The Living Headlights

	; "Ugh! That 'Bee is living my life!"
	Chapter Two:; "The Living Headlights"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	July 25, 2018
Cover date	July 2018
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Andrew Griffith
Colors by	Priscilla Tramontano
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Edits by	David Mariotte
Continuity	Movie continuity

On the run from the Decepticons, the disavowed Bumblebee, Reeve, and Lux search for the villains' human allies.

Synopsis

Waiting inside the vehicle-mode Bumblebee while David Reeve contacts B.A.S.E.S.T.A.T.I.O.N., Diana Lux intercepts Reeve's call and listens in as the operative on the other end of the line informs Reeve that the trio have been disavowed until a suspected Decepticon mole in their ranks can be eliminated. Bumblebee isn't ready to believe that Reeve is willing to kill either him or Lux based on that suspicion... until Reeve reappears, already raising his gun. Just as 'Bee slams down his accelerator and speeds off, Diabla and Runabout burst out of the river, and Reeve's shot goes wild. Reeve quickly jumps on top of 'Bee before he gets too far away, but obviously, neither the Autobot nor Lux are willing to let him inside, thinking that he is the Decepticon mole, since it appears he just tried to kill them. As the Decepticons pursue the trio through the streets of London, Reeve insists that he had actually been aiming at the approaching Decepticons, and that he has no intention of following B.A.S.E.S.T.A.T.I.O.N.'s orders to eliminate 'Bee and Lux. 'Bee transforms to robot mode, tossing Reeve and Lux to (relative) safety while he takes on Diabla, their fight quickly carrying them onto Tower Bridge. Reeve is able to use special anti-Transformer rounds in his gun to keep Runabout at bay while he and Lux hightail it across the bridge, heading for a P.R.O.G.R.A.M.M.E. safehouse beneath the nearby Tower of London, but when his ammo runs out, Lux hotwires a scooter parked nearby, and the two agents use it to flee deeper into the city. His quarry lost, Runabout joins Diabla in fighting Bumblebee, until the little Autobot breaks off the fight by escaping into into the River Thames.

Lux leads Reeve to Brick Lane, where a second off-the-books safehouse established by her and Director Pelham is located. As they head inside, Lux ponders Pelham's reasons for trading top P.R.O.G.R.A.M.M.E. agent Ian Byrde to Sector Seven in return for Bumblebee; as Byrde is helping ferret out Soviet moles in S7, perhaps 'Bee is here to uncover Decepticon spies in their ranks? The pair are soon joined by Bumblebee, who arrives via an underwater entrance, having previously been given the safehouse's location by Lux, and the team prepare for their next move. Reeve and 'Bee's encounter with Wildrider while hunting down Konrad Gotell in Berlin indicates a connection between the Decepticons and the criminal, so their next target is one of Gotell's Soviet contacts, Vladimir Vladek.

Donning disguises as a photographer and a model, Reeve and Lux stake out Vladek's London base of operations in the fashionable Carnaby Street. When Reeve spots Diabla approaching in vehicle mode, he has Bumblebee block the street so he and Lux can rush the clothing store that is the front for Vladek's headquarters. Reeve attempts to remove the lock on the door that bars their way with his laser-watch, but Lux has a more percussive solution, smashing it off with her boot. The two agents burst into Vladek's office as he is in the middle of burning files, and Lux interrogates the man himself while Reeve holds off his goons. It becomes apparent that Vladek is not in league with the Decepticons, and that both East and West are being played by the evil robots, who are trying to trick each side into believing the other is initiating hostilities against them. Vladek agrees to report their conclusion to his handlers in an attempt to stave off the outbreak of war.

Meanwhile, outside, Bumblebee clashes with Diabla again, and once more tries to convince her to talk, for old time's sake. This time, however, Diabla agrees, and the pair relocate to the roof of Vladek's building to converse. Bumblebee wants to know about the Decepticon's "human friends," but Diabla dismisses the entire human species as insects and tools for the Decepticons to exploit at best. What, she asks, is the difference between a Decepticon using a human to gain the upper hand in the war, and all the times the Autobots have done exactly the same thing? Bumblebee insists that his alliance is for the good of both species, not just Cybertronians... but before they can discuss the matter further, 'Bee's attention is caught by a noise from the alley down below...

In the alley, Reeve and Lux watch as Vladek climbs into his car, preparing to head off to meet with his handlers. But before his driver can even turn the key in the ignition, the car begins to shudder... and then transforms, revealing itself to be the Decepticon Dead End in disguise, who crushes Vladek and his driver to death inside him as he assumes his robot form! As Bumblebee looks on in horror, Diabla laughs and bounds away, their conversation having only ever been a delaying tactic. Bumblebee turns to watch her go, unaware of a cluster of missiles streaking towards him from behind...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Bumblebee (2)	Diabla (4) Runabout (5) Dead End (7)	David Reeve (1) Diana Lux (3) Vladimir Vladek (6)

Quotes

"Okay, but did I ever tell you my thing about dying? I'd rather not."

—Reeve

"Pardon me—do you carry any Russians in my size?"

—Reeve drops that dry-cool action-hero wit as he and Lux burst into Vladek's headquarters

"You're not so good at this 'robots in disguise' thing, Diabla. Anybody could have heard you break cover."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to break you next, then!"

—Bumblebee and Diabla

Dead End: "Yesssss human... I'm afraid you've met a Dead End!"
Reeve: "Oh, bloody hell."
Lux: "Did he just use his own name in a sentence?"

Notes

Continuity notes

The idea that Sector Seven's ranks may potentially have been infiltrated by Soviet spies hearkens back to IDW's Transformers: Sector 7 mini-series, which featured an adventure set ten years before the events of the Bumblebee prequel in which defector Joe Danco stole S7 secrets for the Reds.

Transformers references

Dead End is a Decepticon from the Revenge of the Fallen toyline. While he has shown up in Titan Magazine comics, he's never appeared in IDW's movie continuity before!

Real-life references

Like last issue, the title of this story is a play on a James Bond movie, in this case, The Living Daylights, which is also about Soviet espionage. The logo is written in the same font as the Bond original.
Various real-life London landmarks and locations feature in this story, including Victoria Embankment, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the River Thames, Brick Lane, and Carnaby Street.
On page 10, panel 1, a poster for the Bond movie You Only Live Twice is just peeping in on the right of the frame.
On page 11, panel 3, Reeve laughs at a bowler hat in Lux's safehouse, deeming it out of style. Though a Bond fan may immediately assume this to be a reference to Bond villain Oddjob, who used a steel-rimmed bowler hat as a weapon, it's more likely a reference to John Steed of The Avengers, whose wardrobe included a bowler hat, and whose partner, Emma Peel, is the inspiration for Lux.
That said, there's a very Oddjob-looking fellow in the background of page 13, panel 3!
Other sights in Lux's safehouse include a jetpack and a mini-submarine; both gadgets used by James Bond in the movies Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me, respectively, though the ones seen here do not match the designs of the gadgets Bond specifically used.
Reeve's disguise—a loudly-dressed photographer with a ruffled shirt and large glasses—is based on Austin Powers, the famous spoof of the swinging sexy 60s spy adventures that Bumblebee is otherwise paying straight homage to.
On page 13, panel 4, there's an establishment named "Kurayakin & Solo"—named after spy duo Illya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo from The Man from U.N.C.L.E..

Covers (3)

Cover A: "The Living Headlights" by Andrew Griffith and Priscilla Tramontano
Cover B: Another movie poster pastiche, by Fico Ossio
Retailer incentive cover A: Griffith's black-and-white lineart from Cover A