TRANSFORMERS ENERGON #24

Cover Date: June 2004
Story: Simon Furman
Pencils: James Raiz
Inks: Rob Armstrong
Lettering: Ben Lee
Setting: Cybertron.

Plot Summary: As the Autobots prepare defense systems for Earth, Ironhide stands watch, unaware that he too is being watched…by Tidal Wave.

As Ironhide and Cliffjumper go to check on a smelting pool, a portal opens in front of them, and Tidal Wave emerges, attacking and seriously damaging Cliffjumper. He then tells Ironhide that he needs his help to retrieve a warhead that the Autobot built for the Decepticons during the Mini-Con conflict. Reluctantly, Ironhide agrees.

Meanwhile, wondering where Ironhide went to, Jetfire questions Landmine and Rodimus, who tell him that he went off to check a smelting plant with Cliffjumper. Pointing out that he should have at least made contact by now, Jetfire heads out to find him.
Tidal Wave and Ironhide arrive at the place where the warhead is stored, and Tidal Wave states the Terrorcons intentions for the warhead: Scorponok plans to use the warhead to destroy the Earth, allowing the Terrorcons to harvest the Energon easily. Ironhide, despite his protests, agrees to help.

Nearby, Jetfire finds Cliffjumper nearby. Signaling Rodimus, he continues to search for Ironhide.

As Ironhide checks the warhead, he arms the warhead, saying that if Cybertron’s destruction makes even one innocent safe, he feels it’s the right thing. Tidal Wave retreats as Jetfire arrives. The warhead shuts down safely, as Jetfire tells Ironhide that he has some explaining to do.

Later, Ironhide explains himself to Jetfire and Rodimus, saying that he didn’t disarm the warheads because he was ashamed of what he did, and believed that no one would trust him again. Jetfire reassures the young Autobot by saying that by explaining his actions, he is becoming a true Autobot.

Transformers Featured (in rough order of appearance): Ironhide, Landmine (first appearance), Rodimus, Tidal Wave, Cliffjumper (first, and from the look of things, probably last, appearance).

Other Notes: Also assisting in the construction of the Earth defenses is Hoist. A flashback, showing what presumably happened during the Armada storyline, shows Tidal Wave in his Armada color scheme and a subtly different looking Ironhide, who is missing his shoulder cannons. The history between Ironhide and Rodimus, hinted at in Energon #22, is fully explained. Tidal Wave is surprisingly in good condition, having apparently found a way to survive a massive Energon explosion. (Which occurred last issue.) Yes. I do realize that there is never any mention of how much time has taken place between the two issues, but that’s no excuse.

Review: I will admit. I bought this issue expecting to hate it. And in the end…I still did, but not as much as I thought I would. The main reason I hated this story was because it did little to advance the overall storyline. I don’t mind character pieces, but I feel that in as big a storyline as Energon is building up to be, a single issue should have one aspect eclipse the other.
Having said that, I felt that this issue was memorable, in that it makes Ironhide out to be more than “the tough, young punk rebel kid” that the cartoon sees fit to tag him with, and it makes me appreciate the character much more. It also make the character more interesting, as up until this point in the comic he was treated as little more than a rank and file soldier.

Another character this issue made me like was Tidal Wave. While Armada, in both forms, managed to treat him as little more than hardware for Megatron or a common soldier, Energon, in both its forms, made him a more interesting character, made more apparent in this issue, as we see that he is capable to causing psychological damage to his enemies, something that would previously seem out of character for him.

Making his return to the Armada/Energon universe in this issue is James Raiz, whose previous artwork has shown that he knows how to draw Transformers with a certain creative flair. Working with the Energon characters for the first time, he manages to take both established characters (Ironhide, Jetfire, Tidal Wave) and new characters (Rodimus and Landmine) and make them visually appealing.

Of course, the next issue seems to be more of the same, merely substituting Ironhide and Jetfire with Hot Shot and the Omnicons, and Tidal Wave with Snowcat, who may or may not be a reformatted Cyclonus. (The coin is still up in the air on that…) I managed to like this issue despite it being a one shot story. I highly doubt I’ll be able to do it again.

Review by Bombshell