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[Va'al]

Another Tuesday, another episode of the Machinima Transformers: Combiner Wars animated series: Episode 7 - Darkest Hour - shows out more about Starscream's plan, the Enigma of combination, and how Windblade, Optimus and Megatron deal with everything else going on. For US viewers, you can stream the episode here - for some non-US viewers, there will be a YouTube upload later today on the official Machinima channel here.

Join the discussion in the Energon Pub, and pop back to Seibertron.com later for an episode review!

[o.supreme]

IDW is garbage, has been since day one.

Not this again.

Lemme guess, this is gonna lead to another eventual round of "They should bring back to G1 cartoon!" again, isn't it.

I doubt it...the reasons for bringing back the original animated series are much more valid than just disappointment with some aspects of IDW, but as I've stated many times, I know it will never happen...thus we have things like THIS...

CW episode 7...yeeesh what a mess...every time they give us a glimpse of hope...at what might *possibly* be something cool...they go and muck it up. I know this series is completely its own continuity...but some of the series creators saw this as their "vision" of how the original series might have continued....man...what is wrong with people?

Also congrats on Windblade...for the first time they have created a character that, *if* she is dead (which is doubtful), nobody cares. Unlike Maxima..I think we were supposed to care about Windblade...nope not feeling it.

[Tyrannacon]

I have no idea what to make of that episode.

May need to watch it a few more times. I take it the next one is the final in the series then?

[Autobot N]

*sees Windblade "die"*

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[Big Grim]

No, but it's no Dreamwave.

Thank goodness for that! While DW did help kickstart Transformers comics again, they ended poorly. I do not miss DW. IDW has been excellent for a long, long time and I actively look forward to my next issues of TAAO and MTMTE (soon to be Lost Light.).

[o.supreme]

20 years from now...if we are speaking of significant hero deaths in Transformers fiction there will be Optimus in TF:TM, Dinobot in BW "Code of Hero" and....


not Windblade in CW

as for DW all I will say is this...too many people cannot separate Pat Lee from DW. Yes he was a crook, and is a terrible person. But the stories that DW as a company (the authors and TRUE artists ) were developing were pretty darn good. I really miss their G1 ongoing, though it only got 10 (or so) issues before getting cancelled, I liked the world they were building better than current IDW.

[william-james88]

20 years from now...if we are speaking of significant hero deaths in Transformers fiction there will be Optimus in TF:TM, Dinobot in BW "Code of Hero" and....

Skids


EDIT: And Ratchet? I found that pretty damn sad in AOE. Brutal too.

[Sigma Magnus]

Well that was...something.

[Sabrblade]

20 years from now...if we are speaking of significant hero deaths in Transformers fiction there will be Optimus in TF:TM, Dinobot in BW "Code of Hero" and....

Skids


EDIT: And Ratchet? I found that pretty damn sad in AOE. Brutal too.

Inferno, guys. Inferno.




Never forget.

[o.supreme]

And Ratchet? I found that pretty damn sad in AOE. Brutal too.

I agree 100%...don't know if it resonates with as many people though...I guess w'll know in time.

As for comics...and you can blame this on Marvel & DC...but I don't get emotional at death in comics anymore...

[Randomhero]

20 years from now...if we are speaking of significant hero deaths in Transformers fiction there will be Optimus in TF:TM, Dinobot in BW "Code of Hero" and....


not Windblade in CW

as for DW all I will say is this...too many people cannot separate Pat Lee from DW. Yes he was a crook, and is a terrible person. But the stories that DW as a company (the authors and TRUE artists ) were developing were pretty darn good. I really miss their G1 ongoing, though it only got 10 (or so) issues before getting cancelled, I liked the world they were building better than current IDW.

Yeah but even without thinking about their terrible business practices, they weren't doing anything amazing in the comics. I'll never understand why DW was so compelled to introduce characters in their toy waves like they did. Brad Mick retconned the first story so that only the 1984 bots and cons were on earth, made all the triple changers shockwaves personal squad, turned the 85 car bots into a council that leads cybertron with no regards to their personalities, made all the 86 movie characters a rebellion unit against Shockwave. For whatever reason they introduced characters in waves like they were coming to stores and they weren't. Dreamwave tossed characters in roles that did not fit their personalities just to place them in the waves they were released in back in the 80s. Ex grapple and Red Alert apparently can become leaders of Cybertron. And while yes, IDW has done complete 180s of characters personalities they're not desperately trying to recreate the feeling of the cartoon like DW was doing.

Looking back on it, it really felt like DW had no future plans for Transformers. By year 3 they were already heading toward Unicron and already introduced most of the G1 transformers. IDW has been around for 11 years and is still making long term plans. Season 2 of MTMTE just wrapped and ended plot threads Roberts seeded back in 2012 in chaos and stuff that was in Bullets in LSTOW from 2010.

You'd have to really try to work hard to convince anyone DW was thinking ahead with long term plans. Mick and Patyck had some plans but every time they were seeding something, Furman was countering it with War Within. Example being triple changers.

[Big Grim]

But the stories that DW as a company (the authors and TRUE artists ) were developing were pretty darn good. I really miss their G1 ongoing, though it only got 10 (or so) issues before getting cancelled, I liked the world they were building better than current IDW.

It basically tried to continue the original G1 prior to season 2 after a fashion (except for random Superion.). There were a good few entertaining stories, sure, but honestly, I have been enjoying IDW's total relaunch a lot better. Starting it all up again in modern times, it's gotten progressively better. Most of RiD and damn near all of MTMTE has been outta this world good. I mean heck, MTMTE has won awards! While some of DW was good (War Within was amazing) I am more than happy with IDW and how they've reinvented the brand.

Yeah but even without thinking about their terrible business practices, they weren't doing anything amazing in the comics. I'll never understand why DW was so compelled to introduce characters in their toy waves like they did. Brad Mick retconned the first story so that only the 1984 bots and cons were on earth, made all the triple changers shockwaves personal squad, turned the 85 car bots into a council that leads cybertron with no regards to their personalities, made all the 86 movie characters a rebellion unit against Shockwave. For whatever reason they introduced characters in waves like they were coming to stores and they weren't. Dreamwave tossed characters in roles that did not fit their personalities just to place them in the waves they were released in back in the 80s. Ex grapple and Red Alert apparently can become leaders of Cybertron. And while yes, IDW has done complete 180s of characters personalities they're not desperately trying to recreate the feeling of the cartoon like DW was doing.

Looking back on it, it really felt like DW had no future plans for Transformers. By year 3 they were already heading toward Unicron and already introduced most of the G1 transformers. IDW has been around for 11 years and is still making long term plans. Season 2 of MTMTE just wrapped and ended plot threads Roberts seeded back in 2012 in chaos and stuff that was in Bullets in LSTOW from 2010.

You'd have to really try to work hard to convince anyone DW was thinking ahead with long term plans. Mick and Patyck had some plans but every time they were seeding something, Furman was countering it with War Within. Example being triple changers.

All very good points.

[william-james88]

But the stories that DW as a company (the authors and TRUE artists ) were developing were pretty darn good. I really miss their G1 ongoing, though it only got 10 (or so) issues before getting cancelled, I liked the world they were building better than current IDW.

It basically tried to continue the original G1 prior to the 86 movie and season 3 after a fashion. There were a good few entertaining stories, sure, but honestly, I have been enjoying IDW's total relaunch a lot better. Starting it all up again in modern times, it's gotten progressively better. Most of RiD and damn near all of MTMTE has been outta this world good. I mean heck, MTMTE has won awards! While some of DW was good (War Within was amazing) I am more than happy with IDW and how they've reinvented the brand.

I have issues with the RID. I had a really tough time gettin through Dark Cybertron. I also have a tough time seeing Rattrap interact with Starscream, but thats just me.

[Big Grim]

I have issues with the RID. I had a really tough time gettin through Dark Cybertron. I also have a tough time seeing Rattrap interact with Starscream, but thats just me.

RID had it's issues, sure. It's been better of late though it has seemed to keep building up to something and fizzling out before it gets there. I think everyone had a hard time getting through Dark Cybertron. That was rough.

MTMTE is my primary read. It's been great fun and they've done amazing things with Megatron and the Lost Light's crew. TAAO has been slow but the preview we just saw has me pretty stoked! I quite like Rattrap and other continuity characters appearing. I love that Knockout is on the Council of Worlds. I admit, I totally hear his voice when I read his lines.

[william-james88]

MTMTE is my primary read. It's been great fun and they've done amazing things with Megatron and the Lost Light's crew. TAAO has been slow but the preview we just saw has me pretty stoked! I quite like Rattrap and other continuity characters appearing. I love that Knockout is on the Council of Worlds. I admit, I totally hear his voice when I read his lines.

Is it just me or does that voice sound like Phil Hartman?

[Randomhero]

I have issues with the RID. I had a really tough time gettin through Dark Cybertron. I also have a tough time seeing Rattrap interact with Starscream, but thats just me.

RID had it's issues, sure. It's been better of late though it has seemed to keep building up to something and fizzling out before it gets there. I think everyone had a hard time getting through Dark Cybertron. That was rough.

MTMTE is my primary read. It's been great fun and they've done amazing things with Megatron and the Lost Light's crew. TAAO has been slow but the preview we just saw has me pretty stoked! I quite like Rattrap and other continuity characters appearing. I love that Knockout is on the Council of Worlds. I admit, I totally hear his voice when I read his lines.

I love RID, it's my primary and MTMTE is my secondary. I can see how it flips with people. RID is about plot while MTMTE is about character for the most part.

Only issue I've had with RID is that it easily forgets characters it introduces. Remember Zetca? Tappet? Blurr? DIRGE?!?!? Dirge was extremely important to the first 17 issues and now he may get a cameo in Till All Are One. Then again the focus on RID isn't on Cybertron anymore.

[Kurona]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZOKHT1t0U

I... I really don't have a clue what's going on anymore. It's just a lot of things happening.

[Big Grim]

I love that Knockout is on the Council of Worlds. I admit, I totally hear his voice when I read his lines.

Is it just me or does that voice sound like Phil Hartman?

Holy cow! He really does! I'd never made that connection before!

MTMTE is my primary read. It's been great fun and they've done amazing things with Megatron and the Lost Light's crew. TAAO has been slow but the preview we just saw has me pretty stoked! I quite like Rattrap and other continuity characters appearing. I love that Knockout is on the Council of Worlds. I admit, I totally hear his voice when I read his lines.

I love RID, it's my primary and MTMTE is my secondary. I can see how it flips with people. RID is about plot while MTMTE is about character for the most part.

Only issue I've had with RID is that it easily forgets characters it introduces. Remember Zetca? Tappet? Blurr? DIRGE?!?!? Dirge was extremely important to the first 17 issues and now he may get a cameo in Till All Are One. Then again the focus on RID isn't on Cybertron anymore.

Yeah, I hear that. MTMTE has a tighter focus on the individuals than ex-RiD. I honestly couldn't tell you who Zetca or Tappet are. I wonder where Dirge went? I assume Blurr is still tending to his bar.

[Kurona]

I'm starting to feel really weird about this series.

Like, it's bad; no doubt about it (and unless the last episode is a miracle of writing that's not going to change). And there's so many things on this episode I could comment on and criticise - the half-hearted undeserved death scene, the original 'ultimate combiner' design for Starscream before he broke up being really bland, just everything in general being an unexplained mess...

But I can't. I can't really bring myself to. I don't really feel anger or disappointment when I watch this anymore; I just feel kind of... empty. Like. There's just nothing. It's just there, and it's bad, and it's embarrassing. And it's nothing.

[o.supreme]

they weren't doing anything amazing in the comics.

Exactly how I feel about IDW since All hail megatron ended.

I'll never understand why DW was so compelled to introduce characters in their toy waves like they did.

I'll never understand why IDW just has characters show up randomly without any proper introduction or backstory

characters in roles that did not fit their personalities

Exactly how I feel about IDW

Looking back on it, it really felt like DW had no future plans for Transformers. By year 3 they were already heading toward Unicron and already introduced most of the G1 transformers.

You tell me after all of Furmans dull-as-dishwater "tion" series IDW had long term plans?--They got lucky, switched up some new writers and artists (several from DW btw)...and had the funds to keep going. The only difference is the fact that DW had a terrible business model. Had DW been legit financially...I could very easily see it still around today. Had IDW been solvent financially. I can see them as a distant memory... It is simply a matter of funding in this case...

Just like Spectacular Spider-Man/ Avengers EMH...most agreed were great animated series...however MARVEL pulls funding and gives it to Disney--the result...two vastly inferior series, though funded with deeper pockets, has the ability to go on for a long time.

Except in this case...I know most fans are pleased with current IDW...I get that...but I can still dream about "what if" DW continued...

[fenrir72]

Oh memory lane. All this talk about DW and not Machinima. Btw, I pegged Underbase saga on the mark.

[Madeus Prime]

Figured they'd do something cliche like this. Starscream goes psycho with power, what else is new? Only good part is the ridiculous ball/floating head of power, very anime-esque (evil being is destroyed only to make it worse).

[o.supreme]

Figured they'd do something cliche like this. Starscream goes psycho with power, what else is new? Only good part is the ridiculous ball/floating head of power, very anime-esque (evil being is destroyed only to make it worse).

My 10 year old son said it reminded him of Sigma from Mega Man X...I had to chuckle at that a little.

[Randomhero]

they weren't doing anything amazing in the comics.

Exactly how I feel about IDW since All hail megatron ended.

I'll never understand why DW was so compelled to introduce characters in their toy waves like they did.

I'll never understand why IDW just has characters show up randomly without any proper introduction or backstory

characters in roles that did not fit their personalities

Exactly how I feel about IDW

Looking back on it, it really felt like DW had no future plans for Transformers. By year 3 they were already heading toward Unicron and already introduced most of the G1 transformers.

You tell me after all of Furmans dull-as-dishwater "tion" series IDW had long term plans?--They got lucky, switched up some new writers and artists (several from DW btw)...and had the funds to keep going. The only difference is the fact that DW had a terrible business model. Had DW been legit financially...I could very easily see it still around today. Had IDW been solvent financially. I can see them as a distant memory... It is simply a matter of funding in this case...

Just like Spectacular Spider-Man/ Avengers EMH...most agreed were great animated series...however MARVEL pulls funding and gives it to Disney--the result...two vastly inferior series, though funded with deeper pockets, has the ability to go on for a long time.

Except in this case...I know most fans are pleased with current IDW...I get that...but I can still dream about "what if" DW continued...

I don't see how you can say IDW hasn't don't anything amazing. They ended the war, they've turned the decepticons from being just "evil robots that are evil for being evil" to a group that started the war because they wanted equality, they didn't want their alt modes to define them. The made the Prime's something corrupt and honestly bad instead of always being good guy after good guy. There's a lot of great fresh ideas in IDW.

As for their personalities, why do they have to be exactly like the cartoon or marvel comic? Why not recreate characters and give them the ability to change into something new? Sorry but after 30 years you don't have to follow what a cartoon did or a paragraph Bob Budiansky wrote on notebook paper.


Furman had a huge plans. Revolation was suppose to be a 6 issue story and that was to be followed by expansion and there was Simons own decepticon invasion of earth as well as the Machination attack led by Scorponok but Andy Schmidt cut Furmans legs from under him and Simon was forced to condense 12 issues of comics into 4 and was allowed to finish his earth stuff up in Maximum Dinobots. Everything he as working toward got crunched down. I'll be the first to admit the Furman era of Transformers for IDW is "okay" it's not great, it's not bad, it's just okay. He was just reusing unplanned ideas for marvel and dreamwave with some story ideas and you could tell. Not as bad a regeneration one where he just rehashed his scrapped IDW ideas in a comic that did not need them. Simon has his babies and he felt like we needed them to be the center of IDW(scorponok, grimlock, shockwave, thunderwing, Jhiaxus etc) but without the -ation era, without AHM the Costa era we wouldn't have some of the great stuff John and James have done. Without Megatron Origin, wouldn't have the megatron we've had for two and half years in MTMTE.

[o.supreme]

[quote="Randomhero"] As for their personalities, why do they have to be exactly like the cartoon or marvel comic? [quote]

I am confused...you were the one that first mentioned DW characters did not fit their personalities...I just redirected your thoughts towards IDW..because to ME Those characters are the ones that do not fit...

All the story points you mentioned mean little if someone simply doesn't enjoy them. Of all the IDW stories..Stormbringer was ok...All Hail Megatron was the best. I had high hopes for Combiner Wars but it was a bit of a let down (not nearly as bad as this animated series however)Sorry...Megatron being an Autobot is just plain stupid, that is just one example of many. The reason why I enjoyed DW so much is yes because it in some ways reminded me of the original animated series I enjoy to this day (while clearly not being the same), and nothing else has come close. When I read DW comics I can clearly hear all the animated character voices in my head...when I read IDW...Its like hearing the Omni Productions English dub of Headmasters... its just not right.