This battle seems to conclude the first story arc:

Spoiler

• Tarantulas tries to infiltrate the Maximal’s ship, but is thrown out by Rattrap.
• The battle outside seems pretty even, but Rattrap enables a shield to protect the Maximals. Unfortunately, as Dinobot is still recognised as a Predacon, the shield fails to cover him.
• Dinobot is being terrorised by the Predacons, but Optimus Primal activates turrets that can fire through the shield, causing the battle to end.
• Dinobot is about to dismiss himself, but Optimus Primal convinces him to stay.

Highlights:

Looks like the story is now going to head towards a direction where it becomes more of its own thing. Can’t wait!

 

Primal's saying what we're all thinking.  

Also got excited for a moment when I saw Rattrap's power loader thinking it was a callback to his mech from The Weak Component but it doesn't really resemble it at all. (it seems more Metal Gear inspired)

 

Aw man, you cropped that last image too much, cutting out most of someone's incredibly rare cameo.

Spoiler

Namely, Snapdragon.

Considering who has a toy coming out soon, if this survives past issue 12 (which I hope it does) I wonder if the other person there is a hint to a future appearance?

 

Primal notably says the the original Dinobots disappeared, and Burnham has been on record as wanting to do something with the original Dinobots if the book sells, so I'd say it's pretty much a given.

 

Dinobot has clearly never Googled himself...

 

Primal:

 

Really good.

I'm not even a bw fan and I'm enjoying it

 

Hmmm, different characterization for Rattrap. Not sure I like it, but I'll give it a chance. I do like that the Maximals are sporting some heavier gear this time around. I wonder if the hobbled Dinobot thing is going to be permanent or not, or how weak it'll make him.

I think it's dumb to introduce Black Arachnia when Skold hasn't been given any screen (page/panel?) time.

Kinda funny how Skold is just cowering in her shell in the background as they all retreat

 

with the mention of the original Dinobots, I think they might be setting up an appearance by BW Grimlock sometime later. Grimlock even has his BW colours in the flashback despite being in his G1 body.

plus there's a new toy of BW Grimlock coming out as well, so Hasbro will probably love that synergy.

 

This six issue story should have been condensed into four issues. The only reason why its six issues is so that IDW could squeeze an extra $8 out of readers for a four issue story.

 

Yeah, did this arc really need to be six whole issues? I feel like you could cut the number in half and not lose anything important.

...Huh, just like Season 1 of the cartoon!

 

yeah but at least the cartoon used its episodic bits to do a fuckton of character building. and introduced, what, 4 new guys to the cast? six issues in dinobot has run the gamut of his usual characterization while not shit else has happened.

 

So I'm going to keep reading but, yeah, not a lot happened for six issues. They could have shaved off two issues at least if they hadn't spent so much time on too much talking.
Now given some of the...Questionable characterization so far, I'm not sure what to expect from Blackarachnia.

 

Same. I'm in for seeing what's done differently, for good or for ill. I know Razorbeast is gonna show up, so there's that (Razorbeast's design and name are just too inherently slick for me not to see him introduced) but the excess of dialogue is something I'll have to deal with for a while.

Also hoping that Dinobot being hobbled sticks for a little while.

 

i also wish with all the homages and weird redecos/retools we get in the toyline now this comic could've benefitted a LOT from using alternate colorizations. a toy or universe inspired primal, universe homage dinobot, toy blackarachnia to name a few... might as well mix it up a little.

 

Bad story is bad.

 

I reiterate what I said in the thread for the preview of this issue: this book reads like an anime dub. The verbosity is overwhelming at times, completely ruining the pacing. Thank God Rattrap told us that the windows are reinforced polymer and that the power suit was strong enough to throw Tarantulas through, otherwise we may not have understood why a giant mech suit was able to toss someone through a window. Another good example of words ruining a scene is Dinobot being forced out by not-yet-Sentinel. If all the dialogue ceased as soon as Nyx got cut-off that would've been just fine. Let the visuals do the talking. We know Dinobot is a Predacon, and she just finished explaining how the shields work, and him saying "I fought them all once before, I can do it again" is just unnecessary. Let us connect the two dots ourselves. This book wants to lead us by the hand every step and it ruins investment.

I just... man, I want to like this series. I feel like I'm buying it out of remorse or some obligation, or the promise that it'll get better after this issue, etc. Plus the dialogue is still just atrocious. Beast Wars was well-remembered for its dialogue and characters. Everyone here sounds like a... weird alien robot, which they are, but they shouldn't sound like it. "My ability to wage war is significantly decreased." Who talks like that? "You're not a perfect being, Optimus." Why is everyone written like Data from Star Trek?

Exactly. There's a difference between using your time to flesh out characters and a setting and wasting time doing little of both. People think that any episode not about the aliens or introducing a new character in season 1 is fluff but it isn't. A lot of character building was done through seemingly filler episode,s but cut out something like Victory or The Probe and you've cut out an important part of Dinobot's development.

When people say little happened in these six issues, they mean little actually happened. Little character building, little world building, little everything. Entire pages of rambling dialogue with frighteningly little characterization that isn't outright stated. Rattrap has to tell us he's not a fighter, because the book has really not done anything to establish what his character really is. Flashback to the old cartoon and Rattrap was immediately up Primal's ass about crashing, and in their first fight told him to get fucked and rubbed it in his face when Primal got shot, all within the first episode.

The book is packed full of dialogue and 90% of it is just characters conveying information to one another. Information the audience is often privy to, like things happening and being described. There's no interactivity. I've compared it to a novel but even a text story without visuals, where you have to describe things, usually leaves more to deduction.

 

beast wars was also very, very good about body language. a lot of it. a comic is hard to adapt that to but it's possible.

 

I didn't really get anything out of this comic other then meh. The beginning fight scenes were lackluster and boring. I know it would be too early to kill off characters so soon but Rattrap could have at least beaten
Tarantulas half to stasis-lock and then be interrogated later once he is a little bit healed up. The Maximal gang should have immediately went to Dinobot's aide once it was clear he couldn't get past the energy shield
and of course the last pages had me rolling my eyes as Optimus try's to chee-....I mean make Dinobot stay by mentioning the IDW Dinobots from years ago.

Nothing about this comic set me on edge because it was just plain, out right boring.

 

Anyone else catch the reference off in the distance..?