Luke Owen reviews Transformers Spotlight: Megatron…
MEGATRON IS BACK! Writer/artist Nick Roche (Last Stand of the Wreckers) takes us back to the last time MEGATRON returned—when he found his DECEPTICON forces in tatters under the control of STARSCREAM. In this never-before-revealed tale, we learn exactly how Megatron reacted… and how Starscream survived!
Taking place before the events of Transformers Volume 3: Revenge of the Decepticons, Transformers Spotlight: Megatron tells the detailed thoughts and visions of the fearsome Megatron as he returns from the dead once again. Finding the Decepticons in tattered ruins thanks to Starscream’s pathetic rule, Megatron seeks to bring back his team back to their once brilliant dominance – and punish Starscream for his failings.
I’ve said in recent times that IDWs Transformers series tends to pique highly with Transformers: Robots in Disguise before hitting lower levels with Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye. The Spotlight series however has always found a middle ground where some issues are fantastic and some issues feel like a waste of your hard earned money. Transformers Spotlight: Megatron is one of those issues which reinstalls the faith that some of us have lost in the Transformers franchise. To put it bluntly, it’s great.
One thing that every writer has always got right with Transformers series (even in the Michael Bay atrocities) is Megatron. For some reason, he is the easiest character to get right and Nick Roche has here given another example of how great this character can be. From the opening panels we are treated to wonderfully written conscience thoughts of the man himself as he reveals how he once led the Decepticons to their success. He reveals his inner thoughts about the always reliable Soundwave and Shockwave and how he will never give them the recognition they deserve as it will only make them work harder to get it. It’s a wonderful insight into the mind of a crazy genius.
But of course the big draw into this issue is the showdown between the newly revived Megatron and the down-on-his-luck Starscream. While I don’t think it’s a knock-out delivery, it is a fun read. The chase around the Decepticon stronghold does offer up chances for more excellent Megatron thoughts, but Starscream’s acceptance for death is overplayed and becomes overly saturated. I would have liked to have seen Starscream defend some of his choices, bad though they may have been. We do get an explosion of emotion from his towards the end but it doesn’t match up to the verbal torture that Megatron has been giving him all issue.
However at the end of the day this is Megatron’s comic and he has a fantastic run in it. His dialogue is fabulous and his angry jibes at Starscream are fantastic. His belittling of one of his most untrustworthy of foes is a joy to read and it builds to a brilliant climax where he reveals just why he let him survive.
Originally published February 6, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
