July 27th IDW Previews: Rom #1, X-Files Annual 2016, Micronauts #4, and More - NerdSpan

Including direct links to the preview pages for convenience, as there seems to be no simple way to enlarge them aside from editing the image URLs. FYI, the exRiD preview being here is probably a mistake, as it's not on Diamond's list for next week.

http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-002.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-003.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-004.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-005.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-006.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_RiD_55-pr-page-007.jpg

http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_mtmte_55-pr-page-002.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_mtmte_55-pr-page-003.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_mtmte_55-pr-page-004.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_mtmte_55-pr-page-005.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_mtmte_55-pr-page-006.jpg

http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-002.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-003.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-004.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-005.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-006.jpg
http://www.nerdspan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TF_TitansReturn-pr-page-007.jpg

Surprised to find out that the Earth Metrotitan is actually

Spoiler

the same one from the annuals.

And like a bunch of people called,

Spoiler

Deathsaurus isn't with the DJD anymore.

 

Not sure how I feel about Megatron cowering so much. Is it meant to evoke the image of him cowering under the table in the bar fight with Impactor and Rung? Like he's gone back to his pre-evil days? It just seems for a warrior so experienced over so long a time to regress so quickly after becoming an Autobot. I dunno, you can rationalise it but it just doesn't feel right to me.

 

Re: Titans Return...so

Spoiler

Sentinel Prime was always a Headmaster and his head ran away when he "died", or someone took his head and made him a 'Titan Master'?

 

We all read the same preview. Nobody knows more than anybody else does right now.

 

Ooh, I like the Titans Return stuff. Livio is such a poor fit for the MTMTE cast, but like I said in the other preview, he's clearly improved quite a bit. Nice to see some meshing of Chaos Theory Sentinel with Megatron: Origin Sentinel Prime and in-universe opinions on him. Very interested to see where this one goes.

 

What's the point of using a weapon to bring out the conscious of an enemy? Why couldn't Deathsaurus have just come to this conclusion on its own.

Seriously, I kind of hate the concept of a weapon that brings out the good in people and make them change their ways. That should be something spawned out of a natural progression, not from a LITERAL plot-device. I actually like most of the tech Jro has come up with, but it's the "psychic" weapons made to generate story mechanics that kind of bothers me. I also don't even remember them establishing that they had this weapon.

 

Yeah that Titans Preview is Good Squishy

 

Because people can do terrible things and push it so far down that they are okay with having done so. The weapon brings those terrible things up to the surface.n

 

Nope, I'm right there with you. It doesn't make logical sense, that four million years of programming is over-written by a month of pretending to be an Autobot. It just doesn't jibe. What exactly is making Megatron act like this, again? What was the turning point, and was that turning point so significant as to reduce him to a total coward?

This isn't Megatron as an Autobot. This is a totally different person.

Plus, just speaking from a reader's point of view, this is incredibly under-whelming. The whole arc has been slow moving at best, and it really doesn't feel like anything is heading towards a logical or satisfying conclusion. Hell, most of the Decepticons are just packing up and leaving.

The only problem is that Deathsaurus has already been havign second thougths until now. They clearly weren't that deep down.

Hell, had this not happened, I could've easily just accepted he came to this conclusion himself. I mean, last issue people were assuming that's what had happened, and the choom-choom was him firing on Tarn/Overlord as a result.

It doesn't seem necesary.

 

Right. I'm just speculating amongst friends for...fun?

 

So the cap and the flower means that it takes place after "Dying of the Light"?

 

Wasn't it enough for MTMTE to just have Deathsaurus come to the conclusion that what Tarn's having him do is both messed up and insane? He's already expressed his thoughts on the whole thing and it would've given him more depth as a result so why the plot device to have him do it? Doesn't make sense.

As for the TR one shot looks interesting. I really want to see how the cast react to Sentinel making a comeback after all this time.

 

No, Roberts has said the MTMTE portion of this is pre-#50. The flower's from #44, and I forget where they got the hat.

 

I have to wonder what Megatron has up his sleeve at this point, I'm not buying the cowardly act anymore. Also, seeing the MTMTE characters drawn by Livio in Titans Return is harrowing, never ever let him near anything MTMTE related again, please.

 

Awesome previews. And the Metrotitan being

Spoiler

the same one who declared Starscream the chosen one...

Oh boy. And there's the retcon as to how Sentinel survived.

 

I think the hat's from Issue #13, when they went to Hedonia.

 

Very awesome stuff, looking forward to these releases.

 

Oooh, I'd only been pondering the other day if there was any way the Earth Titan could turn out to be Metrotitan from the RID Annual. I guess the explosion was actually a quantum jump, and what could this mean, if anything, for Starscream?

It pretty clear Deathsaurus didn't need the psychic weapon to sway him into withdrawing his forces, but the Autobots wouldn't have actually know that either. What's really happened is they've just lucked out in helping him make up his mind there and then without him dragging out his conflicted feelings any longer.
As for Megatron cowering, I don't really know how to interpret it. A deliberate deception to get Tarn in nice and close and get the drop on him in hand-to-hand combat? He really is just a genuine wuss now? I dunno, I'll wait and see.

Titans Return #1 is looking pretty interesting, and honestly Livio's work here isn't too shabby, he's definitely been improving. He's generally better for more atmospheric stuff (I think if he just used a more traditional colouring style depending on what's being depicted people might be more fond of him), and in this case with it being a darkened room, the movie being a documentary about the war's early days, Sentinel's death etc. it works pretty well.
Curious about what the rest of MTMTE's part in the One-Shot is, seeing as #56 and #57 are based on Luna-1.

 

So if Sentinel Prime has been alive this whole time, than what was he doing?

 

I agree. I don't see how them using a weapon has any bearing on, well, anything. I also kind of hate how the solution to the whole Deathsaurus problem is something as simple as: "Quick, Swerve, fire the character development gun at him!" It's kind of too ridiculous for comfort. I mean, mtmte has reached that point a lot in season 2, but still. It could have been handled in a far more natural way.