Detail from variant cover for Transformers: Robots in Disguise #14, art by Marcelo Matere. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.
Finally.
That was my reaction to Robots in Disguise #14. This has been my least favorite Transformers comic since possibly Marvel’s Transformers Generation 2. The plodding pace of the bleak story with few likeable characters has never gelled with me, and it’s a book that I’ve read only because it takes place in the current IDW version of the universe.
That changes now, and as Good Ol’ J.R. would say, “business has just picked up.”
It feels like the previous 13 issues have been a slow boil for what ‘s to come, and issue 14 is the beginning of that. All of Starscream’s politicking has been for naught, because Megatron is back, and the time for free elections and debate is over. As always, Megatron has a plan, and this issue cements just how devious and strategic the Decepticon leader can be.
I honestly don’t want to say much more than that. Robots in Disguise #14 is filled with shocking moments and revelations. I get that writer John Barber has been going for a political and military drama with this book, kind of like the modern Battlestar Galactica TV show, but up until now, Robots in Disguise has been woefully lacking in action. I enjoy a tense character drama as much as the next guy, but the Transformers have already been humanized to the point of absurdity, and they’re at their best when there’s an enemy to fight.
It took me 13 issues to care about what goes on in this book, but I can honestly say that if this issue is a taste of things to come then I’m in it for the long haul.