Back to Cybertron again!
The war changes once again! Robert Kirkman, chief architect of the Energon Universe, writes the flagship Transformers title and Karl Kerschl pencils this issue with Mike Spicer on colors.
In this thirty-seventh issue, we return to Cybertron to check in on Elita Prime’s contingent of Autobots as they battle Shockwave’s forces on their contested home planet. Will sabotage from within force Elita Prime to change her mind about Optimus and those still on Earth?
That’s what happens, isn’t it?
Yeah. Basically this issue is just working towards Elita Prime admitting she was wrong about Optimus and becoming amenable to sending him help on Earth. There’s a bunch of skirmishes with Shockwave’s forces that culminate in a “reveal” that the Autobots have been compromised by a saboteur that nearly swipes the Matrix from Elita!
I think Elita has looked kind of shortsighted under Kirkman so far, with her butt-headed decision to oppose Optimus and take the Matrix. Maybe Kirkman saw fan feedback to this effect, because he reverses that in this issue as the new Prime changes her mind and sends reinforcements to the Earthbound Autobots. I guess they’ll need it with the reborn Megatron about to make his presence known.
Oh.
Yeaaah, that’s about the only major plot point in this issue that gets moved forward. The rest is a bunch of loosely-connected fight scenes with Shockwave’s troops and some cute character moments. I was kind of disappointed that Kirkman strictly kept Shockwave’s forces to those first seen back in issue #33. I think they are actually outnumbered by the Autobots we’ve seen so far now, which makes it weird that Cybertron was supposedly under Decepticon control. Elita’s Autobots fight like, the same ten Decepticons over and over again in this issue. A shame that Kirkman couldn’t pull some more cameos or cannon fodder to throw into the mix.
Shockwave gets a scene where he tortures the captive Alpha Trion, and it only serves to accentuate how...deeply unfamiliar Skybound’s Shockwave is to most long-time fans. He is not the cold, calculating logistician here, but a cruel, emotional bully. It just feels wrong and a disservice to a unique character. However, someone who does come across well in this issue is Jazz, who we get more of a spotlight shone on here. Some people wondered why he’d leave Optimus behind on Earth and follow Elita, and this issue does explain that.
Cube?
Eh, two steps forward and a step back. Kirkman reverses his take on Elita here, which could be good or bad depending on how you feel. I don’t like this take on Shockwave, and the situation on Cybertron feels kind of small in scale thanks to the limited cast. Karl Kerschl showcases some great sequential work here and is another strong artist among many who have been on this book. Kirkman’s plotting seems unsure of itself though, and has felt so since the end of the last arc. Maybe the imminent return of Megatron will put some more purpose into this book.
Buy Transformers # 37 this week and don’t trust Mirage, but not for the reason you might be thinking.