The Route of All Evil

'''Megatron violently arrives on Earth. Autobots begin construction of Autobot City, and the true reasons for The Great War are revealed.'''

=Dreamwave G1 Ongoing #1=

Writer: Brad Mick Pencils: Don Figueroa Inks: Elaine To Colors: Espen Grundetjern & Rob Ruffolo Letters: Ben Lee


 * Original release date: Febuary 4th, 2004
 * Preceded by: Lost and Found
 * Followed by: THE END... ?
 * Characters (In order of appearance): Starscream, Combaticons, Sky Lynx, Predaking, Soundwave, Rumble (G1), Frenzy (G1), Megatron Marissa Faireborn, Buster Witwicky, Ratchet Brawn (G1), {EDC-recovered Warpath, Jazz, Sideswipe, Bumper, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Sunstreaker}, Omega Supreme, Blitzwing*, Ultra Magnus, Dinobots, Wheelie, Gnaw, Springer, Arcee, Hot Rod, Twin Twist Topspin Quintessons Elita-1 (* deactivated)
 * Chronology: Post-Ascention

Synopsis
On a rainy Earth island, Starscream grills his soldiers, The Combaticons, regarding their sloppy performance against Sunstorm. Starscream introduces the team's new training partner: A restrained Sky Lynx. The combat exercise begins, and Sky Lynx separates into his separate animalistic modes. Against two targets, the Combaticons perform poorly. The exercise failed, Starscream reactivates the energy dampeners installed on Sky Lynx. Unable to defeat Sky Lynx, the Combaticons have no hope against the newly arriving Predaking. At the Decepticon Base, Soundwave ignores Starscream's radio for help, and having changed sides once again, now loyal to Megatron.

In The Pentagon, Marissa Fairborn comes under pressure from one of her superiors for the loss of the EDC Night Unit. Marissa defends her performance, making a point to mention dear sweet Jazz. The Colonel disregards Marissa's crush and instructs her to reactivate her Grandfather's project Centurion. Marissa objects, but Buster convinces her otherwise.

In Alaska, Brawn and Ratchet bring Jazz's team of Autobots to Prowl. Prowl shows the Autobots to the future site of Autobot City, a massive (permanent?) establishment to house the Autobots on Earth. In the background, Omega Supreme is aiding in the construction, showing the scale of the endeavor.

The Combaticons fight valiantly against Predaking, combining into Bruticus. Starscream tries to retreat, and Bruticus covers his commander by crumpling Predaking's wings. The two titans lay into each other. But using spiked knuckles to rend metal, Predaking wastes Bruticus like downloading the classic movie "Hackers" wastes bandwidth.

Starscream returns to base and slips on the floor comically. Soundwave, instead of helping, aims a familiar gun and fires a shot that pieces through Starscream's torso. With Starscream leaking mech fluide, Megatron reveals himself. Even injured, Starscream is able to gloat about his knowledge of Megatron's plans involving The Matrix. Megatron reveals that even Shockwave has been enslaved, and to level everybody's perspective, he explains how everything started.

Billions of years ago, prior to the Great War, Megatron, a champion gladiator noticed that the Cybertronian sports he was participatng in were distracting the public from the Council of Ancients forbidding the Transformers from accessing the more ancient areas of Cybertron. Investigating the purpose of this, he ignores the restrictions and ventures deep into Cybertron.

There, he finds the ruins of a long-lost era of Transformers, and from their ruins he recovers an artifact, and evidence that the recorded origin of the species was a myth placed to cover the truth a Council of Ancients who were corrupted by the Quintessons. Returning to his home, Megatron fights off an attempt on his life since by the Council to silence his revelation, this act of aggression leading Megatron towards the formulation of his army.

As Megatron finishes his revelation, Starscream mentions Sunstorm. Megatron knew of Sunstorm, and a prophecy that matches Sunstorm's MO. With more questions, the two turn to answers from Sunstorm's creator, Shockwave.

On Cybertron, a familiar shadow recovers Blitzwing's head.

In the "Handle" of the Autobase, Ultra Magnus appoints Kup and the Dinobots to establish a moon base facility.Hot Rod is disappointed to be put on security, jealous that Springer is free to get to know Arcee. Observing the appointments through the eyes of a spy, the Quintessons ready their extraction team.

Notes of Interest

 * Starscream's reference to the Combaticon's rebirth on an island is a nod to the episode Starscream's Brigade.
 * Colonel Witwicky is clearly Buster Witwicky, who in the previous issue was mentioned by Spike to have joined the military. Look, you can see a picture of presumably Spike and Sparkplug (RIP) on his desk. Naturally, he's pissed at the Transformers for the death of his father in the Ark II explosion.
 * Project Centurion: Colonel Witwicky's computer displays an Exo-suit as Spike and Daniel Witwicky wore in The Transformers: The Movie. Art from unpublished issues revealed a large number of these suits developed.
 * Autobot City is clearly going to be Metroplex, as some of the Autobots working on the construction are looking at a holographic schematic of Metroplex.
 * Starscream believes Megatron has plans for The Matrix? Does The Matrix have some connection to that big glowing purple goo pit thing? Sure.


 * Megatron's flashback:
 * Hey, that's Megatron's design from The War Within, with a few extra paint aps.
 * In gladiatorial combat, Megatron is defeating Cy-Kill
 * Hey, a Golden Disc. Possibly the third one to be introduced into the continuity, not including the two from Beast Wars.
 * The two giants (statues? deactivated Transformers?) are Dai Atlas and Deathsaurus, from the Japanese lines.
 * Weird that the last (chronologically) issue Dreamwave ever published has a flashback leading into the very first.
 * The shadow recovering Blitzwing belongs to Sixshot. Who was last seen as a tank that the Dinobots hijacked from Octane.
 * Chicas!


 * This issue contains advertisements for:
 * "Throne Wars" - Energon #30 - No Exit
 * Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front #3, which was never released.
 * "Alone" - The War Within: The Age of Wrath #3
 * Dynamic Forces Dreamwave Exclusive covers.
 * A five-page Special Previe for Warlands: Malagen's Campaign.
 * Transformers: Generation One Ongoing #12, which was never released (back cover)
 * On the "Prime Transmissions" page, reader mail is answered by Copy Editor Matt Hansen
 * the "Next issue" blurb on the Prime Transmissions page, the teaser image for next month is the cover to #10 instead of #11
 * Wavelengths has a column from the desk of Ernst Dabel