Transformers: Robots in Disguise #27 – Review

By: John Barber & James Roberts (writers), Andrew Griffith (art), Josh Perez (colors)

The Story: Shockwave’s final gambit forces us beyond Autobots, beyond Decepticons, beyond Megatron’s wildest imagination.

The Review: It feels like forever since “Dark Cybertron” started, but as we close in on the end, things are starting to come together. With Shockwave’s gambit revealed last issue, things have gone from bad to worse. Not bad considering that we started with the return of Nemesis Prime and the extermination of the Cybertronian race.

RiD #27 opens with an extremely clever reveal that reminds us the kinds of great comics concepts that the Transformers brand can and often does play with. From there Barber and Roberts begin setting up their finale. The massive casts of both series come together for this clash and everyone has a part to play. It’s an impressive design, but at times it can feel like the issue slows down to accommodate the sheer number of bots involved.

That said, it’s not the big picture that’s important. While the book loses energy to focus on Soundwave or Metroplex’s individual locations, the character work remains extremely strong. Even minor characters like Dreadwing are full of life. And though the positioning could have been handled a little better, the matchups themselves are pretty great. It’s a little weird seeing Jhiaxus take a backseat to his former pupil, but his strategy suits him perfectly. We get to see our favorite Autobots, Decepticons, and even a beloved Predacon take on fan favorites like Shockwave and Bludgeon. Each one has their own sinister style and seems to promise a solid conclusion to one of the series’ major threads.