Transformers Spotlight: Optimus Prime 3D – Review

Simon Furman (writer), Don Figueroa (pencils), Josh Burcham (colors), Hoon (cover), Chris Mowry (letters)

The Story: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown” would be a good analysis of this story thematically. After a near-death experience while fighting Megatron, Optimus Prime senses something he knows to be impossible, the consciousness of another Prime. After seeking the council of Omega Supreme, Prime discovers the identity of the other is Nova Prime. The pressures of leadership were too much for Nova, and before Prime can get the answers he seeks, Omega is attacked by Monstructor, a failed experiment of Nova Prime. Looks like the legacy of Prime’s is not as immaculate as Optimus would have hoped.

What’s Good: Prime’s dialogue is fantastic. There’s an added weight and realism that never existed in the cartoon. Each battle isn’t a half-hour adventure, it’s war– with casualties. Every choice he makes could be his last in the campaign against Megatron and we as the audience get to feel that. His resolve was already at its limits, to the point where it seemed like the linage of Prime’s was all that kept him going. Without getting heavy-handed or emo, Simon Furman beautifully depicts his heartbreak when he discovers the truth about Nova Prime’s experiments.

What’s Not So Good: Being 3D is this book’s biggest problem. The art has the same excellent level of detail that we’ve come to expect from IDW, but the addition of 3D washes out the colors and makes everything look blurry. Even worse is the fact that most of the images still look flat with the glasses on. The glasses themselves are another problem. They’re tiny and clearly designed for kids, but IDW had to know that some of the older fans would want to pick this up. The glasses are also really flimsy. Once you pull everything out of the perforated page, you’ve gotta put the glasses together which only damages them further. It’s a nice idea, but one that misses the mark across the board.

Conclusion: While the idea of a 3D comic sounds great, this is clearly an attempt to snatch a few extra bucks. They reprint a decent story, and charge an extra three bucks for crappy glasses that won’t make it through a single read? No thanks. If you can find it, get the original run of this comic because six bucks is just way too much for this.

Grade: C-

-Ben Berger