A Hasbro comic book event! A new era of peace is dawning as Earth formally joins the Cybertronian Council of Worlds. That is… until Baron Ironblood joins Destro, Storm Shadow and other nefarious villains in a terrorist attack on Iacon! As chaos takes hold on Cybertron, it will be left to Scarlett and the rest of G.I. Joe on Earth to discover the true purpose behind the attack before both worlds descend into all-out-war!
Writing
Here we are again. Another IDW event which is set to shake up the status quo and rearrange the Hasbro Universe. Last year’s event Revolution saw the different properties of G.I. Joe, Transformers, Rom, M.A.S.K. and the Micronauts come together and be recognized as a part of a single continuity. Unfortunately, many thought the event was a bit rushed. Will First Strike feel the same way?
Writers Mairghread Scott and David A. Rodriquez make a point to give everyone an understanding of what has happened so far. It starts with a flashback to Optimus Prime proclaiming Earth part of the Cybertron Council of Worlds and showcasing how this moment started the ball rolling to where the story currently is. This issue also works to establish a center narrative point instead of jumping all over the place like in the previous event. The main team of the current G.I. Joe comic is doing the investigation work into the terrorist attack on Cybertron, giving the reader a good focus into what is happening. The story is slower in the right way, taking the time to analyze what is happening instead of just rushing through. So far so good here.
A back up story by John Barber called the Origin of Evil is provided, which sets up how the bad guys got together and decided to stage this massive attack. Nice concept and its good to help expand the characters a bit more, but given how this is a major event, the concern of if these pages could be spent elsewhere comes up.
Artwork
The main story has Max Dunbar on art and Andre Zarate doing the colors. Together, this pair offers some great detail work on both the humans and the robotic characters, an accomplishment which is harder than some may think. Also a lot of intensity can be felt during the action scenes.
The backup story features Netho Diaz on pencils, Walden Wong on inks, David Gracia Cruz on colors. Props to this team for the general sense carnage and tension which is created through these villains have a sit down conversation. Nice use of blood on the wallpaper by the way, really ties the room together.
Conclusion
So far, First Strike feels better than Revolution in terms of pacing. The atmosphere is captivating but not overwhelming and the backstory of the villains is a nice touch but may prove to be unnecessary. It’s a good event but given what has happened previously, the real question will be if the event can stick the landing.
