Panel detail from Transformers Regeneration One #88, art by Andrew Wildman. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.
Julian Titus is a writer for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's got an advance look at the latest issue of Transformers Regeneration One...
So far, the prime directive of Transformers Regeneration One has seemingly been Simon Furman doing away with all the characters and gimmicks he was forced to introduce into the original series 20 years ago. Clearing out the Head Masters, Action Masters, and the like, the series has felt more like a purge than a continuation of a licensed comic book that was far better than it had any right to be. Now that he’s finished culling the Transformers universe, it seems like Furman is finally building to something that moves the Regeneration timeline forward.
Covert art for Transformers Regeneration One #88, art by Andrew Wildman. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.
Scorponok continues to make his power play for the Decepticon leadership, bolstered by his newly recruited Autobots (made aggressive thanks to unlocking the “warrior gene” within) and the conflicted Grimlock. I find it odd that the altered Autobots immediately turn on their comrades, implying that every Transformer is just one line of code away from being a killing machine. It makes for a bleak version of the Autobots that’s very close in tone to the current Robots in Disguise series, which I’m not a fan of. Hopefully, some of the converted Autobots will turn that newly found aggression on their enemies, which would certainly be a more interesting development than the good guys simply becoming bad guys.
Far more interesting are the secondary stories in this issue. Hot Rod is still deep in the bowels of Cybertron, hoping to commune with Primus, the Transformer god. He runs afoul of some familiar creatures that long time readers will recognize, and what he finds has tantalizing implications for the future of the series. Soundwave gets a hint of Bludgeon’s grand plan, and back on Earth, Galvatron finds something that could help him return to power.
The first 7 issues of Regeneration One were all about cleaning the slate. Now, the stage is set to change the Transformers universe in big ways. Between Hot Rod searching for legends and relics and the potential for a three-way Decepticon civil war, the future of Regeneration may be bleak, but it’s also quite interesting.
(Transformers Regeneration One #88 hits stands Wednesday, February 13.)