# 77 A Savage Circle

While the Decepticons plan their next conquest, on Cybertron Grimlock shows up with three spaceships. While the Autobots load these up Grimlock explains how he got these ships and informs Prowl that he has a way of finding out where the Decepticons went. HiQ pleads with the Neo-Knights for help. Meanwhile, on the Ark, Galvatron and Megatron fight. When Shockwave arrives Galvatron and Megatron join up. Elsewhere in the Ark Starscream finds Ratchet. During this confrontation, the Nucleon on board is hit and a large explosion rips out part of the ship, causing it to crash to Earth.


Art is still by Wildman, it’s still beautiful and it still well depicts the decay of the planet and post-battle state of the Transformers. The opening shot of a heavily damaged Megatron floating in space, Prowl on the dying planet, Ratchet’s flashback and both the horror of Megatron and Ratchet of still being joined. Something I didn’t notice before in issues # 76 and 77, but Blaster is drawn like his Animation model with the visor less head. Considering that his Action Master did have the visor, this is a bit weird. Then again, should he become an Action Master he likely would become very angular like Grimlock. We also have Inferno making his first US run appearance as a background character. Also, considering Marvel Megatron cannot fly, why does he have holes in the bottom of his feet. Back in the 80’s I wondered if there had been a printing error because during the Megatron-Galvatron fight the caption “and blood red rage” has the characters against a yellow background. Interestingly, although there was a Scourge and Cyclonus in his own timeline, here Megatron’s alone when he’s reformatted. But that could be his ego.

With the end of the series looming it’s fitting that we get a repeat of the start: an Autobot, Ratchet this time, causing the Ark to crash into Earth to stop the threat of the Decepticons. Except this time it’s an accident and not intent. Considering how much success this had last time -- it set the Decepticons loose on the planet, caused multiple human fatalities, Transformer fatalities and put Optimus in a constant guilt trip -- I do think he should do a bit more damage and cause the entire ship to explode. But then, he’s near an explosion so possibly he was unable to.

This of course end caps the real meat of the issue, the Megatron vs Galvatron fight. In the UK comic they had encountered each other before (albeit another Megatron in retcon), but for those unaware, like me at the time, this was almost a dream come true. Sadly it’s not a real fight, because Megatron, without a doubt the most formidable fighter in Marvel US, is plagued by still being part of Ratchet. Galvatron considers destroying Megatron as the way of eradicating the madness that’s haunting him. Not sure if that would work. Likewise, I think his fear of erasing himself if he destroys this Megatron is unwarranted: different timelines and such. Galvatron describing himself as being ravaged by insanity with what was ones Megatron eating at him like a cancer, seems a bit at odds with most of his depiction. So far he’s been pretty sane: capable of deceiving both Unicron and Primus and getting the TF’s to Cybertron was basically his doing, and now he’s on the Ark to conquer an unprotected Earth. It felt like too much of a cartoon copy, but then I recalled that in his own timeline he was talking about himself in the third person and he destroyed Cyclonus when the latter was beaten by an Autobot. Still, ravaged by insanity seems a bit far-fetched.

On Cybertron Prowl has become very desperate and suffers from fatalism. A guilt response for his earlier self-admitted screw up with the Decepticons. As soon as he’s given hope again, he’s all chipper, but Grimlock bring him down a peg (he just has a way with words) by comparing him to Optimus: soft in the head. In contrast, Grimlock shows foresight, planning and he’s still grumpy. The Dinobots coming to the rescue by having three (Decepticon) spaceships is a bit far-fetched to me. First, I don’t see why the five (!) Dinobots would steal three ships that can house dozens of Autobots just to strike out on their own. Secondly, they’ve been gone for millions of years and a lot has happened to the planet since, so even parking in the (likely) very unpleasant Rad zone it seems unlikely these went undetected for all those millions of years.

Finally, Shockwave and Starscream. Considering Shockwave’s importance in early Marvel, he’s rather dull here. Starscream in contrast, is lovely. Seeing Megatron he’s briefly horrified, but noticing Megatron is damaged, at his mercy, he immediately becomes mocking. And confronted with Ratchet the bully in him emerges. As @Grimlock528 rightly points out, this confrontation is a sort of revenge on Starscream since it was Starscream who twice now was at the center of events that have plagued Ratchet and are the cause of his current misery. And with Ratchet his importance to the Marvel narrative, it’s only fitting that Ratchet gets his revenge and at the same times makes, again, the ultimate sacrifice.

A good middle part of this final arc. The story moves forward, we have some great character moments and promises of more: a new conflict between Autobots and Decepticons and a new little piece of Transformers lore with the mention by HiQ/Optimus of The Last Autobot.

 

TransFormers Marvel US #79 is live to discuss. “The Last Autobot”
Roll out!

 

It's interesting, in a way, to "waste" an entire issue, when they surely knew they only had two remaining, to essentially do a rehash of issue 51, an issue Simon didn't even write, featuring a character who was not getting a new toy or anything like that.

Part of me admired the attempt to deal with (some of) the remaining earthbound continuity... but the rest of me thinks "oh, they had to cap off the Megatron / Galvatron thing as quickly as possible and this is how they did it."

 

That’s a good point. Though they may have also painted themselves in a corner. Someone had asked in a previous letter column when Fort Max would return and they answered #79. Maybe that was the plan prior to cancellation and they just stuck with it?
Agreed though. With only 2 issues left, such a waste .

 

#79 The Last Autobot

While the Autobots race through space urged on by an impatient Prowl, the Decepticon conquest of the planet Klo proceeds swiftly. Lamenting the lack of opposition, Bludgeon learns from Krok that they found a tracer: they know the Autobots are coming. On Earth Spike visits the crashed Ark. Galvatron has survived the crash and with nobody else to stop him, Spike becomes the head of Fortress Maximus again. A fight between Fortress Maximus and Galvatron ends when the latter is tossed in a frozen lake. Meanwhile HiQ and the Neo-Knights are still on Cybertron searching for and finding the Last Autobot.


Art remains great. I absolutely love the spread of the crashed Ark. I think this is the first time the actual size of the ship is really brought home, with all the tiny little tanks next to it and the small trees. Very much tempted to take out some magnifying glasses to check for extra details. Still, some negativity is warranted. Fortress Maximus is drawn a bit spindly in his first depiction, while the brief drawing of Shockwave gives him a comically big head (the same size as Galvatron’s torso). Also Cerebros is again almost completely ignored. During the fight with Galvatron Fort Max his leg cannons flip the wrong way: they should flip up, but they flip down here. Finally, Ruckus, a Triggercon whose defining ability is to have pop out weapons…uses a handgun. (Then again, one of his weapons seems to be missing and the other is mangled.)

This issue needs to do two things and it succeeds adequately in both. First, the minor part, is the setup for the next issue which will be the last in the series, and secondly is wrapping up the plot of the crashing Ark and the Decepticon leaders inside. The latter is the main focus of the issue, but at the same time we only see Galvatron: the just through Nucleon fixed Megatron is only seen as a hand, Shockwave in a flashback and Starscream is absent. It also brings back Spike/Fortress Maximus to solve an earlier comment.

Like @dj_convoy II I consider the return of Spike/Fortress Maximus storyline a colossal waste. We’ve already had this story: Spike having discarded Fortress Maximus and through events realising he is part of him. I think this is a bit of an emergency measure. Furman had to do something with the crashed Ark and in an earlier issue there was a mention of ‘One Transformer, Two signals’. Because of this issue were definitely meant to thing that this hinted at Spike, but it never sat right with me. Considering we see Spike walking around here bare handed and with no backpack or anything, shows that his armour and his helmet are stored on the Ark with Fort Max. So then what was the second signal? I think the only explanation was that there was an intended plotline about another Transformer, and the cancellation meant this was aborted with Spike/Fortress Maximus shoved in to solve both in one strike.

A very important point, something I completely glossed over all the previous times I read this issue and only now apparent thanks to this Read Along and the excellent observations of @Swerve, is that this issue presents us with a complete departure in depiction. The Headmasters mini and in lesser extend the stories after, showed us that the Nebulan takes over the body: the head remained on Nebulos. And since Budiansky made Transformers just very advanced machines alive thanks to very advanced A.I., that meant that the Headmaster was effectively just the Nebulan. In issue #51 we already get a tiny glimpse of a different approach when Spike in his dreams talks to Fortress Maximus, but that could still be part of himself and contact with his previous life. Here, there’s no doubt: Fortress Maximus personality is very much present, he communicates with Spike, each is capable of having command of the body, but it should be them working together that gives them an advantage. It's a symbiosis between Transformer and Nebulan/human. Interestingly, despite Budiansky having written the original bio’s, this approach by Furman is more in line with those bio’s. But at the same time Furman's Scorponok is very much Zarak. It's part of what makes his Scorponok great: Zarak's fear of his own mortality and because Zarak at his heart isn't an evil person, Scorponok was willing to ally with Optimus for the greater good.

Considering the similarities, Galvatron being tossed into the frozen lake is most likely derived from the Japanese Headmasters. There it’s the regular Autobot Headmasters who overpower Galvatron which ends with him in the ice. Galvatron here is completely deranged, even going as far at ripping pieces from Maximus with his teeth. I still have issues with this madness. Sure, he obviously was already deranged on his own world and being taken from it would be disturbing, but until last issue his behaviour was always calculating and controlled.

Likewise, I find Prowl’s behaviour in this issue out of character. I think Grimlock was right about Prowl in #77: he had his little plans and saw himself as a future leader. Because that’s who Prowl is: calculating, seeing the long term, being patient. But here he’s just annoying. I can see him being eager to get to Klo to correct his earlier mistakes and feeling guilty for what the Decepticons are doing to Klo, but him being impatient and annoyed at Grimlock for not having stolen a faster ship, just doesn’t sit right with me. Being impatient is not in line with his bio. The opposite: he’s renowned for his patience.

In contrast, I love the Bludgeon/Krok command. It’s been so long since the Decepticons had capable leaders (Scorponok was a failure in every way except being open for working with the Autobots for the greater good), and these two are very capable. Previously we already had Bludgeon being aware of the sentiments that played with his troops and making long-term plans. Here despite their scene only being brief, we get an idea of a properly functioning army. The Decepticons have conquest and action (what they want), there’s a proper update of the XO to his commander about progress, we discover that the action is actually planet wide, and when faced with an upcoming Autobot attack there’s no boasting but talk of preparing.

Finally, there’s the quest by HiQ/Optimus and the Neo-Knights. According to the TF wiki this quest was supposed to span several issues and that would make more sense. As is it commits the standard SF sin: underestimating the size of a planet. Unless HiQ/Optimus had an idea where The Last Autobot is supposed to be, but else it appears as if they’re just wandering around hoping to find it (through Dynamo). Very convenient that The Last Autobot is near where they are.(*) What if it had been on the other side of the planet, would they have kept on wandering around the planet for months (that they didn’t have) until they found it?

(* EDIT: hm, in a way also not: the Autobot resistance was in Iacon so this is where they are now. This means that the location of Iacon both had an accesspoint to the Primal Chamber and was close to The Last Autobot. Somehow that does make a bit of sense if Iacon, a known important city, was a religious focal point.)


Although the issue itself is nicely packed, solves some threads and leads up nicely to the final issue, it does feel like a lot was lost due to the upcoming end. Especially The Last Autobot search is too convenient, while Spike/Fortress Maximus feels like an unnecessary rethread.


(Post review comment: I think my biggest enjoyment out of this issue back then was the inclusion of the Transformers: Universe profile for Fortress Maximus.)

 

#80 in a 4-issue limited series.
When all hope is gone....one shall rise.
The Epic Conclusion!
Transformers Marvel US #80 is live to discuss.
“End of the Road”
Roll out!

 

"Cybertron is reborn! We will help the Klozians rebuild, take the Neo-Knights back to Earth, and then, my brave warriors, finally....

...We Can Go Home!!"

Despite the rushed pace, and the literal deus ex machina (literal in both terms) to bring Prime back to life again, this is still the most satisfying ending for the Marvel timeline, and probably the most satisfying ending to any Transformers series aside from perhaps Beast Machines if you bought into what they were doing with that story. I don't know what it is about the battle splash-page, but I hear the season 1 theme song in my head, as if everything really comes full circle. The fact that the basic premise of G1 is the crash of the Ark and both groups waking after four million years, it feels so right for that story to end with Optimus Prime joyfully telling his comrades that they can go home and rest.

Obviously there are dangling threads. Bludgeon is clearly biding his time for one of several possible schemes, but as someone who's read every sequel to this story except the Botcon/TFCC Classics material, none of them really mean enough for me to prefer them over this. I kinda thought tracking down the '92 UK annual and finally reading "Another Time and Place" might do it, but even that story left me cold. G2 was dumb fun, and that was about it (with an admittedly cool cliffhanger), and Regen just seems too modern and informed by media that came after the original Marvel series to feel properly connected to it.

So, yeah. This ending, whether it's #80, or #332, wraps up what is the most overall satisfying version of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict, and stands on it's own. It's great that this run is for the most part accessible to any fan who'd want to experience it even now.

 

Just wanted to thank BIG GRIM for setting this in motion. It was a fun look back.

Pretty rushed ending. Shaman mentioned the elephant in the room; the literal deus ex machina of the Last Autobot. I think Bludgeon losing his mind about it and thinking it was the ultimate warrior of his lore is interesting.

Hi Q / Prime being a composite being is... whatever. Is that what would have happened if both of them had survived? Are there any other Powermasters left? Will this happen to them as well? Shrug. I get it; it's twenty two pages and you gotta get movin'.

As a kid, I was pretty bummed the series came to an end. I thought that this was truly it for Transformers. I knew that there was the fan club but I shied away from it as there was an awful lot of drama involved in regards to dues and who was running it and blah blah blah. In hindsight, I kind of wish that I had gotten into that scene (I had to live thru it vicariously later when the internet became a ubiquitous feature in our lives), but how were you to know? I would have definitely written bad fan fiction and created a lame OC for myself (oops, checks screen name). Whatever.

So, an ending. A strong ending ? I suppose... A good enough one, certainly.

For better or worse, this is MY Transformers, my definitive version. I liked the cartoon, certainly, and I suppose the toys are the catalyst, but this is my "canon," the back bone of the franchise I have loved since roughly 1985.

It never ends.

 

I missed out on a lot of this discussion, but I've been lurking since I find the analysis on these old issues fascinating. I'll catch up with some takes on the last ten issues, but don't worry, I'll TRY to keep it brief. Like, really brief because I don't want to just leave a wall of text in a thread that is pretty much finished its run. Knowing me it will still turn out bulky.

#70
"Where once there two, now there is one."
Megatron's declaration of being the arch-enemy of Optimus Prime isn't a matter of fact, it is Megatron's perspective that only someone as powerful as Optimus is suited to be a worthy adversary, and he would not settle for less. Ratchet is the true nemesis of Megatron. Consider the etymology of nemesis - From the name of the Greek goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris, arrogance before the gods. Megatron's defeat by the selfless actions of Ratchet is the ultimate retribution to his hubris. Megatron's defining character trait is his warrior's pride. Though he is dishonourable, he takes pride in being part of a warrior race of conquerors. Violence is what defines him. To be defeated time and again by the least warrior-like of the Autobots is his ultimate retribution. Ratchet is his mirror image. He favours intellect over violence, he struggles to bring himself to take on the role of a warrior, and he chooses to mend and create, rather than to destroy. They are opposites. Optimus is the ultimate paragon, but Ratchet represents true pacifism from his introduction to the comic. But unlike Megatron, he is selfless, honourable, weak, but has value as a healer, rather than a destroyer. Becoming one hideous being is not simply nightmarish physically, but mentally. These polar opposites have had their fates intertwined from the start, representing the best and the worst of what a Transformer is capable of. Perhaps even forshadowing the fact that in this universe, coexistence between the two factions is impossible. And this is yet another stage in Megatron's perpetual retribution- his intertwining with Ratchet reaches the physical, and now HE has become the weak one, just as Ratchet has become one with the genocidal murderer. Their thoughts and very beings intertwined with one another, and when the creature drags Prime's gun to their head(s), it is Ratchet begging, but it is Megatron's arm that grabs it, it is clear that this is too much to bear for either of them. They've become their own antithesis, their worst nightmares. Meanwhile, Optimus adopts the mindsets of both Megatron and Ratchet. He needs the respect of his Autobots, who are rightfully disappointed since the surrender, and to do so would be to kill his best friend, his enemy. What Megatron would do. In the end he spares friend and enemy both. What Ratchet would do. The creature's reflection in Prime's eye is in fact a reflection of himself. This destructive clashing of feelings and mindsets perhaps a reflection of the war itself, and it is hideous. Er... also Grimlock questions his motivations. Are his actions motivated by genuine care towards his friends and their wellbeing, or by hubris-- of getting to position himself in a better light than Optimus, and perhaps even regain the power he's lost. He drinks from the well of power using the safety of the Dinobots as a justification for it, but it is clear that his conscious has developed, as can be seen in a by now rare instance of fluent English dialogue: "What a waste! What a terrible waste of life!" (Yes, holy shit, this is dialogue coming from Grimlock!) He is afraid to know what the true answer is. Maybe it's both, but at the very least we know that the prospect of one or the other scares Grimlock enough: "Don't know. Don't want to know." In short, Grimlock is a better character in this comic than people typically view him in retrospectives.

#71
Optimus Prime surrenders. Transition from the opening scene to the modern day is beautiful. We go from the past heroics on his home planet to a muddy, grimy rainstorm, all those friends who charged with him in those early days are deactivated, and he now has insurgents like Kup and Grimlock to deal with, whereas most of his crew aren't the same veterans that left with Optimus 4 million years ago. To top it off he is Matrixless, and has seen death in both his friends, and in himself. Optimus committed to this decision, but jesus look at the sheer horror on Prime's face when he sees his Autobots disarmed and arrested realizing "Oh my God, have I just doomed us all?" And Zarak, a "Man among giants", arguably the most controversial Decepticon leader in-universe, has redeemed himself with this mass surrender. Optimus and Scorponok are in battle this entire issue, the battlefield being that of their followers' respect. Optimus must regain his respect by convincing Kup and the others of the necessity in joining forces with Scorponok, but to do this he must actually get through the the headmaster leader. Scorponok finally has the respect he craves, but he may only maintain it by keeping the Autobots beneath his heel, knowing that Unicron is indeed an existential threat in which, like Optimus, he may need to sacrifice the love of his followers for the greater good. Both parties question whether what they are doing may be "dooming us all". I'm not sure if there is an adversary with quite as much of an affinity with Prime as Scorponok. In this comic, of course. Both face struggles in inspiring faith in their troops at this time. Both have been bonded, emotionally and physically with humans, and consider the juxtoposition between the panel depicting the reactions to Prime's decision to save Megatron to the panel depicting the reactions of the Decepticons to Scorponok agreeing to work with Optimus. They are struggling leaders, who once inspired, but due to circumstance have become burdened by the very real consequences of their choices.

Also this issue is hilarious. Mindwipe breaking the fourth wall across Shockwave's head, Hot Rod threatening to kill a human like how several Decepticons have on the regular and going "Hey.. Not bad!" like he's finding some dark enjoyment in getting to play the other role for a change, and Xaaron having a classic snark about him even as Autobase is being obliterated by Galvatron.

#72
Starscream is the most charismatic of all Decepticons. "YEAAAHH WE DID IT! WE KILLED SCORPONOK!" 5 seconds later "AHHH MY LEG! YOU'RE CRUSHING MY LEG!" Also this gem, not Starscream related, but still: "Has someone called the police?" "Why? It's only Jersey!" The Scorponok and Shockwave fight is truly epic, with both characters displaying what sets them apart in mentality, as well as in physiology. Like they both take full advantage of their alt-modes in this fight. Scorponok calling Shockwave an outdated dinosaur lends to my theory that in this universe 4 million years is actually a truly long period of time even for Transformer standards, and the transformers from the Ark and Nemesis manifests like Shockwave, from the perspective of the headmasters and other later additions, is truly a legendary figure from the past. This fight also shows that as much flak as Wildman got, he knew how to draw a damn good fight. Tension too, like when Galvatron's grin can be seen in the darkness of the crevice and as he steps out, his leg steps out of the panels borders. Little details like these help build up the threat of these maniac and makes his cornering of Xaaron feel more immediate. The way Galvatron barks spittle which remains on his drooling face when he considers how Unicron can't touch him in this timeline is another great touch.

#73
Fucking Wilman's Galvatron is a sheer beauty holy fucking shit, how could you want him any other way? Threatens to rip out Xaaron's wires with his teeth and in turn foreshadowing when he actually does this to Fort Max later, cripes, he's perfect. And God, the guy looks directly into the camera and goes "Heh, just conned God." How has no other Galvatron ever been able to compete with this man, seriously. Someone else here has already noted Primus observing Galvatron's sigil and how THAT is what brings him to the conclusion that all are indeed one. I won't repeat what's already been said but it is kind of incredible that there is a scene in this comic that goes: [Primus observes the Decepticon sigil for the first time and concludes from it that 'all are one'.] You could write an essay about this detail if you wanted to. But man Furman both tried really hard with the Neo-Knights and also didn't try at all. Shockwave and Starscream surrender as like an afterthought in the middle of the Knights taking on Scorponok. Tying up Circuit Breaker and Blackrock's history with Shockwave is great though and kind of unexpected for this comic. This actually would have likely been a more fitting death for Shockwave than the one we get later. I know, the general consensus in the fandom is Humans killing Transformer = bad. But consider the relevance here. Circuit Breaker is perhaps Shockwave's greatest victim. Circuit Breaker finally gets to take her revenge on the Transformers that she craves so much. Not the Transformers plural, but THE Transformer that actually caused her injuries. The one that actually matters in her revenge quest. Further, Circuit Breaker is just a statistic to Shockwave if you can even call her that. In Shockwave's mind the humans barely factor into any of his equations. He actually suffers from this in the UK comic, and it has at times broken him. Consider when Buster trashed Frenzy in UK and Shockwave flew into a mad rage since he could not logically process how a human, a statistic he hadn't even factored in, could prove to be so much trouble for him. It's even in his bio that unexpected developments throw him off hardcore, and having a human, a member of a race he deemed "more primitive than expected" in his first line of dialogue in the series (and something he barely factors into his equations due to his belief in Cybertronian superiority) be his demise, presents a cruel twist of fate. Of course it would mean he would never rematch with Megatron, but it's something.

#74
Unicron is so grandiose in scale that... I mean, the void exists. Much as I don't care as much for the omniversal god-status of Unicron, the first page of this issue is pretty iconic. It reminds me somewhat of an old theory on existence and the origins of life, in which the meaning of life as prescribed by the Universe is to contribute to entropy, and in turn accelerate the heat death of the Universe-- essentially acting as a hand-built suicide booth by and for the Universe. ..........Anyway. Amazing that later depictions of Primus paint him as a benevolent God when this first true introduction to his character reveals him to be anything but. Optimus takes one look of him and in seeing the life-force of Xaaron gone and replaced with something ironically apathetic and machine-like, he feels increasingly troubled. Primus is no opposite to Unicron, he created the Transformers to do a job. And Scorponok, beautiful Scorponok, he opens up to Optimus, because really, who else can he? He cannot be seen as weak by his troops, or else it would mean jeopardizing his leadership, and in turn the alliance. So he admits, he's afraid to die. This friendship that somehow develops shockingly works. What Optimus says, "Ultimately I am a Transformer, and as such, I will face death with a nobility and resolve befitting one of our race." This falls in line with Scorponok's, perhaps the Decepticons as a whole, belief in the Transformers being worth more than being simple tools-- a race worth being proud of. I know Scorponok is half-human or entirely human based on your interpretation, but the sentiment at least seems to fit in with Scorponok/Zarak's philosophy of pride and warrior's instinct-- in fact it presents a warrior's instinct perhaps greater than his own, which immediately champions respect. Also Galvatron just shows up and SHOVES A GRENADE DOWN A DUDE'S THROAT HOLY SHIT!

#75
Kind of a wild concept that this story is about a machine God eating the flesh of another on a scale so massive the mortals standing on the divine body of their God are just paralyzed in terror and awe. The eaten God begs his creations to stop him as he is being devoured "piece by piece" and these heroes and deadly villains and people we have followed for so long are just standing there, or running, or suffering panic attacks because they can barely comprehend the scale of what's happening. Then after a glimmer of hope, when God rises in a heavenly glow to bind Unicron, Unicron murders God in an instant, literally without lifting a finger, and resumes feeding on his corpse. Like, okay Furman. You have me sold. And it is Galvatron... GALVATRON that inspires the charge. Certainly it seems hopeless, as waves of characters are gruesomely killed, but then Zarak has his legendary sacrifice. "I'm just a man, a weak, flawed man." Followed by embracing the sheer rage of Scorponok and unleashing his futile assault on Unicron, and death in what may perhaps be his first and only true friend's arms. What more can be said about Zarak/Scorponok, other than the fact he's one of the best written Decepticons in the comic, perhaps even the best? It should also be noted that it was through Scorponok's nobility and sacrifice, that Optimus could be assured that goodness will prevail, and in turn purify the Matrix, much like how Scorponok was able to purify himself, in a sense. And how wonderful is it, that Unicron is destroyed not by destructive energies of the Matrix, but of the Matrix unlocking its life-giving properties to fill Unicron with every facet of the soul at once including that of love. Life conquers death. Good job Furman.

Okay I'll take a break and get back to this later... I tried to be brief, I really did.

 

Personally speaking, you don’t need to be brief. I enjoyed all of that and look forward to your dissection of 76 - 80.

 

@Coffee some wonderful, on the mark analysis. Look forward to you catching up.

I've heard people say that Ratchet is the true hero of the Marvel run and in many ways I agree (and in some I don't). But yeah, you're right. Optimus calls Megatron his oldest enemy, Megatron considers Optimus his true big foe, but in Marvel it's very much Ratchet that's the true nemesis for Megatron. It's perhaps telling that Ratchet has just a many confrontations with Megatron as Optimus. And actually, Optimus only faced Megatron in short combat whereas Ratchet had to confront and counter Megatron's plans.

And Marvel Megatron is a pure warrior. A destroyer. A fighter who reasons from his physical might and who because of this physical might has trouble to see beyond it. In contrast Ratchet is a healer and lacking real strength does look for ways to win in other ways.

Again, so nicely on point. In Marvel I never felt an Optimus vs Megatron rivalry. But thanks to this arc by Furman, Optimus vs Scorponok just feels more natural -- also helped by the death of Galen and the neutering of Fort Max through Spike.

I had completely missed this mirror image of Scorponok and Optimus in this issue. They truly are the same: both respected leaders who knows what had to be done for the greater good and who both have to deal with how their troops who don't realise this, will respond.

That's an interesting idea. A big difference between the Sunbow cartoon and the Marvel comics is the way they deal with the four million gap. From the Sunbow cartoon I really get the idea that nothing (major) happened between Megatron's and Optimus' departure and their awakening four million years later, while the Marvel comics (even if you ignore the UK stories and the later reveals through G2 and Secret & Lies) clearly have things happen in that time span. If only because the Autobots are in the present an underground resistance, while the Decepticons have conquered the planet, a change from the past.

I think it's very possible that those remaining on Cybertron, especially the Decepticons who moved on (the Autobots, as we learn through Perceptor's team, clung very much to the past since their present was pretty abysmal), saw Megatron and Optimus their teams as Legends, something from the distant past, something they've moved beyond. (A sentiment also expressed by Jhiaxus.)

Also, as a Headmaster Scorponok probably also sees a regular, basic Transformer like Shockwave as antiquated.

I really wanted Shockwave to become Decepticon commander again, since he's my favourite in that role. (It completely wouldn't have worked with how the story had to go, though.) So when I first read this issue I was angry that Circuit Breaker interferred and took Shockwave's victory away from him.

That said, you're absolutely right. This should've been Shockwave's death. It would've made this arc come full circle and it would be a better ending for the character.

As an added bonus, it would've opened a nice story arc for Soundwave. Soundwave who as a longtime XO (Shockwave, Megatron, Shockwave, Ratbat, Scorponok) is passed over by Bludgeon in favour of Krok could then team up with Starscream and (finally) strike out on his own, coming up with the plan to take the abandoned Earth. Instead, Soundwave appears as background character and that's it. It could've been so much more, but then Furman possibly had future stories planned for Shockwave that didn't happen due to the cancellation.

Agreed and much nicer to get this approach to Primus. I already lamented the turnover at the end of #75 and in the stories after. I much prefer the idea of a Primus who isn't a benevolent God but actually a machiavallian schemer who created the Transformers to fight in his place and either initiated or encouraged the civil war to get better trained troops to fight Unicron.

 

# 80 End of the Road

On the planet Klo the Decepticons have defeated the Autobots. The few Autobots that managed to escape are are hunted down. Rescue comes in the form of the Neo-Knights, a resurrected Optimus Prime and The Last Autobot. While Optimus Prime and the returned survivors defeat the Decepticons, The Last Autobot restores the fallen Autobots to life. Realising defeat is a matter of time, Bludgeon calls a retreat claiming to go into exile. The Autobots will return to a restored Cybertron.


Art is again wonderful filled with so many nice details. A simple shot that immediately caught my attention was the frightened look on the face of a Kloian (?) when Stranglehold holds a one by the bunny ears and dangles his spiked ball in front of its head. It just works. Likewise, The Last Autobot looks proper antiquated with his spindly legs, bolted on parts and colours: an old robot version of a knight. Wildman continues his depiction of Action Masters being glossy and very angular (in contrast to the other Transformers) with Optimus Prime. On the nit-picky side, the wounded Siren reaching for a gun right at Bludgeon’s feet is a bit strange. Also, considering the amount of Autobot corpses we see in the beginning there are only a few resurrected Autobots shown on the last page. Finally, Inferno makes his second appearance...now a corpse.

In the last couple of issues I was complimentary Bludeon’s command: aware of the sentiments of his troops, manipulating his enemy (mostly Prowl), expressing a more long-term view, the attack on Klo felt more like a military operation than ever before, and when confronted with an upcoming Autobot attack there’s no boasting but talk of planning and preparing. And this preparation was very successful -- perhaps even moreso than shown since even though it’s almost immediately after the battle, it’s not even his full army that’s present: he defeated the Autobots with only a fraction of his troops. But when faced with a genuine threat, Action Master Optimus Prime, he’s outclassed and quickly beaten. Interesting also is how unsettled he is due to the presence of The Last Autobot and Optimus claiming this is Bludgeon’s revered Ultimate Warrior. With his belief system called into question, Bludgeon reacts very irrational.

I also question his sense of judgment, since he refers to Weirdwolf as one of his best troops. I can accept Octopunch and Quake. Fangry seems a bit odd, but perhaps this is why Fangry survived this long while refusing to follow orders: he’s just damn good. But Weirdwolf, really? Also, a little error is that one of Weirdwolf’s characteristics is his backwards speech pattern. While Budiansky used this, it’s absent here.

Where I liked Prowl in issue #76 and 77, was okay with him being depressed and guilt ridden in #78, I do not like his portrayal here. Basically, with this Prowl you can’t win. Grimlock used his reserve ships (but Prowl claimed they weren’t fast enough) and Grimlock placed a tracer so they could track the Decepticons, but now Grimlock is guilty of them being ambushed because this tracer warned the Decepticons they were coming. I think I like the early Marvel Prowl a lot better, with the little add-on that he’s also patiently waiting and planning to be the future commander. On the other hand, Prowl is right about one thing: Grimlock’s leaping into action was dumb, although in character.

Where in issue #4 I looked at the five Autobot chosen to fight in a last ditch effort and said this selection made a lot of sense (Optimus and Huffer are strong, Ironhide is tough, Bluestreak is heavily armed and Mirage...well, can appear to be elsewhere), here I’m looking at the survivors and going...okay. Grimlock makes sense (strong, Action Master), Blaster was shown to be agile and Prowl has a great tactical mind. Kup may have a lot of experience, but he’s also very slow (Ironhide would’ve made more sense being revived by Nucleon and armoured). And Slag is both slow and too stubborn to run. And why exactly are they all without weapons? Did they throw them away when they ran?

Optimus Prime becoming an Action Master (based on his depiction) makes sense since HiQ manipulated Grimlock’s metamorphosis. And I can accept The Last Autobot rebuilding him. But it does mean that Optimus at his core is now an organic creature...that will eventually die and rot...gross. At least with the other -masters the organic part can be replaced (or the original part restored), but this is permanent.

Regarding The Last Autobot. At first Primus appeared to be Machiavellian and not really caring for his ‘children’ , seeing them as tools to fight his battle and perhaps even encouraging or at least benefitting from the Civil War. The backstory given here for The Last Autobot is another nail in the coffin of this far more interesting earlier Primus depiction. It’s now definite that Primus is a noble, beneficial god. Another boring one.

While The Last Autobot acknowledges HiQ and makes him the core of a new Optimus, I’m wondering about the repair of the Autobots with Nebulans. If those Nebulans are dead can The Last Autobot also bring them to life again? Primus did have the power of creation and by extension so did the creation Matrix, so perhaps. Then again, earlier we questioned whether or not Primus teleported any organic elements unless they were attached to a Transformer (Autobot Pretender shells and Targetmaster guns seem to have remained on Earth). It made it appear as if Primus didn’t consider those Transformers. So it remains to be seen if he recognises them (possibly after HiQ) and is able to bring them back to life? And if not, what does this mean for these Transformers?

Some final comments. We see a Decepticon running after Optimus crushed his head (Crankcase).I don’t think this would’ve been possible in Budiansky’s approach, but with Furman it might be. I did have a little snicker at the end when Optimus reveals their next steps: help rebuild the world of Klo, bring the Neo-Knights to Earth (where are Blackrock and Circuit-Breaker by the way?) and return to Cybertron. Okay, but how are you going to this, exactly? The ships the Autobots arrived in were shot down and crashed while Optimus arrived in The Last Autobot. So how exactly are they getting to get off this planet? Finally, is this the first time we get the Decepticons calling “Retreat” in the Marvel US run?


The story itself is rather simplistic. A lot of this issue is flashbacks: a flashback to the ambush and a flashback to Optimus being restored by The Last Autobot. The actual story is only the brief hunt for the survivors and Optimus coming to the rescue in a big fight. It does close the arc of The Last Autobot, Cybertron’s instability and the Decepticon exodus. The other introduced plotlines were solved in the previous issue.

As such and as the ending of the run, it’s not as epic as the cover suggests. Issue #75 was quite a bit more epic and could’ve worked almost as well as the conclusion of the arc. This is an ending to the series, it’s an adequate one, but it’s not epic and it’s clear that the story continues. It is a better ending than #75 though, because with #75 the universe was still wide open: had Optimus survived, who would be the new leader(s), what would become of the alliance, what of the planet? With this ending all these questions were answered and any future stories would be the Autobots on their planet with the Decepticons homeless in space.


Like @dj_convoy II and @shamanking282, I do consider this to be THE ending of Marvel US, and Marvel US is my Generation 1. Very happy that we got G2, very happy that we got ReGen, but this is the true ending of Marvel.


Now all that remains is a look back...

 

Thank you to everyone who participated!
This was a fun look back.
For those who are interested, keep this party going 12 more weeks?

Not your fathers Autobot!
Transformers: Generation 2 #1
“War without End”
Once again....Roll out!

 

So, I've been reading this thread for a while, but I've mostly been just lurking. I did leave my thoughts on the first issue, but I kinda stopped after that. Part of me wants to give my thoughts on the final issue to sort of bring this full circle, but another part of me is kinda resistant due to me not really participating otherwise.

 

Absolutely please do!

 

#76
The following exchange is more of an aside, but something that really stood out to me in this issue. Wheeljack: "Wh-what am I saying? This is no meta-mechanics class I'm talking to!" Prowl: "Easy, Wheeljack. We all have to deal with this in our own way!" This followed the mandatory recap of what happened last issue, I know, but it was interwoven into becoming the most provocative piece of character development Wheeljack has ever received. There are two takeaways from this exchange here.Consider: Wheeljack was a teacher! He had lectures, he educated people. It is a rare peek into the past of a secondary character and what he used to do before the war became his life. Falling back into that role; explaining the mechanics of Prime's death, is how he makes sense of it. Not only do we get a sense of Wheeljack's old life, but we see how he copes with grief. He tries to put it into rational, mechanical terms to make sense of something (death) that no one can truly make sense of. And when he finds himself falling into this peacetime role to cope with the death of a friend in front of him, he chastizes himself for it. He hates himself for the way he is coping because he doesn't believe he's grieving right. Wheeljack is one of those characters in Marvel that is usually more developed upon a closer reading. This isn't the first time he has stood out. When he decided to operate beyond Grimlock's scrutiny in contacting Sky Lynx as a means of a silent, somewhat grounded form of rebellion to the tyrant's rule, we saw that he was something of a quiet maverick who was willing to take measures he thought were necessary for the greater good. In the UK, we get a bit more out of Wheeljack, with a darker side of him being revealed when he considered working with Ravage in brainwashing Jetfire as a means of getting what he wanted, and in turn was disgusted with himself for entertaining the notion so strongly that he only changed his mind at the last minute. We see a goofier side of him in which he is so worked up in outfitting the earthbase with new security that he doesn't realize he has just locked everyone outside of their own now-heavily defended base. I don't think the roles he plays and the nuances in his character have ever been really replicated in later Transformers fiction, and it's a shame because there is actually so much to go off of in the little bits of character drip feeding he gets in this comic. But I'm talking about Wheeljack who isn't even important in these issues so I'll move on to what this issue is actually about.

Prime's remains are illustrated beautifully. There is nothing elegant about his demise here, and Wildman takes great lengths to show this. My favourite bit of it is the loss of his faceplate, and the reveal of, not a mouth, but a single speaker attachment, showing not a handsome, chiseled warrior's face, but that of something mundane and low-tech. It calls back to the designs of the empties, and neutral transformers that would appear on Cybertron during the days of Straxus and the Triumverate. It's hard for me to articulate this, but the unnatractiveness of Optimus beneath the faceplate somehow makes him seem more heroic to me. The struggles he's faced, and the accomplishments he's had, just seem more effective in this light, like he's not that much different from those people he's trying to defend. Again, it's one of those things that are difficult to articulate in an objective way, I just thought this depiction was effective. It was certainly effective in conveying the horror and tragedy and outright gruesomeness of our hero's death. Because death isn't usually all that heroic up close. Death is a horrible mockery of life and we see that here. And Prowl is literally in tears here, the feeling of heartbreak among the Autobots has never been conveyed quite like it has here in response to Prime's death.

The appointment of Grimlock to return to leadership is something that requires some mental jumps to wrap your head around. On the surface, it seems to be Furman deciding that his favourite should be in charge again. Alternatively, I think Prime's idea was that Grimlock would be the only Autobot able to question the efficacy of the peace between the Autobots and the remaining Decepticons in the absence of Scorponok, whereas Prowl acting as his second would, ideally, be able to hold him back from delving back into tyranny, or from eliminating all possibilities of an alliance or peace.

Grimlock is of real interest this issue. We can't read his expressions here, but there are some interesting techniques to convey Grimlock's reaction to his promotion. He is not pelvic thrusting in victory like he did before, but instead standing quite stoically; somberly. Pay attention to the panel composition in the page when Prowl informs him of his leadership. The first panel, is Grimlock's up-close, expressionless face as he listens, then we get a textless wide-shot of where he and Prowl are standing. This scene is from Grim's perspective, and when we transition from the closeup to the wide shot, we are conveyed the sense of Grimlock's sudden awareness of his surroundings. Like the camera has just panned out, and the weight of what he is now in charge of is made immediately clear (the robot nailing the faction symbols on the wall is a great indicator as to what might be on Grimlock's mind at this moment.) And in this panel, Grimlock looks small. The angle is aimed downward. He is a face in a crowd. The alliance looming over him in the form of those symbols being haphazardly nailed to the wall with a tool as rudimentary as a hammer. Jazz, Prowl, Bludgeon, Krok and Rad staring at him in silence, expectantly. This is not a celebratory promotion, the others don't know what to expect, and the complicated feelings Grimlock has about it are conveyed through this panel layout, as well as his response. The palpable silence, followed by his short, to the point answers shows Grimlock is clearly not ready to tackle this issue yet, as he decides to begin his initial plans to return to the Ark and awaken the rest of the Autobots. And Prowl: "Blast it look at me when I'm talking to you!" Look at that, Grimlock can't even look Prowl in the eye in this moment. Prowl sees this as apathy, when his body language and the panel layout say otherwise. He is more aware of the responsibility placed upon him than anyone, and that's why he lashes out at Prowl and seeks to distance himself from the role here. This sequence takes advantage of Grimlock's faceplate, as we linger upon his reactions as he ruminates on Prowl's words, it leaves us to question how he feels since it is impossible to tell otherwise, and adds some mystery and room for interpretation of the character. Grimlock feels small, and his body seeming to be slowly shutting down is likely contributing to this hesitation for the mantle. He remains guilty as well, knowing that what is happening to him from the Nucleon will likely happen to the revived Autobots. How can someone such as he deserve this? After all he's done, is he no better than the Decepticons? It's interesting to see that Grimlock, while calling Prowl a warrior with a brain, in fact clearly thinks a lot. He considers the duality of morality, even citing the concept of Yin and Yang to Swoop, believing there is a simple balance to the Universe between good and evil, and that the Decepticons are genetically the opposites due to their differing sense of morality. From reading Prime's speech later, we can interpret this as him trying to cope with himself. He has done awful things, but in saying he is a genetic Autobot-- genetically "good"-- he can validate himself as representing the side of good, and that that's enough. His monosyllabic response to Prowl's question as to whether he will follow the Autobot way, preceded by a long pause, is followed up on in Hi-Q, now clearly Prime, asking him to show mercy to a demon: "I understand you Grimlock-- I always have. Like Scorponok, you walk the fine line between good and evil, Autobot and Decepticon! Your mind is a perpetual battleground, your war a lonely struggle against your own nature! Give in to hate and anger and you lose! Part of you dies! But every time you find peace, stay that hand that slays, you win!" And as this speech occurs, we know it rings true, as Grimlock drops to his knees and stares at his clutching hand. And these words bring Grimlock something he has for a long time lacked - Resolve. He's now accepted that he is the Autobot leader, and chooses to spare, and show mercy. The Autobot way. It's a shame the word "genetic" becomes the key word for Regeneration One rather than the manner of duality the war represents. The Decepticons are evil. They represent pride in bloodshed, colonialism, genocide, and the trivialization of life, whereas the Autobots represent the value and preservation of it. This issue shows that while we can be objective about examples of good and evil, there are indeed those who toe the line, and have the capacity to develop themselves one way or the other. Choices and one's resolve can allow them to become good or bad as exemplified by Grimlock and Scorponok, but genes are neither.

So I don't know what the fuck Furman was thinking in Regeneration One.

#77
Cybertron's morose, stormy atmosphere is perfect for articulating the overall mood of the denoument following Unicron's defeat. The planet's dying, their leaders are dead, and no one is happy. And you've got to love Dreadwind and Darkwing. Darkwing getting a good bitch out and Dreadwind finding that the dooming of Cybertron justifies his nihilism. Some great interactions here. The Grimlock/Prowl conflict has always been pretty memorable despite only lasting 5 issues. I wonder how much of Grimlock's assertion that Prowl is jealous of Grimlock becoming leader is true. Prowl's lack of response leaves this open for interpretation, which I think is great. I think part of it for Prowl is that he is merely trying to follow Prime's dying wish best he can, and is now struggling to get through to Grimlock. Perhaps there is some resentment here, but Prowl's true reintroduction to this comic was his heartbreak over Prime's death, and his vow to help Grimlock understand the role he was now about to take. When he fails here, his anger is not just towards Grimlock, it is towards himself for continuing to fail to accomplish his dying friend's final request. While this interpretation isn't really my jam, you could also look at Prowl's loud "NOOOO" to have in fact been in response to Optimus naming Grimlock leader instead of him. Which I think is kind of funny when you think about how it works, but for me I think Prowl was genuinely hurt by Prime's death, and there is no reason to suggest he's been power hungry enough that not being promoted would motivate him more than trying to make it up to Prime.

I think it's interesting that apparently a handful of Decepticons think the alliance can work. We never see these Decepticons, or know who they are, but there are apparently enough of them that Bludgeon and Krok worry that outright breaking the alliance will create dissent in the ranks. Bludgeon is what you get when the grunts of the Decepticons get to run the show. Which is kind of great. All the higher ranking Decepticons are either on the Ark or dead... or are Soundwave, who I think likely took a backseat as to wait and see how the alliance would turn out, and to divorce himself from accountability regardless of what would happen. In UK, Bludgeon was introduced as just one member of the Mayhem Attack Squad, and was in fact outranked by Snarler, the leader, and Spinister, who was second in command of the group. He has been introduced as a grunt initially, but he now seems to be leader due to being the most powerful of the remaining Decepticons. His speech to the others encapsulates what the Marvel Decepticons stand for. You can sort of get some of his philosophy here. Starting anew on a planet from scratch means essentially starting Cybertronian society over. It would mean they would be reverting back to caveman times and have to start building again with stones and sticks. As the alternative is to conquer and kill, the Autobots won't abide by it, but for Bludgeon, the act of conquest is a matter of culture. He even vilifies the Autobots by saying what they are trying to do is "Bury [Decepticon] heritage". Bludgeon is kind of an extreme Megatron here, as we see he not only holds the same values, but in fact deifies these values, and believes in Gods that would justify them. How ironic that he seeks to start "afresh" with new wars, when in fact truly restarting is what he intends to avoid.

#78

Check this out, "I am Megatron. I am dying. Destroyed by Optimus Prime, cast into space by Starscream-- I float... my mind... drifts. Madness... so long eating at my brain. Fades... Oblivion... beckons... And is denied-- by Unicron! The devourer of worlds has need of a servant, a flawless jewel of a warrior to send before him! He re-creates me. And I am Galvatron! But the jewel is not flawless. What was Megatron eats at my cold, clinical precision like a cancer. Insanity ravages me, turning me away from my glorious destiny, forcing me inexorably down a path already trod. History repeats, destiny sets."

Indeed, Megatron did not go crazy upon becoming Galvatron in the comic, rather, Megatron was already insane, and Unicron mended him. Which checks out. Though the madness of Megatron remains. It's interesting how many internal journeys these characters face during Furman's run. Galvatron has something of an arc now. He means to mend himself fully, and do away with the insanity that plagues him. No one controls Galvatron, not even himself. He despises his lack of self control to such an extent that the image of his past self, from which this lack of self control stems, becomes his arch enemy to his mind's eye. He justifies that killing Megatron will kill his insanity, but as we see, this is more a battle of the man guided by his hatred against his own lack of self control. His own lack of self control is what brings him to try to murder himself, with the intent of regaining his self control. In fighting this, he is fighting himself. Megatron/Galvatron are both the same and separate here. They focus on two separate halves of a whole, and strangely enough works as a serviceable send off to the character of Megatron. While Galvatron discusses his insanity, his lack of self control, Megatron's story here discusses the fears that influence who he is. I spoke much about this already in #70, but here it is far more clear cut. When Megatron looks at Galvatron, he sees, not Optimus, but Ratchet instead. His greatest fear: being dominated by his opposite. The sadist becoming inferior to the pacifist in practice. In lashing out against this, he fights himself, and no dialogue, reason, or debate occurs. Just "Raw, naked aggression and blood red rage." The character of Megatron can't help but destroy himself. He rages against the opposite, the nemesis, but he only fights himself. The Megatrons of the world will self-destruct. He realizes at the last moment what he's doing. Even saying "I almost... I almost killed myself." Perhaps Galvatron is defined by this lack of self control, and to kill that would be to kill who he is. Either way, it takes the introduction of Shockwave, their oldest political rival, to unite the two-- and it is channeled into the pursuit of what he/they wants for themselves-- Galactic Domination.

Shockwave and Starscream's reactions to seeing Megatron after so long is gold. Starscream has something of a panic attack, whereas Shockwave drops lines such as "I will deal with this redundant fool." And "You should have stayed dead."

Back to Bludgeon, the essential offspring of Megatron. His scene here says something of Megatron's rhetoric, and the Decepticons as a whole. I never noticed this before, but Bludgeon strikes a planet on a map by random to conquer. Stranglehold (yes, Stranglehold) adds justifications "Peaceful populace, good level of technology, abundant natural resources." And yet the process was random. They start their galactic conquest by essentially throwing darts at a board and the reasoning for the planet's conquering comes after it is already decided. The justification is a joke, as their decision to conquer is for the sake of conquering and, I'm gonna say this, asserting masculinity. If you were to psychoanalyze the Decepticons, much of their philosophy would fall under masculine insecurity. If you look back at feminist theory (and I mean the original feminist theory that acted as a genuine philosophy rather than a political label), we could reason that the Decepticons represent the masculine, whereas the Autobots, or specifically those such as Ratchet or Prowl, represent the feminine. The theory doesn't champion one over the other, just that this duality can be found in several political and sociological concepts that define how we live, and that an understanding and comingling of both is necessary in order to respond to various circumstances. The Decepticons are masculinity pumped up to the ninth degree. Doing something for the sake of the hunt is what is happening here for Bludgeon, as this allows them to live up to the masculine ideal in its purest form. Obviously this is just me psychoanalyzing Decepticonism in this comic, and it is not a literal interpretation of what is happening here. Even still, this scene is great because it shows how getting to conquer at all is more important to Bludgeon and the Decepticons than actually benefiting from the conquest. It doesn't matter whether the planet is rich in natural resources or technologies, they picked it because it can be conquered and they'll get to kill something, so they do.

The merging of Ratchet and Megatron, being so complete that they now see through each other's eyes... well, I've already gone on about this haven't I? Ratchet's punch is probably the highlight of the issue. All his frustration, all his hardships translated into a single punch. He is not just hitting Starscream, he's hitting the Decepticons, the source of all his struggles. He is attacking the trivialization of life and death that the Decepticons represent. And as a pacifist who has learned to be a warrior for good, he will sacrifice himself to see this end.

#79

It's an issue that wraps up earth, and the story of Spike and Fortress Maximus who, for the life of me, I can't remember how we left them. I always remember these two just disappearing from the story and never really showing up again, but they were important enough to be touched upon before the end. Spike and Max accepting the role thrust upon them and taking on the mantle of Earth's defender is perhaps the best way to end their respective stories. There is some sadness in that, as it's not a role either particularly wants to take. Those last panels, upon defeating Galvatron, has him standing alone in a snowstorm, staring into the "camera" in silence. It is a reluctant fate he has decided for himself. Both Spike and Fortress Maximus wanted to be civilians in peacetime, that's it. They never wanted war, and returned to the fight in order to protect others, so they may live the lives Spike and Max never would. The change is permanent, but they found victory in their fight. A somber one, as the fight itself may not have even been necessary.

Galvatron is blinded somewhat by the madness that was supposedly caused by Megatron. And yet Megatron is dead, and the madness remains. He wanders through the snowy town, needing to think, to heal, to mend. Not unlike Ratchet. Then Fort Max fucks it all up, and Galvatron becomes nothing more than a raving animal. He has lost to himself. Though he sought sanity, self control, and peace in himself, his reluctance to find peace in others is perhaps what begot his defeat to the impulses that generated those ideas in the first place. Fortress Maximus laments shooting first, though I wonder whether he had doomed Galvatron or saved him from the inevitable in doing so. If Galvatron was left to mend, would he have truly done so? Or would he have done so only to return to conquering the Galaxy? Perhaps Max is also wondering "what could have been" if he had tried to help Galvatron instead of shoot him.

#80
"This time Getaway, you've been got!" I want to hate this line, but I don't.

What a time skip. Grimlock fucked up so bad that the Autobots had to be killed off in a flashback sequence. That's how fast they fell. As much as people like to say Furman "Gary Stu's" Grimlock if there is one thing he likes more it's showing him fuck up hard. Incredibly, I think if Prowl and Grimlock didn't absolutely despise each other, with the latter trying not to spite the former when he can, they would have been unstoppable. It's a timeskip. A final battle between the Autobots and Decepticons to end the comic and wrap up the stories of the main crews.

I will say, the concept of the Last Autobot almost reads as a piece out of real mythology. He returns following the slaughter of the Autobots, and allows them to rise again, while objectively disavowing the divine right Bludgeon adopted, illustrating that he, and the Decepticons as a whole, base their justification on a deception. Heheh.

I understand that the original plan was supposed to see some more buildup, with the journey through Cybertron to find the Last Autobot lasting much longer, with some development for the Demons as well. It's no surprise to say the story feels unfinished at this point. Not because Bludgeon lives to fight another day, but based on the strange end to the stories of Grimlock, Prowl, and this group of characters. Grimlock messes up bad in this issue, Prowl failed to get through to him, we get no sense of Grimlock facing accountability, and none of it matters now because Optimus Prime is back. Both Prowl and Grimlock made mistakes over these five issues, while both of them have taken admirable measures. Well, Prowl suggested an approach that probably would have evened out the fight, but was ignored. The two leading as one would be perfect if they learned to put aside their differences and actually take each other seriously, but it just doesn't happen. They fail to get through to each other when it matters and they don't learn from this or reconcile. ...It's rushed.

It is a nice ending though, in the sense that Prime gets to fulfill the vow he gave the Autobots back in issue #2, that he would return the Autobots to their planet. Showing a pretty clear sense of victory for the Autobots without outright ending the war or finding everlasting peace. Kind of a middle ground in which they win their planet, even if the threat of war remains.

The main theme of this issue seems to be that of death and resurrection. I mean, shit, Cybertron gets revived, The Autobots get revived, Optimus gets revived. At the end of the day, the issue just doesn't leave any room to breathe, so we don't have time to really see how this all could have fit together within the greater context of the comic. It serves to end the series with a big fight and the return of Optimus Prime, whereas the previous issues, though smaller in scale, seemed to be more climactic for the series as a whole, which makes this issue a strange sort of anti-denoument to those previous climaxes. Perhaps a bloody fight between Autobot and Decepticon with the promise that there will be more is the best way to top it all off. After all, it never ends.

Gen 2 anyone?

 

I'm game.

I don't really need to read it; I've read G2 issue one a million times. There was a time in my life where I really thought this new, edgy version of TFs was what I wanted / needed. OPTIMUS HAS BULLETS IN HIS HEAD SO EDGY!

Sadly, it doesn't hold up to me the way G1 does. It probably depends on my mood.

Derek Yaniger was a find. Not a ton of fundamentals storytelling-wise, but blocky and dynamic. Would have partnered well with Senior. By the time he's just doing the back ups, his art is really quite good... but then you're lucky if he's doing five pages an issue. We'll get to the Manny Galan stuff in a couple of weeks (and yes, while that art isn't particularly good, I hope we don't just bash the guy. He was put into a tough situation). I don't know what Yaniger's deal was or why he seemingly flaked out after basically one issue. I think he was a Marvel intern or art corrections guy (as was Galan). You would think they would have vetted the guy a bit better. "Can you draw this book monthly?" I liked the Comicraft lettering. I liked the colors. I liked the kind of dismal tone, and the big, bladed weapons and the bullet shell casings and the whole thing. Now, it just seems like an artifact of it's time. Not that G1 doesn't... but it feels a bit more timeless than this stuff does.

The story itself was mostly fine... even if some of the Autobots are considerably more blood thirsty than I remember them being. The idea of a "second generation" of Decepticons, sort of untouched by the war, is REALLY interesting, and not really explored enough due to various reasons. It's interesting in that the idea of a literal second generation is not present in the toys at all. I wonder how much input Hasbro had here other than "introduce the rotor guys." No one is in their weird G2 color schemes with the exception of Megatron. I guess we can talk more about the GI Joe connection next time. I like some of the little stuff like Prime relying on Grimlock. Reading Simon's take on some of these characters is still like comfort food to me. I enjoy the stuff like the ambitious Bludgeon getting back into the game, the first glimpses of Jihaxus and Primes portents of things to come.


On a personal note, I held off from buying this, not because I didn't want it (believe me, I did), but because I thought Marvel would just send me one. When Transformers was cancelled, I had two or three issues left on my subscription. Typically, if a book was cancelled and you had a sub, they would make good by sending you a similar comic... realistically, they should have sent me a couple issues of GI Joe or something. I got nothing... and I certainly did not get any issues of G2 randomly in the mail.

 

Ack! We should of started this with G.I.Joe #139.
Oof.

 

We can knock that out real quick. Suddenly the Decepticons are running around again because they got confused by a transforming castle. Megatron kidnaps a human who makes a rail gun that's somehow better than Cybertronian technology. The end.  

 

Lol. Fair.