Dark Cybertron (IDW)

Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.

"Dark Cybertron" is an "event" storyline published across 2013–2014 by IDW Publishing. A simultaneous celebration of the Transformers brand's 30th anniversary and the second anniversary of IDW's most recent relaunch of their Transformers comic books, the storyline takes place in alternating issues of More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise, with special one-shots released for the first and final chapters. It was produced in conjunction with Hasbro's Transformers: Generations toyline, and both the prelude and the event itself (eighteen issues in all) were packaged with Generations figures, all of which were incorporated into the story.

"Dark Cybertron" was followed by the "Dawn of the Autobots" post-event branding, marketed as a jumping-on point for new readers and introducing the new Windblade mini-series.

Prequels

Planning for "Dark Cybertron" began with Robots in Disguise #6.

The storyline of "Dark Cybertron" was built to almost from the inception of the More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise comics—specifically, in "Syndromica", the side-plot occurring in occasional issues of Robots in Disguise which focused on Orion Pax as he pursued Jhiaxus across the galaxy. In these issues, unexplored and unfinished plot threads from Simon Furman's time as chief architect of the IDW universe six years prior came to the fore, as the extent of Shockwave's Regenesis program was explored and characters that had fallen by the wayside like Bludgeon and Monstructor returned.

Build-up increased at the end of 2012 with the return of the Spotlight series of one-shots, which soon revealed themselves to be pack-ins for upcoming Generations toys. That these issues were preludes to "Dark Cybertron" was not immediately apparent (aside from the fact that they were eventually collected in a trade paperback named Dark Prelude), with all that seemed to link them being a common theme of the Metrotitans and their space bridge capabilities (serving to promote the new Generations Metroplex toy). Once the crossover was underway, however, it became apparent that in addition to the Titans, the Spotlights had been used as a means of stealth-introducing to toy-buying readers unfamiliar with the IDW universe several characters and concepts that would play important roles in Dark Cybertron, such as Nightbeat, Megatron's internal space bridge, and perhaps most significantly, the introduction of Metroplex's severed thumb.

Following the conclusion of Robots in Disguise's first long-form story arc with its sixteenth issue, active promotion for the story's imminent beginning commenced, with all six of the subsequent issues of the title bearing a "Dark Cybertron Prelude" cover box, three of which were used as pack-ins for the next wave of Generations figures. In addition to introducing this new batch of toy characters into the storyline, these issues returned to the Prime side-plot and expanded on Shockwave's involvement in it, and moved other characters into position for the event. Further still, like the Spotlights before them, the issues used as pack-ins also served to provide for buyers a pocket summary of all the relevant IDW history needed to fully appreciate Dark Cybertron—Shockwave's Regenesis program, the general history of Nova Prime and Jhiaxus's era, a basic recap of Robots in Disguise's story up to that point, the Dead Universe, and more. At the same time as this was happening, More than Meets the Eye brought its own first "season" to a close, then followed up with a single "Dark Cybertron Prelude" issue of its own (also a pack-in, introducing new elements that would be key to the event's story) before both series dived into the crossover.

Overview

To bring together the final strands of a long-germinating plan that has been his life's work, Shockwave orchestrates a series of events that cause havoc for the Autobots, Decepticons, and NAILs on three separate fronts. At his behest, Jhiaxus manipulates Orion Pax—the once and former Optimus Prime—into awakening a slumbering Metrotitan on the planet Gorlam Prime. Bringing the Titan to Cybertron, Shockwave combines his Regenesis ores of Regeneration and Death to transform the giant into a zombie "Necrotitan", through which he makes contact with Nova Prime and Galvatron in the Dead Universe. Requiring a space bridge to free the two ancient Cybertronians from their undead realm, Shockwave has the titan unleash a "death plague" upon Iacon; in the chaos that follows, the reanimated Metalhawk is used to retrieve the captive Megatron so that Shockwave can employ the space bridge within his body. The united forces of Bumblebee's Autobots and Soundwave's Decepticons storm Shockwave's Crystal City base and prevent Nova Prime's emergence in the living universe, but Galvatron manages to make the crossing.

Simultaneously, the awakening of the Titan causes Gorlam Prime to collapse into a portal to the Dead Universe, and Pax and his team are only saved from being sucked inside by the timely arrival of the Lost Light. Conferring with Iacon leader Starscream and learning of events on Cybertron, Pax leads a team through the portal into the Dead Universe to try and stop Shockwave's plot from the other side. They encounter and are tricked into a trap by Nova Prime's mind-controlled thrall Nightbeat, but are able to free him, along with Nova's other captive, Kup; Pax destroys Nova, retaking the name of Optimus Prime in the process.

Meanwhile, the Lost Light, charged with tracking down Jhiaxus, is pulled off-course by a summons from the badly-wounded Metroplex, via a severed portion of his thumb the ship had previously encountered. Finding the ancient Autobot and his companions Windblade, Chromia, and Nautica on the ocean planet Hydrophena, the crew defends him and themselves against an army of Shockwave's Ammonite minions and use their ship's engines to give him enough of a power boost to teleport them all back home to Cybertron. They return as the Necrotitan is in the middle of razing Iacon at Shockwave's command; Megatron, having fallen in with Bumblebee, uses his space bridge to teleport Metroplex's thumb—revealed to contain another of Shockwave's ores—from the Lost Light back into its owner's hand, giving him the energy to defeat the Necrotitan and heal the plague.

Unfortunately, all has transpired according to Shockwave's plans: the Ammonites, Lost Light, and Necrotitan were pupeteered to ensure that Metroplex would return to Cybertron and bring the last of the ores with him, while Optimus Prime was deliberately lured into the Dead Universe so that he could destroy Nova Prime and remove his control over its necrotic energies. Using the combined powers of all his ores, fueled by the energy of the Dead Universe—channeled by Jhiaxus's chronal drive, through an unwitting Galvatron—Shockwave intends to bend space and time to his will, collapsing all of reality into a singularity that will be used to feed Cybertron for eternity. As the majority of the Autobots and Decepticons battle the colossal Ammonite army Shockwave summons to the planet, a small team ventures into Crystal City to confront the villains, where they are soon rejoined by Optimus Prime's team, who emerge through a portal to the Dead Universe within the unknowingly-undead Brainstorm. Metalhawk sacrifices himself to unbalance the ore equation, destroying the Ammonites, while Bumblebee is killed by Shockwave; inspired by the words and the sacrifice of his new friend, Megatron dons the Autobot symbol, an action that throws Shockwave into confusion. The scientist's loss of focus causes him to lose control of the chronal drive, setting his mind adrift in time and resulting in the re-emergence of his pre-Shadowplay self. Horrified at what he has become, Shockwave allows Optimus and Megatron to kill him, destroying the drive and bringing an end to his plan.

The event led into a jumping-on point event for the Transformers books titled "Dawn of the Autobots", beginning in Robots in Disguise #28, More than Meets the Eye #28, and the first issue of the new Windblade mini-series, and taking place six months after the end of "Dark Cybertron".

Consequences

Several plot lines were resolved as a result of the crossover, and many characters were repositioned for the IDW universe going forward:

• A number of major and supporting characters were killed, including Bumblebee, Shockwave, Hardhead, Jhiaxus, and Nova Prime.
• Galvatron, Kup, and Nightbeat were re-introduced into the IDW universe after several years' absence.
• Female Transformers other than Arcee, including the "fan-designed" Windblade, were introduced.
• Orion Pax reassumed the mantle of Prime.
• Megatron made the major decision to join the Autobots, and Galvatron took command of the now-leaderless Decepticons.
• The Autobots of the Lost Light and Cybertron reconnected for the first time since the current series began.
• The ongoing plots involving the Dead Universe and the Regenesis ores, introduced in the first few months of IDW's Transformers line in 2005-06, seemingly were permanently resolved.
• The universe still hates Waspinator.

Creative team

"Dark Cybertron" is co-written by Robots in Disguise and More than Meets the Eye authors John Barber and James Roberts. The nature of the issues as toy pack-ins necessitated that work begin on them at the same time as other regular issues of the two ongoings were being produced; as such, with regular artists Andrew Griffith and Alex Milne occupied on their normal issues, artistic duties for the event were primarily divided up between Atilio Rojo, who drew the scenes set on Cybertron, James Raiz, who covered scenes featuring the Lost Light crew, and Livio Ramondelli, who illustrated the portion of the story set in the Dead Universe. Brendan Cahill contributed pages to the first and eleventh chapters, before illustrating the finale, while Nick Roche and newcomer Robert Gill chipped in towards the midpoint of the story. Later into the event, their schedules freed, Milne and Griffith returned to provide art for their respective books final few chapters.

Much was made of the involvement of preeminent mainstream comic book artist Phil Jimenez, who collaborated with Roberts and Barber on the plot, provided layouts for Chapter 1 (finished by Griffith) and 12 (finished by Cahill) and drew several pieces of package art for the Generations toys that were used as "Retailer Incentive" or subscription variant covers for each of the twelve issues. Jiminez's covers initially corresponded to the toy with which each comic came packaged, but this wavered as the crossover went on; this, coupled with some evidently mis-matched pack-ins (Rattrap's and Skywarp's issues were almost certainly switched) suggests that Hasbro may have reshuffled the toyline's wave assortments after the storyline had been organized in advance.

Casey Coller provides a cover for each issue, usually in the regular cover slot, with additional subscription and RI covers provided by a variety of artists, including Griffith, Milne, Raiz, Cahill, Roche, Ramondelli, E. J. Su, and Marcelo Matere.

Collections

• The Transformers: Dark Prelude (August 14, 2013) ISBN 1613777167 / ISBN 978-1613777169
  • Collects Spotlight: Orion Pax, Thundercracker, Megatron, Bumblebee, Trailcutter & Hoist.
  • Each of the characters receiving the Spotlight also had new Deluxe Class toys as part of the 2012–2013 Generations line, 'Thrilling 30'.
  • Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
  • Trade paperback format. New cover art by Nick Roche and Josh Perez.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 1 (April 16, 2014) ISBN 1613778910 / ISBN 978-1613778913
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–25, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–24.
  • Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
  • Trade paperback format.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 2 (June 11, 2014) ISBN 1613779984 / ISBN 978-1613779989
  • Collects Robots in Disguise issues #25–27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material includes covers from each issue.
  • Trade paperback format.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron (February 11, 2015) ISBN 163140072X / ISBN 978-1631400728
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–27, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material includes a 26-page "Behind the Scenes of Transformers: Dark Cybertron #1" by John Barber, with additional commentary by James Roberts, Brendan Cahill, Phil Jiminez, Andrew Griffith, and Carlos Guzman. This in-depth page-by-page breakdown includes script extracts, various stages of lineart, character/location/ship designs, and more!
  • Bonus material includes a cover gallery.
  • Hardcover format.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 59: Dark Cybertron, Part 1 (June 14, 2017)
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–25, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–24.
  • Bonus material includes a bio on the Titans, the making of Dark Cybertron with John Barber and James Roberts, a cover gallery and a forward by Simon Furman.
  • Hardcover format.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 6 (October 18, 2017) ISBN 1684050855 / ISBN 978-1684050857
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–27, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–27, Dark Cybertron Finale, and Windblade (2014) issues #1–4.
  • Hardcover format.

• 

  Dark Prelude – cover art by Nick Roche and Josh Perez

• 

  Dark Cybertron Volume 1 – cover art by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

• 

  Dark Cybertron Volume 2 – cover art by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

• 

  Dark Cybertron – cover art by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 59: Dark Cybertron, Part 1 – cover art by Guido Guidi (Ratchet) and Phil Jimenez/Andrew Griffith (retro)

• 

  The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 6 – cover art by Marcelo Matere and Tom B. Long

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 60: Dark Cybertron, Part 2 (February 21, 2018)
  • Collects Robots in Disguise issues #25–27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Bonus material includes a "blow-by-blow account of Dark Cybertron's hidden secrets", a cover gallery and a forward by Simon Furman.
  • Hardcover format.

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 60: Dark Cybertron, Part 2 – cover art by Mark Brooks (Brainstorm) and Andrew Griffith (retro)

Japanese reprints

The Japanese reprints have been published from Villagebooks, translated by Akihisa Koike. Bonus material includes art from all covers, appearance character commentary, includes a booklet with a commentary written by Akihisa Koike and Eugene Ishikawa.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 1 (March 25, 2022)
  • Collects Dark Cybertron #1, More than Meets the Eye issues #23–25, and Robots in Disguise issues #23–24.
  • Trade paperback format.

• The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 2 (March 25, 2022)
  • Collects Robots in Disguise issues #25–27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–27, and Dark Cybertron Finale.
  • Trade paperback format.

• 

  Dark Cybertron Volume 1 – cover art by Kazumasa Yasukuni.

• 

  Dark Cybertron Volume 2 – cover art by Kazumasa Yasukuni.