DON’T READ THIS… If you don’t want spoilers from Revolutionaries and G.I. Joe, two series which are not even close to conclusions yet.
I read First Strike and I enjoyed it. Good story, shocker of a reveal, but the beef is when there is the asterisk next to the reveal, stating “See Revolutionaries #8 for details!” except the seventh issues hasn’t come out yet!! Talk about delayed release! G.I. Joe hasn’t wrapped up their miniseries either, which also has lead-ins to the next crossover. It doesn’t bother me as much as it sounds, as those two series I feel are the weakest of the current run of IDW offerings. The artwork in G.I. Joe infuriates me while the storytelling in Revolutionaries, while isn’t horrible, but feels patched together and relies more on flashbacks than current events.
Same for ROM and Micronauts: Wrath of Karza, but let’s focus on First Strike, shall we?
The event kicks off with a literal big bang, and explosions interrupt a press conference between Earth and Cybertron’s leaders. All sides are caught off guard as Cybertron is invaded by a number of robotic ninjas and shapeshifting combatants.
We are shown who is at the helm of the assault, and it is clear from the get-go all heroes must band together in order to stop the treat, even though the heroes remain clueless as to the endgame, while the villains, thanks to the back-up story of how the villains form their unholy alliance.
What is most interesting to me, is the evil alliance. The intent is not subjugation or tyranny, but preservation of humankind. It boils down to hate for Transformers and their annexation of Earth. If this is true, it will be interesting to see how Baron Karza and the Dire Wraiths will fit, considering they aren’t human either.
Written by Windblade and Till All Are One scribe Mairghread Scott and accompanied by David Rodriguez, the story unfolds with a steady, readable pace, which one often finds lacking in many “crisis” or crossover situations. If you have been reading Marvel’s Secret Empire, it’s been a jumble of stories spliced into quick-hit scenes. I stopped reading after issue #7, and that was after I realized I forgot about #6. Max Dunbar and Ander Zarate round out the art and colors. I’ll be honest, out of the ten covers produced, I liked the “C” cover by Alex Ronald the best.
Solid kick off issue, looking forward to the next one and the tie-ins featuring the individual series.
