william-james88 wrote:But I still make a distinction between the IDW comics and the Botcon comics. It probably wont be logical, but it's what I feel. While Hasbro does influence the comics to help them promote their toys, you did point out that they still exist to make their own stories and sometimes the designs even help inspire toy designers (Brainstorm was the best example of this right?). But it seems that the way Botcon works, (correct me if I am wrong people), the comic is just there to give reason to the toy's existence. Sure, that is how Transformers fiction is traditionally done (toy first and then show fiction to promote it) but that's for new lines, new toys, new characters or new interpretations. This here isn't that, especially with Megatron. He, to me, is the same as the bio of the RID Air Attack Optimus Primal toy. Now that is a great toy and I am thankful for his existence, but I can assure you that I consider him Optimus Primal from Beast Machines and not a time Traveller visiting Fire Convoy and helping him out. I do not consider the blurb which exists solely so that he can be finally released as part of a different line to be his backstory or reason for existence.
But in this case, with Megatron, it is. His blurb (the one you quoted above) is contrived just to make this toy happen. A toy that is not relevant anywhere aside from that comic (at least Primal was relevant, he was a show accurate Primal from Best Machines!). This toy exists to back up its fiction which only exists to back up this toy. That sounds like someone who has run out of ideas.
I have read every piece of TCC fiction that Fun Pub has produced, be they BotCon comics, magazine comics, text stories, or other things. I can say wholeheartedly that not every piece of TCC fiction has been made to promote a specific figure or figures. A lot of times in the past, a story was made for the sake of progressing and fleshing out the ongoing narrative of the stories the Club was trying to tell. The three TransTech text stories from 2008, for instance, each starred a character or characters whose toys were neither Club/BotCon toys and predated the stories by a number of years (G1 Hubcap, G1 Jackpot, G2 Bulletbike, the e-HOBBY G1 GoBots, etc.). And every one of the TransTechs themselves are fiction-only characters since there has never been and likely never will be Transcendent Technomorph toys.
Other examples are the Shattered Glass text stories that continued the story of that continuity. Almost none of those stories main characters had any toys at the time they were written and published. Only those more minor characters who were carried over from the original, 2008 comic story, or the occasion odd repurpose of some older toy from retail, had toys. One of the more memorable stories, 2009's "Blitzwing Bop", starred the SG versions of Blitzwing, Soundwave, Blaster, and Thunderwing in pivotal roles, and not a single one of them had any toys of their own at the time of the story's release (Soundwave was then in his Universe Ironhide-based body, but that toy wouldn't see release until 2012). Another story, 2011's "Transhuman", focused more primarily on the human characters of the story, and there's no way any of those guys would be getting toys. A SG Shockwave (drawn as a yellow and blue redeco of Energon Shockblast) was also focused on in that story, but he has no toy to this day either.
Backing up again to the TransTech stories, the magazine "Transcendent" comics featured a few character (Blackarachia, Nightscream, Scavenger, and Immorticon) who were all in TransTech bodies, but were secretly characters from the Beast Wars: Uprising universe. But even with the BWU universe finally getting some toys in recent years, there remain many many many characters from its fiction that are toyless.
Bottom line is, oftentimes the Club will create stories and characters that don't serve the purpose of promoting toys. This new Megatron coming from a universe where he survived the ending of DOTM is hardly that different from the other kinds of otherworldly stuff the Club has done with its fiction.
As for that Air Attack Optimus Primal bio, no one really takes it to heart since the figure (along with Megatron Megabolt and RiD Bruticus) was meant to be a Beast Machines figure but was carried over into the RiD line since the Beast Machines line had ended by the time the toy was to be released.
SW's SilverHammer wrote:shajaki wrote:WJ, you make excellent points and I agree. Usually it wouldn't bother me since I think the Botcon stories are unique and diverse, but it's such a mixed bag this year that pulling it all together for a cohesive story seems like a herculean task.
I guess he exists for fans who really didn't want Megs to die in DOTM?
Actually I think they said he exists for the fans of DOTM megatron, but not the movie aaesthetic. Which kinda defeats the purpose in my a opinion because if you liked dotm Megatron, then you were fine with the movie look, which is what defined the appearance of the character, so making it G1 kinda removes that agency.
It is possible to like a character or the idea of a character without liking the way they look.
For instance, I think Movie 1 Arcee is a very cool character in the comics she appeared in like "The Reign of Starscream", but I also feel that her design is downright hideous and unappealing to me. If the Club or anybody were to make an updated figure of that character from a mold that doesn't look so butt ugly, I'd buy it no problem.
william-james88 wrote:Yeah, that definitely falls into my argument too that it just doesnt make much sense. But you add that to the fact that it is also movie megatron since he has the same backstory and that this movie megatron is the boss in a storyline they concocted that also has a shattered glas figure and
Not to say that I don't like this figure. I just feel that it has no purpose in a set like this at every angle it can be analysed and I can guarantee 100% that it will not be utilized in the way it is presented. And fans deserve better from a company that's sole existence is based on serving to them. If they wanted to make a classics version of movie figures then awesome, make a set out of that. They could all accompany Evasion Mode Prime on a shelf, that would be awesome. You could have movie drift colors and tooling on Animated Samurai Prowl. You could have movie Crosshairs using the generations Drift mold. It could have been fun, but now its just a hodge podge that is not referencing anything as a whole.
Everyone of these figures would have worked better as next year's subscription service. And instead of making nonsense that Megatron lived at the end of DOTM to be able to tell a story, you could just release him on his own as a new classics Megatron homaging movie megatron (or like I said, Aligned Megatron in an earth mode).
In the end, I still think its a nice figure, but this isnt the place for it and it really looks like the people that are supposed to be there for the fans are
now pulling stuff out of their a$$ and wasting time and assets.
PS: I also just realized that Movie Megatron isnt even dead, and he's still a truck, but humans call him Galvatron now. So even then
All I can say to this is, in Axiom Nexus, diversity is the norm.
Click to enlarge.
Not sure where I would put him either but he just looks too sweet not to get. Plus I dont have a figure of that mold. Only one of the Botcon figures I like enough to put money on so far.
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