The last time, when we had red herrings and suspense for the sake of suspense, Chromia ended as a braindead terrorist.

I'll take logical plot unfolding than a suspense out of the left field when other options are more sensible. Though with Chromia some readers anticipated it, still it was a very artificial plot and character motivation.

Likewise, if during the Enigma and Blackrock arcs Barber solved it in any other way than Onyx Prime being responsible for the facsimile, I'd call ****shit. As soon as the suspense is gone it would simply feel very phoned.

It wouldn't be any different with Roller not being Tarn.

What's the point of even showing Tarn's chin under his mask when it looks like Roller's, but he's not the Roller? Or him being given a copy of Megatron's writing? Not to mention Roller's jealousy towards outliers and Tarn's phrase about "uncovering his potential"?
You don't gradually introduce hints in such quantity to bail out of it and say "surprise, it was someone else all this time".

Especially if you realise that Ambus wasn't even shown in the book in any retrospection save for his arternative version from the Functionists universe...

Mentioned as often as he may be, he's a non-entity in terms of his actual presence.

 

It's not Dominus Ambus (he has a mustache)
It matches Roller's Chin, even small details. It's Roller people.

 

*quiet yet sustained applause*

The "mystery," such as it even is, of Tarn's identity is not a lynchpin of the book. There's nothing to be gained by not playing fair, and everything to be gained by letting the drama of the Megatron/Tarn scene play out without any shocking metallurgists.

Personally, this was pegged ever since the otherwise-purposeless identification of Roller as one of a very few "heavyweight-class Point One Percenters." And by a character with every reason to prefer "official" names over Decepticon noms de guerre.

 

It's Roller.

At this point, it's not even really a mystery - Roberts is putting the reader in a "Say it ain't so" position, grabbing on to other possibilities because we don't really want affable, decent, friend-of-Ratchet, G1-homaging Roller to turn out to be such a nasty piece of work.

 

Right now I have no real suspects other than feeling who it is ain't. My strongest hunch is still Dominus Ambus. That is not really strong. It just to me Roller is a bit too obvious. Whoever it is will be major league shocker for the readers and the cast.

 

Can't wait!

I also can't help noticing the Killing Joke parallel.

 

Megatron: "After all, if you could be turned..."

I think it has to be someone with actual morals. And to this date... really hard to tell. Everyone until now is so morally ambiguous in this story that it's hard to tell who they're referring to. How hard could it be to turn an unconfident, jealousy-striken follower like Roller? Might be used as fodder to hurt Optimus' feelings – although he was never revealed to OP, so what's the point in making Roller into that?

At first, I'm thinking Sentinel Prime, Dominus Ambus, Ultra Magnus (the real one). I don't know, someone we know was on the side of good, lol. An icon to the people, with unwavering loyalty and headstrong beliefs. Or at least that's someone I think Megatron might want to corrupt.

Or just a Functionist. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Not sure it infers someone with high morals, just someone who was staunchly close to Prime. Roller fits the bill.

 

Sentinel Prime, my impression is he is not that moral and just Prime in name only. Dominus Ambus, he had high morals especially when came to disposal class that Rewind is in. The fact Dominus is missing. To me suggesting that Megatron is able turn someone that not exactly loyal to Optimus but is loyal to the current regime is that statement. Whoever was turned was true blue Autobot and supported the Senate more than Optimus Prime. The Grudge match between Optimus and Megatron was never about that the government was corrupt. Both leaders actually agree on that. I can see Megatron turn a loyal senate stodge to person Tarn is. Which this theory also applies to Ultra Magnus.

Dominus Ambus being Tarn will hurt both Rewind and Minimus more than anyone else. Ultra Magnus right now the stability of the group. Everyone relies on sense of stability and it will more devastating find out who Tarn is. Having Ultra Magnus a basket case will ensure Rodimus crew defeat.

 

I think you're eliding how the characters come across to readers with their in-universe reputation. We only know that Roller has a self-esteem problem from one whispered exchange with Rung, because Rung caught him out taking a supplement. To everyone else, he's loyal and laid back.

 

No. A red-herring scenario works when the reveal also makes sense. This is actually standard generic practice.

Comparing it to a badly-handled red herring (as in Windblade) makes no particular sense at all. It's simply a case of comparing bad writing and good writing.

Dominus is just about the only other mystery figure in the series that could carry some weight as Tarn. He's not a large presence, but his shadow has loomed over the series for some time, and besides his identity as a renowned public intellectual, he has emotional entanglements with other main characters (Chromedome, Rewind, Magnus).

Just because Roller's name has been lit up with big neon lights, doesn't mean that it's foul play to go another way with it. Writers are (and have always been) allowed to play the misdirection game... in fact it's critical to writing any mystery.

But I agree that it has to be handled with a certain panache and fall into place without too much forcing.

So no, a Dominus reveal wouldn't really be out-of-left-field. In fact, he's the most obvious #2 suspect. The difference is that the Roller theory is sustained by very pointed in-universe clues. It has almost been over-stated. In the case of Dominus, the clues are more metanarrative, pertaining to the rules of dramatic engagement.

I'm still pulling for Roller, simply because it seems wasteful to embed all that set-up and backstory, and then only use it as a smokescreen... but a deftly-handled alternative reveal will not necessarily be unwelcome. I like surprises, if they make sense, and aren't completely parachuted in.

These days I don't have enough unshakeable faith in Roberts to be confident that he'll pull this off. But I'd like to think that he's smart enough not to completely fumble it.

zmog

 

I have a hunch tarn is Orion pax , somehow.

 

I've leant towards Dominus Ambus in the past, although for different reasons. Wouldn't it be terrible if Chromedome was responsible for Tarn? As part of Prowl's plans? As part of Prowl's blackmail? He would be a real convenient way to dispose of inconvenient Decepticons. Mind you, if Megatron personally converted Tarn, that pet theory becomes less certain.

Are there any senators unaccounted for?

 

Not really, the only survivors appear to be Shockwave, Dai Atlas and Crosscut, but I wouldn't count on that, seeing as none was a Senator a couple of years ago  

It reads like Roller. "Changed you to hurt somebody". Pax, who agonized over his friend's turn to the dark side.

Perhaps it's not widely known who Tarn is? Because if he is indeed Roller, none of the time-travelers had any reaction to him.

 

I'm not sure who Tarn really is, but when they take off his face and show us, my reaction will most positively be: "Who?" If it's Roller, then I need to reread the issues that feature Roller, because I've forgotten about that guy entirely other than he shares the same name as Prime's truck drone. XD

One thing that just struck me, it's going to be a very interesting conversation when Drift/Deadlock reunites with Megs and Ravage, assuming they don't die by the end of this.  

EDIT: Good god... just looked up images of Roller and Tarn to compare... I'm convinced, Tarn is Roller, and R + L = J

 

If I may, the real Ultra Magnus would do the job just aswell. we don't know if UM known deaths include his or just that of his impersonators.
Besides, an Evil Ultra Magnus is more interesting that Roller 'the addict' whos had a tantrum cos Pax left him for dead... Don't we already have Overlord who's main motive for Evildom is (fatherly) competition with Megs?


changing subject.
Have Ratchet and Ravage ever spoken before in any continuity or is the first time?
was fun...

 

Roller's existence, identity, and something of his abilities are common knowledge. Although yeah the Lost Light time travelers weren't treating him with kid gloves when they went back.

Minimus Ambus' identity as Ultra Magnus, and the fact that Ultra Magnus was a suit of armor and a job rather than the bot who was forged with that name, was so deeply secret that Megatron didn't have any idea (despite killing at least one of him). It's still not clear if Optimus knew, though if he didn't it implies a lot of tiny little bots are consummate liars.

Megatron knows who Tarn is and Tarn is not Ultra Magnus.

 

1 prime said he knew like ratchet somewhere in the pages of mtmte
2 Im not talking about minimus ambus. Im talking about the real Ultra Magnus, the one which inspired the suit and that we saw in Primacy, Monstrosity and maybe a couple more apparations, but about which we know very little.
Megatron says 'After all, if you could be turned'
3 ofc megatron only finds out about the UM armour and dominus in mtmte so..

 

Huh. I must be reading a different book than some people. But yeah... he's Roller. Guaranteed. If you're holding out hope that he's someone else, you're going to be disappointed, because that's not the story Roberts is telling. But I'm not sure why you'd want him to be someone else, because Roller works perfectly as the tragic corrupted villain; the loyal but unsatisfied friend who is tempted by the promise of reaching his full potential. And now he's been disillusioned by that promise as well. Can't wait to see how it plays out!

PS. We really need Hasbro to make a Tarn figure eventually.

 

It's not we're hoping it's really someone else, it's just that Roller=Tarn is so obvious at this point that it's actually kinda anticlimactic.

Gotta say that that Tarn=Original Magnus theory is an interesting one. Sure explains in part why Minimus Magnus was targeted so thoroughly in the Slaughterhouse raid.