More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

[Sparky Prime]

No, I understand why he's using public transit there. But when he throws out that bit where he complains about getting fined for not using his altmode, it's basically a direct statement that "People who want to see Transformers transform and use their altmodes are assholes."

All I see there is that it's pointing out the era they've traveled to is obsessed with function of form, where any little thing like a vehicle riding on public transit can be considered an offence. It's world building, showing us what Cybertron was like, not a direct statement to the audience. After all, the issue as you've already pointed out also showcases several characters making use of their alt modes, completely contradicting what you're suggesting here.

Except that being anti-functionalist undermines the entire point of transformations, altmodes, and people (like me) who find them appealing. Look at some of the things Nightbeat and Quark talk about there. "If you are interested in and care about what a Transformer turns into, you're a fascist monster."

Except it doesn't undermine transformations or any of that. If Whirl wants to be a watchmaker instead of a member of the Ariel Corps simply because he turns into a helicopter, why can't he? That's the only point they're making, that they have their own interests and skills that doesn't necessarily have to do with what they turn into.

The entire comic series for at least the last half of it has been about how stupid and horrible transformation is.

I'm pretty sure that's just how you've chosen to interpret it, because that's not at all what I've gotten out of the series.

[Dominic]

I am really liking the banner-title for this run of comics. "Days of Deception" just *works*. Are we getting the secret origin of Tarn? Nope, fooled ya. Was this issue going to be about the Wreckers? Nope, but the solicits and cover did not specifically lie about those things. (Whose fault is it if I misread them?)

Just what the hell is Brainstorm's plan? Hell if I know, but everybody seems to have a wrong answer.

The entire comic series for at least the last half of it has been about how stupid and horrible transformation is.

The whole point of the comic is to make directly explicit what some of the better TF comics have been about over the years, specifically that there is more to TF that "big transforming space robots". Yes, they are big space robots. Yes, they transform.

But, that is not the only thing TF comics are, or have been, about.

Except that being anti-functionalist undermines the entire point of transformations, altmodes, and people (like me) who find them appealing. Look at some of the things Nightbeat and Quark talk about there. "If you are interested in and care about what a Transformer turns into, you're a fascist monster."

That was a running gag from the old file-cards.

[BWprowl]

All I see there is that it's pointing out the era they've traveled to is obsessed with function of form, where any little thing like a vehicle riding on public transit can be considered an offence. It's world building, showing us what Cybertron was like, not a direct statement to the audience.

Exactly. By showing that attitude and equating it as being bad, Roberts is directly stating that people like me, who *enjoy* seeing TFs transform and use their altmodes, are bad people. I really shouldn't have to feel this way reading a *Transformers* comic.

After all, the issue as you've already pointed out also showcases several characters making use of their alt modes, completely contradicting what you're suggesting here.

Hence my confusion. Roberts clearly has it out for people who care about transformation as a showcase, but then he goes and writes a bunch of it in here. So what's his game? Is getting me excited over seeing altmode use then yanking me back and calling me a bastard for doing so the entire gimmick here?

Except it doesn't undermine transformations or any of that. If Whirl wants to be a watchmaker instead of a member of the Ariel Corps simply because he turns into a helicopter, why can't he? That's the only point they're making, that they have their own interests and skills that doesn't necessarily have to do with what they turn into.

Did you miss the part afterwards where they talk about how they'll be asked about their altmodes and made to showcase their transformations, and discussed what horrible fascists those who did so were?

What am I then, when I see pictures of a new TF toy coming out or a new character being introduced, and immediately think "What do they turn into? How do they work?" This is exactly what Roberts is talking about with this.

I'm pretty sure that's just how you've chosen to interpret it, because that's not at all what I've gotten out of the series.

Because you're incapable of detecting theming and subtext?

The whole point of the comic is to make directly explicit what some of the better TF comics have been about over the years, specifically that there is more to TF that "big transforming space robots". Yes, they are big space robots. Yes, they transform.

But, that is not the only thing TF comics are, or have been, about.

But you can focus on those other parts without damning the former portions, or the people that do enjoy them. Roberts's previous works, like LSotW and Chaos Theory, were great stories that, indeed, didn't focus much on the transformation aspect of the Transformers and instead went deeper into them as individuals, as characters, and how their society and the war that shaped it worked. But they also did so without constant, repetitive diatribes on how shitty and stupid the transformation aspect was, and without working towards and apparent agenda to just remove transformation from the fiction entirely, because Roberts apparently hates it and what it represents so much.

That was a running gag from the old file-cards.

Why on Earth would the bios for the toys they were trying to sell tell the prospective customers how stupid and horrible the central gimmick of said toys was?

[Dominic]

But you can focus on those other parts without damning the former portions, or the people that do enjoy them. Roberts's previous works, like LSotW and Chaos Theory, were great stories that, indeed, didn't focus much on the transformation aspect of the Transformers and instead went deeper into them as individuals, as characters, and how their society and the war that shaped it worked

Because there are plenty of fans who still want TF to be just about big space robots.

Roberts is writing against them.

Why on Earth would the bios for the toys they were trying to sell tell the prospective customers how stupid and horrible the central gimmick of said toys was?

I meant that a recurring gag was characters being unhappy with their alternate mode. Bumblebee, Grimlock (as a Pretender), Lighspeed and a few others (whose names elude me) had that trait. The anti-functionism in the comics is probably an expansion on this concept.

[BWprowl]

Because there are plenty of fans who still want TF to be just about big space robots.

Roberts is writing against them.

But why can't we have both? Surely you can have a compelling narrative while also incorporating characters who *also* happen to be cool, shape-changing robots.

I *really* like my transforming toys, y'dig? I don't want to have to explain to the Transfans of tomorrow that the series is called 'The Transformers' because, once upon a time, the characters used to turn into stuff.

I meant that a recurring gag was characters being unhappy with their alternate mode. Bumblebee, Grimlock (as a Pretender), Lighspeed and a few others (whose names elude me) had that trait. The anti-functionism in the comics is probably an expansion on this concept.

Here's a thing: Why is this even an issue? We know TFs can change altmodes with little issue. The guys IN the IDW series have changed altmodes multiple times, either via scanning or some other method. Megatron HIMSELF has been a mining vehicle, a gun, and a jet. It's pretty absurd for a character who changes altmodes like we change our sheets to be getting all bitchy at a society that supposedly dragoons guys into jobs based on their altmodes when they're actually able to transform into anything they want to.

[Sparky Prime]

Here's a thing: Why is this even an issue? We know TFs can change altmodes with little issue. The guys IN the IDW series have changed altmodes multiple times, either via scanning or some other method. Megatron HIMSELF has been a mining vehicle, a gun, and a jet. It's pretty absurd for a character who changes altmodes like we change our sheets to be getting all bitchy at a society that supposedly dragoons guys into jobs based on their altmodes when they're actually able to transform into anything they want to.

During and after the war we've seen them change their altmodes. Pre-war on the other hand... Considering only a few Cybertronians were altmode exempt by the Functionalists for extraordinary circumstances, and during "Shadowplay" we saw there was a business 'renting' out bodies to spark-swap, I doubt they were allowed or able to change altmodes as they pleased.

[andersonh1]

MTMTE #37
I decided to dip back into the storyline after, what, six months of not reading this book? There's actually a fairly decent amount of action in this issue (as opposed to non-stop babbling by the crew standing in for a plot), and at least most of the inane banter is in service to the story as Rodimus checks in with the various members of his team who are scouring the past for Brainstorm. Who is trying to kill Megatron in the distant past, which is wreaking havoc with space and time. It's not the most original plotline, honestly, but as someone's who has spent months griping that every Autobot on the Lost Light ought to be gunning for Megatron, I can't complain. It's certainly an extreme way to go about it though. Of course, the plot synopsis on the inside cover describes Brainstorm as a Decepticon double agent, so it looks like the idiot Autobots still don't have enough initiative to kill Megatron. They've got to leave it to the Cons.

So Brainstorm's briefcase is a time machine. I didn't suspect that, I'll readily admit.

And yes, I'm amazed to see Riptide, Cyclonus and Brainstorm all transform. Who knew these guys still had alt modes?

Rewind annoys me just by being on the page. The original died, and bringing him back as a quantum duplicate still feels like cheating. There was a time when dead Transformers in IDW's books stayed dead, but we're well past that point now. I think seeing Rewind on the cover of issue 33 was the last straw that actually made me decide to drop the book, after the poor handling of the Megatron plotline.

Overall: I'm reminded of both what I used to like about this series and what I really came to dislike. It's a better than average issue of MTMTE, but I don't have a lot of hope that Roberts has dropped the things about this series that so annoyed me.

[Dominic]

I am hoping that there is more to Rewind coming back than "just getting better".

Given that this is a time-travel story, and the way that Rewind came back, there might be something more.

I generally agree that characters should stay dead more often. The apparent set-up for Thrust and Ramjet coming back was part of why I dropped "Transformers".

Marvel generally struck a good balance. Some characters could be repaired/raised. But, more often than not, characters stayed down.

Who is trying to kill Megatron in the distant past, which is wreaking havoc with space and time. It's not the most original plotline, honestly, but as someone's who has spent months griping that every Autobot on the Lost Light ought to be gunning for Megatron, I can't complain. It's certainly an extreme way to go about it though. Of course, the plot synopsis on the inside cover describes Brainstorm as a Decepticon double agent, so it looks like the idiot Autobots still don't have enough initiative to kill Megatron. They've got to leave it to the Cons.

The Megatron angle is the one thing that is keeping me in right now.

I can see why the Autobots did not just kill Megatron, if only for political reasons. If/when Megatron goes back to being a Decepticon, I might just be done with the book.

[Sparky Prime]

I am hoping that there is more to Rewind coming back than "just getting better".

Well this isn't really the same Rewind, so he didn't "get better"... He got a duplicate.

Of course, the plot synopsis on the inside cover describes Brainstorm as a Decepticon double agent, so it looks like the idiot Autobots still don't have enough initiative to kill Megatron. They've got to leave it to the Cons.

Assuming Brainstorm actually is a Decepticon. There's got to be another twist here, especially if Brainstorm is gunning for Megatron in the past.

There was a time when dead Transformers in IDW's books stayed dead,

There was?

[BWprowl]

Well this isn't really the same Rewind, so he didn't "get better"... He got a duplicate.

To-may-to, to-mah-to. "Replaced a dead character with a quantum duplicate" is just as much of a comic-book cop-out to undo a death and you know it.

Granted, I don't especially mind Rewind being back (he's proved somewhat essential to this current plotline) and Roberts has gotten some decent mileage already out of the disparity between him and the current Chromedome in 'their' interpretations of their relationship and how it diverged between timelines, but that doesn't make the way we got him back any less of a hokey cop-out.

Assuming Brainstorm actually is a Decepticon. There's got to be another twist here, especially if Brainstorm is gunning for Megatron in the past.

And assuming Brainstorm is even actually there to kill Megatron. Yeah, we see him pointing a 'gun' at Megatron in the last page, but with Roberts, a gun is only a plain ol' gun like half the time. Especially with *Brainstorm* involved, that thing could do literally anything, for all we know.

There was a time when dead Transformers in IDW's books stayed dead,

There was?

I remember Sunstreaker apparently dying back in Escalation only for half that story arc to be about him not really being dead. I remember both Nightbeat and Hardhead walking into the Dead Universe only to eventually walk out, mostly fine. I remember Sunstreaker dying again in AHM, only to still be revealed to be functional in the Coda, and indeed he was fully back soon after. I remember Thundercracker's infamously ambiguous fate at the end of AHM. I remember Ironhide getting offed at the beginning of Costa's Ongoing only for us to find out he would be back in his own miniseries shortly thereafter. I remember Prowl seeming to kill a shit-ton of Decepticons in RID only for most of them to end up having never been dead at all (and it never having been Prowl to begin with). I remember Metalhawk dying and coming back as a zombie. And I remember Dark Cybertron seriously trying to convince us that they plan to keep Bumblebee dead permanently, when we all know it's only a matter of time. Some characters, like Scrapper, have notably stayed out, but Dead hasn't meant Dead in IDW's Transformers since day one.