Originally published May 12, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
Ricky Church reviews Transformers: Lost Light #5…
It’s TEAM RODIMUS versus a universe gone wrong! An alternate Cybertron is being torn apart as the malevolent Functionist Council implement a plan that’s been millions of years in the making. But with victory within their reach, they find themselves up against someone who really shouldn’t exist: MEGATRON.
In the penultimate chapter of ‘Dissolution’, the situation on the parallel Cybertron becomes even direr while the mystery over Rung’s alt-form is fully revealed. Transformers: Lost Light #5 delivers an exciting chapter with plenty of answers as well as some very good character development.
The chemistry between all the characters is, again, what sold the issue. James Roberts does a great job writing all these Transformers and finding new things to explore about them. One of the big moments was Megatron’s desire to go back to their regular universe, even if that meant standing trial for his actions during the war. It’s also a funny turn of events to see other transformers actually want him on this new Cybertron to help them with their own war.
The real star of the show, however, was Rung – both versions of him as the regular version explained how he had changed and the Functionalist version revealed his true ‘purpose’ to Rodimus and the others. It was some nice character building moments – particularly with the real Rung and Nightbeat – that also showed how different the alternate Rung is as he dealt a blow to the Functionalist Council and nervously stood up to Rodimus.
Roberts excels at comedy in his stories, but the comedy was mostly downplayed in Lost Light #5 as a good portion of the issue was set on revelations and upping the stakes for the next issue. There were still some funny moments, such as with Whirl or the callback to people’s “squealing” excitement, but it was good to place the focus on the tension on the planet and between the characters.
Jack Lawrence’s art was well done in the issue, bringing a good amount of detail in his facial work. One moment that stood out was where Rung takes off his lenses as he begins talking with Nightbeat, showing a clear change in expression from the panel before. It really emphasized the emotional state Rung was in. Joanna Lafuente’s colours also complimented Lawrence’s art well, using a good balance of bright and dark colours throughout the issue and even showing off battle damage on several of the bots.
Transformers: Lost Light #5 succeeded in examining its characters and making sense of the twists in the story. It’s a good example of what a penultimate issue should be while raising the stakes for the final chapter.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church
