The Transformers: Spotlight

The Transformers: Spotlight is a comic book series of one-shot issues, published by IDW Publishing.

The Transformers: Spotlight
Issue #1 featuring Shockwave
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Format	One shots
Publication date	September 2006 – April 2010 December 2012 – May 2013
No. of issues	31
Main character(s)	Transformers
Creative team
Created by	Hasbro

The series consists of single-issue stories based in IDW's Generation 1 fictional universe, each featuring an individual character. Split in volumes of 5, the first volume featured Shockwave, Nightbeat, Hot Rod, Sixshot, and Ultra Magnus. The second featured Soundwave, Kup, Galvatron, Optimus Prime and Ramjet. The third featured Blaster, Arcee, Mirage and Grimlock and Wheelie, with four more issues comprising The Transformers: Revelation. Although the Shockwave and Nightbeat issues were numbered #1 and #2 respectively, individual numbering for the series was abandoned with the Hot Rod issue as the series expanded beyond five issues. In addition to being stand-alone, most of these issues tie into the main series, and offer additional context.

Issues

Character	Writer	Penciller	Release
Shockwave	Simon Furman	Nick Roche	September 2006[1]
Shockwave, predicting the end of Cybertron, seeds prehistoric Earth with Energon. The Dynobots attack in dinosaur forms, but Shockwave defeats them, blasting off their synthetic skin and rendering them subject to the Energon's radiation. Grimlock set off a trap however, causing a volcano to erupt and bury them all in lava. Megatron gives Bludgeon the task of investigating Shockwave, while paleontologists uncover Shockwave and the Dynobots in present-day Eureka, Nevada.[2]
Nightbeat	Simon Furman	MD Bright	October 2006
Nightbeat, investigating the disappearance of the Ark-1 and the murder of a trader, is captured by the Micromasters and Galvatron. A device is implanted into his brain, making him a sleeper agent for the Dead Universe, and his memory of his imprisonment is erased. Optimus Prime summons Nightbeat to Earth.[3]
Hot Rod	Simon Furman	Nick Roche	November 2006
Hot Rod and his team fail to take the "Magnificence", and Hot Rod goes on a mission to rescue the only other survivor, Dealer from a Decepticon prison. Dealer/Doubledealer actually works for Banzai-Tron, who ordered Dealer to disrupt the original mission, and wants the Magnificence for himself.[4]
Sixshot	Simon Furman	Rob Ruffolo	December 2006
Sixshot tracks down the missing Terrorcons to the planet Muma-Obscura. There he confronts the Reapers, who reveal that they were once pure weapons of mass destruction like him, but they banded together to destroy the most war-like species. They offer membership if Sixshot kills the Terrorcons: Sixshot refuses, and the Reapers leave, promising they'll meet again.[5]
Ultra Magnus	Simon Furman	Robby Musso	January 2007
Ultra Magnus catches Swindle, who is guilty of violating the Tyrest Accord— an agreement between the Autobots and Decepticons that they shall not supply their technology to less-advanced races. Swindle buys his way out by telling Magnus Scorponok is on the planet Nebulos. There, Scorponok works with the Zarak Corporation to create cyborgs, but Magnus' attack ends this operation. Later, Magnus recaptures Swindle, who again attempts to buy his way out.[6]
Soundwave	Simon Furman	Marcelo Matere	March 2007
In 1984 on Earth, Soundwave discovers that Bludgeon intends to use the energon seeded by Shockwave to reanimate Thunderwing. He is stasis-locked, and Bludgeon's group leave him to die as Mount St. Helens erupts. A year later, the organization Skywatch recovers Ravage and Laserbeak's bodies. In the present, two teenagers discuss buying Soundwave, still stuck in cassette player form, from a pawn shop in Oregon.[7]
Kup	Nick Roche	Nick Roche	April 2007
A team of Autobots are attempting to rescue Kup from a planet filled with crystals, which has driven him insane. He believes the Autobots are demons, and fights them off. Trailbreaker is called in, and his force field allows Kup to recognize him. Kup is rescued, just as his spark core fails. Though he is repaired, his mind may never heal.[8]
Galvatron	Simon Furman	Guido Guidi	July 2007
Galvatron emerges from the Dead Universe, and attacks an Autobot unit consisting of Hound and Sideswipe, retrieving the body of Thunderwing. Flashbacks reveal Galvatron was the pilot of the Ark-1, and it is hinted his indestructibility comes from the fact he is dead.[9]
Optimus Prime	Simon Furman	Don Figueroa	August 2007
Concerned with a vision he had of Nova Prime, Optimus Prime seeks guidance from Omega Supreme, a contemporary of Nova. Omega explains Nova was a corrupt expansionist, and the Ark-1 was intentionally piloted into the Dead Universe. Omega also reveals the existence of Monstructor, an experiment of Nova's strategist, Jhiaxus. The new combination process made Monstructor go insane, and Omega imprisoned him after Nova disappeared. Optimus denounces Omega for not helping Monstructor, and Jetfire's team is given the task of salvaging the gestalt technology. Omega warns of the dangers of the Decepticons gaining the technology.[10]
Ramjet	Stuart Moore	Robby Musso	November 2007
Still on Earth after the events of New Avengers/Transformers, Ramjet makes plans to overthrow Megatron and take command of the Decepticons. With an elaborate plan involving facsimiles giving him launch codes for America's nuclear missiles, and a device that allowed him to locate Cybertronians all over the galaxy, Ramjet attempts to put it into action, dreaming of subjugating Earth and building a Space Bridge in the process - but Megatron finds him and kills him before this can go any further.[11]
Blaster	Simon Furman	Emiliano Santalucia	January 2008
Recovered from space after being shot and set adrift in space by a traitor, Blaster, once the voice of the Autobot resistance, is plagued by self-doubt, as he is not capable of his inspirational speaking any more. However, more assassination attempts reveal the traitor is still around as well. It turns out to be Beachcomber, mind controlled by Soundwave's cerebro shell. Blaster talks him down by reminding him of his inner strength to resist, and Beachcomber collapses. An angry Blaster then vows to hunt Soundwave down.[12]
Arcee	Simon Furman	Alex Milne	February 2008
After being captured by Ultra Magnus, Arcee is detained in Garrus-9, where the component Transformers of Monstructor are also being held. The facility is attacked by the Combaticons, and Fortress Maximus reluctantly releases Arcee to fight them. She forces them to flee, but not before they take the Monstructor Transformers. Realising she can track them, as they were all created by Jhiaxus, Maximus and Jetfire reluctantly release her to track them down.[13]
Mirage	George Strayton	Guido Guidi	March 2008
In an alternate universe Mirage is a free agent working for the Decepticons, helping them to track down the final Autobots. He forces their surrender after a vicious battle by threatening to kill Jetfire, and, goaded on by Megatron, he begins executing the prisoners. Trying to reach his former friend, Prime knocks Mirage into a wall of Zodiac Energy, causing the memories of him and the main IDW-verse Mirage to overlap.[14]
Grimlock	Simon Furman	Marcelo Matere	April 2008[15]
After the events of Devastation Skywatch reactivate Grimlock, hoping to use him against the other Transformers. The reawakening is sabotaged by the Machination, leading Grimlock to rampage across the country. Scorponok appears and offers an alliance, as they are both now fugitives. Grimlock refuses and is nearly killed by the Headmaster, but teleports to the Dynobots old ship. Grimlock vows to free his comrades as Skywatch proceed with their reactivation - unaware the Machination will be controlling them.[16]
Wheelie	Simon Furman	Klaus Scherwinski	June 2008
Marooned on a wild planet after his courier ship crashes, a tougher and more survivalist Wheelie encounters a crashed Decepticon ship and a shapeshifting alien captured by Spectro and Spyglass in a ruined city. Adopting his familiar rhyming talk to communicate with the alien, Wheelie sacrifices his own chance at escaping in a rocket to save its life but sabotages the ship, destroying the Decepticons. They settle in for the long haul, unaware that paintings in the city show the Quintessons.[17]
Cyclonus (Revelation)	Simon Furman	E. J. Su	June 2008
Sent by Nemesis Prime to activate the Nega-Core, Cyclonus instead detoured to Cybertron, becoming enraged by the cataclysm that had befallen his planet. He took out his anger on the nearest source - Hound's crew of Autobots. With his undead nature rendering him unkillable, they were very quickly in trouble. Cyclonus was eventually driven off by Ultra Magnus; realising he had been diverted too long, he fled to set up his real mission. He activated the Nega-Core, but was reluctant to activate its guardian. However, when the Autobots attacked, he had no choice and summoned it - Thunderwing. As it distracted them, Cyclonus made his escape, followed by one of Magnus' drones.[18]
Hardhead (Revelation)	Simon Furman	Nick Roche	July 2008
Doubledealer (Revelation)	Simon Furman	Dan Khanna	August 2008
Sideswipe (Revelation)	Simon Furman	E.J. Su	October 2008
Blurr	Shane McCarthy	Casey Coller	November 2008
Jazz	Josh Van Reyk and Shaun Knowler	E.J. Su	April 2009
Drift	Shane McCarthy	Casey Coller	May 2009
Cliffjumper	Shane McCarthy	Robby Musso	June 2009
Metroplex	Andy Schmidt	Marcelo Matere	July 2009
Prowl	Mike Costa	E.J. Su	April 2010
Orion Pax	James Roberts	Steve Kurth	December 2012
Thundercracker	John Barber	Chee	January 2013
Megatron	Nick Roche	Nick Roche	February 2013
Bumblebee	John Barber	David Daza	March 2013
Trailcutter	James Roberts	Matt Frank	April 2013
Hoist	James Roberts	Agustin Padilla	May 2013

Continuity

Shockwave was a prequel to The Transformers: Infiltration (January–June 2006) and Stormbringer (July–October 2006). It explains the source of the energon used in both stories, the former being the one Starscream empowers himself with, and the latter being used by Bludgeon to resurrect Thunderwing. It also shows Bludgeon possessing Shockwave's laboratory which he later uses to find the Ultra Energon to re-power Thunderwing, as shown in Soundwave.[19] Most of the Spotlights were all touched upon in Escalation (November 2006–April 2007): Scorponok was hinted to be working on the same process with the human organization the Machination,[20] and Laserbeak and Ravage are shown as captives of Skywatch.[21] Sixshot and the Reapers appear in Devastation (October 2007–February 2008), having been summoned by Megatron.[21]

Nightbeat, Galvatron and Optimus Prime touched upon the Dead Universe storyline, which is to be a major focus of The Transformers: Revelation.[22] Thunderwing is killed at the conclusion of Stormbringer, when his corpse is taken in Galvatron,[19] and Optimus Prime is set after Escalation, where he had a vision after being beaten unconscious by Megatron.[21] Ramjet was introduced in the New Avengers/Transformers crossover [23] with his Spotlight taking place concurrently with Escalation. Arcee takes place concurrently with issue 5 of The Transformers: Devastation,[24] with Prime pulling the Autobots from Earth as a direct result of what happened in that issue. Arcee also acts as a sequel to Optimus Prime, picking up on many themes introduced in that story, such as the fate of the Monster Pretenders and the introduction of Jhiaxus. Grimlock follows up on both Grimlock being recovered by Skywatch and the Machination plotline in Devastation, as well as acting as a sequel of sorts to Shockwave.

The issues focusing on Cyclonus, Hardhead, Doubledealer and Sideswipe were four interrelated issues which comprise The Transformers: Revelation, which was a direct continuation story from The Transformers: Devastation.[25]

Drift and Metroplex are prelude stories to All Hail Megatron.

References

1. "Back-issue Review: Spotlight: Shockwave". Eat Your Comics. January 20, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-01-16.
2. Simon Furman (w), Nick Roche (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Shockwave (September 2006), IDW Publishing
3. Simon Furman (w), MD Bright (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Nightbeat (October 2006), IDW Publishing
4. Simon Furman (w), Nick Roche (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Hot Rod (November 2006), IDW Publishing
5. Simon Furman (w), Rob Ruffolo (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Sixshot 4 (December 2006), IDW Publishing
6. Simon Furman (w), Robby Musso (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Ultra Magnus (January 2007), IDW Publishing
7. Simon Furman (w), Marcelo Matere (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Soundwave (March 2007), IDW Publishing
8. Nick Roche (w), Nick Roche (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Kup (April 2007), IDW Publishing
9. Simon Furman (w), Guido Guidi (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Galvatron (July 2007), IDW Publishing
10. Simon Furman (w), Don Figueroa (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Optimus Prime (August 2007), IDW Publishing
11. Stuart Moore (w), Robby Musso (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Ramjet (November 2007), IDW Publishing
12. Simon Furman (w), Emiliano Santalucia (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Blaster (January 2008), IDW Publishing
13. Simon Furman (w), Alex Milne (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Arcee (February 2008), IDW Publishing
14. George Strayton (w), Guido Guidi (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Mirage (March 2008), IDW Publishing
15. Sunde, Eric (23 April 2008). "Transformers Spotlight: Grimlock Review". IGN. News Corp. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15.
16. Simon Furman (w), Marcelo Matere (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Grimlock (April 2008), IDW Publishing
17. Simon Furman (w), Klaus Scherwinski (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Wheelie (June 2008), IDW Publishing
18. Simon Furman (w), E.J. Su (p). The Transformers: Spotlight Cyclonus (June 2008), IDW Publishing
19. Simon Furman (w), Don Figueroa (p). The Transformers: Stormbringer 4 (October 2006), IDW Publishing
20. Simon Furman (w), E. J. Su (p). The Transformers: Escalation 5 (March 2007), IDW Publishing
21. Simon Furman (w), E. J. Su (p). The Transformers: Escalation 6 (April 2007), IDW Publishing
22. Arune Singh (2007-03-18). "WWLA: SIMON FURMAN TALKS "TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: GALVATRON"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
23. Stuart Moore (w), Tyler Kirkham (p). New Avengers/Transformers 2 (August 2007), Marvel Comics/IDW Publishing
24. Simon Furman (w), E. J. Su (p). The Transformers: Devastation 5 (February 2008), IDW Publishing
25. Simon Furman (2008-03-13). "Revelations!". Simon Furman. Retrieved 2008-03-15.

External links

• Official site