Review of IDW Optimus Prime #4

Synopsis
NEW CYBERTRON! Optimus Prime struggles to unite the Junkions, Cybertronians, and humans—but will diplomacy be scuttled when the Junkion’s secret comes out?



Story

We return to Earth, which has Cybertronians and Junkions on two sides of an agreement which may not be, as humans reluctantly also maybe agree to disagree, while two leaders very much disagree as other two leaders disagreed in the past. We return to John Barber's vision of the new order of the things - Optimus Prime #4 is here!



Let's get this out of the way: Optimus is reaching peak Prowl. There are a number of moments where this is obvious, and I can't but think of this being a consequence of Combiner Wars (still) and his moment so close to the Autobot's master manipulator - other than being around him for pretty much the entirety of his life as an Autobot himself, of course.



It's good, it's very good to see some development of Pyra Magna's character, as all of the Torchbearers were teased as having secrets and intrigues which we are still waiting pay-off for. But having that development also be pitted against Optimus is a super extra treat. Two very strong leaders with strong ideals, in their own way, against each other for very similar causes, at not the best time, but also maybe the best time too.



The rest of the story is a very good exercise in build-up, I felt, too, with a subtle increase on the pressure valve (up to the final act, where subtlety is chucked out the window) - but also a very welcome distraction in the form on Thundercracker and Buster, and a lot more about Marissa Fairborne in just a couple of pages.

Art

We knew of Alex Milne's subbing in for Kei Zama in this issue, and it's very good to see him back on a TF book interiors, even halfway through an arc. He keeps to the style that makes him beloved to the fandom and readership, while also thickening some inks, and adding a lot of black, black spaces for added tension, emotion, and pacing.



What is truly extraordinary on the art side of things, though, is the combination of Milne's lines with Josh Burcham's continuity colouring, keeping the transition between the two artists as smooth as possible for the book (the blue shading really does help), without sacrificing the differences of the two styles. It's a feat he achieves perfectly, I feel, and really helps the issue.



The devices used in the script to carry along the narration require skill from the lettering side of the book, once more in the capable hands of Tom B. Long, who is also still painstakingly bringing us mini-bios for each character as we read through - and somehow manages to never make it intrusive. There is a full roster of TF veterans in the cover roll, and you can see all of them and full credits in our database entry here, from Zama to Griffith, with Nelson Daniel, Casey Coller, Joana Lafuente (thumbnailed), Burcham and Josh Perez fully acknowledged too.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Having Pyra Magna as the point of view for the running commentary on the issue is a great way of bringing in her voice on top of the placing against Optimus' leadership, and a welcome addition to that of Arcee, and Soundwave so far - and using the parallel threads of the past (the panels mirroring Zeta and Optimus are exquisite and very revealing) alongside the multiple storylines in the present and her personal beliefs, works out as a very revealing and definitely enticing, plot movement and pacing.



The reintroduction of a different, but established, visual team does not disrupt the book at all, and the whole issue comes across as perhaps a seminal one in the aftermath of whatever may happen with the Junkions in the arc - will Pyra Magna get something more than she expects? How will the colonists react? What role will Aileron play?

Credit(s): IDW