More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

The modern comics universe has had such a different take on G1, one that's significantly represented by the Generations toys, so they share a forum. A modern take on a Real Cybertronian Hero. Currently starring Generations toys, IDW "The Transformers" comics, MTMTE, TF vs GI Joe, and Windblade. Oh wait, and now Skybound, wheee!
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JediTricks
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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I'm all caught up.

#47 - oh man are some folks going to hate this one. It's about romance and screwing with emotions, it ends on a rainbow. That said, it's actually a taut thriller of a storyline, good flavor moments, solid motivations, and compelling action.

#48 - well, the last panels of the previous issue are somewhat negated in a comic booky way, but it's not dissatisfying. I liked this issue a lot, it crams a lot of story into one place, my only true concern is the speed at which it gets characters from the past into the story so damned quickly and uses their motivations awful bluntly. But for the most part, a winner and the start of a multiparter.
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See, that one's a camcorder, that one's a camera, that one's a phone, and they're doing "Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil", get it?
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Sparky Prime
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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MTMTE #50
Various members of the Lost Light crew receive a "psychic attack" and are able to trace the signal back to the Nekrobot planet. Those who were effected, as well as "Team Rodimus", leave in the Rodpod to investigate. At the planet, they're attacked and are forced to take shelter in the Nekrobot's fortress. There, they discover their attackers were the ones who sent the "psychic attack" in the first place, only it was meant to be a distress call to lure them back to the planet. Censere tried to prevent it from being sent out, resulting in it why it seemed to be an attack, and has been killed for it. Contacting the Lost Light, they find out the rest of the crew has conspired against them, as Getaway informs them this is all a part of a mutiny against Megatron and Rodimus, as well as the Megatron sympathizers. They've arranged to dispose of all of them by having the Decepticon Justice Division eliminate them...

Ever since Megatron's trial, there's been complaints about how Megatron, after all the crimes he committed as the Decepticon leader, could have possibly gone unpunished or how that could be tolerated by the Lost Light crew. But Roberts is known for playing things out, as this is yet another example of. There have been a few attempts on Megatron's life in the previous issues, but that finally comes to a head here as the vast majority of the Lost Light crew is revealed to have an issue with that decision. It's also interesting to see they've rebelled against Rodimus, not only as a sympathizer for Megatron but because they also feel he's an incompetent captain.
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andersonh1
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Sparky Prime wrote: Contacting the Lost Light, they find out the rest of the crew has conspired against them, as Getaway informs them this is all a part of a mutiny against Megatron and Rodimus, as well as the Megatron sympathizers. They've arranged to dispose of all of them by having the Decepticon Justice Division eliminate them...

Ever since Megatron's trial, there's been complaints about how Megatron, after all the crimes he committed as the Decepticon leader, could have possibly gone unpunished or how that could be tolerated by the Lost Light crew. But Roberts is known for playing things out, as this is yet another example of. There have been a few attempts on Megatron's life in the previous issues, but that finally comes to a head here as the vast majority of the Lost Light crew is revealed to have an issue with that decision. It's also interesting to see they've rebelled against Rodimus, not only as a sympathizer for Megatron but because they also feel he's an incompetent captain.
Too little, too late, in my opinion. A storyline like this ought to have happened a year ago at least for it to be credible. Still, at least they're finally getting around to it.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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How much time has passed on page since Megatron joined the crew?

And, discontent, especially in that setting would not take hold immediately. The ship is effectively an isolated state. Megatron is a known danger. He has support from Rodiumus (a formal leader who has precedent for being made of teflon) and Magnus (a powerful individual with authoritarian tendencies). Quiet rebellion makes sense.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Dominic wrote:How much time has passed on page since Megatron joined the crew?

And, discontent, especially in that setting would not take hold immediately. The ship is effectively an isolated state. Megatron is a known danger. He has support from Rodiumus (a formal leader who has precedent for being made of teflon) and Magnus (a powerful individual with authoritarian tendencies). Quiet rebellion makes sense.
it's hard to tell, but I would assume it's relative to actual time, but they don't exactly use stardates or anything so who knows? Although, IDW has been relatively consistent with each comic book year equating to a year of real time.

And you're right, and this is why I still find this book so interesting. It's this long after and Megatron is still an Autobot and they're still exploring everything that it means. Both in terms of how Megatron deals with coming face to face with the consequences of his actions as well as others' reactions to him.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

Post by Dominic »

The 1:1 time ratio broke down post-"Dark Cybertron". And, even assuming that there is a 1:1 ratio in this book, if several issues (over the course of several months) take place over the same day, the difference has to be re-established off-panel.

The Lost Light is fundamentally broken. (Remember the Hoist "Spotlight"? His whole gimmick is being reasonably well-adjusted and functional. On that ship, being psychologically intact is a gimmick unto itself.) The real question is what type of person would get on that ship to begin with, especially post "Dark Cybertron".
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

Post by Shockwave »

IDW does seem to wrap things up (sort of) each year, sort of doing a "year in review" thing. Or maybe I'm remembering that wrong. Sparky would probably have a much better answer for this. As for the Lost Light, well, it's not Star Trek. This certainly isn't the Enterprise so not everyone is going to get along like they do on Trek. And, Megatron didn't "get on", he was "put on", sentenced there to look for the Knights of Cybertron so that his trial could continue fairly. Still, you gotta give it to IDW, when they make changes, those changes stick.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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andersonh1 wrote:Too little, too late, in my opinion. A storyline like this ought to have happened a year ago at least for it to be credible. Still, at least they're finally getting around to it.
Like I said, there have been other attempts on Megatron's life since his trial which has all been leading to this mutiny, so I think it's still completely credible. Just after Megatron's trial we saw Whirl straight up try to murder him, with clear indications he was not working alone. Some time later, Brainstrom went back in time to try and prevent Megatron from being born in the first place (although that'd turn out to be a pre-destination paradox). And then, Getaway manipulated Tailgate into trying to use mnemo-needles (which were fakes) on Megatron so that he'd murder Tailgate in order to have an excuse for them to deal with Megatron. Only Whirl and Cyclonus prevented that from happening. So now the crew has decided to mutiny.

Roberts is a long game writer. He slowly builds up to these kinds of big story events, but he always leaves hints as to what's coming along the way.
Dominic wrote:How much time has passed on page since Megatron joined the crew?
Shockwave wrote:it's hard to tell, but I would assume it's relative to actual time, but they don't exactly use stardates or anything so who knows? Although, IDW has been relatively consistent with each comic book year equating to a year of real time.
There is no definitive answer to that, but there are some occasional references to the passage of time in the book to make a guess...

We know the Decepticon Justice Division took out the duplicate Lost Light eighteen months prior to the events of issue 39 (shortly after the Lost Light's original departure from Cybertron and dealing with the Sparkeater) and they returned to the duplicate Lost Light a month prior to salvage the quantum engines, only to be stopped by the Galactic Council and the Black Block Consortia (who were also after the engines).

So with the DJD revisiting the duplicate Lost Light a month prior to issue 39, and a short time later, 'our' Lost Light crew discovered the debris, I'd have to guess Megatron has been a member of the Lost Light crew for only a couple of months at this point.
Shockwave wrote:IDW does seem to wrap things up (sort of) each year, sort of doing a "year in review" thing. Or maybe I'm remembering that wrong. Sparky would probably have a much better answer for this.
Well I wouldn't exactly say they do a "year in review", but they have done things to recap events. There's a back up story in issue 50 actually that takes a look back at events of the book as they happened in Swerve's bar, The crew is able to observe these events again thanks to a fissure in time.
And, Megatron didn't "get on", he was "put on", sentenced there to look for the Knights of Cybertron so that his trial could continue fairly.
It was Megatron's idea. He decided only the Knights if Cybertron could hold a fair trial for him, and so he requested that he be tried by them. Megatron basically forced them to put him on the Lost Light in order to continue the trial when they find the Knights.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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#51-53
Having discovered the Necrobot's teleporter that he used to record every Cybertronian's death, the Autobots have found a way to escape their current predicament. But having also discovered dozens of organic being in stasis within the fortress, they know they'll be killed if they leave them undefended. They decide the only way off the planet and save them is to steal the DJD ship, which Ravage goes to search for, while Megatron decides to meet with Tarn. Drift and Ratchet, arrive having traced the call Velocity tried to make before the DJD blocked the signal and save Ten (who followed Ravage) from being destroyed. They only survive thanks to taking Kaon's "Pet" captive, and Ravage getting them out of there in their ship. They're quickly shot down however, but are able to make it back to the Necrobot's fortress. Meanwhile, Tarn ends up fighting Megatron, enraged by his change of attitude and allegiance, but Megatron is "saved" by Overlord (who was fixed up by some aliens that want him to kill Megatron) who wants the pleasure of killing Megatron himself, but this allows Megatron to escape. Tarn kills Kaon for allowing his emotions for the pet allow the Autobots to escape.

The Autobots begin final preparations for the looming attack on the fortress, while Chromedome performs mnemosurgery on "the pet" as a means to find the DJD ship. Only they discover "the pet" is really the long lost Dominus Ambus. Turns out, like his spark brother, Minimus Ambus, he also has a load-bearing spark which even Rewind was not aware of. Dominus was the undercover Agent 113 in the DJD, but when he was discovered, they pulled him out of his suit, removed his transformation cog and lobotomized him. Chromedome attempts to repair his mind, however the effort is killing him but if he stops, Dominus will die. Unwilling to let his Conjunx Endura die, Rewind cuts off Chromedome's arm, severing the connection and saving him. Meanwhile, DJD's forces arrive outside the shield, and Brainstorm reveals the new much larger "Maximus Ambus" armor he's built for Ultra Magnus. Although Megatron refuses to, the Autobots decide to go out fighting together.

So a lot has happened in the last couple issues with characters returning, mysteries revealed and the like, but yet, the story hasn't really moved forward that much as the Autobots trying to come up with a plan. Which is pretty typical for MTMTE honestly. Looks like the real action will take place in the next issue as the big battle the last 4 issues have been building up towards. Issue 53 also highlights that the Nekrobot planet is actually hollow, which I assume will come into play soon as well.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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MTMTE #54-55
With a group hug, Ratchet comments on Tailgates new super strength, giving Velocity an idea. Her theory is that when Tailgate had his spark spasm, it also effected the spark's of the security force that had been around him into Outliers as well, albeit temporarily. In order to duplicate the effect, Skids volunteers by allowing Chromedome to unlock his repressed memories. Doing so sends out a wave of energy, and the Autobots go outside to attack the gathered Decepticons using new abilities. But the effect wears off very quickly, and the strain on Skids spark proves to have been too much for him, he dies, trying to get to Brainstorm to tell him what became of Quark. Ratchet meanwhile tells Megatron the "Fool's Energon" is really just a placebo. It was part of a ruse in order to make sure Megatron kept his word. Without their super powers, the fight goes badly for the Autobots outside. Witnessing Ravage torn in half by Tarn on a monitor... Megatron joins the fight.

Megatron lures the DJD to him and, using Trailcutter's forcefield generator, traps them within a forcefield with him. Swerve and Rewind meanwhile have reconfigured the psychic weapon that had lured them back to the Nekrobot's planet and use it against the rest of the Decepticons forces, and they retreat, feeling a great guilt for all the lives lost on this mission. Using the spacebridge portals inside his body, Megatron has been able to tap into the anti-matter of a black hole. Using this power, Megatron kills the DJD, revealing their true names in the process (turns out Tarn was actually Glitch).

Meanwhile, the Autobots discover the Nekrobot had one of Brainstorm's time cases, which Megatron had stolen but left on the Nekrobot's planet when he decided it wouldn't factor into his plans. The Nekrobot had found it and was using it to bring all of the missing Cybertronians on his list to his planet (putting them into stasis due to side effects of the time travel) and used holograms to disguise them as organics when he learned the DJD were coming. Using the time case, Rodimus pulls Megatron out of the forcefield before the anti-matter detonates. Megatron talks to the dying Ravage who tells him not to change. Enraged by his death, Megatron is about to leave on his own, when he is greeted by a confused Terminus.

Below the planet's surface, Nightbeat and Rung have made their way to the planet's hollow interior to investigate. Examining the interior landscape, Rung realizes it's the landscape of the surface of Cybertron. Only, it's inverted, suggesting the Nekrobot's world is actually the discarded mold in which Cybertron was made. Before they can make much of this discovery however, the Galactic Council teleport in a geobomb, which destroys the planet.

--
So the shady things Megatron has been up to since he's joined the crew of the Lost Light is finally revealed. Ravage explains he's always been a planner, and it seems he's been preparing for the DJD to come after him. Although I'm not entirely clear on Megatron's motivations here. He's afraid to join the fight because he doesn't want to return to his old path of mindless destruction. So despite being prepared to face the DJD, Megatron was unwilling to do so? He could have prevented Ravage's death if he'd done so earlier. On the other hand, it seems Megatron's plan was meant to be self sacrificing, considering he would have been inside the forcefield when the anti-matter detonated if Rodimus didn't use the time case to pull him out. Maybe Megatron wasn't willing to die until he saw Ravage torn in half? At any rate, I like that it raises questions about Megatron's motivations. I think it really goes to show how conflicted Megatron is, at least until he sees someone he cares about get hurt. And it was a nice touch to see Soundwave could sense the death of his beloved cassette.
I think the hints Roller became Tarn were obvious red herrings. Although I was surprised to see the Nekrobot had been 'rescuing' all the 'missing' Cybertronians he'd recorded. They mention he'd only made it half way through his list though, so there are plenty of Cybertronians genuinely missing. Glitch turning out to be Tarn was a bit of a surprise. I hadn't really considered him, but it make sense.
One of the most interesting revelations I found is that the Nekrobot planet had actually been a mold for Cybertron itself. Suggesting Cybertron was built by someone, or perhaps reshaped by someone.
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