TRANSFORMERS ENERGON #27

Cover Date: September 2004
Story: Simon Furman
Pencils: Alex Milne
Inks: Elaine To
Lettering: Ben Lee
Setting: Unicron. (Pages 1-3, 7, 8, 13, 14, 18-20)
Cyber City, Cybertron. (Pages 11, 12, 15, 16, 21, 22)
The Shores Of The Black Sea, Turkey. (Pages 4-6)
Downtown Los Angeles. (Pages 9, 10, 17)

Plot Summary: A flashback begins the issue, as we see Alpha-Quinesson give orders to Slugslinger, Sharkticon and the reformatted Tidal Wave, now known as Mirage. Cut back to the present, as the attack from the last issue continues, as Mirage and Slugslinger distract the Omnicons just long enough for Sharkticon to capture Kicker.

Inside the wrecked hulk of Unicron, Optimus continues to watch the Terrorcon rampage on Earth as Megatron taunts Prime, once again assuring the Autobot leader that his resurrection can bring a swift end to the threat that they pose. But Optimus refuses, saying that he does not want to unleash a greater threat.

As the Terrorcon attack on Los Angeles continues, Rad laments the loss of Alexis. Soon enough, though, Alexis appears, which could not make Rad any happier, After a brief embrace, they say that, even though Autobot reinforcements are most assuredly on the way, they’ll be too late to do anything.

On Cybertron, Jetfire confers with Avalon, one of the Autobot elders. As this happens, Prowl brings news of the attacks on Earth. Jetfire orders all available forces to prepare for full retaliatory strike. Once they have all been assembled, Jetfire leads the strike teams to Earth.

Back in Unicron’s wreckage, Optimus makes his way through his defense systems, finally caving in to Megatron’s demands. As he is about to disable Unicron’s internal scanners, however, he suddenly comes entangled by the tentacles of Alpha Quintesson.

And back on Cybertron, Avalon confers with Alpha Quintesson, both of them saying that the Transformers have no idea what’s in store for them.

Transformers/Humans Featured (in rough order of appearance): Alpha Quintesson, Mirage, Slugslinger, Sharkticon, Arcee, Skyblast, Strongarm, Signal Flare, Kicker, Divebomb, Cruellock, Battle Ravage, Optimus Prime, Megatron (Armada), Megatron (Energon), Rad, Alexis, Jetfire, Prowl, Landmine, Thrust, Scavenger, Hoist, Landquake, Bulkhead, Quickstrike, Red Alert, Cliffjumper, Rodimus, Beachcomber, Tow-Line, Downshift, Grindor (Energon), High Wire (Energon), Sureshock (Energon), Perceptor (Energon).

Other Notes: The explanation for Tidal Wave’s reformatting into Mirage is explained: after the events of Issue #24, Tidal Wave returned to Unicron and got reformatted. For the first time in the series, Alpha-Quintesson changes his face. Rad and Alexis are apparently beginning to develop more than a friendship. Avalon is apparently a servant of Unicron, akin to Sideways, although how this is so is not yet explained. (And I hope they do.) The forces assembled by Jetfire are comprised of former Armada bots (Scavenger, Red Alert, Thrust, Hoist) and Energon toys not yet released (Beachcomber, Landquake). This is the first appearance of Mini-Cons in the Energon story. (Aside from Over-Run and the Air Defense Team in the non-canonical Summer Special story.)

Review: Once again, the parallel between Armada and Energon is apparent. It was at about this time during the Armada story arc that it began to show signs of developing into a strong and very memorable story arc. Of course, we all know how well the Armada story turned out in the end, and so I hope very much that Energon won’t follow the same path.

The artwork in this issue is VERY well done, and Alex Milne is quickly climbing the ladder of my favorite TF artists. His Alpha-Quintesson drawing on the first page was a favorite of mine since I saw the preview, Megatron’s holoimage is also becoming a favorite, the mass group shot of Cybertronian reinforcements is exciting, (even if I can’t tell who that bot between Bulkhead and Red Alert is), and the final page with Avalon and Alpha-Quintesson is very well detailed.

Like I said, Energon is finally beginning to develop into a very interesting series, and this story arc is looking to become one of my favorites. I just hope that Furman doesn’t screw it up like he did with this story arc’s parallel.

Review by Bombshell