TRANSFORMERS #26 – New Comic Review

Transformers #26, by Image Comics on 11/12/25, delivers high stakes and emotional whiplash served on a platter of metal anguish when Thundercracker grapples with conflicted loyalties.

Credits:

• Writer: Robert Kirkman
• Artist: Dan Mora
• Colorist: Mike Spicer
• Letterer: Rus Wooton
• Cover Artist: David Nakayama (cover A)
• Publisher: Image Comics
• Release Date: November 12, 2025
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Page Count: 32
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of TRANSFORMERS #26:

First Impressions:

First pages drop like a thunderbolt: chaos, mistrust, and bot-on-bot misery erupt within three panels. There’s no gentle onramp to the drama; you’re hurled straight into desperate rescue, Cyclopean guilt, and the scramble to keep shattered relationships from rusting over. If you’re not instantly in the mood for catastrophic brotherhood and last-minute scrambles, buckle up or bail out.

Recap:

After Megatron’s systematic evisceration of his own crew’s morale in Transformers #25 – blaming Hook, Blast Off, and then Starscream for a string of humiliations – the Decepticons were left licking wounds in Earth’s wreckage. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime struggled to pull hope from the ashes of Chicago, strained to keep bot and human allies upright, while Ultra Magnus staggered with guilt and Jazz delivered a shaky pep talk. With Soundwave captured and energon scarce, the Autobots’ new alliance with authorities in the “Shadow Watch” bunker set the stage for uneasy rebuilding. On Cybertron, Elita-1 accused Cliffjumper of treachery, and all faith in Optimus as a savior has vanished. The war staggers on, with hope in short supply.

Plot Analysis:

The issue opens with Thundercracker and Ramjet battling to free Skywarp from a machine primed to kill him if disconnected, setting the tone for fraught choices and backstabbing.​​

A rescue mission turns to chaos as Thundercracker erupts with guilt-driven violence, lashing out, blaming both Autobots and his own camp for Skywarp’s agony. Intense exchanges lead Optimus Prime to bargain for compromise: he promises to restore Skywarp if Thundercracker surrenders, sparking doubts among his own ranks but underscoring the comic’s theme of using empathy as leverage.​​

With General Flagg supporting Autobots, the Chicago recovery takes center stage. Prime proposes building a fortified city for humanity, and the cast briefly dares to hope technology and cooperation can reshape the ruins into a new home. Meanwhile, the Autobots and Decepticons still teeter on mistrust. Prisoners, rescuees, and would-be defectors second-guess every move while scavenging for precious energon remains essential.​​

On Cybertron, Cliffjumper gets pressed into infiltration to help repair the space bridge as Elita-1’s faction and the battered survivors grit their metal teeth for another desperate ploy. The plot weaves between Earth’s fragile rebuilding and Cybertron’s last gasps for strategic advantage, never letting up on the stress test applied to every character.

Story

The script thrives on staccato pacing and clipped dialogue that rarely indulges in sentimentality. Characters bicker, plead, and threaten with every exchange grounded in desperation or suspicion. The plot is stripped of fat, spotlighting high-stakes choices and emotional wounds over drawn-out exposition, which keeps tension up but occasionally muddies quieter character moments.

Art

Dan Mora’s art, inked crisply and drenched in the saturated hues of Mike Spicer, keeps every panel visually legible even when chaos takes the wheel. Action is dynamic but readable, the bots’ forms never lost in muddy composition. Color work sells both hope (bright, blocky, and bold) and despair (sooty, atmospheric, and dramatic), shifting mood scene by scene.

Characters

Thundercracker steals early scenes, all fraught guilt and misdirected rage, while Skywarp’s agony catalyzes more reflection than action. Optimus’s leadership emphasizes peace and promise, but some Autobots question whether faith in the enemy is naiveté. Cliffjumper’s reluctant mission highlights the series’ obsession with divided loyalty, and fleeting human moments (Spike’s struggles, Carly as a survivor) inject rare warmth. The series juggles a massive cast but mostly delivers consistent, relatable beats—even when that means amplifying their flaws for dramatic effect.

Originality & Concept Execution

The rescue-and-repair hook feels familiar, but it’s invigorated by constant betrayals and the urgency of scarce resources. Transformers wrings pathos from familiar franchise beats of betrayals, big sacrifices, fleeting trust, while the focus on mutual survival freshens the endless civil war tropes. It’s rarely subtle, but it lands its punches with conviction and recasts peace, not victory, as the highest ideal.

Positives

Thundercracker’s journey from vicious blame to grudging vulnerability anchors the best scenes. He’s torn, toppling, and absolutely watchable. Mora and Spicer’s visual storytelling keeps the action intense without smearing the page in confusion, while the script never lets anyone sink into hero worship or despair for long. The interplay of hope, suspicion, and survival is measured with a critical scale. There’s just enough optimism to keep everyone moving, and just enough doubt to make even simple victories feel costly.

Negatives

With its relentless pace, emotional nuance sometimes gets jammed in the gears. Some character turns (especially on Cybertron and with Cliffjumper) lack setup or payoff, feeling more like plot pivots than growth. The juggling of multiple factions risks short-changing quieter, human drama to favor shouty bot confrontations. When the script goes all in on mistrust, it sometimes treads the same ground too many times, dulling the impact of betrayal and compromise.

Art Samples:

The Scorecard

Final Score: [7/10]

Scoring Breakdown:
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): [3.5/4]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [4/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [1.5/2]

Final Thoughts:

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TRANSFORMERS #26 is a relentless, sometimes graceless, slab of high-drama robo-conflict. Ambitious with its themes and sharp with its teeth, but not always calibrated for nuance. If you can handle the emotional hailstorm and genre whiplash, it’s a worthwhile addition to the series and deserving of a spot in the limited reading budget.​

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