Prowl doesn't have to be killed, but he is long due for a break. Actually, what I mean is that readers are long due for a break from him. Most of the traits I've seen listed as what makes him interesting are the traits that have been developed and displayed over hundreds and hundreds of pages of comics that I'd rather see occupy other characters.

It's true that he can be redeemed with good writing, but I'd rather not see that page time wasted on him when I could see it used to highlight a different character. Jetstorm. Sideswipe. Cosmos. Sky Lynx. This is supposed to be a team book, and I feel that any one of these characters could be amazing if given half the amount of page time devoted to Prowl. Any story that reiterates Prowl's deceptions or machinations is redundant and boring as hell at this point. It works better for Starscream because respectable villains are so much more fun than dark heroes.

 

We've been sorely lacking in action lately with the Transformers books. Hope this is a nonstop oil fest.

Well said.

 

I agree that Prowl needs a break. If he goes into hermit mode for awhile after Sins, that'd work for me. Give him time to process and feel, and not just plan and react.


Hmmmm....

Anyone else think he could use a pet dog? ^^

 

Under no circumstances should Prowl be allowed to play caretaker to any lifeform more complicated than a goldfish. If he can keep track of a small aquatic friend longer than six months under surveillance without doing anything regrettable to the poor thing, we'll talk. Until then I don't feel comfortable with leaving him alone with living creatures. I kid but... please don't do that to our warm fuzzy canine companions. They did nothing wrong.

I haven't gotten bored of Prowl yet. He's an interesting character. However I can definitely see how some would want to see a focus on others. When Kup returned I remembered joking on Twitter that he was probably only there because he had a connection to Barber's favorite character. As time rolled on without the character contributing anything of value, I started honestly wondering if that was honestly the case. He's mostly there to show how competent Jazz is. Neither one are used effectively. Barber has said Jazz

Spoiler

will survive

so if Kup ends up biting it, this will really start to look like some of these characters are merely plots to tell Prowl's story. I have faith it won't come to that but it's a threat when author favoritism comes knocking. It might be a good time to keep him away until Jro can work with him in the next big crossover.

For it's part I do like the subroutines as an idea but I'm not seeing the reason people like Kup so much. All hail Megatron saw him usurp command from Jazz and refuse to send for help(Hot Rod doing it anyway was what saved the day), underestimating the enemy and walking onto obvious traps, getting taken off guard by a Decepticon who could have easily killed him in LSOTW because he was showing off for the newbie, ignoring the common sense stealth protocols put in place in favor of sassing Jazz, and overall just not being written to be good at his job.

Finding out that he was apparently in charge of security has me shaking my head because I can't understand why anyone would choose Lip over Jazz for the position?

Going by Kup's track record in exrid(I'm not counting his suspicious attempts to derail Arcee here because I think Roche is trying to make it seem ooc), his competence for the job is on par with a cartoon cop antagonist stereotype. If I were Prowl, I'd be embarrassed to take credit for Kup's actions. One of his saving graces as a character came in the form of his easy acceptance of Drift(which was just used McCarthy to make Drift cooler, I know, but I take what I can), because that kind of understanding towards others would make friends, people would know that no matter how far they'd fallen he'd take them back if they asked. This was promptly taken from him so he can be yet another person alienating Arcee. I don't really see the attraction. It really seems like IDW Kup owes his continued existence to the actions of more competent soldiers than himself and this really isn't something that would inspire confidence in the common soldier. It would be one (extremely tragic) thing if his actions we're an intentional plot point but I doubt IDW is going there. I'll be honest, I don't even want them to go there because thinking about him from that angle gets me emotional but at least his behavior would serve a point!

If Barber doesn't improve on the portrayal, I really hope the reason Kup is seen as a charismatic figure gets answered in SOTW.

*For the record, I don't mind Kup as a character, I just don't think he's been written as especially suited for the job in exrid. Barber is going for 'old people' humor when he writes him, but that falls flat when it endangers lives.

 

Exactly... I agree that we could use a break from Prowl. Part of this is just because I don't find Barber does a very good job of writing Prowl intelligently. He always writes him in very broad, obvious strokes. Killing him is absolutely pointless... petty even. Keep someone like that around, so you can bring them back when they are most relevant.

Plus, Prowl has just disappeared. I think he needs some time away to reconsider the situation, to make new plans, and to cultivate a bit of mystery around him. And find a different writer who understands him, of course.  

As I said before, he works best as a shadow-player... someone who pulls strings and controls things from the sidelines, or from behind a curtain. And while I prefer him to operate within the Autobots, now that he's on lam, I think it opens the door to introduce a greater degree of factionalism among the Autobots. Cybertron has been politically polarized for so long, that it's easy to forget that politics aren't always black and white, divided between just TWO sides or sets of interests. In the postwar setting, we can now look beyond Bot and Con, and instead look at all the little sub-groups that would spring up now that it's not just about war and survival.

zmog

 

>Jetstorm you mean Jetfire.

Otherwise you're right. RID should have been about all of these characters as a team. Personally I wish Prowl didn't have to go off the deep end, still be a manipulative bastard but do it quitely and appear like an all round respectable type of leader.

Agreed on all counts.

 

I like Barber Prowl a fair deal, but the guy just needs a break, and a step back.

 

Ok but imagine if Impactor just forgets about Guzzle until the end of issue #5, with each issue occasionally checking in on him screaming at no one from inside his time-out box.

 

Um, Prowl has been absent from the Transformers comics for a while and, aside from his supposed appearance here, it seems like that still going to be the case for the moment considering that the next storyline is mostly Optimus-focused.

I really like the character and how Barber writes him. However, I'm glad that Roche is going to handle him once again here, he has always been the best Prowl writer.

 

What issue/story arc was this stated. I just remember them leaving at the end of Last Stand, and nothing since.

 

Hard to believe it's already been 5 months since Prowl disappeared. Time flies!

I agree about Roche... plus it really seems like we have Roche to thank for the best elements of the Prowl we have today. He was pretty much a dull nobody in IDW until Roche's AHM story.

zmog