The Energon Pub

[SW's SilverHammer]

So iTunes put out a 3 panel preview for Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #39, The Return of the DJD. Notable in this issue is the guest artist; that being Hayato Sakamoto (not the baseball player) whose last notable work with transformers was the art for Botcon 2014's Hoist the Flag comic. The issue is to be released on the 8th of April in the United States.



(These looked bigger on my tablet)

[Va'al]

Fellow Seibertronian SW's SilverHammer has spotted a new iTunes 3 panel preview, courtesy of Mariel Romero of IDW Publishing, for Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #39. The issue features both the return of the DJD and the first officially official work by guest artist Hayato Sakamoto. Check it out below!

RETURN OF THE D.J.D.! A punishment squad created by MEGATRON to hunt down dissidents, turncoats and cowards—no one believes more passionately in the DECEPTICON cause than the D.J.D. So what happens when they discover their founder has joined the Autobots? (Clue: it’s not pretty.)

[Dead Metal]

Holy crap, so Tarn is Agent 113!

Not exactly the theory I've been going with recently, but still. I wonder if I'm at least right in regard to him being Roller?

[steve2275]

shame he's only a guest artist

[Mindmaster]

Holy crap, so Tarn is Agent 113!

Not exactly the theory I've been going with recently, but still. I wonder if I'm at least right in regard to him being Roller?

I'm thinking Roller, but Tarn being Agent 113 is something I never thought about. Good call!

I think this story arc will be my favorite IDW arc this year. Can't wait to read it!

[Shuttershock]

You know it just occurred to me. Do you think it's a coincidence that a close up of a brain module looks an awful lot like those worlds that Skids saw on the other side of the portal?

[MrBlack]

Agent 113 has to be either Tarn or Vos, given the method by which he sends messages to Prowl (bullet to the badge). Vos's reaction to Trailcutter saving his life a few issues back, and Tarn's reaction in the last panel, pretty much confirm he's Agent 113.

I'm firmly in the "Roller is Tarn" camp, and this adds a new layer to that theory. I'd assumed that Roller may have had Shadowplay performed on him on Zeta Prime's order, and that he may have been a deep cover asset who did not actually realize he was a spy. This seems to indicate that Tarn is a knowing double agent, which makes sense as well.

Can't wait for this issue!

[Optimizzy]

Yeah, I think tarn is roller. It's great we are seeing some depth to him though. I hope they don't make him too sympathetic. He's a great villain.

I don't think he's a double agent though. I think he's simply a guy who believes in his cause. He may not like to have to do all the horrible (necessary) things he has to do, but he still does them. Makes him an awesome antagonist.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I'm personally not buying the whole "Agent 113" thing since I haven't seen Tarn without a double fusion cannon, and that thing kills, no questions.

I'm personally on 2 other possibilities: Tarn is Roller or Dominus Ambus. See, with all the lousy hints that Roller is Tarn, I feel like it is meant to mislead us. Dominus Ambus has been missing for a long time, and if Tarn really is Armor like the Magnus Armor, then that would explain how Tarn knew he needed to cut off the hand and then devastate the body so he would kill the real thing. Either works for me, but I feel Roller is too big a give a way to actually be true. Dominus would be the ultimate surprise.

[MrBlack]

I'm personally not buying the whole "Agent 113" thing since I haven't seen Tarn without a double fusion cannon, and that thing kills, no questions.

I'm personally on 2 other possibilities: Tarn is Roller or Dominus Ambus. See, with all the lousy hints that Roller is Tarn, I feel like it is meant to mislead us. Dominus Ambus has been missing for a long time, and if Tarn really is Armor like the Magnus Armor, then that would explain how Tarn knew he needed to cut off the hand and then devastate the body so he would kill the real thing. Either works for me, but I feel Roller is too big a give a way to actually be true. Dominus would be the ultimate surprise.

If he is a double agent, becoming the leader of the DJD would make sense. At least he would be killing Decepticons rather than Autobots.

Him being Dominus Ambus would be a nice twist.

[Madeus Prime]

Oh god yes, more DJD!

[Crosscheck]

So Tarn is Roller! The thing that kinda interests me is if we are going to ever see Roller interact with Grimlock. Given that Tarn remarks that he forgot how much he hates Grimlock, it would be an interesting twist. One thing that makes me think Agent 113 is a different member of the DJD is that Agent 113 is Prowl's operative. But Tarn/Roller kills Alternate Overlord. Prowl wanted Overlord alive to study. Wouldn't make sense for Tarn to kill him. I am betting Tarn is a Roller that became a Decepticon. He just can't stomach some of The stuff they do.

[Optimizzy]

I think it's inportant to note that we've never seen toller as an actual Autobot.

[Dead Metal]

So Tarn is Roller! The thing that kinda interests me is if we are going to ever see Roller interact with Grimlock. Given that Tarn remarks that he forgot how much he hates Grimlock, it would be an interesting twist. One thing that makes me think Agent 113 is a different member of the DJD is that Agent 113 is Prowl's operative. But Tarn/Roller kills Alternate Overlord. Prowl wanted Overlord alive to study. Wouldn't make sense for Tarn to kill him. I am betting Tarn is a Roller that became a Decepticon. He just can't stomach some of The stuff they do.

Where has it been stated that 113 is Prowl's agent? So far the one who does organizational stuff concerning him is Springer.

I originally believed that Tarn was Roller and Agent 113, due to the similar body design, and that Roller only ever showed up in a comic written by Roberts, who also created the Agent 113 concept.
I changed my view to Agent 113 being Vos, but Tarn still being a turned Roller, because it would fit right up Robert's ally to have that kind of twist plus Vos turned into a sniper rifle, so he had good aim which would aid in delivering the messages. .
The reason for Agent 113 having to be Tarn or Vos is that they are the only two in the DJD that have ranged weapons, the others are purely close combat guys.

While the Dominus is Agent 113 idea is kinda cool, I don't think that's it he's been too compromised by Empurata.

Now, this revelation concerning Tarn's mask, does speak volumes, it does seem to clearly put him in the double agent camp. Just look at some of the stuff he's done, he's incredibly sadistic, one of the more sadistic members, but here he hints at having a conscience. Now take his mask into account, there is something referred to as "the mask effect", or something to that effect, it's described as basically turning you into someone or something you're not. Put on a mask and you lose your inhibitions, you'll more easily do things you normally wouldn't, because your face is hidden and thus masking your identity. It's been shown that people will be more likely to doing crazy things if they wear a mask.
So it makes sense that Tarn is 113, the other DJD members are truly sadistic, they do all their sadistic things while showing their faces, heck Vos actually uses his face, without masks, Tarn however doesn't, instead he hides it and his emotions, plus couple that with how he prefers to kill his victims by "talking them to death" instead of getting his hands dirty all the time like all the others.

[Optimizzy]

Why couldn't Tarn be Roller and Agent 113? I honestly wouldn't like tarn to be a double agent but I don't see why he couldn't be both.

I just like the idea of a good guy going bad. It's compelling.

[pie-man]

I've been waiting for this issue since I saw the Feb/Mar solicitations thread a few months ago. Can't wait to finally get it!

Just curious.... who are the 'bots on the cover? It doesn't seem like the DJD....

[SW's SilverHammer]

I've been waiting for this issue since I saw the Feb/Mar solicitations thread a few months ago. Can't wait to finally get it!

Just curious.... who are the 'bots on the cover? It doesn't seem like the DJD....

Deszaras / Deathsaurus

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I maaaaaaaayyyyyyy buy Vos as a double agent, but the big thing for me and that Agent 113 stuff is that remember the alternate Lost Light? Every member was involved in slaughtering members of the crew, Autobot, decepticon or Cyclonus and Tailgate. Vos personally killed Chromedome and his sniper mode killed Whirl and Cyclonus, and Tarn slaughtered Ultra Magnus and all the vehicle mode bodies and raided them for T-cogs. To me the slaughter and all the DJD members involvement does not make sense for a double operative.

As to Dominus Ambus, only in the functionalist timeline does he have empurata. He was last seen with his regular head, hands and speech in this universe, so he still could happen.

[Railbomb]

The more I look a Tarn the more I could see Hasbro making an IDW Fort Max and redecoing it into him.

[Dead Metal]

I maaaaaaaayyyyyyy buy Vos as a double agent, but the big thing for me and that Agent 113 stuff is that remember the alternate Lost Light? Every member was involved in slaughtering members of the crew, Autobot, decepticon or Cyclonus and Tailgate. Vos personally killed Chromedome and his sniper mode killed Whirl and Cyclonus, and Tarn slaughtered Ultra Magnus and all the vehicle mode bodies and raided them for T-cogs. To me the slaughter and all the DJD members involvement does not make sense for a double operative.

Here's the thing though, if you were a double operative, in the absolute worst group of your enemy. A group that is entirely made up of psychopaths who get off on sadistically slaughtering people. Would you not join in in being a sadistic psychopath or stand back, be humane and risk for being found out and discovered as a traitor by the worst psychopaths ever?

Now that Tarn has admitted to not really having the stomach for the kind of stuff he pulls and therefore wears a mask, a few other things start to make sense.

His addiction to transforming, to the point that he constantly needs fresh T-Cogs, seems like transforming is the only pleasure and escape he gets, kinda like alcohol.
Why his preferred method is talking people to death, instead of just beating them savagely.
Having the perfect aim to the point that he can headshoot someone while in vehicle mode, which is the kinda precision you need if you want to shoot someone in the eye of an Autobrand.

As to Dominus Ambus, only in the functionalist timeline does he have empurata. He was last seen with his regular head, hands and speech in this universe, so he still could happen.

Ah OK, totally forgot the side plot of creating a new timeline ... o_O

[Syn_13]

Nothing ever seems to be as it is with Mr. Roberts. I still believe Tarn is Roller, as hinted, but I think he's expecting us all to think he's Agent 113 with the teaser for this upcoming issue, when in actual fact he may not be. Tarn considers himself an intellectual, perhaps even above senseless violence, yet still zealous enough to follow the preachings of Megatron dogmatically. He still believes what he's doing is the right thing (as zealots often do), but he has the mental capacity to take a step back and see the carnage for what it is. The monologue is a big suggestion that he's the mole and that he regrets his actions. Perhaps he is and at some point he forgot about the Autobot cause by getting swept up in the brutality. However, I reckon his monologue isn't as cryptic as that. I think he is Roller, and the damage he sustained in the past when we last saw him (during the Brainstorm arc), probably with a bit of Shadowplay, drove him to latch on to Megatron's teachings. He already had an addictive personality with the whole Kremzeek drink/drugs thing so it stands to reason that he's just moved on to another, more dangerous form of abuse now, as addicts often do.

My theory is that Tarn/Roller still believes in the cause, but is just bored of the senseless violence that is required to sate the bloodlust of his companions. He's the most sane out of an insane bunch, and for all we know this could be the worst crew he's had to work with, and it's gotten to him after millions of years of violence and torture. After all, Roller was a "good guy" in the past when working with Pax. The DJD are so detached to the front lines of the war I wonder if he ever really realised that Pax became Prime, or perhaps he did know and was fuelled by that, considering it a betrayal of sorts.

There's nothing to suggest that Agent 113 is still in the DJD either. It could be a former member. I think Skids is a good candidate to being the former Vos. Firstly he was Special Ops working for Prowl. Secondly, he used the Binary gun to bury memories that Chromedome told him weren't worth bringing back (Empyrean suite was also mentioned), and he clearly has a dark past. Thirdly, it was mentioned at Megatron's trial that Vos was a big guy with hooks for hands. Although Skids isn't huge, he could've altered his body (something demonstrated before by Roberts with Senator Momus' killer in Shadowplay), and he also has hooks in his hands. Fourthly, it was mentioned that he went missing for ages, and I'm not sure if he was even seen for a majority of the war. He could've spent some of this time, particularly around the time of Last Stand of the Wreckers, as the DJD mole, only to return once the war had ended, and then being sent of the Luna 1 mission with Getaway.

[SW's SilverHammer]

Was exhaust in the comic and I missed him?

[Va'al]

Naah, just got threads mixed up.


(All moved now.)

[Dead Metal]

Nothing ever seems to be as it is with Mr. Roberts. I still believe Tarn is Roller, as hinted, but I think he's expecting us all to think he's Agent 113 with the teaser for this upcoming issue, when in actual fact he may not be. Tarn considers himself an intellectual, perhaps even above senseless violence, yet still zealous enough to follow the preachings of Megatron dogmatically. He still believes what he's doing is the right thing (as zealots often do), but he has the mental capacity to take a step back and see the carnage for what it is. The monologue is a big suggestion that he's the mole and that he regrets his actions. Perhaps he is and at some point he forgot about the Autobot cause by getting swept up in the brutality. However, I reckon his monologue isn't as cryptic as that. I think he is Roller, and the damage he sustained in the past when we last saw him (during the Brainstorm arc), probably with a bit of Shadowplay, drove him to latch on to Megatron's teachings. He already had an addictive personality with the whole Kremzeek drink/drugs thing so it stands to reason that he's just moved on to another, more dangerous form of abuse now, as addicts often do.

My theory is that Tarn/Roller still believes in the cause, but is just bored of the senseless violence that is required to sate the bloodlust of his companions. He's the most sane out of an insane bunch, and for all we know this could be the worst crew he's had to work with, and it's gotten to him after millions of years of violence and torture. After all, Roller was a "good guy" in the past when working with Pax. The DJD are so detached to the front lines of the war I wonder if he ever really realised that Pax became Prime, or perhaps he did know and was fuelled by that, considering it a betrayal of sorts.

That was the assumption I had until this preview came up, that he's just Roller and meant as a decoy from the real Agent 113. Who at the time I thought was Vos.
Roberts has however been heavily pimping Tarn as the worst nightmare out there.
On top of that, he stated he's read everything there is to know about every Decepticon ever, he even ranks them.

There's nothing to suggest that Agent 113 is still in the DJD either. It could be a former member. I think Skids is a good candidate to being the former Vos. Firstly he was Special Ops working for Prowl. Secondly, he used the Binary gun to bury memories that Chromedome told him weren't worth bringing back (Empyrean suite was also mentioned), and he clearly has a dark past. Thirdly, it was mentioned at Megatron's trial that Vos was a big guy with hooks for hands. Although Skids isn't huge, he could've altered his body (something demonstrated before by Roberts with Senator Momus' killer in Shadowplay), and he also has hooks in his hands. Fourthly, it was mentioned that he went missing for ages, and I'm not sure if he was even seen for a majority of the war. He could've spent some of this time, particularly around the time of Last Stand of the Wreckers, as the DJD mole, only to return once the war had ended, and then being sent of the Luna 1 mission with Getaway.

I was under the impression that Skids's past was revealed to us?
Also, didn't the first Vos have hooks not just for hands, but also for feet? If Skids was the previous Vos, how would the hooks point towards him, sure he has them in his hands, but not his feet, so he would have had to wear a large suite of armor, which only special Cybertronians like Dominus Ambus can wear.

When looking for any kind of proof to maybe support the Tarn is agent 113 thing, I did come across something fairly interesting. You see the whole thing that I went back and forth between Tarn and Vos being Agent 113 was based on the way the messages are delivered. It had to be any one of those, because the rest had no projectile weapons.
I'm wrong, there is a third, Helex!
Most of the time we see Helex use his large primary arms to crush and smash, but in the flash back story parts on the second Lost Light, we see one panel of him ripping Pipes apart (exactly the same way Overlord did with Guzzle in LOTW), while he's doing that, his holds two pistols in his smaller arms and shoots at other Autobots. And unlike most of the gun fire we see, they're not rays or lasers, but projectiles.
On top of that his face is blackened out, in the scenes he partakes in violence in, something that doesn't happen with any other DJD member. It's something I notice early on with him, while every one is shown with joy on their face while murdering, in every issue they're in, you can barely make out his face when he's in battle, mostly because it's either not shown, or he's too far away for there to be detail in his face you could see, or like in this case shadows. On top of that when we do see his face, he either looks concerned or angry.

Not saying that it's him, but it would be something Roberts would pull of.

[Syn_13]

That's quite the theory, Dead Metal. I wouldn't be surprised if Roberts pulls something crazy like that off, but I think Helex would be a little disappointed for me. Unless they give him a little extra character development.

I really can't wait for this episode. I've become a big fan of the DJD, despite them being in the background most of the time. Really looking forward to seeing how Tarn and Megatron interact.