Movie II tie-in comics and novels

[Dominic]

That's like saying nothing happened in Beast Wars because it took them three seasons to get off the planet.

Agreed.


The whole point of the character study in AHM is that the character are trapped. Thundercracker is "betrayed" by a faction he joined for a sense of purpose. To a less degree, Skywarp is as well.

Sunstreaker...well, we know what he did. When the chips are down, Ironhide turns on his fellows, and it makes perfect sense.

I like Wreckage as much as the next guy. But, he was wasted in this story. None of the promise from RoS was delivered on.


I agree with Sparky that the Spotlights should have been for focused character studies. And, initially, they were. But, that changed long before "All Hail Megatron" came along.

Still, character studies in context can be effective. (I much prefer Thundercracker reacting in context than in a vacuum.)

Dom

[Onslaught Six]

(I much prefer Thundercracker reacting in context than in a vacuum.)

Indeed. Mirage's spotlight is basically wasted because none of it is in context with anything--if it even happens at all. Sure, a mildly interesting concept for a one-shot (And hey, it seemed to do a better job than Shattered Glass did) but without context, it means nothing.

Unless Mirage brings that up in the next issue or two.

[Sparky Prime]

The whole point of the character study in AHM is that the character are trapped.

I still believe AHM should be more. Again, characterization is good, but being trapped and having nothing to do isn't a story. In Beast Wars, they might have been stuck on Earth, but they still had plenty to do. That isn't the case in AHM. They're just stuck when they could be doing more.

[Dominic]

AHM is more in the sense that we are seeing the characters presented in ways they have not been, (at least in official context). And, IDW could use this as a way to take TF in a direction that avoids the "Reed Richards is Useless" scenario that plagues many other comics. (I suppose a more modern take on it would be "Tony Stark is Useless", but the concept is the same.)

Dom

[Onslaught Six]

And also ways they 'have' been presented, but in a cooler way, too.

[Sparky Prime]

Defiance #4 out today....

Wow. This issue packs a lot of information into it. Apparently the Allspark's power isn't unlimited and needs to be replenished every so often. There is an energy Harvester but that was apparently lost when The Fallen betrayed the others and was sealed away. This issue gives us background on why the Allspark created the Transformers and explains why the Allspark ended up on Earth of all planets.

[Dominic]

It was not bad. Seeing the power of Chaos, erm the Fallen, warp Horus Lupercal, erm Megatron, was boiler-plate, but it was well-done enough. It would have been nice if a bit more time had been spent on Ironhide.

The "why the Allspark went to Earth" reveal was bland, but avoided the worst sort of "destiny from beyond time" elements.

Dom
-too burnt out to write full reviews this week.

[Sparky Prime]

The "why the Allspark went to Earth" reveal was bland, but avoided the worst sort of "destiny from beyond time" elements.

Bland? It means the Transformers were about to blow up our sun when The Fallen rebelled. And it gives the Allspark reason for ending up on our planet other than just randomly floating in space happening to end up here.

[Dominic]

But there is nothing more to what the comic said than "there was actually a McGuffin on Earth before the AllSpark because Bay has no other ideas".

Was it terrible? No. But, it is nothing I am going to recommend somebody go out and buy the book for.

Dom

[Dominic]

Movie Prequel (Defiance): Some time seems to have elapsed between the previous issue and this one. While more graceful than "Alliance", this last issue largely consists of moving around, (and introducting), pieces in preparation for the movie. The origin of the Transformers in movie context is explicated a bit here, being largely based on the old comics. This series was solid filler, and the rough spots are likely due to it having to match up with the upcoming movie. Grade: B/C Worth reading if you find a complete run or a compiled edition.


Dom
-will try to review "Marvel 2099" in the next week or so.