Transformers #60

It really has been a while since I continued my look at the original Transformers comics from Marvel. I am going to pick up where I left off with my previous blog with Transformers #60. Somewhere down the line, I may revisit issues 56-59, but we'll save that for another day. This issue is titled Yesterday's Heroes. This issue picks up immediately after the deaths of Megatron and Ratchet in #59. The reader is also treated to the debut of several characters who will remain key players throughout the rest of the Marvel comic's run and characters who will have lasting impressions on the Transformers' mythology. Those characters include Thunderwing, Bludgeon, Emirate Xaaron, Stranglehold, Octopunch, and the god/creator of all of the Transformers...Primus!

Optimus Prime has finally fallen to despair over the Autobot/ Decepticon war with his dear friend Ratchet sacrificing himself to destroy Megatron. Prime loses the desire to continue the battle and leaves the Autobots. Meanwhile back on Cybertron, the Classic Pretenders (Bumblebee, Jazz, and Grimlock)(sidenote: the Classic Pretenders are not referred to by the name Classic Pretenders in the comics) have lead a faction of Autobots to victory over the Decepticons. Apparently, the Cybertronian Autobots had suffered many defeats and the tide was starting to turn with the help of Bumblebee, Jazz, and Grimlock. Elsewhere, the Decepticon leader of Cybertron watches. His name is Thunderwing, and he dispatches his Mayhem Attack Squad to crush the Classic Pretenders. The squad consists of Pretenders Bludgeon, Stranglehold, and Octopunch. Back at the Autobase, Hot Rod devises a plan to snap Optimus Prime out of his despair by unleashing a robot that Hot Rod controls, but it looks like it will destroy their forces. Unfortunately, Hot Rod loses control, but Optimus does come back to save the day.

Back on Cybertron, the Classic Pretenders are about to warp back to Earth. Emirate Xaaron bids them farewell and wishes that Primus be with them. Bumblebee then remarks that he had forgotten the Transformers had a god. The Mayhem Attack Squad attacks them as they are about to warp out. There is a disruption in the warp, and the Classic Pretenders and the Mayhem Attack Squad warp to somewhere deep within Cybertron. The Classic Pretenders then make their way through a sewer system and find themselves in Cybertron's center. What they discover is the slumbering form of the god of all Transformers...Primus!

This issue was another great issue by Simon Furman. Although it wasn't as good as the previous issues since he took over the book, it was still excellent. In my opinion, I think it could be expected that this issue wouldn't be as good. After all, this book was really the transition from the return of Megatron saga into the largest story arc the book had seen up this point. However, the issue did introduce a great deal of new characters, and this includes one of the most beloved Decepticons by the fans and Simon Furman in Bludgeon. Bludgeon's story plays out in a big way throughout the rest of this series and even into the follow up Generation 2 book. This issue also introduces the readers to Primus, and now it permanently separates itself from the preconceived animated series origins forever. Speaking of origins, the next issue features the origin of the Transformers for the first time in the comics. I'll say this, there are no Quintessons this time around. If you were/are a big fan of the animated series, it was a big change. Issue #60 was a great issue overall, and it is worth a read.