Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 of 5 and Transformers #7
Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 of 5
Written and drawn by Nick Roche
Covers by Nick Roche and Trevor Hutchison
Transformers #7
Written by Mike Costa
Art by E.J. Su
Alternate covers by Don Figueroa and Andrew Wildman
First, let’s take a look at last week’s final chapter of Last Stand of the Wreckers. I wasn’t a fan of this series when it started, largely because it didn’t focus on the Wreckers I wanted to see. Was Impactor one of the originals from the Marvel run? I didn’t read it, so I don’t know. Pyro? Guzzle? Ironfist? And… wait… Verity Carlo, the kid from Infiltration? Really!? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? Where were Drift, Whirl, and Roadbuster? Why didn’t we get to see more Perceptor and Springer?
As the series progressed, I continued to be disappointed by the cast, and for the most part, non-plussed by the story. The Wreckers (sort of) are liberating the Last Resort from the villainouse Overlord. No, not Overlord. Or Overlord. Overlord. Yeah, way to generic up a name, Transformers lore. I know it’s not Roche’s fault. He’s just using an obscure character with a generic name from days gone by, brought to life initially by other writers at other companies. It’s nostalgia… for someone. But as Overlord barely ever appearaed in the states, it was completely lost on me.
Then the final chapter dropped and things changed a bit. The focus was shifted a bit more to the established characters, and the action stopped being about nameless drones getting dismembered and instead became about the Wreckers and their titular “last stand.” No, they aren’t all killed, and the implication in this mini-series is that their roster is a rotating one, so it’s silly to think this will actually be any sort of actual last stand. Still, it was a fantastic “final” battle that left some bots dead and others critically wounded. The last time we saw a bot get critically wounded, he went from being a meek science officer to a badass sniper. What could be in store for our current crop of convalescing combatants?
And speaking of convalescing, what’s the story in Transformers #7? Why, it’s the musings of the murderous mastermind, Megatron! The chief ‘Con has been recuperating, observing his soldiers actions (somehow, though I’m not exactly clear on how he knows what Razorfist’s been up to outside the compound), and he’s none too pleased. The big bad is preparing to make his return and recapture first the role of leader from Starscream and then the Decepticon’s dominance from the now complacent Autobots.
It’s a fairly quiet issue, minus the ‘Con on ‘Con cannibalism, but it serves its purpose. The only real flaw in the whole issue – to my eyes – is the invention of the Cerebro Shell, something we’ve seen Bombshell and the Decepticons use previously in the IDW Universe. Maybe I’m just not getting it, but it seems an odd “invention” at this point in time.
The art on these two books would be fine, except that both books left me, at times, at a loss for which semi-generic characters I was looking at. Maybe it’s the rank-and-file nature of some of these ‘Cons to be all too indentical, but… damn. The guy getting eaten in Transformers #7 looked just like one of the Decepticons pursuing him, but then refers to a “brother” who is apparently a different character altogether – though presumably similar in appearance, too? Transformers are just not easy to draw distinctly, and there are few artists who really and truly nail it.
When all is said and done, Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 and Transformers #7 both get 4 out of 5 dismembered Cybertronians; LSotW more for its promise of things to come than its place as the final chapter of the mini, TF equally for its chilling look inside the Decepticon despot’s psyche and the tease of his eventual return.
* EDIT: Upon looking back through Transformers #7, I see that much of my confusion came from colorist J. Brown’s application of… god, I don’t know what he was trying to do. It looks like every single robot has some sort of camo paint job, and this is what was getting two of the characters confused in my head. Somehow, I hadn’t noticed it on others, presumably because I already knew them and wasn’t relying on their paint jobs to identify them. Anyhow, the point is, I rescind my criticism of E.J. Su’s art, but the issue retains the rating thanks to Brown’s coloring.
I think perhaps you need to read a few more TF comics to understand who the Wreckers are….
I make no secret of the fact that I did not read the Marvel Transformers books. I’m more familiar with IDW’s previously established crew of Wreckers. Is it so wrong that I wanted to see more of them?
That said, what books would you suggest, in particular? I’d be up for doing some research into old school wrecking and ruling
Except Drift was NEVER a wrecker. The crew is AHM were NOT wreckers. Just McCarthy’s dream G1 team, apparently. Even Kup and Percy, ugh, aren’t really wreckers. Percy shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence as them.
If you can get hold of Target: 2006 (recently reprinted by IDW) that should answer any Wreckers-related questions you might have.
Whilst I understand that you wanted to see more of the ‘new’ wreckers, 99% of thier back story and characters is pre IDW… It can’t be ignored easily, just as you can’t ignore optimus prime, megatron and the matrix.
For many readers the wreckers are Impactor and Co and LSotW is a continuation of the story.
Also I think the title of the comic is more metaphorical thanit seems…
Wreck and Rule!
Alright, y’all have me convinced. Target: 2006? I’m on it. Will it whet my appetite for more pre-IDW Transformers, or steele my resolve against venturing into the older fare? Time will tell…
The old G1 comics are still the best. Only LSotW comes close to a good story.
Target 2006 is about 10 issues long but starts a story line that creates multiple time lines and at best 150 issues to conclude…
If you can get through all that, you might understand why the older fans are rarely impressed with the new comics!
Very interesting.
For me, I grew up on the cartoon but never got into the comics. When Transformers came back with Dreamwave, I was excited, but largely unimpressed, except with some of the crossover books. Then IDW took over, and I hated it at first. But once everything started to come together and take shape, I was enthralled. Smash cut to Shane McCarthy’s first issue of All Hail Megatron, and I was absolutely stunned with what IDW was doing with the mythos.
I’m sorry to any older fans who don’t enjoy it, but trust me. As an almost thirty-year old TFan, I can tell you, IDW is just what the doctor ordered to satisfy my Trans-fever
Of all the recent comics AHM is my least favourite, not because of what it did in terms of changing the past, I have no issue with that. It’s just poorly written overall in comparison to other issues.
I grew up with both the comics and the cartoon, the cartoon is by and large a 20min advert to sell this months new TF toy, where as the comic developed some truly deep characters with some thick layers of complex plot. For once the story wasn’t dumbed down because it was aimed at kids. Not to mention in the comic when TF had a scrap they got injured, and killed in a very graphic yet mature fashion.
Horses for courses as always but get your hands on the TPB of Target 2006, you won’t regret it!
Wait a minute… “Impactor”… “Horses for courses”… You’re well and truly British, aren’t you!?
Welcome aboard! =D We’ve got a couple of you non-Americans on our message boards, and even one on staff!
“WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!? Where were Drift, Whirl, and Roadbuster?”
Dude, you answer your own question:
“…the implication in this mini-series is that their roster is a rotating one.”
Guzzle, Ironfist, Pyro and Rotorstorm are all new Wreckers. The series worked hard to make you care for brand new characters without requiring you to be already familiar with and invested in them. I think that’s very rare in modern comics!
I know they weren’t there BECAUSE of the rotating roster bit. I guess my point is, if I’m reading a book called “The Last Stand of the Wreckers,” I would like it to be about the Wreckers I know and love. As for working hard to make me care about the new bots… I didn’t get that at all. Guzzle, yes. The other four, from page one, felt to me like they were just there so they COULD be killed off. They smacked of being red shirts. ::shrugs:: Now, that said, this could provide an intriguing basis for a book not unlike Marvel’s Exiles. Rotating roster with a high rate of casualties where you’d rarely end a year with the same exact team you started with.
Impactor 2.0… don’t harpoon me. Please… http://panelsonpages.com/?p=24311