Transformers: More than Meets the Eye season two discussion

[inflatable dalek]

Ohhhhh... maybe it's Ratchet working with Whirl and the others to get Megatron killed?




[If I guess every character, sooner or later I will be right!]

Speaking of baseless speculation, who do we think released the Decepticon prisoners? And gave Atomiser the fake list?

[inflatable dalek]

Actually, thinking about it, this is probably a Murder on the Orient Express situation where everyone except Magnus (who is Poirot of course, he's even got the OCD...) in on trying to trick Megatron into acting in such a way they can kill him without breaking any sort of space law.

[Unicron]

search for robot heaven with Zapp Brannigan and the reformed Space Hitler

And we now have the official tagline for this season

[zigzagger]

Ohhhhh... maybe it's Ratchet working with Whirl and the others to get Megatron killed?

Being frank as he is, it's hard for me to picture Ratchet as the cloak and dagger type. Would add an interesting new layer to the character, though.

See, the problem with speculating who'd be out to provoke and/or kill Megatron is, well, just about everyone on board is a likely suspect, having warred with the guy for 4 million odd years.

And we now have the official tagline for this season

Hey, it works for me. It keeps me coming back every month.

[inflatable dalek]

Being frank as he is, it's hard for me to picture Ratchet as the cloak and dagger type. Would add an interesting new layer to the character, though.

Don't forget that IDW Ratchet was first introduced as a rule breaker acting out on his own against orders because he thought he was making the morally right choice. Could well happen again.

Strangely, I think pre-Remain in Light Magnus would go along with Megatron better than post-revealing who he truly is and him becoming comfortable enough with not being a law enforcer to pass it onto Fort Max.

That does slighltly worry me as something that might get lost now Megatron is basicaly sharing the most important position on the ship with Rodimus- What is the role of Magnus now and what follow up will we get to the moments in Dark Cybertron of him adjusting to not being the rigid enforcer of the Tyrest Accord any more?

I suppose there is one big weakness in the set up of how Megatron ends up on the ship... It depends on Cybertronian law being so rigid that no one can just go "That's an ancient and silly law we just don't follow anymore" (technically you can expect six months in prison in the UK if you kill a swan and you're not the Queen, has that ever, ever been enforced?), and it also comes right after the revelation Tyrest was regularly and insanely changing the Cybertronian statue book on mad whims without Ultra Magnus or any other followers of the law seeming to find it odd.

Plus, after the Tyrest revelations, shouldn't the entire legal system have been reconsidered from top to bottom before any new trials took place?

[zigzagger]

I suppose there is one big weakness in the set up of how Megatron ends up on the ship... It depends on Cybertronian law being so rigid that no one can just go "That's an ancient and silly law we just don't follow anymore" (technically you can expect six months in prison in the UK if you kill a swan and you're not the Queen, has that ever, ever been enforced?), and it also comes right after the revelation Tyrest was regularly and insanely changing the Cybertronian statue book on mad whims without Ultra Magnus or any other followers of the law seeming to find it odd.

It's a doozy alright. Never mind that none of the Knights are present]Plus, after the Tyrest revelations, shouldn't the entire legal system have been reconsidered from top to bottom before any new trials took place?[/quote]Uh, maybe it's just the newer stuff Tyrest enacted that's been reconsidered...?

Tyrest losing his mind was a relatively recent thing wasn't it?

[Knightdramon]

I think the *reasonable* aka not forced explanation by hasbro of why Megatron is on the ship is because Prime wanted a counter-balance to Rodimus.

Magnus does not appear so hot on taking command of the ship for the entirety of the quest [as evidenced on how uneasy he felt on DC], and Optimus clearly has lost some faith/trust in Rodimus with the whole Overlord and vote thing later on.

I suppose Prime feels that Megatron, with his new outlook and firm commanding abilities will complement Rodimus with his gung-ho persona and unchecked egoism.

Though I struggle to make sense of why he'd put these two in a command position of a ship with such an important mission; more than half the crew does not trust Rodimus anymore, and nearly nobody trusts or wants Megatron anyway.

[Rack 'n Ruin]

My thoughts:

Thunderclash is said to have disappeared. Could the Vis Vitalis have suffered the same fate as the Lost Light, but perhaps without the chance to abandon ship? I'm guessing we are looking at the ship/s slipping into some parallel dimension (or similar) rather than being lost forever. Could Thunderclash already be in Cyberutopia?

Secondly, Whirl was confined to quarters. His avatar was in Swerve's when the ship started to vanish, but I haven't spotted him after that. While I expect the "real" Whirl did have freedom of movement, could it be possible he was left locked in his room during the frantic scramble for the exits? Could Mr. Unvincible have gone to the same place as the Lost Light? If so, it could be interesting to see if his avatar still exists in the escape pod, and if he can then communicate between the dimensions.

This is all pure speculation, but then that is what MTMTE tends to lead us to. So many mysteries, so many mysteries.

For my part, I'm not entirely convinced my Megatron being given a command position. It seems unrealistic, even in a comic about giant transforming robots from an alien world. A non-executive role as an advisor, mission strategist, or similar could've worked. There could still have been tension between him and Rodimus as Roddy would surely feel undermined just by Megatron's presence on the ship, regardless of his title/rank.

Not yet getting the feels for S2. Riptide is meh, Nautica is OK, and Nightbeat is good. Hoping for some development on the First Aid thing. Could he become Nightbeat's Watson? Also confused on why Ratchet is still there much as I love him (and I do). Everything feels too compressed and "bitty" to really enjoy at the moment. I'm hoping for some decompression soon (though not quite RID levels of decompression, hopefully!).

[zigzagger]

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #31 three-page preview by way of iTunes.

[Denyer]

Presumably shanix are non-replicatable currency akin to latinum then.

Which doesn't explain why Autobots don't leverage that resource more in wartime...

[Unicron]

Presumably shanix are non-replicatable currency akin to latinum then.

Which doesn't explain why Autobots don't leverage that resource more in wartime...

Well, they did pay Black Shadow half a billion to destroy a bunch of war worlds, so I'd say they were put to some use

[zigzagger]

"Don't make me put my foot down" -- Am I reading too much into this, or is that a callback to Pipes' death?

Damn, Roberts, that's cold.

....But, also kind of funny. In a darkly humorous way.

[Death's Head]

Presumably shanix are non-replicatable currency akin to latinum then.

Which doesn't explain why Autobots don't leverage that resource more in wartime...

I'd say more like bitcoin, with a block-chain to prevent fraud, rather than a physical currency.

This is surely James's next step, after giving us believable Cybertronian culture, biology and history - their economy!

[Terome]

Have had a chance to read this properly now. There's a lot going on, maybe a bit too much, but there's some very entertaining stuff in there.

I'm quite satisfied with the installment of Megatron - it really comes down to Prime wanting it to happen. He's put in contingencies because he doesn't completely trust him but I can buy that Prime would send him off on a custom-made redemption quest. The idea of seeking the Knights for judgement is a good one too, especially as Megatron seems to be at least toying with the idea that he's going to conquer those fools and nab their planet.

The punchline that Rodimus had been sulking the whole time was a good one. The scene with him and the corpse is very, very Red Dwarf but it's not the first time and won't be the last.

Digging the Swerve summary pages. They get the tone just right like the TFUK letter pages at their best.

Of the current mysteries I reckon the Atomiser / list thread is the best one. It's simple and plays to the characters and looks like it could be unpicked if one was clever enough. The disappearing ship and the coffin are just too technobabbly to get their hooks into me, though they are both solid Golden Age SF plots.

Plus, after the Tyrest revelations, shouldn't the entire legal system have been reconsidered from top to bottom before any new trials took place?
Uh, maybe it's just the newer stuff Tyrest enacted that's been reconsidered...?

Tyrest losing his mind was a relatively recent thing wasn't it?

It's a bit unclear just how much of the law it was that Tyrest was in charge of. The Tyrest Accord is said to be an appendix to the Autobot Code and also contain all the rules and engagement for the war. Was Tyrest editing the whole Autobot Code or what? And surely this particular law would pre-date the Autobot Code. Makes sense for there to several levels of law seeing how old the society is.

While Megatron's renunciation is an affecting scene, it is kind of nice to see Prime get an actual, unambiguous victory for once. He got Megatron to tell all Decepticons to stand down. That's impressive.

Could Thunderclash already be in Cyberutopia?

I'm willing to bet money on Thunderclash having been to Cyberutopia and back by the time Megatron finds it.

[Denyer]

Would be good to see something. The subject's tended to be a gaping void -- although so has Cybertronian culture in most forms -- unless a writer fancies a quick mercenary pay-off type storyline.

[Death's Head]

Yeah, my bitcoin theory falls down when you recall the large case of gold dubloons coins that Rodimus offered Death's Head in Headhunt...

[Auntie Slag]

A shallow comment; but I was slightly miffed that the cover image (the ships hurriedly leaving the Lost Light), was pretty much the final page of the issue.

I bought this comic thinking that's where we'd start from. Not that there was anything wrong with the actual content, but I was really itching to see what would happen after the escape, and now I've got to wait another month.

As others have said, these issues are dense, and one's that i'll happily read again and again like Shadowplay or Delphi. The 'World Shut Your Mouth' story must be the densest MTMTE storyline so far. So much so that it feels like its trying to squeeze too much in, but I'd rather that than too little. However, as a result the Getaway/Tailgate banter pops up seemingly out of nowhere and ends just as abruptly (in their final panel Cyclonus is grasping his sword, as if ready to do something).

I'm REALLY intrigued by Megatron's nauseous reaction to Chomedome's interfacing.

I still don't understand the revelance of Riptide and Nautica being in the book. Are they new robots with toys on the market? There must be some mandate forcing Roberts to use them, otherwise their lines could go to actual Autobots...

And how dodgy is Atomizer, eh? Eh?

Megatron must wonder how the hell they lost to this lot!

[Death's Head]

Cyclonus is graspiing his sword

Fnar!

[Auntie Slag]

Cyclonus was molested by a famous entertainer, you know. Otherwise he'd be a pure-as-snow Autobot.

Forgot to say I also appreciate that the Season 1 characters haven't really faded into the background so much. Ratchet and Chromedome are still getting significant screen time. Skids is kinda there and because Swerve is acting like an arse at the moment its no great shakes not having him around... Bluestreak is filling his position more or less. So at least the last three issues haven't been a total departure from the robots we're used to, which is nice.

I thought for a moment we'd just get a wholly different set, like in Shadowplay where Rewind would go to different groups of Autobots to get them to tell stories to revive Rung... Season 2: Cue Siren and co. So yeah, nice to see them mixing in rather than sharp focus on a whole new set.

[Knightdramon]

I still don't understand the revelance of Riptide and Nautica being in the book. Are they new robots with toys on the market? There must be some mandate forcing Roberts to use them, otherwise their lines could go to actual Autobots...

Riptide and Nautica are there for flavour. And they can get toys later on, no worries [I'm thinking Nautica is a windblade remould--general robot shape is the same, already has turbines on her "wings" etc]. Same arguement could easily be made for -ANY- non 1st tier character in season 1, and it all went well.

Am I the only one that finds that the issue "descriptions" [the ones we got months ago] do not match the issues at all? Or in some cases, even the damn covers?

Last issue was more or less pitched as a "Tailgate stands up to Megatron" solicitation...which never happened.

This issue it seemed a bit less "completely out of context", but still...weird.