Yes, yes, back to play Devil's Advocate yet again...
Windsweeper wrote:At least Dreamwave knew the characters. I want to like IDW. I really do, but it's just lacking. Stormbringer was as empty as a redundant Pretender shell.
I'm curious as to how Dreamwave "knew" the characters. Did they go along with an already-established storyline that was only slightly altered to allow for its continuation? Yes. But most of the "defining" moments came not from actual development (outside of
War Within, I'll grant you that), but from reinforcing previously-existing molds for the characters. The only character I can think of doing something
other than what was expected of him was Wheeljack, but only because it was the first time we'd seen him in a "save-the-world" moment.
Stormbringer, on the other hand, was an attempt to resolve the fans' cries of "no squishies!" and focus more on the downfall of Cybertron and its toll on Optimus. I'd say it worked.
Plus how can Prowl not outrank Hot Rod? What kind of crap is that?
Prowl is only the commander of the detachment of Autobots on Earth. Given the exchange between Megs and Screamer from
Infiltration about Earth being "a backwater world" and such, I can't imagine Prowl being
that highly-ranked an officer. Hot Rod, on the other hand, seems more like a "special ops" kind of character--I'm not that familiar with military regulations in the West, but it seems like such a distinction would place ol' Rod a little above most of the "Earthforce."
Why does Furman's Prowl always lose his temper/composure? Has he not read the near infinite patience and logical personality bit on the tech specs.
The current incarnation of Prowl has a lot on his plate: he has
three Autobots (out of six!) under his command who have been prone to insubordination. His superior has been summoned
behind his back to deal with the situation. A soldier under his command has been made a casualty, as well as a human native whose presence
went against his orders. And now he has to deal with an
unorthodox,
brash, and
arrogant hot shot who ignores protocol like it's his job. The only Transformers that seem to have the kind of patience needed to deal with such a situation would be Prime himself and Shockwave (though for very different reasons).
Hopefully, Furman will learn what Prowl should be like soon and give us some interesting Bots instead of boring old Wheeljack and Jetfire.
Ouch. No love for Wheeljack...who, aside from the first Dreamwave series, never really does anything except serve as window dressing. And he was my bloody favorite as a kid.
Personally, I dig what Furman is trying to do with Prowl--yes, maybe an old approach, but at least it
fits this time, and maybe with Optimus there, we can see the calmer, more collected side of the strategist, or the reason
why he isn't so calm and collected this time around. After all...if Prowl really
is some kind of big-shot Autobot, maybe there's a reason he's posted to Earth. Maybe all those cycles of "infinite patience" finally caused him to crack under pressure? Think of the possibilities...
Anyway, nothing personal, Windsweeper. I just think that the IDW books are getting a bum wrap 'round these parts...
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