“If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territory, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously.”
“No, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way.”
-Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park (by Michael Crichton)
“Megatron acted as if the humans were beneath his attention. But he couldn’t have exterminated them even if he wanted to. Life will find a way.”
-Thundercracker, Transformers Ongoing #4 (by Mike Costa)
As you can see, Dr. Ian “Thundercracker” Malcolm, has been doing some deep thinking during his recovery on Earth. He studies the plants, the buildings, the weather, and of course, the television signals. He’s trying to find a greater purpose for himself, and the Transformers on the planet. After making an ultimate sacrifice that finds him to be the enemy to some of his brothers (‘All Hail Megatron’), he looks to the future, and what it might mean for himself and his fellow Decepticons. For some reason, Skywatch seems to be able to find a lot of Transformers that were able to move and transform to hide, but could not find the remains of Thundercracker as he had some epiphanies laying, crawling, and rusting in the streets of the Decepticon demolished New York City.
“But the Autobots were in hiding, too. The humans took away their victory, just as they took away my war.”
“So we fell in behind the only one who can lead us. The cheat. The fast-talker.”
As Thundercracker narrates his version of the story, another piece of the story is getting unfolded from the more omnipresent point-of-view. Swindle and his Decepticons and Hot Rod and his Autobots, make final preparations to their ship for the trip off of Earth. Their tentative alliance seems to be taking both groups in a direction that before was unheard of in the Transformers war.
And here we have an interesting set of relationships happening. We get to start to see a side of Hot Rod that we had not really seen before, he’s showing he’s more than a little conceited. Of course, a certain bot knows it, and is playing on this part of him.
"I just want you to know we see what you’re doing. Your followers, and me... We see your destiny. You know what they’ve started calling you? Rodimus Prime."
-Swindle
And to make matters worse, after his appearance in Bumblebee #2, Ultra Magnus makes his way to this Autobot group, still a dually appointed officer of the Tyrest Accord, etc., etc., and he is not happy with Hot Rod and Swindle’s arrangement. Magnus and Swindle have more than a little history, and this leads to...won’t spoil it for you.
The Transformers are 'transforming' in a way we have not really seen before, and it drives this issue, and the next few to come. It leads to conflicts of old ‘tried-and-true’ ideas and alliances, and leads to...unknown, uncharted ways of thinking and being for our favorite characters.
All this leads up to what looks to be a very exciting issue #5 next month! Do you still care about Transformers Ongoing? No. Yes. I hope so. It is getting better. When read alongside the other two books, we are seeing quite an interesting interweaving of stories that when read individually are fun, and interesting, but when read together, they really are creating a wonderful story in this IDW-verse.
For the record, I still don’t like Don’s art as much as I do Nick Roche’s (Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers). I think I like it better than Chee’s (Transformers Bumblebee) though. Each book has a nice style to it, but Don’s really, really is a stretch as it is much more of a new direction when compared with the other two styles. I could get on board with the intricate looking bodies, and panels everywhere, but the faces, and heads, they still seem to bother me a little too much. I have gotten used to them though, so I can start paying attention more to the story, and worry less about my dislike, and uncomfortableness with Don’s designs of faces and heads in this series.
It does seem that the writing and the art do head nicely in the same direction as we see the Transformers making changes in new and interesting ways in Transformers Ongoing #4. One can then see why Don might have tried to adapt a new style, as adapting and transforming old habits seems to be the theme here by Costa. But...
“Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”
-Dr. Ian Malcolm
I’m sure Mike and Don did think if they should change our Transformers, even if we don’t think so. I’m interested in their direction, hopefully, it will continue to intrigue us.
Thanks to IDW Publishing and Seibetron.com for the ability to read this issue a day early, and review it for our community. I love the Transformers comic book mythology, and while I am always a bit cautious with all the reboots, and new ways, looks, etc., I still enjoy a good story, good art, and Transformers, and IDW is still allowing us to do this, even if it is not exactly what you or I would like to see, or read happening.
Pick this issue up. It gives us some very good insights into Mike Costa’s writing direction (which he also talks a little about in a column in the end ‘letter’s page’ of this book). And I would say it makes a pretty big impact tremor for the whole Autobot and Decepticon IDW future.
“That is one big pile of s***.”
Nah, it’s not, in fact, I am quite sure you will enjoy this book much, much more.
Transformers Ongoing #4 is due to be released this week in comic stores everywhere! You can see our coverage of the five-page preview here!
Credits:
Written by Mike Costa
Art by Don Figueroa
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Associate Editor, Denton J. Tipton
Editor, Andy Schmidt
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