At Fight's End

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Featuring a cast of none of these!
"At Fight's End"
Publisher	Fun Publications
First published	December 23, 2009
Written by	Pete Sinclair and Jesse Wittenrich
Illustrations by	Evan Gauntt
Continuity	Classics
Page count	12pp

The Decepticon Civil War comes to a close as Megatron advances on Bludgeon.

Synopsis

Ratchet reflects on the war; on why it continued for so long after so many friends were lost. On Earth, Optimus Prime and his Autobots continue to defend the humans from Megatron’s Decepticons. Some Autobots, like Nightbeat and his crew, have abandoned the war…but for every Autobot like him, dozens others, like the crew of the Graviton, are willing to continue on with the fight. Ratchet notes the irony in that the one who made it all so clear to him was the one who started it all; Megatron…

On the Ark, Megatron reflects as well. How much easier it was to take Earth’s resources than he initially made it, by manipulating the leaders of humanity instead of the old smash and grab tactic. Ratchet notes that he understands why he continues to maintain that old image, even to his underlings; only he and Shockwave know of Megatron’s true nature. What he does not understand is why Megatron keeps him alive-after all, their mental link was severed long ago. Megatron, however, remembers the bond they made long before that, and has come to consider Ratchet as his friend. Megatron asks an aghast Ratchet if it bothers him that Optimus never came to check on him, to never even see if his “old friend” was still alive. Ratchet refutes him, and shares his belief that Megatron will be defeated. Undeterred, Megatron tells his “friend” the truth of all Cybertronians; they fight not to win or lose, but for another reason entirely. And Optimus knows this as well…

Ratchet insists that Megatron is wrong, that Prime fights to end him, but Megatron has heard the rumors from Cybertron; that with no one to fight, Prime struggled, and that Megatron's return gave him purpose once more. Megatron points out his forces are small, and that Prime could end this war at any time. Ignoring Ratchet's further protests, Megatron turns to three of his underlings on the viewscreen: Starscream, Octane, and Thundercracker. All three report that Bludgeon and his Decepticon faction are acting exactly as anticipated. Thundercracker notes that it won't be long before Bludgeon discovers that there is a mole, exactly as Megatron counts on...

On Bludgeon's starship, the Decepticon Pretender observes a holographic display of Earth, ready to cut the tumor that he feels Megatron has become from the heart of the Decepticon empire. Snaptrap reports that preparations have gone well, but Darkwing reports that they have a problem; their tactics have been compromised. Bludgeon's anger is initially directed at the former Powermaster, since he was the one who organized the construction of the Decepticons network, but it reaches fiery new heights when Darkwing reveals it was done from the inside. Darkwing tracks down the signature of the ‘Con who leaked the info, and Bludgeon, enraged that someone would side with a dinosaur like Megatron, has Snaptrap gather his Seacons...

Inside the armory, Hun-Grrr is working on the planetary defense cannons. Hearing Bludgeon and his entourage come in, the Terrorcon tries to offer them some Energon stars, only for Bludgeon to accuse him of being a traitor. Enraged, Hun-Grrr pulls his gun out on the Decepticon leader, only for it to be halved by the Pretender. Before he can strike down Hun-Grrr, Blot rushes to his commander's defense, knocking Bludgeon to the ground. Snaptrap engages Hun-Grrr personally, pushing the Terrorcon's anger to the max. Hun-Grrr shouts the vocal command to combine, and the 5 Terrorcons merge into Abominus, barely fitting inside the armory. Unable to fight the beast individually, the Seacons merge in the Piranacon. The combiner's hunter instincts initially give him the edge, blinding the Terrorcon combiner with Overbite’s weapon mode. Unfortunately, the pain causes Abominus to pour more savage strength into his assault, downing Piranacon. Nautilator transforms out of leg mode, joining Overbite in blasting Abominus right below the knees. The two rejoin Piranacon in opposite place, and the Seacon combiner knocks down Abominus with Nautilator's gun mode. Piranacon ends the fight by stabbing Abominus through the chest, forcing all five components into stasis lock. Bludgeon has Crankcase and his crew dispose of the traitor, and has the Seacons, individual once more, return with him to plan a counterattack. Back at the command hub, Bludgeon and the Seacons prepare for the assault. The Decepticon Pretender is entirely focused on the incoming data-so focused, in fact, he doesn't notice Seawing taking his katana as he hands him a data report. Bludgeon notes that Megatron's strategy, Offensive Strategy LV-117, is a fool's gambit, and has the Seacons prepare the missiles to disrupt the prong. The Seacons, however, have different ideas; combining into Piranacon once more, Tentakil takes his turn as the weapon, and Piranacon aims the mass compression cannon at Bludgeon. Noticing too late, Bludgeon reaches for his katana, only to find it has been stolen, and only manages to scream out half of Megatron's name before being utterly annihilated.

Out in space, Starscream considers Bludgeon a fool; if anyone was to kill Megatron, it would be him, face to face. Astrotrain reports that the defenses have been lowered, and Soundwave receives the coded surrender signal. Despite himself, Starscream gives Megatron credit; the Decepticon forces will now be once more under one command, and soon, Starscream will usurp that command...but not today. In the command hub, Snaptrap reports to Megatron, the Decepticon leader pleased that for at least one Decepticon, the war is now over. Picking up Ratchet's prone form, Megatron takes him to a CR chamber, placing him within the liquid interior. Megatron leaves his old friend with the ultimate truth of the Transformers; they do not fight to win or lose, for good or evil, but because the war is who they are. Megatron leaves his old base behind, as Ratchet is dissembled and rebuilt...

Sometime later, Ratchet, now reformatted into a whole new body, is greeted by some familiar faces; Optimus, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker. Celebrating their friends return, Ratchet can only watch as his old home burns to the ground, his last chance for final peace going down with it. Back at Autobot headquarters, Ratchet observes his new medical tools, so much like weapons of war, and thinks...Megatron was right, after all.

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in the prelude comic.)

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

• Mentioned characters include: Shockwave, one lone human, and Ma-Grrr.

Continuity notes

• Set some time after "Games of Deception", this story follows Megatron's quest to wrest back control of the spacebound Decepticons from Bludgeon.
• Optimus Prime and Jetfire were part of the Autobot Earthforce in the "Crossing Over" storyline. Sunstreaker and Ironhide were revived by Grimlock using Nucleon in Marvel The Transformers issue #74/#75, while Sideswipe was last seen among those rescuing Buster Witwicky in issue #50.
• Dirge, Thrust, and Thundercracker were all part of Bludgeon's Decepticon faction, placed under Bug Bite's command in "Games of Deception"; evidently, they've defected to Megatron after their failed assassination attempt on him. Ramjet, Starscream, Astrotrain, and Soundwave were already under Megatron's command, as seen in the "Crossing Over" storyline.
• Nightbeat, Siren, Sludge, Slag, and the rest settled on Purgatory in Timelines issue "Cheap Shots".
• Elita-1, Snarl, and Springer were last seen departing Earth with the rest of the Graviton's crew in "Games of Deception". Drag Strip was among the various characters who simply stopped showing up right before issue #50, leaving us to presume he was among those killed by the Underbase-powered Starscream. Overkill and Acid Storm, meanwhile, make their first appearances in Classics continuity here.
• Ratchet and Shockwave were seen being kept alive by Megatron in "Games of Deception" (Shockwave being reduced to a head).
• Ratchet and Megatron's nervous systems were bonded together at the molecular level after being lost in unspace in issue #59, as noted by Fixit in issue #70. Shockwave, however, managed to separate the link years ago. Megatron notes they are still bonded through the Rite of Oneness, preformed in issue #7.
• Ratchet notes he was only able to make one friend among the humans after waking up from the initial crash; evidently, this is Buster Witwicky.
• The Ark crashed for a second time in issue #78.
• Optimus Prime's bio in the club magazine noted that with the war ended, he felt like he had lost his purpose; something that Megatron brings up here.
• Ratchet is noted to be the only Autobot left online after Shockwave defeated them, as seen in issue #5. Megatron remembers when Ratchet pushed him off a cliff in issue #8.
• Megatron remembers the only time that Prime used overt action was during the "Underbase fiasco" millions of years ago, as seen in issue #48.
• Bludgeon and his forces were last seen in issue #80, with several mentioned in between in various bios and comics.
• Octane was among those offlined by Starscream in issue #50.
• The Seacons were among those offlined by Starscream in issue #50. Their bios noted how they were rebuilt and upgraded with new weapons, along with Snaptrap's increase in rank.
• Darkwing was noted by Dreadwind in "Games of Deception" to have remained with Bludgeon's main forces.
• The Terrorcons were offlined by Starscream in issue #50.
• Battletrap, Crankcase, and Krok were last seen among Bludgeon's forces in issue 80. Storm Cloud was last seen in issue #68 being taken offline by Dynamo. Gutcruncher appears for the first time in Classics continuity.
• Crankcase's waste disposal expertise was noted in his Universe profile.

Transformer references

• Many characters have been given new bodies based on concurrent toys.
  • Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe are all in their Universe toy bodies.
  • Drag Strip and Overkill are in their Universe Special Edition toy bodies (Overkill already had a Classics toy from BotCon 2007's customization class, but it's easy to understand why the Universe one was drawn instead). Acid Storm is based on his Universe toy.
  • Octane is in his Universe toy body (which was called "Tankor" due to trademark issues).
  • The Seacons are in their Timelines bodies.
  • While never stated, Darkwing and Storm Cloud are likely in their Universe Ultra-class bodies. Darkwing is noted to be a former Powermaster, at the least, and Storm Cloud is among those helping take the massive Abominus out of the armory.
  • Hun-Grrr is in his Universe Legends-class body. The other Terrorcons remain in their Generation 1 bodies.
  • Ratchet is reformatted by the CR Chamber into his Henkei toy body.
• Offensive Strategy LV-117 is named for LV-117, the planet Wheelie was stranded on in "Spotlight: Wheelie".

Real-world references

• The Terrax Lanlak-4 planetary defense cannon is named for Marvel character Terrax, who, before becoming a Herald of Galactus, was the ruler of the city-state Lanlak on his home planet of Birj.
• Hun-Grrr uses a sonic screwdriver while working; the sonic screwdriver is a device used by the Doctor on Doctor Who.
• Among the military tactics Bludgeon knows is Mok Bara (A Klingon martial art from Star Trek), Pel Taan (an Andorian martial art from a Star Trek roleplaying game), and Savate (French kickboxing).
• The missile co-ordinates "L3-Delta5-point 2" are a reference to GoBots Renegade Loco. The "L" stand for Loco, the Delta stands for D-51, the type of engine he transforms into, and the "5-point 2" is the rounded up version of 5.147 (5147 being the number printed on Loco. The 3, meanwhile, comes from a knockoff of Loco owned by co-author Jesse Wittenrich, which changed the number to D-5443.

Errors

• Nautilator and Overbite still have their original guns.

Other trivia

• The events of this story follow a 3-page prelude comic printed in issue #30 of the official Transformers Collectors' Club magazine.
• Hun-Grrr apparently has a mother named "Ma-Grrr".
• Hun-Gurrr's name is spelled "Hun-Grrr". Previous Marvel continuity material spelled it "Hun-Grr".
• Ratchet sports "red cross" markings on his shoulders. Considering the symbol is a trademark owned by the International Committee of the Red Cross, who previously took Hasbro to court over its use on a Transformers toy,^[1] this is a flub that certainly shouldn't have slipped through.

References

External links

• "At Fight's End" at The Official Transformers Collectors' Club