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It was just a few days ago that we saw some new shots of Studio Series 40 Decepticon Shatter, from the new Bumblebee movie. Now we have quite a treat for all you Seibertronians! TonTon of YouTube brings us a video review of this Wave 6 Deluxe Class figure, due out later this year! The review is in English, though it is a translation, and the narration is done by a computer-generated voice. Ton Ton shows off the coversion of Shatter from 1971 Plymouth GTX muscle car to robot and back again! Also included are some size comparisons in vehicle mode to SS-01 Deluxe Bumblebee, SS-32 Voyager Optimus Prime, and SS-35 Leader Jetfire, as well as robot mode comparisons to SS-18 Deluxe Bumblebee, SS-13 Voyager Megatron, and SS-07 Leader Grimlock. TonTon also describes the sculpting and molded details in robot mode and shows off some of the articulation the figure can achieve for dynamic poses on your display shelves. Interestingly, it seems that Shatter doesn't come with any extra accessories, though she does have a pair of guns sculpted onto her forearms. Take a look for yourself in the YouTube video below!
What do you think of Dropkick's partner in crime from the Bumblebee movie? Will you be adding her to your collection? Or are you waiting for a jet mode version of Shatter? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest news on all things Transformers!
We will first go through the final episodes that we had not reviewed yet. When available we have the episode embedded within the article for your viewing pleasure. After the quick reviews from myself and fellow Seibertronian new staff member Notirishman, you will find our ovrall thoughts on season 1. Enjoy!
Cyberverse episode 15
King of the Dinosaurs
Summary: Windblade and Bee uncover a buried Autobot who turns out to be an old friend.
Before we get into my quick thoughts (which are not quick for this episode), it's best you take a look at the episode:
Quick Thoughts:
I have issues with this episode, very nerdy issues but it really makes me not enjoy this. So, we have seen Grimlock a lot so far in this series. And he looks as we would expect Grimlock to look, with all that obvious dinosaur kibble. Since this show takes its inspiration from everything that could be considered G1 in theme, there are lots of versions out there where Grimlock had a dino type alt mode in the war on Cybertron (FOC, IDW), so I without a doubt assumed he had a dino type alt mode whenever we saw him so far. But no, it turns out that it was just animators being very cheap (still today) since it was revealed in this episode that he only took on a dino mode when he arrived to earth at the time of Dinosaurs. Beyond that meaning that all that dino kibble we have seen so far makes not a lick of sense that also means that the war has been raging for 65 MILLION years without Bumblebee, Optimus, Grimlock and the like. Now 4 million years was always crazy in the original cartoon (like how do they even know there is still a war going on?) but at least some writers have tried to make some sense of it (I write more about that here). But 65 MILLION years, that's a nonsense number, especially when it looks like nothing changed. Shockwave is still against Bumblebee as he was 65 million years ago. It was just a pause for some characters while the rest fought and when they are reawoken it's like nothing happened. And I find that very hard to reconcile since one of the best aspects of this show is seeing Cybertron before the war with Shockwave and Soundwave being friends with Autobots. If so much changed in a few years with the war breaking out, why would nothing change in 65 million years?! And the worst part is this is all just to explain why Grimlock is a T-Rex which again, is nonsense since he is shown with that alt mode kibble before!!!! - William-James88
Quick Thoughts:
I like this one. I really like Grimlock in this show, and the "he's stupid in dino mode only" thing to appease G1 fans is actually quite smart, and puts an interesting spin on his character. It was also quite sad to see him distraught over the death of his dinosaur pals, though it seem they tied that up rather quickly. Still, good episode, even if not much happened. -notirishman
Cyberverse episode 16
The Extinction Event
Summary: The newly formed team of Autobots must stop Shockwave from destroying all life on the planet.
Quick Thoughts:
Seriously though, if any of you were wondering if anything could be told in a 10 minute format, well here you go. You get Shockwave literally planning to destroy all life on earth and executing the plan. You don't even have to watch the previous episodes to enjoy this, this link is right below, have fun. This definitely made up for any troubles I had with the previous episode (which I will simply try to forget and move on from). - William-james88
This episode was also good. As opposed to the more slow pace of last episode, this episode moved fast. Shockwave's plan is introduced, then his plan commences, then the Autobots have to figure out how to stop it last minute, and they do. That's the thing, the resolution was last minute. The episode was leading up to this whole "extinction event," and it just abruptly ended. Still, this episode was enjoyable! -notirishman
Cyberverse episode 17
Awaken Sleeping Giants
Summary: The Autobot team finally discovers the location of the Ark.
Quick Thoughts: Coming out of an episode where Shockwave almost anihilates all organic life on earth, this one has much less going on. It's a race to get to the ark and very aerial combat heavy. It's fine but it offers nothing new aside from some X-Men cannonball action. Also, I find it really hard to understand why a Seeker's instinct when being hit or in danger when in air is to transform into their robot mode and plummet. And one last thing, I do like that Shockwave's mini me minions are so prominent in this season, it makes me feel way less guilty about having purchased both a warrior and ultra Schockwave figure. Now I can have the ultra as the main shockwave and the warrior in alt mode as his spy. - William-james88
This episode was very entertaining! However, there is one pickle in my onion, they found the location of the Ark, very quickly. Y'know, something they've been trying to figure out all season. But the group hug at the end was awesome. It was quite lovely. - notirishman
Cyberverse episode 18
Eruption
Summary: The Autobot team must fight its way through Shockwave and his Decepticons to defend the Ark and awaken Optimus Prime and the other Autobots.
Quick Thoughts: Once again, Shockwave just getting stuff done. No nonsense, no countdown, just annihilation. This time directly attacking all Autobots. I like seeing him both being up to his own machinations and also being the leader of the Decepticons. The all out brawl was fun and the finale really makes you wish the next episode was right around the corner. They better pay off that final shot. - William-james88
The finale! Well, I mean, it's a cliffhanger for season 2. But still, I liked it. The fight in the volcano was well done and entertaining to watch. And one of the ending shots with all the Autobots INCLUDING Rack'n'Ruin, and a cool little battle mask on Grimlock, was pretty great. Overall, great episode. -notirishman
Overall Thoughts on Season 1
This show is giving me high hopes for the future! 'Cause season 1 was awesome! I mean, yeah, it has flaws, but the season was entertaining, and getting to see characters like Rack'n'Ruin, and Maccadam were fun. Shockwave was a threatening villain, and newcomer Shadowstiker (mostly) had a great arc behind her. Overall, this season was a fun, and enjoyable, and pretty good. - notirishman
What Burn writes below is something I agree with. I do have a tad bit to add. For instance, I am still not on board with keeping Bumblebee's radio talk gimmick, especially since it makes no sense (if he is just pulling recordings from the air, isn't he advanced enough to just combine words from various recordings to make sentences?). I do recommend this show to all those who like Transformers, especially those who have been clamoring for a G1 reboot. This is exactly what that is. It uses everything under the G1 umbrella (IDW, Sunbow) to make a cohesive show while showing you elements from before the war, during the war on Cybertron and now. Plus I absolutely adore this rendition of Shockwave, it's perfect. Also, not one human, which I was perfectly fine and happy with. Looking forward to season 2 especially with the finale we got. - William-James88
Now, onto Burn's thoughts:
Let me preface this by saying that I was one of "those hater people", you know the sort, write a series off before watching it. I was one of them. From what I saw from the previews I was not impressed, and previews are like trailers, they tend to show the best bits.
This was the opposite, if anything, those previews were detrimental to marketing Cyberverse.
Initially I kept up each week, for four weeks ... then life got in the way. This week I found some time (mostly because of our house guest commandeering our big lounge TV) so I sat down in front of my trusty "personal computer", tracked down the episodes, and settled in.
I started by watching Episode 4, I was certain I had watched it but I figured after such a break it'd make for a good reminder of where I was at.
Let me just say this, present time Bumblebee and his radio speak is annoying. That's why the flashbacks work so well, it limits the radio speak and each memory is actually a really good individual story that feeds into the major story.
THIS CARTOON IS ACTUALLY GOOD
The writers have done a fantastic job drawing from various TF stories of the past. Was that just Rack 'n' Ruin? HELL YEAH IT WAS RACK 'N' RUIN!
And it turns out I've been pronouncing Maccadam wrong all these years. I don't know how I'm expected to pronounce it as "Macc-adams" as opposed to "Macca-dam"
While I feel that the two main Autobots, Bumblebee and Windblade, have received far too much exposure in other media, the writers have done a fantastic job of balancing out their on-screen time with other lesser known characters.
Shadowstriker and Maccadam have been given backstories where there was previously very little. A bunch of seekers who were animation errors/throw aways in G1 suddenly find themselves with characterization.
Grimlock ... wow, that is such a massive shift from what we're normally accustomed to, but a fun twist is added to the character by the time he joins Windblade and Bumblebee.
This is the sort of show that can appeal to old and new fans, older fans though may need to keep an open mind about things.
The animation style ... I think my biggest gripe with it is the hips, where it gives the look that they're wearing underwear on the outside. Otherwise, I have no real gripes with the animation.
Overall, I had my reservations about this series, but I've been pleasantly surprised by it. If you've had your reservations as well, give it a go, you may find yourself surprised by it. - Burn
Fans have decided by now if this line is for them or not. However, many fans are also parents and this line may interest your kids. Due to the very little attention given to this toyline by the youtube community, there have not been a variety of toy reviews done for all classes. The first video review for Transformers Cyberverse Grimlock was just uploaded yesterday. Since these toys are all gimmick based, these reviews can give you a good look at the actual gimmick and help you figure out if this would be a good toy for yourself or your kids.
Below you will find video reviews for all Scout class toys including Megatron, Starscream, Grimlock and Bumblebee. As you will see, those toys do not fully transform. Their gimmick remained largely unknown so this is our first good look at a few of them.
There are also videos for Ultra class Grimlock, Bumblebee and Starscream.
After a slight delay through the SDCC madness, we have reached the final episode of the entire Machinima Prime Trilogy of cartoons. It's been over two years in the making, and it's finally come time to take a look at the culmination of all those previous episodes. It's been a wild ride from start to finish, with a few ups and certainly a few downs. We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, though, because we have one more episode to look at before the entire series draws to a close. Let's do that now, and make sure to read to the very end for more of my final thoughts on the entire trilogy. Join me as I break down, in our final Prime Trilogy review ever, The 10th epsiode:
Saga's End
Strap yourselves in, it's going to be a long one.
(The following review contains spoilers for the Prime Wars trilogy. There are A LOT this week. Proceed...on your way to oblivion.)
The episode picks up where the last left off, with Rodimus, with his newly upgraded form, in a heated battle with Optimal Optimus at the Well of Sparks.
Megatronus turns his attention towards the main cast, and turns the requiem blaster towards Megatron. At the last moment, out of nowhere, as Megatron is about to be blown to bits, Predaking drops from the ceiling on to Megatronus.
Preda-ex-machina
Predaking demands to know where the Engima of Combination is, but he never explains why. Megatronus engages him, and it gives a moment for Windblade and Grimlock to help Optimal Optimus. They hold Rodimus down as Optimal removes the Matrix of Chaos from within him.
As we switch back to watch Megatronus battle Predaking some more, we get a strange point-of-view shot from Predaking's perspective. It's a neat concept, but it doesn't come across very well, as we only see Predaking's arms for a split second, and everything else in the several-second long shot looks like a mistakenly placed empty frame. I even had to watch the scene a few times to make sure that's what they were trying to get at.
Heart Stopping Action!!!
We also get flashbacks to the first episode of the entire trilogy, when Windblade sliced through Menasor like butter, as Megatronus just tears Predaking's head clean off with little to no struggle in the next scene. You know, this giant combiner that was winning in a fight against Volcanicus just a bit ago. Him.
FATALITY
He then chucks Predaking's decapitated head at Megatron, who responds with an "Oh Shit", which is really strange in my opinion, to hear from Megatron's mouth.
I haven't really addressed the swearing that has really more or less suddenly appeared in this portion of the Trilogy, with "Ass"s and "Damn"s scattered all through the past 10 episodes, so I'll share my thoughts now. While I am 100% behind a more adult or mature focused Transformers show, this series seems to think that making Megatron say "You're starting to piss me off" several times is the way to do it, instead of a darker setting or more complex story lines. The words feel even stranger to hear because, as I said, none of the other seasons really had swearing this bad or frequent. It seems like the show runners sprinkled some curse words here and there this season as a cheap and easy way to make the series seem more "Adult".
This isn't to say I'm against swearing at all, either. Far from it. I think it can actually be used to punctuate emotional moments and make a character's personality distinct. But you can understand my suspicion that this series' use of it wasn't exactly for storytelling purposes.
GIVE ME YOUR FACEEEEE
Solus Prime, still flickering into existence using power from the Well of Sparks, makes the projection of herself gigantic, and picks Megatronus up and out of the battle with Megatron. She envelops him, dragging him down into the well, causing a column of new sparks to launch out in to the universe from the well, which Perceptor remarks will create the next generation of Transformers.
The heroes' problems aren't over yet, as the Matrix of Chaos, while having been removed from Hot Rod, is still searching for a new host. It finds Megatron, who was one of it's bearers in the past, and starts to be enchanted by the evil object. As he tried to fight it, he realises that the only way to stop it from just going and finding another host is to destroy it completely - Megatron included. Optimal Optimus readies the Requiem Blaster, and aims it at Megatron. As the realization falls over all of the cast that this is what must be done, they say their final goodbyes and thank yous to the former Decepticon leader.
As Megatron raises the Matrix of Chaos, Optimal Optimus primes the Requiem Blaster, and fires. Megatron is vaporized.
One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. But until then there must be no tears, no regrets. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me I am not mistaken in mine.
Perceptor analyses the ground in front of him, and confirms that while the Matrix took the majority of the force, no trace of Megatron remained.
But the cast doesn't have much time to morn, as the one and only Optimus Prime crawls out of the Well of Sparks, because this cartoon isn't in the business of breaking new ground. Yes, of course the precious Autobot leader has to come back to life, and, on top of that, of course he has to upstage the death of the character that led the team through the majority of the trilogy. The show had successfully created a touching, emotional, impactful moment with the death of Megatron, and totally ruined it by saving Optimus Prime. Even if he had waited a beat or two longer to crawl out of the Well, it would have not only allowed time for Megatron's death to reach it's full emotional potential, but it would have made Prime's reveal more impactful.
IT'S ALIVE
Prime explains that he was reanimated through some confusingly illogical process regarding his connection to the Matrix of Leadership. But he says that everyone else who was killed by Megatronus can't be brought back to life.
After the dust settled, we see Prime and Optimal in what appears to be the Sanctorum again. Optimal promises Prime that he'll return the Matrix, but Optimus refuses. Instead they wrap up the character arcs in a not-so-tidy fashion. Windblade has become the city speaker for all titans in the universe, along with Emissary, while Hot Rod is still recovering. Grimlock has gone to morn Sludge with his fellow dinobots, and Perceptor is now the guardian of the Enigma and the Requiem Blaster.
EXPOSITIONNNNNNNN
And, as the two Primes continue to walk away, lurking in the shadows is the one who started it all, Starscream.
*Roundabout by Yes plays*
And on that bombshell, it's time to end.
That's it. This over two year long saga has come to a close. Looking back on it, was it really that bad? Was it really that disappointing? Did it deserve the hate it received? Well...I personally think so. This show started and ended with consistent problems, ones I've harped on, sometimes painfully so, before. Blocky, generic mouth movements, stiff animation to the point only one character (in a shot of many) was moving at a time, the occasional bad voice take, editing, etc. And while many, admittedly, were improved upon with each consecutive season, I think they dedicated too much of their increased budget on celebrity cast members than what was needed to fix the flaws, and new ones began to pop up. Continuity problems, notably, were one that severely impacted this season's first half of episodes. Characters being thrown one direction, and waking up in the complete opposite direction, for example. And, as an interesting side note, with the death of this show comes the death of it's host streaming service, Go90, as it's parent company announced it would be shutting down the platform tomorrow.
The plot as a concept was enjoyable, with many characters that we've never seen interact in Transformers media before thrown together. It was a fun thing to see, Overlord fight with the Mistress of Flame, Optimal Optimus fighting basically what was Nemesis Rodimus Prime.
To be fair, the show started with a disadvantage, premiering right as it's "Tie in" toy line was coming off the shelves, with the second season following the same unfortunate pattern. And while this could be written off as another fault of the show runners, or Machinima, I think that was a slight of Hasbro's part. Out of the creators' control.
Art was one of the absolute highlights of the show
Positives for me looking at the entire series as a whole were the art style/color palette, and the score. I've talked about both before, and, aside from the animation at times, it was a very pretty show to look at. It was at it's best when it cuts to a sweeping open shot of the universe, or a building with many colored lights. It felt very futuristic and modern, and I think they nailed the aesthetic they were looking for. I honestly think it's one of my favorite /looking/ Transformers shows of all time. The character models and designs are great, and, if they had been animated better and given better lines, most characters would also be some of the best iterations we've seen. As it sits, only one character from the trilogy holds that title in my mind...
It was that smile. That damned smile.
Megatron. Probably the most universally praised part of the entire three seasons. As such, I won't dwell very long. Perfectly capturing what a post-war Megatron would be, the show runners, character designers, and voice actor, Jason Marnocha, killed it. With a ridiculous amount of personality and wit, he is, hands down, one of the best new interpretations of Megatron we have ever seen.
And, ultimately, I think he's so good, that that's how the show will be remembered. Not for it's terrible pacing, or emotional moments that didn't really land, or Slug disappearing randomly. I think it was a show that started out with a disadvantage and hype it couldn't live up to (what show really could live up to "The Game of Thrones of animation) and, through a series of missteps, became fatally flawed. Despite a few diamonds in the rough here or there, I think, at risk of sounding like a fanboy keyboard warrior, but as a Transformers fan, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.
And that's it. Thank you so much for not only reading this review of the finale of Power of the Primes, but all of my reviews over the past 2 years. I really can't express enough how thankful I am for your support of them, your memes based off them, or your discourse (whether you agreed or disagreed with me). I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. They were a lot of fun, and I loved writing comedy-based pieces to share with you guys. Stay tuned for some more Seibertron articles looking back on the Machinima cartoon courtesy of myself and William James 88 in the coming weeks. Thank you again!!!
Well, this is it. It's the final Tuesday for Machinima's Power of Primes cartoon, and we have just more episode to catch up on before we can cover the Finale that dropped earlier today. The battle for three ancient Transformers relics continues, so read on as we take a closer look at episode 9, Megatronus Unleashed.
(Note: The following review contains spoilers fro the Power of the Primes cartoon and the Prime War trilogy)
We start exactly where 8 left us, with Rodimus Cron having just been upgraded by Unicron, standing at the entrance to the Well of Sparks, having turned against his former ally Megatronus.
Rodimus takes the first shot, and Megatronus kinda just stands there. Real nail-biting action there, guys. Well done.
This episode also brings the return of one of my personal gripes with the last few episodes of the previous show:
SPLIT FRAMES!!!!
*lightning flashes*
If you read any of my reviews for the previous show, you know these were sloppily put into the series in what felt like a last minute decision. They just suddenly started popping up, and didn't really feel like the flowed well with the rest of the series. The animators/screenwriters apparently decided to bring them back in this show, as they rear their ugly heads once again.
Now, this is not to say that sudden editing/tonal shifts in a show can be a bad thing. It's a slippery slope, yes, but they can sometimes work out. The cinematic shots in a previous episode were one of the biggest highlights from this show for me. They looked really cool, added something to the story, were well executed, and while they weren't there from day one, they were a welcome change. The split frames are none of those things. They feel awkward, give the show bad pacing, and leave room for some strange animation for the character that isn't currently speaking, but is forced on screen anyway.
Aside from the fact that they didn't even bother to animate his mouth, Rodimus' upgraded form suffers from some desperately bad audio mixing. He sounds muffled and distorted, and you can only hear bits and pieces of his dialogue. Between the overly loud music and Rodimus' sound difficulties, it makes this scene, and a majority of scenes after it, difficult to understand.
I don't just want to nitpick, though, so let's get on with the story. Rodimus and Megatronus finally clash, and the pay off for this scene is about as exciting as you'd expect. But, to give the show it's due credit, it is more engaging and action packed than previous episodes, with some really cool imagery thrown in for good measure. The filmography and color palette combine in certain shots to great effect. It's actually one of the most satisfying fight sequences the entire trilogy has produced.
Bane was more understandable than this.
The Autobots are finally released from their pillars of fire as Megatronus is distracted in the battle. They immediately set to work dismantling the Infinity Gauntl-sorry, the relic machine. Optimus Primal works on the Matrix of Leadership, and discovers it's calling to him. He removes it from the machine as the rest of the relics are released. This, of course, sets the target of both Megatronus and Rodimus on Primal, as they both want it for themselves. Grimlock and Windblade get blown away off the machine, and Grimlock wonders how they're alive. Windblade explains it's because Megatronus is getting weaker, although they've been shot by Megatronus several times before with no damage, so this revelation doesn't land with the power that the screenwriters I think intended. It would have been nice to see this shown in some way, make his blasters start to fizz out, make him look physically tired, etc.
Megatronus charges up a super attack as Solus begs him to stop, even though all the relics have been detached from the frame, so it isn't clear how she's still being powered. Just as the blast is about to hit the heroes, Optimus Primal uses the Matrix to protect them. Despite this, Megatronus continues the barrage in frustration. The Matrix has chosen Primal, however, and starts to transform him. For some reason, a shot of Perceptor is overlaid through this entire shot, and it's not really clear why. He's not exactly important to this scene or Primal's transformation. Or, at least, not more important than any other cast member. It doesn't help that Perceptor doesn't change his facial expression through the entire shot.
Isn't it nice to have this emotionless face slapped on top of what should be an emotional, vital scene?
The Matrix turns Primal into Optimal Optimus, fully connecting him to his Power of The Primes toy. Almost immediately he gets tackled by Rodimus Cron, who beats him to the ground. This is the second awkwardly long punching sequence in the series, where a character who should be able to at least fight back against whoever is beating them up, just get repeatedly punched in the same 1-2 motion. It gets to be strange and could have been solved by quicker editing.
Primal finally throws Rodimus off of him, but Rodimus recovers, and the battle continues into the next episode.
Can you imagine trying to explain this screenshot to someone who hasn't seen any TF show since Beast Wars?
As the series (and the trilogy) gets in to it's final moments, it feels a bit like they're trying to throw in everything they were mandated to but couldn't fit in prior. The inclusion of Megatronus' apparent grand scheme doesn't really fit, especially with the events of the previous shows. Megatronus' different attack moves are, and have been, a highlight. It gives a nice creative piece in the show, and it's honestly fun to see everything this Transformer god can do. The imagery of the Megatronus/Rodimus fight is great, as well. The pacing felt especially bad in this episode, however, and it's sad to see that the majority of it could have been solved by simple editing. As far as the actually concept of the show goes, while I can see it being a potentially controversial choice to have Optimus Primal to step into the Prime position to some, I personally have no problem with it, and enjoy just the ridiculousness of the mash up of some of these characters. We'll see how it all wraps up with the last episode!
If you haven't seen this episode yet, you can find it on the Go90 platform. Go check it out and then come back and tell me what you thought of it in the comments below. Do you agree or disagree? Please let me know! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon when I take a crack at the finale!
Synopsis
Years ago, the crew of the Lost Light fought a demonic Cybertronian mutant that fed on its victims’ souls. Years later, Rodimus and Co. are about to discover that the only thing worse than a sparkeater… is an army of sparkeaters!
cue title
Story
Despite the scheduling issues, despite the digital vs print clashes, despite everything in-universe and out, we're here. We're actually here, at the end of The Quest, with a gaggle of questions still needing answers, and an army of sparkeaters at the proverbial door: Lost Light enters its last story arc, and we're here for it. Are you?
Probably not
The question is obviously rhetorical, as you're reading the review - but there is a sense of dread even in the lighter moments that the comic tries bringing with the best new pairing (that was bound to happen, and now that it does, yes, very much so), hinting at several heavy moments if not in this issue then most definitely in the arc. So I ask again: are we ready?
Swervefire? Misswerve?
The best character and related moments that stand out, ignoring the above for one moment, have to do with the dinobot that was told to wait - and obviously will not and didn't: Grimlock. He's powerful, he's sweet, he's charming and caring, and he gave fellow staffer ScottyP a fanboy blush* during his reading of the issue.
MAGNUS YES
If, then, we consider all the plot propelling and thread gathering - and if this has been said before for a previous issue I realise I was very naive but we're here now - and the way in which those are done, used, and employed throughout the issue, I'll have really only one thing to say: this is very much a Roberts script, and a fine display of his skills.
Art
As we have known for a while now, art duties will be shifting across the final arc to ease the double monthly billing (ahem), meaning that we see an old flame of the Transformers comics make his return for this issue: E.J. Su! Many fans will be very pleased about this, and the lineart is indeed very very good - but I can't let one critique slide: the shading and crosshatching that shows up over a number of characters, scenes and elements of the otherwise great visual work overall, casting.. well, a shadow unnecessarily.
see Thunderclash's chest
The colours provided by Joana Lafuente do attempt to ease some of the scratchier, more jarring linework, but with a base so dark already, even her impressive skills at keeping visual continuity and coherence with the regular art seen so far in the book cannot mask what can result very distracting indeed (see above for example).
moooody
Again, letterer Tom B Long ensures not only that the pacing of the interactions hit their mark, but also takes clearly a lot of pleasure and fun in some of the louder, wider pages of action and noises, with some of the best screams and KRUNCHes that I had seen in the series so far (see above!).
The main cover art, featuring Nick Roche and Josh Burcham displaying Team Rodimus ready to face whatever is thrown their way, is darkly mirrored by the duo's own counterpoint offered in the variant you can see in the thumbnail - and also found in our databse entry here - the two sides that used to be one has to tug at someone's strings hard.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
As I said in my opening remarks: we're here. And so is everyone else. Something that Roberts has unmistakenly been able to do since his first appearance as an official writer on the IDW comics, has been to seed (or retroactively make it so) plot points and details for the reader to almost entirely forget before bringing them back for a wider tapestry. And in this final arc, that skill is turned up to what seems to be at least a 12 - here's looking forward to a satisfying landing, with a run-up this sizeable.
It begins
All in all, it's a number of a series that will confirm to be liked by most readers who enjoy this style of script, will bring in fans looking for some official EJ Su Transformers artwork (my caveat above remains), and will not be liked by those who dislike the narrative techniques deployed in MTMTE and LL so far.
. out of
*I thought of many jokes involving dinosaurs and bones, be thankful I avoided them until this postscript.
Tomorrow is the premier date for the final episode of Machinima's entire Prime Wars trilogy. It's been over two years since the premier of the first installment, and my first review of the series. The narrative is beginning to wrap up, but there;s still a lot of ground to cover before we get to the finale. Today we'll take a look at episode 8, Collision Course. It's definitely, uh, something. Let's take a more in depth look at why together, shall we?
(Note: The following review contains spoilers for Power of the Primes and the entire Prime Wars Trilogy)
The episode opens on the main cast, now consisting of Megatron, Windblade, Optimus Primal, Perceptor and Grimlock, inside a labyrinth on the way to the well of sparks, following the directions they received from the library of Primes. Grimlock asks, in this bottomless chasm of absolutely hilarious original comedy, if they're there yet. This wouldn't be too bad if he didn't make the same joke three separate times within a two minutes. It becomes so unlikable and unfunny, especially within that short of a time frame.
Congratulations, cartoon, you've made me dislike Grimlock.
Perceptor navigates them through the caves, and makes a comment about how if they make a wrong turn they'll be lost in the cavern for 45 Million years. Aside from the fact that, by definition, you can't calculate how long someone will be lost, I think they missed a big opportunity here:
Even with all the representation of Primus, Unicron, and the Primes in various Transformers shows and movies, we never really see what ruins and relics they left behind. This would have been a great chance to flesh the world this series has built out a bit by making the Primes a sort of Greek mythology equal. Perceptor hypes the danger of the labyrinth up so much, but in the next shot, they've discovered the well of sparks with no problem.
Instead of spending as much time in the swamp as this series did, I would have loved to have spent at least part of an episode inside this maze, with the cast dealing with whatever ancient monsters or traps might lay ahead. It would have expanded the mythos, been a cool direction for the show we haven't really seen before, and make Perceptor's hype worth while. It even had the potential to be genuinely scary. It's just sad to see that potential go to waste.
DANGER beyond your WILDEST NIGHTMARES await you. We don't have the budget to animate any of it, but TRUST US! It's there!
Like I said above, they make it to the well of sparks with little issue, but just before they make it there, Megatronus has already been successful in starting the process to bring Solus Prime back from the dead, sending out a pulse wave of energy that drains power from all cybertronians. Perceptor projects a feed of several Transformers being affected, as we get a shot of the Dinobots and Emissary, for potentially the last time.
The main cast powers through the wave and makes it to the well, just in time to catch Megatronus monologuing to the rapidly appearing form of Solus Prime. A weird thing in this scene is that the well is somehow protected from the pulse wave, as neither Megatronus or the main cast are affected as soon as they enter the chamber. It's strange that this occurs, especially since the wave originated from that room.
"So wondrous wild, the whole might seem..."
Megatron sends Windblade, Primal, and Grimlock to take down Megatronus, which they oddly do with ease, compared to the ruthless battles the two sides have had in the past. As Perceptor tries to shut down the system, Megatron catches Solus Prime up on what lengths Megatronus is going to to bring her back.
Megatronus has had enough, and throws Grimlock and Primal off of him. He traps them and Windblade in pillars of fire. He does the same for Perceptor as he walks back over to the well.
It's now just Megatron, standing alone against his name sake. Megatronus reveals, in quite a bit of hasty writing, that he has apparently been behind every major event that has happened in the entire trilogy. He made the Combiners fight one another so the enigma of combination would be brought out of it's case (although that seemed to be more of Windblade's decision if I remember correctly), and he was the one to kill Optimus Prime and extract the Matrix. Megatron tells him he can stop him because he's "Megatron. But just before the battle can begin, Rodimus enters the chamber, and evolves (for no particular reason other than "Because Unicron") into his full Rodimus Unicronus form. With that, the episode ends.
*Listens to Motorhead once*
Again, it would have been interesting to have the potential of the scene exploited a bit more, in this case to give Rodimus a genuine reason to evolve. Have Rodimus struggle with Megatronus and get thrown into the well of sparks, and have it power him up. It's just missed creative opportunities like this that drag the series down. The episode as a whole was more thrilling and engaging than the previous episode, although it lacked the cool, cinematic stills the last one had. We're getting close to the very end of this entire journey, and to see it all come together will be...interesting, to say the least.
Thanks for reading my review of episode 7! Getting remarkably close to the end now, and what a trip it's been. If you haven't seen the episode yet, you can find it on Go90. I encourage you to come back and share your thoughts in the Energon Pub forum! Was I correct? Was I totally off base? Please tell me what you thought! Thanks again! I'll see you tomorrow, where we'll have a double feature, with the review for Episode 9 in the morning, and then the review for the finale later on in the day.
It's time again to turn our critical eye toward the Machinima Power of the Primes series, as it winds down in the final episodes of both the show and the trilogy as a whole. We've got quite a good bit of material to cover over the three days in anticipation of the final episode, as I've been on a small hiatus for a couple weeks. We'll start our catch up and start again where I left you a few weeks ago, with a look back at Episode 7!
(Note: The following review contains spoilers for Power of the Primes and the Prime Wars Trilogy. Proceed at your own risk!)
We pick right up where 6 left off, with Megatron blowing Overlord to bits using the Requiem Blaster, which has created a giant divot in the side of Cybertron, amounting to a frickin' 8th of the planet.
"You just murdered several million Cybertronians" "YEAH, but...I got that one guy!" "Several MILLION."
They also launched a beam of hyper-powerful energy into space. I'm sure that won't cause any problems. The main cast starts to regroup in the wake of their large battle inside the sanctorum against Overlord and Rodimus Cron. They finally get their moment to morn Victorion, and make sure everyone else is alright. Windblade makes a comment about the Torchbearers, the group name of the robots that make up Victorion (similar the Protectobots or the Constructicons), further murking this series' view/adaptation of Combiners. It can't make up it's mind if it wants Combiner members to have their own identity or not, and it seems to be a case by case basis.
Now he's the Extra Crispy Colonel
Windblade thanks Optimus Primal for sticking with them, when it looked like he was just going to desert them in the previous episode, as Grimlock also makes amends with Megatron. The majority of the data banks inside the Sanctorum had all been destroyed, but Perceptor was able to download the documents they need on Megatronus and the Requiem Blaster. They talk about what the potential plan of Megatronus is, and realize he intends to fuse the blaster, Matrix of Leadership, and the Enigma of Combination into a mega device. Megatron says that this is to drain the sparks from every Transformer on Cybertron, though it's not established how he knows this. Speak of the devil, Megatronus arrives on the scene to reclaim the blaster. It's the first time we've seen him in a few episodes, as the story has buckled town and focused on the main cast of characters. The split narrative that detracted from the first couple of episodes is totally gone.
"Is it genocide? Or an act of love?" Yeah, genocide. Definitely genocide.
As Megatronus arrives, Megatron knows, somehow again, that Megatronus plans to steal the sparks from all Cybertronians (all 20 of them, apparently) to supposedly bring Solus Prime back from the dead. Megatronus says that he is correct, and that they should be proud to be going to such a noble cause. That's quite an intricate plan to guess right in one fell swoop on Megatron's part, is it not? This deus-ex-machina moment of knowledge from Megatron is, again, confusing, and reminds me of a moment from a badly dubbed anime. I find it hard to believe that the writers couldn't find a more natural way to write Megatron solving Megatronus' plan into the script.
Alright, I have to hand it to them, this shot is AWESOME. Seriously, seriously cool. Looks like a painting
After Megatron and Windblade are tossed aside by Megatronus with some really cool imagery, Optimus Primal steps in the way of Megatronus' path to the Requiem Blaster. Megatronus makes a snide remark, and tosses him aside. He's only stopped from finishing Primal off by Rodimus Cron, who still functions. He tells Megatronus he must destroy the Matrix, not use it, which, as an agent of Unicron, is his primary function. Rodimus turns on Megatronus, giving the heroes new hope. Megatronus doesn't care, as he already has the blaster he came for. He disappears into the night, and soon Rodimus Cron takes off after him, driving through the large crater. Windblade protests that they can't just let the two now-enemies kill each other, believing that there's still a bit of Hot Rod left in Cron. Megatron knows that they must go to the well of sparks, another tidbit of info he inexplicably knows.
I'm starting to think Megatron might be in on this whole thing...
And so, as they embark on the next, and most likely final leg of their journey, and without Victorion for the first time in the entire Trilogy, the episode ends.
This episode was uneventful, especially considering the action packed one preceding it. Though I understand why, as it's purpose was simply to give Megatronus the Requiem Blaster, and little else. It felt quick, and, on the whole, painless. I'm enjoying the focused narrative I touched on earlier in the review more than I enjoyed the several plot lines with several characters in several settings. The story being more narrowed in is doing the series a great service, in my opinion, and it feels like it is finally in some form of a groove. The slow motion/still shots are beautiful, and I'd love to see more like them. I've always liked these character models, so seeing them in shots like that is awesome. It's a big positive for the series for those to be included. Ultimately, though, it felt like an episode back in the swamp again, with little forward movement except for basically one plot point in the second half.
Thanks for reading my review of the 7th episode of Power of the Primes. Catch me again tomorrow when I cover episode 8. Check out the episode for yourself, then come back and tell me how you thought I did in the Energon pub forums below. Did you agree with me? Did you disagree? Please let me know!
It's time again for another episode of Machinima's Power of the Primes cartoon. We're now at episode 6 and things are finally starting to take off. Overlord and Rodimus Cron have found the main cast in the library of the Primes, and the fight over the Requiem Blaster has begun. (For a more in depth look at episode 5, please check out my review of it from last week!) Without further ado, let's jump into episode 6: ...to the sweet, sweet release of death.
As I mentioned above, the two units of Megatronus are in a heated battle with Megatron, Windblade, Optimus Primal, Grimlock, and Perceptor. The dinobot gets tossed into a computer, the monkey gets crushed by some falling debris, courtesy of Rodimus, and Windblade distracts him by...jumping on his shoulders. Overlord, meanwhile, is tackling Megatron, electrocuting him. Perceptor notices the Requiem Blaster has landed at his feet, and threatens Overlord with it. Overlord laughs, but it gives Megatron to recover and shoot him.
So let me get this straight. Megatron shoots Overlord, from two feet away, point blank, IN THE FACE, and Overlord gets up without any damage? ... These reviews are becoming more and more taxing to write with each episode.
To be fair to the show, it does include some cool scenes in this episode. Some neat action, and cool Transformation shots. For instance, here we actually see Overlord separate into his jet and tank, and Megs transforms into his tank mode in response. It's actually really fun and enjoyable to watch. The fun is cut short, however, when Rodimus just straight up picks Megatron up and throws him across the room. Overlord recombines, and Windblade starts shooting at him. Rodimus starts beating up Megatron, in a shot that lasts far too long and becomes really awkward.
Tonight on Battlebots!
Grimlock gets back up, as Overlord creates a force field, stops a bunch of Windblade's shots, and Hadouken's them back up toward her, which is apparently something he can do now. One of the shots hits Grimlock in the chest, though I'm not sure how. I'm assuming they tried to make it look like it ricocheted off of Windblade, but it does not come across. Megatron is still getting beat senseless, as Grimlock recovers from his hit.
Jesus. It's like a Royal Rumble in here.
As Grimlock attacks Overlord with his weak Dino mode arms instead of, y'know, anything else, Optimus Primal finally gets up again to survey the damage, and notices the Requiem Blaster below him. Instead of using it against either of the villains, he grabs it and runs. Seriously.
Windblade kind of tries to stop him from leaving the temple, but allows him to just walk past her. He says he shouldn't have come, and shouldn't have let the Requiem Blaster out of the temple back in the Primal Swamp. He starts to leave, leaving his friends and fellow Autobots to die. You know. Like the Optimus Primal we know and love totally would.
"Fearless Warrior" "Sent by the Gods" "Just bolts at the first sign of minor opposition"
Megatron and Rodimus continue to fight, and we get another cool fight scene. The camera angles and occasional slow motion lend themselves really well to the action, and it flows really well. It uses animation to it's benefit, and turns out quite enjoyable again. The action seems to be this series' high point.
We then get to the """bombshell""" of this episode: That, in this universe, Megatron was already once Galvatron, and somehow switched back to his original self. It's not really explained how he did this, or why, or how he inexplicably was able to break from Unicron's control. It's a plot twist that feels like it was created via Madlib. Just for the sake of being dramatic or shocking, without thought being put into the effect it has on the universe, or the means in which we've arrived here. It's forced and confusing.
Windblade steps in the way of Rodimus' blast, saying if he wants to kill Megatron, he'll have to kill her first.
*Unintentionally makes most of the fandom collectively cheer*
He starts choking her (The feasibility of which is still a heated debate on the boards, BTW), and tosses her asside. Rodimus is about to finish Megatron off, but Overlord intervenes, saying that this is his to finish. He's just about to snuff his spark, when Optimus Primal (who's been Spiderman-ing up in the rafters this entire time) tosses the Requiem Blaster to Megatron. As he's just about to fire it at Overlord, the episode ends.
This episode made it very clear that the action and fight scenes are the best part of this series by far. They're directed and choreographed well, and flow extremely smoothly. There are still problems and continuity errors about the damage (or lack thereof) these characters take when fighting, (see: Overlord getting shot in the face), but on the whole they are very good. It's interesting to see how much of a departure this episode was from the previous 5. It stayed in one location, in one continuous time line, with the same set of characters the entire time, and it benefited from it. Not switching scenes every two minutes gave the episode a much more linear and cohesive feel, something it's been struggling to do until now. The story is also taking off extremely quickly, compared to the 4-5 episode lead up that just sat and spun it's wheels we've had over the past few weeks. By far the best episode yet of POTP. It has the typical Prime Wars issues, but a large improvement overall. Lets see if they can keep it up!
Thanks for reading my review of episode 6. You can find it on Go90 and the Transformers Tumblr (if you're outside of the US) for free, so please go watch it and tell me what you thought of both the episode and my review. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know! See you next week!
We are just about to the half way point of the new Power of the Primes cartoon, so obviously in the 5th episode, the story should really start ramping up, right?
...
...
... right?
Let's take a look and find out, as we delve into "Athenaeum Sanctorum"
Ah yes, my favorite republican senator.
(The following review contains heavy spoilers for the POTP cartoon. Seriously. Characters die and stuff. Proceed at your own risk.)
While last week's episode stayed pretty tight with our main cast of characters, we branch off quite a bit in terms of both plot lines, characters, and backdrops this week. Similarly unlike weeks prior, we make quite a bit of a jump in time from episode to episode. Normally episodes pick up exactly where the previous ones left off, almost like just a commercial break, but in episode 5 we see the Dinobots already out on their own after Grimlock leaves on the main quest to find the Prime Library, and with the main cast already considerably on their way trough the journey, right at the library door. For such a linear, spoonfed, slow moving series, this was actually pretty jolting for me. I had to go back and make sure I didn't miss an episode.
Anyway, speaking of the Dinobots, they just happen to run into Rodimus and Overlord, because everybody's in this damn swamp apparently. The two baddies are hot on the trail of Megatron and the Requiem Blaster.
Swamp Ex Machinima
The Dinobots hide out on a cliff watching the two below. Overlord's upset that they can't find Megatron or the blaster, and starts randomly shooting the ground a bunch of times for some reason. Rodimus says that they're being watched, and blasts the ledge the dinos were hiding behind, revealing their location.
The pair take the dinobots hostage, and promptly start questioning them, trying to find out where the rest of the cast went.
*sigh* You know what this looks like. You don't need me to tell you what this looks like.
As Overlord tries to get the information out of Snarl by sitting with him like a gossiping teenage girl, Rodimus Cron threatens Sludge. Snarl finally lets it slip that they were headed to a library, and they, with the help of Unicron taking over Rodimus' body, put the rest of the pieces together. With one final punch, Rodimus kills Sludge. Just like that.
While the scene, and the following one where the surviving Dinobots morn Sludge, work really well emotionally (as this series goes), Snarl's voice is not good, and it doesn't make a lot of sense. The Dinobots have been running circles around Windblade, Perceptor, and Victorion for four episodes now. Granted that was with Grimlock, but they were still huge and could hold their own against enemies. In this scene they just lay down and take it. Rodimus killing Sludge also brings some questions, some of which might have even been intentional: Surely Rodimus can't be THAT strong. I understand that this show is trying to establish him as unstoppable force to really be reckoned with, but at the same time even Unicron couldn't have made him this strong and unstoppable.
ONE PPPPPUNCH!!!
Speaking of Windblade, Perceptor, and Victorion, we catch up with them in the next scene. They, along with Megatron, Grimlock, and Optimus Primal, are now in a frozen tundra biome, where the clue from the cave in the last episode is leading them.
Now, I'm not even going to attempt to explain the next minute and a half, but just know it is some of the wierdest, worst psuedo science I have ever heard in any form of media. Something about parallel lines that somehow meet, and infinity, and the center of the center (?????) and stuff like that.
I have, just, NO clue.
Anyway, somehow they find their way to the Sanctorum, and they're all taken aback by the temple inside. It is, admittedly, a very nice set piece. Megatron runs in to use of the computer systems, and Perceptor butts in.
"What will you do?" "Oh, the exact same thing as you, but sCiENtiFiCALly!"
Percy finds a page relating to the Requiem Blaster and reads it out loud. It explains that the Requiem Blaster was hidden because Megatronus killed Solus with it. The other Primes entrusted a guardian to protect it, which at some point through the generations became Optimus Primal. Why Primal wasn't able to tell them at least some of this information, the world will never know.
As everyone's distracted by the shiny computer, Rodimus and Overlord catch up, and somehow silently bring Victorion to her knees. Rodimus chokes her, (even though robots don't breathe, but you can find an in depth analysis of this problem thanks to our Energon Pub patrons;) ) eventually tearing her head off, with her body falling to the ground. As this series goes, this is an extremely dark death. It's not played up as dramatically as I think it could have been, but it is an interesting turn. With that, the episode ends.
Aw, sick! This ancient archive of the Primes has Go90!
This episode was admittedly boring, but things at least happened, which is an achievement unto itself. The darker parts were interesting, and cement Overlord and Rodimus as at least interesting to watch. I'm liking the treasure hunt/tourist's guide to the ancient temples of Cybertron story line to be completely honest, I just wish it had moved a bit faster a bit earlier. This episode wasn't nearly as laugh (or scream) out loud bad as some of the past ones have, which is progress. We really have been stuck in the swamp this entire time, so at the very least we can be happy that not only has the story found it's footing, we were also treated to several changes of scenery, which is really all I could ask for. Just please. PLEASE. Don't go back to that damn swamp.
(I leave you with an excellent GIF from our newsie Qwan. See you next week!
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