Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Sarah Stern
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover Artists: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer; Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer; Karl Kerschl; Manabu Yashiro; Homare; John Giang; Mico Suayan; Tiago Da Silva; Jimbo Salgado; Johnny Desjardins; Chad Hardin
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publication Design: Andres Juarez
Production: Ashby Florence
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 8, 2025
Disheartened over his epic defeat on the ocean floor, Soundwave resorts to destroying a Human city to lure out the Autobots. While emerging victorious, Optimus Prime and Arcee are hurting. Jetfire and Ratchet are dead. Cliffjumper got left behind on Cybertron. And their hero, Ultra Magnus, broke down and fled before the Decepticon who tortured him for centuries.
Abandoned by Arcee, Beachcomber, Carly, and Spike in their search to find Ultra Magnus, Optimus tries to banish his rage by rescuing Humans from Soundwave's attack. But like Soundwave, Starscream has not been idle. With his damaged legs replaced by a HISS tank, he enlists Astrotrain and the Combaticons in his cause. Can Optimus Prime's dwindling forces withstand a two-pronged Decepticon attack? Or will Soundwave and Starscream’s forces annihilate each other? Let's recharge our Energon batteries, leap into Transformers #16, and discover the Autobots’ transformative journey!
Story
Wheeljack tried to bolster the Autobots’ forces with the Energon he generated at the dam. But then Soundwave and Starscream’s forces turned the dam into Damnation Alley. While Starscream’s Combaticons and Soundwave’s Constructicons combined into Bruticus and Devastator, two Human children observed the Clash Of The Titans. Already struggling with rage, unexplained visions herald Optimus Prime's (19th) Nervous Breakdown. After the heartbreak on the ocean floor, Optimus Prime failed Elita One. In severing Shockwave's space bridge, he wreaked havoc on Cybertron and his adoptive home. Now, the sight of the two behemoths destroying the Autobot's base overwhelms Optimus Prime.
Unlike dour Soundwave, Starscream leaps at any opportunity to gain the upper hand. Astrotrain swore obedience to Soundwave only to suffer the disgrace of captivity again. So, Astrotrain follows the Decepticon who freed him from his bonds. Like Drax The Destroyer, Astrotrain craves revenge. He has no patience for Soundwave’s long-term strategies. Astrotrain will readily attack his former boss if it means he can get his hands on Megatron. As for Thundercracker, the Decepticon has tired of Soundwave’s merciless nature. In Transformers #16, Thundercracker must decide where he belongs.
Elita One has never asked this question in Daniel Warren Johnson’s story. She blames the Autobots who abandoned their planet and let the Decepticons take over. Elita One won't rest until she wrests Cybertron from the Decepticon's hands. Yet she is also devastated by failure. She sacrificed her best soldiers to invade Shockwave's domain and rescue Ultra Magnus. Either he or Optimus Prime could have inspired her people. Instead, the Autobot leaders she admired abandoned their home planet. Yet in Transformers #16, inspiration and leadership come from an unexpected source.
Art
With Cliffjumper and Bluestreak on either side, Elita One carries a gun nearly as big as she is. Cliffjumper remembers the attack that caused the surrounding devastation. As he raises a glowing canister, the rubble Cliffjumper stands in evokes skulls. On Earth, Optimus Prime, Wheeljack, and Jazz gaze up at behemoths that make them feel like squishy Humans. A double-page spread reveals that Devastator and Bruticus are not having a Gru and Balthazar Dance Fight. Far below, the tiny figures of Soundwave and Starscream race toward revenge.
Sarah Stern lavishes bright colors on Jorge Corona’s detailed and frenetic artwork in Transformers #16. Thundercracker and Starscream find disharmony amid their mutual blue and red, while purple Astrotrain reveals his love of Michael Coney's novel The Celestial Steam Locomotive. Optimus Prime resembles Soundwave in silhouette as he plans violence before the red, white, and blue Autobot kneels and removes his cannon. Another silhouette gazes down on two Human children racing through a field of purple and blue. Yet when Cliffjumper speaks to Elita, a kaleidoscope of colors puts Shockwave's harvester to shame.
Rus Wooton fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters and the Transformers' rectangular ones with italicized words. Soundwave speaks yellow words into blue rectangular balloons. The letters grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and never shrink. Colorful sound effects help us hear firefights, explosions, a hero’s loss of control, and one punch to rule them all. Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Anger overwhelms Decepticons and Autobots alike in Transformers #16. While Starscream wastes another opportunity to wipe out the Autobots, one of Soundwave’s plans comes to fruition. Elita One realizes that sometimes the best gifts come in small packages. As for Optimus Prime's fatal error, only a flight around the Earth in a retrograde orbit or slingshot around the sun will correct it.
Rating 9.8/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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