Transformers: Robots in Disguise #34 – Review

Between the time that the Trypticon swallowed Harmonex and the rise of the son of Primus, there was an age undreamed of. And onto this, Galvatron! Destined to forge the Golden Age of Cybertron behind a troubled brow. It is I, the chronicler, who alone can tell you of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

After a brief stopover on Cybertron, the soon-to-be-renamed Transformers: Robots in Disguise returns to our solar system, if not our planet, for some much needed explanation.

While last month’s issue was particularly strong and existed almost solely to get readers excited for “Combiner Wars”, even it can’t compete with this story, dramatically entitled “The Crucible”, for sheer mind-blowing revelations. In fact, it seems entirely possible that this issue could be one of the most important in preparing for “Combiner Wars”.

Regardless, despite a dramatic opening and a bit of humor along the way, this issue is almost entirely dedicated to a conversation between Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion about how the later led Galvatron into Cybertronian history and how those long ago days of war formed the foundations of the Autobot-Decepticon War and drive the current struggle on Earth, as well.

The resulting issue is not exactly pulse-pounding, especially as our knowledge of the future ensures that nothing too grievous will happen to most of the characters, however there is some excellent ‘Galvatron the Barbarian’ in this issue, even if the action is highly subjugated to the plot.

Speaking of Galvatron’s Conan-inspired phase, it is pretty awesome. Barber proves able to provide an honest sword and sandals adventure starring giant robots without giving himself totally over to seriousness or parody. There are plenty of badass lines and deeds and enough moments of humor to keep you invested. It’s actually pretty amazing how well justified the whole thing feels.

While Galvatron’s action oriented personality ensures that those looking for robot vs. robot combat won’t be disappointed, the issue, in the fashion of Robots in Disguise, is remarkably political. We don’t actually get too much more information about the founding of early Cybertronian government, however we do get a very good sense what happened, if not how, and who the major players were. The whole story is enriched by Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion’s commentary.

Indeed, Alpha Trion, until now the generic wise mentor, is really one of the issue’s greatest strengths. The pregnant, dispassionate way he gives his telling of events is at once an effective time-saver, a solid engine for comedy, and a nice bit of character building. As much as Trion says he’s seen the flaws in his reasoning, its hard to tell if he’s just unable to atone for his mistakes or on some level unwilling to accept responsibility for them.

The balance between humor, action, and world-building is expertly measured and the issue manages to fit a whole lot into its twenty-two page run. Nonetheless, as well put together as this issue is, it’s hard to fully disguise the fact that this is an issue of pure exposition. Particularly on subsequent reads, the energy of this issue fades a little. Nonetheless, I don’t know how Barber would have done more to counter this and it’s hard to call any issue boring when it features Galvatron doing what he does in this one.

Livio Ramondelli is really the only logical choice for this story, having handled the Orion Pax (read: Optimus Prime) and Dead Universe (read: Nova Prime) scenes in RiD since the series’ inception and providing a glimpse of days past in Transformers: Primacy and more. His shadowy, post-realistic – for lack of less pretentious word – transformers really give the early days of Cybertron the gravitas they deserve.

There’s little to say about Ramondelli’s work, save that it’s beautiful. He brings out horror of early Cybertron, painting a monstrous, possibly biased, picture of the armies of Onyx Prime. Likewise, the little details, like Trion’s hood, add character and are well executed. The care in the scratches and discolorations and the heavy shadows are a perfect fit for this war-torn, primal Cybertron.

It’s true that Ramondelli’s usual faults are on display. There are several panels that seem excessively static and a few where the players seem a bit too flat. That said, I see improvement in these regards, with the battle scenes the clear benefactors.

-Noah Sharma