It was another great issue! A lot of character progression and the art was decent. Spoiler The fighting between some of the Combiners was actually quite interesting. It isn’t just Bonecrusher being a total bully (although he does take some pleasure from it) Each member continues to have an individual voice and personality The Insecticons’ background is quite interesting, regarding what their purpose is and why they too have been send away Shockwave’s involvement raises questions A few images worth sharing: Bombshell talking to Shockwave: A footprint from the ground:
I also liked it, and I’m really loving how it ties into the main series. Has it been clarified where this falls chronologically? Is it happening in real time with the main series? Thoughts: Spoiler Also love how it shows the depth and scale of Shockwave’s plotting. Presently, he is the villain in this continuity. I really liked the parallel that they created between the Insecticons and Constructions. It’s actually pretty ingenious, and obviously the way that the Constructicons are being manipulated tracks very closely what’s happening on Cybertron. I’ve never, ever cared about the Insecticons in the past but I really liked the backstory here, and the characterization of them as clever agents, not just dumb insects. If Galaxies keeps up this level of interest and insight I will be thrilled. Is this a statue?
Other than that this occurs after the first war, we don’t know where specific this is occurring, alongside the main series. Spoiler Regarding the picture, it could be a statue, based on the colours used.
Transformers Galaxies continues to be marvelous. The individuality of the Constructicons is clear as day which is a tremendous contrast from last continuity where they all had more or less the exact same personality. But once again, the writer manages to get me intrigued in regards to characters I would have never thought to be interested in: The Insecticons. They were practically born as sentient recycling machines and were hailed as blessings to society at some point. It's a great concept. Bombshell in particular stands out to me as a menacing villain right out of the gate. He's manipulative and the fact that he secretes whatever he just ate from his faceplate makes for really grotesque imagery. That panel where he's raising Bonecrushers head to his faceplate? Intimidating. On a slightly unrelated note, I figured Shockwave was involved somehow since the Insecticons are never too far from Shockers in any continuity.
Great issue. Livio’s art is awesome. I love how Shockwave is such a major disruptive force in this continuity. At this point, I think he’s pretty much the main antagonist and I hope both series keeps this thread going even after the war starts. Love scheming Shockwave and how he’s been planning something for this long.
Same. Though I hope he's more toned down in the art of masterminding compared to last continuity. Something akin to Marvel Shockwave would be ideal to me since he was brilliant and intimidating but could be outmaneuvered if you used your head.
This was wonderful, probably the best representation of the Insecticons I've read since AHM. I care about the Constructicons for once and couldn't be happier. Better than the main series by a mile.
Getting it Saturday but they guy's taking two "common" Decepticon subgroups and making them actually be characters again. Anyone who wants to touch these guys will have to tread carefully since this is a high bar
With how absent the Insecticons had been from IDW for the Phase 2 era, it is nice to see them in the limelight again. Still not sure this'll finally be the story to make me care about the Constructicons as individuals, but we shall see!
Picked this up not expecting much, and I was delighted. I never read the marvel continuity, so I may not have the best frame of reference. But I have never liked the insecticons. I never really thought they fit. I have also never seen them used as anything but plot device props. Like Bombshell always mind control's people with his magic canisters. Sure that is present, but it takes a distant backseat to a backstory that gives them motivation. Awesome. I do wish the Deluxe insecticons where there too, but alas you can't get everything you want. I thought maybe this would be their chance to introduce the concept of beasts? Maybe that is there but will be revealed later? I didn't like Livio's art in the last continuity. It was overly stylized and did not fit IMHO. But he has really progressed here. The bots were really clearly defined. I got emotion from them, also they weren't generic boxes. He has grown a lot. I think his style fits their "exile" story. Not sure if I want him on colorful cybertron, but hey he is doing well.
Thanks to The War Within, I never accepted Transformers with beast modes native to Earth having those exact same Earth beast modes prior to arriving on Earth. In The War Within, every Transformer with a beast alternate mode was redesigned to have a Cybertronian vehicle mode instead. And that works; it fits the lore. In Beast Wars, a few Transformers such as Lio Convoy (The Gathering) were shown to have Cybertronian beast modes before arriving on Earth. It’s fair to say in that instance Earth beast modes have become integrated into Cybertronian culture. But here, there’s no acceptable reason for the Insecticons to have insect alternate modes.
If you REALLY want to stretch it, you can try rationalizing it through the magic of convergent evolution. Kinda like how the reptilian Icthyosaur looked a lot like a dolphin. In the infinity of space, perhaps there's a magical planet where there are buglike things that look like Earth bugs. If you wanna split hairs further, the Insecticons' bug modes are kinda shitty looking bugs, so maybe they're a 1:1 copy of the alien/cybertronian bug as opposed to Earth bugs. I dunno. But yeah, not bothering to give them an at least somewhat alien beast mode is kinda lazy.
Plenty of people care about that sort of thing. Sloppy sci fi works when you're deliberately evoking schlocky stuff like Lost In Space or it's thematic thing like Fallout. However, this thing is at least on its face holding itself out to be a space opera with hard sci fi elements. Having earth modes during a pre-earth time period can break immersion and is just kinda lame. It's like the coffee cup appearing on the table in Game of Thrones to some people.
I also criticise Cybertronians transforming into their Earth vehicle modes before they ever discover Earth. And that too should be rightfully criticised. A story cannot be thought of as being great with such stupid mistakes. Don’t tell me you are as small-minded as those hack writers who think such lazy practices are acceptable. Transformers don’t have Earth modes before they discover Earth, be they beast or vehicle.
I don’t see many robotic insects on Earth and I’m willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of story. If we’re going to start picking holes in the logic of Transformers we’re going to be at it for a very long time.
Personally, I don’t let the alternative form of the Transformers bother me. It’s just something that I don’t overthink about it, especially since we know it’s based of a toy franchise, and they look alien enough for me. Also, I don’t think the Insecticons have an Earth-based insect mode, otherwise they would need to change their colour and size (like when Megatron had a gun mode) and choose a more realistic form.
Overall I liked this one as well. I thought the individual characterization of the Constructicons was handled well and I appreciated the little G1 cartoon throwbacks like having Shrapnel repeat the last word in every sentence--sentence. However, Bombshell here could have been renamed "Captain Exposition." I can sympathize that in a mini-series, the author has limited time with which to work but it still felt a little heavy handed to have a character show up and just vomit backstory. At least backstory was interesting and having the insecticons be cannibalistic is a nice touch. While not quite as tight as the first issue, I'm still on board with the book and remain interested to see where it will go.
