IDW Transformers: Primacy #2 Review

Synopsis
DECEPTICONS ASSEMBLE! The war for CYBERTRON begins in earnest! MEGATRON brings together the deadliest of his troops for an unbelievable assault on the AUTOBOTS—and the TRANSFORMERS’ world is shaken to the core!



Story

So here we are again, in the time before time on Cybertron (and other worlds in the post-Expansion mess-up), effectively a second before the ignition of the the great war that will shape the history of the Transformers as we have pretty much always known them. As envisioned by Chris Metzen and Flint Dille, with input from artist Livio Ramondelli too - issue #2.



The biggest thing to take away from the previous issue, as you might remember, was the slight inconsistencies wit hthe established IDW universe, particularly in the role played by newly rediscovered Omega Supreme. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case once again, as not only is Omega's tale cemented and bolted down to the streets of Iacon, but we also get a look at some peculiar takes on pre-Earth stories, as the Decepticon upper echelon round-up their army, preparing for battle.



Above all, the presence of the Predacons on Canis Tor, in their pre-Earth, pre-Stormbringer - but apparently not pre-beast modes. As much as this is a fairly serious continuity blip, it does seem to me that the explanation is simply to feed in to the Combiner Wars stories in which Predaking may or may not feature. A 'recent' continuity if you will, for newer readers. But still.



Nonetheless, the comic is not a bad read! The narrative choice of a big set up run across the universe beyond Cybertron is a nice touch, and it's plenty of fun to take a look at a number of eventually gestalt teams in their daily life before the war hit. It's a fun romp, with a definite G1 feel to it - but you do need to suspend a bit more than disbelief.

Art

Even with the Predacon glitch, Livio Ramondelli's work on the different planets and environments in which the Decepticons find themselves is plenty of fun, and well variegated. From the light, warm jungle of Canis Tor to the grungy, sulphuric Magmara Nine, Ramondelli paints an enjoyably diverse universe populated by the Cybertronians.



And he does so without losing the darkness of tones over at Autobot command (and in the Presidium, for that matter), both in layouts and colouring, with Optimus realising what decisions he must and must not make in order to ensure the survival and defence of what he cares for. And the brooding begins.



Chris Mowry's lettering, is extremely enjoyable, with some very well placed translucency, and colours mimicking or complementing the artwork beneath and around it. And it's fun, even shrouded in the dangerous terrain of the issue's plot. We've seen most of the covers already (Sarah Stone's variants are here and here), so the thumbnail includes a convention exclusive this time!


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

I grinned, almost uncontrollably, throughout the entire first part. Yes, it's silly, yes, it doesn't really do much, and yes, it doesn't fit any more in the IDW continuity, there's plenty of name-dropping and some inconsistencies that don't really hold up to the wider universe, and to the story itself (even within the single issue). But I was grinning so hard it didn't really jar on the first read.



If you can get past that, the issue is an enjoyable read, preparing us for a very very big conflict about to burst at the seams, and we get some very nice double-page spreads to help us position the scale of all this. A very difficult issue to place, as, by itself, is perfectly fine, and only encounters big issues once it's placed on the bigger picture - but as I said, it's grin-worthy, with no doubt.

Credit(s): IDW