[Criticism Corner] Inside Transformers: Infiltration (Patreon)

 So a sponsor came to me and said that they were wanting me to talk about the Transformers comics.  Since so many of you guys have expressed interest in me covering the series, I thought this would be a great opportunity!  This is what I currently have.  I'd love to know what you think. :)

Growing up, the Transformers were always something that fascinated me.  I watched a few of the shows and collected some of the toys, but that was about it.  Well when I got into comics, lots of my friends and fans just would NOT shut up about the Transformers books from IDW comics and they seemed like a lot of fun, but WOW there are so many and they’re incredibly intimidating to jump into.

That said, I went through the same thing earlier with the Power Rangers comic series and when I gave them a chance, I ended up falling in love, see my previous videos for more information.

Okay, but where do I start?  Well luckily for me, IDW seemed to understand how complicated things have gotten and released this handy reading guide for newcomers like me.  Well, I guess the best spot would be 

I wanted to get into Transformers comics, but WOW it’s intimidating.  Thankfully, IDW put out a reading list to help newcomers like myself and I guess the best place to start would be Transformers: Infiltration, the very first book in the series.

Released in 2005, Transformers: Infiltration is a seven issue mini-series that’s not just the beginning of the IDW Transformers universe, but also IDW’s entire Hasbro universe which ran for thirteen years!

Artist E.J. Su is most well known for his time here on Transformers and the bulk of his other work is on comic adaptations of established properties like Castlevania and Astro Boy, but he’s also done some work for one of my favorite comic writers, Robert Kirkman, for his Tech Jacket and SuperPetriot series, both of which take place in the same universe as my favorite comic series of all time, Invincible.

As for the writing, that was handled by Simon Furman who is synonymous with Transformers.

See, this series with IDW Comics isn’t the first time that the Transformers have had comics.  Previously, Marvel had the rights and Furman wrote them for Marvel UK and the bulk of them for the US publication.

Editor’s Note: Marvel UK was a former Marvel imprint that reprinted US books with a few original titles.

One fun fact I found while researching is that while handling the UK Transformers series, Furman was the writer and co-creator of a character named Death’s Head who was initially a side character, but in order to avoid Hasbro claiming ownership, Furman created a quick one page comic featuring Death’s Head so that he could become an official Marvel character.

Anyway, when the now defunct-Dreamwave Productions got the rights to make Transformers, Furman was brought into help which naturally means that when it was IDW’s turn to give the property a spin, they basically HAD to bring Furman in as well.

Though this would be the first time that Simon Furman would get to write a Transformers universe from the very start and he ended up writing a LOT of it.

But hey, that’s the history.  What about the book itself?

We start off focusing on a pickpocket named Verity Carlo who steals a palm computer while riding a bus.  This thing was considered extremely high tech at the time.  Remember, this was 2005. (#0)

After getting off the bus, Verity manages to hitch a ride with a dude named Hunter O’nion (Oh-nye-on), he runs a conspiracy site called Mechatopia.com and is trying to find alien robots that he is convinced are roaming the Earth in disguise. (#0)

Side note, Mechatopia.com was a website that used to be run and maintained by IDW in order to promote this book.  However, the domain has since lapsed and now some asshole bought it up and is using it for their own ends.  I wonder what kind of jerk would do that.  Wink wink.

Anyway, it turns out that the guy Verity stole from was a member of a mysterious organization called the Machination and he had uncovered a LOT of information about a Decepticon group led by Starcream, including the location of one of their abandoned bases.  All of this information is on the computer stolen by Verity and the Decepticons are desperate to get their hands on it before it can fall into the Autobots’ hands.

A group of Decepticons managed to track the computer down, nearly killing the humans until they’re saved by an Autobot, an ambulance named Ratchet. (#0)  After revealing himself as a Transformer, we get treated to a fun death race kind of battle with Ratchet fighting against two cars on the ground and a jet above him all at the same time.

The group barely manages to get away, but with Ratchet in desperate need of repairs, they go to one of Verity’s friends, a mechanic named Jimmy Pink. (#1)  Though pretty much as soon as the repairs are done, the Decepticons were able to find our heroes and we get another death race. (#2)

Ratchet notes that the Decepticons are generally secretive and being so open with their attacks and even being willing to partially transform is highly unusual.  See the Decepticon’s six phase infiltration protocol is a big deal and the fact that these guys are breaking the standard procedure means that something is clearly up.

Just as Ratchet and the humans were going to be toast, Autobot reinforcements show up and save the day, but they are NOT happy with Ratchet being so brazen by revealing himself to the humans. (#2)

Regardless, they all return to base and analyze the data on the computer that Verity stole.  When they learn about the abandoned Decepticon base, the humans manage to convince Ratchet to further defy his superiors and let them go investigate it.  Also, Bumblebee decides to tag along too. (#3)

Meanwhile, Starscream orders his goons to destroy the old base, not knowing that the humans and Autobots were planning on investigating it.  Speaking of, the humans don’t really find much.  Just a few dead bodies…  and freaking Megatron who had come to Earth to confront his subordinates about breaking the infiltration protocol. (#4)

Not knowing that Megatron was there, the Decepticons bomb the base and this SERIOUSLY pisses him off.  Megatron goes on an absolute rampage against the traitors and he is absolutely terrifying!   Megatron survives some massive attacks without a single scratch on him and he one shots his forces.  This does a great job setting up just how powerful he is as an enemy and really sets the stakes! (#5)

Megatron departs to go confront the backstabbing Starscream and the Autobots, being caught in the middle of this civil war, follow suit in order to contain the battle if it got out of hand.

When confronted by their leader, the rest of Starscream’s cronies step down, but since he recently beefed himself up Dragon Ball Z style with a powerful mineral called Ore-13, Starscream opts to take Megatron on by himself. (#6)

That was a bad idea because even WITH this power up, Starscream posed zero threat and paid a fatal price. (#6)  Among the wreckage of his former general, Megatron simply looks at the Autobots and says “Phase Two”, opting not to engage them that day.

With Ore-13 discovered, Earth has become the new battlefield between the two opposing Transformers forces and the book ends with the arrival of the Autobots’ big gun, Optimus Prime.

Honestly, I thought this book was just alright.  It was just a lot of setup and most of the interesting things that it had to offer didn’t really happen until the end.  Based on just this mini-series, I probably wouldn’t opt to read more, but friends and fans swear that this series gets great so maybe I’ll keep going, especially if this video does well and there’s demand for more in the comments.

That said, there are aspects that I did enjoy.  This book really focuses on the disguise aspect of the Transformers which in my limited exposure to the franchise is something that I feel is often overlooked.  Also, I have to once again mention how cool the initial fight scene with Megaton was.  He comes across as legitimately intimidating and I’m curious as to how the Autobots choose to engage him.

And also, there’s more to this book than what I got into here.  Any video isn’t going to do a comic justice and there’s no substitute for reading the story for yourself so if you’re interested in checking it out, I have links to both the physical and digital versions down there in the description.