THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

CURRENT TRANSFORMERS COMICS FROM IDW PUBLISHING

Transformers Autocracy #9
Reviewed by Red Dave Prime

There’s a nice nod to Optimus Prime in Chaos Theory where he mentioned experiencing pain when first united with the Matrix. However Ratchet is not here even though he claimed to be present in Chaos Theory.

Orion Pax is reformatted into Optimus Prime in a style very similar to Megatron changing to Galvatron from Transformers: the animated movie.

Going from Pax’s description, the matrix may have been contained in an ancient part of the Autobot Citadel. Right under their noses…


“So I will lay down my life… My identity… For My People. Orion Pax is no more. I… am Optimus Prime. And I have a world to set free.” – The birth of an 80’s icon. Behold, Optimus Prime.

Nicely drawn, this issues main plot point is, of course, the Matrix converting Orion Pax into the heroic Optimus Prime. It’s a nice nod to the animated movie in the way he is reformatted and his speech is suitable and well written. Prime's monologue may not be moving but it does suit his new disposition. It’s not really a must-read scene but it’s done well enough.

It does raise a (semi) interesting thought. Orion was modified by Senator Shockwave and his crew so that at some point he could carry the matrix – but that’s not how he actually gets it. He finds it in the bowels of the Autobot Citadel and is mystically drawn to it only after he was nearly blown to bits. This being the case, was Shockwave's plan actually to have potential Matrix bearers like Orion and Zeta or was the modification for something else? On a personnel note, I wasn't a big fan of this version of how Orion became Optimus. Pax does the dirty work for Zeta Prime, realises his mistake and sides with an even worse tyrant in Megatron and gets betrayed before nearly destroyed. So yeah, give him the most important of Cybertronain trinkets. At least Rodimus will follow in his path (see ongoing #13)


There’s not much else to the issue. Megatron gives a victory speech to the extremely docile Iacon population (these bots just bow down to whoevers in power). There’s a bit of squabbling between Hot Rod and the Autobots but it’s not really got a point and I always hate when a character is written in a way that doesn’t make sense. In this case, it’s Hot Rod claiming that the Autobots are just like the Decepticons, despite the fact that he is taking to a group of Autobots who fought against the forces of Zeta Prime to try and free his people, unlike the Decepticons who immediately filled the power vacuum after Zeta fell. It’s silly, forced and pretty much forgotten by next issue. You could argue it’s to justify Starscream leading Hot Rod astray but Hot Rod is never written in a way that makes you think he will ever join the Decepticons.

As part of the overall arc, this is fine. But it’s a dull issue and without the historical moment it contains nothing of worth in terms of entertaining purely as a comic. Reading it within the pages of the TPB, it’s fine. I just can’t rate it as an actual comic on its own merit.

Hell, no-one even called Ironhide an old timer.