Full Preview for IDW Micronauts: First Strike #HasbroFirstStrike

The writing is good when Starscream becomes the rational sounding one. Why to flesh out his character with humongous growth.

Gotta say this First Strike crossover may be the best IDW had done so far. (Just don't do a Marvel and make this a yearly thing).

Synopsis

Captured by Transformers! Even with the Autobots on their side, G.I. Joe is in trouble! Starscream doesn’t trust anyone, much less armed humans who show up during Cybertron’s darkest hour and he’ll do anything he can to keep G.I. Joe under control—including let COBRA get even closer to their goal!



Story

We continue our exploration of the wider Hasbro Universe as the First Strike event reaches the second act in its first issue over at IDW Publishing, as writers Mairghread Scott and David A. Rodriguez attempt to bring together and make no one kiss from the various feeble alliances at hand - and Starscream is tired.



The momentum we had seen in the previous three issues seems to have waned a bit by this fourth issue, as the charge of the story is shifted to the two major factions colliding on Cybertron, now that politics and policy take over the immediate response to Ironblood's threat. Which was to be expected narratively, but I think also drags the pacing a little too much - which may be rectified in the next two issues.



Look, I like a good dissection of Optimus Prime's character and saviour complex, and I have always enjoyed how Scott included that in her look at religious issues in Cybertronian and its colonies' culture, but one sequence in this issue that once more to that felt a little redundant after the parallels drawn with Scarlett and Soundwave last issue. Either that, or more could've been seeded earlier in the event, if this is going where I think it might.



As for characters in general, there are some good moments and snippets for individuals - but Scarlett, like Optimus, unfortunately takes a little too much too far too heavy of a burden for the story and the personal/political side of the event. The back-up story (at the hands of John Barber), on the other hand, was particularly enjoyable, and once more Mayhem steals the scene now that Shazraella is fully introduced (who finally clicks with her WoK drive, too).


Art

Max Dunbar (pencils) and John Wycough (inks) take the lead story's art duties, with Ander Zarate on the colouring side, and I am not entirely conviced, I'll admit. Dunbar's style still feels as though he's trying to adapt to the different moments in the story, but rather than finding a lead motive, it just falls into looking like other art depending on the sequence - not helped by the jarring contrast of heavy inks on an otherwise much lighter touch everywhere else in the issue (Wycough is only pages 3-9), meaning that the Cybertronians in trial are a bit too static for a full appreciation of the exchanges.



As for the small chapter of backstory at the end, on the other hand, the collaboration between Netho Diaz (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), and David Garcia Cruz (colours) meshes really nicely - and not unnecessarily darkly - with Barber's short script, bringing some good spotlights onto Shazraella and Mayhem, still my favourites by far, and the compositions that the difference in scales allow for such a short frame of story space.



Gilberto Lazcano takes on the lettering duties in the issue, and I find no faults in his approach to the captions and dialogues, but it takes a long while to see full creativity with the soundscape of the more action-based scenes later on. The cover chosen for the thumbnail is a good summary of the main thread running for the most part of the issue, by talented Alex Ronald and Thomas Teyowisonte Deer -- and all other covers, of which there are many, can be found in our updated entry database right here.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

There have been comments about this event that I strongly disagree with, but I have to admit that this particular issue did not do well what the previous three had handled really quite nicely, by adding some forced parallels, stilted dialogue moments, and pairing them with some not particularly strong visual results to carry the story forward - meaning that a particularly important moment for TF readers may be lost in tonal overbearing.



I'm not saying it's a bad issue, but it does have its severely dipping moments that it most definitely could not afford at this stage of the event, and by the nature of the event itself, too. Enjoy the Mayhem, enjoy the Starscream, enjoy the jabs at Optimus - and appreciate the difficulty of balancing all of the characters involved. But if this were to be entirely Scarlett's story and her relation to Colton, the issue sunk a bit too far into itself to make any other emotional connection work for me.

ScottyP wrote:The few good parts put a glaring spotlight on the problem spots, at least for me. And the thing with the pushups, holy crap, way to make Scarlett look like a whiny Langley brat while Gloria, Matt, Roadblock, and Jaye keep things steady.

I think that's what got to me the most. Scarlett was a potentially very good character with some good motivations and general 'good' things about her - then that story came up, and it dragged down her, Optimus, Colton, and just a whole lot of set-up that had been avoided in a book predominantly about GI Joe (come on, it's true).

There are some very good parts, as you say - but no, between visual stumbles, forced dialogue and over-drama, it just doesn't work well as a set-up for the second act (of two).


Let's see next month.

Ugh, they really cannot draw the masks, can they. The original worked. That does not look like any version of Viper I've known.

Daniel Adkins wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Ugh, they really cannot draw the masks, can they. The original worked. That does not look like any version of Viper I've known.

All the Masks got redesigned in the IDW continuity.

Redesigned to look fairly generic and samey? GG IDW. Well done indeed.

Big Grim wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Ugh, they really cannot draw the masks, can they. The original worked. That does not look like any version of Viper I've known.

All the Masks got redesigned in the IDW continuity.

Redesigned to look fairly generic and samey? GG IDW. Well done indeed.

*shrug* I wouldn't really say they're "samey," but to each his own. I find Mayhem's new Mask much better than the original, especially in how it recreates a peaked cap and his mustache.

Va'al wrote:Personally, I'm not a fan of the very US-based military narrative that runs in a lot of the comics we see coming out of Hasbro universe

I was pretty into how OP (the series) was handling GI Joe. Talon gave it some credibility. But this series very much has the 'Murica feeling and maybe that's why it's lacking some deeper punch.

Also, and I can't believe I'm saying this because I hate him but I thought it would've just happened by now since it's a hyper logical plot point that's been built up over 8 years - where is Spike and why is he not helping Colton?

Just have to say. I think Marissa as Earth's Council of Worlds rep wasn't the best writing choice. I think Blackrock would've been better. He's a cybertronian/human hybrid as far as we're concerned, it just seems like a perfect fit.

Pyra looks so sad on the cover I don't follow this series normally but I wish I knew what's going on on that cover. Prime doesn't look so good himself.

Covers are indeed very unreliable as Pyra Magna has barely been in this series so far. If it's a crossover, expect Optimus, Soundwave, Arcee, Windblade, and pick one of Jazz or Starscream. Anything else is a bonus.