Transformers: Lost Light

Transformers: Lost Light
Cover of the Volume 1 trade paperback (October 25, 2017). Art by Jack Lawrence, colors by Joana Lafuente.
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Action
Publication date	December 2016 – November 2018
No. of issues	25
Creative team
Written by	James Roberts
Artist(s)	Jack Lawrence Priscilla Tramontano Alex Milne Sara Pitre-Durocher Brendan Cahill E. J. Su
Letterer(s)	Tom B. Long
Colorist(s)	Joana Lafuente
Editor(s)	Carlos Guzman David Mariotte
Collected editions
Volume 1	ISBN 978-1631409929
Volume 2	ISBN 978-1684051489
Volume 3	ISBN 978-1684053315
Volume 4	ISBN 978-1684054107

Transformers: Lost Light is an American science fiction / action-adventure comic book written by James Roberts and published by IDW Publishing, taking place in their Transformers universe. Lost Light acts as a sequel to The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye which was published from 2012 to 2016, also written by Roberts. Following the "Revolution" event which integrated numerous of Hasbro's franchises into the Hasbro Comic Book Universe, including Transformers, More than Meets the Eye ended with #57 and was continued with Lost Light from December 2016 to November 2018.

The story focuses on Rodimus and his crew attempting to find the Knights of Cybertron. After having been stranded on Necroworld by Getaway, the crew of the Lost Light attempt to return to Cybertron to gain access to another ship, only to realize that they've been transported into an alternate universe.

The comic book series has received a positive response from critics as did More than Meets the Eye.

Plot

After Megatron decided to redeem himself from his past actions, he joined Rodimus and the Lost Light crew to find the Knights of Cybertron, only to confront the Decepticon Justice Division on Necroworld, attempting to return to their ship with the help of the "Disappeared", who are time travelers plucked from across time and space. Among them are runaway blacksmith-turned-adventurer Anode and her partner Lug, who struggle to adjust to the present day as they deals with demons from her past.

Before Rodimus and the others can get offworld, a rogue geobomb, courtesy of the Galactic Council, shunts the planet into an entirely different universe. When Rodimus and a small crew of Autobots attempt to return to Cybertron, they find themselves in the middle of an alternate Cybertron, where Megatron was never born and a Functionist Council reigns supreme. The Lost Light crew find themselves embroiled in the Council's plot to consolidate their power by crushing the heroic Anti-Vocationist League and their supporters. With the help of the native universe's Rung, the Autobots manage to foil their plan and return home, but accidentally leave Megatron behind. Taking command of the Anti-Vocationist League, Megatron and his old friend Terminus start their revolution anew.

Some time later, Rodimus would confront Getaway and the Scavengers for one last time and end up finding the place of the Knights of Cybertron, but only to find out they never existed. Meanwhile, the Functionist Council's surviving members attempt to invade the mainstream universe through a giant robot; their universe's Cybertron transformed into an effigy of Primus. Luckily for Rodimus, Megatron returns after being trapped in the Funcionist Universe for six million years. In the final battle, they learn that Rung is in fact Primus himself, having suffered amnesia long ago due to the actions of his fellow Guiding Hand member, Adaptus. He sacrifices himself by producing twelve Matrix of Leadership duplicates, which the crew use to overload Vector Sigma, destroying the Functionist Council for good while sparing Cybertron and everyone on it.

With the quest over, the crew (after attempting to continue adventuring forever via recreating the original launch's accident) returns to the new Cybertron, where the Lost Light is demolished and the crew live their lives out normally. With the Knights of Cybertron proven a myth, Megatron stands trial in front of the Galactic Council, sentenced to either eternal imprisonment or execution, and Ratchet eventually passes of "old age". While most of the crew reunites at his funeral, a quantumn duplicate of the Lost Light created by the earlier attempt finds itself in another universe, far from Cybertron. With Rodimus and Megatron as captains, the ship sets forth for new adventures.

Production and publication

Following the "Revolution" event, it was announced that The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye would be ending with issue #57 and be followed by Transformers: Lost Light, which serves as "season three" of the story. As with MTMTE, James Roberts serves as the writer of Transformers: Lost Light, with art by Jack Lawrence.

Reception

Commercial performance

Transformers: Lost Light #1 debuted at number 176 on Diamond Comic Distributors best-selling comics ranking for December 2016, with 11,342 copies distributed, being the ninth best-selling comic of IDW Publishing in that month.