Star Trek vs. Transformers #1 (of 4) Review

Written by: John Barber & Mike Johnston

Art by: Philip Murphy

Colors by: Priscilla Tramontano

Letters by: Christa Miesner

Published by: IDW

Well, this is a crossover I don’t think anyone could have predicted… or maybe you did since it feels like every single property under the sun gets crossed over these days. But to my surprise, the original G1 Transformers get to meet the original crew of the Star Trek Enterprise… from their cartoon from the late 60s/early 70s.

First, I have to commend whoever chose to title this issue “Prime’s Directive”. It’s such an obvious mix, but still so satisfying to see in print.

As for the story, it has it all really. The crew of the Enterprise beam down to a planet to assess an outpost’s situation after learning of a Klingon presence only to find it being attacked by, to their eyes, late 20th-century fighter planes (hint: it’s the Decepticons). But wait! Out of nowhere appears a “truck” as they call it who seems to be on their side?

I’ve been lucky this week to review a bunch of simply fun comics and this continues the trend. I mean, you have everything you would want from the Star Trek side with the catchphrases and the dynamics between the crew and what surrounds them. On the Transformers side, I just love that Megatron and Soundwave stay in their transformed state (a gun and a boombox respectively) as they ride around in Starscream and Thundercracker. How are they even aware of what is going on in those forms?

Murphy and Tramontano on art truly capture the style of both cartoon series. Being both from an era where the style was much more simplistic (clean lines, bright colours), it might be a little jarring for some, but for those who were fans at any point, they’ll quite enjoy it.