COUNTDOWN: Skybound Transformers #30 — 8 big things to talk about!

This is it! We’re finally at #30 of Skybound’s Transformers series, as the current arc from the new creative team of Robert Kirkman and Dan Mora comes crashing to a close — in hugely unexpected ways!

This chapter has already generated tons of commentary online, including some severely divided opinions, so let’s not waste any time getting stuck in…

WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS ahead! Check out our previous parts here.

#8: The story

Unlike our typical format, where we explore the issue beat by beat, it’s worth summarising the overall story in one go here, as it’s fairly straightforward and linear, focusing entirely on the two characters central to the whole affair: Optimus Prime and Elita-1.

We pick up directly from #29 after Elita had unexpectedly arrived on Earth in the midst of the Autobots triumphantly chasing the Decepticons away, with her demanding answers from their leader. This situation has been steadily brewing ever since Elita first appeared in the book back in #7 and, in particular, since her initial journey to Earth in #9, which put her at odds with Prime over his focus on protecting his adopted planet from the Decepticons’ ongoing assault. This was compounded by his refusal to stay on Cybertron in #12, where he destroyed the Energon stolen by Shockwave that Elita perceived would help to save their homeworld.

That debate continues here as the two immediately start discussing their opposing points of view, with Prime repeating his stance that his place is currently on Earth, protecting humans from a threat that the Autobots themselves unwittingly imposed upon the planet, whilst Elita staunchly believes he should return and aid her in the war effort on their own turf. Despite the conversation starting out calmly enough — to the point where it even looks like the two might be rekindling some sense of longing for one another — things swiftly take a turn as a frustrated Elita challenges Optimus for Autobot leadership, making her stance clear with a series of sudden blows! The assembled Autobots look on in horror as the situation becomes increasingly physical, although Prime mostly holds back until Elita suddenly turns on Cliffjumper in the midst of everything. It culminates with Elita knocking Optimus to the ground and repeatedly hammering his chest, trying to force it open so that she can take the Matrix of Leadership from him — a series of quite harrowing panels, considering this is Autobot on Autobot action!

Optimus eventually puts a stop to it and once again attempts to reason with Elita, offering understanding for all she has been through and acknowledging that she clearly believes in her cause. He also admits that his focus has been split and that perhaps the time for a new leader is at hand, but reasons that the Matrix cannot be taken by force, as it must choose its own successor. He gives the Matrix to Elita, and sure enough, she ascends to the rank of the Autobots’ new Prime, complete with an upgraded form, much to the shock of all present. Optimus, meanwhile, is reduced to his pre-Prime guise, now known simply by his first name, as he concedes that he no longer sits in command. He declares his intention to stay on Earth and protect it from Megatron — at which point Elita Prime orders all Autobots to return with her to Cybertron immediately, warning that anyone who stays behind will no longer be part of their ranks.

Allegiances are divided, with the large cast of good guys going their separate ways in what must surely be one of the most significant shake-ups to the Energon Universe storyline so far. I have zero clue where Kirkman plans to take this saga next, but the current direction certainly feels new and genuinely surprising, rather than simply repeating familiar beats for the sake of nostalgia. Very little here adheres to a desire for comfort or recognition, and I can’t help but feel some positivity in that regard, despite having plenty of questions about certain decisions and their execution. That final shot of Optimus’ new crew leaves us in a fascinating place for whatever comes next.

#7: The points of view

At the core of this issue is the dynamic between Optimus and Elita, and their clashing views on how to handle the battle against the Decepticons. Optimus wants to protect Earth, seeing it as his responsibility, given Megatron’s forces essentially hitched a ride with them there and now look set to begin conquering the fragile world should the Autobots not stand in their way. He no doubt also recognises the danger of the Decepticons stripping the planet’s resources to fuel their warmongering back on Cybertron, even if he has no current plan when it comes to saving their homeworld in his prolonged absence.

Meanwhile, it’s tempting to say that parts of this story go some distance in painting Elita as the villain, or at the very least casting her in an unsympathetic light — she is the aggressor here, after all, with a seemingly callous regard for the plight of planet Earth, to say nothing of her attempt to seize the Matrix by force. However, it’s impossible to ignore her backstory: she has been facing increasingly desperate odds on Cybertron for millions of years, watching many of her comrades be destroyed in battle. Taken out of that context, her actions may seem compassionless or even outright hostile — but from her perspective, she is simply trying to defend her homeworld and free her people in the most direct manner available to her, even if that comes with the knowledge that Earth will be decimated in the process.

Whilst it’s somewhat natural to sympathise with Optimus, these are still two very believable points of view, and the core conflict feels genuinely earned as a result. The book also largely refrains from presenting either stance as objectively right or wrong — although it’s notable that having the Matrix choose Elita as its new bearer seemingly suggests the wisdom contained within deems her vision as somehow ‘worthy’. Quite how she wields that new power remains to be seen, but one cannot help but think that the plentiful resources of Earth will have further bearing on events on Cybertron before long.

#6: The mysticism

One thing that struck me about this storyline was quite how little we still know about the Matrix and how it operates. There is a fair degree of mysticism woven into the Skybound Energon Universe by this point — much of it fairly new in terms of Transformers lore — and some of it still feels a little loosely defined. We’ve already touched on elements such as Megatron’s Dark Matrix — given to him by the Quintessons back in #19, though its exact nature, function and purpose all remain a total mystery — to say nothing of recent events such as the promotion of Arcee to the role of Magnus. But the Matrix itself has been an ongoing MacGuffin throughout, where every appearance seems to generate more questions than it answers.

Though presented as a mystical artefact in keeping with classic Transformers tradition, it also functions as a power source first and foremost — used to provide healing energy for damaged lifeforms, or to power a hospital, as seen way back in #4. Things were then taken in a compelling new direction when Sparkplug essentially merged with the talisman, repowering both it and Optimus in the process, given the Matrix and its host appear to be inherently linked in every sense. From there we had Megatron’s arm infecting the Matrix, corrupting its influence and causing all manner of nightmarish visions for Optimus, before his unexpected quest inside it during the events of #23 — a sequence presented somewhat like the so-called Hall of the Primes, in keeping with the idea of the Matrix as a repository of ancient Autobot knowledge, except it wasn’t quite that either. The whole thing felt more akin to Optimus enduring a very palpable fever dream born of the ongoing infection than anything else.

All of which makes this latest development — the Matrix as a guiding presence capable of determining the correct outcome by choosing a new leader — feel rather at odds with what has come before, even if it sits more comfortably alongside how the object has been portrayed in earlier media. Perhaps it doesn’t really matter; one could argue the Matrix can be whatever the story needs it to be at any given moment, and it’s hardly been rigorously explained in past storylines either. Still, it did stand out to me here, for what it’s worth.

#5: Elita Prime 

Without a doubt, one of the most divisive elements here is going to be the ascension of Elita-1 to Elita Prime — particularly hot on the heels of Arcee Magnus becoming a thing not two issues ago. Sadly, some of the pushback is bound to be rooted in old-fashioned misogyny; I’ve already seen complaints about female characters being elevated whilst their male counterparts are ‘demoted’ in their place. Personally, I think that’s nonsense — and it’s also worth noting that the book itself makes absolutely no mention of gender as a factor in any of this, leaving it as entirely immaterial to the events unfolding in-universe.

Beyond all of that, the idea of Elita Prime is a genuinely fascinating one. She has long been depicted as a capable leader across various portrayals of the character over the years — right back to her debut in the 1980s cartoon — and yet this marks the first time she has ever been granted the Matrix of Leadership in this manner. New Primes succeeding Optimus is nothing new in itself, of course, but some credit has to go to Skybound for resisting the obvious route of handing it to Rodimus or any other more anticipated candidate from previous storylines. Transformers is at its best when it tries something new, so whilst I won’t pretend this didn’t catch me off guard, I’m more than willing to see where it leads before forming a firm opinion — at least it doesn’t feel like a retread.

What I am slightly less certain about is the choice to introduce all of this so quickly after the new Magnus, given that Arcee has yet to receive any meaningful focus in her own new role — we still don’t even know what she transforms into! I’m also not entirely sold on Elita’s upgraded form at this stage, which looks largely like her existing design but considerably larger and now sporting wings for reasons that aren’t yet clear. Hopefully, further appearances will flesh all of this out and give these updated takes on classic characters the attention they deserve. Some quarters of the fandom were always going to find this controversial — but I’d sooner read something that surprises me than a storyline I feel I already know inside out, so I’m happy to see where this one goes.

#4: Optimus’ new design

For as much as there is to say about Elita Prime, Optimus’ reduced, powered-down form was arguably just as much of a surprise — after all, he’s not Orion Pax! Whilst that pre-Prime identity was once fairly niche knowledge, familiar mainly to devotees of the classic cartoon, it has since become firmly established across the franchise’s wider media — a significant part of the IDW comics and, of course, front and centre in Transformers One. Given how integral it was to that recent big-screen adventure, it’s honestly astonishing that Skybound hasn’t leaned into it here, particularly in an era of maximum brand synergy.

Instead, the book takes a more literal approach — stripping the Prime title to leave Optimus going by his first name alone, though the lack of mouthplate and the smaller stature are very much in the Orion Pax spirit regardless. Some fans won’t be thrilled by that particular design choice — my own preference is firmly for the traditional mouthplate, for what it’s worth — but it will be fascinating to see where these developments take the character next, now that he has his own ragtag band of former Autobots to command on Earth. My only lingering question is why he sports just the single smokestack in this diminished form, but perhaps that will be addressed before too long.

#3: Which Autobots go

The issue ends with a parting of the ways, some of the Autobots departing for Cybertron with Elita Prime whilst others choose to remain behind with Optimus. We already know from future solicitations that Elita’s crew will continue to feature heavily in the book moving forward, with the focus presumably split across two worlds from here on out — and given the roster heading to Cybertron, that should make for some compelling reading. By my reckoning, that group includes Ultra Magnus, Jetfire, Sideswipe, Mirage, Brawn, Bulkhead, Blaster and Jazz, along with the still-lifeless bodies of Bumblebee and Ratchet being carried off in the process — a sure sign they may be set to return to action before long. Many of those characters haven’t had much page time yet, having been revived in rapid succession shortly after Kirkman assumed writing duties, so hopefully the upcoming Cybertronian storylines will give them the focus they’ve been waiting for. Jazz in particular is a slight surprise given his well-established love of Earth culture, but he should make for an enjoyable addition to whatever awaits on the other side.

#2: Which (former) Autobots stay

Perhaps more surprising is the selection of former Autobots who choose to remain behind with Optimus — among them Arcee Magnus, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper (very much appreciated), Beachcomber, Shredhead, Thundercracker (who was an official Autobot for approximately five minutes), and the four remaining Aerialbots, to say nothing of Spike and Carly. There is real potential for some entertaining dynamics with this crew, not least because it’s such an unlikely collection of characters thrown together by circumstance. It does leave the Earth-bound contingent considerably undermanned, though — after Optimus’ outfit had felt genuinely formidable over the last six issues, having their numbers halved and the Matrix gone raises some pointed questions about how they’ll contend with the Decepticons from here.

#1: The end of the arc

All in all, this has been a very different arc for Skybound’s series compared to what came before under Daniel Warren Johnson, and it looks set to drift even further from the well-worn grooves of traditional Transformers storytelling going forward. That won’t suit every reader, and that’s fair enough, of course. For my part, I still have plenty of questions — some of which, like the Dark Matrix, are apparently set to be explored in upcoming issues — alongside the feeling that several elements remain undercooked and in need of urgent attention. Most notably: Shredhead’s characterisation, which is still practically non-existent despite their introduction all the way back in #17; more time with Autobot Thundercracker; the continued development of Arcee Magnus; and exactly how Spike and Carly will tie into the story from here.

It’s also genuinely disappointing to see Dan Mora wrapping up his art duties so soon. Whilst I still have enormous affection for the highly kinetic work of Jorge Corona, there’s no question that Mora has produced some beautiful panels along the way, and his painterly style will be missed. Next up is Ludo Lullabi — who handled art duties on #19 — before the book apparently returns to Jason Howard for the ongoing run. The pencils in #13 and #14 didn’t quite land for me personally, but it’s only fair to reserve judgement until we see how it all looks in context when #32 arrives. For now, there’s no question that the book is moving at quite a pace — and whatever comes next, it certainly won’t be predictable.

That’s my take on Skybound Transformers #30! As ever, let me know your thoughts in the comments below — especially on the big changes this issue brings. Are you on board with where Kirkman is taking things?

TTFN