TF Views

Unicron #6

All over the Earth, the Cybertronians battle the Maximals. Shockwave decides it is time for Plan B and orders Bludgeon to get them off Earth so they can deal with Unicron later, but Bludgeon remains dedicated to Unicron and still refuses his orders (sort of repeating themselves from the previous issue). Rhinox also takes the opportunity to betray Shockwave, feeling betrayed for having put his faith in Onyx Prime only for it all to be a lie, but is killed by Prowl. Meanwhile, Starscream ends up sacrificing himself to activate the Talisman, which Optimus and Arcee follow to the blackhole core of Unicron. Optimus dives in after the Talisman where he meets the alien that created in Infraspace.

Meanwhile, Superion combines allowing Soundwave to access the Earth Enigma, plus the Cybertronian Enigma of Combination combine the spiritual energies of everyone, including all those who have died and the Dinobots take the fight to Bludgeon and crash his ship into the White House. Soundwave sacrifices himself sending all the spiritual energy to Optimus. He explains to the alien that he understands why he created Unicron, and that the Cybertronians fully deserve it for what they've done, but he has come to break the cycle. He asks the alien to join with him to save the galaxy. Eventually, the alien relents as Infraspace collapses around them and embraces Optimus. Unicron collapses into the blackhole inside himself, saving the Earth (leaving behind a blackhole in orbit), and the surviving refugees settle in at their new home.

--
So yeah, Unicron is defeated by a McGuffin, and I guess the power of love and forgiveness? Not sure why it was necessary for Optimus to sacrifice himself to make peace with the spirit of the alien creator of Unicron. Or why Soundwave had to sacrifice himself to combine all the spiritual energy. Or why Starscream had to sacrifice himself to activate the Talisman. Optimus says just before he dove into the blackhole that they have no idea what lay beyond the event horizon. Yet somehow they anticipated all of it with the perfect plan for it? Yet Shockwave was clear earlier in the series the only thing they needed to do was feed the Talisman to Unicron. So why was any of that other stuff necessary?

Why does Shockwave still think Bludgeon is under his command? Bludgeon blatantly told him in the previous issue that he serves Unicron now, and actually repeats it in this issue. Not to mention the guy has a history of backstabbing who he works for, with a record that is even worst than Starscream's. Shockwave should have anticipated this. And what happened to all the Maximals? Some of them likely got sucked into the black hole, but seems to me a lot of them would have survived.

Overall, this was a disappointing end to the series to me. I get what Barber was going for, but I don't think he executed it well, and didn't explain any of it.

Barber is one of the most....generic writers in comics. Unicron (the vengeance weapon) was defeated by 2 or 3 McGuffins. "Unicron" (the arc) had all of the check-boxes of an event comic. (Do we even need to list them?)


Unicron being defeated by love and forgiveness works at a conceptual level. Unicron is presented as a weapon of vengeance, meant to give the Transformers a well-earned comeuppance. (And, if there is one thing that IDW has been consistent with since 2005, it is that Cybertronians make lousy neighbors and worse guests.) But, the execution was lacking. Some writers can pull that sort of thing off. But, a generic writer, like Barber, is going to have a harder time with it.(Not everybody is going to be a Morrison. But, they do not need to be so much as they need to recognize their limits.)

The McGuffins requiring sacrifice is another cliche we expect from event comics. And, again, Barber just went with the straight cliche. Most comic McGuffins (such as Marvel's Ultimate Nullifier) have a "user will die" rule that was established in the Silver Age (when standards were lower and cliches more commonly accepted). "Transformers" is a Bronze Age property, making its McGuffins appear to be more forced (for lack of precedent).

And, that is the real problem with Barber. He is rooted in comics. He knows the cliches of the industry, and he uses them. But, he uses them without higher focus or purpose. He knows that a high concept is necessary (or helpful). But, after choosing a high concept, he does not demonstrate any understanding of it...because the cliche does not require it.

For the last ~5 years or so, "Transformers" has been divided between Tumblr-fic and generic. As much as I did not like the former, it had the advantage of at least being new and unique. And, a series like "Transformers" needs to be unique if it is going to be more than another shallow license.

Actually, strike that. "Transformers" needs to be unique if it is going to more than shallow. License comics have long since moved past cruising on name-recognition and built in fan-bases. And, it was arguably "Transformers" that set the precedent...years ago. The original Marvel series had an ever-changing status quo over the course of 7 years. Dreamwave experimented. IDW, for all of its stumbles in the early years, tried new things, including have legitimate high-concept runs.

Then, Barber took over, and "Transformers" read like anything from the big 2, with a quickly settling stasis quo that seemed to be sliding back to what "Transformers" was 30 years ago.

And what happened to all the Maximals? Some of them likely got sucked into the black hole, but seems to me a lot of them would have survived.

The likely would retreat/hide after losing the battle. (What was their origin anyway?)

Yet Shockwave was clear earlier in the series the only thing they needed to do was feed the Talisman to Unicron. So why was any of that other stuff necessary?

Think in terms of cliches. Shockwave would not consider the power of....love....or something.

Dominic wrote:The likely would retreat/hide after losing the battle. (What was their origin anyway?)

The Maximals apparently had been around since the beginning of Cybertron, like any every other Cybertronian. Why they were so different... is anyone's guess.

That's something else I'm disappointed they didn't really deliver on. A lot of what they've been covering has had to do with the origins of Cybertron in the IDW universe. MTMTE/Lost Light introduced the concept of 'hot spot' spark fields, and revealed the Necrobot's planet was essentially a giant outer mold of Cybertron, as well as exploring the concept of the Cybertronian Gods. The other series had been exploring the 13 Primes and their impact on Cybertronian society as well as other worlds. Even with Unicron, we got an explanation he was the opposite of Primus, although instead we only see him as a weapon designed by an alien to destroy Cybertronian. It felt like they were building up to something.

I also kinda thought Barber might pull the time travel gimmick again to explain why Shockwave said Optimus was the 13th Prime, the Arisen, when obviously Optimus wasn't around back then, making it very confusing why Shockwave would make the claim...

Think in terms of cliches. Shockwave would not consider the power of....love....or something.

I get it's a cliche, but the story itself kind of needs to explain it. Why did any of them consider the 'power of love' when none of them had any idea what they'd encounter inside Unicron? Why wouldn't they just try throwing the Talisman into Unicron? Not that that really made much sense to me to begin with... Why would the thing that created him also destroy him? I mean, it makes sense the alien would have a way to stop Unicron once he served his purpose... but it still renders this 'power of love' plot entirely pointless.

Optimus Prime #25

And so the IDW universe comes to a close... with a somewhat vague ending. I get what Barber was going for here, but I don't think he executed it very well, and I think he should have given us some answers to pay off readers on some points. Basically the issue jumps back and forth between 'today', giving us an idea of where many characters ended up following Unicron's defeat, and flashbacks of Optimus Prime's life. This story not so subtlety tells us it's not the end of the story that defines who we are, it's our actions on the journey. Such as, Optimus raises the question of whether or not he truly was the Thirteenth Prime, The Arisen as the colonists believed him to be, which Barber sort of answers by saying it doesn't matter, it's how Optimus used the title. Which I find very unsatisfying as the reader. There's also no mention of the other Cybertron from the Functionalists universe over in Lost Light which I found disappointing. I would have thought some of the Cybertronians would want to move there rather than stay on Earth. Another theme in this issue is that, while this is the end of this story, life goes on. I get the feeling that's why we don't see if Thundrcracker won for Best Original Screenplay, or what Jetfire's crew found in space, and Wreck-gar's little speech about there being no victory, life goes on and we just have to do the best we can.


So yeah, like I said, I can see where Barber was going with this, but I found this to be a fairly disappointing ending to the 13 year run of the IDW Transformers universe.

Oh, and we have another retcon to Arcee's origins in the IDW universe. She explains she was forged male, but didn't feel that matched her spark so she volunteered to undergo Jhiaxus procedure to make her female, rather than Jhiaxus having forced her into it. Her craziness afterwords is explained as the Cybertronian equivalent of bad medication.

This might be the most you and I have ever agreed on the comics.

And so the IDW universe comes to a close... with a somewhat vague ending. I get what Barber was going for here, but I don't think he executed it very well, and I think he should have given us some answers to pay off readers on some points.

Most of Barber's plots for the last few years were...generic. relying heavily on McGuffins and cliche'.

I would describe Barber's "Transformers" run since Prowl was part of the Devastator team as a clumsier variant of Busiek's "Astro City". There is a check-list of cliches that Barber uses, but not in any particularly graceful or skilled way. He plots are about the plot or the McGuffin nothing else. (In contrast, Busiek still uses the cliches for an idea, such as when Jack in the Box was seen, but not recognized, without a mask.)

There's also no mention of the other Cybertron from the Functionalists universe over in Lost Light which I found disappointing.

The real reason for this is probably that having a "new Cybertron from another universe" would undermine the ending of Barber's run.

Admittedly, this line of thinking is hard to agree with. Barber's ending (arguably his run as a whole) has been pretty weak.

Another theme in this issue is that, while this is the end of this story, life goes on. I get the feeling that's why we don't see if Thundrcracker won for Best Original Screenplay, or what Jetfire's crew found in space, and Wreck-gar's little speech about there being no victory, life goes on and we just have to do the best we can.

This would almost make the weaknesses of "Unicron" justifiable.

But, in real terms, there is no getting around that fact that the single longest-running iteration of a franchise with 30+ years of history fizzled out. A "life goes on ending" works better if the series it is applies to was more robustly written. Barber's anemic showing over the last ~5 years means that "life goes on" reads like "fan base should move on".


Of course, we do not know how much of this is really on Barber. He may have gotten lazy or simply lost his mojo. But, it is also possible that he was crushed by editorial or corporate mandates. (Maybe he was encouraged to write a more generic "comic book" to balance out "Lost Light". Maybe he wrote a safe and predictable comic to appease the fans who seem to need that. We are unlikely to ever know.)

It is hard to believe that Barber could be this bad at writing comics, especially given his earlier work (which is why I consider the possibility of some mitigating circumstance).

Oh, and we have another retcon to Arcee's origins in the IDW universe. She explains she was forged male, but didn't feel that matched her spark so she volunteered to undergo Jhiaxus procedure to make her female, rather than Jhiaxus having forced her into it. Her craziness afterwords is explained as the Cybertronian equivalent of bad medication.

Why....just...why?

Why would Barber pick that scab? Who was he trying to appease? What was he trying to say or do? Making a Transformer...trans....just too much of a minefield.


I do not anticipate reading many TF comics in the near future.

Dominic wrote:The real reason for this is probably that having a "new Cybertron from another universe" would undermine the ending of Barber's run.

Yeah, that's probably true. But still, I felt the least Barber could do was acknowledge it somehow. Even if it was just Prowl saying he had to go investigate Rodimus' discovery, or prosecute Megatron, or anything...

This would almost make the weaknesses of "Unicron" justifiable.

How so? All this issue is really saying is that no matter the outcome, life would go on. Which kinda begs to question, what would have happened if they hadn't stopped Unicron? Given he was a weapon created to destroy Cybertronians, it seems like he would have stopped once he destroyed them all, but it's not really something the story addresses. And Barber never explained how Unicron was a part of Transformers lore already...

Why....just...why?

Why would Barber pick that scab? Who was he trying to appease? What was he trying to say or do? Making a Transformer...trans....just too much of a minefield.

Yeah, I think this was a scab best left alone personally given how controversial Furman's origin for Arcee in IDW is... But I think Barber was trying to make it a little less offensive to trans-gender by making it Arcee's choice in the first place.

I do not anticipate reading many TF comics in the near future.

Kinda depends on the route they take to me...

Yeah, that's probably true. But still, I felt the least Barber could do was acknowledge it somehow. Even if it was just Prowl saying he had to go investigate Rodimus' discovery, or prosecute Megatron, or anything...

They also could have had Springer's attempt to alter history succeed. (It would have been fitting to close out this era of comics by calling back to "Last Stand of the Wreckers", arguably the best thing IDW did with the license.)

How so? All this issue is really saying is that no matter the outcome, life would go on. Which kinda begs to question, what would have happened if they hadn't stopped Unicron? Given he was a weapon created to destroy Cybertronians, it seems like he would have stopped once he destroyed them all, but it's not really something the story addresses. And Barber never explained how Unicron was a part of Transformers lore already

Life would go on for everybody else.

IDW has consistently used the old science fiction cliche of life on every other planet. Cybertronians (and probably humans) would be wiped out. But, the rest of the universe would live on happily without Cybertronians.

Yeah, I think this was a scab best left alone personally given how controversial Furman's origin for Arcee in IDW is... But I think Barber was trying to make it a little less offensive to trans-gender by making it Arcee's choice in the first place.

I agree with what Furman was saying with that origin. But, even though I expected it to cause trouble, I never expected the amount of fantrums and drama
that it cause. (Seriously, if Furman cannot bash on a third tier character based on a weak premise, what can he bash on?)

Kinda depends on the route they take to me..

I am not expecting much in the way of improvement or difference.

Hasbro is heavily adjusting the movies (the real money-maker). TF is their most viable property. I do not see Hasbro signing off on TF being ground-breaking. If nothing else, Hasbro is going to want more direct control over their last viable property. And, that is probably going to mean more generic comics.

Dominic wrote:They also could have had Springer's attempt to alter history succeed. (It would have been fitting to close out this era of comics by calling back to "Last Stand of the Wreckers", arguably the best thing IDW did with the license.)

Before the final issue came out, I saw some speculation that Optimus might end up in the past and step into the role of The Arisen (which would explain why everyone thinks he and Optimus were the same), similar to what Shockwave did when he ended up in the past to become Onyx Prime. And that would have been a good way to also introduce Unicron into Cybertronian lore, with Optimus trying to prepare them for it in the future. I think that would have been a better way to tie everything together.

Life would go on for everybody else.

IDW has consistently used the old science fiction cliche of life on every other planet. Cybertronians (and probably humans) would be wiped out. But, the rest of the universe would live on happily without Cybertronians.

I'm still not seeing how that justifies anything. You're forgetting that Unicron got his power from drawing on surrounding stars. Unicron probably killed more civilizations because of that than he did Cybertronians with the amount of stars that went out every time he teleported. If they hadn't destroyed Unicron, even if he wasn't actively trying to destroy the Cybertronians anymore, wouldn't he continue to inadvertently destroy other civilizations by still feeding on their stars? Life might go on for the rest of the universe, but it'd be a lot shorter with Unicron still around.

I agree with what Furman was saying with that origin. But, even though I expected it to cause trouble, I never expected the amount of fantrums and drama
that it cause. (Seriously, if Furman cannot bash on a third tier character based on a weak premise, what can he bash on?)

Furman trying to explain gender in a race of robots wasn't the only problem people had with that story. The bigger problem was having Arcee forcibly turned into female and described her as having a "maelstrom of contradictory sensory input" because she's a woman. That comes off as incredibly offensive to trans-gender and women alike. I'd also have to disagree Arcee is a third tier character, especially given her predominant over the last several years.

I am not expecting much in the way of improvement or difference.

Hasbro is heavily adjusting the movies (the real money-maker). TF is their most viable property. I do not see Hasbro signing off on TF being ground-breaking. If nothing else, Hasbro is going to want more direct control over their last viable property. And, that is probably going to mean more generic comics.

Last viable property? Isn't My Little Pony still doing extremely well? And they acquired Power Rangers from Saban and Bandai of America a few months ago, which will take effect next year.

MLP is still viable. But, how does it stack up next to TF. (A cartoon, even a movie, against what TF has been for the last decade?) And, MLP has less cross-generational appeal. (Consider the general, and not wholly unjustified, perception of bronies.) "Transformers" is probably the most golden of eggs in Hasbro's basket.

'm still not seeing how that justifies anything. You're forgetting that Unicron got his power from drawing on surrounding stars. Unicron probably killed more civilizations because of that than he did Cybertronians with the amount of stars that went out every time he teleported. If they hadn't destroyed Unicron, even if he wasn't actively trying to destroy the Cybertronians anymore, wouldn't he continue to inadvertently destroy other civilizations by still feeding on their stars? Life might go on for the rest of the universe, but it'd be a lot shorter with Unicron still around.

Unicron would stop once it had achieved its goal of wiping out the Transformers. Once there were no more Transformers, Unicron would have no reason to teleport.

I was actually expecting the series to end with the Transformers dying to give Unicron a reason to stop. (The idea of a vengeance weapon causing unplanned destruction.... This series should have been so much better.)

Furman trying to explain gender in a race of robots wasn't the only problem people had with that story. The bigger problem was having Arcee forcibly turned into female and described her as having a "maelstrom of contradictory sensory input" because she's a woman. That comes off as incredibly offensive to trans-gender and women alike. I'd also have to disagree Arcee is a third tier character, especially given her predominant over the last several years.

Ironically, Arcee's profile was largely because of Furman's "Spotlight: Arcee". Furman has never liked the character, rightly seeing her as the result of a clumsy effort to appease a focus group. (This goes back to how he wrote Arcee in the old UK comics.) Furman was saying that Arcee is a bad idea. He was not bashing on women or transgender people. The perception that he was is wrong, and at least partly fed by people looking for something to offended by.

Furman has written plenty of other female characters over his career.

Dominic wrote:MLP is still viable. But, how does it stack up next to TF. (A cartoon, even a movie, against what TF has been for the last decade?) And, MLP has less cross-generational appeal. (Consider the general, and not wholly unjustified, perception of bronies.) "Transformers" is probably the most golden of eggs in Hasbro's basket.

How it stacks up to Transformers wasn't the point. Certainly Transformers is the biggest property Hasbro has, but it is not the only viable one they have.

Unicron would stop once it had achieved its goal of wiping out the Transformers. Once there were no more Transformers, Unicron would have no reason to teleport.

I was actually expecting the series to end with the Transformers dying to give Unicron a reason to stop. (The idea of a vengeance weapon causing unplanned destruction.... This series should have been so much better.)

Would Unicron stop once the Transformers were wiped out though? For all we know, Unicron would have continued to seek out other lifeforms similar to Cybertronians or sources of Energon, given Unicron went after the colony worlds before attacking Cybertron itself. The only thing the story establishes would stop him was if he ate the talisman.

Ironically, Arcee's profile was largely because of Furman's "Spotlight: Arcee". Furman has never liked the character, rightly seeing her as the result of a clumsy effort to appease a focus group. (This goes back to how he wrote Arcee in the old UK comics.) Furman was saying that Arcee is a bad idea. He was not bashing on women or transgender people. The perception that he was is wrong, and at least partly fed by people looking for something to offended by.

Furman has written plenty of other female characters over his career.

I'd have to say Arcee has had a pretty big profile from her introduction, given she was one of the major characters in TFTM and subsequent seasons of G1. It's just her role as a hot-headed warrior type with a chip on her shoulder that Furman started. Whether Furman intended to insult anyone or not or how many female character's he's written isn't really relevant, the story itself comes across as insulting given the character was forcibly altered to be female against her will, and the line about having a "maelstrom of contradictory sensory input" because she's a woman. I think it should be clear why that'd offend some people, it was not people looking for something to be offended by.