I've finally become enthused about this book in the last few months. I think it had a hard time shifting gears after Dark Cybertron, but now it's going somewhere good again. It occurred to me that in some ways we have here the IDW equivalent of the G1 season three status quo, or portions of it at least. The Decepticons serve under Galvatron, we have the presence of the EDC and Marissa Fairborne, Spike is an adult, and we’re in the 21st century on a more technologically advanced Earth, which got that way due to Transformers and their technology. The similarities end there of course, with the absence of Rodimus Prime, Magnus, Kup, and all the other characters associated with that season. And humans are not Autobot allies, so there are plenty of differences as well, including the presence of Gabriel “G.B” Blackrock, which is a nod to Marvel Transformers. But the parallels with the original tv series stood out at me for the first time while reading this issue. It definitely contributes to giving this series a more traditional feel compared with MTMTE, and I think that’s what I’m in the mood for at the moment when it comes to Transformers fiction. The book opens with a meeting between Soundwave and Thundercracker, in which Soundwave tries to recruit the still independent TC back into the Decepticon ranks. He claims that they’re done with the fighting and killing and are planning on constructive purposes going forward. Thundercracker agrees to think about it, but he’s not really buying Soundwave’s sales pitch. At this point I’m not sure where his character arc might go. I don’t see him staying on Earth with his dog and writing bad screenplays forever. The remainder of the issue sees Spike pursued both by Prowl and the Constructicons as well as Galvatron’s Decepticons. Spike is searching for the cause of the second Transformers incursion on Earth, which he is convinced that Blackrock knows about. The events of Spotlight Shockwave are referenced as the first time Transformers ever arrived on Earth, along with the seeding of Ore-13 for energy, so once again Barber is integrating those early Furman storylines into his plot (as evidenced by Jimmy Pink’s continued presence), or at least using them to remind us that it’s still the same continuity, and that the continued long-term interaction between Earth and the Transformers has had a lasting impact on both, and that continues to the present day. And, amazingly enough, we have Transformers that actually transform in this series. Spike and Jimmy are captured by Rumble and Frenzy disguised as motorcycles. The Constructicons attempt to blend in and surround Spike, though since he knows them the attempt is ineffective. But the disguises did allow them to get into downtown without any fuss. In the end, Spike is captured by Prowl, who rather than kill him (though he admits the day is still young) tells Spike that he’s wanted to say something to him for years. To Spike’s great surprise, Prowl says “I forgive you.” Yeah, that’s not an out of character moment masking some Prowl scheme. Still, I admit I wasn’t expecting it, and the surprise statement makes an effective cliffhanger for the end of the issue since I’m left wondering what Prowl is up to.
I'm glad some people enjoyed it, but it seemed stretched to breaking point for me. Most decent writers could have used 6 or 7 pages to tell this story, it just meandered all over the place and then finished with a whimper. I wish I loved this book, I'd love to praise it more, but I just can't connect with it. I swear I'm trying, after all I buy it every month, but it never seems worth it
He's not holding anything. It's a paint line from a parking space that comes out from behind his hand in a weird way.
Oh, and: Needlenose isn't one of the worse of the worse in the Decepticons, he was the guy who made it clear how he and a bunch of others were sick of fighting back before DC. I imagine he is onboard for Soundwave's plans.
Maybe they can turn him into her Headmaster since we don't have Daniel in this series. Solid issue pushing things forward. I'm not sure how I feel about Prowl thanking Spike at the end, but I'm definitely intrigued. Oh and I'd love some triple changing Rumble/Frenzy tape/robot/motorcycle toys now.
Start of next issue will be Spoiler Prowl telling Spike that while he forgives him, they put it to a vote, and the rest of the Constructicons still want to kill him. They then form Devastator and step on Spike. Wonder if Soundwave will ground Rumble and Frenzy when he finds out they snuck out for the party. And by party I mean wreck up Tokyo. Serously Soundwave, you are not on the same page as everybody else. Oh and hopefully more of Thundercracker's screenplay.
Hmmm...I don't believe we know the 'bot who Spoiler arrived on Earth 6,000 years ago , do we? Can't think of anybody who fits that, really.
Prowl:"I forgive you...for buying stuff from Swindle. Killing Scrapper is a very different matter, however." *squish*
Best issue of RID in since pre Dark Cybertron. I really enjoyed just about everything about it. Dialogue was good, art was as well. Griffith is getting much better with human faces. Wasn't that Soundwave? EDIT: I think he was in the 80s. Bludgeon?
Why is prowl doing something insanely stupid by breaking up Prowlator? Why could he possibly have to gain from this? ( and please dot tell me prowl is finally growing a spark) I get that prowl and spike have a lot in common and are both manipulative deceptive creeps, but if there is no future gain I cant buy Prowl would do this. I did find his Scrapper comment cool, lets see where this leads. Also can soundwave "smell" organic emotions and thoughts too? I would love to see TC get rejection letters for the worst screenplay ever. While I did love it in the beginning the guy is becoming borderline obsessive. Isn't he missing his favorite shows. You would think that of the thousands of sitcoms this guy has watched he would pick something up. In the words of Galavatron "This is bad comedy" I am also rooting for a Buster Casualty just to sit back and watch the fireworks. ALL in ALL I actually liked this issue and give it two thumbs up
He also was going to kill Swindle for helping autobots during the City on Fire arc. Needlenose definitely has some battle fatigue, and definitely was tired of losing, but he's still a fairly violent sort.
So, Soundwave really believes what he tells people, but everyone else just goes along with it, and they deceive him?
I think he's suffering memory problems and still thinks it's 4 million years ago and the Autobots are still the Senate's stooges.
Question, has he had significant interaction with Optimus and a chance to read him at any point after the war started, or have they just interacted from other sides of the battlefield or when Megatron and Optimus are hashing things out? He does know Optimus once fought alongside Zeta against the Decepticons.
