Primus hates you.

 

That was so f'ed up.

 

Except in issue #18 Swerve mentions that the incident with the legislators and Skids was "last year".

 

That's going to be my new user title!  

 

And now the wait for the next issue.

And to make the spoiler tags worthless...
Prowl was Skids boss who attempted to implant a thought into Tyrest. Pharma died. Skids gun fired thoughts and he used it on himself to wipe anything of his mission. Cyclones is a bad ass. Dai Atlas is killed by Star Saber. The kill switch is turned on and a bunch of people including Prowl, Ravage, Starscream, and some missfits are dying. The portal opens and Tyrest won.

Now stop using spoiler tags in the discussion thread.

 

This is probably my least favourite issue.

Spoiler

This series is becoming a bit unsatisfying. Nothign really happened this issue. MTMTE, to me, is the Breaking Bad of Transformers. SO much happens each "episode" that when we get ones like these where not a lot has progressed, it feels... I dunno. It's like we keep getting closer to a goal and it's pulled away. Rodimus and crew meet Tyrest, then they're taken away, then they meet Tyrest again and, whatta know, Tyrest gets away! Guess they'll have to get to him again.

But really, the big issue with what's going on now is the deaths. DEATHS IN COMICS ARE STUPID. Yeah, I said it, because in comics nobody really dies because they're death is meaningful or they go out in a blaze of glory. No, they die for shock value. Ambulon died to shock the reader. All these killswitch victims are dying without a fight from an unseen force. Next issue PROUDLY promises widespread death. It's so immature.

If these shock deaths were just few-and-far between or a "horrors of war" type thing like LSTOTW I can accept it. But this comic, and comics in general, think death is just something peopel like to read.

Think about Dinobot. Why is his death so memorable? Is it simply because he died? No, it's because he fought his heart out, never gave up, and saved the entire human race from being wiped out before it existed. Now look at Ambulon. He died to make the reader jump. Nothing more. No blaze of glory, no sullen sacrifice, no frighteningly ironic, accepting death. Just cut in half by a poor man's Joker to make us go "oh crap."

And with the exception of Rewind, they've all been that way. Shock deaths are cheap, stupid, and a black mark on James Roberts' record. Now MORE than 50% of all Transformers are about to die, and while I'm sure they won't considering the ammount of A-listers and characters in other books, but that doesn't stop the solicitation from making out deaths to be AWESOME. This is bad pre-2005 fanfic shit, where characters are cut down in swaths with copious ammounts of robot "blood" to seem edgy and hardcore because this ain't kids stuff no more! I mena just hell, Magnus' death is glossed over. I forgot he even died when writing this because his death was meaningless, from an in-story perspective and a narrative one. Nearly every character who has died so far has gone out without a fight, and it's tiring.

I adore MTMTE, I think it's the best TF fiction we've had in years, but I won't disgrace it by not acknowledging it's faults, of which there may be few, but they are evident now. If next issue doesn't wrap this up and put this plotline with Tyrest and shit to bed, I'll be sorely, sorely dissapointed.

 

All the while, Brainstorm monologues "oh you poor fools, now we're REALLY screwed"

 

Seriously.

I don't post often, and I'm trying not to piss people off by ruining their experience by what might be spoilers.

Now people are pissed because the tags ARE being used??

I don't get this board sometimes.

 

yeah, that just struck me as odd.

cool idea, but since he's an opposite, doesn't that mean SG IDW Star Saber must suck at using swords ?

LOL Nice one ! His weapon ...... religious semantics, like Prowl, he can convert or talk someone to death : P

I think he's a reference to the numerous KOs out there : )

Indubitably so. Provided he laughed as well.

 

As Mechafire posted, yeah, it's a staff request to do so.

 

While I'm not a fan of shock deaths in comics either, I do believe that Roberts is continuing to send the same message he did in LSOTW - not everyone gets to go out in a blaze of glory. It's how it is. I also find his deaths better executed than Barbers' attempts at it in RID wherein popular characters like Wheeljack and the Constructicons get killed off only to miraculously survive later on.

Second, I'm not sure people actually like shock deaths - but its probably human nature - we're drawn to something that touches us emotionally - and writers, not to mention comic companies, well they know that death sells. When you think about it, a lot of us actually complain when a fan favorite dies - we don't want them to die, but it engages us emotionally, and they know it.

 

GASP he's trying to get you in trouble !!! Take Ryoku down ! : P lol

 

Thank you! I was going to comment something very similar. I don't consider Ambulon or Pharma dying as SHOCK DEATHS, my ability to be shocked at Transformer death ended in LSOTW. I expect Roberts to kill any character at any time and keep that character dead. Barber's 'death' is the cheap kind of attention-getting death used by Marvel and DC, please - let's give Mr. Roberts more credit than that...

 

I'm glad one question I had since the concept of constructed cold was brought up was answered today. I'm glad a character was constructed cold and I'm glad another character was forged. It shows that Tyrest is absolutely apeshit, but also kind of right.

I couldn't disagree more - I typically do with your posts anyway- Sometimes people die for the silliest reasons imaginable. And those meaningful deaths would soon become boring if every death had to be some bigger than life sacrifice. I like this issue simply because it shows that shit can, and does happen. Sometimes the bad guy wins. and people needlessly lose their lives.

 

The only problem is, now NO ONE goes out in a blaze of glory. Every single person goes out helpless and/or unawares. It's stupid. Everyone dies like a punk.

Which brings me to your second point, namely that since everyone just dies spontainiously, it ISN'T in any way emotional. I don't care that Ambulon died. Dude did nothing the whole time and went out without a shred of dignity. And it's always like this. Magnus wasn't emotional since nobody fucking batted an eye 'cept Rodimus. It's not getting an emotional response, it's getting a critical one. Emotion is brought fourth when you feel for the characters. But this gimmick just reminds me that these aren't characters, they're words and pictures manipulated by some guy THINKING what would be emotional. It ruins the immersion.

It's the same trick over and over. The reason these non-typical deaths carry so much weight initialy is BECAUSE they're non-typical. But they ARE typical now, and now they're just hollow and pointless actions dictated by some suit with a flow chart and it ruins the story. It's... it's...


...


..It's like Transformers Prime.  

 

I think that might actually be the point. We're supposed to agree with Tyrest despite his being completely bat-shit-insane. I still think he's wrong, I don't think all CC are evil or morally twisted, but perhaps we're just seeing the world through his eyes...

I just hope this is followed up in RiD...you'd think that half the population slowly painfully dying would be a serious talking point. If Barber ignores this I'll be pissed. Also, by the same token, when does this fall in RiD continuity?

 

Sorry for double-posting, but I missed your reply and can't copy text right now.

Also, I wil not give credit to Roberts when he is doing something STUPID. He is a brilliant writer, but the way he handles death is STUPID. What, pre-tel, was accomplished by Ambulon's death, hmmm? Because I'l tell you what wasn't accomplished: us finding out more about his Decepticon life. Learning about his feelings regarding the Chief Medical Officer position. Did he perhaps want the position? Was he jealous or proud of First Aid being chosen? What about him simply BEING a character with an identity?

Nope, he's dead now. Cut in half, gone forever, no stories to be told about him.

And that's just an example. Magnus (who I believe you meant instead of Pharma) is just gone. Revealed to be this big secret then disposed of. Guess he's dead for good, too?

James Roberts, you are incredible, but not perfect.

 

I..I have nothing to say right now...