Review — ‘Transformers’ #17 Keeps Things Under Control By Focusing On The Humanity Of Robots

Seventeen issues into its run, this book is starting to accumulate more than its fair share of running narrative and character plotlines. Transformers #17 is a prime example of that, with at least five different plotlines getting attention and advancement to varying degrees. It has the series feeling a bit rudderless, with no clear sense of who or what the central protagonists or A-plots are. But even an issue like this has a couple of things keeping it grounded and preventing the series from spinning out of control from writer Daniel Warren Johnson and artist Jorge Corona.

Ironically, one of the key elements grounding the issue is the humanity of the Transformers. This element effectively bookends the tale told within, speaking to its importance. It opens with Thundercracker stealing into the Ark to find his brother, Skywarp (who has been essentially merged with the Ark and its computer system, co-opted into helping the Autobots). Desperate to free him, Thundercracker only relents and leaves when its clear he can’t get Skywarp out without killing him. Generally speaking, the Decepticons have been portrayed as inhuman monsters — not giving two craps about humanity — but Thundercracker’s consistent concern for his Seeker brother shows how, for all their villainy, the Decepticons aren’t one-dimensional.

Meanwhile, the closest thing this issue has to an A-plot comes in the form of Cliffjumper’s Cybertron-set mission to use the Sparks of what are, essentially, his dead platoon-mates from earlier in the war to create new life. The idea of honoring their sacrifices to build a new being in lieu of a weapon is another example of the humanity innate to the Autobots beyond just “not squishing humans.” While Cliffjumper’s mission succeeds in the creation of a new, long-gestating Transformer, it remains to be seen how their existence contributes to this ongoing theme.

Cliffjumper’s mission also speaks to another of the themes helping keep the series grounded: the ongoing discussion of the cost of and purpose to the Autobot/Decepticon war. Where Alita thinks Cliffjumper’s goals are a waste of time and better spent making punitive strikes — even meager ones — against the Decepticons, Cliffjumper, backed by Bluestreak’s argument that reinforcements represent a tactical as well as moral benefit for their side, ultimately wins her over. Back on Earth, the subplot involving Carly, Arcee, Spike, and Beachcomber further speaks to this theme. Beachcomber has been a pacifist and anti-war advocate since his introduction in the series, and in Transformers #17 he makes the argument that war isn’t inevitable, but rather a choice made by both sides that he simply refuses to make anymore. Their mission to find Ultra Magnus is wrapped up in the same kinds of ideas, as Magnus is clearly suffering from PTSD as a result of his experiences during the war.

To be sure, there’s still a lot of other things going on in Transformers #17, including a battle between Devastator and Bruticus that destroys large swaths of Seattle (which seems like something that should be a big deal going forward). So much so that even a plot point seemingly as big a deal as Optimus Prime getting possessed by Megatron’s gun arm and blowing up a damn last issue gets waved away with a line of dialogue that is essentially, “no time for that now!” So the book is still walking a very fine line in terms of keeping all its various plates spinning. But for now, at least, the thematic elements running through this issue, the humanity inside the giant transforming robots on both sides of the conflict, and the ongoing interrogation of the cost and purpose of war, are keeping the series from spinning out of control.