Windblade: Distant Stars
Plot Summary and Credits
After the events of Combiner Wars (which I’ll review in the future), the finally unified Cybertron has started to reach out to its lost colonies to form a Council of Worlds led by Starscream, with Windblade serving as a representative for her home planet Caminus. Their mission brings them into contact with the speed freaks of Velocitron, the beast-formers of Eukaris, the diminutive inhabitants of Divisun and the fierce soldiers of Carcer, as well as their respective Titans. Each planet that they visit brings a new challenge, and Windblade utilises all of her wit and wisdom to gain the support of the colonists and to keep Starscream from achieving absolute control over the Council.
The one-shot Combiner Hunters sees Arcee attempt to steal an artefact called the Enigma of Combination and accidentally cause a group of religious warriors known as the Torchbearers to form the combiner Victorion. Windblade talks them out of attacking Arcee and has the Enigma returned to the vault, hoping to keep Starscream from using it to create an army of the gigantic warriors.
Mairghread Scott (writer), Corin Howell (art), Thomas Deer, John-Paul Bove (colours), Sara Pitre-Durocher (art, Combiner Hunters), Yamaishi (colours, Combiner Hunters), Tom B. Long (letters), John Barber (series edits)
Collects Windblade #4-7 and the one-shot Combiner Hunters
My Copy
It took me years to get a hold of Distant Stars. Since IDW lost the rights to Transformers, finding one of their entries in a shop for a reasonable price isn’t something to pass up. I first saw it in the comic shop near my college accommodation and thought it looked really cool, but decided to use my limited cash to buy a copy of Watchmen instead. Eventually, I decided to go back for it, but the shop was in the process of moving. When it finally reopened, Distant Stars was out of stock, so I had to search for it online. I found a copy on Amazon for a pretty steep price, so I waited until it was on sale and bought it as part of a birthday comic haul. After a delayed delivery, and almost three years since I saw the comic on the shelf of the shop, I finally had it on my own.
Before Reading
I’m a big Transformers fan. As such, I’m more than aware that the franchise has had plenty of ups and downs, so I tried to keep my expectations relatively low even after such a long wait.
After Reading
I’m pleased to say that my regulation of expectations wasn’t necessary, as Distant Stars delivers a perfectly decent story. It isn’t as action-packed as a lot of Transformers comics, focusing instead on the political struggles of post-war Cybertron. As political dramas go, the story isn’t all that complicated, because it doesn’t really need to be. This simplicity makes it easy to follow and we still get a clear idea of how each of the colonies work, with each one providing the protagonists (if Starscream can be counted as a protagonist) with a new challenge to overcome, either through diplomacy or force.
Where the story does provide action, it feels a little lacking. Blurr’s race on Velocitron feels rushed (no pun intended), even though it only takes place over a short amount of time. The same goes for the battle with the Titan of Eukaris, which I felt should have been the climax of the story given the almost godlike status of these colossal ‘bots as well as Windblade’s connection to them.
Then again, the action isn’t really meant to be the focus of the story, and the lack of it doesn’t take anything away from it. The political tension between Windblade and Starscream is allowed the space it needs to fully develop without affecting the pacing or characterisation.
Combiner Hunters feels distinct from the main storyline; a solid one-shot that builds on the aftermath of both Distant Stars and Combiner Wars by showing the need to keep the power of Combiner technology in check. My only complaint here is that the Torchbearers seem to get over the life-changing process of becoming bonded as a combiner pretty quickly. I suppose they are robot battle priestesses, after all.
Closing Thoughts
My enjoyment of Distant Stars mainly comes from the satisfaction I got from finally getting hold of it. Even without this wholesome little tale, it still stands as a perfectly good read, giving a more obscure character like Windblade a chance to shine without the need for excessive, bombastic action scenes. These first couple of reviews have been about quite niche characters, so I think it’s time for someone who most of you might know of. Ever heard of a guy named Batman?
