CHOSEN ONE
SPOILER FREE
(CONTAINING SPOILERS FROM PREVIOUS RID ISSUES, HOWEVER)
It is quite the whirlwind this week for IDW Transformers comics this week, as their two biggest titles hit the shelf this Wednesday. My first review is for
Robots In Disguise, and time certainly flies as we're already on the
11th issue. It has been a handful of weeks since we've been in the forefront of Cybertron politics as the
RID Annual and the time travel filled
Orion Pax RID #10 were the recent additions from Barber and company. To summarize our latest happenings with Bumblebee and friends, the Metrotitan, first discovered by the crew of the Lost Light, made its way back to its motherplanet, Cybertron. Before imploding due to unfortunate circumstances he had one last phrase; Starscream is the chosen one. Plot twist!
I think one of the biggest griefs some fans, including myself, have with the previous Robots In Disguise issues is that they tend to force the story to fit within the 22 page limit. While I am not the biggest fan of cliffhangers (the predecessors of both MTMTE and RID were full of them), I think comics are successful when they mix good story telling and make you yearn for more. At last I feel that Robots In Disguise #11 has hit the bullseye and is now on par with MTMTE. This issue feels like Barber's best!
I can't say that I was in league with those that thought RID would improve, but with hindsight, each story has been setting us up for what we have now. Whether this is our only climax in this series, or the first of many, we're being treated to some great characterization and storytelling.
One of the characters that I felt that had mistreatment in past issues (more in regards to just being hindered from using their true capabilities) was Arcee. In the IDW continuity, I think it's common knowledge that you shouldn't mess with Arcee. By the end of the issue, well let's just say that you really, really shouldn't mess with Arcee. She steals the show from Bumbleebee, Prowl, Starscream and 'hawk.
Ultimately, this is my favorite RID issue so far. The art (Guido stepping in for Griffith), storytelling, plot, dialogue, action and cliffhanger set this apart from any issue so far. Get it!