Iván's Gallery: Despotellis

This week, Iván continues his exploration of the Sinestro Corps. This cover features one of the most unique villains in Green Lantern's rogues gallery: the sentient pathogen Despotellis! Here's what the artist has to say about it:

Well.... quick drawing I did in a couple of hours about a microscopic sentient bio-virus, Despotellis is likely the smallest as well as one of the deadliest members of the Sinestro corps.

Who is not afraid of a virus? who is free from the threat of a virus? anyone.

The earliest activities of Despotellis as a member of the Sinestro Corps were chronicled in the Book of Parallax. As read by Lyssa Drak of Talok IV, Despotellis first infected the homeworld of Green Lantern Reemuz. When the Green Lantern returned to his homeworld, he found thousands dead in the streets. The Green Lantern quickly surmised the cause of their deaths was related the yellow power battery he found. Reemuz took the power battery across the continents of his homeworld. He was searching for survivors as well as their attacker, but finding neither. He grew tired and ill, and just moments before his death realized his attacker had infected him. Despotellis revealed his presence as he took the power battery and headed out amongst the stars. Before returning to Qward, Despotellis infected 85% of the 714 inhabited worlds in space sector 119.

Despotellis next appeared on and in orbit of the planetform Green Lantern Mogo in Green Lantern Corps....

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD review

Today is Bish's birthday! Many happy returns to my intrepid co-blogger. That being the case, he probably won't have time to review Target: 2006 part 4 today. I figured I'd look through my recent purchases for a good review candidate. Lo and behold, there was one: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (Two-Disc Special Edition).

In the interest of full disclosure, I have not read the comics on which this story is based. A friend of mine ran through some of the differences, but ultimately I'm just not knowledgeable enough to point out the differences in a coherent way. That said, any time an adaptation from one medium to another takes place, especially a serial medium to a stand-alone medium, changes have to be made. In some ways, that lets me more readily judge this DVD on its own merits. There will be spoilers ahead.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies tells the story of Lex Luthor's presidency, and the clash that it precipitates. Luthor comes into office as a third party candidate, on the back of a massive economic collapse. These events are briefly summarized in a pre-opening credit montage, complete with a lampooning of the former supervillian by a Daily Show parody and an interview of Luthor conducted by a Larry King knock-off. After his victory, Luthor makes it clear that superheroes are subject to the same laws as everyone else. He's even taken the step of bringing several of them into the service of the government. It's a very slick way to introduce the story. The intersection of the political process and the media, juxtaposed with comic book characters, grounds the story nicely.

Events quickly spins out of control. A huge Kryptonite meteor is going to smash into Earth, wiping out most of civilization. Luthor thinks that he can handle it, but uses it as an opportunity to frame Superman anyway. A meeting, ostensibly to discuss working together, turns into a battle between Superman and Secret Service agent Metallo. Batman shows up to help, but eventually they're forced to flee. A mysterious figure, though, murders Metallo. The Metallo reveal was one of the best moments of the video, and the fight that followed was terrific.

Luthor pins the murder of Metallo, complete with video footage, on the Man of Steel and offers a one billion dollar reward for Superman's capture. We get some truly massive fights as a result of this. One highlight was Batman facing off against Mister Freeze, Captain Cold, Icicle and Killer Frost. Another was the reveal that many of the villains were acting under Grodd's control.

The fight is interrupted by the arrival of Luthor's goon squad of heroes. Power Girl reveals her doubts about Luthor, and Batman tricks Major Force into revealing that he was behind Metallo's death, turning the others against him. It's not quite as satisfying as the massive supervillain brawl, but it's still decent action. Batman proves again his worth, even when teamed with probably the world's most powerful superhero.

From here, though, the story gets weaker. Luthor's plan to destroy the meteor (remember that?) fails. Superman and Batman try to get at government data and run into Captain Marvel and Hawkman. We cut away from the battle with the antagonistic heroes winning. Waller finds out that Luthor has been injecting himself a Venom/Kryptonite mixture and it's driving him a little mad. He's willing to let the Earth burn and rebuild what's left. In the middle of his ranting, he unexpectedly kisses her, a nicely bizarre moment. Hawkman and Captain Marvel then show up at Luthor's anti-meteor base, but it turns out that they're actually Superman and Batman. Luthor tries to erase all government data on the impending calamity, but Waller hands them a jump drive filled with data.

While Superman and Batman go off to save the world, Waller attempts to arrest Luthor. Luthor, though, is ready for this and has prepared one of his probably-not-patented supervillain suits. He's going to prevent the heroes from saving the world. It's a shame that the story went in this direction. Luthor was working so well as the face of the government. While I appreciate where they were going with him injecting himself with Venom, from one of Batman's villains, and Kryptonite, Superman's Achilles heal, it seems like a massive step down from just being President. Him fighting to destroy the world, because chemicals have driven him crazy, just seem out of character for this monomaniacal titan. JLU had the same problem - him as President was much more menacing than him as a partner to Brainiac or, worse, a Brainiac junkie.

With the data in hand, Superman and Batman fly to Japan to meet Hiro, the Toyman. It's a WTF moment, to be sure; Hiro had been alluded to a grand total of twice in this story, and once was pretty late in the game while the other was extremely subtle. He's built a rocket to save the Earth based on an existing design from when he was seven, a massive half-Superman half-Batman behemoth. Luthor pursues them and smashes up the controls, forcing Batman to pilot it manually. While Batman flies into space and saves the world, Superman battles Luthor around the globe, eventually downing him in (where else?) Metropolis. As Luthor is carted away, much too abruptly really, there is much rejoicing in the street. The giant rocket is silly, but it's at least appropriately silly and the writers attempt to justify it by having Hiro bashfully state that he had a bad case of hero-worship when he designed it.

All told, it's an ambitious story that doesn't quite know what to do with itself. The idea of Luthor fighting to destroy the world seems so out of character that they needed to justify it by having him be out of his mind. A huge Superman / power-suit Luthor fight is just about the most pedestrian way this story could possibly end. The animation was beautiful, though I didn't care for Power Girl's design. She just seemed plastic somehow, not very real. The fight scenes, especially the Metallo fight and the Superman / Luthor fight, were amazing. The voice acting was great, and they got a bunch of the DCAU actors to reprise their roles. It's a good story, only suffering from not living up to its own potential. At $17 or so on Amazon, it's mildly recommended.

Review: Marvel G1 #33-34 - Man of Iron

Man of Iron is the thirty-third and thirty-fourth issues of the G1 Marvel US Transformers story. It was originally published in the UK and imported to the US to fill in a hole in the production schedule. In fact, it is the very first original UK Transformers comic. In that context, it has already been reviewed by my colleague Bish. You can read his reviews of parts one and two here, and parts three and four here.

Man of Iron was written by Steve Parkhouse. John Ridgway drew parts 1 and 2, the contents of issue #33. Mike Colins drew parts 3 and 4, the contents of issue #34. Letters are by Richard Starkings, and US colors are by Nel Yomtov. The cover to 33 was by Charles Vess, and the cover to 34 was by Tom Morgan.

The cover of issue 33 features an oddly-colored Transformer battling some medieval knights. The robot shares many design elements with Megatron, including his chest and his legs, though the arm and head are very different. The colors are very different, all blues and reds. From context, it would make sense for this to be the eponymous Man of Iron, but the colors are all wrong and he's sporting a Decepticon symbol. Megatron, though, isn't in this story at all, so he doesn't make much sense either. It doesn't make much literal sense, though thematically it does rather capture the flavor of the book. The blurb sells the story thusly, "You won't believe it! Your eyes will bug out!! An explosive saga from the house of ideas!!!" Note the gradual accumulation of exclamation marks, perhaps to compensate for the lack of them in the title. Oddly, nothing is said about this being a UK story, though the Marvel box features a Union flag (with the current Autobot leader, Grimlock) and the subscription box includes a portrait of Shakespeare! That's all a bit much, really. The cover is somewhat interesting - who wouldn't want to know who this strange bot is battling the warriors of yore, but the strange perspective and over-the-top Britishness don't really work for me.

The first page, specifically the text above the image, explains that this is an old British story, thus the presence of Optimus Prime. We then move into the story. Decepticons bomb a sleepy English castle, though they're really just launching a probe. The curator goes to investigate, though not before telling his boy to leave the woods near the castle. His son, Sammy, ignores this missive and runs smack-dab into Jazz. Naturally, the boy is panicked and runs off. His father draws a connection between Sammy's story and an old legend, the story of the Man of Iron. It seems that a metal man of great height and girth has visited these parts thrice before. Sammy recognizes a drawing of this being as looking more or less like what he had seen that day.

Sammy then has a fitful dream of starships and Skywarp and Mirage, a surreal experience of a floating bed and a tumultuous wind. It's not clear how much is real and how much is a dream, but his father witnesses Mirage walk off with the drawing of the Man of Iron. The next day, while his father learns about a massive object buried under the castle, Jazz introduces himself to Sammy while in car mode and asks Sammy to get inside. Sammy is leery about accepting a ride from strangers, but Jazz convinces him to get in and just pretend to drive. Some light interrogation follows, interrupted when Sammy's mother sees him in the car. Jazz slams the door and drives off, as Sammy cries to her for help.

Thus ends part one. Easily the most compelling part of the book are the two pages of historical record. We don't often get to see men on horseback squaring off against Autobots, so it's a nice image to explore. The dream sequence is appropriately bizarre, but unfortunately the mix of fantasy and reality is a bit too blurred. The ending, with Jazz driving off while his mum watches helplessly, is well executed, but suffers from thirty-odd prior issues of good behavior on the part of the Autobots. Anyone who's got an even passing familiarity with the comics knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jazz has benign intentions. It undercuts what is otherwise a powerful image.

Morgan's cover is much more literal than Vess'. Optimus Prime stand before a boy, probably Sammy, protecting him from the twin blasts of a generic Decepticon seeker. Prime is staggered by the blow. A castle is in the background. While it connects more directly to the story inside, it's somehow much less inspired than the previous cover. No elements really stand out as compelling, so the overall effect is underwhelming. "More amazing marvel majesty!!!" the cover declares. It seems really odd that both covers would specifically call out that these issues are from Marvel ... what was it precisely about the UK stories that made the editors think the Marvel-ness specificaly needed to be emphasized?

Inside the book, we start off with more UKisms. "Tally-Ho, Faithful ones! Here it is, straight from Marvel U.K., Man of Iron! Get a hold of yer wig-hat! Dear old Aunt Petunia never read anything like: Man of Iron." It's a pretty funny way to start things off, I have to admit. Way over the top, but clearly intentionally so. At least they stayed off the cover this time.

Sammy, inside Jazz, is being driven to meet the Autobots. Mirage and Trailbreaker join them, but the unlikely convoy is attacked by Thundercracker and Skywarp. An uncharacteristically brutal battle follows. A direct hit on Trailbreaker slags him. We get some great dialogue as he sits there, on fire. "It's no good. Everything's gone ... just plain ... ruined ..." Mirage's electro-disruptor disorients Skywarp, prompting the 'Con to smash into an overpass and keep on coming. Bluestreak takes out the sneaky Seeker, prompting him to crash violently into the ground.

Having defeated their adversaries, the Autobots bring Sammy to meet their leader. Sammy tells Optimus Prime about the Man of Iron, confirming their suspicions. The Man of Iron is an Autobot, part of the crew of a rescue craft. Prime knows that the Decepticons will do anything to keep the ship out of Autobot hands, making it imperative that the Autobots get there first.

Of course, why the Autobots wasted a whole day and a half mucking around with Sammy when they could have been securing the ship is open to interpretation. It seems to me that a bit of literal digging on their part would have unearthed the Man of Iron just as sure as an explanation of the drawing, but then we'd have had no story. It's a narrative flaw. Again, earlier in the run, characters like Sammy may have been necessary to frame the Autobot/Decepticon conflict in human terms, but after almost three years, it feels superfluous.

Back at the castle, humans continue to excavate. This causes the Man of Iron to reveal himself and begin to attack. This is clearly not an Autobot of the Optimus Prime 'all humans are sacred' scool. He's got a ship to protect, and he's not about to let these scurrying creatures jeopardize his mission. Unfortunately for him, Starscream shows up and vaporizes him.

Half a mile to the north, the Autobot shuttle is under attack. Traveling at speed, Jazz has Sammy jump out, then rams Starscream. Four miles up, the
battle goes well for the Autobots, who drive off Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and Thundercracker. Having won, the Autobots are in a position to claim their prize ... but decide not to. Instead, they blow up the rescue craft. Inside, an Autobot named Navigator sleeps, never to awaken. Life around the castle slowly returned to normal. Sammy would never see Jazz again, though the Man of Iron would walk through his dreams.

This issue is marred by logical inconsistencies. If the escape craft was such an important military objective, why would the Autobots blow it up? Certainly, why would they blow it up without at least checking for occupants first, along with usable equipment. As noted earlier, Sammy is more or less completely unnecessary to the plot.

The artwork tends to be very toy-inspired, which makes for some awkward poses. That said, the battles really were top-shelf. Lots of bots blowing up and smashing into things.

There is another factor to these issues. Where we last left our heroes, Blaster was under arrest by the Protectobots. We are promised a showdown between Bruticus and Defensor. Instead, we get this. It's certainly not a bad story, but it's so different from what we were expecting that the already jarring tonal-shift is exacerbated. Had it been placed at a natural break-point in Budiansky's run, say one issue earlier, I reckon it would be a more fondly remembered outing.

Man of Iron is worth checking out. That said, it can be difficult to do so. It hasn't been reprinted in modern times, meaning that you can either hunt down the original issues or look for the UK Collected Comics #3.

Shout! Factory Matrix of Leadership DVD collection

This summer, Shout! Factory came out with their impressive Transformers: The Complete Series (25th Anniversary Matrix of Leadership Edition). This 16 disk set is far and away the definitive Transformers G1 television series collection.

Where to start. Well, how about the packaging. You can see how much love was put into this set just from that. The box looks like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, and even opens in a similar manner. You pull it open, then lift up a flap. Inside you see the booklet, plus the four cases for the disk. Each one features lovely artwork of Optimus, Megatron, Galvatron and Rodimus. The backs list which episodes are contained within, making finding the right episode trivially easy.

The disks themselves were quite nice, and the booklet is a well-designed episode guide with a few important bios scattered throughout. Oh, and there is some nice line art of Optimus on the inside raised flap, counterbalanced by Megatron at the bottom of the well containing the guidebook and the disks.

Of course, the real meat of the set is contained in the disks themselves. All 98 episodes are present, though we don't get the movie. (If there's a flaw in the set, it's the lack of a place for the movie, but then there have been some great releases of that in the not-too-distant past so it's no big deal.) The episodes have been cleaned up, so we get something a lot closer to the original broadcast version. The Rhino version unfortunately had some errors not contained in the original broadcast, and Shout! Factor was quite diligent about cleaning those up. No added sound effects either. It's nice to be able to watch them as they were intended to be seen - episodes like Heavy Metal War, in particular, do well by comparison to the Rhino version.

There are plenty of extras, too. There are some great interviews and retrospectives. All the Transformers PSAs are present. A few commercials are here, but they're basically youtube quality. In my view, if they were willing to settle for sub-broadcast quality, they should just have gone ahead and shown ALL the commercials instead of just the few they had. There is a fan-art gallery, which is pretty nifty. Finally, there are two galleries of character models, supplied by yours truly. They didn't use everything I supplied - not even close! - but there are quite a few character models present, which makes me all tingly! Anything which promotes character artwork is OK by me. (You can see my name on the last page of the booklet ... bitchin'!)

So, there you have it. Beautiful, absolutely gorgeous packaging. A solid job on the episodes. Chock-a-block with extras. This is everything you could possibly want in a Transformers DVD box set. You can really see how much they cared about every aspect of the production. It's available for preorder on amazon.com, so buy one if you haven't already. You won't regret it.

The Ark Addendum - Hardhead's Transform

Welcome to another edition of The Ark Addendum. This week I bring you Hardhead's transformation.

One thing I notice about this transform is how big Hardhead is. Notice how every one of his pictures breaks out of its frame a bit. He's truly a character who cannot be contained. The upper left panel, in particular, just exudes barely-restrained energy.

I thought that Furman did a terrific job with him in Escalation, Devastation and especially Revelations. E.J. Su's redesign of him into an Earth tank kicks a lot of ass.

Review: Marvel Headmasters #1: Ring of Hate!

Ring of Hate! is the first issue in the four-issue limited Headmasters series, from Marvel comics. It ran concurrent with the main line, though it caused delays necessitating the insertion of some pre-made British comics to keep up with a monthly schedule. It was written by Bob Budiansky, so unlike the G.I. Joe crossover it integrates extremely well with the ongoing comic. Frank Springer returns to the book to pencil it. The team of Akin and Garvey provide inks, Diana Albers provides letters, and Yomtov provides colors. Budiansky also draws the cover.

The cover is terrific. Fortress Maximus dominates it, violently ripping off his own head before a cadre of armed human-looking fellows, outfitted in sci-fi jumpsuits. Autobot warriors have their weapons at the ready to his right, while Scorponok and some flying Decepticons are on the left. Behind him, a series of futuristic spires burn. The message is clear - Fortress Maximus is besieged, surrounded on all sides by the forces of war. He's caught between the Autobots and the Decepticons, with metaphoric flames at his back. His response to this is apparently self-destructive, though it's actually self-sacrifice. "Introducing an all-powerful, all-new generation of Transformers!" the cover tells us, thematically undercutting the drama a bit. Interestingly, Optimus Prime occupies the Marvel pricing box rather than the current Grimlock or someone from the Headmasters. This helps to instantly tie the book into the main continuity; in effect, Optimus is giving the book his blessings.

This issue itself is no less strong. It openes with a wordy splash, a line of Autobots trudging along while being herded and indeed blasted by Decepticons. Yomtov's coloring makes the guards stand out well from the prisoners; the miserable Autobot prisoners are block-colored in blue, while the Decepticon overseers get their full colors. Scorponok is the visual focus of the series, blasting a hapless prisoner in the face. Springer does flub some of the models, including headmaster heads instead of robots, but it's forgivable. He had literally dozens of models to work with, and they were not all clearly labeled. Despite these flubs, it's a powerful opening image, enhanced by Bob's prose. "The planet Cybertron is a wound that will not heal," he opens with. His bleak language compliments the horrors that we witness. Even the obligatory introductions aren't too bad, and Bob manages to call-back to his earlier Cybertronian tale by having Skullcruncher say that when he's through with the prisoners, they'll be "begging for a swim in the [[smelting]] pool." One gets the sense that he is excited by this new blank canvas. It must be a relief to get to tell a whole new story with new characters, rather than try to shoe-horn these 40 or so bots into his existing monthly run. But I get ahead of myself.

The audience isn't the only one witnessing this trail of tears. Fortress Maximus and a band of Autobots observe this procession and disrupt it with a massive attack. Notice Cog, Grommet and Fasttrack among the combatants. The Decepticons quickly retreat, though not before some more excellent Springer art. A Hardhead-colored Cog urges pursuit, but a Fort Max colored Hardhead declares that there has been enough destruction.

After leading the survivors back to their remote base in the Manganese Mountains, Fort Max puts a damper on the celebrations. The war has been raging for 50,000 Vorns, and they are no better off than they were when it started. He pessimistically observes that Autobots and Decepticons are partners in a circle of war and hate and death, unable to trust the other side enough to break the circle. Even more tragically, he sees no way to break it ... but he CAN remove himself from it. He's been observing Nebulos for a few centuries, a world without war. Hardhead calls abandoning the war cowardice, and Maximus doesn't argue the point. His decision is final, though, and most of his troops mutely agree with his assessment. They prepare a great ship and prepare to blast off. Fortress Maximus is the last to enter. He hopes that, should he ever see its silvered plains again, they will "gleam unmarred by the ravages of war." Sadly, he never will, though Bob couldn't know that for sure when he wrote it.

Having a new set of characters and a new circumstance to play with seems to be sitting well with the creative team in general and Budiansky in particular. His prose is some of the strongest in his entire run. He rightly points out the cowardice of abandoning one's duty and one's homeland, but Maximus' weariness comes through, both in his words and in his facial expressions. I also love the design of the as-yet-unnamed Steelhaven, the vessel that takes Maximus and crew to Nebulos. I liked the name and design so much that I reused it for the name of the Elite Guard flagship in The AllSpark Almanac.

The Autobots arrive at Nebulose and park their ship in orbit. They fly down (standing on the alt modes of their flying brethren or hanging onto their wings and tails, which is pretty silly really) and start to examine their new environment. In the process, we get a bit of characterization and names for the Autobot future-Headmasters. Highbrow is tasked with making peaceful contact with the natives and delivering a message. He interrupts two Nebulons, Gort and Marita, kissing, and in a panic Gort backs off of a small incline and hits his head. Highbrow awkwardly delivers the message-device and hopes that Gort can be 'repaired.'

Inside Koraja, Nebulon capital, the Council of Peers debates what to do. Lord Zarak wants to crush this new threat, and he has some support on the council. The leader of the world-watchers, a fellow named Galen, disagrees. He wants to give peace a chance. Soon his oration holds sway, and the council decides to hear out the envoy. Springer outfits the Nebulons in a mish-mash of futuristic gear, vaguely Greco-Roman apparel and, for the ladies, revealing sci-fi outfits. It helps set the tone for an advanced society, living in a world without war. One gets the sense that this is an Eden, albeit one that the natives fought hard to construct and maintain.

The envoy, Blurr, arrives, but Zarak and Krunk have a plan to disrupt the proceedings. Krunk fires a magnetic polarizer rifle at the Autobot and forces him to attack a fountain, throwing the crowd into a panic. The panicked Nebulons attempt flight, though with varying degrees of success. Poor Marita, still wearing the same outfit, is trampled and seriously injured. Zarak's personal militia assaults Blurr and drives him off, "his audio sensors ringing with the cries of the injured and the curses of the betrayed."

Blurr can't figure out what happened, though some of the Autobots want to give the Nebulons a real fight. Maximus, of course, refuses. His opposite number, Galen, doesn't have the same courage for his similar convictions. He opens an ancient armory in the Arvassian Range and prepares for war. Soon the Autobots are facing a full-scale assault and driven back into a dense swamp. Kup and Hardhead are willing, perhaps eager, for a fight, but Maximus will not have it. He threatens to fight them himself if they won't pull back, then covers their retreat with his body. Injured Autobots sit, dejected, in the corrosive environment. Fortress Maximus won't hear talk of a counterattack, and instead prepares for another diplomatic exchange. "We must be brave enough to wage peace."

Zarak and Galen are among those manning (Nebuloning?) the ramparts. Zarak assures Galen that history will remember him kindly, but Galen is having second thoughts. When eleven Autobots (in fact, the future Headmasters and Targetmasters) stride boldly towards the fortified position, Galen orders his troops to hold their fire. Fortress Maximus gives an impassioned speech, one which fails to convince Zarak. Sensing disbelief, Maximus orders the Autobots to disarm. Zarak still has doubts, so Maximus gives him the most he has to give ... his very head. He offers his head and now-inanimate body as a gesture of peace. When Zarak, half mad, urges Galen not to be fooled by such "grotesque theatrics," Highbrow, Hardhead, Brainstorm and Chromedome follow in Fort Max's lead. Galen orders the weapons lowered - there will be no war today.

This issue manages to be greater than the sum of its many parts, a feat that many Transformers comics in the 80's failed to do. The mini-series approach to this radical departure from what went before works very well. New themes are explored; the toll of millions of years of war, the courage to fight hard for peace. Though there are tons of new characters, they don't always introduce themselves in their very first appearance, which allows them to more organically come to our attention when appropriate to the story. The prose is top-notch, from the dialogue of the Autobots and the Nebulons to the captions describing what is going on.

As well-written as the captions were, they were hardly necessary given Springer's art. He manages to convey both the devastation of Cybertron and the paradise that is Nebulos with equal aplomb. His robots and his humans are nicely expressive, important to a story with such deep emotions as this. Despite, or perhaps even because of, the cheesecake, I actually like the silly Nebulon designs. It would have been easy to put everyone in jumpsuits and be done with it. Instead, the Nebulons have a wide variety of fashions, from Zarak's tunic to Galen's symbolic garb to Krunk and the other soldier's uniforms. I also rather like their war machines. They are clearly instruments of destruction, but are different enough from both Earth weaponry and Cybertronian alt modes to stand out.

Ring of Hate! is available from Titan books in the anthology Transformers: Trial By Fire. Check it out at Amazon.com!

Bish's Review: Marvel UK #81 "Target: 2006" Part 3

“Target: 2006” Part 3 was written by Simon Furman, drawn by Jeff Anderson, Lettered by Annie Halfacree, coloured by Tony Jozwiak and edited by Ian Rimmer.

The cover was by Will Simpson and although I slammed his art last issue, I’ve got to say that I am a fan of this piece. Galvatron stands in triumph as the bodies of defeated Autobots lay all around. His foot is on Ironhide’s head. The only conscious Autobot is Jetfire and he is slumped in horrified capitulation as Galvatron roars a primal cry of triumph. Simpson’s style works very well for Galvatron here, because his tendency to make the Transformers look less human than usual makes the Decepticon look like an all-powerful monster, complete with demonically glowing mouth and eyes. The Autobots are not the focus of the piece and can’t be seen very well, so look good enough for the purpose. A very dramatic and intriguing cover, even without the rather unncecessary “TO BE CONTINUED?” caption.

This issue is told in flashback. We first see Ironhide on his knees, digging with his hands, but we do not know why. He is thinking about defeat and indeed, the very next image, and the focal point of the first page, is Ironhide’s unconscious form with Galvatron’s foot on his head, as the cover suggested.

Ironhide keeps digging and remembers a discussion in the Ark. Jetfire and Smokescreen are determined to get Jazz back from Galvatron as quickly as possible (he was captured last issue). Hound warns them about how powerful Galvatron is and urges them not to attempt anything without Ultra Magnus’ help, even though Jetfire doesn’t trust him (a bit hypocritical from an Autobot who started life as a Decepticon drone warrior, perhaps?).

It turns out that Ultra Magnus refuses to help anyway. This decision clearly pains him greatly, but he is seriously on the clock here, and as far as he is concerned finding Optimus Prime and the Creation Matrix takes priority over one captured Autobot.

The Autobots attack anyway. “We did need Magnus” remembers Ironhide as he recalls a battle that was more of a slaughter. Scourge and Cyclonus demonstrate their extraordinary expertise for a while as the Autobots weaken before finally going down, apparently. Jetfire gives the order to go after Galvatron.

Galvatron laughs at them. Arrogantly he points out that the Constructicons do nothing to protect him, because it would be unnecessary, and, even worse, that Scourge and Cyclonus are actually fine, their defeat merely a ruse to break the spirits of the Autobots.

Galvatron invites the Autobots to show what they can do and they oblige. Ironhide’s narration reaches an anguished pitch here as he recalls how Galvatron just stood there, took it, and LAUGHED as lasers and projectiles bounced off his armour. With the Autobots frozen from shock and energy-drain Galvatron makes short work of them with his bare hands. He tells Ironhide that they are "not even worth killing", and leaves them scattered around like burned out toaster ovens.

Ironhide has concluded, after coming around, that the Autobots are useless in a situation like this without someone to take charge, which is why he has been digging.

The final page of the issue shows us Ironhide’s target. He has taken the momentous decision to dig Megatron out from under the rock pile that Galvatron buried him in. Clearly desperate times have called for very desperate measures indeed.

And, as a final intriguing coda, we cut back to the Ark. Grapple walks past, unnoticing, as a red light flashes on a console and a blue coloured fist smashes its way out of some kind of stasis pod.

I love this issue. Ironhide is not usually the sort to get a chance at a tortured soliloquy but we really feel for what the character has been through. Clearly his ultimate decision does not come easily but we can really feel his and understand desperation here, even if it is impossible to shake the "this cannot possibly end well" feeling.

I am not sure I like this version of Jetfire very much. He appears very hot headed but his anguish at Jazz’s ordeal is raw and very real so his rashness is understandable.

It is perhaps a slight contrivance that Ultra Magnus is a bot of few words when it comes to his mission and while the other Autobots know why his is on Earth, he does not waste time in diplomacy with them, leaving them angry and resentful. Still, this creates some excellent soul-searching in the few panels we get to see Magnus this issue.

By the end of the issue the gloves are really off; with Optimus Prime gone and the Autobots turning to their greatest enemy for aid. This is one of the finest cliff-hanger endings that Marvel UK managed to produce.

If the script has a flaw it’s the blatant authorial device of having the villain defeat the heroes but not dismantle them because they are “not even worth killing.” It could be convincingly argued that Galvatron is trying hard not to disrupt the timeline - that is, after all, why he buried rather than destroyed Megatron - but no hint of it is given within this particular issue. It would not have been difficult, we the readers have access to Galvatron’s thoughts if necessary, so although it makes sense that he would not have wanted to disclose this potential weakness to the Autobots reminding the audience might have stopped the story from being quite so convenient.

Anderson’s art is always solid and this issue is no exception. The detail on Ironhide’s unconscious form on the first page is exquisite. When the light in a Transformer’s eyes goes off it is always a very bad thing. This is probably blatant fanboyish projection but it seems to me that a good artist, like Anderson, can reduce a Transformer to a lifeless metal husk just by colouring those two hexagons in black. Ironhide no longer looks like a being that can move under his own power, or indeed anything alive. The rest of this issue is certainly up to this standard and a marked improvement over the last one.

The best issue of the saga so far and with plot twists that promise much bigger things to come.  IDW's trade of  Transformers: Target: 2006 is available from Amazon.com.