“Spotlight Ultra Magnus”

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“Spotlight Ultra Magnus” provides two things: a glib exploration of Ultra Magnus’s reinvented character, and a generous feeding of writer Simon Furman’s sapling new Transformers universe.

The story itself focuses its narrow spotlight beam on just three Transformers: Scorponok, Swindle and, of course, Ultra Magnus. The two Decepticons feel familiar but Ultra Magnus is all-new. Now a seemingly non-allied (or at least vaguely Autobot) law enforcement officer, Ultra Magnus prowls the known galaxies looking to return rogue Decepticons to the “Decepticon High Justice” as per something called The Tyrest Accord. That the millions of years old conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons is one of accord and convention is certainly a fresh take on things, but it does stretch credibility somewhat.

This new Ultra Magnus is charismatic and almost instantly magnetic. Swindle, the shameless arms dealer, is the perfect foil for Magnus’s rigid adhesion to the rules. But the plot thickens and deepens with Magnus’s relationship with Scorponok, making the story and its over-engineered machinations suddenly more palatable and intriguing.

“Spotlight Ultra Magnus” utilises the familiar hero-infiltrating-enemy-territory trope and, thematically at least, reads like a re-tread of two of the last three “Spotlight” issues. And, like “Spotlight Nightbeat” and “Spotlight Hot Rod”, the denouement raises more questions than it answers. Not that it would necessarily be a bad thing—if the IDW Transformers comics were an ongoing series, rather than a handful of mini-series and one-shots.

Robby Musso—a newcomer to the world of Transformers comics—provides the artwork, portraying the characters very much inline with their toy versions. Adequate on the whole, but certain panel compositions appear clumsy and proportions look inconsistent.

One nice touch, however, is the attention paid to Ultra Magnus’s transformation sequence; showing that it is not a white Optimus Prime with armour over the top.

The colouring, while looking overexposed on the whole, is atmospheric when required and provides a suitably alien environment for Ultra Magnus to play in.

“Ultra Magnus” caps off the first handful of Spotlights with a pronounced competence that shows just far ahead Simon Furman is planning things. The threads he’s woven so far are looking to be tense and intricate, and this reader looks forward to seeing them gradually unravel.

Verdict: three stars out of five.