I've always thought that Exodus gave the best explanation for the cockpits: a holdover from Quintesson occupation. It explains it well, and it's the best use of the G1 toon backstory.
Yes, but I don't think you could really call Skids a "big draw" character. Bringing in a character from another continuity who already has a strong following carries a lot of novelty appeal, much more than announcing "Oh, Megatron will be in the next issue of Transformers!" Announcing a fan-fave Beast Wars character making an appearance in your series is new, and yes, it deserves to be announced. However, unless the character actually has a significant role to play, it ends up being pretty hollow... like I said, with Rattrap we'll have to wait and see. I hope it's not a big fanfare over nothing... and in my past experience of RID, I'm not especially hopeful. Having more lines in this series doesn't mean much, since characters can talk a lot and ultimately say nothing worthwhile. But I think you're on shaky ground if you're trying to argue that Sky-Byte has been a significant addition to the storyline in RID. In my mind, he's really just been an over-emphasized cameo. In RID, I find that characters tend to pop up and announce themselves, and then fade very quickly into the woodwork, so like I said initially... I can't help feeling a bit cynical. To compare, it would be sort of like Roberts was like "Hey look everybody... next issue is going to feature Xaaron... or Siren..!" or whoever. It feels like playing a fanfare for a wallflower just because they made the trip to the dance. Well, it was certainly related to the topic I raised, so I figured it was worth responding to. I guess not, but the essence of the conversation is still the same, no? But yes... arguing about who has classier solicitation is a bit beside the point, I agree. That only works if we can apply the G1 Cartoon Season 3 origin to all continuities... which is problematic, obviously. Based on what we've seen of IDW's Cybertronian history, that wouldn't fit at all. Hey, on a totally different note, has it ever been established why Megatron was carrying Sweep heads around with him? Was that just to look cool? Probably I guess... zmog
Probably wouldn't be that hard. We've already seen evidence they exist in the IDW 'verse. I think the idea would be that at some point in the past, after Cybertronians came to be but before Nova's time, the Quintessons conquered the planet for a while and were then driven off.
I've always hated the Quintessons, and the tendency to try to find a way to squeeze that origin into the broader continuity. However, I think there have been strong hints that the Quintessons ARE involved in IDW's continuity, though to what degree is not quite clear yet. Nonetheless, the "five-from-one" pantheon of Primus definitely makes me think of the Quintessons, whether I like it or not. I still hate those little seats though. zmog
Guess I'll find out when the trade is released... though I haven't been hearing great things about it. zmog
Anyone have updated release dates? Just hit Diamond's site and there are no listings for TF books for the next couple of weeks. Just trying to figure out when to expect my comic fix! Everyone loves a Quintesson.
