Just when you think the Dinobots have seen it all in their mission to save Ultra Magnus and their very own Swoop from the hands of Ser-Ket and her army of Shockwave loyalists, there comes another turn. The Rage of the Dinobots story arc has not disappointed this Transformer fan at al.
Issue # 3 starts exactly where we left off in issue #2 with the Dinobots finding out that their very own Swoop has been “upgraded” to serve Shockwave. Grimlock challenges Ser-Ket to a battle. If Grimlock wins, she fixes Swoop and releases all the prisoners, if she wins, the Dinobots will surrender and serve Shockwave. Of course the thought of this battle intrigued Ser-Ket so she accepted Grimlock’s offer.
The battle was fierce and evenly matched. That is until Grimlock gave into the beast within which allowed him to conquer Ser-Ket. The problem is by unleashing the beast; he almost lost control and came close to going on a rampage. Luckily, Grimlock was able to snap out of it. Ser-Ket’s horde allowed the Dinobots to leave as promised but Ser-Ket took Grimlock for a ride. When the ride was over, Grimlock was face to face with his “creator”, Shockwave.
Issue #4 started with the Dinobots and Magnus attacking Shockwave only to be stopped by an E.M.P. grenade which made them useless long enough for Shockwave to take them to his research facility. We then find Grimlock, trapped in a lab while the other Dinobots are kept in a holding cell. It turns out that Shockwave wants to finish what he started with Grimlock ions ago.
It seemed as if Shockwave had won and defeated the Dinobots, but Shockwave made one mistake which cost him dearly. That mistake was simply that he underestimated the beast within each of the Dinobots. This “primal” rage made the Dinobots ruthless fighters who would stop at nothing to get their way.
There was an intense battle between master and creation but in the end Shockwave lost, well sort of. You see, the Shockwave in this battle was one of Shockwave’s clone soldiers built to do his research. The Dinobots sent Magnus to catch up with the other Autobots on Earth but they choose to stay on Cybertron. Why you ask? Well the answers to that question can be answered in their next title from IDW Publishing titled, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters.
I give this story arc a perfect rating of 10 out of 10. Each issue was packed with action and let you realize what made the Dinobots tick. The writing was excellent and the art was well done. You need to get your issues now. If your local comic store doesn’t have them, reserve a copy of the trade for when it hits the shelves. You will be glad you did.
Writers: Mike Johnson & Mairghread Scott
Art: Agustin Padilla
Publisher: IDW
