If you're in this thread, then you've been adequately warned. No spoiler tags ahead. After reading this issue, I feel the DJD could have been written a little differently and the effect would have been much more profound. Let me know what you think of my idea: I think the DJD should have been portrayed mostly as they were - a group of scary decepticon enforcers; but who only *look* scary and have big scary looking weapons. In reality they are pretty powerless and incapable. This would be Megatron's ruse to create a team who would have legends told of them about taking down Phase 6-ers who stepped out of line; but in reality were pretty meek. Enough to scare the rest of the troops into line, but not enough of a threat to actually worry Megatron or his elites. The DJD would work up their own egos as big scary Decepticon enforcers, coupled with their weird rules and bureaucracy, which would be the only way the odd group of nobodies could find to make themselves look more powerful. We've never seen the other Decepticons show that kind of political structure, so it would be odd for the worst of the bunch to be so rule-bound and structured. Small hint. Their egos would have built up and they'd be wound up so much in their own legend that they'd actually think (with a real army at their back) they'd have a shot at taking Megatron down. It would be the only way to make their legend a reality. It would also explain why Tarn would never put his crew in harm's way - he knew they'd be cannon fodder and keeps them safely on the sidelines. Then, when Megatron reveals they are a bunch of powerless nobodies, the mind-messup wouldn't have been "Who is Tarn?" it would have been "Is the WHOLE DJD really what they seem?". Then it would be revealed that Megatron was never scared of them, because he knew he could eradicate them all easily. It would make their deaths easier to swallow - since they didn't really put up a lot of fight. It could also have been used to scare off Overlord. If Megatron could kill the *big, scary, deadly* DJD single-handedly, perhaps Overlord would see he was more outmatched than he thought. When in reality, "you are being deceived..." This would require them to remove Black Shadow's death in issue 7. Perhaps the scavengers could have told the "rumor" of when the DJD took him down, but in actuality it never happened. The rest of the history would work. The DJD would spend their time chasing down and killing other meaningless nobodies like Fulcrum and Blip (the runt they took out in issue 39). They could take out Overlord (in the parallel universe), but only when he's incapacitated and can't fight back, which would only add to their false capability in the reader's eye. They might even be able to take out the Lost Light in an alternate universe. Then, when the LL discovers Rewind and Megatron makes the comment that Tarn is getting sloppy, it would be another small hint. Megatron says they are perfect, but in reality they aren't as good as they are built up to be. Then everyone would be looking at the issue saying: - "Yeah, we never saw them take on anyone big, just heard rumors of them doing it". - "They were Megatron's pawns, used to further his own agenda yet again. He continues to deceive everyone even as an Autobot." - "That explains why they never battled the Autobots - they really couldn't". I think this would have been a much better way to write the DJD. All the myth and legend, but when push comes to shove, nothing of substance. Let me know your thoughts.
I think my problem with the DJD is why are there five of them? Like really what story purpose did it serve having five of them? Nothing really. Can anyone tell the difference between Helex or Tesarus personality wise? No. I'm saying why instead of five just have it be Tarn and his two other goons. This leaves for more chance of character development instead of having those four and then Tarn. We learn nothing about the other four and the spotlight is always on Tarn. If it was three in total it would leave more time for more character development besides Tarn. As it stands we have four underdeveloped characters who all look cool and distinct but personality wise are just basically the same dude. Regardless it doesn't matter now anyways.
Let's be honest, that's not very far off of how they were depicted in the actual comic with the main difference is they don't actually kill Black Shadow. Even your version is capable of taking out the Lost Light crew. The DJD's best weapon was Fear and that was lost on Megatron who didn't actually fear them at all.
But Tarn can fight toe to toe with Deathsaurus. And there's the fact that Kaon killed a giant powersuit by his electricity shot alone.
I agree fully. I found it extremely jarring to see Black Shadow, established in Japanese media, introduced to the West as a complete badass, a super-enhanced soldier on par with Overlord, only to be tortured to death by a bunch of Mary Sues, begging for his life... The only consolation is that we never saw them actually take him down, maybe they had acquired the "off-switch" Megs had for all phase sixers so that all they had to do was to torture him in an already helpless stage? I just wish he had had the same "fuck you"-no remorse attitude as some of their other victims as they killed him. Yet I recall Roberts telling us in an interview that we are yet to see why Black Shadow is such a big deal... well, well. Another thing, did we ever actually see the DJD take out LL2 except for that flashback panel that mostly seemed like someone´s imagination? Anyway, I fully agree with your concept, I started this thread myself out of frustration from how all-powerful the DJD were portrayed to be: www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-comics-discussion/1042793-djd-ridiculously-overpowered.html
Well lets look at the DJD body types, you have 1-2 average size transformers (Kaon,Vos-on the smaller side-) 1 "heroic" body size (Tarn, who is almost megatron sized), and 2 brute sized (Tesarus and Helex), each with interesting enough abilities and mindset to take on almost any transformer that is within their size range, plus the Nuke. honestly they probably could have killed megatron in a straight on fight. but vos would have died at the least
Yeah, but it was obvious they were super high powered killers. They took out Black Shadow in their first intro. They also took out Heretech and other heavy hitters. There was also no doubt they were going after Overlord to kill him. I think it would have been much more powerful if they had no real reputation and they only talked a big game. Then everyone would be slapping their foreheads saying "OMG so many little things make sense now." I'm just saying it would have made a lot more sense then how they ended up.
I guess I don't know what doesn't make sense? I like the DJD as they are now, what they represented, and the fear they instilled was more important than who they were. And I think the birth-name reveals helped drive that home. I also liked that Megatron created them, and then he unmade them, and it helped bring his first arc in MTMTE to a good conclusion for me. Especially the temptations he faced, and how he slipped back into his own persona for a bit, I'm now very excited to see what he does with his old friend back.
I think you are missing one of the little nuances that the DJD were actually soft until they discovered Nuke. Its made clear in #39 that Tarn discovered Nuke during the time period after AHM and before Chaos Theory - this would coincide with when Pharma had to start supplying cogs to Tarn and Swerve would have been traumatized by watching them in action. I doubt that they would ever have gone after a phase sixer until they were all hopped up on the Nuke. And again in #39 we are told that they are running out of Nuke - ie their courage in a crystal - which is probably why they make their move on Deathsaurus and Megatron.
Nah, the way they ended up made perfect sense for what they were. They had to have the reputation that they were because as I stated before their greatest weapon was Fear-- the Fear that they were coming after you because of those little stories you heard, that they shoot lasers from their eyes and fart fireballs from their ass and cook sparks for dinner. Fear makes their victims do irrational and stupid things. That when you take that away from them they're just another gang of bullies is poetic justice; that the DJD spent so much time working on drumming up their fearsome reputation only underscores just how much they relied on it.
It would have worked better for me if fear was the ONLY weapon they actually had. Then it would have helped explained why they stayed on the sidelines when fighting the LL crew, and how Megatron could have easily beaten them, instead of going all Super-Saiyan powerup mode on them. I prefer actual storytelling and foreshadowing (even if not obvious until after the fact) to deus ex machinas (Megatron's black hole powerup) being shoved into the plot.
Look I know how much you want them to all have been pussies by default, but for that to happen they'd still have to be able to take out everyone on the Lost Light, so by extension everyone on the alternate Lost Light would also have to be even bigger pussies. They have to at least be strong enough to be threatening, just not strong enough to live up to their reputation. And Megatron won because he was both stronger and smarter than them.
