Counterpunch wrote:Prowl has been a jerk the whole time. That's fine, he can be the TF Cyclops, but let's see him kick some ass too. He's supposed to be Prime's #2, that should equate to 'bad-ass'.
He was likely Sentinel Prime's second (via
Megatron Origins), but it seems like Prowl doesn't have such a high rank under Optimus; he mentions how Hot Rod outranks him back in the latter half of
Escalation, and it has been stressed time and time again through both of the main arcs that up until Megatron's arrival and the Autobots' belated discovery of Ore-13 that Earth wasn't an important point in the conflict. Given Springer's general attitude towards Prowl and the dialogue between them in the
Spotlight: Kup issue, it almost seems like Prowl isn't all that high-ranking (just that he was currently assigned to be Prime's go-between while the leader was on Earth) for one reason or another.
It'd be interesting to see if the events in the
Megatron: Origins book shine some light as to how the current Autobot faction came to be, and maybe even show how Prowl seemed to drop in rank. Is it because Prowl's general attitude from being a member of the Security Forces kept him from fully committing to the new Autobot ideal? Did something happen to Prowl that caused him to be demoted when Optimus took the matle of leadership? Or is Prowl, in this universe, just some slave to logic and protocol who tries to compensate by inflating his own importance? Something to ponder for the future.
Hairball178 wrote:Could Wheelie be trapped somewhere close to the edge of the Dead Universe, leading into his own Spotlight story?
Given some of Chris Ryall's comments on the IDW board...no. Something about "only if we can think of some exciting new way to kill him." I'd say it could be misdirection, but the sheer frequency of comments along these lines from some of the IDW guys...
tigertracks 24 wrote:It would be nice to hear people's theories on what the dead universe is, and what impact it will have on the TF-universe (Galvatron gives us more clues)...
After all of the Unicron variations and such, I almost expect that there is no real intention or even sentience to the Dead Universe: the "Dead Universe" itself is just an astrophysical anomaly, some tear in the space-time continuum that is expanding at an alarming rate. However, its effect on sentient beings is alarming: in essence, Galvatron has somehow become altered physically by being in such close proximity to it, but at the cost of some degree of sanity. Much like Kup and his beloved crystals, the anomaly has "convinced" Galvatron of a "greater purpose," when in reality the only source of his mission is
his own warped and damaged mind.
As for Prime's own encounter, perhaps the space in which his consciousness entered is sensitive to what is happening in the space-time continuum beyond what can normally be perceived--as though a "spark" free of physical constraints is sensitive to the "Dead Universe" and its reverberations. The appearnace of another Prime could mean two things. In one case, the familiar Prime visage is much like how Kup perceived "zombots" all around him under the damaging influence of the crystals, wherein Optimus is perceiving an entity constructed solely from the anomaly. In the other case, that perhaps the Ark I mission
did have a Prime as its captain, and while Galvatron remained somehow physically present in reality, that Prime had its "spark" or consciousness permanently dislodged from its body, but nonetheless still is corrupted and warped by the anomaly into thinking that he, too, is a Harbinger of the Dead Universe.
Or what was done to Nightbeat, and by whom, for what purpose?
Well, we know the "whom"--Galvatron, according to Ryall and Furman--and likely given that piece of knowledge, the grander purpose would be for Galvatron's own interests. Since it's doubtful that Galvatron would have any knowledge or stake in what is happening on Earth, whatever modification had been made might be for the greater purpose of gathering information on the current Prime (something Galvatron might also be in the dark about). Eventually, Nightbeat may very well be the lure that will draw the attention of both factions towards the "Dead Universe," for some darker purpose that could be as "benign" as Galvatron's own insane machinations regarding an astrophysical anomaly, to an even greater doom...
I think that's all I've got for now...