For many, myself included, IDW's Transformers titles really only came into their own with Last Stand of the Wreckers, a tale of the crack Autobot combat unit with a low tolerance for survival rates and a thirst for danger by Nick Roche. It was a groundbreaking story, one where a group of underused Transformers characters are drafted into the Wreckers unit (made famous by UK scribe Simon Furman) and are taken into a situation with impossible odds, brain bullets and lots of chances to die in stupid, pointless ways. It was funny, sad, exhilarating and macabre, with a lot of easter-eggs for longtime UK fans. It was basically comic-crack.
It was the series that brought several friends of mine into the IDW universe, and to this day it hasn't been topped. Until maybe now.
With Sins of the Wreckers, Roche returned to the aftermath of his oil-stained tale, and it was another step into the unexpected. Rather than repeat the previous formula, this was a more introspective, solemn experience, drafting in yet more oft-ignored Transformers and even a few from other iterations outside of G1. Those who expected more of the same were left disappointed, but for those of us who took the title for what it was, the book delivered. The colouring gave the book a dour quality, but it had uplifting moments as well as betrayal, murder and giant robots. It was a more sombre read about characters who were suffering from loss, and about the sacrifices you make in the face of necessity.
And finally, we have Requiem of the Wreckers, the last story about the remaining characters in a dying IDW universe. So how does the send-off, courtesy of a double-sized "annual" release, fare?
Well, it retains the subdued palette of Sins, so immediately the mood of the book is apparent. Following the death of Springer's mentor, Kup, in the much derided Visionaries series, both he and his human friend Verity are seeking closure. Oddly enough, they both agree that contacting Impactor, the previous disgraced leader of the unit, is the best way to move forward. This leads the pair to uncovering a conspiracy from Sins antagonist Tarantulus, and Last Stand's big bad, Overlord. How this comes about, via Overlord being disguised as a human woman, is a bit of an oddity. I think the mad technology of Tarantulus is best left behind when the universe reboots, as it's almost daft beyond belief at this stage, and it was pretty much the only jarring idea in the book for me personally. But hey, it's a comic about Transforming robots, so why not eh?
There are some lovely moments in this book - Carnivac returning to close the Mayhem unit arc is a nice touch, and I'm pleased he wasn't just killed off for the sake of cleaning house. Likewise, the ultimate fate of Impactor had a certain poetry to it, recalling events central to Last Stand and allowing Springer the chance to see certain situations from another point of view. Interestingly, the ultimate fate of Overlord also echoed a Marvel UK title, but not Transformers. Whether deliberate or not, sending two components of the same character to opposite ends of the timestream is exactly how Death's Head II defeated Charnel. Pure coincidence or obscure tip of the hat?
Ultimately the book ended on a note of hope. Springer decided to make a difference in his life by undoing the legacy of the Wreckers, which is a wonderful touch. The Quantum Leap inspired ending was in keeping with Springer's outlier status as a not-quite Transformer who had been created out of hope and love, but forced by circumstance and breeding to become something less than he could have been. His relationship with Prowl especially was complicated, but the book gave us a bit of a look behind the curtain to see how his "parent" had been looking out for his best interests, even if he was a manipulative sonofabitch due to his office.
Verity's tale ends as it always should have done. Her last appearance, an entire page of wordless panels that tell a whole story in nothing but body language, is beautiful. It's also the continuation of the very first page which serves to anchor the entire comic - this is a brilliantly self-assured touch by Roche. Finally, Verity Carlo is home.
And lastly, in one final and very savvy move, the book was further linked to the Wreckers lineage by having the flashbacks drawn by none-other than Geoff Senior, the Marvel UK artist who is undeniably a fan-favourite. His expressive line-work is a time-travel experience unto itself, taking long-time readers like myself right back to childhood where his work on previous Transformer tales is still a bright and shining memory. I felt like I was sat on my bed devouring a Marvel UK book with a bag of rhubarb and custard sweets all over again, and you just don't get a more authentic time-travel experience than that!
Nick Roche has written a poignant series about war, loss, grief, valour and grit, ended it on exactly the right note and, in doing so, goes down in Transformers lore as one of the greats. Bravo.
I will not, however, miss his uncanny knack for making my skin crawl with his spider-drawings. Ugh.
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