IDW Transformers: Till All Are One #2 Covers and Details

Railbomb wrote:Do we even have a date for the first issue yet? I can't recall getting one...

Genericon #378 wrote:Windblade? Fan favourite?

Optimizzy wrote:I like windblade. I dont think she is always written well, but I can say that for lots of characters.

Deadput wrote:just personality quirks and tropes personified

Optimizzy wrote:

Deadput wrote:just personality quirks and tropes personified

in the end, arent we all?

Deadput wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:

Deadput wrote:just personality quirks and tropes personified

in the end, arent we all?

Yes I see what you mean just a consequence of poorly speaking my mind it's a brain to mouth thing but what I mean is when they feel less like a character and more of a role or a part of a play.


Transformers as a whole does have some great characters such as Armada Starscream but most of the time there are characters who just seem to be there just for being there or just for selling toys (Yes I know it's a toy company but I mean the really cheap and cheesy moments)

Deadput wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:

Deadput wrote:just personality quirks and tropes personified

in the end, arent we all?

Yes I see what you mean just a consequence of poorly speaking my mind it's a brain to mouth thing but what I mean is when they feel less like a character and more of a role or a part of a play.


Transformers as a whole does have some great characters such as Armada Starscream but most of the time there are characters who just seem to be there just for being there or just for selling toys (Yes I know it's a toy company but I mean the really cheap and cheesy moments)

Randomhero wrote:

Deadput wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:

Deadput wrote:just personality quirks and tropes personified

in the end, arent we all?

Yes I see what you mean just a consequence of poorly speaking my mind it's a brain to mouth thing but what I mean is when they feel less like a character and more of a role or a part of a play.


Transformers as a whole does have some great characters such as Armada Starscream but most of the time there are characters who just seem to be there just for being there or just for selling toys (Yes I know it's a toy company but I mean the really cheap and cheesy moments)

I personally don't think she's written well. Her and Chromia both have been around for 2 years in the comics and neither have much character. Nautica has had fewer appearances and she oozing with character and yes, that's because of James Roberts who's strongest writing ability is giving characters unique personalities. I'd even argue Aileron has more personality than Windblade, a character who has had 2 miniseries about her and all we get from those is "I don't like starscream"

Genericon #378 wrote:Windblade? Fan favourite?

YoungPrime wrote:
She has not lived up to the Hasbro Hype but that might have more to do with Mairghread Scott's mediocre story telling thus far.

A couple months will tell if she's finally stepped her game up.

Deadput wrote:

YoungPrime wrote:
She has not lived up to the Hasbro Hype but that might have more to do with Mairghread Scott's mediocre story telling thus far.

A couple months will tell if she's finally stepped her game up.

What hype?


At least she is treated with better respect then some characters lately.

ZeroWolf wrote:Out of curiosity, who are you referring to?

SW's SilverHammer wrote:Man, I don't want starscream to be overthrown. I like the Idea that the biggest shitbag in transformers is the special by way of the chosen one. I like to imagine IDW starscream at this point is Like Gaius from battlestar, who was also a spectacular asshole, and the chosen one.

Deadput wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Out of curiosity, who are you referring to?

Windblade?


No clearly I was talking about Chromia which is why I quoted those posts about Windblade to talk about a completely different character.

Insurgent wrote:I have two questions:

1) Is this All Are One title just a renamed RID, or is there going to be a third ongoing?

2) Who the smeg is Rom?



And personally, I like the way Mairghread Scott writes Windblade. Gives her some nice character, unlike her appearance in Dark Cybertron.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Insurgent wrote:I have two questions:

1) Is this All Are One title just a renamed RID, or is there going to be a third ongoing?

2) Who the smeg is Rom?



And personally, I like the way Mairghread Scott writes Windblade. Gives her some nice character, unlike her appearance in Dark Cybertron.

It's a third ongoing and Rom was another hasbro toy from the eighties that never made to the UK...I think and his character rights have been all over the place till IDW got them. I think they may of been with marvel

Insurgent wrote:I see. Thanks guys. So there's MTMTE, what was rid which is cybertron stuff, and then all are one. But is there enough story to hold 3 ongoings? Without giving any spoilers (I've only read up to #48), is there a difference between this and rid? Or is it more a case of different viewpoints of the same events? I'm not reading solicitations or synopsys because I dno't want spoilers.

YoungPrime wrote:

Genericon #378 wrote:Windblade? Fan favourite?

Yeah, I know right...

She has not lived up to the Hasbro Hype but that might have more to do with Mairghread Scott's mediocre story telling thus far.

A couple months will tell if she's finally stepped her game up.

YoungPrime wrote:

Genericon #378 wrote:Windblade? Fan favourite?

Yeah, I know right...

She has not lived up to the Hasbro Hype but that might have more to do with Mairghread Scott's mediocre story telling thus far.

A couple months will tell if she's finally stepped her game up.

RevTibe wrote:I am curious about the reasoning behind much of the Windblade distaste. I thrive on discussion and debate, after all, but most of the Windblade critique I've seen is often flawed on an objective level? i.e. saying an anti-Starscream sentiment is the only arrow in her quiver when there's a truckload of non-interpretive evidence for that not being the case.

The two best points I've seen are the poor storytelling behind effectively sweeping Chromia's crime under the rug (which is more an issue of Vol. 2's followup than Vol. 1) and the painfully compressed nature of Windblade Vol. 2, but the latter doesn't reflect on Windblade the character, and the former feels more like a failure in story/setting than in characterization.

I suppose the character's lackluster showing in Robots In Disguise '15 might be a contributing factor, especially with her only serving as the focal protagonist in one episode, to my count?

In my eyes, the most common theme in IDW's past few years of material has been shades of grey morality while trying to avoid the typical, dull "Everyone's a jerk, everything sucks" pitfall. Windblade seems to really take that idea and run with it, a character with strong personal ideals and a sense of morality who is often forced to compromise one to best serve the other, alongside moments such as the compassion underlined with coercion she shows to Waspinator etc. Windblade works in those shades of grey while still being a hopeful, believable character, making for a strong addition to the mythos.

Of course, people are free to dislike something "just 'cuz", boring though that may be.

ZeroWolf wrote:I think a big test for windblade will be in the machima cartoon.

Prowl4 wrote:I don't like the design, I don't like how over exposed she is, I don't like how Optimus and other cybertronians look to, want and ask for her opinion, advice and essentially to lead. It devalues other cybertronians. Again she has way too much to, titan speaker, trying to over throw starscream and be a branch to other worlds while having a poor attitude. I hate the character.

ZeroWolf wrote:Do you people who hate windblade also hate Drift? While there is certainly important differences between the two, I think there's a lot connecting them.

RevTibe wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think a big test for windblade will be in the machima cartoon.

Fingers crossed there; I'm honestly not sure what to expect of that series in general, nevermind specific characters.

Prowl4 wrote:I don't like the design, I don't like how over exposed she is, I don't like how Optimus and other cybertronians look to, want and ask for her opinion, advice and essentially to lead. It devalues other cybertronians. Again she has way too much to, titan speaker, trying to over throw starscream and be a branch to other worlds while having a poor attitude. I hate the character.

I've gotta agree on some design aspects being disappointing - although human tropes and archetypes underline almost every Transformer, I dislike it when those references become incredibly specific, like Windblade's kabuki-styled head (I suppose the pseudo-beatnik Jazz would be my upper limit for human-culture-specificity). Her fiction has warmed me up to the facepaint, but if I had the opportunity to redesign the character I'd likely tweak the hair and headdress.

I suppose we have different personal definitions in terms of character overexposure - for me, a reasonably justified newbie can be a very welcome addition, even if they take a significant portion of the spotlight. The Cityspeaker angle tying into the longstanding Titans plot threads and acting as a liaison to her homeland seemed like strong justification, believably tying this new character to preexisting plot points.

Dr Va'al wrote:

RevTibe wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think a big test for windblade will be in the machima cartoon.

Fingers crossed there; I'm honestly not sure what to expect of that series in general, nevermind specific characters.

Prowl4 wrote:I don't like the design, I don't like how over exposed she is, I don't like how Optimus and other cybertronians look to, want and ask for her opinion, advice and essentially to lead. It devalues other cybertronians. Again she has way too much to, titan speaker, trying to over throw starscream and be a branch to other worlds while having a poor attitude. I hate the character.

I've gotta agree on some design aspects being disappointing - although human tropes and archetypes underline almost every Transformer, I dislike it when those references become incredibly specific, like Windblade's kabuki-styled head (I suppose the pseudo-beatnik Jazz would be my upper limit for human-culture-specificity). Her fiction has warmed me up to the facepaint, but if I had the opportunity to redesign the character I'd likely tweak the hair and headdress.

I suppose we have different personal definitions in terms of character overexposure - for me, a reasonably justified newbie can be a very welcome addition, even if they take a significant portion of the spotlight. The Cityspeaker angle tying into the longstanding Titans plot threads and acting as a liaison to her homeland seemed like strong justification, believably tying this new character to preexisting plot points.

I think the dislike, or perception of overexposure, is also due to the fact that this is an entirely new character brought into the fiction. It doesn't rely on any previous hook, be it in name, design, fiction or what have you. [Same was with Drift, as the comment above mine bring into the discussion - it was felt that this was a brand new thing that everyone should love because reasons. And now many people do (as many did at the time too), for good reasons.]

Because, really, if you look at vol 2, Windblade is far from being the main character. Even her introduction is alongside two other Camiens. In the Victorion arc/Combiner Hunters, Arcee is more centre stage than her.

(I also have a suspicion based on recent studies on men vs women in larger groups and the perception of their input, but I'll leave that for another day.)

Prowl4 - I am a little confused as to why you don't think Cybertronians might want some external opinion on their affairs, given how poorly they've conducted them for millions of years (i.e. war). Surely a fresh pair of eyes might do some good, or at least something different? She's a diplomat, after all - it's only natural that her character is used to mediate between others.

Also, what do you mean by poor attitude?

---

The one thing I do have an issue with, is the cross-fiction. IDW Windblade is not the same (clearly) as RID Windblade, and we shouldn't conflate the two. Similarly, I feel we should avoid relying on the Machinima series to 'consolidate' her place in IDW fiction. Have any other characters had that?

ZeroWolf wrote:Why would starscream get rid of the one person who can talk to metroplex? IDW prime has doubted himself a lot in his history, like in the one shot that led to the start of the two ongoings "death of optimus prime" as for starscream, it wouldn't look very good for him to not listen to one of the founding council members and his frenemy.

Prowl4 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Why would starscream get rid of the one person who can talk to metroplex? IDW prime has doubted himself a lot in his history, like in the one shot that led to the start of the two ongoings "death of optimus prime" as for starscream, it wouldn't look very good for him to not listen to one of the founding council members and his frenemy.

Not doing much of that lately is she? She's had her usefulness to him, he was anointed chosen, after that it was time to dump her. Starscream needs to get rid of her but alas IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

Prowl4 wrote:IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

RevTibe wrote:

Prowl4 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Why would starscream get rid of the one person who can talk to metroplex? IDW prime has doubted himself a lot in his history, like in the one shot that led to the start of the two ongoings "death of optimus prime" as for starscream, it wouldn't look very good for him to not listen to one of the founding council members and his frenemy.

Not doing much of that lately is she? She's had her usefulness to him, he was anointed chosen, after that it was time to dump her. Starscream needs to get rid of her but alas IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

Prowl4 wrote:IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

Prowl4 wrote:

RevTibe wrote:

Prowl4 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Why would starscream get rid of the one person who can talk to metroplex? IDW prime has doubted himself a lot in his history, like in the one shot that led to the start of the two ongoings "death of optimus prime" as for starscream, it wouldn't look very good for him to not listen to one of the founding council members and his frenemy.

Not doing much of that lately is she? She's had her usefulness to him, he was anointed chosen, after that it was time to dump her. Starscream needs to get rid of her but alas IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

Prowl4 wrote:IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

Any of them in comas, long term injuries or deaths by any chance? No

Prowl4 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Why would starscream get rid of the one person who can talk to metroplex? IDW prime has doubted himself a lot in his history, like in the one shot that led to the start of the two ongoings "death of optimus prime" as for starscream, it wouldn't look very good for him to not listen to one of the founding council members and his frenemy.

Not doing much of that lately is she? She's had her usefulness to him, he was anointed chosen, after that it was time to dump her. Starscream needs to get rid of her but alas IDW won't injure let alone kill fembots.

ZeroWolf wrote: Do you people who hate windblade also hate Drift? While there is certainly important differences between the two, I think there's a lot connecting them.

partholon wrote:im completly nonplussed about the character. she screams "editorial" to me. wheter IDW or HASBRO i dont know but its not fan love causing this high profile IMO. hence why were now on book THREE to sell her to the public that all evidence on the sales front dont want her and i dont give much hope for the book to last past issue 12 TBH.

partholon wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote: Do you people who hate windblade also hate Drift? While there is certainly important differences between the two, I think there's a lot connecting them.

i think you can put good money on most people that hate windblade also hate drift.

for myself its even worse.

im completly nonplussed about the character. she screams "editorial" to me. wheter IDW or HASBRO i dont know but its not fan love causing this high profile IMO. hence why were now on book THREE to sell her to the public that all evidence on the sales front dont want her and i dont give much hope for the book to last past issue 12 TBH.

It just feels so forced ,just like the drift books, and with SOOOOOO many characters out there denied coverage by dint of the sheer number of TF characters ya cant help but undertand why some people are annoyed. its not a million miles away from what marvel and DC used to do back in the 90s to sell more books that didnt really have an inbuilt fanbase large enough to support it.

the only WINDBLADE books ive bought are the ones ive been forceded to i.e the crossover combiner war stuff and the oneshots and i say this as a reader that LIKES world building and politics . this book should be right up my street.

so why isnt it?

cause i'd rather PROWL was playing the role windblade is against starscream. watching someone like him forced to deal with screamers leadership is infinetly more interesting than some blowin character ive no connection to.

ive flicked through the book, and ive liked some of scotts Sci Fi ideas (like the planet where cities have to move to escape the dawning sun) but IMO bad art, and i dont like the current artist, combined with characters that dont draw me in equal no sale on the comic front from me.

i MIGHT buy the trade/s, but if they do what they did with combiner wars with it again thatll make it a waste of time as im fecked if im buying things twice because of crossovers.