Changes!
The bold new era for the Autobots and this book continues! Robert Kirkman, chief architect of the Energon Universe, writes the flagship Transformers title and Jason Howard takes over as regular penciler for this new story arc with Mike Spicer on colors. Howard had previously drawn issues # 13 and # 14 of this book, along with many covers.
In this thirty-third issue, Elita Prime and the Autobots on Cybertron regroup, while the Autobots on Earth adjust to their new status quo. Optimus in particular must get used to not being as powerful as he used to be when he had the Matrix. And aboard the Nemesis, something stirs…
Stirs?
Sure! The Nemesis is underwater, after all! This is mostly a setup issue establishing the current workings of the Autobots on both planets and the Decepticons on Earth. The Earthbound Autobots are furthering their relationship with the humans, the Earthbound Decepticons are still wondering what the hell is going on with Megatron inside his “cocoon”, and the Autobots on Cybertron return to their home base to find new arrivals!
Yeah, there’s nothing that super-exciting happening here, actually. Just teases and setup for future stuff, and some character moments. Ironically, the guy I actually want to see more character development for- Thundercracker, is barely in this issue. He’s now chilling with the Aerialbots and gets to tell them about his brief trip encountering Cobra-La. I was hoping for a little more friction between him and the others, but he seems to be settling in well.
Who DOES get the bulk of development?
Well, a lot of it is Optimus trying to handle his “demotion”, with some other stuff sprinkled in. He wants Arcee Magnus to re-train him and shore up his new shortcomings, which is a nice angle. This is actually a setup we haven’t experienced a whole lot before, where Optimus has been hobbled somewhat and needs to rely more on his teammates. If this is what Kirkman is going to lean into, at least it’s a fairly fresh take.
I think the rest of the characters are a bit thinly-served, but maybe that’s for the rest of this arc. Again, I kinda wish Thundercracker got more panel time, but I’m willing to give it time. This issue also features the return of several characters who were either indisposed or “elsewhere” for awhile, so it’s nice to see Kirkman has plans for them.
Cube?
There’s nothing particularly wrong with this issue, but it’s not an especially exciting instalment. The cliffhanger is a good one, although your mileage will vary whether you like this version of the character who returns or not. Jason Howard’s art certainly makes the last splash page work and produces a striking visual.
Buy Transformers # 33 this week because Ulchtar has returned from the trash heap!
