Don’t you hate it when uninvited guests crash your barbecue?
Transformers: Beast Wars – The Gathering #2
IDW Publishing (March 2006)
WRITER: Simon Furman
ARTIST: Don Figueroa
COLORIST: Josh Burcham
SELECTED COVER ART: Guido Guidi (according to the Transformers Wiki)
LETTERER: Tom B. Long
EDITORS: Chris Ryall & Dan Taylor
With some of their allies restrained or still on their way and the Predacons thus outnumbering them, Razorbeast and the rescued Maximals need to make contact with Cybertron to warn them that Magmatron is pursuing his own agenda. They need a device from Ravage’s destroyed ship (from season 2 of the show) but Magmatron is one step ahead of them. As he triple-teams the Maximals (he has three dinosaur modes), Optimus Minor manages to get into Ravage’s ship. Drill Bit is waiting for him, but Snarl is there to back him up. As Razorbeast manages to defeat Magmatron (for now), the Maximals escape and meet up, only to find the device is damaged. However, there may be a way to fix it by using the resources of the Ark, the crashed Autobot spaceship. Meanwhile, Magmatron gets his hands on Ravage’s remains. He may be gone, but his spark core is intact, which means the Predacons may get a Decepticon on their side.
What they got right: One of the strengths of this series is giving fans of toys that didn’t make it to the show (due to CG limitations at the time for a weekday TV show) get their chance to shine. Two of my favorites, Optimus Minor (a minor opinion, ironically) and Snarl, are given a great moment together and I like their characterizations. Ramulas also makes an opinion and is somehow less extreme that he was in the convention comics from awhile back. There’s also a good reason why the full Maximal team hasn’t assembled yet. Some are helping Torca out of the mud, while the swimmers, flyers, and Polar Claw have a long way to go.
What they got wrong: Believe it or not I have no complaints here.
Other notes: So considering Ramulas’s new origin here I’m guessing that the convention comics aren’t canon with this. Too bad, because that would have been nice, considering they’re both based on the cartoon rather than some new continuity.
Recommendation: Could this actually be another GOOD story from Simon Furman, join the first War Within and his run on Armada/Energon in quality? Time and the next few weeks will tell, but I actually recommend this issue.
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