Edit: I realized that the title of this thread is wrong. Wrote while very tired.
Big spoiler for the whole thread.

Spoiler

Pious Maximus, pictured above, thus far only exists as a character in the Shadowplay arc that is discussed as a religious leader that is kidnapped, suddenly recants his faith in the Knights of Cybertron, and then is seen by Chromedome and Prowl being brainwashed. Fun stuff, right?

(He's also later seen in the very beginning of the 'Remain in Light' arc, mentioned as the reason for Ultra Magnus being on Clemency: to 'save Pious Maximus from himself'. I have no idea what this means, or could mean. But I do know that Clemency has a history of WEIRD stuff happening there.)

My next point:

Why would it be necessary for the comic to mention Pious, here? Fort Max has been in plenty of issues with pre-war characters, before, and Pious was never mentioned. 56 has already shown a sort of meta dissection of common comic patterns- in this case, Red Alert's paranoia comes out as him analyzing Fortress Maximus's speech pattern, a pattern which is typical for MTMTE. If MTMTE 56 is so self aware, why throw in a fleeting reference like this?

Note Fortess Maximus's confusion- he doesn't say that he knows Pious, does he? When Minimus is mistaken for his spark brother, he insists immediately that they're simply of the same house. If Maximus is in the same situation, why not say that? And Sentinel's like- of course he didn't respect Pious. He was in power around the time that Pious would've been brainwashed.

Then, there's more.

With the advent of the MTMTE 57 preview, we now know the signficance of Red Alert and datapads. In the 57 preview, the crew is boarding the ship, and Red Alert looks down at his datapad. The datapad, after the scene pictured immediately below this paragraph, reads 'THIS NEVER HAPPENED'. Why do I think this is relevant? Look at his mnemo scars above. Why would there be ANY reason to show those if something wasn't amiss? And look below!!!

Ambulon and First Aid can be seen boarding, as can Ironfist and Bumblebee! They were very DEFINITELY not present at the initial first boarding of the Lost Light. Ironfist would have been dead by then, Bumblebee was watching from a distance but not boarding, and First Aid/Ambulon would have been on Delphi. So, I theorize that it's simply a mish-mash of people Red Alert remembers...maybe even, to an extent, who he is allowed to remember. Do you see Fort Max in that crowd? Nope.

In conclusion:

Spoiler

Fortress Maximus is Pious Maximus, brainwashed and shoved into a fresh coat of paint+a new alt mode. He is the opposite of his old self, someone that was intensely religious and probably viewed as a potential dissenter. FortMax is aggressive, a loyal Autobot, and never once declares any interest in the 'Quest' or in the Knights, or anything religious.

I believe that Red Alert may have been a follower of Pious Maximus. Even if that isn't true, I believe that it is impossible to ignore how he has obviously been tampered with mentally by the Institute. Perhaps he was made paranoid on purpose, to devalue any of his claims about the Institute- maybe he was even made into a sleeper agent, causing his attack on Prowl/FortMax in 56/the 57 preview.

 

I think you're probably on to something. Fortress Maximus was stated to be "warborn," but we know he isn't constructed cold so he at least can't be an MTO. Sentinel Prime definitely had a hand in whatever the Institute was doing to Pious, though by his not recognizing Fort Max we can conclude that whatever actually caused the change from Pious to Fortress happened during the way, probably because of whatever happened at Clemency.

The Red Alert connection sounds like more of a stretch to me, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they're connected in some way.

 

I was less sure of the Red Alert one, but didn't think it had enough to warrant its own thread, y'know? I just know that the mnemo scars are suspicious to me. Mostly, I'm just excited that my name on this site is suddenly going to be relevant :~)

 

It's fine to start a discussion thread,(tho it's a little early) but don't start more than one... 'General Discussion' should cover it.  
Merged your threads...

Continue...

 

Wait Wait Wait. How are we discussing 57 before next week??

Oh. I read the spoilers. Fascinating. I didn't pick up on the "wrong" bodies in red's memory of the boarding...

 

Methinks you're reading too much into Red Alert's analysis of Fort Max's speech. It was just poking fun at how most comic dialogue is written.

 

OH dear god I'm dumb. But uh. Can I change the name of THIS THREAD back to something that actually fits THIS THREAD? This is a theory thread. Not a general discussion thread. This was a thread specifically for the discussion of one theory, not MTMTE 57 in general...I'm not objecting to the merge, just the name change :/

 

It happens to the best of us. We just put threads in the wrong topic. I like your theory because it does make sense. It also makes the Garrus 9 all the more tragic.

 

Okie dokie, what do you want to call it then? Still should keep in mind it's best for everyone if the title doesn't contain any spoilers.  

NM... I changed it to indicate possible spoiler & theory

 

INNNNNNNNTERESTING...

Some nice observations here. You're probably onto something. Or at least part of something.  

zmog

 

So, is this where we discuss 57 and the rather droll table flipping gag? 
I realise the thread's intent is to discuss a specific theory, but it is the only relevant discussion thus far.

Spoiler

Pious is not accounted for and still remains a mystery. Looks like it is a long-term matter, if it is addressed. Red's false memories are addressed... And Max helps out with the washing up

overall, this short story seems to miss its potential. This could have been a great bodysnatcher story with plenty of intrigue and paranoia, (beyond Red Alert's). Instead, it is seemingly resolved abruptly to give space to a homely setting with 'incidental' talk of endings as a sentimental end note. Red is a pleasure, as always.

Spoiler

But it seems that Sentinel didn't have much of a contingency planned, given his prep-time.

The action failed to resonate with me as it seemed less than ancillary. The consequences seem a little distant, but I'm sure they'll be addressed later.

 

ahhhhhhhhh this is tomorrow morning i can't waaaaait

 

This was a great read, although it was a bit

Spoiler

obvious that they wouldn't stop the full scale titan migration

it was fun to read and also if anyone has yet

Spoiler

unlocked the message in the last panel?

 

Spoiler

Well it's got "MTMTE" in it but I didn't bother looking further than that.

 

Boy, sorry, Pious, but you were kinda in pants-on-head-crazy territory with that theory, weren't you? /: )

 

This felt kind of weak to me, there's a first.

 

2012-2016 in there too.

 

Yes, all I found is "MTMTE 2012-2016" which I take it as just a sendoff since this is the last issue of MTMTE before it hands itself over the be "Lost Light"

 

Thought this was a merely "okay" ending... which is sad considering how great the book actually started.

It actually follows the same trend that MTMTE has been showing for a while, it tries to handle some old plot-points in a clever way but ends-up with an unsatisfying conclusion and in this case is even more undewhelming since is the actual conclusion of the book.

Roberts' love for caricatures is not that appealing either since Sentinel Prime's "theme" is blatant and one-dimensional as hell. The one who suffers the most here is Prowl though since Roberts continues to undo most of the great work Roche did in SOTW and depicts him as an unlikable jerk that is painfully oblivious of how much people around him despise him (and yet another point to Roche's portrayal: His Prowl is pretty self-aware in comparison).

Tramontano's art is... not the best, serviceable at the very best. The proportions look awkward and the storytelling is wonky.

Not an ideal ending, hope things get better in Lost Light.

 

I like that Sentinel's fate is left open. I'd like him to return as an antagonist at some point.