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[Rakhamon]

So, the first "proper" issue of the restarted Marvel Transformer comic just hit, and a lot of stuff happens. Big stuff.

This thread contains MAJOR SPOILERS! Do not read past this point if you want to find out for yourself!

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RIGHT!

In issue #81, the plotline of the Pax Cybertronica continues as the Wreckers depart for Earth. It's interesting to see Furman mirroring the plot from the present IDW ongoings (MTMTE and RiD) in terms of a "peaceful" Cybertron with lots of tension building. In Regeneration the main troublemaker is Soundwave, who seems to be orchestrating the uprisings, reflecting back to Furman writing Soundwave as a master manipulator and schemer in his Marvel UK run.

Speaking of Marvel UK, this issue also drives home a point that Furman confirmed in interviews long ago: While Regeneration may take small cues from the UK stories, the UK stories will NOT be part of the continuity of the title (and neither will the Generation 2 comic). For example, in #81 we once again see the Wreckers, under the command of Kup and Springer. Its ranks include Roadbuster, Topspin and Rack'n'Ruin, all of whom were killed off for good during the UK storylines but never appeared (more or less) in the US ones. In what I can only assume is a reference to the live-action movies, Leadfoot (G2) is now also a Wrecker, probably only because his namesake in Dark of the Moon was. In fact, all three of the DOTM Wreckers are in this iteration too, in their G1 incarnations. Fun!

To add to the "obscure characters return" angle, Soundwave uses the deluxe Insecticons (Venom, Chop Shop and Ransack) to create more tension. These guys, as you may know, only ever briefly appeared in the UK comic (where they were pretty much destroyed utterly, another case of Regeneration not heeding the UK events).

As the Wreckers depart to investigate earth, Ultra Magnus, Kup and Hot Rod all have concerns about the "peace" and want the Autobots to take stronger measures, but Optimus refuses. Then he has a vision? A dream? A nightmare? He sees Unicron, who promises that he's coming back, and that he'll kill Optimus again. I hope... I really REALLY hope that Furman does NOT bring back Unicron again. After seeing Unicron in the UK comics, the US comic, the Beast Wars tie-ins, the Unicron Trilogy, Dreamwave and Prime, I am just so sick of the guy. I liked him well enough to begin with, but he's so damn over-exposed at this point. He's become like Galactus, a cosmic force that gets defeated so often in fiction that he's become watered-down. But this may all just be Prime's insecurity after his death at Unicron's hands the original series. We'll see.

Soundwave chats with Bludgeon, who is still leading a small renegade band who are hiding at the fringe of civilized space. Bludgeon promises Soundwave "more soldiers" as we see the Pretender standing in front of... a machine with the outline of Thunderwing's silhouette. Furman previously used Thunderwing as a huge threat in the original book AND in IDW, so I'm not sure what's going on here. From Bludgeon's speech it sounds as if he intends to create all-new troops or maybe copy dead ones... Maybe we'll see some kind of Thunderwing-clones!

The issue ends with the Wreckers approaching earth and finding... the big surprise of the issue.

Earth is entirely devastated. Human civilization has fallen.

The major cities of the world lie in ruins. While Cybertron was rebuilding and insular, humankind was being destroyed.

The Wreckers wonder what could have caused this, until their probe zooms in on a lone figure sitting on a throne of wreckage.

Megatron.

Megatron (back to his black helmet from the early days of Marvel) gleefully shoots the probe down and launches a series of nuclear warheads that seemingly obliterate the Wreckers' ship.

And there the issue ends.

All in all it was pretty interesting. A large amount of obscure G1 characters got some face time, the tension is fairly well done, and earth being a wasteland was a nice twist to most TF canons. I'm curious to see how this will go. The art still isn't wooing me, though. Wildman's pencils still feel rushed and a bit more wavy than before, maybe it's the inking. There's even more rubbery faces than in the Marvel book. The "retro" coloring is good fun, though.

What did you guys think?

[Groundsplitter]

It may be a while before the majority of the members get around to replying. I have been informed that the NTFA Store's comic book shipment (containing RID #7 and RegenOne #81) has actually already been shipped out, but as usual it takes the package a while to arrive. Judging by the delivery times of the last two shipments, I believe that our comics will reach me on or around July 24.

[Rakhamon]

It may be a while before the majority of the members get around to replying. I have been informed that the NTFA Store's comic book shipment (containing RID #7 and RegenOne #81) has actually already been shipped out, but as usual it takes the package a while to arrive. Judging by the delivery times of the last two shipments, I believe that our comics will reach me on or around July 24.

That sucks, Lars. I am personally WAY too impatient to wait, so I got it off Comixology on release.

[Groundsplitter]

And I bought a copy today. The ending was a real shocker. I was a bit worried how Simon Furman's story would fare in comparison to Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye, which have both been very good (particularly MTMTE which may be the most interesting TF comic book title ever). I thought that from his perspective it must have looked like a thankless task; had the story been launched one year earlier the competition would have been much weaker.

But this twist was so huge that the readers have no choice but to take notice of this story as well. We must learn more about it. And that ensures that at least the next couple of issues will be just as anticipated as the MTMTE issues.


As for the artwork, I was a bit unhappy to see that the team of Wildman and Baskerville didn't reach up to the same levels as in the original Marvel run. While their faces have always been semi-human (something that I know puts off some readers, but which I have no problem with), there were some faces that were even more human this time - Kup had a very rounded nose in one place, and Magnus a very child-like face in another, just to take two examples. But hopefully it's just because the artist duo is rusty; I'm hoping that they'll perfect the artwork in a couple of issues' time.

And speaking Magnus - MTMTE has really had an impact on how I view the characters nowadays. When he complained to Optimus Prime about the Wreckers' methods, I couldn't help but think about the weirdo who gets incredibly upset over a speck of dirt on a desk, or who can argue for hours about the importance of a semi-colon. It was actually strange seeing a much more normal Ultra Magnus here. (Likewise with Whirl for that matter.)

By the way, Ultra Magnus is another example of how this continuation doesn't necessarily build on the UK continuity. Remember, the first time he showed up in the UK story, he was actually leading The Wreckers; now he disapproves of their methods. Okay, he may have matured, or may be of the opinion that the current incarnation of the group has strayed away from the methods they used back during his leadership, but I still took notice of it as a deviation from the UK continuity. Especially since the membership hasn't actually changed (at least not much) from the Target:2006 story.

Let's see... what more is there to say after the first read-through...
Well, I thought it was cool to see Berko of the Cosmic Carnival again. I like it when even the sillier bits from past continuity are acknowledged again.
I'm quite annoyed with Optimus Prime actually. Not because of his self-esteem issues (that rise their ugly face again, certainly not for the first time), but because he never once thought of checking in with Earth in the past 21 years. I can't help but feel that he's partially responsible for our planet's gruesome fate. Quite so, in fact.

[Rakhamon]

The ending was a real shocker. I was a bit worried how Simon Furman's story would fare in comparison to Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye, which have both been very good (particularly MTMTE which may be the most interesting TF comic book title ever).

Yeah, for my money MTMTE is not just the best Transformer title on the stands right now. It's the best Transformer title. Ever. Regeneration is a bit more cliché, but it also has nostalgia going for it, which is a strong incentive. Additionally as you note, it is not tied down to the IDW continuity so it can do whatever it wants, and destroying earth is just the kind of thing that TF fiction often can't do because they have a heavy investment in it.

As for the artwork, I was a bit unhappy to see that the team of Wildman and Baskerville didn't reach up to the same levels as in the original Marvel run. While their faces have always been semi-human (something that I know puts off some readers, but which I have no problem with), there were some faces that were even more human this time - Kup had a very rounded nose in one place, and Magnus a very child-like face in another, just to take two examples. But hopefully it's just because the artist duo is rusty; I'm hoping that they'll perfect the artwork in a couple of issues' time.

Totally agreed on this. I feel the "rubberiness" has just gotten worse, and the art feels less detailed when I compare it to my vintage issues, with some of the Transformers drawn in very sketchily. I hope this improves.

I'm quite annoyed with Optimus Prime actually. Not because of his self-esteem issues (that rise their ugly face again, certainly not for the first time), but because he never once thought of checking in with Earth in the past 21 years. I can't help but feel that he's partially responsible for our planet's gruesome fate. Quite so, in fact.

Yes, this is weird. My only thought is that the stabilization on Cybertron has been so dramatic and difficult that he just hasn't had time? But at least this neatly explains why Spike is the new Circuit Breaker on earth, most likely he will be a resistance fighter akin to Furman's 80's story "Rhythms of Darkness" where Galvatron had pretty much conquered the US.

Yeah, I noticed that too, but I feel that Magnus characterization as kind of a hardass by-the-book type of guy did have a root in some of the UK stories where he acted as Optimus' second-hand man in the first place. And when you consider for example Target 2006, Magnus is the one who feels he has a greater duty and goes off to earth to investigate the disappearance of Prime, whereas Impactor is raging at him for quitting Operation Volcano. In a sense, Magnus always had a "duty-bound" thing going which put him above the other Wreckers. I also like that we finally HAVE a characterization for Magnus, since let's face it, he pretty much had no defining traits in the original cartoon other than "that guy Optimus gave the Matrix too who failed".

It's also funny that IDW Whirl is pretty much just based on his Tech Specs character, but taken much much further to the extreme. James Roberts s great like that.

Well, I thought it was cool to see Berko of the Cosmic Carnival again.

Agreed again! Since I grew up with these comics and with the G1 cartoon, I never thought that having the light-hearted type stories was "wrong". A lot of fans only focus on the UK comics and insist that Transformers need to involve horrible death and downer endings constantly, but I love Budiyanski's stuff.



This post has been edited by Rakhamon: 13 July 2012, 21:34

[palaste]

I got my hands on issue #81 today and read through it. So far my impression is that it is an improvement over issue #80.5, though still less than what I expected.
I got the "B" cover variant, with the three Autobots standing side-by-side. Having looked at the cover, the colouring seems to be similar to the original G1 comic, which I rather like. I think I might be ordering similar cover variants for later issues if there are any available.
Like in the previous issue, the whole plot seems now much more mature than in the original G1 comic. It's good in its own right, but it only serves to remind me of the two decades that passed between issues #80 and #80.5. That the art and colouring has improved and become more realistic doesn't have that much of a similar effect.
I think I got to read halfway through the comic to see any real links back to the storyline of the original G1 comic. But there were some, like the mention of Grimlock's personal quest, and Optimus Prime's death and resurrection. I also got to see a real-life, honest-to-gosh G1 comic plot element appearing in the new comic: the Cosmic Carnival, now piloted by Berko. As far as I can remember, Berko imprisoned Big Top aboard the carnival with the help of Sky Lynx, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, so while he already was a trustee back then, I can imagine he now runs the whole show. This still leaves a plot hole - Berko and Sky Lynx left the Cosmic Carnival, ending up at the Central Space Station, where Berko lived as a homeless drunkard, while Sky Lynx was imprisoned by the Mecannibals. Berko must have somehow gotten back to the Cosmic Carnival, but how, when, and why? Why did he ever have to leave there if he could come back? And what became of Sky Lynx?
The inclusion of the Wreckers struck me as a bit odd. Seeing as they never appeared in the US version of the original G1 comic, using them in a US comic now seems a bit strange, almost like Furman is jumping at the chance of getting to use them. However, I have understood that while UK comic characters may appear in this comic, there won't be much in the way of references to the UK comic.
I have to say the ending of this first proper issue was genuinely shocking at first. All those cities utterly devastated. I assume most of their population has been killed as well. I was hoping to see more of the storyline back on Earth, but with Earth in this state, what is there to see? And even though this is fiction, the mere thought of Earth in that condition kind of makes me sad.

This post has been edited by palaste: 24 July 2012, 19:01

[vmv-81]

I was so thrilled to see the Skyscorchers, I really liked their toys when I got them. Too bad they died so soon in there.

[palaste]

I was so thrilled to see the Skyscorchers, I really liked their toys when I got them. Too bad they died so soon in there.

You're talking about the aeroplane Transformers who had gotten their hands on the missiles, and were killed by the Deluxe Insecticons, right? I am ashamed to say, but I couldn't remember whether those particular characters were Autobots or Decepticons. The "transition line" between G1 and G2 is what interested me the least about the original Transformers toys before the Beast Wars and subsequent toylines.