Ricky Church reviews Transformers: Lost Light #6…
You know that sinking feeling you get when you witness the destruction of an entire planet? Rodimus and company are about to feel that. Hardcore.
The opening arc to Transformers: Lost Light ends with issue #6 as Rodimus, Megatron and the rest of their team attempt to escape from the alternate Cybertron universe back to their own. It closes out the arc on an intriguing note and writer James Roberts does well to advance both Rodimus and Megatron’s character development.
There was a good balance between the character development and action in the story. Roberts shifted nicely between focusing on the characters and the action delivering a couple really cool moments that the series hasn’t done before. Seeing a super-sized Rung fighting a giant moon was a pretty spectacular sight to see (that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say).
When Roberts did shift to the character development, he made it quite thought-provoking and earned. Rodimus’ attitude has become much darker lately since being betrayed by his crew, but he hasn’t really cared about anything except his own feelings for revenge. Lost Light #6 sees Rodimus snap out of this, at least to a degree. It’s interesting to see him in such a dark place and trying to both climb out of and revel in it, but its even more interesting to see how this relates to Megatron.
Over the last few issues, the two of them have almost had a role reversal, with Rodimus being the brooding one obsessed with vengeance and Megatron the one actually concerned for other bots’ safety. This alternate Cybertron also represents everything he began his ‘revolution’ against. It’s ironic that he could finally be viewed the hero, but only if he stays in the alternate universe and escape the justice he willingly wants in the real universe.
While the story ends with Megatron trapped on the alternate Cybertron, it’s at least a seemingly fitting end. Now instead of inciting revolution through violence, he’s committed to doing things differently by waging a war of words and thoughts, visiting different cells to inspire them through belief. It’s definitely an interesting place to leave Megatron, especially with that cliffhanger Roberts left us with.
The art in the issue is very good too. Jack Lawrence gives some good imagery, whether it is giant Rung fighting off Cybertron’s moon or Megatron’s damaged body, it’s quite detailed, especially with his facial work. The characters movements are also quite animated, with a lot happening between the panels so character keep moving and don’t remain static. Joana Lafuente’s colours also pop off the page, giving the issue a vibrant look.
Transformers: Lost Light #6 is a satisfying conclusion to the first arc of the series. Roberts utilized the alternate dimension to a great degree and furthered the development of Rodimus and Megatron to some interesting places. The art is well done and the issue leaves readers on an exciting cliffhanger.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church
Originally published June 9, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
