So many clues for it being only a simulation. But how and why? And I also believe the guiding hand is actually the real part of this. They are the one running this simulation. The core Lost Light Crew are the ones being prepared to be the next Knights of Cybertron. Rodimus the Prime Drift the Pious Ratchet the Wise Ultra Magnus the General Whirl the Joker Cyclonus the Warrior Tailgate the Pure Skids the Prophet Brainstorm the Engineer Nautica the Lover Chromedome the Mentalist Rung the Pacifist Megatron the Redeemed
This issue reminds me a lot of the first issue of the Mutineers trilogy. Very good setup, and we'll need to see more to understand the context. I'm 99.99% sure this is NOT the Afterspark. I think whatever happened to Ten was a malevolent action. Ten looked surprised, and his chest was forcibly ripped apart to get at his spark. And then Ten's body turned dark. That ain't an ascension! The characters think they witnessed their friend moving onto a higher plane, but I think what we actually saw is cold-blooded murder. My guess is that whoever's in charge of this situation (let's just say it's the Guiding Hand, but I'm more convinced it's someone masquerading as the Guiding Hand) took advantage of Ten by first taking control of Ten and using Ten as a puppet. This malevolent force then used Ten to bait Team Rodimus into a trap. Nightbeat seemed to notice Ten's voice sounded different. Using Ten as a mouthpiece probably meant giving Ten the ability to talk, and so Ten became a liability--he probably knew exactly what was going on. Thus, Ten had to die (for REAL). Whoever's in charge also seems to have the ability to read your thoughts....but seemingly only if you're ready to believe. For example, the "autopsy" slabs are inscribed WORD FOR WORD with the version of the Guiding Hand myth that Cyclonus recites in the 2012 Annual. Nightbeat mentions a "Neoprimalist" version that's a lot wordier, which I think is a clue that there are various versions of the creation myth, but these slabs have the version that Cyclonus recited. We see evidence of the memory-reading ability again when Ratchet demands proof of the Afterspark, after which the malevolent entity shows Ratchet 2 people that he knows to be dead: Trailbreaker and Pipes. Maybe this was a moment during which Ratchet was somewhat receptive to believe? And, once more, when Rodimus demands proof, perhaps he's also on the verge of being receptive to believe, and then the malevolent entity (Primacron? The Vok?) takes the form of the Guiding Hand, in exactly the same physical form as when Cyclonus recited the myth in 2012. I think the basis of the simulation is mostly on Cyclonus' memories. Maybe his mind was the easiest to read, maybe it has something to do with his religious beliefs, but whatever the case, someone (Primus? Violen Jygar?) constructed a world/illusion/simulation mostly based on Cyclonus' memories. Just look at Cyclonus wide smile when he sees the giant Matrix. We didn't see Roller's initial meeting with Springarm, but Springarm seems to be telling Roller exactly what he wants to hear, with no new facts. Springarm says he was decapitated, yes, but that factoid is easily gleaned from Roller's memories. All of Springarm's dialogue is unspecific stuff designed to make Roller feel good and not blame himself for Springarm's death. Trailbreaker also doesn't say anything that our heroes didn't actually know. He didn't even say things like, "Yeah, Kaon took out my brain," he didn't reveal the location of his hidden Energon stash. No, Trailbreaker's only dialogue was to talk about the specifics of the afterlife, which (if I'm right) are just a cover story behind who dies when, and in which order. To summarize, I think Rodimus, Ratchet, Nightbeat, et al., are certainly being deceived, and they're on a physical planet, and this planet is filled with facsimiles. Holo-matter? Custom-built drones that resemble dead friends? Other clues: As others pointed out, why would Brainstorm's early warning system come with them to the "Afterspark"? It's not part of Brainstorm. I think it's a clue that the Early Warning System was restored to factory settings. I think that's more-or-less what happened with Nautica, Brainstorm, Rodimus, et al. Whoever's in charge of this illusion/simulation/whatever probably did some kind of memory wipe, which resulted in short-term memory loss for everyone with a spark, and resulted in non-sentient machines reverting to factory settings. Let's not forget the early warning device spends its whole time saying "Uh-oh!" and it "won't shut up," and it eventually overheats. I think the crew are in danger of the same kind of death Ten just died. I don't think this is some kind of simulation or a memory loop, because what we saw happening to Ten looked like a physical, violent death. I think they're actually on a physical planet, and I think these are REALLY the characters we've been reading. As in, I don't think it's all happening inside Ratchet's head, for example. Why else would the early warning device be there too? And the giant hovering Matrix? Probably some kind of weapon that can extract sparks, and the Matrix is a facsimile built over it as disguise to lull Team Rodimus into a false sense of security. As others have pointed out, I think the turning point will come in the next issue when something like this happens: And, this would be an expedient way to let us know what happened to Tailgate FOR REAL. I dunno, maybe this is when we find out Tailgate is actually Galvatron. Shrug. Why kill Ten but transport Rodimus to receive an audience? Again, I think Ten was a liability because he was given the ability to talk, in order to act as a mouthpiece, and Ten probably learned something from the mind-sharing experience, and had to be eliminated. Whatever the malevolent entity is, it wants something from Rodimus and friends (and it didn't seem able to capture Rung, Chromedome, Rewind, Anode, etc), and maybe it thought it could reason with Rodimus and double-down on the manipulation. For this reason (and because the Guiding Hand all look exactly like Cyclonus' recited creation myth), I really think the malevolent entity (the Grand Architect?) is just masquerading as the Guiding Hand. Next issue will probably show us the events from Anode, Lug, Rung, and Chromedome's point of view. I don't think we have enough evidence for what the malevolent entity wants from Team Rodimus. I'm guessing it requires Team Rodimus to believe in this masquerade and willingly do....something....which probably involves giving up their sparks....for the grand goal of.......something. And, the scheme probably doesn't work if you just kill someone and take their spark (otherwise, why not just do that when they were unconscious). Considering the previous issue gave us a pregnant Scorponok with a plan to make babies, I'm not even going to try to guess what, exactly, Roberts has planned. Plus, this issue didn't address AT ALL the mystery of Ratchet turning grey and noncorporeal.
Mysterious absences from Chromedome, Rewind, Anode, Lug, and Rung, but you can see Chromedome and Rewind and I think (?) Lug’s foot when they’re all floating in space. I dig everyone’s reactions to (supposedly) being dead. Rodimus was at his best. Awesome read. For everything that seems like this is real, there’s something else to contradict it. I can’t wait to finish this!!
Ummm did anyone notice the weird swirls in the sky? Struck me as a very odd barely noticeable detail, seems a littke menacing and reminded me of the Quintessons. Was reading the last four/five issues... Velocity was trained as a medic on Mederi 7... and they were going to a Mederi centre. I agree with the other poster.. can't remember name sorry (i'm posting from front page)... almost everything is coming from the bots and their beliefs or knowledge.. i'd say specifically Cyclonus's - wasn't he 'key' in the initial teaser images for More Than Meets the Eye?
Yeah, no doubt about it, "Afterspark" is a simulation/proving grounds run by the Guiding Hand. Looking forward to seeing what's happening next month!
John Barber on Twitter There's the Cyclonus thing you were talking about. Hadn't noticed the swirls, will have to give them a look.
Solid issue but depends on how the following ones go. Whirl's expressions and dialogue were amazing in this though. Many great reaction images too.
All the mechs that are there are known to be dead with Rodimus group. I can see them bringing Ambulon back for Ratchet but not Mirage. As far as the group is concerned Mirage is still alive. Chromedome not being there makes sense because he will know it is an illusion. Rewind would ask questions and look for Chromedome. Cyclonus believes Tailgate is dead because Rodimus said so if I recall. Whoever made this Illusion is feeding on emotions of the crew.
TF wiki The Guiding Hand are five ancient deities created by Primus. They are featured in one of the more prominent myths regarding the creation of the planet Cybertron and its native people. Members Primus, the Light-giver and Life-giver Mortilus, the Death-bringer Solomus, Wisdom Incarnate Epistemus, Knowledge Personified Adaptus, Blessed with an Infinity of Shapes Fiction IDW Generation 1 continuity According to a religious story related by Cyclonus, the Guiding Hand were formed after the creation of the planet Cybertron when Primus the First Light stood forth on the miracle planet. At the time, he felt a nest of sparks within him and he split his essence into five other vessels. They became a remote but nurturing presence on early Cybertron and populated it with a gesture, thus creating the Transformer race. Under their reign came the First Golden Age of Cybertron which was shattered when Mortilus believed that the Guiding Hand should become a fist against the rest of the universe. As Mortilus stood against Primus, all of Cybertron became divided in a conflict that saw the planet shudder and its first moon being ripped asunder. The Death-bringer was ultimately destroyed in the struggle but the conflict left the remaining members of the Guiding Hand mortally wounded. Primus who was near death went into the heart of Cybertron where he re-integrated himself to the planet and became Vector Sigma that was the source of all sentience. Solomus was trapped by Mortilus into a crystal prison but the wise god managed to re-arrange it into the Creation Matrix that not only served as a connection to Vector Sigma but provided wisdom to future generations of Transformers. Both Epistemus and Adaptus were not as lucky as Mortilus had stripped both bare. Epistemus was transformed into a brain module whilst Adaptus became a transformation cog. Prior to their death, they offered their designs to future generations to utilize both their intellect and functionality to face the rigors of their environment. With Mortilus's destruction, death itself was gone and this allowed the sparks of Cybertronians to burn perpetually, rendering them functionally ageless. After this period, the first inheritors of the Guiding Hand became the Knights of Cybertron who were given the gifts of sentience, wisdom, intellect, change and immortality whereupon they went to spread peace across the universe. You, Me, and Other Revelations
I see Epistemus in that picture and all I can hear in my mind is "OWNAGE!!! TOTAL OWNAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!"
When "Trailcutter" mentioned that Primus was shielding them from the full effects of the Afterspark, I thought there may be some hidden truth to it. If the hologram he shows them is of Cyberutopia, then his words have new meaning when we consider that Tyrest's portal to Cyberutopia had an special type of lock where you needed to "be at peace".....
When then talk about Skip's final contraction, it makes me think of the process of natural birth. Am I getting the English wrong? Because it would sound funny (and shady) if they were "born" into the Afterspark!
i just noticed, in the panels where they're dying in space, Drift is reaching for Ratchet. That's pretty gayy
Right. But what if it wasn't "morality" in the sense Tyrest meant it. Like, that was the closest term he could associate it with. What if the lock was more of a barrier to make sure that whoever went to Cyberutopia was in the right mindset to be influenced or controlled or whatever. Obviously Drift and Cyclonus are more susceptible to this. And I can't imagine anyone being more the opposite of "at peace" than Rodimus....
Three years ago, my anticipation for the next issue would be tremendous. Now, I just wonder how James is going to bork it up. Sigh.
