TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE #97

"THE WAR TO END ALL WARS, PART 2"
Writer: Simon Furman | Breakdowns: Guido Guidi | Finisher: Stephen Baskerville
Colorist: John-Paul Bove | Letterer: Chris Mowry | Editor: John Barber
Editor-in-Chief: Chris Ryall

Cover by Andrew Wildman

The Plot: The Dinobots are displeased that the proto-Transformers have been "reintegrated" into society by way of what is essentially a ghetto. Meanwhile, Rodimus Prime speaks with Jhiaxus, who reveals that he used the power of the Underbase to cyberform multiple worlds into a series of Cybertrons called the Hub. Rodimus declares Jhiaxus a madman, and a fight breaks out.

Elsewhere, Jhiaxus's men attempt to "purge" the proto-Transformers, but the Dinobots step in to defend them and are nearly killed. Ultra Magnus arrives with reinforcements, but Jhiaxus calls for his men and they depart Cybertron. Nightbeat informs Rodimus that Jhiaxus was on-planet long enough for the Autobots to scan him and his men. Armed with this intelligence, Rodimus prepares to strike against Jhiaxus.

Meanwhile, the space bridge between Earth and Nebulos is completed and about to be tested. And on Nebulos, Fortress Maximus is reunited with his head, but goes momentarily berserk upon reactivation. Aboard the Ark Starscream explains to Shockwave that, like him, Jhiaxus is one of "The Five".

G1 Continuity: Presumably "The Five" are Transformers who have felt the power of the Underbase, as Starscream did in the original series.

Variant "retro" cover by Guido Guidi

Body Count: Sludge is impaled and nearly killed, but survives.

My Thoughts: Simon Furman's version of Rodimus Prime was always a highly proactive leader, regularly taking the fight to the Decepticons and generally showing less mercy than Optimus Prime. That trend seems to continue here as first, Rodimus has snipers in position when Jhiaxus arrives on Cybertron, and later he declares his intention to strike against the warlord. I have to say, I like this Rodimus a lot better than the whining stuffed shirt the G1 cartoons gave us. If the TV Rodimus had been written this way, he might have been better accepted by the children of my generation.

(But it should probably be noted that the TV Optimus was in fact usually written this way, so perhaps that's why Rodimus wasn't.)

No sign of Galvatron or the Unicron cult this issue. Furman has so many plates spinning right now that it's sometimes hard to remember what still needs to be addressed. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, with only three issues left, will he really be able to stick the landing in a satisfactory manner? I hope so, and I fully expect to be amazed as all the pieces fall perfectly into place -- but at the same time I worry over rushed resolutions. The original G1 comic was cancelled and left unable to tie up several plotlines. Given twenty additional issues to do just that, I'm concerned that Furman has lingered for too long on certain lesser and/or newer plots rather than devoting all this space to the older stuff. I just don't want to see another abrupt ending when that should not, under any circumstances, be the case.

Final Opinion: Proactive Rodimus = good. Dinobots being awesome but not the stars of the show = good. Bumblebee getting shot by Jhiaxus in only his second appearance in REGENERATION ONE = bad. But we're told he'll be up and around again in no time, so I hope to see him a but more before the series ends.

Available as part of Transformers: Regeneration One Volume 4 from Amazon.com.