We start off on Cybertron, kind of out of nowhere. It's kind of a oil-bath, since we lose a lot of characters in pretty quick succession. But, they're all trying to rescue...someone. I honestly can't tell who it's supposed to be, because they've basically been put through a chop-shop and stripped for parts, for some reason. It MIGHT be Ultra Magnus? But, later on in the issue Arcee mentions Ultra Magnus already being dead. So, maybe it's Windcharger or someone else? Whoever it is, it looks like they have a "blue" head and red shoulders. That's all I can really make out, right now.
I do feel bad for the Kup, Huffer, and Warpath fans, though. I don't expect these characters to stay dead, but it's rough that they're really only here to be blown into little bits.
Then we get Soundwave challenging Starscream for the leader of the Decepticons. And...they don't fight fair when leadership on the line.
"You kicked my Ravage" OOOOH...that's the GOOD karmic comeuppance, right there. This fight is so one sided, I love it. Yeah, this cover is a liar. And I'm okay with that. Soundwave rips out Starscream's "heart" and plans on using his parts to repair everyone else. Soundwave is now the leader of the Decepticons! *looks over at the Cobra Commander mini* Well...for now, anyway.
...And then we go back to Carly talking to Arcee about being mad at Cliffjumper. Yeah, do you see my complaint about maybe switching some of these pages around? It's not bad, Arcee does blow up some cans real good. But, after those last two scenes, it's really hard to compete.
Also, she is not "Arbee". She does NOT have the MEATS!
Spike's still kind of sad about his dad being dead, which is fair. But, he doesn't seem mad at Optimus about it. Which is nice.
We DO see that Optimus now has memories from Sparkplug about Spike as a baby. So, yeah, I guess Optimus did absorb some of Sparkplug's mind or "soul" when he entered the Matrix. That's....weird, but I'm here for it. I'm willing to see where they go with this.
And...Skywarp is still aware while being hooked up to Teletraan inside a wall. That's...kind of a horrifying visual. They just plugged him into a hole in the wall to repair the computer, I guess.
And the Autobots decide to take the fight to the Decepticons!
...Cool, but I still think they should have ended this issue on Soundwave winning the leadership of the Decepticons.