Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #9

Following on from Decepticon and Dinobot month, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #9 starts a new arc, bringing together the Autobot crew of the Lost Light.

The official description from IDW:

SHADOWPLAY begins here! One AUTOBOT connects the crew of the Lost Light with pre-war CYBERTRON and the rise of the DECEPTICONs. His name? OPTIMUS PRIME. The past and the present collide as Rewind begins telling his crew mates the most shocking story of all!

This story is a combination of flashbacks and the present. The crew are trying to tell a story to help repair Rung’s brain. A simple premise, but one that allows the story to be told. As I’ve already previously stated, I enjoy the current Transformers titles for their take on a Transformers Universe after the war. Although its been done before, there are also plenty of enjoyable glimpses of Cybertron before the way here, too.

Of course, these flashbacks are also narrated. Because the story is told between several characters, the point of view changes a lot. Several different events seem to occur simultaneously, no doubt leading to a combined point in future issues. Still, its easy enough to read and understand, as well as shedding plenty of light and background on the Lost Light crew.

Optimus Prime also makes an appearance through the flashbacks here. Whilst this is nothing extraordinary, its one of the first times either Prime or Megatron have been directly shown. They’ve been refereed to, and whether they’re even a live or not questioned, but this is the first time there seems to be any deep discussions that involve either of them (no matter how slightly).

As for the rest of the story, it takes an odd noir or detective vibe, given a Transformers twist. Whether its the towers of Cybertron standing in for apartment blocks, or the separate parts of a transformer instead of an autopsy, its a unique take on the franchise.

Finally, there is a pretty decent cliffhanger at the end. Although it seems unrelated to the flashback story that occupies the rest of the issue, it has potential. None the less, the next issue is certainly going to be interesting.