The Ascending issue 4

« Transformers: Beast Wars: The Ascending #4
Hardhead likes the view, yes he does.
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	January 9, 2008
Cover date	November 2007
Written by	Simon Furman
Art by	Guido Guidi
Colors by	Josh Burcham
Colors assist by	Andrew Elder, Liam Shalloo and Josh Perez
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Edits by	Andrew Steven Harris
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity

Maximals and Predacons unite on two worlds to stop Shokaract and the rise of Unicron.

Synopsis

Under Shokaract's instruction, his Heralds distribute Angolmois capsules to the crazed masses of Cybertron, with the intention of using the chaos and negative feelings to power the Anti-Matrix in Shokaract's chest. Observing the chaos is Big Convoy, who meets Bump, a "specialist" sent by Lio Convoy. Soon afterward, Big Convoy and his soldiers meet the Pack, along with immigrants from Earth, including Ravage. Ravage chronally displaces himself to consult the time-lost Magmatron. Meanwhile, Lio Convoy requests that Bump study the Angolmois and create a retrovirus to counteract it—enough of it for all of Cybertron. In the netherspace, Magmatron proposes to Ravage a plan: Bring Shokaract to him so that he may be shown the true purpose of his "Ascending". He suggests getting a Maximal to do the suicide mission of placing the chronal phase facilitator on Shokaract himself.

On Earth, the Angolmois-drunk Razorbeast continues to battle the Blendtrons. Refusing to let the Blendtrons destroy them all, the left-behind Predacon and Maximal forces unite to take down the gigantic and powerful attackers. Optimus Minor checks on Razorbeast; he is still rational, but the Angolmois threatens his sanity. He tells Optimus Minor that he knows what to do then.

On Cybertron, Ravage has filled in the others about Magmatron's plan. Prowl and Snarl are tasked with attaching the facilitator onto Shokaract, while others attack him to distract him. In the following battle, many die by Shokaract's hand. Back on Earth, Elephorca is destroyed by Razorbeast and Drancron is kicked into Rartorata's stinger, annihilating the both of them. The only challenge left is Razorbeast, who has now lost his inhibitions. Optimus Minor pleads with Razorbeast to not force his hand.

The battle against Shokaract goes as planned; Snarl and Prowl approach Shokaract while invisible, allowing Snarl to use the facilitator to transport Shokaract into Magmatron's netherspace. Shokaract's Heralds, baffled by his disappearance, are distracted long enough for Ravage to throw a grenade their way, scattering them. Magmatron shows Shokaract his true purpose: to be a vessel of Unicron. Aghast at this revelation, Shokaract rips the Anti-Matrix from his chest, committing "spectacular suicide". This causes a "timelash" that sets Magmatron back into normal space on Cybertron. He delivers the sad news—Razorbeast was euthanized.

Bump delivers the first batch of the anti-Angolmois retrovirus, but he needs a proper lab to mass-produce it. Observing the sorry state of Cybertron, Lio Convoy and Big Convoy hope that no threat comes up while they're focused on rebuilding.

Unfortunately, Megatron has arrived.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"He calls himself Shokaract, and it appears he is responsible for the angolmois fever currently gripping Cybertron. Beyond that... we're very much in the dark!"

—Big Convoy is an Ascending reader

"Good chance of getting killed."
"I'm sure you can find a suitable Maximal for the job."
"Heh."

—Ravage and Magmatron decided, a fact they take pride in, to be the best at being bad guys

"No mercy!"
"No limits!"
"No one... gets out alive!"

—Powerpinch, Buzzclaw, and Drill Bit go hell for leather

"You used me! I was nothing after all. NOTHIIIIING!"

—Shokaract

"If you're planning any monuments, I can think of no more deserving case than Razorbeast."

—Magmatron

Notes

Production notes

• This issue would be reprinted from #24 to #25 of Titan's Transformers.
• Guido Guidi was tasked with the art for this issue due to the departure of Don Figueroa from IDW Publishing. Don provided the art for a cover before he left, however.
• Claw Jaw is helping a wounded Cybershark stand on page 9.
• On page 13, in the panel below the one in which Shokaract says "It begins." the head and shoulder of movie Optimus Prime is clearly visible.
• Negative feedback on this issue from an IDW Forum poster (namely, a comment that described the issue, among other harsh terms, as "a botched, rushed and completely copout riddled ending that completely fails on every level") caused the usually amiable Furman to snap: "No please, don't hold back. I'm starting to understand why Don [Figueroa] quit." He later clarified he didn't mean Don had quit because of negative feedback, but "when you work long and bl**dy hard on something and the first comment you read is that one, it's enough to make a person think, 'why do I even bother'. Don quit for Don's reasons. I'm just saying it's stuff like that makes me think long and hard about the future, that's all."^[1]

Continuity notes

• Obviously, the implication is that it's the devastation caused by this story that gives Megatron his chance to conquer the planet in Beast Machines.
• Back when he wrote the Beast Machines section of Transformers: The Ultimate Guide, Simon Furman noted that Megatron was able to escape his shackles on the Maximals' shuttle because it hit a "time disturbance". While there is nothing in the actual show that supports this notion, it is apparent that the "timelash" induced by Shokaract's suicide in this issue is the disturbance in question.
• Cohrada says he heard Stampy "never made it off of Varus-5", indicating members of the Pack are presumed dead or at least 'somewhere else'. Big Convoy refers to the group's existence as "need to know" (and he knows), which explains why various Predacons seemed unaware who Lio Convoy was in #2 and #3.
• Ramulus's line "Let us throw ourselves headlong into the fray!" somewhat parallels a line he spoke in "Primeval Dawn"—"Lead me to the fray!" As well, Shokaract's line "Heralds... attend me!" is a direct quote from his previous iteration in "Terminus".
• Optimus Minor was one of Razorbeast's earliest chums in The Gathering, so it carries a lot of weight for both of them that Razorbeast has Minor euthanise him.
• Grimlock happily remarks the apocalypse and mass-carnage "reminds me of the good ol' days!", which could refer to any number of Furman tales!
• At the end of this issue the fates of many of the characters are ambiguous. There's no clear update as to whether the Transformers on prehistoric Earth were rescued, many Transformers from the final battle are not seen again by the end of the issue leaving it unknown if they survived, and the series in general ends on a cliffhanger.

Real life references

• Optimus Minor's line "Better to burn out than to fade away" is a quote from the Neil Young song "My My Hey Hey" and was also made famous in the first Highlander film.

Furminated

In typical Furman fashion, many characters die in the battles against the Blendtrons and Shokaract. Those who die are:

• Noctorro, Scourge, Insecticon, K-9, and Wolfang by Shokaract's claw cannons.
• Elephorca, by Razorbeast's mauling.
• Buzzclaw and an unidentified character, by Rartorata's vomit.
• Possibly Bantor and Manta Ray, being crushed by Drancron.
• Drancron, Lazorbeak, Rartorata, and Spittor with Drancron being forced into Rartorata's stinger, causing an explosion that destroys all of them.
• Prowl II, by a stray beam.
• Shokaract, committing suicide by ripping the Anti-Matrix out of his chest.
• Razorbeast, fatally shot by Optimus Minor.

Errors

• Shokaract's plot arc is based on him being a nothing of a man who stumbles across Unicron and is easy prey, except none of this is actually shown in the comic and relies on you having read Beast Wars Sourcebook.
• Snapper is mistakenly colored as Armordillo in the first panel on page 9.
• Drill Nuts is mistakenly colored as Drill Bit in one scene as Shokaract's Heralds attack him and Polar Claw.

Covers (4)

• Cover A: Shokaract; art by Nick Roche.
• Cover B: Shokaract and minions; art by Don Figueroa.
• Cover RIA: Uncolored version of cover A
• Cover RIB: Uncolored version of cover B

• 

  Khaaaaannnnn!

• 

  She never has to say, "Can't you look me in the eyes?"

• 

  Blarg!

• 

  Kirby Krackle!

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• Spotlights for Blaster and Arcee
• CGC Grading, feat. Grimlock
• Transformers posters
• Movie toys
• The Art of IDW's Transformers
• Megatron Origin comic series
• Greatest Battles of Optimus Prime and Megatron
• Classic Transformers Volume 1
• Doctor Who comics (back cover)

Reprints

Other than reprints of the full series

• Transformers Comic issues #24–25 (April–May 2009)

• Reprinted The Ascending issue 4 over the space of 2 issues.
• Other material was mainly related to the 2007 Movie, an Animated story, and also reprints the fourth issue of Megatron: Origin.

• 

  Transformers Comic #24; art by Jon Davis-Hunt and Jason Cardy

• 

  Transformers Comic #25; art by Barry Spiers and Jason Cardy

References