Issue: #1
Release: January 11, 2012
Some time after Orion Pax has taken off for space (after The Death of Optimus Prime one-shot), Rodimus makes a speech outlining his intentions to find the mythical Knights of Cybertron, and he invites people to join him. Despite Prowl's prediction that this won't work, he gets several hundred applicants, all being carefully screened by the paranoid Red Alert and the insanely uptight Ultra Magnus.
Ratchet tries to save the life of a dying protester, but fails due to his age robbing him of his skills. In the aftermath he announces to Bumblebee his desire to travel with Rodimus, much to the little guy's distress. In Prowl's office, a fraught conversation with Chromedome is going on, the tense mood not helped by Chromedome's friend Rewind, whose very presence upsets Prowl. Eventually Chromedome and Rewind leave, and in private Prowl freaks out. He then informs someone to load a mysterious "cargo" onto the ship.
Some time in the past, Tailgate has become trapped in a cavern, fading in and out of consciousness as he drags himself rowards a crate of Energon to try and get attention. But his internal clocks are non-functioning and he has no idea of how time is passing.
Back in the here and now, we find Ax-Crazy Ex-Wrecker Whirl speaking to a collection of unknown people and pouring liquid Energon over the floor. He holds up a 'match', telling them that he's ready to "say goodbye and mean it". However he is interrupted by Noble Demon Cyclonus, who has been examining the freshly-reborn Cybertron, having detected what he thinks is Scourge's life signs. Instead of setting off the Energon, Whirl decides to fight Cyclonus instead.
At the Lost Light's landing platform, Red Alert is dealing with would-be passengers, like Swerve, whose enthusiasm grates on Red Alert, or Brainstorm, who's carrying a mysterious briefcase and claims to be exempt from security checks. And then there's the tiny and unassuming Rung, whom Red Alert doesn't recognise despite the 'bot having been his shrink for six centuries. A discussion between the two on Rung's model ship collection is interrupted by Whirl and Cyclonus' arial brawl.
Not far away, Ratchet, Rewind and Chromedome are running late because Rewind can only turn into a memory stick. As they walk and talk, a furious, frenetic Whirl abruptly brings down Cyclonus between them. He's just preparing to finish off the purple jet when he's interrupted by the ground exploding under his feet, knocking him out. It reveals Tailgate, who has been passing in and out of consciousness for millions of years. He starts panicing, mentioning the Ark, before passing out again. Ratchet decides that it's better to take the three of them on-board than leave them injured.
With everyone on board and the ship ready to go, Rodimus decides to ignore a message from Prowl, and the Lost Light takes to the air...
And then promptly vanishes in an explosion. The ship reappears in the middle of nowhere, with a hull-breach having sucked out forty of the crew, who are quickly drawn into the atmosphere or a nearby planet. As the ship sets down for repairs, and witnesses said crew-members falling through the atmosphere, Rodimus glumly notes that it's not the best start.
Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, a message claiming to be from the future plays, warning the crew of several things they really shouldn't do. But no-one's around to hear it...
Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg:
- Tailgate's lost both his legs.
- Rung loses an arm when it's sliced off by Cyclonus' wing.
- Whirl gets both his arms blown off when Tailgate blows his way out of the caves.
- As You Know: Chromedome tells Prowl he's not proud of some of the things he's done, before reminding Prowl he should know this. But we, the audience, don't.
- Ax-Crazy: Whirl.
- Berserk Button: Whirl doesn't like being talked down to, and becomes very threatening when Ratchet starts trying to calm him down.Whirl: You talking me down, doc? You trying to talk me down like I'm some kind of... maniac who needs talking down?
- It's also an early example that Whirl is smarter than he lets on, since he instantly realises this is what Ratchet is trying to do.
- Call-Back: The NAIL that dies on Ratchet's operating table is one seen protesting the Autobots' presence back in the Death of Optimus Prime.
- The Cameo: The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers Dipstick and The Transformers (Marvel)s Xaaron listen to Rodimus's speech at the beginning.
- Character Focus: This issue marks the first time Swerve has ever spoken in Western Transformers media.
- Meanwhile, Rewind, Chromedome and Tailgate all get important scenes.
- This is also Red Alert's first major speaking scene in this continuity.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The discs Rewind buys.
- Swerve mentions a "Moon Quest", involved with Luna-1, which was mentioned to be missing back in The Death of Optimus Prime.
- Among the 'bots Magnus mentions as not trusting, he makes special note of one for impersonating a superior, and another who he states must never be allowed near a crossbow. The first is Animus, who shows up in issue #3, and the second is Atomizer, who likes archery.
- Cool Starship: The Lost Light.
- Description Cut: Prowl confidently states that the Lost Light's launch will be a "no-show". Cut to several hundred Autobots lined up to get onboard.
- Discontinuity Nod: Cyclonus likes everyone to know he's not, and never has been, a Decepticon.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Prowl and Chromedome have a serious exes vibe to them.
- Epic Fail: Something goes wrong a few seconds after take-off, and several members of the crew are sucked out of the ship.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Ultra Magnus doesn't trust anyone with their badge slanted, because it's in violation of an obscure rule.
- Flipping the Table: Prowl, after his meeting with Cromedome.
- Foreshadowing: The ominous message gives several hints about what's to come.
- Freak Out: Tailgate, when he thinks he's killed Whirl in the process of getting out of the hole he was in.
- Interrupted Suicide: It's strongly suggested that Whirl no longer knows how to cope since the war has ended, and was preparing to send himself up with the Sweeps corpses when Cyclonus came across him.
- Jerkass: Whirl attacks Cyclonus relentlessly even after Cyclonus calls a truce. It's suggested he's embarrassed at being caught in such an 'emotional' state with the Sweeps' corpses.
- Jumped at the Call: Swerve is eager for a quest.
- Motormouth: Swerve. Red Alert tells him he can come on-board if he promises never to speak.
- Title Drop: The title of the issue is "How To Say Goodbye And Mean It." While Whirl is preparing to blow himself up while surrounded by Sweeps corpses, he tells them, "If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's how to say goodbye and mean it."
- Stuff Blowing Up: A large chunk of the ship blows up on take-off, making it look like the ship itself exploded to the 'bots on Cybertron.
- Tempting Fate: Rung is talking about his model ship collection, and how he's kept it in good condition as Cyclonus and Whirl's fight gets nearer...
- Wham Line: The ominous message from the future.
- Your Head Asplode: Whirl was going to do this to a downed Cyclonus. Tailgate prevents it by accident.
