "Cybertron's greatest hero returns..." which was never released (Back cover)


 * "Declarations of War" page has reader mail answered by Matt Hansen
 * Wavelengths page has a letter from the desk of Ernst Dabel
 * Science rules!