Transformers #27: Catching Up On Everyone

Transformers #27 picks up with the mysterious return of the Ark, which has allowed many fallen Autobots to come back online. Meanwhile, the various parties the series follows are in a state of transition, still reeling from the events of Transformers #24 as they try to determine the best path forward. This includes the recently defected Decepticon, Thundercracker, who has a deep conversation with Optimus Prime about the state of the world and where he should align himself in the ongoing conflict. At the same time, several supporting characters, such as Ultra Magnus, Spike, Carly, and Cliffjumper, reveal new status quos, juxtaposed against the villains as they begin making plans of their own.

This issue has a lot going on, almost too much. It’s great to catch up with all these characters, but it’s clear that writer Robert Kirkman and artist Dan Mora are trying to quickly pivot the series toward the story they want to tell, for better or worse. In the case of Transformers #27, the numerous ongoing events feel jumbled and disconnected, especially when compared to the tight storytelling of the previous issues. With Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona’s departure, there were plenty of loose threads for the new creative team to pick up, but that doesn’t mean they needed to tackle all of them at once. This lack of central focus ultimately detracts from the otherwise strong character moments, making the issue somewhat of a slog to get through.

That said, when the issue slows down for individual moments, there is some strong storytelling. For example, Ultra Magnus discusses his recent experiences with the government, allowing him and General Flagg to break down some of the barriers created by humanity’s initial fear upon encountering the Cybertronians. This leads Ultra Magnus to make a powerful character decision that demonstrates real growth and has promising implications for the future. Moments like this highlight the character-focused nature of the series and capture what has made fans so enthusiastic about this run.

However, alongside the excellent storytelling are several messy moments that stem directly from the rushed pacing. One instance involves the return of many Autobots, including Jetfire. For those unaware, Jetfire appeared early in the run but had been trapped in his jet form after a battle with the Decepticons. The issue attempts to reconcile these events through a few lines of dialogue, but it fails to clearly explain how Jetfire returned or what circumstances led to this moment. His brief explanation is essentially the Transformers equivalent of “somehow Palpatine returned,” which is puzzling given how solid the storytelling has been up until now. Moments like this exemplify the issue’s poor pacing, with too many events crammed into too little space to allow most of them to develop properly. In Jetfire’s case, it feels as though the creative team wanted to use him immediately and simply skipped over the necessary story beats to justify his return.