variations in TF movie context
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:47 pm
I found my "Reign of Starscream" #1 review. It was part of this larger post I originally posted in my blog when the forums were down. Guys like O6 and Gomess will probably enjoy it.
Dom
-spent way too much time on this.
Reign of Starscream #1: This is the first issue of IDW's (belated) movie sequel comic. I have no idea why this thing is coming out nearly a year after it would have done some good for the franchise. Putting aside questions about its publication schedule and release date, this is not a bad effort at all. The first issue spends most of its time recapping and polishing over the movie. IDW publisher Chris Ryall has commented to the effect that he is not planning for this comic to be consistent with the inevitable "Transformers 2". In fact, the comic is not even consistent with previous IDW material, in that it contradicts (while drawing from) ealier IDW prequel comics. (Said prequels were often contrary to each-other as well.) There are a few rough spots, such as the scene where Starscream checks in with Barricade, but over-all this comic is worth a look.
Grade: A/B This is a strong start, and reason for cautious optimism. Given how fragmented the movie's context is (even just considering the film's internal logic), a clean slate with no pretense of cohesion is probably the best way to go.
I have been meaning to post something about the variances in the TF movie's context for a while now. "Transformers" has always been fragmented. (The main branches were the cartoon, the comics, and the back of the box, with each of those having internal deviations, to say nothing of international deviations.) It amazes me how many iterations of movie continuity there have been in less than a year. Granted, the original Generation 1 series had many, especially after one factored in children's books and such. But, I expected the movie to be more tightly controlled. While many of the examples listed below contradict each-other, there are a few that actually contradict the movie itself.
The best place to start is with the movie itself. Putting aside differences between the movie and the comic and novelization, and confusion about Brawl/Devestator, there is still fodder for deviations here.
The video game (based on what I know) deviates from the movie. Besides the obvious differences in how certain battles play out, the game has 2 campaigns, Autobot and Decepticon. The Autobot ending assumes Jazz survives (in contrast to the movie), and the Decepticon ending assumes a much different scenario than the movie. Both campaigns have characters who do not appear in the movie, and who presence would be difficult to reconcile with the film, largely in the form of "troop-builders" for players of either faction to fight.
Along similar lines, "young readers" adaptations of the movie assume different endings. I am not going to catalogue them here, but (as pointed out by David van Domelen), the younger the books' intended audience, the less soundly the Decepticons are defeated. (The redacting in some of these books is pretty hilarious actually. There is lead-in to several of the more brutal scenes, and then.....nothing.)
Finally, several of the toys contradict the movie, and the game. Swindle's file card describes a specific character. This could be taken to imply that the toy depicts a specific Decepticon drone, much like Camshaft would depict a specific Autobot drone, it does not quite mesh with the movie, as few of the game's NPCs show up on screen. Longarm arguably shows up on screen, albeit with slightly differnet writing on his door. But, while the toy, and movie (if one buys into the theory of him showing up), assume Longarm is an Autobot, the game (according to the TF wiki) assumes Longarm is a Decepticon. Similarly, Swindle's and Dropkick's cards describe said characters as being among many Decepticons who accompanied Megatron to Earth despite every rendition of the movie, and its prequels, consistently assuming Megatron arrived alone on Earth. There are plenty of other non-movie characters, some of which can be reconciled, many of which cannot be.
Further mucking things up on the toy-front are various recolors and sub-lines.
Hasbro has released a number of store exclusive recolors from the "Unicron Trilogy" years. Besides not being aesthetically consistent with the movie, these characters present the obvious problem of integrating a new roster of characters into a limited context. One toy, Inferno, includes a Minicon, muddying the waters ever more than the inclusion of Cyber-keys with other toys. (There is also a set of Japanese Minicons that are arguably movie toys. Though, some would argue these are "Classics" or "Cybertron" toys.)
The "Legends" (small scale) two-packs offer points of deviation as well. The Ratchet v/s Brawl, Prime v/s Starscream, and Ironhide v/s Blackout sets assume differently colored movie characters. And, the white Ratchet listed in the Ratchet v/s Brawl is given different context from the full-sized white ("Rescue") Ratchet.
Beside the movie itself, there are ample prequels and sequels to account for.
The prequel novel (Del Rey) is mostly consistent with the movie. But, it contradicts several points is other prequels. Besides various context and chronology variations, "Ghosts of the Past" assumes that both factions have ships they travel around in, in contrast to the "self-contained" space travel forms assumed in other sources. And, the novel assumes that Wreckage does not exist, in contrast to other prequels. The biggest snarl in reconciling this with the movie is that the prequel novel implies Bumblebee's injuries are more severe than the movie. Of course, the movie is hardly consistent on this point.
Before delving into the mess that is the prequel comics. it is worth noting that one of the above mentioned "Unicron Trilogy" recolors, Hardtop, is listed on the character profile as being a rival of Bumblebee. Hardtop is credited with being the one who shot Bumblebee in the throat, leaving him mute. This contradicts every other depiction of Bumblebee being injured.
Despite mostly being published by IDW, the prequel comics not only contradict each-other, but even the movie in some places. . (Note: I know of the UK prequel comics, but I have not read them, and thus cannot describe them in any detail.)
Target/convention/movie-house exclusive: This is a short story, idiomatically depicting Bumblebee's trials, travails and travels on Earth before the movie. It is continuity neutral, and fits nicely with the movie and most of the other prequels. The only real problem is one of chronology, as this prequel implies that Bumblebee (and possibly Barricade) arrived on Earth long before the other characters, save Megatron. Ironically, it was the least well distributed of the prequels, as one had to either got to participating Target stores, movie houses on opening day, or to BotCon '07. (I got my copy at BotCon, for those who are curious.)
IDW official prequel/Wal*Mart exclusive dvd pack-in: This was a 4 issue limited series, (also collected and sold at Target) giving the most comprehensive "before the camera started rolling" story available outside of the (more tedious) novel. It was also adapted into a flash-animated dvd, sold exclusively at Wal*Mart. Besides the implied lack of ships in this story, there are other points of deviation with the other prequels. Besides the chronology questions above, the Decepticon arrival sequence in this comic depicts Starscream, Barricade and Blackout arriving in North America. (This arguably contradicts a line in the movie that implies Blackout first surfaced in Afghanistan.) There are possible deviations from the movie, as the Decepticons all but reveal themselves to US military units in the south-western US. And, it deviates from other prequels in assuming that Wreckage does not exist. (Who is that guy anyway?) The discounting of Wreckage also contradicts "Reign of Starscream".)
Target exclusive video pack-in: Yet another Target exclusive comic. This has the distinction of not only contradicting the other prequels on various points, but also the movie, and "Reign of Starscream". The Decepticon's planet fall sequence utterly contradicts the one from IDW's official prequel, both in terms of location and chronology. The chronology fits only vaguely with the earlier Target prequel. Wreckage's presence contracts the movie, and other prequel comics. (Wreckage is a non-movie character that was very nearly in the movie.) Wreckage's death implies that the human are far more prepared for a TF invasion than the movie might lead one to believe. The lack of ships explicitly contradicts "Reign of Starscream".
The post-movie material is not much better, contradicting not only itself, but various prequels and the movie. (Again, I know of the UK comics, but I do not know enough about them to write in detail.)
The little kid friendly "Fast Action Battler" line has several points of deviation. The most notable is the Optimus Prime recolor with a profile describing the character as looking for Decepticons on Mars. (This is an interesting, and logical follow-up to on of the few consistent points in the movie mythos, the Decepticons destroying un-manned human exploration machinery on Mars.)
The bulk of the contradictions here are found on toy packages.
All Spark Power: This is primarily the repaint leg of the Transformers movie line. The premise is that several characters were altered, and others were created during the final battle depicted in the movie. Besides the movie characters not changing, and the new characters not making complete sense in context, some of the "All Spark Power" repaints contradict other toys. I am not going to list all of these.
Optimus Prime: While the FAB line assumes Prime went to Mars, the ASP line assumes to other paths. In one case, Prime become "Nightwatch" Prime, a stealthy variation on the iconic hero. In another, Prime becomes "First Strike" Prime, a ridiculously over-powered character right out of a Furman comic.
new characters: Most, if not all of the "All Spark spawned" characters in the ASP line are Autobots, and reasonable ones at that. This contradicts the feral personalities of the "All Spark spawn" shown in the movie. Salvage and Longarm are childlike and docile. Landmine is quite sensible.
The ASP line also has a few "late arrivals", characters who arrived on Earth after the big fight. These guys may show up in "Reign of Starscream", and will likely contradict the inevitable sequel.
Target exclusives: Target has a number of exclusive toys, some of which contradict the movie, and even each-other.
Starscream: This retro-colored movie Starscream (with a new molded head) contradicts "Reign of Starscream", and probably the sequels.
Jazz: This retro-colored Jazz contradicts Jazz's death in the movie, though the character profile tries to smooth over this. It also contradicts the "All Spark Power" repaint of Jazz.
Target ASP exclusives: Target had exclusive distribution rights to 4 recolors of early wave toys. Some of the character bios contradict other character bios, and even the movie. These toys were shelved and sold from end-caps near the register, sharing space with similarly packaged "Star Wars" toys, and some "GI Joe" toys.
Barricade: Despite Barricade vanishing (thanks to sloppy editing) long before the final battle, and Frenzy dying, this toy's bio assumes both were not only present for the final battle, but that they got a power boost from the All Sopark.
Jazz: The bio for this toy assumes that character was healed by the All Spark (despite the movie's blatant "he is dead" line), and contradicts the bio for the retro-recolor, as that toy assumed severe, but not fatal damage to Jazz in the movie.
Brawl: Yet another "healed by the All Spark" bio. Brawl's bio also contradicts another Brawl toy.
Other Decepticon survivors: Going by the movie, Starscream is the only Decepticon to conclusively survive. Scorponok and Barricade are debatable. Frenzy may be making a return in "Reign of Starscream. (The script called for Barricade to die, and he dies in both the novelization and comic adaptation. But, the scene was omitted from the film.) But, if one goes by the toys and peripheral comics, the only Decepticon to stay dead is Blackout.
Brawl: Besides the smaller ASP recolor, there is a larger "Deep Desert" recolor. It may or may not contradict the ASP packaging. But bio note here assumes Brawl made it away from the final battle, and has been hiding in the Middle Easter desert, as a sort of bogey man, attacking convoys and such.
Bonecrusher: Similar to Brawl, Bonecrusher was healed by the All Spark (despite dying well away from the final battle), and take up hiding in the South American jungles.
The UK comics had a story where Starscream finds the fallen Decepticon, and repairs them.
Reign of Starscream: While largely consistent with the movie, and not overtly contrary, the end of the movie depicts Starscream fleeing into space, presumably to gather additional forces. In the comic, Starscream comes back to Earth so quickly he may as well have never left.
Real Gear: It is tough to say precisely where this line would fit with or contrast the movie. The line is made up of molds that some (myself included) think were held over from "Cybertron". The character profiles describe a conflict being waged by small Transformers who have taken the forms of mundane objects like cell-phones and camera. The gimmick for the line is that these are all 1:1 scale Transformers. The backstory for this set could be integrated into most any other TF series, and intuitively fits best with "Cybertron". But, they toys have movie-style packaging, so I am listing them here.
Dom
-spent way too much time on this.
Reign of Starscream #1: This is the first issue of IDW's (belated) movie sequel comic. I have no idea why this thing is coming out nearly a year after it would have done some good for the franchise. Putting aside questions about its publication schedule and release date, this is not a bad effort at all. The first issue spends most of its time recapping and polishing over the movie. IDW publisher Chris Ryall has commented to the effect that he is not planning for this comic to be consistent with the inevitable "Transformers 2". In fact, the comic is not even consistent with previous IDW material, in that it contradicts (while drawing from) ealier IDW prequel comics. (Said prequels were often contrary to each-other as well.) There are a few rough spots, such as the scene where Starscream checks in with Barricade, but over-all this comic is worth a look.
Grade: A/B This is a strong start, and reason for cautious optimism. Given how fragmented the movie's context is (even just considering the film's internal logic), a clean slate with no pretense of cohesion is probably the best way to go.
I have been meaning to post something about the variances in the TF movie's context for a while now. "Transformers" has always been fragmented. (The main branches were the cartoon, the comics, and the back of the box, with each of those having internal deviations, to say nothing of international deviations.) It amazes me how many iterations of movie continuity there have been in less than a year. Granted, the original Generation 1 series had many, especially after one factored in children's books and such. But, I expected the movie to be more tightly controlled. While many of the examples listed below contradict each-other, there are a few that actually contradict the movie itself.
The best place to start is with the movie itself. Putting aside differences between the movie and the comic and novelization, and confusion about Brawl/Devestator, there is still fodder for deviations here.
The video game (based on what I know) deviates from the movie. Besides the obvious differences in how certain battles play out, the game has 2 campaigns, Autobot and Decepticon. The Autobot ending assumes Jazz survives (in contrast to the movie), and the Decepticon ending assumes a much different scenario than the movie. Both campaigns have characters who do not appear in the movie, and who presence would be difficult to reconcile with the film, largely in the form of "troop-builders" for players of either faction to fight.
Along similar lines, "young readers" adaptations of the movie assume different endings. I am not going to catalogue them here, but (as pointed out by David van Domelen), the younger the books' intended audience, the less soundly the Decepticons are defeated. (The redacting in some of these books is pretty hilarious actually. There is lead-in to several of the more brutal scenes, and then.....nothing.)
Finally, several of the toys contradict the movie, and the game. Swindle's file card describes a specific character. This could be taken to imply that the toy depicts a specific Decepticon drone, much like Camshaft would depict a specific Autobot drone, it does not quite mesh with the movie, as few of the game's NPCs show up on screen. Longarm arguably shows up on screen, albeit with slightly differnet writing on his door. But, while the toy, and movie (if one buys into the theory of him showing up), assume Longarm is an Autobot, the game (according to the TF wiki) assumes Longarm is a Decepticon. Similarly, Swindle's and Dropkick's cards describe said characters as being among many Decepticons who accompanied Megatron to Earth despite every rendition of the movie, and its prequels, consistently assuming Megatron arrived alone on Earth. There are plenty of other non-movie characters, some of which can be reconciled, many of which cannot be.
Further mucking things up on the toy-front are various recolors and sub-lines.
Hasbro has released a number of store exclusive recolors from the "Unicron Trilogy" years. Besides not being aesthetically consistent with the movie, these characters present the obvious problem of integrating a new roster of characters into a limited context. One toy, Inferno, includes a Minicon, muddying the waters ever more than the inclusion of Cyber-keys with other toys. (There is also a set of Japanese Minicons that are arguably movie toys. Though, some would argue these are "Classics" or "Cybertron" toys.)
The "Legends" (small scale) two-packs offer points of deviation as well. The Ratchet v/s Brawl, Prime v/s Starscream, and Ironhide v/s Blackout sets assume differently colored movie characters. And, the white Ratchet listed in the Ratchet v/s Brawl is given different context from the full-sized white ("Rescue") Ratchet.
Beside the movie itself, there are ample prequels and sequels to account for.
The prequel novel (Del Rey) is mostly consistent with the movie. But, it contradicts several points is other prequels. Besides various context and chronology variations, "Ghosts of the Past" assumes that both factions have ships they travel around in, in contrast to the "self-contained" space travel forms assumed in other sources. And, the novel assumes that Wreckage does not exist, in contrast to other prequels. The biggest snarl in reconciling this with the movie is that the prequel novel implies Bumblebee's injuries are more severe than the movie. Of course, the movie is hardly consistent on this point.
Before delving into the mess that is the prequel comics. it is worth noting that one of the above mentioned "Unicron Trilogy" recolors, Hardtop, is listed on the character profile as being a rival of Bumblebee. Hardtop is credited with being the one who shot Bumblebee in the throat, leaving him mute. This contradicts every other depiction of Bumblebee being injured.
Despite mostly being published by IDW, the prequel comics not only contradict each-other, but even the movie in some places. . (Note: I know of the UK prequel comics, but I have not read them, and thus cannot describe them in any detail.)
Target/convention/movie-house exclusive: This is a short story, idiomatically depicting Bumblebee's trials, travails and travels on Earth before the movie. It is continuity neutral, and fits nicely with the movie and most of the other prequels. The only real problem is one of chronology, as this prequel implies that Bumblebee (and possibly Barricade) arrived on Earth long before the other characters, save Megatron. Ironically, it was the least well distributed of the prequels, as one had to either got to participating Target stores, movie houses on opening day, or to BotCon '07. (I got my copy at BotCon, for those who are curious.)
IDW official prequel/Wal*Mart exclusive dvd pack-in: This was a 4 issue limited series, (also collected and sold at Target) giving the most comprehensive "before the camera started rolling" story available outside of the (more tedious) novel. It was also adapted into a flash-animated dvd, sold exclusively at Wal*Mart. Besides the implied lack of ships in this story, there are other points of deviation with the other prequels. Besides the chronology questions above, the Decepticon arrival sequence in this comic depicts Starscream, Barricade and Blackout arriving in North America. (This arguably contradicts a line in the movie that implies Blackout first surfaced in Afghanistan.) There are possible deviations from the movie, as the Decepticons all but reveal themselves to US military units in the south-western US. And, it deviates from other prequels in assuming that Wreckage does not exist. (Who is that guy anyway?) The discounting of Wreckage also contradicts "Reign of Starscream".)
Target exclusive video pack-in: Yet another Target exclusive comic. This has the distinction of not only contradicting the other prequels on various points, but also the movie, and "Reign of Starscream". The Decepticon's planet fall sequence utterly contradicts the one from IDW's official prequel, both in terms of location and chronology. The chronology fits only vaguely with the earlier Target prequel. Wreckage's presence contracts the movie, and other prequel comics. (Wreckage is a non-movie character that was very nearly in the movie.) Wreckage's death implies that the human are far more prepared for a TF invasion than the movie might lead one to believe. The lack of ships explicitly contradicts "Reign of Starscream".
The post-movie material is not much better, contradicting not only itself, but various prequels and the movie. (Again, I know of the UK comics, but I do not know enough about them to write in detail.)
The little kid friendly "Fast Action Battler" line has several points of deviation. The most notable is the Optimus Prime recolor with a profile describing the character as looking for Decepticons on Mars. (This is an interesting, and logical follow-up to on of the few consistent points in the movie mythos, the Decepticons destroying un-manned human exploration machinery on Mars.)
The bulk of the contradictions here are found on toy packages.
All Spark Power: This is primarily the repaint leg of the Transformers movie line. The premise is that several characters were altered, and others were created during the final battle depicted in the movie. Besides the movie characters not changing, and the new characters not making complete sense in context, some of the "All Spark Power" repaints contradict other toys. I am not going to list all of these.
Optimus Prime: While the FAB line assumes Prime went to Mars, the ASP line assumes to other paths. In one case, Prime become "Nightwatch" Prime, a stealthy variation on the iconic hero. In another, Prime becomes "First Strike" Prime, a ridiculously over-powered character right out of a Furman comic.
new characters: Most, if not all of the "All Spark spawned" characters in the ASP line are Autobots, and reasonable ones at that. This contradicts the feral personalities of the "All Spark spawn" shown in the movie. Salvage and Longarm are childlike and docile. Landmine is quite sensible.
The ASP line also has a few "late arrivals", characters who arrived on Earth after the big fight. These guys may show up in "Reign of Starscream", and will likely contradict the inevitable sequel.
Target exclusives: Target has a number of exclusive toys, some of which contradict the movie, and even each-other.
Starscream: This retro-colored movie Starscream (with a new molded head) contradicts "Reign of Starscream", and probably the sequels.
Jazz: This retro-colored Jazz contradicts Jazz's death in the movie, though the character profile tries to smooth over this. It also contradicts the "All Spark Power" repaint of Jazz.
Target ASP exclusives: Target had exclusive distribution rights to 4 recolors of early wave toys. Some of the character bios contradict other character bios, and even the movie. These toys were shelved and sold from end-caps near the register, sharing space with similarly packaged "Star Wars" toys, and some "GI Joe" toys.
Barricade: Despite Barricade vanishing (thanks to sloppy editing) long before the final battle, and Frenzy dying, this toy's bio assumes both were not only present for the final battle, but that they got a power boost from the All Sopark.
Jazz: The bio for this toy assumes that character was healed by the All Spark (despite the movie's blatant "he is dead" line), and contradicts the bio for the retro-recolor, as that toy assumed severe, but not fatal damage to Jazz in the movie.
Brawl: Yet another "healed by the All Spark" bio. Brawl's bio also contradicts another Brawl toy.
Other Decepticon survivors: Going by the movie, Starscream is the only Decepticon to conclusively survive. Scorponok and Barricade are debatable. Frenzy may be making a return in "Reign of Starscream. (The script called for Barricade to die, and he dies in both the novelization and comic adaptation. But, the scene was omitted from the film.) But, if one goes by the toys and peripheral comics, the only Decepticon to stay dead is Blackout.
Brawl: Besides the smaller ASP recolor, there is a larger "Deep Desert" recolor. It may or may not contradict the ASP packaging. But bio note here assumes Brawl made it away from the final battle, and has been hiding in the Middle Easter desert, as a sort of bogey man, attacking convoys and such.
Bonecrusher: Similar to Brawl, Bonecrusher was healed by the All Spark (despite dying well away from the final battle), and take up hiding in the South American jungles.
The UK comics had a story where Starscream finds the fallen Decepticon, and repairs them.
Reign of Starscream: While largely consistent with the movie, and not overtly contrary, the end of the movie depicts Starscream fleeing into space, presumably to gather additional forces. In the comic, Starscream comes back to Earth so quickly he may as well have never left.
Real Gear: It is tough to say precisely where this line would fit with or contrast the movie. The line is made up of molds that some (myself included) think were held over from "Cybertron". The character profiles describe a conflict being waged by small Transformers who have taken the forms of mundane objects like cell-phones and camera. The gimmick for the line is that these are all 1:1 scale Transformers. The backstory for this set could be integrated into most any other TF series, and intuitively fits best with "Cybertron". But, they toys have movie-style packaging, so I am listing them here.