Micronauts Annual 2017
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| Publisher | IDW Publishing, Ted Adams | ||||||||||||
| First published | January 25, 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | January 2017 | ||||||||||||
| Written by | Cullen Bunn | ||||||||||||
| Art by | Marcelo Ferreira | ||||||||||||
| Colors by | David Garcia Cruz | ||||||||||||
| Letters by | Tom B. Long | ||||||||||||
| Editor | David Hedgecock | ||||||||||||
| Assistant editor | David Mariotte | ||||||||||||
The mysterious helmet leads the Micronauts to a fateful meeting with... themselves?
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
In the void, a Time Traveler reflects on the Micronauts' journey to date: from Microspace, to the entropy cloud, to Earth, to the hidden city of the Kronus. Now the strange helmet recovered from the sentient Time Chamber guides them onward, leading the Heliopolis in pursuit of an unknown flying object. Weaving between confused human bystanders, the ship closes in on its target, which the crew are stunned to realize is a giant (by Microspace standards) robot!
The behemoth, identified as a Microspace vessel, goes on the attack, and the Micronauts disembark to retaliate, leaving Microtron to man the Heliopolis. Almost immediately, the robot's crew do the same, revealing them to be none other than the Micronauts, each of them different in not-so-subtle ways! The doppelgangers immediately strike, sending Oz and Biotron plunging from the sky. Larissa attempts to help, but is blasted by her ringer – clad in armor akin to Baron Karza's – and must be herself rescued by Phen. Acroyear catches Biotron on the ground, but the large robot has been severely damaged, forcing Oz to get out.
Acroyear's duplicate, who sports an enerchanged centaur form, attacks his counterpart, while Oz is set upon by the alternate Biotron and Microtron, the latter wired into the former's chest compartment. Up above, the other Phenolo-Phi, sporting a suit with Repto wings, engages the Heliopolis...
A child, Phen sees her artist mother. Flees her burning home with the Space Glider suit. Older, she is pursued by Reptos. Stands among their bodies, her glider wings ruined.
Microtron identifies a nearby anomaly in spacetime, which appears to have been created when the Micronauts' doppelgangers punched their way into Earth's universe from Microspace. It could be a way home, but it's closing rapidly. Meanwhile, the Acroyears continue to battle, neither taking the upper hand...
Acroyear is sealed into his armor. Hoisted aloft by a victorious Karza. Microtron is constructed in a factory. Lies damaged alongside a wrecked Biotron.
Biotron hauls himself up to gather the Micronauts, so they can make their way through the anomaly, but is shot down by Oz's duplicate, who wears a version of the golden helmet. Nearby, Larissa fights her alternate self, angry about the questions her armored doppelganger will raise. The other Larissa moves in, her energy blasts overcoming her opponent's shields...
Biotron manhandles a scientist. Bludgeoned by a large robot. Larissa, a baby in an artificial womb. A baby in the arms of Baron Karza and Shazraella. Sees Karza's outstretched hand. Dons a helmet in his image.
Oz is chased down by his gun-wielding alternate self, who has evidently abandoned any notion of pacifism. He fights back, but nearly breaks his fingers on the golden mask...
Oz stands among his fellow Pharoids, ready to probe the entropy cloud. Soars through space, the golden mask upon his face.
As the duel lulls, the Heliopolis pulls in overhead: if they are to fly through the anomaly, it must be now. But the other Oz insists that the helmet is not telling them the whole truth, and that returning to Microspace would be a terrible mistake. The doppelganger no longer trusts the helmet, he explains, and removes it from his head... revealing nothing underneath but the roiling tendrils of the entropy cloud! With his duplicate promising explanations, Oz has Microtron land the ship, now convinced that the anomaly is not a path they should follow.
Soon, both sets of Micronauts are gathered together for an overdue discussion. The alternate Oz explains that they only attacked because, knowing themselves, their counterparts were unlikely to listen otherwise, a point they begrudgingly accept. Oz's doppelganger explains that the Micronauts must, for now, abandon their attempts to return home – if they do so, they will fail in their quest... as the doppelgangers did. Biotron suddenly puts the pieces together: a time loop has occurred. The Micronauts went back to Microspace, through a hole punched by their future selves... a choice which led to them becoming those strange versions of themselves. But now the loop is broken, and the alternate Micronauts begin to fade away.
As they disappear, the other Oz takes on the visage of a Time Traveler, and warns of the coming Earthwar. A war against foes know and unknown, which will decide the fates of two universes. A war in which human soldiers will fight against hordes of strange Acroyears. As the doppelgangers disappear, the helmet also mentions the Earthwar, but is not forthcoming with further details. The Micronauts return to their ship and set off once more... but unseen by them, the closing anomaly disgorges an army of the futuristic Acroyears!
Featured characters[edit | edit source]
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks/flashforwards.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Micronauts | Hasbro Universe inhabitants | Microspace inhabitants |
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Quotes[edit | edit source]
"So... why did you attack us again? If you wanted to talk, why not just say so?"
"We know you. You would not have simply... listened.
- —Oz gets some harsh truth from Oz
Notes[edit | edit source]
Continuity notes[edit | edit source]
- The opening five pages summarize the Micronauts story so far, through the first nine issues of the series plus Revolution.
- Phen's parents and the destruction of her home were previously described her profile in Revolution #5.
- Biotron's flashback manhandling a scientist is likely connected to his history as a Ministry of Science unit, as seen in issue #1.
- Issue #5 hinted that Larissa had history with the Ministry of Defense when attacking Acroyears showed interest in her.
- Oz's flashback shows the entropy cloud commune he participated in; we saw its bloody aftermath in an issue #3 flashback.
Micronauts references[edit | edit source]
- The future Micronauts' ship is Karrio, a carry case accessory from the original Micronauts toyline.
- Larissa wears the helmet and jetpack of the Galactic Defender figure she is loosely based upon.
- One of future Biotron's hands has been replaced with a clamp akin to that of his original toy.
- In addition to his Karza/Daegon-inspired centaur body, the future Acroyear's helmet closely resembles the Marvel version of the character.
Other notes[edit | edit source]
- This issue also includes Oz and Phenolo-Phi's profiles from Revolution #4 and Revolution #5, respectively, plus new ones in the same style for Acroyear and Microtron. Edited-down versions of the new profiles had previously appeared on the Humble Bundle Revolution trading cards.
Covers (2)[edit | edit source]
- Regular cover: A Giant-Size X-Men homage by Marcelo Ferreira.
- Subscription cover: Acroyear looms over Oz, by Sam Loft.
Advertisements[edit | edit source]
- "The Hasbro Tribune" editorial page promoting January's Hasbro Universe Reconstruction titles, including G.I. Joe #2, M.A.S.K. #3, Lost Light #2, Optimus Prime #3, Till All Are One #7, Revolutionaries #2, Micronauts #9, this issue, ROM Annual 2017, and ROM #7.
