Infiltration #1

Earth: 2006, and the fate of the planet is already sealed, its destiny decided… by the marauding mechanical beings known as Decepticons. In their way stand an embattled crew of seven hardy Autobot warriors, sworn to prevent the impending Armageddon at any cost, and an unlikely trio of human misfits, pulled kicking and screaming into a hitherto hidden world of pain and hurt. The can of worms is open, the genie out of bottle… and nothing will ever be the same again! It begins again – here, now — the saga of the war-torn robots in disguise, the Transformers!

In the near past, Hunter O’Nion is working on his website Mechatopia.com. The evidence on his website suggests that giant, mechanoid aliens invaded the planet at different points in time and are still on Earth for unknown reasons.

Back in the present day, the ambulance (with visible Autobot insignia on the hood) heads down a road in Southern California carrying Hunter O’Nion and Verity Carlo. Hunter and Verity fight over the passenger side seat as they both try to separate themselves from the ambulance driver with the unchanging facial expressions. Verity is certain that the ambulance is going way too fast. Hunter looks as the speedometer, which only says 65 MPH, but is certain that the ambulance is going triple that mark. Because of that, Hunter is certain that the ambulance and its driver are really one of the alien mechanoids. Meanwhile, a black car and white car have surrounded the ambulance. The ambulance driver, already knowing Hunter’s name, tells him that he has seen things he should not have and asks him if he can be trusted. While Hunter verifies that he can be trusted, Verity is worried about the two cars flanking the ambulance. The ambulance driver asks for her name, which she provides. The driver then states that he hopes he can trust her too because of the situation. The dash of the panel then folds out to reveal high-tech equipment, of which a 3-D hologram map of the terrain and the vehicles appear. The ambulance driver informs the two humans that the two cars are the enemies and just grunts. The two cars then crash into the ambulance. The ambulance deploys a gun on the side of the vehicle and helps to at least temporarily dispose of the two cars. However, Thundercracker is in the air and fires at the ambulance. The ambulance, having avoided enemy fire, deploys a smokescreen. Thundercracker flies into the smokescreen and gets oily residue stuck on his jet, causing him to lose control.

The ambulance driver says that they have a couple of minutes before the enemy recovers to locate a populated location to hide and a place to repair his vehicle mode. Verity believes he knows of such a place and pulls out the palm computer that she stole from the business man on the bus. Hunter recognizes the palm computer as a top of the line versions and asks where she got it from, but Verity brushes him off.

Hunter asks the ambulance driver what his story is. In a flashback taking place in an underwater base, the being is told that going after the human that the Decepticons were also targeting was a waste of available resources and was denied from going after the target.

Meanwhile, Verity has successfully located the place they should head and tells the driver to head for Riverside. In Riverside, they head to a repair shop run by a young man named Jimmy Pink. Verity and Jimmy have talked before but this encounter is the first time they have met in person. Verity tells Jimmy that she has an emergency vehicle that is need of repair. Jimmy wonders why she sent an urgent e-mail for a beat-up emergency vehicle. Verity asks if they can talk inside as they are too visible out in the open.

After Hunter’s attempt to introduce himself to Jimmy, Verity asks Jimmy if they can stay in the garage for awhile. Jimmy states that it is okay for them to hang around, but is more interested in the damage which he refers to as “not your common or garden road rage incident”. As he asks where the ambulance driver is, the driver suddenly appears right behind Jimmy. The driver tells Jimmy that he can repair much of the internal damage but needs some assistance for exterior work. Jimmy agrees to do the needed work. Hunter, meanwhile, heads to the garage kitchen to get a drink. Verity is already in the kitchen. Upon seeing her, Hunter asks her if they can trust Jimmy as they just met for the first time. Verity replies by saying that Hunter trusted the driver no questions asked. While Hunter tries to convince her that there is a difference, Verity tells him that Jimmy has been there for her over the internet whenever she needed someone and that Hunter just needs to deal with it.

Back in the shop, Jimmy exclaims that he has never seen a suspension on a vehicle quite like what he is currently seeing. Hunter, meanwhile, looks in the ambulance and sees Verity’s palm computer in her bag.

Thundercracker asks Runamuck and Runabout if they have located the target. While they provide a negative report, they suggest it is only a matter of time before one of the humans activate the palm computer and provide a location. Hunter is shown holding the palm computer. Jimmy continues to work on the suspension. He tells the driver that he has been taking engine apart forever and thought he has seen everything until this vehicle came in. He asks the driver for information on the vehicle, but Hunter interrupts and asks suggests that the vehicle is not from Earth. Verity tells Jimmy to ignore him, informing him that Hunter thinks the vehicle is an alien robot in disguise. Hunter wants to prove his point. He tells the paramedic that all he has had thus far was theories, blurry pictures, and unreliable witnesses to prove everything until just recently. He has activated Verity’s stolen palm computer and asks the paramedic what is on the screen. Verity is angry that Hunter took her palm computer, but Hunter quickly theorizes that she stole is and it is the reason that they are currently being targeted. The paramedic tells him that everything is true and that the image (of Starscream) is that of the enemy. Verity, still not believing the truth, grabs the palm computer back and heads outside for some air.

After Verity heads outside, Hunter asks the paramedic if the enemy has a name. Before the paramedic can completely answer, Verity comes back in and exclaims “DECEPTICON!” The paramedic reports that the Decepticons have found them and tells the three humans to get inside his vehicle mode. As they are about to get into the vehicle, Runabout and Runamuck have transformed to robot mode, broken through the garage, and demand that they hand over the data storage device.

Transformers: Infiltration #1 is IDW Publishing’s first full-length comic attempt at tackling the Generation One brand since acquiring the license to The Transformers. As established in the preview issue, #0, IDW has chosen to create a fresh reboot of the Generation One saga with a new origin story regarding how the war between the Autobots and Decepticons came to Earth.

The start of the story in Infiltration #1 is a continuation of the story started in the preview issue, so readers not picking up the preview may be slightly confused at the beginning of the issue. Fortunately, the preview issue did not provide too much in the way of huge revelations, so the reader is up to speed by the middle of the issue. Writer Simon Furman, like with the preview issue, concentrates primarily on the human aspect. A third, main human character named Jimmy Pink is introduced and his background is examined along with those of Verity Carlo and Hunter O’Nion that were introduced in Issue #0. Simon does a fantastic job at expanding upon the human characters, but this issue (much like the preview issue) features very little in the way of featuring Transformers and still does not provide a solid reason why they are on Earth. A single robot mode is not even featured until the last panel of the issue.

The art by EJ Su is consistent with that featured in the preview issue. Because this issue again focuses on the humans, EJ had to ensure that his drawings of humans are convincing. EJ again is able to portray the varying emotions of the main human characters. Expressions of happiness, fear, and uncertainty can be easily determined through interpretations of his art. When the robot modes of two Transformers are featured in the last panel of the issue, EJ’s art does not disappoint. EJ’s design features a realistic interpretation of the designs long-time fans are used to seeing. Robotic joints are visible, giving the impression of robotic endoskeleton. Through the visibility of the joints, the reader can clearly imagine how these robots move about.

Like with Issue #0, nobody would likely drop future Transformers comics based on IDW’s first shot at the Transformers brand. Being the first full-issue, Simon Furman uses the issue as the staging grounds for the expansion of his story. For those that have read both the preview issue and the first issue, however, the wait for a look at and revelation of their favorite robots is starting to drag on. To keep the anticipation and excitement level high based on the launch of the series by IDW, the story needs to shift from a human focus to a robotic focus sooner rather than later.

Overall Rating: 3