Transformers #2

Transformers (2023) (Single Issues)

by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer (Color Art)

THE SMASH-HIT SERIES CONTINUES!   The Decepticons have been unleashed! As Optimus Prime and Autobots regroup, Starscream terrorizes humanity. This issue features a surprising first Energon Universe appearance!

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Comics Manga, Science Fiction

31 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2023

About the author

Daniel Warren Johnson is a Chicago-based comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. He's worked on titles for most major publishers, including Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image. His current series with Skybound/Image Comics is EXTREMITY, a sci-fi/fantasy title he is writing and drawing, and continues to update his webcomic Space-Mullet in his spare time.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 of the 2023 Transformers Series. And what a beauty it is. Still old school not super clean non-PC looking Drawings. we get the origins story of both Factions and they get to know humans and earth. Plus it stays violent and bloody.
Still like it.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transformers keeps up being a great time. Optimus learning how fragile things are on earth is heartbreaking, on top of some nice build up on the villains, and a sad ending. I want more.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Warren Johnson is COOKING as usual and I am here for it.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow! I seriously can't believe I'm liking a Transformers comic this much!

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splat.

[Ryan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really starting to get the hype with this series

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ties into Duke #1!

[Cybernex007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing issue, Optimus prime’s characterization here is the best I’ve ever seen it and the art is drop dead beautiful. We jump into this issue as the sun rolls into the sky from last night’s battle. Optimus steps out into the world, truly taking in its beauty for the first time only to step out…and accidentally smash a deer. This world is too fragile and he is not used to it. In stark contrast to the scene at the end of the last issue where starscream killed Spike’s dad’s coworker at the power plant, Optimus takes the deer and cradles it in his arms from grief and sadness as he solemnly apologizes to it. Spike steps out, after seeing the entire thing, and assures Optimus that it’s okay and he knows it was an accident. But Optimus sees this as a lesson, he should have known this world was so fragile, he tells spike of where he comes from and how everything is made of metal. As Optimus sits die with the deer still carefully in his hands, spike sits next to him and begins to ask him questions, first asking how he got such a cool name. Optimus explains it was passed down to him from the previous leader and signifies his role in the autobot hierarchy. Optimus being who he is asks Spike where his name comes from, and spike explains when he was little his hair would stick up and his mom would call him spikey and it just stuck. But this word, mom and dad, is foreign to Optimus and he asks Spike to explain it. Spike isn’t sure how, they are the ones who made him but they are family, which is a concept that is very familiar to Optimus. It’s kinda been hard not to notice, but Spike asks about the spaceship and where Optimus came from. Optimus paints Spike a metaphorical picture of his world, cybertron, and how for millennia there was peace until his spark came into being. Even though he heard about the peace throughout his young years, he only knew of it for a short time before war. His species was consumed by greed and maybe it was always there in hiding, but to him it sprung from nowhere led by an extreme faction on their planet…the decepticons. The ones the faced on Earth are but a few of their forces, and Optimus can’t help but think of megatron. They took off in the space ship because the earth had finally reached a point where they had to abandon their home and scour the galaxy to find a new way. But it was during their escape on the Ark that the most powerful decepticon, megatron, came to try and wipe them all out and they lost control of the ship and crashed on Earth. Could this mean that megatron is somewhere hidden in Earth, and not back on cybertron like I originally theorized? Optimus thanks Spike for his aid during the battle. And spike gives his condolences to his fallen friend, the yellow one…Prime’s family.

But not all is lost, as only moments later the shorter autobot known as cliffjumper walks up to them after ratchet revived him! But one thing about cliffjumper is his fear of humans, lol, he acts like humans do when spiders are in their vicinity, but it was Carly that got cliffjumper to calm down by sternly reality checking him on how large he is and how new it is for her to deal with all of these giant robots. As they head back to the quarry base we find that Ratchet has utilized surrounding metals and Prime’s tactical trailer (now unfolded just like a toy would be) to put their friends back together. But he only had enough reserve energon for cliffjumper and even though Optimus would gladly give his power away, if they lose him they lose everything and they cannot accept that. Carly correctly compares energon to food for us and if they are having this problem that means the decepticons should be as well…which is why we saw starscream attack the power plant at the end of the last issue and why we see him return with the other decepticons to strip more power, even after the police have arrived to close the scene off. Spike’s dad tried to warn them to get the army in here, but that warning came too late as skywarp immediately began to kill them. The decepticons even have a converter that was found aboard the ark so they can harvest the power for themselves for a long time. Even though the humans here went down like flies, someone was able to notice the disturbance and divert a military jet during a flyover to go over and assess and assist. The decepticons picked up on this radio chatter and starscream immediately saw a fight with the “squishies” as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up on. He immediately transformed and flew right at their jet as his own jet transformation. They both immediately engaged each other and fortunately frosting is a fantastic pilot. Unfortunately the best pilot in the world can’t do anything when the jet he is chasing transforms in front of them and swats them out of the sky. Luckily frosting and his co pilot were able to eject, but the moment they did starscream flew up to frosting and squashed him in mid air. But his co-pilot is a different and very surprising story as instead of floating in the air waiting to die, he clipped his parachute and deployed a hidden jet-pack which expanded out! Suddenly he pulled out a very large flair gun and blasted starscream in the eye with it, only to fly away and reveal the name “Duke” on his uniform! HELL YEAH! GO JOE!! Starscream was confused and a little pissed and decided to drop it and go back. But the net they were flying in was a completely different story, as it was out of control and it ended up crashing right on top of skyward before he could kill Spike’s dad.

Of course a jet smashing into a decepticon doesn’t go without a fist explosion, which the autobots noticed and Spike immediately realized it was coming from the plant his dad works at. Cliffjumper was able to use high tech binoculars to notice the decepticons and Optimus realizes that if they are going to get the energy they need they will have to fight. But they are also fighting because Optimus accidentally brought this war to this beautiful place and he now declares it is his duty to defend it. Optimus orders the other autobots to stay back and protect their sleeping brothers. But spike refuses to let a Optimus go without him, it’s his dad, his family and that is something Optimus understands. Spike is doing exactly what his brother would do, run in to help without thinking. But Carly can’t sit around either, she jumps into her van to go and find her own parents. But it seems along the way she was spotted by soundwave’s vulture, laserbeak. But Carly is not the first one to get to her home, as Spike’s dad rushed there first to crack open Davey’s military crate to arm up with grenades, assault rifles, the whole package to try and fight back. He yanks Carly inside when she gets home and unfortunately has to be the one to tell her that her father, Davey, was killed. Awwww.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desde luego Daniel Warren Johnson tiene una total comprensión y respeto por esta franquicia, pero tampoco busca hacer algo totalmente rutinario. Ese inicio de presentación de la mitología básica de los Transformers podría parecer superflua, pero el hecho de que venga precedido por ese momento tan esencial para que Optimus Prime comprenda las diferencias entre Cybertron y la Tierra, y su pueblo y el humano. Lo sustentan muy bien, al igual que esas muestras de maldad pura de los Decepticons pero que salvo por el hecho de ser evidentemente extremas si están amenazando frágiles cuerpos humanos, no desentonan con las actitudes que se conocen de las series animadas.

Espero que le sigan cediendo todo impulso posible propio a este artista para que el cómic siga destacando aunque ya se venga la implicación de los G.I. Joe a este conflicto (y lo que pueda estar ya preparado en este plan de Universo Comiquero Unificador de licencias de Hasbro).

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it is on the cover, Starscream the Decepticon is engaged in a dogfight with a human piloted aircraft. It's a great action piece, but Starscream got the edge on this one.

In the main story, after barely escaping the Decepticons carrying the powered down and inert forms of his comrades, Optimus Prime gets to know Earth a little better, thanks to Spike and Carly.

[Benny55 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformers goes Ultimate.

Daniel Warren Johnson brings us an incredible reboot of the Transformers' franchise. The world feels fres, the artowrk is great and the characerizations feel modern wth staying away from what people liked about this characters.

Optimus getting introduced to planet Earth may be one of the best introductions of the characer.

[Adelaide Metzger · Rating 5 out of 5]

7/17/24 - Daniel Warren has taken the Transformers franchise's setting, characters, and situation and has made it not only very real, but very meaningful. If the tone of this comic had been the standard for how Michael Bay approached the franchise, I think we would be seeing more respect from the general audience of bystander consumers.

[John Lathers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reimagining.

Dark retelling, beautiful artwork. Interesting scenesetting for Energon Universe combining G.I. Joe and Transformers. Recommend for anyone interested in a little nostagia and escapism.

[John Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters, great art

I continue to be really impressed with this art style and how brutal this book can be, easily the most I've ever liked to transformers. This makes me want to go back and read old transformer stuff

[Jose Granados · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me entretuvo el segundo cómic de los transformes del escritor Daniel Warren, nos plantea un nuevo inicio más moderno y novedoso esperando como va surgiendo este nuevo universo creado para estos personajes tan iconicos de los años 80. Vemos cómo es la primera interacción de los humanos y Autobots,

[Chris Loan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starscream is an absolute savage in this book. I guess we’ve never truly seen the transformers realize how fragile this world is, that scene with Optimus at the open specifically. Also that ending scene had me so emotional.

[Stephen Wallace]

Things are going in the right direction.

I'll be honest. The first issue was middling for me but this next one is going in the right direction. I'm excited to see where it goes.

[Andre Rupert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read.

Flowed pretty well.. the accidental scene seemed out of place. I am enjoying the current maturity but it takes a bit to get used to the transformers killing.

[M Sholihin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... I love this issue. Art is better than the 1st issue and panel work is good. There are good Optimus and Starscream moments too. Good Job!

[Josh Beasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An updated, grittier G1 so far. That's not a complaint as DWJ and Spicer are excellent. Skybound continues to tie in other properties in a nice way.

[Icarus Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing to show the gravity of the Cybertronian war making it’s way to Earth, this follow up issue pulls zero punches

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Optimus Prime gets a lesson in worldbuilding as he learns how fragile life is on earth compared to Cybertron. Great dialogue between him and Spike here, and the same goes for the deceptions.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's go

Introduced Duke so we now know where that comic starts at. Enjoyable, maybe a bit too short, but that is how comics work. Off to the next one.

[Dennis Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid... 4/5

[Utornik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starscream dude

[ComicBookCult Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Warren Johnson is cooking up a masterpiece here, it’s beautiful to witness, the art is stunning, the writing is impactful and the colours pop, what more could you want?

[cicada · Rating 4 out of 5]

knocking a star here for the series as a whole bc they are drawing carly a little bit too gratuitously. but I digress. cus I'm sexualizing the robot cars so who am I to criticize anything really.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say this series is pleasantly surprising me. The first few pages of this comic are deeply touching and emotionally stimulating, especially for so early on in a new comic series based on a toyline. I am very impressed with how well Johnson writes the characters and it is very clear to me after reading the first two issues along with his author's note at the beginning of the first that he has a strong passion for the series and wants to do it justice.

-minor spoilers ahead-

That said, this issue does also slightly concern me, as we already are seeing G.I. Joe characters and elements pop up in the main Transformers series and I worry that going forward we may lose some of the magic of this series for the sake of emphasizing a shared universe.
As a Transformers fan who isn't really interested in G.I. Joe or the military glorification that comes along with it I am a bit concerned about the future even if we have only seen good things from this series so far.

[David Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liking this take on the Transformers stories, brutal and entertaining.

[Susan :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the art style and Optimus's character development!