In a series that has had various highs and lows – and probably being as well received as its creators imagined – the Dark Cybertron action continues in Transformers: Robots In Disguise #26. The last few issues have upped the game, but does this issue deliver on satisfaction?

The official description from IDW:

THE BIG ONE! This is it—the battle every TRANSFORMERS reader has dreamed of! Titans clash on CYBERTRON! The fate of the LOST LIGHT! And ORION PAX fights fist-to-face against his ultimate nemesis! And from here on? Things only get bigger!

How do you describe something like Robots In Disguise #26? It’s good, yet misses the point. The whole ‘two titans duking it out awesome-style’ aspect? That’s a background element or deus ex machina at best. After such a build up, we barely get a chance to soak any of the glorious massive robot fight in.

A lot of this, I’m suspecting, is simply down to the story. The elements are all there, but James Roberts and John Barber are easily over thinking this one. Frankly, when the big reveals come, they’re either irrelevant, predictable or downright silly. Case in point this issue: Shockwave. His big reveal at the end is along the lines of a generic James Bond villain. Heck, next week let’s go the whole nine yards and give him a twirly mustache, top hat and the mannerisms of a Victorian villain. That said, there are a few characters, such as Optimus Prime and (more so) Megatron, that get some decent development and coverage.

Visually, however, Robots In Disguise #26 holds up much better. Between the Cybertron style and the Dead Universe visuals, Andrew Griffith, Livid Ramondelli and Josh Perez do a fantastic job. The few big shots you do get of the titan-on-titan action is awesome, colorful and well detailed. Overall, this title manages to hold up much easier on the aesthetic front.

All in all, I can’t stay too mad at this issue. It does wrap a few of the plot lines as we move to the final act (act 3? act 3.5? I lost track). On the plus side, this is very nearly over and we can get back to our regular comics, too. There’s always that.

3.5/5