Optimus Prime and the remaining Autobots must join forces with unlikely allies in order to protect their adopted planet. But Prime’s next challenge lies closer to home than he ever imagined. And what is the fate of the Decepticons? Transformers #25 kicks off a new creative team as sides regroup with some surprising twists along the way.

Transformers #25 begins Robert Kirkman‘s run writing the iconic franchise, one he’s dipped his toes in recently with his writing on “Energon Universe” series Void Rivals. The Transformers are clearly on Earth with humanity now knowing of their existence, and Kirkman dives right into that with the ramifications of their battles so far and the destruction they’ve caused.

Transformers #25 does a solid job of capturing the voice of the original Gen1 cartoon with Optimus coming off as the wise, but somewhat coming off as caught in a new land. The comic dials things back to some of the basics when it comes to alliances and acceptances with simple logic thrown out to move the story and plot along. The Decepticons ran after destroying stuff but the Autobots stayed to help, therefore the Autobots are good so we should trust them. It feels simplistic in some ways but works and compacts logic that otherwise would have played out for far too long.

With that comes an opportunity for new allies as Optimus is recruited by possible representatives of the US government. There’s no reason to doubt their claims of being part of the government but there’s no real proof they are and there’s one reveal that maybe they’re not. What’s set up is a debut of a character, but not a franchise, that teases there’s more coming to the Energon Universe and should make fans even more excited. It also upends some things giving the Autobots an advantage and shakes things up in ways that are unexpected. Scarcity for the Transformers has been an issue but Kirkman begins to lay the groundwork to undo that.

But, it’s not all simple meeting new allies like the cartoons. There is some depth and moral ambiguity for adults too. Megatron and his Decepticons have gathered with an address of the troops. There, we get Megatron’s vision and what his goals are. It’s rather interesting because it’s something that hasn’t been clear from the beginning of the series. Beyond the pre-existing fight, what is the motivation of the Decepticons, what is their driving philosophy? We see that here.

Then, there’s what’s going on with Elita-1 and the Autobots on Cybertron. The less said the better but it’s a massive shift in character and should create some fireworks down the road.

But, Transformers #25 is an issue about transition. Jorge Corona opens up the comic on art with the segment focused on the Decepticons with Dan Mora taking over when the comic shifts to the Autobots. With color by Mike Spicer and lettering by Rus Wooton. There’s a clear shift in art as Corona and Mora’s art styles are very different and Mora’s ongoing art should be interesting. It’s a much “cleaner” style than we’ve see so far for this run, much more like previous runs. But, Mora brings a level of detail that’s fantastic. His take on the damaged Optimus Prime is really interesting with small parts of his shell missing and it’s present not just in bot form but also when he transforms. It’s a small level of detail that might go unnoticed but adds so much to the story and world.

Transformers #25 is a great transition with a clear focus on setting up what’s to come. It evokes a lot of moments that clearly mine the past, both in comics and animated, and brings in new elements that 80s toy fans will get excited for. The series might have a new team but it isn’t missing a beat.

Story: Robert Kirkman Art: Dan Mora, Jorge Corona
Color: Mike Spicer Letterer: Rus Wooton
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Skybound provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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