So the Metrotitan we saw in the MtMtE series really didnt have much to do in this issue, kinda felt like a dues ex machina after all the hype he was given in the other annual. I did like that he was under the planets surface, intermeshed with the remnants of the city. I wonder if this means there are other cities on Cybertron that were more "covered" than reformatted completely, or if the city was brought there by the Metrotitan...

The flashbacks were brilliantly done in the old art style, yet they retained the look and feel of the designs these characters were given in the furmanverse stories. It was a quick transition from noble Nova to "crazy" Nova, but it was nice to see Omega doing something again, and the origins of his bitter rivalry with the Monsterbots. The way this annual ties together the recent ongoings to the furmanverse is wonderful.

Interesting that they chose the annoying and rather unlikeable Metalhawk to narrate this issue, and to give him an epiphany at the end. I guess having a "neutral" view of the events makes sense, as seeing the events from Prowl, Wheeljack or Screamers perspective would have thrown it all askew.

Overall this was a good issue that had a key plot point going forward that I am surprised they put in an "extra" issue than the regular ongoing (which I think transitions back to Pax's story for a while). If people missed out on the annual, I don't know if they will be satisfied with comments relating to Starscream being peppered with "see 2012 annual. -ed".

Art was alright, easy to tell who was who for the most part, the flashback art was the highlight, using the limited colour palette was a clever idea too, and I think worked very well for the feel they were going for, to evoke the old 1980's comic series.

Overall an interesting read for the flashback and the big reveal that is going to have massive repercussions on the RiD stories as they go forward, but it felt shorter than the MtMtE annual by a long margin, and does not hshare that books "fun". This was a serious story that manages to move the ongoing forward yet also give us a great insight to the past (something that both books are intent on doing) and how the Transformers seem to be on a loop of sorts.