Rage of the Dinobots comes to a close in this issue. Let’s take a look back for a second. The concept was great. Fall of Cybertron is a very awesome game, but in the end we never did find out what happened to the Dinobots. We play as Grimlock throughout the second-to-final act, but then once we head back to Optimus and Megatron, the game never shows what happens to them. This mini-series came to answer that question. It also serves as a prelude for Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters. Basically it was a win win for fans of the Prime continuity. The actual issues were very good reads too. It’s somehow something young and old fans can enjoy. The conclusion features plenty of Shockwave, another fun read.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

DINOBOT WAR!

GRIMLOCK leads the DINOBOTS against SHOCKWAVE’s troops-and the results won’t be pretty! With SWOOP under SER-KET’s control, it’s an all-or-nothing battle of DINOBOT versus PREDACON-with the fate of CYBERTRON hanging on every punch, blast, jab, and bite!

Don’t miss the senses-shattering conclusion to this mind-blowing miniseries!

With Ser-Ket defeated, the big boss himself has arrived. The Dinobots are sadly powerless to stop the Decepticon scientist, the confrontation ends with Grimlock being put back in Shockwave’s laboratory while the others are locked away. Firstly, the description and main cover are quite off. Ser-Ket doesn’t come back. That aside, Shockwave gets plenty of page-time. The great dialogue reminds of how great a Transformers character he is, just as good as Optimous or Megatron. (Sadly he might just be the most underused ‘big’ character in all the animated shows.) I love the dialogue for him, it’s so cold and menacing yet he doesn’t really ‘laugh’ or ‘brag,’ which separates him from the other Decepticons, so props to the writing team for capturing this guy well. What’s really cool is that later in the comic the events of Fall of Cybetron are shown in a flashback, a very nice touch. (But not overdone, one of the reasons why this series is good is that it doesn’t rely on its backstory with the games and show too much.)

The art once again doesn’t disappoint. It matches the look of Prime well, and the action isn’t too muddled this time. The main cover is excellent, one of the best, only this issue doesn’t feature Ser-Ket, she isn’t even mentioned aside from the ‘previously in…’ The RI featuring Shockwave is pretty good, not as dynamic as the main cover, but it’s more true to the story. Now the RIB…that’s a great cover. It features Fall of Cybetron concept art with Shockwave, definitely the cover to get. Also I’m not sure if it’s ever happened before, but Grimlock’s visor actually gets removed later in the story. It’s a pretty powerful moment, especially with Shockwave’s dialogue. It demonstrates how mature the whole Prime  continuity is. It’s sad we’ll be seeing the show’s final season soon.

Overall, a fine conclusion to Rage of the Dinobots. Finally Shockewave takes center stage and shows us why he’s one of the best Transformers characters. Grimlock and his Dinobot allies get some great scenes too, I especially like the Slug/Ultra Magnus one, it was pure genius and even manages to fool the reader. With a very nice ending, I’m all set for Beast Hunters.

4/5