IDW Transformers #5 (2019-)

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by rikkomba, May 14, 2019.

  1. raindance773

    raindance773 Well-Known Member

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    It will be very interesting to see how some of the future Autobots (because I really don’t believe Bumblebee will ever ultimately be anything else) end up with the Autobots.

    The lines are muddy and I like that. I’d love to see how each character falls in like they will.
     
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  2. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Yup, 100% the best issue so far. I already said from the preview that this seemed to be the most interesting issue, what with Chromia's discovery. But here we get some actual stakes for once. The Voin is killed, Rubble is possibly killed, Quake establishes himself as a real threat pretty freaking quickly in a very dynamic way. Then you have Bumblebee seeming like he's considering joining the Ascenticons (illuminating a lot of who Bumblebee is and where Bumblebee's arc is heading), plus a huge step forward in the case. Quake killed the Voin that was likely witness to the murder of Brainstorm, plus we know the Ascenticons are tied into this somehow.

    I mean, there are some issues I still kind of have with it, but they're pretty minor. Soundwave being a Senator doesn't jive with me really. It's hard to explain, but it just doesn't. It feels like almost a default role for him, like there weren't any better ideas of what to do with him. I would have preferred him to be a guy Megatron knows, or just some dude who works in communications. That's super subjective on my part though. Otherwise the thing about Quake killing the Voin and possibly even Brainstorm is that it's not really shocking or interesting to me, mainly because it incriminates the Ascenticons, and the Ascenticons have essentially been speculated to have done it from the main cast from the beginning. Also if they aren't, and Quake is just doing this because he's Quake, then that's also kind of eh? Just because it becomes sort of an annoying red herring and is just to throw readers off rather than actually developing the story, and god this story needs development. Plus if Quake killed Brainstorm on his own volition, then it kind of makes this whole inciting incident of Brainstorm's death kind of cheap, since Quake's motivation for anything so far seems to be because he's a murderous psychopath.

    Otherwise, there was a TON of good in this issue compared to the last few. Quake charging up his strike, and the next panel immediately cutting to blurred data was great and jarring.

    Anyway I hope Rubble doesn't die. He was essentially the most developed character. Although either way the death/wounding of the second youngest Cybertronian is gonna be biiiiiiig.
     
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  3. Thumbaticon

    Thumbaticon "It's all right, I'm an emergency vehicle!"

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    upload_2019-5-15_19-32-6.png
     
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  4. Scrapmaker

    Scrapmaker Hadar Sen Olmen

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    A few possibilities going forward:
    • It was all staged. Megatron was responsible from the beginning, intending to frame someone else for the deed. Quake did it, but is intended to be a fall guy.
    • Quake did it of his own volition, basically just because he's a violent maniac.
    • Quake didn't do it, but believed the Voin did, and that's why he hunted and killed the Voin.
    • It was an Autobot who did it.
    It's pretty easy to assume the first option; it's a foregone conclusion that Megatron is willing to resort to whatever extremes he deems necessary to bring about his vision for Cybertron.
     
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  5. CleverNamePendingatron

    CleverNamePendingatron Just an ordinary cassette. Nothing to see here.

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    Wow, um, okay.

    All those theories about who Rubble is, or who he's going to end up being, and yeah, fair enough. Well played Ruckley. I genuinely didn't see that coming.

    I do kind of wish we'd gotten here a bit sooner, what with the first couple of issues being a little on the slow side. But damn, now that we're here, I can't wait to see what's next. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm officially sold on this series.
     
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  6. SonicGX98

    SonicGX98 Well-Known Member

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    Holy fuck.

    They fucking Ned Stark'd Rubble! Ruckley, you sly son of a bitch!

    Fuck, and I was really starting to like him too! That is a REALLY ballsy way to end this first arc, but honestly, I think it's gonna pay off. Bumblebee is DEFINITELY gonna go down a pretty dark path for a while after this. I really wanna see if they bring in Arcee soon so maybe he'll be trying to protect the femme she's mentoring to make up for his mistake with Rubble.

    Art for this issue was actually better than previous ones. Angel Hernandez's backgrounds are stunning, but still could use work on their characters. Anna Malkova and Sara do much better with their characters. I'm hoping they're used more frequently in the future.

    Can't wait for the next issue!

    9.5/10
     
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  7. The Mad Demobot

    The Mad Demobot Well-Known Member

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    He probably won't, but I like to picture him in the future to be "New Whirl" where he may have had a hand in starting the war that will kill billions and will have a laugh at that.
    I'm totally betting Quake to be the fall guy, but not exactly what Quake himself had in mind. If Megatron's anything to go by Quake will be punching
    possibly Rubble, Voin, and MAYBE Brainstorm
    clones in the Afterspark before the Autobots are able to cuff him for questioning.
     
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  8. TeamOptimus

    TeamOptimus Well-Known Member

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    Still having trouble reading Megatron in this continuity. The version I see could be someone with radical ideas, but against violence, who will eventually flip either because of the rising fear, Termagax’s possibly negative influence or something.

    But then he could easily be pure evil all along and this is a master plot to create unrest so he can take over.


    If they go with the second version then they succeeded in creating a particularly sinister, ruthless Megatron.
     
  9. spiritprime

    spiritprime Dudes, I'm a girl!

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    Okay I didn’t see that coming.
     
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  10. osenator

    osenator Well-Known Member

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    This was the best issue of this serie....

    Too bad it was not the first issue. If they started with this issue, instead of wasting 4 issues of pure blandness, they would have made way more sells. They already alienated some people because of this.

    And yes, i knew who was going to die already, saw it a mile away, and no, I didn't check any future spoilers.

    Still, I don't have any negative things to say, maybe too short of a read, in 10 minutes I was done reading it. The art, characters and story were good, finally.

    I hope this only continues and get even better.
     
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  11. SonicGX98

    SonicGX98 Well-Known Member

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    I mean, I get why.
    They set Rubble up in the beginning of this series to make it seem like he'll be one of, if not the main character or at least the character whose POV we see the majority of the story from. With his death five issues into the story, it's interesting to see what'll happen.
     
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  12. SuperTitanHans

    SuperTitanHans Upgraded

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    Honestly though, anyone who feels that way just doesn’t understand storytelling. If this had been the first issue, not only would they not have been able to establish the backstory, but the events would not have carried close to the same emotional weight. I understand that the comic format perhaps demands more immediacy than a novel or even a TV show, but what they’ve actually done is pretty expert when you look at the first six or twelve issues as a story arc.

    I feel like I’m a broken record on this, but story =/= plot. The fact that it’s been a relatively slow burn to date will make the action and plot development to come have a lot more impact and meaning. Look at Bumblebee. I’m genuinely invested in his story. I never thought I’d say that again about a character by that name.
     
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  13. GWolfv2

    GWolfv2 Deathsaurus - A name you can trust for peace

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    They just out Game of Thrones modern Thrones
     
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  14. Ryan F

    Ryan F Transform and Roll Out!

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    Yeah, this does sound a little pompous. I'm reminded of a conversation I had about 20 years ago, when I said that I didn't like The Matrix. The person I was talking to said, "oh, well, you probably just didn't understand it then". Making the presumption that people who don't share your views are intellectually inferior is a bad look.

    I get that a measured build-up can make you root for a character more, therefore making their death more affecting. But it's not a question of page-time, but about character development. To pick a Transformers reference, Bayverse Ironhide had far more screen time than 86 Movie Kranix, but I think most people would agree that Kranix's death was more tragic, simply because of how it was written. Similarly, I felt more sadness for the death of Scrounge in the old G1 comics (who was only present in a single issue), than for [name redacted for spoiler reasons] who was in five.

    And no, a comic does not need more immediacy than a TV show. A multi-million-dollar TV series has just as much pressure (if not more) to prevent viewer drop-off than a comic does. Buffy, The Shield, Spooks and Torchwood all killed major characters in their first or second episodes, so I'm not sure why a more condensed opening (with [character] dying earlier) would have been objectively worse.

    There's also a perfectly valid storytelling technique called 'in medias res' in which a story starts in the middle, allowing the background to be filled in later. (Indeed, most Transformers fiction traditionally begins with the war having already begun, rather than showing us the complete conflict from the start.) As I said, there's no storytelling 'rule' that states that a long build-up has to be necessary.

    Look, I'm not here to rag on the comic, just saying that there are many ways to skin a cat. There's no singularly perfect way of writing a story, and multiple techniques are valid. Some people prefer a slower, more thoughtful take, whereas others would prefer something a little less languid. It's all good. Reading and offering different opinions is why we all frequent these boards.

    But to get on one's high horse, to attempt to shut down the argument and say "if you feel this way, then you don't understand storytelling" is just a really, really bad take, I'm afraid, especially when doing so simply demonstrates your own ignorance.

    The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing!
     
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  15. Issy543

    Issy543 Well-Known Member

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    In this issue, Nominus Prime was mentioned.

    Has this character appeared in the previous IDW series, and did he play any important roles?
     
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  16. SuperTitanHans

    SuperTitanHans Upgraded

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    This was a thoughtful and articulate response, and I appreciated you taking the time to write it. Your point is taken. I’ll let others more the discussion forward in a positive manner rather than get drawn further into this debate.
     
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  17. DrTraveler

    DrTraveler Wheeljack, Wheeljack, Wheeljack

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    My extended thoughts:

    Bumblebee was probably sent by Optimus to try to infiltrate the Decepticons. The fact that means he wasn't there to protect Rubble is going to be agonizing. I'm fully invested in Bee now.

    Quake killing the voin, and possibly Brainstorm, is definitely connected to the disappearance of the 200 or so bots that Sideswipe reveals this issue. The Decepticons are going underground. Or being quietly purged and all those transformers are dead. I'm not sure yet and could see it going either way.

    Rubble's death really hits home because this was a very slow burn story. I can see things going very fast towards a full on war.
     
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  18. Ryan F

    Ryan F Transform and Roll Out!

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    Hey, no problem, it’s all good! Apologies myself if I came across as too harsh!
     
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  19. ToaArcan

    ToaArcan Needs more Brainstorm

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    Is it bad that my first reaction to the end of the issue was "Well it's about damn time that something actually happened."

    Soundwave's appearance was probably my favourite scene, but Rubble's apparent death was a close second. It's very well-executed, ramping the tenseness and the terror up alarmingly quickly, before the terrible implications of the final few panels really drive it home.

    That said, I can't help but feel that Rubble's death is going to eclipse Brainstorm's, both internally and externally, and that kinda pisses me off.
     
  20. Deathcatg

    Deathcatg Well-Known Member

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