What a ride this has been! The previous issue gave us a glimpse into starscream’s Origins and this issue takes us back crashing to Earth. As Starscream wakes up to find himself in a serious predicament. if you recall, Soundwave had beaten him soundly (HA HA pun intended), Leaving the mangled corpse of Starscream to rust. However, a scout group of Cobra soldiers discover the fun former Decepticon leader in the opening pages, and spoiled by the B variant cover, he is fused to a HISS Tank. Pretty clever if you ask me. The humans he encounters seem amicable to an alliance, however one seems to have his own personal goals in mind.
We flash back briefly as Megatron, literally, in the palm of Starscream’s hand, commands him to carry out his orders, obliterating Autobots and anyone who stands in the way of the Decepticon cause. This runs parallel as Starscream makes no hesitation to use anyone in anything to his advantage. As evidenced by the rescue of Astrotrain, followed by a welcome unexpected rescue of the Decepticon Combaticon unit, Starscream is clever enough to put his plans in place to retake his role as leader.
This is a pretty clever nod to the original Generation 1 cartoon, the episode titled “Starscream’s Brigade.” In the cartoon, once again Megatron banishes Starscream for his insolence to an asteroid in space. However, a trip from Earth to Cybertron allows him to take the personality components for the Combaticons and implant them in Old World War II vehicles on earth. These vehicles are instantly upgraded by Cybertronian technology, And Starscream has his own battalion to square off against both Autobots and Decepticons.
As the issue reaches its conclusion it is clear Starscream has completely manipulated the Cobra soldiers who rescued him, eliminating their failsafe, allowing one to survive as his personal sketch artist. I enjoy these panels as it evokes Starscream’s true nature of seeing himself as only a ruler should. Having the Cobra sketch artist in his employ adds to his self perceived majesty.
Starscream and Astrotrain see the crashed wreckage of Cybertron and immediately plot its course. Tension is high, and anticipation has definitely escalated. If this is any indication the next issue will certainly usher in a major conflict.
