Skybound and Image Comics’s Transformers has been in an odd place for the past few issues. No pun intended on the robots in disguises’s vehicular forms, but with multiple escalating fights it’s felt like the book has been spinning its wheels. But the last second reintroduction of the big bad, Megatron, in Transformers #18 feels like it might snap things into focus. But first, this issue we find out where the Decepticon leader has been before we caught up to him in the Energon Universe.
Spoilers past this point, but the short version is Megatron has been caught in thousands of trials that pushed him to the limit and tested him physically and mentally. In that, writer Daniel Warren Johnson and artist Ludo Lullabi put the baddie through his paces with repetitive panels that emphasize the grueling nature of what Megatron is going through. Laudably, Johnson doesn’t make this about redemption for Megatron… It’s about forging him into a harder, more dangerous weapon.
In this case, this is also about justifying one of the absolute weirdest bits of Transformers lore, that Megatron turns into a gun. Part of the appeal of the toys was that they became vehicles. A truck, a car, a plane, etc. Except Megatron, who turns into a firearm that, generally speaking, isn’t able to go anywhere of its own volition. It’s arguable that form makes Megatron less dangerous than his robot form or tank form, not more so.
Johnson takes that and runs with it, showing how Megatron “evolving” to gun form is all about control. Not just for the people who pick him up and are mentally forced to do his commands. But his own control. Rather than be guided by rage, Megatron is more calculated and precise through his trials. It’s a smart decision that is, mind you, still very weird. But that seems to be where Johnson thrives, throwing in everything from Sharkticons to weird aliens in the mix.
It’s also, in terms of the structure of the book, a nice break and refresher to get out of that rut the title has been in and shake things up. Megatron, of course, means big things for Optimus Prime and the rest. So taking a moment to recenter the series and hopefully get back to the heart and emotion that characterized the initial arc as Megatron brings the pain in the present will lead to a better, more exciting, and deeper overall series.
It is weird he turns into a gun, though.
Transformers #19 Rating:
Transformers #19 Official Synopsis:
NEW STORY ARC
WHAT HAPPENED TO MEGATRON?
The story that every fan has demanded begins RIGHT HERE.
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