But we are getting another one. That or a new one is created out of this one. It's hardly the first time they started anew, it'll happen again eventually. Such is the nature of comics and Transformers itself. Always reinvented and changing, some like, some don't. We'll get old takes, new takes and some in between smooshed together to create something familiar yet different. It reminds me of Doctor Who.
The big question that needs to be asked is if IDW will still have the license because I'm having doubts. They lost quite a bit of money themselves.
If Revolution was the fatal blow not sure, but sales were horrid. The 2005 forum had some sales numbers there.
It's not change that bugs me, it's the likelihood of changing back to the old formula after years of good comics told by jumping off the war and doing something new. TAAO was the story about the political dealings of 20ft tall robots and I couldn't have enjoyed it more than I did. MTMTE was more about the handholding than the fights and it's in my Top 5 favourite comic series of all time.
I wonder if the license goes back to Marvel and history repeats itself with Simon Furman getting his hands on the property again.
It's not change that bugs me, it's the likelihood of changing back to the old formula after years of good comics told by jumping off the war and doing something new. TAAO was the story about the political dealings of 20ft tall robots and I couldn't have enjoyed it more than I did. MTMTE was more about the handholding than the fights and it's in my Top 5 favourite comic series of all time.
I wonder if the license goes back to Marvel and history repeats itself with Simon Furman getting his hands on the property again.
Transformers has largely been about the ongoing war between the two groups but there has always been various moments between characters, good stories, character moments. Done right it becomes more than just a war, it's why Beast Wars is so beloved.
I can see the license going back to Marvel, I don't see Furman being the main writer again. Maybe a special or something.
If they're ending IDW Collections before everything gets collected, I'm going to... be very upset and then buy a ton of TPB's, I guess. But I love the format of these.
It would make sense to end after the 8th volumes of Phase Two, since there were 8 volumes before that. If that happens, what TPBs do I need to track down? Phase Two #8 will go up to MTMTE 40, RID 38, Punishment and Drift: Empire of Stone. I want to own the entire IDW run, because despite a rocky start and Ramondelli's constant attempts at sabotage, it's been awesome and I'm still several years behind.
In other news, I received Punch/Counterpunch and he's a great little figure. I don't care one bit for the original, but just like Battletrap, he takes an obscure gimmick and makes a really good looking, modern figure from it. I passed on the clones and the Monsterbots, but it's completely insane how Hasbro has been producing super obscure characters recently. With a few notable exceptions, they've pretty much remade everyone from 1984-1987 at this point.
I can't offer up too much w/r/t to right or wrong to go about story telling, but reading Unicron & More than Meets the Eye I hope they go that route. Of course there will be the issue of warring factions, but it's been kind of weird & refreshing to not just have it be Auto vs Decepticon as clear cut as with G1 cartoon.
I can't offer up too much w/r/t to right or wrong to go about story telling, but reading Unicron & More than Meets the Eye I hope they go that route. Of course there will be the issue of warring factions, but it's been kind of weird & refreshing to not just have it be Auto vs Decepticon as clear cut as with G1 cartoon.
Hasbro Investor Report Third quarter 2018 Franchise Brand revenues decreased 5% to $847.7 million. Revenue growth in MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and BABY ALIVE was offset by declines in NERF, MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS. Both MY LITTLE PONY and TRANSFORMERS had a theatrical film in 2017. Franchise Brand revenues grew slightly in the U.S. and Canada segment and were up in the Entertainment and Licensing segment but declined in the International segment.
That's the most relevant part. Once again, this is likely mostly thanks to Toys R Us.
Gee, I wonder how that could possibly be? I mean, it's not as if you treat Europe like an afterthought with absolutely ridiculous prices and abysmal distribution...
Declines in Transformers and MLP make sense for 3rd quarter. Transformers hasn't had a movie to drive new sales since last year, and this season of MLP has been winding down. Nerf is odd, not sure what is causing lower sales with it. I thought it was always pretty steady.
Hopefully the Bumblebee movie does well toy wise. So far the toys have been ok, though I worry that a few of the gimmick toys might stick on shelves for a while. I also wonder if putting them on shelves this far ahead of the movie hurts things.
Declines in Transformers and MLP make sense for 3rd quarter. Transformers hasn't had a movie to drive new sales since last year, and this season of MLP has been winding down. Nerf is odd, not sure what is causing lower sales with it. I thought it was always pretty steady.
The article mentions that revenues in the entertainment (movies & TV) section are up, specifically citing the MLP Movie, so this drop is mainly because of Toys R Us. Magic the Gathering, which wasn't heavily sold in Toys R Us, saw gains, which further supports this.
Preorders for an MPM-08 have popped up with no details, at a price double that of MPM Optimus Prime. Speculation is that it's either 2007 movie Megatron or Blackout.
Transformers has largely been about the ongoing war between the two groups but there has always been various moments between characters, good stories, character moments. Done right it becomes more than just a war, it's why Beast Wars is so beloved.
I can see the license going back to Marvel, I don't see Furman being the main writer again. Maybe a special or something.
Revolution thing failed, but from the sales numbers I've looked at, it doesn't seem to have really affected actual Transformers numbers much. Transformers books have been on a slow decline for a while now, they were already pretty low even before. Revolution I believe was meant to not only launch new Hasbro books, but to also revive some of their older series like Transformers and GI Joe that needed a boost, but the whole thing was a disaster.
IDW ending Transformers was going to happen either way with how things were going, sales weren't hot and it has run for so long.
Just noticed that the cover for the last issue of Lost Light was changed. Guess these are supposed to be the pairs? Why is Ratchet with Drift? Those two seem like such opposites.
Just noticed that the cover for the last issue of Lost Light was changed. Guess these are supposed to be the pairs? Why is Ratchet with Drift? Those two seem like such opposites.
And I forgot to share pics of Mega Dragon here. Nice looking(if finicky) toy.
Just noticed that the cover for the last issue of Lost Light was changed. Guess these are supposed to be the pairs? Why is Ratchet with Drift? Those two seem like such opposites.
Ratchet and Drift are pretty much The Odd Couple in robot form. They also have a huge amount of backstory together ever since the former pretty much saved the latter from being a junkie. I mean, it's hard to miss in all their scenes together in the main comic, let alone Empire of Stone. They may not be romantically involved like other couples, but it's been made pretty clear that Ratchet cares a lot more about Drift than he wants others to believe, and Drift straight out idolizes Ratchet.
In fact when I started reading your sentence "why did they pair Ratchet with... " my instinctive thought was "what, they paired him with anyone other than Drift?". It literally could not have been anyone else for either of them (you could make a case of First Aid for Ratchet, but they kind of dropped they mentor / student relationship early in the comic).
Ratchet and Drift are pretty much The Odd Couple in robot form. They also have a huge amount of backstory together ever since the former pretty much saved the latter from being a junkie. I mean, it's hard to miss in all their scenes together in the main comic, let alone Empire of Stone. They may not be romantically involved like other couples, but it's been made pretty clear that Ratchet cares a lot more about Drift than he wants others to believe, and Drift straight out idolizes Ratchet.
In fact when I started reading your sentence "why did they pair Ratchet with... " my instinctive thought was "what, they paired him with anyone other than Drift?". It literally could not have been anyone else for either of them (you could make a case of First Aid for Ratchet, but they kind of dropped they mentor / student relationship early in the comic).
So I'm curious. What are people's thoughts on the rather different origins for Primus and Unicron? I guess the degree that neither would appear in the IDW continuity is technically true after all.
I decided to give Transformers Cyberverse a try, and now I think I can explain.
Cyberverse is a series of short episodes (15 minutes on TV), and I'm not really sure who the target audience is, because it seems to be very juvenile, but on at least two occasions it seems way too dark for kids.
Like that time Megatron ripped Bumblebee's throat out, or that time everyone except Bumblebee on a vacation planet (including Blurr) got the plague and died.
Anyways, Cyberverse involves Windblade arriving on Earth looking for the missing Allspark, and she finds an amnesiac Bumblebee and some assorted Decepticon scouts. Bumblebee had been off with Optimus looking for the Allspark, so where is Optimus? What happened to their expedition? Bumblebee has no idea, because his brain is completely fried and he doesn't even know who he is.
So Windblade uses her telepathic powers to help Bumblebee recover his memories by watching whatever intact fragments of memory he has remaining, as doing that seems to restore nearby or related memories.
In this particular set of memories, it's shown how Bumblebee met Windblade at a sporting event ages ago (before the Great War, when Autobots and Decepticons interacted with each other peacefully, as no such faction division existed), and Bumblebee and Windblade hit it off and became friends, so Bumblebee invited Windblade to this great bar he knows, where it seems that Soundwave likes to cut loose and party with Seekers, while Optimus and Megatron sit at a table and lay the groundwork for the destruction of their world.
As to whether it's a dream sequence, the answer is yes and no. It's a memory, and Bumblebee and Windblade are watching it, so it's kind of like a dream, but it's supposed to be an accurate memory of those events.
Note: When Maccadam is talking creepy and Windblade doesn't get it, it's the past Windblade (the one recorded in the memory) that doesn't get it. The future Windblade (the one who is watching this Bumblebee memory using her telepathic powers) is presumably shitting bricks because the guy in this non-interactive million-year-old datatrack knows that she's watching and he's calling out to her.
I decided to give Transformers Cyberverse a try, and now I think I can explain.
Cyberverse is a series of short episodes (15 minutes on TV), and I'm not really sure who the target audience is, because it seems to be very juvenile, but on at least two occasions it seems way too dark for kids.
Like that time Megatron ripped Bumblebee's throat out, or that time everyone except Bumblebee on a vacation planet (including Blurr) got the plague and died.
Anyways, Cyberverse involves Windblade arriving on Earth looking for the missing Allspark, and she finds an amnesiac Bumblebee and some assorted Decepticon scouts. Bumblebee had been off with Optimus looking for the Allspark, so where is Optimus? What happened to their expedition? Bumblebee has no idea, because his brain is completely fried and he doesn't even know who he is.
So Windblade uses her telepathic powers to help Bumblebee recover his memories by watching whatever intact fragments of memory he has remaining, as doing that seems to restore nearby or related memories.
In this particular set of memories, it's shown how Bumblebee met Windblade at a sporting event ages ago (before the Great War, when Autobots and Decepticons interacted with each other peacefully, as no such faction division existed), and Bumblebee and Windblade hit it off and became friends, so Bumblebee invited Windblade to this great bar he knows, where it seems that Soundwave likes to cut loose and party with Seekers, while Optimus and Megatron sit at a table and lay the groundwork for the destruction of their world.
As to whether it's a dream sequence, the answer is yes and no. It's a memory, and Bumblebee and Windblade are watching it, so it's kind of like a dream, but it's supposed to be an accurate memory of those events.
Note: When Maccadam is talking creepy and Windblade doesn't get it, it's the past Windblade (the one recorded in the memory) that doesn't get it. The future Windblade (the one who is watching this Bumblebee memory using her telepathic powers) is presumably shitting bricks because the guy in this non-interactive million-year-old datatrack knows that she's watching and he's calling out to her.
Exactly my thoughts, down to "reality ensued", hahah. I liked that even the copy of them that stays in this universe doesn't meet too dark of a fate, just realistic. It's also interesting how they left Megatron's fate ambiguous, yet the comic makes its stance about death penalty and forgiveness clear.
Do you guys think Rodimus decided to completely destroy the Lost Light so that in the off chance that the duplicate returns to this universe, it's not endangered because of proximity to it? Or am I reading too much into it?
Overall I liked this issue a lot more than I thought I would.
Exactly my thoughts, down to "reality ensued", hahah. I liked that even the copy of them that stays in this universe doesn't meet too dark of a fate, just realistic. It's also interesting how they left Megatron's fate ambiguous, yet the comic makes its stance about death penalty and forgiveness clear.
Do you guys think Rodimus decided to completely destroy the Lost Light so that in the off chance that the duplicate returns to this universe, it's not endangered because of proximity to it? Or am I reading too much into it?
Overall I liked this issue a lot more than I thought I would.
The Lost Light splitting just seems cruel: On the one hand as happy as I am that the crew get to go on more adventures, on the other there is a part of them that just goes through the motions. I kinda like the more melancholic life of the LL for some reason and I do very feel bad for them, so the fact that a half of them is off actually having a better fun life is just too cruel.
I'm curious if this was the intention of Roberts with the ending, because it just feels wrong to me.
Also remind me...did Megatron really manage to open a Matrix? I was kinda hoping that we do get to see him open one in the final issue at least, as a form of flashback panel or such :X
That ending really got to me. It's so weird having a comic I've been reading for seven years come to an end. I hope I will be able to say that again for some future piece of Transformers media.
Also remind me...did Megatron really manage to open a Matrix? I was kinda hoping that we do get to see him open one in the final issue at least, as a form of flashback panel or such :X
It was a lie in hopes of softening his sentence. It's believable that both could open the Matrix and since no one was there to witness who opened it they'd have to take Hot Rod's word.
The Lost Light splitting just seems cruel: On the one hand as happy as I am that the crew get to go on more adventures, on the other there is a part of them that just goes through the motions. I kinda like the more melancholic life of the LL for some reason and I do very feel bad for them, so the fact that a half of them is off actually having a better fun life is just too cruel.
I'm curious if this was the intention of Roberts with the ending, because it just feels wrong to me.
I understand perfectly what you mean, as I feel the exact same.
The life on this universe is sadder, but it also feels more "real" because of that, and I love it more for it (that said, it's also because we see a lot more of it, while the Lost Light in the other universe is just "and the adventure continues"). I feel really bad especially for this-universe Megatron, but on the other hand he did commit all those atrocities. I guess it's a way to make every reader get what they want, in a way, no matter what their opinion on Megatron is.
I fully believe this is all by design and exactly how it's meant to make you feel. Roberts is all about mixing the joy and happy with the sad and melancholic, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaking of this, there is something that feels very ambiguous to me:
has everyone forgotten about Rung? Evidence in favor:
- Rung has an initially comical, then justified in-story, tendency to be forgotten as soon as people stop seeing him.
- Nobody mentions him at all in the entire issue, with the exception of Rewind, who is able (or rather, unable not to) perceive multiple realities at once.
- When Rewind mentions it, the dialogue seems to imply Chromedome has no idea who he is either.
- Nobody gives a second thought to at least one of the Luna-born bots having an identical face to Rung's. Arguably nobody that knew Rung saw him, but the entire spark field ignited with "don't forget me", so as you say it's probably safe to assume there's more Luna-bots with Rung's face (all of them?) yet again, nobody says a thing about it.
It might have actually been mentioned that Rung would be forgotten when he made the matrixes? I, uh, ironically enough, can't remember. :D
Edit: forget all of that, I forgot about the scene where Chromedome and Rewind explicitly come across Rung's office and don't recognize it... which was the one that made me realize they had forgotten him, duh. There was so much going on I had forgotten about it. Carry on.
It was a lie in hopes of softening his sentence. It's believable that both could open the Matrix and since no one was there to witness who opened it they'd have to take Hot Rod's word.
I didn't catch the lie until now (I had forgotten about Rodimus being the one to open it), thanks. Besides the scene being a cool callback to the original movie, the lie doubles as a symbolic cementing of Rodimus' complete forgiveness of Megatron, which is a very Roberts thing to do. :)
Anyone else wondering what Roberts will be up to next?
I picked up War for Cybertron Siege Optimus Prime. What an amazing figure. It's like a small masterpiece. He feels really solid too. This is going to be an amazing line if this is indicative of the quality.
Ok so was the guard Rung or did Rungs role in creating all of them lead to them having his face and Rung became the dust?
Am I right in assuming Megatron was executed so that is why Rodimus had the Rod badge
Also knowing there is a universe with just them traveling forever is so sad, and in the end Prowl was the real villain of the entire series...... and that makes perfect sense
Creating an alternate universe duplicate of the entire crew and ship is exactly the kind of thing Rodimus would do.
I like how neither ending is really bad, just one is more realistic. Life goes on, some people are list, people lose contact, but the memories remain. It's melancholy, but not outright sad. I think the parts that bum me out the most are Megatron's fate, and Rodimus'.
Yeah, there was no way Megatron was going to escape his justice as long as he was in the main universe. I actually thought he had a good ending when they left him in the Functionist universe, and was slightly surprised they brought him back. At least he found his peace though.
Rodimus was sadder in a way. He's like that guy who peaks, and then his whole life is downhill from there. He'll always long for the glory days, but they're long gone.
Rung being completely forgotten was a bummer too, especially given the message he left on the moon. I hope the comic is implying that he lives on through the new moon sparks.
It's weird being done with it. I've spent years with this crew, and even longer reading comics in this universe. I'm glad they got a proper ending, but part of me doesn't want to say goodbye. It's bittersweet.
Prowl's inherent cold sense of societal justice and process compared to Rodimus's love of charisma and camraderie is great, Megatron whispering that he's glad Prowl wasn't there feels like a nod to the readers too- he just wouldn't have fitted in with such a fixed viewpoint, even more so that Magnus. Even so, I'm glad that Prowl was around to give the point of view that just because the reader and the main cast might adopt a penitent evil murderer as a teammate, their dead victims might not feel that way. It seemed like a good way to handle it- you get the point of view of Rodimus thinking Prowl is fucking cold for his 'isolation torture suggestion', but ultimately even Megatron accepts it. That's the character development on show, not 'he might be a murderer but he's our murderer and we forgive him so it's cool'. Even then, death or eternal imprisonment in that world still follows death for various heroes that fought against him for millions of years but didn't make it that far. That enough happened for at least one Autobot to forgive him and the crew to be happy drinking with him is enough acceptance, even if it's just a drop in the ocean compared to his crimes.
In Swerve's- Cyclonus singing. Lol. Also, Whirl's holomatter disguise again. Replying to Drift with 'U wot mate?' in text on a phone. Briliant.
Oh god, Magnus. 'I realise this sounds hopelessly romantic but I signed up in pursuit of a clearly defined long-term objective that would forge a range of mutually beneficial professional relationships'. :D
'Til all are one.' Indeed. Lovely reference contrasting the initial meaning of the singularity to the sense of loneliness when friends depart.
Drift's pet name for Ratchet is Ratty. Oh man.
What was the symbol that Rodimus gave to Megatron 819 years ago? I dimly remember he had special badges he gave out to team rodimus on the Lost Light, is Ratchet's funeral presumed to be 800+ years in the future?
Hey, the funeralbot that Whirl talks to looks like Rung... do all the new sparks look like him?
The ending. I loved the issue as a whole, but prefer the reality to the 'adventure pals forever, Megatron escapes!'. Reality, with some people having coped or endured or lucked out better than others is essentially on show at a lot of reunions recapping youthful adventures and camraderie, and this one is a reunion centuries later, not decades. However, in Robert's notes he recaps who he was writing for. It's a story that is entirely about adventure and camraderie and romance amongst individuals that all have their personal struggles. In the face of a hostile universe they find comfort, courage and more in each other. For those readers, and considering the themes as a whole, the sense that the journey doesn't have to stop for a long, long time is a good way to finish.
Specifically, when Megatron makes that comment (which is during his trial, not during Ratchet's funeral), it means that it was given to him 800+ years ago from his point of view, but only one or two years ago from Rodimus' point of view. That's because he spent 800+ years in the Functionist universe before returning to our own at a point in time shortly after he departed.
We don't know when Ratchet's funeral takes place, I think; several Lost Lighters comment on not having seen each other for years, but with Transformers "years" could mean anything. Decades? Centuries? Millennia? It's probably left ambiguous on purpose, like so many other things.
Specifically, when Megatron makes that comment (which is during his trial, not during Ratchet's funeral), it means that it was given to him 800+ years ago from his point of view, but only one or two years ago from Rodimus' point of view. That's because he spent 800+ years in the Functionist universe before returning to our own at a point in time shortly after he departed.
We don't know when Ratchet's funeral takes place, I think; several Lost Lighters comment on not having seen each other for years, but with Transformers "years" could mean anything. Decades? Centuries? Millennia? It's probably left ambiguous on purpose, like so many other things.
Just noticed that the cover for the last issue of Lost Light was changed. Guess these are supposed to be the pairs? Why is Ratchet with Drift? Those two seem like such opposites.
And I forgot to share pics of Mega Dragon here. Nice looking(if finicky) toy.
3rd Party or official masterpiece? Cause Dragon Megatron was always my favorite from Best Wars, it was my Dream Transformer to own as a kid. Will sell a kidney or two accordingly to obtain one.
Did I just watch a Trump Parallel Megatron with Prime as his politcal advisor in a Cyberyronian bar? With Bumblebee as a supporter? What in gods name is this trash!
Did I just watch a Trump Parallel Megatron with Prime as his politcal advisor in a Cyberyronian bar? With Bumblebee as a supporter? What in gods name is this trash!
I don't get that either. I don't know the context of the episode but they seem to be talking about protesting the government with a public rally, with Prime writing the speech for Megatron, and Megs is arguing that maybe there's a better way (overthrowing the government?)
I don't see what's so trash or Trump about it, isn't this taking cues from MTMTE?
I don't get that either. I don't know the context of the episode but they seem to be talking about protesting the government with a public rally, with Prime writing the speech for Megatron, and Megs is arguing that maybe there's a better way (overthrowing the government?)
I don't see what's so trash or Trump about it, isn't this taking cues from MTMTE?
I don't get that either. I don't know the context of the episode but they seem to be talking about protesting the government with a public rally, with Prime writing the speech for Megatron, and Megs is arguing that maybe there's a better way (overthrowing the government?)
I don't see what's so trash or Trump about it, isn't this taking cues from MTMTE?
Pretty much, which is actually kind of pleasantly surprising in itself, considering it's a completely different continuity from MTMTE. Coming from LL's end it's kind of great to see how it influenced other TF media.
I don't get that either. I don't know the context of the episode but they seem to be talking about protesting the government with a public rally, with Prime writing the speech for Megatron, and Megs is arguing that maybe there's a better way (overthrowing the government?)
I don't see what's so trash or Trump about it, isn't this taking cues from MTMTE?
I haven't read MTMTE (I really should get on that), but as for the context...
Through a series of disconnected memories, we see that Megatron was once a champion gladiator, and he was extremely popular and played to the audience, saying that he gets stronger when the audience cheers for him. Bumblebee hero-worships Megatron.
Flash forward and Megatron is a "former" gladiator, making speeches about how he fights for the people and he does it outside of the ring now, and how he won't stop until life is better for all Cybertronians and no marginalized groups will be left behind. Bumblebee continues to hero-worship Megatron. And Optimus is seen standing behind Megatron in support.
Then we see that Optimus has been the one writing Megatron's speeches for him, while Megatron argues with Optimus that talk isn't working and more extreme measures are needed. Bumblebee still seems to be a Megatron fanboy, and doesn't seem to know who Optimus is.
Then after another cut, Megatron has done something, but it's not clear what he did. Optimus is pissed off by it, and he storms into Megatron's place, with Bumblebee accompanying. It's seen that Megatron has Shockwave conducting Frankenstein experiments. Optimus tells Megatron to cool his jets and return to the path of peace. Megatron tells Optimus that peace won't change things for the better fast enough, and says that temporary war is less costly than prolonged injustice. Optimus says he'll stop Megatron. Megatron says to bring it. Megatron then offers to let Bumblebee join in his crusade, and Bumblebee (formerly a total Megatron fanboy) says "Hell no, I'm with Optimus here. You're fucking crazy."
After another cut, Bumblebee is captured and taken before Megatron. Megatron reveals to Bumblebee his plan to use the AllSpark and Vector Sigma to create a new world full of people who have been engineered to agree with him and follow his orders, and genocide everyone who doesn't, and Bumblebee tells Megatron that Optimus will stop him. Megatron then rips out Bumblebee's voice box so he can't tell Optimus what he's learned.
Reposting from Comic era made this before the emotional finale
Well I finished my reread of MTME/LOST LIGHT and yeah MTME is still amazing and expect more funny pages posted for my random thoughts
But lost light really feels that Robert's was told he had this many issues before the end of transformers and had to rush through shit and didn't get time to breath and things that should have been a bigger deal like deaths of Ten and Nightbeat especially since Nautica, ultra Magnus and Swerve were friends of those peoplethat was brushed and the sudden deaths of certain antagonist feels like he realized because he doesn't have time had to resolve thoss antagonist
Also for being THE GREATEST AUTOBOT OF ALL TIME Thunderclash does fuck all and I forget he's part of the crew now which is weird since everyone hype him up
Also to make it up really obvious Roberts didn't have time the end of MTME had Megatron being called by Optimus prime or at least implied in the other universe especially when he had dialogue with Roller about Optimus
