First Images Of IDW Transformers Reboot - Set To Arrive Spring 2019
Tuesday, December 18th, 2018 5:00PM CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Press ReleasesPosted by: ZeroWolf Views: 43,372
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The new comic (which is just titled Transformers at the moment) will be biweekly and will start at a point before the Great War, with the first ever murder in Cybertronian history taking place, an act which brings with chaos and upheaval. IDW have also given us the creative team working in this new series (which uses the Siege toys as a basis for the character designs). The team is as follows:
Writer: Brian Ruckley
Artists: Angel Hernandez and Ron Joseph
Check out the teaser images below and a full press release from IDW!
IDW wrote:IDW Relaunches Transformers Comics
Cybertron’s Golden Age of Peace and Prosperity,
Shattered by a Single Death
San Diego, CA (December 18, 2018) — IDW Publishing proudly announces that a brand-new Transformers series will debut in March 2019 that will explore the very moment when a glorious, peaceful Cybertron begins its downward spiral into chaos.
Available twice monthly, IDW’s Transformers comic will be written by Brian Ruckley, author of the Godless World fantasy trilogy, and illustrated by Angel Hernandez (Star Trek: Discovery – Succession) and Ron Joseph (Micronauts: Wrath of Karza).
In this new Transformers comic, IDW will explore Cybertron in ways never seen by audiences before – delving into an idyllic society, peaceful for thousands of years, as it faces the most momentous event in its history: the mysterious end of a single life. Through the eyes of young Bumblebee and his friends, fans will witness conspiracies forming, harmony giving way to conflict, and the very fabric of Cybertronian civilization tearing itself apart.
“Bringing Transformers fans this story is a real privilege,” says Brian Ruckley. “But just as important, it’s an amazing opportunity for new readers to discover and explore one of the biggest universes – and one of the best casts of characters – that science fiction has to offer, and to get in right at the start of a truly epic saga.”
Ron Joseph says, "In my youth, I devoured everything Transformers – toys, comics, the cartoon, the movie – with a Unicron-like hunger. ‘Robots in Disguise’ dominated my every waking moment. To join IDW’s creative team for the launch of a Transformers comic is staggering, and easily one of the greatest moments of my life."
“We are eager to begin this new chapter in Transformers storytelling,” says Michael Kelly, Hasbro’s Vice President of Global Publishing. “We are excited to begin a tale that will be accessible and appealing to readers unfamiliar with Transformers lore, while still providing the depth and drama that our long-time fans expect. It’s a big responsibility, but we’ve got the right team and the right characters to do it.”
The debut issue of this new Transformers comic will be available with multiple cover variants, by artists Gabriel Rodriguez, Angel Hernandez, Casey W. Coller, and Freddie E. Williams II. Issue #2, also available in March, will feature covers by Nelson Daniel, Ron Joseph, and Jeffrey Veregge.
For information on how to secure copies of IDW’s new biweekly Transformers series, please contact your local comic shop or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you.
TRANSFORMERS and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2018 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.
About Hasbro
Hasbro(NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World's Best Play Experiences. From toys and games to television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands, including NERF, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, BABY ALIVE and MAGIC: THE GATHERING, as well as premier partner brands. Through its entertainment labels, Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, the Company is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for children and their families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked No. 5 on the 2018 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by CR Magazine, and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past seven years. Learn more at http://www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro ) and Instagram (@Hasbro ).
What do you think of this news? Are you ready to dive into a new comics continuity? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.
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Posted by Immortal Starscream on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:20pm CST
Posted by DaXtraLargeRobot on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:35pm CST
Immortal Starscream wrote:That optimus suuuuuure looks a lot like siege ultra magnus. Possible confirmation of the leader optimus being his repaint?
I think this is pretty good evidence to back up the theory that the leader Optimus is going to not only use the Siege Ultra Magnus mold, but also that he's going to be a Cybertron Optimus homage (especially with the guns that attached to his legs in the first few pictures revealed of him). If that is the case, (which I think it most likely is), I wonder what the super robot mode will be like. I'm personally thinking it will probably be the Cybertron styled truck mode and a Power Master Optimus Prime super robot mode. I wouldn't really mind that being the case, even though we already got a Power Master Optimus in Titans Return, I think one with the proper two robot modes would be cool. That being said, I think it would be awesome if the trailer combined with him to form his super mode from Cybertron. Like, part of the trailer could form boots, part of it could beef up his arms, but the rest, instead of covering his torso and head like on Magnus, it forms a jetpack. Either way I'm super excited for this, even if I'm totally wrong about it.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:36pm CST
That sentence combined with that shot of Prime and Megatron just deflated my enthusiasm for this. And it seems that we'll have all the same characters back that were in the previous IDW incarnation.
I'm not going to totally ignore this, but my expectations have plummeted. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 months.
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:45pm CST
Rodimus Prime wrote:"Through the eyes of a young Bumblebee and his friends..."
That sentence combined with that shot of Prime and Megatron just deflated my enthusiasm for this. And it seems that we'll have all the same characters back that were in the previous IDW incarnation.
I'm not going to totally ignore this, but my expectations have plummeted. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 months.
What's wrong with the picture of Optimus and megs? As for the bumblebee line, sounds more like its taking notes from Cyberverse, so it's going to be interesting to see if that's going to be Megatrons defacto back story now of a gladiator who tries to rally the people against a corrupt system but turns to violent methods to do it.
Posted by The Lonely Cracker on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:51pm CST
Posted by Rodimus Prime on December 18th, 2018 @ 5:56pm CST
I just don't care for those designs. I don't like how they look. Maybe I'll get over it if the story ends up being good.ZeroWolf wrote:Rodimus Prime wrote:"Through the eyes of a young Bumblebee and his friends..."
That sentence combined with that shot of Prime and Megatron just deflated my enthusiasm for this. And it seems that we'll have all the same characters back that were in the previous IDW incarnation.
I'm not going to totally ignore this, but my expectations have plummeted. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 months.
What's wrong with the picture of Optimus and megs?
Hasn't that been done already, just now in MTMTE/RID? Or does just referencing it repeatedly not count? I would like to see that story told in detail, but then it would just be a prequel to the already existing IDW universe, instead of a reboot. Which would be fine with me, as long as the story is better than what we got from Roberts.As for the bumblebee line, sounds more like its taking notes from Cyberverse, so it's going to be interesting to see if that's going to be Megatrons defacto back story now of a gladiator who tries to rally the people against a corrupt system but turns to violent methods to do it.
Posted by Lunatic Prime on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:10pm CST
Posted by metalogan on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:22pm CST
I see (fan demanded ) Windblade is in the picture as to be expected these days. Rodimus gets cooler and cooler with each appearance. Glad to see Chromia get some action - I wanna see her outshine Windblade. But were's my girl, Elita? Prowl is a good choice though.
(drinking my energon cube ) Ahhh.. I remember the good old days of Cybertron. Back when we had interesting characters.
I wish this series luck. There are mighty big shoes to fill with the last series. Not only that, but there might be more guidelines to adhere to with Hasbro attempting to re-align the universe in order to add cohesiveness with both design and character familiarity. They probably understand that they would like new readers to help supplement the sales and toyline, but have learned from past errors that the fan support with TF is as strong ( if not stronger )than any other franchise. The fiction of the past 10-15 years has treated the property with respect for the most part. No doubt a few of us will tear it apart and view it with 30+ years of our most sincere devotion. I pray that we exercise restraint so that this new( yet old) direction will flourish.
Hey, I might even get a my local comicbook place to start holding them for me. Used to do that when a series would start so I am sure I will get them!
Posted by Burn on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:26pm CST
"Through the eyes of a young Bumblebee and his friends..."
Great, we're back to centering stories around this guy ... and most likely Windblade.
Because we sure as hell couldn't get them centred around some of the more lesser known characters.
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:29pm CST
metalogan wrote:Digging the art style and I am hoping this is true about Leader Prime. Hope there is a leader Decepticon to go along with him.
I see (fan demanded ) Windblade is in the picture as to be expected these days. Rodimus gets cooler and cooler with each appearance. Glad to see Chromia get some action - I wanna see her outshine Windblade. But were's my girl, Elita? Prowl is a good choice though.
(drinking my energon cube ) Ahhh.. I remember the good old days of Cybertron. Back when we had interesting characters.
I wish this series luck. There are mighty big shoes to fill with the last series. Not only that, but there might be more guidelines to adhere to with Hasbro attempting to re-align the universe in order to add cohesiveness with both design and character familiarity. They probably understand that they would like new readers to help supplement the sales and toyline, but have learned from past errors that the fan support with TF is as strong ( if not stronger )than any other franchise. The fiction of the past 10-15 years has treated the property with respect for the most part. No doubt a few of us will tear it apart and view it with 30+ years of our most sincere devotion. I pray that we exercise restraint so that this new( yet old) direction will flourish.
Hey, I might even get a my local comicbook place to start holding them for me. Used to do that when a series would start so I am sure I will get them!
Leader Prime is heading to Siege, that's a fact and there's already a leader Class con to meet him...Shockwave.
Also Rodimus? I don't see him in the pictures...
*goes to look* yeah there isn't Rodimus in any of those pictures. You can see Siege Shockwave (with his add ons), Soundwave and Starscream though.
Posted by Lunatic Prime on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:45pm CST
This in the picture would be a Voyager sized figure so like in that picture it'd go nicely with SIEGE Voyager Megs who is standing next to him.metalogan wrote:Digging the art style and I am hoping this is true about Leader Prime. Hope there is a leader Decepticon to go along with him.
She looks pretty much like TR Windblade so Idk if there'll be a new one or they just haven't designed her new toy.I see (fan demanded ) Windblade is in the picture as to be expected these days.
TR Hot Rod looks pretty cool but PotP Rodimus was a bit to plain and G1-ish.Rodimus gets cooler and cooler with each appearance.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:53pm CST
Positives: a bi-weekly comic that centers around pre-war stuff, cool! Some hopefully new Cybertronian alt modes, even if the robots are plain jane for the most part, cool! A new creative team, cool! Crossover toyline essentially, cool! Impactor being in it based on stuff around his toy and how his story will be told in the War for Cybertron stories, cool!
Negatives: Isn't this almost exactly what Cyberverse is doing, just with flashbacks instead of the main story being set in the past? Cause Cyberverse is doing it really well and I feel this will encroach on what Cyberverse has become. Boring old designs again, yet another "G1 reboot" taking hold of an entity praised for being different? Cause now we got Cyberverse, the movies, and now a comic going back to basics no one has the chance to miss cause they won't go away, and now they're showing up everywhere.
Make a new beast comic. Or make a new Unicron trilogy based comic or something significantly different along those lines!
Again, I like what I'm seeing, don't get me wrong, but it feels like they are now hitting us on TV, comics, and movies with the same stuff and I don't want that, it's far more interesting with diversity.
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 18th, 2018 @ 6:58pm CST
Posted by Burn on December 18th, 2018 @ 7:26pm CST
Posted by RobRobRobRobRob on December 18th, 2018 @ 7:38pm CST
In regards to the "Golden Age" and whatever came before it, I would speculate that this may be a springboard left intentionally vague for use in future stories, similar to how the former IDW works established its more-crucial lore later on in its lifespan. In the event that my interpretation of the exact character and substance of the inciting death proves correct, which it very well might not, then we could infer that the history of this Cybertron could be of a more... barbaric nature. If my interpretation proves false and the Golden Age is indeed the first age, I would find myself honestly underwhelmed. The idea of starting at the very beginning is simply boring, and leaves little room for expansion beyond a certain point, especially if the current and future writers stick especially hard to the 'peace and prosperity' angle of Cybertronian culture.
Beyond the setting itself, it will be interesting indeed to see how far the creators of this comic will stray from the toyline. IDW's former stories have run the gambit from beholden to the toyline (ex. Combiner Wars or Titans Return) to disregarding it entirely (ex. More Than Meets the Eye) to somewhere in between (Dark Cybertron), so it will be intriguing to see which direction the casting goes in, especially given the designs we've seen thus far. From what we can gather from the press release, the only comic-only characters thus far confirmed are Windblade and Bumblebee, but neither of these are surprises in the slightest. Both sides regarding the toyline have their benefits: in the event the cast is reliant on the toys we are given a more expansive ensemble that could give way to interesting stories if handled well, even if the cast would be ever-shifting, and if the casting is independent we would hopefully find ourselves with a smaller but more developed core cast. If I had to make a guess, I would say that, at least in terms of lead roles, characters present in the line will be dominant, save the expected inclusions. This should not be disheartening, however, as Seige does utilize several more obscure characters, most notably Cog, Sixgun, Skytread, Reflector and (perhaps most obscurely) Brunt. Regardless of which side of the spectrum the Neo-IDW comics fall, we will have a decent mix of underutilized characters amidst the mainstays. We can at least use our evidence to support our hope that it will be so.
Beyond this, it will regardless be an interesting run. I am skeptically confident, if you excuse the oxymoron, that Ruckley will deliver something at the very least intriguing.
Posted by ScottyP on December 18th, 2018 @ 7:42pm CST
This is very on purpose and it's why this announcement is close to exactly what I was expecting. More about the Brand than anything else.D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Again, I like what I'm seeing, don't get me wrong, but it feels like they are now hitting us on TV, comics, and movies with the same stuff and I don't want that, it's far more interesting with diversity.
Posted by metalogan on December 18th, 2018 @ 7:54pm CST
ZeroWolf wrote:metalogan wrote:Digging the art style and I am hoping this is true about Leader Prime. Hope there is a leader Decepticon to go along with him.
I see (fan demanded ) Windblade is in the picture as to be expected these days. Rodimus gets cooler and cooler with each appearance. Glad to see Chromia get some action - I wanna see her outshine Windblade. But were's my girl, Elita? Prowl is a good choice though.
(drinking my energon cube ) Ahhh.. I remember the good old days of Cybertron. Back when we had interesting characters.
I wish this series luck. There are mighty big shoes to fill with the last series. Not only that, but there might be more guidelines to adhere to with Hasbro attempting to re-align the universe in order to add cohesiveness with both design and character familiarity. They probably understand that they would like new readers to help supplement the sales and toyline, but have learned from past errors that the fan support with TF is as strong ( if not stronger )than any other franchise. The fiction of the past 10-15 years has treated the property with respect for the most part. No doubt a few of us will tear it apart and view it with 30+ years of our most sincere devotion. I pray that we exercise restraint so that this new( yet old) direction will flourish.
Hey, I might even get a my local comicbook place to start holding them for me. Used to do that when a series would start so I am sure I will get them!
Leader Prime is heading to Siege, that's a fact and there's already a leader Class con to meet him...Shockwave.
Also Rodimus? I don't see him in the pictures...
*goes to look* yeah there isn't Rodimus in any of those pictures. You can see Siege Shockwave (with his add ons), Soundwave and Starscream though.
Posted by Coptur on December 18th, 2018 @ 8:53pm CST
Posted by Ironhidensh on December 18th, 2018 @ 9:18pm CST
ScottyP wrote:This is very on purpose and it's why this announcement is close to exactly what I was expecting. More about the Brand than anything else.D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Again, I like what I'm seeing, don't get me wrong, but it feels like they are now hitting us on TV, comics, and movies with the same stuff and I don't want that, it's far more interesting with diversity.
My biggest fears confirmed. I'm sure I'll give this a chance, but I dont like the current "storylines", so I doubt I'll like this.
Brand unification is lame.
Posted by Skritz on December 18th, 2018 @ 9:34pm CST
But who knows, it might eventually grow to be decent.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on December 18th, 2018 @ 10:00pm CST
Also, I found it hilarious that this is being so heavily touted as “the newest hotness, totally not the same thing that came before and a whole new direction etc.”, and yet there’s Windblade, who was pretty central to the whole previous universe.
I’m not saying I hate Windblade or anything, I just find the irony very...ironic.
Posted by ScottyP on December 18th, 2018 @ 10:30pm CST
It's a totally new creative team and continuity so I don't understand this. If nothing changed and they slapped a Marvel logo on the cover (along with a cool $4.99) would that matter, or are you not inclined to read TF comics at all?Coptur wrote:IDW nah this is an easy pass
Posted by ScottyP on December 18th, 2018 @ 10:38pm CST
She's been in almost every piece of TF media for the past two years, not just the previous main-continuity comics. RiD, Cyberverse, and the Prime Wars shows all have Windblade from a little to a ton. Star Trek vs Transformers has her. It's a (probably corporately mandated) push to get the character out there to the masses. I'm honestly surprised there isn't a Movie version yet. Anyways, don't see any irony here.Nemesis Maximo wrote:I'm not saying I hate Windblade or anything, I just find the irony very...ironic.
Posted by Coptur on December 18th, 2018 @ 10:59pm CST
ScottyP wrote:It's a totally new creative team and continuity so I don't understand this. If nothing changed and they slapped a Marvel logo on the cover (along with a cool $4.99) would that matter, or are you not inclined to read TF comics at all?Coptur wrote:IDW nah this is an easy pass
I just can't see there being much change.
Posted by ausbot on December 18th, 2018 @ 11:02pm CST
Posted by Sabrblade on December 18th, 2018 @ 11:11pm CST
Posted by Lore Keeper on December 18th, 2018 @ 11:20pm CST
Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Bumblebee? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
There! Fixed it and made the whole series better.
Posted by Sabrblade on December 18th, 2018 @ 11:26pm CST
Lore Keeper wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Bumblebee? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
There! Fixed it and made the whole series better.
I take it we're back in middle school, now.
Posted by Lore Keeper on December 18th, 2018 @ 11:36pm CST
Sabrblade wrote:Lore Keeper wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Bumblebee? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
There! Fixed it and made the whole series better.
I take it we're back in middle school, now.
No, because back in middle school, it would be many years before Bumblebee was forcibly crammed down my throat every time I wanted to engage in anything Transformers.
Posted by Burn on December 19th, 2018 @ 12:08am CST
Sabrblade wrote:I take it we're back in middle school, now.
No need to be condescending.
Posted by Agent 53 on December 19th, 2018 @ 1:24am CST
Rodimus Prime wrote:"Through the eyes of a young Bumblebee and his friends..."
That sentence combined with that shot of Prime and Megatron just deflated my enthusiasm for this. And it seems that we'll have all the same characters back that were in the previous IDW incarnation.
I'm not going to totally ignore this, but my expectations have plummeted. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 months.
Of course the main cast of the first comic of the reboot is the biggest core characters of the franchise, if they did an Avengers reboot would you not expect Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America, if they did a Justice League reboot would you not expect the Trinity?
I also have 3 thoughts in regards to this comic's connection to Seige
1 - If this does tease a leader Optimus how will the trailer armour be retooled for Optimus
2 - Will said armour be used in the comic, fulfilling the super mode Optimus part of the franchise to my knowledge something that Original!IDW Optimus never employed.
3 - If Bumblebee is the audience surrogate, does that mean that a Siege figure of him is on the way?
Posted by Deadput on December 19th, 2018 @ 1:43am CST
Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Megatron? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
It's probably (Bee movie spoiler) Cliffjumper again
That character has gotten the shaft in the last few years First Episode of Prime, IDW killing him off in the end after years of not being a notable character in the comics, within the first 20 or so minutes of Bumblebee which could possibly be the start of a reboot movie series.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on December 19th, 2018 @ 1:52am CST
Transformers has a lot more characters to choose from than your examples. But I get what you're trying to say. Even if Prime and Megatron must be included, they could have totally changed the supporting cast and it would have been fine, refreshing even.Agent 53 wrote:Rodimus Prime wrote:"Through the eyes of a young Bumblebee and his friends..."
That sentence combined with that shot of Prime and Megatron just deflated my enthusiasm for this. And it seems that we'll have all the same characters back that were in the previous IDW incarnation.
I'm not going to totally ignore this, but my expectations have plummeted. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 months.
Of course the main cast of the first comic of the reboot is the biggest core characters of the franchise, if they did an Avengers reboot would you not expect Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America, if they did a Justice League reboot would you not expect the Trinity?
Right now the consensus is that he will be an homage to Leader class Galaxy Convoy.1- If this does tease a leader Optimus how will the trailer armour be retooled for Optimus
Small change, but a welcome one, if true.2 - Will said armour be used in the comic, fulfilling the super mode Optimus part of the franchise to my knowledge something that Original!IDW Optimus never employed.
I think that's a given, especially after the reveal that he will be the central character in the new iteration.3 - If Bumblebee is the audience surrogate, does that mean that a Siege figure of him is on the way?
Posted by Deadput on December 19th, 2018 @ 2:13am CST
Hot Shot: Who's design is either the possible Siege repaint of Hound with some elements of the Prime toy version (Googles and such) or a "bigger" version of Bumblebee with a "muscle car" alt mode with the darker colors of the prime design with some Unicron trilogy elements in minor deco parts, he would be the movie bigger car Bee to the minibot Bee, Bumblebee would be more calm and down to earth while Hot Rod is the more reckless and "warrior-like" of the two, the two would be a more successful attempt at the brother in arms idea that TLK "tried" to pull off with Bumblebee and Hot Rod.
Strongarm: The character wasn't perfect in the RID show but I very much like her design since it isn't the stereotypical "curvy" fembot design that characters like Arcee and Windblade have, also like the concept of the character.
Hound or Beachcomber: I would prefer Hound in this role but I think a more "pacifist/nature loving" type character would be a nice choice for a friend that Bee can have heart to heart convos with
Barricade: Hear me out here I think having a friend who becomes a Decepticon once the war begins would be wonderful for story telling, I think Barricade would be best as Strongarm's fellow cadet in the "police force" and at some point for whatever reason Bee and him have a falling out so there could be a good reason for the two being rivals, I think Barricade in general is a character who needs more focus to make a truly great character.
An older perhaps veteran character who could sorta be a mentor to Bee and helping him become a better soldier: I think Brawn would be best here since the character is similar height to the guy and the two have had interactions/friendship in previous continuities plus I think Brawn is sort of an underused character right now and probably could use some development to distinguish himself from Ironhide and Kup.
Someone who can serve as an important friend in the beginning but is an early casualty of the war: Probably someone like Hubcap or Bumper would be best since their very similar to Bee in appearance and part's of Bumper's "character" is kinda like Bee's so he would be the better choice of the two, since the book is starting at pre war he wouldn't be killed off immediately so he would have time to develop character but get killed during his first engagement with Decepticons with Bee on the same squad. I'm thinking something similar to Spartan Samuel-034 from the Halo novels who was one of Master Chief's first friends but was the first Spartan killed in the Human-Covenant war.
Not related to Bumblebee but I would love to see Cannonfodder and Deadguy from the DOTM prequel comics as a pair of characters who always seem to get killed off but appear just fine a couple of issues later just to repeat the same running gag, not as important characters mind you just as recurring side/background characters kinda like the underused members of the Lost Light in the previous IDW comics.
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 19th, 2018 @ 2:20am CST
Posted by Deadput on December 19th, 2018 @ 2:21am CST
Rodimus Prime wrote:Transformers has a lot more characters to choose from than your examples. But I get what you're trying to say. Even if Prime and Megatron must be included, they could have totally changed the supporting cast and it would have been fine, refreshing even.
I think having the original G1 characters like Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz or Soundwave, Thundercracker and Skywarp can work if such characters are mixed in the cast with obscure characters from other parts of the franchise or underdeveloped G1 characters like Windcharger or Huffer and in appropriate times original characters but only if they have an actual role to fill like Rung unlike someone who exists just for the sake of existing and taking up unnecessary page time like...Anode. Seriously I wouldn't dislike the character so much if she actually did anything to advance the story during the page time of Lost Light which she did not in the end unlike Rung.
Posted by Munkky on December 19th, 2018 @ 5:03am CST
Posted by Agent 53 on December 19th, 2018 @ 5:42am CST
Posted by Lunatic Prime on December 19th, 2018 @ 5:43am CST
Agent 53 wrote:Does anyone else think Optimus' Chest resembles Cybertron Optimus? As in the front of his vehicle mode?
DUDE, read the posts/comments before!
Posted by ricemazter on December 19th, 2018 @ 6:26am CST
Munkky wrote:I'll probably avoid this, I'm already bored of this "back to basics everything like early G1 'member the 80's?" approach that's been dominating Transformers fiction for the last year or so. Perhaps once the story gets off Cybertron and we get some human characters and Earth alt modes (PLEASE don't be set in the goddamn 80's!) I may take another look. I'd rather have some more Beast Era and Unicron Trilogy inspired fiction from IDW, but I know it'll never happen.
Ditto, or even go with some Transformers Animated inspired stuff. For me, the major triumph of that show was completely reorganizing the standard war and politics from g1 Cybertron in a way that was interesting but totally believable.
"You mean the war is already over, and that wasn't even the first one with the Decepticons? Optimus Prime is just kind of this guy and Prime is a rank anyone can achieve? This new conflict with the Decepticons is asymmetrical and no one on Cybertron wants to believe it's serious?"
All great stuff.
On a side note, can we just drop Bumblebee? I get he was the only character to come out the other side of Bayformers even slightly marketable by virtue of a cute gimmick and being one of the few non-"violent sociopath" robots, but 10+ years of him being in the lead is enough.
In IDW, the only time I remember him being interesting was when he was leader of Cybertron, precisely because he was trying to be a charismatic Optimus stand in but failing miserably. Then they killed him and brought him back as happy golucky and all "golly gosh, gee wizz" again.
It was so weird because Optimus kept talking about him as the conscience of the Autobots and the guy who reminded him of who he was in the end. All I could think: "wasn't Bumblebee the guy who was in charge and let Prowl proceed with a plan to put a bomb in the heads of half the population? Didn't he then press the button to detonate one of those bombs when he failed to de-escalate a fight?"
TLDR: please no more Bumblebee
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 19th, 2018 @ 6:51am CST
Posted by ScottyP on December 19th, 2018 @ 8:18am CST
Great great great great idea! On the surface it seems unlikely, but I feel like they're going to need some crazy, unexpected hook like this if they want this relaunch to grow sales of TF comics rather than maintain status quo and burn out from attrition after 12 issues.Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Megatron? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on December 19th, 2018 @ 8:36am CST
ScottyP wrote:She's been in almost every piece of TF media for the past two years, not just the previous main-continuity comics. RiD, Cyberverse, and the Prime Wars shows all have Windblade from a little to a ton. Star Trek vs Transformers has her. It's a (probably corporately mandated) push to get the character out there to the masses. I'm honestly surprised there isn't a Movie version yet. Anyways, don't see any irony here.Nemesis Maximo wrote:I'm not saying I hate Windblade or anything, I just find the irony very...ironic.
Posted by Sabrblade on December 19th, 2018 @ 9:13am CST
Exactly! I mean, this looks like it's gonna be just another take on the classic "Optimus Prime and the Autobots vs. Megatron and the Decepticons" schtick that has been done to death. And since Optimus has died himself so many times that it's practically a bad joke by this point, what better way to turn the aforementioned classic schtick on its head than by having Megatron be the one who is killed at the beginning and INADVERTENTLY sends the planet into war?ScottyP wrote:Great great great great idea! On the surface it seems unlikely, but I feel like they're going to need some crazy, unexpected hook like this if they want this relaunch to grow sales of TF comics rather than maintain status quo and burn out from attrition after 12 issues.Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Megatron? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
And here's another crazy idea! Suppose, once the war is underway, Optimus gets to thinking that trying to bring him back to life could be the best way to end the war. Imagine the angles they could explore with this irony! And if he gets resurrected, how might he react to the war? Would he be for it? Could he perhaps be against it; aghast that such violence broke out all on account of him? Might he actually try to put an end to the war? Or would he get caught up in the conflict? Could he find that he has a taste for warfare? Would such disgust him? Would he have to come to terms with the inner conflict within? Peace or violence? Or rather, peace through violence? Peace through tyranny? Optimus would never agree. Might he try to convince the Prime that what he's doing isn't out of selfishness but necessity? Might he even feel a bit guilty in his death having ignited such global conflict? What had even happened to get himself murdered during peacetime in the first place? Moreover, who murdered him? These are the nagging questions.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on December 19th, 2018 @ 9:30am CST
Sabrblade wrote:Exactly! I mean, this looks like it's gonna be just another take on the classic "Optimus Prime and the Autobots vs. Megatron and the Decepticons" schtick that has been done to death. And since Optimus has died himself so many times that it's practically a bad joke by this point, what better way to turn the aforementioned classic schtick on its head than by having Megatron be the one who is killed at the beginning and INADVERTENTLY sends the planet into war?ScottyP wrote:Great great great great idea! On the surface it seems unlikely, but I feel like they're going to need some crazy, unexpected hook like this if they want this relaunch to grow sales of TF comics rather than maintain status quo and burn out from attrition after 12 issues.Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Megatron? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
And here's another crazy idea! Suppose, once the war is underway, Optimus gets to thinking that trying to bring him back to life could be the best way to end the war. Imagine the angles they could explore with this irony! And if he gets resurrected, how might he react to the war? Would he be for it? Could he perhaps be against it; aghast that such violence broke out all on account of him? Might he actually try to put an end to the war? Or would he get caught up in the conflict? Could he find that he has a taste for warfare? Would such disgust him? Would he have to come to terms with the inner conflict within? Peace or violence? Or rather, peace through violence? Peace through tyranny? Optimus would never agree. Might he try to convince the Prime that what he's doing isn't out of selfishness but necessity? Might he even feel a bit guilty in his death having ignited such global conflict? What had even happened to get himself murdered during peacetime in the first place? Moreover, who murdered him? These are the nagging questions.
I’d read this. I’d probably read it at least a couple times.
Posted by o.supreme on December 19th, 2018 @ 9:40am CST
Posted by steals_your_goats on December 19th, 2018 @ 6:24pm CST
Posted by ZeroWolf on December 19th, 2018 @ 6:26pm CST
Posted by X3ROhour on December 19th, 2018 @ 6:34pm CST
i just hope they live up to the standards of their predecessors.
and our expectations.
Posted by ScottyP on December 20th, 2018 @ 7:49am CST
Also digging this. The higher concept is close to what Barber did, but the plot device is a better hook than "Shockwave disguised himself as a Prime and created a lineage of corrupt galaxy conquering Primes that were a-holes"Sabrblade wrote:Exactly! I mean, this looks like it's gonna be just another take on the classic "Optimus Prime and the Autobots vs. Megatron and the Decepticons" schtick that has been done to death. And since Optimus has died himself so many times that it's practically a bad joke by this point, what better way to turn the aforementioned classic schtick on its head than by having Megatron be the one who is killed at the beginning and INADVERTENTLY sends the planet into war?ScottyP wrote:Great great great great idea! On the surface it seems unlikely, but I feel like they're going to need some crazy, unexpected hook like this if they want this relaunch to grow sales of TF comics rather than maintain status quo and burn out from attrition after 12 issues.Sabrblade wrote:Here's a thought. Notice how the press release doesn't say who the murder victim is. Now, I know that they are pretty much guaranteed to not do this, but suppose, for a second, that if they wanted to really go for something new and even unexpected with these familiar iconic classic characters of old, what if the one who was killed off, whose murder sets everything in the story in motion to spiral out of peace and into war, was none other than Megatron? Who honestly would ever see something like that idea coming, especially in this day and age where the brand is all about making the old new again? IMO, it could potentially be one of the boldest and most shockingly unexpected decisions ever, but it would never happen.
And here's another crazy idea! Suppose, once the war is underway, Optimus gets to thinking that trying to bring him back to life could be the best way to end the war. Imagine the angles they could explore with this irony! And if he gets resurrected, how might he react to the war? Would he be for it? Could he perhaps be against it; aghast that such violence broke out all on account of him? Might he actually try to put an end to the war? Or would he get caught up in the conflict? Could he find that he has a taste for warfare? Would such disgust him? Would he have to come to terms with the inner conflict within? Peace or violence? Or rather, peace through violence? Peace through tyranny? Optimus would never agree. Might he try to convince the Prime that what he's doing isn't out of selfishness but necessity? Might he even feel a bit guilty in his death having ignited such global conflict? What had even happened to get himself murdered during peacetime in the first place? Moreover, who murdered him? These are the nagging questions.