Enemy of My Enemy Part Three

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"Rifles, Semi-Autos, what kind?"
"Enemy of My Enemy Part Three"
Publisher	IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics
First published	August 19, 2020
Cover date	August 2020
Story by	David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and John Barber
Written by	David Mariotte and John Barber
Art by	Alex Milne
Colors by	David García Cruz
Letters by	Jake M. Wood
Editor	Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer

Sarah Connor assists the Autobots as they search for the Decepticons, but the Terminator has his own agenda...

Synopsis

Inside the crashed Ark, Sarah Connor does what she can to help the Autobots get their base up and running. Although Optimus Prime and Bumblebee have reactivated several more Autobots—Arcee, Wheeljack, Velocity, and Ratchet—there's still a lot to do, and the heroes work together to move stasis locked bodies and get the Ark operational; despite the nominal truce that exists between him and the Autobots, however, the T-800 Terminator refuses to contribute to the repair effort: he is only programmed to eliminate Cybertronians, not help them. Ratchet informs Prime that the other, still-deactivated Autobots will require extensive repairs, time, and energon to get into fighting shape, while Wheeljack chimes in to report that the Ark won't be able to fly anytime soon. Undaunted, Prime rallies his troops and lays down his orders: Ratchet and Wheeljack will remain behind to continue repairs and monitor local transmissions for any sightings of Megatron, while the other Autobots will split up. Prime and Velocity will search for possible energon sources, Arcee and the Terminator will sweep the immediate area for any signs of Decepticon activity, and Bumblebee will take Sarah home.

At the Cyberdyne Systems manufacturing plant in California, Thundercracker reports on their progress to Megatron. Already, Starscream has taken Cyberdyne's scientists hostage to interrogate them for any information about their mysterious robotic foe; Soundwave and Refraktor have harnessed the factory's on-site nuclear reactor to produce energon cubes, while the Insecticons literally tear the factory apart in search of any sign of advanced robotic technology. Megatron demands answers regarding the mystery robot—he will not allow a foe capable of exploiting all of their weak spots run amok.

On Oregon's west coast, Prime and Velocity follow the trail of the Decepticons to a nearby beach, where Velocity finds the discarded optic casing on the ground. The sight of the blasted dune buggy leaves Prime in a somber mood, however; already, he notes, the Decepticons have brought death and terror to another innocent world, and they must find and stop Megatron before he can do any more damage. Far to the south, in the city of Stockton, Bumblebee waits in the parking lot while Sarah goes shopping for street clothes, eager to get rid of the tattered remains of her waitress outfit. As Bumblebee drives her home, Sarah wonders just where she can go now: she can't go back to her old life, but when Bumblebee suggests helping the Autobots, Sarah refuses: she doesn't want to become a warrior, either. But when Sarah turns on Bumblebee's radio, a sudden newsflash warns listeners about a mysterious terrorist attack in Sunnyvale...

In the Ark's armory, Arcee offers the T-800 some Cybertronian-caliber firepower, pointing out that Optimus obviously trusts the machine warrior—but warns him that if he ever turns their own weapons on the Autobots, he'll immediately regret it. The Terminator gladly accepts a heavy-duty Cybertronian blaster and an explosive detonator... but as they turn to leave, neither Arcee, Ratchet, nor Wheeljack notice him placing a Cybertronian explosive next to Wheeljack's workstation. As Arcee and the Terminator make their patrol, the Terminator surreptitiously scatters more bombs around the Ark's perimeter when his partner isn't looking. Finally, the two stop by the Sky Spy probe that the Terminator shot down, and while the Terminator investigates the wrecked machine, Arcee gets a transmission from Bumblebee: they've found the Decepticons!

Observing what remains of the Cyberdyne factory from a nearby ledge, Sarah and Bumblebee keep their distance as the Decepticons ransack the factory; not wanting her to come to any harm, Bumblebee tells Sarah to keep a lookout while he gets a closer look. Unfortunately Skywarp spies the two from above, and promptly teleports in to attack! Thinking quickly, Bumblebee scoops up Sarah and makes a run for it, heading toward Megatron in the hopes that Skywarp will collide with his allies. Skywarp's too smart to take the bait; it seems like the end for Bumblebee, but his stunt has bought time for Optimus, the other Autobots, and the Terminator to arrive and turn the tide! Autobots and Decepticons clash amidst the wreckage of Cyberdyne while Bumblebee shouts for Sarah to get to safety and contact Wheeljack and Ratchet. As Optimus and Megatron have it out, Refraktor advances on the Terminator—but the Terminator pinpoints the weak point on Refraktor's face, hurls an explosive charge at the Decepticon, then thumbs the detonator...

Wheeljack and Ratchet anxiously monitor the fight as they do what they can to try and bring their fellow Autobots back online. As they discuss strategies, however, a beeping noise catches their attention—then, all at once, the bombs the Terminator had planted around the Ark simultaneously detonate—for the second time that day, Mount St. Hilary erupts as a massive explosion consumes the Ark!

Back at Cyberdyne Systems, none of the Autobots realize they've been double-crossed as Velocity commends the Terminator for taking down Refraktor. Before the Terminator can respond, however a null-ray blast lances over his head—a blast courtesy of Starscream, who's finally worked out the truth behind the Terminator's existence. If Starscream shoots his Cyberdyne hostages, then Skynet will never be... so Starscream wants to cut a deal!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Hello! Earth to whatever your name is?"
"Cyberdyne Systems model 101 series 800..."
"Oh! Really rolls off the tongue, huh?"

—Sarah Connor and the Terminator

"What's your job, Sarah? Are you a warrior like Arcee?"
"No, I'm a waitress... why would I be a warrior?"
"I'm spitballin'! Your outfit just reminds me a lot of her. So, a waitress... whazzat?"
"I take orders from people, and—"
"Sounds like a warrior to me."

—Bumblebee and Sarah Connor

"Y'know, I think you've picked up on the fact that most of the Autobots aren't soldiers—they're doctors, engineers, bots who want to do the right thing. But that doesn't mean that we aren't well-armed for when we need to be."

—Arcee to the Terminator

Notes

Continuity notes

• Arcee and the Terminator revisit the crashed Sky Spy probe, which the Terminator shot down in issue #1. The Terminator notes that the device scanned him, not just the truck he was driving at the time, a revelation which might have some interesting ripples on the timeline...
• History finds new ways to repeat itself—once again, Refraktor gets himself killed by a Terminator. Poor dude.
• The previous issue featured the Terminator's secret directive, which he didn't reveal to Optimus Prime: ensure the creation of Skynet by any means necessary, a step which evidently involves the destruction of all Cybertronians, truce or no truce. At any rate, the Terminator's surreptitious betrayal in this issue suggests that he's not interested in playing by the rules of your average crossover teamup!

Transformers references

• In a move that took everyone by surprise, Velocity makes her return to IDW's Transformers comics! This turquoise Autobot debuted in the pages of More than Meets the Eye as a medic, a role that Optimus Prime mentions here. She's been slightly redesigned in this comic—not only does she now transform into a 1977 Pontiac Firebird rather than an alien car, but she also sports a different head shape and an orange, rather than gray, face.
• Continuing the readout gags from last issue, the T-800 identifies Bumblebee as "MODEL 11^C56", the Japanese ID numbers of Bumblebee's original G1 toy (one from 1985, another from 1986); he also recognizes Arcee as "MODEL 02^021", the Hasbro ID number for her 2014 Thrilling 30 figure, and classifies her threat level at "maximum" in what's probably a reference to her 2005 IDW counterpart's reputation as a scary-strong warrior. Finally, he recognizes Refraktor as "MODEL SG^26" after terminating him—Refraktor's War for Cybertron toy goes by the number "SG-28", but since there are at least three of him running around in the comic, maybe each Refraktor gets its own number in Skynet's reference book?
• Bumblebee notes that he used to do search and rescue operations; in the 2019 IDW continuity, this was the profession of that universe's Bumblebee until he later joined the Ascenticon Guard.
• Similarly, while the other Cybertronians all use regular word balloons, Soundwave's dialogue uses the blue, "electronic" speech bubbles that his 2019 IDW counterpart uses over in IDW's current Transformers comic universe.
• Soundwave and Refraktor work to create energon cubes, and Soundwave extrudes the hollow cubes from his chest as he did in the The Transformers episodes "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" and "Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1".
• Megatron declares "nothing's going to stand in my way!" on page seven, referencing the Spectre General song that appeared in The Transformers: The Movie.
• While working to reactivate the Autobots, Wheeljack proclaims "all we need is a little energon, and a lotta luck", which Optimus Prime famously proclaimed in The Movie's opening scene. On page sixteen, Prime and Megatron do the "one shall stand, one shall fall" routine from the film's first-act throwdown, and Megatron continues the homage by pointing out that Prime "throw[s] his life away so recklessly".
• In a bit of non-movie reference, Optimus Prime and Megatron use their energon-axe and mace, respectively, in reference to their Sherman Dam confrontation in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2". Just like in that episode, Optimus Prime taunts Megatron by calling him "yesterday's model [...] ready for the scrap heap."

Terminator references

• The Terminator describes himself as a "Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 T-800" unit; Kyle Reese first described the antagonistic Terminator from original Terminator film as such, and this Terminator model went on to appear in the first sequel and many other spinoffs and adaptations.
• While contemplating her future with Bumblebee, Sarah notes that she "[doesn't] want [her] life defined by escaping death at the hands of evil robots"... unfortunately, as the closest thing to a recurring protagonist in the Terminator franchise, this is, of course, what Sarah's life largely devolves into across multiple works of Terminator fiction.
• In what's either a running gag or some kind of foreshadowing, the phrase "Judgement Day" shows up again, this time on Bumblebee's radio. They are the lyrics to Prince's 1982 hit song, "1999". In context: "I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if I go astray; But when I woke up this morning I coulda sworn it was Judgement Day."
• After killing Refraktor, the Terminator mimics Velocity by flashing a thumbs-up, which might be a reference to the T-800's famous "self-termination" scene in Judgement Day.

Errors

• On the last panel on page seven, "impertinence" is misspelled as "impertenence".
• On page eleven, Skywarp's line—"head's up!" contains an unnecessary apostrophe.

Other trivia

• Originally solicited for May, this comic was deliberately pushed back to July due to IDW Publishing temporarily suspending operations, then slipped to late August.
• Backmatter for this issue includes Alex Milne's concept art for Velocity and Arcee: although Arcee did make a brief cameo in the previous issue sporting her traditional design and proportions, this issue gives her a beefy new Earth mode based on a 1983 Ford Mustang. Milne notes that Hasbro asked him to tweak the original designs for her and Velocity, as they didn't want them to look exactly like the Mustang or the Firebird.^[1]

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Sarah and the Terminator ride on the Terminator’s motorcycle from the first Terminator film alongside Optimus and Bumblebee, by Gavin Fullerton
• Cover B: Optimus, Megatron, and the Terminator, by Andrew Griffith
• Retailer incentive cover: Megatron and an army of Terminators, by Freddie E. Williams II and Jeremy Colwell

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External links

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References