Spoiler Notice how the horn Tailgate made for Cyclonus gets shot in half. Spoiler Yes, either this, or Tailgate gives his life to bring him back via the spark-thing. At least then Cyc can live to rip Getaway's ass apart. One of them needs to be dead at least. I like to think Roberts has moved on from fakeouts ever since Trailcutter.
Wow. Just...wow. Getaway went from creep, to bastard, to creepy bastard all in one issue. Though maybe it's just me but Whirl kinda stole the show here, it was very refreshing to see him interacting with other characters again.
Yes, I loved every bit of the scenes with Whirl and Cyclonus. Great to see Whirl again, and he was funny and horrible and sad all at the same time. Spoiler I loved the appearance of the clocks, given that Whirl was once a watchmaker- and their significance later. As for Cyclonus- I don't know if he's dead. I mean, Megatron just got stabbed and he looked pretty well beaten up and unconscious, but we know he'll be around to face the DJD. Transformers can take quite a beating and still live- and I'm not exactly sure if the Dead Universe might still affect Cyclonus at all? Anyway, I can't wait for next issue. I don't want Cyc to be dead. Getaway on the other hand... Also, Cyclonus *is* on the cover of MTMTE 50, and he looks alive there. Tailgate seemed to be missing though? So MANY FEELS.
There wasn't any romance in this issue though. Spoiler Fake romance; seemingly predatory advances that were in reality used as a tool for manipulating a naive child character into taking Megatron out of power via using said child as a scapegoat, but there was no actual romance, dude. Spoiler Roberts confirmed those covers to be indicative of MTMTE as a whole, and not for the issue itself. Hence how Ratchet's there.
Spoiler Well, yeah. Transformers have survived beatings, but at the whole seen, especially with the last farewell to Tailgate, was pretty clearly a death scene and it would really suck if it was just for cliffhanger purposes. I mean, Roberts has a bit of a habit of never being able to stick with character deaths. In the whole series we've had, what, two deaths that actually stuck? Pipes and Trailbreaker and that's it... and neither of those were intricate to the plot in the way Cyclonus is.
Oh man. Welp, then... I don't know. I need the next issue already! (*starts yet another long wait*) True. Again... I just want the next issue already. I need Brainstorm's time machine.
Since I can never read the issue until I get it in a volume, I had to ask someone for a quick summary as to what happened. Oh my boy... the feels are scaring me... I hope Cyclonus isn't dead...
Ok, yes, that was a much better issue than I anticipated. Because I was actually dreading Getaway Spoiler being a complete predator. Which he still sort of is, but at least there's no romance involved from his side. He just wants to set Tailgate up for a botched assassination, which ties back into earlier issues of a shadowy group trying to get rid of Megatron. Cruel! Of course it doesn't justify or redeem Getaway in the slightest, but just really glad the creepy angle was a ruse. Cyclonus better Spoiler be dead, I agree. Not because I'm sick of him, but because I feel this comic really needs some more deaths that stick again, after so many turned out to be fake-outs or were reversed relatively quick. I don't think there's a better way for him to go. Oh, and I guess there's more to Tailgate's crying eyes effect he's been having occasionally. Let's see what that does. This was tense! I...sort of get where you're coming from, but really? Aaaaaall the romance? We literally have one pair of characters who are in a romantic relationship (1,5 if you count the alternate universe issue with Rewind being together with Dominus), and apart from the tiniest slivers of hints, this is the first issue where something 'romantic' happens. From Getaway's side it was nothing but a ruse to trick the o so gullible Tailgate into doing something extremely bad. And Whirl points out just how incredibly ridiculous and juvenile Cyclonus' standpoint is. Personally I feel romance in Transformers is definitely a tricky thing to do. These are beings that are sentient and apparently care enough about their homeworld and living conditions that they end up in a civil war that turns galactic - I don't see why they wouldn't pursue some form of happiness by finding a partner for life - romantic, platonic, whatever you want to call it. But yeah, this issue had the danger of going overboard with it. I don't think it did, but ok. I still think the Hedonia issue, the personality tick arc and Swearth were sub-par issues in a long line of greatness - and those had nothing to do with romance. Also, just want to point out that I love that Brendan Cahill was on art.
Quick summary... Spoiler Getaway asks Tailgate to perform the ritual to become his Conjux Endura, the last step being an act of dedication from the recipient. Armed with a scanner that can detect Ravage and clip on mnemosurgery needles, he asks Tailgate to break into Megatron's hab suite as he's sleeping and inject a pre-programmed virus into his head that will remove any evil thoughts from him. Meanwhile, Cyclonus is growing concerned with Tailgate and Getaway's relationship and goes to Whirl for advice, which ends up basically being "Get over it and stop being so possessive". Cyclonus ultimately agrees, but Whirl goes to confront Getaway and Atomizer, revealing it was them who he was talking to in the first issue of this season. Getaway's ultimate plan has been to manipulate Tailgate into being murdered by Megatron, resulting in him being sent back to Cybertron for a new trial and hopefully execution. Both the scanner and needles he have Tailgate are fakes, so there's no way Megatron won't catch him. They nudge gun Whirl so that he can't say anything, but he still manages to send a warning to Cyclonus through his holo-avatar. Cyclonus arrives just in time to stop Megatron via bashing Ravage and stabbing Megatron, but is gunned down while trying to escape with Tailgate. The issue ends with a light pushing out of Tailgate and enveloping the entire ship.
I'm not sure if Whirl wasn't a friend with Cyclonus. It's just this sick way of both Cyclonus and Whirl showing how friendly they are. Also, art rocks this issue.
Thanks for the literal rainbow lovesplosion at the end there Roberts! Subtle. I liked the conspiracy angle. I liked the conversation between Cyclonus and Whirl. I liked Cyclonus at the end. Everything else was meh to wtf?
Ok, here's what's bugging me. Cyclonus views his relationship as a parent-child one with Tailgate. His last words are "goodbye little one". I like that side of the relationship. Quite a lot actually. But on Tailgates side, especially with Getaway introducing this whole creeper angle, it's like a child wants to marry an old man. That I find... Repellent at best. I mean, I get what Roberts was going for, but he missed the mark by a huge margin by establishing Tailgate as a kid. And seriously, rainbow lovesplosion. Really Roberts?
Finally. I don't think we've had an issue this good since 28. Hope this is the start of an upward swing.
I think it's more complicated than that. Tailgate is definitely childlike, but he's not a child. Like all other Transformers, he's a fully functional 'adult', even if he's super naive and lacks the experience. I actually think Cyclonus 'wanting' Tailgate is in fact much more ridiculous than Tailgate 'wanting' Cyclonus - and that's why I think it's great that Whirl is laughing in his face at the immaturity of Cyclonus' reasoning.
Holy Christ, this board needs to join the rest of us in 2015 and get some forum software compatible with handheld devices, this thread is goddamn unreadable because this must be the only one left in the world where tapping on the spoiler text does nothing. Sort your shit out, guys, it's not 2005 any more!
