Thats a pretty harsh, but well written rap STL.

Thing is I half agree with just about everything you have written, the subplots are slow, and for the most part utterly predictable, the Reapers are terrible, and the Bots up and leaving in issue #5 seems very convenient.

In their defense though, all the events of Devastation seem to have taken place in the space of only a few hours, which is not that large of an amount of time.

I'm not a fan of the Ironhide rescue arc, it would have been better as a headmaster less Spotlight, to let the main book focus on the Decepticons and Sunstreaker/Hunter. I know the Ironhide arc is only there to introduce Headmasters, but surely that couldve been done in a better, more mainline story.

Su's art is more or less fantastic, but I think having a baby at home may be affecting him a little, his work was not as good as what was seen in Escalation, while the colourist did a terrible job colouring Thundercracker a violent Violet colour. Roche would have been a good back-up artist for this issue, with all the facial expressions and whatnot.

There was some beautiful character work for Astrotrain and Blitzwing, with Starscream getting a nice little flashback, that I am sure will lead to a Spotlight Issue down the track (or further fleshing out flashbacks). I struggled to tell whether or not Sixshot had turned on the Decepticons or just Starscream, but I assume it is all the Decepticons. How Starscream came to own the "off" switch will also probably get further fleshing out.

Wheeljack was taken out too easily for my likening, just like Ironhide, the Earth alt mode bodies are far too weak. Prime's decision is not one that would have been made so easily by any other Prime from any other series, but the decision does seem to suit the IDW Furmanverse Prime very well.

The issue introduces nothing new other than a decision by Prime, but skip it, and you fall behind a surprising amount by Issue #6.