Elita Done
(Spoiler free-ish)
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
A wave of undead TITANS has touched down on CYBERTRON! Even with the help of the massive METROPLEX, WINDBLADE and STARSCREAM can only hold them off for so long. They need help from Elita-1—and they’re going to get it whether she agrees or not. The fate of CYBERTRON depends on it!
Now, where were we?
Story
With the weird time shifts of IDW's release schedules - seriously, even continuity has nothing on them - we're still working in the aftermath of Titans Return, and really quite heavily so. Said aftermath continues to provide an excellent backdrop to the evolving dynamics of the Council, and the whatonearthisgoingon-ness of Elita-1 and her Titan Carcer. How? Read on...
What Sparkstalker said!
An issue which rolls much faster than the previous one, which was more focused on build-up than resolution, we start to see the direct consequence of having called all major players into play, and Elita One still unwilling to lend a hand - because something is up with Carcer, as everyone knows by now.
but yyyyy
Though there is plenty of character building in the various scenes across the issue, and Windblade, Ironhide, Starscream, and even Metroplex get a good dose, the one that stood out the most was Obsidian, this time round. We've seen him loving his tiny 'gotcha' screens, being imposing and menacing and lurking and looming - we get to see a very different side of him, now that he's next to his First. She's probably worse things than him.
concerned creepy puppy
Mairghread Scott has also been able to do some subtle characterisation of the various names and faces that appear in group shots - keep an eye out for all of them as you dodge lasers, blasters, missiles. I have some further thoughts on the issue in terms of plot, but more on that below, of course.
Art
There is a lot happening all at once. It's a giant battle with giant Titans, occurring both in space and on Cybertron. It's a big canvas. Sara Pitre Durocher fills it masterfully, using panels, action layouts, character interactions and page breaks to convey the sheer scale of the event and of its impact upon Starscream's current rule, along with the Council.
pictured here
And if crowd and battle scenes weren't hard enough for lineart, colourist Joana Lafuente blends her skill with equal mastery, and makes individuals in a crowd stand out, from the guards around Ironhide, to the Titans attacking, to the faces appearing between convicts, citizens, dwellers and ex-colonists. That, and we still have some excellent space scenes, too.
And this shot
Tom B. Long, still on letters as we've come to expect, still delivers (as we've also come to expect) in fonts, captions, and interplaying the two and more into a coherent part of the visual storytelling. Metroplex's speech-style is still one of the highlights of this book, and so very nice to look at. We also then have Pitre Durocher on main cover, with a similar, echoing variant by Priscilla Tramontano (thumbnailed), plus a continuation of fan artist spotlights with Zoner taking a turn on RI.
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
Diplomacy also means strategy. Leadership also means compromise. Both definitely mean tough choices, and the unique mix of Windblade and Starscream's takes on the current situation at hand brings out a definitely intriguing and potentially incredibly consequential storyline revolving yes around Carcer, but also Metroplex, but even more also - and particularly - Elita-1.
One Scary Lady
As I said above, I like Obsidian's 'new' side, I like his interaction with Elita, I like that Windblade and Starscream are collaborating on a difficult task, I like that we have a side-support from Chromia, I like that we have everyone - and I mean everyone - in the issue (Check out ScottyP's spoilery character roster in our database!). I like that I have no idea where this is going. I can only think of other Titans, past storylines, speculate, and mostly, just wait for the evil to unfold. Join me?
. 
out of
out of
