Comic Review: Transformers Tales of the Fallen: Jetfire

The various comics set in the Transformers movie-verse have the unenviable job of having to clean up after the narrative mess that was this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The movie was preoccupied with spectacle and action and characterization and story-telling were apparently not a great concern to the filmmakers. The writers and artists behind the comics, however, have to roll up their sleeves and get to work enhancing and supporting the story that was deeply buried in ROTF.



This particular tale focuses on the reluctant Decepticon, Jetfire, who assisted the Autobots at a pivotal point in the movie. The comic restates the character's back story as described in the movie. His role as a "Seeker" (another irritatingly different use for an old Transformers term) is elaborated upon as is his relationship with the Prime who was to become The Fallen. There is actually surprisingly little new story here to set it apart from the lenghty exposition that was given in the movie and it begs the question as to why it was necessary to restate this story in comic form when it doesn't really expand the movie's universe at all.

Despite the fact that the universe of the Michael Bay movies is one of the dreariest and least charismatic incarnations of Transformers, I don't doubt that there are still some good stories to be mined from it. Unfortunately, Tales of the Fallen: Jetfire does not take us nearly far enough away from the events in this past summer's blockbuster to gives us something new and fresh.

Patrick Garone
Staff Reviewer