Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #41 Review

Jeen0808 wrote:This issue was well and all, as a setup. But it kind of reminded me of something Ultra Magnus once said.

pie-man wrote:Its certainly an interesting issue, but seemed to me that it ended kinda abruptly. I know there have been some cliffhanger-esque endings recently (Brainstorm holding a gun at a half-built Megatron comes to mind), but this this issue seemed like a few pages short.

Great character interactions and all.... but also feel that all that dialogue slows pace of the issue. Interesting to see Ravage out and about and hanging out (sort of) with the rest of the crew.

pie-man wrote:Its certainly an interesting issue, but seemed to me that it ended kinda abruptly. I know there have been some cliffhanger-esque endings recently (Brainstorm holding a gun at a half-built Megatron comes to mind), but this this issue seemed like a few pages short.

Great character interactions and all.... but also feel that all that dialogue slows pace of the issue. Interesting to see Ravage out and about and hanging out (sort of) with the rest of the crew.

ScottyP wrote:This is one of those "won't notice it was a whole issue in the trade" but "too slow to be super enjoyable as a stand alone" to me. Loved the character development but not much of anything else really seemed to go anywhere, and the cliffhanger feels repetitive. Haven't we done robo-zombies/mini-scraplets/etc/etc a couple times now?

Disclaimer: these are still nit-picks, and probably only coming out due to how phenomenally good 39 and 40 were.

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Randomhero wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Wolfguard wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

When you start dating, you'll understand.

Noideaforaname wrote:

ScottyP wrote:This is one of those "won't notice it was a whole issue in the trade" but "too slow to be super enjoyable as a stand alone" to me. Loved the character development but not much of anything else really seemed to go anywhere, and the cliffhanger feels repetitive. Haven't we done robo-zombies/mini-scraplets/etc/etc a couple times now?

Disclaimer: these are still nit-picks, and probably only coming out due to how phenomenally good 39 and 40 were.

Definitely this, but I'm more annoyed that all the new female bots got hyped yet only Firestar really made an appearance.

Also wish we got more info about Thunderclash. He's just sorta... artificial. We're forced to agree with Rodimus not because of what TC's done, but because TC's done nothing.

worldsgreatest wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"

I still have no idea what this means.

What does 'a girl' sound like? What does 'female' SOUND like as character trait to you?

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

ScottyP wrote:

worldsgreatest wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"

I still have no idea what this means.

What does 'a girl' sound like? What does 'female' SOUND like as character trait to you?

I think folks are being appreciative of intelligent subtlety being used to portray categorical character differences rather than being beaten on the head with stereotypes. You probably don't understand Randomhero's exact meaning because I doubt they or anyone wants to dig into those types of complexities in detail - that could be a long post.

To put it shortly, Nautica is clearly different from Firestar who is clearly different from Windblade who is clearly different from Chromia and they're all clearly different from Nickel yet they're all portrayed as female in subtle ways despite massive differences in personality and appearance and that's also what we call a well done attempt at being inclusive. It's not Girlbot A and Femmebot B and Girlbot A (green version) just being there for the sake of it. There are actual characters being defined here, not pointless archetypal representations of an abstract (depending on your point of view) concept like gender. Many of these personalities could be assigned to other characters that aren't fleshed out yet, and it'd work just fine. This is an all around "Good Thing" and I think that's what's being pointed out in folks' reactions to this issue more than anything.

If that still doesn't answer your question, ponder the stoic look of Quig's face here while you search inside for your answers. Or something.

worldsgreatest wrote:That was what I was getting at. Since Roberts does such a good job of being inclusive and creating well rounded characters that it had never dawned on me that any of the lady Transformers were not being presented as female. Or without a female voice. Hence the inquiry.

To put it shortly, he seemed to be trying to say 'feminine' and not 'female'. Female would indicate stereotypes associated with gender. I didn't think that was what he meant.

I wasn't legitimately confused at what he was saying. Just how he was intimating it.

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Could you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I completely got in sync with your statement.

If we're talking about real human men and women... I can assure you we have different mindsets. A lot of it is societal I admit we're trained to think differently from each other, but as a woman in a house full of men (2 are, admittedly, under 7 years old, but 2 are adults) I don't get you guys sometimes.

I am not excessively girly, after all I like robot toys, so I have less of a problem understanding men, but trust me, we have a different mindset.

There are very few male writers who truly get the differences that make gender wonderful, and tend to make female characters unbearably unrealistic. And as was mentioned before, a lot of those writers make every female just another version of the others in the story.

1984forever wrote:I feel ripped off/violated after reading this issue.

MTMTE is too intellectual for war, feels Minimus deserves more panels than Magnus, can't be bothered with transformations, and is now too cool to show anyone but FanFicformers.

budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.

Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.

I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.

It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.

It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.

Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.

Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.

I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.

It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.

It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.

Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.

Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.

Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.

I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.

It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.

It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.

Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.

Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.

ZeroWolf wrote:Also the comment about not acting like a war had been fought. Personally I would want to relax and party if I just got out of a four million year war.

TGS1985 wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.

Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.

I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.

It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.

It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.

Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.

Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.

My interpretation is a little different. I think what's going on between Nautica and Firestar can be sum up as one's the awkward wallflower while the other's pretty Ms. Popular. They're friends, no question about that, but from what I can tell Nautica does sort of have some jealousy towards Firestar and Firestar is oblivious to this fact. I say this based on the fact she calls her "Naughty Nautica" a nickname that Nautica apparently really dislikes but which she has also apparently never has mention to Firestar. The reason they both stopped talking after Firestar mentioned the coattails of Windblade and Chromia is because it's probably a sensitive subject for Nautica. Not to mention Firestar didn't phrase it in the best way possible (not intentionally though mind you). Windblade is a Cityspeaker a select few that can speak to titans. This makes her special. Chromia is a bad ass warrior and Windblade's guardian, this make her special. Nautica is super smart genius which is special, but not really directly related to either of the other two. So that said I sure she feels/appears like a 3rd wheel and to those looking in from the outside and that she's letting those two define who she is (whether it is true or not). So I wouldn't go as far as call it a rivalry as much as it is that Nautica simply wishes she was as cool as Firestar.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.

Could you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I completely got in sync with your statement.

If we're talking about real human men and women... I can assure you we have different mindsets. A lot of it is societal I admit we're trained to think differently from each other, but as a woman in a house full of men (2 are, admittedly, under 7 years old, but 2 are adults) I don't get you guys sometimes.

I am not excessively girly, after all I like robot toys, so I have less of a problem understanding men, but trust me, we have a different mindset.

There are very few male writers who truly get the differences that make gender wonderful, and tend to make female characters unbearably unrealistic. And as was mentioned before, a lot of those writers make every female just another version of the others in the story.

To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"

But yes, I agree. I feel as though it's because (a) Barber doesn't want readers to think he's being misogynist if he was to try to make Windblade more feminine as opposed to "just a character being herself",(b) Scott doesn't want to come across as a hardcore feminist by being a female author writing female characters and making them outright feminine and (c) the scope of RID and Windblade are not inherently open to exploring the deeper meaning of being, when compared to MTMTE. And honestly, as with all female problems in comics, it happens even in Marvel and DC: the female superheroes could often be male. I find it refreshing that Roberts is taking the time to at least try as opposed to being afraid of trying.

ctrlFrequency wrote: That's how I read it too. Classic case of geek and cool girl. Firestar certainly has that Homwcoming Queen vibe to her, nice and all... but is a but wrapped up on herself to realize her teasing hurts.

TGS1985 wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote: That's how I read it too. Classic case of geek and cool girl. Firestar certainly has that Homwcoming Queen vibe to her, nice and all... but is a but wrapped up on herself to realize her teasing hurts.

Yeah exactly, but not in a mean girls kind of way (or so I assume as I've never watch said movie.)

ctrlFrequency wrote:And pardon my typos, I usually try to catch them but my last post was on my phone and my screen is so horribly cracked I usually have to proof read 3 times before posting (and didn't that post)

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"

Ooo I have the perfect jar to put your processor in (i'm starting a collection)

budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"

Ooo I have the perfect jar to put your processor in (i'm starting a collection)

Babe, I doubt you'll be able to fit my processor in your jar.

I bet BURN'll have a field day with that one.

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"

Ooo I have the perfect jar to put your processor in (i'm starting a collection)

Babe, I doubt you'll be able to fit my processor in your jar.

I bet BURN'll have a field day with that one.

It's all in the way you tilt the jar, dear

Burn wrote:*wanders in*
Hi gu...
*creeps slowly back out of the thread so as to not disturb the blossoming romance*

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

ctrlFrequency wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"

Ooo I have the perfect jar to put your processor in (i'm starting a collection)

Babe, I doubt you'll be able to fit my processor in your jar.

I bet BURN'll have a field day with that one.

It's all in the way you tilt the jar, dear

Ooh, you're talking omni-directional intake valve. Bazinga.

Quint wrote:Hello folks,

Has it been established what exactly it is that Rodimus is doodling on his desk?

I know the MTMTE Annual established he was influenced by the Titan, which Roberts also confirmed was related to his Matrix affinity but... since then? Anyone know what he's drawing?

MrBlack wrote:

Quint wrote:Hello folks,

Has it been established what exactly it is that Rodimus is doodling on his desk?

I know the MTMTE Annual established he was influenced by the Titan, which Roberts also confirmed was related to his Matrix affinity but... since then? Anyone know what he's drawing?

Bad stuff happens on the VV, Nautica saves the day, Thunderclash's map is destroyed.

The crew is distraught, but as Minimus Ambus enters Rodimus' office and looks at his desk, he shouts, "That's the map!"

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Oh,mand CTRL, I'd say risk it, but I'm probably biased in this regard.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

MrBlack wrote:

Quint wrote:Hello folks,

Has it been established what exactly it is that Rodimus is doodling on his desk?

I know the MTMTE Annual established he was influenced by the Titan, which Roberts also confirmed was related to his Matrix affinity but... since then? Anyone know what he's drawing?

Bad stuff happens on the VV, Nautica saves the day, Thunderclash's map is destroyed.

The crew is distraught, but as Minimus Ambus enters Rodimus' office and looks at his desk, he shouts, "That's the map!"

How does this answer the question?

Va'al wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

MrBlack wrote:

Quint wrote:Hello folks,

Has it been established what exactly it is that Rodimus is doodling on his desk?

I know the MTMTE Annual established he was influenced by the Titan, which Roberts also confirmed was related to his Matrix affinity but... since then? Anyone know what he's drawing?

Bad stuff happens on the VV, Nautica saves the day, Thunderclash's map is destroyed.

The crew is distraught, but as Minimus Ambus enters Rodimus' office and looks at his desk, he shouts, "That's the map!"

How does this answer the question?

I believe MrBlack is suggesting that, like Thunderclash, Rodimus is drawing the map on his table after the Titan incident.

Va'al wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:

MrBlack wrote:

Quint wrote:Hello folks,

Has it been established what exactly it is that Rodimus is doodling on his desk?

I know the MTMTE Annual established he was influenced by the Titan, which Roberts also confirmed was related to his Matrix affinity but... since then? Anyone know what he's drawing?

Bad stuff happens on the VV, Nautica saves the day, Thunderclash's map is destroyed.

The crew is distraught, but as Minimus Ambus enters Rodimus' office and looks at his desk, he shouts, "That's the map!"

How does this answer the question?

I believe MrBlack is suggesting that, like Thunderclash, Rodimus is drawing the map on his table after the Titan incident.