Transformers’ Final Story Is the Ending Fans Never Thought They’d Get

The Transformers‘ story is finally getting an ending, as IDW says goodbye to the franchise with a TMNT: Last Ronin-style final tale. The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has been waged in countless mediums – from comic books to TV shows, from action figures to Hollywood blockbusters. The Autobots and the Decepticons have been locked in unending war for millennia, with leaders Optimus Prime and Megatron going head-to-head time and again.

But that war is finally coming to an end – after a fashion. IDW has announced a new Transformers miniseries, Last Bot Standing, that will present a vision of the future – a time when the war between the Autobots and Decepticons ended eons ago. According to the comic book publisher, the miniseries is set at the edge of the universe, at the end of time, on the planet Donnokt – a world on the brink of an industrial revolution. A lone visitor falls from the sky; a shape-shifting robot from an ancient civilization, the last survivor of Cybertron. “The last remaining Cybertronian, stalked by the sins of their entire race, must save the world one final time,” writer and artist Nick Roche explained in an official press statement.

This is, of course, only one timeline; the Transformers franchise is well-known for rebooting itself, with comics, TV shows, and even the films themselves not really caring all that much about continuity. But it’s a unique story, in that it presents a vision of how the war for Cybertron could end as the franchise itself leaves IDW, putting a definitive capstone on the publisher’s vision of the franchise.

Transformers Is About a War

The Transformers comics and films have largely exploited the spectacle of robot-on-robot violence to give fans a visceral thrill. Megatron and the Decepticons have become ever more irredeemably evil, power-hungry and malevolent, obsessed with destroying all those who oppose them. Curiously, the Autobots haven’t always been handled in a similar manner, with many stories actually adding a shade of gray to their morality as the heroic robots struggle to avoid being corrupted by the never-ending conflict. Recent comics have been set towards the beginning of the war, with a naïve Optimus Prime making many mistakes and left with many bitter regrets. These glimpses of the past, and the very character progression involved, have raised one tantalizing question: where will this all lead? It’s become ever more difficult to imagine an outcome where either side agrees to lay down their arms.

Last Bot Standing acknowledges this truth. This is a timeline where Cybertron was ultimately destroyed by the war, but where even their homeworld’s fate wasn’t enough to bring an end to the conflict. Autobots and Decepticons scattered across the stars, gunning one another down, until finally by the end of time there is only a single robot left. The story strikes a similar note to TMNT: The Last Ronin, by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird along with Tom Waltz, which imagines a similar solitary fate for Michelangelo, last of the Turtles. It’s a perfectly appropriate ending for the Transformers story.

Like Last Ronin, it seems that Last Bot Standing will engage with the idea that characters who spent their entire lives fighting may not be in line for a happy ending, exploring the logical cost of the unstoppable Autobot vs Decepticon conflict by following the only character – hero or villain – who manages to survive.

IDW Says Goodbye to Transformers

The context of IDW’s Last Bot Standing makes this story particularly timely. IDW recently lost the license for Transformers, meaning the publisher’s time with the Autobots and the Decepticons is coming to an end. “In a way, Last Bot Standing is a proper farewell,” Roche observed to IDW, “as our creative team bows out of IDW’s Transformers universe in the most explosive and apocalyptic way imaginable. To have E.J. Su, the visual architect of IDW’s definitive Transformers run, be the one to depict ‘The End of All Things’ (with colors from the astounding Rebecca Nalty) is the most perfect and bittersweet piece of artistic casting I could think of.“

IDW’s tenure has met with mixed reception. The basic concepts have been tremendously creative – an early arc in which Bumblebee served as a mentor to a new Transformer even as the war between Autobots and Decepticons began was a standout, and the new villain Exarchon has shattered Transformers‘ creaking Autobots vs Decepticons formula. But these ideas haven’t always been developed particularly well. The plots have frequently become overwhelmed with fan-service cameos, until it was difficult to keep track of all the character arcs or to truly appreciate the significance of the latest events. Last Bot Standing is the perfect way to put that mistake right, narrowing its focus down upon a single Transformer and offering a chance for IDW to reflect on where its prior stories were leading.

A Transformers Story with Closure

IDW has yet to confirm who this last Transformer will be. The most likely candidate, however, is Bumblebee – the most consistently-developed Transformer in the comics. According to IDW’s Transformers comics, he was there when the war began, so it would be fitting to have him there at the end of all things, looking back sorrowfully on all he has lost and the extinction of his entire race. That would really create a sense that Last Bot Standing serves as the conclusion to IDW’s era – the closing of a book so a new one can begin.

The sad truth is that the Transformers franchise often feels diminished, simply because the story has been told again and again. Autobots and Decepticons can only wage war so many times before the idea begins to feel stale. IDW’s writers have sensed this, and at their best they’ve attempted to introduce new dimensions to the franchise. It’s therefore appropriate that they’re ending their tenure with one of the most creative new concepts to date; a story that’s never been told before in the Transformers universe but one that frankly demands to be told.

“Nick [Roche] has masterfully crafted some of the most memorable Transformers comic stories, and this one will be no exception as the readers weave their way through the mystery and find out how our beloved characters came to this situation,” artist E.J. Su concluded in the press statement. Hopefully this one Transformers story will live up to its potential, ending IDW’s tenure on a high note.

Source: IDW

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4899 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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