THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

CURRENT TRANSFORMERS COMICS FROM IDW PUBLISHING

Transformers: All Hail Megatron #10
Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek

Deep within TF Archive towers, the humble reviewer is unhooked from the All Hail Megatron reader [which looks uncannily like the thing Malcolm McDowell wears in A Clockwork Orange]. Falling to the floor, he collapses in a gibbering heap and begins clawing at his eyes and making strange animal sounds. The merciless Editor begins poking him forcibly with sticks until the broken man reaches for his keyboard…
[That’s enough of that or it’s the pain sticks for you - Ed]
*Ahem*

To recap, we’ve had ten issues of the Autobots doing Jack and his best friend Shit on Cybertron. After all that build up, what amazingly clever and well thought out way has McCarthy come up with to get them out of this predicament? Omega Supreme falls out the sky, kills the Swarm (who despite all the talk, have completely failed to cause any direct damage to anyone or anything) and flies them all off to Earth. A more insultingly stupid and easy contrivance is hard to think off. Considering the slow pace of the comic to date, the Autobots walking to Earth probably wouldn’t have slowed down the action.

Back with the Decepticons, Starscream is again telling us he used to love Megatron but now feels betrayed (for about the third time in this title alone, across IDW in general we must be heading into double figures), whilst Megatron again tells us him seemingly hanging around doing nothing is all part of some cunning plan. Then everyone has a badly drawn fight before the third cliffhanger to try and make a shock revelation of Europe aiming to nuke New York. The tenth issue of a story should not have a character saying “And so it begins” twice in as many pages because the plot should actually have started, say, ten issues earlier.

On a positive note, those Trevor Hutchison covers really are lovely aren’t they? A collection of them unfettered by the association with the meaningless contents would be very welcome.

His strength spent the reviewer collapses into a bloody heap once more. The black hearted Editor snarls “Excellent work, you may have some reprocessed potato. Now, for your next project, you never did finish reading the Alan Dean Foster novelisation of the last film did you?” A desperate scream rings out around the towers…


After ten issues we finally get some explanations as to Megatron’s master plan; he’s using Earth as a staging ground and will invade the rest of the Universe via Space Bridge. He also seems to have planned Starscream’s mutiny for reasons as yet unclear.

The Space Bridge technology is specifically said to have been taken from Sixshot, presumably via the Dead Universe cast.

The Insecticons, Constructicons, Rumble [See goofs] and at least one Reflector unit side with Starscream, while Thundercracker Soundwave and Laserbeak stick with Megatron. Everyone else is just drawn loitering in the middle so it’s hard to say who’s on which side.

New York seems to have been completely rebuilt.What this means for our human heroes remains to be seen.

Roadbuster using a big honking gun is likely homage to Time Wars.

Omega Supreme was last seen in Spotlight: Optimus Prime. How he survived the mighty Decepticon force sent against him isn’t disclosed, though he does imply other Autobots have escaped as well. As with the cartoon he leaves a good chunk of his body behind when his spaceship module takes off. Impossible to call this a goof yet, as for all we know next issue when he arrives on Earth he’ll be stuck being an arm.

In what may be the most tragic event of the comic to date, Kup has to take his cigar out of his mouth to fight the Swarm.

The Euro Fighters seen on the last page aren’t nuclear capable in real life, either they’re a diversionary tactic for the bomber or it’s a screw up. Next issue will tell…

After this issue was released it was announced that All Hail Megatron: Coda was being rebranded as issues 13-16 of the main title.

Guido drew the Decepticons on Earth pages, Santalucia the Cybertron stuff.


Sunstreaker’s noble self-sacrifice two issues ago is undone by the revelation there was another bridge on the opposite side of the building. Which the Autobots haven’t bothered to blow up in the time Sunstreaker brought them with his life. Bastards.

After his tragic death last issue, Rumble is seen hanging about looking fine. He appears to be on the opposite side to Soundwave, so they weren’t that close after all despite the tears over the cassette’s dead body. [But then, do we ever really know the ones we love?]

Omega Supreme is now insanely large compared to how he was in Spotlight Optimus Prime. Despite this, he can apparently enter Cybertron’s atmosphere and fall to the surface with thrusters blasting in such a silent and subtle way no one notices him until he’s right on top of them. And Drift’s the Ninja?

The Euro Fighters also seem to have been to Ninja school as none of the advanced robots with all sorts of sophisticated audio and visual abilities notice them coming either.


Megatron: You may be a genius Bombshell, but never forget I created you, and never forget Megatron sees all.

Starscream: There was a time I idolized you, looked up to you as a symbol of a new regime. You taught us that we didn’t have to accept what we’d been given. That we were destined for more. You taught us to challenge the old order. To fight. To take what we wanted from a world that rewarded the weak. Then you led us into a war without end.

Omega Supreme: I received your message.
Hot Rod: Message…
Omega Supreme: I apologise for my late arrival.
Hot Rod: My message! I knew it! Hah! I knew it would work!
Kup: Stay focused!