IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #27 (DC 10) Double Spread Decoded

Nice. I had no idea there were so many layers of colouring that went into comic panels.

Who's the guy in black armour with red highlights who looks like he's pulling Megatron's stretcher?

That is totally awesome!

Sodan-1 wrote:Nice. I had no idea there were so many layers of colouring that went into comic panels.

Who's the guy in black armour with red highlights who looks like he's pulling Megatron's stretcher?

That would be Flatline, the Decepticon medic working on Cybertron. We saw them alongside Starscream, Tankor and others during the Dark Cybertron stuff.

Due to work/travel, I'm a couple months behind on my readings, but I was really hoping that Grimlock would be reunited with the rest of his Dinobot teammates during this storyline. Judging from this artpiece, I'm going to have to keep hoping.

I know it is a sign of absolutely nothing, but the appearance of the other Autobot Double Targetmasters really makes me want Quickmix and Landfill toys to be made. I wouldn't mind Quake, Spinister and Needlenose to be made either. They wouldn't even need to make that many new molds of the Targetmasters either. Just part swap the barrels and arms on the existing two and you should be able to make enough Targetmasters for all of them. Or at least somewhere close to the number needed. Just a pie in the sky dream. I love Targetmasters. Heck, I love Masters altogether. Make Getaway with a Powermaster.

Mkall wrote:Due to work/travel, I'm a couple months behind on my readings, but I was really hoping that Grimlock would be reunited with the rest of his Dinobot teammates during this storyline. Judging from this artpiece, I'm going to have to keep hoping.

I gave up on Grimlock when the Dinobots were announced for AOE. Chances are we won't see him in RID or MTMTE for another year or so due to licensing bureaucracy, which I'm assuming is why all the Dinos in the movie have completely different names; to allow the originals to continue being used in the comics. Which I still don't understand - why can't Hasbro use all their own characters in any/all merchandise related to their property? Optimus and Bumblebee didn't disappear from the comics during any of the previous movies. How much control does Hasbro lose (or voluntarily restrict) when they license out a character trademark to a particular company?

morphobots wrote:

Mkall wrote:Due to work/travel, I'm a couple months behind on my readings, but I was really hoping that Grimlock would be reunited with the rest of his Dinobot teammates during this storyline. Judging from this artpiece, I'm going to have to keep hoping.

I gave up on Grimlock when the Dinobots were announced for AOE. Chances are we won't see him in RID or MTMTE for another year or so due to licensing bureaucracy, which I'm assuming is why all the Dinos in the movie have completely different names; to allow the originals to continue being used in the comics. Which I still don't understand - why can't Hasbro use all their own characters in any/all merchandise related to their property? Optimus and Bumblebee didn't disappear from the comics during any of the previous movies. How much control does Hasbro lose (or voluntarily restrict) when they license out a character trademark to a particular company?

Grimlock and the Dinobots haven't been together since before All Hail Megatron. It's got nothing to do with the upcoming movie anymore then it did any of the others. Slag's name was changes to Slug because Slag is a derogatory term for a woman in the UK and the AoE bots have different names because every single Dinobots name starting with "S" but Grimlock would be confusing in a 2 hour movie.

zodconvoy wrote:

morphobots wrote:

Mkall wrote:Due to work/travel, I'm a couple months behind on my readings, but I was really hoping that Grimlock would be reunited with the rest of his Dinobot teammates during this storyline. Judging from this artpiece, I'm going to have to keep hoping.

I gave up on Grimlock when the Dinobots were announced for AOE. Chances are we won't see him in RID or MTMTE for another year or so due to licensing bureaucracy, which I'm assuming is why all the Dinos in the movie have completely different names; to allow the originals to continue being used in the comics. Which I still don't understand - why can't Hasbro use all their own characters in any/all merchandise related to their property? Optimus and Bumblebee didn't disappear from the comics during any of the previous movies. How much control does Hasbro lose (or voluntarily restrict) when they license out a character trademark to a particular company?

Grimlock and the Dinobots haven't been together since before All Hail Megatron. It's got nothing to do with the upcoming movie anymore then it did any of the others. Slag's name was changes to Slug because Slag is a derogatory term for a woman in the UK and the AoE bots have different names because every single Dinobots name starting with "S" but Grimlock would be confusing in a 2 hour movie.

"Maximum Dinobots" began December 2008. "AHM" began July 2008. I'm not just referring to Grimlock being with the Dinobots; I'm talking about Grimlock being seen - period - in any comic not related to Beast Hunters, which is part of Aligned, which contains the movies. Sometimes there are restrictions on using certain characters in one entertainment license because they've already been approved for use by another company. I was simply wondering if anyone knew how those restrictions were applied because it has always appeared haphazard to me. I'm also well aware of why Slag's name was changed franchise-wide as you couldn't escape the griping when it happened. And don't all the new Dinobot names - except Grimlock's - also start with "S" in AOE just as they did in G1? Why is that confusing?

nice work on the splash page. can't wait for Wednesday!

some surprises:

Ravage being o.k after the Tyrest arc, a warm welcoming w/ Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, Jazz being around everyone after bots knowing how far he will take things, and how large Cosmos looks.

I don't mind Cosmos being a large ship but I would have liked to have seen an upgrade process or something...

It's the beginning of an incredibly eventful month over at IDW Publishing, starting with this week's final Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye section of the Dark Cybertron event. Take a look below at the full preview for issue 27, and come back tomorrow for the Seibertron.com review!

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #27: Dark Cybertron Part 10 (of 12)
James Roberts & John Barber (w) • Alex Milne & Livio Ramondelli (a) • Casey W. Coller (c)
TOGETHER AT LAST! The crew of the Lost Light and the survivors of CYERTRON get a brief moment of calm as they take stock of who’s survived DARK CYBERTRON this far. But things get worse—the final fate of the DEAD UNIVERSE reveals a nightmarish link to the greatest threat the universe has ever faced!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
- The casts MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE and ROBOTS IN DISGUISE—together for the first time in two years!
- Art by MTMTE superstar ALEX MILNE and MONSTROSITY superstar LIVIO RAMONDELLI!
- Variant Cover by Alex Milne!

See? I've been right all along: Megatron is the best - someone said so right there!

But apart from that, does anyone else get the feeling that the introduction of all these ores is solely geared towards the resurrection of "dead" characters, in preparation for the next writer to come aboard?

Plus, there are so many potential toys going begging, Has/Tak must be worried about their shrinking product line... From 10-bajillion variations to a mere 9-bajillion. Their accountants must be terrified. Even Kup is back! Again!

MegaDump wrote:See? I've been right all along: Megatron is the best - someone said so right there!

But apart from that, does anyone else get the feeling that the introduction of all these ores is solely geared towards the resurrection of "dead" characters, in preparation for the next writer to come aboard?

Plus, there are so many potential toys going begging, Has/Tak must be worried about their shrinking product line... From 10-bajillion variations to a mere 9-bajillion. Their accountants must be terrified. Even Kup is back! Again!

New writer? Barber and Roberts are not going anywhere. Do you mean Scott? I'm pretty sure the Windblade series won't be focusing on that. The resurrection ore is inurt now since it merged with the death ore. Only character that's good and dead is Ratbat and sunstorm and Horrible and I don't see them returning. I don't count bombshell because 1. It's bombshell and 2. I don't think hes dead because i don't think he was ever alive to begin with. He wasnt forged or cold constructed. He was made in a lab as part of the insecticon project. I think he's a just sparkless higher evolved drone. With no spark he can come back

Randomhero wrote:

MegaDump wrote:See? I've been right all along: Megatron is the best - someone said so right there!

But apart from that, does anyone else get the feeling that the introduction of all these ores is solely geared towards the resurrection of "dead" characters, in preparation for the next writer to come aboard?

Plus, there are so many potential toys going begging, Has/Tak must be worried about their shrinking product line... From 10-bajillion variations to a mere 9-bajillion. Their accountants must be terrified. Even Kup is back! Again!

New writer? Barber and Roberts are not going anywhere. Do you mean Scott? I'm pretty sure the Windblade series won't be focusing on that. The resurrection ore is inurt now since it merged with the death ore. Only character that's good and dead is Ratbat and sunstorm and Horrible and I don't see them returning. I don't count bombshell because 1. It's bombshell and 2. I don't think hes dead because i don't think he was ever alive to begin with. He wasnt forged or cold constructed. He was made in a lab as part of the insecticon project. I think he's a just sparkless higher evolved drone. With no spark he can come back

Well, I was only speculating regarding the new writer business... But good point regarding Bombshell, I hadn't considered that... Perhaps he'll be replaced by a similarly constructed "Hardshell?" I admit I'm not fully up to speed on current books, but is ALL the resurrection ore inert? Surely logic would dictate Shockwave into seeding that particular ore a little more carefully. Regarding characters, there are way more that have died - Black Shadow, Dai Atlas, Wheeljack (as far as I know), Topspin, Twintwist, Rotorstorm, Pyro, Ironfist, Snare, Thrust, Ramjet, Scrapper, most of the Technobots...

Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' death this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Coptur wrote:Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' death this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Natural death. Like elves from lord of the rings. They no longer have natural death

Randomhero wrote:

Coptur wrote:Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' death this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Natural death. Like elves from lord of the rings. They no longer have natural death

I always loved the parallels between Cybertronians and elves, but if I recall correctly, even death in battle isn't dead-dead for elves. My wife explained it to me at some point, that elves who die of unnatural causes (e.g., warfare) go to a place in the west akin to Valhalla, from which the can leave/be sent out of into the undying lands, and then travel across the sea back to Middle Earth if they want. So when elves die, it's like dying in Halo Multiplayer - they have to wait X amount of time to respawn, and then they can pop back up in their starting area.

I believe she also said elves can 'die' of old age, but they don't die of heart disease or cancer - they just fade slowly from the mortal realm into another parallel world of light and shadow - the same world that you can see when wearing a ring of power, and which can always be seen by Maiar and really old elves - which is why Sauron and Galadriel can see someone even if they're wearing the ring, and someone wearing the ring can see the Witchking, even though he's otherwise only visible/tangible by way of his armor and cloak.

Ironically, IDW's universe is the only one I know of in which death by natural causes has been established as a possibility - Tailgate was dying of Cybercrosis before Cyclonus saved him, and Ratchet noted there had been one other documented death from the malady.

Edit: Of course, the Elvish respawn thing is pretty much exactly what happened to Ironhide, and remember the Cybertronian that wanders the galaxy simply keeping record of every Cybertronian slain in battle? I can see that becoming relevant at some point.

Randomhero wrote:

Coptur wrote:Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' deathr this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Natural death. Like elves from lord of the rings. They no longer have natural death

I hadn't thought of them like elves before but forgive for not remembering the source in idw but isn't there conversation between two characters where they discussed how hard it is to kill a cybertronians.

Not just in idw but the transformers have shown high resistance to death and have even bought back to life (Optimus Prime being one very high on the list) i know that some of the examples through out the TF history contradict each other but hey its fiction and i miss the battlechargers lol.

Can we truly believe Thrust was burned alive or did he just enter a deep status lock in a melted hulk

Hardhead's pretty dead, and he's supposed to have a generations toy if that leak is right.

Meanwhile Wheeljack's fine, we saw him in a bacta chamber in RID before Dark Cybertron, he's fine.

Coptur wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Coptur wrote:Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' deathr this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Natural death. Like elves from lord of the rings. They no longer have natural death

I hadn't thought of them like elves before but forgive for not remembering the source in idw but isn't there conversation between two characters where they discussed how hard it is to kill a cybertronians.

Not just in idw but the transformers have shown high resistance to death and have even bought back to life (Optimus Prime being one very high on the list) i know that some of the examples throught the TF history contradict each other but hey its fiction and i miss the battlechargers lol.

Can we truly believe Thrust was burned alive or did he just enter a deep status lock in a melted hulk

I know that line and it grinded my gears to read that because it's honestly not that hard. I think maybe Roberts meant suicide but once in a while his writing contradicts itself.

I wouldn't consider Cybercrosis a natural death. It's the transformers version of cancer and I don't think anyone would call cancer a natural death.

They need to unkill thrust and ramjet. I like to think thrust is locked up somewhere on Earth and ramjets spark is somewhere too in Decepticon possession. Look at Dirge! He was good and dead in All Hail Megatron. Quickest death that character has ever had but Barber brought him back and made that character great.

I honestly don't want anyone from Last Stand of the Wreckers coming back to life. Their deaths were a lot of the weight of that book and I don't think their extinguished bodies are lying around anywhere. They were probably ceremonially smelted or cremated Dinobot style.

Synopsis
TOGETHER AT LAST! The crew of the Lost Light and the survivors of CYERTRON get a brief moment of calm as they take stock of who’s survived DARK CYBERTRON this far. But things get worse—the final fate of the DEAD UNIVERSE reveals a nightmarish link to the greatest threat the universe has ever faced!



Story

Are we ready for this? I think not. We have all the casts merging, clashing, bashing and - just hanging. Because why not. Everything in Dark Cybertron seems to have been leading up to this particular issue, or at least this issue as a means of resolution for the major plot points. Does it deliver is the question here, really. Well, read on.



We get some excellent dialogue and laundry hanging with, in no particular order, Megatron, Arcee, Prowl, Windblade, Chromedome, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Brainstorm and Prowl. In fact, there are a lot of questions that are starting to get a glimpse of a potential answer. And Prowl gets into a lot of discussions, with a lot of other characters, about everything he's done since the Death of Optimus Prime.



What felt a bit odd was the pacing of all that is going on against the backdrop, between some very laid-back moments - excellent for characters to show their natures - and some more tense ones - see above. But a lot of the scenes are taking place during one, long speech by Shockwave, given to Galvatron. It's exposition. But it's long-needed, long-wanted exposition. And most importantly, it's answers.



Do we get all the answers? No. But we do get some answers, and an exceptionally good set-up for the next big two issues coming up. We look more into Megatron, Arcee, Chromedome, Windblade, Prowl, *especially* Prowl and Shockwave. What didn't work amazingly, for me at least, was the discordant pacing. A lot of things are happening at the same time, and the time is very diluted between the things happening.

Art

While there is still a double art team, with Livio still smoking up the Dead Universe happenings, Alex Milne makes his return on part of the issue - and things are looking very, very good. Brendan Cahill also does an exceptional job on the his pages of the issue (especially with the panelwork!), and Brian Shearer's inks top it all off magnificently, paving the way for the colour magic.



We saw Josh Perez' work in the making with the double page spread the other day, but the rest of the issue is just as beautiful. Ramondelli also gives a really nice touch to the colouring hues in his sections of the book, with a lighter palette as we approach the end of the darkness.. or do we?



Tom B. Long is back on letters, and even though the work in this one is subtle, it works witha everything else that is going on. Special mentions go to the three absolutely stunning covers, A by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente, B by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr, and the incentive Milne and Perez - in the thumbnail!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

So, the question was: does it deliver? Yes. Yes it does. Action, lack thereof, plot, developments, characters, dialogue and most especially artistic endeavours all conflate into one giant, ominous, cyclopic purple instance - and yet the actual storm has yet to really hit. I'm not sure the next chapter will leave us intact, at this point.



Want to find out what Shockwave's actually been up to? Want to see what Megatron thinks of himself and Cybertron? Hear what the Dead Universe bots are going on about? Actually get some answers? Read this issue. It's only-just-not perfect, but you will read this issue. Go on. We'll be here. Waiting.

Good review, Va'al. Finally we learn what it's all building to.

Lots to say about this issue, but not much I can say without being a bit spoiler...y.

Most of it concerns Megatron. He seems like a completely different character than he was back in RID #13-16. I like his lucid explanation about losing the war, but it doesn't really gel with his previous characterization...

And Shockwave's plan. Ambitious.

Also, seventy billion? Guess war doesn't reduce the Ammonites' numbers that much.

Thanks!

Yeah, I see what you're pointing at. I wonder if dying several times, being staticly incarcerated for a long time, used as a portal and ripped apart may influence their characterisation. A little.

Va'al wrote:Thanks!

Yeah, I see what you're pointing at. I wonder if dying several times, being staticly incarcerated for a long time, used as a portal and ripped apart may influence their characterisation. A little.

Yeah, I guess unimaginable pain and suffering could change one's perspective, but I kinda figured Megs had gone through that already. Didn't Chaos Theory already spell out how much both Megatron and Optimus had suffered through millions of years of war?

Maybe space bridges are more painful than destroying transformation cogs.

Im calling it now. the spark-ache that brainstorm was talking about in the bar, the reason for his grumpiness, he's got a crush on one of the new fembots.

Also, as for next weeks advertised death... It can really only be Rodimus or Ultra Magnus since we know from solicitations that Bee and Prowl feature in future RID stories. Im not sure what way it will go. I want to lean towards Ultra Magnus, hes been really well developed and it would be a shock if he was the one to go out, but then again Rodimus has been such a screw up from the start, it would be like a mercy killing to take him out.

That said, I liked this issue a lot. Mostly for Prowl finally getting something of a comeuppance. It was a fun breather issue with some really good character bits, and some totally sweet humor. Like swerve meeting his idol, and Hot Rods reaction to kups opinion on wheelies rhyming.

Randomhero wrote:

Coptur wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Coptur wrote:Remember in the idw-verse following Mortilius' deathr this allowed Cybertronian sparks to burn for eternity as immortals. So are any of the 'dead' truly dead?

Natural death. Like elves from lord of the rings. They no longer have natural death

I hadn't thought of them like elves before but forgive for not remembering the source in idw but isn't there conversation between two characters where they discussed how hard it is to kill a cybertronians.

Not just in idw but the transformers have shown high resistance to death and have even bought back to life (Optimus Prime being one very high on the list) i know that some of the examples throught the TF history contradict each other but hey its fiction and i miss the battlechargers lol.

Can we truly believe Thrust was burned alive or did he just enter a deep status lock in a melted hulk

I know that line and it grinded my gears to read that because it's honestly not that hard. I think maybe Roberts meant suicide but once in a while his writing contradicts itself.

I wouldn't consider Cybercrosis a natural death. It's the transformers version of cancer and I don't think anyone would call cancer a natural death.

They need to unkill thrust and ramjet. I like to think thrust is locked up somewhere on Earth and ramjets spark is somewhere too in Decepticon possession. Look at Dirge! He was good and dead in All Hail Megatron. Quickest death that character has ever had but Barber brought him back and made that character great.

I honestly don't want anyone from Last Stand of the Wreckers coming back to life. Their deaths were a lot of the weight of that book and I don't think their extinguished bodies are lying around anywhere. They were probably ceremonially smelted or cremated Dinobot style.

Its a strange one but I don't think it was exclusive to suicide. It seems the rules change constantly Horri-Bull gets his head blown off and he dies but Waspinator gets blown up constantly but he lives very inconsistant

Va'al wrote:

Sodan-1 wrote:Nice. I had no idea there were so many layers of colouring that went into comic panels.

Who's the guy in black armour with red highlights who looks like he's pulling Megatron's stretcher?

That would be Flatline, the Decepticon medic working on Cybertron. We saw them alongside Starscream, Tankor and others during the Dark Cybertron stuff.

Ah, right. Thought Trailbreaker had had an overhaul until I spotted him in the back on the right. Thanks.