The end of the millennia-long war between Autobots and Decepticons left a strange void in the lives of those Transformers who knew nothing else. While officially everyone is now a Cybertronian (aside from those few Bots from Caminus), the distrust between factions isn’t fading easily. Starscream’s use of the spacebridge to connect with Windblade’s colony, Caminus, provides a new focus, but not everyone is happy with the new leader’s choices. How many different sides can there be in a world where all Bots are allegedly allies? Does Optimus Prime really intend to ignore Starscream’s discovery of Combiner creation? And, how many Transformer colonies are still out there anyway? Get the beginnings of some answers in Transformers #40: Combiner Wars Part 2!

Since I don’t regularly follow the Transformers comics, learning the characters in Combiner Wars #2 was a bit of a trial by fire. Obviously, they are all major players in the culture that has grown since Cybertron found peace, but I’m still not entirely sure who exactly they are and their roles overall. For regular readers, I’m sure the large cast will be an advantage, not a deterrent, though, and the political machinations prove that the series isn’t just about selling toys anymore!

Livio Ramondelli’s artwork is solid, and I especially loved seeing another Bot with Windblade’s distinctive facial patterns. The usage of small panels at the bottom of each page to indicate conversations via satellite or TV broadcast also worked well for me and helped me to better formulate the scenarios in my head.

I’m a Windblade fan first and foremost, but the other stories related to the Combiner Wars promise to bring some heavy issues to the table. I don’t know if I’d pick up the series regularly, but I’m appreciating how much a series about transforming robots can make me think and analyze the world, even when I don’t fully comprehend its scope.


4 Disturbing Revelations of Less than Pure Motives out of 5