Luke Owen reviews the final instalment of the Rage of the Dinobots mini-series…
“DINOBOT WAR! GRIMLOCK leads the DINOBOTS against SHOCKWAVE’s troops—and the results won’t be pretty! With SWOOP under SER-KET’s control, it’s an all-or-nothing battle of DINOBOT versus PREDACON—with the fate of CYBERTRON hanging on every punch, blast, jab, and bite!”
If you read my review of Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots #3, then you will know that I was extremely excited for this concluding part. Rage of the Dinobots #3 was a brilliant and fantastic comic with some superb action, great characterisation and wonderful story telling. The tease for this issue was equally as great and Mike Johnson and Mairghread Scott had a lot to live up to with the final part of this mini-series. Suffice to say, they nailed it.
With Ser-Ket seemingly defeated, Grimlock and the rest of the Dinobots must now face the man who created them – Shockwave. Within moments we are shown that the Dinobots are no match for him and they are captured and imprisoned. Separated from his party, Grimlock is now facing the fear of being reverted back to his primal urges and lost forever.
I mentioned in my review of Transformers: Robots in Disguise #13 that the dialogue exchange between Starscream and the fallen Megatron was one of the issue’s highlights – and that is the case here too. Shockwave’s mad scientist speech about the creation of Grimlock and the Dinobots as well as his plans for their continuation is superbly written and incredibly gripping. Johnson and Scott ramp up an incredible amount of tension as Shockwave nears closer and closer to resetting Grimlock for all eternity:
“You see, Grimlock, in the end I am simply a scientist. I formulate a hypothesis and I test it. when I began this experiment I hypothesised that sentience and strength were both needed to create a perfect solider… but I have seen that it is not sentience that gives your power – it is the best inside. And so I am formulating a new hypothesis. That sentience isn’t necessary and is in fact an obstacle. An obstacle I will now remove. Permanently”.
Keep in mind that the above is paraphrased and the fantastic artwork from Agustin Padilla really adds weight to the speech, but that right there could have been on the big screen and you wouldn’t think it was overdone or melodramatic. The combination of words and art make for one of the best moments in recent Transformer comics memory.
While the showdown between Grimlock and Shockwave is what the issue is based around, we also get some nice character development from the rest of the Dinobots and their relationship with Ultra Magnus. It plays a back seat to the main action (and rightfully so) but it again shows what great work Johnson and Scott have done with this script and story.
This has been a fantastic mini-series and I cannot wait for the team to reunite with the Dinobots in May for Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters. If you’re a fan of the Transformers Universe and you’ve been feeling a little let down with some of the other offerings (More Than Meets The Eye, I’m looking at you), you will find what you’re looking for with Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots #4. A fantastic comic.
Originally published February 19, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
