Transformers: Lost Light #20 Cover B & Retailer Incentive Cover

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by The Kup, Jun 11, 2018.

  1. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Lmao IDW was made to subvert previous incarnations and make new characters out of old ones. When Furman started the universe that was literally what he said was the point of it. Fort Max is a prison warden who has massacred millions of cons, Ratchet actively sought out trouble in the first IDW arc ever, Thunderwing was a scientist turned mindless abomination, Jhiaxus wass a hunched over servant to Nova Prime, and the series began with Hot Rod as a veteran warrior. Get over the fact that a character from an old anime you watched online isn\'t the same character in this, you people are ridiculous for still taking this so seriously.
     
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  2. Raiyuki

    Raiyuki Low Class Seeker

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    That's kind of what it boils down to for me with some of these "interpretations." They're just plain not the same characters. There are many, MANY instances where I can stretch my imagination and find some common ground where to incarnations of a character are different and can still feel like the same character to me. But Star Saber simply isn't Star Saber in this series. It's clear that Roberts put him in purely for the image and not in any way caring about the character which only makes me question why he couldn't be bothered to either find another character to use or simply stretch the creative muscle and make a brand new one.
    Since someone mentioned Overlord that's actually another instance where it doesn't really feel like the character outside of just being ridiculously strong.
    Deszaras's adaptation is one of the more forgivable ones because that's actually how he is in the manga so it's not as much of a stretch; he feels like an actual interpretation rather than just the image slapped with whatever personality the writer wanted to put in the series.
     
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  3. samisham

    samisham Well-Known Member

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    This version of Star Saber is one of the biggest missteps in the IDW universe, the vast majority of the changed characters were marked improvements over their original incarnations, but Star Saber was just depressing, especially give that he was a lot of people's first introduction to the character, the worst part is Thunderclash, introduced the very next issues has perfect characterization of a modernized Star Saber. I really hope the post-Unicron IDW universe fixes him.
    The worst part is he's just Sunstorm wearing Star Saber's skin, if he'd been used instead of Star Saber it would have great, change nothing else and it works perfectly, according to Roberts his entire reason to use Star Saber in that role was because there were so few huge Autobots left who hadn't been used already.
     
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  4. GrimLocke

    GrimLocke Cultus Volcanicus

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    I’ve been wondering how Starscream might get his upgrade/original prototype from the end of Til All Are One—and then what Starscream might then be called...

    And, on top of that the original Star Sabre is a Headmaster...

    Just say there’s a Minimus Damnus in there and give Starscream his new “Star Sabre Armor” to complete Screamy, like how Ultra Magnus is just a name and a suit, now.

    Problems: Solved.
     
  5. Deadend

    Deadend Spark of Creation

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    He could have if the story continued. Building up from a point of no empathy and zealotry to a point of change to then redemption and growth is a character journey. The farther the start from where he'll end up, the better for the journey there and turnovers and whys that push it along. In fact, his Zealotry is the very thing that could have been a catalyst for it in waking up. A spiritual journey in how far he's strayed from the path that leads to that kind of awakening, or any kind of plot point alternative that has a similar growth start from it. Not much different than actual human zealots that grow out of it to change and the different ways that happens whether it's the shattering of disillusionment or a spiritual awakening kind of correction. The humbling that could happen, and the complete shattering of the psyche that can often follow before a rebirth. The added guilt and atonement that drives them. The gravity of who they were and what they did becoming the terror they see in themselves to further grow, and so much more. A perfect character is boring to read, but a complex one that has a journey into becoming something new, relates to life and how people grow and change. Giving the reader hope, or opening their eyes to ways people can change if they are willing to actively put the work into it.

    Or they could have gone into aspects about his being a "brainmaster" or "micromaster" in a suit that's constantly overcompensating, or similar such things as Ultra Magnus with his outer armor becoming someone new inside literally.

    So not so much butchery, as a storyline that could have been done but doesn't have the room to now.

    Similar to Drift really. Without the backstory of who he was to who he became, he'd simply be another sword wielding autobot. But the journey is what makes him interesting, same as how RID expanded on it to make the catalyst for his turnover to something else and add to it that it was because of keeping others from getting used like he was, and dove into the conscripted aspects as opposed to the enlisted propaganda methods of his original origin. In IDW he was a more a street cybertronian, a homeless cybertronian build into the war from promises of grandeur and elevation from what the caste system had shoved him into and what the decepticon propaganda promised, to eventually finding a new path and way and waking up from being lied to and misled, to becoming something more. In RID, they approached the concept in a similar way, but worked it from an angle of child soldiers raised in that life, and how Drift changed sides and rejected it to protect other 'youngbots' from having done to them what he went through, his awakening came from a different means.

    Victory never did dive much into Star Sabers origins either. We never really did see how he became that bot. And as new audiences are introduced to characters(because really, the comics are there as an excuse to market the toys too by creating visual exposure), his character could have grown into many directions. Comics aren't stuck to the same kind of condensed symbolism movies are. Over arcing symbolism is maintained to only that given story, and the serial nature of the growth can range from a handful of issues to over the 100 scattered issues in small ways across a decade especially as writers shift and change and new writers come in, or old writers come back for new material, or other growth happens in a perpetually growing universe of stories. Where one starts and was intended to stay may not be where they finish later.

    I look forward to the reset to see what the new interpretations will be, but I am also saddened by the fact that there are stories left untold in this universe that could have been explored. Rome isn't built in a day, so the new universe will take time to build up that kind of foundation and character richness to explore from ground zero in many cases as opposed to using established areas and building off of it.

    So this version of star saber, while lacking more material he could have had, is as legitimate as any other interpretation.

    This doesn't relate to Bumblebee though, because Bumblebee has a much more established uniformity and recognition to his presence, as such he doesn't offer as much creative freedoms to tell that story. But even so, Animated did rather attempt a new alternative on his backstory that doesn't mesh to G1 bumblebee or similar versions, but as it shouldn't since it is a new interpretation. Same to Optimus Prime really in that regard. But Animated was also about a rag tag team of nobodies that made some rather big mistakes, redeeming themselves and growing into something new away from what they were. When you really look at much of Animated's cast, outside of Bulkhead and Ratchet with his PTSD, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Optimus were actually kind of jerks that were growing out of it and learning from their mistakes. So even to Bumblebee we have divergent origin stories per universe that aren't solidly the same, though in some universes like IDW, they did maintain more towards his G1 familiarity and grew it from there. Which didn't leave much room to change things up for him, but instead focused on his growing up and maturing from the G1 influenced aspects.

    It'd be like looking at Flash Thompson of Spider-man's early days and saying he's only a bully with no room for progression. That he must always remain that guy who bullies Peter Parker as a dumb jock, when across 50 years of story telling, his character could evolve into so much more, and in Marvel's case, did. He became a war veteran, to eventually gaining his own hero identity, and even changes in that as his story progressed and the character building moments he went through that made him grow. Where would DC's Pied Piper be without his own growth over in Flash comics from Villain to eventually hero? Or really hundreds of other characters that had ample years to grow from what they were to what they became that's so far removed from where they started.

    Taking those kinds of liberties is what reaches out to various audiences. One version isn't more legitimate than another version. All are simply different interpretations that should be held to their own merits of their own world and what the story is they are trying to tell. Whether that's on a micro scale of symbolism for one story arc, or the macro scale of growth across the entire lifetime of that universe.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
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  6. RobotKnight95

    RobotKnight95 Unamused and Insane

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    I literally realized this months back. Star Saber is the same as Ultra Magnus. His name is his armor, not the character. Someone else is piloting Star Saber from before.
     
  7. samisham

    samisham Well-Known Member

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    Roberts stated somewhere that there was no one behind the Star Saber curtain, he is as he appears.
     
  8. RobotKnight95

    RobotKnight95 Unamused and Insane

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    Well then he better have a good explanation behind why he went from religious nutcase to working with Getaway.
     
  9. samisham

    samisham Well-Known Member

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    Vengence from what I recall.
     
  10. Chupicron

    Chupicron Well-Known Member

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    Because Getaway is offering him passage into the promised land like he was aligned with Tyrest to get into.
     
  11. Nocturne

    Nocturne Professional Ginger

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    Yaaaassssss ]=)

    Finally, the rematch I've been waiting for.
     
  12. Digilaut

    Digilaut Well-Known Member

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    I don’t mind this version of Star Saber at all. Granted, I’m not too familiar with the original character, but he’s far from the first character to be reinterpreted or used in a different way in a new continuity.

    But I’d still like to see this version defeated by being accidentally mindwiped with the thought gun and get brainwashed into the superheroic Autobot! :lol 
     
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  13. samisham

    samisham Well-Known Member

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    Please. If Roberts changes his mind I'd also like to see Cyclonus win, but get messed up badly and take Star Saber's armour.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
  14. CleverNamePendingatron

    CleverNamePendingatron Just an ordinary cassette. Nothing to see here.

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    Rodimus vs. Getaway AND Cyclonus vs. Star Saber! Roberts, you spoil us. I'm not sure which one I'm more excited about.
     
  15. JukeOutlander

    JukeOutlander Combat Antihero

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    Been reading the comics sporadically, and current TF continuity is nearing its damn end.

    Anyways, I hope Cyclonus wins.
     
  16. maurice

    maurice Well-Known Member

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    I like Getaway hope he\'ll be okay :c 
     
  17. TargetmasterJoe

    TargetmasterJoe Well-Known Member

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    Eh, Roberts kind of did a good job in making me hate Getaway with a firey passion, but he was written as such a fun character beforehand that half of me wants him to be mercilessly killed and the other half wants at least an explanation for why he's gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

    And yes, I do see this Star Saber as an irredeemable shite with wasted potential for a reconstruction of his character.

    Sorry Deadend, I know where you're coming from, but at this point, I'd much rather the rebooted batch of TF comics gives us a Star Saber who ISN'T a religious nutcase and is ACTUALLY in line with his previous self, albeit with a personality.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
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  18. CleverNamePendingatron

    CleverNamePendingatron Just an ordinary cassette. Nothing to see here.

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    That's the Getaway conundrum. He's such a vile and horrible person, but he's such a fun and interesting character. I hate him and want him to die a slow and painful death, but I also want him to outlast every other character
     
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  19. TargetmasterJoe

    TargetmasterJoe Well-Known Member

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    In the meantime, I want to see Rodimus pull off an Ironic Echo on Getaway's last words toward him. Namely the "No. Not him. Not now. Not ever" line and the "I'm not a bad person. I just have strong beliefs" line.
     
  20. Omegashark18

    Omegashark18 Combaticon turned Autobot

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    Yeah, at first I LIKED him. Then he did a complete 180 and turned into someone you just absolutely despise.

    And I like I said before with Star Saber, a good balance would be to make him like Azrael. That way we get good guy Star Saber, But with the religious fanaticism we got this version.