The fight between Whirl and Cyclonus is pretty awesome, especially given how detached Cyclonus is throughout the entire affair.
An understated one for the bridge crew, who likely saved a lot of lives with their swift actions after the catastrophic jump.
Issue 2:
Skids vs. the Legislators. The fact that he managed to destroy the first two without his weapons goes a lot toward underscoring just how badass Skids is. And of course there was the laughably one-sided follow-up when he gets his mode lock off, and the spaceship jump before that.
Issue 3:
Skids continues to prove that he is awesome, saving Rung from the Sparkeater and managing to elude the damn thing until Rodimus puts his own plan into action.
The way that Rodimus finally manages to kill the Sparkeater is both awesome and more than a little insane, backing it into the quantum generators and holding it in place until it fuses. This fuses his own arms with the generator, requiring that they be amputated and replaced, and yet he has this ridiculous grin on his face after the fact.
Issue 4:
Fortress Maximus' last page appearance and his little speech therein are about seventeen different kinds of awesome, many of which are also scary as shit.
Fortress Maximus: Do you two realize where you're standing? No? Then let me explain. My name is Fortress Maximus. Five years ago I was attacked by a Decepticon so powerful he redefined the word. He took me down. Hard. I was paralyzed, lobotomized, and left for dead. All of which means that right now, you two—you two Decepticons—being the very first Decepticons I've encountered since I was all but beaten to death—are standing in the very worst place in the universe.
Issue 5:
Fortress Maximus taking out a couple of Deceptions, dismembering them bare-handed.
Ratchet confronting the mastermind behind the plague outbreak— Pharma— is awesome from start to finish. To elaborate:
He starts off by deducing that Pharma's the guilty party, citing the latter's refusal to switch to alt-mode as proof that he knows exactly how this mystery plague works (transforming between shapes is the catalyst), despite no one having seen it before.
He then contracts the plague himself and activates it by going alt-mode to save Backstreet, knowing full well that he's probably condemning himself to a horrible death. But he does it anyway to give his patient a better chance at survival.
With the plague now ravaging his systems, Ratchet goes and hunts down Pharma, ending up held at gunpoint while the mad doctor engages in a Motive Rant. There's seemingly nothing Ratchet can do in this situation...except, by the time Pharma's finished his rant, Ratchet reveals that he already has:
Pharma: (In reply to Ratchet claiming he can fight back now) Fight back? Fight back?! You're falling apart!
Ratchet: I've infected you.
Pharma: You haven't even touched me!
Ratchet: While you've been talking, I've been corroding. I've sprung a thousand leaks. And for the last 34 seconds—
(Ratchet points at the ground, where his inner fluids have bled out across the floor...and are now pooling around Pharma's feet.)
Pharma manages to escape to the rooftop, where he's stalled by a holo-matter avatar projected by Ratchet... which is a distraction so that the corroding, decaying medic can dive-tackle Pharma from behind.
When Pharma tries to grab the antidote for the plague to use on himself, Ratchet kicks it off the rooftop. When Pharma screams that he's killed them both, Ratchet gives both the mad doctor and his own impending death the finger:
And then, as he leaves Pharma hanging from the edge of the roof, in danger of losing his grip and falling any second, Ratchet delivers another epic monologue:
To top it all off, Ratchet then gets Pharma's hands, so he can keep on working as a medic.
Issue 6:
The hostage situation with Fortress Maximus brings out some excellent moments from the captive Rung and Whirl:
Rung notices the camera the others get working almost immediately and uses his thumb mic to give them the audio he knows they don't have. Later, he's able to remind them that they have Rewind and Swerve outside by pointing to one of his model ships. He also figures out the pattern to Fort Max's attacks apparently before even Ratchet.
Whirl's behavior throughout the hostage situation is unexpectedly smart of him. From a hostage's perspective, connecting and identifying with the captor lessens the chance of the hostage being harmed. This is exactly what Whirl is doing — but not by talking Max down, like anyone else would. Rather, in typical crazy fashion, he personifies Max's violent conscience, by echoing the exact thoughts running through Max's head. This forces Max to engage him in conversation rather than kill his captives outright, buying everyone else involved precious time to act.
Rung: Everyone just - just stay calm. Max, please, lower the gun. I know what this is about - what this is really about. Lower the gun and we'll talk, yes?
Whirl(making himself the 'voice' in Max's head): Don't listen to him! It's a trick! Pull the trigger!
Crankcase gets a nice Curb Stomp Cushion when he busts out a Cybernought and takes out the three most physically powerful DJD members in short order, stepping on Tarn and blasting Helex and Tesarus. Granted, he went down pretty fast thanks to the combined efforts of Tarn and Kaon, but it's still pretty awesome and it bought the Scavengers enough time for Fulcrum to make his move.
Fulcrum's attempt at a Heroic Sacrifice doesn't work (and he lives through it), but the speech he gives to the DJD is pure awesome:
In the 2012 Annual, the normally peppy and chipper Drift slugging Whirl right in the face after having his button pressed too many times.
Issue 11:
Anything Orion Pax does during the Shadowplay flashbacks. Considering that he becomes the well-and-truly badass Optimus Prime, it's no surprise.
Issue 12:
Tailgate risking his life to disarm a bomb in issue 12. Becomes even more awesome in issue #13 when it's revealed he's not actually a bomb disposal expert, but a sanitation worker lying about his past, and he tricked Rewind into coming up with a plan to disarm it.
More importantly, even as it was becoming clear that the bomb was likely to detonate anyway—and that even with its power dampened, it would still carry enough force to kill him—Tailgate refused to abandon the job when lives were still in danger.
He also gets the chance to turn his fear into a Badass Boast when Rewind notices his eyes sparking with worry.
A flashback to Overlord's birth. It turns out that his spark's first flash exposed two miners to lethal radiation. That's right...he's so deadly that his very birth involved killing people!
And, of course, there's the way he turns the tables on his interrogator, Chromedome, and finds a way to escape the cell that he's been confined in.
Issue 15:
A understated Dying Moment of Awesome for Pipes. Despite being brutally stomped to death by Overlord, he manages to drag himself to an alarm button—falling apart both physically and mentally—and slams his fist against it before finally succumbing to his excessive injuries. The alarm going off gave everyone the chance to realize something was wrong, and thus prepare for battle, before Overlord came bearing down upon them.
The entire crew of the Lost Light teaming together and taking on Overlord is pretty awesome. It gets even more awesome when Fortress Maximus joins in and takes Overlord down with help from Chromedome and Rewind.
Ratchet's reaction to Overlord appearing behind him is especially epic. He just whips out a gun and shoots Overlord right in the face. Then, while Overlord's reeling back from that, Ratchet locks down the medbay and steps up to fight him while calmly giving instructions over the comm to Rodimus.
Ratchet: "Rodimus? Tool up and get down to the medibay. Bring EVERYONE. And if anything happens to me, tell First Aid he's ready, tell Whirl he can have my hands, and tell all my patients...that they'll have to make new appointments."
Ratchet, reduced to just a head attached to his spark chamber, successfully goads Pharma into putting him back in his body.
Issue 20:
When forced to perform an impossible surgery, Ratchet manages to stall long enough to convert the innards of Ambulon's corpse into a one-shot energy weapon...which he promptly uses to blow away the Legislator keeping watch over him and First Aid.
Getaway busting the away team out of their cell, using nothing but some briefcase clamps and Chromedome's finger needles.
It was brief and didn't end well, but there was something inherently awesome about Dai Atlas taking on Star Saber in battle while arguing over their different views on faith.
Issue 21:
Tailgate tackling Tyrest on his own, stalling the genocidal chief justice long enough to allow the rest of the good guys—at least, those not affected by the killswitch—to recover. Then, when Tyrest tries to use him as a Cybertronian Shield, Tailgate shouts at Rodimus to shoot through him if that's what it takes to stop Tyrest.
It should be noted that Tailgate was dying of cybercrosis this whole time. He did all this while his systems were shutting down.
Then a recovering Minimus Ambus shoots Tyrest in the back!
Props must be given for the Bond One-Liner and Ironic Echo Minimus gives after he shoots Tyrest down.
Minimus Ambus: Fully deserved.
Cyclonus taking Star Saber's challenge and winning, forcing Star Saber to retreat with his tail between his legs.
The speech he gives while doing so is also pretty boss.
Cyclonus: I've never bought into the notion of Primal infallibility; I think that sometimes, God gets it wrong. He lets the best of us get sick and die while degenerates like you go on forever. But I think Primus is smiling on me today, Star Saber; he's letting me correct one of his mistakes.
During this little battle, Star Saber has Cyclonus by the neck with his sword drawn. How does Cyclonus respond? By ramming his remaining hornright into Star Saber's optic. Star Saber screams in pain and flees. That's right - Cyclonus just took out one of the best swordsmen in the galaxy without using his hands.
Rodimus sacrificing the Matrix map to stop the Killswitch.
Cyclonus manages to save Tailgate by channeling some of his own excess Matrix energy from being revitalized by Vector Sigma at the end of the Chaos storyline into Tailgate by using the Great Sword he got from the Circle of Light as a conduit by stabbing Tailgate through the chest with it. And best of all, Whirl was the one who suggested it!
They also found a cure for cybercrosis. Sure, it was a little late, but at least it's no longer a death sentence for those who have it.
Issue 22:
Swerve saves the day by whacking Paddox over the head with Rung.
Issue 28:
Not only has Ravage successfully snuck on board the Lost Light, but he's so skilled at sneaking that he manages to sit right under Rung's desk during Megatron's therapy session without being noticed.
Megatron manages to beat Whirl in a fight by letting himself get punched through the stomach, which causes Whirl's arm to get chopped off by the Gordian Knot of space bridge portals that his insides have become.
It's revealed that Whirl only survived the Great War because Megatron deliberately ordered his soldiers to leave him alone, because Megatron always wanted to give Whirl an ironic death.
Or to prove that Whirl is not as great as a warrior as he thinks he is.
Issue 29:
The calm, easy manner in which Megatron defuses Trailcutter's drunken antics.
Issue 30:
Megatron manages to flip the prosecution's whole argument against them and gives Optimus, Prowl, and the Autobots as a whole an epicWhat the Hell, Hero? speech, calling them out on acting like the war was all black and white and pretending they never did anything morally questionable.
At Megatron's trial Snaptrap and his mooks bust out of the brig and attack the crew and New Iacon's residents. Ultra Magnus responds by grabbing a huge hammer off of a nearby statue and using it to smash a third of them into the sky.
Issue 32:
A big "Hell, Yes!" Moment when Megatron pulls the unconscious Rewind out of the Magnus Armor.
Issue 33:
After being exposed, Brainstorm casually walks into Swerve's and opens his briefcase, knocking out Atomizer and everyone else in the room.
"I'll let you in on a little secret... I can do whatever the hell I like."
Skids' epic What the Hell, Hero? speech to Megatron, after he dismisses the idea of trying to save Ofsted XVII from the alternate Lost Light and its quantum engines since it not only shuts Megatron up, but then manages to convince him to help out after all.
Megatron: "Might be populated", you said. Might. If that planet were teeming with Cybertronians then yes, there'd be an argument for going back into the breach. But I doubt that's the case.
Skids: Ah, your true colours. I'd forgotten how purple they were.
Megatron: You've forgotten something else. I am your prisoner. I've been granted conditional bail while we look for the Knights of Cybertron. Where in my bail terms does it say-where precisely does it say-that I have to risk my life to save a handful of strangers?
Skids: *Taps Megatron's Autobot insignia* Right. There. What does that even mean to you? How has wearing it forced you to modify your behavior? I'm serious! How has being an Autobot in any way prevented you from doing exactly what you want? Because if the answer is "it hasn't" then nothing you've said or done in the last six months counts for anything.
Issue 34
A villainous one for Vos, who, despite suffering potentially lethal injuries, is right up and fighting again after receiving a partial transfusion and limited field care. He then takes several volleys of gunfire to the torso without ever staying down for long. This from someone who had minutes left. First Aid is either a hell of a doctor or the DJD set the bar really high. Maybe both.
Issue 35
Rewind's speech to the Functionalists.
Special mention to the protester who sets her own T-cog on fire and throws it at a functionary.
Issue 36
Orion wraps Trailcutter's forcefield around himself and then has Windcharger launch him into the Senate's monitoring station. Tailgate even lampshades it.
Tailgate: This is the greatest thing I have ever seen.
The implications throughout the issue that one of the sparks in the ignited hot spot is Rodimus himself, and that by assisting Orion and his team in protecting it, Rodimus actually ensures his own creation.
Issue 38
How tough is Perceptor? Despite having been bodily picked up and smashed into a computer screen by Megatron, who thinks he's about five minutes from being deleted from existence, Perceptor orders Megatron to "back off, calm down, and shut up - in that order." And Megatron obeys him.
Rung has another non-action Moment of Awesome when he talks Brainstorm down from killing Megatron's past self and surrendering his gun, convincing the desperate scientist he's better then he thinks he is.
If you read a couple of time, he's actually using a very similar method to how Whirl talked Fort Max down way back in issue 6 - calling him out on it and relying on his conflictions. Guess he actually picked up on Whirl's methods!
Whirl ensuring Megatron's birth despite the other crewmembers' protests and arguments. Him doing so means that Whirl just single-handedly saved every Constructed Cold transformer and protected the entire universe; by saving Megatron and causing the Great War, he averted the Bad Future where the Functionist Council would've killed Rung and brought about the apocalypse, and all the horrible Orwellian incidents in-between.
Deathsaurus takes on Tarn despite knowing that he's totally outmatched and actually holds his own against him. Even more awesome is that he does so in a desperate attempt to save his crew, as he knew that the DJD would've killed them as well had they come for Deathsaurus. Say what you will about Deathsaurus, but this makes two things very clear: Firstly, Deathsaurus does carefor his crew. Secondly, he is damn good at the Bavarian Fire Drill.
And the way Deathsaurus started the fight, offhandedly shoving a box into a very surprised Tarn's hands for him to carry while they chat. A box that, as Tarn realizes a second too late, contains explosives.
The final page of the issue, with the DJD, Deathsaurus, the Breastforce, the Dinoforce, Blue Bacchus, Browning, Solon, and several other Decepticons all united to go hunting after the Lost Light. Not just from a story perspective, but from an art perspective as well, as Hayato Sakamoto made sure to have absolutely every member from both factions included for one awesome group shot, missing only Hellbat in order to avoid continuity issues.
Issue 40
Ten's crafts and creations are seriously gorgeous. Special note goes to the mural of all his favorite crewmembers.
Minimus accompanying Ten to the bar is both this and a Heartwarming Moment. He's appearing in public outside the Magnus Armor, to boot!
Issue 42
Thunderclash showing why he's "the Greatest Autobot Ever": he's on his deathbed, and he still manages to rise, give a heroic speech, and pull a You Shall Not Pass!.
The Monster of the Week is defeated, not by any of the main characters, but by Skater, Flex, and Borer, three random background characters. Even more awesome, they managed to figure out the big mystery before Nightbeat did.
It's revealed that Swerve's old shoulder injury turns out to have been caused by Agent 113 being too good of a shooter. He hit Swerve's shoulder with such skill that neither Swerve nor any medics noticed his data bullet until First Aid told Velocity what to look for.
Issue 45:
Misfire and Spinister duking it out during a mock gunfight amidst the Scavengers.
Fortress Maximus, newly-appointed enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, makes his big return at the end of the issue.
Issue 46:
The Scavengers manage to elude Fortress Maximus. This bears repeating—the Scavengersmanage toeludeFortressMaximus! Between this and surviving an encounter with the DecepticonJusticeDivision, it's starting to look like the lovable screwballs have a knack for pulling off the impossible.
Issue 49:
Getaway is currently in the brig for his recent crimes. When Tailgate encounters him during a power outage, the little bothas this to say:
Tailgate: "Oh. The one person I can find to talk to and it's you... are you even listening to me? You tried to kill me, and now you're ignoring me?! I'd say you were ashamed, but I don't think you've got it in you. And Cyclonus! You nearly got him killed too! See this? *holds up a tube* It's his Innermost Energon. It was by my bedside when I woke up. So where is he? Where's everyone else? No? Nothing? Well — *smashes a nearby wall* — you then. See ya Getaway, I hope you get the life you deserve...
The one who stops Sunder's Mind Rape massacre? Not Thunderclash (who fell victim to Sunder's powers). Not Megatron (who's taken a personal oath to never kill again out of guilt for all he's done in the past). It's Rung, by way of his personal collection of model ships—all of which are flight-capable and armed! One remote-guided command later, and Sunder's lost both of his Mind Rape-inducing eyes to laser shots from the miniature squadron!
And when Sunder's still ready to keep fighting, even while blinded and only able to hunt by sound, it's Tailgate—his spark mutated by stress and quantum radiation to transform him into a new kind of Outlier—who picks up the RodPod and crushes Sunder with it.
Issue 50
The big opening battle:
All the Lost Lighters taking on a group of Rust Giants.
Tailgate showing off his newfound Super-Strength to punch one out.
Tailgate: "Outta the way, Rodimus! I got this! POWER PUNCH!
And, to cap it off, Megatron saying the three words nobody would ever expect to hear from him.
Megatron: "Autobots, ROLL OUT!"
Megatron managing to punch Minimus Ambus (a Point One Percenter) hard enough to floor him. Even with Fool's Energon weakening him, he's still got the edge that made him Megatron.
Issue 51
This issue is a big one for Megatron's character arc.
Ultra Magnus losing his patience with their situation:
"Screw Getaway! Call Cybertron. Call Luna 1. Call Caminus. Call EVERYONE. And I apologise for swearing."
Megatron declaring he'll stay behind to protect the organics that the Necrobot had been caring for, showing just how far he's come from deciding not to bother saving a planet because it doesn't have any mechanical life.
"I'm not trying to set an example, if that's what you mean, Rodimus. I've made my choice, and you're all free to make yours. Anyone who wishes to leave should leave. No questions need to be asked, no reasons given. The same if you want to stay. You don't have to justify your actions, or explain your motives, or invite others to scrutinise your conscience. Either you stay or you go. You don't need anyone's permission. You don't need anyone's blessing. Make whatever decision you wish to make, but make it for yourself. There is nothing in this room but understanding."
And then everyone chooses to stay with him.
Megatron genuinely renouncing Decepticonism and going to face Tarn alone.
Throughout the issue, Ten is seen as a nuisance, constantly getting underfoot. At the end, though, he's the one who works out how to activate the Necrobot's fortress's forcefield, before even Nautica (Quantum Mechanic) or Brainstorm (Built a time machine) could.
Not to mention holding off the entire DJD, minus Tarn, plus Deathsaurus' troops, singlehandedly, and actually putting up a strong showing until his reinforcements arrive.
The final page. Ratchet and Drift pulling the Biggest Damn Heroes in Transformers history.
Only made better by the fact that Ratchet is now wearing his Prime body.
Issue 52
Megatron refusing to rise to Tarn's bait when the latter tries to force him to break his vow never to hurt anyone again.
Related to the above: this doesn't stop Megatron from being a Badass Pacifist. The first chance he gets—namely, when Overlord shows up looking to kill him, too—the former Decepticon leader takes advantage of the distraction to pull himself onto his hover-vehicle and escape.
The actual fight between Overlord and Tarn, showing clearly that the 'con who rampaged through the Lost Light and killed the original Rewind has lost none of his edge. After being shot with Tarn's tank mode gun, Overlord's response is to laugh, ask "You call that a tank?", changes modes and return fire.
He then goes back to the Peaceful Tyranny with Tarn and spends his time there belittling and mocking the Decepticon Justice Division.
Kaon's death is both this and a tearjerker. On the one hand, it's pretty savage and subverts Tarn's sole redeeming quality of being loyal and caring towards his underlings. On the flip side, it's a rather satisfying dose of Laser-Guided Karma. Remember how Kaon murdered Trailbreaker, in a classic case of The Farmer and the Viper? Well, Tarn ends up killing him the same way, crushing his head against a similarly unyielding object.
Issue 53
Rewind straight-up punches Rodimus in the face for allowing Chromedome to inject again, calling him an enabler. He also takes matters into his own hands when he grabs one of Drift's swords and hacks Chromedome's arm off to save him.
Minimus Ambus spends the issue out of both his suits of armour so he can get measured for a new suit by Brainstorm. We see it at the end, an even more gigantic, heavily-armed, tricked-out version of the Magnus Armour...called the Maximus Ambus armor.
An exchange that somehow manages to be sad, awesome, and heartwarming all at once, made all the more impressive because it's surprisingly civil while being held by the comic's biggest semi-heroic crazypants and its biggest honorbound stoic, regarding Cyclonus' and Tailgate's relationship.
Cyclonus: "No. We haven't spoken. Not about that. Important things are felt, not said." Whirl: "I'll take your word for it. I don't do "relationships." My world begins and ends with me. So why aren't you guys a couple?" Cyclonus: "...he deserves better. He's kind. He cares about people. The more he's pushed away, the more he reaches out." Whirl: "So it's not the height difference." Cyclonus: "It is, in a way. He towers over me." Whirl: "Well, I still think you should be spending the rest of your lives together. I mean we're talking all of 24 minutes, but..." Cyclonus: "Oh, we'll survive this. He'll survive, at any rate." Whirl: "Because of the upgrade?" Cyclonus: "Because I'll split this world open and tear down the sky before I let him come to even the slightest harm."
Issue 54
Team Rodimus beating the scrap out of the assembled New Decepticon Army.
Rodimus uses his seldom-seen ability to burst into flames to fry a pile of 'Cons.
The single greatest He's Back! moment in Transformers history. The Autobots are finally beaten, surrounded on all sides by the Decepticons, about to be killed. Suddenly, there's a massive explosion and Megatron comes out of the dust, Fusion Cannon in hand, ready to save the day.
Doubles as a Heartwarming moment: His gun is glowing orange, the colour of the Autobot lasers. Brainstorm was building weapons in an previous issue that would differentiate between Autobot and Decepticons by their laser colours. He built this Fusion Cannon for Megatron and programmed it to recognise him as an Autobot.
Nickel manages to defuse the above moment of awesome for Megatron when she-with Vos serving as her weapon-manages to destroy his fusion cannon with a single shot, completely demoralizing Megatron and allowing Tarn and Overlord to move in for the assumed kill.
Issue 55
As the members of the DJD who didn't retreat out of disgust for Tarn's fanaticism or Megatron's apparent cowardice breach Meg's panic bubble, Megatron reveals that the whole thing was a Wounded Gazelle Gambit to buy time to prepare and trap Tarn in the bubble with him.
It turns out that Megatron has been stockpiling Chekhov's Gun after Chekhov's Gun since he became a part of the crew, culminating in him unlocking the power of anti-matter to tear most of the DJD apart with energy siphoned from a BLACK HOLE.
Swerve and Rewind manage to get one too, turning the Necrobot's psychic attack weapon on the Decepticons and giving them an attack of conscience. Deathsaurus realizes how many of his troops' lives have been wasted today, and orders a full retreat, removing all but Overlord and the remainder of the DJD (Nickel goes with him and Kaon and the Pet are dead by that point) from the equation. The two smallest, weakest members of the crew just took out 99% of the enemy force!
Issue 57
Fortress Maximus fighting Sentinel's army of titans.
Lost Light Issue 2
As Team Rodimus is being paraded towards the Cog by Twelve-of-Twelve and his Functionaries, they are suddenly attacked by the Anti-Vocationist League, who despite having the element of surprise, quickly start to be overwhelmed. Rodimus says they need to do something, which Megatron translates as he needs to do something. At Rodimus' urging, Megatron sighs, agrees...and then breaks his chains in half like they were made of paper, showing just how easily he could have escaped if he'd wanted to. He then proceeds to free everyone else in short order, and then directs the flow of battle in Team Rodimus' favour without ever having to harm someone himself. Megatron is indeed one Badass Pacifist.
Lost Light Issue 3
Swerve and Whirl manage to get the last of the Necrobot's pods open and discover its occupant...Killmaster! With the wand!
Swerve admits that it's pretty awesome that Killmaster calls Whirl his Nemesis - just like Whirl calls Killmaster. That's one thing Whirl was telling the truth about, at least!
Lost Light issue 4
Rodimus just completely ignoring Six-of-Twelve's attempts to monologue. Followed by tackling him.
Six-of-Twelve: In any case, do you really think you can - Rodimus: This is you: Blah-blah-blah... Six-of-Twelve: I said, do you really think- Rodimus: Blah-blah-blah-blah. Six-of-Twelve: I don't know what you hope to achieve by- Rodimus: Blah-blah-blah. Mate! Urgent message from the rest of the world: SHUT THE HELL UP!
Megatron actually managing to rally the Anti-Vocationist League into a decent fighting force against Luna 2's tractor beams.
Even though he's clearly not meant for fighting, Alternate!Rung still takes a stand against Rodimus when the latter tries to save Luna 2 so as to use the teleporter to get back to Necroworld. Rung is determined to take the Council down. Before that, Team Rodimus (seven people) manages to take over The Cog (with at least fifty people on board).
Brainstorm using Killmaster's wand to create a bridge across universes.
Megatron is still committed to being tried and refusing to run from his mistakes. Even Terminus insisting they stay in the Functionist Universe won't move him.
Lost Light issue 6
Giant. Rung. Fights. THE MOON. Unfortunately, it kills him at the end, but holy crap.
The end of the issue: Megatron, now stranded in the Functionist Universe, begins rallying the AVL via rhetoric, only this time, his motto is "Peace through Empathy". Not fighting via guns and bombs and superweapons, but through words, and reason. Then, as Megatron stares out at the sky, he gets a call... from Orion Pax.
Lost Light issue 9
The issue ends with us finally getting to meet the mysterious new Big Bad, the "Grand Architect" himself...Scorponok. Suddenly, a lot of the Architects' plans make a hell of a lot more sense when you realize who their boss is. And also sheds some light on Grimlock's current condition too, given he was carted off to Garrus-9 with Scorponok too.
It also ends with the Grand Architect being handed Mengel's Resus Cradle that was recovered from her lab, and drily noting that merely using it to bring back the dead is a "startling lack of ambition". He then proceeds to mock the name she gave it as ridiculous, stating he prefers its other name, The Magnificence.
It's immediately undercut when she's swiftly disarmed, but Velocity gets a really badass moment:
Grand Architect's Thugs: This is where you stand aside. Velocity:This is where you make me.
Lost Light issue 10
Mirage smashing a glass in Getaway's face, after previously falling on the bastard's side, once he learns what Getaway's been up to. At the same time, Riptide admitting that what The Mutiny did was wrong, and trying to help the Protectobots get off the ship. Almost a shame it's all for nothing.
The simple fact that Thunderclash immediately decided after the mutiny to try and rescue Rodimus, a guy who outright celebrated the thought of him dying, rather than go along with Getaway's schemes. What a 'bot.
Lost Light issue 11
Thunderclash putting his foot down and telling Getaway in no uncertain terms that while he agreed with getting rid of Megatron, he never agreed to walk away from people in need of help, and that saving lives is not a "distraction" as Getaway tactlessly puts it. In fact, pretty much the entire crew is with him on this, showing that, completely justifiable issues with Rodimus and Megatron aside, these guys are still Autobots. They're still heroes. Not to mention that the ones who witness the portion of the Necroworld distress call before Getaway terminates it—since the part they do see is Rodimus angrily explaining that he and the others are likely about to be killed by the Decepticon Justice Division—immediately turn on Getaway and start working on getting the rest of the crew to turn the ship around and go back to Necroworld and try to fix things. Unfortunately, this pushes Getaway into calling on the help of Sunder and Froid to remain in control.
Riptide's pretty awesome "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner when he needles Getaway, the supposed master manipulator and superspy, on needing to rely so much on the nudge gun to keep the increasingly, well, mutinous crew in line, to the point where the gun is being burned out from overuse!
Riptide: What would you do without your magic wand, eh? You'd have to rely on your wits.
The fact that Getaway suffers a Not So Stoic moment afterwards shows that really got to him. It also probably contributes to the rather violent nature of Riptide's demise as well, but.
Lost Light issue 15
Tarn gets a posthumous one. That seemingly useless communicator he gave Nickel contains a recorded message from him that can be used to deadly effect.
Tarn: If you're listening to this, my commiserations...you're about to die. I don't know who you are and I don't need to. What's important- what matters -is that you tried to hurt my friend.
There's two other moments in this; Firstly, the recording is played for Shockwave. Second, Shockwave survives this despite the debilitating effect of his soul malfunctioning by blasting his own hand off to destroy it.
Nickel's medical knowledge allows her to deduce what's wrong with Grimlock, and find a way to fix him.
The Scavengers-all of them, Grimlock and Nickel included-fighting their way off the Worldsweeper through a horde of Architect soldiers, complete with a Badass Boast from Grimlock.
Grimlock: GIVE 'EM HELL, SCAVENGERS!
Lost Light issue 18
Rodimus may seem like The Ditz, but he's the one who puts all the pieces together and realizes the true nature of Cyberutopia.
Ratchet smashing the "trapped light" and ending the illusion, despite Drift's warning that doing so could cost him his soul. He may not understand everything that's going on, but Ratchet's devotion to rationality is absolute.
And the fact that he's the one person who was never taken in by Cyberutopia's lies. Everything thrown at him just made him more determined to find the truth.
Lost Light issue 20
Cyclonus turns tail and flees as soon as he sees Star Saber, but it's all a ruse. As the zealot gives chase, Cyclonus transforms, draws his sword, and Star Saber is immediately bisected. If you read James Roberts' Eugenesis (while noncanon was similar in its depiction of Star Saber) and the epilogue Telefunken, you more then likely cheered Cyclonus on for winning and his direct sentence afterward.
Even more, since the start of Lost Light, Rodimus has worn a darker purple and blue paintjob evoking Transformers: Shattered Glass to represent his promise to kill Getaway. In saving him, this paintjob vanishes and is replaced with his original Red and Yellow paintjob, showing that he truly put his vendetta behind him.
Lost Light issue 21
The speech that Rodimus gives to the Grand Architect is made of this, telling exactly why the Lost Lighters are not ones to be messed with.
Rodimus: This is not the time to try and split us up. Do you have any idea what we've been through together? What we've achieved? We've seen off a Phase Sixer, cured an army of sparkeaters, survived a mutiny, traveled in time, gatecrashed a universe, and saved half our race. (...) We've liberated planets, defeated the D.J.D., found Luna 1 and the Necrobot, rescued two Metrotitans, been erased from existence, and stolen a moon... and a few hours ago, we died and broke heaven. The key word is "we". This isn't about Team Rodimus. This is about Team Magnus. It's about Team Nautica. Team Anode. Team Skids. Team Nightbeat. Hell, it's even about Team Whirl. So if 'the Grand Architect' turns out to be nothing more than the latest in a long line of nobodies trying to prove a point—another sad little trumped-up tyrant who throws a hissy fit whenever the world won't listen—then maybe, just maybe, Getaway was right. Because if you're stupid enough to turn this into us versus you, then guess what? We'll win. We've got form.
Lost Light issue 24
Just when it looks like the plan to stop Functionist Cybertron is going to fall because the Lost Lighters can't get at its hot spots while it's in robot mode, who uses the Warren to join the fray? Fort Max, Red Alert, and their friends on Luna 1 - piloting the lost moon itself and using it to ram the back of Functionist Primus' neck, forcing it back into planet mode!
The Lost Light crew invading Functionist Cybertron. A ship's worth of a Ragtag Band of Misfits, plus the Infinites, versus a planet's regime of xenophobic fascists. And they don't back down.
Thunderclash is momentarily astounded by how many Functionists are coming at them, but Spinister - who, we should remember, is the Cloud Cuckoo Lander of the worst group of Decepticons in history - just shrugs and lifts his gun:
The rest of the Scavengers - the so-called worst bunch of Decepticons in history - stepping up to the plate. From Crankcase protecting First Aid more or less single-handedly with his shoulder cannons, to Krok blasting away with a machine gun to guard Velocity, to Fulcrum and Nickel providing cover for Riptide.
Brainstorm guarding Nautica with his latest invention of a blaster.
Anode and Lug facing off against two dropships' worth of Functionists.
Megatron invoking cred as a Badass Pacifist by fending off Functionist troopers with his fusion-cannon-turned-med-kit.
Rodimus saving the day with a Rousing Speech that perfectly captures the true essence of what this series has been about, at it's core (playing "The Touch" while reading this is perfectly optional):
Rodimus: This is your co-captain speaking - and I've got a question. Have you ever wondered how we made it this far? I mean, we're not the smartest, or the strongest, or the bravest, or the best. We don't have the most fire power, or the largest army, or the fastest ships. And God knows we're not natural bedfellows. I mean think about it - an archivist, a retired mnemosurgeon, a gunsmith, an archaeologist, a waste disposal expert, a poet, a watchmaker, a barkeep...it shouldn't work - but it does. And it works because we've got one thing in common. Each other. Think of who's listening to this message and I bet you'll think of someone you respect. Someone whose judgement you trust. Someone who makes you laugh. Someone who makes you happy. Someone who makes you feel it's okay to be exactly who you are. And I promise - in fact I guarantee - that someone listening to this is thinking about you in exactly the same way. Okay, so you've made some bad decisions. You've hurt people. You've hurt yourself. You've stumbled through life from one self-inflicted disaster to the next without anything even approaching a plan. To which I say: Welcome aboard. Maybe you're not good...but you're sure as hell good enough.
Rodimus, having one of his arms torn off, still manages to open his Matrix with his teeth.
