Transformers: More than Meets the Eye season two discussion

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Shrapnel
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Post by Shrapnel »

Red Dave Prime wrote:Kinda hope at some point starscream puts prime on trial.
Well, on this front, my main question mark in the "show" of Megatron's trial is as to whether his senior command would also come under scrutiny. And whether the likes of Soundwave and, yea, Starscream should stand trial also, it's not like Starscream only ever committed atrocity under orders (Quite how no one has thought to maybe check up on what Galvatron and co are up to in these six months is beyond me).

I suspect that Megatron has been turfed off into the Lost Light under some pretense of a judgement ruling of "exile", getting him very much out of the way (and out of the public eye), and no doubt sending him on a top secret mission of ultimate importance, offering a chance to further work towards his redemption and all that.
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Red Dave Prime
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Terome wrote:And in 10 days he's going to set out to find the shark that ate his friend and destroy it.
ah, the conclusion to sky bytes epic arc in RID.
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Just a quick thought that its Pax whose talking to Whirl on the Lost Light. Would be nice and sinister for it to be him and not Prowl being all Prowley. My reason for that is why would Whirl want to help Prowl? I know he hardly needs an excuse for bitchslapping Megatron but I think he might do it for Pax.
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Having read this twice through, I'm amazed at how much I missed MTMTE proper during the Dark Cybertron ...thing (easily the most disappointing crossover ever. I really wish John Barber could just give up trying to reconcile some of the weaker story strands IDW came up with. Likewise, Rattrap and Scoop...just ...ugh.) and like the idea of having Megs as ship's captain, although I am puzzled that the crew seem to have quite happily accepted this. I'm sure this will be addressed in future issues, but I don't know how I'd feel having a former warlord as captain of my ship. I suppose it'd be like having one of those glorious African dictators as you're leader. Unless we're going with a Mandela vibe for Megs, I dunno...

I am actually very curious to find out where Rodimus is and what has happened to him...

Milne's art is lovely as always and Burcham's colours seemed much stronger and less wishy-washy which I also liked.
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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

And here's the full preview, courtesy of Newsarama.

Out Wednesday, folks.

---

Ooooh, man, those last couple of panels...
SPOILER! (select to read)
I hope it's a red herring, but he did it, didn't he? Rodimus peeked :(

Good to see Atomizer get some actual characterization, though. He's a shifty one.
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Post by Death's Head »

Never thought I'd see the word 'sod' in a Transformers comic!

(Mind you, I did enjoy the use of the word 'bastard' in Eugenesis - more sweary TFs please.)
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Post by Unicron »

I never noticed it until I saw someone mention it at another board but there's a fair bit of color scheme similarity between Rodimus and Atomizer. Given that and his pro-Roddy attitude (assuming he isn't pulling a con and trying to get Roddy busted), could we be looking at Pyro v2?
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

Agh! Rodimus, no!

The recap page is cute. I wonder if that will be a recurring feature?
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Red Dave Prime
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Well, what felt like a bit of a rambling issue (not in a bad way, just a little too disjointed for my taste) ends with 2 big cliffhangers.

One of which actually left me sad. Boo.

Interesting issue more than great. Lots of set up still going on. Some nice moments but it really is mostly about threading things along. Not that thats a bad thing.
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Post by zigzagger »

Agree it was a rambling issue, but enjoyable overall.

This issue's all about the mystery and intrigue. It's all starting to unravel, though we still don't know how the current status quo came to be. Hey, I appreciate that we got this issue super early this time, but -- ARGH! -- you're ****ing killing me here!

Yeah, yeah, second part to a 3-part story. Answers will come, I know, I know...

**grumble, grumble, grumble**

Notes:

Even if he hijacked the trial for his own benefit (as well as page space), Starscream is handled rather well here, I must say. You wanna write Starscream as a duplicitous, self-serving bastard? This is a fine example.

Also, I know it's artistic license and all, but I had to chuckle at the notion that they'd let the Principal Prosecutor -- that being Prowl -- come to a courtroom with giant missiles attached to his shoulders.

Megatron -- Liking him so far, but again, how we ended up with the stern yet somewhat-kindly captain has yet to be fully revealed. But then, that's all part of the fun. And he makes one hell of an interesting addition to the cast.

The Coffin -- No way. No ****ing way.

It's a paradox, right? It's got to be some sort of time paradox or... or something with lasting repercussions that would warrant a certain message being sent from the future!

Maybe it's related to all the strange occurrences happening on the Lost Light at the moment. The real Rodimus is probably on board pouting in his quarters, right?

That... or he took off on his own shortly after the trial to have his own adventures. Obviously he didn't have a great time of it, assuming this is the real Rodimus :(

Speaking of which -- Damn it! He did peek. I suspect Unicron (the poster, sillies) may be onto something. Atomizer is kinda being set up here to, well, set up Rodimus, knowing full well that Rodimus couldn't resist knowing who those 89 detractors were. His motivation isn't clear yet, of course.

Or, you know, I'm way off the mark as usual.

Regardless, my money is on Ultra Magnus being on that list.

Newbies -- Roberts is using the newest additions much more effectively than he has in the past, rather than being background dressing. Especially Nightbeat; he's clearly having fun with him. Roberts chose wisely with that one. He's a bit Brainstorm-y at moments, but I enjoyed every scene with Nightbeat. He and Chromedome make for a fun 'straight man' and 'wise guy' dynamic.

Sure, we now have all 3 Monsterbots, but more importantly Streetwise is now confirmed on board. That makes all 5 Protectobots*! Tell me this is deliberate. Tell me that the creative team have plans for the Protectobots. That would be amazing.

* Not sure if he's there now, but Blades was seen on board during the 'first season'. Shut up! Don't dash my hopes! I'll cut you!
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Me halfway through the issue:

"Ha! Look Rewind just walked in! I was right about him being in the coffin all along! I defy your plot twistey nature Mr. Roberts!" *Smugness ensues*


Me at the end of the issue:


"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh HOLY CRAP IT'S RODIMUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A very clever bait and switch there.

Yeah, not much of a through-line this issue, but lots and lots of nice individual scenes and an air of something really not being quite right on the ship (I wasn't misreading the double page cross-section of the ship was I? Nighbeat's office has lost its space facing wall?).

The Rodimus/Atomizer scene was the highlight, literally balls crawling back up into my abdomen tense. Really nice to have follow up on the vote as well.

What's interesting about the first two issues of season 2 is that there's at least one area Roberts would be entirely justified in recycling bits from Eugenesis- In terms of how Nightbeat deals with being back from the dead. But so far it seems to be that he's found a completely different direction to take the character is, which is harder work but much appreciated.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Red Dave Prime
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Yeah, think Nightbeats quarters are another thing to go missing. Also fairly certain the security door disappeared too.

After reading Unicrons comments, the Rodimus/ Atomizer scene actually visually reads very interestingly.

And if that IS rodimus in the coffin, than fair balls. I genuinely expected season 2 to be about the maturing and redemption of Rodimus but if things are going a different way, it's damn interesting.

While I didnt gel with the rambling nature of this issue I did think the art had some super moments. Starscream looks absolutely fantastic and I loved how Roberts wrote him - Screamer is turning into a really interesting character again and his way of trying to take Megatron down was perfectly suited to him. He could never win a brawl but to tear away Megatrons Image and Legacy? Awesome.

Other lovely art bits were the cut away of the ship, trailcutters shield moment and the bit where the security team catch Trailcutter. But the best bits were the quieter moments if you will. Cyclonus giving Tailgate a genuine smile, The look on Rodimus face as he reads the list and of the course, his dead corpse in the coffin.

There's also LOADS of possible hints in this issue that could be red herrings or genuine seeds for further revelations. Ratchets eyes, Megs "poison" fuel, Swerve banning the briefcase (he must have looked!), The lost light insider... Probably more I'm missing.

Still, not a great issue on its own, but man alive I do enjoy me MTMTE
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Red Dave Prime wrote:Swerve banning the briefcase (he must have looked!),

IIRC the sign was there before Swerve would have had a chance to look in the briefcase (we saw it when the Legislators stormed the bar in Remain in Light?

I wasn't completely sure about the cross section as, of course, what a cross section does is remove walls anyway.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Post by zigzagger »

Red Dave Prime wrote: Starscream looks absolutely fantastic and I loved how Roberts wrote him - Screamer is turning into a really interesting character again and his way of trying to take Megatron down was perfectly suited to him. He could never win a brawl but to tear away Megatrons Image and Legacy? Awesome.
It really was a great moment, wasn't it? Quite possibly one of the better ideas to come out of RID, in my opinion; that Starscream's 'victory' came not from brute force, but by his words and wits. Regardless of how well it has actually played out, this issue proves that there's still life in that concept.

The speech also demonstrated how vicious Starscream can be. It wasn't even so much the speech itself, but the intent behind it. I loved it.

EDIT: Also, it makes sense to me that so much page space was devoted to Starscream, considering that he and Megatron have one of the most important relationships in the entire franchise. Starscream testifying against Megatron, tearing down his ideology and, in his words, 'killed' the former-Decepticon Leader, is not only appropriate, it's frickin' perfect.

I dunno... I'm just so impressed by this moment.
Still, not a great issue on its own, but man alive I do enjoy me MTMTE
It was good, but yeah, this will read even better as a whole. It's just the wait... it's killing me.

But, it's a 3-parter (if I recall correctly), so revelations aren't too far off. :)
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Post by Terome »

Dense and meaty!

That Starscream speech was the highlight. It's a fantastic character piece for him and Megatron, sets up a solid character arc AND something of a continuity salve for lots of rashes and zits in the publishing history. It's also quite sad. I found it worked when imagined in Steve Blum's voice.

The Rodimus / Atomiser scene comes a close second. It's such a perfect undercut of his previous nobility - a list of non-confidence voters is Kryptonite to a guy who is such a cludge of vanity and insecurities. I really wondered where Rodimus could go and this is the best possible answer.

The coffin reveal is effective but pretty low down on the list of interesting things going on here. The fact that nobody has touched Ambulus' stuff ranks a bit higher. That's not a knock - no one saw it coming. Which is good, because it gives me a lot more confidence with where the Rewind 'data ghost' thing is going.

Nightbeat is just gravy - all the locks, the annoyance over the 'Big Three.' I'm not being dense by thinking that the Knights constitutes the third one, right? Or am I being exactly as dense as I am supposed to be? And what is that device that Nightbeat is examining when Chromedome comes to pay him a visit. Have we seen it before?

Only dud note was the fact that the NAILs are apparently in favour to the all-Autobot military trial of their sworn enemy where the chief prosecutor is the guy who used to have NAILs beaten up with open contempt before becoming the head of a giant monster and stomping everything. Is there a wrinkle there? But I do like the idea that Optimus is finding this so enormously stressful that he finds an excuse to go on a mystical-whatever mission to Earth at the earliest possible opportunity. That's more his speed.

Which one of Swerve's many old wounds could be playing up? And is his missing Engex another 'edit?'

Speaking of edits, that cutaway of the Lost Light with Nightbeat's quarters was fantastic. Milne was ridiculously on-point throughout. I'd warmed up to Joanna's colours by the second read, though some of the speckled highlights aren't quite to my taste.
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Post by Warcry »

There's too much going on in this issue, in my opinion. It reminded me of Devastation, when it took Hot Rod and Wheeljack four issues to drive to a junkyard because we only saw them for half a page each time. The trial, the coffin, ghost Rewind, revived Tailgate, drunken Trailbreaker, tempted Rodimus, stuff randomly disappearing, etc, etc... All of which would be interesting on their own, but delivered in a drip-feed like this I have to admit I find it all a tad underwhelming. I suspect it'll all come together nicely in trade form when the whole story is done, but the best part of MTMTE before this was that Roberts didn't write for the trade, and I hope this isn't a sign that he's started doing so.

Not sure I'm feeling the new "main" characters, either. Nightbeat is acting like a huge dick, Trailbreaker (sorry, Trailcutter™ *sigh*) is a woefully generic Roberts joke machine, Nautica is moralistic and judgmental, Riptide is a troublemaking jerk and Megatron could be replaced with Boss or Deftwing or someone in the modern-day scenes and I genuinely couldn't tell the difference (surely there should be some tension that goes beyond "I don't like the new boss!" when that new boss is basically Genghis Khan?).

Also, Rodimus being in the coffin does nothing to convince me that he's actually dead, since we all know that Roberts makes practically every "obvious death" into a twist of some kind. I look forward to finding out next issue whether the body is a facsimile, from the future, has had its brain module, transformation cog and spark extracted or is actually Classics Wildrider. ;)

I agree with everyone else that Starscream was the highlight of this issue, but I'd expand that to say that the trial scenes in general were the best bits. I think the story would have flowed way better if the trial had been told in an issue or two of its' own before we jumped into "Captain Megatron", though, as there's just way too much going on right now and the overall storytelling is suffering for it. I can understand why they might not want to do that though, since most of the principles in that story aren't part of the MTMTE cast.

Ironically, I think Starscream's speech is an absolutely perfect summation of the Megatron character...from the 80s Marvel books. Not so much IDW Megatron, though I suppose that was the point.
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Post by Darth Zax »

Wow! So much stuff to absorb. And you guys already said a lot of interesting things. I really love where this comic is going.

One thing i remembered after reading last issue again though, is that scene with Megatron and Rung and the blackout. Now i don't know remember exactly where it was said, but wasn't ultra-violet light used to see if someone had been the victim of Shadowplay?
I remember reading it somewhere either in LSOTW or the earlier MTMTE issues. I will check the wiki to see if it mentions anything about it.

Anyways, assuming for a while that this is what happened in that blackout scene, it would answer a couple of things. Like, what Ravage was doing there. Maybe he was sent by Soundwave to verify if Megatron had been the victim of shadowplay, or made the decision to join the Autobots on his own.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it before but this is my theory.
Also, Nightbeat is acting real Sherlocky, obviously. But Trailbreaker's personality and manner of speech really remind me of Bernard Black from the Black Books TV Series (British comedy anyone?), but maybe that's just me.
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Post by zigzagger »

Warcry wrote: I suspect it'll all come together nicely in trade form when the whole story is done, but the best part of MTMTE before this was that Roberts didn't write for the trade, and I hope this isn't a sign that he's started doing so.
It's not the usual pacing we've come to expect from Roberts, is it? The exception being 'Remain in Light', stuff like Delphi or the Scavenger's storyline, I felt, had a steadier flow, cramming in just the riiiiight amount of information to tide me over to the next issue.

It's strange, I'm finding this storyline equally interesting and frustrating at the same time. It does feel deliberate. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with this 'Dawn of the Autobots' thing that's happening at the moment.

What we have is all entertaining, but yeah, the trial probably could've fit into one issue and served as a prologue that led into Megatron joining the cast.
Nightbeat is acting like a huge dick
Oddly enough, I kind of liked Nightbeat. Though, like I said before, there's something very Brainstorm about him.

I do agree the "power of love" comment was pretty dickish of him. Very insensitive. It threw me off a little. Lost a few points with that one.
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Post by Unicron »

I think any potential dickishness on Nightbeat's part could be forgiven for a little while. He's had his brain tinkered with, been undead for years, and virtually alone for that time. Could be he's having trouble re-integrating. Look at Cyclonus' early time on the Lost Light.
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Post by Darth Zax »

zigzagger wrote:I do agree the "power of love" comment was pretty dickish of him. Very insensitive. It threw me off a little. Lost a few points with that one.
It's probably been mentioned before, but Nightbeat strikes me as the type of anti-social genius, a la the modern BBC version of Sherlock Holmes (I might be a bit on the obvious side here). So for him, he's not being dickish, he's stating (what is to him) the facts to come up with a theory. Is the way his mind works, is all.
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