Rodimus comes up with a solution and it’s astoundingly creepy, Ultra Magnus is being all dramatic, and I don’t even know who Tailgate IS anymore.
See below for a preview and review of Transformers: Lost Light #7.
As aways, spoilers below, minor ones for this issue and some big honkin ones for last issue.
Rodiums has figured out a way to get his rag-tag band off the Necrobot’s planet; I was glad a few of the crew had a problem with it, because it’s honestly disturbing. I won’t give it away, but it’s a type of solution even Orion Pax has used in the past, but at least he seemed to be apologetic about it. Rodimus is just gleefully laying out the plan while several bots turn green.
I’m a little perplexed about the passage of time in this issue. Rodimus says it’s been “a long seven years” and it’s pointed out to him that its been seven days, and Rodimus snarks “not in Rodimus time.” But last issue Anode used the remains of Lug’s spark and “widowed metal” to recreate her, and by this issue Lug’s fully grown. So it either has been seven years (doubtful, everyone’s still dealing with Megatron’s absence) or protoforms mature into a full-grown Transformer a lot faster than I thought. (Very possible: during the war there were a lot of Made To Order soldiers, they’d hardly want to wait seven years for cannon fodder.) A few panels later he comments on it having been seven years again, so while it’s probably just Roddy being pigheaded, I feel like I’m missing a pointed message.
(I’d thought it was maybe a meta reference to the beginning of More Than Meets The Eye, but no, that was 2012.)
We have a dramatic-TV-show moment after that, where Ambus makes a “giant terrible announcement dun dun DUUUUUN,” and after the break admits that it’s maybe not that dire. (I’d call that a cheap shot, but it’s exactly the type of thing Ambus would do, so I’m fine with it.) Without giving it away, all I have to say is: that’s a hell of a design flaw there. I think for most of us it wouldn’t work, but that goes to show how bone-deep Ambus’ sense of self usually is.
There was a nice moment between Anode and Nautica, and in true James Roberts fashion a new term is dropped into the mix that I love: “Shockingly insensitive attempt at Empurata Chic.” (And also, okay, I just now realized why Whirl’s holomatter avatar has an eye patch. I’m slow I’M SORRY.)
And Tailgate. Oh Tailgate, I forget how young you actually are.
I see what he was going for (I do now, anyway) but I really think that even if everything had gone the way he wanted it to….it still wouldn’t have turned out the way he wanted it to.
I hope we don’t have to wait a dozen issues or so to see how that turns out. I hope we don’t have to wait five or six issues. Any chance we could find out next issue? No? Rats.
Jack Lawrence’s art is always fun, though this was a quieter story, so there weren’t any dramatically impressive images like last issue where someone punched a planet. There’s some great work on Drift’s face right after Rodimus makes his disturbing suggestion, everyone looks really defined and expressive. The same goes for Nautica’s face when she touches her eye-patch, and Rodimus’ face when he’s being So Sincere to Ultra Magnus. Lawrence really does nice things with the shape of bots’ eyes.
Also, wow, Cyclonus towards the end. That’s some amazing stuff to portray with only one word of dialogue.
