Transformers!

[anarky]

If it's post-G2, half the cool characters in both armies are dead. Sideswipe is black and Megatron's a tank.

[anarky]

Holy fuck, have you seen the cover?

I saw it, and it dawned on me: This isn't G2. This isn't Furman axing people because Hasbro doesn't have toys of them in production, and all the forced "grit." AND, if it's not G2, then it is completely unaffected by the GIJoe crossover as well.

Shitfire! And I mean that as a synonym for "holy fucking balls, yes!!"

Ratchet is still mentally linked to Megatron (and not getting swept under the rug). Galvatron lives (dunking him in a lake couldn't kill the most powerful Decepticon ever). Fort Max, Spike, Brawn, and Bludgeon don't get unceremoniously killed by Megatron just to show how omnipotently EXTREMEEEEE!!!!!1!!! super-tank-Megatron is. (I can buy Cobra has kickass technology. But to turn Megatron from merely "Megatron" to something that could beat up Unicron without breaking a sweat was stoooooopid. I also think Megatron would probably get along fine with G1 Bludgeon, who would likely hand over the reins to Megs in a heartbeat if he knew he still functioned.) Grimlock still cannot transform (and it's really likely that some others will have that problem soon, too). Cybertron is still overrun by Demons and Mecannibals. Shockwave and Starscream are still on the Ark, and still hated by Megatron and Galvatron (rather than, again, being forgotten).

Wonder if they can iron out something with Marvel and Hasbro regarding the Neo-Knights. I wouldn't mind seeing them redeemed.

And it'd also be nice to see what the deal is with Autobot Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmasters who died violently on Klo, presumably with their Nebulan counterparts being iced, too. Not sure the Last Autobot's powers work on fleshlings. (And what of the metamorphosis of Hi-Q and Prime--will this affect other Powermasters, and might something along the same lines happen to Headmasters as well?)

Damn, now I'm excited.

[anarky]

I'm going over the various timelines of the original G1 Transformers and GIJoe universes to see how many "branching" alternate realities are involved. I'm not looking for contradictions per se, just curious how many different universes came out of those two series.

Universe #1 is the events of the original GIJoe series exactly as they happened, continued by the IDW series.

Universe #2 is the same original GIJoe series, continued by the Devil's Due series.

Simple enough, so far. However, the first issue (as in problem, not comic book issue) comes from minor differences in Devil's Due. The Transformers never met the Joes in this world. (We're not even to that title yet and it's already a problem.) Also, Vietnam is replaced by a second war in Southeast Asia with no parallel in the real world. There's no reason to believe GIJoe: Declassified could not exist within the world of the Marvel run, but the Snake Eyes Declassified miniseries is distinct enough to be another discrepancy.

The Transformers are a toyline in a few issues of the original Joe series. Then, suddenly, they're real. Both official crossovers happened in both (original) timelines. Big problems arise with Generation 2, though. New York is destroyed. Pretty sure Storm Shadow would've noticed if his favorite water tower was wiped out by a giant skeleton.

The Hasbro pack-in comics are either nebulous in where and when they occur, or have definite spots in the Joe timeline. One that's a problem is the Storm Shadow/Firefly two-pack, which has Storm Shadow and Firefly making peace. Which, IIRC, contradicts the World War III storyline in Devil's Due.

Plus, throw in the headache of the Joes at a comic convention in an early issue, with plenty of Marvel fanboys, with Stalker's argument with J Jonah Jameson much later on. Which happens only a few issues before the Battlechargers' "Decepticons Rule!" graffiti shows up in the background of an issue also set in New York.

Transformers mostly runs smoothly at first. They exist in the Marvel Universe. Only, then, they don't. Which leaves Circuit Breaker in some weird limbo. Then there are mutants, presumably on the first super-team, only there are no superhumans in GIJoe.

Then the major Transformers issues pop up. There are currently two contradictory continuations of Generation 1, both by Furman: "A Distant Time and Place" and Generation 2/Alignment. The second of which leads into Beast Wars (the cartoon). A third is forthcoming.

The events of Transformers UK mostly take place in the background of the American series, so to speak. It retconned itself a lot to make sure it fit with those reprinted American stories (until Furman was writing both, and that wasn't necessary). Except that the UK Transformers had run-ins with Death's Head, another Marvel character, but who originated in the Marvel Universe and entered the TFUK Universe, meaning the Marvel Universe and TF Universe had to be separate. And they fought alongside Action Force... the UK version of the Joe team, with the same characters, only from the UK.

Earthforce is a huge headache. It didn't even make sense when it was published. Grimlock leads a contingent of 'Bots on Earth... more or less during the time of Matrix Quest, but fighting a very not-melted-into-Ratchet Megatron and apparently not giving a shit about Unicron (or that various members were dead or on the Matrix Quest).

Shit.... I started typing this and it quickly got longer than I expected. And a lot less linear. I didn't even try to count. I guess the bottom line is that Grimlock has no fucking reason for being a Tyrannosaurus rex because there were no fucking dinosaurs in Antarctica four million years ago. And Storm Shadow just doesn't watch his water tower closely enough to see Bludgeon blowing it up (along with the rest of Manhattan).

I feel like I need a Tylenol and to move into my parents' basement. And they don't even have a fucking basement.

[anarky]

80-5-cover-colours.jpg (527.58 KiB) Viewed 3287 times

Prowl: the explosion, I'm guessing, is on Klo? Or maybe it's one of Cybertron's growing pains?
Thunderwing and the Matrix, Galvatron killing Xaaron, the coming of Unicron, Ratchetron, Actionmaster Grimlock killing a Demon, Fort Max post-battle with Galvatron, Bludgeon fucking up some 'Bots on Klo: self-explanatory, though Grimlock has some pre-Actionmaster traits (the wings and style of his arms, but the head is definitely Actionmaster).
Scorponok and someone else (identified as Nightbeat by a forumite at IDW's site, but it doesn't look like him to me) bathed in energy: I'm assuming this is the massive teleportation initiated by Primus. Who is the other dude? Siren? Head is indeed Nightbeat-ish, but the body looks wrong. And this looks like they're being blasted (Scorponok even looks a little melty). Only Nightbeat wasn't around him when he died, or at any point I can remember in the battle against Unicron.
Shockwave: Why him alone, in profile? And what events does this symbolize?
The moon: Why? And is it the moon, since it looks like it has its own moon?
Most importantly, why is Optimus Prime back to his original character model?

http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2011/1 ... ation-one/

Clearly, I don’t want to give away salient plot points at this stage, but I can say… the story picks up 21 years after #80. Cybertron has been at peace (mostly) for all that time, but — of course — there are loose ends. And as those loose ends involve some of the biggest and baddest villains in the (original) Transformers Universe, it’s pretty safe to say that the ‘peace’ will be shattered in a fairly monumental way.

Well, when I was doing the prep for the continuation, I re-read all eighty issues, plus mini-series, and made pretty extensive notes about anything and everything that needed attention or some kind of reference or wrap up, so you can expect a really comprehensive and thorough conclusion to the series (though that’s a ways off yet, in issue #100!), as well as copious nods to what has come before (and not necessarily just in the US comic).

Oh yeah, one last thing – categorically, #81-100 are not a lead in to G2. But neither are we exactly ignoring G2 either. Weird as that sounds, I think/hope it’ll kind of work

Bizarre as it might sound, I'm really hoping for some sort of something about Berko, Sky Lynx, and the Roadjammers if Furman indeed noted everything that needed addressing. All of them had subplots that just vanished. But being 21 years later, and all those but Sky Lynx being fleshlings, I dunno.

Wonder what he means about it not leading into G2 but not ignoring it. Maybe some re-imagining of Jhiaxus and Liege Maximo? If it's not a continuation, and not a lead-in, I'm a bit baffled. Suffice to say that the more important humans would be much older (though, with many of them being cyborgs, that may not be an issue).

Edit: Stupid me. Grimlock's dipping himself in Nucleon. That's not his Actionmaster head.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Dude, reading that gave me a headache.

[anarky]

I know you ain't on the Facebox, but I think you can see this anyway:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transfor ... 2884180619

[Rollo Tomassi]

I know you ain't on the Facebox, but I think you can see this anyway:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transfor ... 2884180619

"takes us up to issue 100". And then it ends? Boo!!

[anarky]

They'd already said that, though.

Call me fucking insane, but I really hope Furman caught the dangling plot of the Roadjammers. Though they weren't particularly cool or anything, the idea of four loose-cannon humans who have reverse-engineered anti-Transformer technology should not have been left in the dust.

In other news, I really frickin' want the "signed colour Grimlock print."
http://www.andrewwildmanart.com/transfo ... rints.html

[anarky]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=36515

What about the original heads of the Headmasters, still on Nebulos?

Shit, I hadn't even thought about that.

Nice to read that Circuit Breaker will be around, though apparently with a new name. Because Marvel is using the hell out of the character.

Who's the blonde dude in the armor in the montage pic? Its' not one of the NeoKnights, it doesn't look like Spike or Buster, either. Galen? One of the fucking Roadjammers?

[anarky]

'K, Rollo, help me out here. Almost everyone on every forum I've seen is assuming the blonde dude is "Circuit Smasher" and this is a gender switch. Doesn't look that way to me; the guy clearly is carrying a shotgun, and his tech doesn't look too consistent with Circuit Breaker's (aside from the stuff on his head). Possible, but not likely. Then again, the guy is prominent in that montage, and every other scene is clearly a flashback. And, even if different, the tech is asymmetrical and connects to much of his body. I'd think IDW could've just played nice with Marvel and said, "Yeah, you're really liking those Thor collections we've done, eh? Too bad about Transformers/New Avengers, but, eh, we couldn't foresee that. Look, since we're friends and all, any chance we could use this Marvel-owned character that is so tied to the Transformers that she'll never see the light of day again otherwise? Yeah, we're continuing Furman's run on the Transformers, and she's sorta important. Not like you've used her in 21 years, anyway. Let us know."

Also thrown out is that Circuit Smasher is Josie Beller and the guy's the son of Circuit Breaker Smasher, with G.B., Thunderpunch, or Josie. I find that tough to swallow. It's 21 years after #80, not 31. That guy looks older than 21. G.B. or Thunderpunch clearly had protective feelings toward Circuit Breaker, but love? I'm not seeing it, and can't imagine Furman forcing that issue. Spike is even more ridiculous a candidate; I don't think they ever met. Never mind that I doubt Josie got back to Earth, recovered from having her mind completely fucked to pieces overnight, and settled down to have kids.

I looked up the Roadjammers, since I just remember "four obnoxious generic bounty hunter types from one of the shittiest stand-alone Transformers stories ever published, though a huge glaring loose thread." And this guy looks like none of them at all. He's closest to Burn-Out, but definitely not the same guy. Serious facial reconstruction surgery would be necessary, and neither Burn-Out nor this unshaven dude in a t-shirt look like they give a shit about scars.

The Roadjammers certainly weren't big enough to deserve a spot on the montage with Ratchet/Megatron or Jhiaxxus, but, then again, I wouldn't consider the Car Wash of Doom or what appears to be the Decepticon Powermasters on the run from the Mecannibals to be important, either.

I asked on Wildman's FB page, but got a coy "wait and see" sort of answer. What are your thoughts? I'm going to go with someone connected to the Roadjammers and using a sort of hybrid Roadjammer/Circuit Breaker tech until there's confirmation otherwise.

[anarky]

Anyone else in this thread at all?

Police Action was amazing. I really, really love how every expectation of Transformers is getting turned on its head--even moreso than the initial Infiltration series.

The aftermath of All Hail Megatron is dealt with much better here than in the actual AHM series, too.

[Rollo Tomassi]

The two Relaunch series also subvert expectations.
MTMTE is fucking hilarious. I can't wait for you to get the first Trade and spit milk out your nose.
RID is all political intrigue, and you're not even sure if you should be rooting for the Autobots or the Decepticons.

[anarky]

I read some spoilers that would seem to be huge, but, in the scope of the IDW body count are minor. I can't wait to get my hands on both series.

You know if there's a comprehensive "body count" tally for IDW somewhere?

[Rollo Tomassi]

I can't find anything.
Might be something for insaneprattle.

[anarky]

It'd be helpful as hell. It's tough to keep up with who's alive and who's not, especially with things like the bit from the Prowl Spotlight, "He's red and black, looks like he might be a plane." I was scratching my head for a while trying to figure out if this was a "named" character, then Prowl mentions to Prime that the humans killed Thrust in cold blood.

Obviously if nothing exists, I wouldn't mind working on it.