“This Easy Bake Oven was defective!”
Transformers: Devastation #5
IDW Publishing (January, 2008)
WRITER: Simon Furman
ARTIST: E.J. Su (including selected cover art)
COLORIST: Zac Atkinson, assisted by Josh Burcham & Kris Carter
LETTERER: Robbie Robbins
EDITORS: Andrew Steven Harris & Chris Ryall
Sixshot arrives to take on the Reapers, at least until he starts negotiating with them. That’s when Starscream reveals both himself and the command code to turn Sixshot offline. So Megatron launches his current team against…the Reapers or Starscream? Hunter fights to escape the Machination base while Hot Rod confronts the Headmasters and Ratchet restarts the hearts of Verity and Jimmy. But news calls Optimus Prime and his team away while Skywatch prepares another of their found Transformers…Grimlock!
What they got right: What we got of the Sixshot/Reaper fight was pretty cool, and I always enjoy Su’s artwork.
What they got wrong: ANOTHER storyline, Simon? For crying out loud, choose one or two and stick with it until we’re done! What do we have now:
- The Reapers/Sixshot, and the Starscream vs. Megatron plot (at least these two combined well)
- The situation on some space prison
- The Machination on two fronts
- Skywatch, including breaking out Grimlock now
- The Dark Universe subplot that Nightbeat is involved with
- The dangling threat of Hot Rod and Doubledealer hinted earlier in this miniseries was still an ongoing story after Hot Rod’s Spotlight issue
- Have I missed any? Because I’m sure there’s more.
It’s just too much at one time! I’m also not a fan of this issues Mosaic story with Blurr. The art is okay but seeing Blurr is burning out his own life because the writer wanted to make Blurr a tragic figure with his own speed powers is just not interesting to me.
Recommendation: I want to recommend this because there are some good stories here, but that’s the problem. Stories. Plural. Multiple. I wish Furman would learn to focus. I wouldn’t turn you away from it, but I can’t recommend it either.
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