Does IDW Transformers have too big a cast???

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by ultramagnus1, Jul 7, 2015.

  1. ultramagnus1

    ultramagnus1 Well-Known Member

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    Im only asking peoples opinions on it but with every issue especially in MTMTE we are getting yet more characters. Are there too many though?. No one seems to be getting any proper characterisation outside of a handful of bots. So a lot are relegated to background cameos. There are so many great characters on board the Lost Light that we havent really seen. Whats the point of having say Inferno and Smokescreen on the LL if they are just there in the background?

    There is a massive cast but most are not being used. Are there too many bots now? I know TF always had a big cast but these days there seems to be too many being introduced and then kinda forgotten about while we get nothing but Prowl, Prime etc in Not RiD and the same few in MTMTE with one or two exceptions like the crew of the Vis Vitalis.

    Im sure some of us have our own favorite bots that we know are in IDW but just dont get any proper characterisation because theres too many to do first. Or maybe only a select few?

    Does this annoy you all? Or is it just me?
     
  2. Nocturne

    Nocturne Professional Ginger

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    This sounds like you have more of an issue with the focus being given to characters you're not as fond of, rather than the cast being too big.

    MTMTE is an ensemble cast and works on two separate levels(Command staff and the 'lower level' characters) I'm fine with this. I think Roberts had gotten the balance just right, but with the recent introduction of Thunderclash and Velocity to the cast I think he might be pushing his limit. Velocity is kind of a must-have because with Ratchet gone, and First Aid back on Cybertron, the LL is going to need a medic of some sort. We're see how he utilises them. And although I don't dislike him, I have yet to see the point of Riptide.

    Not!RiD, being a story focused around rebuilding Cybertron, of course is going to focus on the key players. It also has the 'burden' of containing the bigger name characters like Optimis, Prowl, Wheeljack etc.

    I actually think the new Windblade mini is a godsend in that It can still focus on the rebuilding of Cybertron and the colony stuff, and Not!RiD can go off in a new direction entirely.

    And overall, the plot it is about those particular characters. Why dedicate valuable page time to a character that doesn't actually have anything to do with the story. Characters like Smokescreen and Inferno are background characters until the plot says otherwise.
     
  3. soundwaverulls

    soundwaverulls Taking a break

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    I don't think notRID has too many characters. Everything seems pretty well sorted with two lead characters on each side (except the neutrals) all of which are reasonably developed. My only problems is that I don't like a lot of their characterization but there is enough of it. MTMTE, on the other hand, I do feel is becoming overly stuffed. I find that previously developed characters are getting too little panel time, while the new characters all feel too basic.
     
  4. edgs2099

    edgs2099 Optimistically realistic. Moderator

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    I have favorite characters, but the stories I read aren't worse for not containing them. Would you prefer Smokescreen and Inferno to not exist at all in the IDWverse? I'd prefer them to be there, to know that they are along for the ride and to be used as needed as opposed to not knowing where they are or if they are alive or not after the war.
     
  5. ultramagnus1

    ultramagnus1 Well-Known Member

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    These are all fair points. Thanks for your imput.
     
  6. Dys

    Dys Bitter yellow dog.

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    Name characters being in the background sure beats the old days where an interstellar was was waged by the same 20 robots who spent most of it standing in lines shooting back and forth without wasting effort on little things like aiming.

    Guys like Inferno, Smokescreen have had an absolute tonne of fiction to flesh them out over the years, I'd rather have tales about the people who haven't, who have sat for 30 years with their original bios as their only supporting fiction, the Swerves, the Tailgates, the Thunderclashes. With Transformers expanding to three ongoing titles (Plus TF/Gi-Joe), there will be plenty of opportunity for these characters to be used, it's just a matter of time.
     
  7. Haywired

    Haywired Hakunamatatacon

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    Can't really have cast any smaller without having it focused on the same characters every issue.
    It's always possible to rotate characters and have issues focused on different bots.
     
  8. Murasame

    Murasame 村雨

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    No. Still waiting for other characters to appear as well.
     
  9. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Nah, mtmte has pushed it sometimes, but overall I can still tell you about each of the characters thoroughly except for maybe Riptide.

    If anything not-RID suffers from not focusing on a big enough variety of characters.
     
  10. Veritas Prime

    Veritas Prime You're Not Alone

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    No, not at all for all of the series because there are still so many characters that can still show up.
     
  11. LegionMaximus

    LegionMaximus Well-Known Member

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    I don't feel that MTMTE has too many characters, but sometimes I feel that way about not-RID.

    It's not so much about the number of characters as much as it's tendency to be like: "Okay, here's what's happening with Starscream's politics on Cybertron, but waaaait let's check in on Galvatron on Eeeeearth! Were you wondering about what Spike is doing, hey let's find out how he's doing!"
     
  12. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    Not-RID only seems to ever focus on Optimus, Prowl, Arcee, Galvatron, Soundwave, Thundercracker and the humans.

    Jazz, Kup, Sky Lynx, Jetfire, Cosmos and Skywarp don't get as much focus...and I wish they did.
     
  13. ionacus

    ionacus Well-Known Member

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    Mtmte is a team book. Cybertrons mightiest heroes. That's how it was described back when season one started.
     
  14. ParaChomp

    ParaChomp I am what I am

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    Yes but that's kind of a good thing, they can easily kill characters off and focus can go onto certain bots when needed. Adds more variety and continues an enjoyable brand.
     
  15. Zenstrive

    Zenstrive Well-Known Member

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    for MTME in particular, the ship is 10 miles wide and 15 miles long, that's the size of a town. It is quite stupid not to give an illusion of population on the ship, hence the big number of casts, even though many of them are names only or always in background (still waiting for Slapdash to do something). Do you even realize they have Skater, Flex, and Borer on board? Are you now intrigued that they can out-Nightbeat Nightbeat without being flashy?
     
  16. ZeroiaSD

    ZeroiaSD Autobot

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    I do want to note that post DC/before CW, there was only one Cybertron interlude, and now Windblade can pick up that end, which I think helps that burden.

    Now fRiD has just the Autobots, the Cons, and the Humans, with relatively small casts of each.
     
  17. Sockie

    Sockie Veteran

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    Yeah, ex-RiD isn't focused as much on the Cybertron stuff as it is what's going on on Earth. Windblade will be dealing moreso with that.
     
  18. Haywired

    Haywired Hakunamatatacon

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    It should, frankly, stay that way. ExRiD focused on Earth, WB focused on Cybertron/colonies, MTME focused on LL.
    Each time when there's a crossover and all three series are overlapping it only gets in the way of their own stories.
     
  19. ZeroiaSD

    ZeroiaSD Autobot

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    One bit I'll mention on the too-big-cast thing is, the Scavengers.

    Now, I don't have a problem with the scavengers, quite the opposite. It's that we get a two issue story with them, fall in love, and then over the course of 30 more issues get a 1-page cameo, even as new plotlines and characters get added on.

    Agreed. And I'm really glad we have three titles now to cover three locations so we don't have to jump back and forth.

    Or, I should say, crossover itself isn't bad, but the big sudden mega-event is. Stuff like the Titan being a common thread between both annuals works well, and having characters arrive and lead between books strikes me as fine.
     
  20. grindcore138

    grindcore138 TIME TO DELIVER A PIZZA BALL!

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    I love that the books have such a huge deck to choose from, I'd rather have named background characters that can be brought in when the story needs them than a sea of ever changing generics.
    I think it's cool that a fair few of them, while they might not get more than a line or two every now and then, have a purpose outside of taking up space in the background.