YMMV / Transformers (2023)

• Awesome Art: Transformers maintains the Energon Universe's high art standards with absolutely glorious full-color panels. Not only do the Cybertronians look almost identical to the original cartoon's character models, but the staff manage to perfectly blend the cartoon designs with grittier and more realistic details on par with works done by IDW's artists.
• Broken Base: The comic’s usage of Anyone Can Die has begun to draw ire within the fanbase. Detractors point out that a majority of the characters killed off are pre-existing characters like Huffer, Blaster, or Beachcomber, most of whom haven’t had much focus in Transformers media in years, and are barely given time to develop before being killed off, making the deaths less impactful. Those who don’t mind it point out that resurrection was presented as an option early on, so a majority of the deaths might not stick, that avoiding showing character death or only killing Canon Foreigners would feel even less impactful, and that there have only been 7 issues in the series and the first arc has just concluded.
• Catharsis Factor: Admit it, you cheered after Soundwave finally gets sick of Starscream's nonsense and guts him for it.
• Character Rerailment:
  • In the 2005 IDW series reimagined Spike and Sparkplug as arrogant military men who disliked technology and hated Cybertronians to a xenophobic degree. Spike in particular was written as an egotistical jerkass who committed multiple war crimes against Cybertronians. This series returns them to their original characterization of being the first friendly humans encountered by the Autobots^note albeit, Sparkplug retains a background in the military and a (more sympathetic) distrust of Cybertronians, which he later outgrows but this feels more evocative of his Marvel version anyway..
  • While the IDW version of Starscream was in no way a good person, he was often sympathetic and had a hard life. This version of Starscream goes back to his classic portrayal as a cruel, self-absorbed Neidermeyer.
  • Many fans have been praising the series for their portrayal of Optimus Prime as the All-Loving Hero he was in the original cartoon after recent portrayals often making him more pragmatic, violent and/or stoic.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Soundwave's Benevolent Boss attitude towards his cassettes has earned him great admiration from the fans, especially after he gets to rip Starscream's internals from his body for all the despicable deeds the Seeker committed For the Evulz.
• Epileptic Trees: Encouraged by Skybound who put out a "Where's Megatron" hashtag as part of the promotion for the series. The biggest theory seems to be he's in the captivity of Cobra due to the cover of Cobra Commander #1 featuring the Commander wielding a very familiar pistol... The end of issue #4 reveals his deactivated body is frozen in the Arctic, but how he got there isn't known yet. Cobra Commander revealed that Megatron is currently in Cobra-La's possession, but he's not as helpless as everyone thinks...
• Fridge Brilliance:
  • The first Autobot that Ratchet resurrects is Cliffjumper, which might seem odd at first given how small he is compared to the other Autobots, but that’s the point. His smaller size means he likely consumes less Energon, a resource the Autobots are lacking in, while still providing a capable fighter to their ranks.
  • In Issue #4, the humans at the hospital are left in a dire situation. The Decepticon attack knocked out all power, leaving many patients on life support or in need of medical attention at risk, until Optimus uses the last of the Matrix’s power to restore the hospital’s electricity, saving dozens of lives in the process. In other words, Optimus lights their darkest hour.
  • If Starscream wanted to revive the Decepticons, why start with restoring the Constructicons and their massively energy-inefficient combined form? Because the Constructicons are not only warriors, they are expert engineers, meaning that they can contribute to revival efforts even without entering combat, lessening the strain on the limited reserves. That being said, though, this is still Skybound Starscream, meaning that this was more to simply flat-out win by using Devastator rather than anything more practical.
• Harsher in Hindsight: After seeing many instances in the past of seeing Bumblebee returning from fatal incidents none the worse for wear, fans had grown accustomed to him being given a heroic version of Joker Immunity. And then this series comes out...
• I Knew It!: Megatron's absence in the series, combined with the presence of a Walter P-38 pistol in the possession of Cobra Commander on the cover of his solo series, led many to believe that the terrorist leader had the Decepticon warlord in his possession. They were absolutely right, as it's revealed that Megatron is being used to develop much of Cobra-La's technology.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • After Optimus beat the scrap out of Starscream with wrestling moves, fans were quick to begin half-jokingly headcanon that before the war Optimus/Orion Pax wasn't a dock worker, or a data clerk, or even a cop, but a pro wrestler. This only intensified after he used similar moves on Skywarp in Issue #3.
  • Now this... is PEAK^ExplanationAn edit of a panel in the 4th issue where Optimus replacing his missing arm with Megatron's fusion cannon one. Used to praise something as "peak fiction".
  • "How do you feel about going on the offensive?^ExplanationRelated to the above, many, many fans have taken to replicating the scene with their own action figures.
• Moral Event Horizon: Starscream's very first action in the comic is to kill Bumblebee, followed by him fatally wounding his old friend Jetfire for trying to stop him from killing anyone else. And if that somehow didn't count, issue #4 has him blow up a hospital just to spite Optimus Prime.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Starscream very quickly establishes himself as an absolute psychopath. As soon as he wakes back up, he shoots Bumblebee in the head, and later crushes Carly's father to death with one hand and does it again to an ejected fighter pilot with a two-handed clap. And just to make matters worse, the latter two are reduced to a bloody paste once Starscream's done with them.
  • An injured Starscream and Soundwave tear apart Skywarp for spare parts, and while they're robots, it's done in uncomfortably graphic detail. The fact that Skywarp is still alive and doesn't even get to finish begging for his life when the two start dismembering him makes the already brutal scene even grislier.
  • What does Elita-1 see after breaking into the 'con stronghold? Ultra. Magnus'. CORPSE.
• Signature Scene:
  • For many fans, the scene from the second issue of Optimus stepping on a deer and his reaction to what he's done has set the tone for the series as a whole. Daniel Warren Johnson fought hard with Hasbro to get the scene in after they got cold feet, as he felt the moment was "one of the absolute necessary scenes in the entire series."
  • The famous image of Optimus Prime replacing his right arm with Megatron's is also a top contender, with the scene being homaged and parodied several times since its release.
  • Soundwave's visceral deathmatch with Starscream in #7, just for the sheer Catharsis Factor of seeing the most despicable version of the Seeker commander getting his long overdue just desserts.
• Shocking Moments:
  • The series kills Bumblebee right off the bat, courtesy of Starscream blasting him in the head while he's still in stasis. That's right—a major mascot for the brand and the second most iconic Autobot after Optimus is dead right out of the gate, and it doesn't seem like he'll be coming back anytime soon.
  • The next Autobot revived in issue 4 isn't one of the remaining cast members (Arcee or Wheeljack), but Jazz, if only for a brief time.
• Unexpected Character:
  • Jazz wasn't part of the initial advertisements for the series, with the focus being on Optimus, Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Arcee as the Autobot lineup. His appearance in issue #4 and his subsequent joining of the main cast in issue #5 took many by surprise as a result.
  • Considering how past installments treated combiners as a big deal, the fact that Devastator shows up without much fanfare (well, in a sense) was a curveball move that none of the fans saw coming. He also showed up in issue 5 of the main installment, whereas almost every other combiner debut took place in either a miniseries or when the main installment hit the double digits.

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