First Strike (IDW)

The sequel to Revolution, First Strike sees Earth poised to join the Cybertronian Council of Worlds. Too bad that Baron Ironblood and his cabal of supervillains disagree with that idea.

Tropes used in First Strike include:

• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Joe Colton, founder of G.I. Joe, has no problem committing genocide on the Cybertronian species.
  • Merklynn was a huge jerkass back in Visionaries, but here he has no problem destroying whole planets and species just to bring magic back.
• All for Nothing: Colton mumbles this after Merklynn takes over his plan.
• Bad Boss: Colton to the Iron Ring. He plans for their deaths and eventually says he'll start killing them if they don't stop annoying him.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Merklynn manages to recreate part of Prysmos on Cybertron.
• Bittersweet Ending: Merklynn has recreated part of Prysmos within Cybertron at the cost of nearly half the planet's Energon reserves, Colton has a mental breakdown and Scarlett lost faith in him. Oh and Unicron has woken up.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Windblade is right in saying the ends can't justify the means but Optimus is also right in saying that Cybertron is being invaded and they have to act fast.
• Composite Character: Garrison Krieger is revealed to be but an alias cooked up by the Visionaries character Merklynn. 
• Create Your Own Villain: Most Cybertronians barely spared any thought to Earth. After Colton's actions, some of them want to attack Earth in revenge.
• Didn't Think This Through: As Scarlett lampshades, even if Colton destroys Cybertron, there are other aliens out there and other aliens have come to Earth meaning he won't have protected Earth from the rest of the galaxy.
  • To make it worse, even if he did destroy Cybertron, there are Cybertronian colonies and outposts throughout the galaxy. It's likely that even more of them would come to Earth to get their servos on Ore-13. In the aftermath, Elita One even suggests invading Earth to get the energy they need to revitalize Cybertron.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: Colton to Scarlett. She takes advantage of his hesitation to beat him to the ground.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Marissa Faireborn is hot enough that Lady Jaye makes a few suggestive comments when watching her on TV. Be glad Marissa isn't Jaye's daughter in this timeline.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Colton hates both Cybertronians and Dire Wraiths.
  • Merklynn hates anyone not from Prysmos.
  • Thanks to Colton, there's a surge in anti-human attitude on Cybertron.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Shazraella and Storm Shadow.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Miles Mayhem to the Iron Ring.
• Freudian Excuse: Colton's anti-Cybertronian attitude stems from an encounter with Soundwave that showed Colton how outmatched humans were.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: While it makes sense for Colton to lay down traps to stall his pursuers, he really overdoes it. The first two take so long to set up that it allows Metroplex to locate the Iron Ring which he passes on to the Cybertronian military. Within Cybertron's underground, he lays down so damn many that it not only slows his group down but allows his pursuers to become familiar with his tactics and actually beat him to his objective.
• Hostile Terraforming: Merklynn intended to do this. By unleashing the Talisman within Cybertron's core, he'd have turned the planet into a copy of Prysmos. He settles for recreating a city-sized pocket deep underground.
• Ignored Expert: Scarlett tells Starscream that Joe Colton is too smart to be fought without her knowledge of his tactics. Starscream scoffs at the mere notion that a human could threaten even one Cybertronian let alone their home planet and throws G.I. Joe in jail under charges of suspicion.
• Inexplicably Awesome: Arcee mocks Windblade for trying to fight her when the Cybertronians have millions of years of warfare under their belts and Starscream scoffs that humans can bring any harm to Cybertron. Colton proves them both wrong, being their equal in strategy.
• It's All About Me:
  • Colton only cares about what happens to Earth. The rest of the galaxy can burn for all he cares. When Merklynn recreates Prysmos, Colton even asks "What about Earth?".
    • Never mind the fact that the United Nations actually voted to join the Council of Worlds. Colton has taken the law into his own hands and unilaterally decided his opinions are the right ones. Scarlett even lampshades the latter aspect asking who gave him the right to decide which species have a right to live.
  • Merklynn only cares about Prysmos.
• Kill All Humans: Elita One puts this forth as a suggestion to deal with the invasion. The Council is divided 50/50 on whether or not it's a good idea.
• The Magic Comes Back: Merklynn will invoke this trope. Whether the rest of the galaxy likes it or not.
• Magic Versus Science: Merklynn views magic as the true power of the universe and views science as a contemptible imitation.
• Moral Myopia:
  • Colton has no issue destroying Cybertron and a whole species to protect Earth but when he sees that someone else is willing to do the same for the benefit of their planet, he's appalled.
  • For all that Merklynn believes in genocide and Hostile Terraforming, he seems disgusted at Colton's action of recruiting supervillains saying that Colton's soul has been damaged.
• Mythology Gag:
  • This isn't the first time a scream from Cybertron has awoken Unicron.
  • Unicron is shown to be within a rocky planet. His depiction blends his portrayals in Transformers Prime, where he's the natural core, and Transformers Armada, where the rock hides his true metallic form.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Calling Colton a hero might be wrong but he really shouldn't have saved Kreiger from falling to his doom.
• Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: While it makes sense for Colton to have a lot of resources on Earth, one does question where he gets all his resources while operating in Cybertron's underground.
• Out of Focus: The Cybertronians. Particularly egregious since the series is set on Cybertron.
  • Out of all the Iron Ring, Destro has the least dialogue.
• Politically-Incorrect Villain: Miles Mayhem scoffs that Scarlett (a woman) could thwart them. Storm Shadow shows him the harm a woman can bring to the table.
• Puny Earthlings: Weirdly enough, Colton believes this. It's why he has to destroy Cybertron, so it's people can't harm Earth.
• Sequel Hook: When "New Prysmos" is created, Cybertron "screams" at its Energon being manipulated. A scream that wakes up Unicron.
• Unwitting Pawn: The Iron Ring to Joe Colton. Joe Colton to Merklynn.