Did ratchet give Rodimus laser scalple fingers or is it just me?

 

Must have done, he had to rebuild his arms from scratch from what he had lying around. good for doodling whilst listening to Drift.

Woah! That's some deep stuff right there.

 

Good point! There were already several people on board who really need mental help, and now there's another one added to the list. And this one has access to lots and lots of booze...

And Swerve better have some kind of psychological consequences, dammit. It wasn't his fault (I blame Rodimus for the whole fucked up situation), but Swerve is still the one who pulled the trigger, so there has to be some guilt and possible mental trauma going on there if he's any kind of decent person. Right now Swerve is high on the compassion-o-meter, but if he brushes this off, I'll be seriously pissed at him. He could have a really good character arc after this, but only if James gives a shit about the death in this issue. Which at this point I'm not sure, because he's lost my trust.

Good observation. Technically there wasn't anything wrong with the window plan, but he obviously underestimated Hot Rod's stupidity. Had someone else been in charge, the situation probably would have worked out very differently. At the very least, a leader with a brain would have called in a sharpshooter, since we know there was at least one bot on board (Perceptor) who can snipe effectively.

Spoiler

Rung

had plenty of stuff happening to him. And he would have had even more cool/scary/funny/etc things happen, and would have been able to influence the story in lots of worthwhile ways, if he hadn't been torn from the story before his time. You could write a list stretching from here to Jupiter of things that can happen to characters that don't involve them being pointlessly killed.

This is an example of the "Stuffed in the Fridge" trope. When a character exists not for their own sake, but just to be killed off for the purposes of affecting the other characters. It's cheap, lazy writing.

Well, yeah, that's exactly what I want. Do you really find it confusing that someone wants a guy they care about to live? I would say that's psychology 101, but hell, it's more like "existing as a functional human being" 101. Bad person dies=good. Good person dies=bad. If that doesn't make sense, then I just don't know about you, man.  

 

The point is you are meant to care, it's meant to be a tragedy. You being affected is testament to good writing, not cheap and lazy writing.

 

It really isn't, First off there was no such thing as "stuffed in the fridge Trope" when Alex got stuffed in the fridge, and Rung has done a HECK of a lot in only 6 issues it's not like we'll forget him and move on....and I'm not convinced his contributions to the story are done. There's the "Brightest Spark" and the "Don't look in the Coffin" issue still out there.

 

This is not in any way "Stuffed in the Fridge." Rung has in no way died for the sole reason of providing motivation to other characters. He died not simply because he happened to be connected to someone who the plot was actually about so that their story could be furthered by his death - he died because he's a dedicated carer, who was willing to kneel by one of his patients even though that 'bot had threatened to kill him, unwittingly and unfortunately putting himself in fatal danger as he did so. He died because of who HE is and what HE did, not because of WHO he knew, in a manner highly evocative of the central message of LSotW - that sometimes, people die in stupid, pointless ways, but that it's still possible for them to leave their mark on the world before they go. Other characters will feel the repercussions of his death because that's the effect any well-written death HAS, but he has not died simply so we can HAVE those repercussions. And he has certainly not "only existed" for this reason, having been a presence in IDW continuity for two-and-a-half years, and having been a character of James's creation for over TEN years. That we as an audience FEEL something is the product of GOOD writing, not LAZY writing.

 

All I can say is James and Nick better be willing to deal with some very passionate and emotional fangirls at their next convention appearance. God help them.

 

Mcfeely rolling in with words of wisdom as always.

I can understand people being upset about Rung's death, but you got to remember it's James' character to do with as he sees fit. I bet it was harder for him to plot out the death of Rung that it was for us to read it.

Personally, im not upset (nor have i been about any of the deaths in the two series) shit happens, and life, ultimately, is a fragile thing. Granted, my career is being a funeral service director, so i may have more experience dealing with death that many, and a somewhat more leveled approach to responding and dealing with death.

That being said, Rung's death leaves an absence of a sane, sober, voice of reason on the ship. (Rodimus killed his Jiminy Cricket lol). Thats a problem, and something surely Roberts is going to go into. Red Alert is basically bonkers, Fort Max is a walking timebomb (well, assuming UM lets him walk around), Whirl is Whirl, Swerve's probably gonna have PTSD or something, the list goes on. OH- and

Spoiler

OVERLORD's in the fucking basement - that is surely going to create some dissent onboard. I hope that Red Alert reports back to Rodimus before he touches anything....

When someone dies in an unexpected, violent manner such as this, their absence is a tangible presence that people have to deal with. Trust in Roberts to make it work, you may not like it (cough* Greyley  ), but can you honestly look back on your own life and say you 'liked' everything that's happened to you and those you care about. Universe is a fucked up place, and their are all kinds of weird and terrible ways to die waiting out there.

Ratchet and Red Alert are going to be the backbone of the crew over the next while - they have their shit together, and Red's apprenticeship is going to be interesting to watch. On some level, im worried about Ratchet. Mentors/Senseis/teachers have a habit of dying before their protege is 'ready' to fill their shoes... just saying. And we honestly can't expect for the Lost Light to tangle with the DJD and not have a heap of casualties.



also- i vote as a guideline in these discussion threads, if people could at LEAST use spoilers on the first day the comic is out, that would be cool i think. Not everyone buys a digital copy at 8:00 EST and reads it twice before leaving late for work. Some of us buy physical copies, but i kind of like to check out the discussion thread before at some point cause it gets me pumped to see others people's exitement, and i enjoy the first read that much more. I think other people are driven by a similar feeling, and some like Orio are mods and kind of are supposed to read through their batch of threads, whether they've read the comic yet or not. spoilers are a point of consideration for other people, i dont mind so much (in fact with this issue i really couldnt wait to find out who died, i spoiled it for myself) --- but their are some people that REALLY dont want to know ahead of time. Going into a movie, comic, or book with NO expectations or preconceptions (positive or negative) is often the most enjoyable experience in the end.

All you people waiting for TPB - DONT! the discussion is much better here in the thick of it. JOIN US!

 

I think you mean Ratchet and First Aid here   Red Alert's an uber paranoid conspiracy nut   I do wonder if they'll emerge as the ship's new voices of reason, as Ratchet has demonstrated the ability to be before.

 

 

That.

 

McFeeley and Woundsave, speaking the truth, preach bra's!

 

Oh sweet, Spoiler warning in the title. Now we don't need tags. I'm not sure how I feel about Rung's death. I see both sides, and while I agree this is in no way a bad writing move, I feel like there swas so much more that could have been done and should have been done with him. It's not so much that he was killed, but wether or not it was too early from a narrative perspective. I'm deffinately sad I won't see him again, either way, but I'm sure most are. Also, I'm frightened to think of what this does to Swerve, if he may be riddled with guilt and lose his chipper attitude. Also Rodimus must feel like shit. He was trying not to risk Rung's life again and accidentally caused his death. This is not going to help his complex, or his crew's (Magnus in particular) opinion of him.

Also on a different note, it appears Swerve's bad aim is caused by his stout body not being able to hold a gun properly and aim without his view being obstructed by his kibble. That's tragically funny.

 

yes i do- lol, i get so exited about this comic!

 

When I read that, I was confused a bit too. I just assumed that it was implying Skids was waaaaay old if he knew Ultra Magnus when he was a loose cannon cop on the edge who doesn't play by the rules

 

Yeah, it's deffinately a nod to just how old and just how out-of-the-loop Skids is. He's hands down the most intriguing character for me.

 

Having a grip on Skids' mental state continues to elude me. The only thing he has no memory of, is himself?

I'm also curious as to the meaning of Overlord's discussion with Fort Max back on G9, regarding the Aequitas chamber. Was he speaking literally or figuratively about what it was meant to hide? I have a hard time imagining that bigass computer was built over-top of something the Autobots never wanted anyone to find. I gotta figure he's talking about the data contained within Aequitas, right? About all those trials? The real reason the Wreckers got sent in?

I can see the value for Overlord in having a list of all the horrific monsters that ever wore an Autobot badge; but when his primary motivation was trying to spark a reaction out of Megatron? There's a disconnect for me.

Anybody else?

 

No, in Issue 3 he states that he remembers details and events from long, long ago, then there's a large gap, then the present. He remembers his old life and his current state, but nothing in between. (such as whatever caused him to run into the Legislators)

Maybe Aeguitas has information that would draw Megatron out? Something Megatron would want?

 

Just had to share how much I love this book!

Roberts for President Nov 2012!

(......And so what he's British)