Twin Twist: More Than Meets The Eye # 37!

FOR a change, I’m going to keep things as short as I can—to encourage readers to actually pick up IDW Publishing’s “Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye” (“TF: MTMTE”) # 37 because writer James Roberts and artist Alex Milne continue to produce one superlative issue after another. Last issue was a mind-blowing issue, and this one starts off seeming like it’s going nowhere, begins to turn towards a different direction, and then plunges right into a shock ending.

            There is so much going on in this issue that I will just keep to the most important bits (since it can be argued that every little and big thing here is really important). After missing the time-traveling Decepticon double agent Brainstorm, Rodimus’ own time-traveling squad has arrived in the City of Rodion in the past. It’s the time of the Clampdown, when the oppressive Senate has enforced curfews and the functionist movement is gaining strength—just as the Decepticon movement is growing. Cyclonus is shocked by how beautiful Rodion is. Back in the present, Perceptor and Rodimus realize that time itself seems to be starting to re-write itself, because the very act of Brainstorm traveling back in time has already created a new timeline even if he hasn’t succeeded yet in assassinating Orion Pax, the future Optimus Prime. The funniest scene is the Maccadam’s Oil House in the past, where Rung, distracted by seeing his past self, misses Brainstorm completely. We get an insightful conversation between Nightbeat and his partner Quark about the oppressive nature of the Clampdown. “The dirtier your job, the greater your chances of survival,” says Quark of the coming Decepticon revolution.

           

Past Perfect: More Than Meets the Eye # 36!

THE start of the New Year is an auspicious time to read one of the best Transformers issues—ever. Already known as the best-written IDW continuity series, “Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” (“TF: MTMTE”) gives writer James Roberts the space and opportunity to do whatever he wants. This issue is an example of why that is always a good thing.

            “TF: MTMTE” # 36 begins on Cybertron four million years ago, with a group of Autobot outlaws, led by Orion Pax, are protecting the Alyon region from attack. Then, they are interrupted by the sudden appearance literally out of nowhere by a group of Transformers readers will recognize as members of the crew of the Lost Light: Rodimus, Chromedome, Whirl, Tailgate, Cyclonus, Rung, Rewind and Sky Byte. They have clearly traveled back in time. “’Sup,” Rodimus says.

            Then we get a flashback—or a flash-forward in this case—on the Lost Light. They’ve figured out that Decepticon double agent Brainstorm has gone back in time to the time frame of 1^st Cycle 502 to assassinate Pax—who would later become Optimus Prime—and win the war for the Decepticons. Led by an uncomfortable Megatron, they agree that the only way to stop Brainstorm is to send their own team back in time. They also have to be careful, as they can’t change the events of the past either. “Chromedome’s got it covered,” Rodimus says.

Death in the Family: More Than Meets The Eye # 34!

THIS is the last issue of IDW’s “Transformers: Robots in Disguise”—technically speaking. But it’s not going away, it’s just changing titles next month to just plain “The Transformers” # 35. Read into that what you will, but “TF: RID,” though well-written and well-illustrated, still somewhat remains overshadowed by its even-better-written and better-illustrated sibling title, “Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye.” That is not helped by the fact that “TF:RID” is now jumping all over the place. Originally, the series seemed focused on the Earth-bound adventures of Optimus Prime and the remaining Autobots, but it’s since jumped back to life on a bittersweet Cybertron and then back to Earth now that the humans have aligned themselves with the Decepticons. But now, it’s going back in time with some surprising and defining back stories. That’s a lot of moving parts and it speaks to writer John Barber’s ambition that he even dares to juggle so many ideas in one book. Last issue leads into this one, as Barber tells a tale from Cybertron’s history ten million years ago, one that speaks of a heretofore unknown alliance between the unstoppably barbarian Galvatron and the Autobot sage Alpha Trion. Trion tells Prime this story after they leave the Ark-7 in Earth’s lunar orbit without telling anyone where they’re going.