Even costa thundercracker would've done so.

He might yet  

 

Just popping in out of curiosity. I dumped all the Barber titles ages ago because the writing made me feel like stabbing my eyes out.

This seems awful. Are people just hate-reading this series now?

zmog

 

You know I really love Thundercracker but he's been flanderized beyond the point of no return. Thundercracker should have punched Starscream in the face upon seeing him like other users were suggesting. Even in the beginning of exrid S2, TC was hostile to not only Optimus and his Autobots but Soundwave and the Decepticons as well. Why would he be so friendly now to Starscream of all people who never apologized and frankly, has the most beef with TC aside from Skywarp? Thundercracker went from a really interesting character with a unique perspective on humanity and Earth to nothing more than a comic relief character.

 

I think I'm with you on this. I've given Barber every chance but his writing is just twee to the point of nauseating. I can't forgive what he's done to Thundercracker - basically turned him into a proxy of Barber himself. I hate Buster beyond words D.O.C was an abomination he wanted us to care about who has since disappeared. Bumblebee has spent the last three frikkin YEARS of comics playing the exact. same. scene. with Starscream just with different words. His random collection of colonist Bot's have no depth to their characters whatsoever.....I like the major plots attempted throughout but their execution is always so poor, and ends up wasting loads of potential. And even before Hasbro came along with their shared universe, returning to the glory days of the reviled Mccarthy era with Spike and Prowl was just WTF. Galvatron and Arcee are twins?

Nope. I'm outta here.

I continue reading these out of inertia. Lost Light is still the far superior series. IDW's reboot can't come fast enough for me.

 

I highly value a sense of fun in my entertainment. When I started reading MTMTE and RID, MTMTE was my favourite of the two specifically because it always put a smile on my face.

Over time, MTMTE/LL transformed into a gloomy tragedy porn comic where bad things constantly happen to the cast in order to manufacture drama, whilst RID/OP became this rollicking adventure book about working towards an aspirational future, where all the characters bounce off each other in fun ways.

And so things have totally flipped for me, and I eagerly await every new Barber issue, and prepare for disappointment with every new LL issue. Roberts' writing has been going consistently downhill ever since... Elegant Chaos, I'd say, whilst Barber's stories have been going from strength to strength. Revolutionaries #1-8 in particular was one of my favourite runs of Transformers comics ever.

 

Ok thanks .

 

So..Starscream just had one of the worst coolest ideas ever? Giving Thundercracker the chance to make a movie..about him?!?! xD I really wanna read this.

 

I did not hit Windblade, it's not true! It's bullshit! I did not hit her! I did nuaaaht!
*throws down Energon goodie*
Oh hi, Rattrap.

 

But he mentions Earth having the Energon they need. Didn't First Strike take place after he was put in jail? They need the energon because it got tainted on Cybertron.

 

No, First Strike takes place before this. This takes place after that during the elections, and the TAAO annual takes place during this.

 

It sure would be nice if these stories came out in the order they take place....

 

First Strike came out, then the TAAO Annual, then this Annual. So that makes sense.

This Annual takes place between OP #14 and #15, but came out in the same month as #16, but that's not that confusing. This Annual is like a retrospective of IDW history, it clearly has nothing to do with "The Falling". It's just a big special side story.

The TAAO Annual is collected in TAAO v3 with TAAO #9-12, which is a bit messed up, because those other issues take place before First Strike while that Annual takes place afterwards. But there wasn't really anywhere else to collect it.

This Annual will probably be collected in OP v5 with OP #22-25, which is also a bit messed up, but again, it's not that confusing. OP v5 might be the final volume of RID/exRID/OP, so it makes sense for the retrospective special to be included in it, even if it technically takes place before the previous volume.

 

I can’t disagree with that.

 

First Strike came out and took place before the TAAO Annual. This issue covers a period of time that intersects and follows the events of the TAAO Annual. Everything came out in the proper order.

 

Well no, not entirely, because this Annual is set before "The Falling", yet we're already two issues deep into that arc. I just don't think that's a big deal. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with writing a new issue that is set before or at the same time as previous issues.

 

This should have come out before the TAAO annual. Considering how that one ended. Anything with Starscream as the leader should have come out before that annual.

 

The OP Annual takes place over a lengthy period of time. By the end of the story, the events of the TAAO Annual have happened, and we see Starscream in his jail cell.