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Zob's Thoughts on TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE Issue #99 and #100!
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Zobovor
Mar 21, 2014, 9:31:20 PM3/21/14
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Making a trip to the comic book shop every single month just hasn't worked for me lately. Also, they won't process debit card transactions of less than five dollars (which just happens to conveniently be more than the price of a single comic book) so I always end up buying something else I don't need, just because I don't typically carry cash on me. Well, these are the last two issues, so I'm done with that place for the forseeable future. So, while my review of issue #99 is arguably not at all timely, at least issue #100 is still fairly topical.
Issue #99: The War to End All Wars (Part 4)
Synopsis: Spike Witwicky finds himself in zero space, having been captured by Fortress Maximus (or, specifically, whatever it is that's possessed Fort Max) last issue. An unseen entity explains that Spike is unique in that he is comprised of human, Nebulan, and Cybertronian constituents and as such qualifies to launch this entity's crossing into the multiverse. Whatever that means! Elsewhere within the Hub, Rodimus Prime is presented to Jhiaxus, who offers him a choice of joining him willingly, and order the clandestine Wreckers saboteur crew to stand down, or else watch as he excises captive Autobots one at a time. When Rodimus fails to comply, four Autobots are promply obliterated. Starscream, who has now revealed himself to be (surprise!) the Underbase, along with Shockwave, observe the Cybertronian search parties and make haste to obfuscate their efforts. On Earth, the human resistance movement attempts to make repairs to Optimus Prime (nearly obliterated by Fort Max last issue) and are strongly considering terminating the space bridge link to Nebulos. Meanwhile on Cybertron, the demons are shrouding themselves in some kind of protective cocoon, as if they can sense the imminent danger, while Grimlock has a gripping revelation about his time spent on planet VsQs. Also, Galvatron pops up and slaughters a bunch of generic nobodies. Speaking of generic nobodies, both Rodimus Prime and the Starscream-Shockwave duo make short work of Jhiaxus' soldiers; Starscream reveals that the Underbase is missing a chunk, and that missing chunk is the life force of Jhiaxus. With that done, the Underbase evidently disperses from Starscream's body. In a touching moment, Shockwave decides to save Starscream before the Hub is destroyed, asking himself, "Is this... emotion?" The Hub is destroyed, but Rodimus realizes something even more sinister is afoot. On Cybertron, what should emerge from the depths of Cybertron but the evil dark essence of the Matrix!
Three variant covers, as always. I feel like during the course of this comic, sometimes I got the cover I would have picked anyway, but sometimes I feel like I missed out. Cover A showcases Starscream with Underbase-detailing, rendered by Andrew Wildman. (I got this one.) Cover B features an extreme Galvatron clsoe-up by Guido Guidi. Cover RI highlights Shockwave's battle with Jhiaxus' troops, by Geoff Senior. I don't think I ended up with any of the Geoff Senior covers, and honestly I would have liked maybe one or two. Oh, well. Collecting this comic has been expensive enough; I'm not about to start hunting down issues I've already read just to get alternate covers.
There are so many one-page teasers in this issue that it's almost incomprehensible as a story. I always thought that the unspoken rule was that comics were supposed to be accessible to anybody at any time, and that any issue could theoretically serve as a jumping point into the story. Maybe that's no longer the case (and maybe it never was). I guess not too many people start reading a comic beginning with its second-to-last issue, but still. So jumbled and confusing.
So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all). One could argue that his willingness to summon all the Transformers from everywherever to fight his battle with Unicron for him was kind of self-serving, too. Shrug.
There just isn't much to say about this issue. Pretty much everything that happens is just a lead-in to next issue. Perhaps the most notable story event is the apparent death of Jhiaxus. At this point, I really have to ask: Why was he even shoehorned into a G1 story in the first place? It's so difficult for me to not see him as a G2 character, and yet we've been told to ignore the G2 continuity because it never happened. I just don't see the point of featuring him.
Autobots we can see having been captured by Jhiaxus include Ultra Magnus, Kup, Bumblebee, Prowl, and Chromedome. Others (Nightbeat, etc.) are assumed but not illustrated as such. The four Autobots exterminated by Jhiaxus are drawn somewhat indistinctly because they're in the midst of being vaporized; two are most definitely Crosshairs and Brainstorm, but the other two I'm less sure about (Gunrunner and Quickswitch, maybe). The slaughter scene with Galvatron would have been a great opportunity to play the Name That 'Bot game again, but instead we get a bunch of randomly-colored non-toy characters. Disappointing. A few Action Masters make surprise appearances on the final page--Gutcruncher, Kick-Off, Axer, and a slightly miscolored but probable Rad.
The teaser page for next issue showcases a very magenta-colored Hot Rod, with Primus sword in hand, facing off against not one, not two, but three versions of Optimus Prime--original G1 flavor, Powermaster edition, and Action Master! Oh, Furman, you so cra-ha-hazy!
Next issue!
Issue #100: The War to End All Wars (part 5)
Synopsis: It's a double-sized issue so it's a big one. Rodimus Prime and his crew arrives on Cybertron, but Blaster reports no radio communications. As they touch down, they find Iacon a dead husk of its former self, and Rodimus realizes on some level that his group was removed while Cybertron was reshaped. Without warning, multiple "shadow-leeches" emerge and their tentacles pierce the bodies of two Autobots. Blaster manages to subdue one with sonic waves long enough for Perceptor to do a more in-depth examination, revealing it to be the former Iguanus, now twisted into something else. Rodimus calls for Jetfire to retrieve the Primus sword; the Dinobots arrive on the scene, and Grimlock reveals that he is immune to the creatures, ostensibly because he played host to Primus (or, more specifically, whatever has supplanted Primus). Rodimus urges Grimlock not to destroy them, as they are former Transformers. Rodimus also reveals that when Primus gave him a glimpse of the multiverse, he subsequently did some reading and found within the Covenant of Primus a reference to the Trinity, three planets that can unlock the multiverse. With Galvatron inside Cybertron's star chamber, granting access to Earth and Nebulos, Rodimus sends Ultra Magnus to find and destroy him while Rodimus goes to confront Primus' replacement. Spike, meanwhile, continues to be tormented, now by images of the late Sparkplug Witwicky. Galvatron is sent to Nebulos to destroy it, just as he had done with a future version of Earth. Rodimus realizes that the dark Matrix entity filled the void left by Primus' death and that it attempted to manipulate him. The Autobots split up into two teams; one goes to Nebulos to stop Galvatron and the other travels to Earth. Through two pages of exposition, the dark Matrix entity (which has also been manipulating Spike) explains that it was recalled to Cybertron at the same time that Primus summoned the Transformers to fight Unicron, and that it possessed one of Unicron's acolytes. It traveled to the Primus chamber, but when the demons confronted the entity, it took control of them, scooping up Transformer victims (like poor Runabout) who had been infused with Matrix energy that had showered Cybertron in the wake of the Matrix's destruction. When Cybertron began its restructuring (which the Transformers had initially misinterpreted as the planet falling apart), the dark entity infiltrated the planet, effectively becoming one with it. It even claimed responsibility for the events that resparked the war following the lasting peace on Cybertron, as well as orchestrating Scorponok's rebirth and genetic manipulation. Seeking to grow even further and expand into the multiverse, the entity summons three Optimus Primes (G1, Powermaster, Action Master) to kill Rodimus. Rodimus responds by chucking the Covenant of Primus into the rift of zero space, creating ripples that summon multiple versions of Hot Rod from other realities. On Earth, the human resistance attacks the Autobots until Roadbuster reasons with them. Fortress Maximus tries to blast Ultra Magnus in the back but the other Autobots destroy him. On Nebulos, Ultra Magnus confronts Galvatron and destroys him. Within zero space, Rodimus manages to get through to Spike, who at long last lets go of his rage and hatred. At Optimus Prime's urging, Rodimus destroys the rift, trapping the Matrix entity in zero space forever. Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms. In an epilogue, an aged Rodimus muses how the Autobots returned, how the people of Earth and Nebulos joined together, how the Autobots left Cybertron and ventured into space on a mission of peace, how even Starscream and Shockwave found peace and befriended some egg-shaped clockwork aliens (?!), and the ancient Rodimus falls to the ground, dead, but new life emerges from his corpse in the form of... Beast Machines Botanica?!
I don't get it.
This issue has six variant covers. Cover A is by Andy Wildman and shows Rodimus facing off against the three Primes. I got this one and I like it. Cover B, by Guido Guidi, is a tribute to Marvel Comics issue #1, and is drawn in the same kind of abstract style, only with characters swapped out (we get Kup and Swoop instead of Gears and Laserbeak). Geoff Senior's Cover RI-A shows Fort Max and Galvatron, both imbued with dark Matrix energy. I guess Herb Trimpe is supposed to actually draw Cover RI-B for you, since he's credited for the blank front cover. The Sub Cover by Robert Atkins has Cobra Commander on it. I have no idea why. There's also a Convention Variant cover with Optimus fighting Rodimus. Whew.
So, issue #80 (the first ending to the G1 comic) closed with Cybertron being reborn and the Autobot returning home. This one ends on a much more bittersweet note, with Optimus dead, Rodimus dead, and Cybertron essentially being abandoned. It's not exactly a feel-good conclusion to the saga. It leaves me feeling really disturbed, actually. Some of the elements from this issue are really good, and some of them seem wasted. I like the concept of Rodimus having to fight Optimus, but the three Optimuses are sort of being manipulated like puppets, so in some ways they're not "really" Optimus. Also, the fact that at least two of them are from different realities (the Action Master is evidently the "true" optimus since that's the body he's had for the entire run of Regeneration One) so it's easy to dismiss them. I think the fight would have had a lot more pathos if this had been the real Optimus and the real Rodimus, fighting for two different and opposing ideals. Maybe Rodimus could have been blind in his faith and devotion to what he believes is Primus, while Optimus could see the false Primus' true nature. Shrug.
The promise of alternate realities could have given us so much more than a bunch of Hot Rods (which we've kind of already seen, so it's not like there was a big surprise factor). We could have gotten Megatron back; we could have gotten Thunderwing again; we could have gotten the non-corrupt Primus. There is one panel when the dark Matrix entity is talking about the multiverse that we catch a glimpse of Blackarachnia from Beast Wars; Gas Skunk from Robots in Disguise (or, possibly, Stinkbomb from Beast Wars); Jetstorm from Transformers: Animated; an organic-looking lion (my first thought was a Battle Beast, but I remember the Battle Beast lion having an eyepatch); and Starscream from Transformers: Prime. Why couldn't have some of these guys jumped into our reality and fought side-by-side with our heroes? That would have been great. Instead, a whole bunch of Hot Rods. Meh.
There are so many plot points that I thought would see some sort of resolution that we just didn't get at all. No closure between Spike and Fort Max. No explanation of just which characters in this comic were still paired with Nebulans and which ones weren't (the closest we get is a Jhiaxus promise in issue #99 to kill the captive Autobots who have been "contaminated by external species innovations" but he never specifies which ones). At the same time, the dark Matrix entity just sort of waves a magic wand and says he's basically responsible for all the bad things that ever happened ever. I'm surprised he didn't make claims about manipulating Megatron, too. What's wrong with Scorponok being a creative genius without all sorts of hand-waving that basically absolves him of any responsibiltiy for his own actions? Also, I understand the legal ramifications, but it's absolutely insane to me that we actually *got* a continuation of the Marvel Comic and yet we *still* never found out what the hell happened to Circuit Breaker, arguably the largest dangling plot point that was left unresolved. I mean, they wouldn't have to *show* her. They could have alluded to it. That she died. That she was still comatose. That she got married to Thunderpunch and had little circuit-babies. I mean, something. Anything.
So much that's unsatisfying about this issue. Fort Max's throwaway demise feels like an afterthought. The Autobots basically go, "Oh, yeah, by the way, he's evil now, so we killed him." Galvatron's demise is equally unsatisfying. He's arguably the most dangerous Decepticon the Autobots have ever faced, and Ultra Magnus basically goes, "Okay, it's time to kill you now, boom, you're dead." In some ways I can rationalize this by saying that both characters were embodied by the dark Matrix entity, so their unique attributes were basically gone (Galvatron's driving mad rage; Fort Max's resolute determination) but it's still an enormous let-down that they got offed so easily. And what of Spike? Has the dark entity been manipulating him the *entire* time? Again, Spike isn't really Spike, so whatever pathos the character has endured feels basically hollow and wasted. It didn't "really" happen. Guh.
There's a text story about Ravage in the back of the issue but this comic left me so depressed that I didn't bother to read it. There's also a cover gallery, starting with the Marvel book (the core title, though; none of the crossover or mini-series covers); it astounds me that, due to the variant covers, Regeneration One has had nearly as many covers as the entire Marvel run. There are also closing thoughts by each member of the creative team; all in all it strikes me as 14 pages of filler. The comic story itself is only 32 pages long, ten more pages than usual.
Characters who bought the big one: Hosehead and Slingshot are drained by the energy leeches, apparently killed, but it's difficult to say. Tailgate, in his only Marvel Comics continuity appearance, suffers the same fate (yeah, I know he's a big player in some of the other IDW titles, but I don't deal in those) and Streetwise gets it, too. Scattershot's death at the hands of Galvatron is implied (Kup finds his weapon on the ground) but not shown. The model for Scattershot's gun was also recycled for Mindwipe's handheld weapon, so it's interesting that Kup can tell the two apart. Speaking of models, under Geoff Senior, Hardhead has finally reverted to a mostly-standard character design (with separate eyes, though, instead of goggles) and his version of Bumblebee has wheels on his shoulders (which I honestly believe is an attempt to depict this as the Pretender Classics version of the character). It's a real treat to get ten entire pages of unadulterated Geoff Senior artwork. An entire issue would have been better, but I'll take what I can get. Some of the flashback scenes are even rendered in mock four-color tones, which really hammers home the 1990's Marvel Comics feel (some of the actual colors used are disingenuous, like solid purple colors with the four-color dots inside them, but I will forgive them for not duplicating the process precisely).
I dunno. Maybe my opinion of the ending will improve with the passage of time (I'm not nearly as bothered by the ending of Beast Machines as I used to be), but for right now, I'm still bothered. This isn't the ending I expected or wanted or imagined. I kind of want my happy ending from issue #80 back.
Zob
Issue #99: The War to End All Wars (Part 4)
Synopsis: Spike Witwicky finds himself in zero space, having been captured by Fortress Maximus (or, specifically, whatever it is that's possessed Fort Max) last issue. An unseen entity explains that Spike is unique in that he is comprised of human, Nebulan, and Cybertronian constituents and as such qualifies to launch this entity's crossing into the multiverse. Whatever that means! Elsewhere within the Hub, Rodimus Prime is presented to Jhiaxus, who offers him a choice of joining him willingly, and order the clandestine Wreckers saboteur crew to stand down, or else watch as he excises captive Autobots one at a time. When Rodimus fails to comply, four Autobots are promply obliterated. Starscream, who has now revealed himself to be (surprise!) the Underbase, along with Shockwave, observe the Cybertronian search parties and make haste to obfuscate their efforts. On Earth, the human resistance movement attempts to make repairs to Optimus Prime (nearly obliterated by Fort Max last issue) and are strongly considering terminating the space bridge link to Nebulos. Meanwhile on Cybertron, the demons are shrouding themselves in some kind of protective cocoon, as if they can sense the imminent danger, while Grimlock has a gripping revelation about his time spent on planet VsQs. Also, Galvatron pops up and slaughters a bunch of generic nobodies. Speaking of generic nobodies, both Rodimus Prime and the Starscream-Shockwave duo make short work of Jhiaxus' soldiers; Starscream reveals that the Underbase is missing a chunk, and that missing chunk is the life force of Jhiaxus. With that done, the Underbase evidently disperses from Starscream's body. In a touching moment, Shockwave decides to save Starscream before the Hub is destroyed, asking himself, "Is this... emotion?" The Hub is destroyed, but Rodimus realizes something even more sinister is afoot. On Cybertron, what should emerge from the depths of Cybertron but the evil dark essence of the Matrix!
Three variant covers, as always. I feel like during the course of this comic, sometimes I got the cover I would have picked anyway, but sometimes I feel like I missed out. Cover A showcases Starscream with Underbase-detailing, rendered by Andrew Wildman. (I got this one.) Cover B features an extreme Galvatron clsoe-up by Guido Guidi. Cover RI highlights Shockwave's battle with Jhiaxus' troops, by Geoff Senior. I don't think I ended up with any of the Geoff Senior covers, and honestly I would have liked maybe one or two. Oh, well. Collecting this comic has been expensive enough; I'm not about to start hunting down issues I've already read just to get alternate covers.
There are so many one-page teasers in this issue that it's almost incomprehensible as a story. I always thought that the unspoken rule was that comics were supposed to be accessible to anybody at any time, and that any issue could theoretically serve as a jumping point into the story. Maybe that's no longer the case (and maybe it never was). I guess not too many people start reading a comic beginning with its second-to-last issue, but still. So jumbled and confusing.
So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all). One could argue that his willingness to summon all the Transformers from everywherever to fight his battle with Unicron for him was kind of self-serving, too. Shrug.
There just isn't much to say about this issue. Pretty much everything that happens is just a lead-in to next issue. Perhaps the most notable story event is the apparent death of Jhiaxus. At this point, I really have to ask: Why was he even shoehorned into a G1 story in the first place? It's so difficult for me to not see him as a G2 character, and yet we've been told to ignore the G2 continuity because it never happened. I just don't see the point of featuring him.
Autobots we can see having been captured by Jhiaxus include Ultra Magnus, Kup, Bumblebee, Prowl, and Chromedome. Others (Nightbeat, etc.) are assumed but not illustrated as such. The four Autobots exterminated by Jhiaxus are drawn somewhat indistinctly because they're in the midst of being vaporized; two are most definitely Crosshairs and Brainstorm, but the other two I'm less sure about (Gunrunner and Quickswitch, maybe). The slaughter scene with Galvatron would have been a great opportunity to play the Name That 'Bot game again, but instead we get a bunch of randomly-colored non-toy characters. Disappointing. A few Action Masters make surprise appearances on the final page--Gutcruncher, Kick-Off, Axer, and a slightly miscolored but probable Rad.
The teaser page for next issue showcases a very magenta-colored Hot Rod, with Primus sword in hand, facing off against not one, not two, but three versions of Optimus Prime--original G1 flavor, Powermaster edition, and Action Master! Oh, Furman, you so cra-ha-hazy!
Next issue!
Issue #100: The War to End All Wars (part 5)
Synopsis: It's a double-sized issue so it's a big one. Rodimus Prime and his crew arrives on Cybertron, but Blaster reports no radio communications. As they touch down, they find Iacon a dead husk of its former self, and Rodimus realizes on some level that his group was removed while Cybertron was reshaped. Without warning, multiple "shadow-leeches" emerge and their tentacles pierce the bodies of two Autobots. Blaster manages to subdue one with sonic waves long enough for Perceptor to do a more in-depth examination, revealing it to be the former Iguanus, now twisted into something else. Rodimus calls for Jetfire to retrieve the Primus sword; the Dinobots arrive on the scene, and Grimlock reveals that he is immune to the creatures, ostensibly because he played host to Primus (or, more specifically, whatever has supplanted Primus). Rodimus urges Grimlock not to destroy them, as they are former Transformers. Rodimus also reveals that when Primus gave him a glimpse of the multiverse, he subsequently did some reading and found within the Covenant of Primus a reference to the Trinity, three planets that can unlock the multiverse. With Galvatron inside Cybertron's star chamber, granting access to Earth and Nebulos, Rodimus sends Ultra Magnus to find and destroy him while Rodimus goes to confront Primus' replacement. Spike, meanwhile, continues to be tormented, now by images of the late Sparkplug Witwicky. Galvatron is sent to Nebulos to destroy it, just as he had done with a future version of Earth. Rodimus realizes that the dark Matrix entity filled the void left by Primus' death and that it attempted to manipulate him. The Autobots split up into two teams; one goes to Nebulos to stop Galvatron and the other travels to Earth. Through two pages of exposition, the dark Matrix entity (which has also been manipulating Spike) explains that it was recalled to Cybertron at the same time that Primus summoned the Transformers to fight Unicron, and that it possessed one of Unicron's acolytes. It traveled to the Primus chamber, but when the demons confronted the entity, it took control of them, scooping up Transformer victims (like poor Runabout) who had been infused with Matrix energy that had showered Cybertron in the wake of the Matrix's destruction. When Cybertron began its restructuring (which the Transformers had initially misinterpreted as the planet falling apart), the dark entity infiltrated the planet, effectively becoming one with it. It even claimed responsibility for the events that resparked the war following the lasting peace on Cybertron, as well as orchestrating Scorponok's rebirth and genetic manipulation. Seeking to grow even further and expand into the multiverse, the entity summons three Optimus Primes (G1, Powermaster, Action Master) to kill Rodimus. Rodimus responds by chucking the Covenant of Primus into the rift of zero space, creating ripples that summon multiple versions of Hot Rod from other realities. On Earth, the human resistance attacks the Autobots until Roadbuster reasons with them. Fortress Maximus tries to blast Ultra Magnus in the back but the other Autobots destroy him. On Nebulos, Ultra Magnus confronts Galvatron and destroys him. Within zero space, Rodimus manages to get through to Spike, who at long last lets go of his rage and hatred. At Optimus Prime's urging, Rodimus destroys the rift, trapping the Matrix entity in zero space forever. Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms. In an epilogue, an aged Rodimus muses how the Autobots returned, how the people of Earth and Nebulos joined together, how the Autobots left Cybertron and ventured into space on a mission of peace, how even Starscream and Shockwave found peace and befriended some egg-shaped clockwork aliens (?!), and the ancient Rodimus falls to the ground, dead, but new life emerges from his corpse in the form of... Beast Machines Botanica?!
I don't get it.
This issue has six variant covers. Cover A is by Andy Wildman and shows Rodimus facing off against the three Primes. I got this one and I like it. Cover B, by Guido Guidi, is a tribute to Marvel Comics issue #1, and is drawn in the same kind of abstract style, only with characters swapped out (we get Kup and Swoop instead of Gears and Laserbeak). Geoff Senior's Cover RI-A shows Fort Max and Galvatron, both imbued with dark Matrix energy. I guess Herb Trimpe is supposed to actually draw Cover RI-B for you, since he's credited for the blank front cover. The Sub Cover by Robert Atkins has Cobra Commander on it. I have no idea why. There's also a Convention Variant cover with Optimus fighting Rodimus. Whew.
So, issue #80 (the first ending to the G1 comic) closed with Cybertron being reborn and the Autobot returning home. This one ends on a much more bittersweet note, with Optimus dead, Rodimus dead, and Cybertron essentially being abandoned. It's not exactly a feel-good conclusion to the saga. It leaves me feeling really disturbed, actually. Some of the elements from this issue are really good, and some of them seem wasted. I like the concept of Rodimus having to fight Optimus, but the three Optimuses are sort of being manipulated like puppets, so in some ways they're not "really" Optimus. Also, the fact that at least two of them are from different realities (the Action Master is evidently the "true" optimus since that's the body he's had for the entire run of Regeneration One) so it's easy to dismiss them. I think the fight would have had a lot more pathos if this had been the real Optimus and the real Rodimus, fighting for two different and opposing ideals. Maybe Rodimus could have been blind in his faith and devotion to what he believes is Primus, while Optimus could see the false Primus' true nature. Shrug.
The promise of alternate realities could have given us so much more than a bunch of Hot Rods (which we've kind of already seen, so it's not like there was a big surprise factor). We could have gotten Megatron back; we could have gotten Thunderwing again; we could have gotten the non-corrupt Primus. There is one panel when the dark Matrix entity is talking about the multiverse that we catch a glimpse of Blackarachnia from Beast Wars; Gas Skunk from Robots in Disguise (or, possibly, Stinkbomb from Beast Wars); Jetstorm from Transformers: Animated; an organic-looking lion (my first thought was a Battle Beast, but I remember the Battle Beast lion having an eyepatch); and Starscream from Transformers: Prime. Why couldn't have some of these guys jumped into our reality and fought side-by-side with our heroes? That would have been great. Instead, a whole bunch of Hot Rods. Meh.
There are so many plot points that I thought would see some sort of resolution that we just didn't get at all. No closure between Spike and Fort Max. No explanation of just which characters in this comic were still paired with Nebulans and which ones weren't (the closest we get is a Jhiaxus promise in issue #99 to kill the captive Autobots who have been "contaminated by external species innovations" but he never specifies which ones). At the same time, the dark Matrix entity just sort of waves a magic wand and says he's basically responsible for all the bad things that ever happened ever. I'm surprised he didn't make claims about manipulating Megatron, too. What's wrong with Scorponok being a creative genius without all sorts of hand-waving that basically absolves him of any responsibiltiy for his own actions? Also, I understand the legal ramifications, but it's absolutely insane to me that we actually *got* a continuation of the Marvel Comic and yet we *still* never found out what the hell happened to Circuit Breaker, arguably the largest dangling plot point that was left unresolved. I mean, they wouldn't have to *show* her. They could have alluded to it. That she died. That she was still comatose. That she got married to Thunderpunch and had little circuit-babies. I mean, something. Anything.
So much that's unsatisfying about this issue. Fort Max's throwaway demise feels like an afterthought. The Autobots basically go, "Oh, yeah, by the way, he's evil now, so we killed him." Galvatron's demise is equally unsatisfying. He's arguably the most dangerous Decepticon the Autobots have ever faced, and Ultra Magnus basically goes, "Okay, it's time to kill you now, boom, you're dead." In some ways I can rationalize this by saying that both characters were embodied by the dark Matrix entity, so their unique attributes were basically gone (Galvatron's driving mad rage; Fort Max's resolute determination) but it's still an enormous let-down that they got offed so easily. And what of Spike? Has the dark entity been manipulating him the *entire* time? Again, Spike isn't really Spike, so whatever pathos the character has endured feels basically hollow and wasted. It didn't "really" happen. Guh.
There's a text story about Ravage in the back of the issue but this comic left me so depressed that I didn't bother to read it. There's also a cover gallery, starting with the Marvel book (the core title, though; none of the crossover or mini-series covers); it astounds me that, due to the variant covers, Regeneration One has had nearly as many covers as the entire Marvel run. There are also closing thoughts by each member of the creative team; all in all it strikes me as 14 pages of filler. The comic story itself is only 32 pages long, ten more pages than usual.
Characters who bought the big one: Hosehead and Slingshot are drained by the energy leeches, apparently killed, but it's difficult to say. Tailgate, in his only Marvel Comics continuity appearance, suffers the same fate (yeah, I know he's a big player in some of the other IDW titles, but I don't deal in those) and Streetwise gets it, too. Scattershot's death at the hands of Galvatron is implied (Kup finds his weapon on the ground) but not shown. The model for Scattershot's gun was also recycled for Mindwipe's handheld weapon, so it's interesting that Kup can tell the two apart. Speaking of models, under Geoff Senior, Hardhead has finally reverted to a mostly-standard character design (with separate eyes, though, instead of goggles) and his version of Bumblebee has wheels on his shoulders (which I honestly believe is an attempt to depict this as the Pretender Classics version of the character). It's a real treat to get ten entire pages of unadulterated Geoff Senior artwork. An entire issue would have been better, but I'll take what I can get. Some of the flashback scenes are even rendered in mock four-color tones, which really hammers home the 1990's Marvel Comics feel (some of the actual colors used are disingenuous, like solid purple colors with the four-color dots inside them, but I will forgive them for not duplicating the process precisely).
I dunno. Maybe my opinion of the ending will improve with the passage of time (I'm not nearly as bothered by the ending of Beast Machines as I used to be), but for right now, I'm still bothered. This isn't the ending I expected or wanted or imagined. I kind of want my happy ending from issue #80 back.
Zob
Zobovor
Mar 21, 2014, 9:46:34 PM3/21/14
to
On Friday, March 21, 2014 7:31:20 PM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:
<snip>
I've been studying the Marvel Comics cover gallery and it's so bizarre. They kept the Spider-Man cover and the various covers featuring Circuit Breaker intact, and yet they felt the need to edit out the various Marvel characters dancing around the border surrounding Menasor's toyetic face for issue #22.
Also, for the first time, I'm getting to see some of Andy Wildman's artwork for the reprint covers. For those who don't know, first editions of the Marvel title included the UPC bar code, but reprints typically replaced the bar code with Spider-Man's face. Near the end of the comic, though, it looks like Wildman started putting little joke illustrations in that box. #76 (with a frozen Grimlock locked up on the cover) has an oil can; issue #77 (with the unified Autobot-Decepticon insignia painted in the background) includes a paint can and paintbrush; #78 (with Megatron's reflection broken up in the mirrors behind Galvatron) shows a similar mirror-broken Galvatron face; issue #79 shows Spike's discarded Headmaster helmet. I subscribed to the comic for the last year or so of its run so I always got the barcode version. It's neat to see this stuff finally.
Zob
<snip>
I've been studying the Marvel Comics cover gallery and it's so bizarre. They kept the Spider-Man cover and the various covers featuring Circuit Breaker intact, and yet they felt the need to edit out the various Marvel characters dancing around the border surrounding Menasor's toyetic face for issue #22.
Also, for the first time, I'm getting to see some of Andy Wildman's artwork for the reprint covers. For those who don't know, first editions of the Marvel title included the UPC bar code, but reprints typically replaced the bar code with Spider-Man's face. Near the end of the comic, though, it looks like Wildman started putting little joke illustrations in that box. #76 (with a frozen Grimlock locked up on the cover) has an oil can; issue #77 (with the unified Autobot-Decepticon insignia painted in the background) includes a paint can and paintbrush; #78 (with Megatron's reflection broken up in the mirrors behind Galvatron) shows a similar mirror-broken Galvatron face; issue #79 shows Spike's discarded Headmaster helmet. I subscribed to the comic for the last year or so of its run so I always got the barcode version. It's neat to see this stuff finally.
Zob
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Mar 22, 2014, 3:01:21 AM3/22/14
to
On Friday, March 21, 2014 6:31:20 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
> Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms.
Like a vast predatory bird.
>
> Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms.
> In an epilogue, an aged Rodimus muses how the Autobots returned, how the people of Earth and Nebulos joined together, how the Autobots left Cybertron and ventured into space on a mission of peace, how even Starscream and Shockwave found peace and befriended some egg-shaped clockwork aliens (?!),
> and the ancient Rodimus falls to the ground, dead, but new life emerges from his corpse in the form of... Beast Machines Botanica?!
> I don't get it.
> So, issue #80 (the first ending to the G1 comic) closed with Cybertron being reborn and the Autobot returning home. This one ends on a much more bittersweet note, with Optimus dead, Rodimus dead, and Cybertron essentially being abandoned. It's not exactly a feel-good conclusion to the saga. It leaves me feeling really disturbed, actually.
> Also, I understand the legal ramifications, but it's absolutely insane to me that we actually *got* a continuation of the Marvel Comic and yet we *still* never found out what the hell happened to Circuit Breaker, arguably the largest dangling plot point that was left unresolved. I mean, they wouldn't have to *show* her. They could have alluded to it. That she died.
> That she was still comatose. That she got married to Thunderpunch and had little circuit-babies. I mean, something. Anything.
> So much that's unsatisfying about this issue. Fort Max's throwaway demise feels like an afterthought. The Autobots basically go, "Oh, yeah, by the way, he's evil now, so we killed him." Galvatron's demise is equally unsatisfying. He's arguably the most dangerous Decepticon the Autobots have ever faced, and Ultra Magnus basically goes, "Okay, it's time to kill you now, boom, you're dead." In some ways I can rationalize this by saying that both characters were embodied by the dark Matrix entity, so their unique attributes were basically gone (Galvatron's driving mad rage; Fort Max's resolute determination) but it's still an enormous let-down that they got offed so easily. And what of Spike? Has the dark entity been manipulating him the *entire* time? Again, Spike isn't really Spike, so whatever pathos the character has endured feels basically hollow and wasted. It didn't "really" happen. Guh.
And Fort Max fighting against the evil controlling him, giving the other Autobots a chance to kill him would also have worked.
> There's a text story about Ravage in the back of the issue but this comic left me so depressed that I didn't bother to read it.
> There's also a cover gallery, starting with the Marvel book (the core title, though; none of the crossover or mini-series covers); it astounds me that, due to the variant covers, Regeneration One has had nearly as many covers as the entire Marvel run. There are also closing thoughts by each member of the creative team; all in all it strikes me as 14 pages of filler. The comic story itself is only 32 pages long, ten more pages than usual.
> I dunno. Maybe my opinion of the ending will improve with the passage of time (I'm not nearly as bothered by the ending of Beast Machines as I used to be), but for right now, I'm still bothered. This isn't the ending I expected or wanted or imagined. I kind of want my happy ending from issue #80 back.
I'll try rereading it at some point in a batch, but I don't think it worked as a monthly periodical.
Message has been deleted
Zobovor
Mar 22, 2014, 9:16:00 PM3/22/14
to
On Saturday, March 22, 2014 1:01:21 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> I thought they might be happy Quintessons.
The thought had occurred to me as well, but I don't think that was the intention. They look fully mechanical, for starters. (Maybe the Quintessons that we're familiar with are only halfway to their goal of replacing all their organic parts, and these clockwork guys are the end result...?)
> I thought they might be happy Quintessons.
>> Beast Machines Botanica?!
>
> Because it all goes on, in an everlasting story or something.
The ending is grand and sweeping and majestic and makes so utterly little sense. It's like watching Prometheus all over again.
> Multiverses bore me. This might as well have been an Alternity comic book.
> Gosh, all those Optimuses and all those Rodimuses.
G1 OPTIMUS: Shockwave stole my head and the Creation Matrix is inside Buster's brain! Looks like Skids accidentally drove off the road, so let's leave him there to die! (drives full-speed into Rodimus)
POWERMASTER OPTIMUS: Ohhh, Ratchet! Why did you have to die? My best friend is gone, and I'm so depressed! (lethargically punches Rodimus)
ACTION MASTER OPTIMUS: We are the harbingers of peace, and we must usher in this new age... IN PEACE AND HARMONY! (kicks Rodimus in the chin)
> It felt less like an ending to G1 Marvel, and more an attempt at celebrating
> Transformers as a whole, and Simon Furman saying goodbye to the franchise.
> I assumed she was dead, and that Spike had gotten hold of her armor.
> If Ultra Magnus had sacrificed himself to kill Galvatron in a great explosion
> or something, I could have accepted it as a fitting ending.
Though, I will say that Magnus hitting Galvatron so hard that his eyeball fell off, that was suitably cool.
> And Fort Max fighting against the evil controlling him, giving the other
> Autobots a chance to kill him would also have worked.
> It's about his three bodies. And his evolution.
> It felt very rushed. I would have rather waited another month or two, if it
> meant 46 pages of story.
> ReGeneration One is the only one of them that I could not remember the
> previous issues of. It just never grabbed me.
* zombie Decepticons
* Springer's death
* Scorponok's return
* Bludgeon's death
There was so much that we didn't need, though. The Wreckers were never part of the U.S. continuity and they just didn't belong here. The story arc with the demons never really grabbed me (and we really have no idea if they survived; if they did, the Autobots essentially abandoned the dead Cybertron and let them take over) but I recognize that Furman felt it needed to be explored and resolved.
> I'll try rereading it at some point in a batch, but I don't think it worked
> as a monthly periodical.
Okay, so who wants to spearhead a movement to get Nelson Shin and Wally Burr and David Wise together to do a continuation of the G1 cartoon? :)
Zob
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Mar 23, 2014, 5:06:27 AM3/23/14
to
On Saturday, March 22, 2014 6:16:00 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
> Okay, so who wants to spearhead a movement to get Nelson Shin and Wally Burr and David Wise together to do a continuation of the G1 cartoon? :)
Well, a cartoon continuation isn't likely, but comics continuing TV shows are all the rage these days... And there's clearly a market for Transformers Nostalgia Comics.
>
> Okay, so who wants to spearhead a movement to get Nelson Shin and Wally Burr and David Wise together to do a continuation of the G1 cartoon? :)
Cappeca
Mar 24, 2014, 7:11:42 AM3/24/14
to
Em sexta-feira, 21 de março de 2014 22h31min20s UTC-3, Zobovor escreveu:
>
> I don't get it.
>
I'm so glad I stayed away from this. From the time they announced it and said we were supposed to ignore the G2 run (which was actually pretty cool), I thought "man, here we go with some fanwank nonsense a lá Dreamwave's WORLDS COLLIDE!" Though I liked Rid and MTMTE up to issues #16 (haven't read the rest) I miss the days where Transformers were "smaller", just aliens hiding in a different world, and not deciding the fate of the universe.
>
> I don't get it.
>
G.B. Blackrock
Mar 24, 2014, 11:41:36 AM3/24/14
to
Rather than respond to all of your comments directly here (most of which I agree with), I'll add my review of the series as a whole to this conversation.
http://transformingseminarian.blogspot.com/2014/03/requiem-for-misguided-effort.html
My two cents,
G.B. Blackrock
http://transformingseminarian.blogspot.com/2014/03/requiem-for-misguided-effort.html
My two cents,
G.B. Blackrock
Neo Thunder
Mar 24, 2014, 12:21:52 PM3/24/14
to
I read #100 last night... my short opinion of it is that it had some
good points to it but it also let me down. I dunno. Maybe I just
expected more from it. Maybe I built up G1 Marvel in my mind too much
but I wanted more. Issue #80 was a better ending--hell, even G2 #12 was
a better ending then this.
The various storylines in this were too self-enclosed with little build
up to them and even less aftermath and many unanswered questions. I
wanted more and better.
t.k.
good points to it but it also let me down. I dunno. Maybe I just
expected more from it. Maybe I built up G1 Marvel in my mind too much
but I wanted more. Issue #80 was a better ending--hell, even G2 #12 was
a better ending then this.
The various storylines in this were too self-enclosed with little build
up to them and even less aftermath and many unanswered questions. I
wanted more and better.
t.k.
Zobovor
Mar 24, 2014, 10:26:41 PM3/24/14
to
On Monday, March 24, 2014 9:41:36 AM UTC-6, G.B. Blackrock wrote:
> Rather than respond to all of your comments directly here (most of which I
> agree with), I'll add my review of the series as a whole to this conversation.
I just read your review and it was a well-written one. (With that said, it bugs me sometimes when people post web links in lieu of saying something on the newsgroup. Maybe I'm just sentimental about ol' ATT, but I feel like if we're going to talk about something, let's talk about it here.)
> Rather than respond to all of your comments directly here (most of which I
> agree with), I'll add my review of the series as a whole to this conversation.
(It's like when Suspsy used to only pop in here long enough to post an external link to whatever toy review he had just done. I would try to say something like "hey, in your review you said this, what did you mean by that" in an attempt to stimulate some discussion, but he would never respond. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it's similar.)
(Or, conversely, when somebody would ask a question here on the newsgroup and somebody would just respond with a wiki link. To me, that's actually kind of rude. I tend to read it as something like, "The answer to your question is on the web, why couldn't you find it there?" Maybe I'm being too sensitive. Shrug.)
(Speaking of your blog, G.B., I strongly disagree that Punch the Double Spy was intended to be transformed like Prowl. You can transform Classics Bumblebee like a midget so that he's got Throttlebot legs, but that doesn't indicate that the toy was designed with this purpose in mind!)
(Sometimes I worry about offending people so I put sentences in parentheses with the hopes that it will have less punch since it's being presented as an afterthought.)
(Did it work?)
Zob
G.B. Blackrock
Mar 25, 2014, 1:13:21 PM3/25/14
to
On Monday, March 24, 2014 7:26:41 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
> On Monday, March 24, 2014 9:41:36 AM UTC-6, G.B. Blackrock wrote:
>
>
>
> > Rather than respond to all of your comments directly here (most of which I
>
> > agree with), I'll add my review of the series as a whole to this conversation.
>
>
>
> I just read your review and it was a well-written one. (With that said, it bugs me sometimes when people post web links in lieu of saying something on the newsgroup. Maybe I'm just sentimental about ol' ATT, but I feel like if we're going to talk about something, let's talk about it here.)
>
>
>
> (It's like when Suspsy used to only pop in here long enough to post an external link to whatever toy review he had just done. I would try to say something like "hey, in your review you said this, what did you mean by that" in an attempt to stimulate some discussion, but he would never respond. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it's similar.)
>
It's a fair criticism, and I'll confess that I was too lazy to cut-and-paste stuff from there to here. That said, I *should* respond more properly if you comment over here. :)
> On Monday, March 24, 2014 9:41:36 AM UTC-6, G.B. Blackrock wrote:
>
>
>
> > Rather than respond to all of your comments directly here (most of which I
>
> > agree with), I'll add my review of the series as a whole to this conversation.
>
>
>
> I just read your review and it was a well-written one. (With that said, it bugs me sometimes when people post web links in lieu of saying something on the newsgroup. Maybe I'm just sentimental about ol' ATT, but I feel like if we're going to talk about something, let's talk about it here.)
>
>
>
> (It's like when Suspsy used to only pop in here long enough to post an external link to whatever toy review he had just done. I would try to say something like "hey, in your review you said this, what did you mean by that" in an attempt to stimulate some discussion, but he would never respond. I'm not saying you're doing that, but it's similar.)
>
>
> (Or, conversely, when somebody would ask a question here on the newsgroup and somebody would just respond with a wiki link. To me, that's actually kind of rude. I tend to read it as something like, "The answer to your question is on the web, why couldn't you find it there?" Maybe I'm being too sensitive. Shrug.)
>
>
> (Speaking of your blog, G.B., I strongly disagree that Punch the Double Spy was intended to be transformed like Prowl. You can transform Classics Bumblebee like a midget so that he's got Throttlebot legs, but that doesn't indicate that the toy was designed with this purpose in mind!)
>
Incidentally, I *did* get that information from the aforementioned TFWiki. It's still speculative, of course, but it strikes me as a very reasonable position.
>
> (Sometimes I worry about offending people so I put sentences in parentheses with the hopes that it will have less punch since it's being presented as an afterthought.)
>
>
>
> (Did it work?)
>
>
G.B. Blackrock
G.B. Blackrock
Mar 25, 2014, 1:22:00 PM3/25/14
to
On Tuesday, March 25, 2014 10:13:21 AM UTC-7, G.B. Blackrock wrote:
> On Monday, March 24, 2014 7:26:41 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
>
> > (Speaking of your blog, G.B., I strongly disagree that Punch the Double Spy was intended to be transformed like Prowl. You can transform Classics Bumblebee like a midget so that he's got Throttlebot legs, but that doesn't indicate that the toy was designed with this purpose in mind!)
>
> >
>
> Getting off-topic, obviously, but the difference with Punch isn't just that he *can* be transformed in such a way, but that he has those little nubs on his feet that don't seem to serve any purpose *unless* you transform him in that way. None of the official transformations use those nubs at all.
>
>
>
> Incidentally, I *did* get that information from the aforementioned TFWiki. It's still speculative, of course, but it strikes me as a very reasonable position.
>
Oh, I forgot! One more piece of evidence is the artwork for the original Punch/Counterpunch figure, which seems to show the alternative leg-transformation for Punch rather than the one that became official.
> On Monday, March 24, 2014 7:26:41 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
>
> > (Speaking of your blog, G.B., I strongly disagree that Punch the Double Spy was intended to be transformed like Prowl. You can transform Classics Bumblebee like a midget so that he's got Throttlebot legs, but that doesn't indicate that the toy was designed with this purpose in mind!)
>
> >
>
> Getting off-topic, obviously, but the difference with Punch isn't just that he *can* be transformed in such a way, but that he has those little nubs on his feet that don't seem to serve any purpose *unless* you transform him in that way. None of the official transformations use those nubs at all.
>
>
>
> Incidentally, I *did* get that information from the aforementioned TFWiki. It's still speculative, of course, but it strikes me as a very reasonable position.
>
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_727Z_r91zKw/TB7mZpCkaLI/AAAAAAAAFFc/-wgcHBGRP5Y/s1600/punch_-_counterpunch.jpg
Zobovor
Mar 25, 2014, 6:02:41 PM3/25/14
to
On Tuesday, March 25, 2014 11:22:00 AM UTC-6, G.B. Blackrock wrote:
> Oh, I forgot! One more piece of evidence is the artwork for the original
> Punch/Counterpunch figure, which seems to show the alternative leg-
> transformation for Punch rather than the one that became official.
Hmm, interesting. Goodness knows there are plenty of examples of toys being mistransformed for their artwork (Defensor, Motormaster, Tigerhawk, etc.) but I have to admit that's a compelling piece of evidence.
> Oh, I forgot! One more piece of evidence is the artwork for the original
> Punch/Counterpunch figure, which seems to show the alternative leg-
> transformation for Punch rather than the one that became official.
I'm glad they changed it. The midget version of Punch looks doofy.
Zob
Rodimus_2316
Apr 10, 2014, 12:03:55 AM4/10/14
to
Sorry for my late reply.
On Friday, March 21, 2014 6:31:20 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
> So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all). One could argue that his willingness to summon all the Transformers from everywherever to fight his battle with Unicron for him was kind of self-serving, too. Shrug.
I don't like the idea of Primus being evil, although, as I stated, I didn't think highly of the notion of him thinking the demons should be "purged," if he even thought that. And, in #73, I think only TFs on Earth were summoned to Cybertron, as Grimlock and the Dinobots arrived on the Ark later.
> There just isn't much to say about this issue. Pretty much everything that happens is just a lead-in to next issue. Perhaps the most notable story event is the apparent death of Jhiaxus. At this point, I really have to ask: Why was he even shoehorned into a G1 story in the first place? It's so difficult for me to not see him as a G2 character, and yet we've been told to ignore the G2 continuity because it never happened. I just don't see the point of featuring him.
I could have done without him and the nextgen TFs too. I know some TransFans liked that G2 stuff, as "the old story was getting old," so if it was necessary to have him and them in it, I'm glad they took this route. The ones in G2 were just too overly powerful for the main TFs to have dealt with.
> Autobots we can see having been captured by Jhiaxus include Ultra Magnus, Kup, Bumblebee, Prowl, and Chromedome. Others (Nightbeat, etc.) are assumed but not illustrated as such. The four Autobots exterminated by Jhiaxus are drawn somewhat indistinctly because they're in the midst of being vaporized; two are most definitely Crosshairs and Brainstorm, but the other two I'm less sure about (Gunrunner and Quickswitch, maybe). The slaughter scene with Galvatron would have been a great opportunity to play the Name That 'Bot game again, but instead we get a bunch of randomly-colored non-toy characters. Disappointing. A few Action Masters make surprise appearances on the final page--Gutcruncher, Kick-Off, Axer, and a slightly miscolored but probable Rad.
I couldn't figure who those two top vaporized Autobots were, when I read the issue, but I think your guess is right. And I'm glad only some non-toy Autobots were killed by Galvatron. Tired of seeing my favorite characters getting knocked off (Cosmos and Hound also). And I didn't catch the AMs in the last panel at first. Just thought they were more generic bots. Nice to know they're getting some appearance-time.
> Issue #100: The War to End All Wars (part 5)
>
>
> Synopsis: It's a double-sized issue so it's a big one. Rodimus Prime and his crew arrives on Cybertron, but Blaster reports no radio communications. As they touch down, they find Iacon a dead husk of its former self, and Rodimus realizes on some level that his group was removed while Cybertron was reshaped. Without warning, multiple "shadow-leeches" emerge and their tentacles pierce the bodies of two Autobots. Blaster manages to subdue one with sonic waves long enough for Perceptor to do a more in-depth examination, revealing it to be the former Iguanus, now twisted into something else. Rodimus calls for Jetfire to retrieve the Primus sword; the Dinobots arrive on the scene, and Grimlock reveals that he is immune to the creatures, ostensibly because he played host to Primus (or, more specifically, whatever has supplanted Primus). Rodimus urges Grimlock not to destroy them, as they are former Transformers. Rodimus also reveals that when Primus gave him a glimpse of the multiverse, he subsequently did some reading and found within the Covenant of Primus a reference to the Trinity, three planets that can unlock the multiverse. With Galvatron inside Cybertron's star chamber, granting access to Earth and Nebulos, Rodimus sends Ultra Magnus to find and destroy him while Rodimus goes to confront Primus' replacement. Spike, meanwhile, continues to be tormented, now by images of the late Sparkplug Witwicky. Galvatron is sent to Nebulos to destroy it, just as he had done with a future version of Earth. Rodimus realizes that the dark Matrix entity filled the void left by Primus' death and that it attempted to manipulate him. The Autobots split up into two teams; one goes to Nebulos to stop Galvatron and the other travels to Earth. Through two pages of exposition, the dark Matrix entity (which has also been manipulating Spike) explains that it was recalled to Cybertron at the same time that Primus summoned the Transformers to fight Unicron, and that it possessed one of Unicron's acolytes. It traveled to the Primus chamber, but when the demons confronted the entity, it took control of them, scooping up Transformer victims (like poor Runabout) who had been infused with Matrix energy that had showered Cybertron in the wake of the Matrix's destruction. When Cybertron began its restructuring (which the Transformers had initially misinterpreted as the planet falling apart), the dark entity infiltrated the planet, effectively becoming one with it. It even claimed responsibility for the events that resparked the war following the lasting peace on Cybertron, as well as orchestrating Scorponok's rebirth and genetic manipulation. Seeking to grow even further and expand into the multiverse, the entity summons three Optimus Primes (G1, Powermaster, Action Master) to kill Rodimus. Rodimus responds by chucking the Covenant of Primus into the rift of zero space, creating ripples that summon multiple versions of Hot Rod from other realities. On Earth, the human resistance attacks the Autobots until Roadbuster reasons with them. Fortress Maximus tries to blast Ultra Magnus in the back but the other Autobots destroy him. On Nebulos, Ultra Magnus confronts Galvatron and destroys him. Within zero space, Rodimus manages to get through to Spike, who at long last lets go of his rage and hatred. At Optimus Prime's urging, Rodimus destroys the rift, trapping the Matrix entity in zero space forever. Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms. In an epilogue, an aged Rodimus muses how the Autobots returned, how the people of Earth and Nebulos joined together, how the Autobots left Cybertron and ventured into space on a mission of peace, how even Starscream and Shockwave found peace and befriended some egg-shaped clockwork aliens (?!), and the ancient Rodimus falls to the ground, dead, but new life emerges from his corpse in the form of... Beast Machines Botanica?!
>
>
>
> I don't get it.
Yeah, why not have Rodimus use the matrix to cleanse Cybertron, and free the turned TFs? And did Fort Max really die? How does getting cut off from the multiverse cause the TFs to age? They never used it before, did they? Is this dark matrix creature just a second one; an offshoot? And could BW (and maybe BMac) still happen? And could the new being in the final panel be technorganic?
> This issue has six variant covers. Cover A is by Andy Wildman and shows Rodimus facing off against the three Primes. I got this one and I like it. Cover B, by Guido Guidi, is a tribute to Marvel Comics issue #1, and is drawn in the same kind of abstract style, only with characters swapped out (we get Kup and Swoop instead of Gears and Laserbeak). Geoff Senior's Cover RI-A shows Fort Max and Galvatron, both imbued with dark Matrix energy. I guess Herb Trimpe is supposed to actually draw Cover RI-B for you, since he's credited for the blank front cover. The Sub Cover by Robert Atkins has Cobra Commander on it. I have no idea why. There's also a Convention Variant cover with Optimus fighting Rodimus. Whew.
I got the Sub Cover (TFs and GI Joe/Cobra) this time, which is weird, as all issues I got at my LCS before (which were pulled for me ahead of time) were either Covers A or B.
> So, issue #80 (the first ending to the G1 comic) closed with Cybertron being reborn and the Autobots returning home. This one ends on a much more bittersweet note, with Optimus dead, Rodimus dead, and Cybertron essentially being abandoned. It's not exactly a feel-good conclusion to the saga. It leaves me feeling really disturbed, actually. Some of the elements from this issue are really good, and some of them seem wasted. I like the concept of Rodimus having to fight Optimus, but the three Optimuses are sort of being manipulated like puppets, so in some ways they're not "really" Optimus. Also, the fact that at least two of them are from different realities (the Action Master is evidently the "true" optimus since that's the body he's had for the entire run of Regeneration One) so it's easy to dismiss them. I think the fight would have had a lot more pathos if this had been the real Optimus and the real Rodimus, fighting for two different and opposing ideals. Maybe Rodimus could have been blind in his faith and devotion to what he believes is Primus, while Optimus could see the false Primus' true nature. Shrug.
Was RG1 Optimus ever really an Actionmaster? He looked like it in #80, then at least a different color-scheme in RG1, and could transform.
> The promise of alternate realities could have given us so much more than a bunch of Hot Rods (which we've kind of already seen, so it's not like there was a big surprise factor). We could have gotten Megatron back; we could have gotten Thunderwing again; we could have gotten the non-corrupt Primus. There is one panel when the dark Matrix entity is talking about the multiverse that we catch a glimpse of Blackarachnia from Beast Wars; Gas Skunk from Robots in Disguise (or, possibly, Stinkbomb from Beast Wars); Jetstorm from Transformers: Animated; an organic-looking lion (my first thought was a Battle Beast, but I remember the Battle Beast lion having an eyepatch); and Starscream from Transformers: Prime. Why couldn't have some of these guys jumped into our reality and fought side-by-side with our heroes? That would have been great. Instead, a whole bunch of Hot Rods. Meh.
I agree. Early on in RG1, I truly felt like the Decepticons were going to resurrect Thunderwing, instead of just using the residual matrix energy from him.
> There are so many plot points that I thought would see some sort of resolution that we just didn't get at all. No closure between Spike and Fort Max. No explanation of just which characters in this comic were still paired with Nebulans and which ones weren't (the closest we get is a Jhiaxus promise in issue #99 to kill the captive Autobots who have been "contaminated by external species innovations" but he never specifies which ones). At the same time, the dark Matrix entity just sort of waves a magic wand and says he's basically responsible for all the bad things that ever happened ever. I'm surprised he didn't make claims about manipulating Megatron, too. What's wrong with Scorponok being a creative genius without all sorts of hand-waving that basically absolves him of any responsibiltiy for his own actions? Also, I understand the legal ramifications, but it's absolutely insane to me that we actually *got* a continuation of the Marvel Comic and yet we *still* never found out what the hell happened to Circuit Breaker, arguably the largest dangling plot point that was left unresolved. I mean, they wouldn't have to *show* her. They could have alluded to it. That she died. That she was still comatose. That she got married to Thunderpunch and had little circuit-babies. I mean, something. Anything.
She was shown once in the Earth-recap, somewhat obscurely, fighting alongside Fort Max/Spike and others against Megatron's undead forces.
> Characters who bought the big one: Hosehead and Slingshot are drained by the energy leeches, apparently killed, but it's difficult to say. Tailgate, in his only Marvel Comics continuity appearance, suffers the same fate (yeah, I know he's a big player in some of the other IDW titles, but I don't deal in those) and Streetwise gets it, too. Scattershot's death at the hands of Galvatron is implied (Kup finds his weapon on the ground) but not shown. The model for Scattershot's gun was also recycled for Mindwipe's handheld weapon, so it's interesting that Kup can tell the two apart. Speaking of models, under Geoff Senior, Hardhead has finally reverted to a mostly-standard character design (with separate eyes, though, instead of goggles) and his version of Bumblebee has wheels on his shoulders (which I honestly believe is an attempt to depict this as the Pretender Classics version of the character).
Which is weird as the G1 Classic Pretenders looked like their original robot forms, in the Marvel days. Was that at request by Simon Furman?
> It's a real treat to get ten entire pages of unadulterated Geoff Senior artwork. An entire issue would have been better, but I'll take what I can get. Some of the flashback scenes are even rendered in mock four-color tones, which really hammers home the 1990's Marvel Comics feel (some of the actual colors used are disingenuous, like solid purple colors with the four-color dots inside them, but I will forgive them for not duplicating the process precisely).
Geoff Senior's art was good here, but it was a little better in Marvel G1.
> Zob
I, myself, made a post on the IDW TF forum a small while back, explaining my thoughts on #100, as well as RG1 in general:
***
I thought the final issue was alright. I would have preferred that the final issue had revealed ALL of the still-dangling mysteries, like: why Primus looked like Rodimus, if Quickmix, Scoop, Landfill, Nightbeat, Siren, Hosehead, Needlenose, Spinister, and Quake had Nebulan parters, what became of all the Nebulan partners that may have lived and weren't accounted for, and them returning to Nebulos (only saw Stylor, but maybe there were more off-panel?), how the others knew Galvatron's name, if the original Optimus Prime merged consciousnesses with PM Prime's after killing Unicron (the original Prime's mind HAD to be in the matrix, I'm thinking), and more. And I'm guessing the only TF survivors in this issue were Rodimus' team from dealing with Jhiaxus' TFs (except Hosehead, Slingshot, and Tailgate), Scattershot?, the Dinobots, Optimus and the other Autobots on Earth, the ones on Nebulos, Galvatron, Starscream, Ravage, and Shockwave? Was the dark matrix energy creature here just another offshoot from that UK story that was recapped in a U.S. one? And how did it help with Scorponok's gene-key stuff? Was that last image at the end supposed to resemble BMac's Botanica? And I'm guessing BW is out of the question in this continuity?
Overall, an ok continuation, and had me interested some, but have to say, for the most part, I was disappointed. It just didn't have the same appeal the original series did for me, as a kid, for some reason. Back in the Marvel days, it was great; great stories tell of new good (toy) characters. The series was even better when Furman took over, as he also incorporated old stuff like Unicron and the matrix (as a device instead of just "energy in Prime's head") and we saw issues usually drawn great by Andrew Wildman, then sometimes Geoff Senior, off and on. I had a subscription, and was overjoyed at getting each new issue each month in the mail, also seeing how new toys would be incorporated into the stories. Prime's PM form was my favorite, and his days, just pre-Unicron War, on the Ark in Earth orbit, fighting Scorponok's Decepticons, was my favorite era. However, while Wildman's art and Furman's story-telling in RG1 were ok, but just didn't excite me like in the Marvel run. Wildman's art here seemed somewhat sloppy, like he couldn't remember how good he drew the characters originally. Somewhat the same for Senior for #0 and #100, but not so much. Maybe part of it is that I'm more mature now? I reallyreallyreally wish Marvel hadn't cancelled the G1 comic, as sales on it weren't too bad, just low enough that Marvel didn't think it was worth continuing. I even recall the editor saying in one of the final issue's letters' page that the book could go on forever. Seeing the rest of the Actionmasters, Micromasters, and other latter-G1 toys make it to the series (although some of those WERE in RG1), including Shockwave, Starscream, and Krok getting nucleon, and things like that would have been great, alongside everything else. Earth also most-likely wouldn't have been decimated, and we could have gotten more of the human characters, including Circuit Breaker, the Neo Knights, and the rest (yes, I did like those guys, even though I know lots of fans didn't, as they were part of my first exposure to comic book "superheroes"). I DID like RG1's attention to the lost HM heads on Nebulos; that was something I felt needed to be addressed. In the Marvel run, I think it was stated that somehow both the HM minds were merged, while the original heads were just shown in storage on Nebulos, gathering cobwebs. In one of the final issues of the Marvel run, the one where Spike/Fort Max took on RoD Galvatron, Spike and FM speak to each other telepathically. As a kid, I wondered how FM's mind could reach so far like that also. Those old heads getting duplicate bodies now was awesome. And the incorporation of post-G1 concepts, like sparks, also didn't jibe with me, same as with other posters here, another reason why the Marvel run shouldn't have ended. And Rodimus Prime starts out really buffed in #0, then by #100, he's looking like Hot Rod again?! Primes should all be big like that, IMO. I didn't care for the 2nd-gen TFs from the G2 comic completely, mainly as they were too powerful/insurmountable a force for any of the originals to take on (Liege Maximo and the rest), whereas in RG1, they were "toned-down," and more stoppable, which I liked. Would have preferred them being retconned, along with all of the G2 stuff, but if they had to appear in the stories, this is how I would have liked it. I also liked how UK G1 stuff was incorporated, that would actually fit within the U.S. one here. It was never said that the Ark's computer couldn't have been really called "Auntie," and it was never ruled out that Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers couldn't also exist there too. As I recall, a lot of them died in Time Wars, which sucked because I liked them, but they could be here now. Megatron getting killed off was awesome, but would have preferred Ratchet saved somehow, and freed from the mind-link. He was one of my favorites from the Marvel days, as both Budansky and Furman did a lot with the character. And wasn't it stated somewhere that this continuity is the origin-point/nexus/whatever of them all, or something like that, even though there was also the G1 cartoon? If I had to choose my favorite G1 comic continuation, this would still be #1, with G2 #2, ATaP #3, and Classicsverse #4.
***
- Rodimus_2316
On Friday, March 21, 2014 6:31:20 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
> Issue #99: The War to End All Wars (Part 4)
>
>
> Three variant covers, as always. I feel like during the course of this comic, sometimes I got the cover I would have picked anyway, but sometimes I feel like I missed out. Cover A showcases Starscream with Underbase-detailing, rendered by Andrew Wildman. (I got this one.) Cover B features an extreme Galvatron clsoe-up by Guido Guidi. Cover RI highlights Shockwave's battle with Jhiaxus' troops, by Geoff Senior. I don't think I ended up with any of the Geoff Senior covers, and honestly I would have liked maybe one or two. Oh, well. Collecting this comic has been expensive enough; I'm not about to start hunting down issues I've already read just to get alternate covers.
I received Cover A myself. And I feel the same way. I wish I could have gotten at least one of the Geoff Senior covers.
> So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all). One could argue that his willingness to summon all the Transformers from everywherever to fight his battle with Unicron for him was kind of self-serving, too. Shrug.
> There just isn't much to say about this issue. Pretty much everything that happens is just a lead-in to next issue. Perhaps the most notable story event is the apparent death of Jhiaxus. At this point, I really have to ask: Why was he even shoehorned into a G1 story in the first place? It's so difficult for me to not see him as a G2 character, and yet we've been told to ignore the G2 continuity because it never happened. I just don't see the point of featuring him.
> Autobots we can see having been captured by Jhiaxus include Ultra Magnus, Kup, Bumblebee, Prowl, and Chromedome. Others (Nightbeat, etc.) are assumed but not illustrated as such. The four Autobots exterminated by Jhiaxus are drawn somewhat indistinctly because they're in the midst of being vaporized; two are most definitely Crosshairs and Brainstorm, but the other two I'm less sure about (Gunrunner and Quickswitch, maybe). The slaughter scene with Galvatron would have been a great opportunity to play the Name That 'Bot game again, but instead we get a bunch of randomly-colored non-toy characters. Disappointing. A few Action Masters make surprise appearances on the final page--Gutcruncher, Kick-Off, Axer, and a slightly miscolored but probable Rad.
> Issue #100: The War to End All Wars (part 5)
>
>
> Synopsis: It's a double-sized issue so it's a big one. Rodimus Prime and his crew arrives on Cybertron, but Blaster reports no radio communications. As they touch down, they find Iacon a dead husk of its former self, and Rodimus realizes on some level that his group was removed while Cybertron was reshaped. Without warning, multiple "shadow-leeches" emerge and their tentacles pierce the bodies of two Autobots. Blaster manages to subdue one with sonic waves long enough for Perceptor to do a more in-depth examination, revealing it to be the former Iguanus, now twisted into something else. Rodimus calls for Jetfire to retrieve the Primus sword; the Dinobots arrive on the scene, and Grimlock reveals that he is immune to the creatures, ostensibly because he played host to Primus (or, more specifically, whatever has supplanted Primus). Rodimus urges Grimlock not to destroy them, as they are former Transformers. Rodimus also reveals that when Primus gave him a glimpse of the multiverse, he subsequently did some reading and found within the Covenant of Primus a reference to the Trinity, three planets that can unlock the multiverse. With Galvatron inside Cybertron's star chamber, granting access to Earth and Nebulos, Rodimus sends Ultra Magnus to find and destroy him while Rodimus goes to confront Primus' replacement. Spike, meanwhile, continues to be tormented, now by images of the late Sparkplug Witwicky. Galvatron is sent to Nebulos to destroy it, just as he had done with a future version of Earth. Rodimus realizes that the dark Matrix entity filled the void left by Primus' death and that it attempted to manipulate him. The Autobots split up into two teams; one goes to Nebulos to stop Galvatron and the other travels to Earth. Through two pages of exposition, the dark Matrix entity (which has also been manipulating Spike) explains that it was recalled to Cybertron at the same time that Primus summoned the Transformers to fight Unicron, and that it possessed one of Unicron's acolytes. It traveled to the Primus chamber, but when the demons confronted the entity, it took control of them, scooping up Transformer victims (like poor Runabout) who had been infused with Matrix energy that had showered Cybertron in the wake of the Matrix's destruction. When Cybertron began its restructuring (which the Transformers had initially misinterpreted as the planet falling apart), the dark entity infiltrated the planet, effectively becoming one with it. It even claimed responsibility for the events that resparked the war following the lasting peace on Cybertron, as well as orchestrating Scorponok's rebirth and genetic manipulation. Seeking to grow even further and expand into the multiverse, the entity summons three Optimus Primes (G1, Powermaster, Action Master) to kill Rodimus. Rodimus responds by chucking the Covenant of Primus into the rift of zero space, creating ripples that summon multiple versions of Hot Rod from other realities. On Earth, the human resistance attacks the Autobots until Roadbuster reasons with them. Fortress Maximus tries to blast Ultra Magnus in the back but the other Autobots destroy him. On Nebulos, Ultra Magnus confronts Galvatron and destroys him. Within zero space, Rodimus manages to get through to Spike, who at long last lets go of his rage and hatred. At Optimus Prime's urging, Rodimus destroys the rift, trapping the Matrix entity in zero space forever. Optimus dies in Rodimus Prime's arms. In an epilogue, an aged Rodimus muses how the Autobots returned, how the people of Earth and Nebulos joined together, how the Autobots left Cybertron and ventured into space on a mission of peace, how even Starscream and Shockwave found peace and befriended some egg-shaped clockwork aliens (?!), and the ancient Rodimus falls to the ground, dead, but new life emerges from his corpse in the form of... Beast Machines Botanica?!
>
>
>
> I don't get it.
> This issue has six variant covers. Cover A is by Andy Wildman and shows Rodimus facing off against the three Primes. I got this one and I like it. Cover B, by Guido Guidi, is a tribute to Marvel Comics issue #1, and is drawn in the same kind of abstract style, only with characters swapped out (we get Kup and Swoop instead of Gears and Laserbeak). Geoff Senior's Cover RI-A shows Fort Max and Galvatron, both imbued with dark Matrix energy. I guess Herb Trimpe is supposed to actually draw Cover RI-B for you, since he's credited for the blank front cover. The Sub Cover by Robert Atkins has Cobra Commander on it. I have no idea why. There's also a Convention Variant cover with Optimus fighting Rodimus. Whew.
> So, issue #80 (the first ending to the G1 comic) closed with Cybertron being reborn and the Autobots returning home. This one ends on a much more bittersweet note, with Optimus dead, Rodimus dead, and Cybertron essentially being abandoned. It's not exactly a feel-good conclusion to the saga. It leaves me feeling really disturbed, actually. Some of the elements from this issue are really good, and some of them seem wasted. I like the concept of Rodimus having to fight Optimus, but the three Optimuses are sort of being manipulated like puppets, so in some ways they're not "really" Optimus. Also, the fact that at least two of them are from different realities (the Action Master is evidently the "true" optimus since that's the body he's had for the entire run of Regeneration One) so it's easy to dismiss them. I think the fight would have had a lot more pathos if this had been the real Optimus and the real Rodimus, fighting for two different and opposing ideals. Maybe Rodimus could have been blind in his faith and devotion to what he believes is Primus, while Optimus could see the false Primus' true nature. Shrug.
Was RG1 Optimus ever really an Actionmaster? He looked like it in #80, then at least a different color-scheme in RG1, and could transform.
> The promise of alternate realities could have given us so much more than a bunch of Hot Rods (which we've kind of already seen, so it's not like there was a big surprise factor). We could have gotten Megatron back; we could have gotten Thunderwing again; we could have gotten the non-corrupt Primus. There is one panel when the dark Matrix entity is talking about the multiverse that we catch a glimpse of Blackarachnia from Beast Wars; Gas Skunk from Robots in Disguise (or, possibly, Stinkbomb from Beast Wars); Jetstorm from Transformers: Animated; an organic-looking lion (my first thought was a Battle Beast, but I remember the Battle Beast lion having an eyepatch); and Starscream from Transformers: Prime. Why couldn't have some of these guys jumped into our reality and fought side-by-side with our heroes? That would have been great. Instead, a whole bunch of Hot Rods. Meh.
> There are so many plot points that I thought would see some sort of resolution that we just didn't get at all. No closure between Spike and Fort Max. No explanation of just which characters in this comic were still paired with Nebulans and which ones weren't (the closest we get is a Jhiaxus promise in issue #99 to kill the captive Autobots who have been "contaminated by external species innovations" but he never specifies which ones). At the same time, the dark Matrix entity just sort of waves a magic wand and says he's basically responsible for all the bad things that ever happened ever. I'm surprised he didn't make claims about manipulating Megatron, too. What's wrong with Scorponok being a creative genius without all sorts of hand-waving that basically absolves him of any responsibiltiy for his own actions? Also, I understand the legal ramifications, but it's absolutely insane to me that we actually *got* a continuation of the Marvel Comic and yet we *still* never found out what the hell happened to Circuit Breaker, arguably the largest dangling plot point that was left unresolved. I mean, they wouldn't have to *show* her. They could have alluded to it. That she died. That she was still comatose. That she got married to Thunderpunch and had little circuit-babies. I mean, something. Anything.
> Characters who bought the big one: Hosehead and Slingshot are drained by the energy leeches, apparently killed, but it's difficult to say. Tailgate, in his only Marvel Comics continuity appearance, suffers the same fate (yeah, I know he's a big player in some of the other IDW titles, but I don't deal in those) and Streetwise gets it, too. Scattershot's death at the hands of Galvatron is implied (Kup finds his weapon on the ground) but not shown. The model for Scattershot's gun was also recycled for Mindwipe's handheld weapon, so it's interesting that Kup can tell the two apart. Speaking of models, under Geoff Senior, Hardhead has finally reverted to a mostly-standard character design (with separate eyes, though, instead of goggles) and his version of Bumblebee has wheels on his shoulders (which I honestly believe is an attempt to depict this as the Pretender Classics version of the character).
> It's a real treat to get ten entire pages of unadulterated Geoff Senior artwork. An entire issue would have been better, but I'll take what I can get. Some of the flashback scenes are even rendered in mock four-color tones, which really hammers home the 1990's Marvel Comics feel (some of the actual colors used are disingenuous, like solid purple colors with the four-color dots inside them, but I will forgive them for not duplicating the process precisely).
> Zob
I, myself, made a post on the IDW TF forum a small while back, explaining my thoughts on #100, as well as RG1 in general:
***
I thought the final issue was alright. I would have preferred that the final issue had revealed ALL of the still-dangling mysteries, like: why Primus looked like Rodimus, if Quickmix, Scoop, Landfill, Nightbeat, Siren, Hosehead, Needlenose, Spinister, and Quake had Nebulan parters, what became of all the Nebulan partners that may have lived and weren't accounted for, and them returning to Nebulos (only saw Stylor, but maybe there were more off-panel?), how the others knew Galvatron's name, if the original Optimus Prime merged consciousnesses with PM Prime's after killing Unicron (the original Prime's mind HAD to be in the matrix, I'm thinking), and more. And I'm guessing the only TF survivors in this issue were Rodimus' team from dealing with Jhiaxus' TFs (except Hosehead, Slingshot, and Tailgate), Scattershot?, the Dinobots, Optimus and the other Autobots on Earth, the ones on Nebulos, Galvatron, Starscream, Ravage, and Shockwave? Was the dark matrix energy creature here just another offshoot from that UK story that was recapped in a U.S. one? And how did it help with Scorponok's gene-key stuff? Was that last image at the end supposed to resemble BMac's Botanica? And I'm guessing BW is out of the question in this continuity?
Overall, an ok continuation, and had me interested some, but have to say, for the most part, I was disappointed. It just didn't have the same appeal the original series did for me, as a kid, for some reason. Back in the Marvel days, it was great; great stories tell of new good (toy) characters. The series was even better when Furman took over, as he also incorporated old stuff like Unicron and the matrix (as a device instead of just "energy in Prime's head") and we saw issues usually drawn great by Andrew Wildman, then sometimes Geoff Senior, off and on. I had a subscription, and was overjoyed at getting each new issue each month in the mail, also seeing how new toys would be incorporated into the stories. Prime's PM form was my favorite, and his days, just pre-Unicron War, on the Ark in Earth orbit, fighting Scorponok's Decepticons, was my favorite era. However, while Wildman's art and Furman's story-telling in RG1 were ok, but just didn't excite me like in the Marvel run. Wildman's art here seemed somewhat sloppy, like he couldn't remember how good he drew the characters originally. Somewhat the same for Senior for #0 and #100, but not so much. Maybe part of it is that I'm more mature now? I reallyreallyreally wish Marvel hadn't cancelled the G1 comic, as sales on it weren't too bad, just low enough that Marvel didn't think it was worth continuing. I even recall the editor saying in one of the final issue's letters' page that the book could go on forever. Seeing the rest of the Actionmasters, Micromasters, and other latter-G1 toys make it to the series (although some of those WERE in RG1), including Shockwave, Starscream, and Krok getting nucleon, and things like that would have been great, alongside everything else. Earth also most-likely wouldn't have been decimated, and we could have gotten more of the human characters, including Circuit Breaker, the Neo Knights, and the rest (yes, I did like those guys, even though I know lots of fans didn't, as they were part of my first exposure to comic book "superheroes"). I DID like RG1's attention to the lost HM heads on Nebulos; that was something I felt needed to be addressed. In the Marvel run, I think it was stated that somehow both the HM minds were merged, while the original heads were just shown in storage on Nebulos, gathering cobwebs. In one of the final issues of the Marvel run, the one where Spike/Fort Max took on RoD Galvatron, Spike and FM speak to each other telepathically. As a kid, I wondered how FM's mind could reach so far like that also. Those old heads getting duplicate bodies now was awesome. And the incorporation of post-G1 concepts, like sparks, also didn't jibe with me, same as with other posters here, another reason why the Marvel run shouldn't have ended. And Rodimus Prime starts out really buffed in #0, then by #100, he's looking like Hot Rod again?! Primes should all be big like that, IMO. I didn't care for the 2nd-gen TFs from the G2 comic completely, mainly as they were too powerful/insurmountable a force for any of the originals to take on (Liege Maximo and the rest), whereas in RG1, they were "toned-down," and more stoppable, which I liked. Would have preferred them being retconned, along with all of the G2 stuff, but if they had to appear in the stories, this is how I would have liked it. I also liked how UK G1 stuff was incorporated, that would actually fit within the U.S. one here. It was never said that the Ark's computer couldn't have been really called "Auntie," and it was never ruled out that Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers couldn't also exist there too. As I recall, a lot of them died in Time Wars, which sucked because I liked them, but they could be here now. Megatron getting killed off was awesome, but would have preferred Ratchet saved somehow, and freed from the mind-link. He was one of my favorites from the Marvel days, as both Budansky and Furman did a lot with the character. And wasn't it stated somewhere that this continuity is the origin-point/nexus/whatever of them all, or something like that, even though there was also the G1 cartoon? If I had to choose my favorite G1 comic continuation, this would still be #1, with G2 #2, ATaP #3, and Classicsverse #4.
***
- Rodimus_2316
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Apr 10, 2014, 1:51:01 AM4/10/14
to
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014 9:03:55 PM UTC-7, Rodimus_2316 wrote:
> Sorry for my late reply.
>
> On Friday, March 21, 2014 6:31:20 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
> > Issue #99: The War to End All Wars (Part 4)
>
> >
>
> > Three variant covers, as always. I feel like during the course of this comic, sometimes I got the cover I would have picked anyway, but sometimes I feel like I missed out. Cover A showcases Starscream with Underbase-detailing, rendered by Andrew Wildman. (I got this one.) Cover B features an extreme Galvatron clsoe-up by Guido Guidi. Cover RI highlights Shockwave's battle with Jhiaxus' troops, by Geoff Senior. I don't think I ended up with any of the Geoff Senior covers, and honestly I would have liked maybe one or two. Oh, well. Collecting this comic has been expensive enough; I'm not about to start hunting down issues I've already read just to get alternate covers.
>
>
>
> I received Cover A myself. And I feel the same way. I wish I could have gotten at least one of the Geoff Senior covers.
>
>
>
> > So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all).
The Judeo-Christian God did the same thing with the Flood, didn't he?
> Sorry for my late reply.
>
> On Friday, March 21, 2014 6:31:20 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
>
> > Issue #99: The War to End All Wars (Part 4)
>
> >
>
> > Three variant covers, as always. I feel like during the course of this comic, sometimes I got the cover I would have picked anyway, but sometimes I feel like I missed out. Cover A showcases Starscream with Underbase-detailing, rendered by Andrew Wildman. (I got this one.) Cover B features an extreme Galvatron clsoe-up by Guido Guidi. Cover RI highlights Shockwave's battle with Jhiaxus' troops, by Geoff Senior. I don't think I ended up with any of the Geoff Senior covers, and honestly I would have liked maybe one or two. Oh, well. Collecting this comic has been expensive enough; I'm not about to start hunting down issues I've already read just to get alternate covers.
>
>
>
> I received Cover A myself. And I feel the same way. I wish I could have gotten at least one of the Geoff Senior covers.
>
>
>
> > So, it's strongly implied that Primus himself has got something to do with Fort Max's bizarre face-heel turn, since the head of Primus is featured in the last panel of the sequence in which Spike is conversing with some unseen entity with Transformer speech balloons. The idea that Primus is not benign and is in fact some kind of dark god is fascinating and unexpected, though I guess in retrospect there have been little hints about it here and there (like Primus trying to exterminate the entire race of demons just because he changed his mind and decided he didn't like 'em after all).
> One could argue that his willingness to summon all the Transformers from everywherever to fight his battle with Unicron for him was kind of self-serving, too. Shrug.
>
> I don't like the idea of Primus being evil, although, as I stated, I didn't think highly of the notion of him thinking the demons should be "purged," if he even thought that. And, in #73, I think only TFs on Earth were summoned to Cybertron, as Grimlock and the Dinobots arrived on the Ark later.
> > There just isn't much to say about this issue. Pretty much everything that happens is just a lead-in to next issue. Perhaps the most notable story event is the apparent death of Jhiaxus. At this point, I really have to ask: Why was he even shoehorned into a G1 story in the first place? It's so difficult for me to not see him as a G2 character, and yet we've been told to ignore the G2 continuity because it never happened. I just don't see the point of featuring him.
>
> I could have done without him and the nextgen TFs too. I know some TransFans liked that G2 stuff, as "the old story was getting old," so if it was necessary to have him and them in it, I'm glad they took this route. The ones in G2 were just too overly powerful for the main TFs to have dealt with.
Wedging parts of it into the G1 comic just ended up with a weaker, less interesting retelling of it as a subplot.
> > Issue #100: The War to End All Wars (part 5)
> > I don't get it.
> Yeah, why not have Rodimus use the matrix to cleanse Cybertron, and free the turned TFs? And did Fort Max really die? How does getting cut off from the multiverse cause the TFs to age? They never used it before, did they?
Kup was certainly old. I thought the ending of ReGeneration One was meant to be so far in the future that Rodimus was as old as Kup is now.
> Yeah, why not have Rodimus use the matrix to cleanse Cybertron, and free the turned TFs? And did Fort Max really die? How does getting cut off from the multiverse cause the TFs to age? They never used it before, did they?
> > The promise of alternate realities could have given us so much more than a bunch of Hot Rods (which we've kind of already seen, so it's not like there was a big surprise factor). We could have gotten Megatron back; we could have gotten Thunderwing again; we could have gotten the non-corrupt Primus. There is one panel when the dark Matrix entity is talking about the multiverse that we catch a glimpse of Blackarachnia from Beast Wars; Gas Skunk from Robots in Disguise (or, possibly, Stinkbomb from Beast Wars); Jetstorm from Transformers: Animated; an organic-looking lion (my first thought was a Battle Beast, but I remember the Battle Beast lion having an eyepatch); and Starscream from Transformers: Prime. Why couldn't have some of these guys jumped into our reality and fought side-by-side with our heroes? That would have been great. Instead, a whole bunch of Hot Rods. Meh.
>
> I agree.
Use the multiverse as something more than just a place to get extra Hot Rods.
Shin Hibiki
Apr 11, 2014, 12:36:32 AM4/11/14
to
Rodimus_2316 <rodim...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I got the Sub Cover (TFs and GI Joe/Cobra) this time, which is weird, as all issues I got at my LCS before (which were pulled for me ahead of time) were either Covers A or B.
That's because only issue #100 had a subscription cover. On a
>I got the Sub Cover (TFs and GI Joe/Cobra) this time, which is weird, as all issues I got at my LCS before (which were pulled for me ahead of time) were either Covers A or B.
related note, I got a copy of the Real American Hero #200 sub cover
from eBay since it forms a combined image. I don't read Joe, but in
flipping through the issue, I kinda had the sense that Hama is having
more fun playing in his world after all these years than Furman was
having in his.
- Shin Hibiki
----
The race ain't over yet, baby
It's only just begun
They thought they had it won, baby
But soon we'll have 'em on the run
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