Spotlight: Soundwave

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:47 am

Due out on the 21st March.

Previews: http://tfarchive.com/comics/idw/previews.php

another tf fan · Post by **another tf fan** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:29 am

a very fun issue. great tie-ins to stormbringer, shockwave spotlight and g1 ( Yellow hard-hats anyone?)

one timetable error, Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980, not 1984. Now one could chalk this up to some kind of alternate universe, but why go with any part of reality at all then?

minor complaint, and one i am willing to live with.

(Since i live in Washington having the Autobot hq in "mount st. hillary" and in the key to vector sigma sea-tac is mentioned i felt closer to the story. So a factual error like the one i mentioned earlier removes the story a bit me. just a bit.)

Commander Shockwav · Post by **Commander Shockwav** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:55 pm

Got it and read it.

It was good.

Nice story to help fill in some of the gaps that occurred between Shockwave's departure and Stormbringer, and we get an explanation for how Bludgeon was able to acquire the Ultra-Energon for his Thunderwing project.

It was nice to also see Soundwave lose, because realistically, he probably couldn't take Bludgeon and other Decepticons by himself, even with Ravage and Lazerbeak. So it was a believable ending, which I liked.

Artwise, it was okay too. Not something stellar, like Don's work or Nick's work, but things were clear, and that's most important. So it was a good intro for Matere.

So overall, I'd give it a "B+", continuing the strong string of Spotlight performances.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:15 pm

Good fun, not the most vital of stories (you don't really need to see the dots joined between Shockwave and Stormbringer that much), but well done and entertaining.

Is Mr. Red one of our regular Machination peeps? Oh, and which Pretenders (other than the named ones) were in this? I can never tell one from another...

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:50 pm

Good characterization, mediocre story. Still miles above anything DW ever put out.

Oh, how did Soundwave (in tape player mode) get from the excavation site at Mount St. Helens in 1985 to a second-hand store in 2007? Did they just find a tape player among the rubble, decide he's not one of those alien robots and sell him to a store? Sounds kinda odd to me.

And there's something wrong with the scale. Seriously:

Ballplayer · Post by **Ballplayer** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:02 pm

Nicely done issue

the size stuff is idd a weird mistake.

I like the fact that Mount St Helens is used again, but not as the crashing place for the ark

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:56 pm

Originally posted by Ballplayer
I like the fact that Mount St Helens is used again, but not as the crashing place for the ark

Mount St. Helens is a real volcano.

The Ark crashed into the fictious Mount St. Hillary in the Marvel comics.

BTW, Mount St. Helens is mentioned on Hunter's website in Infiltration #1. Talk about foreshadowing.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:35 pm

It looks as if Skywatch aren't very discreet. There'd be pictures circulating online from the Shockwave/Dinobots dig as well, presumably...

Soundwave pretty much stays in scale, but Laserbeak appears to be able to shift size, assuming it's deliberate.

This was my favourite Spotlight since Shockwave.

Ballplayer · Post by **Ballplayer** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 5:57 pm

euhmm ok well the location and surroundings of St. Helens really look a lot like that from the cartoon, or the 3rd season of Beast Wars...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:11 pm

Originally posted by Ballplayer
euhmm ok well the location and surroundings of St. Helens really look a lot like that from the cartoon, or the 3rd season of Beast Wars...

It looks like the comic version, but the cartoon volcano (never refered to by name IIRC) was clearly in the middle of a big desert somewhere rather than Oregon.

Neuronutter · Post by **Neuronutter** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:25 pm

Well, what can I say about this comic? It’s brilliant, simply brilliant. It’s the best IDW comic since the Shockwave Spotlight and introduces yet another great take on a classic character that I look forward to seeing more of in the ongoing story.

Soundwave. Ah the ever loyal, shadow-hugging master of information. The great thing about the IDW spotlights has been the reinvention of characters we know and love into familiar but different incarnations and the Soundwave presented here is much in the same vein. Familiar, but at the same time subtly different. He’s still the master of information, the leader of the cassetticons and the stooge of Megs, but he’s not as loyal as before. He’s more devious and self-serving and as a result he’s fascinating.

Other characters also shine in this issue including Ravage, Laserbeak and Bludgeon. The relationship between Soundwave and his minions is really interesting, as is their relationship to each other; part team, part family they are obviously very close as seen by reactions to injuries sustained during combat. Bludgeon’s crew are also well portrayed and well get a taste of Bludgeon’s ruthlessness and ability in combat. His alt mode is also really nice although I don’t quite understand why he has flags on him.

The story fills in a gap before Stormbringer, so there aren’t many surprises, but that doesn’t mean the story is dull. Far from it. I’m a little surprised this Spotlight wasn’t released before Stormbringer but personally I’m just glad this little tale has been told. Once again Furman has crafted an intricate and involved story that progresses quickly and the ending, like the other Spotlights, leads directly into the ongoing story, once again enriching the overall IDWniverse.

As for the art of this issue well it’s wonderful. It’s very clean and the TFs are well proportioned. The action scenes are well handled too and the art at times reminds me of Nick Roche, especially in the expressions of surprise or when the TFs are hidden in shade and all you can see is their eyes. Unlike Roche’s Hot Rod spotlight, none of the TFs are exaggerated or have massive chins and the end result is very pleasing. Here’s hoping we see some more work from Matere soon. The colouring in this issue is also really nice. It’s very bright and shiny and really complements the art well.

Once again IDW have produced a masterpiece; a truly brilliant comic that helps to shape the IDWniverse into an even more amazing place with a stellar cast and wonderful stories. Roll on IDW!

Jaynz · Post by **Jaynz** » Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:06 pm

Originally posted by inflatable dalek
It looks like the comic version, but the cartoon volcano (never refered to by name IIRC) was clearly in the middle of a big desert somewhere rather than Oregon.

Oddly enough, the only times we get a visual representation (IE, a MAP view) of the 'Autobot Volcano', it was in Oregon. Also, "Key to Vector Sigma" places the base only a couple of hours drive from Seattle/Tacoma... In some shots, the Volcano has ferns and pines all around it.

Granted, that doesn't square AT ALL with all the visual cues of desert and more 'southwestern' decor in most of the episodes...

Brimstone · Post by **Brimstone** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:56 am

Having not read the original Marvel comics (or very few of them anyway) I don't know if Soundwave's minions could talk, but I found this one quite interesting when Ravage spoke. Makes them less like Roller and more like tiny Decepticons.

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:15 am

Ravage is a major character in the original comics. Laserbeak isn't much different.

He’s more devious and self-serving

Again, familiar to those who're familiar with the old comics. He rarely seeks or is comfortable with leadership though, so his own agenda tends to include being a protected second-in-command.

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:15 pm

http://members.aol.com/zobovor/backstabbing_scum.html

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:54 pm

AKA "Zob couldn't resist arguing with Raksha."

Megatimus · Post by **Megatimus** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:59 pm

Like all Decepticons I think Soundwave just does whatever he can to survive and it depends on the writer's extremes. Heh, just regular neutral me.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 12:59 pm

As per Osku's request in the other thread:

Transformers Spotlight: Soundwave
A Review by Inflatable Dalek

Written By: Simon Furman.
Art By: Marcelo Matere.
Colours By: Rob Ruffalo.
Cover Art By: Marcelo Matere & Nick Roach.
Letters By: Neil Uyetake.
Edits By: Chris Ryall and Dan Taylor.

Synopsis:

Following Spotlight: Shockwave Bludgeon is investigating the missing Decepticons projects. But a suspicious Megatron orders Soundwave to keep an optic on him as well. This turns out to be a wise move as Bludgeon keeps many of his findings to himself, including information on the Re-genesis project.

Time passes, and in 1984 Bludgeon and his fellow renegades have followed the trail to Earth and found a seam of super Energon in Texas. They have used Facsimile’s at a construction site to set up an explosion that will allow them to take the Ore easily and without being observed.

But Soundwave has followed and seen everything in the guise of a tape recorder, and has used Ravage to trace Bludgeon to his base beneath Mount St. Helens in Oregon.

But rather than following Megatrons orders Soundwave tries to cut a deal in exchange for a "cut" of the Super Energon. However, when Bludgeon tells him they plan to use the new fuel to resurrect Thunderwing he realises they're insane and- somewhat against his better judgement- he makes a attempt to stop them.
But Bludgeon uses a weapon developed by Shockwave to trap Soundwave in tape deck mode, and, once the Ore is loaded onto their ship they depart for Cybertron and blow up the base behind them.

1985: A Skywatch team lead by Joshua Red uncover the remains of Laserbeak, and are excited at the thought of the funding this will bring them.

2007: In Portland a teenage decides to go all retro and buy a small blue tape player from a second hand shop...

Characters Featured:
Soundwave, Megatron [Flashback], Bludgeon, Iguanus, Bomb-Burst, Ravage, Laserbeak, Joshua Red. [I'm useless at naming Pretenders, if anyone can fill in who else appears in the flashback I'll love them long time].

Notes:

This is a direct sequel to the first Spotlight issue, in which Shockwave created seems of Super Energon on Earth before being buried in lava by the Dynobots. The flashback page of Megatron ordering Bludgeon to investigate directly recaps the end of that issue.

For Bludgeon and o. this takes place before Stormbringer (the abandoning of Cybertron having taken place between Shockwave's vanishing and 1984). It seems it that even with the Ore13 it still took over twenty years for the proto-Pretenders to restore Thunderwing.

"Skywatch" have just made their present day debut at the end of Escalation #5, taking over the evacuation of Shockwaves body (so full circle for them really).

The kid on the last page claiming he'll stick to his I-Pod is a jokey reference to the debate amongst both fans and the IDW staff over what alt-mode Soundwave should take now that tape players are defunct. Based on comments made by Furman made at the Auto Assembly UK convention they still hadn't decided what to do with the characters appearance in the run up to the start of Infiltration. In the end they found an excuse to keep him as was, probably due to him being one of the most iconic characters and there not being an easy fit for a modern day counterpart (it's easy to make Jazz a new Porsche, but a I-Pod doesn't really translate well into a Soundwavesque robot mode).

After all that his Cybertronian mode is kept very much in the shadows on the one page where we see it.

1984 was, of course, the year Transformers first debuted in the West. Oregon in general and Portland in particular was where the bulk of the Transformers adventures in the Marvel comic occurred- Though in that case it was Mount St. Hilary rather than St. Helens that had the secret Transformers base beneath it (the change is probably inspired by Helens eruption in 1980. We'll assume this is meant to be a separate explosion rather than Furman fudging the date).

Goofs:

The main vents of Shockwave happened at least a couple of million years ago, even allowing for a bit of time for anyone to notice his disappearance did Bludgeon really manage to stall Megatron for that long?

In Escalation Megatrons mass displacement causes a huge electrical storm when he Transforms that not only disrupts all local communication but is dangerous for other Transformers to be near. None of which seems to apply to Soundwave or his cassettes here. Also, Megatron is only able to achieve such shrinkage with the help of Ore 13, which Soundwave doesn't have access to here.

Scale problems means both Soundwavers tape deck mode and Laserbeak vary hugely in size throughout the issue [Inconsistent mass displacement].

Whilst vinyl still has a great deal of appeal to people, it hard to imagine anyone getting excited by a tape player nowadays. Where is the kid planning to buy the tapes from anyway?

How did Soundwave get from the volcano down to the second hand shop? Did a Skywatch agent find him, completely miss the big purple badge he shares with the metal bird and take him down the pawn shop before leaving town? How did he survive a bloody big explosion happening on top of him unscathed?

Review:

Effectively a linking issue playing of themes from previous issues whilst setting up subsequent ones, Soundwave still manages to tell an entertaining, if slight story.
Oddly enough we don't learn a great deal about Soundwave here, though it's always nice to see the more manipulative and opportunist side of him rather than the "Yes Sir/No Sir" cartoon version.
It does say a lot about the quality of the rest of IDW's recent output that something as entertaining as this is in the middle ground, but ultimately it'll be best enjoyed if you're deeply involved in the stories it feeds off.

[Three out of five]

Osku · Post by **Osku** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:54 pm

Originally posted by inflatable dalek
Cover Art By: Marcelo Matere & Nick Roach.

Roche, unless I'm missing a joke.

But Bludgeon uses a weapon developed by Shockwave to trap Soundwave in tape deck mode

Iguanus wasn't it?

Osku · Post by **Osku** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:10 am

Originally posted by inflatable dalek
Goofs:

The main vents of Shockwave happened at least a couple of million years ago, even allowing for a bit of time for anyone to notice his disappearance did Bludgeon really manage to stall Megatron for that long?

Shockwave puts his plan into action millions of years ago, but he arrived to Earth at the end of ice age, which was about 10 000 years ago. Not that impropable time span.

Spelling.

vents -> events