Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: cliffjumper, comic book reviews, deathsaurus, transformers

REVIEW: Transformers Galaxies #6 — "Rapacious … Cybertronian Regime"

Published Thu, 26 Mar 2020 07:06:35 -0500

(IDW Publishing, creative team: Kate Leth, Cohen Edenfield, Alex Milne, David Garcia Cruz, Jake M. Wood, Val Lopez)

This tragic tale is set millions of years before the Cybertronian Civil War that, according to what we were told for decades, had "Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons." Here's the thing about that … this issue (and many, many others in the IDW canon) gives ample evidence that the Autobot regime (especially under the rule of Primes like Sentinel), was corrupt, imperialistic and in many ways as bad as the Decepticons' atrocities we came to see down the road. A future member of the Decepticons called Deathsaurus has been named ambassador to a weaker organic race and he's decided he'd be happier murdering the people he should be negotiating with because, of course, there would be no consequence should Sentinel Prime discover this. Only the innate morality of an apparently under-appreciated younger Cybertronian named Cliffjumper (who is nothing like his tech specs imply, which means war may have brought his character to the surface) is able to stop a genocide. Sound really messed up? It is. While Cliffjumper's agility and Deathsaurus' villainy provide a thrill or three, they sent a 60 foot tall homicidal dragon called Deathsaurus to be the ambassador to twelve foot tall squishy beings with gasoline for poop, so it's not a huge leap of logic to see this not having an amicable ending. There's not enough entertainment value to get past the rapacious nature of the Cybertronian regime, ignoring the excesses of their citizens across the galaxy. RATING: NO. JUST … NO.

Transformers Galaxies #6
Kate Leth & Cohen Edenfield (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
"Wannabee," Part Two! Deathsaurus's ruse has worked—the Probats believe that Cliffjumper is Bumblebee and it's really smoothed over the energon negotiations! Well … except for the part where Deathsaurus is now blowing Cliffjumper's cover and framing him for a crime that he didn't commit!