The Energon Pub

I just got the comic yesterday. It was probably the best spotlight ever written. Blurr's arrogant character pre Autobot is just so well written. One cool thing is when he arrives at The Circle, he was transported in Animated Bulkhead. It was a nice nod. The choosing of a side was hard for Blurr. He wanted power, Decepticons, and he wanted to just stay neutral. The best part was when Starscream attempts to recruit him in the bar.

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I know Im in the minority but Im really intrigued by looks at Cybertronian society before the War.

Cybertron had a culture that went beyond attaining fuel for survival. They had nightclubs, drugs, celebrities, media, sports, a financial system, class systems, etc.

They are going a bit deeper into such things albeit slowly than any other continuity that Im aware of.

The question that now remains is Spotlight Blurr a stand alone story so we can get a better glimpse of his character, who he is before he gets introduced into the AHM story, or do the events that take place in his Spotlight, set back in the early stages of the Great War have a greater significance in the grand scheme of things in AHM?

The Spotlight did not really give us much more than a turning point in the career path of Blurr, who went from a sheltered spoiled athlete who did not care for anything outside of his racing lifestyle bubble, to becoming a messenger for the Autobots, so my thinking is that the events that occur offpage at the end of the Spotlight may have huge repercussions in the AHM storyline later on.

Spotlight Blurr was also used as a re-introduction of Kup, who as others have pointed out looks more or less as he does on an upcoming cover, and not like his look in his own Spotlight.

for some reason it just left me cold. it felt detached from the idw-verse and not just because of the whole golden age thing. i don't mind character re-invention up to a point, but McCarthy just made Blurr into an unlikable douche...imo.

oh yeah, then wheeling out a shiny young Oppy? sorry, it just smacks of Pax..

I agree with you Fatconvoy, another 'Bot could have filled the same roll Optimus did in those panels, with less conflict points when readers reconcile the story against previous IDWverse. Prowl could have done it, or Ratchet.

Interesting, when that red racer, Fastrack (?) was dead on the ground next to Parton, I mean Piston, he looked like Terrorsaur to me. He was also a 'Con. Just fabricating my own nods, sure it wasn't intentional.

The Starscream in the club thing was perfect. Very well done, and I love how it was re-quoted at the end of the comic.

All in all, this spotlight had a very "mosaic" feel to it. Like a super long mosaic.

Actually, that isnt first time young Optimus has shown up. He is in Megatron Origins attending the funeral. His look is consistent.

ponycorn wrote:I agree with you Fatconvoy, another 'Bot could have filled the same roll Optimus did in those panels, with less conflict points when readers reconcile the story against previous IDWverse. Prowl could have done it, or Ratchet.

Agreed.
Ironhide and Kup were both there already, one of those two could have easily taken Optimus's role. Guess it was felt that Optimus would make the bigger impact.

Nice story.........


but some things had me like ?

First off, who the heck was Zeta Prime?

Second, and most important, didn't Optimus have a different name before he was called Optimus? and also I thought that IDW-verse kinda-sorta took after Dreamwave-verse, albeit a slightly, in that Optimus kinda sorta looked like he does now when he was called Optronix, but I did like the nod to the cartoon's Orion Pax look.

We know that after Nova Prime disappeared Cybertron established a Senate and the Prime designation became head of the security forces and likely more like a Prime Minister.

Megatron killed Sentinel Prime so Zeta Prime is his likely successor.

No I think Zeta Prime comes before Sentinal Prime, because I think that Spotlight Burr is before Megatron Origin. However, the new IDW stuff doesn't exactly match up to the old, so this is probably to help elaborate on what Starscream says to Megatron in AHM, the bit about being there before there was a beggining, before Megatron.

I really liked this issue, a lot more than I liked Spotlight: Sideswipe. I enjoy McCarthy's writing, it seems fuller and more fleshed out, I don't see why there is so much negativity regarding the "new guy" aka McCarthy.

Yes... I am one of those people who enjoys longer, slower moving stories that are rich with character development.

ponycorn wrote:No I think Zeta Prime comes before Sentinal Prime, because I think that Spotlight Burr is before Megatron Origin. However, the new IDW stuff doesn't exactly match up to the old, so this is probably to help elaborate on what Starscream says to Megatron in AHM, the bit about being there before there was a beggining, before Megatron.

I will have to disagree. In the beginning of Megatron Origins there are no Autobots or Decepticons. The Autobot symbol was the insignia of the Cybertron security forces and the Decepticon symbol was the badge of Megatron's arena fighting team. The "terrorist" attacks didnt begin until Megatron Origins. In this Spotlight the fighting and factions have already begun and have spread from just the one city in Megatron Origins.

This is supported by what Piston says to Blurr about joining the Autobots and Starscream's recruitment of Blurr along with the skirmish that breaks out at the end.

I dont think there are a lot of contradictions in the IDWverse at the moment. When Starscream says that he there before Megatron you have to remember that the seed of what is now the Decepticon was planted by Ratbat and Soundwave with Soundwave being a proxy for Ratbat. It was Soundwave who brought the Seekers to Megatron so it is not out of line to say that Starscream was on board with Ratbat and Soundwave before Soundwave even reached out to Megatron. Megatron was never intended to be anything more than a hammer for Ratbat but we know how that turned out. Megatron was more charismatic and more dangerous than anyone realized.

ponycorn wrote:Interesting, when that red racer, Fastrack (?) was dead on the ground next to Parton, I mean Piston, he looked like Terrorsaur to me. He was also a 'Con. Just fabricating my own nods, sure it wasn't intentional.

Yes, it was Fasttrack, Blurr's friendly rival from the race course, it was kinda sad to see Blurr confronted with the death of his teammates and friends and how he tried to remain neutal, but in the end, he realized he couldn't.

Seems like the IDW reboot has created grave repercussions in the TF space time continuum.

Still another question relating to the previous Revelation series ................WTF is the Matrix? Is it a physical manifestation (like the one in the TV) or more or less a nebulous thing that appears to you the way yopu want it to appear?

So if a Prime dies, it automatically transfers to the next Prime or all "Primes" are WiFi connected to a single "Matrix"?

I raised it 'cause of the mentioned "Zeta Prime" character mentioned.

We were previously introduced to Sentinel Prime who more or less likely was "Prime" before Optimus and Nova was sometime before so who or when does this "Zeta" fit in?

fenrir72 wrote:Seems like the IDW reboot has created grave repercussions in the TF space time continuum.

Still another question relating to the previous Revelation series ................WTF is the Matrix? Is it a physical manifestation (like the one in the TV) or more or less a nebulous thing that appears to you the way yopu want it to appear?

So if a Prime dies, it automatically transfers to the next Prime or all "Primes" are WiFi connected to a single "Matrix"?

I raised it 'cause of the mentioned "Zeta Prime" character mentioned.

We were previously introduced to Sentinel Prime who more or less likely was "Prime" before Optimus and Nova was sometime before so who or when does this "Zeta" fit in?

I think the Matrix is a physical thing with some kind of sentience. The way I read Optimus' conversation with Nemesis is that all Primes have some kind of connection to each other and the Matrix seeks to be with the chosen Prime. I dont think the Matrix chooses the Prime since it was lost with Nova Prime but does try and seek out whomever the next Prime is.

I don't think it is quite like the G-1 Matrix where dead Primes reside in it but rather it is more esoteric. Think of it as being related to sparks on some supernatural level. You cant really think of logical reason why a ball of energy given a being life nor can you think of how all Primes are spiritually linked by the designation and why the Matrix is drawn to them.

I think Zeta Prime is who was chosen after Megatron killed Sentinel Prime. I wouldnt put too much stock in the Optimus' thought bubble detailing the Prime lineage. It is just as simple that not all were included.

If Optimus wasnt Optimus Prime after Sentinel was killed then there had to have been someone in between or more than one in between.

I guess I'm perfectly fine reconciling the whole "Zeta Prime came after Sentinel Prime but before Optimus Prime" thing as long as somewhere along the line we get to see Megs killing Zeta too.

It's kinda weird with them changing the designs for that issue, I mean look at the seekers, Prime and Kup. The Seekers look way different then what they did in Megatron Origin Kup looks more modern and Optimus has a mouth and a different body from his cameo in Megatron Origins.

But other then that this was a really awesome story.