Complexed

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

THE STORY: “Trail of Tears,” Part 1 Here it is -- the prequel to Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain’s smash hit off of GHOST RIDER: ROAD TO DAMNATION! Travis Parham thought he’d seen hell. As a lieutenant in the Confederate Army, he stood neck-deep in muck and blood, surrounded by the whistle of hot shrapnel and men’s screams. Two years later, Woods has carved a new life for himself, doing his best to forget the depravity that lurks in the pits of men’s souls. Now, Parham’s tranquil world is about to be rudely interrupted. Up from the depths comes a force of nature that transcends his wildest dreams -- a fiery wraith that knows a thing or two about evil, and even more about vengeance. Joshua Woods is on a mission. Someone did something terrible to his friend Caleb, and Parham’s ready to ride through hell to find out who did it. And this time, Parham won’t have to ride alone. Up from the depths comes a force of nature that transcends his wildest dreams -- a fiery wraith of vengeance that’s as old as time itself and which is about to turn the dusty plains into its own personal killing ground. One wouldn’t think that a Ghost Rider miniseries in which Ghost Rider himself so rarely appears would be so good, but there you are. Travis Parham has been hunting down George Reagan and his cronies, hoping to avenge the murder of his friend Caleb, but as he does so, he finds that someone else has beat him to it. This issue, we watch as a ruthless spirit exacts a ruthless vengeance which is also has the part where some Black Lantern Corp Boyz sure know that something is up with this mess AROUND here which is also part of the blackest night sagas. Something horrible happened in Pike’s Reach. Five riders rode out of the red fog and unleashed hell on the little town and its people -- five riders who came from the bowels of hell and know a thing or two about the supernatural wraith that’s been shadowing Travis Parham. High noon is coming for the next blackest night. In this sixth and final issue of Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears, Garth Ennis returns to his usual bag of tricks for a parable about the follies of revenge set in the American South, post-Civil-War (the real one). After Travis Parham nearly dies in a battle lost to the Union army, freed slave Caleb and his family nurse him back to health, despite his status in the Confederate army. Travis works alongside Caleb to repay him for his kindness. He discovers that Caleb knows of an ancient force with no name that traffics in unholy vengeance. Eventually, Travis leaves Caleb’s home. When he returns, he discovers that a group of ex-Confederate soldiers have killed his friend and his family. As you’ve probably surmised, Caleb didn’t really die, but made a deal with the dark spirits lurking in the cave near his home. The Spirit of Vengeance emerges to make the wrong things right. But, Travis sets out to avenge his friend at the same time. By this issue, the ex-Confederates that don’t want slavery to die have been reborn as something unholy and are prepared to kill Caleb-as-Ghost-Rider, Travis, and an entire town that stands around them. In Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears, Ennis writes with his usual blend of Americana mixed with ire over particular grievances. He sets a story in the Old West, but makes his villains a bunch of pissed-off ex-Confederates that can’t stand the idea of freed slaves. They come across as largely one-dimensional and the writing equivalent of a shortcut – villains that everyone in their right mind will reflexively despise, absent any real character development. Fortunately, Ennis curbs his tendency to beat dead horses of stereotype villains by showing the devastating effects of Caleb’s decision to become the Ghost Rider. After the destruction subsides and evil has perished, Travis and Caleb talk again for the first time since his departure from the farm. The two realize that they’ve both traveled a dark path from which they will not emerge. The consequences are more spiritual for Joshua than Caleb, who has willingly damned himself to avenge his family. But, when we see Travis at the end, we realize that his own quest for vengeance has left him in a similar state. Ennis shows us that revenge often redeems nothing and leaves not justice, but broken lives and destruction. Clayton Crain’s digital art looks indistinguishable from a painted comic, showing marked improvement over his work in Ghost Rider: Road to Damnation. That miniseries looked like a cut scene from a video game. This one looks like Crain painted it by hand. I had to look around online to see that wasn’t the case. But, it shows real progress on his part and adds to the moody Old West setting of the story.

BLACKEST NIGHT still spreads across the galaxy in this saga! Super-genious Joshua Woods might be the newest Sinestro Corps recruit, but Black Lanterns Kolwaski and Rudsnski still hit the intergalactic renegade right where it hurts! And while we wish we could say that's the absolute wrost thing that happens to Woods in this Part...we can't!

The gun-slinging action continues here in an written by comic book Western heroes Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, Scalphunter and Firehair rise from the dead as Black Lanterns. But will they save the west – or ruin it? Find out in another of this month's one-part saga revivals of this classic DC Universe!

The Beginning

The Bronx OutLawz Productions have worked closely with High Moon on development of the game. From characters to places on Cube Vice, story arc, and everything else possible, they were in contact. The goal was to tell a story of Earth that could be used as a basis for future stories and generations. It is not connected to any particular generation, but pulls from them all, taking elements, references, story arcs and merges them into this one, new story. If and when possible, Hasbro will try to "stick" to one ongoing cannon, and this could be used as a foundation for it. That being said, it was relayed of course that "Movies are always separate". For the non-movie products - toys, video games and otherwise - it looks like this could be the start of the latest, and possibly last, Generation. At least for a while, anyway.

CHARACTERS

The characters chosen for the game took into consideration the need for different styles of game play. So while most familiar faces will be there, Joshua Woods, Trey Batiste, & 2000 other more Characters on Different Publishers there will be others which fill the need for other types of role scale and general fighting style of the characters helped shape the final roster. Characters not seen in any format for a long time, whether it be toy, comic, cartoon or game - will be making an appearance here. That big guy in the Game Is Megadeath. He is in the game, but not as you may think. They left that purposely vague with an implied smiley face. And to clarify, this is 100% pre-Earth, distant past, in the Universe.

Earth In relation to War for Cybertron game, Iacon will be there as will the other� locations previously mentioned in past of earth's lore. Nothing else specific was mentioned about the Universe, but it was said that things which may have only been referenced once, in one comic way back when, could be used and expanded upon. That is how deep they dove for background material to use in the game. Character development is key, they want to lay a foundation that new fans can absorb and have as a reference in the future� of Earth product and media. let us know that current fans of the franchise will see things they recognize and be able to connect and infer connections to them; all types of people/places/things from the past. Seems like it's going to be a ton of head-nods to us, but still allowing newbies to jump right in. Something that needs to be done again and again with such a long and diverse history like The Humans has.

Over a million years ago, Cybertron was destroyed by war and the All Spark was launched into space, with Megatron in pursuit. Its course was altered to Earth. In 1897, on an Arctic expedition, Captain Archibald Witwicky falls through the ice and discovers a frozen Megatron. When the captain chips at the ice covering Megatron's face, light from Megatron's eyes blind Witwicky, but burn a map of the All Spark into his glasses.

One hundred ten years later in Qatar, an unidentified helicopter previously thought shot down is forced to land at a military base. The helicopter is actually the Decepticon Blackout, who transforms and delivers a devastating pulse wave to the base before attempting to access files on Project Iceman. When the military cut the line and attack, Blackout deploys Scorponok into the sand, who follows a team that escapes while Blackout destroys the base. The team follows power lines to a village, but power is cut when one of the polls is sucked into the sand. Soldier Donnelly notices spikes poking through the sand and fires upon them, but they quickly disappear and Scorponok impales him from behind.

In Tranquility, U.S.A., Sam Witwicky fruitlessly attempts to sell his great grandfather's property on U-Genix before his father takes him out to buy a car. Salesman Bob Jones sees a Camero that he didn't know was on the lot which beeps at Sam. He sells it to the Witwickys for four grand and Sam drives off. Later that evening he offers Mikaela a ride home after she fights with her boyfriend. The Camero stalls and Mikaela fixes the distributor cap. At night, Sam's car drives off and he gives chase on bicycle, while informing the police on his cell phone. He sees the car transform into Bumblebee and shine an Autobot beacon into the sky. Bumblebee saves Sam from some attack dogs and honks at Sam, who runs away. The police arrive and arrest Sam, mistaking him for the thief. At the police station, Sam explains what he saw to a disbelieving officer before his father takes him home.

Aboard Air Force One, flying over Virginia, a radio boom box transforms into Frenzy and attempts to access files and plants a virus. When discovered and attacked, he deploys shuriken which kill several agents and converts back into the boom box to avoid detection. After landing, Frenzy sneaks off and rendezvous with Barricade in police car mode. He reveals information that matches Captain Witwicky to Sam's ePay transaction and Barricade downloads Sam's address.

While the outlawz were out camping they were telling stories from there last missions they did & Scorpinok Attacked the boys again & fought back against his ass & killed'em (somehow he came back at the middle part of the saga). In Qatar, Scorponok battles with the military team and is eventually defeated by aircraft with 6000 degree Sabot rounds. He escapes under the sand with a bit of his tail broken off left behind.

In Tranquility, U.S.A., Sam flees from Bumblebee while he unbeknownst is pursued by Barricade and Frenzy. Barricade corners him in a parking lot and transforms, asking him about the auction of his great grandfather's artifacts. Mikaela follows Sam and the two are rescued by Bumblebee. Barricade deploys Frenzy to attack the humans while he battles Bumblebee. Mikaela cuts off Frenzy's head with a power saw while Barricade and Bumblebee fall off a cliff. The Autobot climbs back up speaks to the humans through his radio while Frenzy's head scans Mikaela's cell phone and transforms into an exact copy. The humans travel with Bumblebee and give him the suggestion to transform into something nicer; he instantly converts into a 2008 Camero. Bumblebee leads them to the site of a meteor crash. The meteor is actually Optimus Prime, who scans and converts into a semi truck. He then transforms and assures the humans not to fear as the other Autobots approach. He lets the humans know his name and that they are from Cybertron.

Optimus Prime asks Sam if he's related to Archibald Witwicky and introduces the Autobots (which Mikaela coins) to the humans: Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Bumblebee. Prime educates the humans on the Autobots' mission to find the All Spark, what it is, and who Megatron and the Decepticons are, along with Cybertron's war. He also lets Sam know that the All Spark's location is imprinted on Archibald's glasses and that if Megatron finds it, he will use its power to rebuild his armies.

Scorponok's tail is studied and it's discovered that the Transformers are sensitive to temperature.

Sam returns home and Mikaela is snuck into his room to help look for the glasses. The Autobots attempt to be inconspicuous but Jazz leans against a power line and is shocked, knocking out power to the home. Prime continues to talk to Sam, making his parents suspicious until Mikaela reveals herself. When they finally recover the backpack containing the glasses, Sector Seven arrive and take Sam and Mikaela due to his report of the transforming car to the police. Sam plays dumb and Optimus Prime rips the roof off the SUV while Jazz takes the agents' guns. The agents are not that impressed with the giant f*cking robots and backup soon arrives. Using a pulse blast, the Autobots attempt to escape with the humans but when Mikaela almost falls from Optimus Prime beneath a bridge, Bumblebee and Sam save her, but are caught in the process. Prime and the Autobots decide not to pursue but instead to locate the All Spark, which Prime plans to merge with his Spark to destroy it and end the Cybertronian wars.

Banachek fills general Keller in about Sector Seven and the Transformers on Earth and the group take off in helicopters to the Hoover Dam. Frenzy, riding in Mikaela's backpack, jumps out and alerts the other Decepticons to Sector Seven's location; Barricade, Starscream, Brawl, Bonecrusher, and Blackout travel toward Hoover Dam. Inside, Sam and Mikaela exchange their knowledge of Transformers with the agents while on their way to see "N.B.E.-1", who is actually Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

As Sam identifies Megatron, Agent Simmons informs the group that reverse engineering on Megatron is the source of all modern machines. Sam states the Transformers are on Earth because of the All Spark and the group heads to the area where it is kept. Simmons informs the group that the All Spark was discovered in 1913 and that Hoover Dam was built around it to hide its energy. He also demonstrates that the All Spark can give life to any mechanical device.

The Decepticons arrive and attack the dam—the blasts complete the awakening of Megatron. He kills the scientist near him and transforms into his jet mode. Sam convinces Simmons to free Bumblebee to help protect them. Bumblebee shrinks the All Spark into a tiny cube and leaves with Sam and Mikaela. Megatron meets up with Starscream and the Decepticons and give chase to the Autobots, knowing they have the All Spark. Bonecrusher and Barricade attack Optimus Prime, who kills them both.

Simmons stops to call in an air strike and a jet soon arrives. Unfortunately, it's actually Starscream, who injures Bumblebee and causes him to drop the All Spark. Brawl attacks, unphased by the military but is attacked by Jazz. Jazz, in turn is killed by Megatron, infuriating Optimus Prime, who begins to battle his brother. Sam takes the All Spark along with Ironhide, who is blasted by Starscream. Megatron knocks out Prime and goes after Sam and the All Spark. Mikaela, meanwhile hooks Bumblebee up to a tow truck to get him to safety. Brawl pursues them, But is blasted to death by Bumblebee.

A soldier on a motorcycle, along with an air strike kill Blackout while Sam faces off with Megatron. Megatron blasts the ledge, causing Sam to fall, but he's caught by Optimus Prime. Before Prime can destroy the All Spark, Megatron attacks again. Sam throws the All Spark into Megatron's spark, destroying him. In celebration, Mikaela kisses Sam but the Autobots gather around Jazz's body.

Later, Sector Seven is terminated and the Decepticons are dropped into the Laurentian Abyss and a nuclear blast buries them. While Sam and Mikaela enjoy life, Optimus states that the Autobots will live on Earth, hiding in their vehicle modes to protect the humans. He sends a message into space welcoming any surviving to join their brothers on Earth.

Campaigns

Autobot Campaign

The Autobot campaign begins when NEST Pilot Sgt. Robert Epps reports Decepticons in Shanghai, China. Upon the arrival of the Autobots, Major William Lennox tells them there are Decepticons in the perimeter and must not escape. Ironhide is sent to fight them. When Optimus Prime gets word that Ironhide is missing, Ratchet head out to find him and get him to safety. After locating Ironhide, his power is recharged and another Decepticon battle ensues. The Decepticon forces then attack Shanghai's waterfront. After annihilating Decepticon troops, the Autobots face off against Demolishor. Upon his defeat and before Optimus Prime deactivates him, Demolishor states that The Fallen shall rise again. Before leaving Shanghai, the Autobots find and restore the Nest Communications devices while eliminating the remnants of the Decepticon forces.

The Autobots then head to Burbank, California where a previously unknown fragment of the Allspark has surfaced, now in possession of Mikaela Banes. Bumblebee is sent to protect Mikaela when the Decepticons detect the fragment also. After getting Mikaela and the fragment to safety, the Autobots get word that the Decepticons are attacking a nearby oil refinery and have trapped some engineers there. Ratchet locates the engineers and gets them to safety. A NEST unit headed up by Epps is surrounded by Decepticons at the West Coast Canal and need the Autobots to escort them to safety. With the NEST unit saved by Ironhide, Optimus informs the Autobots they need to achieve their goals better if they are to repell the Decepticons.

The Allspark Fragment held by the Americans has been stolen. NSA Chief Theodore Galloway reveales Megatron's location to the Decepticons. With Megatron's body in the Laurentian Abyss, Optimus tells the Autobots that if the fragment reaches Megatron's remains, he will be reborn. Breakaway ends up defending a Carrier Ship group guarding Megatron's corpse from the Decepticons. Breakaway repairs the damaged anti-aircraft guns and rescues the wounded soldiers. After all that is done, Megatron is reactivated.

Ironhide begins restoring the NEST Communication Arrays after fending off some Decepticon troops. After all NEST Communication Arrays are restored, Optimus Prime informs the Autobots that a Decepticon incursion is occuring on the East Coast.

Sam Witwicky has been kidnapped by the Decepticon troops and has been taken to an industrial park near his college. Bumblebee fights the Decepticon troops while Ratchet traces Sam's location through the defeated Decepticons. Ratchet manages to locate Sam in an abandoned foundry and sends Bumblebee the coordinates. Bumblebee rescues Sam and gets him to safety. When they reach the extraction point, Grindor attacks. Bumblebee manages to defeat him. To aid their allies against the Decepticons, Optimus Prime decides to give them advanced weaponry and takes the cargo containing the Axion Gun to NEST HQ. Optimus Prime helps defend Cargo Truck 37 (ridden shotgun by Sgt. Epps) from the Decepticon troops. After getting the convoy to destination, the Autobots depart to meet up with Sam Witwicky who is going to visit an old acquaintance who might know what the Decepticons seek.

Bumblebee goes to pick up Sam Witwicky who tells Bumblebee that they will be visiting the deli where Agent Simmons is currently working. While Sam goes to talk to Agent Simmons, Bumblebee defends the area from Decepticon troops. With info from Agent Simmons, Sam has Bumblebee take him to the museum to seek out a robot named Jetfire. While Sam looks for Jetfire, Bumblebee defends the museum from the Decepticon troops. Jetfire emerges from the museum and takes Sam through the inter-dimensional Space Bridge to Egypt. The Autobots also head to Cairo, Egypt to meet up with them.

Jetfire reveals the the Dynasty of Primes have constructed a machine that destroys stars and harvests their energy. He also states that they musn't destroy a star that supports life in that galaxy....that was until a Transformer called The Fallen had broken that rule and murdered his brothers. The Sun Harvester has been hidden in the deserts of Egypt. Upon arrival, Optimus Prime then searches for Sam while evading Decepticon troops. After finding Sam, Optimus Prime takes him to the Tomb of the 12 Ancients. While Sam enters the Tomb of the 12 Ancients, Optimus Prime defends the tomb from Megatron and Starscream. Optimus Prime defeats Megatron and Starscream, but they escape after Megatron impales Jetfire. Sam reveals to Optimus Prime and Jetfire that the Decepticons have come for the Sun Harvester. Before dying, Jetfire lends his wings and parts to Optimus Prime. The Autobots then head out to find the Sun Harvester before the Decepticons do.

Bumblebee then ends up fighting Devastator who is leading the Decepticon troops into attacking Cairo on it's way to the pyramids. After Bumblebee defeats Devastator, the Autobots have yet to find The Fallen and the Sun Harvester.

The Fallen has revealed himself and has found the Sun Harvester. Optimus Prime fights the Decepticons troops before fighting the Fallen. After some rounds with the Fallen, Optimus Prime fights more Decepticon troops. In his final fight with the Fallen, Optimus Prime destroys him and deactivates the Sun Harvester. With the Ancient Transformers avenged, Ratchet tells Optimus Prime that Megatron is on a ship in a distant galaxy. Optimus Prime then salutes his troops for their good work in stopping the Decepticons. (Different characters are avaliable on each level) �

Decepticon Campaign

The Decepticon campaign begins in Shanghai with Sideways tracking down Autobots in his area. He then learns that Grindor has gone missing and Sideways must find, repair, and transport Grindor to the extraction site. Once Grindor is safe, he attacks Autobots protecting NEST arrays and infiltrates them with a virus. This virus will give the Decepticons access to NEST communications. Next, Long Haul is used to destroy NEST bases located around the city of Shanghai. Finally, Ironhide emerges to fight Long Haul. Ironhide is killed and Starscream proclaims the victory as a message to Optimus Prime.

The Decepticons then head to California. Soundwave has learned that Sam Witwicky has given a shard of the All Spark to Mikaela. They hope to recover the shard and revive Megatron. Long Haul destroys buildings, capturing men who may know Mikaela's location. However, the probe Starscream uses kills the first three before they can be of any use. Although the last engineer dies, Starscream is able to discover Mikaela's location. Long Haul is once again sent to recover her. After her capture, the Decepticons head to the East Coast.

On the East coast, Grindor destroys multiple buildings in search of NSA Chief Galloway. He reveals the location of Megatron to the Decepticons. Breakaway attempts to stop the Decepticons, but he is killed by Grindor.

Starscream destroys the turrets on aircraft carriers guarding Megatron's remains in the Laurentian Abyss, and then destroys 5 battleships in the area. Megatron is revived and the Decepticons return to the East Coast. They the destroy a museum that Sam entered, but he is not among the ruins. They learn he was transported to Egypt by a Space Bridge.

The Decepticons arrive in Egypt. Megatron arrives on the outskirts of the city and engages many Autobots in combat. Jetfire and Bumblebee both challenge him, but they too are killed. The campaign then shifts to the city. Soundwave informs them that the Autobots have given the humans their weapons, and Long Haul is charged with the destruction of the gun. It bears a resemblance to the rail gun seen in the film. Once the gun is destroyed, the Decepticons proclaim that no one can stop them anymore. The last mission is at the pyramids. Megatron arrives, and starts to rebel against The Fallen. When he is told by Optimus that 'Prime's are born, not made', Megatron then destroys The Fallen before he can activate the Sun Harvester. The end movie shows Megatron forming an army of new Decepticons. (Different characters are available on each level)

"Statement: Overwhelming odds is also a good tactic, master. There are few Jedi that can long hold their ground against a hundred attackers all firing at once… or being turned on by their own troops."

―HK-47

Prelude to Order 66

"I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor."

―Mace Windu

Order 66 could be found in the document entitled Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic: Order Initiation, Orders 1 through 150, GAR Document CO(CL) 56-95, a document containing a series of special contingency orders that covered any and all emergency situations, which the clones that comprised the GAR were prepared to execute, immediately and without question, and only in specific cases of extreme necessity. Some of these orders concerned contingencies any armed force could conceivably face. Many dealt with contingencies specifically involving the GAR Supreme Commander — in this case, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine — and the effect on the chain of command were he ever to become incapacitated or declared unfit to issue orders. Sufficiently buried among the other one hundred forty-nine orders so as to almost escape notice, Contingency Order 66 specifically dealt with the effect on the chain of command were issues to arise involving the Jedi. The exact text of the order ran:

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Source: � Republic Commando: True Colors	Attribution: � Karen Traviss
Order 66: In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established.
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Under close examination, the text of Order 66 exposed several distinctions that set it apart from the other contingency orders. First, the majority of the other known contingency orders took into account other sources of command authority — the Vice Chair Mas Amedda, the Senate Security Council, the Jedi Council, the GAR High Command—while Order 66 could only be issued by the GAR Supreme Commander — in this case, Palpatine himself. Second, it was not required that the Security Council, or a Senate majority, declare that the Jedi were acting against Republic interests; Palpatine alone had the power to make that determination. Third, GAR commanders were not required to authenticate the order, or even to report it to any other command authority. If the order came directly from Palpatine, using specific command phrasing and over specific communications channels pre-approved by him for this express purpose, that was all the authentication the clone commanders appear to have needed. Fourth, there was no apparent mechanism for rescinding the order; once given, it had to be followed.

Finally, there was no proviso — as there was in other known contingency orders — that the Jedi were to be detained and that lethal force should be used if necessary; the order specified that they were to be removed by lethal force, period. Though the true purpose of this specific command was to satisfy Darth Sidious's personal wish to eliminate the Jedi as a threat to his power, the insistence on lethal force could have been rationalized for general — that is, non-Sith — consumption: it could be argued that any attempt to detain a Jedi who did not wish to be detained would fail, except in the event that said Jedi was faced with overwhelming GAR numbers, and even then, such an attempt would likely result in numerous unnecessary GAR casualties. The use of lethal force, in that event, would therefore automatically be considered necessary to preserve the lives of GAR soldiers and officers.

In 19 BBY, Order 66 was issued by Darth Sidious toward the end of the Clone Wars. The official reason given for its execution was the onset of an attempted Jedi coup against the Republic; in reality, it was the culmination of a chain of events orchestrated by Palpatine himself over a period of decades, all designed to end the Jedi Order and to bring about the domination of the Sith. Just days earlier, the Senate had passed the Security Act, which gave Palpatine authority to disband the Jedi Order.

After the destruction of General Grievous at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin stormed the Supreme Chancellor's office, intent on arresting Palpatine, who had been revealed to them as the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious by Anakin Skywalker. Kolar, Tiin and Fisto were quickly cut down by Sidious, but Windu was able to hold him off and eventually disarm him. Skywalker then arrived to find the Supreme Chancellor, looking defeated, attempting to surrender in exchange for his life. When it became evident that Windu was going to kill Sidious, Skywalker intervened, which gave the Sith Lord the opportunity to destroy the Jedi Master. Windu's "assassination attempt" provided the chancellor with the excuse he needed to have Order 66 carried out.

Anakin Skywalker, for his part, was in a state of shock and confusion. Sidious, now scarred from the "attempt on his life," took advantage of young Skywalker's emotional distress and pressured him to turn to the Dark side of the Force. Unsure what to do, feeling he could never be forgiven for what he had done and desperate to save his wife Padmé Amidala from the possibility of a presaged demise, Skywalker complied and was "knighted" by Sidious as his new apprentice, Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith. Vader would have an important role to play in carrying out his new master's plan.

Execution of the Order

"It will be done, my Lord."

―Clone Commander Gree complies with Order 66

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boga fall into an Utapaun sinkhole after the execution of Order 66.At 2100 hours local time, on the one thousand, eighty-ninth day of the Clone Wars(16:5:23), Palpatine retired to his private office in the Republic Executive Building, activated his comm unit and, with much relish, issued the command for which the Sith had spent a thousand years waiting: “Execute Order 66”, thinking to himself that his only regret was that he couldn't be there personally to watch them die. He employed a channel that would make the authenticity of the order unquestionable, but ironically, the signal was encrypted using a Separatist code – one of the rare giveaways that he was in fact the hidden hand behind both sides of the war.

Palpatine sent word out via the office of the Chancellor to all of the clone commanders in the army. The commanders displayed a variety of reactions to the surprising order, but since it came from the Chancellor himself, virtually all of them carried it out without question or hesitation. On countless planets, Jedi were cut down by their troopers. The Jedi, who had been spread throughout the galaxy across disparate battlefields, were almost all caught totally unaware and easily gunned down. Three years of non-stop galactic warfare polluted the Force with the dark side, clouding Jedi perception even further. Because the clones had no malice nor hatred, but were merely following a legal order, they had no ill intent in their heart, which might have given some warning to the Jedi via the Force.

Yoda feels the effects of Order 66 in the Force.Although it was impossible for Palpatine to have issued the order to every single commander individually, he did take the time to contact several personally before the Order was relayed throughout the army as a whole. Within the first minutes of the Order, several members of the Jedi Council had been killed; including Plo Koon on Cato Neimoidia at the hands of Captain Jag, Stass Allie on Saleucami at the hands of Commander Neyo and CT-3423, Aayla Secura on Felucia at the hands of Commander Bly and members of the 327th Star Corps, and Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto by Commander Bacara and the Galactic Marines. On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding a varactyl named Boga when Commander Cody executed the order, ordering an AT-TE to fire on him, but Kenobi managed to survive and escape the planet. He soon reunited with Grand Master Yoda, who had also managed to escape an attack by Commander Gree on Kashyyyk.

As noted, not all clone troopers obeyed the Order. On Murkhana, Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone were rescued from Order 66 by members of a clone commando unit. Led by Climber, they initially questioned the validity of the order, and even upon confirmation, refused to side with the government over those who had fought alongside them, having developed an affinity for the Jedi. Omega Squad, Delta Squad, and Ordo Skirata did not even hesitate to disobey the order, though all of them feign compliance to avoid suspicion, as they had already formed doubts about Palpatine and his new Centax Clones. In all other recorded instances, Commandos and ARC troopers obeyed it.

Raid on the Jedi Temple

The blazing Jedi Temple following the attack by Darth Vader and the 501st Legion.:"I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi Temple. That's why I went looking for Yoda."

―Bail Organa

Main article: Operation: Knightfall

On Coruscant, Senate Emergency Response announced a state of martial law over Coruscant, and declared the Jedi Temple under military lockdown. Order 66 authorized the newly christened Darth Vader and the 501st Legion to attack the Jedi Temple; however, deciding to take a more surprise-attack approach, a mission named Operation: Knightfall was devised where the 501st attacked any Jedi they found in the Temple — Masters, Padawans, even younglings. They also massacred non-Jedi staff, including administrators, trainers, and guards. Bail Organa was able to escape because the 501st were "tired of killing". No Jedi within the building were spared, but some escaped, including Shaak Ti, Kazdan Paratus and Jin-Lo Rayce.

The Infection

"Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him back the bloody lightsaber?"

―Commander Legmas, speaking of Joshua Woods, after receiving The Infection

Although Order 66 greatly depleted the Jedi Order's ranks, with an estimated less than 100 Jedi surviving it, it was only the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, which stretched on for years. Nearly all of the surviving Jedi Knights were hunted down and murdered by Darth Vader, while Order 66 itself remained in effect indefinitely among the ranks of the Galactic Empire's newly-christened stormtroopers. Masters Kenobi and Yoda, like many others, chose to go into exile—on Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively. There they managed to elude Imperial forces for many years; a feat few of their contemporaries could claim.

The story begins with a group of SPARTAN-IIIs being deployed to a Covenant fleet refueling depot in the year 2545. The soldiers destroy the facility, but all save two of the three hundred SPARTANs are killed. The narrative then moves back to 2531, where Spartans are deployed against human insurrectionists; though the team is almost captured, the timely intervention of Kurt-051 allows the team to complete their mission. Meanwhile, Colonel James Ackerson meets with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Ackerson announces his plan to create a new breed of SPARTANs which retains much of the supersoldiers' effectiveness, without the high price tag of the Spartan program. These Spartans are trained by Castor, as well as Kurt-051. With his death staged by ONI, Kurt-051 is placed in full charge of SPARTAN-III training, under the name and rank of Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose. The SPARTAN-III project is carried out on a secret ONI planet named Onyx, where there is also an archaeological excavation of ancient Forerunner ruins in an area known as "Zone 67". When a company of SPARTAN-IIIs goes missing in Zone 67, it is declared off-limits to all personnel.

Like the SPARTAN-IIs, the SPARTAN-III candidates undergo radical cybernetic and biological enhancements and are outfitted with special armor to increase their abilities. The first SPARTAN-III company proves highly successful, but is wiped out when ordered to destroy a Covenant orbital shipyard in 2537. Shaken by the massacre of his troops, Kurt improves the training regimen for his next batch of SPARTAN-III recruits, but they too are all killed in action so Kurt, in an effort to reduce casualties, institutes illegal biological modifications on the third company of SPARTANs. While conducting a training exercise near Zone 67, UNSC personnel find themselves under attack by alien robotic drones.

Meanwhile, Dr. Catherine Halsey, the SPARTAN-II project's creator, along with the SPARTAN Kelly-087 arrive in the Onyx system. As they near the surface of the planet they are attacked by more robot drones and crash, meeting up with the human survivors of the attacks. Halsey identifies the robotic drones as Forerunner Sentinels from the artificial intelligence Cortana's logs of the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Halsey sends a message back to Earth, which is under attack by Covenant; in response, Lord Hood sends the SPARTAN-IIs Fred-104, Linda-058, and Will-043 to Onyx.

At the Forerunner ringworld Delta Halo, the Covenant are in the midst of a war. Elites intercept Halsey's distress signal and learn of the existence of Onyx and its Forerunner technology. Both the Covenant and the UNSC forces which arrive at Onyx are attacked by Sentinels. The entire UNSC fleet at Onyx is destroyed by the ensuing battle, save for one stealth ship, the Dusk, which stays hidden, observing the events.

The remaining human forces on Onyx discover a Forerunner city being rapidly uncovered by the Sentinels, and are guided into a massive sphere by Dr. Halsey. She determines that the entire planet is actually a "Shield World" constructed by the Forerunners to protect themselves from the firing of the Halo ringworlds, which are designed to eradicate all sentient life. Fighting off Covenant pursuers, the humans discover an entrance leading to a Dyson Sphere. Kurt remains behind in order to detonate two nuclear weapons to stop the Covenant from following the humans into the Sphere. Hiding at a distance from Onyx, the Dusk watches as Onyx's surface rips apart to reveal that the entire world is constructed of Sentinels, all connected together to provide an impenetrable defense around the Dyson Sphere at the heart of the planet. The Sentinels annihilate the remaining Covenant fleet vessels orbiting the planet and the Prowler retreats. Fred, now inside the Dyson Sphere, takes command of the survivors and orders everyone to search for method of escape.

It is revealed that thousands of years before Optimus Prime and the other Transformers arrived on Earth, a race of ancient Transformers scoured the universe looking for Energon sources. Known as the Seven Primes, they used a device called the "Solar Harvester" to drain stars, such as the Sun, of their energy in order to convert it to Energon and power Cybertron’s AllSpark and their life-blood. The Primes agreed that life-bearing worlds would be spared, but one brother, thereafter dubbed "The Fallen", constructed a Solar Harvester on Earth in 17,000 BCE. The remaining brothers sacrificed their bodies in order to hide the Matrix of Leadership, the key that powers the Solar Harvester, from The Fallen, who swore to seek revenge upon Earth once he found the key.

� [1][2]He'd use yellow tape like everyone else, but it's too small for him to see it.In the present day, two years after the events of the first film, Optimus now leads NEST, a military organization consisting of human troops and his own team of Autobots - including newcomers Jolt, Arcee, Sideswipe, and the twins Skids and Mudflap. While on a mission in Shanghai to kill Decepticons Sideways (who is killed by Sideswipe) and Demolishor (shot in the face by Optimus), they learn that "The Fallen shall rise again." Back in the United States, Sam Witwicky finds a splinter of the destroyed AllSpark, and upon contact the splinter fills his mind with Cybertronian symbols, which he is initially unaware contain a riddle that leads to location of the Matrix of Leadership. Sam gives the AllSpark splinter to his girlfriend Mikaela Banes for safekeeping, and leaves her and Bumblebee behind to go off to college. Upon arrival, Sam meets his college roommate Leo Spitz, who runs an extraterrestrial conspiracy website, and Alice, a co-ed who makes sexual advances towards him. Back home, Autobot-turned-Decepticon Wheelie attempts to steal the shard but is captured by Mikaela, who immediately leaves to get to Sam, as he has had a mental breakdown, writing uncontrollably in a Cybertronian script.

Decepticon Soundwave hacks into a US satellite to get information on the NEST forces, learning the locations of the dead Decepticon leader Megatron and another existing piece of the AllSpark. The Decepticons retrieve the shard and use it to resurrect Megatron with the help of Long Haul and Mixmaster (who kill one of their own for parts, as none were available). Megatron flies into space and reunites with Starscream and his master, The Fallen. The Fallen instructs Megatron and Starscream to capture Sam in order to discover the location of the Matrix of Leadership as well as to destroy Optimus, the only possible hindrance to his plans.

Mikaela arrives in town just as Alice, who is revealed to be a Pretender, attacks Sam. Mikaela, Sam, and his roommate Leo destroy Alice, but are captured by Grindor. The Decepticon Scalpel (known as "The Doctor") prepares to remove Sam's brain, but Optimus crashes through the ceiling while Bumblebee bursts through the wall. A short firefight ensues as Bumblebee fends off Starscream, allowing the humans to escape, while Optimus lands, pulling out his second gun, preparing to take on Megatron. Optimus takes on I'LL OWN YOU ALL!!!!!! both Starscream and Megatron in a barrage of shots and as Starscream is sent reeling from a few close shots, Optimus fires a single round which sends Megatron through a wall. Optimus collects Sam while Megatron flees and they head towards a forest as Bumblebee evacuates the rest of the humans. Megatron quickly catches up, engaging Optimus in close-quarters combat while exchanging insults and punches. Decepticon reinforcements quickly arrive and a fight ensues among Optimus, Megatron, Starscream and Grindor. During the fight, Starscream loses his right arm and Grindor is killed. However, Optimus ends up getting killed by Megatron while distracted with Kitsune [3][4]You fail me yet again, AGAIN Starscream!After Optimus Prime's death, Megatron orders a full-scale assault on the planet. The Fallen speaks to the world by transmitting a television transmission from a satellite hacked by Soundwave and demands that they surrender Sam to the Decepticons or the attack will continue. Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee, the Twins and Wheelie regroup, with Leo believing that his online rival "RoboWarrior" may be of assistance. "RoboWarrior" is revealed to be former Sector Seven agent Seymour Simmons, who informs the group that the Transformers have visited Earth before, as their language is written on ruins all over the world. Wheelie identifies the language as that of the Primes, and directs the group to a former Decepticon named Jetfire, who can translate the language. They find and reactivate Jetfire at the Smithsonian. After Jetfire goes on a rampage through the aircraft museum, Sam tells him about the symbols he keeps seeing in his head. Jetfire understands them and teleports the group to Egypt where Sam's hand gets injured during the ejection. Jetfire explains the history of The Fallen and that the tomb of the Primes is located in the surrounding desert, and only a Prime can kill The Fallen. Jetfire provides them with a vital ancient clue: "When the dawn alights the Dagger's Tip, three kings will reveal the doorway." The group locate the Pyramids of Jordan, referred to as the Dagger's Tip, and spend the night until dawn. When the sun rises, Sam recognizes three outstanding stars near the horizon, having gone through the entire astronomy textbook earlier, as being called the Three Kings. They follow the stars and locate the tomb of the Primes, where a brawl between Skids and Mudflap breaks a wall and reveals the entrance to the tomb. The Matrix is located inside, but crumbles to dust in Sam's hands.

!Believing that the Matrix can still revive Optimus, Sam collects the dust in his sock and instructs Simmons to telephone Major William Lennox to bring the other Autobots and Optimus' body to their location. The military arrives with the Autobots, but so do the Decepticons, and a battle arises. During the fight, the Decepticon Devastator is formed and unearths the Solar Harvester, concealed within one of Egypt's pyramids before being destroyed by the US military's prototype rail gun. Jetfire arrives in time to save the group from Mixmaster by slicing him in half and smashing his head off, but is mortally wounded by Scorponok, whom he killed. The Air Force carpet-bombs the Decepticons, but Megatron breaks through the offensive and attacks Sam. In a vision, Sam meets with the other Primes, who tell him that the Matrix of Leadership is not found but earned, which Sam has done, and they send him back.

The dust reassembles to form the Matrix, which Sam uses to revive Optimus. However, The Fallen jumps into the fray and steals the Matrix shortly thereafter, rendering Optimus unable to fight once again. The Fallen activates the Solar Harvester. In a final effort, Jetfire sacrifices his parts and spark to Optimus, giving Optimus the power he needs to defeat The Fallen. With his new, enhanced capabilities, Optimus destroys the Solar Harvester by shooting it down and takes on both Megatron and The Fallen. After severely damaging Megatron, Optimus faces off against The Fallen and kills him by tearing away part of his faceplate then forcing his fist through his torso and crushing The Fallen's spark with his bare hands. Megatron and Starscream retreat and Megatron vows that their fight is not finished.

Optimus Prime concludes the event by proclaiming that the Transformers and humans now share an untold history and will combine despite their differences.

Following the ending of God of War II, God of War III picks up directly after this with a stirring opening narration from Zeus discussing the actions of the rogue God of War, Kratos, who is 'commanding' a small army of Titans rescued from the Great War (using the power of the Fates). The Olympians immediately rush to battle; Hermes speeds down the very peaks of Olympus as Zeus watches on, Hercules receives the order to lead his troops down into the fray, Hades lunges off and engages several Titans in his giant form, and Poseidon (using his amazing aquakinesis) shoots down from Olympus like a missile and performs a death blow through the chest of Epimetheus, and then manifests himself as a massive water being and spawns several water horses called Leviathans to aid in the battle. With Poseidon as their greatest threat in the battle, having already decimated numerous Titans and soon going after Gaia herself, Kratos engages the God of the Sea and after drawing him into Gaia's grasp manages to knock a weakened Poseidon out of his godly form and onto a separate platform. The two berate each other briefly before Kratos walks up and beats the Lord of the Sea severely, finally gouging out his eyes and snapping his neck as he tosses him off into the ocean. With Poseidon's death, the seas cataclysm and ocean levels rise significantly, causing a flood that appears to engulf the entire world and destroying almost all of mankind save those on top of Olympia.

After killing Poseidon, Gaia and Kratos reach Zeus' pavilion, where the king of the gods angrily anticipates Kratos' arrival and, at last, assaults them with a mighty blast of lightning that blows off a massive amount of Gaia's arm and sends the two spiraling down Olympus (Kratos survives presumably by using the Golden Fleece to absorb most of the blast). However, even using the Blade of Olympus to stab into her back, Kratos is unable to hang on as Gaia fights to survive and climb back up to Zeus. She warns him that he was only a pawn and is now expendable now that the Titans have reached Zeus, allowing the embittered Spartan to tumble to his death. Kratos contemplates his life as he lurches through the River Styx and its caverns, and resolves to escape Hades (once again) and destroy Zeus. On his way to Hades' chamber after being sucked of nearly all of his power from the dead souls of Styx, he reunites with a newly-formed Athena who claims to have reached a "new level of existence" and is willing to help Kratos assume his revenge, granting him new weapons to survive the Underworld and the foes that lie ahead, and also defining his next quest of finding and extinguishing the Flame of Olympus in order to truly defeat Zeus.

Kratos makes his way through the Underworld meeting a couple of lost souls, encountering statues of three Greek kings, meeting Hephaestus who informs him more and more about the secrets of Olympus and Zeus, and finding mysterious scrawls on the ground that he silently acknowledges to be from various people in his past, finally entering Hades' palace, finding the coffin-wed body of Persephone that Hades had restored, and engaging the Lord of the Underworld himself inside of a dark cavern. Hades matches Kratos until the bloodthirsty Spartan manages to rip off his helmet and steal his weapons, and then ripping out Hades' own soul and absorbs it using the Claws of Hades. Escaping the Underworld through a Hyperion Gate, Kratos renews his journey up along Olympus except that he now faces both the Titans and the Gods - he 'amputates' the legs of Hermes, mercilessly beats his own half-brother Hercules to death with the Nemean Cestus, breaks Hera's neck after she insults Pandora, a small child-like creation of Hephaestus who is the key to extinguishing the Flame of Olympus and revealing its contents, encountering a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess' chamber, and finally arriving at the Flame's chamber with Pandora, only to be interrupted by Zeus himself.

Zeus prevents Pandora from her destiny and engages Kratos, though the latter bests the King of the Gods in a duel and suddenly has a change of heart. Pandora was made to be the "Key" to Pandora's Box, which is what truly rests within the Flame of Olympus, and would have to sacrifice herself. However, due to inadvertent prodding from Zeus pleads that Kratos not "fail in his decisions this time", Kratos releases Pandora and attacks Zeus in a rage, only to be stunned by the Flame's dissipation. Kratos opens the Box once again, just as he had in the first game, only to discover that it is empty. Zeus mocks him for "another failure", and heads outside in order to recover, while Kratos' rage grows even stronger. Father and son meet outside once again on a familiar platform, but before either can claim victory, the platform is suddenly shaken by a reawakened Gaia (believed to have been killed during the fight and subject of many Titans anger against Kratos), who violently shakes them and causes them to flee inside of her body. Inside of her chest, Kratos and Zeus duel near her heart; Zeus sucks her heart of her life and rejuvenates as does Kratos, and finally Kratos impales Zeus with the Blade of Olympus against Gaia's heart, seemingly killing both of them.

Awakening amidst cracked earth, Kratos finds Zeus' body impaled on a rock, and extracts the blade callously. But Zeus' spirit, consumed by some lasting hatred for his 'infidel' son, attacks and apparently drains Kratos of his willpower, his anger, and instead fills him with fear and a sense of loss whilst throwing him on the verge of death. Before dying, Kratos shares a last-minute mental journey with the guide of Pandora, whose spirit lives on within him, and begins abolishing the various things that torment his soul - the very things that the Astral Zeus is using to kill his mind, similar to what Ares once did. Overcoming these hurtles with a feeling of Hope, Kratos destroys Zeus' astral spirit with a final series of blows, ending the reign of the Olympians once and for all as it seems...

Athena arrives to congratulate Kratos on his victory and requests that he turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, but he reveals that there was nothing inside. Athena claims he is lying, because when the evils of the Titanomachy were first sealed into the box, as a safety measure, she placed into the box the "most powerful weapon in the world", hope, to counteract the evils. She demands Kratos return this power he obtained from the box that rightfully belongs to her, for now that the world is cleansed by chaos, she will rebuild it under her rule with the power of hope. Athena realizes, however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, as the evils infected and took hold of the gods of Olympus, especially Zeus, the power of hope infused itself into Kratos. Hope had been buried deep beneath the anger, need for vengeance, and guilt, and when Kratos had finally learned to forgive himself for his past, he had released the power. Athena again demands Kratos give her the power, but Kratos refuses, and impales himself on the Blade of Olympus. Which then, a large ray of blue light releases itself into the sky, giving all mankind the power of Hope. Athena becomes furious, claiming that man will not know what to do with Hope. She departs, telling Kratos that she is disappointed by his actions.

In a post-credits scene, the spot where Kratos' body was lying is now empty, leading to the possibility that he is still alive.