Transformers #9 Review

 

Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Mike Spicer

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer; Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer; Karen S. Darboe; Jonathan Wayshak & David Baron; David Baldeón & Rex Lokus; Jason Howard & Annalisa Leoni; Jason Howard; John Giang; Alan Quah; Santa Fung; Marcelo Matere

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Soundwave raised the Decepticon spaceship Nemesis to phone a friend and sent Astrotrain off on an errand. Carly tried to kill Skywarp but became an apprentice to an iron giant. Spike missed his dad, and Optimus Prime dreamed of the young man’s childhood. Wheeljack turned the remains of Jetfire into a flying RV, and Optimus Prime said, “Let’s ride.” Where will the Autobots’ travels take them? And how much will Soundwave have to pay for his extradimensional phone call? Let’s recharge our Energon batteries, leap into Transformers #9, and follow Spike and Carly's transformative journey!

 

Story

Optimus Prime is on the trail of massive Energon readings. Cliffjumper detects them while piloting Jetfire over the ocean and spies a swirling whirlpool. A beam of energy shoots upward before Cliffjumper can avoid it. Jetfire crashes on the ocean floor, spilling his Autobot passengers. First on his feet, Optimus Prime beholds the device the Constructicons built to emulate Moses and create a divine pillar of fire. As a firefight erupts, Shockwave appears. At his feet lies a wounded Cliffjumper.

 

In Transformers #9, Soundwave has accomplished the first part of his grand strategy. After he and Thundercracker destroyed the USS Henry Harrisson, the Constructicons repurposed the aircraft carrier faster than the US Navy dismantled the USS Enterprise and built a stable dimensional portal to anchor a space bridge. The Constructicons also raised the Decepticon spaceship Nemesis and repaired it so Soundwave could contact Cybertron. Shockwave, the leader of the Decepticons on their homeworld, stands beside Soundwave on Earth. But Decepticons value strength. How long will the leaders work together until one decides he should be lord of all?

 

Daniel Warren Johnson fuels his story with stunning reversals. A character intent on revenge plays peacemaker. Another consigned to a hopeless fate receives a reprieve. Seemingly indomitable characters fall. And one Cybertronian forces Optimus Prime to do something he will regret forever. Transformers #9 ratchets up the stakes in the raging war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, endangering Earth and its fragile inhabitants more than ever. 

 

Art

Jorge Corona creates grand vistas as Shockwave beholds Soundwave's magnified face on the Nemesis viewscreen, and Astrotrain follows Starscream’s lead and plays King Kong. Optimus Prime gazes up at the Constructicons surrounding a circle of power and the surging seawater encircling the machinery projecting the space bridge. Sports cars race along a tree-lined road, only to become immense robots when squishy Humans threaten. Amid a multilevel firefight, a Decepticon gazes down upon an Autobot sprawled amid machinery, snaking tubes, and plants on the ocean floor. The metal face changes from fear to shock, relief, and mourning within four panels.

 

Mike Spicer lavishes a loaded palette on Corona’s art in Transformers #9. Pink and purple dominate the battle on the ocean floor, symbolic of the two key Cybertronians who use the space bridge to arrive on Earth. The green sea plants and Constructicons tie in with the towering trees and one of the cars racing through the forest. Spike beholds the white-coated doctor as he sits in his wheelchair. The dirty yellow-green hospital interior underscores the doctor’s prognosis.

 

Rus Wooten portrays Human speech with large-size black letters in white dialogue balloons. Transformers use italicized black letters in rectangular balloons with lightning bolt arrows, while Soundwave commands yellow words into blue balloons. Wooten helps us hear the immense energy of the space bridge, Cybertronians arrive in the dimensional portal, the gunfire of two battles, and a giant robot transform into a shape that must evoke bad memories for Spike in Transformers #9. Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

The Autobots receive reinforcements. Another leader joins the Decepticons. Soundwave gets a talking gun. And a Cybertronian makes the ultimate sacrifice in Transformers #9.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To view more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.