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Aboard his ship the Concordat, on approach to Tebris VII, Fortress Maximus is listening to the paranoid Red Alert ramble on over the comm about a hidden message he thinks he's found in Wreckers: Declassified when he spots the crashed Weak Anthropic Principle on the planet's surface. Red identifies the craft and looks up its owners, unaware that he's reading the Autopedia articles the Scavengers themselves have vandalized with hyperbolic backstories for themselves, and Max heads down to the planet's surface to confront his original target, Demus.

A short time later, Demus lies dead on the floor of his office, and Maximus places the Scavengers under arrest. Misfire succeeds in distracting the Autobot long enough for Crankcase to blast him, and the Scavengers scatter into the scrapyard outside, hiding amongst the junk. When Krok starts anxiously clicking his "clicker" once again, Misfire finally loses his temper and snatches the device from Krok's hand, revealing it to be not a communicator, but a severed finger. Krok explains that the finger belonged to a member of his old squad named Radar, who was killed alongside the rest of his teammates by the Wreckers. Radar turned into a telecommunications array, and while Krok admits that he does click his finger when nervous, he also does it to use the finger's still-functioning mechanism to scan for Decepticons in the area. He almost always detects none... but today, as he snatches the finger back from Misfire, Krok can see it has detected hundreds of Decepticons all around them. Stalking the Scavengers through the yard, Fortress Maximus calls out to them with an explanation: Demus is actually a slave trader, and his "Roboid" toys are not toys at all, but lobotomized Cybertronians trapped in a beast-mode and sold as "torture dolls" to organic races to take their frustrations out on.

To get Maximus off their backs, Crankcase radios Misfire to express concern for Grimlock, deliberately allowing Max to hear him in hopes that Grimlock will be considered a more important target. Red Alert confirms Grimlock's presence, and Max heads off to investigate, leaving the Scavengers to pull themselves together. Fulcrum is annoyed that Krok has never told them about the fate of his old squad before, but Krok retorts that they took neither his depression, nor the self-delusion that his squad was still alive that he once labored under, seriously. That, Krok tells them, is why he wanted Demus's money: he planned to use it to build a treatment center for those Cybertronians like himself, who are suffering from various mental disorders as a result of the war. Fulcrum calls him out on his hypocrisy—the fact that he was willing to sell the mentally-disabled Grimlock—and the suitably shamed Krok admits he was letting the ends justify the means. Knowing that Grimlock, as a former Garrus-9 inmate, will be re-arrested by Maximus, Misfire insists they go to his aid, and a repentant Krok agrees. Unable to fly thanks to Demus's inhibitor chips, the Scavengers saddle up some Equinoid Roboids, and ride out to their ship.

Somewhere there's a MLP joke waiting to happen.

The Scavengers arrive to witness Grimlock and Maximus grappling with one another, and manage to talk Max down by explaining that they found Grimlock in his current condition. Maximus proposes taking him to Luna 1 for help, and Misfire reluctantly agrees, knowing that it is what's best for Grimlock—but Spinister objects, suggesting they ask Grimlock himself what he wants. To everyone's surprise, Grimlock is able to stammer out Misfire's name—not that it matters to Maximus, since he's intending to take them all in anyway. Krok has other ideas: he tells Maximus that he has planted a bomb in Demus's office that will destroy all the Roboids, and, pretending that Radar's finger is a control device, "primes" the non-existent explosive with a single click. The bomb's existence is "verified" by Red Alert, who reads off Fulcrum's falsified Autopedia entry claiming him to be an explosives expert. Krok then tosses the finger to Crankcase, who threatens to click it again and detonate the bomb... and thanks to a sudden bout of facial paralysis brought on by his head injuries, he is able to stare Max down without blinking! Unable to take the risk, Max heads back to Demus's office, while the Scavengers quickly depart the planet. Krok, realizing that he is much better off now than he was years ago thanks to the stability and support offered by his friends, has a new plan and purpose for the group: to help other Decepticons the way they have helped each other. Krok plugs Radar's finger into the ship's computer, allowing it to detect nearby Decepticons, and the Scavengers are about to head off until Misfire pulls a gun on Krok...

...and one lost game of Shoot Shoot Bang Bang later, Misfire escorts Grimlock back to his wrecked quarters, promising there won't be locks on the door when they rebuild it. Misfire is agog when Grimlock eloquently replies "Thanks. I appreciate it", but when the Dinobot says nothing more, the Decepticon is left with another reminder that there is something going on inside Grimlock that he can't see. What he also fails to see is what Grimlock has drawn on the wall of his room: a familiar gear-shaped symbol and the message "PREPARE - CONFRONT - REPEL"...

Aww, the widdle maniac enforcer just wanted cuddles.

Aboard the Concordant, Maximus contacts Rung to tell him about the day's events. Rung advises him to rethink his approach to peace-keeping: times have changed, and the Scavengers are now the rule, rather than the exception, when it comes to Decepticons. Maximus cannot deny it, especially since Spinister left him instructions on how to reverse the brain-damage to the Roboids, who now surround him on his ship.

Two hours later, at Demus's now-abandoned junkyard, a Decepticon Worldsweeper arrives, piloted by Demus's mystery co-conspirators. The two robots open a hatchway to a hidden chamber beneath Demus's office, containing rows of strange pods inside which something is growing. One suggests moving the operation, but the other refuses, warning that to do so threatens their ability to meet their deadline, and will incur the wrath of the "Grand Architect". As the robot advocates aborting and starting again, they both turn, revealing the gear-like hieroglyph on their chests...

Featured characters

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

Autobots	Decepticons	Others
Fortress Maximus (1) Red Alert (2) Roadbuster (9) Springer (11) Topspin (12) Grimlock (14) Rung (15)	Spinister (3) Fulcrum (4) Demus's corpse (5) Crankcase (6) Misfire (7) Krok (8) Radar (10) Gatoraider (13)	Mystery 'bots (16-17)

Quotes

"Misfire of Pretendia is a debonair sharp shooter who once fired a bullet through a bullet-shaped hole in a slightly larger bullet. Whilst riding a bullet train. Feared and respected by his colleagues, he is credited with introducing Megatron to the world of interpretive dance."

—Red Alert reads from Misfire's vandalized Autopedia page

"This shouldn't take long."
"For something that shouldn't take long, you're carrying an awful lot of firepower."
"The two are connected."

—Fortress Maximus and Red Alert

"Hate to do you out of a job, but our "high tech" isn't that high anymore. It's just... tech. About four million years go we stopped reaching for the stars 'cos we needed both hands to beat the crap out of each other."

—Misfire

Fulcrum: "Hey, Krok, what you said just now—about Radar, about your squad. You should've told me earlier."
Krok: "For a while I couldn't talk about it at all. In fact for a while I convinced myself that the rest of my squad were still out there—that they were safe."
Misfire: "Yeah, Crankcase used to say you were nuts."
Krok: "See? And people wonder why it's so hard to talk about mental health."
Misfire: "Hey, I'm a paragon of sensitivity."
Krok: "It's not just the labeling—it's the distancing. It's this idea that experiencing mental illness marks you out as bad different. Show me someone who hasn't been affected by all the fighting. Show me someone who's "normal" and I'll show you someone who knows how to hide things. We are our brains. Subject this ball of circuitry to four million years of war and hate and pain and death and loss and grief and don't be surprised if it has to find new ways to cope with the stress. People should be more understanding. That's what I was going to do with my half a billion—build a treatment center for vulnerable Decepticons. Because there are a lot of people out there who are only just about holding it together."

"I've spent years comparing myself with Decepticons who've done well for themselves—people like Agonizer and Skullcruncher. Today I realized that y'know what? I've done well. For a while I was a mess. My squad had died. I was directionless, I was delusional... I got better thanks to you guys. Even when I've made bad decisions, you've given me stability and support and—and companionship... and maybe it's time we gave those things to other Decepticons."
"What you're describing sounds suspiciously like helping people."
"I know. Because guess what? I think we'd be pretty good at it."

—Krok and Crankcase

"Y'know, Grimsy, sometimes you remind me of Spinister. Every now and then you'll say something that makes me think there's a lot more going on in there than we realize. More than you realize, too. Guess all I can do is be patient, pay attention... and see what you do next."

—Misfire

Notes

Continuity notes

Like Fortress Maximus, Red Alert was last seen in issue #21, in which he elected to stay on Luna 1 with Maximus.
Red Alert mentions that the Scavengers supplied Brainstorm with spare parts, indicating he is the Autobot "contact" that Misfire mentioned last issue. This is likely also intended to indicate that Misfire was Brainstorm's Decepticon "handler," spoken of in issue #40, whom he supplied with information in exchange for parts for his time machine.
The Scavengers were previously established to get their kicks by vandalizing Autopedia last issue. Clearly the admins of Autopedia aren't particularly speedy when it comes to reverting edits...
Crankcase makes reference to Killmaster, a super-powerful Decepticon mentioned occasionally throughout More than Meets the Eye.
Fortress Maximus's pose and placement on page 3 hearken back to page 3 of issue #5, where he had similarly brutalized a 'con (or two) following a long absence and a dramatic return in the preceding issue.
Fortress Maximus's involvement in the Simanzi Massacre is mentioned, something we heard about before in issue #6.
Krok describes Radar's death at the hands of the Wreckers—specifically, Roadbuster, who tore out his spine and "made him eat it"—as "a terrible affair." The use of the term "affair" isn't random; Roberts noted on Twitter before this issue's release that it would feature "a specific link [to] Last Stand of the Wreckers #1—a *tiny* loose end that's taken nearly six years to tie up."^[1] This indicates that the incident was the mysterious "Roadbuster affair" mentioned in that issue.
- This is also our first look at Roadbuster's extreme brutality, which we soon see more of in Sins of the Wreckers. This is possibly a subtle setup!
In the same flashback sequence, Krok is seen wielding Gatoraider, who was alluded to by Skullcruncher as Krok's "dead pet" in the previous issue.
Fortress Maximus says that Grimlock is "a 'Con again". We don't know the full story behind this, but way back in issue #3, a flashback montage featured an image of Grimlock staring down at his hands, an Autobot insignia in one, a Decepticon insignia in the other, indicating that there had been a moment in his past when he had been forced to choose between the two factions. In issue #8 Tarn confirmed Grimlock has a spot on The List, presumably for changing sides.
Also in issue #8, Spinister was revealed to be an exceptional surgeon despite his eccentricities. It seems his talents also extend to neurosurgery, having figured out how to reverse the Roboids' lobotomies with just a quick look.
That worryingly familiar gear-hieroglyph that appears on both the wall of Grimlock's room and the chests of the mystery robots is the icon seen on the surface of Luna 1 in issue #21 and on Thunderclash's map to Cyberutopia in issue #41.
The mystery 'bots, meanwhile, are obviously the owners of the Worldsweeper on which the Scavengers found Grimlock back in issue #7. The horrific bio-mechanical sights the Scavengers saw on that ship seem connected to... whatever is brewing in the pods beneath Demus's office; what little we see shows us an arm that looks human, but which has some kind of circular, mechanical component embedded in its palm. Their fear that moving the pods will risk "contamination" feels like a reference to the Worldsweeper we saw in that earlier issue, which crashed when organic blood contaminated its fuel supply.
One of the enigmatic pair notes they have another facility like the one beneath Demus's office in Fortuna. The Lost Light visited Fortuna, capital city of Scarvix, in issue #40.

Transformers references

The Weak Anthropic Principle is described as an exploration vessel that formerly belonged to the Autobots, a reference to the fact it's based on the animation model of the original Ark, which certainly fits that description. It's a "model 84", referring, of course, to 1984.
Roadbuster killed Radar while in the throes of the drug Syk, which originally appeared in the Marvel UK story, "Secrets". James Roberts featured the narcotic in his own works previously in "Chaos Theory Part 2".
The idea that Grimlock was formerly a Decepticon seems to owe something to Dreamwave Productions' various War Within comics, which indicated (but did not explore the story behind the fact) that Grimlock had once been on the 'Con side.
Red Alert mentions Cerebros, the 'bot who is typically Fortress Maximus's Headmaster partner in most Generation 1 stories. His role on Luna 1 would be explained in issue #56.
Among the Roboids is a Generation 1 version of Nook from Transformers Animated, and a Cavisetticon (i.e. guinea pig) created by Derrick J. Wyatt.
Red Alert says he has read all 332 editions, plus specials, of Wreckers Declassified. The Marvel UK Transformers comic also ran for 332 issues, plus specials.

Real-life references

The "Next:" box at the bottom of the last page reads "stop all the clocks"; these are the first words of the W. H. Auden poem "Funeral Blues", which prominently featured in the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Other trivia

This issue arrives just a teeny bit late, shipping in the first week of November, rather than the last week of October.

Errors

Misfire mutters about taking back his remark about Spinister having trouble with double negatives... but it's actually Crankcase who makes the remark earlier.

Soundtrack

"It's Not Funny Anymore" by Babybird^[2]
"Living With the Human Machines" by Strangelove^[3]
"Bowl of Oranges" by Bright Eyes^[4]

Covers (3)

Regular cover: Grimlock tears it up, by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
Subscription cover: Blank cover for sketches, including blue-line art board borders and a small thumbnail sketch of Grimlock by Milne, from inside the issue, in the corner
Retailer incentive cover: Fortress Maximus by Nick Roche; part of October's series of black-and-white "Artist's Edition" incentive covers.

Whoever put the itching powder in Grimlock's underwear is a dead man!
Grimlock ate the art.
Fort Max for the win!

More than Meets the Eye #47
The Transformers #46
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #10
Sins of the Wreckers #1
Punishment motion comic
IDW Samurai Jack graphic novels
Atomic Robo: The Ring of Fire
IDW Skylanders: SuperChargers comic
Walt Disney's Comics and Stores 75th Anniversary
Mickey Mouse is back in action at IDW!
IDW Transformers graphic novel library
"More than Meets the iPad" - IDW Transformers Comics app
Uncle Scrooge: The Grand Canyon Quest" (back cover)

Reprints

The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 9 (May 4, 2016) ISBN 1631406159 / ISBN 978-1631406157
- Collects More than Meets the Eye issues #45–49.
- Bonus material includes covers of each issue.
- Trade paperback format.

Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 66: Speak, Memory (December 25, 2019)
- Collects More than Meets the Eye issues #43–49.
- Bonus material includes a one-page article about the Scavengers, a cover gallery and a forward by Simon Furman.
- Hardcover format.

The Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 10 (January 1, 2020) ISBN 1684055849 / ISBN 978-1684055845
- Collects Windblade (2015) issues #6–7, The Transformers (2012) issues #44–45, Combiner Hunters #1, Sins of the Wreckers issues #1–5, More than Meets the Eye issues #45–47 & #48–49, and The Transformers Holiday Special: Choose Me & The Thirteenth Day of Christmas.
- Hardcover format.

More Than Meets the Eye Volume 9 – cover art by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 66: Speak, Memory – cover art by Dan Khanna (Getaway) and Hayato Sakamoto (retro)
The IDW Collection Phase Two: Volume 10 – cover art by Marcelo Matere

References

↑ "There's a specific link between MTMTE #46 and LSOTW #1 - a *tiny* loose end that's taken nearly six years to tie up. Who'll spot it first?"—James Roberts, Twitter, 2015/10/21
↑ "The first song from MTMTE #46 is 'It's Not Funny Anymore' by Babybird: https://t.co/neZqyj4C6a"—James Roberts, Twitter, 2015/10/30
↑ "The second song from MTMTE #46 is 'Living With The Human Machines' by Strangelove: https://t.co/kKrfrlkFT2"—James Roberts, Twitter, 2015/10/30
↑ "The third and final song from MTMTE #46 is the most important. It's 'Bowl of Oranges' by Bright Eyes: https://t.co/zwgGTIQvXb"—James Roberts, Twitter, 2015/10/31