A Rage in Heaven: Judgement

• Writer - Simon Furman
• Penciler - Manny Galan
• Inker - Jim Amash
• Lettering - Comicraft
• Colorist - Sarra Mossoff
• Editor - Rob Tokar
• Editor in Chief - Tom Defalco

It's the End of the Road

A Rage in Heaven: Twilight

A Rage in Heaven:Siege

A Rage in Heaven:Creation

Summary

  Arriving in Earth space, the Swarm takes a hesitant position between Lord Jhiaxus' flagship and the Warworld. Starscream is worried; the Creation Matrix is compelling him to fight the Swarm. And even though his technicians are unable to comprehend the Swarm, Jhiaxus orders his forces to attack it. This enrages the Swarm, which starts to destroy Jhiaxus' army.

  Reluctantly, Starscream returns the Matrix to Optimus Prime, breaking his fusion with the Warworld and regaining control of his mind. While Megatron and Starscream begin loading a shuttlecraft with the Warworld's supply of Rheanimum gas (seized by Megatron in issue #7), Optimus takes a skysled to Jhiaxus' ship.

  Though the flagship is temporarily protected by its shields, the Swarm continues to devastate the rest of Jhiaxus' army. This enrages Jhiaxus beyond words, and he kills a solder for suggesting that they retreat from the area. When sensors detects Optimus' approach, Jhiaxus orders his troops to let him land.

  Optimus reaches the Twilight without any resistance -- the crew is too busy abandoning the flagship to care about him. Optimus heads for the main bridge, hoping to work with Jhiaxus and make contact with the Swarm. Instead, Optimus is ambushed by Jhiaxus. He attacks with an unstoppable berserker fury, blaming the "throwback" Transformers for all of his troubles.

  Suddenly, the Swarm breaks through the hull, and quickly consumes the ship. Jhiaxus challenges the Swarm, but it devours him in seconds. The ship then explodes, pushing Optimus Prime back into space. Drifting helplessly, he too is caught by the Swarm...

  On board the shuttle, Megatron watches as the Swarm begins to encircle the Earth. Though he thinks the Rheanimum will protect him from its corrosive touch, he is not sure; nonetheless, he flies the shuttle towards Earth, hoping to deliver the gas before the Swarm reaches the Transformers stranded there.

  Planetside, the remaining Autobots and Decepticons are quickly fortifying themselves against the Swarm. Unfortunately, it makes no difference -- when the Swarm arrives, it attacks them without pause, and their weapons and powers can only briefly hold it off. But before everyone is destroyed, Megatron arrives and quickly distributes the Rheanimum among the survivors.

  Optimus Prime wakes up on the Warworld, where Starscream explains that he rescued him with a tractor beam. Optimus thinks back on his brief contact with the Swarm, and finds understanding -- because it was created from the next-generation Transformers (from issue #5), the Swarm is as devoid of purpose and morality as they were. Its "rampage" through the universe is not a destructive wrath, but a blind, child-like search for direction...

  As the Swarm begins to approach the Warworld, Starscream gives Optimus Prime a canister of Rheanimum, then runs off to save himself. Optimus rejects the Rheanimum, and allows himself to be consumed by the Swarm. As he is eaten away, Optimus uses the power of the Creation Matrix to become one with the Swarm. And before he dies, Optimus gathers the remnants of Primus' life force -- the essence of Primus' dream -- and shares it with the Swarm.

  On Earth, the Swarm suddenly begins to shine. The Transformers stop fighting immediately, enraptured with an overwhelming sense of joy. A moment later, Optimus Prime steps forward from the Swarm, reborn. As the Swarm leaves for deep space, Optimus explains that it has finally found its place in the universe: the Swarm is now a force for life, a keeper of Primus' vision.

  Later that evening, Optimus Prime rallies the Autobots and the Decepticons together. With the destruction of the next-generation Transformers, they are the last of their race, and their only hope of survival is to live as one. But while the Transformers cheer in support of their new unity, Optimus is still secretly worried: before he died, Jhiaxus had hinted at something even greater than himself...

  In a very distant corner of the universe, in a network of planetoids called The Hub, Rook reports on the day's events. The Leige Maximo, an ancient and monumental titan, accepts the destruction of Jhiaxus' forces as merely a minor disruption. He hints at kinship to Megatron, and dismisses Optimus Prime's naivete -- evil cannot be destroyed, but must exist as a counterpart to good. Sneering at the Transformers' alliance as a fragile thing, the Leige Maximo promises a day of reckoning.

Summary

  This was a double-sized issue.

  When confronting the Swarm, Jhiaxus gives his official title as "Leige Centuro of the Decepticon Elite."

  Optimus Prime's new form (created by the Swarm) is modeled on the Combat Hero Optimus Prime toy.

  Optimus Prime's final thought balloon ends with the phrase "...it never ends!" This is a reference to "A Distant Time and Place," a text story written by Simon Furman for the Marvel UK Transformers comic book annual. That story ended with Optimus Prime being called out of "retirement" to battle a new group of Decepticons, whereupon he laments on the endless battles with the phrase, "it never ends!"

  This is the first and only appearance of the Leige Maximo in the Transformers comic book series.

  The letter column included farewell essays from Richard Starkings and Simon Furman. Richard Starkings wrote about his associations with Simon Furman and the Marvel UK Transformers comic. Simon Furman gave thanks for another chance to write stories about the Transformers.