The more characters that IDW tried to mix into their “Revolution” crossover, the more the story started lose focus. However, the Dire Wraiths and introduction of Rom the Space Knight showed a hint of great potential. Writers John Barber and Cullen Bunn portrayed Rom as a naive and adept young knight that was easy to get behind with just a few pages. With Barber returning to the overall Transformers franchise with Rom and a focus on Starscream, this book has a lot of potential directly behind it. Let’s see if the people of IDW can take a thankless premise and deliver on some of the potential of the overall Hasbro shared Universe in “Rom Vs Transformers: Shining Armor” #1.
Written by John Barber and Christos CageCover by Alex Milne
Illustrated by Alex Milne
Colored by Josh Perez
Lettered by Tom B. LongMeet the universe’s only Cybertronian Solstar Knight! Hundreds of years ago, Rom discovered Stardrive, the sole survivor of a doomed space probe. Stardrive committed herself to protecting the galaxy from the Dire Wraiths… but when the Decepticon called Starscream makes a deadly deal, Rom and the Transformers are forced into a collision course… with Stardrive caught between two worlds!
“Rom Vs Transformers: Shining Armor” #1 is a massive comic book that has multiple characters and factions of heroes to focus on but unlike other series, writers John Barber and Christos Cage really feel focused in this comic book. Together they find a way to merge Transformers and Rom history in a manner that isn’t incredibly muddled or confusing. Barber and Cage introduce some new characters and flesh out a couple of different worlds here as well. The writing staff takes a hard look into the structure of the Space Knights and explores how a Transformer entering into the ranks changes the politics of the group-little touches such as these give this book more depth than a cursory reader ever would have thought. Conversely, the turmoil on Cybertron that intersects with the main story drives the second half of the issue a strong sense of urgency. Surprisingly, with the added tension and conflict with both sides, the issue never feels incorrectly paced or unfocused as Barber and Cage reveal these elements just as the issue starts to reach a conclusion.
“Transformers: More than Meets The Eye” alumni Alex Milne joins the Transformers world again in this installment to deliver some spectacular work in this comic. Milne really hones in on the detail of the different Transformers and costumes of the different characters in this issue. Some artists may have trouble filling in the differences between Space Knights, Transformers, Dire Wraiths and the many creatures and critters populating this issue, but Milne delivers intense detail to each character-armed with colorist Josh Perez this issue feels vibrant and dynamic. Milne packs a lot into a page, exploring composition and really stretching his creativity to the max with a panel on the first issue ratcheting up the tension with a bold red outline. When Milne finally pulls out a splash ending the issue, the page is filled with a ton of story beats that show this comic lots of purpose and intention.
Barber and Cage have a lot flying in the background of “Rom Vs Transformers: Shining Armor” #1, but the duo focus on a Transformer named Stardrive, giving this new character the best of both worlds between the Rom and Transformers franchises. This character’s ties to both factions really show how the Hasbro Universe can intersect in a way that doesn’t feel as forced as some of the previous material published by IDW. Stardrive goes on a pretty intense personal journey and feels connected to Rom by friendship and the Transformers by her raw construction. Another aspect of the series that really lands is the intersection of the villainous Starscream with the rest of the story. Starscream is a lot better established than most of the Rom villains which allows Cage and Barber to give the issue more of an impact as well.
The entire creative team of this issue realigns the Transformers and Rom properties to bust out some impressive new ideas and twists on the established formulas of both franchises to make this issue really come alive. Better yet, IDW has decided to keep the continuity for both series to make this story feel more tangible, able to carry the impact and deliver on the potential of the franchise. Even after this limited series I would love to see Rom join the cast of the Transformers Universe not just because he invigorates this story and brings along the Dire Wraiths and his lore, but because he does all of the above and naturally fits in with the native Cybertronians. Even though this comic is likely going to be a textbook example of both sides teaming up to fight a greater purpose the full creative team does a great job rallying the different sides of the conflict to make this story feel truly exciting.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Rom Vs Transformers: Shining Armor” #1 is the first bold example to make an argument for the existence of IDW’s shared Hasbro Universe.
