Descent Into Evil

 

Writer: Ben Yee

Publication date: September 22, 2005

 

This appears to take place shortly after the events of Dawn of the Predacus, assuming you take them as belonging to the same continuity. It's not clear if you should, since this story has Autobots and Maximals coexisting near the end of the Great War, implying a more gradual shift from one to the other, which fits better with what was implied in Beast Wars. Ironhide is still alive in the post-G1 era here, but now he's joined by Ratchet, who either also came back to life or just never died in this universe. 

 

We're introduced to secret double agent Flamewar, a Decepticon known for spending too much time arguing on Internet forums. She's delivering a report to her secret masters, the Tripredacus Council, who are still colored mostly red. She explains how a squad of four Autobots you've never heard of infiltrated the secret lab of Deathsaurus, who I think was a character from the Japanese continuation of the original G1 Transformers cartoon who replaced Galvatron as supreme leader of the Decepticons. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be the same character or if Japanese continuity isn't canon here and this is a Deathsaurus from an alternate universe. Also, his name is "Deathsaurus." What.

The Autobot infiltrators are overwhelmed by Deathsaurus's secret clone army of Insecticons. Why is this his master plan to "restore the Decepticon Empire"? The Insecticons suck. Also when did the Decepticons have an empire? Anyway, Ironhide and Ratchet have to come in to rescue their lost team. They fight Deathsaurus himself, who transforms into a two-headed dragon. Clearly this character is just a recolor of the version of Megatron from the Japanese Robots in Disguise cartoon. The insistence of Transformers extended media on not anglicizing the names of Japanese Transformers characters and maintaining every repainted and renamed toy as a separate character is simultaneously hilarious and baffling.

Deathsaurus defeats the good guys and leaves them to die as he sets his secret base to explode, but they escape. As Flamewar wraps up this epic tale, Bumblebee hacks into her transmission and reveals that her cover is blown and the Autobots now know that she is working for the Tripredacus Council. Also, Autobot scientists somehow sabotaged Deathsaurus's cloning technology so his glorious dreams for an Insecticon army will never come to pass. The Tripredacus guys perma-ban Flamewar from their server by blowing up her ship. Hey shouldn't Bumblebee be Goldbug now?

Lame and pointless but at least it didn't ruin anything from Beast Wars. Still not canon though.

Wait who descended into evil?