Optimus Prime was recently cast into Infraspace during a confrontation with Shockwave. There, he was reunited with Bumblebee. Returning to the land of the living using the Matrix – with Pyra Magna acting as a host body – another face-off with Shockwave ended with the revelation that the Primes were never ‘gods’. Now Rom returns to Earth and warns of the coming of the ‘Great Destroyer’. The Hasbroverse ends here!
Multiple threads from the previous thirteen years of continuity and immediately follows on from events in the ‘Optimus Prime’ series. But if you’re looking to get into IDW’s Transformers, this really isn’t the place to start. We’ll cover the entire era, soon!
Major Crossover: The final issues of ‘Optimus Prime’ tie in with the ‘Transformers: Unicron’ mini-series that build to the end of the final phase of Transformers for IDW. While Transformers: Lost Light #24 bears the legend ‘Unicron is here’, it’s not actually part of the event.
Must Reads: Story arcs marked with a ✔are must-read stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue, so you don’t need to read the other four.
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- COMBINER WARS (2015) – The Enigma of Combination is used/introduced
- RECONSTRUCTION (2016-2017) – Megatron stranded on an alternate, functionist Cybertron
- FIRST STRIKE (2017) – Joe Colton tries to destroy Cybertron with the Talisman
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- ✔ Free Comic Book Day – Transformers: Unicron #0
- ✔ Optimus Prime #22
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #1-3
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #4 [1/2]
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #5 [2/2]
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #4 [2/2]
- ✔ Optimus Prime #23-24
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #5 [1/2]
- ✔ Transformers: Unicron #6
- ✔ Optimus Prime #25
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| Must Reads | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Optimus Prime #22 (pp.1-13) On Cybertron, Wheeljack successfully constructs new bodies for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Windblade tells Optimus Prime of the Talisman’s warning that Unicron is coming. On Earth, Jazz finds Rom hunting Dire Wraiths. Rom senses his home planet Elonia is in great danger. Later, following Elonia’s destruction, Rom reels from the loss of his world. Pyra Magna reveals she’s secretly been working with Prowl to track the Maximals who’ve been targeting Cybertronian colony worlds. They and Unicron are targeting Caminus next. Optimus prepares a plan he knows will be unpopular. Believing the worst, Slide plan to depose Prime… |
| ✔ | Free Comic Book Day – Transformers: Unicron #0 The Autobots and Rom arrive at Elonia too late. Unicron has already started consuming Rom’s home planet. Rom and the Knights of the Solstar Order try to fight back against Unicron while the Autobots evacuate as many people as they can. They find a dying Titan – proving Elonia was one of Cybertron’s lost colonies – which is blocking their teleport signal and won’t let them leave. Arcee kills the Titan to facilitate their escape with two thirds of the population, though Wheeljack had to sacrifice himself. Unicron is consuming colony worlds. And it will soon be coming for Earth and Cybertron… |
| ✔ | Free Comic Book Day – Transformers: Unicron #0 The Autobots and Rom arrive at Elonia too late. Unicron has already started consuming Rom’s home planet. Rom and the Knights of the Solstar Order try to fight back against Unicron while the Autobots evacuate as many people as they can. They find a dying Titan – proving Elonia was one of Cybertron’s lost colonies – which is blocking their teleport signal and won’t let them leave. Arcee kills the Titan to facilitate their escape with two thirds of the population, though Wheeljack had to sacrifice himself. Unicron is consuming colony worlds. And it will soon be coming for Earth and Cybertron… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #1 [1/2] Nine colony worlds have fallen to Unicron. Now, he’s moving in on Caminus. Optimus Prime leads the charge against him and his Maximals. Prime, Arcee and Bumblebee soon finds themselves inside Unicron, but are forced to flee when his antibodies fight back. The Mistress of Flame holds off the Maximals, giving her life so that the inhabitants of Caminus can escape via Space Bridge. The imprisoned Shockwave reveals to Starscream that he poisoned Cybertron in order to kill Unicron. Rejecting Shockwave, Starscream declares himself the ‘Chosen One’ to the returning Cybertronian forces… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #1 [2/2] With Bumblebee’s emotional support, Rom gives a rousing speech to the Knights of the Solstarr Order in the face of certain dearth… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #2 [1/2] Starscream has formed an army of those who still wear their Decepticon badge. In space, under Starscream’s orders, Bludgeon leads the Decepticon Vengeance Division against Unicron. Chromia’s ship arrives in time to see Unicron subvert Bludgeon who sends Liege Maximo’s legion of Maximals to destroy her ship. On Cybertron, the dying Omega Supreme shows Bumblebee a vision that reveals how Unicron was created from a weaponised planet and the Dire Wraiths were birthed as a doomsday weapon to fight the Cybertronians using the magic of Prysmos. Now he knows how to stop Unicron, but it may mean the end of the Transformers. Aileron wakes Bumblebee up in time to witness Unicron’s transformation into a gigantic robot form… |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #2 [2/2] On Earth, Scarlett & Roadblock of G.I.Joe are making a last stand against a horde of Maximals led by Depth Charge. Skywarp, Helix and Snake Eyes arrive and somehow see them off, saving the lives of their fellow G.I.Joe members. |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #3 [1/2] All flying Cybertronians join the attack on Unicron’s monstrous robot mode. Arcee confirms to Bumblebee that Unicron and the Dire Wraiths were created to combat the attempts by Onyx Prime (secretly Shockwave) to expand Cybertron’s empire. The world that birthed them both also housed the Talisman – an artefact capable of killing mechanical life-forms. Now the Talisman is on Cybertron and will kill Unicron when he consumes the planet. Pyra Magna and the Torchbearers combine to form Victorian, intent of destroying Unicron from within. But their path to Unicron is blocked by Bludgeon who tears them to pieces. The Autobots refuse to escape via Metroplex’s teleportation as they’d have to leave the Decepticons behind. Shockwave alerts the ‘Cons to Starscreams wish to do just that, inciting a massive riot and prompting them to board Metroplex. |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #3 [2/2] Matt Tracker reunites with Gloria Baker and Brad Turner with their MASK gear to rescue people impacted by the Maximal attacks on Earth. |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #4 [1/2] The imprisoned Joe Colton – the original G.I.Joe who went rogue – alerts the Joes to the existence of the Talisman. Shockwave teleports out of his cell to Earth, rejoining his band of Maximals. The Visionaries start magically transporting everyone off Cybertron, while Metroplex teleports out the last 30% of the population. Elita One crashes her ship into Unicron’s eye to slow him down. Instead, he rips Cybertron in two. Bludgeon and his fleet arrive in Earth’s orbit and destroy Soundwave’s Sanctuary Station. The Cybertronian Solstar Knight Stardrive flies in, systematically wiping out tnumerous Maximals as well as Bludgeon’s fleet. The inhabitants of Cybertron materialise on Earth with the Talisman. Unicron arrives in Earth’s solar system… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #5 [2/2] Possibly due to the Cybertron’s reaction to their magic, the Visionaries find they’ve been transported to Prymos’ past. Together, they can start a new life… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #4 [2/2] In Microspace, Oziron Rael appears to his old Micronauts team to warn them that Unicron’s existence could threaten their universe, too. The Micronauts prepare for the end of Microspace. |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Optimus Prime #23 Slide has convinced his fellow colonists to stage a rescue mission to free Jazz from G.I.Joe, clashing first with Slug’s Dinobots. Jazz breaks free to put an end to the fighting, but Mainframe is killed in the crossfire. Just as calm is established, Rum-Maj appears with Wreck-Gar’s head and a wave of Sharkticons… |
| ✔ | Optimus Prime #24 Slide confront Optimus Prime face-to-face over the death of Gimlet. G.I.Joe gather at Mount Rushmore. Jazz learns Cybertron’s fate. Everyone prepares to make their final stand. |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #5 [1/2] Cybertronians gather with Action Man, and members of G.I.Joe and Cobra. Jetfire realises Unicron draws energy from stars when he attacks, which threatens the fabric of the universe. Shockwave realises he’s lost control of Bludgeon and the Maximals. G.I.Joe fight the Maximals as they swarm Earth. Metroplex and Trypticon take Rom and the Cybertronians on a full-scale assault on Blugeon’s Decepticon Vengeance Division. The Seekers to fly Optimus Prime and Arcee to Unicron with the Talisman… |
| ✔ | Transformers: Unicron #6 The Transformers fight Unicron in space. Shockwave’s Maximals turn against him, but he’s saved by Prowl so that Stardrive can link him to Soundwave and the Enigma of Combination. The Seekers get Optimus Prime, Arcee and the Talisman to Unicron. Starscream makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop Unicron by activating the Talisman. Optimus follows it into the black hole at Unicron’s centre where he travels through a black hole to Infraspace and confronts Unicron’s creator. Slide relents and joins the fight, combining with the returned Torchbearers to form Victorion and teaming with Superion to destroy Monstructor. Soundwave dissolves as the Enigma of Comination joins the spirit of every Cybertronian, ‘til all are one. The Dinobots attack Bludgeon’s ship which crashes into the White House. G.I.Joe get the kill-shot when Bludgeon tries to escape. Optimus renames himself Orion Pax and makes peace with the creator which causes Unicron to collapse into his own black hole. Pyra Magna becomes the new Mistress of Flame. A miniature black hole is all that remains of Unicron. The surviving Cybertronians and Elonians settle on Earth. |
| ✔ | Optimus Prime #25 Thousands of years ago, Orion Pax was forged and immediately began seeking justice. As Optimus Prime, he sought a peaceful resolution to the war with the Decepticons. The Cybertronians find a way to settle on Earth, despite protest from some humans. Windblade leads the funeral for Prime. Arcee relays to the new generations of Cybertronians and humans what made Optimus Prime great… |
| Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| Transformers: Lost Light #24 (2018) Rodimus and the crew of the Lost Light turn the transformed Cybertron of the alternate universe ruled by the Functionist Council back into planet mode, creating New Cybertron. | |
| Transformers: Lost Light #25 (2018) Prowl visits the crew of the Lost Light on New Cybertron which is inhabited by Rodimus’ crew and the new sparks born on the new world; the Cybertronians based on Earth are revealed to have settled there. | |
| Transformers #1 (2019) A new continuity begins, going back to the beginning of the Cybertronian war. |
Notable collected editions:
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Transformers: Optimus Prime vol.5 | Optimus Prime #22-25 Optimus Prime Annual 2018 |
| Transformers: Unicron | Free Comic Book Day – Transformers: Unicron #0 Transformers: Unicron #1-6 |
Reading Order ©OmniverseComicsGuide 2023
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