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Welcome to the latest episode of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast! Your host ScottyP is joined by Megatronus, RodimusConvoy13, and CounterPunch! Join us as we speak of life, love, and wine. Whoops, wrong podcast. This is the one where we talk Transformers.

Episode #187 "Madman's Paradise" is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

The show begins with a discussion about the latest Power of the Primes information. A great deal of both Tech Spec cards and packaging artwork made their way into the news cycle from unofficial sources. Couple that with Combiner artwork,
package images, renders, and toy images for a spark to power speculation on Combiner Teams, Moonracer's feet, and how these file cards will be packed in. There's still a lot of uncertainty when it comes to Power of the Primes and we do our best to figure out what we're seeing. Have speculations of your own? Post in the discussion thread for this episode or in the Power of the Primes thread!



Moving on from Power of the Primes leaks, we take a look at what appear to be images of new Movie themed toys. We start off with very blurry and pixelated images of what appear to be Revenge of the Fallen Megatron and a 2007 Movie Brawl. The figures come with backdrops that are part of the packaging. While we don't know what size class these are meant to be yet, Brawl looks to be significantly different from the previous Leader and Deluxe Class figures. An early render/color guide for a possible Movie Masterpiece Barricade comes next, and we think about what could be done to improve on the older but still fantastic Human Alliance figure. We discuss this as well as why characters from the first live action movie seem to be the stand out characters from the movie series.



ScottyP gives us his thoughts on Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee, including why it's better to him in almost every way as compared to MPM-4 Movie Masterpiece Optimus Prime. Check out Seibertron's Gallery right here. We discuss some QC issues Seibertron had with his figure. While the toy has been out for a few months, it's just now hitting many store shelves in earnest so we hope this topic will help you decide if this Bee is a worthy addition to your swarm!



We move away from toys into Comics, starting with First Strike Optimus Prime. We discuss where the issue fits with the rest of First Strike (Yes, it was late.) ScottyP gives a brief history of the retconning of Hearts of Steel to a skeptical RodimusConvoy13. There's a fun appearance of Kup and Action Man to take in as well, with the crossover not completely leaving those characters behind. Also, what's up with Centurion, and why do some of the crew hate him so much?



The discussion of the Optimus One Shot moves us to a discussion of Optimus Prime #11. See our review here. ScottyP and Megatronus take on the discussion as RodimusConvoy realizes he bought the issue and never read it. Talking heads, colonists, and even one Twincast member remembering this single issue as two separate entities awaits in this topic.



We move on to First Strike #5 and #6. See our review for #5 here and for #6 here. While the series started off fun, the last two issues seem to get bogged down with a bit too much Scarlett and Joe Colton. We also consider if an explanation of how the battle with Vigilem effected Windblade have helped explain her acting against character in First Strike, and have some serious laughs while we ask the real question - was all of First Strike just leading up to the reintroduction of Visionaries?



Perhaps First Strike wasn't all for naught. What about those last four pages? Kreiger may have brought back the Visionaries, but what else did he bring back? To quote Supreme Leader Snoke, "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it?" (Editor's Note: We don't talk about Episode VII.) I've just got this feeling...

That's right. He's back! The Chaos Bringer returns! How will this effect the rest of the IDW Universe? We talk about what we'd like to see come out of this. Should this be something that happens quickly or should Unicron stay in the background for a while before revealing himself to the rest of the universe? One thing we agree is good is that at least he's not Earth this time around.



We finish our episode with some bragging rights. There are swords, legends, Devastator, and even six-changers too! And as always, there's more on the way through the bowels of the postal system.



That's it for this episode. Thanks for sticking with us and being loyal listeners, or if it was your first episode, we hope you'll tune in for more in the future. We'll have another episode for you in about 2 weeks, and look for a bonus episode discussing the controversial Lost Light #10 sometime soon as well!

I dunno, I liked Bruticus Maximus with the blue crystal on his chest

Uh, one of those PrimeMasters is a speckled cow. Seriously, DaIrycon could use him for a mascot...

Iconic of TF1: we poo poo the plots of the movies because... Well, thhey had huge holes in them. But Blackout was the first figure we saw, and remember the fandom when we first saw that opening 2 minutes with Blackouts attack on the base. I dont think a single person wasnt picking their jaw up off their keyboard

Sam's screenname was Ladiesman217. Barricade rattles off the Ebay Auction ID, thats where youbare getting the extra numbers.

I havent seen Nitro yet. Is there a hinted Thunderwing or should I just put my Boxset Thunderwing on a Nitro?

Annnnndddddd Scotty makes my point about thebfirst Movie after I write the comment in a post. I wish Ibcouldahad the time and gotten on the cast when you did the casting call.

Scotty: i gotta partially disagree with you. Shockwave setting up a Proxy War for shits and giggles to study the tactics used by both sides IS a cool piece of character for Shockwave. Its evil and awesome.

But for me, Hearts of Steel was this cool thing because it was its own thing. To be retroactively tied intovthe main series drags down its uniqueness.

Infestation sorta did too, but that at least in part stayed within its universe.

The Windblade/Prime relationship is "Don't meet your idols".

Guys, this is More Than Meets the Eye. You are surprised that they stood there and went "OHH LOOKBOVER HERE LOOOK LOOK LOOK SEE THIS LOOK LOOK oh Unicron's gonna be over there LOLZ!" that was the whole guideline to MTMTE.


Scotty: dont fewl too bad, I mix up Todd abd Claire's Screen names half the time too

Oh man, you have no idea how tickled I am that you've already listened to this! Thanks

I think we're in agreement on the Shockwave thing. Probably. I really enjoyed that part of Revolutionaries!

No planned Thunderwing that we know of. But he was in the PotP poll, so you never know although I think given Deathsaurus' performance there ol space chicken is most likely to be the next bigger, less known Decepticon that we see in Generations.

Flashwave wrote:I havent seen Nitro yet. Is there a hinted Thunderwing or should I just put my Boxset Thunderwing on a Nitro?

To Scotty's point - not hinted, not really, outside of the poll.

It's just that... Nitro has the Titan Master port, but his head doesn't turn into a Titan Master. And his alt mode is a dead ringer for Thunderwing. And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

People are already making customs:

ScottyP wrote:Oh man, you have no idea how tickled I am that you've already listened to this! Thanks

I think we're in agreement on the Shockwave thing. Probably. I really enjoyed that part of Revolutionaries!

No planned Thunderwing that we know of. But he was in the PotP poll, so you never know although I think given Deathsaurus' performance there ol space chicken is most likely to be the next bigger, less known Decepticon that we see in Generations.

Full Disclosure: You guys got me through washing Dishes at work Saturday night. I finished my Lunch break, saw the News Post, and said "Sweet!" Downloaded to my phone, and turned on the ol- Bluetooth headset. My Co-workers didn't understand why I was laughing a few times, but that's okay. It keeps them wondering.

Speaking of that Poll, I was fiddling with Overlord, and you know who that toy woulda been great for? Star Saber. Transform him into the aircraft mode with the tank legs still attacxhed, and tell me that, with a bit of reshelling, where the knees meet his wrists isn't a perfect transformation for SS.

"Space Chicken"

megatronus wrote:

Flashwave wrote:I havent seen Nitro yet. Is there a hinted Thunderwing or should I just put my Boxset Thunderwing on a Nitro?

To Scotty's point - not hinted, not really, outside of the poll.

It's just that... Nitro has the Titan Master port, but his head doesn't turn into a Titan Master. And his alt mode is a dead ringer for Thunderwing. And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

People are already making customs:

That. Is. GORGEOUS.

I mean, I knew about the head socket thing ever since we got the Thunderwing Titanmaster, but I hadn't seen any of the repaints.

I just listened to the final episode, and boy do I love the numerous musical interludes!

That can make a cool Thunderwing, I agree, but:

megatronus wrote:And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

I don't think it's anywhere near the Stormbringer design, outside of "they're both flying alt modes".

ScottyP wrote:That can make a cool Thunderwing, I agree, but:

megatronus wrote:And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

I don't think it's anywhere near the Stormbringer design, outside of "they're both flying alt modes".

Its the shoulder turbines. They are not visible on the one Megatronus posted, but picure the circle thing on Nitro compared tobthe wing turbines the Stormbringer armor Thunderwing had

Maannnn.... Now I gotta reread that

Flashwave wrote:

ScottyP wrote:That can make a cool Thunderwing, I agree, but:

megatronus wrote:And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

I don't think it's anywhere near the Stormbringer design, outside of "they're both flying alt modes".

Its the shoulder turbines. They are not visible on the one Megatronus posted, but picure the circle thing on Nitro compared tobthe wing turbines the Stormbringer armor Thunderwing had

Maannnn.... Now I gotta reread that

I'd still disagree even with the shoulder turbine things.

Besides, if you're Hasbro, you 1) stopped caring about toys based on IDW designs for some reason and 2) could just do a quick job at making Thunderwing from Leader Black Shadow and call it a day.

Now if Nitro were somehow made into Thunderwing's inner robot, I'd be on board. But still mostly from a G1 look perspective.

ScottyP wrote:

Flashwave wrote:

ScottyP wrote:That can make a cool Thunderwing, I agree, but:

megatronus wrote:And that his robot mode, with some moderate retooling, is ALSO a a dead ringer for IDW Thunderwing.

I don't think it's anywhere near the Stormbringer design, outside of "they're both flying alt modes".

Its the shoulder turbines. They are not visible on the one Megatronus posted, but picure the circle thing on Nitro compared tobthe wing turbines the Stormbringer armor Thunderwing had

Maannnn.... Now I gotta reread that

I'd still disagree even with the shoulder turbine things.

Besides, if you're Hasbro, you 1) stopped caring about toys based on IDW designs for some reason and 2) could just do a quick job at making Thunderwing from Leader Black Shadow and call it a day.

Now if Nitro were somehow made into Thunderwing's inner robot, I'd be on board. But still mostly from a G1 look perspective.

That is an interesting point I think I remember seeing but hadn't really acknowledged; that Hasbro did drop the whole IDW design. Was that just a yesterday's theme or was that a designer change?

Yes, given the current heavy retro accurate trend, you're right in that they would reuse Black Shadow for G1 rather than go the neo G1 route that IDW throws to. With Nitro though, I feel like ther is a large or at least vocal crowd of collectors looking for some justification to own a toy they like. Maybe they dropped the Movie line or never liked the aesthetic, but they are now presented with a cool looking figure they want and can't explain in their collection. He's not rare or unique enough to be a One-Off like a Materpiece or Great Shot in an otherwise all-Hasbro toy shelf, and the character is certainly not memorable, nor is it a large and commanding display like the God Fire Convoy that no one can justify the cost is coming out soon, or any of the Base Bot dudes. The Headmaster gimmick gives them an air of customizability and hey, they have this Head dude that ain't got nobody, this jet with backpack turbines, the same kind of mechanical abdomen chest as the Pretender shell, I can add 2+2 and sorta round up to 4. Or maybe I am wrong, but I see a lot of people who seem to be looking for a better way to use this Nitro toy for anyone other than Nitro Zeus.

Wait, why are we blaming Hasbro for the cop-out Visionaries tease ending of First Strike? We know that the Hasbro Universe was an IDW creative decision, not a Hasbro mandate. So the Visionaries stuff would logically be the kind of thing that would be an editorial mandate from IDW. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a STUPID decision, but let's put the blame where it belongs.

Daniel Adkins wrote:Wait, why are we blaming Hasbro for the cop-out Visionaries tease ending of First Strike? We know that the Hasbro Universe was an IDW creative decision, not a Hasbro mandate. So the Visionaries stuff would logically be the kind of thing that would be an editorial mandate from IDW. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a STUPID decision, but let's put the blame where it belongs.

Mostly just having fun with it, but also operating under the assumption that Hasbro wanted the franchise in the comics somehow since there is a Visionaries movie happening in some distant future. Also giving the creative braintrust at IDW benefit of the doubt that they will never be able to take credit for, if they even could - so yes, could have very well been a purely IDW idea, but that was less fun in the moment.