Dreamwave Armada - retro reviews
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andersonh1
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Re: Dreamwave Armada - retro reviews
I've just started re-reading this series, and I had forgotten that I never finished reviewing it. Not in this thread anyway. When I get past what I've already written up, I'll have to keep on going this time. Armada is a great Transformers comic.
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andersonh1
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Re: Dreamwave Armada - retro reviews
Transformers Armada #9
March 2003
Cover art - James Raiz, Rob Armstrong
Writer - Simon Furman, Pencils - Guido Guidi, Inks - Elaine To
I love the cover on this issue as a sombre group of Mini-cons huddle together and Longarm has his fists clenched as we see the Earth in the background through a row of windows, telling us from the start that the situation isn't good. The issue opens with Dualor looking out a lighted window on to a dark landscape, while Prime and Megatron discuss what just happened last issue. The Mini-cons were all taken to the moon by another group of Mini-cons. Megatron sees this as an opportunity, while Prime is trying to figure out how to go and get Rad. He tells Carlos and Alexis about the Mini-con ship impacting the moon before part of it continued and crashed on Earth. Kudos to Simon Furman for taking that incident and building a logical story out of it.
On the moon, Sparkplug and all the others from Earth are trapped, and we see all the Autobot-aligned and Decepticon-aligned Mini-cons all together for the first time, where Leader-1 offers his opinion. Answers are not long in coming as Dualor, Drillbit and Buzzsaw appear and let them out, promising explanations and telling them "you're home now." The Street Action team are not happy about that.
On Earth, both Optimus and Megatron plan to go to the moon somehow. Optimus considers the dangers to the Autobots on Cybertron if he uses the space bridge again, while Megatron has summoned Thrust to Earth with rocket boosters so he can fly to the Moon. This issue has already added plenty of new Mini-con characters, the Destruction Team prominent among them, and now we get the first new Decepticon since issue #1. Characters are not gradually added to this series, they appear many at a time, probably inevitable given we'll only get 18 issues. It's too bad this couldn't have been a bi-weekly series, because there are so many characters that barely get any page time and exploration of who they are. There's a lot of potential that is never tapped into.
Back on the moon, Dualor fills in some backstory about how he and the others tried to build defenses on Cybertron, but Megatron was able to get past them. They've had longer this time, and feel confident they can keep anyone out. Dualor appears to be right when the Decepticons attack and take enough damage that they're forced to retreat.
On Earth, Optimus Prime prepares to contact Cybertron as soon as Red Alert and Hot Shot take out Demolishor, left behind to guard the Decepticon base. On the moon the Destruction Team discuss the situation, and Drill Bit wonders what they'll do when the Autobots arrive, figuring no one will be nearly as happy to fight them. The final page reveals Rad, strapped into one of the Mini-con space mines as a deterrent. To be continued...
I find myself constantly having to fight the false mindset of "there are so few characters in this series" because I'm primarily thinking of the Autobots and Decepticons. I'm not sure why, given how prominent the Mini-cons are and how proactive they are. I guess decades of "two factions" has me stuck in that mindset and I have to keep reminding myself that we have three factions in Armada. The Destruction Team drive the plot with their abduction of all the Earth-based Mini-cons, with the Autobots and Decepticons reacting. Dualor is clearly not a nice person, however sound his reasoning behind his actions, as the reveal of Rad's imprisonment clearly shows.
March 2003
Cover art - James Raiz, Rob Armstrong
Writer - Simon Furman, Pencils - Guido Guidi, Inks - Elaine To
I love the cover on this issue as a sombre group of Mini-cons huddle together and Longarm has his fists clenched as we see the Earth in the background through a row of windows, telling us from the start that the situation isn't good. The issue opens with Dualor looking out a lighted window on to a dark landscape, while Prime and Megatron discuss what just happened last issue. The Mini-cons were all taken to the moon by another group of Mini-cons. Megatron sees this as an opportunity, while Prime is trying to figure out how to go and get Rad. He tells Carlos and Alexis about the Mini-con ship impacting the moon before part of it continued and crashed on Earth. Kudos to Simon Furman for taking that incident and building a logical story out of it.
On the moon, Sparkplug and all the others from Earth are trapped, and we see all the Autobot-aligned and Decepticon-aligned Mini-cons all together for the first time, where Leader-1 offers his opinion. Answers are not long in coming as Dualor, Drillbit and Buzzsaw appear and let them out, promising explanations and telling them "you're home now." The Street Action team are not happy about that.
On Earth, both Optimus and Megatron plan to go to the moon somehow. Optimus considers the dangers to the Autobots on Cybertron if he uses the space bridge again, while Megatron has summoned Thrust to Earth with rocket boosters so he can fly to the Moon. This issue has already added plenty of new Mini-con characters, the Destruction Team prominent among them, and now we get the first new Decepticon since issue #1. Characters are not gradually added to this series, they appear many at a time, probably inevitable given we'll only get 18 issues. It's too bad this couldn't have been a bi-weekly series, because there are so many characters that barely get any page time and exploration of who they are. There's a lot of potential that is never tapped into.
Back on the moon, Dualor fills in some backstory about how he and the others tried to build defenses on Cybertron, but Megatron was able to get past them. They've had longer this time, and feel confident they can keep anyone out. Dualor appears to be right when the Decepticons attack and take enough damage that they're forced to retreat.
On Earth, Optimus Prime prepares to contact Cybertron as soon as Red Alert and Hot Shot take out Demolishor, left behind to guard the Decepticon base. On the moon the Destruction Team discuss the situation, and Drill Bit wonders what they'll do when the Autobots arrive, figuring no one will be nearly as happy to fight them. The final page reveals Rad, strapped into one of the Mini-con space mines as a deterrent. To be continued...
I find myself constantly having to fight the false mindset of "there are so few characters in this series" because I'm primarily thinking of the Autobots and Decepticons. I'm not sure why, given how prominent the Mini-cons are and how proactive they are. I guess decades of "two factions" has me stuck in that mindset and I have to keep reminding myself that we have three factions in Armada. The Destruction Team drive the plot with their abduction of all the Earth-based Mini-cons, with the Autobots and Decepticons reacting. Dualor is clearly not a nice person, however sound his reasoning behind his actions, as the reveal of Rad's imprisonment clearly shows.