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The Transformers: Monstrosity is a twelve-part miniseries, published by IDW Publishing between March and July 2013. A direct sequel to Autocracy, it continues where that series left off, with the Autobots dealing with their freedom in the very early days of the war. The Dinobots take centre stage, on the run from the law as they attempt to steal the funds to escape Cybertron, while Scorponok usurps Megatron's seat of power following his defeat at the end of Autocracy.

The series is written by Chris Metzen and Flint Dille, with Livio Ramondelli providing art.


Tropes:

  • Acid Pool: The seas of Junkion.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Played With in regards to the Junkions. Here they've been reimagined as a decadent society who collapsed in on itself and all the survivors are cannibalistic savages instead of the scavenger race they originally were. However their meeting with Megatron is pretty much the same as their debut in the cartoon, they swarm an intruder for junk, the only difference is that they don't seem to be able to self heal. Finally, Megatron doesn't attempt to befriend them like the Autobots did, and their target is a villain as well so whether or not they are a straight example would depend on future appearances.
  • An Arm and a Leg: Dismemberment in robots can be fixed, so it's a frequent injury.
    • Megatron loses an arm to the junkions.
    • Blitzwing gets his arm ripped off by Grimlock.
    • Scorponok gets his leg blasted off by Megatron.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Trypticon.
  • Badass Cape: Megatron acquires one as he struggles to survive Junkion, as pictured.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Megatron is the clear winner here, he survives Junkion, gets his house in order, gains a monstrous city transformer of his own, all the while leaving the Autobots go with the knowledge they couldn't beat him, and Optimus in critical condition after being uterly powerless to stop the threat.
  • Beware the Honest Ones: An evil version in Pentius, a rarity amongst the deceitful and manipulative Quintessons. Pentius never lies to Megatron, only lecturing him on the nature of hate and evil, ideas that Megatron believes in but hasn't refined yet. He guides Megatron to the place to find a ship, and even warns him of the Sharkticon ambush. In both, he informs Megatron that he can't risk hesitation nor compassion, he needs to be ruthless enough to kill, steal, and ruin.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Scorponok wants to take control of the Decepticons, having the power and ambition to do so; he seeks to strike a major blow against the Autobots by attacking an Mega-refinery so as to demoralize them, cementing his position. Of course, it's soon made clear that he's no Megatron when it comes to leadership skills.
  • Captain Patriotic: Dai Atlas.
  • The Chains of Commanding: Optimus.
  • Darker and Edgier: Easily one of the darkest stories in the IDW canon.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Optimus gets this from Dai. See Once Done, Never Forgotten.
  • Elite Mooks: The Terrorcons against a battered-down Megatron.
  • Enemy Mine: The Autobots and Decepticons work together to stop the rampaging Trypticon.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Averted; Megatron and any Decepticon who voices a complaint to Scorponok's leadership does so because he's wasting resources and forces, not out of any moral stance. Only one soldier does, and he has his head crushed.
  • A Father to His Men: A Decepticon criticizes Scorponok because he wastes their forces, while Megatron cares for his soldiers. Megatron averts this as he himself considers wasting soldiers a waste of resources.
  • Fingore: Grimlock slices off Scorponok's claw fingers in their fight.
  • Get Out!: Optimus to Dai Atlas, understandable after he runs out of patience towards Dai Atlas.
    Optimus:You can leave my spaceport now.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Zigzagged with the Autobots. They've gained a lot of support since Autocracy, with Blaster and the press firmly behind them, but the war itself scares many of the civilians who opt to leave the planet. Many still call the government fascists, and Dai Atlas's mudslinging doesn't help, but Atlas himself has been regarded by some citizens as a fanatic.
  • Holier Than Thou: Dai Atlas. Always second-guessing Optimus Prime, calling him a hypocrite and unwise.
  • Hostile Weather: Junkion, again.
  • In the Hood: Megatron's cape has a hood.
  • Jerkass: Dai Atlas comes across like this big time.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Played With with Dai Atlas. He's condescending and continues to harass Optimus with his opinions. While he's correct about the war dooming them all and the need to evacuate, his point isn't any more valid than Optimus's, which is to fight for what's right.
  • Lost World: There's apparently one beneath the crust of Cybertron and within lies a dormant Trypticon.
  • Martial Pacifist: Dai Atlas.
  • Meaningful Name: Dai Atlas' name in Old Cybertronian is actually Dei Atlas, meaning "God Map".
  • Mythology Gag:
    • Just like Autocracy, to Transformers: The Movie:
      • The scene where Scorponok dumps Megatron's battered body out of Astrotrain, including Megatron's famous line "I still function".
      • The scene where Megatron returns from Junkion.
    Scorponok: Megatron? Is that you?
    Megatron: Here's a hint! [Shoots Scorponok in the chest]
  • Not So Stoic: Soundwave and Shockwave are rarely emotional, but they share a jab at Scorponok's leadership.
    Shockwave: Curious. What reason could he have for summoning us there?
    Astrotrain: Word is, he's found something he wants us to see. Something... big.
    Shockwave: A hole the size of his presumption, no doubt.
    Soundwave: Humor detected. Conclusion: amusing.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten: Dai Atlas' opinion on all Primes, understandable seeing how he knew Nova and then had to live through the rule of all the other primes. And in Optimus' case — he can't let go of the fact the was once Zeta Prime's enforcer.
  • One Last Job: The Dynobots, becoming pretty much thugs because they want to leave Cybertron and they need money to do just that.
  • Only the Worthy May Pass: Pentius the Quintesson pretty much says this about Megatron and Junkion.
  • Origins Episode: Functions as one for Trypticon.
  • Planet Heck: Junkion.
  • Posthumous Character: Skar, the Dynobot's medical officer.
  • Power Of Hate: Pentius encourages Megatron to accept this to survive on Junkion. He succeeds.
  • Pragmatic Villainy: Soundwave and Shockwave are angry that Scorponok doesn't invoke this, as they see his leadership wasting resources and troops.
  • Prequel: The second of three miniseries taking place before the main events of the Hasbro Comic Universe Transformers continuity.
  • Psycho Serum / Super Serum: The naturally occurring Energon located in the Lost World zone of Cybertron.
  • Series Continuity Error: Junkion is portrayed as a world that was destroyed by the excesses of its own inhabitants. In Transformers: Robots in Disguise it was claimed that the world was destroyed by the Cybertonian Civil War (with nobody actually knowing whether it was Shockwave or Prowl who gave the order).
  • Shrouded in Myth: Junkion.
  • So Proud of You: A twisted version where Pentius declares his lessons of hate to be a success when Megatron rips out his spark to power his alt-mode transformation, the ruthlessness impresses him so much.
    "At last... the student... becomes the master. You are... truly... monstrous."
  • Saved by Canon: If the character's alive in the present, he won't die here. Scorponok and Optimus are left critical at the end, but they're both active in the modern day.
  • Social Darwinist: Scorponok.
  • The Starscream: Also Scorponok.
  • That Didn't Happen: The Dynobots were a crackshot team under Nominus Prime's orders that eventually went rogue after their last mission failed. Before these events, they were a group of highly decorated elite soldiers.
  • Title Drop: Near the end of the comic, Megatron refers to Trypticon as a "monstrosity".
  • Took a Level in Badass: The Dynobots are forced to take one to survive the monsters under the surface by adopting violent beast alt-modes. Grimlock himself is vastly more powerful, capable of shrugging off Shockwave's blasts and making him retreat, while in the present Shockwave can take him one on one.
  • Two Lines, No Waiting: The Dynobots and their desperation to get out of Cybertron and Megatron and his tribulations on Junkion. Borders on Third Line, Some Waiting when you consider Optimus and the politics of Cybertron part of the story, including the appearance of Trypticon.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: Scorponok usurps leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron and promptly focuses his troops on extreme acts of destructive violence with little strategic objective. Even the other Decepticons are disgusted with his brand of leadership.
  • Villain Protagonist: Megatron's just as much of a protagonist here as Optimus is.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Averted. While the Decepticons did have the sympathy of the citizens back in Autocracy, because the government they fought was even more corrupt, it's lost when Scorponok blows up the refinery and kills thousands.
  • War Is Hell: The series doesn't focus on the carnage and death like in The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers; it instead focuses on the bleakness of war. The planet is full of panicked citizens who're looking for someone to blame, the government can't decide what to do, all the while, the looming threat of losing resources is ever present (in fact, it's the driving force behind the plot rather than ideals, the Matrix of Leadership, or functionalism), and it'll continue to be ever present for the entire war.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Optimus calls out Dai Atlas on his Holier Than Thou attitude and calls him a hypocrite, especially after he resigns in protest.
    Optimus: You resigned from the convocation. I'm all done listening to your advice.

Alternative Title(s): Transformers Monstrosity

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