Robots in Disguise #4: Divisive

3/5 Good in the main, albeit with one major flaw. Bonus point for the Rock Lords.

Let’s talk about Prowl.

In general, I love the character. He’s smart and resourceful; he gets the job done. He’s unafraid to break a few noses in the pursuit of success, and he’ll do what’s best for the greater good, even if his methods aren’t exactly what you’d expect from an Autobot. With him, the ends always justify the means.

This issue is the perfect example of his ruthlessness. He sends Blurr into an ambush (which gets Blurr maimed), kills the remaining Constructicons in cold blood (dangerous, considering the current political climate), and disobeys a number of rules in order to defeat Bombshell. Whilst he gets his man in the end, you can see why he has very few friends.

The thing is, though, this is great stuff. The Autobots have been fighting a war for four million years; it stands to reason they’d have a few bots amongst their ranks willing to ‘play dirty’ and resort to underhand tactics. We had the Dinobots and the Monsterbots, and now we have Prowl. His dialogue with Arcee at the beginning of the issue is superb (in stark contrast to Optimus Prime’s constant hand-wringing, Prowl “can’t have the luxury of doubt”), and the way he brushes off Bumblebee and Blurr at the end is also great. Bumblebee is merely the blissfully ignorant buffoon, the figurehead, whilst Prowl pulls the strings behind the scenes.

In contrast to the previous issue (in which the main threat came in the form of a bad technobabble energy phenomenon), here it’s the Decepticons (or at least a small subset of Decepticons) who are the villains of the piece. Bombshell is using his cerebro shells on his fellow Decepticons (for reasons still unexplained), which results in the murder of another Decepticon (again, unexplained). It ultimately transpires that Bombshell and the Constructicons are working on behalf of a mysterious third party, but the motivations and machinations of the baddies are beside the point – all this is basically a showcase for Prowl to show us what he’s made of.

However, there’s a big problem here.

I’m usually a fan of Barber’s continuity fetishism (there’s a good example here, when the Skydive/Drift link gets a casual mention), but one of the worst plotlines in recent memory was the Spike betrayal arc in the ongoing. I’d hoped that particular angle could be quietly forgotten, but no, Barber has to dredge it up again. Now, I get that Prowl might feel some personal responsibility for being hoodwinked by the human, but in four million years of combat, I’m sure that Prowl must have faced far worse situations in the past. Here, though, it’s revealed that the Spike thing actually drives him, it fuels his rage.

Prowl is already a little flustered, what with his sharp temper, general disdain for the events happening around him, his desire to keep Arcee’s presence a secret, and his suspicions of a grand Decepticon conspiracy. He’s in a dangerous situation, in pursuit of the truth – he faces mortal danger here. Any one – or indeed a combination – of these factors could have been the main driving force behind his actions here… instead, we find that his steely attitude is mostly because of Spike. What could have been a superb character piece (this reads almost like a Prowl Spotlight) is heavily neutered by its reliance upon the awful Spike storyline.

It’s the hypocrisy that makes it worse… Spike worked behind the Autobots’ back, just as Prowl works behind Bumblebee’s back. Spike casually murdered Scrapper just as Prowl does the same to Bombshell and the Constructicons here. Spike’s actions were no worse than Prowl’s, and yet Prowl is so angered by Spike’s actions that they motivate him in the present… I just can’t get my head around this at all.

So yeah, plot-wise this is pretty good (I’m sure there’s a lot set up here for future issues, especially with regards to Bombshell’s mysterious master), and Prowl is generally well-portrayed. But making Prowl’s reaction to Spike the driving force behind his actions is a massive flaw; it’s to this issue’s credit that it remains exciting and engaging regardless.

 

I think Barber was trying to do his magic continuity massaging / bringing all the stupid shit together here, and it only marginally works.

 

You have to give Barber credit for at least trying to explain(away) that part of Prowl's story.

And I was just as confused as you were in regards to Prowls feelings.

 

I think Spike is only a little pebble on Prowl's road. But sometimes a little pebble can make one trip. Prowl was doubting his "the end justifies the means" methodology at the time. He wanted to see Spike as part of something greater, the values Optimus always talked about. But Spike disappointed him. Its significance is that it pushed Prowl back to where he was when he was tentatively considering change. And that disappointment/betrayal must have been a blow. It is significant to him emotionally, like he used it as a proof that Optimus is wrong and he is right all the time.

I can't remember clearly the exact wordings of that issue, but I remember the impression that his primary motivation really is practical? He just can't help complaining?

 

Spoiler

There is something of huge significance in this issue that literally all of us discussing the issue when it came out missed. I believe I explained it in the discussion for the most recent issue of TaaO or preview. I've put this in spoiler because I'm curious if others think it is unfair to Ryan to point out he missed something that we all missed too.... any thoughts from others on that?

 

Spoiler

Probably best to leave it until he reaches the point where what it refers to becomes significant.

 

Today I took on the monumental task of consolidating all my TF comics (Marvel, DW, IDW & FP) into 1 box. I spent the most time on trying to correctly organize the IDW books in reading order only to find that there are at least a couple of different reading order lists to go by. Even IDW put out a book (which I own) & the differences between it and other lists are astounding.

P.S. Found out that I am missing 3 issues of Regeneration One that are on my collection list that didn't get filed with the rest of the IDW books that I own so I now have to track those down.

 

Once I start the hardcovers, I just can't put it down. I'm gonna have to get ahold of some more real soon!

 

Robots in Disguise #5: A Better Tomorrow

3/5. In which we learn that Sky-Byte sucks at Haiku.

Okay, so this is how it goes down. Autobots, Decepticons and Nails are living in (fragile) peace on Cybertron. Something bad happens (Prowl overreacts / Decepticons do bad stuff / natural explosions) which pushes everyone close to the edge, threatening the peace. Metalhawk gets on his soapbox about how the Autobots and Decepticons are equally bad, but the problem is eventually solved and things get back to normal. Starscream ends the issue smelling of roses. Rinse and repeat.

That’s the opening five issues of RID in a nutshell – a situation permanently on the edge, tempers fraying, the peace always in jeopardy. We’ve had a few hints about a longer story arc – Soundwave and Shockwave plotting, Bombshell’s mysterious master etc., but it’s come to the point where I’m looking for far more forward motion that we’re presently getting.

One thing has changed, though, and that’s Ironhide. Apparently the events of Pax Cybertronia are merely Ironhide’s vision of the future (if anything deserved to be retconned as a dream, it’s Pax Cybertronia). Content in the foreknowledge that he will survive into an era of peace, Ironhide now displays a more easy-going, philosophical attitude to life. He also appears unafraid of death – he wades into a brawl, secure in the knowledge that he will outlive everyone else present. It’s an interesting new take without coming across as a Costa-esque sudden character change; this is still the same Ironhide we know and love (even down to the southern drawl), just with a slight alteration. Again, Barber is treating each issue like a mini-spotlight, with various different Transformers taking turns to narrate each issue with their own personal thoughts.

Aside from the Ironhide character work, the rest of this is pretty mundane. Sky-Byte arrives on Cybertron, and immediately he’s not sure who to trust. As a writing tactic it’s pretty neat – introduce a new character into the situation, allowing the readers to see the events through a fresh pair of eyes. Rather than an interesting new take on the situation, though, Sjy-Byte comes to the same conclusion we already came to several issues ago: Prowl is Prowl, the Decepticons are sneaky, and the Nails are quick to judge. We don’t need to see this all over again from a new perspective, when we know it all already. Perhaps some of this is a little lost on me due to my unfamiliarity with Sky-Byte as a character (the A/E/C trilogy passed me by); maybe this issue works a lot better for people who are pre-existing Sky-Byte fans?

Also in this issue: Blurr opens a bar and the Decepticons lose their I/D chips. Whilst these are nice developments which could well pave the way for some interesting stories in the long-run, they aren’t the most exciting events I’ve ever seen in a Transformers comic. I mean, it’s not like most Decepticons hadn’t overridden their chips anyway, so I don’t see how deactivating them will change much.

I really dig the work done on Ironhide here, but that’s about the only real plus point in an issue of a series that’s starting to feel as though it’s treading water slightly. Loved some of the in-jokes (the “are all dead” reference, and the Nail that looks like T-Bob), but on the whole I was rather underwhelmed by this one, I have to say.

 

Up to this point, does every issue have an internal monologue playing out across the whole book or just a handful of issues?

 

Yeah, the series does kind of drag it's feet at this particular point. But starting the next issue or the plot(s) should get moving more.

And Sky-Byte is actually from the 2001 Robots in Disguise show. A show which is easy to forget about. Expect to so see more non-G1 like him to pop up over time. This continuity eventually starts to become more Transformers in general rather then just G1.

And do you have one issue left or is it back to MTMTE next?

 

Yeah I think Sky-Byte is the first of many non G1 characters this comic reintroduces. (Metalhawk is G1 so he doesn't count) In the RID cartoon Sky-Byte was a Predacon and the comic relief character... actually one of many comic relief characters, and his biggest trait is poetry so it's nice to see they nailed him finely here.

One little easter egg I love is when Sky-Byte tells Ironhide that the remains of the Sweeps reminds him of someone he knew a long time ago. He had a rival in the RID cartoon who was also called Scourge and for a basic Evil Optimus Prime clone, Scourge was the best thing about RID 2000.  

 

He should be back to MTMTE for the time being, as the first volume of RiD ends with issue 5.

 

Yeah: issue 1 was Bumblebee, 2 was Starscream, 3 Wheeljack, 4 Prowl and 5 Ironhide.

Ok, so I was wrong on the Sky-Byte thing... never seen RID either! To be honest I've not seen many episodes of anything post-G1, Transformer-wise!

Yep, back to MTMTE next.

 

One of the things I find incredibly frustrating in a post-Bendis comics industry is pacing. I find it factors incredibly well into looking back at MTMTE and RiD and also looking at them at the time they came out.

Reading RiD at the time, I was incredibly frustrated at the pacing of the story. However I felt that going back to read it in trades it really hung together well (season 1 at least). MTMTE was presented more in digestible chunkcs which nevertheless tied into an over-arching storyline.

I remember when the Marvel crossover Messiah Complex came out. 12 issues across 4 books in 12 weeks. Read well, paced well.
It was followed by Rise and Fall of the Shiar Empire later that year, 12 issues in 12 months which had me bored to tears by issue 7. Sometimes it feels like the major publishers forget there are still folks who buy floppies!!

 

If you like G1 a lot, Car Robots/RID might be worth checking out. It's cell animation, is pretty fun and has no impact on the G1 continuity so it can very much be taken lightly as it's own thing. And it will make you love Sky Byte. Just absolutely love him.

 

The actor who does Sky Byte's voice, Peter Spellos, has done a couple of conventions here in the U.K. Such a lovely man, a really nice fella. Obviously a lot of what he said in his panels went over my head (having not watched the show), but he was spellbinding.

 

That's RID in a nutshell, just pretty much every issue with varying levels of stupid. I thought MTMTE was going to be the fun Star Trek side quest and RID my bread and butter of political intrigue and character strains. Then it all changed and I would've dropped RID had it not ended and instead dropped the next title while MTMTE became my TF Comic jam.

Just wait until you go through that exact same situation when Windblade comes!

 

In fairness, the Windblade books have been fairly consistent. It does seem like the first distinctly "female" Transformers book, but it doesn't have the odd "where am I" dialog of Barber's books (and I JUST put down Optimus Prime: 0ngoing #6 about 10 minutes ago, which works out to RiD #60. He still does it today!)

I've been saying for a while Barber seems to have a knack for the long game, Roberts and Marghied Scott seem to be better with personality and dialogue.

Barber would be like, "I want the Autobots to question the validity of Omega Supreme. What would cause a race of war machines to build a class of guardian robots? Against what threat? Where did the others go? What if Omega had a problem with how things were being run?"

And Roberts would be like, "other than Optimus, nobody really talks to Omega in our continuity. The Construticons and Ratchet have befriended him in other continuities so that's too obvious. I'll lay some ground work for Strika, Countdown and Onslaught to have known him before the war. And I'll introduce Armada Demolisher as a new character who knew him personally."

Scott: "So, Demolisher wakes up after a millennia and wonders where the other guardians are, and if 'threat x' has been neutralized. He finds something wrong with current Cybertronian society and appeals to Omega to enforce the laws he was created to."

Alex Milne/Don Fig/other artists: "and when that doesn't work he digs up a guardian relic he headmasters into and try's to blow everybody up until Omega has to stop him."

IDW editorial board: "....!"

Hasbro design staff: "we can have a prototype toy for Comicon or would that be too much of a spoiler?"

 

Sorry I had too much fun writing that last post.

I'm not a HUGE Car-Robots fan but apparently there were rabid SkyByte fans at the time. Somewhere between Dinobot and Depthcharge on the popularity scale.

So when they threw Skybyte into the main comic there was much rejoicing.

But, (and this really isn't much of a spoiler) they never really did much with him other than have him in crowd scenes.

A certain bug from Beast Wars who is known to "hurt all over hiz body" has been given more to do.

Spoiler

has that scene with Starscream and the titan happens yet? I really can't remember when that happened but it really does put events into motion