Return of the King!
The Decepticons ascendant! Robert Kirkman, chief architect of the Energon Universe, writes the flagship Transformers title and Jason Howard pencils this issue with Mike Spicer on colors.
In this thirty-eighth issue, Megatron has finally emerged from his chrysalis, reborn as MEGATRONUS REX! That means a whole world of hurt for Optimus and his team as the Decepticons launch a full-on assault on the Ark!
Megatronus...Rex?
Yep, Kirkman continues with his penchant for renaming characters as Megatron is re-minted thanks to the pyromaniacal power of his patron progenitor, Megatronus the Fallen! This rebirth comes with a new Triple-changing body and black color scheme that we’ll probably get as a new toy within two years. Megs Rex wastes no time in leading his Decepticons to wipe the Autobots off the face of Earth for good!
Yeah, this is almost a solidly wall-to-wall fight scene issue, as Optimus’ under-powered forces have to take on both this new threat and all his troops on top of that. Jason Howard gets to show his chops portraying a big fight scene and he does pretty well, especially lending Megs Rex a menacing and imposing aura and intimidating presence.
Anything else?
Uhm, not really... this is mostly a fight scene issue and aside from a check-in with Wheeljack back at the Cybertron Shard in the ocean, most of it takes place outside the Ark. Still, it’s a pretty effective start to a new storyline and Kirkman milks the high stakes for all they are worth. We know from solicitations for future issues what the Autobots’ trump card will be for this situation, but things are looking pretty dire for them by the end of this one.
Of course, this makes it a bit difficult for Kirkman to maintain these high stakes and not cavalierly blow away any more characters, but I guess we’ll see what happens next time.
Cube?
An effective debut for Megatron’s new form and a cliffhanger that builds anticipation and dread for next issue. Kirkman’s usually good at building things up, but making them crash down is always a trickier prospect. Still, this was a decent enough start and I’m eager to see where this goes next.
Buy Transformers # 38 this week and let the slaughter begin!