IDW The Transformers #47 Full Preview

Woohoo! Excited to see more of the Torchbearers in action. That one-shot they appeared in was months ago. Cool to think about....in this preview, fembots outnumber dudebots 7-4.

They are doing "to sell toys" right. Slowly developing the Torchbearers is certainly making me want to buy them when a few months ago I figured they would be an easy pass.



And for the story...man. It is getting good. I really really really hope they dont hit the reset button and go back to the status quo. I LOVE Soundwave's character now. I love that he is an idealist. I really hope he doesn't "pay for that with his life" or some BS like that. I mean, it's obvious that Galvatron is out for Blood and Soundwave isn't but I'd like to see Soundwave come out on top of this. Have his commune be successful dang it. I mean, how many of us immediately assumed that it wouldn't be? That there would be some fatal flaw?

<rant>

Personally I'm tired of that. Have Soundwave be a powerful neutral force that exists in the universe. Galvatron may try to topple him but can't and so he and his Decepticons (and Autobots) live and work there. Perhaps occasionally providing a safe-haven for some Autobots as the story needs it.

Sometimes the idealists win out. I think Soundwave is an idealist, but he's also smart and clever. I want him to succeed.

</rant>

I am excited and impatiently awaiting this issue to come out. looks like there will be some big stuff here

Synopsis
CONQUERORS, part 2! OPTIMUS PRIME ventures into the SEA OF RUST, looking for the truth about his role as a PRIME. Instead, he comes face-to-face with the new female combiner, VICTORION, who has some questions of her own!



Story

Of the two series from IDW Publishing running right now, The Transformers is undoubtedly the currently most interesting, maintaining a sustained and mostly narrative in a way that More Than Meets the Eye has kept subsided for a while now - and with John Barber at the helm, those narratives run deep, and way into the past.



This issue brings together several strands we have already encountered, and briskly moves them forward towards the next big step in the series - and I am seriously hooked onto what that may be - by referencing some of the older events in this incarnation of the Transformers universe, from Heart of Darkness to Dark Cybertron, via Combiner Wars.



While some of those may rest uneasy with the established readership, newcomers to the story will find them useful enough to go back and rediscover previous stories, or take the information and run with it - much like Starscream seems to do in the book. Which does not lack several wider scenes with key and major players in Cybertron's ever-changing scape, from Blackrock to Needlenose, to Soundwave and Galvatron, to all of those caught in between.



The highlight of the issue, for me at least, was the fantastic sequence with Optimus Prime and the Torchbearers/Victorion (with Aileron playing support). The voices are fresh, the interaction sparking some serious food for thought, and once more a lead into new directions yet to be explored in the series.


Art

The newest addition to the artistic team at IDW Publishing makes her second debut here, as Sara Pitre-Durocher approaches the interior artwork with a fresh brush and some excellently dynamic takes on established designs and characters. The art is clean, the stroke is fine, the layouts are pleasing...



...and Josh Perez makes sure that the transition into a new style is seamless, smooth and slick, as only Perez can do. After the alternative, pastel take on Combiner Hunters, seeing his vibrant (but also contrasting where needed, such as the Victorion scenes) work on the new lineart is a good touch.



Despite one significantly, and poignantly, silent scene, the lettering runs true all through, as Tom B. Long works once more his magic, capturing the new tones, balances and dynamics of the major players in the book. The covers are slightly different this month, featuring main art by regular Andrew Griffith and Perez, with Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente giving a scene that we never see in the book (thumbnailed), but speaks to Soundwave's plans, and Livio Ramondelli teases next week's Sins of the Wreckers debut.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Not only in The Transformers the most interesting, to me at least, of the two books right now, it is also the best example of not needing to refer, any longer, to the established Transformers lore outside of what IDW is creating. Barber, Scott, and Roberts have woven an intricate universe, and the former handles the multiple factions extremely well.



It is excellent to see that universe expand, both in-story and beyond the limits of the page, with new artist Pitre-Durocher back on interiors after her stint on Combiner Hunters. There are many many leads for the stories being told, and I, for one, cannot wait to find out more next month. It'll be a woof wait.

what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Thank you. It was a pain to have to rewrite all of it in bits throughout the day as it was chomped, but it made me appreciate some of the parts of the issue more.

There is some really excellent stuff in here, both in writing and art, and I'm glad the team is going so strong!

(And I really really want Victorion.)

Va'al wrote:(And I really really want Victorion.)

Me too man, me too.

The big question at the moment right now though is who is the black angel? got some interesting theories thats for sure

Va'al wrote:Thank you. It was a pain to have to rewrite all of it in bits throughout the day as it was chomped, but it made me appreciate some of the parts of the issue more.

There is some really excellent stuff in here, both in writing and art, and I'm glad the team is going so strong!

(And I really really want Victorion.)

yeah, she was an easy pass ...until they made the characters so captivating. I got a new shelf so I place her when she comes out

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

Randomhero wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

But since Nexus died and his relic landed on Earth, shouldn't Earth be his planet? and Blackrock is Nexus reincarnated?

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

But since Nexus died and his relic landed on Earth, shouldn't Earth be his planet? and Blackrock is Nexus reincarnated?

See I still think the the planet with the ammonites were a colony and their planet was nexus because they're while heritage was combining. I think the enigma drifted to earth because it was the closest to any form of energy that was based on cybertronian

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

But since Nexus died and his relic landed on Earth, shouldn't Earth be his planet? and Blackrock is Nexus reincarnated?

See I still think the the planet with the ammonites were a colony and their planet was nexus because they're while heritage was combining. I think the enigma drifted to earth because it was the closest to any form of energy that was based on cybertronian

Broader question here: the 13 ores went to planets where the 13 primes (and they stated Nexus's enigma) landed and finally rested. Leaving this open: What about A3 since he remained on Cybertron? What about the Arisen Prime? Will that be Optimus? And will Sentinel showing back up have something to do with this whole deal with the primes and the Arisen (could Sentinel be mistaken for the Arisen, or could he be it?)? Overall, there is a lot of Primy-wiminess going on here, and it is gonna take some time to figure this out. But I still believe Earth is Nexus's planet because of the enigma

Primy-wiminess is excellent. It shall be used in a review.

Va'al wrote:Primy-wiminess is excellent. It shall be used in a review.

haha, YES!! D-Max for the win!

but it is true though. So much prime stuff here. We gotta find some stuff out here. i'm impatient. Plus, lets think about this: With his new PW Prime toy revealed, could Victorion actually literally help build prime up, creating an all-new Prime look/feel?

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

But since Nexus died and his relic landed on Earth, shouldn't Earth be his planet? and Blackrock is Nexus reincarnated?

See I still think the the planet with the ammonites were a colony and their planet was nexus because they're while heritage was combining. I think the enigma drifted to earth because it was the closest to any form of energy that was based on cybertronian

Broader question here: the 13 ores went to planets where the 13 primes (and they stated Nexus's enigma) landed and finally rested. Leaving this open: What about A3 since he remained on Cybertron? What about the Arisen Prime? Will that be Optimus? And will Sentinel showing back up have something to do with this whole deal with the primes and the Arisen (could Sentinel be mistaken for the Arisen, or could he be it?)? Overall, there is a lot of Primy-wiminess going on here, and it is gonna take some time to figure this out. But I still believe Earth is Nexus's planet because of the enigma

Sentinel was a fake Prime. Same as nova, Nominus, and Zeta. They were primes who chose the name or were given by a corrupted council. Optimus is the one true Prime of that lineage because the Matrix chose him. MTMTE revealed nova had the matrix(a goof I wasn't happy with at the time due to this false lineage established) but I think it will be revealed he found it and took it rather than earning it. Sentinels return I think will be a curveball and he will say he too was chosen to stir conflict with Optimus and the people who believe in him and say he's the true prime. Remember back in Dark Cybertronian? Galvetron repeatedly referred to Optimus as the one true prime.

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:what you said, that's what I'm thinking...

Yes, this issue was awesome and you hit up on all the points I was feeling. MTMTE is a good character driven series but Barber's Transformers is EPIC. These issues just cannot come out fast enough.

Question: Do you think that Nova Prime was the Black Angel Blackrock saw? I kinda would like that as Nova seems to be set up to be a great villain and I don't think he has lived up to his potential so far. And I don't mean a villain in the sense that Galvatron is a villain. I mean Nova as being the underlying antagonist to everything.
But I guess that Black Angel reference could be a number of things. The Fallen comes to mind I guess.

anyway, great review. I'm glad you were able to put it up.

Here's my theory. The book has stated that the 13 ores have something to do with the 13 primes. Shockwave did not choose planets randomly and did not land on planets randomly. Each Titan/colony/planet represents a Prime or should have. We know prime wants to enlist earth with the council of worlds which would make earth have some weird cybertronian origin. I think earth was megatronus's planet and humans are an organic version of cybertronians and Blackrock is megatronus reincarnated

But since Nexus died and his relic landed on Earth, shouldn't Earth be his planet? and Blackrock is Nexus reincarnated?

See I still think the the planet with the ammonites were a colony and their planet was nexus because they're while heritage was combining. I think the enigma drifted to earth because it was the closest to any form of energy that was based on cybertronian

Broader question here: the 13 ores went to planets where the 13 primes (and they stated Nexus's enigma) landed and finally rested. Leaving this open: What about A3 since he remained on Cybertron? What about the Arisen Prime? Will that be Optimus? And will Sentinel showing back up have something to do with this whole deal with the primes and the Arisen (could Sentinel be mistaken for the Arisen, or could he be it?)? Overall, there is a lot of Primy-wiminess going on here, and it is gonna take some time to figure this out. But I still believe Earth is Nexus's planet because of the enigma

Sentinel was a fake Prime. Same as nova, Nominus, and Zeta. They were primes who chose the name or were given by a corrupted council. Optimus is the one true Prime of that lineage because the Matrix chose him. MTMTE revealed nova had the matrix(a goof I wasn't happy with at the time due to this false lineage established) but I think it will be revealed he found it and took it rather than earning it. Sentinels return I think will be a curveball and he will say he too was chosen to stir conflict with Optimus and the people who believe in him and say he's the true prime. Remember back in Dark Cybertronian? Galvetron repeatedly referred to Optimus as the one true prime.

I do agree with you about optimus, and my idea for Sentinel was the same as yours: show up to cause trouble and be mistaken for the arisen, despite being fake. I'm pretty sure we are on the same page here