Exclusive Variant Cover for IDW Transformers: Unicron #1 by Milne and Perez

I always find it funny when looking at the 1986 movie poster that the only glimpse of hot rod you get is in his rodimus prime winabago alt. Surprised no one then complained of bait and switch

ZeroWolf wrote:I always find it funny when looking at the 1986 movie poster that the only glimpse of hot rod you get is in his rodimus prime winabago alt. Surprised no one then complained of bait and switch

The internet didn’t exist yet for grown men to complain about such things

I'd like to get this cover, but I'm guessing it will be a costly pain in the butt to get.
I also like that Arcee is the only character duplicated in the same position.

Rodimus Knight wrote:I'd like to get this cover, but I'm guessing it will be a costly pain in the butt to get.
I also like that Arcee is the only character duplicated in the same position.

You’ll find it easy on eBay. It won’t be very expensive.

This ain’t Dreamwave 2002 where certain covers were worth hundreds until the went under and now are pennies.

This is IDW. You’ll be able to find them on eBay for maybe $10-20 and that’s being extreme saying $20

Randomhero wrote:

Rodimus Knight wrote:I'd like to get this cover, but I'm guessing it will be a costly pain in the butt to get.
I also like that Arcee is the only character duplicated in the same position.

You’ll find it easy on eBay. It won’t be very expensive.

This ain’t Dreamwave 2002 where certain covers were worth hundreds until the went under and now are pennies.

This is IDW. You’ll be able to find them on eBay for maybe $10-20 and that’s being extreme saying $20

Yeah the expensive covers are things like the Casey Coller Sgt. Pepper homage cover to MTMTE 12 and his Bowie Ziggy Stardust one for RiD 12, and stuff like the Paul Pope OP and LL #1 covers which were 50 copy retailer incentive covers. That Shockwave wrap-around gatefold for Infiltration 0 was also expensive at one point but it may have come down.

ZeroWolf wrote:I always find it funny when looking at the 1986 movie poster that the only glimpse of hot rod you get is in his rodimus prime winabago alt. Surprised no one then complained of bait and switch

I always thought it should have been the other way around. Have him start off as a Winnebago/VW Van and make Rodimus Prime the Futuristic muscle car. Really breaking with tradition. The Winnebago of Doom was always a terrible and pointless altmode. Not every Autobot leader needs to be a generic and boring truck.

They probably thought kids would take better if the new leader was a truck like prime (may also be why Ultra Magnus was a sub leader/second in command as he was also a truck like alt mode...it was a car carrier yes but how many other truck alt modes do the bots have like that?)

Yeah when I was a kid the idea of Hot Rod getting buff and becoming Rodimus Prime was amazing. I remember always thinking the space winnebago was awesome. Being too young to see the show as it aired, the lack of access to Season 3 and the Rodimus Prime toy had me imagining him as, essentially, new Optimus but more of a Jedi Master Luke Skywalker type than OP.

I also thought for a long time he'd be able to carry cars back there, so take this as you will

ZeroWolf wrote:They probably thought kids would take better if the new leader was a truck like prime (may also be why Ultra Magnus was a sub leader/second in command as he was also a truck like alt mode...it was a car carrier yes but how many other truck alt modes do the bots have like that?)

I mean I had all three back then, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. The Hot Rod toy looks so much better than Rodimus. Not to mention Ultra Magnus was probably the best G1 truck toy, even if he was a brick, as he was massive. I can only assume a "Sports truck" design was one of Floro Dery's. What he was on that day, who can say

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:They probably thought kids would take better if the new leader was a truck like prime (may also be why Ultra Magnus was a sub leader/second in command as he was also a truck like alt mode...it was a car carrier yes but how many other truck alt modes do the bots have like that?)

I mean I had all three back then, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. The Hot Rod toy looks so much better than Rodimus. Not to mention Ultra Magnus was probably the best G1 truck toy, even if he was a brick, as he was massive. I can only assume a "Sports truck" design was one of Floro Dery's. What he was on that day, who can say

Oh totally, but I had only Hot Rod as a hand-me-down so the movie plus the catalogs not providing a sense of scale had me thinking the winnie was way cooler than it actually is. None of my old brother's friends had a Rodimus Prime though so I should have taken that as a sign!

Also, for the record, I would totally do drugs* with Floro Dery.

*this is highly conditional on which drug we're talking about

Which does always bring up the age old issue that the toys were made before their roles were established. Hence why the bios for Galvatron and Ultra Magnus set them up as equals/rivals and the Rodimus toy was so tiny for a Leader.

Looking at the Floro concept art from the wiki and other sources, it was clearly The Hard Stuff

Another homage cover. Nice.

For those of you who were unable to find a copy during Free Comic Book Day, the IDW Publishing issue #0 of Transformers: Unicron is now finally available as a free digital release over on online resource ComiXology!

As the first issue of the mini-series is due for release in July, this is a good time to catch up on the story as it begins - though be aware there are spoilers for the ongoing Optimus Prime series, too - and make sure to check out our review of the opening issue here.

Not a whimper, nor a bang-the end comes with a squall of entropy shrieking from the ravenous maw of death itself. The message is clear: Unicron has arrived. The Transformers lock into a desperate bid to save Rom's homeworld from the world-killer - but why has Unicron chosen this world on his path to Cybertron... and Earth? The biggest story in the history of Transformers starts now: for Unicron's arrival can mean nothing less than the end of a universe.

Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

dragons wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

Neat

dragons wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

I didn’t understand a word of that but okay.

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

Glad this is now available. My local comic vendor is not able to get these!

Quick question: will I be able to enjoy this without being caught up with the main series? I kinda know what’s been going on in the IDW universe, but I haven’t even touched the OP series yet.

MagicDeath wrote:Quick question: will I be able to enjoy this without being caught up with the main series? I kinda know what’s been going on in the IDW universe, but I haven’t even touched the OP series yet.

Can try. I mean it’s got a lot of references to stuff. I can’t imagine jumping in with this but for someone who’s media is the IDWverse I can’t imagine anyone being able to jump in anywhere but the start. Plenty of people do I guess with Death of Optimus Prime or post Dark Cybertron and I just can’t fathom how anyone would find it enjoyable.

Randomhero wrote:

dragons wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

I didn’t understand a word of that but okay.

I think they are saying the free comic book day comics aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Could be wrong but I think that's what it is.

MagicDeath wrote:Quick question: will I be able to enjoy this without being caught up with the main series? I kinda know what’s been going on in the IDW universe, but I haven’t even touched the OP series yet.

While it will spoil literally every big twist within Optimus Prime, I think if you have the rough idea of the state of the universe you'll be just fine. If you don't mind the spoilers, definitely download it. It's free after all, and it isn't as long as a normal issue!

ZeroWolf wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

dragons wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

I didn’t understand a word of that but okay.

I think they are saying the free comic book day comics aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Could be wrong but I think that's what it is.

Yeah I was there that far and then the tangeant about Stan Lee signing comics just kinda made my brain hurt because it didn’t make sense. Probably shouldn’t be having stan sign your free comics anyway. I don’t think he’s written a comic book in over 20 years.

Yeah stan Lee is more of an actor now though he gives other people ideas to use, like when he shared ideas with the author of the manga Shaman King to create the Ultimo manga.

ZeroWolf wrote:Yeah stan Lee is more of an actor now though he gives other people ideas to use, like when he shared ideas with the author of the manga Shaman King to create the Ultimo manga.

I remember I think it was middle school I was reading Wizard(yeah that long ago) and there was an article about Stan Lee’s versions of DC characters and it was the worst thing I’d seen since someone pointed out the anatomy problems with Liefelds art.

I remember wizard, and I also sadly remember stan lee's version of the DC cast...I think Comic Book Guy from Simpsons said it best:
"I fear his mind is no longer in mint condition"

ZeroWolf wrote:I remember wizard, and I also sadly remember stan lee's version of the DC cast...I think Comic Book Guy from Simpsons said it best:
"I fear his mind is no longer in mint condition"

Oh thank god someone else remembers that. I tell people about it and they think I’m making up blonde Superman in like space knight armor and he had a giant S on his chest and 2 tiny Ss on his shoulders where his cape is connected . It’s like burned into my brain

Randomhero wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

dragons wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!

If I am going to get this book it will never be on free comic book day free comics on free comic book day are not worth paper they are printed on if you have Stan lee sign book on free comic book day book you be doing selling book for Stan lee autograph not book itself as comic book reader I never pick them up for my self unless I get them as gift from people who know me hat I like comics,.

I look forward buy trade paper back of this series

I didn’t understand a word of that but okay.

I think they are saying the free comic book day comics aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Could be wrong but I think that's what it is.

Yeah I was there that far and then the tangeant about Stan Lee signing comics just kinda made my brain hurt because it didn’t make sense. Probably shouldn’t be having stan sign your free comics anyway. I don’t think he’s written a comic book in over 20 years.

He wrote this one a few years back

https://www.google.ca/search?q=stan+lee ... t7XdfnMzFM:

It's what I got him to sign when I met him.

Actually it's a nice read. Though I'm glad I got caught up before this. I still don't think they're ending the idw universe, it seems such an odd thing to do. Were the sales bad? Why throwaway their hardwork so recklessly? Unless they have a new tf license publisher in the works or Hasbro wants to enter publishing space. They did after all mention they're focusing on entertainment.

But if they don't end it fully and make it like new 52 where it is a reboot of sorts, I wouldn't prefer it. Since well they would be lying to us.

I honestly am more interested in the truth of their claims more than the actual comics lol

Glad I have a paper copy. Good on IDW for releasing this for free for those who missed out. I recommend giving it a read.

budmaloney wrote:Actually it's a nice read. Though I'm glad I got caught up before this. I still don't think they're ending the idw universe, it seems such an odd thing to do. Were the sales bad? Why throwaway their hardwork so recklessly?

It's not throwing anything away IDWverse will still exist, as a collected series, much like Marvel and DreamWave.
Nothing lasts forever and reboots are often both a sound business decision and a necessity, more frequently in this day and age of limited attention spans and quicker, marketing-based turn over. The era wherein you could be following a book for over 200 issues is long gone.

I do hope they end it clean. No ties whatsoever. a Real reboot, not a halfhearted one.

WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

And still just as relevant as he was in Infiltration

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Glad it's available. I missed FCBD but found a comic shop in Pittsburgh on CMU's campus about a week later that had a load of these still available. Even if the big twists were revealed, it's still a very good read.

budmaloney wrote:Actually it's a nice read. Though I'm glad I got caught up before this. I still don't think they're ending the idw universe, it seems such an odd thing to do. Were the sales bad? Why throwaway their hardwork so recklessly?

The sales were bad, yes. That's kinda the long and short of it. While its scope is very limited, www.comichron.com is a place you can dig into some numbers if you're curious.

As for Transformers, (post is all speculation from here on!) I think Roberts and Barber were close enough to the end of the stories they wanted to tell and rather than try to shift creative teams and continue on, as was done for McCarthy, Costa, and said duo, they just decided to end it. Whoever comes in after can start fresh, unhindered by the 2nd longest running and probably most complex Transformers continuity ever. That goes for readers and the creative teams!

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

That's the only reason I'm hokding out any hope for Sixshot.

Although this rule does not apply to Hubcap, who was in fact killed by Prowl retroactively due to the continuity ending

I don't think we will see Sixshot in this continuity again, much like Thunderwing. Bottom line, the unstoppable Six-Changer didn't have a place in politics-centric RiD/OP and Comedy-centric MTMTE/LL. So he was just left to the ether...

ScottyP wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

That's the only reason I'm hokding out any hope for Sixshot.

Although this rule does not apply to Hubcap, who was in fact killed by Prowl retroactively due to the continuity ending

Bumblebee had a REASON to come back, though. SIxshot doesn't.

Daniel Adkins wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

That's the only reason I'm hokding out any hope for Sixshot.

Although this rule does not apply to Hubcap, who was in fact killed by Prowl retroactively due to the continuity ending

Bumblebee had a REASON to come back, though. SIxshot doesn't.

Fine, reject his friendship

Daniel Adkins wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

That's the only reason I'm hokding out any hope for Sixshot.

Although this rule does not apply to Hubcap, who was in fact killed by Prowl retroactively due to the continuity ending

Bumblebee had a REASON to come back, though. SIxshot doesn't.

Really
I'm pretty sure Goldbug or, lets face it, ANYONE could have fulfilled that "reason".

Besides the reason for Sixhot's absence I mentioned before, there is also the fact that neither Barber nor Roberts actually wanted to write Decepticons at all, other than less than a handful they could actually be bothered with. Outside of Shockwave, Overlord and the DJD (all of which have been "killed off/dealt with" consistently) everyone else was cast into the background or diluted into becoming pseudo-Autobots.

Hopefully the new continuity recognises the 50/50 split of Transformers once again.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

budmaloney wrote:Actually it's a nice read. Though I'm glad I got caught up before this. I still don't think they're ending the idw universe, it seems such an odd thing to do. Were the sales bad? Why throwaway their hardwork so recklessly?

It's not throwing anything away IDWverse will still exist, as a collected series, much like Marvel and DreamWave.
Nothing lasts forever and reboots are often both a sound business decision and a necessity, more frequently in this day and age of limited attention spans and quicker, marketing-based turn over. The era wherein you could be following a book for over 200 issues is long gone.

I do hope they end it clean. No ties whatsoever. a Real reboot, not a halfhearted one.

Yeah I guess that's a very nice way of looking at it. I agree with you that I'd like a real rebook with no ties so that in many ways we could get closure on an incredible story that spanned and amazing ten years or so.

ScottyP wrote:

budmaloney wrote:Actually it's a nice read. Though I'm glad I got caught up before this. I still don't think they're ending the idw universe, it seems such an odd thing to do. Were the sales bad? Why throwaway their hardwork so recklessly?

The sales were bad, yes. That's kinda the long and short of it. While its scope is very limited, http://www.comichron.com is a place you can dig into some numbers if you're curious.

As for Transformers, (post is all speculation from here on!) I think Roberts and Barber were close enough to the end of the stories they wanted to tell and rather than try to shift creative teams and continue on, as was done for McCarthy, Costa, and said duo, they just decided to end it. Whoever comes in after can start fresh, unhindered by the 2nd longest running and probably most complex Transformers continuity ever. That goes for readers and the creative teams!

Thanks for the link, I didn't know about this website it's intriguing. Perhaps if the reason was to maintain the creative integrity and vision then they've been going strong all this time and to wrap it up in such a planned way is something I hope to see. And honestly what better way to wrap things with Unicron? If he does destroy the entire IDW and Bumblebee is the only one that passes through the portal or something I'm ok with that. And maybe , just maybe the Bayverse Bumblebee would be the same IDW one that teleported through then they can keep the threat of Unicron legitimate and alive. Wishful thinking I guess

I am so happy that Bee is alive but Wheeljack

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

william-james88 wrote:WTF BUMBLEBEE'S ALIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

...We’ve known this for over a year.

Since Dark Cybertron, to be fair.

Comic Book Death trope 101: If you don't see the body, they ain't dead.

That's the only reason I'm hokding out any hope for Sixshot.

Although this rule does not apply to Hubcap, who was in fact killed by Prowl retroactively due to the continuity ending

Bumblebee had a REASON to come back, though. SIxshot doesn't.

Really
I'm pretty sure Goldbug or, lets face it, ANYONE could have fulfilled that "reason".

Besides the reason for Sixhot's absence I mentioned before, there is also the fact that neither Barber nor Roberts actually wanted to write Decepticons at all, other than less than a handful they could actually be bothered with. Outside of Shockwave, Overlord and the DJD (all of which have been "killed off/dealt with" consistently) everyone else was cast into the background or diluted into becoming pseudo-Autobots.

Hopefully the new continuity recognises the 50/50 split of Transformers once again.

But Goldbug ISN'T Bumblebee. Sure, he's based on a toy of Bumblebee, but he's a completely different character in the IDW Universe. He didn't come to Earth with Prowl and the rest, he didn't become leader of Cybertron, he didn't meet Rom. He didn't do anything of the things Bumblebee did. His presence wouldn't have the same effect as Bumblebee's.

And no, Sixshot had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

Daniel Adkins wrote:But Goldbug ISN'T Bumblebee. Sure, he's based on a toy of Bumblebee, but he's a completely different character in the IDW Universe. He didn't come to Earth with Prowl and the rest, he didn't become leader of Cybertron, he didn't meet Rom. He didn't do anything of the things Bumblebee did. His presence wouldn't have the same effect as Bumblebee's.

And no, Sixshot had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

I didn't say Goldbug was Bumblebee, just that he was as good a place holder as anyone else. In recent years Bumblebee has become the definition of a tryhard character. Along similar lines to Rey in the new Star Wars. Since Bayformers, IDW and HasTak couldn't be giving a more concerted effort to force his prominence, when all he has ever really been is the gateway character to the series.

It's one of those things, I remember being a part of the IDW forums at the time and people were angry that Bumblebee had been shoehorned into leadership. That it was clearly mandated and not natural story progression.

Ask around, for those that were reading IDWverse post- Dark Cybertron, how many even noticed he wasn't there? (although they copped out on that too). He is not pivotal at all, to anything that is going on. He's not Soundwave, Optimus, Windblade, Rodimus or Ultra Magnus etc If anything...

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

Isn't Bumblebee's movie coming out at the end of the year, around when the IDW-verse is supposed to end? That's about as good a reason as any to bring him back.

AlphaBass wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

Isn't Bumblebee's movie coming out at the end of the year, around when the IDW-verse is supposed to end? That's about as good a reason as any to bring him back.

Exactly. A mandated reason, not a legitimate one.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

AlphaBass wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

Isn't Bumblebee's movie coming out at the end of the year, around when the IDW-verse is supposed to end? That's about as good a reason as any to bring him back.

Exactly. A mandated reason, not a legitimate one.

Bumblebee’s resurrection was planned four years ago. He was always going to come back becuase he’s a tent pole character of the franchise. Whether you think he’s being “forced” or whatever (which he isn’t, he’s always been a popular character) doesn’t really matter becuase the fact is he’s one of the most important characters in Transformers fiction, right up there with Optimus, Megatron and Starscream. And you can’t simply replace him with any character like Goldbug or Centurion or whoever becuase regardless of appearance, they aren’t the same character as Bumblebee.

Daniel Adkins wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

AlphaBass wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

Isn't Bumblebee's movie coming out at the end of the year, around when the IDW-verse is supposed to end? That's about as good a reason as any to bring him back.

Exactly. A mandated reason, not a legitimate one.

Bumblebee’s resurrection was planned four years ago. He was always going to come back becuase he’s a tent pole character of the franchise. Whether you think he’s being “forced” or whatever (which he isn’t, he’s always been a popular character) doesn’t really matter becuase the fact is he’s one of the most important characters in Transformers fiction, right up there with Optimus, Megatron and Starscream. And you can’t simply replace him with any character like Goldbug or Centurion or whoever becuase regardless of appearance, they aren’t the same character as Bumblebee.

To anyone that has read comics for a long enough time, the thought of his "resurrection" was redundant because although gravely wounded you never saw his body so he was never dead in the first place.

The anecdote I mentioned didn't reflect my thoughts in the slightest. I couldn't care less about Bumblebee, or Prime for that matter. Other than two exceptions, I don't like any of the Autobots by default. The cynicism I mentioned was from other fans of the series.

Let's draw a line here, Within IDWverse, you can clearly see how his prominence has been forced. The subtle character introduction from Infiltration to leadership in RiD. If not for the success of Bayformers, which used BB as its poster child, I doubt he would have gained such a featured role in this continuity. His previous niche was already taken.

Ratchet took his place as the gateway character, Prowl took his place in a meaningful relationship with Spike Witwicky etc etc

The fact is, prior to the movies, Bumblebee was not that important. He was entirely absent from the Beast Era, Car Robots, The Unicron Trilogy. From Sunbow to Animated. To that end he wasn't on the same level of popularity as Prime, Megatron or Starscream, that have never been away from the franchise in any media.


As I said above, the only reason they are "resurrecting" him now, is because a Movie is coming out. Otherwise, the continuity is ending, so there would be no point in reintroducing him only for him to die again with the rest by the end of Unicron's story.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Daniel Adkins wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

AlphaBass wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

And no, Bumblebee had no narrative reason to come back. His story is over. He died. That's it.

This edit is quite apt.

Isn't Bumblebee's movie coming out at the end of the year, around when the IDW-verse is supposed to end? That's about as good a reason as any to bring him back.

Exactly. A mandated reason, not a legitimate one.

Bumblebee’s resurrection was planned four years ago. He was always going to come back becuase he’s a tent pole character of the franchise. Whether you think he’s being “forced” or whatever (which he isn’t, he’s always been a popular character) doesn’t really matter becuase the fact is he’s one of the most important characters in Transformers fiction, right up there with Optimus, Megatron and Starscream. And you can’t simply replace him with any character like Goldbug or Centurion or whoever becuase regardless of appearance, they aren’t the same character as Bumblebee.

To anyone that has read comics for a long enough time, the thought of his "resurrection" was redundant because although gravely wounded you never saw his body so he was never dead in the first place.

The anecdote I mentioned didn't reflect my thoughts in the slightest. I couldn't care less about Bumblebee, or Prime for that matter. Other than two exceptions, I don't like any of the Autobots by default. The cynicism I mentioned was from other fans of the series.

Let's draw a line here, Within IDWverse, you can clearly see how his prominence has been forced. The subtle character introduction from Infiltration to leadership in RiD. If not for the success of Bayformers, which used BB as its poster child, I doubt he would have gained such a featured role in this continuity. His previous niche was already taken.

Ratchet took his place as the gateway character, Prowl took his place in a meaningful relationship with Spike Witwicky etc etc

The fact is, prior to the movies, Bumblebee was not that important. He was entirely absent from the Beast Era, Car Robots, The Unicron Trilogy. From Sunbow to Animated. To that end he wasn't on the same level of popularity as Prime, Megatron or Starscream, that have never been away from the franchise in any media.


As I said above, the only reason they are "resurrecting" him now, is because a Movie is coming out. Otherwise, the continuity is ending, so there would be no point in reintroducing him only for him to die again with the rest by the end of Unicron's story.

You have a very cynical and utilitarian way of looking at stories, my friend.