Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Spotlight Sideswipe
IDW Comics
Furman & Su

The Revelations arc wraps up with this issue and with it the 40+ issue arc that has been running for a couple of years now. There was a ton to wrap up and this issue does an awfully good job of undertaking that task. The comic is most satisfying in two key areas: the use of Optimus Prime and the use of the title character. The comic misses in that it doesn’t explore some of the plot threads for more than a few panels due to the lack of space. I wish this comic could have been extra sized.

The issue begins with its focus on Sideswipe. Sideswipe arrives on Earth with Hound and company with a mission in China, but his mind is on Sunstreaker. Sideswipe is fighting the demons of Sunstreaker’s disappearance. We learn about his relationship with him and how it continues to motivate him. It’s a good character study mixed in with some battles. He has a bold and interesting end in this comic.

Then we move on to the main objective which is the Autobots trying to stop portals from allowing the dead universe to merge with the real one. This sets up a huge lap around the Transformer story arc with involvement from many, many players.

The best confrontation is between Nemesis Prime and Optimus Prime. This scene provides a great battle and excellent dialogue. Optimus has a couple tricks up his sleeve to make this very interesting, but there is still a surprise ending to the confrontation that I wasn’t expecting.

That makes up the bulk of the issue. There are a lot more players in this thing but they generally don’t get as much action as the main two sets of plots. It’s a huge cast and getting ample page time for everyone is difficult.

The art has a rustic feel to it that previous issues didn’t seem to have as much. There is definitely a noticeable difference in the art direction for this issue. There seems to be an inordinate amount of panels that have a zoom out quality to them. It’s kind of a waste in that there is already limited space and so many panels are wasted because they are too far away to make out any real details. The highlight of the comic’s art is Optiums versus Nemesis and the ending when a certain Autobot shows up for revenge on another certain bad guy. It has a very violent ending that the art captures beautifully.

There are a couple of other things worthy noting that are important to making this comic that much more comprehensive. There is a recap box at the beginning and an Autobot communication recounts the entire plan to that point and going forward for the remainder of the issue. I found myself leaning on these pieces of information throughout the comic.

The comic brings a huge story to a close. I personally enjoyed it, but felt a little disappointed we didn’t get an expanded page count or some more expanse on some of the plot threads. I also will never understand why they decided to wrap this arc up in a series of Spotlights, but whatever. It was a fun ride!

4 out of 5 geek goggles