Its finally out! (thanks for the delay comixology), a great issue exploring the past of Prowl's wonderful life! The connection between him and tarantulus was not something i was expecting at all.

I really enjoy how they've managed to include the BW transformers with a somewhat good explanation.

There are two questions that this issue has raised for me though:

1.When are these events taking place? in terms of Not RID have these events already taken place?

2.

Spoiler

Is Impactor knowing about the Noisemaze some kind of hint as to the identity of Ostaros?

Overall this issue was very juicy though i don't know how they're planning on wrapping everything up in the next 2 issues though! hope there isn't a wall of text at the end of the series  

 

Before issue 45 of EX-RID but after issue 44.

 

Carnivac staying with Stakeout, major feels there.

Tarantulas is one scary looking bot! He even sheds his skin every time he changes form!

And now begins the painful three month wait for issue 4. 'Sigh'

 

Definitely solid. There was a HUGE load of content here, several different sides of the story being explored.

And yeah, I saw that twist about Hubcap coming a mile away.

 

Man, I absolutely adored this issue. I was kind of worried at first that Sins wasn't going to be as good as Last Stand, but this issue definitely brought it up to the same level, if not higher

I absolutely adore Tarantulas as an antagonist. I don't want to call him a villain, because it doesn't feel like he's out to burn the world like Overlord or Megatron. He's a product of Prowl's actions, and he's been hurt deeply by those actions, so now he wants compensation, or resolve. Either way, he's proving to be one of my favourite antagonists in a Transformers comic in a while

The three month wait for the next issue is definitely a bit of a pain, but knowing Roche, it'll be well worth it. Can't wait to see how he plans on wrapping this up in the next two issues

 

Wow. That was a lot of exposition. Good exposition, but still...

It makes sense for a middle chapter in a story that requires so much setup, but still it's a shame there couldn't have been a more elegant way to dump all that info, while maintaining a bit more action to cross cut with. At some points it felt a little ”villain reveals entire plot... because?”

Still, probably the best of the Transformers series over the last year or so.

EDIT - Oh and absolutely drop dead gorgeous artwork. Just the best mix of fluid expressiveness, and the cold rigidity of the technologic. Love it.

 

Even as someone who dropped out around the BW period and knows/cares little about it, that was an absolutely fascinating issue, one of the strongest any of the series have produced in a while, presumably even more so for those more familiar and in to BW stuff. There's just no way back for Prowl, is there? What a scumbag.

Re: Ostaros - whoever he is, he's clearly dead, right? Prowl is shown making to execute him then lying about it being it a KIA thing afterwards.

So if Tarantulas isn't in charge, who is? BW Megs? That'd be a hell of a reveal to the mini on.

 

Carnivac just said last issue that he's the leader of Mayhem.

 

There's no way Ostaros, teased as Tarantulas greatest invention, and not shown actually being killed, is already dead.

If he is, that's a masterful use of misdirection, with a secondary layer of misdirection.

 

My impression is Trantulas is like a stalker

 

Ostaros is Hubcap, calling it now.

Great issue though, still enjoying this a lot.

 

That new Tarantulas design needs to be a toy. I love that it merges the regular beast mode with the Transmetal robot mode.

 

It looks soooooo good.

Also creepy and cross and uncomfortable in all the right ways

 

I got that vibe as well. However, I think Prowl was lying to throw Trantulas off his game about Ostaros

 

Really great issue. The first two issues didn't quite excite me lacking in content but this had so much new stuff that I feel re-payed in kind.

A little too info-dumpy and I wish some of the interesting stuff introduced in this issue could have been more evenly introduced or subtly hinted at in the first two issues but aside from that it really was a great read and this point will become mute when read as a whole story.

I kind of want the present identity or fate of Tarantulas's greatest achievement to be a mystery that isn't easily resolved in this mini story but is something that has much farther reaching story conatations and maybe not being revealed for a few years yet.

 

i really like the way they worked in the term maximal here. the beast modes make so much sense while still retaining alot of what made the BW modes work in the show.

carnivac's bot mode looks awesome. damn do i want toys of all these guys now in this style.

nice shout out to leobreaker as well.

tarantulas said a future step of this technology is humans...could that mean pretenders in some form???

poor stakeout...

 

Could be a tease that one of them is already out there (Blackrock).

 

For some reason I immediately thought that Ostaros is Springer

 

I think you could make a case for just about anyone at this point.

My first thought is Rung.

They share a remarkable amount of similar features:

chinstrap
earcovering
giant circular blue light for a chest
round shoulders
kibble free humanoid design, etc...

 

It's not that the first two issues were bad, but this just kicked the series up to a different level. I want to be completely creeped out by Mesothulas/Tarantulas, but Nick is making me feel sorry for him and I'm conflicted.

I also thought Prowl killed Ostaros outright at first, but it'd make for a better story if he's alive. Him being Hubcap though is unlikely, if he's shown to be in league with Tarantulas at the end (or is he a double, double agent). Unless he himself doesn't know what he is.

What's up with Verity though. She says "I think this might be it". She's not that pregnant to be pregnant. Something more plot relevant perhaps than random human disease or condition.

The guilty thoughts at the end were mostly assignable, except for the baby killer - any ideas?