Heya folks, Crooker here again with a review for Skybound’s Transformers #19, by Daniel Warren Johnson and guest artist Ludo Lullabi. Having myself been going through a bit of a burnout lately with Transformers as a franchise, I can at least look forward to doing these reviews and getting to immerse myself in DWJ’s vision for the property. So then, lemme get into it.
It’s the big one: the Megatron origin issue. Every Transformers continuity is eventually tasked with laying out how the main villain came to be, and why he fights as he does. We’ve had two very notable and distinct takes on this particular material with the past license holder, IDW: the revolutionary freedom fighter gone bad, and the political manipulating, heavily USSR-inspired dictator. What DWJ gives us here is not quite either of those, though ironically either could fit as an expanded backstory for this particular origin tale should that ever be the desire. It’s not made clear in this issue if this takes place during the war or before it, but given Megatron’s status as an arrogant warrior it can at least be assumed he’s somewhere along the path already. This is the story where he appears to go from the arrogant, screaming and maniacal Megs we all know and love, to the calculating, cold and cunning leader we glimpsed in the past few issues.
Image/Skybound
The meat to all this, I believe, is the new “Matrix of Slavery” as I’ll call it for now, until it has an official name. This object is, as the Quintesson who interrogates Megs says, the antithesis to Prime’s Matrix of Leadership, and something of a first for the franchise. While a “dark” matrix isn’t unheard of for Transformers, it’s usually just something included in toys of evil Optimus repaints or relatively obscure works like the Botcon comics. This is perhaps the first time the notion is being tackled with sincerity in a more mainstream fashion.
So what does it mean, bringing in something like this? For one, a massive break in convention. This is one of those unspoken franchise taboos, something that is generally seen as too cliche or “fanfic-y” to be taken seriously as a legitimate bit of narrative drama or intrigue. But Johnson seems to be shattering that notion by having Megatron himself be the first true victim of it, and likewise explaining retroactively the infectious control he has over other beings, notably Optimus Prime. Megatron becomes enslaved by this power, broken down and pushed until he reaches a breaking point and uses this same oppression against his oppressor.
Thematically, it’s a stark parallel to Prime’s motto about freedom, and calls to mind the old “peace through tyranny” line attributed to Megatron. I think what works about this is taking those opposing mottos and making them more than ideological battles by giving them tangible forms of power their wielder can harness. We’ve seen when Prime uses his matrix, it weakens him to heal. Megatron’s matrix, shown here, subjugates to bring out his full power. I think it’s a bold idea, but it has a lot of potential, and that’s the most exciting thing about Skybound Transformers, ultimately.
Skybound/Image
The art is a pretty new step for this book, and I believe the first issue in this run to not be colored by Mike Spicer. While the new artist Ludo Lullabi and colorist Adriano Lucas do a stellar job here with fantastic, dynamic, and flowing line work that lend very well to the kinetic and impactful reputation of Skybound Transformers’ art, it is quite different. Without Spicer’s coloring to hold some visual continuity, this almost feels like it could have been pulled from any odd issue of IDW’s run of books, which may disappoint those who wanted to keep some visual distance from that vision of the series. However, I still think enough of that Skybound DNA is present in how it’s constructed, and the example set by Johnson in those early issues is still very much felt in how the panels flow and the action unfolds, very pleasing to the eye.
Skybound/Image
Transformers #19 represents a massive turning point for the series. We’re only five issues away from Johnson leaving the book, and he’s giving us a fairly massive and bold idea to chew on with this Matrix of Slavery concept. If done well, we could be seeing the birth of a new franchise staple, or perhaps another failed attempt to create a darker parallel to the iconic Autobot equivalent. Time will tell, but I think at the very least, it’s going to be an exciting new development to follow.
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