Anghus Houvouras reviews Revolution #3…
THEY CAME FROM MICROSPACE! What terror reaches through the tendrils of entropy into our universe—and why does ROM want to kill it? Meanwhile, M.A.S.K.’s MATT TRAKKER makes a startling discovery about the TRANSFORMERS—but will G.I. JOE’s SCARLETT believe him?
SEE ALSO: Read a preview of the issue here
Revolution enters it’s third week of action figure crossover awesomeness with an issue that tones down the bombastic action in favor of some much needed character development. I will tell you that there were several times that I audibly said “Is it weird when a comic about action figures has better character development than Marvel’s Civil War II?”
For me, IDW’s Revolution has been the surprise of 2016: A colorfully staged, well written toybox inspired tale of conflict between a half dozen Hasbro franchises. It’s the best event comic I’ve read this year and has reigniting my nostalgic love for old school properties like M.A.S.K., Rom the Spaceknight, and Micronauts (though no Inhumanoids yet).
The third issue is a nice change of pace. Since the series began, it’s been a number of large action set pieces and dubious partnerships that have kept things interesting. Revolution started off with a bang (literally) and has been moving ahead at a breakneck pace. We get some quieter moments as the M.A.S.K. team deals with the realization and the Transformers are actually living beings and the moral quandry that presents.
We discover that G.I. Joe’s Scarlett is a very driven, extremely remorseless leader when it comes to getting vengeance for the members of her team killed by the Transformers. But were those team members actually killed, or were they the nefarious Dire Wraiths that Rom is tasked with taking down? War is hell, and some of the choices our characters are forced to make may border on the regrettable.
Take Rom, who has found a way to rid the Earth of the dangerous Ore 13 which the Dire Wraiths could use to wreak untold havoc on our world. Unfortunately, the inter-dimensional garbage chute goes into the Microverse (Home of the Micronauts) and would have the troubling side effect of completely destroying their universe and everything living thing within it. The battle in this issue is a philosophical one: do you destroy one universe to potentially save another or try to find another way? Rom struggles between performing his sworn duty or considering an unthinkable alternative.
Revolution continues to surprise me as architect Cullen Bunn continues to find interesting creaks and crevices to take these characters. There’s still a huge battle looming, and now that the Micronauts are involved another player enters a deadly game of shifting allegiances.
Another solid issue of action figure awesomeness.
Rating: 8/10
Anghus Houvouras
Originally published October 12, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
