IDW Transformers Comics reviews

[Cyberstrike]

This review is for The Transformers vol. 1: For All Mankind TPB that collects The Transformers (ongoing) #1-6 and as a bounus I'm including a review of The Transformers Spotlight: Prowl #1 that is not in this TPB.

Transformers Spotlight: Prowl #1 focuses on the classic Autobot. Set roughly 2 years after the events of All Hail Megatron, the story shows that Prowl is starting to realize that logic can't solve everything and shows him undercover as a cop car but when a building is about to collapse on a human Prowl jumps to save them against any logical reason. The art by EJ Su is OK but fans of earlier work might be disappointed by it. The story by Mike Costa is a great character driven story and shows that there is more to Prowl and explains some of his action in Ongoing.


Transformers: For All Mankind is the TPB name for Ongoing #1-6.

Set roughly about 3 years after the events of All Hail Megatron shows the Autobots wondering why they're still on Earth. Hot Rod begins to challenge Optimus Prime and becomes the voice a growing number of Autobots who want to leave. But when the Stunticons attack a plant and Breakdown is captured by a Skywatch unit led by Spike Witwicky and when Prowl is captured trying to help free Breakdown Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to free Prowl and during the escape Ironhide is killed (but he gets better) and Optimus Prime feeling guilt over the death of his friend and feeling that he can no longer lead the Autobots, resigns without picking a successor and then surrenders to Skywatch.

Hot Rod and a group of Autobots try to find a way off Earth and after Omega Supreme says no, they are attack by a group of Decepticons consisting of Swindle, Thundercracker, Motormaster, Dragstrip, Dead End, Wild Rider, and Scrapper. During the battle Swindle and Hot Rod face off and realize why are they fighting? The war is over. Realizing this the two teams work together to build a space ship to get off the planet and Swindle tells Hot Rod that he should call himself Rodimus Prime.

Meanwhile the other Autobots elect Bumblebee as the new leader of the Autobots, much to Bumblebee's dismay (this is story is told in Transformers: Bumblebee 4 issue mini-series).

Thundercracker reminisces how he survived the ending of All Hail Megatron and his growing respect for organic and human life.

Optimus Prime and Spike Witwicky talk about the burdens of leadership especially through a time of change.

Ultra Magnus arrives to investigate Ironhide's "death" and learns that Swindle is on Earth (this is a continuation of the events in Transformers Spotlight: Ultra Magnus #1) and goes off to arrest Swindle and learns that Rodimus Prime and Prowl are working with them. Rodimus tells Magnus that the war is over and the factions are a thing of the past and leaves but tells Rodimus that he will be back.

Realizing that they could get more done if they had more help Swindle suggests to Rodimus that they recruit one more of the Contruticons, Rodimus doesn't think that would be a good idea due to memories of the Autobots fighting Devastator and his trashing NYC, Swindle then suggests freeing Breakdown. Rodimus agrees and Motormaster, Dragstrip, Wild Rider, and Dead End go to rescue Breakdown who is currently the personal transportation of Spike. The Stunticons rescue Breakdown and Spike escapes and returns to the Skywatch base. Where they learn the location of Rodimus and Swindle's base, but realizing that they lack the firepower to take this many Transformers, Spike goes to talk to Optimus Prime.
Ultra Magnus returns to Bumblebee's base and demands that Bumblebee's team help him arrest Swindle and Rodimus. Bumblebee agrees and his team races back to Swindle and Rodimus base, where Rodimus tries once again to tell them that the war is over and that living with the humans is impossible. Swindle betrays Rodimus and reveals his newest creation: Mensor and orders Mensor to destroy the Autobots.

All the Autobots on both teams try to take down Mensor but with little effect, when Optimus Prime and Skywatch joins the fray does Mensor finally goes down and is captured.

Optimus Prime refuses to retake command and Bumblebee is now the undisputed leader. Spike makes Bumblebee a deal for the Autobots to join forces with Skywatch to hunt the remaining Decepticons on Earth and Bumblebee accepts. And a disheartened Rodimus steals Ultra Magnus' spaceship to finally escape Earth.


The art by Don Figueroa is good but some of his new designs suck (like Hot Rod/Rodimus and Thundercracker) and some are great (like Jetfire, Mensor, and Omega Supreme) the biggest compliant with fans are his faces especially for the Autobots and I agree. But I must say that his attempt to mix the orginal G1 designs, with the newer Classic/Universe/Generations designs and the Live Action Movies designs is a nice try but overall it's a mixed bag abut IMHO the series would be better without it.

The story by Mike Costa stats off slow but builds to exciting, action packed, and rewarding climax. I like that just when you think Costa is going with the tradional pick new leader for the Autobots (Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime) he instead gives the job to Bumblebee. Costa also makes what could be read as a statement on the USA's Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by having Hot Rod stating "The war is over so why are we still here?" I must also say that the Witwicky's finally makes sense in a Transformers universe. I like that Spike is a conflicted and has to deal with his father who is also his superior officer and deal with Optimus Prime who just wants to be punished.

Final Thoughts: Finally a new and different direction that actually feels new and different. While some of the new designs take some time to get used to, but if you can survive that and go into this series with an open mind then do yourself a favor and check it out. I give it a 4 out 5.

[Cyberstrike]

This review is of The Transformers vol. 2: International Incident TPB which collects The Transformers (ongoing) #7-12

The second arc in IDW's ongoing Transformers series starts out with a stand alone issue narrated by Megatron explaining what is happening to the Decepticons that escaped Earth at the end of All Hail Megatron now under the command of Starscream (who also has possession of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership) and it's not pretty. Stranded on an asteroid and with Energon so low that some the Decepticons have become cannibals and we're not just talking about the Decepticons that have animals or monster alt modes, Needlenose (a jet) is seen eating Dreadwing while the Predacon leader Razorclaw watches all of this. While Starscream is furious with his second-in-command Bombshell at this. Soundwave and the cassasetts are busy repairing and guarding Megatron. While Shockwave is doing his own experiments.

The next issue is another stand-alone story about Spike Whitwicky and we learn that he does not trust machines and we see him trying to sell his plan about the alliance with the Autobots to his father and The Joint Chiefs of the Pentagon all of whom reluctantly agree but feel that this is a dangerous plan. General Witwicky is also concerned about the Autobots discovering a secret operation (or project) that Spike is or was part of and Spike reassures him that all that data has been deleted from the computers. Spike also discovers the whereabouts of Scrapper and against orders and Skywatch protocol engages him in one-on-one combat with only basic equipment and once Spike has crippled him, Scrapper surrenders and Spike shoots him point blank in the head with a laser cannon and kills him.
Spike justifies his actions to himself that by killing Scrapper he also kills Devastator as well.

The next four issues are the title storyline. North Korea invades South Korea with the aid of Onslaught, Brawl, and Vortex! Once this becomes news to rest of the world the President declares that any nation working with any Cybertronians will be considered a rouge nation using WMDs, unknown to the President that Skywatch has allied with the Autobots! Spike orders that mission be done in disguise. Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Smokescreen, Wheeljack, and Ratchet along with Spike and some other Skywatch soldiers head to North Korea, while Cosmos changes the orbit of satitles so that no one can see what is happening. During the battle the Autobots stay in vehicle mode and the Combaticons kick their asses. Vortex even cuts Jetfire's wings off. So the Autobots ask for some back-up. Bumblebee talks Thundercracker in helping the Autobots and Skywatch out.
The second fight between Prime's team and the Combaticons lands them on the Chinese border where they find out the the Predacons (minus Razorclaw who is back on the asteroid) are now working for the Chinese government much like the Combaticons are working for the North Korean government. Rampage tells the Autobots, Skywatch, and the Combaticons to keep their fight out of China and when Onslaught shoots Rampage in the back and then it's all-out free for all. Back at the Skywatch base in the US Spike's second-in-command gets so frustrated by all this craziness that she turns off the jamming signal and the whole world sees the fight and learns the truth about the Autobot and Skywatch alliance.

Thundercracker destroys the Korean and Chinese engeron plants and this ends the Predacons and Combaticons roles as mercs for human governments.

Back in the US with a growing number of protesters outside the Skywatch base, Skywatch leaders along with Bumblebee, Bluestreak, and Brawn decide to hold a press conference to show that the Autobots mean no harm to the human race. A man pulls out a gun and shoots Bumblebee and mortally injures him!


The story is one of the most interesting takes on the Transformers ever.

The art is very good but artists EJ Su and Guido don't use the Figueroa redesigns and this makes the series look disjointed to say the least. It would be like Spider-Man changing his costume in a six issue arc for no reason in the storyline. I also wish that some of the Skywatch personnel looked different from Spike or had more characterization because they tend to blur together and are forgettable.

While the art is all over over the place, it's still a damn good story I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Cyberstrike]

This is a review of The Transformers vol. 3: The Revenge of the Decepticons TPB which collects The Transformers (ongoing) #13-18.

The Highlights/Spoilers:


Rodimus takes the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from Starscream and then Megatron blasts Rodimus and the Matrix into space.

Megatron has an AWESOME all new body and I would love to see that design get turned into a toy.

Bumblebee is badly wounded by a human assassin with a gun based on Megatron's old body.

Starscream tries to make an offer for Thundercracker to rejoin the Decepticons and when he refuses Starscream nearly kills him.

Brawn beats up Starscream and could take him prisoner but has to help Thundercracker.

Optimus Prime shoots Soundwave in the head.

Jazz kills a human cop.

Optimus Prime gets mad and challenges Megatron to a one-on-one fight but he has ordered Jetfire to drop a Skywatch satellite on the Decepticons in an attempt to kill Megatron. Megatron takes a wounded Optimus Prime back to Omega Supreme (who is currently the base for the Autobots and Skywatch) and he surrenders.

Later in custody Megatron tells Optimus Prime that Spike Whitwicky has executed Scrapper in cold blood and while Optimus tells Megatron that he doesn't believe him, Prime none the less orders Prowl to secretly investigate this.


Overall: The story of Megatron's revival and his plan to get revenge on Earth is a bit of a stretch and while some might think it's a retcon I don't think it is a retcon but it's not one of Megatron's better revenge plans and this is probably the weakest part of the story. I do love seeing some of the second-string characters like Brawn and Thundercracker get some screen time.

Optimus Prime finally losing his temper and becoming a badass is always great because it's side of him we don't usually get to see much of in any media (especially the G1 Optimus Prime). Optimus Prime shooting Soundwave in the head* and Jazz killing a cop at the end of the same issue was a truly shocking ending. While some fans say this ruins Jazz's character and/or was out of character for him, given that his character is a special operations agent and the situation he was in his actions are completely understandable but I wouldn't say that they were justifiable.

*And according to Shockwave, Soundwave was in stasis-lock and could be repaired but that was before Optimus Prime ordered Jetfire to drop a satelite on the Decepticons.

The art is a mixed bag #13 was drawn by Nick Roche who continues to be my least favorite IDW artist and Don Figueroa shows he can't draw humans worth a damn and seems to have to trouble with some of his own redesigns. While Alex Milne is best artist of this bunch he makes Figueroa's redesigns work better than Figueroa does and he can draw humans as well.

Final Thoughts: A fairly good story even with a weak revenge plot but it does have great character moments and it does explain some things like what happened to all of the Ore-13 the Decepticons had and it lays some of the groundwork for the upcoming Chaos storyline/event with some OK art at the start and some great art at the end. I give it a 4 out 5.

[Cyberstrike]

I finally got to read Transformers: Ironhide and it is by far the strangest Transformers comic book series I ever read.

Ironhide "died" in the first issue of the ongoing series and suddenly he wakes up on a dead Cybertron (the home world of the Transformers) with no memories of the past 4 million years, the last thing he remembers is saving Optimus Prime's life from a Decepticon assassination attempt. As Ironhide wonders around Cybertron he remembers his days as a security guard for the race track and then he meets the Swarm, mutated Insecticons monsters that live on Cybertron. After he defeats some of them he meets a drone with a limited vocabulary that takes him to Metroplex and inside Metroplex he meets Alpha Trion an ancient Autobot who can control other Transformers with mind if they touch him.

Alpha Trion (or A3 for short) explains that he rebuilt Ironhide and his memories are from an older archive and that he has reasons for doing this. Namely because for Cybertron to be restored the Swarm has to be destroyed and Ironhide being one of the strongest and toughest Autobots around he gets the job.

Ironhide notices an Autobot signal and leaves to find out who or what it is, much to A3's chagrin. Ironhide fights through the Swarm and finds that the signal is none other than beaten up remains of Sunstreaker (who "died" in All Hail Megatron) Ironhide returns with what is left of Sunstreaker, who is talking about the events of All Hail Megatron and Ironhide doesn't know what Sunstreaker is talking about, to A3 who makes some repairs on him (except his leg) and then Ironhide goes out to fight the Swarm.

After blowing up a ton of the Swarm (and destroying Kup's wrecked spaceship from All Hail Megatron) and when Ironhide is about to be get killed by the Swarm Metroplex transformers into robot mode and squashes them and when Ironhide asks why A3 didn't have Metroplex destroy the Swarm he explains that Metroplex couldn't because of his size and eventually the Swarm would get inside of the giant Autobot city and destroy him. A3 then annoucnes that he is leaving Cybertron and tells Ironhide that he must stay behind and destroy the rest of the Swarm and then Sunstreaker says he will stay behind even though he has only one leg and is confined to the Transformers version of a wheelchair to try and make amends for his actions that nearly cost the Autobots the war. A3 leaves them energy and leaves inside Metroplex. Sunstreaker asks if it's true that he doesn't remember anything for the past 4 million years and Ironhide says that they have a lot of work to do and then finds a piece of debris and sits on it.

This is a weird story. I like how Alpha Trion is portrayed in this series as a mystery and not as an absent minded old bot who created Optimus Prime and Elita 1 from the cartoon show. Ironhide comes off as a bit slow to grasp things and Sunstreaker comes off as a whiner.
The art by Casey Collier is great he does a great job. I wish IDW would use him more.

This story is OK, but I wonder when and if Costa will do anything with it, I mean it's a great set up but asks more questions than it really answers.

I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5.

[Cyberstrike]

I just finished The Transformers: The Last Stand of the Wreckers a 5 issue mini-series that chronicles the Wreckers, an elite Autobot commando strike (the Autobots' version of the Navy SEALS and Delta Force) team consisting of Springer, Kup, Preceptor, Topspin, Twintwist, Pyro, Ironfist, Rotostorm, Guzzle, Impactor, and Verity Carlo (an EXTREMELY annoying human girl that no one can write well) and last mission to get records out of computer on the Autobots' Prison Planet Garrus-9, so that they can't be used as propaganda against them and only to learn that Overlord, one of Megatron's Phase-sixers (a Decepticon WMD), who left the Decepticons and has taken over the planet in order to have control of a battleground when he thinks that Megatron will find and fight him.
Apparently Overlord doesn't know how to use a radio to learn that Megatron is offline.

This series tries to make The Transformers more mature by showing that some of the Autobots aren't much better than the Decepticons in flashback Impactor kills several unarmed and bound Decepticon prisoners. Springer and Twintwsist both get brutally tortured by one of Overlord's minions. The violence is also some the most savage and intense in a Transformers since Marvel's Transformers: Generation 2 series that would be nicer if artist Nick Roche could draw actually draw fight scene that made sense. This series tries to make some good points ("War sucks and is stupid and pointless" "Life goes on", etc.) but feels a bit preachy and is about subtle as a chainsaw saw through a pane of glass, and it feels more cliched than relevant.

The story is more enjoyable if you know a lot of The Wreckers' past incarnations in the Marvel UK series and various convention comics, and that is where the series falls flat there are plenty of nice homages, in-jokes, and references but at the same time, a reader who doesn't know much about the Wreckers and a new reader might find it confusing and downright annoying and it can come off as a glorified fanfic. I will say that I find the character Verity extremely annoying (no matter who writes her) out of all the characters that died, why she couldn't be killed is beyond me, hell WTF she's even in this series is a bigger mystery! She doesn't do anything to help. Don't expect all the Wreckers to survive this is their LAST stand after all.

The art by co-writer Nick Roche, takes a bit of getting used too (Roche is by far my least favorite IDW Transformers artist) he does a good job at dialogue scenes and he does get better with the fights at end but is art at times seems too goofy looking for this series.

Overall: If you're like me a huge Transfan then this is a good or great series, if your a casual Transfan then you should check it out first before buying. A lot of die hard Transfans say this is the greatest Transformers series IDW has published, I respectfully disagree it's a a series that the creators wanted to be great, but lacks that final thing needed to be great. I think it's still a very good series, but it's not a great series. I give it a 3.5 out 5.

[Cyberstrike]

The Transformers: Heart of Darkness is a four issue mini-series written by Dan Abnet and Andy Lanning (aka DnA) with art by Ulises Farinas.

I honestly didn't think any series would be as bad as The Transformers: Revelation, The Transformers: Maximum Dinobot, and Dragon Age vol. 1 I was wrong because this series, in one word: SUCKS and it sucks in every possible way.

The story (as it is) follows Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps investigating the disappearance of all life on Golan Prime they find only Jhiaxus who Galvatron revives with the power of the Heart of Darkness and they find another portal to the Dead Universe, (the liquid metal lake is gone) than they are later attacked by Arcee and Hardhead. The fight injuries Galvatron who touches the portal and takes a bad acid trip through the Dead Universe and learns that an Unicorn wanna be called the D-Void as destroyed all life on Golan Prime and wants to eat all the Transformers. The Heart of Darkness restores Galvatron and he turns the tide of the battle and they beat up Hardhead as Arcee flees she is shot off a bridge by Cyclonus and Scourge. Galvatron uses the Heart of Darkness to see how Hardhead and Arcee survived the D-Void. He learns that somehow Hardhead was immune to the call of the D-Void who called all of the inhabits of Golan Prime and Arcee into the liquid metal lake portal Hardhead saves Arcee and every inhabit of Golan Prime enters the lake and they are ate by the D-Void.

Galvatron lets Hardhead live and he sets out to gather a huge army to fight the D-Void. Arcee survives the explosion on the bridge and vows to find a way to get the Autobot to stop Galvatron because she thinks he's insane (oh the irony).

Galvatron then heads to the planet Spindrift where he finds the ancient Headmaster Thinkbox inside the wooden flying ship crewed by lobster men and he finds more deactivated Transformers and he uses the Heart of Darkness to revive them he then takes his army back Golan Prime where his old boss Nemesis Prime has returned from the Dead Universe brought back by the D-Void.

Galvatron and company fight the D-Void/Nemesis Prime who grows into an over-sized monster and they ultimately defeat him. Galvatron then takes his army to Cybertron because he knows that the D-Void is still coming and that Cybertron will be it's first target.

Realizing that he needs more help Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge then head to Earth to recruit Optimus Prime and the Autobots. And of course Prime says no (this explained in the first Infestation crossover/event).

Rodimus and Wheelie then land on the planet and are attacked by a Sweep and then they see Galvatron and they flee back into space and Galvatron declares that Cybertron is now his planet.

The pros: it's only 4 issues long.

The cons: everything else. The story is horrible and jumps all over the place and fucks up the continuity wasn't Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Jhiaxus, Arcee, and Hardhead in the Dead Universe and where did Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps, go after the events of All Hail Megatron) and didn't Scoropok create the Headmasters?

The stupid tie-in into Infestation crossover/event feels ham-fisted and a waste of time. And the D-Void? Why didn't they just use Unicorn is a bigger mystery.

But what really pisses me off is that I read other works by DnA and most of the work are much better than piece of shit this feels like it was written by a very bad Grant Morrison wanna be.

Now the story might have been salvaged if the artwork had been good. And at first glance it looks good. but other than the artwork to the cover of #1, artist Ulises Farinas who relies way too much on splash and double splash pages and he drawings of Galvatron gets worse as the series progresses.

Final thought: If you haven't read it yet, then do yourself a huge favor: DON'T. This series is about as bad as comics can be. 0 out 5.

[Cyberstrike]

The story starts out with Rodimus floating in space and he crashes lands on a planet and found by two rather dumb aliens who take him to their captain. The aliens crashed landed on this planet and are trying to find a power source to fuel their spaceship they want to use the Matrix which is currently fused to Rodimus' chest. Rodimus escapes and the aliens chase him into a cave where giant alien animal lives the aliens flee and the animal is about to eat Rodimus when he is saved by none other than Wheelie!

Back at the ship the captain berates his crew members and threatens to sell them into slavery if they don't find Rodimus.

Rodimus asks Wheelie to help him to escape but instead Wheelie goes into a trance. Rodimus then sets a trap for the alien crew members. He captures one of them and convinces him to doublecross the captain and the others. Wheelie comes out of his trance and helps to. The three trick the captian and his henchmen to alien animal's cave while they take the alien ship. Rodimus uses the Matrix to power the ship and his knocked out by it. Rodimus awakens in time to learn that Wheelie sets a course for Cybertron and they are already there.

They land on Cybertron and are met by Ironhide, Sunstreaker, and their pet swarm creature named Bob. Ironhide and Sunstreaker tell Rodimus and Wheelie that they have to leave Cybertron because Galvatron and his army are on the planet. Rodimus decides to a little recon with Wheelie and they spot Galvatron and they are attacked by a Sweep. They return to their ship and use the engery source that Alpha Trion gave Ironhide to power the ship and head back to Earth.

Back on Earth Rodimus gives the Matrix back to Optimus Prime and tells him that Galvatron is back on Cybertron.

Optimus Prime takes most of the Autobots, Megatron, and the guns of made of his old body in Omega Supreme's rocket mode back to Cybertron. Bumblebee feels that Optimus should have asked him first because he is the leader of the Autobots.

Optimus tells Bumblebee that this is personal he would do it whether Bumblebee liked it or not. Optimus also tells him that he asked Prowl to investigate Spike and recommends that Bumblebee and small detachment of Autobots stay on Earth.

Bumblebee, Jazz, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, and Streetwise all stay on Earth and they deputize Pennington a member of Skywatch who got injured in the line of duty and is in a wheelchair to help them investigate Spike.

On the trip back to Cybertron the Autobots leaders meet up with their legal counsel to decide on what to with Megatron. Optimus is talked into talking with Megatron to learn why he surrendered to him and the Autobots back on Earth.

Optimus Prime shuts all outside communication outside of the holding room and frees Megatron and the two sit down talk.

In course of their dialogue we learn that Megatron was not only an Energon miner he was a politcal activist who believed in non-violence. But when he's talking to his friend Impactor about his beliefs Rung, a small Transformer, is beaten up by some cops and Impactor gets into a fight and both of them get arrested. While in custody Megatron is beaten savagely by Whirl. When the new squad commander Orion Pax finds out what Whirl did he frees Megatron and arrests Whirl. He tells Megatron that he actually agrees with him on a lot of his political beliefs. Once free Megatron throws the datepad with beliefs into a sign.

After arresting Whirl, Springarm and his partner finish their patrol and find that Pax has already caught a number of lawbreakers. Springarm asks Pax if he believes in Primus and Pax says he doesn't. Springarm tells him that he should go to a service with him sometime. Pax tells him that he will think about it.

Later group of bots representing memebers of the corrupt Cybertronian Senate comes to Pax and they demand that he releases Whirl. Pax says no and a fight breaks out. The assassins free Whirl and Pax shoots his leg off. They chase Pax into a trophy room where he finds the body of Springarm. Pax feels that Springarm's transformation cog is still warm and transforms his body into it's alt mode (a Cybertronian motorcycle) and uses it to escape and defeat the assassins.

Pax tracks down Whirl who tells him that the Senate will destroy him and there is nothing he can do. Pax takes Whirl to a meeting of the Senate and makes his way into the Senate chambers where Pax states that he is Autobot free to choose his own path and before he's escorted from the Senate chambers he askes them 3 questions that Megatron wrote down on his datapad:
1) Who do represent?
2) Are you answerable to those you represent?
3) How do we get rid of you?

Back in the present day: Optimus Prime asks Megatron how he would lead if he was able to defeat the Autobots. Megatron states he would create a basically a society where the Decepticons would want for nothing, the freedom to chose their functions, and that he would give them peace, happiness, and security. Optimus Prime says he agrees with that but doesn't think that those are things that can be given. Optimus then tells Megatron that if he wants to he's willing to forgive him and they could end the war right there. Megatron says no because his hatred of the Autobots is too great and he would rather die first and he still won't tell Optimus why he surrendered to him. Megatron also tells Optimus that he is as guilty of multiple genocides because of his need to be the hero and that Optimus would never sign his death warrant. This enrages Prime he tortures Megatron. Later Optimus Prime is ashamed of what he did.

The Autobot leadership decides on what to with Megatron should they hand him over to the interglactic counsol, but they would want a recommendation too his punishment should he found guilty. Optimus doesn't know what to do. Ratchet suggests that he use the Matrix and he tells Ratchet that doing that hurts. He later asks Rodimus what it was like when he first used the Matrix and Rodimus tells him it was one of the best sensations of his life. Optimus finally decides that if he is too live up to his personal motto that freedom is the right of all sentinat beings so he asks Megatron to choose his recommended punishment life in prison or death, and Megatron says death.

In a final flashback Orion Pax has been freed by a senator who tells him that a faction in the Senate wants to use the Matrix for it's own ends and that when the times comes he be needed he is also re-named Optimus Prime and that he has been rebulit to hold the Matrix.

The Transformers: Chaos Theory is by far the best storyline out of IDW's first Transformers ongoing series! In particualar #22 and #23 give Optimus Prime and Megatron more depth and complexity in 2 issues than I ever seen in any media in the franchise's history!

The story by Mike Costa and James Roberts and the art by Guidi and Milne are all spectacular. This is a prime (pun intended) example of how great all comics should be. I give it a 5 out of 5.

[Cyberstrike]

The Transformers #24-31 is the Chaos arc which is actually 2 arcs in one Chaos and Police Action. I'm going to start with the main arc Chaos which is set on Cybertron where Optimus Prime and the Autobots fight Galvatron's army and the D-Void. Cyclonus and the Sweeps capture an Autobot space station called Kimia some of the crew escape. As that happens Optimus Prime and company land on Cybertron in Omega Supreme's rocket mode, and meet with Galvatron, who tells Optimus that they must join forces, of course Optimus refuses and all hell breaks lose. Galvatron orders the Kimia to be transformed into it's alt-mode a giant space cannon and he fires it on Cybertron. Optimus orders Silverbolt and the Aerialbots to attack it, Rodimus and Trailbreaker go with them, but they are unable to it from firing again Trailbreaker tries to stop the cannon by using his force field and it doesn't work and he's knocked out by the backlash. The cannon is destroyed by Lightspeed and Nosecone two of the Technobots who stationed on it before Cyclonus took it over as Rodimus Prime in Omega Supreme's rocket mode crashes into it. Rodimus lands back on Cybertron, and regroups with Optimus, Ironhide, and Drift who are following Galvatron down the crater to Cybertron's core.

Back on the surface Megatron escaped using guns made from his old body that the Autobots took off of humans and he also uses it to makes a new super-armor for him (I WANT THAT AS A TOY!) and starts attacking the Sweeps and while the Autobots think this two-for-one deal (Megatron takes care of the Sweeps and he would be so exhausted that he will be taken care of) when suddenly the Decepticons that were on Earth where Optimus dropped a satellite on them appear and it's quickly explained that they must have used a Space Bridge built inside Megatron's new body to get to Cybertron. The Constructicons form Devastator even though Scarper is dead, when Devastator is formed his leg doesn't work all that well because Scrapper is dead.

Sunstreaker has explosives strapped to his hover chair and confronts Devastator and as Devastator is about to crush Sunstreaker he jumps out of the chair and transforms and the chair explodes defeating Devastator.

As Optimus, Rodimus, Ironhide, and Drift near the planet's core they realize that the Heart of the Darkness that Galvatron thinks will save the universe from D-Void is in fact D-Void and is using Galvatron to create a portal to bring it into the universe! Then something happens to all the Sweeps and the Decepticons (except for Megatron) they start talking in Binary then merge into a giant monster! Drift, a former Decepticon, stabs himself to stop from hurting Optimus, Rodimus, and Ironhide and becoming part of the monster. Rodimus believes that Drift can be saved and Optimus agrees and orders Ironhide to take him back to the surface.
Optimus Prime tells Megatron that he once said he would die to save Cybertron and it's time for him to back up his words with action.

The crew of Kimia are rescued by Arcee and Hardhead who explain what is going on to them. They then take their ship to Cybertron.

Optimus and Rodimus confront Galvatron but he's already unleashed the Heart of Darkness into Vector Sigma, the core of Cybertron. Then Galvatron beats up Rodimus and Optimus. Arcee and Hardhead crash their ship on Galvatron, but recovers and beats them up as well. Only Optimus is left to face him and he's in bad shape Galvatron, who believes that he has won and starts gloating to Optimus when Cyclonus attacks him! Cyclonus tells him that he never followed him and he was controlled by Galvatron, who quickly shoots him.

Meanwhile on the surface Megatron is beating the D-Void monster and getting beaten up as well in a last act of defiance he unleashes the full fury of power on the monster by shooting it's head off. Galvatron feels the pain and realizes at last he's been played as a sucker, as the D-Void is about to enter the universe. Optimus Prime uses the full power of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and finds himself transported to desolate world with only the shell of the Matrix.

In an epilogue set millions of years into the future. A trio of young Autobots are wanting Alpha Trion (who looks remarkable well for the oldest Transformer in the universe) to tell them a story of the old days. The trio can't agree on the kind of story they want to hear, then Ironhide appears and Alpha Trion tells the trio to go home and watch the media-tron because it's a Holiday. Ironhide is invited to speak to a new generation of Transformers who apparently have created a galactic utopia after his speech Ironhide and Alpha Trion talk and Ironhide says that he feels he shouldn't be honored because he didn't help to create the paradise all he did was punch things. Alpha Trion tells him that by honoring him the new generation remembers the past and learns from it. One of the trio asks Ironhide if Megatron would return he would stop him, and asks him to tell the story of Megatron's final battle.


The second arc called Police Action is set on Earth where Prowl, Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Jazz, and Streetwise try to figure out what is going on with Spike Whitwicky and Skywatch. As Prowl spies on Spike he is attacked by Breakdown a Decepticon that Spike captured and used as a car, Streetwise smashes Breakdown and is ordered back into car mode. As Prowl and Streetwise argues Breakdown escapes. Back at Omega Supreme's base mode (Omega Supreme has both a rocket mode and a base mode he can separate and be in two places at once) Ultra Magnus gives them both a stern lecture. Prowl continues his investigation at the site where Scrapper was killed now an office building. As Prowl finds some evidence he is attacked by an assassin who drops the building on him. Streetwise saves Prowl who scans where the assassin is and Streetwise takes off after him only to learn it's Brawl, one of the Combaticons. Streetwise literal runs circles around him as Prowl shoots him and Streetwise puts an inhbertor disc on him. They drag Brawl back to base and question him during which Brawl shorts out and goes into statis-lock (basically a Transformer version of a coma). Pennington one of the members of Skywatch who has agreed to help the Autobots finds the woman who betrayed them and Prowl brings back to base where she explains that Spike think of himself as an action hero and has a giant ego. Spike sees her in base and he confesses to Prowl that he killed Scrapper, as a safety precaution to stop Devestator from being reformed, but Prowl doesn't buy it.

Skywatch and the Autobots have another problem: Ben Simpson, the leader of a group called The Children of the Earth and they believe that he and his group have been selling the Megatron guns. They raid his house and Simpson is killed by Skywatch they learn that he is facmile (a clone created by the Decepticons to sow chaos in the world) and the Autobots trace the signal that controlled him to Swindle and Ultra Magnus blows Swindle's arm off and drags him back to base where Swindle tells the Autobots that he was selling Cybertronian tech to a certian human before they form the alliance with Skywatch and that the human is Spike! Spike has fled taking as much of the technology with him. Jazz and Pennington head back to Skywatch's old base. Once there Jazz confonts the Joint Chiefs and tells them what Spike has been up to and the alliance is over. Jazz then destroys all the remaining Cybertronian technology and wipes the hard drives cleans and says goodbye to Pennington.

While Chaos is the better of two arcs due to it's better pace and spectular artwork. The epilogue is only the problem first off the issue comes off as a senceless recap of earlier storylines and I'm not a big fan of knowing what the future holds even if it's 15 mlillion years from now. I give Chaos a 4.5 out of 5.

Police Action starts off good but is quickly rushed and it's ending is really weak, Spike's actions are never properly explained. Prowl comes off as a bad Rorachasrh wanna-be. The artwork is good but nothing special. I give it a 3 out of 5.

[Cyberstrike]

This is the review for The Transformers: Autocracy originally a 12-issue digital maxi-series written by Flint Dille and Chris Metzen and is digitally painted by Livio Ramondrelli and has been collected in print as a TPB for $19.99 (USA). Since I don't have a device other than my PC to read digital comics on so this review will be based on the TPB version.

Set after events of Chaos Theory and Megatron: Origin this story picks up with Zeta Prime and what's left of the Cybertronian Senate deciding what to do about the Decepticons, Zeta wants to use some kind of vampiric engeron device on the City-States that the Decepticons already control and/or are friendly to them. This device will suck the Energon out of all of the Cybertronians regardless of their loyalties this is something Zeta Prime has no qualms about it thinking that sense the whole Senate is hated anyway it gets rid of the Decepticons and replenishes the supply of Engeron for the planet which is dangerously low. Now even Senator Starscream thinks this overkill (it's apparently been retconed the senate that Starscream killed Megatron: Origin was the Kaon's local senate and that nobody knew Starscream knew that Starscream he was a local senator, or that he helped to kill the entire Kaon Senate in Cybertorian Senate) and leaves the chambers to other matters and/or he also leaves too keep Swindle, who Zeta has turned into an informant from identifying him. Starscream also leaves in the chambers Soundwave disguised as a recorder, who has recorded the whole debate for propaganda. Soundwave of course escapes and Zeta Prime orders Orion Pax and his Autobot team to capture or kill Soundwave. As they chase Soundwave all over Cybertron Soundwave released various cassette Decepticons to help him get a way.

Pax and company chases him the Decepticon controlled City-State of Kaon where Megatron is. Pax enters the town and tries to talk Megatron in surrendering and Megatron tries to convince Pax of what Zeta has planned. Pax refuses to believe Megatron and the Autobots escape in Sky Lynx. Back at Autobot HQ Zeta Prime is not happy with Orion Pax and his team. Pax confronts Zeta with about his plan but Zeta doesn't care, he gives a Pax a mission to redeem himself to capture a mystery bomber in Nyon, a city-state whose inhabints are friendly to the Decepticons. There is also in the city an ancient Acroplex, where legends say was one the headquarters to the Knights of Cybertron before they left the planet.

While chasing the mystery bomber, who turns out to be Hot Rod, who was trying to get Energon for starving Cybertronians living Nyon and free some that prisons being used to power the Vampric Weapons. Zeta fires the Vampric weapon and starts making his way final push to purge the city with the Omega Destructors (black Omega Supremes). Hot Rod, Orion Pax, and the Autobots try to fight but theyre all captured by Zeta Prime's forces. Pax is about to be executed by Zeta Prime when he and the rest of the Autobots are saved by Megatron and the Decepticons.

Pax finally realizes that Zeta Prime and the Senate must be overthrown and the Autobot and Decepticons team up to battle Zeta Prime in Iacon. Pax and Megatron take the fight to Zeta personally and Pax gets badly injured in the fight and Megatron kills Zeta Prime, and just as you can guess Megatron then double-crosses and blasts Pax, sending crashing through the Tower of Iacon to ancient chamber far below the city. There Orion Pax finds the Matrix of Leadership and his reformatted into Optimus Prime, while Megatron offers amnesty for the Autobots that helped overthrow Zeta but they are all thrown in jail. While Megatron begins building his new Cybertron government. Hot Rod helps the Autobots escape and they go underground near what is left of Nyon and the old Acroplex. Optimus Prime makes his from the Matrix Chamber and regroups with the Autobots and reactivates the Acroplex who is actually Metroplex! Prime decides to try a new plan of attack he gathers all Cybertronians that don't believe in the Decepticon agenda and launches a peaceful march on Iacon. Megatron not wanting any dissants orders the Decepticons to attack and all Hell breaks lose.

The final battle of the story has Megatron ready to use the Vampric weapon against the Autobots and Optimus Prime and Hot Rod get into a fight with Megatron. Optimus Prime nearly beats him but just like in the animated movie Hot Rod sees Megatron going for a gun under some debris and ends up getting captured by Megatron, but unlike the 1986 movie Hot Rod transforms and is able to escape and Optimus Primes shoots him, but like always he escapes while the rest of the Decepticons retreat and Metroplex becomes the New Iacon.

After the battle Prowl discovers a cashe of Vampric weapons that Zeta Prime had stored. Optimus orders Prowl to destroy them but Prowl looks like he might not follow Optimus Prime's orders. Optimus Prime asks Hot Rod to join the Autobots and he accepts and makes a joke about being a Prime himself one day as the two of them watch a sunrise.

Notes and thoughts: This series starts off well but the second Zeta Prime is killed, it becomes your standard TF story. I will give it credit for trying but Megatron's turn against Optimus is hardly surprising. What is surprising is how evil Zeta Prime is (even if his design kind of sucks) he is actually more frighting and evil than Megatron usally is. There is also several continity errors in the book: Pax's name, Starscream being a senator, Soundwave talking like he did in the orginal cartoon show, and more. Some of references to the Knights of Cybertron and the Metrotitans for MTMTE and RID seem forced and don't make a lot sense.

Ramondelli's artwork, at least in print, is at times very hard to make out. His digital painted artwork is different from the rest of the IDW artists but it's style that takes some getting used to.

Final thoughts: If this was a reboot or the start of a new continuty that didn't tie to the IDW G1 TF Universe, it might actually be a better read, but the politics are as muddled as the continuty. Also the out-right rip off of the Optimus Prime/Megatron battle from TF:TM even with Hot Rod's escape comes as kind of stupid. Overall it's not a bad story per se, but it's a far cry from Chaos Theory. Hopefully it's sequal called Monsterity will be better and not end up as one. It's a nice time killer if anything else but not as deep or thought-provoking as the creators, IDW, and Hasbro had hoped for. I give it a 2.5 out 5.