Tread & Circuits Part 2

« Wreckers: Tread & Circuits #2 »
"Tread & Circuits Part 2"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	November 10, 2021
Cover date	November 2021
Written by	David Mariotte
Art by	Jack Lawrence
Colors by	Candice Han
Letters by	Jake M. Wood and Nathan Widick
Editor	Riley Farmer and Tom Waltz
Continuity	2019 IDW continuity

While the other Wreckers get acquainted with the competition, Circuit has a run-in with a figure from his past.

Synopsis

In one of Velocitron's many bars, Thunderclash and the other members of the Wreckers mingle with fans and get acquainted with the competition in tomorrow's Speedia 500 race—in reality, however, their night out is really a cover so that the team can identify any potential Mayhem operatives who might sabotage the race from within. While Hot Shot signs autographs with local celebrity Override, Ricochet keeps an eye on the mysterious Sideways, Minerva trounces the arrogant Knock Out on a virtual medic simulator, and Thunderclash has a friendly conversation with amateur race historian Leadfoot. When the Wreckers reunite, Aileron grumbles that they've already upset the proceedings by entering the race: right now, the odds are split between them and Mayhem as to who'll ruin the race first, and Aileron takes this as a sign that they've already blown their cover by acting so wildly out of character.

The Wreckers all share their findings, but there's little concrete evidence to go on—Leadfoot, Override, Knock out, and Sideways all have their quirks, but despite Aileron's intel there's no way to tell which one of them, if any, could be a potential inside man. Aileron points out that Mayhem is more likely than not deliberately keeping their plans vague, so that they can do whatever they want and later claim it was premeditated... but when she points out that this is all too similar to the modus operandi of some Autobots she knows, Thunderclash nearly loses his cool at being compared to the terrorists they're trying to fight, and the argument draws the attention of security chief Breakdown, who warns the group that another outburst like that will disqualify them all from the race. The moment his back is turned, however, Thunderclash thanks Aileron for helping to introduce the group to the last major player in the race, but Aileron's concerns are genuine: how much of this mission is just an act, and how much is really them? While Hot Shot's confident that they'll crush the race tomorrow, Minerva has some worries of her own: where's Circuit?

As it turns out, Circuit's been busy on his own adventure—catching up with Axer, a fellow victim of the Iron Hope disaster. As he gives Circuit a lift back to the Stuntmaster, the pair exchange stories; while Circuit explains that he's now a member of the Wrecker stunt troupe, Axer explains that, although they parted on bad terms, he's made a new start for himself by moving to Velocitron and joining Security Operations. Axer explains that Velocitron's security forces are already working to track down the elusive members of Mayhem, and have turned the entire Speedia race into a sting operation that will hopefully lure them out of hiding. Axer warns Circuit to leave now with the other Wreckers—he couldn't stop Circuit from hurting himself last time, but this time will be different. As Axer rides off on his bike, Circuit suspects something's amiss, climbs aboard his own exo-suit, and deploys a camera drone to follow Axer. By the time that Axer realizes he's being bugged and destroys the drone, Circuit's already tailed him to a run-down alleyway, just in time to see Axer meeting with Mayhem spokesman Octopunch! Realizing that local security's already been compromised, Circuit contacts the other Wreckers... but before he can inform them of this urgent development, a bullet from an unseen sniper nails him in the head!

By the time that the Wreckers reach his coordinates, Axer and Octopunch have long since fled the scene, torched their temporary hideout, and sprayed a threatening message on a nearby wall. Circuit's still alive, but barely—after a cycle of work, Minerva can only stabilize him before transferring him to the ship's CR chamber. Minerva admits that, after kilocycles of peace, the experience has left her shaken; it's been so long since she's seen real violence of this magnitude. Thunderclash does her best to reassure her—Circuit did his best for them, and now they need to honor that sacrifice.

Some time later, Thunderclash, Hot Shot, Ricochet, and Aileron make their way through the throngs of cheering fans and take up their positions on the starting line, while Minerva joins the medical pit crews to help from the sidelines. Breakdown briefly takes the stage to assure viewers of the extra precautions taken to assure the safety of fans and racers, including posting extra security officers along the track, before first Senator Road Rocket and Xaaron officially open the race. Road Rocket takes the pole position, Knock Out and Breakdown share a kiss, Minerva braces herself, and Axer gets ready to make his move... and, as the light turns green, the race officially begins!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"I call next game."
"Knock yourself out. Starts to lose its charm after you've tied your high score for the thirtieth time."

—Minerva meets Knock Out

"We're gonna run the race, but... I couldn't stop you from getting hurt once. Lemme do it this time."

—Axer

"I understood how dangerous this duty was when I agreed to join you all those kilocycles ago. But things have gone so right for so long—just minor bumps and scratches—that I forgot what real damage looks like. I'm really worried, Thunderclash. I... I don't remember the last time the danger seemed this real."

—Minerva

"Even if it blows our cover, there are lives at stake. We just have to do our best—like Circuit. For Circuit."

—Thunderclash

"Are we just... in the race?"
"Think so."
"WOO-HOO!"

—Hot Shot and Ricochet

Notes

Continuity notes

• On page four, a screen features Megatron giving a speech, with a news crawl that reads "THREAT? OR CYBERTRON'S NEW HOPE?" Thus far, there's been no clear timeframe as to when this story takes place relative to developments in IDW's primary Transformers ongoing, but given this detail it's possible that it takes place at some point before Megatron's big coup in Transformers #23.
• Thunderclash greets Leadfoot with the traditional two-palmed gesture that's cropped up a few times over in the main Transformers ongoing.
• Leadfoot notes that, in the days before the Speedia, Sizzle was known as the planet's "First Senator", reflecting how Sentinel Prime's official title prior to the aforementioned coup was First Senator.

Transformers references

• Aileron refers to "breems", a unit of time from the Marvel Comics continuity, and which have previously been mentioned in Galaxies #10.
• Velocitronians based on the Cybertron characters Red Alert, Crosswise, Brakedown, and Landmine all make an appearance at the bar on page two. Non-Unicron Trilogy characters include a Generation 1 version of Animated Lickety-Split, Adventure Stepper and another who resembles the generic "museum guards" from Robots in Disguise. Cameos on page three include Power of the Primes Novastar and Combiner Wars Groove—they can't actually be these characters, however, as they've both appeared over in the main Transformers ongoing.
• Fan-favorite Knock Out returns as a prominent Velocitronian, following on from how IDW's Windblade and Till All Are One comics depicted him. Appearance-wise, he's sporting a new body that resembles Studio Series Jazz; perhaps this is our first glimpse of an upcoming Legacy toy? While most previous Knock Outs have been depicted as doctors of some kind, it's not clear if this version of the character is a physician as well, although he is shown playing a virtual medical simulator game. What hasn't changed, however, is his romantic relationship with fellow Prime transplant Breakdown, and the pair share a smooch before the big race.
• In addition to the aforementioned Mechanic Mania, another arcade machine advertises "Virtual Cube", a popular sport from the Cyberverse and Rescue Bots Academy cartoons.
• Among the objects Knock Out removes from his virtual patient are a Prime-inspired scraplet and a transformation cog.
• In addition to the return of "Stepper", "Red Alert", and "Landmine", other generic spectators page on eighteen include Siege Red Alert and Energon Cliffjumper.
• The task of officiating the Speedia falls to Xaaron, a politician and wily old buzzard who hails from the UK portions of the original Marvel comic. In this task, he's accompanied by another Marvel-original character, Scrounge, who's wearing a body based on his recent Combiner Wars toy. Also present on the same page is a Generation 1 incarnation of Signal Lancer, a minor Cybertron character with a memorably odd traffic light alternate mode.
• Lots of racers show up on the final two pages: in addition to Override, Knock Out, Sideways, and Leadfoot, there's also a blue van who resembles Generations Skids, a three-wheeled racer drawn but not colored like Cybertron Crumplezone, a six-wheeled Legacy Drag Strip, a purple supercar that's unmistakeably based on Armada Blurr, another racer coloured like Generation 1 Blurr, and a just-barely-visible teal car with a sloped hood that might be Moonracer, who was depicted as a Velocitronian in Windblade.

Real-world references

• Velocitron's "VNN" news service is an obvious pastiche of well-known news network CNN.
• Knock Out and Minerva both play a round of "Mechanic Mania", which involves extracting objects from a Transformer patient: essentially, a Cybertronian version of the popular Hasbro board game Operation.

Errors

• Throughout the issue, multiple characters refer to Velocitron's Security Operations division. However, it's more likely that this should probably be Colonial Security, the Senate division responsible for handling problems outside Cybertron's remit, as multiple conversations in the main Transformers ongoing have established that Security Operations is a Cybertron-exclusive government branch.

Covers (3)

• Cover A: Our heroes, by Alex Milne
• Cover B: Circuit's got the Speedia on his brain, by Susan Margevich
• Retailer incentive cover: Mayhem, by Livio Ramondelli

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Reprints

• Transformers Volume 5: Horrors Near and Far (May 22, 2022 **scheduled**) ISBN 1684058066 / ISBN 978-1684058839
  • Hardcover.
  • Collects Transformers issues #31–36, Wreckers: Tread & Circuits issues #1-4, Transformers Annual 2021, and the Transformers Halloween Special.
  • Bonus material currently unknown, most likely alternate covers.

• 

  Volume 5: Horrors Near and Far; cover art by Cryssy Cheung

External links

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