My first thought was Terrorsaur too. The way Froid's cockpit folds into his abdomen is reminiscent of the TM Terrorsaur toy, along with the rest of his body. It was nice to see one of my favorite toys referenced.
According to TFWiki, Milne says he was based on Prime Soundwave, however.

 

As an aside, did the gold bot being led away alongside Skids when he was captured seem familiar? (From Marvel G1 somewhere)

 

Build up, build up, and more build up. Boring and lame, and so, so slow paced. This is getting so incredibly dull. The series really has gone to shit.

 

I liked the issue. The events of the past issue do seem to be resolved a little too quick and tidy for my tastes but I'm sure there's something more going on with Tailgate's coma.

 

Well, there goes all the good will the last issue generated. I thought this issue sucked. Awful art. Just terrible. And another complete cop out negating the cliffhanger from last issue.

 

I should be surprised that Cyclonus got off with literally just a scratch.

But honestly I'm not. MTMTE has been doing this for years now. Still kinda eh.

That said, great issue.

 

Why couldn't Cyclonus have just woken up on an operating table and stay there the rest of the arc?

 

Loved the issue, but I was already expecting Cyclonus to be perfectly fine and that issue resolved mostly off-panel. Guess that set my expectations more properly.

Rung's bound to repeat his 'mistake': most of the crew's already breaking the line between patient/friend and Rung seems pretty lonely.

And oh, more hints that Roller = Tarn. Doesn't count as a spoiler at this point anymore, right?

 

All we're missing is the reveal.

And I'll admit, seeing Getaway and Atomizer get arrested by Ultra Magnus felt extremely satisfying.

 

And people said Bulkhead recovered to easly in TFP.

 

Reminder:

MAGNUS IS A BADASS WILL ARREST YOU WITH TERMINAL PREJUDICE.

Nice to see a reminder of how fierce and powerful Magnus is. ^^

This ish, what can I say.

Primus.

Kinda totally ok with the fate of Cyke and Tailgate. A. TFs are hard as fuck to kill. B. Cyke is REALLY hard as fuck. C. Doesn't take away from anything. Tailgate would NOT have survived that hailstorm. And Cyke is so much swiss cheese.

But, um, yeah. All the flashback stuff, and then the creepy as fuck dude, and then... Tarn.

Looks like the theories on Skids/DJD were fairly correct, but just exactly HOW? And was Skids then recognizing the voice as Roller's? Or Tarn's?

Maaaaaaaaaan.

 

Bit boring. I didn't really care for Rung's storyline this issue.

 

Maybe it's just me but I'm thinking that in an issue that deals exclusively with recollection, poor memory, mind altering surgery and such, there may just be...'more than meets the eye' here vis-a-vis the very neat and happily wrapped up in a bow resolution to the previous issue's jawdropper.

I actually hope not because I'm very glad everyone's favourite lavender ronin-bot is alive and well after all and those scumbags were quickly apprehended but it wouldn't surprise me if something quickly pulls the rug out from under us next issue.

 

I agree with everyone who felt that this issue was a copout because it is. I read about other times this happened such as Minimus Ambus/Ultra Magnus, Rung himself and a couple of others. This is a James Roberts thing of course. I am still looking for the other issues to get a sense of his writing but in comparison to the last issue, I totally agree that it's in poor taste how it was handled. The sheer lack of courage to stick to something previously established. Anyway, that aside the rest of the story in this issue perhaps requires a second read. I think I was way too upset with my expectations being so high and being dashed aside to appreciate the rest of what I was reading.

 

Yeah the way they handled the cliffhanger was rushed, they would have been better off saving it for the next issue.

otherwise i enjoyed how unnerving this issue was.

Sunder is terrifying and

Spoiler

Tarn

OH SHIT!

I also have a theory for the next issue.

Spoiler

Tailgate will be the one who will stop or play a part in defeating Sunder. It's why on the cover Thunderclash is cowering behind Tailgate.

 

Hokay... disappointment.

Not because this was a terrible issue. It wasn't.

More than anything, it just stirs up my frustrations with Roberts' way of resolving plot points. It's like he's actually allergic to unpacking many of his stories in real-time. His way of following up last month (quite an excellent story) actually undermines so much of the good will generated by last issue.

Someone in this thread suggested that he might be "trolling" people who were invested in the outcome of last issue, but I think that's a silly way of looking at it. If you pointedly break your audience's sense of emotional involvement and immediacy, you are not "trolling" anyone. You're just writing badly.

Some of this may be due to scheduling, and the necessity of hitting some major plot point by #50. That's why I find that these arbitrary marketing targets are ultimately detrimental to the medium. I feel that the fallout of the "Getaway Affair" could have EASILY unfolded into a whole issue, while also laying some groundwork for this issue's story. If this issue had picked up on a note of tension and uncertainty, with Cyclonus' and Tailgate's fates still questionable, or with the actual Getaway arrest underway, rather than these things constrained to a flippant, after-the-fact info-dump, I think it I think it would have gone a long way to making the storyline feel resonant and worthwhile. As it is, the trite resolution it feels truncated, and makes everything seem unimportant. It retroactively denigrates the earlier story.

I think Roberts does this way too often... he builds things up to a crescendo, and then pays ZERO attention to a denouement. It's getting really annoying. Sometimes these stories need to take some more time. Like, I can't believe we got TWO F***ING ISSUES devoted to "personality ticks" and then he shortchanges this plot.

As a result, this whole thing with Sunder also feels rushed... a crisis manufactured totally out of nowhere. Part of that is just an issue of writing balance and internal logics... we spend way too much time with Rung and Froid talking in his office, the blackmail attempt, etc... and not nearly enough time setting up the circumstances of Sunder being on board, and creating a sense of tension and build-up.

Sooooo.... Magnus was like "okay, cool. I don't like it, but welcome aboard with your dangerous serial killer prisoner that you are not necessarily sanctioned to have in your possession?" He wouldn't even notify Rung ahead of time, to have him come down to the launch bay to clear Froid, and instead gives him the run of the ship? There are NO SECURITY escorts accompanying Rung and Froid, or guarding Sunder? I know Magnus is trying to relax these days, but seriously... this is still Magnus.

Froid's whole creeper vibe is way too obvious right off the bat. Someone commented on this being a recurring theme in MTMTE, and I'm inclined to agree... we've seen this dynamic with Pharma and Tyrest already. By this story, it feels like Roberts is just going through the motions.

Cute idea about the "beads of Primus", but again... kind of awkward. We've NEVER EVER seen these beads on anyone before, and then... apparently Transformer eyeballs are just giant marbles? No wires, no connectors, no external features... ?

There are some genuinely creepy ideas and moments here, but I can't help feeling like they are undermined by awkward plotting and poor development. It's all just feels very slapdash and very clumsily put together. This whole story feels like a rushed, heavy-handed way of dealing with Skids underlying mystery.

If Roberts is cutting corners to make his #50 plot rendezvous, he has my sympathies... but it doesn't make for great storytelling.

Part of me can't help but wonder if this Sunder story was originally conceived as a return for Overlord... with him turning up back on the ship (sans Froid)... a little rougher, a little madder, but also suped up with Rewind's archive and mnemosurgery abilities salvaged from Chromedome's severed arm. It feels like the plot we're leading into could have been an Overlord plot that has been revised to feature a new villain instead. Just a musing on my part...not even a pet theory. Just a stray thought.

While I'm at it, I've decided that I don't like Sakamoto at all. Sure, he can draw TFs, but I'm finding his artwork to be largely devoid of any ability to convey deep emotions or a palpable mood. I mean, he tries... his handling of the Sunder reveal has some theatrical spikes that heighten the drama a bit, but overall I'm not finding that his way of depicting the interpersonal moments between characters has any weight. Everything is too fidgety, too caricatured, too cartoony somehow...

... plus, I can't shake the nagging suspicion that he's taking every opportunity to compose characters in his panels in such a way to provide gratuitous shipper-bait. Maybe I'm paranoid, but it feels like he's paying more attention to that than to capturing a sense of dramatic mood.

I realize those are vague and somewhat ambiguous assertions re: Sakamoto. I'm just finding his stuff is not hitting the spot. I'm really missing Milne on this issue.

So... overall... some interesting developments, but due to some structural issues with Roberts' plotting, this issue really feels like a let-down for me. Meh.

zmog

 

Well, looking forward to actually seeing Skids becoming Vos v1 next issue. Certainly played the long game with that one, didn't we?

I called Cyclonus being okay right after I read the last issue, so no surprises for me there. At this point, you've gotta hope that all the death fake-outs are just to throw us off-guard for the real ones, when they come.

Sunder's pretty dang terrifying, kudos to Sakamoto on that one.

 

It would make sense for Tailgate to stand up to him, because he has the least dark memories of everyone. He has fewer memories than anybody, in fact.

 

huh...i never noticed that....when you put it that way roberts isn't the writing god some make him out to be after all.

this issue kinda stunk...i was all amped up to see a skids issue thinking maybe the events here ran alongside the last issue and they'd end up resolving around the same time or because of one another since skids is close to getaway. instead, i felt like i missed an issue and that is just shitty on the writer's part.

not a good issue from a storytelling standpoint. the art was great though.

 

Sucks that Cyclonus is alright. :/ Ah well, the rest of the issue made up for it. Sunder is spooky as shit.