Transformers: Lost Light Issue 6 This Machine Kills Fascists
(IDW Publishing)
Words: James Roberts Pictures: Jack Lawrence
You folks all know about Megatron right?
Megatron, despot and tyrant who led the Decepticons in a 4 million year war against Optimus Prime’s Autobots,
Megatron the giant silver guy that turns into a gun.
Megatron of Tarn the Scholar and Author.
Megatron the non violent Political Activist.
Megatron the penitent, the restless soul on the road to atonement.
I have a feeling I may have lost some of you there along with way but bear with me because the redemption and redefinition of Megatron of Tarn is one of the greatest pieces of long form character work in comics today. 
It’s the story one man, or rather one giant transforming robot, and their attempt to put their bloody past behind them and find new meaning in an age of peace where there is no place for the warriors and war of the past.
And it all comes to a crescendo in Issue 6 of Transformers Lost Light with the conclusion of the first story arc Dissolution.
If you haven’t been following Lost Light or didn’t read our reviews of Issues 1 and issue 2 let’s take a brief moment or two to bring you up to speed.
- An accident with a misfiring teleporters sees Rodimus and his ragtag band including Drift, Megatron, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet and Chromedome shunted into an Alternate Dimension.
- SURPRISE! The Cybertron of this parallel universe is ruled by the Fascistic Functionalist Council who enforce a social structure where all aspects of a Bot’s life are determined by the thing they turn into, their Alt Mode.
- The Theocratic Functionalist Council plan to weaponise Cybertron’s long lost moon to cleanse the planet of all non-compliant life forms.
- Team Rodimus launches a counter attack on the Functionalist and their Death Star only to realise that their one chance of getting back to their home universe is to use a teleporter buried deep inside the moon’s core
Who will survive and what will be left of them?
Who’s booked a return ticket home to the “prime” universe and who will make the ultimate sacrifice to put an end to the Functionalist Council’s Reign of Terror?
Roberts and Lawrence deliver another masterful payoff with this final chapter in Lost Light’s first arc.
Roberts again demonstrates his signature ability to blend blockbuster action on an interplanetary scale with intimate personal moments as our heroes come to grips with the fate which may well await them and the sacrifices they will be called on to make.
Roberts’s long game is at the forefront here and in this issue Megatron is his pawn.
The mighty warmonger’s road to redemption reaches a key juncture as Roberts brings together pieces he has been meticulously putting in place since the Dark Cybertron story 3 years ago.
The pulse pounding high energy crescendo of the battle to save the Functionalist Universe is contrasted with a more personal story Anode’s quest to preserve and honour the memory of their former companion Lug.
Lawrence’s use of panel design and effective page turns builds tension throughout the issue.
There are some amazing epic feature panels and splash pages which are the perfect counterpoint to the compact and intimate moments between Megatron and Terminus or Anode and Nautica.
Although the issue title is no accident it is an interesting coincidence that this issue will arrive on the same day as Theresa May and the Conservative Party are humiliated by an electoral defeat that sees them struggling to form a minority government.
Roberts’s own political views are no secret to those who follow him on social media but the social commentary about the struggle for personal freedom, self determination and social mobility is eloquent clear and compelling.
I won’t spoil the final monologue which culminates in an amazing last page but it will take your breath away.
The creative time firing on all cylinders, from Roberts and Lawrence to colourist Joana Lafuente who continues to excel at breathing colour, light and life into the characters and situations which Roberts and Lawrence have masterfully laid out
Lost Light Issue 6 is a masterful comic bringing to end this latest arc in Roberts’ ongoing saga of everyone’s favourite Robots in Disguise.
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Pick up your copy of Transformers Lost Light Issue 6 now from direct from IDW or Comixology.
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