TF Views

It's true, I would totally do that if I had an 07 Thrust. And Dom's right, I'm the guy who bought a sealed G1 Thundercracker 2 years ago and opened it. And applied the stickers.

Anyway... I guess back on topic, I FINALLY tracked down a copy of #13. I don't like the new Megatron look. It looks too cartoony compared to the rest of the designs. But I'm glad to see Megs back completely. I fully expect the Matrix to heal Hot Rod. And damn it, this issue actually makes me want a MP Acid Storm! What the hell?

Shockwave wrote:Anyway... I guess back on topic, I FINALLY tracked down a copy of #13. I don't like the new Megatron look. It looks too cartoony compared to the rest of the designs.

Everything looks cartoony when Nick Roche draws it.

But I'm glad to see Megs back completely. I fully expect the Matrix to heal Hot Rod. And damn it, this issue actually makes me want a MP Acid Storm! What the hell?

Yeah, I noticed that he was drawn with the leg panels of an MP figure. Interesting. I'm just happy to see the character get some lines.

The consistently changing character models have pretty much made me zen. I am much less concerned with a toy looking exactly like the comic at this point...because nobody can say what the comic looks like at this point.

I do need to make another attempt at customizing a TFU Sunstorm though.

Dominic wrote:I do need to make another attempt at customizing a TFU Sunstorm though.

Man, I wish Hasbro would get on the ball and actually *make* a damn Classics-mold Sunstorm. I've got the Titanium version hanging out with my Classics Decepticons right now.

BWprowl wrote:

Dominic wrote:I do need to make another attempt at customizing a TFU Sunstorm though.

Man, I wish Hasbro would get on the ball and actually *make* a damn Classics-mold Sunstorm. I've got the Titanium version hanging out with my Classics Decepticons right now.

But not before regular color Thundercracker!! That was my WHOLE issue with Acid Storm!

There were pics of a TFU style Thundercracker, but they may have been a hoax.

I could get behind a Sunstorm figure coming out first, only because Sunstorm is damned near impossible to customize. Hasbro could make and sel either or both though.

I know it's the "in thing" right now to bitch about this book, but I just feel like griping right now. Feel free to skip this bit of pessimism. I'll try and keep it constructive.
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This book is all about the status quo. At least it seems to be. At first it seemed as though Costa was shaking things up by killing off Ironhide, removing Prime from leadership, inserting Bumblebee and Starscream as the new leaders, developing Thundercracker into his own character instead of just another repainted seeker, and so forth. But coming off of issue 13 and reading the synopsis for 16, I can't help but feel like all that shaking up of the status quo is amounting to little if anything. I'm still waiting to see if Bumblebee will resume his role as new Autobot leader once he's repaired or if Prime will step back into his big boots. But we already know that Megatron is back and Starscream, according to the synopsis for #16, is back to plotting against him. Oh, and Ironhide's alive again too. So basically . . . the status quo has reasserted itself.
I'm disappointed that we never actually got to see Starscream do anything as leader. His band of Decepticons was just cruising around space for a while waiting for a plot device (Hot Rod) to drop in on them. We never saw him take on Bumblebee, which- being the new leaders, is a fight I would've looked forward to. Instead Megatron returns and makes a big noise and Starscream is dethroned just like that. What a complete waste of a character-building opportunity for both Megs and Screamer.
How much more interesting would it have been to see a recuperating, but still bed-ridden Megatron teaching Starscream how to inspire the troops, keep them in line, etc. etc. ? How much better would it have been to see Megatron making good on his speech in AHM about Starscream becoming his eventual successor and helping mold him into the leader he wants him to be? Sure, we all know that Megatron's not going to give up leadership in the next few million years... or ever, but I would've liked to have seen the typical Megatron/Starscream dynamic grow a little beyond Screamer's constant vying for leadership. It wouldn't even have to end when Megatron resumes his role as fully functional leader. He could continue to (try to) mentor Starscream, help shape him into a leader, and then just toss in their conflicting personality traits to see where it goes.

Bumblebee's fared better in terms of growing into his role as leader. For one thing, Costa actually showed it! Imagine that, having to show BB go through the rigors of stepping into Prime's shoes. Much as I love Prime as leader, I kind of like seeing him take orders for once. I hope the BB doesn't revert back to just a soldier under Prime's command. If he stays as the new leader, I could maybe think that Costa was intentionally trying to show how the Autobots are evolving while the Decepticons are just grinding their gears in the same old pattern. That's yet to be seen, I guess.

And where's Ultra Magnus? *grumble*

I know it's the "in thing" right now to bitch about this book, but I just feel like griping right now. Feel free to skip this bit of pessimism. I'll try and keep it constructive.

Wow. Actually, the book seems to be going over at this forum. (And, I am one of the biggest complainers, (a complainiac if you will), around.

Joking aside, it would be really ironic if this book became focused on the stasis quo.

Normally, I would be more willing to agree with your criticisms. But, Costa is still a largely unknown quantity. But, his writing on TF (and "GI Joe" for that matter) demonstrate that he writes a bit higher than one might expect for the franchise. Give him a chance.

Ironhide is a good demonstration of how little TFs change over the years. And, having a character who has effectively lost a lifetime of experience is good fodder for the type of story Costa seems to be working on. (If nothing else, he is paired off with Sunstreaker, a character who has clearly been damaged in recent years.)

Megatron coming back might be an editorial mandare. We just do not know. Maybe Starscream's plotting will result in change/growth for him and some of the Decepticons.


I am not saying the book will not go the route you are worried about. But, lets give it a chance to *not* do that first.


Dom
-will damned well out-complain you if need be. But, there is not need right now.

I couple of the other boards I visit are pretty harsh towards the comic. Sometimes I think maybe it's the pessimism of those boards that affects my view of the comic. Kind of like how I was convinced that I hated Beast Machines when it was new, only to find out upon rewatching it years later that it was my favorite TF show behind Beast Wars.

That aside, I am still disappointed that we never got to see Starscream actually do anything as leader. At this point, I feel uninterested in watching him plot behind Megatron's back, because I know that he'll never do anything if and when he gets leadership. I do know that a lot of people (over at the Allspark) were very disappointed that Swindle double-crossed Rodimus. I think everyone was getting excited about the idea of a real truce between the two sides and seeing where the stories would go from there. So when it turned out that it was business as usual, people were bummed out, myself included. Maybe what I need to do is go back and read AHM all the way through to the current issue of ongoing again. I know there's plenty that I do like, but there's plenty that bums me out too.

And while Costa's writing may be considered high in comparison to what the franchise has delivered before, I don't consider it high in general. It's alright. I'll continue to give the book a chance. You've convinced me.

Where are you setting the bar for high?

Costa is a good writer.

I do agree that it would have been nice to see try something new. But, I think Costa's point is that TFs, even TFs known for being creative and adaptable, are very resistant to real change.