The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing
Publication date	January 2012 – December 2016
No. of issues	57 plus 1 One-shot
Creative team
Written by	James Roberts
Penciller(s)	Alex Milne Nick Roche James Raiz Guido Guidi Brendan Caill Agustin Padilla Hayato Sakamoto
Inker(s)	Joana Lafuente Josh Burcham Josh Perez
Letterer(s)	Shawn Lee Tom B. Long
Editor(s)	John Barber Carlos Guzman
Collected editions
Volume 1	ISBN 978-1613772355
Volume 2	ISBN 978-1613774984
Volume 3	ISBN 978-1613775929
Volume 4	ISBN 978-1613776919
Volume 5	ISBN 978-1613778029
Volume 6	ISBN 978-1631401848
Volume 7	ISBN 978-1631403279
Volume 8	ISBN 978-1631404528
Volume 9	ISBN 978-1631406157
Volume 10	ISBN 978-1631407161

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye was a serialized comic series that was part of IDW Publishing's The Transformers comic book line. Its title was taken from one of the two taglines of the Transformers franchise, while the other was given to its companion series The Transformers: Robots in Disguise. The series opens after the one-shot Death of Optimus Prime, where the Transformers’ planet of Cybertron faces a period of uneasy peace and political instability. In response, Rodimus Prime recruits a large crew of Autobots to search for the Knights of Cybertron, a group of religious ambassadors who had vanished prior to the events of the comic. The series was written by James Roberts and was primarily drawn by Alex Milne. Issues 1 to 22 were primarily coloured by Josh Burcham while issues 28 to 57 were primarily coloured by Joanna Lafuente.

The series ended at issue #57, to be relaunched as Transformers: Lost Light.

Background[]

Plot[]

Volume 1: Liars, A to D[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
01	Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It	January 11th, 2012	—
Artist: Nick Roche Rodimus Prime sends out a message expressing his desire to leave Cybertron and encourages other Autobots to do the same. Autobot High Command officers Bumblebee and Prowl predict a low turnout rate, but on the following day, over two hundred Transformers wait in line to board Rodimus’ exploration vessel named the ‘Lost Light’. Just before launch, some stragglers pick up the injured Cyclonus, Whirl and Tailgate. The ship takes off but is seemingly damaged by an explosion. The vessel quantum jumps off course and some of the crew are sucked out into space due to a hull breach, falling towards a nearby planet.
02	Liars A to D, Part 2: Hangers On	February 15th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne The scientist Brainstorm discovers that one crewmate phased into a generator during the initial launch, causing the ship to hurl itself off course. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus head down onto the planet and lead a search for the victims of the hull breach. A ship appears and crash-lands. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Tailgate was offline for eons, missing out on the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. The crashed ship’s occupant is revealed to be Skids, who mysteriously has amnesia. The ship converts into three colossal sword wielding mechs who attack Skids. The latter eventually defeats all of them, his presence noticed by Chromedome and Rewind along the way. Most of the displaced crew are found and the ship embarks onto its next destination, with Skids tagging along as well. As the ship reaches orbit, security director Red Alert informs Rodimus that a predatory beast known as a Sparkeater is on board.
03	Liars A to D, Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things	March 14th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne Calling the situation ‘Cool’, Rodimus assembles a team consisting of Rewind, Chromedome, Ratchet, and his first lieutenants Ultra Magnus and Drift to investigate while locking up the other Autobots in their rooms, though a few manage to escape. Chromedome is revealed to be a mnemosurgeon, someone capable of reading and editing memories, including that of dead bots. Swerve finds himself in a derelict bar. Rodimus and Drift realize that the Sparkeater is attracted by bright sparks, and sets up a trap. The Sparkeater is lured into the engine room, where it is phased into a generator as the Lost Light is performing another quantum jump. The crew return to their respective duties, when Tailgate, who was influenced by Cyclonus, declares that he wants to be a Decepticon.

Volume 2: Delphi, the Scavengers[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
04	Life after the Big Bang	April 18th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne The Autobot facility, Delphi, is plagued by a virus which causes Cybertronians to rust and deteriorate at an alarming rate, killing many patients. Concurrently, Swerve reopens the bar without the consent of Ultra Magnus. Ratchet picks up a radio transmission from Delphi and calls up Drift and Pipes to accompany him to the outpost. Rodimus and Rewind show Autobot propaganda to Tailgate, persuading him to join their faction. At the meantime, Ratchet’s group arrives on Delphi. Drift cuts down a patient who attacks Pipes. They are spotted by the nurse First Aid, who leads them to the facility’s ward. The bots hypothesize the source of the outbreak. Ratchet requests to see the facility director, Pharma who is trapped in a quarantine chamber. Drift realizes that Pipes has been infected. As Drift knocks out Pipes, Ratchet unlocks the quarantine chamber while two armed Decepticons storm the ward, only to be greeted by a bot who introduces himself as Fortress Maximus.
05	How Ratchet Got His Hands Back	May 23rd, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne Fortress Maximus violently dispatches the Decepticons as the medics tend to the patients, Pharma holds the ward manager Ambulon at gunpoint, accusing him of releasing the virus. However, First Aid and Ratchet deduce that Pharma was the one responsible. Pharma then escapes, with Ratchet tailing behind. On the Lost Light, the psychiatrist Rung meets with Red Alert, who claims to be hearing noises at the bottom of the ship. Ratchet intentionally infects himself with the virus, activating its symptoms as he catches up with Pharma. The treacherous medic monologues his scheme to kill his patients in order to relinquish their transformation cogs to the Decepticon Justice Division. Realising that he had been stepping on an infected pool of Ratchet’s rust, Pharma panics and grabs a vaccine, rushing off to the roof. Drift ends up interfering and sends Pharma plummeting down the mountainside while Ratchet retrieves the vaccine. With everyone cured, Ratchet takes all of Delphi’s occupants to the Lost Light. Ratchet also takes Pharma's hands.
06	Interiors	June 27th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne After the events on Delphi, Fortress Maximus is forced to undergo psychological therapy with Rung. The former repeatedly lies about his traumatic experience at the hands of the sadistic Overlord. After a failed session, Maximus snaps and begins to fire on bots at random, beginning with Pipes. He then holds himself up in Rung’s office and holds him and Whirl hostage. Maximus demands Rodimus to turn the ship back to Cybertron so that he could enact his revenge on Prowl. The crew discover that Maximus has a form of post traumatic stress, shooting bots who looked like Overlord. Whirl proceeds to distract Maximus while Rodimus informs Swerve to shoot Maximus via the exterior of the Lost Light. The minibot aims but accidentally opens fire on Rung. Whirl then uses a pipe to impale Maximus. Meanwhile, Red Alert continues to find the source of the noise, finding out that the bottom of the ship was outfitted with a prison cell holding Overlord.
07	Rules of Disengagement	July 25th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne The Decepticon Justice Division is introduced by hunting down, torturing, and killing the powerful and feared Black Shadow with ease. They then travel to the world of Clemency. On the Lost Light, Ratchet, First Aid, and Ambulon repair Rung, who had sustained a blast to the head. Red Alert sneaks in and inserts an encrypted message to the comatose psychiatrist before leaving. Brainstorm examines one of Skids’ guns and concludes that it may be from "The Institute". On the war-torn Clemency, a group of scavengers composed of Decepticons Misfire, Krok, Spinister, Crankcase, and Flywheels dismantle fallen soldiers and take whatever may still be useful. They find a survivor, Fulcrum, and a downed Decepticon warship. They are searching the ship when Tarn, the Decepticon Justice Division’s leader, calls, ordering the group to deliver "the traitor" or be executed. While the terrified Scavengers argue on the identity of the traitor, Krok finds a stasis pod containing the Dinobot .
08	Who’s Afraid of The DJD?	August 22nd, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne As the Decepticon Justice Division approaches the downed warship, the scavengers use Grimlock as bait while they make their escape. On the Lost Light, Skids enlists Chromedome’s help to recover his lost memories, but the latter refuses after looking into his mind. Meanwhile, the scavengers cower behind a rock formation while the Decepticon Justice Division arrives, revealing that their target was in fact, Fulcrum. Grimlock is set free and attacks but does little to Tarn and his team, who quickly locate the scavengers. A one-sided battle occurs and Flywheels is killed. Fulcrum, being able to transform into a bomb, attempts to do a heroic sacrifice and kill the DJD by jumping off a cliff, only to land without exploding. Believing that Fulcrum is dead, the Decepticon Justice Division departs the planet to search for Overlord. It is revealed that Fulcrum did not die, and the Scavengers continue their journey.

Volume 3: Shadowplay[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
-	Annual 2012: Primus: You, Me and Other Revelations	September 12th, 2012	—
Act 1: Signs and Portents Act 3: Epiphanies Act 2: Sacraments and Ceremonies
Artists: Jimbo Salgado and Emil Cabaltierra Act 1: Rodimus and other Autobots use Brainstorm’s mass-displacement gun to shrink down into Ultra Magnus’ mouth, fighting off microscopic Nanocons. A reluctant Magnus is forced to smile in order to crush the minuscule creatures in his pistons. Meanwhile, Tailgate is getting ready to partake in an Act of Affiliation to receive his Autobot badge. Rodimus and his first lieutenants discuss their inevitable arrival on Theophany, home to pacifist Transformers known as the Circle of Light. Act 2: Tailgate’s ceremony commences. Rodimus attempts to draw out Tailgate’s badge, only to subconsciously scribble the words “Let me out”. The Lost Light is then contacted by Captain K’gard of the Galactic Council, who claim that they are trespassing on their territory. K’gard explains that the Circle of Light had disappeared, and teleports Rodimus and a few others to Theophany while Magnus is brought into the Galactic Council’s cruiser. The group find the Circle of Light’s Crystal City in ruins, leading to Drift stabbing the ground with his sword in rage. The subsidence afterwards traps the Autobots underground. Act 3:: Rodimus’ team fall into a cavern concealing a dormant Titan, which the Circle of Light had used to generate power for their city. Using his mind-reading skills, Chromedome taps into the Titan’s memories and is horrified as he watches the Circle of Light being attacked by massive robots. Rodimus learns that the Titan is active and is forcing itself to teleport itself to Cybertron, but to no avail. Brainstorm then uses his mass-displacement gun to reduce the size of the city-bot, allowing it to teleport back to its homeworld. Rodimus’ team and Magnus are returned to the Lost Light, where they set a course to the Argon Nebulae.
09	Shadowplay Part 1: Post Hoc	September 26th, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne In order to assist Rung in recuperation, Rewind and a few others gather in Swerve’s bar to tell a story. They recall of an event before the war, where Chromedome and Prowl investigate the murder of a senator after the assassination of the current Prime. The two had suspected the Decepticons, and had headed towards Translucentica Heights where they had found another corpse sporting a graffitied Decepticon symbol. As they continue to retell the story, Grapple hoists a decapitated Red Alert out of the oil reservoir.
10	Shadowplay Part 2: Patternism	October 31st, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne In the past, Orion Pax and his friend Roller observe a high speed pursuit in Translucentica Heights. In the present day, Rewind explains that Prowl and Chromedome had been chasing a suspect while another had been killed by Orion Pax. Prowl and Chromedome then searched a spark relinquishment clinic, which turned out to be ‘The Institute’,a laboratory that specialised in lobotomising and brainwashing its patients. Prowl then discovered that ‘The Institute’ was run by corrupt senators while Pax was informed of a plan for a staged bomb attack. Chromedome and Prowl return to Orion, Roller, Ratchet and an unnamed senator. The group discovered that the bomb was disguised as the Matrix of Leadership. Knowing that the bomb would detonate soon, Pax decided to “steal the matrix.”
11	Shadowplay Part 3: An Intimate Beheading	November 21st, 2012	—
Artist: Alex Milne (Events that chronologically occurred before Issue 1 are displayed in italic text .) The unnamed senator recruits several bots with unique powers to participate in heist (In homage to the X-men). The group break in and replace the ‘matrix bomb’ with a replica, and leave unscathed. Orion Pax returns to his safehouse which had been overrun by corrupt enforcers while he was away. Orion drives the enforcers out, though the unnamed senator had surrendered to them beforehand. In the present day, Rewind finishes his story. Rung is still unresponsive, but as the Autobots leave, the psychiatrist awakens. In the medical bay of the Lost Light, Ratchet discovers that Red Alert had attempted suicide. In Cybertron’s past, workers in ‘The Institute’ discuss their next patient-Orion’s senator friend Shockwave.

Volume 4[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
12	Before & After	December 19th, 2012	—
Artists: Alex Milne ("Before") and Brendan Cahill ("After") (The events in this issue are presented in a non-chronological order.) Before The Lost Light arrives on Temporia, a planet in the Argon Nebulae. The Decepticons there are suspected of kidnaping the Circle of Light, and a team of Autobots are sent to liberate it. While the others hold off the troops, Tailgate and Rewind infiltrate the Decepticon stronghold. Inside, they discover that the Decepticons did not capture the Circle, and have instead been experimenting with the native people. Tailgate, an apparent specialist in explosives, fails to disarm a proximity bomb. Cyclonus arrives just in time and pushes Tailgate out of harm’s way just as the bomb explodes. After The Decepticons are defeated, though several Autobots have sustained injuries. Chromedome carries a damaged Rewind while Tailgate hauls Cyclonus into the medical bay. As the injured pair are operated on, Chromedome shares his history with Rewind to Tailgate. Cyclonus recovers first, and dismisses his relationship with Tailgate, though he has second thoughts and begins to bond with the smaller bot.
13	Cybertronian Homesick Blues	February 6th, 2013	—
Cybertronian Homesick Blues Signal to Noise
Cybertronian Homesick Blues Artist: Guido Guidi Rodimus Prime suggests that Ultra Magnus should relax and invites the crew to take ‘shore leave’ after combating the Decepticons. The Lost Light touches down on the planet Hedonia, where Swerve, Magnus and a few others visit a bar. As the Autobots enjoy their oil, Whirl switches Magnus’ drink out of spite, knocking the latter unconscious. Later, Magnus stirs and confesses his disdain for his infamy among the crew to Swerve, but is knocked out again. Afterwards, the group turn Magnus into his alternate mode in order to return to the Lost Light. The issue ends with the revelation that Tailgate was actually a lowly waste disposal bot. Signal to Noise Artist: N/A Rung recalls his recovery from his injuries and the trip to Hedonia as he walks into Ultra Magnus’ office. Magnus complains about Rodimus, and how they had lost their lead on the Circle of Light. The two visit Rodimus in his office and discuss many things, including Red Alert’s final message talking about a voice at the bottom of the ship. The meeting does not go well, and Rung wishes that someone listen to him for a change.
14	Remembrance Day	March 6th, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Chromedome, inspired by recent events, decides to complete his task assigned by Prowl and probe into the mind of Overlord. He goes into all of the brutal Decepticon’s defeats, noting that most of them were from Megatron. He obtains information on the creation of nigh-invincible Phase Sixers. Overlord uses the opportunity to usurp Chromedome’s control of his psyche and looks for the passcode to his cell in his captor’s memories. Making his escape, Overlord locks Chromedome in the cell and promises to slaughter everyone on the Lost Light.
15	Under Cold Blue Stars	March 20th, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Beginning his rampage, Overlord crushes Pipes underfoot and beats up Ratchet and Drift in the medical bay. Pipes sets off the Lost Light’s emergency alarm before perishing, prompting Rodimus Prime and the majority of the crew to arrive and surround Overlord. Chromedome runs out of Overlord’s cell to see the Decepticon flooring through the Lost Light’s crew. Magnus attempts to hold him off but gets stabbed through the spark. Rung manages to liberate the vengeful Fortress Maximus to fight Overlord, who turns the tide of the battle. The Phase Sixer is pushed into his cell but one of Drift’s swords gets in the way. In the end, Rewind sacrifices himself by freeing the sword from the inside and the cell is jettisoned into space and blown up.
16	The Gloaming	April 24th, 2013	—
Artist: Augustin Padilla Using a “Death Clock”, Ratchet determines that Ultra Magnus is nearing death. A funeral is held to those who had died in Overlord’s rampage. Afterwards, Chromedome prepares to dispose of Rewind’s belongings and decides to use his mnemosurgery skills to remove his memories of Rewind. Brainstorm convinces him to do otherwise and reveals that Chromedome has already done so with his previous deceased husbands. Brainstorm leaves Chromedome with Rewind's last message. Rewind's last message consists of spliced footage of bots talking, imploring Chromedome to move on without him and to love himself. Meanwhile, Rodimus publicly banishes Drift, who had apparently confessed his participation in placing Overlord on the Lost Light, off the ship. Rewind's message ends with him telling Chromedome "I love you." Tailgate places himself under the Death Clock and realises that he has only three days to live.

Volume 5: Remain in Light[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
17	Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon	May 29th, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Ratchet informs Tailgate he is about to die of old age, sending the latter into a panic attack. Rodimus Prime and Blaster see the comatose Ultra Magnus float off the medical bay and onto a shuttle through a security feed. The Lost Light pursues Magnus’ shuttle into a wormhole and find themselves on one of Cybertron’s satellites, Luna 1. Rodimus, along with Tailgate, Ratchet, Rung, Cyclonus, Brainstorm, Perceptor and Chromedome set off to explore the planet and search for Magnus. Brainstorm finds and extracts a “Point One Percenter”, a rare type of Cybertronian spark. Massive golden robots[1] teleport on the Lost Light and begin attacking the crew. Meanwhile, Decepticon mercenaries surround Rodimus’ group. The group attempt to evade the Decepticons but Ratchet falls off his speeder. He looks up to see Pharma smiling back at him. Rodimus pauses his recount to ask for his listener’s name. The listener obliges and introduces himself as ‘Ambus’.
18	Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus	June 19th, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Pharma takes Ratchet prisoner while Rodimus’ group are captured by the Decepticons (with the exception of Cyclonus and Whirl). The Autobots are taken to meet neutral lawmaker Chief Justice Tyrest. Tyrest reveals that the Lost Light‘s aggressors were his Legislators and charges them for “Crimes against Creation”. On the Lost Light, Skids tears through the Legislators before being incapacitated by Star Saber, who had also teleported onto the ship. In the cell, the Autobots talk about Tyrest’s backstory as Rung tries to expose Ambus. Unable to contain his secret any longer, Ambus confesses that he was Ultra Magnus all along.
19	Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self	July 31st, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Ambus explains that he was recovered by Tyrest through a recall switch, and was quickly stripped of his armour for undisciplined acts. Tyrest then showcased his latest enforcer, Star Saber. Ambus also reveals that “Ultra Magnus” is a profession carried by different robots instead of an actual person. Ambus also states that the Lost Light crew have all been sentenced to death for harbouring a high-profile criminal: Skids. Ambus leaves to confront Tyrest while Skids and Swerve are teleported into the cell. Pharma proposes a competition with Ratchet to see who would complete a surgery the fastest. Ambulon and First Aid are brought onto Luna 1, with Pharma bisecting the former lengthways for sake of the competition. At the meantime, Star Saber dumps a prisoner, Getaway, into the Autobot’s cell. As Ambus talks sense into the unhinged Tyrest, a Legislator sneaks behind and crushes Ambus’ head off.
20	Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely	August 28th, 2013	—
Artist: Alex Milne Whirl, Cyclonus and the freed Circle of Light battle Star Saber and Tyrest’s legislators. Meanwhile, Tyrest unveils his endgame: He would rid himself of his guilt by deactivating artificially built Transformers through a universal killswitch, enabling him to cross through a portal leading directly to Cyberutopia. Skids is revealed to be an agent deployed by Prowl to edit Tyrest’s mind to make him resign. The mission failed and Skids escaped in a spaceship formed from legislators, wiping his own mind in the process. A professional escapologist, Getaway frees Rodimus’ group, and together with Ratchet and First Aid, storm Tyrest’s control room. Tyrest retaliates by stunning them with a “weapon of mass suggestion”. Tyrest accomplishes his goal, activating the killswitch and walks towards the portal.
21	Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life	September 25th, 2013	—
Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life Tailgate leaps onto Tyrest and switches off the “weapon of mass suggestion”. Having survived, Ambus shoots and grievously injures Tyrest as First Aid kills Pharma. The Circle of Light manages to force Star Saber and the Legislators to retreat. Rodimus uses the Matrix of Leadership to save the victims of Tyrest’s killswitch. Later on, Tailgate, unable to find a cure for his old age, is apparently mercy killed by Cyclonus in the Lost Light‘s medical bay. The Sound of Breaking Glass Fortress Maximus, promoted to be Ultra Magnus’ enforcer, leaves the Lost Light along with Red Alert. It is implied that Brainstorm had stolen a spark from Luna 1. Meanwhile, the Autobots use Tyrest’s equipment to contact Cybertron while Tyrest disappears.
Artist: Alex Milne
22	Little Victories	October 9th, 2013	—
Artist: James Raiz Skids shows the Circle of Light a collage film made from Rewind. Most of the issue focuses on the events of the film, depicting the misadventures of the Lost Light crew, mainly on Rung’s alternate mode and a visit by a renowned and popular Autobot named Thunderclash. Believing the crew to be “dysfunctional”, the Circle of Light refuse to board and some of them try to locate Thunderclash instead.

Dark Cybertron[]

Issues 23-27 are part of the crossover event with IDW Plublishing's other Transformers series of that time, Robots in Disguise.

Volume 6: "Season 2"[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
28	World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace	April 30th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne The story begins with a time skip of six months after the “Dark Cybertron” event, with former Decepticon leader Megatron assuming captaincy of the Lost Light. The ship is now joined by new crew members and is rendezvousing with Thunderclash. Megatron attends his first counselling session with Rung, who briefly asks him about “Terminus”. A depressed Chromedome replays Rewind’s final message, only to find that a scene had somehow changed. Returning to his quarters, Megatron is caught in a tussle with a vengeful Whirl. Meanwhile, the Lost Light discovers a coffin floating in space.
29	World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air	May 14th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne Tailgate, having been cured of cybercryosis, enthusiastically wanders about and meets a reprogrammed legislator called Ten, who acts as the bouncer of Swerve’s bar. Trailbreaker decides to steal Megatron’s fuel only to be caught. Chromedome and an inquisitive detective, Nightbeat, investigate the change in the message as part of the Lost Light’s hull vanishes. Not wanting to be arrested, Trailbreaker deploys his forcefield, damaging the room. The retrieved coffin nearby opens, revealing what appears to be the corpse of Rodimus Prime.
30	World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide	June 25th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne Megatron calls Rodimus to view the corpse, and is confirmed by Chromedome that the corpse is indeed Rodimus. Meanwhile, Getaway tries to forge a relationship with Tailgate, aggravating Cyclonus. More parts of the Lost Light’s hull begin to disappear, prompting an evacuation of the ship.
31	Twenty Plus One	July 9th, 2014	—
Artist: Atilio Rojo Twenty Autobots are evacuated from the Lost Light in Rodimus Prime’s ship. The crew in the ship begin to slowly vanish as they deduce the source behind the disappearances. Hound finds the Decepticon Ravage spying on them, but the latter is swiftly subdued. Eventually, everyone not present at the initial launch disappears, leaving Megatron and the newcomers behind. Meanwhile, Nautica finds the Lost Light damaged and in pieces.
32	slaughterhouse	Augusst 27th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne Boarding the Lost Light, it is discovered that all of the occupants have been killed, and Megatron was immediately a suspect due to the weapon used matching his and opted to stay away from the other crewmembers. Megatron and Ravage discuss the former's change of faction, the latter revealing being sent by Soundwave. The corpse of Overlord was found onboard, along with Brainstorm's briefcase which appears to be empty. Eventually, Megatron deduced that the Decepticon Justice Division was responsible for the massacre. The issue ends when Megatron discovers an unconscious and injured Rewind hiding inside the Magnus armor.
33	slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken	September 17th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne It is revealed that the Lost Light is a duplicate, created by the explosion in issue 1. The alternate Overlord’s presence was leaked to the Decepticon Justice Division, leading to their killings of almost everyone on board. Nautica discovers that the ship’s quantum engines are unstable, and may explode and damage a nearby planet. Megatron volunteers to repair the engines. Nautica and Nightbeat visit the alternate Brainstorm’s lab, where they discover his affiliation to the Decepticons. Megatron and Rewind successfully deactivate the engines, erasing the duplicate Lost Light and restoring the original. Chromedome and Rewind reunite while Brainstorm subsequently initiates his master plan by intoxicating and knocking out most of the Lost Light crew.

Volume 7: An Elegant Chaos[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
34	Births, Deaths, and Interventions	October 29th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne Bluestreak, First Aid, Mainframe and Trailcutter socialise while awaiting orders from Rodimus. The group the next explore an abandoned lecture theatre, finding an injured Cybertronian in the process. Trailcutter decides to donate fuel to it. The robot comes online and is revealed to be ”Vos”, a new member of the Decepticon Justice Division who attacks Trailcutter. Trailcutter holds Vos back using his forcefield powers while the rest to the group call for assistance. A second member of the D.J.D, Kaon, reveals himself and rips Trailcutter to pieces. The two pick up a datapad owned by Trailcutter and are beamed to safety. Meanwhile, Brainstorm travels back in time using a special briefcase.
35	The Custom-Made Now: An Elegant Chaos Prologue	November 26th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne
36	An Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays	December 17th, 2014	—
Artist: Alex Milne
37	An Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet	February 4th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
38	An Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide	March 4th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne

Volume 8[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
39	The Permanent Revolution	April 8th, 2015	—
Artist: Hayato Sakamoto
40	Our Steps Will Always Rhyme	April 29th, 2015	—
Artist: Brendan Cahill
41	The Sensuous Frame	May 27th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
42	The Frail Gaze	June 24th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
43	The One Where They Go To Earth	July 29th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
44	The Not Knowing	September 2nd, 2015	—
Artist: Hayato Sakamoto

Volume 9[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
45	Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots	September 30th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
46	Animals	November 4th, 2015	—
Artist: Alex Milne
47	The Lopsided Triangle	November 25th, 2015	—
Artist: Brendan Cahill
48	Speak, Memory: Part 1	December 23rd, 2015	—
Artist: Hayato Sakamoto
49	Speak, Memory! (Part 2)	February 10th, 2016	—
Artist: Hayato Sakamoto

Volume 10: The Dying of the Light[]

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
50	The Dying of the Light (1): How Bright Their Frail Deeds	Feb 24th, 2016	—
The Dying of the Light (1): How Bright Their Frail Deeds No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases
Artist: Alex Milne and Brendan Cahill
51	The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight	Mar 30th, 2016	—
Artist: Alex Milne
52	The Dying of the Light Part 3: Your Fierce Tears	Apr 27th, 2016	—
Artist: Alex Milne
53	The Dying of the Light Part 4: At Close of Day	May 25th, 2016	—
Artist: Alex Milne
54	The Dying of the Light Part 5: Rage, Rage	June 22nd, 2016	—
Artist: Alex Milne
55	The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle	July 27th, 2016	—
Artist: Alex Milne

Notes: ^[a]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

The series has been noted for its portrayal of Cybertronians in same sex relationships.^[2] It has been met with critical acclaim for its politics and overarching plot, though stories from issue 39 onward were criticised for jumping the shark by some readers and fans.^[3][4][5]

• It is noted to be one of the most popular IDW titles out there.

Transformers: More than Meets the Eye won two Comics Alliance awards, namely "Best of 2015: Continued Excellence in Serial Comics"^[6] and "Best of 2016: The Best Sci-Fi Comic of 2016".^[7]

Commercial performance[]

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye: Physical sales per issue (in thousands)

Volume # Sales Diamond ranking 1 1 15,340[8] 121 2 11,671 161

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• IDW Catalogue