Star Trek vs. Transformers

Last updated

Star Trek vs. Transformers
Publication information
Publisher IDW Publishing
Format Limited series
Genre
Publication dateSeptember 2018 – January 2019
No. of issues5
Creative team
Written byJohn Barber and Mike Johnson
Artist(s)Philip Murphy
Colorist(s) Priscilla Tramontano

Star Trek vs. Transformers is a five-issue comic book limited series published by IDW Publishing. It is a crossover between the Star Trek and Transformers franchises, using the characters and art styles from the 1973 cartoon Star Trek: The Animated Series and the 1984 cartoon Transformers The first issue was released in September 2018. [1] [2] [3] The comic was issued as a five part mini-series and has met with favorable reviews for mixing the two science fiction universes. [4] In particular, they praised artist Philip Murphy artistic style with character's which were compared to cel animation. [4]

Contents

The comics are written by John Barber and Mike Johnson with art by Philip Murphy and Leonardo Ito as the colorist. [5]

Story

Answering a distress call, members of the USS Enterprise , including Captain Kirk and Spock, arrive at a dilithium mine on the planet Cygnus Seven, near the Klingon border. Unknown to them, a group of Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, crash-landed here following a battle with Decepticons. Following World War III on Earth, during the late 20th century the former group had left in search of energon. The miners reactivated both factions, the Decepticons first.

When they arrive, the starship crew find the Decepticons attacking. Following some misunderstandings and a mind-meld between Optimus Prime and Spock, Kirk learnes of the Autobots' situation and forms an alliance with them. The Decepticons, led by Megatron, have fled to a moon, where they encounter Trypticon in fortress mode, under control by Klingons led by one Commander Kuri.

During a fight, Fortress Tiberius, a transforming version of the Enterprise, mentally controlled by Kirk attacks to fight off a combined force of Klingons and Decepticons. (Kirk had learned to do this following a two-way neural scan with the Autobot called Ratchet.) The Klingon ship reveals itself as a transformed Trypticon. Kirk finds the transforming "Enterprise" hard to control, as it has a will of its own.

Starscream, now thinking of himself as "First Emperor Starscream", heads to the Klingon homeworld Kronos. The Autobot and Enterprise crew work out a more permanent alliance on board the real Enterprise. They've decided to pursue the Decepticons into Klingon space.

Meanwhile, Kirk wrestles with the moral dilemma of not abandoning the Autobots, yet also not endangering his own crew. Optimus Prime empathizes with the Starfleet captains. This gives Kirk an idea. TheEnterprise comes to rescue in the transformed Fortress Tiberius, the Autobots, and several replicated battle suits of Cybertronian armor piloted by Spock, Scotty, Sulu, and M'ress.

The Federation negotiates a truce with the Klingons, which absolves Kuri and his crew of any crimes. The Autobots assume independent control of their newly-renovated Titan. Optimus Prime pledges allegiance to the Federation. Fortress Tiberius embarks on an unspecified mission to the final frontier.

Reception

The series has met with a positive response, and Philip Murphy's artistic direction was praised. [4]

WhatCulture did not expect a good result from combining animated Star Trek and Transformers, yet they credited the IDW as making it work. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megatron</span> Transformers character

Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe, and serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron can disguise himself by transforming into vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have included a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, a Cybertronian jet, and various tanks, depending on which continuity he is depicted in. In some continuities, his original name is D-16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decepticon</span> Faction of sentient robots from the Transformers universe

The Decepticons are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the Transformers multimedia franchise. Serving as the main antagonists in the franchise, their goals include conquering their fictional homeworld of Cybertron, defeating the Autobots, and achieving universal domination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unicron</span> Transformers character

Unicron is a fictional villain from the Transformers media franchise. Designed by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie and has since reappeared in Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, Transformers: Cybertron, Transformers: Prime, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, Transformers: The Last Knight, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Atari's 2004 Transformers video game. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions; he also able to transform into a giant planet. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of Decepticons in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starscream</span> Transformers character

Starscream is a character in the Transformers media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the second-in-command of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe. As with all Cybertronians, Starscream can disguise himself by transforming into vehicles, in his case a fighter jet, and he is usually portrayed as a treacherous and cowardly air commander who seeks to overthrow his leader Megatron and assume control of the Decepticons.

Transformers, is a media franchise produced by Japanese toy company Takara Tomy and American toy company Hasbro. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

Ultra Magnus is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Ultra Magnus is based off of the Diaclone figure Powered Convoy, which is a modified version of the prexisting Battle Convoy figure. He is usually depicted as a car carrier that converts into a robot. Sometimes the tractor can detatch from the trailer and convert into a white version of Optimus Prime, while the trailer can convert into armor that covers the inner robot.

Soundwave (<i>Transformers</i>) Transformers character

Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.

Jazz (<i>Transformers</i>) Transformers character

Jazz is a fictional robot character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually portrayed as a music-loving Autobot who speaks Black Vernacular English. In certain continuities he is shown as Optimus Prime's good friend and right-hand man.

Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or space shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities, he is a former Decepticon.

Bumblebee (<i>Transformers</i>) Transformers character

Bumblebee is a fictional robot character appearing in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. The character is a member of the Autobots, a group of sentient, self-configuring, modular extraterrestrial robotic lifeforms.

Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee toys.

Transformers Generation 2 is a comic book series based on the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line, written by Simon Furman. It was published by Marvel Comics.

Transformers: The War Within is a series of comic book mini-series written by Simon Furman and published by Dreamwave Productions featuring Generation One characters with brand new pre-Earth designs.

<i>The Transformers: Hearts of Steel</i> Comic book series

The Transformers: Hearts of Steel is a comic book miniseries published by IDW Publishing. It was intended to be part of a comic book line titled The Transformers: Evolutions, following the same idea of DC Comics' Elseworlds series. Each series was to create an alternative reality: a continuity in a different time era during which the Transformers would exist. In other words, the Transformers can exist at places and at points in time that would not be possible in the current 'IDW-verse'. As of 2007, only the Hearts of Steel series was produced, which is set in the United States during the Industrial Revolution. The rest of the series was cancelled, likely due to poor sales and IDW had announced that there would be no more Evolutions series until after the 2007 movie, as Hasbro did not want to make things confusing with more alternate universe tales.

Transformers: Generation One was a Dreamwave Productions comic book series, consisting of two six-issue limited series and an ongoing title. Within the same continuity were three other Dreamwave series: a series of character profiles entitled Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, a prequel miniseries entitled, Transformers: Micromasters and another prequel ongoing miniseries called Transformers: The War Within. In addition, a single story was part of the Transformers Summer Special. All ongoing series were cancelled in 2005 due to Dreamwave's bankruptcy, leaving their plotlines unresolved.

<i>Transformers: Cybertron Adventures</i> 2010 video game

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures is an action-adventure video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by Next Level Games and published by Activision. It is a companion game to High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron, released exclusively for the Wii in June 2010. Like War for Cybertron, it features separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons, with the player being able to choose either faction to play as. The game received mixed to negative reviews from critics.

<i>Transformers: War for Cybertron</i> (Nintendo DS) 2010 video game

Transformers: War for Cybertron - Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron - Decepticons are two action-adventure video games based on the Transformers franchise, published by Activision in June 2010. A port of High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron for the Nintendo DS, they were developed by Vicarious Visions, who also worked on Transformers Autobots and Transformers Decepticons in 2007, and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons in 2009. Although they share some basic similarities, the two games follow different storylines, and feature different characters, missions, and locations.

Windblade is a name of a character in several Transformers continuities in the Transformers robot superhero franchise. She is always depicted as a female Autobot that can turn into a VTOL jet.

<i>Transformers: Prime Wars Trilogy</i> Multimedia toy storyline by Hasbro

Transformers: Prime Wars Trilogy is a toyline and transmedia series that is part of the Transformers franchise by Hasbro.

References

  1. Whitbrook, James (19 June 2018). "A New IDW Comic Is Mashing Up Star Trek and Transformers in the Most Glorious Way Possible".
  2. "'Star Trek vs. Transformers,' 'The Q Conflict' Crossover, Early Picard, and More in January". Star Trek. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  3. "'Star Trek vs. Transformers' Preview Released". Star Trek. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Carey, A. J. (2019-01-22). "Star Trek Vs Transformers #4 Review". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  5. Whitbrook, James (19 June 2018). "A New IDW Comic Is Mashing Up Star Trek and Transformers in the Most Glorious Way Possible". io9. Retrieved 2019-06-26.