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As Skybound's Transformers draws closer to the end of its first arc - and the arrival of a new artist - several more famous Autobots and Decepticons have made their grand entrance. It's another top issue of the comic that we placed at number 2 in our best of 2023 list.
In case you've not been following the series so far, an alien - well, Cybertronian - ship has crashed to Earth, bringing with it two rival factions of Transformers. They've immediately reprised their conflict here, with humans - including young Spike and Carly - getting caught in the crossfire. With the battle having reached something of a pause, both sides have retreated to gather their forces. And for the Decepticons that means reviving some firm fan favorites...
We'll dig into it all after this lovely cover by series writer and artist Daniel Warren Johnson.
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Spoilers for Transformers #5
At the start of the issue, both sides are recuperating. Optimus Prime shares a quiet moment with Spike's Dad, Sparky. They're both old soldiers and this moment of bonding further solidifies the trust that's growing between the two following Prime's willingness to save Spike in the previous issue.
The Decepticons, meanwhile, are taking advantage of Skywarp's destruction at the hands of Starscream and Soundwave, using his Energon to bring back several other Transformers.
Thundercracker is the first to be revived, followed by Frenzy and Reflector. With these new reinforcements, Starscream is keen to embark on "a violence party." Never say he doesn't have a way with words.
Meanwhile, the Autobots - with Sparky's help - have built a new energy source for the town. That in turn enables them to revive some of their own fallen: Wheeljack and Arcee - completing the line-up that was initially announced way back in June last year.
The peace doesn't last for very long, however. They're interrupted by an attack from the Decepticons, though this leads to an excellent Optimus Prime moment where the newly-revived Reflector is immediately incinerated by the Autobot leader. Cleary vexed, Prime then goes on to pummel the hell out of Frenzy - so much for those reinforcements! It's a particularly awesome and kinetic action scene in an issue that wasn't exactly hurting for cool visuals.
But while it's all looking good for the Autobots, Starscream has a trick up his metal sleeves. When the Autobots roll out back to the crashed spaceship, they're ambushed by a new threat: a row of Constructicons, who immediately merge into the hulking Devastator. Cliffhanger!
The mystery of how Megatron will eventually factor into all this continues - though readers of Cobra Commander already know some of that story. It's very satisfying to see both sides of the Cybertronian conflict starting to fill out and the addition of the Constructicons - not individually named here, but presumably Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook, and Long Haul - is really fun, and ups the sense of jeopardy for the Autobots who are now outnumbered and outgunned.
Transformers #5 is out now from Skybound.
Another Energon Universe title, Duke, launched at the start of the year. Here's what we made of its first issue.
