Transformers: Robots in Disguise #32 – Review

By: John Barber (writer), Andrew Griffith & Brendan Cahill (art), Josh Perez & Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: I come from the Cybernet Space Cube. Through systems, robots, and alt modes to this place: Earth. My format: kind of an asshole…

The Review: Things were looking bad for Optimus Prime and his Earth-based Autobots at the end of last issue, but it’s slowly becoming clear that this era of Transformers: Robots in Disguise is one of ideological warfare. Without Megatron to unite them, both Cybertronian factions have begun to squabble, using their newfound freedom to fight for their own personal version of their chosen cause.

Even if he hadn’t stated as such prior to the start of the arc, it would be painfully clear that writer John Barber holds a special place in his heart for Prowl, eclipsing even the prominent position he held in the title before “Dark Cybertron”. We know that he holds a special resentment for Spike Witwicky’s betrayal, that he’s still struggling with the disconnect from his peers that Bombshell’s manipulations instilled in him, and that Megatron’s defection severely upset his worldview – but, nonetheless, it’s hard to tell exactly what is driving him. Barber opens the issue with a scene that implies that such issues have weighed on Prowl for a long time, it seems like there must be a more recent trigger. The unraveling of “Cybertron’s greatest mind”, as he so humbly puts it, is a fascinating character study, but I’m ready to actually see some movement on this plotline.

As the second arc of this new wave of IDW Transformers comes to an end, it’s hard not to notice that the vast majority of RiD’s action since “Dark Cybertron” has just been Prowl toying with everyone. Excluding Prowl and, perhaps, two exceptions, I believe you could remove any one character from the rather large cast of this series and the majority of the plot would occur exactly the same way. The Autobots are completely subsumed into Prowl’s scheming. Thank goodness for Decepticons.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #31 – Review

By: John Barber (writer); Andrew Griffith, Guido Guidi, and Brendan Cahill (art); Josh Perez and Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: Welcome to the Second Terran-Cybertronian War, the conflict where everything’s made up and the sides don’t matter.

The Review: One thing that I believe was a big part of Transformers’ success and longevity was a side effect of their, quite literally, commercial origins: character. While all comics and television shows have to demonstrate some level of characterization, Transformers had a mandate to sell toys, not only Optimus Prime and Bumblebee but of all of the bots. As such there was a necessity to endear each of the characters to the children watching.

This month’s issue not only reaps the rewards of such a strategy but continues the trend. After a long period of silence, John Barber finally gives Jazz some time in the spotlight. This issue’s take on Jazz does a great job of combining the upbeat attitude and easygoing outlook that have traditionally defined the character with the angst he picked up during the Transformers ongoing series. Admittedly, Jazz’s inner monologue is much stronger towards the beginning of the book where attention is squarely on him, but his presence helps to focus the book and gives us someone to root for.

While Jazz, Prime’s free spirited lieutenant, brings a dose of character to the story, the plot still belongs to Prowl, Prime’s master planner. Even as Optimus begins to chafe against Prowl’s…shall we say hands on style, it’s becoming clear that the Autobot commander is not fully in control of his unit. There are some big surprises for those who love, or perhaps love to hate, Prowl this issue and what he’ll do with the revelation of Scavenger’s uncertain loyalties may be the least of them.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #29 – Review

By: John Barber (writer); Andrew Griffith, Guido Guidi, and Brendan Cahil (art); Josh Perez and Joana Lafuente (colors) The Story: “Prowl’s got it all planned out.”

The Review: Having left us with a shocking cliffhanger last month, John Barber steps back to provide some clarity on who the Autobot’s opposition is and how they came together before stepping back into the conflict at hand. The robot fighting is actually pretty limited this month but, say what you will about this issue, it’s full of character. Barber’s assurances that Prowl will  be a major character going forward are already coming true as we get a Prowl’s side of a story that, thus far, has taken the unspectacular position that he is a prick. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about his strained relationship with the recently deceased Bumblebee, but now that Optimus Prime has retaken command of the Autobots, I’m interested to see how a stronger willed commander will deal with Prowl’s “hero they need, not the one they deserve” shtick. Likewise, it’s great to see him interact with the Constructicons, who find their loyalty torn between Megatron and a bot who wishes him dead. Interestingly, this conundrum doesn’t seem to bother them terribly. What does it mean for the balance of power that Prowl has the beginnings of a small army, and a powerful one at that? Meanwhile a fascinatingly similar issue seems to be brewing within the Decepticon camp. Despite presumably having a hand in writing him during “Dark Cybertron,” Barber’s Galvatron seems different from the nostalgic old soldier we met there, himself somewhat different from the bot with a savior complex from “Chaos”, who was different from the calculating usurper of the Simon Furman days.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #28 – Review

 

By: John Barber (writer), Andrew Griffith (art), Josh Perez and Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: Optimus Prime returns to Earth to find his insistence that “Autobots wage their battles to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons” is not a good enough excuse, not to mention an increasingly hard one to make.

The Review: While it’s not the way that all interpretations have gone, I’ve always seen the Transformers as being something of an inherently progressive premise. After all, the basic conceit of the franchise is that this race of technologically advanced aliens have destroyed their planet through overuse of its natural resources and now must protect humanity from about as literal a representation of a military-industrial complex as you can get and prevent him from killing our planet as well. It may not be accurate to link those values to any one political party, but I think it’s safe to say that Transformers has always valued the consideration of how your actions affect others. Though these themes have been downplayed a little as the story shifted to a newly revitalized Cybertron, a return to Earth brings them back to the fore. As Prowl puts it, “”Cleaning up our messes” has always been a defining Cybertronian trait.”

Flashing back and forth between the immediate aftermath of “Dark Cybertron” and six months later, John Barber sets about detailing the series’ new status quo. The cast is very much different, with one protagonist dead and the other back on Cybertron things have to change for this title, but Barber’s work with Prowl, Jazz, and Orion Pax keeps it feeling like the same book. It’s too early to tell which characters will rise to prominence but it seems clear that Barber has plans for these three, debatably three of the five most prominent 1984 Autobots – Ironhide and Bumblebee being the missing two.

The rest of the cast is made up of slightly smaller names, 86 movie characters like Kup and Arcee, and comfortably middle-tier G1 Transformers, like Sky Lynx, Cosmos, and Jetfire. Interestingly, about half of the crew of the Ark-7 seem to be a separate unit under Prowl’s command. You can believe that that tension will bear some interesting fruit.