So apparently this is out now on iBooks, despite its listed date of October 12th. If you want to read it now, hurry up and get it before the listing gets taken down.

Like MTMTE 57, this is both a Titans Return issue and sort of a finale to RID/Transformers as a whole, and sets the stage for Revolution and foreshadows what I expect to be a lot of plot threads in the Optimus Prime series.

Spoiler

Sentinel/Infinitus is apparently a follower/servant of Onyx Prime and Nexus Prime (likely one of the ancient Headmasters Galvatron killed back in issue 34), and his primary motivation seems to be paving the way for Onyx's return.

We also get some neat backstory on Nickel's colony world of Prion, apparently being the Titan of Micronus Prime, who abandoned the colony with its space bridge, leaving it defenseless against the Black Block Consortia when it came in and massacred the colony.

The ending is also kind of heartfelt, with Soundwave finally fully accepting Optimus as not only an ally but a friend, and opening up about Ravage's death. It's a nice culmination in their relationship, one that I think has developed way more naturally than I ever thought it could be.

All in all, it's a pretty exposition-heavy issue, but the exposition from Sentinel is at least really interesting and important, and ties a lot of threads together in intriguing ways. The Earth scenes are much less engaging, and basically just explain how the EDC gets Blitzwing as seen in the Revolution Prelude. Livio's art is still his art, but it's at least much more vibrant and clear, just like it was in the last issue.

Bring on Optimus Prime, I guess!

 

They've come a long way since the days OP used to shoot his face off.

 

I don't quite get the timing of this issue either tbh. Is this taking place before MTMTE 56 and 57? So Sentinel's destination at the end of this is to see Fort Max on Luna 1 in 56? If so the order of release is really screwed up.

I have to say I am puzzled by Livio's rendering of Sentinel's armour as well. I don't think he's meant to be wearing additional armour. It just looks like he is drawing him different to the toy which for a comic supporting a toy release is...interesting. Especially when MTMTE is rendering him faithfully.

 

Yeah, the chronological order of events is the one-shot, then ex-RID #56-57, then MTMTE #56-57. They were written to be readable in the order ex-RID #56, MTMTE #56, ex-RID #57, MTMTE #57, but then, yeah, they did screw up and release MTMTE #56 first.

And Livio is drawing Sentinel as his Megatron Origin body with black armour over the top, whilst in MTMTE he's got the MO body but with the new toy's chest...

 

Ah man, they screwed the release for this? I hate it when this happens.

 

Yeah the release order for this ended up being 1, 4, 2, 5, 3. Fortunately I got my hands on this issue (#3 in the story arc), I can't IMAGINE waiting all the way till the 12th.

 

I choose to do the same, I was willing to double dip this time.

 

As an actual ending, I thought this was waaay better than MTMTE. It gave the characters a good sense of closure while also leaving the door open for new stories.

Ramondelli is not perfect but he was fitting here.

 

Is it possible top but it on ibooks if I have an android?

I went into the comics and can't see any comics. Search function on the page I was on was for the whole apple sit. ..

If anyone has a link to the issue that world be great. (Assuming it's not already taken down)

 

I don't think I've felt more for a character's apparent death than when it looked like

Spoiler

Soundwave

died.

That would have been a colossal waste of the series' best character. I was SO relieved that he survived.

 

As the final issue of exRID, it was a nice little wrap up on some of the development on several characters and a nice lead on to the Optimus Prime series we'll get. I didn't really care too much for the Transformers still having to deal with Spike and GI Joe seen as I was more invested in Sentinel elaborating more on the Thirteen. Still I can't help but feel this Titans Return event could have been handled better, with it's conclusion in MTMTE 57 it feels like we only read the first act of it and are now waiting on act 2 at a later point.

Having said that, I really liked the conclusion to Soundwave's character arc here, especially the mention of Ravage. It does feel odd to see Soundwave call Optimus his friend especially after the previous blackmailing and being shot in the face years ago, but their "friendship" does interest me in seeing where they can take it from a philosophical stand point. The little nod to Nickel was good too but I always thought those mini combiner bots from Windblade #6 were followers of Micronus, not those of this dead world. I guess those guys were followers of Nexus perhaps?

Livio's art is fairly lovely here although the action between the Cybertronians and the humans felt a bit confusing to read.

Spoiler

And what the hell was up with Sovereign/Blackrock? He turned into a Titanmaster but then Soundwave turned him back into a human but then he's Cybertronian again in MTMTE 56?

Overall, good issue of RID, would have been a better issue of Titans Return if we didn't have to cut this story short to make way for Revolution. Looking forward to Optimus Prime a lot though, especially if they bring in a war of the Primes story.  

It looked like he died didn't he? I would have been shocked too but having read Revolution #1 first I was asking "How does he survive that?" XD

 

Where MTMTE and RID connected at all? I first read RID57 and then MTMTE57 and it feels like two different stories.

 

The only real link is Sentinel. After he fails to recruit Optimus here, he takes Sovereign to Luna-1 to revive the Titans. And then the leftover titans that got past Fort Max will show up in TAAO in December.

There were definitely a few issues though. Sentinel felt a fair bit different in each book. I can attribute some of that to him talking with different people (trying to convert Optimus versus trying to kill Prowl and company), but it still felt a bit off. And then there are some design elements that changed such as Sentinel being armored in exRID and not in MTMTE and Blackrock losing his helmet in exRID only to have it back in MTMTE. Hell, Blackrock as a whole is a bit weird. It looked like at first his titanmaster body burst out from underneath of his "human" one, but then in this issue, his titanmaster head crumbled off to reveal the human head in under.

 

I didn't read Revolution, so I was seriously worried. Reading Revolution must have took a lot of the suspense out of it.

 

No.
No, no no. Nope. Nope!
Noooo, no no.
No? No!

Spoiler

This was a rollercoaster of emotions packed in just 5 pages.

 

This was a good end and setup for Revolution and Optimus Prime ongoing series.

 

I really like how Barber is shaping Infinitus/Sentinel here. Not only does he seem powerful and cunning but also a lot knowledgeable about the past and what's been happening at other places. Jeezz. It's starting to seem like all the Primes of Galvatron's era were serious a******* back then and now too. I seriously want to know why Micronus Prime's reasons for why he left his colony for the chopping block like that.

The interactions between Optimus and Soundwave were nice in this issue, as well as Livio's drawing. I hope that Barber and Roberts makes Sentinel gives it his all in trying to take back Cybertron in the upcoming issues with the Titans.

 

I read the issue's summary on the Wiki and it appears Micronus left his colony to go live in the Micronaut's mirco-world.

 

He didn't just go there - it's suggested he actually created Microspace.

 

So this officially is only out on digital, right? I shouldn't be harassing my comic shop for it today?

If so I guess I'm out of here until the physical copy, since I'd rather not double dip at full price.