Transformers/G.I. Joe: First Strike - Champions

Transformers IDW #72

by Christos Gage, Aubrey Sitterson, John Barber

Transformers! G.I. Joe! Rom! All your favorite Hasbro characters get to shine in these standalone stories setting up the biggest comics event of the year!

First, with Cybertron under siege from Baron Ironblood, it's up to Optimus Prime and Arcee to defend their homeland, and the Revolutionaries team is caught in the middle! Then, back on Earth, Rom finds himself teaming up with the world's smallest heroes, the Micronauts! Can they prevent catastrophe, or is it already too late? And, with the team divided, G.I. Joe must confront dangers both in space and Earthside. Looks like they'll need some help from M.A.S.K.!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2018

About the author

Chris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

ROM teams up with the Micronauts to fight the Dire Wraiths. The Micronauts reference a bunch of stuff that I guess happened in a previous comic book. Unfortunately, IDW makes it almost impossible to figure out what that previous book is. The only character I recognized from the Marvel version of the Micronouts was Acroyear.

Then VENOM from MASK was now part of Cobra and they were stealing some artifacts that GI Joe had to stop them stealing. Again, I felt like I stepped into the middle of a story even though the synopsis on the back says these are standalone stories.

Finally, the Transformers and some GI Joe characters along with Action Man arrived on Cybertron and there was fighting with ninjas. I had no idea what was happening. I felt like I was watching the season 3 finale of a TV show without seeing any previous episodes. IDW constantly reboots their Transformers and GI Joe comics and I have no idea where this version begins. If only they'd include a timeline somewhere. It's very frustrating. I thought this was a cool idea to see all of these Hasbro characters in one shared universe.

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give a book 5 stars for the cover alone this would be the book. The stories themselves are 3 story arcs added on to the Revolution storyline.

Story 1 stars the Micronauts and Rom against a commen enemy. A good story. I have read a bit of Rom's story before, the Micronauts are new to me, but a good story ok artwork.

Story 2 the GIJOE B team against V.E.N.O.M. under Cobra's command. Apart from the silliness a good story, not a fan of the artwork though.

Story 3 the Transformers host a peace conference with the humans. Action man is also present. Ofcourse not everyone want peace. Could their be a traitor in the midst? Great artwork an ok story.

An ok collection. It is a good idea to read the Revolution storyline before reading this, as this is a continuation story, but not a bad stand alone if you have not read the main Revolution storyline. An awesome cover gallery at the end as well.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trio of two-part crossover tie-ins to the larger First Strike crossover... although only the last (Optimus Prime/Transformers) is directly linked, with the first two (Micronauts/Rom and G.I. Joe/M.A.S.K.) being only loosely connected. The first two are also the most entertaining, with Micronauts/Rom being solid if unexceptional, and Joe/MASK being on the silly side. (B)

[Christopher Colton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turns out most of this book actually really wasn't related to the main First Strike story at all. Bleh.

[Neurocomp · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting fun side-stories

not sure when Salvo and Doc changed characters...got alot of catching up to do

[Mark L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred this to the main First Strike collection as the stories and characters had more room to breathe. On a nostalgia level I loved seeing the M.A.S.K vehicles in action.

[B.J. Fantine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standout Issues: M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand: First Strike (#4), Optimus Prime: First Strike (#5)