Considering Nyx already took some of his traits, i suppose something more like BM Cheetor who constantly butt heads with Optimus, which seems to be the direction here so far, in any case i just want him to have more nuance and talk less about Nyx, talking with Nyx however, maybe there's potential in that

I think it matters, as i explained in my previous comment, at this point in the story OG Dinobot had more nuance and was very much still a pred who simply worked with the Maximals to eventually beat Megatron, this isn't to say they can't take the new Dinobot in another interesting direction but so far that has yet to be shown

and yet unlike the original a rat wasn't present to see it 

 

When Skids was lost during a mission in the Marvel comics, Optimus Prime never bothered looking for him, not even to retrieve his body.

 

Yeah, it does kind of feel like this Dinobot has his Season 2 characterization rather than his S1. Which isn't necessarily bad, and I wouldn't have wanted him to completely retread the original Dinobot's arc, but I think I'd like a bit more of that ruthless, ambitious streak he had in the beginning. There's nothing stopping him from attempting to take over leadership of the Maximals out of the belief that they're ill-prepared to face Megatron's crew and that he, as the more experienced bot over Primal, should lead the Axalon crew. Maybe even still have the trial by combat and duel between the two, just to demonstrate that while he's not the same character from the show, he's still Dinobot.

But how they handle his arc has already been mapped out, so can't say for sure how it will go. We just have to wait and see.

This Primal is definitely way out of his league compared to the original Primal. Primal from the series wouldn't have just shrugged it off when she didn't come back within an allotted time - he would have given her a deadline and expected it to be met, and probably send out search and rescue when she didn't return. More fuel for the possibility of Dinobot thinking he's an ineffective leader.

 

Lol, the original also didn't have one Predacon saying to the other Predacon, "No--wait! Oh my God! You just cranked the torture device to its maximum setting!"

"I'm upset!"

As for Cheetor, I seriously do wonder where they are going to go with his character, because yeah Nyx adopted some of the carefree youth traits. I think they will probably be differentiated with Cheetor being more reckless and Nyx being more reserved in the long run. She didn't outright search for trouble, Terrorsaur pretty much just teleported behind her. But I could see the next issue having Cheetor go out to search for Nyx on his own and having to figure out how to deal with her "new friend". I honestly just hope Dinobot ends up returning to the Maximals with the intent to take them over. If he's not... I mean come on. Dinobot wasn't just a Maximal who used to be a Predacon, he was a Predacon who joined the Maximals. His mannerisms, speech, voice, attitude, military philosophies, all fit in with the enemy team, and his development from being around and growing to care for the Maximals is what gave him his consious. If he's just conscientious and noble from the start, well, shit, it means he's just a Maximal. Even if they chose to have him fight on the side of the predacons for a few conflicts, he would need to join the Maximals at some point since Dinobot really isn't Dinobot if he's not on the opposing side combatting Megatron. But the transition needs to be rocky, which I hope we'll get to see.

So it's okay because Prime did it in Marvel?

That's interesting actually, I hadn't considered that maybe Primal's choices are going to help Dinobot's case, and will maybe prove to be a huge factor in Dinobot's power grab. Maybe Cheetor, Nyx and Rhinox will be pro Dinobot whereas Rattrap and Primal will be Anti-Dinobot depending on what Dinobot plans to offer the Maximals, be it the offer to act as Primal's military advisor, or to take them over completely. This is assuming Dinobot will attempt to grab power when he returns to the Maximal base, but still it makes Primal's actions seem more a deliberate choice by the writers and would show immediate consequences.

 

I’m saying it’s a common trait for heroic leaders to show errors in judgement and putting the mission first before the lives of an individual, although not always.

 

Yeah, Marvel OP wasn't exactly the smartest guy around

 

Here's hoping at any rate. Primal's decision to just like... assume nothing went wrong does definitely rub me the wrong way, as does the fact that Cheetor, the catchphrase-spouting overeager dumbass from Seasons 1 and 2 of the cartoon is making the most rational decisions right now. If this is being set up for Dinobot to point out Primal is a bad leader and it forces big bot to re-evaluate his leadership thus far and step up his game, more power to Burnham. Because like you said, if Dinobot doesn't try to make a power grab or otherwise grouse about "Maximal sentiment" at the initial defection that doesn't make him a Predacon, that just makes him a Maximal that started off on the opposite side... which, sadly, I'm pretty sure is the literal note on the character in Hasbro's character bible because every character ever made has to be boiled down to a select few core traits apparently. Lookin' at you, WFC trilogy.

Honestly with the way Terrorsaur has been written so far, I think it'd be pretty on brand for him to straight up say "tch, nothing personnel kid".

And just to be clear, I love dumbass edgelord Terrorsaur. Some changes have been questionable, but Terrorsaur really works for me so far.

 

Okay straight up, Terrorsaur screaming "MAXIMAL SCUM!" at Nyx last issue made me hear his BW voice in my head. It was kind of amazing. Like there are some changes to his character like there is for everyone aside from Rattrap and maybe Tarantulas, but Terrorsaur manages to have new traits while also acting and sounding like Terrorsaur in a recognizable way.

I'm not disputing that. Like I said, the framing of the story is to show that Primal made a bad call here. Like that Marvel story, in which Prime just assumes Skids is dead instead of sending anyone to check, in this story it comes off as a bit of a stretch. In this case it's because of that time-gap. It was the middle of the day when Nyx left and it is getting dark when she's not back yet. And it isn't until Primal decides it is too late to go out looking for Nyx that we see them discuss looking for Nyx. This is a new character interpretation, so I'm not going to say things like "Optimus Primal wouldn't do that!", but the logic on Primal's end seemed more disagreeable than I think it was intended it to be.

 

I liked it, but Dinobot's characterization is way, way, way, way off.

 

I really like Nyx,i hope she's ok

 

looking back at issues 1 and 2, and then this again, i realize they may be exploring cheetor and nyx having a sibling-like relationship like him and airazor were originally suggested to have but we never actually saw. for some reason, seeing them piloting the axalon together(and their cybertronian designs looking slightly similar), repairing it together and his pronounced concern for her #3. i just feel like that's the relationship they might be trying to showcase the two of them having; anyone else think there's any merit to this theory?

 

So do i to a certain extent, a bit to my own dismay  

 

why, creates a nice bit of comradery to me, especially since this maximal team doesn't seem quite so chummy from the get go yet

 

Because it has been pretty much all of Cheetor's characterization so far in the comic

 

I just got around to reading these, as I like to read in chunks. So far, yeah, plenty is different. But while Dinobot's nobility may be immediately apparent, it could be taken in interesting directions. He may realize that honor-wise, neither side is better than the other. Which may lead him sliding allegiences again--maybe even to the Vok? Dinobot has always been the wild card. There's no chance 'noble hero' is his only setting. And on the off chance it is.. there are other characters that might take on some of those traits.

Skold is an unknown. Dinobot preaching to her may be setting something up.

Scorponok is shaping up to be an interesting foil for Dinobot. The 'Loyalty' to Dinobot's 'Honor.' And while he may be a bit simple, no part of him seems stupid--yet. It would be cool to see him team up with Inferno later.

And there's also Black Arachnia, who made a similar journey to the side of good. Perhaps they're simply allowing the characters a bit more divergence, because face/heel and heel/face turns can indeed get a bit samey. Be interesting to see what happens when she shows up.

Even so early on, we can see Megatron as a leader who can drive his subordinates away. It was very bold to have Tarantulas point out that the Predacons here are a collection of rogue agents. It means Megatron's only real tactics for keeping his team together are fear and reward. These things aren't going to make them into a team. I think the Preds will have to be able to function more independently because of that.

It's funny how I'm usually a good guy fan, but when it comes to Beast Wars I tend to like the Predacons.  

 

Overall thoughts on the comics more than the issue specifically, given I hated late IDW: this is shockingly enjoyable or readable. I was honestly expecting that annoying, Whedon or Bendis-esque smarm and endless dialogue window of pontification that my mind unfortunately associate with what IDW Transformers has become. The characters are obviously not 1:1 to what they were in the show but its still fairly in line with the overall characterization of most of them even if Primal seems to be written a tad closer to Animated Prime than the more stern or sick-of-your-crap grumpier Primal we know from later Beast Wars. It might just be because the situation isn't completely desperate and he hasn't had the weight of command crush him with burden yet.

I think the worst excess of the Barber, Roberts and Roche era really soured me unfairly on the entire company.

 

Meh at best, so far most of the content shown here was done better in the OG series, Cheetor was instantly stabilished as a disobedient kid looking for challenge rather than a big brother type who only talks about the younger sibling(that or he's a simp  ), Dinobot was stabilished as an ambitious, violent but slightly honorable Predacon working with the Maximals for convenience rather than being too much competent on his skills and having way refined sense of honor, it doesn't have to be 1:1 with the original series but these new versions haven't lived up to the standards set by all of their original counterparts, which could change down the line but here we're only talking about what's out already

 

I never wrote it was anywhere as good as the original show, its just that when we had an IDW Beast Wars comic announce I was expecting ten pages of the Predacons sitting around lecturing the audience of intersectionality and oppression or whatever other political buzzwords rather than the characters acting even close to their original depiction since I was going off the last time someone tried to reboot Beast Wars, which was the pretentious nonsense that was BW Uprising and IDW is pretty much in that same vein. Modern American comics are generally nothing but poorly written opinion pieces so I'm surprised this one even manage to tell an ongoing, coherent story where I can understand character motivations and follow along without the plot grinding to a complete halt so the writer can lecture me about garbage going on in their country which I just don't give a damn about.

 

I'm glad this isn't a 1:1 retelling. Having watched BW again last year, I feel like it definitely had room for improvement. I mean, aside from a very excellent (if hammy) pilot, it took the show a while to find its stride. But man.. when it did, IT DID. Now we get to see BW start up and tell a story that's a little bit more than a Saturday morning cartoon.

 

Has anyone thought of what good personality would make Skold stand out of the other Preds?