I agree. This is one of those plot points that sometimes come along where I want to climb into the story and say, "Guys! FFS!" I mean, here are just a few obvious ideas that are never mooted:

1) Fine, wait until the eight hours or whatever are up to try to find an alternative, but if it gets to that point and your situation is still hopeless, there is absolutely nothing to be gained by staying.

2) Surely you've got enough time to bury the pods, for goodness' sake.

3) At least send *someone* through the damned portal! If Nightbeat thinks they can send a distress signal successfully, that gives you a slim chance of being rescued!

4) Everyone but Megatron can leave, and Megatron can wait until the building is breached and Tarn is charging into the room before saying, "See ya!" and ducking out. Tarn is hardly likely to waste time searching the Necrobot's lair when his quarry has just legged it through a space portal.

5) If there's enough energy to send - how many? - 12 robots a short distance away, surely there's enough energy to send one robot very far away indeed, where they can summon assistance more readily?

 

Well, there's a reason why Brainstorm is considered a genius.

He was the one thinking clearly.

 

See I think Tarn could have a familiar mustache, would explain why he jides his face behind the mask.

 

Tarn is Aquabat.

 

Yes.  

You know that could explain a lot.

 

Fair point! I hadn't looked at it like that.

But I have looked at is as a reader, and in that capacity, even Swerve is infinitely more valuable then all the organics put together.  

....ew, organic combiner.

On a different note, I wonder if the pod-people aren't going to be Targetmasters.

 

Humans! Combine and merge to Human Centipede!

 

If you stomp on them enough times they combine into a pudding...

 

Nice, triple changers.

 

So I've been putting a lot of thought into the: "Who is Tarn?" quandary and I am still pretty convinced that it is Roller in light of issues #49 and #51:

1. Tarn thinks Terminus was unfairly omitted from history. Who else was left behind and forgotten by Orion Pax and his Merry-bots? Roller.

2. Tarn REALLY seems to delight in torturing Skids when Skids tries to save Quark. Why? Because Skids (with Orion Pax, et al.) left him for dead and forgot about him.

3. I think the real twist would be that Tarn is Roller and, for everyone in-universe, it is not a twist. Maybe Roller becoming Tarn is common knowledge that almost everyone knows? Much like how a certain benevolent Senator became one of the higher ups in Deception command structure.

4. There is a certain poetic justice to Tarn being Roller. After all, who did Optimus put in charge of the Wreckers? Impactor. Megatron's BFF. If you turned my best friend against me, I would certainly consider turning your best friend into the embodiment of everything you hate. I think Roberts' great contribution to the IDW-verse was to elaborate and explain how the Autobot/Decepticon war is so freaking personal for Optimus and Megs. Everyone else is fodder.

Welp. Those are my points.

Also: Ten is TOTALLY Dominus Ambus, RIGHT?! I've not seen anyone else mention that, but its pretty obvious, right?

 

And those are still only scratching the surface including:

-Roller's face being burnt on the left side during his rescue of the works, with what little we know of Tarn's face including that the left side is scarred.
-Roller having addictive tendencies, like Tarn's addiction to transforming
-Both drinking from straws on panel as foreshadowing

The list goes on. Really Ill be pissed off if Tarn ISN'T Roller because the breadcrumb trail has been leading to it for a long while.

Am I missing something?

 

Tarn: I know! Don't get me started. But I've seen most of the other parallels mentioned on the boards at some point or other.

Ten: Maybe I am reading too much into this, but:
1. Legislators are made from recycled cybertronians. No reason Dominus couldn't have been one (especially because the Necrobot lists him as unaccounted for).

2. Ten is VERY fond of Minimus. Dominus Ambus is always described as altruistic. To me, he seems like just the sort of person who would glomp onto his brother, but would stay away from his ex because he wouldn't want to be burden on him.

3. There is something immensely tragic about an unparalleled intellectual being reduced to simpleton unable to communicate simple ideas.

4. His fate would mirror his fate in the functionist-verse. In the functionist-verse, the Council took his words. In the normal-verse, Tyrset took his words (He can only say "Ten" (which I am sure is SUPER important).

5. Ten failed the Ambus Test. This is a big deal, b/c the Ambus test is (according to Ratchet) too ridged (Ratchet's discussion about how cassettes would be classified as non-sentient). It would be painfully ironic if the same test that Dominus created was later used to mock him (by Swerve as Ten).

But maybe I am just reaching.

 

Very good points there, Whisky!

I have only one thing to add to the Tarn-Roller speculation, which is this: Tarn's reaction when he learns of Megatron's defection and disavowal of the Decepticons is absolutely fitting when you consider that he's a character who has been betrayed by his 'side' before. I think we'll find out next issue that taking out Megatron is deeply personal for him, not just a question of following the rules established for dealing with traitors.

 

I'd like that explored further. Nice

 

I think you're mixing some stuff up. There has been speculation that Dominus Ambus could be Tyrest. It only works if Dominus is a load-bearer in a similar fashion as his spark-brother Minimus. I know I thought that if Dominus is Tyrest (A little dude inside armor) that he teleported into the legislator body of Ten. I also think this is why Ten has such an obsession with Magnus. Tyrest, or Dominus, is brain damaged and just wants to be close to his brother as he has the familial bond and all that.

It's wild speculation on my part. I've gotten a little shit because of it, but I'm still sticking with it until we're told it's the wrong way to be thinking.

... Edit: I like your reasoning. We're not to far off from each other on our speculation.

 

It's the wrong way to be thinking!



Scnr  

 

Why I oughta! lol.

Roberts has thrown some pretty... strange things at us over the past couple of years. I don't think this one is outside the realm of believability. I do realize it's a bit of a stretch, though...

 

I definitely agree that unless the reveal is astounding, Tarn is Roller. It all adds up, it makes both storytelling and dramatic sense, it fits the clues. Sometimes "predictable" is the correct route to go, because it's the logical conclusion to a story. Although it isn't strictly predictable, but it's also cool. The guy has been gone for too long and erased for too long to have just died somewhere.

And heck, who else knows Roller? Ratchet. Drift met him a little bit. Look at the cast ON the Necroworld right now. Characters who knew Roller in the past or were part of the time-travelling episode that saw Tarn "lost." Chromedome, Skids, Ratchet, Rodimus, Whirl, Rewind, Tailgate, Cyclonus.

It would take something MINDBLOWING and incredibly well-thought out for Tarn-is-not-Roller to be anything less than a let down.

 

I guess that's possible only if someone had pulled Ultra Magnus (replaced the real Tyrest with Dominus in Tyrest Armor sometime are the start of the Great War).

I hadn't thought that Tyrest had tele'd into Ten. I suddenly feel less bad about Ravage using him as a decoy for the DJD.

 

This is actually a very persuasive argument.