By: Mairghread Scott (writer), Sarah Stone (artist)
The Story: Windblade runs up against one of the key problems of representative government – if you’re not willing to seize power, there’s someone else who will.
The Review: It’s hard to use words like best when you’re talking about the current IDW Transformers line. Robots in Disguise is rather underrated in my opinion, More Than Meets The Eye is acknowledged genius, but somehow there’s something special about Transformers: Windblade that makes it one of my favorite books month after month. Sadly this is the end for our little miniseries that could, but it certainly doesn’t go out quietly.
Transformers: Windblade #4 admittedly suffers from a common comic malady, the overstuffed conclusion. There’s a lot going on here and, if this were a movie or a TV show, it really should come after the climax rather than just starting off the issue. Nevertheless, it’s like that because it would be a shame to lose any of the action that Mairghread Scott has laid out for us.
Part of what’s made Windblade such a success is the infectious optimism of our title heroine. While it may have been a bit much for Windblade to start entirely ignorant of Starscream’s reputation, she’s generally avoided being pure maiden of pure purity while remaining hopeful for the future of Cybertron. Like most of us at some time or another, Windblade feels out of place, like she doesn’t quite belong, on Cybertron, but what’s so charming about her is the way that she earnestly, but not fearlessly throws herself into her new role and opens herself to the people of Cybertron, despite being a Camien. This issue, that’s going to be tested.
As readers we possess the necessary distance to see the flaws in both the Autobot and Decepticon ideologies. We see the tragic flaws that have doomed Megatron’s rebellion and the cracks in the Autobot myth that Optimus Prime is desperately trying to hold together and redeem by force of will alone. As an outsider, Windblade has a similar distance. She has the opportunity to show Cybertron a better way, but, if she can’t, Starscream has his own way of creating the Cybertronian Utopia, one that has always been at war with Eastasia.
These are the stakes that Scott presents us with, in many ways a new war for the soul of Cybertron with factions that are far harder to define. It falls to Windblade to solve the mystery while Chromia holds off Starscream’s troops. After a fine showing over the last two issues, Chromia doesn’t get the time I think she deserves here. Often enough she’s used as a counterpoint to Windblade’s innocence and optimism, feeling as much like a test for our title character as an ally. Once Starscream arrives for the final battle, Chromia’s presence provides some cool moments. Still it would have been nice if the bodyguard’s opinions of Starscream had received a little more attention. As it is, Chromia is too busy playing roles to be a character the way she has in the past.
Luckily for us the rest of the cast is fantastic. Starscream, as ever, is a treat under Scott’s pen. Now that his role in the story is becoming clear, I realize that Scott is writing the Starscream I really want to see: a Starscream who’s perhaps more dangerous as a hero than as a villain.
It’s rare that we get to see Starscream just cut loose, but this issue provides an impressive example. At times he almost seems too capable in a fair fight, given that he’s probably never dared to engage in one, but Scott eases such concerns with a great one-liner that reminds you how much the series has benefitted for her thoughtfulness. In fact, many of Starscream’s best contributions to this issue are similarly short and sweet. Perhaps the best is an aside by the approaching king, “I’ll finish our mystery bomber. I hope it’s Rattrap. He really should show a bit more initiative.”
I won’t spoil who the bomber is, but I will say that even Scott’s Starscream is outshone this month, and by a surprising bot, indeed. After lying low for most of the series, Metroplex makes a big impression this month. Scott writes the colossal transformer with heartbreaking sincerity.
Scott’s script can get a little confusing in a few key places, but she does an admirable job of wrapping up her story in the space provided and giving it the kick it deserves. The reveal is a shock and doesn’t dishonor the complexity of Scott’s ideas with out and out villainy. Everyone’s the hero of their own story, but this one belongs to Windblade.
This issue takes quite a turn, but the city-speaker handles it as well as any Prime. Windblade is tested in a way that may surprise many readers. Through it all, Mairghread Scott continues to write her with empathy and conviction. Thankfully and sadly, this isn’t the sort of story that can be solved with the power of love or Burning Justice. Windblade is us, thrown into a world addicted to war and trying to hold it up on her shoulders. It’s intense and potentially distressing but Scott brings us out the other side with an even brighter future ahead.
Sarah Stone remains a treasure. This issue is a fine representation of the style she’s chosen. The characters are vibrant and alive, despite the attractively flat look of the miniseries. The backgrounds tend to be on the sparse side, but Stone has made conscious and clever decisions that allow them to be sparse and to be attractive and narratively helpful while being so.
As ever, Starscream strikes an imposing presence, with this final chapter offering plenty of opportunities for Stone to show off how frightening the formerly failed schemer can be. In fact, that remains one of her strengths as an artist, she knows how to strike right at the heart of a reader. Scenes that are frightening are frightening, scenes that are breath-taking for characters are breath-taking for readers, scenes that are powerful can jolt you like a palm to the chest.
Even relatively standard panels have an undeniable energy to them. One panel of Blurr, Slug, and Rattrap is no more important than any other in the issue, but Stone’s rendition is arresting, all the more so for the layout’s lack of focus on it.
In short, the baseline awe-inspiring beauty that Stone has brought to every issue remains, but this issue really stands out for returning some of issue #1’s spirit of innovation to the mini. There are some great panels that try new things. One notable panel uses Windblade’s Camien facial markings to great effect and the entire next page blurs lines between panels and uses the brilliance of Stone’s colors wonderfully. In fact, that brilliance of color actually makes many of the duller sequences to follow all the more potent.
Likewise, in an issue of Stone’s trademark blues, she occasionally punctuates the action in stark white and red, each time showing a slightly different version of the technique and communicating something slightly different.
The final technique that I feel the need to mention is mirroring. Particularly towards the end of the story, Stone calls back to some of the most powerful panels from issue #1, giving a true sense of completion to the tale. I don’t know if this was Stone’s idea or if it came from Scott’s script, but either way it looks fantastic and drives home the small scale and big presence this miniseries possesses.
Admittedly there are a few places here or there where characters feel a little bit flat or off model, but it’s such a small part of the composition, which itself is awash in the emotional power that Sarah Stone brings to bear. Ultimately, that’s a huge part of what makes Stone such an incredible artist to read. I take nothing away from her sense of color or her strength with emotion, but perhaps most of all it’s the degree to which her compositions get into your head and work with your imagination to bring Cybertron to life.
The Conclusion: I suppose that this issue’s primary responsibility was simply to live up to the fantastic lead in that it had been given. It succeeds.
The artwork is stunning. The story, while decidedly different from the first three issues, is riveting. Windblade #4 is an impressive piece of work.
The pacing of this issue is more than a little rushed – it’s the sort of issue that suffers for the sake of the overall story – but it’s an engrossing conclusion that will entertain, surprise, and leave readers desperate for the recently announced Windblade Returns.
It may not be the most polished issue of this miniseries, but Windblade #4 brings the story in for a safe landing. Bolstered by fantastic visuals from Sarah Stone, Mairghread Scott accomplishes a rare and praiseworthy feat for the Transformers brand: she crafts a story that opens Transformers to and, in fact, targets, new readers while providing everything that old standbys love about Cybertron.
Grade: B+
Some Thoughts:
While there may not be spoilers below, I recommend that those planning to read the issue do so before reading these.
- So where was Ironhide during the commotion with the Terrorcons? This issue makes it clear that he wasn’t with Metroplex like he was asked to be. The issue contains some hints but doesn’t explicitly comment.
- While I understand what Scott was aiming for, both with and without the knowledge of the bomber’s identity, it’s still strange that Chromia goes from “Clear the guards! Don’t kill ‘em unless you have to!” last issue to “You sure you don’t mean ‘kill’? I would’ve gone with ‘kill’”at the start of this one. They’re not necessarily in conflict, but it seems like an odd juxtaposition.
- Knockout AND Air Hammer!? Oh, Mairghread Scott, once again you prove yourself a woman after my own heart!
– Noah Sharma