Ricky Church reviews Transformers vs Visionaries #1…
After the events of First Strike, Hasbro and IDW have brought together the Transformers and Visionaries franchises together for the first time. A part of Cybertron has been transformed into the homeworld of the Visionaries thanks to the wizard Merklynn, draining much of Cybertron’s valuable energon in an already tumultuous political landscape. The first issue of this miniseries introduces the Visionaries to the IDW universe and sets up the conflict between them and the transformers as each group attempts to hold onto the planet.
The first issue as a bit interesting as it brings in actual magic to the universe, something Kup, Ironhide and Wheeljack think can just be explained by science. The story explores the aftermath of First Strike, but is largely set-up for later. There’s not much to the conflict that what is stated: most of the Visionaries side with Merklynn and want the whole planet as their home and technology wiped from the galaxy while some of the transformers want to try co-existing with them, but Ironhide disagrees.
Writer Magdalene Visaggio makes a couple interesting new characters, but doesn’t go into the whole history of the Visionaries quite enough. It seems some information is a bit lost between First Strike and this issue as there are now a bunch of Visionaries now on Cybertron and Merklynn, thought to have been missing, is actually held captive by his people as a war criminal, albeit reluctantly. Her takes on Kup and Ironhide are well written and mostly in line with past stories, though Kup seems a bit more pacifistic than before Ironhide’s desire to straight-up take Merklynn is in character, though he also wants to fight all the Visionaries.
The art is good for the most part. Fico Ossio creates some interesting character designs with the Visionaries and Transformers, though the designs for Kup, Ironhide and the others seen are a bit bulky. They’re a little more in line with designs from Transformers Prime than they are with most of the other comics in IDW’s Transformers line, making it a little inconsistent. The Visionaries are done well, though, being the best part of the book with their looks and designs and a blend of vibrant colours from David Garcia Cruz.
Overall, Transformers vs Visionaries #1 is mostly set-up with a fairly simple conflict at the moment, though one that grows by the end of the issue with a cliffhanger ending. Visaggio’s writing works mostly for the new Visionaries while Ossio and Cruz’s artwork is well done. It just may not be enough for longtime Transformers fans just yet.
Rating: 6/10
Ricky Church
