Let’s Make a Pact! Let’s Make a Suicide Pact!
The Transformers issue 26: Chaos Part Two: Numbers.
We’re pinned down in sector A55F!
We’ve probably reached peak Costa pretension here, as the subtitle of the second part of Chaos is meant to be after a book from the Bible, but not only am I not sure what the relevance is, it just looks like it’s called Numbers because there’s a number of characters in it.
Starting with the panicked Autobots who are expecting Kimia to fire upon them… except it moves overhead and starts to target another part of the planet. Because, like any good end of Movie doomsday weapon, it takes time to charge up (meaning that, even if it had been planning to aim at the Autobots, there was no danger in the first part’s cliffhanger), creating enough of a chance for the heroes to fight back.
Which they do, by Prime having Silverbolt lead the fliers into battle, with Rodimus suggesting he take Omega Supreme and Trailbreaker into orbit to provide even more support. Which has Optimus praising him for his good idea, surely the last time he’ll ever treat Rodimus with respect.
As the ground Autobots move to a new position, Wheelie and Cliffjumper go to spy on Galvatron, but it turns out Wheelie is mad horny for violence, and, in a tribute to Cliffjumper himself in the opening of the cartoon, shoots a Sweep (or, as it's a speaking role, possibly Scourge who never appears again by name) through the back of the head. Though Livio’s art makes it unclear if he was aiming at Galvatron and the Sweep just jumps in the way. Still, either way, this causes a change of plan from Cliffjumper’s panicked call for help, with Prime ordering his troops to “Transform and roll out”.
We’re pinned down in sector A55F!
We’ve probably reached peak Costa pretension here, as the subtitle of the second part of Chaos is meant to be after a book from the Bible, but not only am I not sure what the relevance is, it just looks like it’s called Numbers because there’s a number of characters in it.
Starting with the panicked Autobots who are expecting Kimia to fire upon them… except it moves overhead and starts to target another part of the planet. Because, like any good end of Movie doomsday weapon, it takes time to charge up (meaning that, even if it had been planning to aim at the Autobots, there was no danger in the first part’s cliffhanger), creating enough of a chance for the heroes to fight back.
Which they do, by Prime having Silverbolt lead the fliers into battle, with Rodimus suggesting he take Omega Supreme and Trailbreaker into orbit to provide even more support. Which has Optimus praising him for his good idea, surely the last time he’ll ever treat Rodimus with respect.
As the ground Autobots move to a new position, Wheelie and Cliffjumper go to spy on Galvatron, but it turns out Wheelie is mad horny for violence, and, in a tribute to Cliffjumper himself in the opening of the cartoon, shoots a Sweep (or, as it's a speaking role, possibly Scourge who never appears again by name) through the back of the head. Though Livio’s art makes it unclear if he was aiming at Galvatron and the Sweep just jumps in the way. Still, either way, this causes a change of plan from Cliffjumper’s panicked call for help, with Prime ordering his troops to “Transform and roll out”.
He's a Wheelie bad shot.
Which must be one of the last instances of “Transform” being casually used in a Transformers comic, because of boring copyright reasons that require the word not be treated as an adverb or it can’t be trademarked (or something like that, ask a lawyer. Or someone who cares), as early as the start of next year, the writers will have to fight for special permission to use the word, and then, only rarely.
As Prime engages the Sweeps on the ground, Rodimus reports in that the fight in orbit is going nowhere, and they could really do with some help on the inside…
Which, considering we’ve not had any hint of survivors in Kimia up till this point, gives us a clumsy cut to the inside and Technobots Lightspeed and Afterburner (or Nosecone as the comic calls him) talking about how they really are going to have to help.
He’s a master-craftsman, is old Mike Costa.
Kimia comes to fire on part of the surface, with even Trailbreaker’s forcefield unable to stop it. I’m not even sure how Rodimus thought it might, but this may have been a James Roberts suggestion as Trailbreaker and jokes about his forcefield will play a part in that series.
As Prime engages the Sweeps on the ground, Rodimus reports in that the fight in orbit is going nowhere, and they could really do with some help on the inside…
Which, considering we’ve not had any hint of survivors in Kimia up till this point, gives us a clumsy cut to the inside and Technobots Lightspeed and Afterburner (or Nosecone as the comic calls him) talking about how they really are going to have to help.
He’s a master-craftsman, is old Mike Costa.
Kimia comes to fire on part of the surface, with even Trailbreaker’s forcefield unable to stop it. I’m not even sure how Rodimus thought it might, but this may have been a James Roberts suggestion as Trailbreaker and jokes about his forcefield will play a part in that series.
"Boy, I wish this actually was Nosecone"
Cybertron not being able to take another hit like that means a serious debate begins about destroying rather than liberating Kimia, with Rodimus advocating for it and Optimus being unsure if Autobots are still alive and aboard.
Rodimus is ultimately prepared to go for a suicide run on the station in Omega, but the choice is taken from him by Lightspeed, who has found a room full of unstable explosives and decides to put himself and Afterburner into a suicide pact, albeit one that, hilariously, Afterburner doesn’t seem very keen on and doesn’t consent to.
The resultant massive explosion suggests the Autobots take health and safety as seriously as a Titanic submarine exploration company (bit of topical humour), sending Omega in for an emergency landing and Galvatron (with Jhiaxus) rushing to the blast site to see if the one shot was enough.
After landing, Rodimus meets Drift and, in surely another James Roberts suggestion, gives him a very homoerotic stare, before finding out that Prime and Ironhide have also run off to the blast site. Which, as Prime explains to Ironhide, is because the Matrix is telling him something is going on there.
Wow, thanks Matrix, what a useful McGuffin you are.
Rodimus is ultimately prepared to go for a suicide run on the station in Omega, but the choice is taken from him by Lightspeed, who has found a room full of unstable explosives and decides to put himself and Afterburner into a suicide pact, albeit one that, hilariously, Afterburner doesn’t seem very keen on and doesn’t consent to.
The resultant massive explosion suggests the Autobots take health and safety as seriously as a Titanic submarine exploration company (bit of topical humour), sending Omega in for an emergency landing and Galvatron (with Jhiaxus) rushing to the blast site to see if the one shot was enough.
After landing, Rodimus meets Drift and, in surely another James Roberts suggestion, gives him a very homoerotic stare, before finding out that Prime and Ironhide have also run off to the blast site. Which, as Prime explains to Ironhide, is because the Matrix is telling him something is going on there.
Wow, thanks Matrix, what a useful McGuffin you are.
Ironhide's last day as security chief.
Aboard Omega Supreme, Megatron is trying to get answers out of the space bot, and when he doesn’t get them, cheerfully says he’ll be leaving then. Meanwhile, Sunstreaker and Garnak are tending the injured by feedback Trailbreaker, when they hear noises. Noises that turn out to be the Megatron guns aboard having transformed into little walking machines, now on their way to free the boss…
This is incredibly stupid, the crash landing should have been enough to set Megatron loose, that the Autobots have studied these guns but not noticed they can do this is ludicrous. It makes them look incompetent and renders a large part of capturing Megatron and the “Why did you surrender?” question pointless, as it was only ever a trick.
During all this, Cliffjumper and Wheelie remain pinned down in Sector A55F.
Yes, Cliffjumper’s A55F is taking a pounding, his A55F is rammed full, his A55F needs relief, desperately.
I am very mature.
This is incredibly stupid, the crash landing should have been enough to set Megatron loose, that the Autobots have studied these guns but not noticed they can do this is ludicrous. It makes them look incompetent and renders a large part of capturing Megatron and the “Why did you surrender?” question pointless, as it was only ever a trick.
During all this, Cliffjumper and Wheelie remain pinned down in Sector A55F.
Yes, Cliffjumper’s A55F is taking a pounding, his A55F is rammed full, his A55F needs relief, desperately.
I am very mature.
He's going to topple over backwards.
Turns out there’s room for one more in the A55F, as Cliffjumper hears a new arrival and hopes it’s Autobot help. But the A55F Master is in fact none other than a tooled up with bits of wreckage as armour Megatron, angry that an army of Decepticons has tried to take over the planet without him, because Cybertron is his.
Boy, is he going to be a pain in the A55F.
Livio’s art remains the highlight here, giving a darkness and a scale to events the actual writing is lacking. Both the sacrifice of the two Technobots (let’s hope there never any sort of Combiner toyline IDW need to promote) and Megatron’s escape are both very silly rather than epic, but it’s hard to deny how cool the final Chunkytron is.
But for all the attempted Biblical weight the story is trying to have, the writing remains incredibly light and gives very little meat to talk about. Scratch the great art, and there’s nothing but banality underneath.
Boy, when Costa used to talk about his talents as a writer, he sure was talking out his A55F.
Next week, back to Earth and a buried in work Prowl.
THE TRANSFORMERS ISSUE 25
2011
COMMENT
KO-FI
Boy, is he going to be a pain in the A55F.
Livio’s art remains the highlight here, giving a darkness and a scale to events the actual writing is lacking. Both the sacrifice of the two Technobots (let’s hope there never any sort of Combiner toyline IDW need to promote) and Megatron’s escape are both very silly rather than epic, but it’s hard to deny how cool the final Chunkytron is.
But for all the attempted Biblical weight the story is trying to have, the writing remains incredibly light and gives very little meat to talk about. Scratch the great art, and there’s nothing but banality underneath.
Boy, when Costa used to talk about his talents as a writer, he sure was talking out his A55F.
Next week, back to Earth and a buried in work Prowl.
THE TRANSFORMERS ISSUE 25
2011
COMMENT
KO-FI
