Transformers: Windblade #6 steps away from the lighthearted tone of the Velocitron arc and heads back to serious political wheeling and dealing. The race to gain delegates for the Council of Worlds heats up drastically, and young Windblade must learn that pure morals and intentions often are counterpoint to winning at the power games she’s become embroiled in on Cybertron.
Windblade’s happiness over bringing Velocitron into the Council is tempered when she discovers that Starscream has been courting other colonies while she was gone and inspiring awe and admiration in the new delegates; however, when she must pair with the Cybertronian leader to head to Eukaris for a recruitment mission, Windblade learns that she is more valuable to Starscream alive and that she can play the political game if she lets go of trying to do only what is right. The big excitement of Windblade #6 is the inclusion of the first non-vehicular bots in the series. Eukaris, one of the lost colonies, provides a home to a variety of non-standard bots, including dinosaurs, spiders, flying creatures, and a variety of furred critters; however, the natives of Eukaris add the first elements of racism into the mix, as well. Up until this issue, Windblade’s story has only dealt with Transformers that fall into traditional forms; given the expletive “standard-formers” from some of the Beast-bots, I’m sure the problem goes both ways. It definitely adds depth to an already complex plot, and I’m sure the racial issues will affect Eukaris’ future decisions.
Corin Howell’s artwork continues to look lovely, but my favorite bit was the retailer incentive cover from Agnes Garbowska. The chibi-style Windblade chasing Starscream and trying to smack him with her wand gave me giggles, and I never would have thought that super-deformed robots could be so cute!
I have no familiarity with the Dinobots storylines or any of the non-vehicular bots, but I still adored Windblade #6. The heroine provides a viewpoint for those unfamiliar with the new characters to learn about them, and enough background is provided to make the story flow. After the crazy car race on Velocitron, the Eukaris arc may feel a little heavy, but I look forward to where the story will go. We’re getting back into the savvy, adult Transformers storylines I love, and I can’t wait to see where the political games will take our characters!
5 Incredibly Unique New Bots out of 5
