It’s funny because I couldn’t disagree with this more. I own the entirety of the prior run, I’ve read significant swathes of it (most recently, Lost Light) and I cannot get into it. I mostly find it convoluted, off-brand and - yes - boring. This run is a little slow at times but the machinations are really well done and things are set up in a really fascinating way. So each to his or her own. Yes. Good call on both points. Love the way they’re setting up the Megs/SW dynamic.
Okay, well, Infiltration and Stormbringer was arguably more action packed, so there's that. Just got done with #10. A few thoughts. Spoiler: Discussion of Book #10 Elements I still really dislike Elita's design a lot, which I'll admit is from about 20 years of seeing her with strong, superheroic proportions. What the heck happened? Why is her design so stumpy in her lower legs? Was this some kind of deliberate choice to not give her longer legs? She went from presenting a warrior queen look to androgynous scumbag to female WoW dwarf in the span of 3 years. Yeesh. Froid's got a serious Gundam look to him this time around, especially with the color reduction and emphasis on yellow. Makes me want to buy a MG Overflag and try to paint/kitbash him. As I said in the last thread, nobody seems to take Froid seriously or give him any respect. I will be legitimately impressed if this becomes a plot point later. As a professional (albeit not a mental health care one) I really hope he gets in some legit shots unlike the whackerdoodle that was Froid 1.0. Speaking of Robert's OCs, hey look. It's Heretech - the do nothing, say nothing supersoldier that died offscreen because Roberts. Why he's a senator I have no idea. It'd be like electing Senator Hailsatan. I mean, it could happen, but I think it'd be kind of unlikely. This just adds to my belief that Ruckley is just tossing crap against the wall to see what sticks out of a genuine lack of knowledge/comprehension of the lore. Senator Crisscross('ll make you jump, jump!) and Senator Female Count Olaf are new. Interesting that they've got a mix of actual characters, Ruckley OCs and Roberts OCs instead of staffing it with more named characters. I smell casualties. More copy-paste senatorial claptrap at the Senator Quorum. Boo. Or as the French say: "Beaux". Elita-1: "The Ascenticons are not about violence." Also Elita-1: [Electrocutes mob without attempting to negotiate or discuss their aggression.] Oh hey. Shockwave. Now Shockwave was fun and I hope that we get more of this sort of storytelling. He smacks of old school Furman Shockwave, and finally we get an explanation for Brainstorm and Rubble's death - it's all just some kind of ploy to raise social discontent and demonstrate that despite Nominus' efforts, there will never be peace. That's... kind of lame, actually. All this buildup of Rubble and the inference that he's truly important, and his death is explained away as an unfortunate accident and side effect of Shockwave's efforts. Hopefully Shockwave does some villian introspection and it's revealed that he had actual intent. Otherwise that's not very tight plotting. Also, let's not miss the throwaway line of Brainstorm's death as the death of a "beloved scientist". Nice callback, Ruckley. Final Shockwave Note: AGAIN with the Shockwave. Across the multiverse, is there nobody that can do shit but Shockwave? Where the hell is Gutcruncher? He kills people and sells their body parts for money. Use HIM instead. At least then he could say: "Well, I had a buyer for baby parts" and then we'd get more intrigue. There'd be an aspect of total amorality as opposed to some eventual drivel about how Shockwave's plan is, to his eye, the most logical course of action for Cybertronian society. Blargh. Prowl is still throwing temper tantrums. Whatever. I get that he's only really had like one personality, but can we get one that isn't him getting mad all the time because nobody listens to him? When did Prowl become the Middle Manager Nobody Likes of the Transformers? I hope Soundwave punches Prowl's stupid face in. That's not a criticism or an actual observation I guess. Quick: out of all those characters in Sentinel's entourage, who was actually a bodyguard? Road Rage - the Red Tracks pre-paint based on Track's diaclone base. Specifically, she was canonically a bodyguard for Crosscut (not Crisscross). This will be her first outing as a character in any mainline media, with all her other appearances being in pack in comics or secondary media. It'll be interesting to see how she's portrayed, as her original incarnation's tech specs indicated that she had a neurological disorder that made her hyper aggressive when in altmode. I wonder if the big transforming spacecraft is a nod to Animated? In that show, many Primes were assigned an Omega Sentinel that transformed into a warship. Otherwise, perhaps she's a Titan? Unlikely though. It'll be interesting to see how the big ones fit into Cybertronian society, considering the tone of the book suggests a substantial level of regular familiarity with truly big bots instead of revering them as emissaries/chariots of the gods.
Yeah, I'm really enjoying the slow boil more now (maybe because we're closer to the boil over) but I'm also enjoying the world building. I love that Titans are just hanging out. Man I would love Galaxies to just be hanging out and adventures on pre-war Cybertron.
Dude Spoiler Shockwave and Megatron at odds took me by surprise and made this issue way more interesting than anything I’ve read yet. Megatron thought he could control this situation but it’s going to come back and bite him hard
I really liked this issue! I feel like the pacing has picked up a lot, and I loved seeing Megatron getting his snark on in the senate. Plus it's kind of cool seeing Megatron working as a senator--I thought his whole metaphor with ideas being like shrapnel was really interesting, and a lot of the things he said seemed pretty reasonable and persuasive, which makes me extra excited to see how it all inevitably goes wrong.
Not bad issue. The two pages of that senate meeting were boring, didn't really need to be there because the latter half of that scene had all the important details/recap. Really liked the scene between Megatron and Shockwave. His role in story was kind of obvious to me ever since we learned about the Rise, and it was the logical choice since he was the only mainline 'con from the toyline that hadn't appeared until now. Mcguire-smith's art is alot cleaner here than in #6, and her cover is nice. I'm looking forward to seeing Sentinel's reaction to stuff, his bright orange colours and no-nonsense attitude could make the senate meetings more entertaining to watch. Spoiler: Soundwave's face
I admit I am excited. We have yet to see some of the fan favorites. Mirage, Sunstreaker, Thundercracker and Skywarp.
I like how Megatron is orchestrating a series of false flag attacks in order to get the people on his side. It´s a return to the scheming villain but in a much more grounded way.
I love how the Decepticons haven't even formed yet and Megatron and Shockwave are already at odds, Starscream will probably do what Starscream does worst and fight for leadership, and seeing how this is feeling very Marvel, I wouldn't be surprised if Soundwave is also in it for his own agenda seeing as he is a senator and not just Megatrons mysterious best friend. Dysfunctional high command right out of the gate. Wouldn't have it any other way. This is the first time in this run I can say that I got hyped. Shockwave seems less like a scientist and more like an anarchist hellbent on causing chaos. Soundwave is being smug. Megatron is clearly unhinged. Also, "There are some heads I want to smash together. Now." Sentinel is already great and things are finally feeling...Fun.
They even hinted at Megatron’s unhinged tendencies in that flashback issue. Optimus asks if maybe he’s a little bit mad and Megatron proceeds to have a reaction that says yes, he probably is (while insisting that he definitely isn’t). He’s pretty volatile in this series. This personality taken to the extreme once he goes fully evil could be pretty scary.
I enjoyed this issue. But at the risk of repeating the same thing everyone's said ad nauseam. That art style's killing me. And in this case, it's gotta do with the toy aesthetic designs. The scenes with Optimus in the senate discussion, he's such a fat concentrated block of chonk that it's almost like you expect him to go into cardiac arrest at some point. Compare him with the other senators, and it becomes super apparent how much of Optimus is just flat straight lines
It’s probably all of the stress of dealing with Megatron. Seriously kudos to him for staying so calm, I’m sure he’s dying to yell “what is your fragging problem? Shut up, you petulant newly-forged.” but instead he’s like “now now, Megsy. No one is questioning your love of Cybertron. We just need a different approach.”
The story is REALLY starting to pick up and tensions are heightening fast, which I'm quite a fan of. I wish I could get into Hernandez's art more, but that might just take some getting used to... Spoiler Not gonna lie, I froke the hell out once Shockwave showed up. Seeing Megs interact with someone he both agrees and disagrees with, rather than putting on his politician face all the time, was a wonderful change of pace. Not to mention the most clear-cut clash of personality we've had in this series yet, I think. Sentinel is gonna throw a real wrench in the works real fast. I hope to god the next issue doesn't have Bumblebee sulking for 10 pages beforehand, though.
Could not disagree more. Now we're getting into the polarizing reactions the Roberts run got so I'm confident they're doing something good (or at least reminiscent )
God this series moves at a turtle’s pace, and the art and story still make me wince. Non-toy characters are still blatantly non-toy characters in name and designs, (looking at you, Froid) the proportions and faces are awful, and this generic political drama is just so unengaging. Like seriously, this comic is so bad, so boring to read, and it feels no different from old IDW because it’s the same shit as before and the same characters as before. What is even the point of this book? If that’s your only measure of a book’s quality, that is pretty dang disappointing.
