Sarah Connor is introduced to the Cybertronians.
The image seen on the inside front cover of each issue
depicts what may be a Terminator's eye view of the planets
Cybertron and Earth.
This issue was published two months later than the date for
which it was solicited due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Didja Notice?
On page 1, Megatron commends Skywarp on awakening him first
after the crash landing of the Ark in order to take deadly
advantage of the dormancy of the Autobots. This is also how
these events occurred in the original Transformers
animated series.
On page 2, the model numbers associated with the Decepticons
in the T-800's HUD display appear to be used for the first
time ever here. Starscream is labeled as Model DC22^15,
Soundwave as Model MC^10, and Megatron as Model P38^UNC. The
Transformers Wiki points out that the model names are
all nods to various incarnations of the characters in other
media:
|
The Terminator's tactical overlay identifies
Starscream as "MODEL 0022^15" (sic) in reference to
both his traditional F-15 alternate mode and his film
counterpart's F-22 form, Soundwave as "MODEL MC^10", a nod
to the Micro Change "Cassette Man" toy and the "MC-10"
molded on its door, and, finally, Megatron as "MODEL
P38^UNC", an allusion to the Micro Change "MC-13 Gun Robo
Walther P-38 U.N.C.L.E.", named for its Walther P38 altmode
and accessories inspired by the television show The Man
from U.N.C.L.E. |
On page 6, Starscream mocks that shooting at the T-800 is
like shooting Sharkticons in a barrel.
Sharkticons, as the name suggests, are Transformer versions of
sharks (also sometimes compared to piranha).
On page 9, Sarah remarks, "Seems like Judgment Day's coming
anyway."
In the T-800's flashback story of the war against the
Cybertronians, on page 14, the Decepticons appear to be
destroying
Mt.
Rushmore. This may be a nod to a similar scene in the
1980 film Superman II, in which the Kryptonian Phantom
Zone criminals deface the monument.
The T-800 states that humans attempted to
fight back against the Cybertronian invasion through a
military coalition called Skywatch.
Skywatch also appears in the main IDW Transformers
continuity.
In the
Transformers
vs. the Terminator continuity, it was Skywatch
that created Skynet.
On page 15, panel 2, during
the
T-800's flashback story of the future war, we see Refraktor
gunned down by Terminators. His body was seen lying on a
bridge in 2029 in
"TvT: Enemy of My Enemy" Part
1.
During the
T-800's flashback story of the war, on page 15, Megatron is
seen sitting in the gigantic sculpted chair of the
Lincoln Memorial like a throne, having destroyed the
statue of Abraham Lincoln that previously sat there.
Megatron also does this in the original animated series
episode "Atlantis, Arise!"
Two Decepticons named Bombshell and Refraktor search for
energon on Earth at Megatron's command.
Bombshell and Refraktor are mainstays of the various
Transformers continuities, Bombshell sometimes called
Hardshell and Refraktor often called Reflector. Energon is
the energy source/foodstuff that powers all Transformers and
their technology.
On page 17, Bumblebee refers to Optimus Prime as "Big Bot".
This was a nickname used by Cheetor for Optimus Primal in
the Beast Wars and Beast Machines animated
series.
At the end of the issue, the Decepticons launch an attack
against a Cyberdyne Systems facility that appears to be
generating energon.
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