As the rust settles from the latest skirmish between Autobots and Decepticons. Both sides regroup while re-evaluating strategies and long-term goals. After both sides suffered a number of casualties, there seems to be a feeling of unsettled calm which affects each faction differently.
The issue opens with what appears to be a present or very recent battle on the Transformers’ homeworld of Cybertron, where Captain Elita-1 and a group of Autobots are on a rescue mission which unfortunately seems to go very badly. A number of beloved Autobots are killed while we can only read with empathy the horror Elita encounters the target, found in a terrible, terrible state.
On earth, the Autobots try to come to terms with the reality of their situation. There’s wreckage, death, regret, and loss. Efforts to re-establish power to the Ark is thwarted by the Decepticon Skywarp, whom one might have forgotten was mercilessly embedded into the mainframe of Teletran-1, and who is very much alive and continues to mock Wheeljack’s efforts. Arcee and the human Carly befriend each other in the best way possible, shooting things.
The real emotional tear-jerker is when Optimus Prime attempts to console Spike about the loss of his father, but is brushed off. This takes place in just a few panels, but damn, this feels so impactful.
On the Decepticon side, things are far worse. As an invested reader, I can only sit back and smirk as Starscream continues to mentally unravel, while the rest of the Decepticons directly question his motives and inevitably, fitness to be a position of leadership. The famous phrase “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” comes into play as the Decepticons corner the unhinged aerial assassin, with Soundwave, a fan favorite challenging for leadership.
Spoiler Alert incoming!!!
Soundwave hands Starscream his shiny metal tuchas and squashes him in a fashion comparable to Samoa Joe making short work of Jon Cruz. Big crowd pop right there. The arrogant heel finally gets the bolts beaten out of him, and we’ve got ourselves a new Decepticon Cham… Leader. I meant leader.
The storytelling here continues to be phenomenal. While Daniel Warren Johnson continues to write the story, the artwork by Mike Spicer and newcomer to the series Jorge Corona seamlessly flow the story like an episode of the Generation One cartoon. The artwork and coloring convey emotions in a similar fashion to the styles of Bob Budiansky, Nel Yomtov, Andrew Wildman, Geoff Senior, Guido Guidi, Alex Milne, Priscilla Tramontano, and Sara Pitre-Durocher.
The story is enjoyable and I firmly believe it possesses the “it factor” to make this a long-running series. We’ve barely scratched the surface of characters available, and it truly feels like the story is just beginning.
Oh, one more thing. DWJ teasing with a reference to Katsuyori Shibata in the letters page? What’s next? Minoru Suzuki making a cameo?
Yes, please!
