We have a lot of little things happening in Transformers 8. In and of themselves they may not be much, but when put together, the cogs of war are shifting ever closer to their release. War is coming.

Cover To Cover

Transformers 8

Once again there are 3 pretty cool covers for Transformers 8. The first is perhaps my favorite. The mighty Cyclonus stands ready for battle amongst a burning background. Cyclonus takes a step forward in importance in this issue, although what his end goal is I can’t be sure.

The second cover is Megatron shouting out, probably at one of his rallies. While it possesses no direct tie in to this issue, this is Megatron right now. He is the rebel leader preaching change and reform. As expected, though, he has his own purposes and machinations in play.

The final cover is a great creative cover. It has nothing to do with this issue, but it is a wonderfully designed poster if someone tried advertising Cybertron for tourists. The artwork and stylings are well done.

Transformers 8: Who’s On What Side Now?

The hardest part about this series being set in pre-war Cybertron is that not all bots are aligned the way we know they will be in the later days of the war. Are these bots playing games to achieve their ends? Or are they on the sides we see them with now, but have changes of heart at later dates? That is the fun of this series. We know the future. We know where the story goes, but we do not know how we get there.

So Many Cogs in Motion in Transformers 8

Cyclonus Returns

Cyclonus opens the issue facing off against Flamewar and Shadow Striker. To this point I have assumed Cyclonus is a bad guy, given he becomes Galvatron’s right hand bot later on in history. No matter the side, Cyclonus has a reputation as one of the great fighters left from the previous war. He defeats Flamewar and Shadow Striker, allowing him to flee.

The curious part comes later in the issue. He flies straight for security HQ for lack of a better title. All those present welcome him and see that he makes it to Ratchet for repairs. After he mentions his scuffle with the two out by the memorial crater, we learn that it is indeed Shadow Striker that is listed amongst the unaccounted for. His actions are the ones that seem questionable, not Cyclonus.

Yes despite all this, Cyclonus insists on seeing Ratchet alone. Let us not forget that his ‘ghost friends’ returned for a couple of panels as well. This Paragon that Froid talks about would seem to be a psychiatrist. Cyclonus will have an interesting role to play I’m sure.

Tergamax Surfaces…Kinda

We have heard stories of this Tergamax, a female bot who started the revolt and unrest but then disappears. It is her cause that Megatron seems to be championing and leading.

Tergamax may be a quirky bot, but one thing is clear. She is done with Cybertron and all its machinations, and doesn’t want anything to do with anybody, least of all Megatron, yet she lets him inside.

Tergamax and Megatron go back and forth for some time. It would seem a futile and fruitless attempt on Megatron’s part to get her reengaged in the action. Except as he walks away from her hideaway, he raises Soundwave on the Comm, and tells him “We are safe” and that she won’t interfere with their plans. Knowing the future and where this is going, it comes to little surprise, but Megatron finally reveals the whole uprising only covers larger and grander plans. Megatron found his vehicle to obtain what he wants, and its creator is safely out of the way.

Bumblebee Joins the Ascenticons in Transformers 8?

Here we have yet another example of mixed allegiances. Bumblebee, the poster child of what will be the Autobots, has officially joined the Ascenticons. The thing is Bumblebee seems to understand a great deal. In fact he flat out states he feels like something bad is about to go down, but he can’t see it. When he is told he will be paraded along side Megatron at the next rally, he knows why. What better statement then having former security and Autobot sympathizer at his side.

But what games are being played? Bee seems too green and grieving from Rubble’s death to be playing games, but he could be attempting infiltration because of Rubble.

What of Megatron? He plans on Bee standing front and center with him. Is it as a symbol, or will the next ‘attack’ target Bumblebee in an attempt to gain more sympathizers for his cause? Megatron plays many games, none of them are ever simple.

Police Central Steps It Up

It is nice to hear the group at Central talking about what all is happening. Prowl, Chromia and Froid attempt to put the pieces together, but are interrupted by Cyclonus’ crash entry into the building. The cool part is we finally see Sideswipe enter the story. I love his character.

Another key piece to the puzzle is that some bots are pulling up power cables by the crater. According to Cyclonus, a group of bots even live underground in the area. What importance are these power cables? Do they allow some bots to simply live on their own, or is this another step towards a war machine? Is this a trap for the Security teams?

We learn all about Shadow Striker and more about Cyclonus, but it is the end that stands out. As Chromia and Sideswipe talk about everything, Chromia states she is ‘breaking out the arsenal’. As we found out with Bumblebee, the weapons of security are passive and meant to subdue. Chromia now plans to break out the real weapons and Sideswipe loves it. It may be the needed step due to what they face, but we also know this is where war begins.

While they are little pieces, all together Transformers 8 takes some big steps to set up the war to come. In the next issue or two, something big will go down.