Heart Like a Wheel
From Transformers Wiki
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| "Heart Like a Wheel" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | IDW Publishing | ||||||||||||
| First published | November 10, 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | November 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Mike Costa | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Nick Roche | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | J. Brown | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Chris Mowry | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Andy Schmidt | ||||||||||||
| Assistant editor | Carlos Guzman | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | 2005 IDW continuity | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | Current era (2010) | ||||||||||||
Rodimus goes after the Matrix and gets slagged.
Contents |
Synopsis
Still piloting the shuttle he stole from Ultra Magnus for his getaway on Earth, Rodimus begins his daring assault on the Decepticons' asteroid base. On the ground, Acid Storm notices the incoming Autobot craft. Too late to call it in, Shrapnel makes the decision to blow it out of the sky, inadvertently destroying the Decepticon defense grid when the debris of Ultra Magnus's shuttle crashes into the base. Bombshell reports the incident to a withdrawn and disinterested Starscream, who is still wearing the Matrix around his neck. The Matrix catches Bombshell's eye, but when he reaches out for it, Starscream snaps at him and orders him away.
Back outside, Rodimus emerges from the osmium-alloy safe he hid in to survive the ship's destruction. Bombshell, Acid Storm and Shrapnel show up, looking for useful items to scavenge from the wreckage. Rodimus ambushes them and takes them out in short order, including using part of the safe as armor to block Bombshell's cerebro-shell attack. Thinking himself safe, Rodimus is then ambushed in turn by Razorclaw. Before Razorclaw can eviscerate him, Rodimus grabs the cerebro-shell and stuffs it down Razorclaw's throat, temporarily mind-controlling him.
Inside the base, Rodimus sends Razorclaw to attack Starscream. Starscream easily defeats the mind-weakened Razorclaw and then is confronted by Rodimus. Starscream is unimpressed, noting that his new position as Decepticon leader has led him to armor himself beyond anything Rodimus could damage him with. Without missing a beat, Rodimus shoots the Matrix instead, causing a discharge of energy which sends Starscream to the ground in a crumpled heap. Rodimus grabs the Matrix, feeling the pieces are falling into place for his destined escape...
...when he runs into a fully rebuilt Megatron. Rodimus holds up the Matrix threateningly, but Megatron blasts him through the torso, then blasts him into space with the Matrix. With Starscream having lost possession of the Matrix, Megatron orders Soundwave to gather the Decepticons, as they have work to do. Rodimus floats adrift in space, the Matrix still chained around his neck...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons |
|---|---|
|
Notes
Continuity notes
- For some reason, Razorclaw has been redesigned as his familiar mechanical lion alt-mode.
- Even though, according to All Hail Megatron, the Matrix was one of Megatron's main motivations for starting the war, after he went to so much trouble to take it from Optimus Prime, it is now apparently just a "bauble" of Starscream's. Of course it's possible that his new "indestructible" body has really gone to his head and he just thinks that he doesn't need the Matrix now.
- A few years later, Spotlight: Megatron would fill in the events that take place immediately after this story, picking up directly from Megatron's order to have the Decepticons assembled for him.
Transformers references
- Cover A mimics IDW's cover for "Matrix Quest!", itself naturally based on an iconic frame from The Transformers: The Movie.
- Among the generic items contained in Ultra Magnus's weapons locker are a set of his shoulder missiles as well as the smokestack shotgun his Classics incarnation carries.
- Inverting the climax of The Transformers: The Movie, a Matrix-bearing Rodimus faces a rebuilt Megatron, but is himself launched into space.
Real-life references
- The issue is likely named after Linda Ronstadt's #1 hit 1974 album of the same name (or the Human League song, or the Steve Miller song, or the Black Sabbath song, or the 1983 movie, or the McGarrigle Sisters song, or...).
Errors
- The colorist consistently colors the half "hump" towards the top of the back of Acid Storm as a section of the cockpit canopy. It isn't.
Trivia
- Nick Roche uses Don Figueroa's designs for Hot Rod and Magnus's ship, but adapts them to his own cartoonish style.
- Apparently, the stealth bomber Megatron design which premiered in this issue was created by artist Don Figueroa. However, he created the design as part of a story pitch to editor Andy Schmidt; a pitch the editor rejected. Schmidt proceeded to use the design for this comic, but without compensation or credit to Figueroa; something the artist was highly displeased about.[1]
Covers (3)
- Cover A: Starscream, wearing the Matrix of Leadership, throttles Hot Rod; art by Don Figueroa, colors by J.Brown.
- Cover B: Hot Rod dives off a rock; art by Nick Roche, colors by J.Brown.
- Cover RI: Concept drawing of Kup; art by Don Figueroa.
This is bad comedy.
Here I come to save the daaaayyyyyy!
He used to be Nick Fury, now he's Mr. Magoo.
Advertisements
- TBD
Reprints
- The Transformers, Volume 3: Revenge of the Decepticons (July 27, 2011) ISBN 1600109810 / ISBN 978-1600109812
- Collects The Transformers (2009) issues #13–18.
- Bonus material includes art from all covers, including design sketches from Don Figueroa and Marcelo Matere.
- Trade paperback format.
- The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume Seven (October 17, 2012) ISBN 1613774060 / ISBN 978-1613774069
- Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 48: Revenge of the Decepticons (April 17, 2019)
Volume 3: Revenge of the Decepticons – cover art by Marcelo Matere and Andrew Dalhouse
The IDW Collection Volume Seven – cover art by E. J. Su
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 48: Revenge of the Decepticons – cover art by Don Figueroa, Nick Roche and Len O'Grady
