Hello everyone, I didn’t know where to put this discussion so I just put it in here, sorry. I have been wanting to get into the transformer IDW comics, but I don’t know how. For example, the part where hot rod is a prime and Megatron is trying to redeem himself. What run is that and what do I need to read before that to know what’s going on. I’ve been something else made published by IDW but it’s like separate stories. I don’t know if I’m reading the right thing or not and I could use some help. Sorry again.
Bam. IDW 2005 Transformers Unofficial Reader's Guide Hot Rod never becomes a Prime, he just starts going by Rodimus at one point. I recommend the MTMTE/Wreckers order if you want to fast-track to Megatron's skid row arc (I hesitate to call it a redemption arc), which starts in the Dark Cybertron crossover and continues through Lost Light.
Oh alright, thank you for the clarification. So I read MTMTE and then the Dark cybertron and lost light stories?
Why are spotlight blurr, orion pax and thundercracker after max dinos in the chronological tab? Those are set pre war so should be one of the first before even spotlight shockwave. I've recently started a full idw reread and looked for one of these lists to slot the spotlights in right but every single list has some error in regards to the spotlights placements. Megatron origins after all hail? Who composed that list? There's so many things in the wrong reading order.
I'd just follow the mapping IDW themselves used: The Transformers: The IDW Collection - Transformers Wiki
The prequels are treated as flashbacks, all of the present-day stories are in chronological order. SL Orion Pax is placed relative to SL Blurr which is placed relative to SL Drift, SL Thundercracker is placed relative to SL Metroplex, and Megatron Origin is placed after Chaos Theory but before the Autocracy Trilogy which should in turn probably be read before MTMTE/RID. Cards on the table there's no good place to put Megatron Origin and the Autocracy Trilogy as they either present things out of context (before Chaos Theory) or muck up the pacing of another series. The article for each volume has a dedicated section for the numerous placement errors in the IDW Collection.
There's a way simpler way to read it. IDW released "phases", which are all in the recommended reading order! Phase 1: Transformers: The IDW Collection comic | Read Transformers: The IDW Collection comic online in high quality Phase 2: Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two comic | Read Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two comic online in high quality Phase 3: Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Three comic | Read Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Three comic online in high quality Only part where it gets less convenient is that they didn't have time to completely finish the phase before they lost the licence, but u could just use the recommended reading order up there. Those websites might put it in chronological order, but the cool thing about these collections is that it deliberately doesn't show certain comics until they're referenced again by a character. This gets really important later, as, for example, it's hard to connect whatever Starscream is talking about when what he's referencing happened 20 comics ago. The collections fix that.
As mentioned above, those collections have numerous errors with the placement of certain issues… However, they are the best way to get (most of) the entire first continuity until Skybound makes a collection
Oh wait rlly? Sorry, I didn't read all the replies! Hopefully Skybound can release some collections then.
Regardless of if these have some issues the wiki lists them for you so you can read it in order easily
Fair enough if treated like flashbacks, but there is nothing in those spotlights set in present day to present them as flashbacks. Literally the opening dialogue box saying 'thousands of years ago' is it. Chaos theory works as flashbacks because there's also present day stuff happening in the comic issues. But that's not what chronological order means. You present the stuff in order of it happening in terms of the timeline. It doesn't matter how it affects pacing of other stories, it just means the other events pick up a long time afterwards. Chronologically, megatron origins goes first as its the whole instigating point. Then in chaos theory, megs and prime reminisce all the way back to those early years and we get added context. If you go for best reading order, then I would absolutely agree with you that origins should be read around chaos theory. Likewise, spotlight thundercracker has them searching for metroplex who has gone into hiding during the early days of the war. Spotlight metroplex happens in present day when they find him. Chronologically there is a huge span of time where metroplex is awol. For reading story context, the two issues go together. But there is no present day stuff in thundercracker to indicate its a flashback so in a list labelled Chronological order, they shouldn't be together. Like for example the mcu. Captain Marvel is best watched between infinity war and endgame, but chronologically, it should be the second movie watched after captain america.
