Ricky Church reviews Optimus Prime #5…
NEW CYBERTRON! It’s battleground: Earth once more, as the uneasy peace between Optimus’ forces, the Junkions, and G.I. Joe collapses amidst betrayals and subterfuge. Will Optimus Prime and Pyra Magna be able to put aside their differences—or is war really the only way forward?
This week’s Optimus Prime was packed from start to finish with action as Optimus and his fellow transformers, along with some humans, attempted to repel an attack from the Junkions and their Sharkticons. It was a pretty entertaining issue, but was marred by some confusing artwork during a couple of the action sequences. Optimus Prime #5 still provided some solid character development for the title character in the past and present storylines while upping the ante for ‘New Cybertron’s finale.
The action depicted in the issue was pretty typical of Transformers. There were some good sequences here as they fought off the Sharkticons, including some visceral imagery with bots being cut, ripped or blown apart. It showed off how bad-ass Optimus can be in a fight, but also reinforced the harder stance he’s taken on those who anger him. His order to Pyra Magma to “show the Junkions what it means to cross a Prime” is something much more in line with Sentinel or Zeta Prime’s beliefs.
John Barber juxtaposes this nicely with the past storyline as Orion Pax learns the hard way that most, if not all, Decpiticons prefer violent action over debate. It’s as if Prime is regressing to a point in time where he didn’t have the Matrix and thought harsher actions should be taken against those who break the law or disobey him. Now that he has the Matrix, though, his desire to protect Earth and his fellow Cybertronians is proving to be a difficult and slippery slope.
However, as much action as there was in this issue, Barber subverted our expectations for how a battle with the Sharkticons would end with a reference to Transformers: The Movie. He took the notion that the deadly transformers would turn on their masters, but used it to a great effect by having Soundwave implement literal class warfare, quoting from Megatron as he urged the Sharkticons to choose their own freedom over the Junkion’s oppression. It was also a pleasant character moment for Soundwave, furthering his transition from Decepticon lackey to leader.
Kei Zama’s artwork is good for the most part. He does some detailed work on the transformer’s facial expressions, particularly during a set of panels that do a close-up on Pax’s face, and even when the characters are simply sitting or talking he’s able to convey a fair bit of body language.
As I said, however, a couple of the action scenes are a little too jumbled to completely follow. There’s an action Metroplex does that’s a bit difficult to grasp and when several transformers are together in a panel it’s also confusing to follow who is who or doing what. The rest of the action is pretty easy to follow, though.
Optimus Prime #5 is a good read that has wall-to-wall action, yet Barber manages to instil some interesting story and character developments within the space of the action. Zama’s art is good, particularly his ability to give some face-plated robots expressions, but a couple of his action panels seem to have too much going on. It’s still a good issue though that raises the stakes not just for how the battle will turn out, but for how far down Optimus Prime may go.
Rating: 7/10
Ricky Church
Originally published March 24, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
