Eight-Month-Old Comics!: The November 8 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #40:  Enh.  I don't really understand where Pak is going here.  

Vader arrives on Coruscant to confront the Emperor, who asks Vader how he asserted control over the Force Wave.  Vader responds that hate was the key.  The Emperor asks why it's different than before, when his hate made him powerful but reckless.  Vader responds that he's learn how to focus it.  It's a mystery to me how the events of the last few issues resulted in Vader controlling his hate better, like some much else in this series, but it is what it is.

The Emperor orders Vader's own Death Troopers to attack, underscoring that, even though Vader hand-picked them, they're loyal to the Emperor before him.  He asks Vader if he controls his hate or if his hate controls him and, OMFG, if I were a Sith, I'd kill anyone who asked me such a pedantic question.  As they fight, the Emperor asks if he'll really continue this rebellion against him while the Droid Plague infects his Death Troopers (via the disc droids he brought with him).  

This entire exchange is odd.  After all, I don't recall ever seeing the Death Troopers previously, so the idea that Vader would give up his (alleged) rebellion against the Emperor for their safety seems absurd.  But also:  since when is Vader in open rebellion against the Emperor?  I thought this whole exercise was the Emperor just testing to make sure he was strong, as usual.  Aren't Sith supposed to struggle against each other?

Meanwhile, the disc droids expand the Plague beyond the Death Troopers, and the Emperor is forced to destroy Sectors 35 and 36 of Coruscant to stop its spread.  The Emperor then says that, the more than Vader or anyone else hates him, the stronger he becomes.  Um, sure, Palpy.  I get, rhetorically, that Palpatine thrives off conflict. But for some one who manufactured a rebellion against his own government to seize control of it, you'd think he'd have the strategic mind necessary to understand too much hate is sometimes problem. 

To that point, Vader departs.  In Vader's...office, for lack of a better term, the Scourge tells him that he needs him, and Vader agrees:  the two merge.  As I said, too much hate is sometimes problem.

Transformers #2:  Damn, Johnson isn't fucking around here.

The issue begins with Optimus marveling at Earth's natural beauty and accidentally stomping a deer.  Johnson uses it as Optimus' introduction to the fragility of Earth's lifeforms; in a stark comparison, Optimus is grief-stricken over his actions while Starscream takes to referring to humans as "squishies" later in the issue.  Spike assures Optimus it was an accident, but Optimus isn't letting himself off the hook that quickly.  

Optimus then exposits that the Autobots fled Cybertron after the Decepticons pushed them to the brink of extinction.  Cliffjumper interrupts their conversation, revealing that Ratchet got him operational.  In the Ark, Ratchet explains that he needs more energon if he's going to activate any other Autobot.

At the power plant, Starscream returns with Soundwave and Skywarp, and Soundwave has Rumble begin constructing an energy transfer model.  The Air Force dispatches a pilot codenamed Frosting to check out the disturbance, and Frosting apologizes to his passenger for delaying his ride to the airbase.  Soundwave overhears the radio chatter, and Starscream engages the plane.  The pair manage to eject, though Starscream graphically crushes Frosting like a bug.  The passenger ditches his parachute and activates a jetpack; he manages to take out Starscream's eye, prompting him to bail.  We get a look at the passenger's uniform with the name "Duke" prominently displayed.  Boom!  Meanwhile, at the plant, Frosting's abandoned jet dramatically crashes.

Back at the Ark, the Autobots, Spike, and Carly notice the smoke from the plant.  Optimus orders Cliffjumper to stand guard over the remaining Autobots, and Spike convinces Optimus to take him with him to the plant.  Carly tries to convince Spike how insane that is, but, after she fails, she decides to find her parents.  Meanwhile, Sparkplug arrives at home and gets out his camouflage and gun, which we learn when Carly arrives home.  (I'm actually not sure if Carly went to Spike's house first for some reason or if Sparkplug went to Carly's house.)  Looking insane, Sparklug tells Carly Starscream killed her dad, who we learn was Davey.

All in all, it remains a solid start.  The Duke connection is solid, particularly since it makes sense the Army will eventually dispatch the G.I. Joe squad to address such a threat.  That said, Johnson does a great job of showing what impossible odds they'll face given the Transformers' overwhelming indestructibility and size.

Eight-Month-Old Comics!: The November 1 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

No/One #6:  Honestly, if No/One hadn't saved Julia last episode, I'd think she was No/One at this point.

After all, we learn here that No/One isn't any of the three suspects The Drop named last issue, because Copycat #3 shoots Harmon, kills Kemp, and attacks Alejandro.  

In other words, it's a lot.

The issue begins at PPD HQ, where Ben is trying to convince McGarrity to give him a couple of men to surveil Aaron because he can't keep him under 24/7 watch by himself.  McGarrity declines because it's too political, which seems bullshit to me, particularly for a guy who was so eager to nail Aaron to the wall.  Frustrated, Ben talks to Harper and Singh, who tell him they have no evidence connecting Aaron to his lawyer's murder.  Suddenly, a cop interrupts, and we learn Copycat #3 shot Harmon.

At the Ledger, Teddy finds Julia trying to get in touch with Donovan Kemp and Alejandro, though Teddy assures her that he's already spoken with people about getting them protection.  Ben arrives and asks why they named Vince a suspect, and Teddy is a dick to him, saying that he doesn't have time to hold his hand.  Ben insists Aaron could've been the shooter, revealing that he's tailed Aaron for weeks but lost him the previous day.

At Noah Kemp's office, his staff are trying to convince him to pull his proposed legislation authorizing "preemptive" self-defense.  One of the staffers, though, shows everyone a clip from Alaina Page's show.  (Her show starts with this introduction:  "Welcome back to the Wall.  Reporting from the parapets, I'm Alaina Page."  Amazing.)  Page comes out swinging for Kemp's bill and then crucifies Kenneth Chbosky, whom FOC hired as a contributor.  (The live reenactment of their fight on the podcast is worth a listen.)  Suddenly, someone interrupts Kemp's meeting to inform him what we learn on the next page, that someone killed Donovan.

With two suspects dead, fucking JC arrives to "touch base" with Julia.  She asks where Alejandro is, and JC admits they can't find him.  She loses her shit on Teddy and JC, who has the audacity to tell her to relax.  She quits.

At Alejandro's gym, Copycat #3 is ready to kill Alejandro when No/One arrives.  No/One tells Alejandro to run, which he does, but he then returns.  He finds the gym in shambles and a wounded No/One.  Alejandro brings No/One to No/One's car and drives from the scene as cops arrive.  No/One loses consciousness, and Alejandro may, or may not, have gotten a look under the helmet.  No/One tells Alejandro to leave, which he does.

On the podcast, the only new revelation is that Harmon survived the shooting and confirmed the assailant used a .38 Special, which means it's Richard Roe and, as such, not Aaron Kern (allegedly).  Of note, Alejandro doesn't admit to the press that No/One got shot.  To me, the most important part is Noah Kemp's tear-filled rant about how the vultures in the press - i.e., Julia and Teddy - are responsible for his little brother's murder.  It's important, because it reminds us that we're dealing with (in this world) real people and the body count is pretty insane right now.  In addition, Patton Oswalt does a great job of walking through Teddy's grief over how his failure to say no to the Ledger's Powers That Be resulted in Julia getting blamed for Copycat #3's attacks on Harmon, Donovan Kemp, and Alejandro.

Honestly, I have no idea where we go from here, which is awesome.

The Sacrificers #4:  This issue is more linear than Remender's usual ones.

Pigeon's grief-stricken parents are sitting quietly as the village - including their other children - celebrates around them.  Pigeon's sister asks her father why he's sad, which makes sense given he always told her Pigeon was going to a better place.  The father later gets drunk and rants at his fellow villagers, asking why they celebrate the loss of a child and demanding to know what the gods sacrifice.  It's devastating.

Meanwhile, in Rokos' palace, the Foreman tells Rokos that the blue liquid is his finest work, brewed from a new recipe.  (Uh-oh.)  Rokos ignores him and asserts that it's the same recipe it's also been when he addresses the "Lords of Harlos."  Notably, he claims he made the liquid and invites the other Lords to partake of it, delivering the same pablum that they've earned it for keeping the world "perfect."  He invites a toast to Luna who "lives apart from [them] to balance [his] light with night."  Luna refuses the liquid, decrying the Lords as parasites feasting on innocents' blood and smashing her glass to the floor.  (Team Luna, obviously.)

After Luna leaves, Rokos ridicules her for "crumbling in her gray land of pious dust."  He and the rest of the Lords drink the liquid, instantly becoming younger, to Soluna's horror.  Fueling the implication the Foreman did something to the liquid, he departs in a rush, and Soluna follows him on Rokos' flying carpet, taking Rokos' sword with her.  Again, uh-oh.

The Space Between #1:  Bechko and Luckert present an interesting premise here, as we meet the inhabitants of the Dodona, an asteroid-cum-starship taking Earth's remaining humans (and some animals) to a new planet after Earth's destruction.

We begin with Revla, a pilot, saving another pilot from crashing into the Dodona despite her commander's order not to do so.  Revla exposits that it doesn't matter if the Dodona's brass court-martial her, since they're set to "pair" her soon and she doesn't think they'll let her fly pregnant.  

For her actions, "they" put her in confinement, but she escapes below the "starline," which refers to line on the Dodona below which you can no longer see the stars.  Now below decks, Revla meets Les, one of the workers who maintain the algae the Dodona uses for food and oxygen.  Like Rose in "Titanic," Revla is stunned to see the number of people living below the line, making it clear the two sides of the line don't mix.

Also like "Titanic," the glimpses we see of the inhabitants above the line (i.e., the pilot class) show a brutal society of competitors whereas the workers below the line (i.e., the maintenance class) live in a communist Utopia.  For example, Revla is worried Les is going to turn her into the authorities for a reward, and he breaks it to her that they don't have credits below the line.

Les introduces Revla to his "purposive" June and her partner Neve who asks whether it's really true that the inhabitants above the line are nothing but breeding pairs.  Revla makes a half-hearted attempt to defend her culture as fighting for the future, and Neve asks why everyone is sacrificing for a future on a round rock instead of the present on an oblong one?  Fair enough, Neve.

Les figures out a way to get Revla topside, and she brings him with her to see the stars, which he admits his parents and grandparents likely never saw.  (Ah, inequality.  It's baked into us.)  The pair kiss, but suddenly guards appear and seize them.  As a crowd "'casts" (i.e., broadcasts) their arrest, someone comments how they didn't even know the workers were real.  

Revla now realizes the Dodona's leadership has put in place restrictions well beyond the original "Edicts" establishing, "To every passenger, a duty."  She 'casts a message to this effect, which starts an uprising below the line.  Les helps when a reporter interviews him and talks about saving the most beautiful woman alive when she fell from the stars.

We then move briskly through four years, as the ongoing uprising forces the Council to listen.  After four years, they release Les from prison.  He brings June and Neve with their new baby, which they can now have, to see the stars with Revla flying amongst them.

As I said, it's an interesting premise.  The execution is also pretty solid, so I'm intrigued to see where it goes.

Star Wars #40:  Oof.  This issue is excessively talky.  

We go on deep dives into Lando's psyche, but the issue is really just about him returning to Home One to convince Leia to send a small strike force (him, her, Chewie, and Luke) to Epikonia to free Lobot.  (Lando knows Lobot is on Epikonia because he has a tracker on him.)  Lando doesn't mention the fact that he has the Talky to Leia, so I wonder where he stashed him?  Is he stupid enough to bring him on the Falcon with him?  Probably.

The only real action, though, is a strange sequence where Lando turns off the Falcon's navicomputer because a droid core runs it and crashes into a cluster of communications arrays to slow down the Falcon enough to land.  Can he really not control the Falcon without the navicomputer?

Eight-Month-Old Comics!: The October 25 Top-Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Alan Scott:  Green Lantern #1:  This issue is intense.  

I remember how excited I was reading about Scott's gay counterpart in "Earth 2," and I was thrilled when DC decided to make him gay in the main universe (or whatever we're calling it these days).  This series' mission is clearly to show that we're not dealing with the usual retcon here:  we just didn't know Alan's history as well as we thought.  

Sheridan starts making this point from page 1, as J. Edgar Hoover blackmails Alan with evidence of his homosexuality to get him to play a more active role in the Justice Society of America.  Anyone  who's ever held that secret likely felt Alan's fear as viscerally as I did here.  As I said, this issue is intense.

Hoover's evidence comes in the form of a diary and photos that the Army's Project Crimson recovered.  The photos show Alan's lover, Johnny, in his arms in a motel room, bringing us to a flashback to 1936.  Sheridan shows his thoughtful approach to Alan as a character when he underscores that the fear we saw Alan display in his meeting with Hoover isn't just that people will discover he's gay.  It's that he is gay.  He pauses fooling around with Johnny because they're committing a sin.  Asking if it's because they're not married, Johnny alludes to what my husband dubs the Republican cul-de-sac, pointing out he'd marry Alan in a minute if the government let them.  Realizing Alan isn't just talking about marriage, Johnny puts his arms around Alan and asks him how he could love him if God didn't want him to do so.  (He also asks how God could make him look so good in a ring, introducing Chekhov's gun, i.e., his college baseball ring.)

We move from the motel room to a ship, where we learn Alan is part of the Army Corps of Engineers and they're all on a mission to recover the "Crimson Flame" amid "rumors about the new German leader."  Alan and Johnny have built a container for the Flame, which would give the United States the power to stop any war before it starts.  That night, Johnny uses his ring to propose to Alan, who panics since someone might've seen him do so.  Suddenly, though, they see a red glow, the story of which, annoyingly, is apparently told in "DC Pride:  Through the Years" #1.

Back in the present (i.e., 1941), Scott is telling this story to his manservant, Derby, who, like me, doesn't get why Alan's links his reticence to join the JSA to his homosexuality, since it isn't like he's going to fuck a guy at headquarters.  Derby presses, and Alan appears more afraid about joining any team given what happened the last time he was on one.  (Alan is giving very drama queen here.)  At any rate, they hear sirens, and Alan changes into his costume and is gone.

Returning to 1936, Alan narrates that his obsession with the Flame came from his hope that successfully recovering it could be his and Johnny's tickets to leave the Army, where he could make it the subject of a doctoral dissertation and a few books and build a life with Johnny.  They capture the Flame in Alan's device, but it gets angry and attacks the ship.  Alan saves Johnny from falling into the sea, and someone manages to save Alan before they both go overboard, too.  Alan releases the Flame to save the ship, but, as it departs, it grabs Johnny.

In 1941, Alan arrives on the scene of the crime and is confused when the lieutenant insists that he was already there.  The lieutenant asks where the "loon with the gun" was, adding to Alan's confusion.  The lieutenants notes that Alan and the loon, who was only wearing shorts and combat boots, are hard to mistake for someone else.  Before he can get more information, Alan stops a crimson blast from attacking the area and finds the aforementioned "loon's" body on top of a building.  Flash is on the scene and notes that the man looks like he drowned, given the froth around his mouth and nostrils, and has second-degree burns on his arms.  Flash wonders aloud how someone can burn and drown at the same time.  Looking at the body, Alan realizes that it's Johnny.  

In 1936, the Flame takes Johnny from Alan, and the men restrain him as Alan hears the Flame's voice saying, "Firrssst we bring deathhh..."  In 1941, we see people holding down Alan in an Arkham jumpsuit as he narrates that he's heard that "booming, raspy, maddening sound" every since.

All in all, it's a great start.  As I mentioned, it really centers Alan as a creature of his era, explaining why this part of his life remained a secret for so long.  Unless DC retcons Jade and Obsidian's existence, it's clear that Alan doesn't resolve his struggles with his identity, eventually marrying a woman and trying to put his homosexuality behind him.  For now, though, we get to see Alan living his life authentically.  It's sad that time will end, but we'll see where we go from here.

Blade Runner 2039 #8:  This issue reminded me of how title card in "Cyberpunk 2077" doesn't appear until you're about 25% or so into the game.  Johnson establishes the stakes for the first time here, as Ash realizes that she has to kill Niander Wallace, Jr. if Isobel and, by extension, Cleo are ever going to rest.  That said, she only gets the opportunity to take on Wallace, Jr. after Isobel swipes Luv and Rash's spinner and opens fire on them and Mack sacrifices himself to give Ash  time to get in the spinner.  Along the way, we're treated to Rash discovering what pain is and becoming obsessed with it, an awakening just as creepy as it sounds.

Void Rivals #5:  Kirkman veers into an area that we don't often see in "G.I. Joe" or "Transformers" comics, implying Zerta's worshippers are connected with some sort of mystical power.  It's an interesting addition to the Energon Universe, as we're calling it.

This revelation comes shortly after Solila warns Darak that they're going to torture him and the guards promptly arrive to do so.  (She's like Liam Neeson in "Taken.")  After the guards leave with Darak, a purple cloaked woman named Mistress Vill and her two acolytes enter the cell.  Solila isn't pleased, telling them that she turned her back on "you zealots" long ago.  Vill tells Solila that, once someone bathes in Zerta's light, it can't be undone.  She asserts that Solila will also be a Keeper of the Light at some point.  Solila accuses Vill of following her own will, not Zerta's, and Vill comments that Solila sounds like Zalilak.  Solila asks Vill why's she's tormenting her, as if her imprisonment isn't enough, and Vill tells Solila it's just another trial (like the "Caverns of Rall") that will teach Solila something.  Telling Solila that her destiny isn't to die in darkness, Vill pledges to help her and gives her a "unique item of power."

Meanwhile, on Quintessa, Skuxxoid has brought the Quintesson with him to try to extort some cash from the Quintessons who are furious the Quintesson failed in his mission to bring a scorpia (the beast we saw last issue) to the fighting arenas on Dominus as planned.  After they have the Sharkticons drag away the Quintesson, the Quintessons order Skuxxoid to stand trial.  He starts babbling about how he'll be in their debt if they let him survive and they can have all his ships, mentioning the one containing Agorrian and Zertonian rare metals.  Interestingly, the Quintessons stop him at the mention of "Zertonians."

Back on the Ring, Darak endures his third day of torture.  After the torturer leaves, a young boy arrives with Darak's equipment and tells him to come with him.  Darak notes that the boy isn't surprised to see his face, and the boy informs him that he's from a small group with use for him.  Darak then finds himself face to face, in his words, with "some kind of underground resistance."  Its leader, Kanela, confirms that she and the other "Unifiers" seek to unify the Ring.  Darak tells them that he won't help unless they rescue Solila, prompting Kanela to tell him that he has no idea who she really is.  (I'm guessing it has something to do with Villa previously calling her the "First Chosen.")  We close with Solila staring at a green-colored USB-like device, likely the "item of power."

All in all, Kirkman really manages to strike a great balance with this series.  It moves quickly without making you feel like you're dragging your way through too much exposition while at the same time keeps you guessing at every turn.  Good stuff.

Void Rivals #1-#4

After reading the great first issue of "Transformers," I discovered I should also be reading Kirkman's "Void Rivals," so here we go.

Void Rivals #1:  Kirkman starts us off easy here in a pretty tight first issue.

A spaceship crashes on a planetoid, and a "handroid" (a gauntlet that's also a robot) drags the pilot from the wreckage and revives him with a medpack.  The pilot identifies himself as Darak and assesses his situation.  He exposits that he wasn't on a long-term mission so only has limited rations, which are now strewn across the planetoid.  Handroid (for lack of a better name) informs him that a Zertonian ship attacked Darak's near a comet, whose gravitational pull slingshotted his ship onto the planetoid.  Handroid tells Darak it's unlikely the Zertonian also landed there, but he's proven wrong when a harpoon almost takes out Darak.

The two spar, which ends with the Zertonian begging for her life despite acknowledging a Zertonian would never spare an Agorrian.  Handroid reminds Darak that he is honor-bound to subdue a Zertonian and would commit treason by not doing so.  The Zertonian dismisses Handroid as an Agorrian crutch and comments that Darak is almost honor-bound to kill her because Agorrians forbid Zertonians from hearing handroids.  However, Darak isn't the idiot his people and the Zertonians seem to be, because he has Handroid scan the Zertonian's ship and confirm that, between the two ships, they can create a working one.  Handroid also confirms he can't complete the repairs on his own, justifying Darak's decision to keep the Zertonian alive.

Our first hint this rivalry is intense for a very specific reason comes when the Zertonian comments how similar Agorrian and Zertonian technologies are, which Darak explains away as Zertonian spies stealing Agorrian secrets.  As the work, the Zertonian misaligns a cable, causing an explosion.  Darak saves her, and she in turn extinguishes the fire on his jacket.  She tells Darak that her name is Solila, prompting him to note that she likely broke Zertonian law by revealing her name, which is an Agorrian rule as well.  That said, he returns the favor.  

Solila decides to leave because she doesn't want to die with an Agorrian but quickly returns after finding a ship.  Darak notes that it's neither of Agorrian or Zertonian design, and they hook up an engine to transfer energy to it.  They're hoping just to confirm whether the ship's systems are working, but it suddenly transforms into Jetfire!  Realizing that he's likely been on the planetoid for millions of years, Jetfire transforms and bolts.

Solila is again convinced they're going to die there, but Darak gets an idea from Jetfire's transformation.  He hypothesizes they can use their flight armors to create a working engine.  Solila notes yet again that they'd break many sacred decrees if they do so and comments on not wanting to see Darak's "hideous Agorrian face."  Commenting on Solila's "misshapen Zertonian face," Darak nonetheless removes his helmet.  Surprising no one, they're clearly the same race, prompting Darak to comment on his "vision," which we'll likely learn about later.

Void Rival #2:  Kirkman doesn't make us wait to get details about Darak's vision, using it to explain how the Agorrians and Zertonians got to this point.

In a flashback, Darak's commander briefs him on his mission as they walk to his ship, informing him that the comet's 4,000 tons of ice would add to the Agorrians' water reserves.  He notes Agorrian intelligence believes the Zertonians have introduced water rationing, so the comet's water will also help them maintain their edge over the Agorrians.  Before Darak leaves, his father, Minister Dulin, informs him that his status as the top Agorrian pilot is the only thing sparing Darak from his wrath.  He tells him to succeed or not to return.  Darak boards his ship and gets his vision after Handroid revives him.  (It seems like you have to go into some form of suspended animation to journey long distances in the Energon Universe, like they don't have hyperspace.)

In the vision, Darak learns the Agorrians and Zertonians were once the inhabitants of two warring planets orbiting a dying star.  To save their civilizations, they created the Sacred Ring, a space station that encircles the black hole that the star eventually became.  It takes generations to build the Ring, and, once it's completed, the peace between the two sides ends.  The vision's narrator tells Darak the two sides have to unite once again because "Goliant" is coming.

On the planetoid, Solila tells Darak that Zerta gave him the vision, which Darak dismisses because the Agorrians don't believe in Zertonian "myths and superstitions" (underscoring the narrator's point that the two civilizations are very different).  At any rate, the two acknowledge that the Agorrians and Zertonians clearly have a common ancestry (with Solila recalling how similar their technologies are, from last issue) and that the Powers That Be are keeping this information form the populaces for some reason.  

They go about their work of using their flight armors to cobble together a ship, which they manage to launch.  Before they do, Solila confesses the Zetonians' water reserves are almost spent and laments that she's here helping an Agorrian.  Darak convinces her to get over it since they'll likely die in their attempt to leave the planetoid, which prompts a smile from Solila.  They get off the planet, but Handroid notes it would take them 12.4 years to get back to the Ring.  Before that can happen, a ship disguised as an asteroid appears and grabs the pair's ship.  Enter Skuxxoid!

Void Rivals #3:  Oof.  That ending.

We begin where we ended, with Darak and Solila facing Skuxxoid inside his ship.  As Darak notes, Solila clearly isn't just a pilot when she barely misses Skuxxoid with her harpoon.  But Solila calls back her harpoon somehow, taking Skuxxoid by surprise and hitting him in the back.  They then make a break for it, disappearing into the enormous ship.  Skuxxoid calls after them that he's just trying to feed his wife and kids, noting that a bounty hunter catching them is better than floating adrift in space.  (He has a point.)  Muttering to himself that he isn't the most dangerous thing on the ship, Skuxxoid starts examining the pair's ship.

As they wander Skuxxoid's ship, Darak is hurt Solila won't expand on her abilities.  Solila just notes the Zertonian situation was sufficiently dire that they sent someone who wouldn't fail.  The pair comes upon a dark room and an enormous scorpion (no, not Scorpinox) attacks them.  Solila backs the scorpion into its lair while Darak maneuvers around it to get to the control panel so Handroid can lock up the scorpion.  

The plan works, and, as Darak and Solila catch their breath, another prisoner calls to them, offering to help them if they release him.  Suddenly, they're face to face with a Quintesson!  Handroid informs Darak that he can't find any matches for a Quintesson in his database, but they decide to follow him because they have no other choice.  The Quintesson informs them that his kind has many enemies given their responsibility for the centuries-old Age of Wrath and offers to get them home if they help him.  Solila asks how he knows where his ship is, and the Quintesson answers that he didn't enter the ship a prisoner.  

Arriving in the hanger, the Quintesson implores Darak and Solila to kill Skuxxoid, but Skuxxoid informs them that he has no beef with them, since he couldn't find an active bounty on them...unlike the Quintesson.  In fact, Skuxxoid offers them a "pre-Hive era" ship in exchange for their ship, since it has a rare alloy that his buddy Slizardo (Slizardo!) wants.

Hilariously, the next scene sees the pair in the ship (making it clear they ditched the Quintesson), two days from the Ring.  Solila asks how they're going to handle matters when they return, and Darak says his father is "a lot of things" but he'll listen to him.  (I'm guessing Darak is wrong on that one.)  Solila wisely notes that people on both sides are keeping the two races' origins secret and that some people might not want peace.  Darak is overly optimistic those people "won't be very popular."  (Ha!)  Wisely, though, Darak proposes they each take escape pods to their respective sides of the Ring.

Before they depart, Solila thanks Darak, noting she would've killed him and died on that planetoid.  Darak wishes her luck, and she wishes it back to him, telling him he'll need it.  She then uses her harpoon to shock him.  She at least apologizes to his unconscious body.

Void Rivals #4:  This issue goes more or less as I expected.

Solila takes over the ship and sends the security codes to the Zertonians, though Handroid surprises me by pulling Darak's blaster on her.  However, she has her spear poised over Darak's neck, meaning if Handroid shoots her Darak dies.  Handroid surrenders, and they arrive on the Ring.  

An awakened Darak expresses disappointment Solila betrayed him and notes the Zertonians must be desperate if they're sending warriors in place of pilots.  Solila rebukes him for not taking the situation as seriously as he should (fair), stressing he should remain silent (particularly about seeing each other's faces) while she sorts out who she can trust.  (Darak is an idiot at this point, commenting that he thought they were friends, much to Solila's disbelief.  She dubs them rivals.)

Solila presents herself to Premier Zalilak, the Zertonian ruler, and he congratulates her for her success.  She asserts that she failed, since she didn't secure the comet.  But Zalilak notes that he recognizes Darak as the Agorrians' greatest pilot, which means they can ransom him for resources.  Solila expresses relief that they won't hurt him, which raises Zalilak's suspicions.  He asks Solila if she saw Darak's face and, next thing we know, they're throwing her into Darak's cell, where she confirms to him that the conspiracy starts at the top.  (Don't they all?)

The issue ends with Zalilak using a secret channel to communicate with the Agorrians.  As expected, Darak's father is Zalilak's counterpart and tells him that Darak was lost to him many years ago (for reasons that remain unclear).  It appears the protocol for this situation is death, so we'lll see what happens next issue.

Separately, we have a weird interlude where Skuxxoid tries to sell the Quintesson to Shockwave, who informs him that he has no resources to pay him, commenting on how all the Decepticons are in stasis and he barely has energon to function.

Final Thoughts:  For a series whose purpose is to tie together two different 40 year old intellectual properties, it's a lot more engaging and interesting than it needs to be!