All Hail Megatron Discussion thread

[andersonh1]

I don't really care about the Spike story at all, I'm just curious about the Bumblebee story.

I'm not thrilled by the Spike preview, but I'm not all that interested in Bumblebee either. I guess it depends on what they do with the character.

[Shockwave]

Bumblebee's always been my second fave character so I'm interested to see what they do with him. I hope it's something good.

[Sparky Prime]

I'm not thrilled by the Spike preview, but I'm not all that interested in Bumblebee either. I guess it depends on what they do with the character.

That's pretty much how I'm looking at this issue as well. I'll look through it when it comes out but I doubt I'll get it. I'm just not particularly interested in the two characters for this final issue.

[Shockwave]

In spite of my great love of all things Bumblebee, I'll agree that there are about a bajillion other things that would have been far more interesting. Unless the Bumblebee story somehow ties up all the loose ends and miraculously poises the comic for the ongoing series.

[Dominic]

And the Decepticons were hardly in a "fragile" state. They were on top of the world for their defeat over the Autobots.

The Decepticons were in a fragile state because they defeated the Autobots. They lacked direction and purpose. The longer they were idle, the nastier they got towards each other. Skywarp and Bombshell got into a kerfuffle because wiping out a city was boring for them. If Megatron started bumping guys off, that would have made things worse for him.

McCarthy was certainly not writing above that level. Seriously, look at what the Decepticons were doing in this story. Attacking a relatively defenseless planet, with no real reason or purpose given behind the attack. This is not a rational strategy if there is nothing to be gained from it and shows the Decepticons were most certainly cast as homicidal maniacs by the actions and enjoyment they got out of it (for a time at least).

If your army consists of homicidal maniacs, it does make sense to give them things to kill. As you point out, it only works for so long. But, it is a better plan than nothing.

And, McCarthy used fewer McGuffins and "they is teh bad guyz" moments than the cartoon.

You seem to keep ignoring the fact Megatron himself says in AHM that he is trying to kill this incredibly ruthless army he built in order to remake them into the force he originally intended them to be. No infighting, no dissent, only "perfectly controlled peace through unparalleled strength".

I took "kill" to be more metaphorical. It would be more a question of re-educating the troops than of killing them, (which would require Megatron to replace the personel he killed). Megatron would be (a bit arrogantly), assuming his strength would keep them in line.

How are those situations different? They were both plotting to overthrow Megatron, rebelling against his authority as Decepticon leader. AHM is only different in that it wasn't just one 'bot Megatron needed to put back in place but the situation is essentially the same. Rebellion against his leadership. In those cases, Megatron brutally reminded them why he is leader, nearly killing Starscream and seemingly killing Ramjet. Why would this situation be any different?

The motivations for the rebellion. Ramjet was ambitious, (being written like a Furman character). Starscream was a bit less ambitious. (He reminded me of a corrupt goverment worker, just skimming off the top every so often.) The other Decepticons were rebelling out of boredom.

I don't really care about the Spike story at all, I'm just curious about the Bumblebee story.

I wager the Bumblebee story is going to read like "issue 0" of the upcoming BB series.

The buzz on the Spike story is not encouraging. But, given that some of the IDW comics I most dreaded, ("Spotlight:Kup" and "Arcee" come to mind), were some of my favorites.

That's pretty much how I'm looking at this issue as well. I'll look through it when it comes out but I doubt I'll get it. I'm just not particularly interested in the two characters for this final issue.

On the other hand, you have 15 issues out of 16....

And, like I said, the BB story is likely to tie-in with the miniseries.


Dom
-not too hyped about issue 16.

[andersonh1]

I'm planning to buy issue #16 regardless of how uninteresting the preview looks. You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't judge it by a four page preview either. The Spike story may turn out to be pretty interesting for all we know. So might Bumblebee. I liked the way he was written way back in Infiltration. I'll give it a chance and see what I think.

[Onslaught Six]

Megatron would be (a bit arrogantly), assuming his strength would keep them in line.

Like I've said before, this is kinda the entire bit that my love for AHM hinges on, here. Megatron has built himself up so much in his own mind that he's confident that just by simply 'being Megatron,' he'll find a way to make this crumbling army work out. It's not just that the Decepticons have no enemy--*he* doesn't have an enemy, now, either. I'm pretty sure a similar theme was developed back during the Death of Superman arc--now that Supes was Gone, Lex Luthor was finding himself without much purpose in the world. He'd spent so much of his time trying to defeat Superman, and now Superman was gone, and he still didn't feel any better about it. I think some slight weavings of that are buried in AHM, too, underneath everything else.

I own Volume 2 now. I plan to read it after I read some other stuff I bought recently, so.

[Sparky Prime]

The Decepticons were in a fragile state because they defeated the Autobots. They lacked direction and purpose. The longer they were idle, the nastier they got towards each other. Skywarp and Bombshell got into a kerfuffle because wiping out a city was boring for them. If Megatron started bumping guys off, that would have made things worse for him.

What? That makes no sense. They were at their strongest because they defeated the Autobots. They no longer had their main opponents allowing them the freedom to conquer planets with out the interference. And that was their direction and purpose. To conquer the universe, spread their influence and empire out. The problem was they need to be challenged and staying on Earth wasn't giving that to them.

If your army consists of homicidal maniacs, it does make sense to give them things to kill. As you point out, it only works for so long. But, it is a better plan than nothing.

And, McCarthy used fewer McGuffins and "they is teh bad guyz" moments than the cartoon.

We weren't talking McGruffins though, we were talking that McCarthy isn't above writing the Decepticons, Megatron in particular, as homicidal maniacs. Clearly in this story, they were exactly that, homicidal maniacs.

I took "kill" to be more metaphorical. It would be more a question of re-educating the troops than of killing them, (which would require Megatron to replace the personel he killed). Megatron would be (a bit arrogantly), assuming his strength would keep them in line.

Given the circumstances of the nuke headed for them, Megatron could have been more literal than metaphorical. There are any number of ways Megatron could have gone about remolding his army, but again, the evidence in this story suggests he was headed for sacrificing a few of them in order to trigger the change.

The motivations for the rebellion. Ramjet was ambitious, (being written like a Furman character). Starscream was a bit less ambitious. (He reminded me of a corrupt goverment worker, just skimming off the top every so often.) The other Decepticons were rebelling out of boredom.

It's irrelevant what their motivations were, the simple fact of the matter is that they were rebelling against Megatron's leadership either because they didn't like what he was doing or they thought they could do a better job.

On the other hand, you have 15 issues out of 16....

No I don't. I may have a majority of the series, and I have read the whole thing, but that doesn't mean I bought all of them.

[andersonh1]

All Hail Megatron #16. I skimmed through it pretty quickly at the end of my lunch hour, so I may have some other thoughts or corrections after I'm able to sit down and read it thoroughly.

Like the other coda issues, there are two stories. The first concerns Spike, who is laid-up in the hospital, in traction, after a fight with Ravage. This particular story is pure setup, with a group coming in who want Spike to head field operations for Skywatch. There are flashbacks to his encounter with Ravage, who he apparently finishes off. I get the feeling that Skywatch is being set up to resemble NEST from ROTF, a group that searches the world for hidden Transformers and views them as a threat to be eliminated. Having missed most of AHM up to issue #14, I wasn't aware that Spike was in the military until I read the preview for this issue. That's what I get for coming in at the end of the story.

The Bumblebee story is the better of the two. BB is alone, damaged, and being hunted by the military. Or rather, the military are hunting for any Transformers in order to finish them off, and BB is in the area they're searching. The story works well, given that Bumblebee has always been one of the smaller, weaker Transformers, and so he's convincing as a potential victim of the soldiers. He radios for help with no success, and ultimately intervenes in a dangerous situation when it becomes apparent that some people are trapped in a building that's collapsing. He tries to hold it up while they escape. The military take advantage of the situation to try and kill him, either unaware or not caring that he's trying to save lives. Ultimately Optimus Prime and several other Autobots intervene, rescue and repair Bumblebee.

The story has a couple of nice touches. The two soldiers discussing the difference between the two sides by what type of vehicle disguise they adopt is a good illustration that not all humans see the Transformers as a single homogenous threat. Ratchet has a fun exchange with Bumblebee to the effect of "Prime knew we'd find you because you couldn't stay hidden. Sooner or later, you'd try to save someone."

I like it. The Spike story, as I said, is setup for future plotlines (I assume) and doesn't cover a lot of ground other than adding a bit to Spike's character and giving him a job for the ongoing series. The Bumblebee story offers a bit more, and says some good things about BB's character.

[Dominic]

They no longer had their main opponents allowing them the freedom to conquer planets with out the interference. And that was their direction and purpose. To conquer the universe, spread their influence and empire out. The problem was they need to be challenged and staying on Earth wasn't giving that to them.

Given how well that the Decepticons were implied to be doing elsewhere, (scattered groups of Autobots wondering if they are the only ones left), it looks like the Decepticons had very little to challenge them. The problems the guys on Earth were having looked to be a microcosm for what the rest of the Decepticons were dealing with.

We weren't talking McGruffins though, we were talking that McCarthy isn't above writing the Decepticons, Megatron in particular, as homicidal maniacs. Clearly in this story, they were exactly that, homicidal maniacs.

There is a difference between writing a character who is willing to use violence and writing a character who is getting off on it and "kilz hiz own dooodz cuz he am teh bad giy".

I am saying McCarthy was writing Megatron above the level of the old cartoons and stereotypical comics.

It's irrelevant what their motivations were, the simple fact of the matter is that they were rebelling against Megatron's leadership either because they didn't like what he was doing or they thought they could do a better job.

Motiivation means everything. If the trains are running on time, and everybody is happily busy, Megatron can be confident that most of the Decepticons are not going to rebel. (They might go along with one, but must will not bother to start one.) But, with guys like Ramjet or Starscream, Megatron has to be on guard even if things are going well.

No I don't. I may have a majority of the series, and I have read the whole thing, but that doesn't mean I bought all of them.

Reading it in the store? Dirty pool old man. Dirty pool. (Mind you, I do the same thing with other books on occasion.)

Either way, I got it today, and will read it later.

Dom
-well, Don Figueroa is always good to look at.