Awesome / Transformers (2023)

"Transform! And roll out."

It's not a Transformers series without some serious action, and Daniel Warren Johnson delivers in spades.

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• The first action scene opens with Optimus clotheslining Starscream, and then immediately suplexing him.
• Ratchet immediately kicking Starscream away from Optimus upon waking up, and quickly loading the other Autobots into Prime's tactical trailer, thus giving the Autobots a fighting chance against the Decepticons.
• Spike and Carly pushing Optimus' ion rifle to him, saving him from being beaten down by Starscream, Ravage, and Skywarp all at once.
• Jetfire immediately realizing the Decepticons are the bad guys and pursuing the other Seekers. Even if he is quickly and fatally shot down for his trouble, he probably saved Optimus, Ratchet, and the rest of the Autobots' life with that maneuver.
• The Decepticons, despite proving themselves irredeemably evil from the word "go," have a lot of moments to show why they're such a threat to Earth and the Autobots:
  • Starscream being willing to fight even when it seems Optimus and Ratchet outnumber him two-to-one. This 'Screamer is no Dirty Coward, unlike some other versions.
  • Soundwave immediately firing a volley of rockets at Optimus upon being awoken. This stuns the Autobot leader and allows Starscream, Skywarp, and Ravage to dogpile him.
  • Issue #2 proving how outmatched humanity is against the Decepticons as Starscream and Skywarp curbstomp (almost literally) any humans who get close to interfering with their Energon harvesting, with Starscream in particular easily destroying an attacking fighter jet.
• The above-mentioned fighter jet Starscream destroys? One of its occupants manages to stun Starscream by shooting a flare into his eyes and using a jetpack to fly off. The pilot's callsign? Duke.
• Optimus setting off alone to defend the humans from the Decepticons despite being one of only three activated Autobots. As Darker and Edgier as this series can get, this is still the selfless, courageous Autobot Leader we all know and love.
• Cliffjumper tanks a headshot at point-blank range from Sparkplug's shotgun. He doesn’t even have a scratch on his paintjob afterwards.
• Optimus's fight with Skywarp. To wit:
  • He opens by ramming Skywarp away as he's about to murder the defenseless Carly and Cliffjumper.
    Optimus: GET AWAY FROM THEM!!!
  • After sending Spike away for his safety and brushing off Skywarp's counterattack, Optimus elbows Skywarp in the torso, lifts him over his head, and vertical-suplexes him into the ground.
  • Optimus punctuates this by revealing his Energon axe and warning Skywarp to stay down.
  • After Skywarp damages his arm, Optimus tackles the Seeker again and then rips off his own arm to beat the hell out of Skywarp with it.
  • At every point, it's clear that Skywarp doesn't stand a chance against Optimus, with only the Autobot's mercy and concern for the humans preventing this from being an outright Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • To Skywarp's credit, he displays some ingenuity with his teleportation abilities, using them to teleport his hand behind Optimus' head
• When Starscream tries to prevent Optimus from bringing the gravely wounded Spike to a hospital, Cliffjumper swerves into Starscream's foot, knocking him to the ground. Optimus then runs right over Starscream's head with a loud crunch as he speeds over to the hospital.
  • Carly gets her own moment: before launching the attack, Cliffjumper gives her the option of bailing out, but she fastens her seatbelt instead, eager to get some revenge on her father's killer.
• Jazz is introduced with a Big Damn Heroes moment, knocking Starscream off his feet with a shotgun blast and suplexing Soundwave, that forces the Decepticons to end their attack on the hospital and retreat.
• After learning that Spike and the hospital's other life support patients will die unless power is restored, Optimus pulls the Matrix of Leadership from his chest, declares that there will be "no more death," and unleashes the last of the Matrix's energy in a crackle of blue light, keeping the building powered long enough for Ratchet to fix the generator. Even the deeply cynical Sparkplug is awed to the point that he starts to think of Optimus as a god.
• Ratchet's secret weapon to help turn the conflict back in the Autobots' favor: replacing Optimus's missing arm with Megatron's severed fusion cannon arm.
  Optimus: How do you feel about going on the offensive?
• The conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons heats up in earnest starting with Issue #5 as the 'Cons attack the 'Bots' new energy device at a local dam. Highlights of the skirmish include:
  • Arcee's first impulse upon waking up being to push Ratchet out of the way of a bombardment by Thundercracker.
  • Optimus wields his ion rifle and Megatron's fusion cannon in accord, one-shotting Reflector with the latter.
  • Prime then immediately smashes Frenzy into a nearby steel beam.
  • Carly joins in the fighting, using a pistol to fire at the Decepticons. It doesn't seem to do anything, but it's still incredibly brave of her.
  • Arcee vertically drives up the side of the dam in order to rescue a falling Carly
  • Jazz blasts Rumble as he's about to sneak-attack Cliffjumper.
  • Optimus plays into Starscream's insecurities by telling him that he will never be Megatron.
    Optimus: Last I remember, you were cowering in front of this very weapon. A constant reminder of what you'll never be.
  • For the Decepticons' part, they successfully destroy the Autobots' energy generator and lure the Autobots back to the Ark, where they are forced to confront…
• DEVASTATOR. The titanic Combiner makes his entrance, first as the individual Constructicons disrupting the Autobot forces' battle charge, then as his legendary combined form towering over everyone, Autobot and human alike.
  • Before Devastator makes his entrance, Long Haul – the Decepticon with the ignominious distinction of forming the combiner's crotch – rams Optimus side-on, revealing that his alternate mode is a freakin' massive haul truck◊ that makes Prime's truck mode look like a toy.
• Sparkplug makes a spectacular Heroic Sacrifice by entering the Matrix to reenergize it and save Optimus after a fatal beating by Devastator. Optimus vows to honor his sacrifice and protect Sparky's son and the whole Earth, leading to:
• Optimus vs. Devastator, Round 2. Optimus opens up the rematch by ripping one of Devy's fingers clear off, blasting at him with both his ion rifle and Megatron's fusion cannon, and then delivering a leaping two-footed kick to the face. Though all this succeeds in doing is angering the giant, Optimus is able to lure the combiner to the top of the mountain where he goads Devastator to attack… and throws him down the mountain with a judo move.
  • The cherry on top is the onomatopoeia proclaiming "AW YEAH" and "YOU KNOW THE SONG."
• Soundwave beating the absolute shit out of Starscream in issue 7 after challenging him to a duel for leadership, culminating in telling him pointblank that this is punishment for Screamer kicking Ravage earlier before ripping out several key components barehanded and throwing his crumbling body into a volcano. Nobody screws with this boombox.
  • A lesser awesome moment goes to Thundercracker, who gets some revenge for Skywarp's murder by forcing Starscream into honoring the duel (that he's blatantly going to lose) when the latter tries to weasel out of it.

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