Full Preview of IDW Transformers: Lost Light Volume 3 TPB

Hm, seeing the bit about the Necrobot's cape and the Benzene cluster makes me wonder if Red, Max, and Cerebros might use it to join the rest of the gang for the final confrontation. It'd definitely be neat to see them again, I've always enjoyed the Luna 1 crew quite a bit

ArmadaPrime wrote:Hm, seeing the bit about the Necrobot's cape and the Benzene cluster makes me wonder if Red, Max, and Cerebros might use it to join the rest of the gang for the final confrontation. It'd definitely be neat to see them again, I've always enjoyed the Luna 1 crew quite a bit

If the Necrobot really was Mortilus, it begs 2 questions: 1) will he somehow show up again in the finale of LL, and 2) If Red took the cape (and I assume he did) what if he sees Functionist Cybertron in the cloak and Luna 1 comes to the rescue? Luna 1 is a bit of a larger plot point to finish up, seeing as how it could also be a new TF homeland.

EDIT: also, if 6 of 12 has the matrix for a head, what if this is a way to reintroduce the matrix to this universe? most likely a far away claim, but ya know, if they really are as far behind OP and Unicron as they have said, and the Warren and universe jumping did not actually tamper with their perception of time, they could be a final brief stage of Unicron.

I do not want a single person to say it's not possible cause of Robert's story and he was not involved with Unicron, just let the idea sit.

But isn't that a fake matrix though that six of 12 is parading around? I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just i thought it was a fake he made to try and prove that the functionist council were fulfilling the will of Primus. Though speaking of Primus, I think the LL crew should capture that intact and use that against unicron might even the odds slightly.

ZeroWolf wrote:But isn't that a fake matrix though that six of 12 is parading around? I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just i thought it was a fake he made to try and prove that the functionist council were fulfilling the will of Primus. Though speaking of Primus, I think the LL crew should capture that intact and use that against unicron might even the odds slightly.

I believed they had found the original, even though Rodimus did say in issue 3 or 4 that that was not the matrix and he should know cause he carried it. But maybe the matrix is still somewhere on this Cybertron

It's certainly possible, but will it get chance to play a part in the unicron saga or will Roberts need it to stop the functionist council

ZeroWolf wrote:It's certainly possible, but will it get chance to play a part in the unicron saga or will Roberts need it to stop the functionist council

I'm not really sure. But even though we got Unicron's origins, and it is a different take, I'm still not convinced the matrix will not show up in some form again. Between it's apparent link to Shockwave's ores and the Functionist version, I think it may turn up again

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:It's certainly possible, but will it get chance to play a part in the unicron saga or will Roberts need it to stop the functionist council

I'm not really sure. But even though we got Unicron's origins, and it is a different take, I'm still not convinced the matrix will not show up in some form again. Between it's apparent link to Shockwave's ores and the Functionist version, I think it may turn up again

In IDW the Matrix isn't made of Primus's lifeforce, like it was in G1, right?

It would be kind of ironic if the Matrix was used to destroy the Functionist Universe's "Primus." But, I doubt that will happen, as it was pointed out that millions of Cybertronians are still on the planet, even though it has been transformed.

Wasn't it only in the marvel comics that the matrix was made out of primus life force? What was it actually in the cartoon?

ZeroWolf wrote:What was it actually in the cartoon?

The combined wisdom of the previous Primes.

Thanks to regular source for our Transformers comics news from IDW Publishing, Adventures in Poor Taste, we have the first full preview of next week's issue #23 of ongoing series Transformers: Lost Light - which obviously means plenty of spoilers for trade readers, as all of issue 22's reveals are shown again in these opening pages.

So you have been warned!

Transformers: Lost Light #23
The final battle is here! Bots will live, bots will die, and the craziness can only increase! We’re halfway through a finale six years in the making! And if you’ve ever loved a bot, you won’t want to miss this.

Bullet points:

– Lost Light’s grand finale kicks into high gear!
– Bringing the story to a close at long last–and everyone’s involved!
– Don’t miss the B cover by beloved Transformers artist Geoff Senior!
– Variant cover by Geoff Senior!

Ugh, I'm so worried I'm going to have to see Ratchet die for a fourth time before Lost Light is finished.

Christ, how many times have we gone through these revelations about how gosh-darn special Rung is. Being handed all these plot powers, he's like the Kirito of transformers now.

Wouldn't this explain all the other times though? And since thus us the end, there won't be any others.

I hate it everytime I see the lost light ship and those world sweepers. The lost light is like 5 miles long and 3 miles high which I always thought was stupid big and now seeing it look like a shuttle to these symbol ships it just looks tidicukous

Diaboragon wrote:Christ, how many times have we gone through these revelations about how gosh-darn special Rung is. Being handed all these plot powers, he's like the Kirito of transformers now.

Except there really hasn’t been. If anything they lay it on thick that rung has never been special

So, wait a second. If Rung can self heal, does that mean that Alt universe Rung could have self healed at some point and still on Cybertron?

Ishin Ookami wrote:So, wait a second. If Rung can self heal, does that mean that Alt universe Rung could have self healed at some point and still on Cybertron?

Possibly Though that's unless Rung can choose to not heal himself.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Ishin Ookami wrote:So, wait a second. If Rung can self heal, does that mean that Alt universe Rung could have self healed at some point and still on Cybertron?

Possibly Though that's unless Rung can choose to not heal himself.

He didn’t know he was Primes. Rung said he’s only self healing under the realization last issue the council listed rung as one of bots in megatrons circle they killed so it’s possible he did survive and was killed later but he’s dead.

THAT SAID...

Remember back in season 2 in MTMTE whrn rewind said they “lost” Rung?! That still hasn’t come back.

Probably won’t though. Ya know..three issues left lol

While Transformers fans won't be able to experience IDW Publishing's Transformers: Lost Light #23 until next Wednesday, Previews has posted the Geoff Senior "B" cover for the series' 24th issue. Anyone familiar with Lost Light author James Roberts will not be surprised by the homage on this cover, featuring Autobot psychiatrist Rung!



This is, of course, inspired by the cover to Marvel UK's The Transformers #113, an issue notable for introducing the world to Death's Head as he tracks down a bounty posted by Autobot leader Rodimus Prime.



You'll be able to pick this cover up from your local comic shop on September 26th, 2018*

*(scheduled publication date as of this writing and is subject to change)

Well, Senior's drawing style is great as usual but that character can't even come close to reproducing the awesomeness of the Rodimus Prime cover which I had two copies of when I was a kid. I had my reserved copy as per usual every Saturday and then I loved the cover so much I went back to the newsagents later on in the day and bought another just to stick the cover on my wall. Which I tended to do whether the issue suggested it (like anniversary issues with wrap-around covers) or not.

great work from Senior!

I wonder if the symbolism here was intentional
To elaborate I recall reading once that one depiction of Primus used the design of Rodimus as a starting point (If I'm right his astral plane form)
Now we have Rung, who was confirmed to be Primus last issue, drawn to adopt the same pose Rodimus once had on a cover.
Coincidence? I think not!

Agent 53 wrote:I wonder if the symbolism here was intentional
To elaborate I recall reading once that one depiction of Primus used the design of Rodimus as a starting point (If I'm right his astral plane form)
Now we have Rung, who was confirmed to be Primus last issue, drawn to adopt the same pose Rodimus once had on a cover.
Coincidence? I think not!

Well it’s Geoff Senior. He likes to homage his old covers so yes.

Randomhero wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

Ishin Ookami wrote:So, wait a second. If Rung can self heal, does that mean that Alt universe Rung could have self healed at some point and still on Cybertron?

Possibly Though that's unless Rung can choose to not heal himself.

He didn’t know he was Primes. Rung said he’s only self healing under the realization last issue the council listed rung as one of bots in megatrons circle they killed so it’s possible he did survive and was killed later but he’s dead.

THAT SAID...

Remember back in season 2 in MTMTE whrn rewind said they “lost” Rung?! That still hasn’t come back.

Probably won’t though. Ya know..three issues left lol

Not quite correct, since Rung was able to self heal after being shot in the head way back in MTMTE season 1 and another incident is mentioned with a crashed ship prior to that.

So basically, it could very well be that alt-universe rung is somewhere on Cybertron right now just laying low. That the death the council mentioned was Rung being blown up by the moon back in Lost Light #6.

Synopsis
The final battle is here! Bots will live, bots will die, and the craziness can only increase! We’re halfway through a finale six years in the making! And if you’ve ever loved a bot, you won’t want to miss this.



Story
We return this month and issue to a one voiced review, though still informed by a modicum of staff discussion to feed into a more balanced overview of the story being told for this number of Lost Light, as we get ever closer to the finale of the entire ..thing. Read on below, crusadercons!



First thing to come up: my misgivings from the previous issue are not erased, and they still inform my base reading of any of the stories told in this narrative thread - however, there are some moments and developments in this issue specifically that seem to put in discussion those very same issues I tried to raise myself in terms of legitimisation.



Though the expected ups and downs in terms of tone that characterises a lot of James Roberts' writing on the series is present, the general pacing and overall tone does not seem to fall into too many juxtaposed moments, egged on by the sense of urgency that is palpable even just in the silent opening pages of the issue, and some of the major interactions among the cast.



The characters, of course, placed in this framework each get their moment to shine, or at least glimmer, with some chilling one liners, some moments that mark out the 'ending' feeling of book, and some Spinisters along for the ride, but few contributions feel forced or irrelevant to the story and pacing.

Art

Jack Lawrence is doing some incredible work on this issue in particular, and at this point I am no longer able to praise him enough and to say that 'this issue is the best one in his development on the series' - as that just seems to be the case with each new issue he works on the interiors. But just the opening, in its silent scripting, should prove my point enough.



The colours that Joana Lafuente once more provides are pretty excellent too, with the shades changing between external and internal scenes, and some truly spectacular shimmering work displayed in some pivotal moments in flashbacks and present day scenes, especially with the Functionist Primus attack.



Furtis Candango and Tom B Long are doing some pretty spectacular work, already from the title page onwards, and they're clearly having all the fun that they can outside of the silent pages: the fontwork is exciting, and more of it sneaks into conversations with loud audiences than previously, too.

All the covers, as usual, can be found in our Vector Sigma Database entry here, though the one spotlighted in the thumbnail is the Geoff Senior / Josh Burcham variant featuring Pharma and Tyrest, which may or may not directly relate to the story itself.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Reading this issue alongside Optimus Prime #23, or indeed Unicron #4, is interesting, as the pacing seems to be very similar for all three, though the two ongoings are the ones with the most parallels (planet formers doing damage, fast pacing with significant moments on practically each page, lots of threads reaching a conclusion) - and in some ways, Lost Light has a more tonally streamlined, due to its established ensemble cast by now, than OP.



There is some material that feels like a late addition to the story, admittedly, but it works relatively well with how a certain progression of a subplot (so far) was handled, and sets up well the coming two issues without detracting too much from the Guiding Hand storyline. What's more, the book is visually stunning, and I can't not repeat this - I will be really interested in looking at how the trade works with the alternating artists at this stage, but what we're getting so far is magnificent.

Did anyone think that bit where Nickel destroys the magnificence to be an homage to that Mr Hyde vs alien battle in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 2?

Also, I must say, I am quite happy that even though the 13 turned out to be fake/not real, there are still gods within this TF universe. I have always liked the religious aspect and themes in Transformers so I am glad it was not all taken down.

Actually I'm happy that the gods that were introduced first were the real ones, it seemed like they were going to be supplanted by the Primes. Is there a reason these reviews haven't been front paged?

I liked it. I think things moved a bit too fast, I'd have liked to see major events like pharma and tyrist killing eachother and nikel crushing the posessed magnificence spaced out a bit more. That was definitely rushed as was the introduction of the idea of the Omega Guardians and the explanation as too just what the warren is

That said, i'm eager to see how this all ends. Does anyone know why this issue wasn't two weeks apart from the last one? And are we returning to that schedule again or do we wait until November to see how this all wraps up?

I’ve not sure how I feel about this finale now. This is so rushed it’s really taking me out of the series. It’s “here’s the main villain! Nope never mind! Here’s the main villain! Never mind here’s the real villain! NOPE! Nevermind! HERE IS THE MAIN VILLAIN!

I really don’t know how to feel right now. I love the last issue but this is just like I’ve said before about MTMTE/LL. Once it gets closer to the end of of a story it’s just “okay wrap it up wrap it up wrap it up!”

It was great to get all issues this week but after reading them last night I felt like “...bleh!” Not strong issues the start the month.

Just to be sure, Pharma was NOT Adaptus in hiding right? Every other god was hiding within another character because they had forgotten who they were, but adaptus never forgot right?

And yes, this all feels rushed. Does the reveal of the omega guardians gel well with what we learn of them in the Unicron series?

william-james88 wrote:Just to be sure, Pharma was NOT Adaptus in hiding right? Every other god was hiding within another character because they had forgotten who they were, but adaptus never forgot right?

And yes, this all feels rushed. Does the reveal of the omega guardians gel well with what we learn of them in the Unicron series?

Adaptus took Pharmas body and put himself in it for...reasons. Still no explanation for that.

Adaptus never forgot because he was on Luna one when he fired his mind gun on Cybertron so he wasn’t affected by it. He did it intentionally so they’d forget and he could plan

And those are different guardians. The cybertronian ones arnt the same ones as the ones here. They probably should have just called the ones OP/unicron omega Sentinels ...

Randomhero wrote:And those are different guardians. The cybertronian ones arnt the same ones as the ones here. They probably should have just called the ones OP/unicron omega Sentinels ...

What what?! So who the hell are these guys in the magnificence? When were they previously referenced?

william-james88 wrote:

Randomhero wrote:And those are different guardians. The cybertronian ones arnt the same ones as the ones here. They probably should have just called the ones OP/unicron omega Sentinels ...

What what?! So who the hell are these guys in the magnificence? When were they previously referenced?

Spotlight: Doubledealer/the "Revelation" arc of Spotlights, then sporadically thereafter.

Ishin Ookami wrote: Does anyone know why this issue wasn't two weeks apart from the last one? And are we returning to that schedule again or do we wait until November to see how this all wraps up?

They claimed way back when the end was announced that it'd be bi-weekly through June, July, and August with a September wrap up. Then Barber came in as EIC and (likely wisely) punted to October and spaced things out once August hit.

That said, for Lost Light in particular, it looks like three weeks to 24, then another three thereafter to 25. That could change again, of course!

Out of curiosity but shouldn't these reviews be front paged?

william-james88 wrote:

Randomhero wrote:And those are different guardians. The cybertronian ones arnt the same ones as the ones here. They probably should have just called the ones OP/unicron omega Sentinels ...

What what?! So who the hell are these guys in the magnificence? When were they previously referenced?

Yes from spotlight hotrod and reference by the dude on troja major said these guys were aliens that evolved and theft their bodies. They’re the golem looking dudes from earlier in this story. At least that’s why I’m getting from

The cybertronian ones must have been by Shockwave since they come from the 13 era.

I’m 99.9% sure they’re separate

According to LL these guys built merderi and that place predates the knights of Cybertron era

I still think there's a chance for Rodimus and Megatron to end up in at least conjunx amica, if not conjunx endura, considering some of the other characters' development in the past.

Also, this is most likely just wishful thinking on my part, because it has been said that LL will have nothing to do with Unicron, but I would love it if LL #25 and OP #25 came before Unicron #6 and it would end with Functionist Primus/Cybertron arriving just in time to fight Unicron and have them both be destroyed in the battle, thus ending the entire IDW universe with all 3 books intertwined and coming to one single definite conclusion.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I still think there's a chance for Rodimus and Megatron to end up in at least conjunx amica, if not conjunx endura, considering some of the other characters' development in the past.

Also, this is most likely just wishful thinking on my part, because it has been said that LL will have nothing to do with Unicron, but I would love it if LL #25 and OP #25 came before Unicron #6 and it would end with Functionist Primus/Cybertron arriving just in time to fight Unicron and have them both be destroyed in the battle, thus ending the entire IDW universe with all 3 books intertwined and coming to one single definite conclusion.

They don’t. Lost light is almost 2 years behind the main books and Barber already announced Optimus Prime 25 takes place after Unicron 6 and acts as an epilogue to the IDW- Verse.

You know I was beginning to think I'd imagined what barber said about op 25. I've parroted it but no one was paying me any attention.

The more I think about this issue and the over all story of amost 7 years of MTMTE/LL the more disappointed I am.

The main villain of this entire saga turns out to be villains not even from this universe. It’s an alternate version of characters from this one and all I can say is “oh hum”

The grand architect was established all the way back in MTMTE 7. Rung was established in the ongoing and I like everything with Rung. I kinda hate everything else.

I’m not saying this because I liked my theory that the grand architect was the functionalists. I was right I. Some aspect that’s play a role but I’m happy I was wrong. I’m just not satisfied that everything comes down to a group that wasn’t really established till last year. They were introduced a few years ago but weren’t a threat to anyone of the cast till last year.

It kinda feels like this came about because megatron was brought on and I think maybe the original outcome was suppose to be the IDW-verse functionalist council. Just my thought.

ZeroWolf wrote:You know I was beginning to think I'd imagined what barber said about op 25. I've parroted it but no one was paying me any attention.

It is news to me, but granted i have not been in the optimus threads since I wasnt reading it until now.

I wonder how that would have worked if it was the intention. Though there's the possibility that the functionist council may have been introduced more as a threat a lot earlier if megs hadn't been there.

ZeroWolf wrote:I wonder how that would have worked if it was the intention. Though there's the possibility that the functionist council may have been introduced more as a threat a lot earlier if megs hadn't been there.

And that’s the thing! Functionalism has been around since chaos theory and was always this thing in the background of James writing. Just this past thing that’s always been brought up to establish this thing.


My other issue is the fact no one knows how to destroy fake Primus until they work out some insane plan.

Here’s the thing. Decepticons have threatened to blow up Cybertron in the past. Megatron threatened to do it twice back in stormbringer. We know they have the fire power to destroy planets. We’ve seen in even recently in unicron. They even remark how insanely powerful and ruthless the war was. The architect has an entire fleet of decepticon ships and former Decepticons. In reality his fleet would have been able to wipe out the funtionalist Primus the moment it entered.

These are good points though wouldn't that extend to them dealing with unicron as well though?

ZeroWolf wrote:These are good points though wouldn't that extend to them dealing with unicron as well though?

Well...he’s made of magic lmao

You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

william-james88 wrote:You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

At this point ya never know. I’m leaving the possibility that lost ends as it should and the next issue of unicron could end with functionalist Primus showing up to help.

That’s be how you tie them up. I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t though

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

At this point ya never know. I’m leaving the possibility that lost ends as it should and the next issue of unicron could end with functionalist Primus showing up to help.

That’s be how you tie them up. I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t though

I had a suspicion that Rung would somehow take control of the fake Primus and obtain a "true" body. This would somehow end with him battling Unicron in the present time.

On a side note, somebody mentioned that no explanation has been given for Adaptus possessing Pharma. I was thinking the same thing as I read this issue. It seems to be a pretty major plot hole that will hopefully be filled before this universe goes kaput.

Lore Keeper wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

At this point ya never know. I’m leaving the possibility that lost ends as it should and the next issue of unicron could end with functionalist Primus showing up to help.

That’s be how you tie them up. I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t though

I had a suspicion that Rung would somehow take control of the fake Primus and obtain a "true" body. This would somehow end with him battling Unicron in the present time.

On a side note, somebody mentioned that no explanation has been given for Adaptus possessing Pharma. I was thinking the same thing as I read this issue. It seems to be a pretty major plot hole that will hopefully be filled before this universe goes kaput.

I did. It’ll be addressed I’m sure.

Rungs body is his true form. He’s not a god. He’s just the first cybertronian. He’s special that’s for sure but like he said. He doesn’t have all powerful powers.

The only real question I have is: he creates matrices, how did the matrix reformat Cybertron back in chaos?

Lore Keeper wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

At this point ya never know. I’m leaving the possibility that lost ends as it should and the next issue of unicron could end with functionalist Primus showing up to help.

That’s be how you tie them up. I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t though

I had a suspicion that Rung would somehow take control of the fake Primus and obtain a "true" body. This would somehow end with him battling Unicron in the present time.

On a side note, somebody mentioned that no explanation has been given for Adaptus possessing Pharma. I was thinking the same thing as I read this issue. It seems to be a pretty major plot hole that will hopefully be filled before this universe goes kaput.

But there is an explanation. It is pharma that went through the portal connecting into Adaptus' brain. So they linked in that way.

At least we now know Adaptus's consciousness is what Skids had seen.

william-james88 wrote:

Lore Keeper wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:You know with Unicron appearing in the Optimus stor and fake Primus appearing in LL, I do find it too bad that the final showdown isnt these two giant planet formers against eachother.

At this point ya never know. I’m leaving the possibility that lost ends as it should and the next issue of unicron could end with functionalist Primus showing up to help.

That’s be how you tie them up. I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t though

I had a suspicion that Rung would somehow take control of the fake Primus and obtain a "true" body. This would somehow end with him battling Unicron in the present time.

On a side note, somebody mentioned that no explanation has been given for Adaptus possessing Pharma. I was thinking the same thing as I read this issue. It seems to be a pretty major plot hole that will hopefully be filled before this universe goes kaput.

But there is an explanation. It is pharma that went through the portal connecting into Adaptus' brain. So they linked in that way.

At least we now know Adaptus's consciousness is what Skids had seen.

I think he meant why was he using his body. What happened to Adaptus’s body