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Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #4
The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Volume 4
The journey continues as the crew of the Lost Light confronts a band of rogue Decepticons -- with terrible consequences! Plus, a visit to the planet Hedonia -- and a chance to put recent events behind them. But all the while, locked in a secret cell underneath the Lost Light, hidden from the crew, a Decepticon psychopath is talking...without opening his mouth. And, Rodimus and his crew are confronted by the enemy within -- and not everyone will survive the encounter.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2013
27 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
James Roberts
536 books132 followersJames Roberts is a British comic book writer best known for his contributions to the Transformers franchise.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
July 6, 2017
Last Stand of the Wreckers is probably the best modern Transformers comicbook story ever since IDW got its hands on the rights to the franchise. The fourth volume of More Than Meets the Eye is the direct sequel to that seminal book and it is written by the same guy.
The Lost Light versus Overlord!
Fortress Maximus versus Overlord!
'Til All Are One!
Those three sentences are all what you need to know to enjoy this collection. If one has read this, one would see I've revealed as much as I can without spoiling anything.
Another enjoyable collection; I'm really enjoying this series so far.
The Lost Light versus Overlord!
Fortress Maximus versus Overlord!
'Til All Are One!
Those three sentences are all what you need to know to enjoy this collection. If one has read this, one would see I've revealed as much as I can without spoiling anything.
Another enjoyable collection; I'm really enjoying this series so far.
January 9, 2025
People who complain about Roberts not killing enough characters need to get out and breathe fresh air. I love when angst is done well, not just a corpse party for the sake of “shock”. This volume contains one of my favorite messages regarding grief, which I wish it wasn't weakened by what happened later in the series, but alas.
As a queer person, it also means a lot to me that this is where they made explicit one of the first gay married couples, too. It makes me so emotional that, despite them being alien robots dealing with an X million years old war PTSD, their relationship feels so organic, so human. I am glad it also resonated with other readers back then, seen as many shared their cathartic moments through mail.
As a queer person, it also means a lot to me that this is where they made explicit one of the first gay married couples, too. It makes me so emotional that, despite them being alien robots dealing with an X million years old war PTSD, their relationship feels so organic, so human. I am glad it also resonated with other readers back then, seen as many shared their cathartic moments through mail.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2015
After reading so many positive reviews for this volume I was super anticipated to read it, so I stayed up till 2AM and finished it in one sitting.
And man, what a terrifying roller coaster of emotions!!!
Good thing I read it at night after people were in bed because I seriously needed some time alone to myself so I could just sit in the misty-eyed pool of rich emotions and let the carbonation in my chest prickle my heart :( Yes, it is VERY sad, but issue #13 had me laughing out loud. I won’t give anything away, but it has something to do with holographic projections and someone spiking Ultra Magnus’ drink.
One thing that struck me was the theme of having deep, personal connections with someone or so called “conjunx endura” in this Transformers series. Almost every Transformers series has teased the idea that Cybertronians can fall in love and have intimate relationships somewhat like we can. But MTMTE brings up the issue that most Cybertronians are dudes, and with not many ladies around (or not many seen anyway) they are kind of forced to bond with comrades of the same gender. This is where I find “conjunx endura” interesting. It’s a title used in this volume to describe a deep, emotional spirit-bond that one Cybertronian has with another that means they were meant for each other—their version of a soul mate. One description of two particular characters on the wiki was “homosexual” but there’s no sexual activity going on and just because someone is your soul mate doesn’t mean that you’re romantically involved with them. I have had several people tell me that my twin and I are soul mates—which is very true because we share a deep bond that not many can understand—but we’re both straight and incest is so wrong (let’s not even go there). But when I saw the care these characters had for each other I saw my twin and I. That’s why it hurt so much when the tragedy happened at the end of this volume because I had associated the relationship I have with my sister with the two characters.
I have no more words except, “Will volume 5 be as good?”
And man, what a terrifying roller coaster of emotions!!!
Good thing I read it at night after people were in bed because I seriously needed some time alone to myself so I could just sit in the misty-eyed pool of rich emotions and let the carbonation in my chest prickle my heart :( Yes, it is VERY sad, but issue #13 had me laughing out loud. I won’t give anything away, but it has something to do with holographic projections and someone spiking Ultra Magnus’ drink.
One thing that struck me was the theme of having deep, personal connections with someone or so called “conjunx endura” in this Transformers series. Almost every Transformers series has teased the idea that Cybertronians can fall in love and have intimate relationships somewhat like we can. But MTMTE brings up the issue that most Cybertronians are dudes, and with not many ladies around (or not many seen anyway) they are kind of forced to bond with comrades of the same gender. This is where I find “conjunx endura” interesting. It’s a title used in this volume to describe a deep, emotional spirit-bond that one Cybertronian has with another that means they were meant for each other—their version of a soul mate. One description of two particular characters on the wiki was “homosexual” but there’s no sexual activity going on and just because someone is your soul mate doesn’t mean that you’re romantically involved with them. I have had several people tell me that my twin and I are soul mates—which is very true because we share a deep bond that not many can understand—but we’re both straight and incest is so wrong (let’s not even go there). But when I saw the care these characters had for each other I saw my twin and I. That’s why it hurt so much when the tragedy happened at the end of this volume because I had associated the relationship I have with my sister with the two characters.
I have no more words except, “Will volume 5 be as good?”
February 17, 2025
The lost light more like the lost lives amirite
May 14, 2021
This was truly heartbreaking, and that's not something I expected to say about a Transformers comic. The last couple of issues in this volume are probably the most heartfelt and heartbreaking in the history of this franchise and deserve to be talked about as much as Optimus' death on the movie or Dinobot's death in Beast Wars.
Roberts does a great job at paying off established plot points, but the sense of dread in these issues works not just because of plot, but because of how well Roberts works with these characters. By putting their relationships front and center instead of the quest, he makes you care about characters that are at best B-listers in this franchise.
I don't know how he did it, but Roberts took the franchise to another level in these few issues of MTMTE and I'm eager to keep reading his run in this series.
Roberts does a great job at paying off established plot points, but the sense of dread in these issues works not just because of plot, but because of how well Roberts works with these characters. By putting their relationships front and center instead of the quest, he makes you care about characters that are at best B-listers in this franchise.
I don't know how he did it, but Roberts took the franchise to another level in these few issues of MTMTE and I'm eager to keep reading his run in this series.
September 8, 2023
2022: This series starts out all fun and games and a little trauma added in ("traumatised robots" is one of my favourite genres ngl). That's how they get you.
Volume 4 however?
Volume 4 however?
September 26, 2014
Volume 4 is definitely the most emotional. Not only Chromedome and Rewind, but Swerve, Tailgate, Cyclonus, Ultra Magnus. Really, really, really, really good.
June 15, 2022
Somehow, this collection, this random storyline in a Transformers series, speaks more honestly and compassionately about the struggles of queer folk than anything else in comics, and it has truly stood the test of a decade! A decade, I might add, in which the biggest comic publishing houses (DC and Marvel) have managed to only make micro-advancements with queer representation. Yes, I said it, this story about robots in love, is one of the greatest LGBTQ2SIA books ever written. It’s shocking, but true! And it is proof that it can be done with integrity and dignity, even when the characters are toys/machines with voices.
Really exceptional stuff. Cathartic AF.
5/5
Really exceptional stuff. Cathartic AF.
5/5
July 2, 2017
Surprisingly affecting, wow!
Read
January 27, 2025NUNCA LOS VOY A PERDONAR POR MATAR A REWIND NOOOOOOOO y poco después de enterarnos que es conjux de Chromedome 😭
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2016
Oh, I LOVED this volume. Hands down, this is my favorite so far. More Than Meets the Eye is still the superior series for me, but above and beyond that was the fact that this whole volume stole my breath away. I wish I could dish about absolutely everything that happens, but then there'd be no reason for you to read this. So, I'll do my best to highlight.
First off, so many layers have been slowly peeled back from these characters. James Roberts has created such depth, even in characters like Swerve. He's my favorite, because of his sense of humor. However I've learned so much about him these past volumes. That he has a deeper set of emotions. That he uses humor sometimes to disguise those. That, even poor Swerve gets lonely.
Another great example of this is Ultra Magnus. I shared the panel where he smiled, which was so totally out of character for him that it was almost terrifying. However there's more underneath that tough and strict exterior. This volume really dove in to what Ultra Magnus is, what he used to be, and how he just doesn't know what to do with himself. He wants to be liked, he's just gotten used to being feared instead. Truth time? I feel for him.
Oh, and then there's the whole idea of relationships that extend beyond just friendship. I find in interesting that I never considered that there might be actual deep relationships in this story. It's probably because I started out this whole journey with the idea that robots don't have feelings. Well, I was definitely wrong. I'm happy about that. And I've learned so much about all of these characters that the fact that they might be happy together? Just makes me smile. And weep. This time, it definitely made me weep.
There's been a lot of destruction, and even some death. I've mostly gotten used to it. In this volume though, it reached a new level. So far, James Roberts has made it feel like most of the time characters can come back. They can be saved. They might be gone for a while, but it's okay because there's always possibility. This time, I don't think that will happen. Poor Chromedome. The final set of panels in this story almost killed me. Does that tell you how invested I've become?
*wistful sigh* So good. So good, and so sad.
First off, so many layers have been slowly peeled back from these characters. James Roberts has created such depth, even in characters like Swerve. He's my favorite, because of his sense of humor. However I've learned so much about him these past volumes. That he has a deeper set of emotions. That he uses humor sometimes to disguise those. That, even poor Swerve gets lonely.
Another great example of this is Ultra Magnus. I shared the panel where he smiled, which was so totally out of character for him that it was almost terrifying. However there's more underneath that tough and strict exterior. This volume really dove in to what Ultra Magnus is, what he used to be, and how he just doesn't know what to do with himself. He wants to be liked, he's just gotten used to being feared instead. Truth time? I feel for him.
Oh, and then there's the whole idea of relationships that extend beyond just friendship. I find in interesting that I never considered that there might be actual deep relationships in this story. It's probably because I started out this whole journey with the idea that robots don't have feelings. Well, I was definitely wrong. I'm happy about that. And I've learned so much about all of these characters that the fact that they might be happy together? Just makes me smile. And weep. This time, it definitely made me weep.
There's been a lot of destruction, and even some death. I've mostly gotten used to it. In this volume though, it reached a new level. So far, James Roberts has made it feel like most of the time characters can come back. They can be saved. They might be gone for a while, but it's okay because there's always possibility. This time, I don't think that will happen. Poor Chromedome. The final set of panels in this story almost killed me. Does that tell you how invested I've become?
*wistful sigh* So good. So good, and so sad.
September 15, 2018
Pretty Great
It's good but I have mixed feelings about it. This is where IDW introduces the concept of Transformers being mated to each other, similar to being married. That just feels like a really weird idea for non-sexual (as far as we know) beings. This volume even has Transformers saying "I love you" to each other, in an intimate way. Again, the idea of alien robots having romantic relationships with each other just seems really strange. But it does lend itself to good drama and good storytelling.
The story here is really good. The art is good too, but they are trying to cram too much action and too many panels on to each page, which makes it harder to read. It's good though. Assuming you can get past the robot romance idea, it's recommended!
P.S. I used to have the toy Rewind as a kid. I wish I still had it! It was pretty cool.
It's good but I have mixed feelings about it. This is where IDW introduces the concept of Transformers being mated to each other, similar to being married. That just feels like a really weird idea for non-sexual (as far as we know) beings. This volume even has Transformers saying "I love you" to each other, in an intimate way. Again, the idea of alien robots having romantic relationships with each other just seems really strange. But it does lend itself to good drama and good storytelling.
The story here is really good. The art is good too, but they are trying to cram too much action and too many panels on to each page, which makes it harder to read. It's good though. Assuming you can get past the robot romance idea, it's recommended!
P.S. I used to have the toy Rewind as a kid. I wish I still had it! It was pretty cool.
March 4, 2019
4,5. Hidden problems always come back to bite you in the nose. Fictional characters in a story with the fourth wall destroyed by a metafictional bomb should know that, shouldn't they? Still, they must suffer for our perverse enjoyment.
October 9, 2018
rewind and chromedome fucking invented gay marriage
Read
March 10, 2023sobbed.
January 15, 2024
Ahora estoy triste :(
Read
February 26, 2025I was feeling as if I like this book less than most people who'd made it this far, except maybe diehard Transformers completists, which come to think of it is probably quite a few people. Anyway, fun as the piss-take of the Pretenders (not the band) in the shore leave issue was, the Whedonesque sass of it all was wearing slightly thin. Only for me to hit the funeral issue, which really made some solid use of the cast all being ruddy great robots, even aside from the chutzpah of getting that much emotion across when half the cast don't really have faces.
November 26, 2019
Ok so I’m very aware that Transformers The Animated Movie has one of the top rated “saddest” scenes in cinema history, but I didn’t think a Transformers comic book could hit me just as emotionally, or even more so. This one did.
The “More Than Meets The Eye” series is quickly turning into one of the greatest comic book series I have ever read. So far it is an absolute masterpiece by every definition of the word.
The “More Than Meets The Eye” series is quickly turning into one of the greatest comic book series I have ever read. So far it is an absolute masterpiece by every definition of the word.
March 14, 2018
Some really great moments it has. Overlord is back but couldn't make an impact like he did in Last Stand of the wreckers. Rewind dies saving the crew. Rodimus being Rodimus and angry because someone else saved the crew instead of him. Fortress Maximus finally is not on the receiving end. The end is like big WHAAT. Enjoyable.
August 7, 2020
This series just gets better and better, no wonder it beat SAGA to some awards. I was not expecting the stories to cover racism, sexuality, PTSD or loss in such a nuanced and moving way, nor was I expecting it to be so funny.
Read
October 16, 2020Tror jeg er lidt for investeret i det her...
January 21, 2023
No matter how many times I read it, I’m never emotionally ready for how James Roberts makes these robots pack a devastating emotional punch.
Seriously, read this series.
Seriously, read this series.
November 21, 2024
issue 16 made me cry enough said
December 20, 2024
it got sad all of a sudden
January 11, 2025
cried 😢
June 19, 2025
"And to think--
I will never see you again
One more thing--
One last thing--
Because I don't say it enough:
I love you."
5/5
I will never see you again
One more thing--
One last thing--
Because I don't say it enough:
I love you."
5/5
July 15, 2025
This is the one where JRo really starts coming for your tearducts. Prepare to cry yourself to sleep.
April 21, 2016
The is the fourth volume in the Transformers: More Than Meets The Series and starts off with a bang as wellow the crew of the Lost LIght on the questing! :D This volume like the other really packs in terms of character development and action with things being covered in real detail but at the same time keeping pace and humour running throughout! :D As the humour runs throughout which even with the dramatic scenes and the fates of various crew members leads to to some rib cracking scenes for example getting Ultra Magnus drunk and then having to get him back to the shuttle to the Lost Light and in the process having debunk a few ancient Cybertronian myths will leave you in fits of laughter and is really well handled! :D Oh course this fits in with the overarching development of both the crew as individuals and as a team which by this volume is extremely apparent and gives the stories mutiple way to play off this! :D
At the same time the story really takes you on a rollercoaster with Rewind and Chromedome really being put through the ringer which as the same time makes a big leap in the understanding of the characters and provides much emotional depth to the characters! :D This is handled very adroitly with many of the characters seemingly unaware of it until it is spelled out to them which is a clever touch keeping that vein of humour going that is so part of great series! :D
The plot with Overload breaking Chromedome's hold on him and his subsequent rampage with also have you on your edge of your seat wondering who is going to avoid literally avoid being trampled! :D Certainly not a place to be the smallest crew member! :D The scenes are handled in fresh fast pace with the art, like all of the book, handled in a clear and crisp fashion really conveying how outgunned they really are in the situation they find themselves in and the eventual solution is both brilliant, shocking and not expected and will have you a tad gobsmacked! :D
The fallout from these events is also handled really well with the enquiry resulting in a Drift taking the plane and the parallels that are drawn with other characters also adds resonance to many of the scenes! :D
The story is very much barrelling along and at this point very hard to guess where it is going to go though with the events of this book the plotline has scope to branch off and expand in many different directions in both in overarching story and the characters themselves with things clearly in a state of flux! :D At the same the crew is clearly starting to come together as team which promises more adventures for the misfit crew who manage to keep pulling rabbits out the hats! :D
Brilliant, fact paced, funny and action packed, highly recommended! :D
At the same time the story really takes you on a rollercoaster with Rewind and Chromedome really being put through the ringer which as the same time makes a big leap in the understanding of the characters and provides much emotional depth to the characters! :D This is handled very adroitly with many of the characters seemingly unaware of it until it is spelled out to them which is a clever touch keeping that vein of humour going that is so part of great series! :D
The plot with Overload breaking Chromedome's hold on him and his subsequent rampage with also have you on your edge of your seat wondering who is going to avoid literally avoid being trampled! :D Certainly not a place to be the smallest crew member! :D The scenes are handled in fresh fast pace with the art, like all of the book, handled in a clear and crisp fashion really conveying how outgunned they really are in the situation they find themselves in and the eventual solution is both brilliant, shocking and not expected and will have you a tad gobsmacked! :D
The fallout from these events is also handled really well with the enquiry resulting in a Drift taking the plane and the parallels that are drawn with other characters also adds resonance to many of the scenes! :D
The story is very much barrelling along and at this point very hard to guess where it is going to go though with the events of this book the plotline has scope to branch off and expand in many different directions in both in overarching story and the characters themselves with things clearly in a state of flux! :D At the same the crew is clearly starting to come together as team which promises more adventures for the misfit crew who manage to keep pulling rabbits out the hats! :D
Brilliant, fact paced, funny and action packed, highly recommended! :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2013
I have been following this latest (and by far best) comic incarnation of the Transformers, and with each volume I have been more impressed. Finally real story-telling and fantastic artwork combined to bring my favorite characters to life once again. This volume though, was the first that disappointed me. It was still quite good, and I liked it even better on the second read, but I have a few complaints:
1. The artwork. Not up to the standards of the previous volumes. Milne's name was on the spine, but so were a few others, and it made me realize how much the previous story-telling has been married to the artwork. There are some things you just can't do well without the art to back it up. The final scene of the "guys night out" issue, for instance, with Cyclonus teaching Tailgate ancient Cybertronian ballads at a table in an empty bar. It just doesn't work if the art isn't strong enough to carry it, and it wasn't.
2. The resolution of the Overlord story arch. This had been building for a while, and the issue leading up to the final confrontation built it even more (and was perhaps the most effective issue in this volume). But then, when he finally faced off against the crew, it was over so quickly, and a good part of the action happened off panel. I felt we were entitled to more here. There were deaths, but it was that of a minor character that I found the most effective. Later, the ship dropped five coffins, but we never even got to see who else fell.
3. The drama. I know all these characters have been together on a ship for quite a while now, but it's starting to get old. If you're going to hang so much on the relationship between Chromedome and Rewind (which, to be fair, is quite well done), then ease back on everyone else. Magnus opening up to Swerve. Tailgate's attachment to Cyclonus. Rodimus's not growing up. Ratchet and Drift's love-hate thing. I love it that these characters are being developed, but this volume in particular just seemed to be laying it on a bit thick.
1. The artwork. Not up to the standards of the previous volumes. Milne's name was on the spine, but so were a few others, and it made me realize how much the previous story-telling has been married to the artwork. There are some things you just can't do well without the art to back it up. The final scene of the "guys night out" issue, for instance, with Cyclonus teaching Tailgate ancient Cybertronian ballads at a table in an empty bar. It just doesn't work if the art isn't strong enough to carry it, and it wasn't.
2. The resolution of the Overlord story arch. This had been building for a while, and the issue leading up to the final confrontation built it even more (and was perhaps the most effective issue in this volume). But then, when he finally faced off against the crew, it was over so quickly, and a good part of the action happened off panel. I felt we were entitled to more here. There were deaths, but it was that of a minor character that I found the most effective. Later, the ship dropped five coffins, but we never even got to see who else fell.
3. The drama. I know all these characters have been together on a ship for quite a while now, but it's starting to get old. If you're going to hang so much on the relationship between Chromedome and Rewind (which, to be fair, is quite well done), then ease back on everyone else. Magnus opening up to Swerve. Tailgate's attachment to Cyclonus. Rodimus's not growing up. Ratchet and Drift's love-hate thing. I love it that these characters are being developed, but this volume in particular just seemed to be laying it on a bit thick.
July 23, 2013
I loved this volume of Transformers More Than Meets the Eye. I especially loved the last two issues that were included. There was so much emotion evoked. The rest of the issues were really good too. It also included a text story that was originally published in Transformers More Than Meets the Eye issue 13. I wish they would do more text stories. This one was very well done. Transformers More Than Meets the Eye is quickly becoming my favorite comic series. I'm really looking forward to Volume 5.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews