Available for purchase on Amazon USA
Keeping up with Transformers Earthspark can be tough. It can be found on Paramount Plus, the streaming service and Nickelodeon (USA) but when not everyone subscribes to either, tuning in from another country requires patience. I’ve lost track of when YTV would finally offer the remaining episodes; this station didn’t immediately offer them and recently, this network started cycling the first half all over again rather than offer new episodes (to which not even Nick has aired).
What I’ve learned after acquiring the home video release is that it is great at connecting to the G1 series. Those classic moments were reproduced in cel animation, and that’s enough for me to say I love the presentation! Also, this new series evolves the premise that’s defined this franchise for a long time. There are certain episodes which had me wanting to pause and rewind to search for Easter eggs, and the mid-season finale “Age of Evolution” sets up a world where newly formed allegiances are challenged.
As I wrote before, there are certain characters I’m looking forward to seeing develop further! To see how brother and sister Robby Malto (Sydney Mikayla) and Mo (Zion Broadnax) bring Twitch (Kathreen Khavari) and Thrash (Zeno Robinson) into the family is at the heart of the show. In regard to what’s secondary is how the war continues, series co-writer Nicole Dubuc is great at keeping balancing both aspects ever since being a regular producer starting with Transformers Prime.
Later episodes reveal how the kid’s mom once worked with the Autobots and Decepticons. Megatron has finally come around, and the two leaders finally end a long feud for the sake of keeping Cyberton alive. I won’t spoil key details. All I will say is that I’m glad that the war has ended. Those Decepticons who don’t like the idea have formed their own splinter group, to which the G.H.O.S.T. is working on locating and bringing in. What I find hilarious is that these rebels believe their former leader has gotten soft. But there’s another threat known as Mandroid, and just how bad he is needs more episodes to be released outside the USA, so I can figure out what’s going on.
The build up to what this villain is up to is slow. And as for whether Starscream gets to fly again, he’ll have to break free from his cage. As for the fate of Shockwave, it’s all contained in episodes nine and ten! They’re quite telling, and truly redefine just how cold Shockwave is, and whether Megatron has regrets in his defection. Ultimately, this series is doing more to impart words of wisdom to young viewers to take heart. They involve lessons concerning diplomacy and morality. The most surprising thing is delivering these messages!
Although the home video release doesn’t offer any extra featurettes regarding behind-the-scenes production, hopefully a complete set release will change that. There’s also a chance for an Art of Transformers: Earthspark too, but that’ll be up to Hasbro to get made. I find the artistic direction very welcoming. They stay faithful to the original designs but yet still streamline them for modern tastes. While not everyone will like Optimus Prime’s redesign, I found myself loving Megatron a lot more. The dialogue written for him turns him into more of a tragic hero than an outright villain that G1 fans remember him for.
Also, the idea that biological matter exists in this new generation of robots may well help explain the birth of the Maximals, and set the stage for their return in not only this iteration of the franchise but also its representation in cinema.
4 Stars out of 5
Transformers Earthspark Best of
All Megatron All The Time
