Counterpoint

From the realm of Zero Space, at the end of existence where all of time and space has collapsed into a perfect singularity, the history of the Transformers is examined, from the battle between Primus and Unicron, to the birth of the first Cybertronians and the outbreak of the Autobot/Decepticon civil war... from the arrival of their war on Earth, through the rise of Shockwave, the fall of Megatron, and the creation of combiners and Headmasters, to the devastation of the Underbase Saga... from Thunderwing and the tainting of the Creation Matrix through the return of Unicron and his herald Galvatron, to the death of Optimus Prime... and to Prime's resurrection at the hands of the Last Autobot, who then restores Cybertron to glory once again!

Here's the plan: we put the band back together, do some gigs, earn some bread, bang! We'll have 5,000 bucks in no time.

Twenty-one years have passed since Cybertron's restoration. The world is at peace, populated by Autobots and Decepticons alike, and is presided over by the Last Autobot, perpetually standing sentinel atop a tower in Iacon. But history has a habit of repeating itself, and once again, malcontents rally under the mantra of "Peace through tyranny", as Soundwave gathers several Decepticons at Fort Scyk and inspires them to retake for themselves the destiny Megatron had always envisioned.

Catching wind of this dissident activity, Kup and Ultra Magnus travel to Nova Point, where a brooding Optimus Prime has sequestered himself to mentor Hot Rod, and petition their leader for permission to send the Wreckers in to stop the uprising before it begins. Believing that such an action would only galvanize support for the Decepticons, Prime forbids it, brusquely dismissing both Kup and Magnus, and their concerns that the threat is real.

Unfortunately, Prime could not be more wrong. Soundwave leads a Decepticon strike team to Kalis in a raid on the Baird Beaming Transmitter, killing the Autobots manning the facility and hijacking control of one of Cybertron's orbital defense satellites. Normally used to destroy asteroids, Soundwave redirects the satellite to face the planet, and fires upon Iacon and the Last Autobot!

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots

Decepticons

Humans

Others

Grimlock (6)
Optimus Prime (8)
Ratchet (11)
Hound (16)
Last Autobot (17)
Ultra Magnus (35)
Kup (36)
Hot Rod (37)
Bumblebee (38)
Huffer (39)
Prowl (40)
Swoop (42)
Slag (43)
Defensor (44)
Fortress Maximus (47)
Cliffjumper (48)
Blaster (49)
Bluestreak (50)
Wheeljack (53)

Dreadwind (1)
Darkwing (2)
Jhiaxus (3)
Galvatron II (4)
Ratbat (7)
Megatron (12)
Soundwave (15)
Battletrap (18)
Ruckus (19)
Crankcase (20)
Sparkstalker (21)
Spinister (22)
Needlenose (23)
A generic (24)
Wingspan (25)
Vanquish (26)
Half-Track (27)
Direct-Hit (28)
Meltdown (29)

Fireshot (30)
Rumble (31)
Starscream (32)
Skywarp or Thundercracker (33)
Buzzsaw (34)
Shockwave (41)
Bruticus (45)
Scorponok (46)
Flywheels (51)
Thunderwing (52)
Bludgeon (57)

Demon (9)
Primus (13)
Unicron (14)

Quotes

"No kidding! 'It's over--finished!' He really said that?"

—A passing Cybertronian is introduced to the concept of the Furmanism

"Oh yeah! We got 'em! Got 'em real good. That was just so ... mmmm-messy."
"Ruckus, you blowhard - be quiet!"

—Ruckus gets told off by Spinister

"Witness! The beginning ... of the end!"

—Furmanised Narration

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

On page one, Dreadwind and Darkwing flying over Gardens of Eternal Peace and Harmony Macrobiotic Restaurant on Nebulos are colored to instead be Skydive and Slingshot flying over the space bridge pipe-drill seen in "Aerialbots over America!". This was corrected in the trade paperback.
Galvatron II does not have a Decepticon insignia on his chest. This was corrected in the trade paperback.
As Optimus Prime dismisses Ultra Magnus and Kup's concerns, "assault" is misspelled "assualt". This was corrected in the trade paperback.
The flashback panel depicting the initial discovery of the Last Autobot shows him with a completely different face design, including a "normal" mouth.
Rumble is far too tall in the flashbacks to the Ark.

Continuity errors

Fort Scyk, which originally appeared in "The Magnificent Six!", is said to be in Polyhex, when that story placed it in Stanix. This issue does present it as an isolated location, consistent with the original tale, and we're sure that its use as a meeting place for the neo-Decepticons is not coincidental, given the original story's description of it as a dumping ground for undesirables. Although the next issue keeps Fort Scyk in Polyhex, future issues will place it in the Badlands. Simon Furman's notes (links below) state that the name is "re-used here to denote any far-flung/isolated Decepticon outpost"

Continuity notes

Twenty-one years have passed both in the real world and in-story between the publication of this issue and issue #80 of the original series.
The Cybertronian who delivers the line quoted above is carrying on a conversation via a communicube.
This issue marks the first fictional appearance of the Micromaster Battle Squad, though they are not Micromasters in this continuity. In the panel in which they are introduced there is a Decepticon who is obscured by Soundwave standing in front of him, but by a process of elimination, it's probably Power Punch.
This is the first appearance of Ultra Magnus and the first mention of the Wreckers in the US continuity (having all previously been in the UK continuity).
One of the Decepticon Clones appears with Soundwave's troops at Fort Scyk. Although they are usually depicted as being identical, issue #89 will reveal some visual differences between them, allowing us to chalk this up as an appearance by Wingspan.

Real-life references

Other trivia

While the sections of the story set in the present day draw and colour characters with their more "standard" recognizable designs, flashbacks do their best to accurately represent the characters as they appeared in the Marvel Comics series by replicating the color layouts and limited palette of the comic at the time. The most prominent example is Soundwave, who is coloured purple in the flashbacks, as he was in the comics, but appears in his more familiar blue in present-day scenes. Flashbacks depict Megatron with a black helmet, and use various shades of blue to represent black, while in the present day, Kup is actually teal, instead of the various blues the original comics required him to be. By contrast, though, Hot Rod is still using his Marvel color layout even in the present day, though he's a much lighter magenta, as opposed to his Marvel purple.
In his first flashback appearance, Megatron is even drawn to the specifications of his early character model, with a different head design and a hand-held fusion cannon, which was how he appeared in the first few issues of the Marvel series.
This issue was released as part of Free Comic Book Day 2012.
The inside front cover contains an introduction from author Simon Furman, explaining the premise of the series for new readers.
The indicia calls the issue "The Transformers: Regeneration #80.5", rather than "Regeneration One".

Transformers references

Optimus Prime sequestering himself at Nova Point and brooding about the future was also how the original continuation of issue #80, the UK-exclusive story "Another Time & Place", began.
The Covenant of Primus is taken from Beast Wars and Jhiaxus is from Generation 2.
Kalis (originally featured in UK story "City of Fear!" when it was inhabited by zombies) as foreshadowing for events in upcoming issues.