IDW "Combiner Wars" comic discussion and speculation

[BWprowl]

How? Just because it'll borrow a few characters is not any reason to believe it'll derail or disrupt the book in any way. Roberts has plenty of characters to work with as it is, and he's a very creative writer, I doubt it'll even phase him.

Right, he can just have Whirl fill the story spot that Cyclonus was supposed to before he got yanked, that'll just be seamless.

At this point, we can't actually guarantee Cyclonus will even be a part of Combiner Wars. Sure there's the new toy which would suggest he might be, but that alone doesn't mean he will be.

They just showed off art of his new toy in the combined 'Galvatronus' form, are you even keeping up?!

I don't see why it's a snarl. It's a shared universe, why can't characters in one book appear in another? To me, that's always been the one good point about events, seeing characters team up that usually don't interact that much given their separate titles.

It's a snarl because...okay, let's assume Cyclonus is my favorite character in MTMTE (which he actually is). I like reading about Cyclonus in MTMTE, I like where he's at in that book, I like how Roberts writes him. Now, all of a sudden, he's getting on a shuttle and flying away for some vaguely-defined Reason, and he's not gonna be there anymore, he's off to get written by some writer whose writing I DON'T like, in some stupid event story I really DON'T care about, where if he even does come back, he's gonna be all messed up and different because of that. And the BAD part is that none of that was because of a plan Roberts had for the character, or the direction he wanted the story to take or anything, he's just being forced to go along with it (despite MTMTE previously very specifically being left OUT of the crossover) because of editorial and toy company Reasons.

Sidebar: I think part of the reason this thing happening here REALLY annoys me is that specifically makes me think of Kamen Rider Gaim last year, where Urobuchi had this very planned-out, detailed, lined-up, specific story he wanted to tell, and it seemed like it was getting interrupted at least once a month because Bandai and Toei wanted to write in Sentai crossovers and movie promos and extra junk. It's annoying because I'm in this story for the actual story that the writer is telling, not any extraneous crossover marketing bullshit, which is all that Combiner Wars is, and it's stupid to derail a worthwhile character like Cyclonus out of a book he works really well in because of that.

[Sparky Prime]

Right, he can just have Whirl fill the story spot that Cyclonus was supposed to before he got yanked, that'll just be seamless.

You're making assumptions you can't possibly know. We don't know if Cyclonus will get pulled from MTMTE at this point. Or if Roberts was planning on using him in the next story arc. And I doubt Roberts would just substitute him for another character like that if he does get yanked. He's a better writer than you're giving him credit for.

They just showed off art of his new toy in the combined 'Galvatronus' form, are you even keeping up?!

Yeah I've seen the art, but do you know where it actually came from? It's not from the IDW comics, it's art Hasbro had drawn up. They used it for the Fan-Built poll to ask which Decepticon combiner should be the rival.

It's a snarl because...okay, let's assume Cyclonus is my favorite character in MTMTE (which he actually is). I like reading about Cyclonus in MTMTE, I like where he's at in that book, I like how Roberts writes him. Now, all of a sudden, he's getting on a shuttle and flying away for some vaguely-defined Reason, and he's not gonna be there anymore, he's off to get written by some writer whose writing I DON'T like, in some stupid event story I really DON'T care about, where if he even does come back, he's gonna be all messed up and different because of that. And the BAD part is that none of that was because of a plan Roberts had for the character, or the direction he wanted the story to take or anything, he's just being forced to go along with it (despite MTMTE previously very specifically being left OUT of the crossover) because of editorial and toy company Reasons.

Combiner Wars has literally only had PART ONE come out so far, and you're talking like Cyclonus has already been changed. There's no reason to assume it's going to derail, snarl or disrupt MTMTE in any way at this point just because it'll borrow a few characters... which we don't even know who that'll be yet, aside from the Protectobots seeing as Defensor is the only combiner of characters from the Lost Light we've seen on any of the upcoming covers.

[Dominic]

On top of that, we can't guarantee that Cyclonus will ever get shipped BACK to MTMTE, and even if he does, he's getting a brand-new body that's a Combiner torso AND has some-fucking-thing to do with Galvatron apparently, so he's going to be irrevocably altered by his forced participation in the event, which could make all sorts of waves in how his story/interactions have to go when/if he's back in MTMTE. NOT TO MENTION how this is going to disrupt the SHIT out of the flow of people who are only reading MTMTE and not the other books (ironically, because maybe they hoped to avoid flow-disrupting stupid events).

Cyclonus might just show up after an issue or two in a new body, but not otherwise changed.

Of course, having him go away and then come back still undermines that idea that the Lost Light is still an problem because it undermines the idea that the Lost Light is "out there on a quest" when going back to Cybertron is easy/convenient.

And the BAD part is that none of that was because of a plan Roberts had for the character, or the direction he wanted the story to take or anything, he's just being forced to go along with it (despite MTMTE previously very specifically being left OUT of the crossover) because of editorial and toy company Reasons

Do we know how long in advance IDW plans? We know that Marvel generally plans a year or two ahead. (But, they are also willing to alter plans, as in the case of Spider-Gwen.)

Blame is both on IDW and Hasbro. Hasbro mandated combiners, and likely mandated that some characters get pulled from "More than Meets the Eye". But, I doubt that Hasbro mandated the dumb set-up (like the Enigma) and other back-writes. That is probably all IDW.


I just miss the days when IDW TF was not like every other book on the shelves.

[Shockwave]

It doesn't undermine anything. Space travel assumes that said species would be able to get to and from places relatively easily, if for no other reason than to maintain supplies/personnel. The Enterprise is routinely shown to be out in deep space exploring yet frequently received and transferred new personnel. I would assume the same capabilites possible for Cybertronians as for Starfleet.

[Sparky Prime]

Of course, having him go away and then come back still undermines that idea that the Lost Light is still an problem because it undermines the idea that the Lost Light is "out there on a quest" when going back to Cybertron is easy/convenient.

It doesn't undermine anything. Space travel assumes that said species would be able to get to and from places relatively easily, if for no other reason than to maintain supplies/personnel. The Enterprise is routinely shown to be out in deep space exploring yet frequently received and transferred new personnel. I would assume the same capabilites possible for Cybertronians as for Starfleet.

I completely agree with Shockwave here. There's nothing that undermines the idea of the Lost Light being out on their quest when the Lost Light is still going to be out there on the quest, uninterrupted by this event. It's just a small group that'll be taking a shuttle back to Cybertron. I wouldn't exactly call that convenient for the crew of the Lost Light, but there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to send a shuttle back to Cybertron easily enough while the ship continues the quest.

[Onslaught Six]

At this point, I have about as much reason to expect Cyclonus to leave the Lost Light as I do fucking Megatron.

[JediTricks]

Picked up issue 1 and Windblade vol 2 #1 finally. The covers weren't quite clear enough for me to discern which was the first issue, and I was feeling lazy, so I read Windblade first... oops. Actually, it barely mattered the way TF comics flash forward and back. Windblade glossing over Chromia's misdeeds was a tad frustrating, but not too much. Sarah Stone's art wasn't as over-the-top except for a few faces, mostly it was easy to follow this time around, and her use of heightened color didn't needle as much. By contrast, Ramondelli's art seems to be getting better at faces, but was also over-the-top with textures, yet both his art and Stone's art mingled quite nicely from title to title. It was interesting to see Scott co-writing both issues. I was amused by Starscream picking through new bodies, but his actions throughout both books felt a little too schizo and passive for my tastes. Optimus being a living god was a bit much, but maybe that'll go somewhere less obvious.

I hate the new title look though, the covers for TF, WB, and MTMTE look like shit with their generic box-top and bland font.

You know who I miss? Grimlock. Not as a major character, he's kinda played out as a major character, but existing at all in the current stories.

Could always do the digital thing, aren't new issues literally like a dollar? Barber can't even eat off McDonald's for that. Even with the English exchange rate. (Is he one of the English ones? I can never remember.)

He's not English, he's American. Roberts is English. You should make it to a convention and talk with them, they're really interesting cats to listen to and converse with, Mairghread Scott and Livio Ramondelli too.

How does that dude go around with that particular name and ever manage to get anything done? If I went to buy a car and the salesman' s name was "Rob M Blind" I doubt I'd be inclined to give them my money.

"Hey, that's Swindle over there." "Oh, really? He seems like a trustworthy sort."

AHAHAHAHA!!!!! That was a good one.

[Onslaught Six]

Windblade glossing over Chromia's misdeeds was a tad frustrating, but not too much.

I wonder how much of this is retconning to please those who had some backlash over her crazy turn? (I believe the phrase was, "Half the female population of Cybertron is insane." The joke is that there are only four female characters, and two of them are crazy.)

You know who I miss? Grimlock. Not as a major character, he's kinda played out as a major character, but existing at all in the current stories.

I think Grimlock has the same kind of problem you get with someone like The Big Show or Kane in WWE. (Sorry, I'm still super into wrestling right now because Wrestlemania.) They're such large characters that it's very difficult for them to be present and not have everything revolving around them, even if that makes it tough for them to be around for a long time.

Grimlock has such a strong personality that it's very difficult for him to sit in the background for very long.

He's not English, he's American. Roberts is English. You should make it to a convention and talk with them, they're really interesting cats to listen to and converse with, Mairghread Scott and Livio Ramondelli too.

Would love to, but unfortunately my convention budget is usually spent on the few I already go to, and I live in an area that makes it difficult to travel. Even Pittsburg and Philly are 3-4 hours away.

[JediTricks]

Windblade glossing over Chromia's misdeeds was a tad frustrating, but not too much.

I wonder how much of this is retconning to please those who had some backlash over her crazy turn? (I believe the phrase was, "Half the female population of Cybertron is insane." The joke is that there are only four female characters, and two of them are crazy.)

That ending just didn't make enough sense on top of that. Plus, with Nautica on the Lost Light, it skews the females more into crazytown. But I seriously think a better retcon would have been welcome where this was just a bizarre gloss-over.

I think Grimlock has the same kind of problem you get with someone like The Big Show or Kane in WWE. (Sorry, I'm still super into wrestling right now because Wrestlemania.) They're such large characters that it's very difficult for them to be present and not have everything revolving around them, even if that makes it tough for them to be around for a long time.

Grimlock has such a strong personality that it's very difficult for him to sit in the background for very long.

A good editor should be able to stem the tide of that. I honestly felt like the old-school mania for the character in the comics went too far after a while.

[Sparky Prime]

I don't normally post links to the previews, but since this answers something that we've been debating, and seeing as the issue comes out tomorrow, I figure there's not much harm in it.... The preview for Transformers #40 is up at TFW2005, and it shows the shuttle that has been sent from the Lost Light back to Cybertron, finally giving us the crew members of the Lost Light that will be a part of Combiner Wars story.

Spoiler

Unsurprisingly the crew of the shuttle consists of Groove, Hot Spot, Streetwise, Blades and First Aid. And First Aid brought one patient with them, which is Mirage.