Full Preview of IDW Transformers: Unicron #4

ZeroWolf wrote:This comes out tomorrow right?

Big Grim wrote:Gods, that character moment!

Randomhero wrote:Did tracks also die? Blur grabs him and then what?

ScottyP wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Gods, that character moment!

Having re-read their Spotlight about 8 days ago (had no idea this was coming!), man, it works. I wish it didn't but it does.

Big Grim wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Gods, that character moment!

Having re-read their Spotlight about 8 days ago (had no idea this was coming!), man, it works. I wish it didn't but it does.

Really? Will dig that out and read it!

Randomhero wrote:I personally don’t dislike the use of beast wars characters being villains but it has been on my mind throughout all this as “yeah there’s gonna be a lot of people don’t like this”

I too don’t think John is doing this to make people mad. He’s using them because there is a lot of racism toward beastformers established in IDWs history and Shockwave is someone who has always been sympathetic toward cybertronians who have been treated like they’re lesser being so these characters being used as his army do make sense. Yes they are not these characters we all group up with but I feel they do fit with the history of IDW.

Again I do totally understand and can relate to people who do not agree with how these characters are portrayed.

Skritz wrote:

Randomhero wrote:I personally don’t dislike the use of beast wars characters being villains but it has been on my mind throughout all this as “yeah there’s gonna be a lot of people don’t like this”

I too don’t think John is doing this to make people mad. He’s using them because there is a lot of racism toward beastformers established in IDWs history and Shockwave is someone who has always been sympathetic toward cybertronians who have been treated like they’re lesser being so these characters being used as his army do make sense. Yes they are not these characters we all group up with but I feel they do fit with the history of IDW.

Again I do totally understand and can relate to people who do not agree with how these characters are portrayed.

I find it a bit crappy that they just labelled 'Maximals': now admittedly, making Maximals the 'tribe of Liege Maximo' is admittedly an interesting idea given their name and that the maximal logo is sometimes depicted as green. Unfortunately, to me the idea fall apart because Barber took characters who were once fleshed out characters on their own right, the stars of their own show 20 years ago and turned them into mere cameos and later a near-faceless, dialogue-low army of vicious monsters. I find this interesting and telling of how much the crop of Neo-G1 writers still hold Beast Wars to be secondary, inconsequential or even not having any character of note that people care about. Nevermind this was the first story and character-heavy TF show when it came out.

Perhaps had they fleshed out 'Beast Megatron' and made him a prominent figure in the Maximal army it could have worked because his original portrayal did have an angle of him seeing his Predacon brethren as 'unjustly oppressed' (irrelevant of Predacons being genuinely dickbags safe for Dinobot), hence his plot to alter history in the show. They could have also gone with the angle of using him and Shockwave as flat out embracing the beast side and wanting to make everything beasts: a twisted reversal of Beast Machine Megatron's plan to make every cold, mechanical and logical.

To me this just seem like some sort of bizarre slapdash of ideas not really given time to stand out and be fleshed out combined with some misplaced desire to use 'cameo characters' as much as possible for the finale.

ZeroWolf wrote:To be fair, beast wars: uprising did offer new takes on characters but it was club fiction.

Randomhero wrote:

Skritz wrote:

Randomhero wrote:I personally don’t dislike the use of beast wars characters being villains but it has been on my mind throughout all this as “yeah there’s gonna be a lot of people don’t like this”

I too don’t think John is doing this to make people mad. He’s using them because there is a lot of racism toward beastformers established in IDWs history and Shockwave is someone who has always been sympathetic toward cybertronians who have been treated like they’re lesser being so these characters being used as his army do make sense. Yes they are not these characters we all group up with but I feel they do fit with the history of IDW.

Again I do totally understand and can relate to people who do not agree with how these characters are portrayed.

I find it a bit crappy that they just labelled 'Maximals': now admittedly, making Maximals the 'tribe of Liege Maximo' is admittedly an interesting idea given their name and that the maximal logo is sometimes depicted as green. Unfortunately, to me the idea fall apart because Barber took characters who were once fleshed out characters on their own right, the stars of their own show 20 years ago and turned them into mere cameos and later a near-faceless, dialogue-low army of vicious monsters. I find this interesting and telling of how much the crop of Neo-G1 writers still hold Beast Wars to be secondary, inconsequential or even not having any character of note that people care about. Nevermind this was the first story and character-heavy TF show when it came out.

Perhaps had they fleshed out 'Beast Megatron' and made him a prominent figure in the Maximal army it could have worked because his original portrayal did have an angle of him seeing his Predacon brethren as 'unjustly oppressed' (irrelevant of Predacons being genuinely dickbags safe for Dinobot), hence his plot to alter history in the show. They could have also gone with the angle of using him and Shockwave as flat out embracing the beast side and wanting to make everything beasts: a twisted reversal of Beast Machine Megatron's plan to make every cold, mechanical and logical.

To me this just seem like some sort of bizarre slapdash of ideas not really given time to stand out and be fleshed out combined with some misplaced desire to use 'cameo characters' as much as possible for the finale.

Yeah but in the same it’s not their story and there’s not really much of reason to give them time to be characters in ways. They’re there to be an army. They are just these characters in appearance and I don’t think we technically need to compare them to their cartoon personalities. In 35 years we’ve gotten over a dozen different versions of G1 characters to a point where have a megatron who has become a good guy.

With beast wars it’s a little harder since there’s pretty much one or two versions of primal and beast megatron. Beast wars is so modern no one has really ever tried or wanted to make new reinterpretations of these because nobody wants to or they don’t know how to because beast wars characterization was pretty perfect.

I asked while reading this “why not just call them predacons? Seems more appropriate- oh right, there are predacons in this universe...”

Again I do understand if you don’t like how they’re portrayed. They are just generics wearing iconic character costume. Literally since the reveal in issue 2 and I can say “if they’re just genetics why use them? Just use other beat characters.”

It’s a question really for John and if you ask him on Twitter and he might answer! He’s very friendly and does answer fan questions. The answer might just be “I wanted to use some beast wars characters in here”

Skritz wrote:I find this interesting and telling of how much the crop of Neo-G1 writers still hold Beast Wars to be secondary, inconsequential or even not having any character of note that people care about. Nevermind this was the first story and character-heavy TF show when it came out.

ZeroWolf wrote:@Will thanks for posting your thoughts on this, especially on your take on Unicron. While it is different, I do wish it had been different from the take they went with. I would have loved them to have presented us with a Unicron that was akin to the elder gods of the Cthuthulu Mythos. Or if they want him to be silent, then make it an allusion to him seeing the TFs as ants, and we don't have conversations with ants before we deal with them do we.

ausbot wrote:When is the reboot happening, I've lost interest in this version of transformers, too many other titles, I would like one book so I didn't need to get 100 other books to know what is going on.

ausbot wrote:When is the reboot happening, I've lost interest in this version of transformers, too many other titles, I would like one book so I didn't need to get 100 other books to know what is going on.

AUG180714
(W) John Barber (A) Alex Milne (CA) E. J. Su
EARTH WAR! With Unicron's ultimate goal revealed, the shaky alliance of Autobots and Decepticons is all that stands between Earth and the planet-eater. Heroes will rise-and fall-as Optimus Prime journeys into the dark heart of Unicron for the final confrontation with evil. At stake: the soul of a universe.

This is it! The end of an era! Finishing off 13 years' worth of continuity with a bang!
A double-sized story for the ages!
Don't miss the cover by the man who introduced the IDW age of Transformers: E.J. Su!
In Shops: Oct 24, 2018
Final Orders Due: Oct 01, 2018

ZeroWolf wrote:Why does Starscreams face look off in that cover? The rest look fine, it's just his.

ZeroWolf wrote:Why does Starscreams face look off in that cover? The rest look fine, it's just his.

ZeroWolf wrote:Why does Starscreams face look off in that cover? The rest look fine, it's just his.

ZeroWolf wrote:Why does Starscreams face look off in that cover? The rest look fine, it's just his.

ScottyP wrote:For those keeping track, Unicron 5 has been pushed from next week to 10/10. Unicron 6 has moved from 10/24 to 10/31.

Knowing that Andrew Griffith is/was a last minute tag-in to help with some pages on 6 makes me think that one might get pushed into November.

ZeroWolf wrote:

ScottyP wrote:For those keeping track, Unicron 5 has been pushed from next week to 10/10. Unicron 6 has moved from 10/24 to 10/31.

Knowing that Andrew Griffith is/was a last minute tag-in to help with some pages on 6 makes me think that one might get pushed into November.

So that would mean we would get the epilogue before the final chapter? I know unicron as a miniseries has spoiled what happens in Op but for op then to spoil the ending of unicron...

Transformers: Unicron #5 (of 6)
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
THE END IS HERE! The Transformers bots make one last, desperate stand against Unicron, as Optimus Prime plunges deep into the monster—and into the dark history that spawned them both.
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Bullet points:
• The final battle rages as Unicron attacks the Earth!
• Jam-packed with guest stars in a battle for survival—but will anyone make it out alive?
• Variant covers by Fico Ossio and Francesco Francavilla!

Mr.MicroMaster wrote:I love how even Cobra is helping. Including three different Cobra Commanders.

Flashwave wrote:

Mr.MicroMaster wrote:I love how even Cobra is helping. Including three different Cobra Commanders.

Yeah, it’s hard to rule the world when someone else shows up and goes OM NOM NOM on it