Schismatic

	"Schismatic"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	January 3, 2018
Cover date	December 2017
Written by	Magdalene Visaggio
Art by	Fico Ossio
Colors by	David García Cruz
Letters by	Gilberto Lazcano
Editor	Sarah Gaydos and Carlos Guzman
Assistant editor	David Mariotte
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

Ironhide and Kup enter into talks with Cybertron's newest residents, the magic-wielding Visionaries of New Prysmos, but it is a time when magic is more powerful than science...

Synopsis

Long ago, on the world of Prysmos, magic had fallen into the realm of legend as technology took hold. The wizard Merklynn schemed to undo this and begin a new age of magic by casting a spell that brought Prysmos's three suns into alignment, their combined rays bathing the planet and causing all technological devices to cease functioning. Prysmos fell into a feudal state, and in this new world he had created, Merklynn was a figure of respect once more, who bestowed magical gifts upon two groups of "Visionaries," the heroic Spectral Knights and evil Darkling Lords. But Merklynn had been hasty in preparing his spell; its effects were not permanent, and when the suns moved out of alignment, Prysmos was literally torn apart. A small group of survivors was able to escape the planet, but millions perished, including Darkstorm, leader of the Darkling Lords. Promising that he would find them a new world, Merklynn arrived on Earth and adopted the identity of Garrison Kreiger, and after decades, eventually discovered and mastered the mysterious, mystical Talisman, intending to use it to terraform Cybertron into a new home for his people. His efforts were stymied, however, and he was only able to reshape a small portion of the planet's underground, creating the city of New Prysmos.

Today, several weeks later, the displaced population of Prysmos have arrived on Cybertron and taken up residence within New Prysmos. For his crimes against Cybertron, Merklynn is held prisoner within the city, as the Visionaries debate how to proceed. Spectral Knight leader Leoric advocates caution and peace, as they had not expected to find themselves on an inhabited planet, but the Darkling Lords' new leader Virulina does not see the Transformers as living beings and proposes simply destroying them all and taking Cybertron for themselves. Leoric chastises her for adhering to Darkstorm's violent ways; regardless of their disagreements, Virulina insists they must work together to protect New Prysmos.

The pair's argument is mirrored by Autobots Ironhide and Kup, who arrive to meet with Leoric and Virulina to discuss where the Transformers and Visionaries go from here. As security officer, Ironhide sees the sudden appearance of an alien "refugee camp" on Cybertron in the wake of a failed invasion as a threat to the already energy-starved planet, but Kup is in favor of keeping an open mind. Granted access to the city by Fat Tankor, who is manning the portal through the energy shield surrounding New Prysmos, the pair take in its streets and sights as they make their way to their meeting, which begins with Kup hailing the Visionaries with the universal greeting, to their utter confusion. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there: Virulina finds the Transformers' terms for their continued presence on Cybertron unacceptably oppressive, and Ironhide has no time for her attitude, telling her that they can either take the deal, or get nothing. Ironhide and Virulina storm out of the meeting, leaving Kup to console Leoric with his belief that everyone will come around in time.

At the gates of New Prysmos, Wheeljack arrives with Breakdown, having been authorized to examine the Talisman inside in an attempt to learn more about it. As they wait to be granted access, Breakdown spots a glint of light coming from a crack in the cavern floor, but when he reaches out to touch it, the energy causes his arm to rapidly decay and die. Moving quickly, Wheeljack surgically removes Breakdown's arm to prevent the "infection" from spreading—and none too quickly, as the severed limb soon disintegrates into dust.

Virulina reports the outcome of the failed talks with Kup and Ironhide to the other Darkling Lords at their monastery, where the intellectual Cindarr tells her the news about Breakdown's encounter with the Talisman's energy. Realizing that the Transformers are vulnerable to magic, Virulina sees a way to take Cybertron from them, but Cindarr has some other interesting news about the Talisman to tell her...

After examining Breakdown, Wheeljack shares the conclusions he has reached with Kup and Ironhide: despite the energy wall surrounding New Prysmos, the energy of the Talisman is beginning to spread outside the city. Worse yet, he has discovered that the Talisman itself has begun to burrow into the planet, heading straight for its core, Vector Sigma, apparently poised to complete Merklynn's original plan to terraform the entirety of Cybertron.

Armed with this new information, Ironhide, Kup, Virulina, and Leoric meet once more. Kup tries to be diplomatic, but Ironhide can't contain his anger, exploding with fury when it becomes apparent Virulina was aware of the Talisman's movements, and kept the information from Leoric. He hurls the conference table aside, but his aggression is met in kind by Virulina, who deploys a bladed staff charged with magic energy, and leaps at him. At the last second, Kup pushes Ironhide out of the way and is stabbed by Virulina's blade in his stead—and as Ironhide and Leoric watch in horror, the magic of the weapon ravages his body, decaying and disintegrating it, killing Kup on the spot.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Spectral Knights	Darkling Lords	Others
Ironhide (5) Kup (6) Wheeljack (14)	Fat Tankor (4)	Leoric (3) Arzon (7) Galadria (11) Witterquick (13)	Cindarr (8) Virulina (9) Cravex (10) Lexor (12)	Cybertronian guards (1) Merklynn (2) Breakdown (15)

Quotes

"Right now, we're deciding what kind of a people we're going to be. I'd rather not be a Decepticon."

—Kup

"That's the problem with you Spectral Knights. You always fetishized peace over strength."

—Virulina

"It's hard to stop fighting when you feel you've got something to lose."

—Kup

Notes

Continuity notes

This series takes place some time after the conclusion of First Strike #6, in which Merklynn created New Prysmos. The Visionaries and other New Prysmosians did not actually appear in that comic, however, and it remains unclear from this issue if they were magically "teleported" in upon the city's creation, or only arrived at some point between the two issues; Kup mentions they have been there for "weeks." (There's kind of a storytelling gap between the two series that reads like this series was written without clear understanding of exactly how much setup First Strike would be doing ahead of time.)
The deadly effect of the Talisman's energy (aka "magic") on Transformers was a key plot point in First Strike, having first been established in issue #0 of that series (though if certain comics had been released on time, it would have been in Revolutionaries #7).
The events of the 2017 Till All Are One annual have also occurred between First Strike and this series, with a few references being made to the fact that Windblade has ascended to the position of ruler of Cybertron, as seen in that story. That issue also included a reference to the "creatures underground," indicating the Visionaries had arrived by the time it took place.
Kup notes he's seen the Talisman "do a lotta crazy things," which is a good, if brief, way to sum up the eight-issue Revolutionaries series!
As noted in a footnote, Kup previously used the universal greeting to communicate with the Micronauts in Revolutionaries #2.

Transformers references

Ironhide hanging from the ceiling on the RI-B cover recalls the Marvel comic, where Shockwave hung the shattered remains of the Autobots from the ceiling.
Wheeljack refers to Breakdown as a "prime example" of how magic affects the Transformers, a subtle nod to how the character originated in the Transformers: Prime cartoon.

Visionaries references

During the Visionaries' initial meeting, reference is made to the absent Spectral Knight Cryotek, who has refused to attend because he considers it "shameful." This might be some kind of jokey reference to the fact that, unique among the Visionaries, Cryotek's name was later re-used in the Transformers franchise.
A statue of the Darkling Lords' former leader Darkstorm appears in their monastery. Unlike the rest of the cast, he has not undergone an extensive redesign, and is drawn to match his classic cartoon character model.
As a one-year wonder, Visionaries didn't have a sprawling cast, but even so, not all its characters appear in this series. Those chosen to appear or be referenced (including Cryotek and Darkstorm) are specifically all the members of the two factions who wielded "power staffs" in the original series, plus the two female members, Galadria and Virulina. The other (male) characters who did not have such weapons are nowhere to be seen, though art previews released by Fico Ossio ahead of time reveal that others — such as the Spectral Knight Feryl — will make appearances in subsequent issues.
This is a reinvention of Visionaries, obviously, so not everything is going to be the same, but we think we'd be remiss if we didn't highlight Cindarr, a pipe-smoking intellectual called out on the "roll call" page as a "thinker." To say this is in sharp contrast to the original dunderheaded Cindarr is putting it mildly, to an extent so great even in comparison to the rest of the cast that you'd be forgiven for thinking there was a greater reason behind it. But nope, it's simply because the writer thought "in the show he's the idiot and I kinda think, 'why would he even be on the team?', and I just hated that so I made him the smart guy because I just thought that was a funny twist".

Errors

On the "roll call" page, Breakdown's name is misspelled "Breakdowm."
The energy wall surrounding New Prysmos is treated as if it is a security field the Transformers are in control of, with Tankor manning a control booth that lets him open a portal in it, and reference being made to it being supposed to "contain" the Talisman's energy. But per First Strike #6—and indeed, the recap page of this issue—the wall was created by Merklynn when he created the city, and was designed to shut outsiders out of New Prysmos.
The events of First Strike #6, where the Talisman was activated and formed New Prysmos, took place right outside the chamber containing the core of Cybertron. So how can it be tunneling downward to the planet's core...?
In editor David Mariotte's letter after the main story (see "Other trivia," below), Trailbreaker's named is misspelled "Trailblazer."

Other trivia

Previously only identified in-story as "Knock Out's Conjunx Endura," this issue sees Breakdown referred to by name for the first time. The reluctance to use the name (shared with the Transformers: Prime character on whom he is directly based) has been due to the fact that there's already a "Breakdown" in this continuity, but hey, we've got two Tankors, so it ain't a big thing.
This issue's story is followed by a letter from assistant editor David Mariotte telling the readers that, yes, Kup is definitely dead and that it was a great idea to kill him, and a two-page "In memoriam" segment for the old Autobot to try validating it even more. Good luck workin' that angle, guys!
- Indeed, Visaggio clarified on Twitter that his death was a plot point requested by the publisher rather than one she decided to include, and that she "Tried to do it the best [she] could".
This issue received a reprint on February 7, perhaps due to a spike in sales concerning Kup's death.

Covers (5)

Cover A: Virulina stabs Ironhide through the head, by Fico Ossio
Cover B: Virulina shoots a blast of magic, by Andrew Griffith
Retailer incentive cover A: Kup and Leoric, by Brendan Cahill and Lauren Bennett
Retailer incentive cover B: Ironhide's dismembered torso hangs from the ceiling above Merklynn, by Angel Hernandez and Esther Sanz
Second printing: Virulina stabs Kup through the head, by Fico Ossio and David García Cruz, cropped from page 20