Hello again folks, it’s me, back again with the latest issue of Skybound’s Transformers! Written by Daniel Warren Johnson and colored by series regular Mike Spicer, we have a new artist with us on this one with Jason Howard. Hey, did you know I’m actually in this issue? It’s true! Check the letters page – your favorite mecha-loving reviewer is right there at the end. Anyhow, let’s dive right in and see what the Transformers team has for us this month.
Spoilers ahead for Transformers #13!
This issue is all Starscream, baby. Considering he’s a favorite of many including myself, I’m more than happy to get an issue delving into his origins in this continuity. Exploring Starscream’s early life is, oddly enough, not very well-trodden ground. We’re usually introduced to him fully formed and only gets hints at how he ended up where he did… but very rarely do we ever get such in in-depth “why.” Starscream’s motivations to become a Decepticon are usually just taken for granted compared to some of his other contemporary major players like Shockwave, Soundwave, Megatron and such. Their dedication to the cause is very well trodden (perhaps too well, even), but ol’ Screamer is usually just hand-waved away as some power-hungry jerk or somebody who felt screwed by life and wanted to screw it back. Sometimes he’s depicted as a good bot gone bad or even outright redeemable (which has itself became a popular character arc for him), but this is the first real in-depth look at that idea – a sort of “Starscream: Origins” if you will.
Skybound
DWJ manages to pull Starscream back to before he was the iconic lackey we all know and love and give him a tragic origin that makes us feel for him, makes us understand him on a level we really haven’t before – not from that angle, at least. We learn that Starscream was indeed, once a good person. A troublemaker perhaps, as befitting of him, but he wasn’t actually called his iconic name back then, he was instead: Ulchtar. He got the name “Starscream” as a sort of war moniker in honor of his friend who was killed by… Optimus Prime. Chills, honest to god chills.
Now, most of you right now are scratching your head wondering what the hell an “Ulchtar” even is, and the rest of you are pointing your fingers and going: “Wait… WAIT!!!” Those in the know, know, that Screamer’s original name from the initial Marvel Comics pitch all the way back in the day was in fact, Ulchtar, before it was changed to what we know it as now. DWJ took a small-time reference, a fandom in-joke really, and gave Starscream’s out-of-universe name change actual pathos. That is impressive. It’s a story I didn’t actually think I needed or even would have thought to do, but hell, I’m not sad we got it.
Skybound
I’ll admit I lost some steam when G.I. Joe showed up. Can’t say I’m a particular enjoyer of that franchise, or the many attempts to fold it into the much more culturally impactful Transformers, but I’ll see where it goes. Oh, also, we get THE RETURN OF GUN MEGATRON VIA FLASHBACK! AND HE LOOKS AWESOME!
On that note, Howard’s art is FANTASTIC. I love his blocky style that still feels like it’s following that path laid out by Johnson and refined further by Corona. The scratchy inking is still there, and Spicer’s excellent colors ties them all together. I’m not sure if the flashback design for Megatron we see here was his invention or Johnson’s idea that he merely executed on, but boy do I love it. It’s a tiny tank with a gun handle… genius. Adorable. Silly. Fun. God what a play, it feels like it’s winking right at us, knowing the storied history of trying to return a gun-Megs to store shelves amid modern concerns and laws. Absolutely hilarious, and actually a very cool idea.
Skybound
All in all, Transformers #13 is a hit. I’m a big fan of Starscream, and so is one of my best friends, so I know he’s gonna love this one, and I’m sure many of you will as well! And did I mention I’m in it? I wrote a letter, and you can too! Letters pages are fun! We need to bring those back to DC while we’re at it. I digress. It’s a great issue, and probably the definitive G1 Starscream origin story. I have a feeling this issue may be a significant one in the brand’s future, so make sure you don’t miss it!
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