Well, before we talk about that big moment, let's talk about some of other stuff this issue.
We actually get a brief glimpse of Jimmy the astronaut. He's...pretty nondescript, really. Just a generic astronaut guy. I still have a sneaking suspicion he won't be as dead as we think he is.
Starscream's throwing up the devil horns while Devastator's rampaging around. He's so bloodthirsty in this series. It's almost endearing.
OOF, Thundercracker still thinks the Autobots are the ones who dismantled Skywarp. There's gonna be comeuppance eventually, I'm sure.
Heh...Devstators just flinging Optimus around...like a toy...I see what you did there.
"What is...dad?" You know, that's a fair question. The Transformers don't really have a frame of reference for that word.
You know, for a second here, I really thought they actually might kill off Optimus in this first arc. But...I'll save more of my thoughts on this scene for the end.
Optimus gets better and then RIPS OFF Devastator's ring finger! Now he can never get married!
The panel of Optimus just UNLOADING with Megatron's cannon and his own gun is just so cool! And then he does a flying kick to his chin.
Carly gets to shoot a gun that literally twice her size! Spike's a lucky guy.
But...Cliffjumper can't bring himself to finish off Starscream. And as far as I can tell, Starscream survives this issue. But, not before getting hit with ten tons of combiner. Optimus can THROW! But...yeah, hopefully Cliffjumper doesn't end up regretting his mercy too much later on.
Soundwave just wants to fix his cat, so he gets everyone else out of there. Optimus DID give him a chance to end this right now. Plenty of chances were wasted to end this conflict right here. They sure do seem to be setting some sort of guilt arc up for multiple characters.
And Spike wakes up...and wants to see his dad. OOF! They're gonna rub this one in, I can feel it.
So...Sparkplug enters the Matrix. Literally. He just walks into the "liquid crystal" core like it's a Stargate. Giving up his life to give his..."life energy" to Optimus, to save his life. Maybe even LITERALLY becoming a bit of his "Spark". Cute. For a second, I thought maybe Sparkplug was going to end up being the next "Prime", but, nope!
I'm not sure how I feel about it. The scene itself is pretty well done. But, the Matrix has never done something quite like this before. But, this is a new continuity. I guess it doesn't have to work EXACTLY like it usually does. But, I'm not sure if we really need to be giving the Matrix MORE powers than it usually has. I'm just not sure how I feel about it. I guess this gives us a chance to maybe "Enter the Matrix" to save him later? That could be a interesting arc.
This DOES mean that Optimus is more "Spike's Dad" than in any other continuity EVER. He's now LITERALLY a substitute father figure. That's...uhh...something. I wonder if Spikes gonna be all like "You're not my REAL DAD!"
It's interesting, anyway. I'm willing to see where they go with it. Hopefully, it's not too much of a downer.
[/spoilers]
