Just an idea I got, and couldn't shake, at work today. Between wishing Requiem could've played out in considerably more page space and that, well, Lost Light could've utilized many of the plot points and characters more wisely than it did... suppose the former had been told within the pages of the latter, with James and Nick co-plotting? Let's say the Scavengers had actually been bridged to Garrus-9 by the Magnificence instead of Mederi. What plot threads still need to be wrapped up here, or could be tied into this scenario? By no means a complete list: Mesothulas/Tarantulas built Aequitas, and Overlord is insistent that the real item of interest lies beneath the supercomputer. Perhaps this could be a vital component to building the timemaze, and Overlord has had been interested in fighting Megatrons of different realties for some time? For that matter, the timemaze itself could run on or tap into the Warren. We still don't know the significance of all the Aequitas defendants being constructed cold. With Solomus/Tyrest injured and on the run after the failure of the killswitch, him returning to it would make sense for plotting his next move. It's a stretch, but tying Tyrest to the tech of a guy who cured Verity's death helps Pharma's miracle healing of Ambus retroactively make that much more sense. If Getaway somehow learned that Tyrest was up to his old tricks again on Garrus 9, self-preservation would kick in and he'd drop everything to make go sure he wasn't killed before fulfilling his supposed destiny. Rodimus & co. would react similarly, which would also provide a good backdrop for Rodders turning his back on planets that need them to go confront Tyrest (as Getaway assumed was the case with him, but had no actual buildup). LSOTW was the first mention of Agent 113. As Chromedome having a hand in Dominus' disappearance (as per James) went unrevealed to Rewind in Lost Light, revisiting the fallout of the first Agent 113 story could provide pretext for Rewind learning the truth. Additionally, if Rewind being afflicted with Delta's Malady was always in the cards... what important databank on G9 has caused massive physiological problems for people (albeit human) in the past? Ironfist wasn't just Verity's friend. He was also one to Chromedome way back when, and a medical "one that got away" for both First Aid and Ratchet. Dead-guy bonding ahoy. Whirl similarly has never yet had to come to terms with ruining his cadet Rotorstorm's life. Having lost Hubcap's knowledge as an informant and outlier, Mayhem might be compelled to scope out Aequitas to see if any damning trial info survived Perceptor's purge. If getting the surviving members of the Guiding hand was important (was it? It was really unclear, an I can't remember if Epistemus or Adaptus orchestrated it) then moving the mad Solomus to G9 increases the probability of them coming together in one place. Scorponok holds the Magnificence and may be compelled to seek out Dante there (see below), and Rung would naturally follow along if Rodimus tracked Tyrest there. Abraham Dante's status is still unknown. If he is somehow still incarcerated in Garrus 9, this could be used to bring Scorponok into the fold. G9's also got those sweet I/D chips, which Scorponok might end up needing to keep his army of unwilling Decepti-babies in line. Sparkeaters, well, eat sparks, which makes them extremely dangerous to shoot at. If most of the mutineers ended up turned at some point anyway, Garrus 9's spark extractors could be modified for use against them. Grimlock owes Overlord some payback for his torture. The Scavengers have a big-ass abandoned space they could use for their clinic. Them being there also raises the fun idea of them having to work with the Wreckers-- Krok in particular would have strong feelings about this, considering Springer's part of the reason he couldn't stop Radar's death. Emirate Xaaron could provide hitherto-unheard insight into the Aequitas trials. For that matter, his buddy Dipstick's reaction to the Wreckers' presence would be delicious. Verity and Magnus could say proper goodbyes. Possibly at the same eye level. If they run afoul of Mayhem, he could also meet his former underling Carnivac. That's all I've got for the evening, but... yeah.
My only real problem with Requiem was that it ended Overlord’s story in a way that never gave him the closure with Megatron that I felt that MTMTE had been building toward. I had been expecting Overlord to make one last appearance in the final story arc of Lost Light but we never got it and it almost makes his appearance in Dying of the Light feel cheapened and forced.
Lost Light's finale already had far too many characters in it, and only managed to get through its own plot by rattling through it lightning fast. Adding in Wreckers characters and plotlines would've only made it even more of a rushed mess.
Hell no, Requiem is fine on its own, it didn't need Lost Light. Its a good trilogy that doesn't need any external connection to the other IDW ongoings.
This isn't untrue, but I wonder what pace it could've moved at with a writer unafraid to economize that space? Take out needless twists, underdeveloped ideas *cough*OmegaGuardians*cough*, et cetera. I'd kinda be interested to know what the writing situation/relationship with editorial was like on Lost Light as opposed to MTMTE. Maybe it had something to do with John moving heaven and earth to get everything lined up as he wanted it for OP and Unicron, but even post-Mutineers (where I think IDW knew they were wrapping up at) there's a lot of Farshtey-esque distracted writing, with reveals that steal page space from proper closure of character arcs. Take Adaptus' body, for instance. Him looking like Pharma becomes important in that his residual mental influence is key to his defeat, but taking an issue's worth of power play among the villains to set up a dramatic reveal of it essentially just kicks the can down the road re: the questions we have regarding it. If we opened on "Pharma" right out in the open, then sure, it might not be quite as dramatic, but it'd allow page space to be allocated into something else, say, how in the holy hell Solomus' space bridge ends up in Adaptus' mind. (It also commits the cardinal sin of casually offing Scorponok, but that's beside the point.) Honestly, Sins and Requiem are also guilty of having to move at breakneck speed to address all the plot points they raise, but where they diverge from LL is being more a bit conscious of what has staying power in the confines of a limited page space. I could see Nick at least being helpful in deciding what's important enough to actually need to be told.
I like it great on paper. Preferably more paper than the actual page count of the one-shot, as it's rushed by necessity and that hurts it for me.
I didn't enjoy the Lost Light, but I loved Requiem of the Wreckers so I wouldn't have wanted to see them combined. I don't think it would improve either story to combine a streamlined short action story (ROTW) with a convoluted episodic relationship drama--like them or not, they're very different types of stories.
I kind of like him showing up in DOTL again because it showcases why he'll always be out of Megatron's league: he's so arrogant and obsessed with proving his might that he can't understand someone demeaning himself, either in the name of guile or to save others. He comes so close to getting the rematch that'll prove his superior ability (or, like as not, being outwitted and annihilated by antimatter), but blows his last, best opportunity. And at the end, he's the one stripped of dignity, reduced to pleading for his life and for the dream of a duel that will never be realized. Whereas Megatron faces his impending life/death sentence with dignity, grace and consideration of others, having traded up his own destructive life's goal for something greater. Megatron won.
Lost light couldn't even handle its own plot points, much less anyone else's. The finale was already so full adding more to it would of made even more a disaster then it already was.
eh, lost light completely lost my interest toward the end, to the point that i never finished reading that or optimus prime. no real desire to finish it either. requiem on the other hand was actually a pretty good read
Putting aside my thoughts towards Lost Light's finale, I feel like Requiem did absolutely read as a "speedrun" of a longer story - Mayhem, who were teased as a big thing by the end of Sins, basically showed up for one page to be shot by Overlord and die. The entire first half of the story essentially has no bearing on the second, and even the Overlord/Tarantulas team-up - which I think was frankly kind of unnecessary and did both characters a disservice - felt like it wasn't explained enough to properly set up the stakes. Requiem definitely could have done with being a miniseries instead of a one-shot, but rolling it into Lost Light wouldn't have done that, and would have hurt the Wreckers stories standing on their own.
As much as the lunatic revisionist script doctor who lives in my brain still plumbs for ways it could possibly, conceivably all come together, thread consensus be damned... Yeah, this needs to be said. There was just no winning for trying to properly develop and finish a story with Requiem's scope within a one-shot. While I certainly think it was IDW Overlord's weakest outing, I at least found him getting his just desserts satisfying (as well as him blowing it in MTMTE #55 becoming a thing of retroactive poetry). 1000% agree on Tarantulas being out-of-place, as well as the reuse/team-up of the previous big bads falling flat. Mayhem was wasted.
