Maximum Dinobots issue 4 - Transformers Wiki

While Shockwave makes a deal with Soundwave and his minions, Sunstreaker goes to recover his real head and the Machination crumbles.

Synopsis

Ravage breaks into a house in Portland, Oregon. His mission is to reclaim Soundwave from his "owner", Jimmy. Seeing Soundwave, Ravage orders Laserbeak to reclaim him, which he does. As Jimmy's mother runs upstairs to see if he's alright, the two Decepticons take Soundwave to Mount St. Helens. However, Soundwave is weak from lack of power, to the point he can barely block Skywatch's control signal on the cassettes, and is still shunted in his cassette player mode. Shockwave suddenly appears, orders Soundwave to stand Ravage and Laserbeak down, and proposes a deal to the three.

In Dallas, Texas, Hot Rod escapes from the Machination HQ, but collapses due to his crushed foot. Hearing a voice, Hot Rod is aghast, believing he has run into another Sunstreaker clone—but it's not a clone, it's the real Sunstreaker, who blasts two Headmasters following Hot Rod. Hot Rod tries to warn him about the dangers, but Sunstreaker doesn't care; he just wants his head back. Hot Rod, upset over Sunstreaker's arrogance, decides to call for reinforcements while Sunstreaker stomps into the facility. He has had enough, and is determined to get his real head. But Scorponok is watching!

On the Monsterbots' shuttle, 60,000 feet above northern Nebraska, the Monsterbots are waiting for Grimlock to give them what he promised them, for which they had to travel to Earth and participate in the battle in Fallon to save the Dynobots. Grimlock says they'll get what they want, but not yet. This upsets Repugnus, who says that he's willing to trust Grimlock, but that Doublecross and Grotusque are more likely to rip Grimlock's head off. Grimlock says their prize is nearly all the technology that was in Shockwave's onboard data-cache before the Dynobots blew his ship up. Repugnus believes that the data is encoded and Grimlock confirms this, but is upset that they need someone to de-code it and find out more about Shockwave's time on Earth, and how the Earth once had a stratospherically high level of energon.

Outside the cockpit, the Dynobots wonder what the conversation's about. Swoop doesn't care, but doesn't like it anyway. Snarl believes it's another sign of just how far the Dynobots have fallen. Based on Repugnus's comments during the battle at Fallon, Snarl thinks that the Dynobots' original operation—all that time ago—wasn't officially sanctioned, as they were told by Grimlock. The Dynobots wish that they could return to the simple days of bustin' Decepticons, but have a bad feeling that there's no going back. Grimlock leaves the cockpit, announcing that he managed to extend their alliance with the Monsterbots. They plan to rebuild the Skyfire, so that Grimlock can get even with Scorponok. However, he ends up getting a stern look from the Dynobots.

At the Machination headquarters, Hot Rod tries to boost his internal comm system to the right audio reception so that he can get a strong enough signal for someone to answer his call for reinforcements. He manages to get the comm to work, but it shocks him badly. Despite this, he sends out a message galaxy-wide to any Autobot listening in the vicinity. Inside the headquarters, Sunstreaker manages to find to his original head, but as he opens a large door, he is blasted point-blank in the chest by Scorponok. Scorponok advances towards Sunstreaker to go for the kill, but notices that Hunter O'Nion is gone. Scorponok is enraged, but before he can find Hunter, Drake calls to warn about an approaching Cybertronian vessel, closing in fast. Scorponok mobilizes the headquarters' defenses, as Hot Rod hopes that it's not another epic/heroic tilt.

Inside the Monsterbots' vessel, the Dynobots don't see the point of fighting Scorponok, but Grimlock says that Scorponok made it their fight when he turned the Dynobots against him. Snarl disagrees, saying that it has always been Grimlock's fight, that he and the other Dynobots went along with him, and that it's now Grimlock's wounded pride at stake. Snarl asks Grimlock, "Does getting even matter so much, you're willing to take us all down with you?" Inside the cockpit, the Monsterbots target the defenses and blast away at them. Grimlock exits the ship, saying that there's no way he can let this go. With or without the Dynobots, there will be a reckoning for Scorponok. The Dynobots decide that arguing is pointless and follow Grimlock. Scorponok orders that the neural clamps be activated, but the technician says that the implants aren't responding. Scorponok decides to settle the matter... personally.

Hunter comes out of his hiding place and enters the room holding Sunstreaker's real head. Outside, the Dynobots tear away at the Sunstreaker clones with ease, trying to dismantle the Machination empire piece by piece. Snarl gets hit in the leg, and muses that bad language is their only option now. Grimlock wants to settle the score with Scorponok personally, but Snarl rebukes this, saying that they fight or fall together, and that they're Dynobots to the bitter end. Inside, Hunter says to Sunstreaker that what he's about to do is only because there are no options left. With tears of remorse, Hunter pulls the cords from Sunstreaker's head, shutting him down.

With Sunstreaker offline, the clones cease to function. Grimlock wonders what happened, and Hot Rod slowly walks over to him, saying that Sunstreaker pulled the plug on himself. Sludge cries out in victory, but the moment is short-lived as Scorponok blasts Sludge into stasis. Scorponok is furious, now that his empire is in shambles, and decides to take revenge on Grimlock. However, Shockwave also appears overhead, wanting revenge as well, and a new battle is about to begin.

In space, Ultra Magnus has also received Hot Rod's signal, and vows to Scorponok that only one of them will walk away.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Continuity notes

• The cassettes return Soundwave to Mount St. Helens, the same place the trio were recovered by Skywatch in "Spotlight: Soundwave".

Real-world references

• When Ravage breaks into Jimmy's house, Jimmy is playing with a Snake-Eyes action figure.
• The rather large door within the Machination complex which Sunstreaker opens has a huge lock thing on it that, coincidentally or otherwise, resembles the chest of the pre-Transformer Microman robot Punch Robo.

Errors

• Roche and Raiz keep drawing Sludge with two different robot-mode heads. See image on right.
• Mount St. Helens is said to be in Oregon when it's actually located in Washington.

Trivia

• When Hot Rod sends his signal into space, it appears to register in four places:
  • The Monsterbots' ship
  • A satellite resembling Sky Spy
  • A satellite receiver in Blaster's colours
  • Ultra Magnus's ship
• Sludge also seems to have a slaggingly big energo-sword. Wonder where he keeps that thing?

Covers (2)

• Cover A: Repugnus riding atop Sludge, about to stomp on a red Sunstreaker clone; art Nick Roche and Joana Lafuente.
• Cover B: Grimlock protecting an injured Hot Rod, art by Marcelo Matere and Priscilla Tramontano

• 

  Cover A - Hi ho, Sludge, away!

• 

  Cover B - Him not heavy, but him not me Grimlock's brother.

Advertisements

• Maximum Dinobots #5
• Transformers: More than Meets the Eye Official Guidebook Volume 1
• Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Official Guidebook Volume 2
• All Hail Megatron Volume 1 TPB
• Star Trek: Countdown
• Classic G.I. Joe Volume 1
• The Presidents of the United States comic
• G.I. Joe: Origins
• Groom Lake #1
• G.I. Joe comics
• Ben Templesmith's Dracula
• Terminator Salvation movie adaptation (back cover)

Reprints

Other than collections of the full series.

• N/A