« The Transformers vol. 2 #45 »
Autobots, rise up!
"The Nothing Man"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	September 30,2015
Cover date	September 2015
Written by	John Barber
Art by	Andrew Griffith
Colors by	Josh Perez
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	Carlos Guzman
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

The Autobots find themselves caught between a Blackrock and a hard place when the secret of the Onyx operating system is revealed.

Synopsis

At theEarth Defense Command headquarters onBikini Atoll,Marissa Faireborn,Ayana Jones,Thundercracker, andBuster wait outside the cell holdingSpike Witwicky asGarrison Blackrock talks to him inside. Thundercracker is unsure why Blackrock gets to speak to Spike, and argues that he should be given the chance as well, thinking he can get the human to open up, but Faireborn is uninterested in anything Spike might have to say. Not so for Blackrock; he has something he wants Spike to do for him, and as he builds up to his request, he tells Spike about his family lineage and shows him theOnyx source code, now running on three billion devices across theEarth...

Jetfire is also studying the Onyx code aboard theArk-7, and has deduced thatall copies of the code are linked via a quantum signal, the collective code altering itself in response to changes to other copies. UsingD.0.C. to track the signal, Jetfire—accompanied byJazz andKup aboardSky Lynx, withCosmos observing from orbit—follows it to its source on theAntarctic island ofBouvetoya. Their atmospheric approach is detected by theDecepticons in theNemesis, butGalvatron decides against alerting their EDC allies—because, as the Autobots soon discover, the humans are well aware of their arrival, and have defenses of their own in place.

Kup's complaints about the freezing weather fade to nothing when compared to the four giganticThrust/Ramjet clone-combiners they find guarding the station at the signal's source location! Created by Blackrock using the knowledge he gained from theEnigma of Combination, the colossal monstrosities pound Jetfire and Kup until they are offline, and rip Jazz's arm off—even Sky Lynx's firepower fails to stop them, and when he tries to flee, they even prove able totransform and pursue him!Arcee instructs Sky Lynx to lead the combiners to theArk-7, where she hasSideswipe unleash the full might of the ship's armament against them. Unfortunately, disaster strikes: through the Onyx source code running aboard theArk-7, Blackrock has gained control of the ship's systems and activates its deflector shields! Every missile and blast unleashed by theArk-7 explodes against the inside of its own shields, shredding the ship, while Sky Lynx's momentum causes him to crash into the shield from the outside, knocking himself offline. Trapped inside the ship, inside a shield that will not even allow communications signals to pass through, Arcee tries to take stock of the situation whileAlpha Trion deduces what is going on: the Onyx code... the code written in ancient Cybertronian, the code that is inextricably linked across all space... is the very source code of the Enigma of Combination itself!

Back on Earth, Blackrock explains that the worldwide inter-linked Onyx network gives him direct, personal access to literally every piece of information on every device running the system. But it's not just simple data—the knowledge gives the Blackrock an understanding of the peoplebehind the data, letting him digitally "see" into their hearts and minds. Blackrock is able to peer into the soul of anybody... but when he turns that insight on himself, he sees nothing. And this, he explains, is at the core of what he wants Spike to do for him. Spike Witwicky's task, from within his prison cell, is to find out why Garrison Blackrock has no soul.

Aboard theNemesis, the Decepticons survey images of the destruction that has been wrought upon the Autobots. Soundwave believes Galvatron knew of Blackrock's plan, but Galvatron refutes the notion; he and the Decepticons are not the sort who scheme, Galvatron claims, not the kind to justify what they do with ideas of good and evil, but 'bots who are honest with themselves and the actions they take. And now the time fortaking has come... the Decepticons will storm theArk-7 and take the Autobots'spacebridge!

Featured characters

Characters initalic text appear only in flashbacks.(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Now this—this is the exciting stuff.Computer coding. Not all thatrunning around andshooting people nonsense."

—Jetfire, giant nerd

"Autobots onEarth? Any update on whetherwater is stillwet?"

—Laserbeak gets a good line... for me to poop on!

"I think that guy is calledBucket."

—Blackrock tries to recall Kup's name

"Weaponsonline. Correction—weaponshella-online."

—Sideswipe

"I can see into everyone'ssoul, Spike. That's not ajoke. Beyond the data, beyond the information, I see themeaning—I can see what makes peopletick. But when I look at myself... I seenothing. I find thatdiscomforting. I don'tunderstand it. Sothat's what I want, Spike. I want you to find out why I have no soul."

—Blackrock

"Everybody's cell is the world around them."

—Blackrock

"You and I, we do notscheme. Weunderstand our adversaries. And make no mistake,everyone is an adversary. They tell stories ofheroes andvillains. Theylie to themselves. We must bebeyond such concepts. Wetake what we need, for this is the way of the universe."

—Galvatron

Notes

Continuity notes

• Thundercracker recounts how he saved everyone inAll Hail Megatron #12, though calling himself "hero of the Cybertronians" is probably pushing it since he was immediately shot by one of his own for doing so. Can't win fer tryin', TC!
• Jetfire remarks that it's "about time [Arcee and Kup] got back." The pair are returning from the events of theSins of the Wreckers mini-series, which had yet to begin at the time of this issue's publication.
• We saw Blackrock's army of Thrust and Ramjet duplicates in action at the climax of the "Onyx Interface" story arc, inissues #37 and#38.
• Blackrock being "empty inside" should serve as a reminder of what we learned back inissue #43, when Faireborn mentioned that there was no record of his existence from more than three years ago...

Transformers references

• Sky Lynx recalls an old adventure onAthenia, the planet which served as Autobot secondary command post inThe Headmasters animated series.
• We only get a few glimpses, but Jetfire's stealth colors are based on theGentei! Gentei!Dark Skyfire figure.
• With his plan complete, Blackrock remarks that "all are one", invoking the old Transformers maxim, "'Til all are one".
• Jazz isbrutally ripped apart bya gigantic enemy. Sound familiar?
• Jetfire's moment of mid-transformation as he lands on Bouvetoya looks hauntingly similar to his G1 toy's third mode.

Real-world references

• This issue continues the theme for his arc, with a story title taken from aJim Thompson novel.
• When Jetfire and D.0.C. first show up in their new stealth decos, D.0.C. makes the noise "FLEEK", probably in reference to the briefly-popular slang term meaning "attractive or stylish".
• "We're gonna need bigger guns", Jazz laments upon seeing the combiners, probably a riff on the famous "bigger boat" quote fromJaws.

Errors

• If the station relaying the quantum signal is supposed to be a human-scaled building (and it has what appear to be doors and windows that indicate it is), the perspective on the art is pretty shonky, making either the building look minuscule, or the Autobots look the size of mountains.

Covers (4)

• Regular cover: Jetfire, Jazz, and Kup in action, byAndrew Griffith andJosh Perez
• Subscription cover: Jetfire, Jazz, Kup, Sky Lynx, and D.0.C. in the Antarctic, byCasey Coller andJoana Lafuente
• Retailer incentive cover: Galvatron the barbarian, byKei Zama andYamaishi; one of September's series of retailer incentive covers by Zama.
• Acme Comics exclusive cover: The cast of the series andMetroplex recreate the 1986 Generation 1 toyline back-of-package mural, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente, complete with signage forAcme Comics.

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• More than Meets the Eye#45
• Windblade#6
• Robots in Disguise#3
• Transformers vs. G.I. Joe#9
• IDWThe Adventures of Donald Duck collections
• VariousTransformers trade collections
• Jem and the HologramsOutrageous Annual (back cover)

Reprints

• The Transformers Volume 8(March 16,2016)ISBN 1631405853 /ISBN 978-1631405853
  • CollectsThe Transformers (2012) issues #42–45.
  • Bonus material includes covers from each issue.

• Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 67: Conquerors(July 24,2019)
  • CollectsThe Transformers (2012) issues #43–49, andCombiner Hunters#1.
  • Bonus material includes development art by Andrew Griffith, a cover gallery and an intro by Simon Furman.

• The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 10(January 1,2020)ISBN 1684055849 /ISBN 978-1684055845
  • CollectsWindblade (2015) issues#6–7,The Transformers (2012) issues #44–45,Combiner Hunters #1,Sins of the Wreckers issues#1–5,More than Meets the Eye issues#45–47 &#48–49,The Transformers Holiday Special: "Choose Me" & "The Thirteenth Day of Christmas".

• 

  Volume 8 – cover art byAndrew Griffith andJosh Perez

• 

  The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 67: Conquerors – cover art byDon Figueroa andAndrew Griffith

• 

  The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 10 – cover art byMarcelo Matere

External links

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