Revolutionaries (IDW)

Set in the aftermath of Revolution, Revolutionaries, the second major instalment in the Hasbro Comic Universe, provides the build-up to First Strike. As a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits hunt down a mysterious alien artifact known only as "the Talisman", they begin to uncover a connection between Cybertron and the Dire Wraiths, with Earth caught squarely in the middle, all the while pursued by a band of international criminals.

Tropes used in Revolutionaries include:

• Big No: Mayday when Baron Ironblood is unmasked as Joe Colton.
• Bigger Bad: Onyx Prime.
• Break the Badass: Happens to Joe Colton in issue 3 as he's completely overwhelmed and outclass by a dismissive Soundwave.
• Canon Welding: The Hearts of Steel miniseries is revealed as canon, the "Autobots and Decepticons" of those tales having been brainwashed Maximals.
• Early Installment Weirdness: This series would establish that the Talisman has a link to Microspace, presumably based on the connection between Onyx and Micronus Prime, but that would be dropped in later media.
• Expy:
  • Garrison Blackrock is a Deadpan Snarker CEO with a mechanical alter-ego.
  • Sgt. Savage is from the 1940s but was sent forward in time. In fairness, unlike Cap, Savage is not a Fish Out of Temporal Water. In fact, he adores the future.
  • Iron Klaw is a Tin Tyrant who commands a small, but technologically advanced, Eastern European nation.
• For Science!: Shockwave's war games with the Maximals.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The hexagonal plate of the Visionaries appears among the hieroglyphs in the Tomb.
  • Kreiger makes a few allusions to magic.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Centurion defends his descent into villainy by being left alone since the 1910s. Kup has been alone for billions of years and didn't turn evil, so to him that excuse is beryllium baloney.
• Identical Stranger: The Axalon crew all resembled the major Autobots and Decepticons. Because Shockwave remembered that they had to.
• Innocuously Important Episode: The entire series could very well be considered this to the Hasbro Comic Universe but issue #5 takes the cake, setting up a massive amount of material for the ending of Optimus Prime.
• Interquel: Issue #2 takes place during the events of Micronauts #11.
• It's All About Me: Joe Colton claims that the Transformers are Too Powerful to Live and have to be killed off for the sake of Earth's survival. While Villain Has a Point in how destructive the Cybertronians can be, everyone can clearly see that he wants to prove that he can kill a Transformer after Soundwave one-upped him.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Kup uses the universal greeting on the Micronauts.
  • The Talisman is hidden within the Tomb of the Binaltech.
  • The Maximals came to Earth in the Axalon which was shot down by the Darksyde.
• Reality Ensues:
  • The Cobra moonbase was left alone since 2011. All the personnel stranded up there have since died off.
  • The Maximals have been cut off from Cybertron for millions of years and are the devout followers of one of the original Primes. When they intercept an Autobot transmission, they're understandably confused about who this pretender calling himself a Prime is.
  • As Kreiger lampshades, a five minute conversation can't sway someone from the mindset they've had for decades.
  • Savage is in the prime of his youth while Ironblood is not only older but wearing heavy armor. Guess who wins their "fight."
• Something Only They Would Say: How Savage figures out how Ironblood is.
• Took a Level In Badass: Blackrock has gotten much better at using his Cybertronian powers since the Titans Return arc.
• The Unreveal: The series never reveals the origin of the Talisman.
• Vagueness Is Coming: Onyx Prime claims that the Talisman is inoculation against an oncoming threat. Unicron.