Volume 2 continues the saga as many more plots are unveiled. Transformers is as huge as it ever was with a big film coming out and all of these comics that have popped up. Not to mention that they still have the ongoing Rescue Bots TV show and another one coming soon. This comic series takes place after the legendary Autobot vs Decepticon war finally ended and we get to see how Rodimus’ group is handling things. This comic would have been really fun except it really jumps from one tone to the next. It can be really happy and then become very dark in an instant. This didn’t work for More Than Meets The Eye.

The plot is a little tricky because of all the various plots that are lying around. This volume brought 5 comics and I shall try to mention most of the big plots since each issue usually focuses on one in particular. In one of the comics; Ratchet is worried because his hands aren’t working as well as they used to. Then he gets a message from an Autobot area so he goes with a few other robots to see what’s happening. It turns out that a plague is infecting all of the residents there, but it must have been deliberately started. Who would do such a thing!? Meanwhile, a lot of robots are on the run from the Decepticon Justice Division. They like to hunt down Decepticons that turned their back on the cause or are just deemed unworthy. A group of Decepticon survivers known as the Scavengers have been doing all right on their own. They haven’t heard that the war is over and they have no idea who won. So, they are playing it safe and are prepared to make the journey home. That is….if they can survive an encounter with the DJD!

Back on the ship; an old Autobot legend suffers from a big breakdown and he decides to take it over. He takes two Autobots hostage and tells Rodimus to take them back to Cybertron. Rodimus doesn’t want to do this since he needs to find those legendary knights already. He may have to make the toughest decision yet, but he’ll need to be careful because the hostages aren’t very durable. Elsewhere, one Autobot decides to open a bar, which could bring trouble at some point. There’s also an Autobot who wants to be a Decepticon so Rodimus and Ultra Magnus would like a few words with him. Cyclonus also appears briefly and he definitely doesn’t seem trust worthy.

I have to say that Drift is easily the best Autobot in this comic and one of the best overall. His sword techniques are swift and he continues to prove that he’s one of their best fighters. I would have liked for him to have gotten a bigger role, but it’s good enough as a starting point. There aren’t many Transformers who use swords so it’s always a good change of pace. In a way, Drift keeps the Autobots from losing their place in the grand scheme of things.

Rodimus Prime gets a pretty small role, but he is still the leader so I’m sure that he’ll get some props. He handled the Autobot pretty well when they speak about him changing sides. Rodimus’ strategy for freeing the hostages was a little on the dicey side and he doesn’t mind destroying comrades who’ve lost it so I can’t say that he’s as compassionate as Optimus. That being said; few are at this point. All of the Transformers are willing to win at any price and if Optimus were still around; there’s a chance that he would be like that as well. They haven’t been on Earth in a while; which could have helped them to lose their compassion.

Ultra Magnus gets a decent role and he’s not a bad guy. He’s pretty serious about the rules, but Ultra Magnus was being pretty considerate about it. I would probably like him to do some more fighting at some point, but there hasn’t been much action for the main squad. Perhaps in the next volume.

Whirl is also one of the more likable Autobots in this volume. He definitely doesn’t get one of the happier situations, but he takes it in stride for the most part. He’s constantly talking back to his oppressor and he never gives in. It would have been nice to see him get more of a fair fight, but the important thing is that he tried. Whirl’s design is also pretty fun and I can’t say that I recognize him from any other Transformers media that I’ve encountered. Well, it’s good to meet a new Transformer!

I’m not going to address the Autobot who goes crazy by name for obvious spoiler reasons, but he still gets a pretty big role so I felt that he deserved his own paragraph. It was pretty surprising to see how much this guy has changed, but it’s just another reminder of how dark the times have gotten for the heroes. It feels like almost everyone has been traumatized by some sort of event or are just being super cheerful to pretend that none of it is happening. I can’t say that this comic will help me gain any respect for this Autobot and I’m just glad that he has appeared a lot in other media so that I can still like him in the long run.

Ratchet is one of the few main characters that I really know from the TV shows. He’s always had a big role so it’s good to see that he’s still got it. He’s starting to feel his age and it makes sense since Ratchet is one of the originals. Soon, he may need to pass on the medical torch to someone else. At least he does pretty well for himself in this comic. He’ll never be one of my favorites, but he’s a good character and that’s good enough for me.

As the volume cover insinuates; this is a pretty dark time for the Transformers and the villains get to call a lot of the shots. That’s where the comic drove itself down a few pegs. The dark tone of the comic may not be out of place in itself, but it goes way too far. If all of the deeds were happening to humans instead of robots; the rating would likely be lower. There is basically one torture per chapter. It just keeps on happening. Autobots or Decepticons are isolated and then they have to endure this for long periods of time until they’re put out of their misery. A group of Decepticons messed with one guy for ages as they melted him; ate him; and then started blasting him.

It’s not something that you really need to see in a comic; especially over and over and over again. If I’ve said it once then I’ve said it many times, but comics, shows, movies, and games are for fun and escapism. Dark or Light themes work, but not something to unnecessarily drastic. It’s not fun to see the villains get away with so much and it’s easy worse when a “hero” does it. (Hange) They may be robots, but they apparently still have pain sensors and they seem to have a lot of energon to spill out. Transformers has gotten more gritty over the years and even Transformers 3 is an example of this. It makes you miss the good ole G1 days. Grimlock’s situation is also pretty sad, but it’s not terrible if you’ve only read this comic. Seeing how it happened would likely be another story.

It’s a shame because the actual plots are very interesting. It’s impressive to see the author juggle so many characters across various planets. It’s part of why the Transformers Multiverse has always been so interesting. There are always more characters to read about and the adventures never end. This series may be trying to be modern and appeal to a new crowd, but it just needs to find its roots and go back to the glory days.

The art is very good for this collection and I would say that it’s far better than any art that I’ve seen in recent comics. All of the character designs are spot on the backgrounds have a lot of detail. This volume may have its weaknesses, but artwork is definitely not one of them. From fight scenes to conversations; the art only helps to enhance the comic and make it more enjoyable. Art will always be a critical factor in a comic.

Overall, More Than Meets the Eye may have seemed like a decently cheerful series in the last volume, but it’s done a complete 180. Without popular characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumble Bee, Soundwave, Starscream, Wheeljack, and others; it’s up to the next generation characters to hold up the fort. Most of them are pretty good so that isn’t a problem, but I expect the Autobots to start fighting back in the next volume. They need to stop all of this senseless destruction from happening and create the peace that they’ve been fighting for. Volume 3 needs to lighten up on the tone a bit and get back to the fun action that the franchise is known for. I’m confident that it will step things up. Aside from the excessive violence; this comic was still pretty fun and its interesting to see where all of the plots will end up. This is definitely something that most Transformers fans will want to read since you will be missing out on a lot of plots if you skip it. That being said; if you don’t like to see the Transformers go through a lot of pain; then you may want to stick with the main Regeneration series (Light hearted for now anyway) or take a chance on the next volume. It appears to be a dark hour for both sides of Transformers so I don’t know how the author plans to help them get out of this hole. The legendary knights may be needed after all.

Overall 5/10