The Transformers: Spotlight

The Transformers: Spotlight
Issue #1 featuring Shockwave
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Format	One shots
Publication date	September 2006 – April 2010 December 2012 – May 2013
No. of issues	31
Main character(s)	Transformers
Creative team
Created by	Hasbro

The Transformers: Spotlight is a comic book series of one-shot issues, published by IDW Publishing.

The series consists of single-issue stories based in IDW's Generation 1 fictional universe, each featuring an individual character. Split in volumes of 5, the first volume featured Shockwave, Nightbeat, Hot Rod, Sixshot, and Ultra Magnus. The second featured Soundwave, Kup, Galvatron, Optimus Prime and Ramjet. The third featured Blaster, Arcee, Mirage and Grimlock and Wheelie, with four more issues comprising The Transformers: Revelation. Although the Shockwave and Nightbeat issues were numbered #1 and #2 respectively, individual numbering for the series was abandoned with the Hot Rod issue as the series expanded beyond five issues. In addition to being stand-alone, most of these issues tie into the main series, and offer additional context.

Shockwave was a prequel to The Transformers: Infiltration (January–June 2006) and Stormbringer (July–October 2006). It explains the source of the energon used in both stories, the former being the one Starscream empowers himself with, and the latter being used by Bludgeon to resurrect Thunderwing. It also shows Bludgeon possessing Shockwave's laboratory which he later uses to find the Ultra Energon to re-power Thunderwing, as shown in Soundwave. Most of the Spotlights were all touched upon in Escalation (November 2006–April 2007): Scorponok was hinted to be working on the same process with the human organization the Machination, and Laserbeak and Ravage are shown as captives of Skywatch.Sixshot and the Reapers appear in Devastation (October 2007–February 2008), having been summoned by Megatron.