Transformers: Chaos Theory (part four)

Orion tries to hold the secret service synths and their rescuee at gunpoint, but one of them has already separated from the group and is sneaking up behind him. The fight starts with him being shot in the back at point blank range and keeling over onto his face.

Apparently, he has some secret extra plating hidden in his back, though, because that doesn't put him down nearly as thoroughly as the spooks expected.

ACABot's leg gets shot out from under him. Depending on what vehicle shapes he can transform into with his current loadout and what parts he needs for them, this may really immobilize him.

The guy who shot Orion tries to finish the job, but stupidly leans down and puts him in a headlock to get a perfect shot instead of doing the safe, slow, unsexy thing and just unloading into him while he's on the ground. Giving Orion the physical contact he needs to grab the spook and rocket-punch him through a wall.

Still, Orion is outnumbered and outgunned, and is forced to flee before the baddies can get their bearings and overwhelm him. A running gunfight/chase through the precinct ensues. Due to the current storm event, Orion can't signal for reinforcements (assuming that he even knows which reinforcements' loyalty he can count on). Eventually, they force him into a secure lockup room behind his office (he actually managed to get them dead to rights when he grabbed the bigass plasma cannon hidden behind his desk and turn it on them, if only it hadn't been for a misfire. I guess he needed a little bad luck to make up for the one baddy doing the stupid headlock thing). Eventually, they manage to lock him down in that vault, and it's only a matter of time until they blast down the door.

I really wish I could screenshot more panels from this Die Hard-esque sequence without breaking copyright. It's an incredibly well drawn and choreographed action scene. It's also a really good reminder that Orion Pax, for all his intellectual and moral failings, is the same cybertronian who will eventually save half the galaxy from the decepticons many times over. He has a lot of character growth ahead of him before he can be Optimus Prime (even the unusually flawed version of Optimus Prime that this comic's continuity features), but the combat skill, tactical resourcefulness, and sheer determination are already there.

Anyway, it's one of the best executed graphic novel action scenes I've ever seen. Just on a technical level.

Orion finds the decapitated body of Officer Dorkly thrown back there, and - after taking a moment to apologize to the poor dumbass for indirectly getting him killed - makes a rather ghoulish pragmatic decision. Orion's vehicle mode is too bulky to be transformed into in this cramped chamber, but Dorkly's isn't.

Yes, that second panel is Orion riding the corpse of one of his murdered underlings through a wall and into one of the baddies.

He tries to take the spooks alive, even going so far as to read them their rights as he beats them down, but their refusal to stop fighting results in things getting uglier. Once again, the action is really, really well choreographed and drawn, to the point that I wish I could just copy entire pages to show you. Finally, after defeating all three spooks, Orion stomps out of the station to catch up to Whirl, who's been slowly crawling away this whole time.

Apparently his altform also had a critical mobility piece inside of that leg. Or maybe he just turned into a giant immobile handgun like Megatron or something stupid like that lol.

It seems like Whirl really, really hasn't been paying attention, because he seems to think that threatening Orion with the consequences is going to do anything at this point. "Touch me, and they'll destroy your world?" Lol, dude, he already blew your fucking leg off and injured or killed three black ops guys. How much more trouble do you even think he can get in? Even if he could, has anything in his past behavior suggested that he cares?

I guess desperation can lead you to say all kinds of stupid shit. Suffice to say, by the next time we see Whirl his physical condition has gotten significantly worse.

Well, jump over to the Cybertronian central government, headquartered in a place called the "Grand Imperium." The topic of discussion, of course, is the recent terror attack that left several dozen dead and Nominus Prime himself badly damaged.

Also, just in case you thought cybertron couldn't get any more "America, but robbits," take a look at that golden plaque on the upper left:

Eagle-shaped, slogan about "freedom" that doesn't realize it's wearing its settler colonial biases on its sleeve, it's the whole deal. This comic is really not subtle.

Speaking of unsubtle, the cybertronian senate is discussing how to respond to that attack, and some of the first suggestions that get made are increased public surveillance, aggressive investigation of citizens with dissenting political views, and security restrictions on interplanetary transport. Remember, this comic started running in 2009, with this particular issue coming out in 2011, just a couple of years after the end of the Bush years. So, yeah, it's the Patriot Act.

As the deliberation continues, the security chief is informed that a lone individual is outside demanding to speak to the senate. Which wouldn't be an issue, except that he's already gotten frustrated and fought his way through the outer security guards.

...Orion, are you sure this is a good idea in the wake of a major terror attack against a major government figure? This would be ill-advised at the best of times, but right now?

The framing makes me think that Orion is trying to invoke some law or policy that grants normal citizens the right to speak to the senate when it's in session, but that hasn't really been practiced in a long time. Which, again, mirrors shifting political norms in the United States from the 1700's through the present.

Whatever extra security they send at Orion, they don't do any better of a job at stopping him. Soon, he walks out onto the senate floor - battered, but very much still combat capable - carrying the dead or unconscious body of Whirl over his shoulder, and turns up his speakers to get everyone's attention.

Luckily for Orion, at least one person in charge decides to give the guy a chance to speak. Even over the objections of the other bigshots. Orion uses the opportunity to drop a one-liner, even though he said just a few pages ago that he doesn't like to use those.

Orion turns to the senators, holding Whirl aloft, and announces that two public servants are dead and several others wounded because someone in the senate wanted to cover up yet another violent crime against an innocent. The senate cracks down and tightens its grip at even the appearance of criminality among the general populace, but this is what it gets up to on its own time? All the death and violence that just occurred did so because of the careless, thoughtless whim of one elite, seemingly totally detached from the consequences and oblivious to what it means to be powerful.

...you know, if I were in Orion's place I'd also be pointing out that the security/spies/etc guys of that senator seemed to have cutting off the heads of witnesses and displaying them for their coworkers to find as a first impulse. Like, that kind of suggests things about what else their masters have been having them do, yeah? I guess he either hasn't thought through the implications there, or he just is trying to keep this concise.

He then moves on to theory, and this is where things get interesting.

Orion Pax has made the jump from enforcer to radical. After reading Megatron's writing and then seeing these abuses in person, he's realized that the corruption and oppression aren't happening despite cybertronian law, but because of it.

He then supplements Megatron's ideas with an insight of his own; specifically, that no one outside of cybertronian society takes their platitudes about "freedom" seriously either. The senior members of the galactic community refer to their species as "autobots." A derivative of "automatic," perhaps even "automaton." What might have led them to make that assessment? Perhaps it's that the way they create new cybertronians for specific roles, keep them in those roles for life, and then discard them when they're no longer useful is exactly what an automated system would do. With the way they've been living, they have no good reason to even be sentient; mindless drones would behave no differently.

Orion says that they can reclaim that alien designation for their species, though. Rather than "automatic," let autobot be short for "autonomous." A collection of individuals who act independently, and cooperate by consensus and mutual agreement. It is time for anarchist organization!

...hmm. I'm not sure if the autobots in the rest of the franchise live up to this ideal, but come to think of it they don't fall too short of it either. Interpreting them as an anarchist military - or at least, as anarchist as a military during wartime can possibly be - maps fairly well to their typical portrayal. Okay, yeah, I take it back. The more that I think about it, the more this type of ideology really does fit the autobots in their traditional depictions.

Orion calls for autobots to start organizing, and declares that their organizations will outlive those of the modern establishment. Too bad there wasn't a way he could fit "roll out" into that statement, heh. Anyway, this is the point where they start losing patience with him, and security closes in to start dragging Orion out of the building. Before they can, though, he relays three questions from Megatron's writings that he said anyone should be able to ask and demand an answer from their leaders. Question one is "In whose interest do you exercise your power?" Question number two is "To whom are you accountable?" And, finally, the third question is...

I checked around, and these three questions are taken from a set of five posed by British labour MP and Christian socialist Tony Benn. They're a litmus test for democracy; if you're not able to get answers to all of them, then your government isn't democratic.

Megatron coming up with those same questions implies that the Cybertron of the time at least pretended to be democratic. Squaring that with the purpose-built laborers is kind of hard, but then again we've also been told that they had some kind of apartheid laws until recently. So, I'm guessing that they extended suffrage to certain privileged castes, while keeping the menial laborers like Megatron's mining caste as noncitizens.

I guess that could explain how they'd end up mirroring the sensibilities of colonial states without actually being one. They just factory-produced their underclass instead of conquering or buying it. Same problems, different way of getting to them.

So, that's how the autobot movement was born. A different flavor of revolutionary, with their philosophy being synthesized from Megatron's Das Teknikal and Orion's broader ideas about their species' society relative to those of various aliens.

Meanwhile, Megatron was beginning work on his second manifesto. This one about how BreadTube serves American imperialism.

Four million years later, Optimus returns to Megatron's cell for what may be their final conversation.

What the countless millennia of conflict have made it hard to remember, but which Optimus remembers now, is that individual autonomy is the ultimate endgoal. Thus, even for the worst war criminals and genocidaires, as much personal freedom as possible should be retained. So, Optimus will pass on the choice of imprisonment or execution to Megatron himself. If that neutral cybertronian judge Tyrest finds Megatron guilty - and there's no way in hell that he'll find him not guilty - what will the convicted choose?

The answer is much more popular than most of Megatron's decisions, all things considered.

Honestly, he'd probably prefer they skip the trial too and just get it over with. But I guess giving him a trial with a big show of impartiality might reduce the martyr effect, at least a little bit.

Optimus leaves the cell, and is met by Ratchet. The favor that he asked of him earlier is revealed.

Optimus had him remove his Primal Matrix, cutting him off from the dubious wisdom of the cybertronian ancients and letting him make the decision on his own. For his own sake, perhaps, to see if he really did keep to the autobot principles that he laid out himself so long ago. But also, I think, for Megatron's. Megatron wanted to deal with that dumb, smug, wilfully blind policebot who he faced all those ages ago, and have him be forced to pass judgement on someone who he knows he can't pass judgement on. So, Optimus gave him what he wanted. And, I think, he passed both of their character tests. Megatron said he doesn't hate Optimus. Thanks to this outcome, perhaps he will continue to not hate him for however much time he has left.

...it strikes me as somewhat telling that Optimus snapped and electrocuted Megatron in anger while he had the matrix in, and made his redemptive decision with it removed. Kinda makes you wonder if he might actually be better off without the damned thing in general.

Back to ancient cybertron, for the last time in this issue. A freshly repaired and repainted Orion Pax has been invited to the office of the senator who pulled strings to get him out of legal trouble for his conduct at the Grand Imperium. After exchanging some pleasantries, Orion asks the senator why he's helping him, and the politician explains that he's sympathetic to Orion's position and may see fit to back this whole "autobot" thing if it gets traction. Hmm. Could be legit, could have ulterior motives. He also tells Orion that the senate corruption issue is waaaay worse than anyone on the street even suspects.

The terror attack that wounded Nominus Prime, he says, was enabled by a faction within the senate. He can't prove this, but he has good reason to believe it's the case. Not for the security clampdown it justified them doing (though that was likely an added benefit - giving themselves casus belli to go hard on dissident groups before they become a real problem rather than afterward), but for the access it gave them to Nominus Prime's own body. With him in longterm extensive repairs at a secure location, they have an opportunity to study the Primal Matrix. They believe that their scientists might now have the tools to crack their progenitors' technology and replicate it, including the technology that could let them create and control new synthetic life with a mere thought.

...

Hmm. This is starting to move into rightwing conspiracy theory land. Can't say I approve.

I guess the ancient magitech mcguffins are an important enough part of the franchise that the writers had to do something with them in this backstory, but still, not impressed.

Unless this senator is lying, of course. That would change things.

...

Orion asks the unnamed senator why he's telling him all this, and also why he feels physically different than he did before his repairs. The senator tells him that war will be coming to cybertron. Intense, civilization-rending war. He needs people who are in the know - competent, trustworthy, and strong people in the know - scattered in key positions to prepare for what's coming. As for the physical differences, well...he had some modifications made. Nothing serious, just some extra space added. Why doesn't Orion go home and think deeply about it. He's an intellectual sort. Maybe he'll find the answers somewhere in the back of his mind.

The "physically different feeling" was the pain Optimus spoke of. Either because of incompatibility, or - more likely - because in his case it was an involuntary process. He never chose to be Optimus Prime. Perhaps he would have been a better leader, and a better ideologist, if he hadn't. Having the Matrix gave him the legitimacy to call a lot of fence-sitters to the autobot cause, but.

I pointed out earlier that the decepticons unquestioningly kept - and even amplified - the synth-supremacist attitudes of old cybertron, even though it seems like that should fly in the face of their core ideology. This makes me wonder if perhaps the autobots also aren't free of the old corruption, in spirit. And if maybe the matrix is one of the reasons for that.

That's the end of Transformers: Chaos Theory.


Well, this wasn't what I expected from a Transformers comic.

I never thought I'd have to do this for a one-off commission that isn't connected to a main project, but after writing over a thousand words of conclusion and realizing I hadn't said anywhere close to everything I wanted to yet it's undeniable. I'm going to have to put a dedicated analysis post up later this week.