Transformers- Robot Heroes: "I Am Optimus Prime" Five Page Preview

Best. Book. Ever.

I'm begining to think IDW may have jumped the shark.

While I appreciate the update and attempt to make things more relevant to kids (making Ratchet's and Bumblebee's alt modes resemble their recent namesakes) I'm sorta wondering why Drift really needs to be included. I highly doubt any kids actually know who he is/ read IDW's comics.

On the plus side, he's doing what he does best- not saying slag.

difference is there are already about eleventy zillion preexisting TF charcters that turn into white sportscars and are badasses.

Bulkhead doesn't get the same kind of flak because he actually filled a niche.

You know, I never hated Drift, but now that he pretty much is the replacement for Hot Rod/Rodimus and almost steals his quote......... the gauntlet has been cast...

Prime's arm is huge! (page5)

lol... i was reading... everything was normal... then all of a sudden... DRIFT????!!! i had to read that page twice to believe it

My only fear on reading this is the fact that it sort of matches up with the infamous flash. Which makes me wonder if they might be getting these designs from the same source. While I'd be okay with G1/movie hybrid designs, I'd be really irritated if Drift showed up on a new cartoon. Largely because there are plenty of characters who could fill his role just as well, and plenty of characters who could use some time in the spotlight.

sorry that happens every time i see snake ey..... i mean drift. other than mary sue the book looks really cool.

Then what difference does it make? The target audience for this kind of book probably has no idea who the hell Prowl and Arcee are either. Not to mention most of the Decepticon cast.

And do you really think Drift will be the last?

The point I was making is that some people have ridiculous reasons for hating this character. "He's a nobody"? Really?

All that matters is whether or not he enriches/serves a purpose to the stories he appears in, and that's up to the reader to decide. Beyond that it doesn't really matter if there are other characters that can fit in the role, otherwise you'd just have [insert preferred existing character] running around serving no purpose instead.

Bitch for the right reasons is all I'm sayin'. Hell, Optimus Prime could be called a mary sue. So could Hot Rod. And Thundercracker. But they are all archetypes common to human fiction, and so is Drift really.

Not to mention I'd wager that if he came out as a toy first, there would be a vast reduction of whining attached to his fictional appearances.

Well, this is obviously a children's 1st book, so they don't know G1 from Armada. It's ok in that light, but whoever is writing and drawing needs to get together so slip ups like landing in the water and then having the ship in the mountain can be corrected.
I'd probably get this for my nephew.
Other than that I like that Prowl is Prime's BFF, and wish Prowl would be in the Movies as well.

I'm with you buddy, I dont understand all the Drift hate, it makes very little sense really. But I too find him being in the book, without a toy in any form, a interesting move for Hasbro. Perhaps this is their way of introducing him to new fans as they may have plans for him or them wanting to embrace the comic side of the franchise as well. Still it might have made better sense if he was in a comic aimed at older audiences.

As a side note the whole Mary Sue thing seems over tired, it's like everytime I see a novice writer (or even pro writer) try and add a character to a established or new book that word gets thrown around like crazy. It's more like a way of being rude than actually serving it's supposed purpose.

Embrace the apparently g1 continuity cybertronian ninja driift. He's like snake eyes for transformers! oh boy...repaints and battle packs that have him for the next twenty years.

You know what? don't make a drift toy. Not if it means the end of g1 Jazz.

Yeah, IMHO... hes not even considered in the original TF mythos... at all. .... annnddd all of a sudden hes the next best thing to happen since... err..since sliced bread?

Nah, to cutesy and simple for my taste, the RH comic. Meh.

This is the best Transformers book ever! The best thing is Prowl saying they are best friends for life that is so awesome as is this book! Oh and Drift???? What is he doing there oh well its still awesome!

The difference between Drift and Bulkhead is that Animated was a new continuity, and Bulkhead was simply introduced as a member of the core cast, who was allowed to grow on the audience without any forced hype.

Drift, on the other hand, is introduced into an established canon, fanfared with an enormous hype that makes him appear as if he was the best thing to happen to Transformers since pick-your-last-case-of-awesome. The hate is not because people find the character dull, it's a hype backlash that's only increased by conflicting information about the upcoming toy between IDW and Hasbro. Basically, it appears to some people that IDW somehow managed to shoehorn their own character into the brand and fooled both Hasbro and the fandom in the process.

Bulkhead's introduction, on the other hand, seemed a lot more natural. He was never given and disproportionate attention as compared to his fellow Autobots before Animated was launched.

Looks pretty fun to me, I'm sure the kids will love it.

ffffff, I can't stop laughing at Prowl.
I want this now... for my younger brother, yeah.

WTF @ Drift...

I mean, who even knows who Drift is unless you read All Hail Megatron. He was never in G1. Heck, he didn't even exist until 2008... Bulkhead is older than he is...

And also, WTF @ marketing G1 to kids? I'm assuming the target audience is children born in 2003 and later. (Yes, that's right. Children born in 2003. We're all as old as Kup or Animated Ratchet now. Deal with it.) How about giving kids their own Transformers for once? Oh wait they did. His name is DRIFT.

Oh well, I guess we know who Hasbro is going to be pimping for the next few years anyway...

It's based on "Robot Heroes" dude. G1 took up the majority of that line, that's why. What, just because a kid was born in the '00s means they shouldn't be exposed to things from before they were born? What kind of logic is that?

So where's the Drift and Ratchet Robot Heroes figures?

Does anyone honestly even give a shit about Drift? I mean, honestly?

I do love a good Zoolander reference....

I heard Drift destroyed a whole army of Decepticons with one blast of his nostril.

i heard that he once snuck up on shockwave and called him "cyclops". then he ran...................... and ran......................... i also heard hes still runing.....forest gump style!

The Teletraan I TFWiki put it best:

Let's face it. This has "Poochie" written all over it.

(Remember that Simpsons episode with Itchy, Scratchy and Poochie?)

Drift is also now the Chuck Norris of Transformers apparently...

The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is actually one of Drift's balls... the other one is Unicron...

Drift can drive so fast that he can go back in time just by driving around Cybertron backwards...

The reason Animated Megatron couldn't remember Optimus is because he was so busy worrying about Drift.

The reason Animated was cancelled is so that Hasbro can make the next series Drift and the Transformers.

good stuff.

'Drift and the transformers'

I have no problem with them introducing new characters. I don't even think Drift is a particularly bad attempt. He's at least as worthwhile as most of the non-entities from the Unicron trilogy. And there's nothing intrinsically better about many G1 and G2 characters.

But if they're going to originate a character, give us something we haven't seen before. When TFA originated characters, they gave us something unique. Sentinel Prime, Lockdown, Bulkhead. The names may have been old, but the characters were new, and they served a purpose in the show. Even Michael Bay, with his Ice Cream truck twins, is giving us something that didn't exist in previous continuities.

Maybe IDW will get similar opportunities in the future, and maybe next time, they'll make better use of it.

I guess the big problem is that we don't "know" Drift yet. We got a chance to meet Bulkhead, Sentinel Prime, Lugnut, etc. Then WE made the decision to like them (if we do).

Drift was in, what, 4 issues of a Transformer book, and now they're trying to put him in G1 like he was always there.

He's like that guy that suddenly acts like he's your good friend and you've known him, what, 3 weeks?

When will people learn that you can't tell them you're awesome and expect them to accept it?

Also, C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

All the other TFs have alt modes you'd see on Earth, what is Arcee supposed to be? I don't see any pink futuristic-by-1985-standards-looking converitbles driving around...

Old Camaro, fine.
Police Car, fine.
Rice Rocket with SWEET FLAME DECALS, Okay.
Pink, blocky convertible, Huh?

one word..... Drift














Why does every form of bumble bee have to have a black strip or be a camaro since the movie?

That's a very valid point. I'll have to stop doing that.

I know this is off topic but Bumblethumper every time I see your sig I can't help but chuckle, lol.

I dunno who made this edit, but it's hilarious.



Also to the people complaining about the Drift hate: he was introduced as the MOST Badass Autobot EVER in a G1 comic. IDW's G1 relaunch is re-imagining established characters, and, you know, there were tons of G1 Bots who could have been shown in that role - if that's what the author wanted.

Simon Furman, in 1989 when he needed a new big bad, he took Thunderwing, and molded him from a 5-row long tech spec bio into a legendary and memorable character. He did it with others too - Carnivac, Bludgeon, Nightbeat, I can go on. If Shane would be not such a newcomer to the TF world, he'd take, I dunno - Searchlight? Pipes? Guzzle? - and turn them into something new. They never really got characterization before, so they are fair game.

But coming up with your own 'awesome' fancharacter and shoehorning him/her into continuity is just... immature writing. That is the reason I stay far away from fanfics featuring fan characters who know Metallikato better then Bludegon or who have been Primes/chosens of Primus, etc... (that includes the Botcon comic with the translucent Energon combiners, too).

What is with those eyes and mouth on Drift? I've seen it all over the intertubes, but I don't know where it originates.

Aww, what a cute lil book. ^^ I have a false hope now to see a Drift toy.

wow...can i get my five minutes back?