"When I find the guy who put this TV set in me..."
Transformers: Ironhide #4
FINAL ISSUE
IDW Publishing (August 2010)
WRITER: Mike Costa ARTIST: Casey Coller COLORIST: Joana LaFuente ALTERNATE COVER ARTIST: Marcelo Matere ALTERNATE COVER COLORIST: Priscilla Tramontano LETTERER: Neil Uyetake ASSISTANT EDITOR: Carlos Guzman EDITOR: Andy Schmidt
After he goes Swarm hunting, and gets a formal introduction to Metroplex, Ironhide finally gets to let Alpha Trion know what he thinks of him. Trion is already on his way out, but wants Ironhide to stay behind and clean up the rest of the Swarm on Cybertron. Despite his legs not being repaired, Sunstreaker elects to remain on Cybertron as penance for his previous actions.
What they got right: I don’t understand why Costa had to kill Ironhide off (only to clone him–at least he wasn’t a Black Lantern) since he obviously loves writing him so much. There could have been another way to get him to Cybertron. And I do love the way Costa writes Ironhide. He hasn’t been this much fun since the original cartoon. We also finally learn what Metroplex was hiding back during his Spotlight comic.
What they got wrong: Speaking of the cartoon, why the slag is Alpha Trion being written this way? This was a character made specifically for the show, and anyone who has picked up the character since, even fan fiction and convention comics, have been true to the character. The Shattered Glass version was closer than this.
Recommendation: Haven’t picked up this mini-series? Get the trade. Despite some misgivings (why kill/clone Ironhide, why write Alpha Trion as a big jerk), this was a great comic and the best Ironhide characterization in years.
And I have to show this part soon after.
This is Tronasarus’ primary competition come Sunday.
Tomorrow’s Comic> Wall-E #7, which is only fair since it’s the last issue I plan to get.
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