« Transformers Armada #17 »
Reap the whirlwind, Optimus Prime!
"Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4"
Publisher	Dreamwave Productions
First published	November 12, 2003
Cover date	November 2003
Writer	Simon Furman
Penciled by	Don Figueroa
Inks by	Elaine To, Rob Armstrong
Colors by	David Cheung
Additional colors by	Eric Burns, Rob Ruffolo
Letters by	Ben Lee
Editor-in-chief	Roger Lee
Continuity	Dreamwave Armada continuity

Jetfire attempts to destroy the space bridge nexus on Cybertron, while Optimus Prime frantically tries to find a way to stop Unicron.

Synopsis

At Silver Ridge, the Mini-Cons have found Over-Run's null-reality pod. Over-Run says that it requires the optimum combination of Mini-Con energy to power it and retrieve Optimus Prime: himself, Sparkplug, and one other. Comettor, eager to explore a new reality, volunteers, and they start waiting for the spatial coordinates from Autobase. On the alternate Cybertron, Spinister decides that the chaos of the end is as it should be, and willingly lets himself get sucked into Unicron. As Optimus Prime begins to lose hope, a bubble of energy surrounds him, and Unicron speaks to him through a spectral image of the late Spinister. He knows that Optimus Prime is from another reality. He says that this reality, too, had an Optimus Prime, and that he took him to the brink of death and sent him on as a calling card to the next world. "This reality will be consumed", Unicron says. "Then another, and another. Already, the gateway is opening!"

Down in the Decepticon Command Headquarters, Jetfire's team has found the space bridge nexus, and he orders it shut down. Through the space bridge portals, he sees glimpses of other realities, including what he thinks is his own era's Optimus Prime. Blurr tells him that the controls are locked out, and it will take a long time to bypass them. Jetfire says to simply blow it up. On Earth, Unicron's Heralds have thoroughly trashed Thrust, and learned nothing. Suddenly, Thunderwing detects that the nexus on Cybertron has been compromised, and they prepare to return and defend it.

Megatron, meanwhile, is gloating over the remaining pieces of Galvatron, who has been completely torn apart by the power of the Star Saber. Realizing that they can't let Megatron hang onto it, the Land Military Mini-Con Team fires on him, allowing the Air Defense Mini-Con Team to separate and fly off.

In the Autobase, Payload and Astroscope finally lock onto Optimus Prime, and send the coordinates to Over-Run, who immediately takes off in the pod. Up in the Decepticon Command Headquarters, Jetfire and his team are interrupted by the return of Bludgeon. As they start to fight him off, the other three heralds step through a portal behind them, and to top it all off, the timer on the self-destruct sequence is locked out. Jetfire says that he will stay behind and detonate it manually, and orders everyone out. As they leave, he catches another glimpse of Optimus Prime through a portal. Taking his chances, he arms the explosives and dives through, just as the entire base goes up in flames.

Jetfire hears his name being called, and looks up to see Optimus Prime, clinging for dear life to a piece of wreckage. He explains that it is the end of the world, and wishes he could do something. Suddenly Over-Run, Sparkplug, and Comettor appear. Over-Run gives him the device he's been carrying with him, explaining that it is the Matrix of his universe: the combined essence of all the Mini-Cons. Its energy gives all five mechs a power surge, altering their forms. Optimus Prime and Jetfire combine into their super mode and blast Unicron. While the chaos bringer is hurt, he is not slowed. Optimus Prime remarks that it is too late for this universe, but perhaps he can save his own, and Over-Run transports them all back to their own Cybertron. There they contact Autobase: Earth. Red Alert explains that the Decepticons have withdrawn, but they're all in bad shape, and Smokescreen may not survive. If the Decepticons renew their attack, they'll never make it. Optimus Prime says that he's going down to deal with Megatron himself. He has to make him understand that their only hope for defeating Unicron is to work together.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Sorry, Megatron- but this was never meant to be more than a one-battle stand..."
"We're--"
"--Not that type of Mini-Con!"

—Runway, Jetstorm, and Sonar are freed from Megatron's grasp

"Old friend, now more than ever I could use your power."
"Prime-- it's all yours!"

—Optimus and Sparkplug Power-link

Notes

Transformers references

• In the space bridge nexus room, Jetfire sees portals connecting to corners of the Transformers continuum that include Beast Wars, Robots in Disguise, Beast Machines, and Beast Wars Neo.

Errors

• Page 10: Jetstorm gets a word bubble meant for Runway.
• Page 13: Missing punctuation after the word "go" in Jetfire's order.
• Comettor's name is continuously misspelled as "Commetor" in this issue.
• Page 12: In the IDW Omnibus reprint of this issue, the speech bubbles from page 17 are placed over the original art, instead of the correct ones, rendering the whole page incomprehensible. This error is not present in the original issue.

Other trivia

• Spinister has his name in Japanese writing, スピニスタ (Supinisuta), on his tail.
• The Mini-Con Matrix energy changes Prime, Sparkplug, Jetfire, and Comettor into their "Powerlinx" toys' colors (well, in Sparkplug's case, his "Corona" body.)
• When Optimus Prime's internals are visible during his Powerlinx upgrade, Don Figueroa drew "robo-genitals" as a gag, hoping no one would notice. Matt Moylan did, and edited them out.^[1] Years later, he joked that Don was "ahead of [his] time."^[2]
• The Wavelengths page advertises the new Energon series and contains an article from the desk of Pat Lee.
• On the DW Letters page, mail is answered by Matt Moylan.

Covers (1)

• Optimus Prime on the disintegrating Cybertron, art by Don Figueroa.

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• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
• More Than Meets The Eye #8
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• Duel Masters #2 (back cover)

Reprints

• Transformers Armada: Volume 3: Worlds Collide (April 28, 2004) ISBN 0973381744 / ISBN 978-0973381740

• Collects issues #12–18.
• Bonus material includes a cover gallery and a preview of the Energon comic.

• Transformers Armada Vol. 3 (Japan ed.) (December, 2004) ISBN 4861760631 / ISBN 978-4861760631

• Same content as Dreamwave's volume 3, translated to Japanese.

• The Transformers: The Best of Don Figueroa (August 1, 2007) ISBN 1600100813 / ISBN 978-1600100819

• Reprints this issue and various Transformers stories from Dreamwave Productions and IDW Publishing.

• Transformers Armada Vol. 7 (Spain ed.) (September, 2007) ISBN 978-8498472264

• Reprints issues 16–18, translated to Spanish.

• Transformers Armada: Volume 3 (IDW reprint) (April 15, 2009) ISBN 1600104029 / ISBN 978-1600104022

• Straight reprint of the Dreamwave trade with same contents.

• Transformers Armada: Omnibus (August 18, 2010) ISBN 160010715X / ISBN 978-1600107153

• Contains issues 1–18.
• Bonus material includes the Armada Preview issue.
• Reissued in 2016 with a new cover.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection Volume 28: Worlds Collide Part 2 (October 3, 2018)

• Collects issues #14–18 and Dreamwave's Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #8
• Includes a brief overview of Dreamwave's Energon comic, a bonus glossary section dedicated entirely to background material from the Dreamwave G1-verse, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.

• 

  Transformers Armada:
  Volume 3: Worlds Collide

• 

  Transformers Armada:
  Volume 3 (Japan ed.)

• 

  The Best of Don Figueroa

• 

  Transformers Armada:
  Volume 7 (Spain ed.)

• 

  Transformers Armada:
  Volume 3 (IDW reprint)

• 

  Transformers Armada: Omnibus

• 

  Transformers Armada: Omnibus (reissue)

• 

  Definitive G1 Collection Vol. 28: Worlds Collide Part 2

References