Concorde Hymn

	Revolution Chapter 1:; "Concorde Hymn"
Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	September 21, 2016; October 26 (2nd printing)
Written by	John Barber and Cullen Bunn
Art by	Fico Ossio
Colors by	Sebastian Cheng
Letters by	Tom B. Long
Editor	David Hedgecock
Continuity	2005 IDW continuity
Chronology	Current era

Evidence of a conspiracy to frame G.I. Joe emerges, just as a case of mistaken identity results in the organization pitting itself against the Transformers.

Synopsis

In the skies over Mount Olympus, Greece, British super-agent Ian Noble, the Action Man, and fellow operative Terrence Salmons arrive in response to a distress beacon. While Salmons remains at their aircraft's controls, Ian flies down to the mountain in a wingsuit, where he discovers a crevice packed with Ore-13. Ian finds a slew of bodies impaled on the crystals, and the sender of the beacon: the fatally wounded ex-S.A.S.-officer-turned-mercenary, Big Ben. Ben weakly explains that he and his team were killed by a squad of mysterious covert agents they had tracked to the mountain, who were attempting to mine the Ore-13. He has only one clue as to their identities: a set of U.S. military dog tags taken from one of them, issued by Ben's old team, G.I. Joe. Suddenly, the Ore-13 begins to surge with energy, and Salmons is forced to reel Action Man's skyhook back in, pulling him out of the crevice. With the last of his strength, Big Ben urges Ian to alert the authorities to the importance of the crystals, then bids farewell to a picture of his daughter, before the Ore-13 detonates with nuclear force and Mount Olympus is left a smoking crater.

Action Man's intel is quickly passed to G.I. Joe in America, and taken by team leader Joe Colton to the President of the United States. Colton explains that Ore-13 is a Cybertronian creation, and that deposits of it all around the globe are destabilizing, but stresses that he cannot be sure whether or not this is a deliberate action taken by the Transformers. The President urges Colton to take action against the Transformers, and Colton's second-in-command Scarlett agrees: it's time to take the fight to Optimus Prime.

At Autobot City in Monument Valley, Optimus Prime discusses the explosion on Olympus with Soundwave and the recently arrived Windblade. Prime's reason for concern is twofold: firstly, Autobot City itself is sitting on a huge Ore-13 deposit and would be wiped out in the event of a second explosion, but secondly, and of greater sociopolitical concern, Optimus knows humanity is sure to blame his team for the destruction in Greece. With most of the Autobots spread around the world on humanitarian missions, Optimus contacts Kup to recall him from an assignment in Germany. Kup has suspicions of his own: could the explosion have been a frame-up by humans as a way to convince the Transformers to leave Earth?

In Portland, Oregon, Arcee and Jazz are helping in the aftermath of recent flooding. From a nearby staging point, the forces of G.I. Joe (backed up by the mecha of the People's Liberation Army Mecha Force) use a drone to observe their actions; Scarlett is hesitant when she observes the robots doing good, but Colton is sure they must have ulterior motives and orders action. A precision missile strike from the drone nails Jazz, and gives Arcee the excuse she's been waiting for: as she comes running, the Joe ground forces open fire on her, though their weapons do little to stop her from slicing up their vehicles. Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Windblade, and Victorion all soon arrive, and Prime calls for everyone to lay down their arms so they can talk like rational beings, but the hot-blooded Joes interpret this as an order to surrender and continue to press their (ineffective) attack. Mainframe prepares to unleash his souped-up version of the E.D.C.'s anti-Transformer neural weapon, which he has magnified to lethal proportions, intending to kill Soundwave in revenge for the lives lost during the Decepticon invasion of Earth. Fellow Joe Mayday—former E.D.C. agent Ayana Jones—tries to get him to stop, aware of the significance of Soundwave's alliance with Optimus, but in the end, Soundwave himself takes care of the threat, hitting the Joes with a targeted electronic attack that blows out not just the neural weapon, but all their equipment. Joe vehicles begin falling out of the sky, but Victorion continues trying to prove the Autobots' goodwill by catching them and safely setting them down.

Prime tries again to talk the Joes down, but gets a bazooka-blast from Beach Head to the face for his troubles, as the humans refuse to let up. Suddenly, a new player comes streaking onto the scene: Rom the Space Knight, a metallic silver alien unknown to either the Transformers or the Joes, but who the Joes immediately assume is another Cybertronian. Colton is visibly alarmed by Rom's appearance and orders all the Joes to focus their fire on him... seconds before Rom unleashes his own energy weapon on Colton and reduces him to a melted corpse! With targeted precision, Rom kills three more Joes—Red Zone, Hi-Tech, and Wreckage—but refrains from attacking any others, even as they harmlessly empty their weapon clips against his armored hide. Realizing that the humans are going to blame Rom's actions on the Cybertronians, Jazz tries to tackle the smaller alien, but Rock 'n Roll misinterprets his movement as an attempt to go to Rom's aid and hits Jazz with a bazooka round. Rom promptly departs, and, knowing there is nothing they can do to help that will be accepted by the Joes, Optimus orders his troops to follow the space knight. As Victorion levitates them all out of the combat arena, Soundwave restores the Joes' communications so they can call for assistance. Mainframe prepares to radio for evac, but Scarlett orders otherwise, insisting he call for reinforcements instead. Thanks to Rom's actions, she believes the Transformers have just declared war on G.I. Joe and on Earth, and declares that it's time to fight back.

Back matter

A typed prose transcript recounts how Action Man contacts G.I. Joe to let them know what he discovered on Mount Olympus, using an old contact number provided by Mainframe when he met him several years prior at a conference. Mainframe takes a moment to remember Ian, as he wasn't Action Man back then. Ian shows him the dog tags, revealed to belong to Joe member Countdown; Mainframe has spoken to Countdown only moments ago, and so believes that the tags were left at the site in order to frame G.I. Joe. Upon hearing that Mainframe is preparing to deploy to confront the Transformers in Portland, Action Man cautions him: if the Transformers are somehow posing as human beings to incriminate Joes, he needs to be sure that all his teammates are who they claim they are.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Others

Optimus Prime (8)
Windblade (10)
Kup (11)
Aileron (12)
Arcee (13)
Jazz (14)
Victorion (20)

Soundwave (9)

Mayday (21)
Slip Stream (22)
Beach Head (23)
Short-Fuze (24)
Red Zone (26)
Hi-Tech (27)
Wreckage (28)
Breaker (29)

Action Man (1)
Terrence Salmons (2)

Quotes

"Hand to my heart, I honestly didn't think this was a real thing."

—Action Man and his opinion on Mount Olympus

"Consider yourselves lucky, Earthlings. Weeks ago, I would not have thought it worth the effort to spare your lives."

—Soundwave could still stand to work on his banter

"Hey Big Red, 'bout time you learned—there's a new sheriff in town."
(Beach Head unloads a bazooka into Optimus Prime's face. Optimus is unharmed and glares down at him.)
"Hey... no hard feelings, right?"

—Beach Head

"They killed our friends. They killed Joe Colton. After what they've done to us, this fight only ends one way. Optimus Prime and the Transformers just declared war on planet Earth. And it's down to G.I. Joe to win it."

—Scarlett

Notes

IDW continuity notes

The president states that it has been "months" since the events of "All Hail Optimus", in which Optimus "declared dominion" (as she puts it) over the Earth, as seen in The Transformers #49-55. This story arc features the setup for the Transformers' status quo as Revolution begins, including Optimus Prime's Autobots allying with Soundwave and his peaceful Decepticons, and the establishment of Autobot City in Monument Valley. Rom's Revolution one-shot (released on the same day as this issue) offers the more specific timeframe of six months between those earlier events in Monument Valley and the start of this crossover. However, see Errors below.
Optimus Prime notes that Autobot City is sitting atop a huge cache of Ore-13, as was discovered in The Transformers #56.
In terms of publication, Windblade was last seen on Cybertron in Till All Are One #4, released on the same day as this issue. The rampage of Bruticus, as seen in that issue, is presumably the cause for the "relief efforts" occupying most of Optimus's off-page team in this issue. The story of how Windblade came to Earth to take part in this crossover would be detailed in November's Till All Are One: Revolution one-shot.
The holographic display indicates Aileron is currently aboard Sanctuary Station, the Jupiter-orbiting home of Soundwave's Decepticon faction.
Mainframe refers to a past relationship with Scarlett. This storyline unfolded over the course of Chuck Dixon's time as writer on the IDW G.I. Joe series.
Jazz's introductory caption notes he would "rather be playing Aghartan electro-bass". Jazz was established to play this instrument (named in reference to the Miles Davis jazz album Agharta) in Robots in Disguise #31.
Ayana Jones has been a prominent member of the human supporting cast of The Transformers for the last two years or so. She has now joined the revived G.I. Joe under the code name "Mayday" (see "G.I. Joe references", below).
The E.D.C's neural weapon (colloquially, their "mindbomb") was first deployed in Robots in Disguise #31.
Mainframe recalls Soundwave's prominent role in the Decepticon invasion of Earth, as seen in All Hail Megatron.
Beach Head's appearance in this issue is a question that needs resolving: when last seen, at the climax of G.I. Joe: Special Missions in 2014 (over seven years ago, in-universe time), he was captured by Cobra and spirited away to parts unknown.
Rom's appearance in this issue flows directly out of his own Revolution tie-in one-shot. None of the other characters in this story know it, but readers of Rom's comic book will be aware that he's not indiscriminately slaughtering; in his one-shot, he learned that Colton was secretly a Dire Wraith, one of the evil shape-shifting alien wizards who are Rom's sworn enemy, and who have been in hiding among the human race for many years. Colton clearly recognizes Rom and orders everyone to focus their fire on him, tipping his hand. If Rom has killed them, that means that Red Zone, Hi-Tech, and Wreckage were all Wraiths too, and we know from Rom's book that they are not the only ones in the Joe ranks; Joe member Countdown has also been replaced, and it is his dog tags that are found at Mount Olympus and given to Action Man by Big Ben. The Wraiths clearly have an interest in Ore-13, and are shown to have some in their possession in ROM: Revolution.
Breaker appears, when he was killed by Steeler (a Cobra double-agent in this continuity) in Cobra vol. 2 #4. John Barber clarified that the Breaker in this story is a different individual who succeeded his predecessor in the codename.^[1]
Mainframe and Action Man speak briefly about Mercy Gale; Action Man says it's a "long story." He's not kidding—Gale is a character from Action Man's own book, a former agent who worked alongside him and who turned out, in fact, to secretly be his nemesis, Doctor X.
Mainframe tells Action Man that Cybertronians are sometimes human sized; presumably Mainframe is referring to Garrison Blackrock/Sovereign, whom G.I. Joe was recently escorting.
Mainframe starts to say "the Biki--" before cutting himself off and simply saying "another facility"; he's referring to the former Earth Defense Command base at Bikini Atoll, seen throughout the last two years of The Transformers.
Reference is made to Big Ben "running missions in Eastern Europe with Colonel Hauser." Hauser is Ben's fellow ex-Joe Duke, and the pair were indeed working together in Europe during Karen Traviss's G.I. Joe run, the last prior to the release of Revolution.

Transformers references

This issue being set in Portland, Oregon is, of course, a reference to the city and adjacent area being the primary setting of the early Marvel Transformers comic book.

G.I. Joe references

Ayana Jones has become the IDW incarnation of Mayday, a Joe originally created for the 1990s G.I. Joe Extreme range, who also appeared in the Devil's Due Press Joe comics (where her real name was "Paige Adams"). Revolutionaries #1 and #4 would further retcon that in-universe she was a pre-existing Joe who had been transferred to the EDC when G.I. Joe went public and stayed on when Joe was shuttered but has since become part of Joe's reactivation.
Hey, don't feel too bad if you don't know who the heck Red Zone, Hi-Tech, and Wreckage are—they are all pre-existing Joes, but ones from the early 2000s who nobody cares about. Bye, guys!
The transcript of Mainframe and Action Man's communication includes mention of the "sound of popping bubblegum" when Breaker speaks. Constantly chewing gum is one of Breaker's most notable characteristics.

Other franchise references

When greeting Mainframe, Action Man introduces himself as "The greatest hero of them all." This was the advertising slogan (and commercial jingle!) for the Action Man toyline in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and early 2000s, and was part of the lyrics to the theme of the 2000 Mainframe Entertainment cartoon.

Real-life references

Action Man mentions that he thinks he saw Mount Olympus "in a cartoon or something". He's probably remembering Disney's Hercules, which Ian is the right age to have seen as a kid.
This issue's title is taken from the poem of the same name by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The splash panel introducing the situation in Portland includes the city's Marquam Bridge and a passably accurate rendition of its skyline, though their relative locations are a bit fudged.
When Mainframe calls himself a "miracle worker," Scarlett replies that he is a "real Anne Sullivan," referring to the real-life teacher who was the central character of the play, The Miracle Worker.

Errors

Rock 'n Roll's surname is misspelled "McConel" instead of "McConnel". This is not a deliberate change; his surname would be correctly presented in Wrath of Karza #1.
Soundwave's dialogue seems to suggest that it's only been a matter of weeks since the events at Monument Valley, even though earlier in the issue it's been stated to have been "months"; specifically, Rom's Revolution one-shot (released on the same day as this issue) offers the more specific timeframe of six months.

Other trivia

This oversize 40-page issue features 23 main story pages, plus the 2-page back matter "transcript", and also includes the complete 8-page Revolution Prelude story that sets the stage for the crossover, previously published on its own and also serialized across multiple IDW titles in the last two months.
Though her character design does not include any Autobot insignia, formerly unaffiliated Camien Aileron has been following Optimus Prime for most of the last year of The Transformers. With the establishment of Autobot City and the time-gap that follows between that and Revolution, and her continued loyalty to Optimus and his cause, we're henceforth categorizing her as an Autobot in the character lists on our articles.
IDW has been inconsistent over the years on whether to spell Beach Head's codename as one word (the original 80s way) or two. Given that two words is the style consistently utilized in 2016's Revolution-associated stories, this wiki will go with that style for the IDW incarnation of Beach Head.
Hi-Tech's real name is spelled "David Lewinsky" while his original Joe file card gave his name as "David P. Lewinski", spelled with an "i". It is unclear if this is a deliberate change or not.

Covers (20)

Regular cover: Optimus Prime, Rom, Flint, Action Man, and Scarlett, by Tradd Moore and Felipe Sobreiro
Subscription cover A: Scarlett, Optimus Prime, Rom, Baron Karza, Matt Trakker, and Action Man, by Brandon Peterson
Subscription cover B: Wraparound cover of Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Kup, Optimus Prime, Lady Jaye, Brad Turner, Cobra Commander, Doctor X, Orbital Defender, Scarlett, Lifeline, and Space Glider charging into action, by John Byrne and Len O'Grady; first in a series of interlinking covers that homage Byrne's original covers to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition from the late 1980s.
Subscription cover C: Propaganda poster of Scarlett, by James Biggie
Subscription cover D: Optimus Prime and Scarlett action figures, by Adam Riches; first in a series of "action figure" variant covers by Riches.

Subscription cover E: Blank cover for sketches
Convention exclusive cover: Black-and-white lineart version of Tradd Moore's regular cover, available exclusively from the IDW booth at conventions.
Retailer incentive cover A: Victorion, Acroyear, Arcee, Jazz, Matt Trakker, Snake Eyes, Baron Karza, and Optimus Prime, by Ken Christiansen; first half of a two-part image.
Retailer incentive cover B: Optimus Prime and Megatron, redesigned with military vehicle alternate modes, battle it out as Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Colton watch, by Guido Guidi.
Retailer incentive cover C: Arcee, Soundwave, Optimus Prime, Mainframe, and Roadblock, by Art Baltazar; first in a series of interlinking covers.

Retailer incentive cover D: Blank cover for unique sketches by Drew Rausch
Retailer incentive cover E: Blank cover for unique sketches by Sal Buscema
New York Comic Con exclusive cover: Black-and-white lineart of Optimus Prime versus Snake Eyes, Acroyear, and Matt Trakker, by Fico Ossio; available exclusively at New York Comic Con 2016.
Diamond Retailer Summit exclusive cover: Moore's regular cover with new colors by Sebastian Cheng; offered exclusively in a gift pack given to retailers who attended the 2016 Diamond Retailer Summit.
Nerdblock exclusive cover: Ossio's NYCC exclusive cover with colours by Thomas Deer; available exclusively through Nerd Block in their New York Comic Con 2016 box.

Tampa Bay Toy Expo exclusive cover: Our heroes and villains duke it out, by Matin Dunn, Javier Lugo, and Aly Dunn; available exclusively from Read More Comics at the Tampa Bay Toy Expo.
Sharper Collectibles exclusive cover: Victorion by Livio Ramondelli, Matt Trakker by Sajad Shah, Snake Eyes by Marat Michaels, and Rom by Eddie Nunez, all with colors by Nunez; available exclusively through Sharper Collectibles.
Granite State Comic Con exclusive cover: Soundwave, Laserbeak, Zartan, and the forces of VENOM, by Ben Bishop; available exclusively from Double Midnight Comics at the Granite State Comic Con.
Indonesia Comic Con exclusive cover: Devastator, Galvatron, Miles Mayhem, Baron Karza, and a Cobra Viper battle Victorion, Rom, Matt Trakker, and Snake Eyes at the Selamat Datang Monument in Jakarta, Indonesia, by Alex Milne and Josh Perez; available exclusively from ReedPOP at the Indonesia Comic Con.
Second printing cover: TBD