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Shining Armor issue 3 - Transformers Wiki

The Autobots and Space Knights join forces to traverse the frigid wastes of Xetaxxis and stop the Decepticons and Wraiths from obtaining the energon synthesizer.

Synopsis

On the planet Xetaxxis, Ultra Magnus survives Rom's blast, but this only leads the Space Knights to charge in and strike even harder. While Bumblebee grapples with Sata, Magnus takes a huge volley of hits from Livia, but remains standing, shielding Stardrive from the careless fire of her fellow knights. Stardrive angrily orders the knights to stand down, having realizing that, contrary to the Solstar teaching she has been fed all her life, all Cybertronians are not alike—that some are good, and some are bad. Rom and Livia protest, blaming them for the destruction of the Orchid Crossing station, but when Bumblebee explains that was the Decepticons' doing, the knights do not understand. This helps Magnus get to the root of the problem: planets in the Solstar Order are global societies, each achieving unified world peace before developing space travel, therefore the knights have failed to even consider the idea that Cybertronians are a factionalized race at war with each other. The concept gives Rom pause, but Livia still holds the Autobots in contempt for their part in unleashing the threat of the Dire Wraiths on Xetaxxis, so Bumblebee proposes the Autobots and knights join forces to take care of the Wraith threat before it infests the planet. Livia, as usual, suggests razing the world of all life to be thorough; Stardrive is appalled, but Rom observes that the increased danger posed by any further potential Cybertronian/Dire Wraith hybrids may necessitate such an extreme response. 'Bee wonders why the Knights are so sure the Wraiths are even still on the planet, and why they haven't simply left—a question Stardrive is able to provide the answer to when she explains that they are after the energon synthesizer the Solstar Order built to fuel her. Even Magnus cannot deny the importance of keeping that device out of Decepticon hands, so an uneasy alliance is entered into. Stardrive, Rom, and Livia fly on ahead to the impact site of the Orchid Crossing station, while Magnus and Bumblebee—after explaining that, unfortunately, they are not Triple Changers like Stardrive and cannot adopt flying modes—follow on the ground with Sata, the junior knight unhappy to once again be left bringing up the rear.

Elsewhere on the planet, the hideous hybrid created by the possession of the Autobot Sky Blast by a Dire Wraith has survived the crash of Orchid Crossing, and is menacing the native Xetaxxians. As Starscream and Vekktral watch from a safe distance, the hybrid continues to mutate out of control, eventually growing so unstable that it spontaneously combusts and burns away to nothing. Vekktral is eager to try the process again in hopes of stabilizing it, eyeing the fleeing Xetaxxians as potential hosts—but a quick check by Starscream proves they are organic life forms, rather than mechanical, and he is unwilling to allow any Decepticons to be sacrificed in the name of the Wraith leader's experiments.

Flying toward the crash site, Stardrive observes how cold Xetaxxis is—an idle remark that surprises Rom and Livia, who are unable to feel heat, cold, or much of anything else through their metallic armored skin. She is given to wonder further about life on the planet and what it takes to survive in such a harsh climate, extolling the virtues of the beings that have done so, hoping to make Livia see the cruelty in razing the planet. Livia, however, has far more experience with the horrors of a Wraith-infested world than Stardrive has, and is unmoved by the robot's appeal to her emotions—and the sight of the Xetaxxians mercilessly scavenging from the wreck of Orchid Crossing as the knights arrive doesn't make a good impression on her, either. No sooner have they landed, however, than the knights come under aerial attack from Starscream, Dirge, and Ramjet. While her comrades hold off the Decepticons, Stardrive attempts to evacuate some of the Xetaxxians caught in the crossfire, but a barrage of fire from Ramjet pierces her cockpit, slaughtering those inside, and sending her spinning out of the air. His fellow Cybertronian seemingly dispatched, Starscream turns his attention to Rom and Livia, but they are ready for a fight, with Rom vowing no more innocents will die by the Decepticon's hand.

Meanwhile, Bumblebee has made Magnus and Sata stop on the way to the crash site to help some Xetaxxians, using a laser torch to heat up some rubble and provide them with warmth. Magnus makes clear that they will not be leaving the torch, since doing so contravenes the Tyrest Accord, which actually impresses Sata, but her compliment is cut off by a communique from Livia alerting him to the Decepticon attack. The "Xetaxxians" choose that moment to reveal they are, in fact, Dire Wraiths in disguise, as Vekktral and Astrotrain burst out of hiding to join in assaulting the Autobots. Magnus saves 'Bee from an attempted possession by a Wraith, but Sata takes a bad hit; Magnus orders his two smaller teammates to withdraw and get to the energon synthesizer, and they reluctantly comply, leaving Magnus to face Astrotrain and the Wraiths alone...

In the rubble of where she has fallen, Stardrive cradles the bodies of the dead Xetaxxans she failed to save. Believing the only way left to protect the planet is to simply destroy the energon synthesizer, thereby condemning herself to death, she aims her neutralizer at the device... whereupon Starscream steps out the shadows and invites her to talk the matter out. The conversation is surprisingly brief: Starscream can have the synthesizer, Stardrive says, if he leaves Xetaxxis and takes every last Wraith with him.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Don't even consider leaving the torch behind. That would be a violation of the Tyrest Accord."
"Ut ut! The Tyrest Accord prohibits trading technology. If I gave them something—"
"Trading in sympathy is still a crime."

—Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee

"Take the Cybertronians! For the good of Wraithkind—we must master these mechanical monsters!"
"Hey, I'm right here, guy."

—Vekktral and Astrotrain

"Come at me, Wraiths. There's a few articles of the Tyrest Accord I want to explain to you."

—Ultra Magnus's equivalent of trash talk

Notes

Continuity notes

Livia recalls the death of Rom's brother, Reyn, as a result of the machinations of the Dire Wraiths, as seen in the 2017 Rom annual. It was in this same story that Rom's past as a geologist was also touched on.
Stardrive's unusual affinity with her symbiotic Space Knight armor is yet more evidence for its apparent Cybertronian origins, as previously indicated by Revolution #3 and the ROM Annual.

Transformers references

The Xetaxxians are loosely styled after their appearance in the Generation 1 cartoon episode "The Quintesson Journal." Their "Tusken Raider"-esque robes and wrappings are reinterpreted as cold weather clothing, complete with ushanka-style fur hats, but retain their maroon, blue, and purple coloration from the cartoon. The most significant departure, of course, is that they are depicted as organic creatures, where the cartoon Xetaxxans were robots; their metallic faces are here reimagined as respirator masks worn to survive in the planet's harsh, frozen climate.

Real life references

When Vekktral speaks of Rom, Starscream misunderstands and thinks he is talking about read-only memory, the form of data storage for which, in real life, Rom was named.
As Vekktral menaces Sata, Magnus opens fire on him and yells "Get away from her, you bug!", paraphrasing the famous line from Aliens.

Errors

As Ultra Magnus' explains the Cybertronian war to Rom, Thunderclash is mistakenly colored as Skids in the visual that accompanies his description.
Rom says there are four Cybertronians attacking him, Livia, and Stardrive at the crash site, but the art shows only three, Starscream, Dirge, and Ramjet. With Astrotrain attacking Magnus and Bee, that leaves Blitzwing and Thrust both unaccounted for; tradition would suggest Thrust was supposed to be the fourth.
As in the previous issue, Sky Blast is listed as "Blast Off" on the Roll Call page.

Covers (3)

Cover A: The Dire Wraiths prey on Stardrive, Bumblebee, and Rom, by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
Cover B: Bumblebee tries to stop Rom and Stardrive fighting, by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham
Cover C: Stardrive, Rom, and Livia versus Starscream, Vekktral, and Dirge, by Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove