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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andersonh1
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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MTMTE #17
So, an issue of MTMTE that doesn't require discussing Rewind and Chromedome. :mrgreen:

Some fairly big things happen this issue, and yet it feels strangely light in the plot department. I think it's because we're still only inching forward in the "what happened to Ultra Magnus" storyline, because otherwise, a good many things happen. There are half a dozen character storylines going at any one time, with all of them competing for limited page space, which probably also helps explain why it feels like things are going at a crawl. At least everything is interesting.

So the lost moon is found, and I doubt that portal leading to it just happened to pop up for no reason at all. Something's behind it, I'd hazard a guess, probably whatever took Ultra Magnus. The billions of sparks all over the surface is an idea that Roberts deserves credit for due to the scale and spectacle of it. And it makes sense. How in the world does a race do anything but kill itself off if thousands are dying in a war and only a few at a time are being brought to life via the Creation Matrix, or whatever. Not that that applies to IDW continuity, which has been largely silent up until now on how Transformers come into the world. In any case, it's a fascinating idea, though it's also very disturbing how just about all the Autobots present seem to have very little respect for the life all around them. They immediately start wondering how the situation could be used to their advantage. They really are a bunch of irreverant jerks, aren't they?

I am also glad to see the Legislators return from issue #2, since we'll finally (presumably) be able to learn what they are and why they're after Skids. And now the other bots on the ship as well. And it's good to see Fortress Maximus out of his cell and part of the crew again.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Andy wrote:So, an issue of MTMTE that doesn't require discussing Rewind and Chromedome. :mrgreen:
Hey, don't worry, we've still got guys like Tailgate and Cyclonus to discuss! Bros 4 life!

I about had an aneurism when Chromedome mentioned that it felt like they hardly had altmodes most of the time. This is on par with the times Roberts has had characters mention how they talk too much or have clear personality disorders passed off as 'charming'. If you...if you are noticing these issues with your story to the point that you're *pointing them out in the story itself*, why would you waste time doing that instead of, you know, fixing them to make the story better?

That near-death-experience aside, this issue wasn't bad. Strung along by Roberts's trademark character-developing conversations and managing to tackle world-building ideas in a way that actually advanced the plot? Not bad at all. Some of the structuring was a little sloppy, I didn't quite grasp that Rodimus's narrating bits were happening later, somewhere else until my second once-over of the issue, there wasn't really anything visually separating them from the other parts where Rodimus is in a room talking to dudes about the mission they're doing. And I had to hit the wiki to remember who the guy he was talking to was, and if I was supposed to know him.
Spoiler
It's Rewind's ex-boyfriend, the one we were told might be dead.
Oh, and Lockdown and his Titan-hunting Deluxe Insecticon squad show up AGAIN in this issue, cementing that their appearances in so many of the recent Spotlights was to establish them for a role here. This is great, and if they continue to get more page-time and *gasp* development out of their ongoing roles here, I'll be a very happy boy. I also love that they now seem to be making a running gag of sticking in 'extra' Insecticons based on Kamen Riders into their group. The Trailcutter issue had a guy based on V3, and there's a new guy based on Den-O in one panel of this one. This is awesome!
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andersonh1
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Did you catch that Chromedome is holding his new hand up for inspection just when Skids is talking to him and wishing there was some way he could dig through his memories and learn which ones he'd forgotten? Makes me wonder if the new hand has the same surgical needles as the old one.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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andersonh1 wrote:Did you catch that Rewind is holding his new hand up for inspection just when Skids is talking to him and wishing there was some way he could dig through his memories and learn which ones he'd forgotten? Makes me wonder if the new hand has the same surgical needles as the old one.
Rewind or Chromedome? Cause if I remember correctly, Chromedome was the one with the needlefingers.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Shockwave wrote:Rewind or Chromedome? Cause if I remember correctly, Chromedome was the one with the needlefingers.
D'oh, my bad. Fixed my original post.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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If you...if you are noticing these issues with your story to the point that you're *pointing them out in the story itself*, why would you waste time doing that instead of, you know, fixing them to make the story better?
Of all the elements of TF, it seems like Roberts is least interested in the actual transforming aspect. Which, for a comic book story, is totally fine! Given the medium and all. If it were an animated series or live action film, I'd be more worried, but...
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Onslaught Six wrote:
If you...if you are noticing these issues with your story to the point that you're *pointing them out in the story itself*, why would you waste time doing that instead of, you know, fixing them to make the story better?
Of all the elements of TF, it seems like Roberts is least interested in the actual transforming aspect. Which, for a comic book story, is totally fine! Given the medium and all. If it were an animated series or live action film, I'd be more worried, but...
I tend to agree, though with the caveat that Transformers really have to transform from time to time just to stay true to the concept. There can be storylines where transformation is plot-relevant (the early Costa issues where Skywatch would trap characters in vehicle mode comes to mind), but transformation is generally more dramatic and action-packed in animation or live action. On the static page it's the personalities of the characters and the universe they live in that stands out to me.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Although it can apparently come up as relevant on page as well. It's been implied numerous times that Transformers have to transform or they basically atrophy. Emerite Xaaron in G1 mentioned that he hadn't used his alt mode in so long that doing so might be fatal. And even here in MTMTE, Ratchet's news to Tailgate that he will never transform again is not taken well.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Shockwave wrote:Although it can apparently come up as relevant on page as well. It's been implied numerous times that Transformers have to transform or they basically atrophy. Emerite Xaaron in G1 mentioned that he hadn't used his alt mode in so long that doing so might be fatal. And even here in MTMTE, Ratchet's news to Tailgate that he will never transform again is not taken well.
I wasn't saying that it wasn't relevant, just that it's possible to get more action and drama from transformation on screen than on the page. Think Bonecrusher and Prime on the highway in the first Transformers movie for example. That sequence wouldn't be nearly as good as a series of static images on the printed page, or I wouldn't think so anyway.

On the page, we get the guys who can't transform, or the guy who transformed himself to death as a form of protest. We get alt-modes that lead to a form of apartheid, depending on what a Transformer turns into. We get characters stuck in vehicle mode, or robot mode for the Action Masters, and how that affects them. And I think that's the approach that works best on the page. Stories that are about the transformation process and what it means to the characters work best, rather than trying to make an action movie on the page. And so while I want to see Transformers actually transform, it's secondary to how they interact.

There are always exceptions, of course. This isn't a hard and fast rule, by any means.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Stories that are about the transformation process and what it means to the characters work best, rather than trying to make an action movie on the page. And so while I want to see Transformers actually transform, it's secondary to how they interact.
I remember the weird hoverboards Drift and Rodimus had in that one early MTMTE issue being really stupid and extraneous. Why not just use their vehicle modes? (They didn't even give a bullshit excuse, like "we can't touch the ground or it'll rust our legs," or some crap.)
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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