Grimlock the Triumphant

	; I am the Golden One ; Who burns just like the sun ; Next time we meet is your disaster
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	February 2, 2022
Cover date	February 2022
Written by	Steve Orlando
Art by	Agustin Padilla
Colors	Jeremy Colwell
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer

Grimlock and Soltron meet in final battle—but to slay a god and free Menonia, Grimlock must make the ultimate gamble.

Synopsis

The Golden One may have fallen, but his master Soltron won't go down without a fight: while Grimlock fights Arko, the newest avatar of the evil sun god, Arnak and Nerea struggle to maintain the magical eclipse that dampens the full extent of Soltron's solar powers, even if it means expending all of their magical energon. A weakened deity is still a deity, however, and as Grimlock struggles to withstand his sorcerous blasts, Soltron takes a moment to gloat: Arko all but welcomed him in, and his control over the girl is absolute. Grimlock snarls that he's nothing but a parasite, who infests and kills his hosts before he moves on to the next target. So long as his spark still burns, he won't do the same to Arko, even if hurting Soltron means hurting her... as he says this, however, a sneering Soltron sends Grimlock flying with a single punch and remarks that his time in Menonia has turned the once-ruthless Dinobot soft. Even when Grimlock retaliates with blaster fire, Soltron mocks him for firing mere warning shots—but Grimlock has a different idea in mind. As he drops his blaster, Grimlock invites Soltron to leave Arko and choose him as his new avatar. In this new body, he can see the universe, on one condition: he can never return here. Bemused by the idea of Grimlock sacrificing everything for one girl, and eager to spread his reign to all the myriad worlds that lie beyond Menonia, Soltron accepts...

As he releases his hold on Arko and fires a beam of golden energy directly into Grimlock's body, a bolt of lightning heralds the arrival of Soltron's immaterial essence as he appears somewhere ... else, in a strange realm somewhere beyond the mortal coil. Soltron quickly realizes that he's been had and shouts for Grimlock to show himself; a second bolt of lightning heralds the arrival of the Dinobot leader as he obliges Soltron's request. This is no trick—after all, Grimlock told him that he'd see a universe, he just never said which one. This metaphysical plane is Grimlock's own spark, his own personal universe... and in this universe, Grimlock rules! It's round two as the pair vie for dominance over the body; disgusted by Soltron's appropriation of the Autobot insignia, the Dinobot leader vows that Soltron will not use his face to oppress the people of Menonia. Soltron thinks otherwise, and screams that his body will oppress Menonia for generations. His incorporeal body might burn under the weight of Soltron's magical assault, but Grimlock growls that he's tricked Soltron into surrendering his greatest power: outside, he's a god, but in here, there's only room for one ruler... Grimlock! In one swift motion, Grimlock rips Soltron's skin from his body, a decisive execution that shatters his avatar and leaves nothing but a burning skeleton. Golden light envelops Soltron's skull as he finally dies, cursing his killer all the while: he hasn't saved the people of Menonia, only prolonged their suffering.

In the real world, Grimlock comes to as a small but familiar hand taps his visor—Arko's hand, whose owner asks if Grimlock still lives. Grimlock's systems slowly come back on line as he groans that Soltron is finally dead; as the eclipse finally ends and the rays of the sun once more bathe Menonia in light, Grimlock announces that, for the first time since he arrived in this strange land, today is a good day. When Arko asks why Grimlock came back after everything that's transpired between them, Grimlock admits that he misunderstood the real meaning of strength: it's not right to fight someone's battles for them, but only a coward would refuse to fight alongside someone. Had Arnak and Nerea not assisted Grimlock, he could not have bested Soltron in combat. When Arko sees her father's prone body, weakened from overexertion, she promptly rushes to his side; although Nerea explains that the strain of maintaining the spell for so long has taken years off Arnak's life, her father explains that he'd gladly do it again if meant saving his daughter. However, their victory has come at a cost; when Soltron died, so too did the magical energon that sustained him lose its arcane power. Without that energon, there's no way for Grimlock to return home... perhaps, Arnak suggests, Grimlock could lead Valerift in his place? Grimlock considers the offer for a moment, but ultimately turns it down, for his adventures in Menonia have taught him that Menonia belongs to Menonians. If they need a new leader, they've got one right there—Arko herself. Although Arko initially thinks she's not up to the task, Grimlock reminds her that her warrior spirit will earn back the trust she lost, and that she can channel her anger to crush the mistakes of her past and conquer a better future for them all. Nervously, Arko smiles, and asks if they'll have her back...

Some time later, the citizens of Valerift have found a workaround to their problem by tapping and enchanting a sample of Grimlock's own energon to create a temporary magical bridge back to Cybertron. There's just enough magic for one trip, and as Grimlock bids his new friends goodbye and steps into the portal, a familiar set of mechanical arms shoot out and drag Grimlock back to Cybertron. After yanking Grimlock out of the mysterious magical rift and safely depositing him in Harmonex, Optimus Prime is confused: from his perspective, the Dinobot was only away for a few seconds, but looks far worse for wear. Grimlock briefly relates his adventure in Menonia, and Optimus immediately understands what happened... he's surprised, however, when Grimlock explains what he's learned from his adventure. Although he might not agree with everything Optimus has to say, his adventure has taught him that strength can indeed go hand-in-hand with mercy. Flanked by the Dinobots, a bemused Optimus can only welcome Grimlock home: warrior, rebel, defender, avenger... and, above all, king!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots/Dinobots	Humans	Others
Grimlock (3) Optimus Prime (6) Sludge (7) Slug (8) Swoop (9)	Nerea (1) Arnak (2) Arko (4)	Soltron (5)

Quotes

"Strong without care... make hurt. Care mean risk. Heat temper steel... risk make stronger. You Soltron soon see. Soon free angry Arko."

—Grimlock

"Me say me show you universe. Me no lie... you in me GRIMLOCK'S universe now!"

—Grimlock

"You think you have the advantage? All you've done is crawl into what passes for your heart to die! I will wear you like a sleeve to betray Menonia's faith! And it will be your face that oppresses its people!"

—Soltron

"Out there, you Soltron god. But in here? ME GRIMLOCK KING!"

—Grimlock kills Soltron

"I fear this is a one-way passage, my lord."
"Good. That mean less competition for new important queen."
"Curse your lipless mouth, you know I'd welcome it. Grimlock, you have the thanks... of a terrible student."

—Arko says goodbye to Grimlock

"You Optimus wreck vocals whining about Autobot way... but you not always wrong."
"Grimlock, I... I don't know what to say. Welcome back. Welcome home. Welcome... to a friend. To a fellow warrior. And to you, Grimlock... a king!"

—Grimlock and Optimus Prime close us out

Notes

Continuity notes

The Autobot symbol has cropped up multiple times across Menonia in things like weapons and personal heraldry; this issue confirms that, after Optimus Prime left the planet, Soltron appropriated it as his own personal insignia.
Sludge and Slug appeared in issue #1 as members of the Autobot detachment fighting Mecannibals in Harmonex. There's also Swoop, who just barely appears on the last page as a disembodied beak off to the right.

Transformers references

Grimlock’s Spark is green, marking him as a Point One Percenter, just like his 2005 IDW counterpart.
Upon retrieving Grimlock from the portal, Optimus swears by the "Great Smelter", an uncommon epithet that originated with Inferno in the Beast Wars episode "Before the Storm".

Real-world references

Wrapping up the naming theme of the miniseries, this issue takes its name from (what else?) another Conan novel.

Other trivia

Backmatter for the final issue of King Grimlock features the customary Dungeons & Dragons-style stat sheet, this time for Soltron: according to the page, he's a Chaotic Evil sun god with, um, infinity experience points.
Originally solicited for a December release, this issue arrives almost two months late, in early February.

Covers (3)

Cover A: Grimlock vs. Soltron, by Cian Tormey and Reggie Graham
Cover B: Burnin' down the house, by Agustin Padilla and Jeremey Colwell
Retailer incentive cover: Grimlock creates a portal to Cybertron, by Stephen Byrne