Comic Review: Transformers Galaxies #4, #5, and #6

Transformers Galaxies #4, #5, and #6

IDW Publishing

Written by Tyler Bleszinski, Kate Leth, and Cohen Edenfield

Art by Livio Ramondelli and Alex Milne

With Transformers Galaxies #4, Devastator and the Constructicons’ origins are fully revealed. There’s honestly not much to add to my reviews of the previous issues, as the end doesn’t diverge that much from the beginning or middle. Overall, it was a little too 90s, with characters stating their uncomplicated emotions. Devastator deserves his place as a fan favorite, but this story shows why the combiner’s perspective doesn’t make for a great story. Mainly because there’s not much to say about the single-minded Constructicons and the first four issues of Galaxies didn’t change that.

Thankfully the subsequent, two-issue arc sees an immediate, huge jump in quality. Transformers Galaxies #5 and #6 provides the first story in this reboot I unreservedly enjoy. Cliffjumper is sent out to a Cybertron colony Probat alongside his respected peer Deathsaurus. Unfortunately, the former was brought along to fool the batlike inhabitants into believing he was Bumblebee. And the deception is a part of Deathsaurus’ ruthless plan to exploit the hapless organics into handing over Energon.

Galaxies #5 and #6 are a lot closer in tone to More than Meets the Eye than anything else in this reboot. Alex Milne handling art duties definitely helps in that respect. But writing team Kate Leth and Cohen Edenfield also capture what made MTME the height of IDW’s old Transformers line. A strong emphasis on humor is paired with more serious moments, social commentary, and fandom mythos. It’s everything I look for in a Transformers story, something the reboot has failed to satisfy until now.

Most of the jokes and narrative revolve around Cliffjumper’s chronic case of mistaken identity. Referencing how his original real-world toy was a repaint of Bumblebee’s, the character’s creation is revealed to be an accidental repeat of the yellow bot’s “forging.” The confused transformers emerging to an empty lot, only to mistake a scavenger alien for his “mentor” is my favorite page from this whole reboot. It’s a pretty light character arc but Cliffjumper’s perpetual identity crisis makes for a great hook and some more substantial story beats too.

Back in the present, the absurdly named Deathsaurus (who gets an equally overdone design that Milne makes work in spite of its excess), has turned Bumblebee into a messiah figure to the inhabitants of Probat. It’s all part of the plan to ruthlessly exploit their Energon reserves, the lifeblood of Cybertronians. With the real Bumblebee unavailable for the most recent pickup, Deathsaurus tries to pass Cliffjumper off as the real thing. A deception that, unfortunately for all involved, goes off without a hitch.

Transformers #5 and #6 works as a self-contained adventure story about vehicular robots. It also explores colonialism, self-discovery, and hero-worship in a non-intrusive way that avoids shallowness. The Cybertronian characters strain under imposed energy regulations and their presence on organic worlds is just an excuse to harvest resources. These two issues, as lighthearted as they are, paint a much more vivid picture than the empty philosophizing of the main Brian Ruckley penned series. I now have a real sense of what the Decepticons want. Their extremism even seems much more justifiable with the broken system shown in Galaxies.

Milne’s art is, as in any Transformers book he’s attached to, the high point. He understands comic book storytelling and he understands big robots. The end result is something that channels the spectacle of Saturday morning cartoons, offset by a consistently intelligent presentation, and real human warmth. For example, the designs for the robats feel goofy enough to fit Transformers’ retrofuture aesthetic but serious enough to mesh with the anti-colonial messages of the story. Milne helps make the robats the only organics to really work in a reboot full of them.

Unlike Milne’s brief contribution to the main series, the writing in Galaxies #5 and #6 keeps up with the art. This reboot has frankly made me question my involvement with Transformers comics. After putting up with the main book’s plodding, I questioned whether the previous IDW comics had genuine merit or if I was just placated by a nostalgic, mature take on childhood favorites. Thankfully, Galaxies #5 and #6 reminded me that there’s more to Transformers than a hollow corporate brand and the embarrassing reactions to it.