Sneak Peek - IDW Transformers: Lost Light #3

Yeeeesss more of Nightbeat! If we can just get a bit more focus on Nautica that's my four favourites getting attention~

I think this is the one part the art style's not quite doing it for me in a significant way, though - something about Whirl's head just looks... off. I'm not sure how to describe it it just doesn't feel quite right.

Bets on what the hell just came out that pod? I'd be hoping for Sixshot personally but the shape and green energy easily puts that possibility out of the question. ... it'd be perfect, though. A great way to bring a great character back, an answer to why the hell we haven't seen him in the past near-decade despite his last appearance showing he's still alive... and considering this issue is centered around Whirl? Guys. Guys. Whirl vs. Sixshot.

Ok, hear me out: Whirl lied about killing Killmaster (the one with the wand) and Necrobot saved him, and that is his wand that he is picking up.

also, the art is still really hurting me

Is that you, Unknown Evil?

seriously, correct me if not.

The shadow rising from the Pod kind of looks like the shape of a head. My Guess would be Star Saber. Granted he only disappeared recently but still. We already got hints that Necrobot did not go in order of saving people on the list of dissapeared so he may have saved Star Saber. In issue #21 he just dissapeared in thin air, mid battle with cyclonus and no one even questioned this. Maybe the pod was locked up because Necrobot realized how insane Saber had become and just didn't have time to get rid of him because the D.J.D killed him. This could also be a thing to lead up to power of the primes. Maybe in the comics Star Saber is already slated in the script as becoming a Prime regardless of who wins the contest, or if not he could become a new member for team Rodimus. He could become Cyclonus or whirls new rival on the team. Personally I would like to just see Star Saber redeem himself after he killed Dai Atlas.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Ok, hear me out: Whirl lied about killing Killmaster (the one with the wand) and Necrobot saved him, and that is his wand that he is picking up.

Y'know, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The shape does look like a wand... or a unicorn horn. So it's between Killmaster and Battle Unicorn

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Ok, hear me out: Whirl lied about killing Killmaster (the one with the wand) and Necrobot saved him, and that is his wand that he is picking up.

Y'know, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The shape does look like a wand... or a unicorn horn. So it's between Killmaster and Battle Unicorn

Or maybe it's that My Little Pony/Transformers crossover no wants! *tries to be serious saying this aloud*

MagicDeath wrote:Is that you, Unknown Evil?

seriously, correct me if not.

From the PotP vote thing? No, that's Deathsaurus and his whereabouts are (very generally) known in this comic.

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Ok, hear me out: Whirl lied about killing Killmaster (the one with the wand) and Necrobot saved him, and that is his wand that he is picking up.

Y'know, I think you've hit the nail on the head. The shape does look like a wand... or a unicorn horn. So it's between Killmaster and Battle Unicorn

"Yeah, sort of."

So, who did they find? Not another OP decepticon I hope. We already have enough of those running around.

Optimus Prime13th wrote:The shadow rising from the Pod kind of looks like the shape of a head. My Guess would be Star Saber. Granted he only disappeared recently but still. We already got hints that Necrobot did not go in order of saving people on the list of dissapeared so he may have saved Star Saber. In issue #21 he just dissapeared in thin air, mid battle with cyclonus and no one even questioned this. Maybe the pod was locked up because Necrobot realized how insane Saber had become and just didn't have time to get rid of him because the D.J.D killed him. This could also be a thing to lead up to power of the primes. Maybe in the comics Star Saber is already slated in the script as becoming a Prime regardless of who wins the contest, or if not he could become a new member for team Rodimus. He could become Cyclonus or whirls new rival on the team. Personally I would like to just see Star Saber redeem himself after he killed Dai Atlas.

As much as I'm not sure about the entire comment, Star Saber was indeed my first reaction too.

It can't be Star Saber. Primus loves Whirl.

Tbh, Whirl is a dead man walking to me. He's had a death get walked back during scripting once, maybe twice? I'm just going to enjoy BB "Whirl" Rodriguez while I can.

Guys, come on.

The size? The fact that Whirl is there? THE WAND?!

It's Killmaster.

EDIT: I mean, compare the wands!

Yeah, Star Saber there just flat out doesn't make sense when we saw him relatively recently in the timeline - he teleported off somewhere, likely under his own control.
... also people are putting waaaaay too much stock in his redemption and/or the PotP poll. Come on, he had one appearance where he was an absolute murdering zealot; you really think he's gonna have a change of heart the next issue he appears in for no reason? They didn't exactly do it with Rattrap or Scoop in RiD/Windblade/TAAO.

Where is that picture from?

Ironhidensh wrote:Where is that picture from?

Spotlight: Trailcutter.

Kurona wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:Where is that picture from?

Spotlight: Trailcutter.

The best Spotlight, with Megatron.

Va'al wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:Where is that picture from?

Spotlight: Trailcutter.

The best Spotlight, with Megatron.

Huh, I don't remeber that part. I'll have to dig it up when I get home.

Spotlight: Trailcutter was actually my first comic book. Got it with the Thrilling 30 toy. God I still love it a lot

It's also, possibly maybe, one of Brainstorm's earlier attempts to open the briefcase without anyone noticing.

ScottyP wrote:It's also, possibly maybe, one of Brainstorm's earlier attempts to open the briefcase without anyone noticing.

Wait in the what now?

Ironhidensh wrote:

ScottyP wrote:It's also, possibly maybe, one of Brainstorm's earlier attempts to open the briefcase without anyone noticing.

Wait in the what now?

I took it upon my last re-read that everyone was frozen because of something Brainstorm did so he could get out with the case unnoticed, but he messed up and froze himself as well.

Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

Va'al wrote:Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

That... makes a lot of sense, actually. And after all the great mlm relationships it'd be wonderful to see a wlw.

No.

It's Nautica and Skids.

You see, skids is coming back, or this redneck is flying his happy ass to Europe to have a little chat with Mr Roberts.



I just got done re-reading the entire run, and realized just how upset I am at the loss of Skids.

Reading issue to issue, it doesn't really sink in, but reading in on onslaught? Yeah, the feels are real.

Ironhidensh wrote:No.
It's Nautica and Skids.

I completely agree!

Ironhidensh wrote:You see, skids is coming back, or this redneck is flying his happy ass to Europe to have a little chat with Mr Roberts.

This may be the best thing I've ever seen written in a comic thread on this site...

Ironhidensh wrote:I just got done re-reading the entire run, and realized just how upset I am at the loss of Skids.

Reading issue to issue, it doesn't really sink in, but reading in on onslaught? Yeah, the feels are real.

I also agree. Reading the whole TPB makes a much bigger impact, as was expected by many

Kurona wrote:

Va'al wrote:Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

That... makes a lot of sense, actually. And after all the great mlm relationships it'd be wonderful to see a wlw.

I'm still hoping on more development with Lug and Anode, too!

Ironhidensh wrote:No.

It's Nautica and Skids.

You see, skids is coming back, or this redneck is flying his happy ass to Europe to have a little chat with Mr Roberts.



I just got done re-reading the entire run, and realized just how upset I am at the loss of Skids.

Reading issue to issue, it doesn't really sink in, but reading in on onslaught? Yeah, the feels are real.

I agree. I'm not one for shipping, but ever since I've read issue 41-42, Nautica and Skids together just seemed right. I was disappointed when Nautica decided to go through the amica ritual with him, and not the conjunx. Let's just hope that they'll find a way to bring Skids back.

Va'al wrote:Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

Hmm, not a bad read but it needs a bit more for me to be convinced. I always thought the Amica Endurae thing with Nautica was more so an allusion to noncommittal polyamorous bisexual relationships (free love and all that, and not accepting the predefined societal norms and therefore potential constraints of monogamy or institutionalized relationship structures like marriage), but uh, yes, right. Decent read

ScottyP wrote:

Va'al wrote:Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

Hmm, not a bad read but it needs a bit more for me to be convinced. I always thought the Amica Endurae thing with Nautica was more so an allusion to noncommittal polyamorous bisexual relationships (free love and all that, and not accepting the predefined societal norms and therefore potential constraints of monogamy or institutionalized relationship structures like marriage), but uh, yes, right. Decent read

That is how I saw Amica Endurae too, or at least, the noncommital polyamory part. The gender specific elements never crossed my mind, I'll admit, I just went with the connection between people involved in the relationship 'ceremony'.

Still, must suck to be Skids. Not only because he's dead, but he also realised he was one of many valued by the one character he thought he had a single thing with. More on his story might've explored that relationship further.

In the meantime, let us all cry.


(yes, it is a repost)

A new one:

Kurona wrote:

Va'al wrote:Opinion piece, not worth newsing, but interesting read nonetheless!
Nautica/Velocity ship: http://comicsalliance.com/unsinkable-sh ... -velocity/

That... makes a lot of sense, actually. And after all the great mlm relationships it'd be wonderful to see a wlw.

I agree. Seems that F/F couples are invisible.

Then again I kinda ship a little bit of everything, I like happy robots. Which is weird bc in series with humans I can't be bothered with shipping at all.

I am partial to Nautica/Nightbeat too. (almost misspelled his name "Nightbae")

In entirely non-Toy Fair news, we have the full preview of next week's issue of IDW' Transformers: Lost Light, featuring Functionists, parallel universes and squealing, courtesy of Newsarama. Check it out below, and head back here next week for a review!

Transformers: Lost Light #3
James Roberts (w) • Jack Lawrence (a & c)
Orders, kind gestures and pleas for mercy—all things that WHIRL finds it very easy to ignore. Right now, he wishes he could turn a blind eye to the freshly resuscitated monster who—somewhat inconveniently—is determined to beat him to death. Meanwhile—a long way away—one of the Transformers Universe's longest-running mysteries is about to be solved…
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
· Variant cover by Nelson Daniel!
· Lost Light continues to bring the twists you’ve come to expect!

Please note Nightbeat squeeing and promptly driving up the wall in car mode.

I love this character to a potentially unhealthy degree.

Kurona wrote:Please note Nightbeat squeeing and promptly driving up the wall in car mode.

I love this character to a potentially unhealthy degree.

Nightbeat is one of my favs. He's such a nerd, I can identify with him on that level.

I wonder who that member of the council is or rather who he used to be. It's gotta be someone we know.

In an alternate universe, I wonder what Trailbreakers fate was, considering his 4x4 styled alt mode and his super powers. And for that matter, what became of outliers in this universe I wonder?

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:In an alternate universe, I wonder what Trailbreakers fate was, considering his 4x4 styled alt mode and his super powers. And for that matter, what became of outliers in this universe I wonder?

Well, the Functionists have a completely different ideology to the Senate, so they would have been treated much better - after all, everyone has a purpose. Though much better than how the Senate would treat them isn't really saying much.

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:In an alternate universe, I wonder what Trailbreakers fate was, considering his 4x4 styled alt mode and his super powers. And for that matter, what became of outliers in this universe I wonder?

Well, the Functionists have a completely different ideology to the Senate, so they would have been treated much better - after all, everyone has a purpose. Though much better than how the Senate would treat them isn't really saying much.

Shadowplay implies otherwise. Form dictates function, and the outliers had functions that didn't match the norms for their forms.

I think this is the first piece of fiction to be completely perfect.

My guess would be that the functionist council member would have to be five of twelve the enumerator. In issue 34 he was the only one with a rust red color. I also would theories that Rung's alt mode is the only way to get out of the functionist universe, or as swerve put it in issue 2 of mtmte "We've got to find the 12 fragments of the Primal Key, unlock the Infinite Gate, travel sideways in time, defeat the agents of chaos and restore order to the Multiverse."

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:In an alternate universe, I wonder what Trailbreakers fate was, considering his 4x4 styled alt mode and his super powers. And for that matter, what became of outliers in this universe I wonder?

I would assume Trailbreaker is either dead or exiled due to his status as an outlier. Back when when we first saw this universe it was said that all the pre-war constructed cold cybertronians were kicked off the planet, I imagine that would have happened to all the outliers as well or they were "recalled" due to their abilities being a slap in the face to the functionalists.

That being said as much as I do miss trailbreaker, I don't want anymore alternate universe characters that are dead to be brought back with that kind of story telling. I feel it robs and cheapens that original character we knew.

If Whirl set Killmaster loose,

1) It seems that Whirl lied about killing him

2) I think the current Necroworld residents are going to have a lot of trouble, probably as bad as Overlord being loose on the Lost Light.

Just an art observation: I think one of the main reasons this style feel off are the proportions of the characters.

I notice that on page 4, panel 3 there's this really great drawing of brainstorm. It might just be because it's a wide, detailed closeup, but the rest of the brainstorm panels don't look as nice for some reason. In the close up, brainstorm's shoulders are more than 3 head widths apart from one another. In other panels, the shoulders look about less than 3. Regardless of the inconsistency, the head being larger relative to the shoulders, I think, might be giving the characters that cartoon look that a lot of people are irked by.

Another good read on the books, this time compared to the associations that TFs have with the spotlight being the Bayverse: http://www.themarysue.com/transformers- ... chael-bay/

(It doesn't mention any of the art teams, I asked them if they could edit about that!)

VERY IMPORTANT PART OF ARTICLE:

It’s not so much about commenting or criticizing Bay or the old TV show or the toys, it’s about using their success as a bolster to take the same characters and create something that appeals to an entirely different audience.

So Megatron did have an alt-mode all along!

They moved the Doomsday Clock up recently, you know. I don't want to think about that. No one does. Sometimes you have to, but thankfully this isn't one of those times.

It's a simple joy, getting caught up in a comic book. When the next page gets turned and you can't wait to see what's in store, be it from some anticipation or dread or excitement, it's joyful. Even the dread - it means you're experiencing moments that mean something, even if it's just to you.


Lost Light #3 finds Rodimus and co. probably wishing for those moments, stranded in another time and place with the end of #2 giving at least a faint glimmer of hope for better times ahead just before its ominous conclusion. This glimmer lies in the midst of almost chaotic action and fighting, though as anticipated this issue begins by gently putting the brakes on Team Rodimus' journey. Plenty of dialogue with this team and the new bots they've encountered ends up being a very welcome and perhaps genius moment of pacing. The modest change of setting accompanied by the introduction of some other familiar (and surprising) faces into the fold helps frame the scene for things to come. Satisfying answers laced with yet more tantalizing questions all with a complexity becoming of the series await readers that dive beyond the surface of the dialogue.


Fans of action won't be disappointed though, as Swerve, Ten, and Whirl run into misadventures of their own. A plot point seeded within the first handful of issues of More Than Meets The Eye reveals itself, and manages a great balance between peril and humor. Our heroes are still funny when it might be wiser to dial down the wit and dial up the focus, but that's what makes it work. Without giving anything away, James Roberts executes this other running plot of the issue expertly, ensuring that a sense of danger stays within the tone delivered.


The timely political and social commentary found not only within this issue but within the overarching thematic structure of "Dissolution" thus far is effective and poignant without being either heavy handed or polarizing. Readers will find simple truths about decency, mixed with rhetorical postulates on theology, finished with Megatron and Ratchet coming face to face with some cold realities - or maybe warm memories.

Transformers at its best, everyone: starting heavy and ending with personable robots. Simple joys.


The production of the book is at a very high level, with Jack Lawrence's art evolving to suit the unique challenges that Transformers present at a positive velocity that's often seen when real talent begins the daunting task of playing within this huge universe. Joana Lafuente's colors are the usual, which is to say that they're great. This is especially so in the numerous scenes where a contrast between light and dark is a wise choice in art direction, helping with the narrative delivered through the words. Those words are again presented by Tom B. Long, who might as well be teaching a class on lettering at this point. Come to think of it, he kind of is on his Twitter account from time to time.

As always, you can find full credits and covers in our database entry for Lost Light #3, along with a list of characters that appear in the issue so do be aware of possible spoilers.


There's much to say here that I'll have to save to chat about with you in the discussion that follows the review, but simply put, a great deal happens in this third issue of Lost Light. Characters are built, ideas are grown, and a few major surprises are in store. All the while, a sense of foreboding is omnipresent, but is that because of the story or because of the history of awful things that always seem to follow this crew? I haven't decided the answer to that part yet. I'm less certain that I ever want to, if I'm really honest. The journey is just too much of a simple joy.


I'm going to be reviewing this series for the site for at least the next issue, if not for the rest of this initial story arc. Some of you can guess why this is. I'm moving my own little version of a Lost Light/Hasbro Comics Universe Doomsday Clock (Uniclock, perhaps?) back two minutes after this one, because it was joyful. That didn't remove all the dread though by any means, as you'll see from the minute hand below.



A score for this issue though, is that what you're waiting on? It's coming. This installment, to me, is one more answered question away from perfection, or maybe one huge moment away. There were certainly big moments but on the surface and without the benefit of hindsight (which has often been a beneficial factor in going back and re-reading issues of this series and finding a new appreciation) I can't quite find it in myself to put it up into the pantheon of perfect scores. I reserve the right to regret that decision later.

However, if you're reading this and haven't read this comic, I'm glancing up at the url and wondering how you set your priorities. Maybe it's just timing in your day and you haven't gotten to the shop yet, but if there's another reason, stop what you're doing and go buy this. Lost Light #3 is fun to follow and engaging even as a single part of a whole, though the whole is something you should simply invest in. It's a joy, I promise.



Bonus! James Roberts' soundtrack suggestions for this issue:

• Anthony Reynolds - "Those Kind Of Songs"
• Okkervil River - "A Stone"
• Andreas Mattsson - "The Summer Of Speed"

Can we rename Scotty 'The Unicron Guy' already

Loved this issue as always. Shows me I was right to get invested in Anode too; there's clearly something interesting going on here~

Rung in the Functionist Universe must have a different altmode, because we've SEEN his 'ornament' altmode during the Dark Cybertron story. Or that tank thing isn't Rung. It couldn't take millions of years to figure out what a drill tank is useful for, so I'm calling bull on the Functionists' "reveal"

Also, I'm glad Anode is not NEARLY as annoying as she has been.

What's a doomsday clock?

Sounds serious.

Deadput wrote:What's a doomsday clock?

Sounds serious.

Doomsday clock is how close something is to Armageddon and absolute destruction. It's from Watchmen but it's actually real and kinda scary. Look it up, it's freaky to see where we are in our own world with it.

Randomhero wrote:

Deadput wrote:What's a doomsday clock?

Sounds serious.

Doomsday clock is how close something is to Armageddon and absolute destruction. It's from Watchmen but it's actually real and kinda scary. Look it up, it's freaky to see where we are in our own world with it.

I forgot about it in Watchmen until you mentioned it. Really, really well used there!

As for the very actually real thing: http://thebulletin.org/timeline

So this doomsday is worse then say a world war 3?

It's pretty darn scary to think on how our relatively normal and safe lives right now can be suddenly plunged into world disaster.