ALL HAIL OPTIMUS part 4! It’s all-out war as OPTIMUS PRIME’s forces move on GALVATRON’s DECEPTICONS—with Earth caught in the middle! Unusual alliances have formed… and secrets will be revealed.
This issue really is all out war. A four way battle erupts between the combined forces of Optimus’ Autobots together with Soundwave’s Decepticons, against Galvatron`s war monger Decepticons, while the forces of Earth attack, and Starscream sends the Cybertronian news to cover it all to make Optimus look bad. If the situation sounds intense it should because a lot happens all at once. It’s a very fast paced issue but a lot of things get looked over because of the rush to get the battle started. One of the biggest examples is Tracks and Needlenose, the brothers on opposite sides of the conflict who don’t have enough time to discuss how they are now fighting together. It’s a small complaint but at the same time the last time they tried to work things out Needlenose shot Tracks. A little nod to the idea the two of them might need counseling would be nice.
The art by Priscilla Tramontano and Josh Burcham feels a bit out place in this issue. Its very good but Tramontano’s art is more animated and Josh Burcham’s color work feels a bit softer in tone and this combined style detracts from the intensity of the building drama in the issue. It’s not bad art it just seems the darker style of Livio Ramondelli would have been a better choice for such an intense battle.
The issue is still good and helping to move the story of All Hail Optimus forward but it’s not without its problems here and there. The aftermath will be very interesting. Starscream has succeeded in making Optimus Prime look foolish to the public and the human of Earth have really caught him at a bad time. It’s starting to look like even if Optimus wins he may come out a loser.
