andersonh1 wrote:Yeah, because we never get to actually read about Ultra Magnus. He doesn't exist in IDW continuity, though he did before this retcon changed that. That's what irritates me so much about it. We had an all new, different and interesting take on Ultra Magnus, and now we've got a skinny little pretender with a moustache who isn't Magnus at all.
Despite what Sparky and BWProwl insist, if all it took to be a person was to assume their identity, ID theft wouldn't be a problem in the real world, would it? "You stole Mr. Smith's credit card number! Fraud!" "No, I'm Mr. Smith too." "Ok, that's alright then."
Ultra Magnus did exist in IDW continuity as a figure in the past who died, and secretly had his mantle taken up by others. MTMTE challenges our perception and preconceptions about the concept of identity - are we who we are, or are we only who our peers perceive us to be, who our legends make us out to be; once we're gone, does it matter to our identity if our dreams stayed secret?
If you were to put someone else's mind in my head, that person would legally be me. My identity would be tied to that physical being, and not to the thoughts which created it. So in that situation, if you stole my body, you would legally be "JediTricks" and all that goes with it. It wouldn't be seen as different from someone who got permanent amnesia, from a current legal standpoint. Philosophically it'd be the opposite, but you mentioned identity theft which is a legal concern. If you separate the mind from the body, who is the man?
Our bodies are just masks then, they are no different than the cape and cowl of Batman in that respect. They are ours to do with as we please, but ultimately they are up to history to decide who we are seen as. John Wayne may have never drank a beer his likeness now sells; Fred Astaire certainly never danced with an electric vacuum and yet you can see him do that on Youtube any day or night, your perception of his identity ultimately is all he has left now that he's passed away, and others command it to their will.
So "The Dread Pirate Roberts" is the perfect example, it's a person who actually existed, built a reputation which became how others saw him, then was removed from the role and the identity was passed down to others as a mantle while outsiders never knew that the man and the legend were no longer the same - to them, the Dread Pirate Roberts is the identity that is who it has always been.
MTMTE argues that everything you have actively known and read about in the "now" of your comics regarding Ultra Magnus has been the same fellow the whole time, and that only his ancient legend is where you would find others who wore that mantle. While the stories others tell about him are part of the Ultra Magnus identity created from legend, the character you personally witnessed outside of flashbacks has always been one guy. If your opinion of Ultra Magnus is based not on anything you've seen him do but only on his name and his legend, then how would he ever assert his identity - whether he be Minimus or Magnus? The past is prologue, as they say, and not everybody's prologue speaks the truth, there are many reasons to mislead about one's past and thus it becomes an acceptable fictional construct to use. The question I have is: why does it matter, what does it change?
What if the story had Ultra Magnus always being the original, but instead of living that life his legend tells of he's actually a charlatan who uses trickery to fool people into thinking he's badder-ass than he is? Would that also have changed your opinion of Ultra Magnus, would you still feel this vehemently?
I guess in some respects, even though every continuity is seperate, that it's impossible for me not to consider G1 Magnus a fairly top-tier character, even if he's not always been terribly compelling. And so even though this is not the same version of Magnus as the Sunbow cartoon or Marvel/Regen 1, or Dreamwave (who got a great character arc in the second Dreamwave mini-series), I still see him as a prominent character who ought to be more than a backstory for a newly created Roberts fan-character.
Sounds to me like your perception of the character's identity is more important than the character as presented here, despite knowing it's a different continuity.
MTMTE #21
Just to get it out of the way: I called it. Magnus (or the guy impersonating Magnus) lives. I said months ago that it was unlikely that a prominent character like Ultra Magnus would be killed off, and I turned out to be right. Or sort of right, since the original Magnus is long since dead, but the current holder of the Magnus identity has survived being stabbed through the spark, so that counts. Though I have to admit, the way he survived having his head crushed by Tyrest is eye-rolling. There's an even smaller Mimimus inside the Minimus that was inside the Ultra Magnus armor? Really? The "Remain in Light" story arc has not been kind to Ultra Magnus in any way.
Roberts must be a Doctor Who fan, because last issue we had the cliffhanger, and this issue we get a revised cliffhanger that answers the "how are they going to get out of that one?" dilemma. Doctor Who watchers have seen a few of those over the years, where an extra bit of information in week 2 solves a problem that seemed unsolvable in week 1. Like the really small Minimus inside the slightly larger Minimus, it's a cheat, since we saw Tyrest walking into the portal last time, but this issue he never makes it. He's stopped before he enters. That's fine, because the payoff is generally worth it.
A lot gets resolved in this issue. Cyclonus in particular gets some great scenes and character moments. Who would have thought that a character who was originally a Decepticon in other continuities would turn out to be one of the more admirable characters in this book? He outshines just about every Autobot. He's largely played the role of straight man to every other character's comedy, which has helped.
The final revelation about Rodimus and his role in allowing Overlord on board doesn't seem to carry as much weight as it should. It would be shocking if a version of Hot Rod from another continuity had done it, but sadly it seems very much in character for IDW's Rodimus. It does make me dislike this version of Rodimus even more than I already did. This guy was one of my favorite characters back in the day, and indeed remains one over in Regeneration One, but MTMTE has long since turned Rodimus into a character that's very hard to enjoy reading about. He's very, very flawed with little in the way of redeeming qualities. And he left Drift take the fall for something he was complicit in. What a jerk.
Overall: good story, lots of good ideas, but a lot of damage has been done to various characters in my opinion, Rodimus in particular. Makes me wonder where things will go from here, and if Rodimus will redeem himself.
Finally got around to reading this, and I didn't feel any damage done to various characters.
I don't really like Rodimus much, but this one at least seems to be more consistent and intentionally flawed rather than seen as some great up and comer who falls on his face or guesses his way into heroics - neither of which backed up by the personality driving them. Rodimus has shown potential for growth this whole series and has come up short every time. He will again. And I'm sure Drift or someone pointed out that Rodimus taking the fall for Overlord would only harm the view the crew had of their captain.
So who sends the signal back in time that just barely gets missed before the Lost Light takes off and why? Seems like we've got more troubles ahead.
