TRANFORMERS: Nefarious #3- In Stores Tomorrow, reviewed here!

TRANSFORMERS: NEFARIOUS #3 continues the story set up in the previous issues, focusing on HASBRO’s possible next candidate for it’s robot HALL OF FAME, SOUNDWAVE (the movie version though).

NEFARIOUS is also the ‘official’ continuation of the movie-universe, taking place after the box office blockbuster movie, TRANSFORMERS Revenge of the Fallen.

As is often the pattern with middle issues in longer mini-series, not a lot happens to further reveal plot points, or add to the mysteries in this issue. It kind of holds the status quo.

In this issue we see Optimus Prime and Lennox at odds over N.E.S.T. related issues:

“Right now I’d rather face a dozen Megatron’s, than one Major William Lennox...”

Bumblebee, Jolt, Dune Runner, and Knockout lead the N.E.S.T. convoy to move Soundwave to a safer, more secure location.



Soundwave realizes further that he has lost control of Ravage and is not sure to who, or how he will regain Ravage into his strikeforce. But, he still saves some of his thoughts for his Autobot captors.

Speaking of Soundwave’s strikeforce, although imprisoned, Soundwave enacts measures to free himself from the N.E.S.T. convoy before he is moved into his ‘more secure location’ that Optimus and Ironhide are preparing for his arrival.

Bumblebee starts to feel the pressure of leadership, reminiscing on the loss of Breakaway in issue #1, and the fact that he has responsibilities to not only N.E.S.T., and Optimus Prime, but to the Autobot rookies under his command. This growth from Bumblebee has him making command choices that he may not have made previous to the events in issue #1.


A quick and ugly battle is fought again, as Soundwave’s mini militia returns to stage a rescue operation, first taking down the airplane transporting the prisoner guard force, and then working to destroy each accompanying guard member.





Bumblebee has to make a quick decision...keep Soundwave imprisoned or save his Autobot friends. What would Prime do?

Galloway, the man who now wants to shut down N.E.S.T, is angry that he is no longer allowed access to Hoover Dam, and pulls a Lennox, as he disobeys orders to continue to check it out. Enter a new toy-based character’s introduction to repel Galloway’s helicopters.



Oh, and the faux Allspark the INITIATIVE is making may blow up at any time, destroying life as we know it. Be cool though, the INITIATIVE is not worried at all.



What I like:

The art is still pretty darn good. Magno and Carter combine for a nice team, creating realistic, and true to movie and toy versions of the robots for the most part. The humans while excellently rendered, are not quite as faithful to the previous materials representations of them...but that doesn’t bother me in the least.

The introduction of characters who were ‘off-screen’ in the movie was nice, but we need to start seeing more of the fan favorites to help keep my interest. Let’s bring on some bigger names than Dune Runner, and Knockout...

What I don’t like:

Well, it’s a movie-verse comic, so it already has that going against it. The design of the robots bothers me, and the overabundance of human interaction bothers me.

And you know what is getting really old, overplayed...whatever? Bumblebee’s song/radio voice. It’s kind of nifty to see his inner dialogue compared to his vocal exposition, but having him only talking in songs and radio DOES NOT translate to the comic medium well.

Fix him already Ratchet, please.

The fact that nothing really unpredictable, or new happens in this issue pretty much makes this a stale issue story-wise; unless you really like movie Soundwave, or Bumblebee, or must see the ROTF toys coming to life in the comics.

So making your own Allspark is a good idea??? This plot point seems a bit contrived even for comic books, but I suppose, seems to fit quite well in the movie-verse.

TRANSFORMERS: NEFARIOUS #3 is released onto your local comic book shelf tomorrow, May 5th.

You can check out the five-page preview and see some of the fun for yourself!