One of These Things Is Not Like The Other: Part 2 (of 2)A review of IDW's latest Visionaries comic,
Transformers vs Visionaries #2Very Spoiler Filled - You Have Been Warned!
Featuring Burt Reynolds, She-Ra, and Willie Nelson (I wish) Two comics arrive from IDW Publishing this week that feature Transformers, in the form of
Transformers vs. Visionaries #2, which is the topic of this review, and
Scarlett's Strike Force #2. These reviews will both be
pretty spoiler heavy, as this is meant to assist with comparisons and contrasts with the other book whose review is meant to be read before or after this as a companion piece. You can find that review, for the lastest chapter of
Scarlett's Strike Force by clicking or tapping on over to
this link.
I found myself quite enjoying one of this week's entries in the IDW Hasbro Universe, and really not enjoying the other at all. Which will
Transformers vs. Visionaries #2 be? Read on to find out! Or if you read these in Part 1, Part 2 order, you already know!
Number of Autobots with emergency vehicle alt modes that are called: 0This is one ridiculous, completely unbelievable, out of this world comic. There are magical aliens with a portion of their planet trapped on Cybertron, which is itself a planet of sentient, giant robots. There are light totems fighting other light totems, holograms, magicians, and even a villain character that somehow has that trendy but ugly Skrillex haircut where half of someone's head is buzzed down with like a #2 clipper but then the rest is really long and they comb it over and look, very very few people can pull that off without looking strung out so let's stop that. There are only 20 pages, so you're probably thinking there's no way that could all work together in a coherent, meaningful way. If so, you'd be right - like this opening paragraph, this comic just isn't very good.
Like when Budiansky did it except not because it's really poorly executedCharacter moments are important. These need to exist in stories like this. Roll-call moments are a nice way to do this, and with a cast that isn't tremendously large there should be opportunity to present some establishing lines that give the Spectral Knights unity but also some individuality. Leoric aside, this opportunity isn't really taken. Sure, Witterquick is fast, but that's sort of implied by his name. Arzon says things, sure, but none of it feels like anything uniquely his to say. Galadria makes some wooden point/counter-point retorts. I don't feel like I know anything about these characters, while over in
Scarlett's Strike Force #2 a similarly unfamiliar (to me) pair in Raptor and Croc Master were introduced who ooze so much personality that I can already tell you which one is an accountant with opinions on the evolutionary path of avian species.
Wheeljack should have already figured out this fruit-based vulnerabilityThat's really the crux of the problem with
Transformers vs. Visionaries now that we're past the initial, questionable setup. Why are they here? I don't mean "why are they on Cybertron", as the story explains this, it's more of a question of why they're in this role at this time in this fictional universe. Borrowing now a bit from fellow comic reviewer/fellow site Administrator Va'al, Magdalene Visaggio, while not a
bad writer, falls into the trap JJ Abrams did in
Star Wars: The Force Awakens where the setting is just... the setting. New Prysmos is ultimately on Cybertron because someone in marketing and/or editorial said so, despite what the story tells you. That's not a good feeling to deliver to readers two books in to an attempt at re-launching a franchise which three people (not an exact figure) had any nostalgia for.
"They tore the roof off!" - The TalentThings just happen for no reason. It's great that we get to see some spectral totem animal fights - a dolphin with a unicorn horn fighting a gorilla is
freaking awesome, but why not give a reason for why they use this ability beyond the already implied "because that's what they do"? Maybe Cybertron has some latent energy allowing this lost art (if it even was) to be used again or something like that. You can tell the pitch here was for a Visionaries story, and instead of taking the Transformers element and having fun with the toy box, it feels shuffled off to the side in what is I daresay an antagonistic manner.
Virulina thinks this is all stupid, so she wants to kill all the Cybertronians. This does not make her charming or compelling, it makes her a shallow caricature.
It's not quite the G1 cartoon anymore though, is it? Maybe read some other Transformers material, yeah?There's another comic out this week that isn't about Transformers which contains a Transformers character, that character being Skywarp. If you read that review first, you'll know that Skywarp is handled really well and brings something beyond the basics that's fun to read.
Transformers vs. Visionaries #2 continues to primarily feature Ironhide and Wheeljack for its cast of Cybertronians. Ironhide is one of the most well developed characters in IDW's Transformers lore, yet he continues to take more steps backwards towards the irrational Sunbow cartoon gunslinger in this issue. Wheeljack, who is known for his wit, irritability, and blazingly-fast science work in IDW, is presented as an entirely incompetent lab rat that "needs more time". IDW Wheeljack doesn't need more time, he needs you to shut up so he can do science faster and save Cybertron
again. Someone please buy Visaggio an IDW Transformers back catalog. Please.
Yeah ok, this in particular is pretty cool.The art is perhaps the one thing saving this from complete irrelevancy. Fico Ossio does an outstanding job throughout with the humanoid characters, with the panel above of Leoric guaranteed to wash away any desire you had left to see the 80s cartoon Burt Reynolds looking version of the character. There's still a little I'd like to see out of his robotic output, mainly in the faces, but it reeks more of unfamiliarity than a lack of ability. The spectral totems look great, the environments look great, and the layouts are a treat while still being easy to follow. For what little story there is, Ossio does everything I can imagine to enhance it. The pairing of his lines with colors from David Garcia Cruz continues to be a natural fit, with things popping where they should and blending smoothly where they shouldn't. Shawn Lee's letters complement the action and never get in the way of the visual storytelling work done by the book's layouts.
There are three covers available for the issue, including the "A" cover by the Ossio/Garcia Cruz team which is seen in this news story's thumbnail. As always, you can find images of all of the covers and full credits for the issue in our
Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers vs Visionaries #2, but do note it contains a character appearance list that may yield more spoilers!
Verdict
At least this one isn't insulting? Va'al's review of the first issue didn't yield a very high score, but it's about double what I would have given that issue. This is a little better because I can at least imagine some modicum of future potential after reading it. The book is nice to look - the art really is well done - but make no mistake, this is a Visionaries comic with Transformers used as seasoning, and sparingly. It seems like the creative team is disappointed that they have to play with other properties. At least that's what comes through on the page, because this story and its lack thereof continues to be high-level disappointment.
This is the series that should be ending after three issues.
I bet if the visionaries get their own solo series they'll start to add more layers than these characterisations currently. Pure bad guys are fun and all but I rather see why they are like that and see them in moments of doubt.
and ½ out of 
This reeks of wasted potential and it makes me sad.
MASK is part of this as well??? 
So they've finally done it, they brought him into IDW? No more palming off D-Void as the Real Thing. Can we forget about the entire Dead Universe/Heart of Darkness stuff now? Assuming Galvatron did resurface following CHAOS? Alongside Scourge and Cyclonus??
