The Energon Pub

In the wake of the "Dark Cybertron" crossover, the various Transformers are in disarray. And things are about to get even more interesting for the characters, as writer Mairghread Scott and artist Sarah Stone -- the first all-female creative team to ever work on a Transformers series -- will soon be hitting them with the imminent arrival of Windblade.

The first "fan-built bot" created through a number of polls on Hasbro's website, Windblade's design, features and abilities were all decided by the general public and brought to life by Hasbro designer Lenny Panzica. The sword-wielding, jet-powered female Transformer looks set to cause a whole load of trouble for the rest of Cyberton's sons and daughters in her own four-issue, self-titled miniseries due to kick off in April. Scott spoke to CBR about her plans for the character -- and just what her arrival means for IDW Publishing's Transformers Universe as a whole.


CBR News: Windblade arrived in the IDW Transformers continuity during the recent "Dark Cybertron" crossover event. Following that story, what kind of state are the Autobots and Decepticons in as this miniseries kicks off? How are they recovering -- or not -- from the event?

Mairghread Scott: I don't think it spoils anything to say that things get a little, well -- dark by the end of "Dark Cybertron" and the whole event has very much demoralized the entire planet. Fighting an endless war is tiring, but there are only so many times you can rebuild your home-world before you start to feel like things just aren't gonna get any better.

But, in a way, this is also the perfect time to introduce a new character like Windblade because she's seeing so many things for the first time. There's an old saying that "evil triumphs when good men do nothing," and "Transformers Windblade" is just as much about the danger of staying on the sidelines as it is about evil itself.

[...]

She was created after winning a fan-poll from Hasbro which asked fan to help create a new character. How exciting was it to have the chance to introduce and establish a character into continuity?

It was extremely exciting. The moment they announced Windblade, I told John Barber that I was calling dibs on her if she made it to the comics. It's nice to see that still works. But, in all seriousness, it really is amazing to feel like Sarah and I are getting to make a little bit of Transformers history. We get to bring in a whole new character (and hopefully a new readership) to our favorite brand; we're pulling out all the stops to make sure Windblade earns a spot in Transformers for a long time to come.

[...]

There are other female Transformers, but the majority of them are identified as male. Are you interested in writing and exploring that in this series? Do the other characters treat her differently for being a female, or do they not even notice?

Obviously, Starscream's gonna use any kind of wedge issue he can -- because he's Starscream.

But Cybertronians in general are less interested in that kind of thing, and that's something I really love about the brand. Think about it: If you're fighting another Transformer, it's a lot more crucial to know what they turn into (tank, jet, flash drive) than what pronoun they use. Characters who don't know Windblade are obviously curious about who she is, but who she is, is so much more than "female."

84forever wrote:I'm not understanding this suddenly so urgent need to put more Cybertronian T&A into the comics (and games). First off, she's an AUTObot ... So why is she a jet? If she is too stupid to know what faction she should be how is she going to make any sense out of what's happening on Cybertron? Secondly, this political crap on Cybertron is lame... the series is not going to last more than 12 issues. I blame the fandom for this mess. If they had the decency to beat off to a porno before polling, Windblade would have never been voted into existence!

84forever wrote:stuff

First off, she's an AUTObot ... So why is she a jet? If she is too stupid to know what faction she should be how is she going to make any sense out of what's happening on Cybertron?

Flashwave wrote:

84forever wrote:I'm not understanding this suddenly so urgent need to put more Cybertronian T&A into the comics (and games). First off, she's an AUTObot ... So why is she a jet? If she is too stupid to know what faction she should be how is she going to make any sense out of what's happening on Cybertron? Secondly, this political crap on Cybertron is lame... the series is not going to last more than 12 issues. I blame the fandom for this mess. If they had the decency to beat off to a porno before polling, Windblade would have never been voted into existence!

That never phased Victory Saber, being a jet.or Silverbolt. Ooh! Powerglide, he was a plane too!

Mindmaster wrote:

First off, she's an AUTObot ... So why is she a jet? If she is too stupid to know what faction she should be how is she going to make any sense out of what's happening on Cybertron?

I would name every Autobot flier I could think of, but we'd be here for days.

Well, not literally, but you get the point.

84forever wrote:I'm not understanding this suddenly so urgent need to put more Cybertronian T&A into the comics (and games). First off, she's an AUTObot ... So why is she a jet? If she is too stupid to know what faction she should be how is she going to make any sense out of what's happening on Cybertron? Secondly, this political crap on Cybertron is lame... the series is not going to last more than 12 issues. I blame the fandom for this mess. If they had the decency to beat off to a porno before polling, Windblade would have never been voted into existence!

Treetop Maximus wrote:>the first all-female creative team to ever work on a Transformers series

Don't care.

Let's focus less on being progressive and more on good stories. I don't really care that there's a few new female characters in the universe or that the people working on this are women. Just give me a plausible explanation for the characters' presence and a story that's not really meh like those Rage of the Dinobots and Beast Hunters comics and I'll be happy.

Sabrblade wrote:Unfortunately, he's stuck living in 1984 that nothing past it applies to his ideals, including the plane-based Autobot of 1985: Powerglide.

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Unfortunately, he's stuck living in 1984 that nothing past it applies to his ideals, including the plane-based Autobot of 1985: Powerglide.

Digs like this can be construed as personal attacks, let's not go down that path.

Real Cool Guy wrote:

Treetop Maximus wrote:>the first all-female creative team to ever work on a Transformers series

Don't care.

Let's focus less on being progressive and more on good stories. I don't really care that there's a few new female characters in the universe or that the people working on this are women. Just give me a plausible explanation for the characters' presence and a story that's not really meh like those Rage of the Dinobots and Beast Hunters comics and I'll be happy.

This is actually a fairly important milestone, actually. I don't want to assume you're a straight, white male, but generally speaking it is harder for women to break in to comics, let alone on larger, predominantly male (straight, white) creative teams. So I wouldn't be so quick to disregard this, honestly. It might not be a big deal to you, but that's no excuse to be so snide/dismissive of this.

I have no doubt in my mind that IDW picked Scott because her ideas and the story she wants to tell meshes with the direction IDW have been taking Transformers, so I'd like to think that the people responsible for probably the best two years of Transformers comics in recently history know what they're doing/pick their collaborators well.

Va'al wrote:

Real Cool Guy wrote:

Treetop Maximus wrote:>the first all-female creative team to ever work on a Transformers series

Don't care.

Let's focus less on being progressive and more on good stories. I don't really care that there's a few new female characters in the universe or that the people working on this are women. Just give me a plausible explanation for the characters' presence and a story that's not really meh like those Rage of the Dinobots and Beast Hunters comics and I'll be happy.

This is actually a fairly important milestone, actually. I don't want to assume you're a straight, white male, but generally speaking it is harder for women to break in to comics, let alone on larger, predominantly male (straight, white) creative teams. So I wouldn't be so quick to disregard this, honestly. It might not be a big deal to you, but that's no excuse to be so snide/dismissive of this.

I have no doubt in my mind that IDW picked Scott because her ideas and the story she wants to tell meshes with the direction IDW have been taking Transformers, so I'd like to think that the people responsible for probably the best two years of Transformers comics in recently history know what they're doing/pick their collaborators well.

Not to mention that Scott is a good writer. Look at the first two issues of Beast Hunters (which were really not that meh at all), look at the Prime episodes she wrote: 'Chain of Command', 'Hard Knocks', 'Hurt', 'Orion Pax: Part 2', 'Stronger, Faster'.

And yes, the fact that it's the first ever all female creator team on a Transformers comic is important. In 30 years of the franchise, this is the first time! Do you know how many women are in the fandom? Do you know how many women have only had a handful of characters to relate to, and no writers? This is a massive step in the right direction, and one that every fan should welcome.

Henry921 wrote:And while I'm glad there are more women working on Transformers fiction, I really wish it was a mundane occurrence rather than some progressive event we should all embrace, because (to my perception, anyway) the author's gender should be wholly irrelevant when writing about space robots transforming into fire breathing dinosaurs.

Banjo-Tron wrote:

Henry921 wrote:And while I'm glad there are more women working on Transformers fiction, I really wish it was a mundane occurrence rather than some progressive event we should all embrace, because (to my perception, anyway) the author's gender should be wholly irrelevant when writing about space robots transforming into fire breathing dinosaurs.

Agreed. Real equality is when no-one bats an eyelid regarding your age/gender/race/sexuality etc and just accepts you do a damn fine job. It's interesting because over the last 5 years or so there are waaay more females attending Auto Assembly here in the UK, which I feel is because the rampant machismo and objectification of women present in the movies hasn't influenced the comics overtly. Or then again, perhaps it's because they want a piece of Nick Roche and his unfeasibly tight t-shirts

Real Cool Guy wrote:

Banjo-Tron wrote:

Henry921 wrote:And while I'm glad there are more women working on Transformers fiction, I really wish it was a mundane occurrence rather than some progressive event we should all embrace, because (to my perception, anyway) the author's gender should be wholly irrelevant when writing about space robots transforming into fire breathing dinosaurs.

Agreed. Real equality is when no-one bats an eyelid regarding your age/gender/race/sexuality etc and just accepts you do a damn fine job. It's interesting because over the last 5 years or so there are waaay more females attending Auto Assembly here in the UK, which I feel is because the rampant machismo and objectification of women present in the movies hasn't influenced the comics overtly. Or then again, perhaps it's because they want a piece of Nick Roche and his unfeasibly tight t-shirts

Real equality doesn't exist though, so I think it is important to highlight when things start to shift in another direction, because it allows for people to discuss these sorts in a context relevant to them (ie the role/lack thereof of women in Transformers, as a fiction and a franchise). It allows people to potentially re-assess their own view of women/gender in general via lively discussion I guess.

Though yeah I do agree it should be, in an ideal world, a non-event. But it isn't, and won't be, for a long, long time.

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Unfortunately, he's stuck living in 1984 that nothing past it applies to his ideals, including the plane-based Autobot of 1985: Powerglide.

Digs like this can be construed as personal attacks, let's not go down that path.

Hero Alpha wrote:

Treetop Maximus wrote:>the first all-female creative team to ever work on a Transformers series

Don't care.

Let's focus less on being progressive and more on good stories. I don't really care that there's a few new female characters in the universe or that the people working on this are women. Just give me a plausible explanation for the characters' presence and a story that's not really meh like those Rage of the Dinobots and Beast Hunters comics and I'll be happy.

I agree, just give us good stories without shoving PC down our throats. I just like Transformer stories I don't care who writes them.

Va'al wrote:

Real Cool Guy wrote:

Banjo-Tron wrote:

Henry921 wrote:And while I'm glad there are more women working on Transformers fiction, I really wish it was a mundane occurrence rather than some progressive event we should all embrace, because (to my perception, anyway) the author's gender should be wholly irrelevant when writing about space robots transforming into fire breathing dinosaurs.

Agreed. Real equality is when no-one bats an eyelid regarding your age/gender/race/sexuality etc and just accepts you do a damn fine job. It's interesting because over the last 5 years or so there are waaay more females attending Auto Assembly here in the UK, which I feel is because the rampant machismo and objectification of women present in the movies hasn't influenced the comics overtly. Or then again, perhaps it's because they want a piece of Nick Roche and his unfeasibly tight t-shirts

Real equality doesn't exist though, so I think it is important to highlight when things start to shift in another direction, because it allows for people to discuss these sorts in a context relevant to them (ie the role/lack thereof of women in Transformers, as a fiction and a franchise). It allows people to potentially re-assess their own view of women/gender in general via lively discussion I guess.

Though yeah I do agree it should be, in an ideal world, a non-event. But it isn't, and won't be, for a long, long time.

Definitely. This seems to be the point that's being missed by a lot of readers.

Scott was hired to write the series because of her qualities as writer. Sarah Stone because of her artwork. They also happen to be the first woman writer/artist team in the franchise. That is, yes, secondary, but not unimportant. As pointed out, we do not live in an egalitarian, post-feminist society - at all.

And as also pointed out before, the creator's gender is relevant in terms of what type of experience can be brought to writing a character that shares some of the characteristics. I said it above: the characters were brought in by Barber and Roberts. And in fact, the whole concept of gender in a genderless race was brought in by Simon Furman. This is not a retcon, not a fixing, not a retelling - it's an alternative for more fans (and not just women!) to read about a different, minority aspect of the IDW universe's population so far relegated to off-page narratives or passing comments.

shockblast2 wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Real Cool Guy wrote:

Banjo-Tron wrote:

Henry921 wrote:And while I'm glad there are more women working on Transformers fiction, I really wish it was a mundane occurrence rather than some progressive event we should all embrace, because (to my perception, anyway) the author's gender should be wholly irrelevant when writing about space robots transforming into fire breathing dinosaurs.

Agreed. Real equality is when no-one bats an eyelid regarding your age/gender/race/sexuality etc and just accepts you do a damn fine job. It's interesting because over the last 5 years or so there are waaay more females attending Auto Assembly here in the UK, which I feel is because the rampant machismo and objectification of women present in the movies hasn't influenced the comics overtly. Or then again, perhaps it's because they want a piece of Nick Roche and his unfeasibly tight t-shirts

Real equality doesn't exist though, so I think it is important to highlight when things start to shift in another direction, because it allows for people to discuss these sorts in a context relevant to them (ie the role/lack thereof of women in Transformers, as a fiction and a franchise). It allows people to potentially re-assess their own view of women/gender in general via lively discussion I guess.

Though yeah I do agree it should be, in an ideal world, a non-event. But it isn't, and won't be, for a long, long time.

Definitely. This seems to be the point that's being missed by a lot of readers.

Scott was hired to write the series because of her qualities as writer. Sarah Stone because of her artwork. They also happen to be the first woman writer/artist team in the franchise. That is, yes, secondary, but not unimportant. As pointed out, we do not live in an egalitarian, post-feminist society - at all.

And as also pointed out before, the creator's gender is relevant in terms of what type of experience can be brought to writing a character that shares some of the characteristics. I said it above: the characters were brought in by Barber and Roberts. And in fact, the whole concept of gender in a genderless race was brought in by Simon Furman. This is not a retcon, not a fixing, not a retelling - it's an alternative for more fans (and not just women!) to read about a different, minority aspect of the IDW universe's population so far relegated to off-page narratives or passing comments.

Yeah, but if they didn't do this on purpose then why are they saying it in the first place. It is sexist in itself to make such declarations, by definition. I don't care if a girl or guy writes it, only if it is a good story. For some reason they are plugging the female team thing, and to me that is to help sales. If their writing is good enough, then it should stand on its own. Not because it is the "first female" anything.

My personal opinion is that having a Arcee called a "fembot" is ridiculous. Robots do not have a gender. I mean, this should be a no brainer to me. Arcee is not a fembot. Or a girl. Female. Whatever. It is a pink robot. An IT. Not a she.