Spoiler the reunion Shock and D'AWWW!!!!!! Spoiler Brainstorm!? Traitor? second briefcase!? Not buying it. Don't want to buy it. James Roberts you are a wicked, twisted man and we love everything you write! No spoiler needed. Nautica and Ravage... place your bets on when he starts sleeping at the foot of her recharge slab!
Great issue lots to digest. something about him being the traitor is slightly off, painting a symbol of the inside of his face plate seems a little too obvious of a thing for a secret agent to do, anyone could have done it after his death including rewind. Rewind was also quick to assume they would think he was the traitor. Someone else has also pointed out how come he didn't contact the DJD on the Lost light 1 as they was on the border of DJD territory early in season 1. I like him coming back for keeps as I suggest it is only opening the door for more trolling of the readers feelings
Dat one page though...dem feels. Brainstorm?!?!?! Seriously though...I'm thinking a rouse. That the traitor is someone else using his skin...or just his body. And the real Brainstorm...or at least a part of him is somewhere else (headmaster angle can come into play here)
I think this was the best issue since before Remain in Light. Emotionally manipulative, sure, but sometimes one is prepared to be emotionally manipulated. Skids was the breakout star of this issue, just as Ravage was of the last one. Of of the unspoken but nevertheless present themes of IDW is that while the Autobots and Decepticons started off as a political feud, they are now defined by their concern and lack thereof for other forms of life. The way that Megatron can be swayed by invoking his own chosen path is great and reminds me of the way people could manipulate (by which I mean avoid horrible death from) Shockwave in the old Marvel days. The rather dead-on self-parody Roberts engages in through Swerve and Riptide helps remind us "it's all a show, so just relax" to keep us from getting too mad over the wrong science and the nobody "really" dying. It won't work, of course, but I've always liked writers with a sense of humor who aren't going to be swayed from their path by readers, but will acknowledge them. I can't figure Rewind's retention can be anything but a callback to the "information has weight" line. He was the ghost; now he's the artifact. This is going to have consequences of course, maybe terrible ones. As some have pointed out, there's still an Overlord and Rewind parts out there somewhere. This is an important point. Also importantly, none of the people aboard the Rodpod can be expected to know every detail of the conspiracy, so their assumption that Brainstorm betrayed the Lost Light once Drift revealed the existence of Overlord isn't a bad one on their end. The ending also reminds us that Brainstorm is very, very smart. And a coward...I can see him being a double agent but not a zealot. The "duplicate" Brainstorm would have known not to summon the damn DJD, and I agree that he probably flashed his 'con symbol in desperation, not confidence. (I suppose he could have been trying to do something else but...again, he could have predicted that consequence.) As far as "our" Brainstorm, being very, very smart, he obviously worked out immediately that his cover was blown, either from hearing a rumor about Rewind or simply from Megatron making an encrypted call to Rodimus. (Hell maybe he can listen in.) Without time to make a more complete plan or a convincing protestation of innocence, he springs down to the bar while he has freedom of movement and sets up a hostage situation. I mean, he clearly just KOed everyone, not killed them...he probably doesn't even use the same briefcase all the time. As for the "duplicate" briefcase, again, it's either not the same item, or it's more stuff about weighty information. That one does have a demonstrably different effect. Unless he just sped up time to get them all drunk faster. Notice, though, that the "duplicate" Brainstorm came up with a completely different solution to the Ultra Magnus problem. While part of me kind of loves that, part of me wonders, with that different and a different briefcase, is he even the same guy? Was he affected differently by the quantum split, due to being "dead" or something else super-science and briefcase-y? Anyway. Looking forward to next issue even more than I looked forward to this issue. PS wowww, Nautica loves to patronize little people. XD
I can't quite decide if it was better than LAST issue or not, but definitely, this two-parter has been the best MTMTE in ages. As the conclusion of what is essentially a six-part arc, I'm driven to compare it to the wrap-ups to the Overlord storyline and "Remain in Light", which I was never fully satisfied with - but I am entirely satisfied with how this one has played out, and very impressed that it found some time to throw some stonking curve-balls and provide plenty of meat to chew on even for the readers who had already figured out essentially everything to do with the quantum puzzle.
As a fill in, yes please. It might sound like I'm being a kiss ass, but I don't want to see a take over of the book by anyone. You're a pretty big chunk of what makes this book work for me.
No. You get no breaks! Draw, damn you, draw! Loved this issue, from Swerves recap to the jaw dropping last page. The faceplate reveal I just stared at stunned for about five minutes (and hey, my FP Smart Robin is now MTMTE accurate! Huzzah!) Megatron and Skids were excellent. Hope Ravage stays rather than heads back to Earth. Rewind being back? We all knew it would happen, and I'm not bothered one bit. They need to avoid the sector of space where the other Rewind's corpse is floating though otherwise he may just go bye bye again. It's going to be interesting seeing Domey and Rewinds interactions now though. I don't think it's going to be happy families, and we might just see a breakup, which might just be a little bit more heartbreaking than a death. Still the shadow of the DJD looms! I think when they finally meet each other, the results are going to be... Unexpected. Finally kudos to everyone who called some of the answers to the questions, especially whoever called Roddy losing his head because of the Sparkeater, that was a great call.
I'll second that thought. I'm glad someone else has thought of the Headmaster angle. We have seen recently in the RID title that Headmasters were a race of robots that bonded with Cybertonians. We can assume that is where Scorponok got the idea for his Headmaster project on Nebulos. So, what if Brainstorm (who was a head scientist at an Autobot weapons development lab) was kidnapped and bonded to a Nebulon or mini Decepticon so that the cons could steal any new Autobot tech? Maybe the case holds the original Brainstorm's brain so it could be accessed when needed. (so as not to blow the double agent's cover) Also, Grumpy Cat Ravage for the win.
I agree-they either forcibly bonded him to a Decepticon, or they stole his original head and put a new one on him are my guesses. I actually shouted "WHAT?!" during the Brainstorm reveal. And for the Shapeways people out there-- this comic has given you a reason to make a faceplate for Fansproject Smart Robin. For those who dislike the resurrection... it's been established over the last thirty years that Transformers are functionally immortal short of something like cybercrosis (which can be cured with a Great Sword and the Power of Lov--I mean a spark energy transfusion). Everyone's going to die and come back at some point. It happened to Wheeljack, it happened to Nightbeat, and you can bet it'll happen to Hardhead and Bumblebee in the future.
Heh, maybe it's just the faceplate thats a Decepticon and it attached itself to Brainstorm and took him over!
It's great to see some of the pillow forts constructed over the past month or two aren't feel-proof. I like how Nautica finds herself in, or tries to navigate several optimistic moments, with Ravage punctuating a deadpan moment, though his threat may well have been serious. I'll leave it to others to speculate on Skids and Nightbeat's interactions with Nautica. Yes, that for me was Skids at his most succinct, but not for a moment did he come off as self-righteous. Getaway also gets a bit more depth, in the face of a new revelation, we get a hint of the anger in his spark that he can tap into. One thing at the end that I'm unclear and wondering about - because I can't seen Swerve in the bar - is if the second epilogue takes place while the Rodpod is still in its two hour transit to the Lost Light when that happens. Of course what I'm really asking here is if it's up to those aboard the Rodpod to take down the traitor. That plot twist, and/or the fact of what Nightbeat managed to hold onto, could turn pretty much anything we think we know so far on its head. That's Roberts for us though! The device does remind me of Spotlight Trailcutter, though there are obvious differences, if it is a refinement of the same technology.
That must've driven the Functionalists crazy... though come to think of it, "Faceplate" actually sounds like a viable Transformer name. Makes more sense than "Movor". EDIT: Wait wait wait wait wait! We've seen a guy who can weaponize his removable face. Is Brainstorm a victim of Vos? Has Vos replaced him?
Lol! Doesn't it just? 'Faceplate, transform!' *ker-cher-cha-kah* *clang!* 'Ummm, guys, could someone pick me up please? Guys?'
For those distraught over Brainstorm's turn for the evil, feel free to print out and paste in this replacement panel to make him heroic again:
