IDW’s Transformers comics are confronting Cybertron with its greatest threat – but, surprisingly, it isn’t Megatron and the Decepticons. The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons is the stuff of film and TV legend, but some of the most interesting relaunches have taken place in the comics. IDW’s Transformers run is coming to an end in a story set in the early days of the war, with Orion Pax newly transformed into Optimus Prime and Megatron ascendant.
The current run has been a fascinating one, with a thrilling premise that’s unfortunately been marred by poor creative decisions. One early story, for example, focused on a newly-created Transformer’s experience of the schism; it offered a whole new vantage point on the war, but was brought to an end too soon when this newborn was murdered. The latest arc, which will culminate in a miniseries called Transformers: War’s End by Brian Ruckley and Jack Lawrence, has awoken an ancient evil that poses more of a threat to Cybertron than Megatron or any of the Decepticons.
Known as the “Threefold Spark,” Exarchon was once a leading figure in Cybertronian society. A brave explorer, he traveled out into the depths of space, where he was transformed by some unknown power into a new life-form. The spark of energy lying within his chest evolved into an infectious agent, a virus that could possess the bodies of other Transformers. Even more concerning, Exarchon’s evolved Spark can subdivide itself into three parts, meaning he can possess up to three Transformers at a time. It’s impossible to contain Exarchon, to track him or control his movements. The Autobots believed they’d defeated him – but he has returned, and a vision of the future has hinted he will destroy the entire planet of Cybertron.
The concept feels like a natural evolution of the Transformers franchise – possibly the first proper evolution there’s been in decades, given they’ve been locked in an Autobot-versus-Decepticon status quo in practically every medium. Exarchon is the first real enemy that’s seemed to take advantage of the Transformers’ nature as mechanical beings rather than organic ones, because for all the Autobots understand him as an organic virus, in truth he’s more comparable to a computer virus. Exarchon almost destroyed Cybertron once before – and now the schism between the Autobots and the Decepticons risks giving him another opportunity.
IDW has yet to explain Exarchon’s true origin. How Exarchon evolved, and who equipped him with the war materiel he needed to begin his conflict on Cybertron the first time, are major outstanding questions. It’s quite possible the true enemy is in fact Unicron, the monstrous being who’s plagued the Transformers heroes so many times. Whatever the case, IDW’s Transformers run is headed in quite an unexpected direction, because the promised end of the war could be the Autobots and Decepticons uniting against an even more dangerous threat that makes Megatron look tame.
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