#AND LETTING STARSCREAM GET YOUR ENTIRE ASS AT TRIAL.

[zombified-queer]

Cybertronians will say "Is anyone gonna violate this mech's most basic rights of autonomy, committing several war crimes in the process?" and they will NOT wait for an answer.

[lord-squiggletits]

Fandom posts about Megatron's trial/him being put on the Lost Light that frame Optimus as the bad guy are always so fucking funny to me. And it's almost never "Optimus putting Megatron on the Lost Light was an abuse of authority and unfair to Rodimus and everyone else on the ship" which is an actually valid critique, but I often see it from Megatron fans who are somehow convinced that Optimus was like.............unfair to him?????? By "making" Megatron join the Lost Light? Or by "forcing" him into doing things he didn't want to do?

There's the people who think that being put on the LL was a punishment for Megatron where they were constantly putting him through moral tests designed to make him fail which is.... literally where, where did you get that. The LL was just a random cruiseship of misfits who didn't even ask for Megatron to be on the ship with them, where are ppl getting this idea that Optimus/the LL crew were in some sort of Machiavellan plot to torment Megatron and rub in how he's so evil he'll never be accepted?

Or like the fact that wanting to join the LL in search of the Knights of Cybertron was literally Megatron's own idea and the whole "only the Knights of Cybertron can judge me" thing was a legal loophole that he only pulled out bc he was mad about Starscream publicly humiliating him during his trial? And that if Megatron really didn't want to agree to the terms of his parole, Optimus was just going to keep him in prison until the LL came back with the Knights rather than immediately executing him?

Oh but Optimus made Megatron drink Fool's Energon. Ah yes, it's so evil and unfair of Optimus to make Megatron (one of the deadliest fighters of their entire race) drink a substance to make him weaker due to the fact that in far space, there's no one to enforce Megatron's parole or to stop him if he was lying and really just wanted to kill everyone. And btw Fool's Energon was a placebo the whole time, so Optimus' gay ass couldn't even poison Megatron properly. It was entirely a token gesture made for appearances only.

What about the part where Optimus made Megatron denounce the Decepticons, you cry? Well if one were to actually read the entire speech instead of taking screenshots out of context (something this fandom loves to do), the "we were wrong to assert ourselves" comes directly after a statement about technoism and subjugating organics; in other words, "we were wrong" is referring to the whole colonialism and genocide thing, not saying "we were wrong to rise up against Functionism." (Which btw Optimus was literally a fanboy of Megatron's and agreed with his writings, and pre-war OP did his own undercover work to foil the Senate's plans, and they overthrew the previous Prime Zeta together, so idk where people are getting this idea that Optimus hates Megatron for being a meanie revolutionary that didn't play nice >:((( ).

And given that the Decepticons attacked Megatron's trial to try and break him out, and that there was a splinter faction of Deceptions under Galvatron that were trying to invade Earth again, I think it's pretty fucking reasonable that Optimus would go "So before I very indulgently grant you the rank of captain and let you go on a random cruise ship for your journey of self-actualization, would you mind making a speech to deradicalize the Decepticons? I'm trying to keep society from not descending into another civil war and you helping by telling the Decepticons to Fucking Stop is the least you can do in exchange." I mean if Megatron cared so much about the Decepticons he could've said "No, I'm not going to give that speech, in fact I'm going to stay on Cybertron and speak to the Decepticons my way" but he didn't bc he decided that going on his personal quest was more important than sticking around to integrate the Decepticons back into society.

But somehow, Megatron choosing to make that speech so that he'd be allowed on a ridiculously lenient parole is the big, evil Optimus' fault, and Megatron has nothing to do with how poorly the Decepticons are treated post war, he had no power to stop that apparently.

Like it's just so incredibly weird to me that Megatron fans villainize Optimus for, of all things, letting Megatron join the journey for the Knights of Cybertron. Optimus' decisions were almost entirely driven by personal bias towards Megatron where he abused his authority as Prime to defy what quite literally everyone on Cybertron (and possibly the whole galaxy) wanted, which was Megatron's immediate execution for his crimes. He lets Megatron free of prison with almost no oversight, grants him captaincy of an Autobot ship, gives him a freaking placebo instead of actual weakening energon, and the only thing he demands from Megatron in return is a speech to make the remaining Decepticons who were still fighting (which wasn't even all of them) understand that the war is over. And Megatron accepts all of these terms because the whole thing was his idea that he wanted to be allowed to do. The only reason Optimus' indulgence didn't go badly is bc Megatron wasn't lying and actually meant his heel-face turn.

But somehow all of this makes Optimus the bad guy who's being unfair to Megatron???? Never mind Optimus' flagrant disregard of the law in favor of granting Megatron's personal wish??? Never mind the fact that the conditions for Megatron's parole were incredibly lenient to the point that one of them was a placebo and not hurting Megatron in any way??? Never mind that the speech Optimus made Megatron make was entirely for political reasons to try to stabilize society again and not bc he wanted to humiliate Megatron or something ridiculous like that???

What I mean to say is it's very confusing to me why the discussion of Megatron's trial is "Optimus is so mean/bigoted for making Megatron do what he did and forcing him to live under such strict conditions" and not, idk, "Megatron chose to abandon the Decepticons and publicly denounce their cause for the sake of getting to go on his own personal journey" or even "Megatron was initially going to just submit to trial, and the Knights of Cybertron excuse was something he pulled at the last minute because Starscream made Megatron look like an idiot and Megatron decided he wanted a more Grand and Important legacy than that." Or even "If Megatron cared about the Decepticon,s he would've just refused Optimus' deal and stayed in prison on Cybertron rather than trade the dignity of their cause for his own freedom." Nope. It's all Optimus' fault. Poor Megatron was forced onto the Lost Light and this is such a horrible and unfair punishment for him.

People want Megatron to be a poor downtrodden victim of the Ebul Autobots so bad, when the reality is that post-war/early MTMTE Megatron is nothing more than a dethroned tyrant, severely in denial of of his own shittiness, going on a journey solely to benefit his own ego, and all of MTMTE/LL is about him trying to get better from his stupid pride and self-centered behavior.

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #29 - The One Where Everyone Gets Super Shiny

Our issue opens up with Swerve laying down the Story So Far in the Exposition Dimension.

Fantastic, you funky little man.

If Swerve looks like he’s been tossed through the car wash a few dozen times, it’s because this is where our new colorist comes in! Everyone, please say hello to Joana Lafuente- known for her love of gradients and attention to light sources, this actually isn’t the first time we’ve run into her. Lafuente worked on colors for several issues of The Transformers (2009), Last Stand of the Wreckers #3, and a few issues of MTMTE Season 1. However, she was matching the styles of her co-colorists on a majority of these, so we haven’t seen her style properly until now.

Getting into the story proper, Cyclonus is busying himself with staring out the window at a PNG of space, as he is wont to do, when he hears the tell-tale sound of tires squealing down the hall towards his room. Oh, goodness, whoever could that be?

Nearly forgot about him, didn’t you? Yeah, it’s a little difficult to follow up on things like a character’s recovery from a horrific disease when you’ve got comic event contract obligations to deal with.

After getting tackled by Tailgate, who reminds us all about the time he stuck his dirty little fingers into a dude’s brain meat, Cyclonus takes the little nerd on a walk through the ship.

You’re not going to convince me to reread “Dark Cybertron”. I don’t care how much of a marshmallow you are, it’s not happening.

They’re passed by Megatron and a bunch of crew members carrying that coffin we saw at the end of last issue down the corridor, Tailgate has a moment, and we get a taste of Cyclonus’ distaste for the Autobots as a whole. Tailgate is mildly offended by this, as he gropes his chest in distain, showing off his shiny new Autobot badge- a gift for not dying a terrible, gruesome death.

Good job, Tailgate. Proud of you.

They’re also passed by an absolutely blitzed Jackpot and Mainframe, the former singing Tailgate’s Tyrest-stopping praises as the latter carts him over to the Medibay to deal with the almost alcohol poisoning he’s got going on. Cyclonus remarks that Tailgate was missed, though Tailgate can’t help but wonder if that’s really true.

Y’all like slowburn romance, right? Because these two dumbasses have been roommates for two years, and we’ve just gotten to the point where physical contact can happen without one of them needing to be dying.

Anyway, it’s been a good day for Tailgate so far. Let’s hope it stays that way for the little dude.

...And that’s a series wrap on Tailgate! Let’s give him a hand, folks!

Hopping back in time to Megatron’s trial, things get underway, as Optimus Prime takes a nap in the judge’s bench as Gripper- whose name you don’t need to remember, as he’s not actually important- tells everyone about how brutal the Decepticon Justice Division is, even to Autobots. Which isn’t really supposed to be their deal, given their, y’know, name, but I suppose nobody’s perfect.

Up in the stands, in an… opera box, I guess? Rodimus is watching the proceedings, when Atomizer walks in. Which I guess you can just do in a Cybertronian court case. Sure.

Atomizer, in case you forgot, is the dude who has a bow and arrow, and used to be an interior designer.

Say, didn’t Whirl has a bow and arrow in the last issue when he attacked Megatron? Mighty curious, that.

Rodimus and Atomizer briefly reflect on the DJD, recalling the horror that was Vos- not that Vos, the other one. Rodimus would really just rather this all be over with so the Lost Light can get back to finding the Knights of Cybertron, and it’s at this point that Atomizer breaks out a thing he really ought not have- the count for the vote on whether or not Rodimus should stay on as captain. Rodimus doesn’t want to look at it, because it was supposed to be anonymous for a reason, and tells Atomizer to destroy the list entirely.

Hm, that’s not a terribly determined face there, Rodimus.

Back in the present, specifically in Swerve’s, Groove is threatening to break Streetwise’s arm, as we get the downlow on just what exactly our Legislator buddy’s deal is. Turn’s out, Swerve got one of the things reprogrammed, so that he follows not the Autobot Code, but something else entirely.

Hey, Swerve?

I don’t expect you to know this, because I don’t think you were present when they revealed this information to the readers, but… your new bouncer is made of people. He’s a dude made of other dudes, namely the Circle of Light. There’s a chance that you reprogrammed a sentient being, my good bitch.

Anyway, Swerve’s in a fucking mood because his shoulder hurts, someone’s stealing his shit, and Megatron has joined the narrative. Over at a nearby table, Skids, Nautica, and Riptide take a gander at the tabloids. Trailcutter, who is positively smashed, to the point where he’s just leaking booze out of his face like it’s his job, isn’t terribly interested in that, however.

What an astute observation, Riptide. And people say you’re stupid!

Trailcutter wants to drink some more, because it’s very likely he’s got a problem, but the mention of “Megatron’s super fuel” makes him feel like it’s time to stop hounding Swerve and start performing crimes.

Back during the trial, we get to Starscream’s testimony. He’s wearing his crown. He’s acting like a self-righteous asshole, as he defends Megatron.

Well, “defend” in the technical, legal sense, I suppose.

But really it’s more about him insulting Megatron’s intelligence, strength, and courage, in front of a LOT of people, while also trying to make himself look better in the war crime department. Megatron doesn’t appreciate this very much, if his murder-face is anything to go by.

Megatron lets Ultra Magnus (his defender, if you’ll recall) know that he wants a private word, and court goes into a brief recess.

Back in the present, Nightbeat’s busy looking at a pin-up of Rung’s alt-mode, when someone knocks on his door. That someone is Chromedome, who’s trying to solve the mystery of The Missing Declaration of Love. Not that he says that specifically out loud.

You two were married, why- okay. No point in yelling at this digital copy of a comic book.

Anyway.

So, the whole screaming thing only happened the one time, and everything was back to normal on subsequent plays of Rewind’s message. Nightbeat seems to be leaning towards the depressive isolating getting to Chromedome, which Chromedome responds to by telling him to get the fuck out. Alas, someone’s blocking the door!

YO WHAT THE FUCK-

Back with Trailcutter’s subplot, our drunken friend is in the middle of breaking into the Medibay. Our trio of cool-colored pals watch him from back at the bar, by way of a laptop that looks like it was built the same year I was born.

As Trailcutter attempts to commit a crime, Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Ratchet pass by, trying to figure out how to handle the whole coffin situation. Trailcutter’s about to punch the locks off a door, and Nautica decides that this is where she’s going to draw the line today, leaving the gaggle of fools to their shenanigans. Then Tailgate glomps Skids, throwing the computer to the ground and breaking it, as Trailcutter finds the door to the Medibay magically open.

If you don’t know what glomping is, there’s a 60% chance that you’re not old enough to vote in the US.

Trailcutter sneaks into the Medibay, we get a reminder that Ambulon is super dead, and Trailcutter commits theft from a food bank. What a guy.

This is the point where security shows up, armed with a great deal of guns, one of which is Megatron himself. Trailcutter, instead of feeling super powerful, actually feels positively awful after consuming Megatron’s rations of “super fuel”. Because he, as an Autobot, doesn’t want to be within 50 yards of Megatron, Trailcutter breaks out the forcefields the moment the guy approaches him. And oh, what a doozy this one is.

Trailcutter’s gotten himself a fancy new trick- this forcefield he’s broken out lasts for a solid half-hour, and he can’t turn it off. I’m sure that won’t bite him in the ass at any point in the near future, no-siree!

Back in the past, Rattrap is commending Starscream on playing the field and getting the public slightly more on his side, but Starscream’s too busy patting himself on the back to really pay attention. He knew damn well that Megatron wouldn’t like what he had to say on the stand, and now things are finally looking up for ol’ Screamer.

Over with Optimus Prime, Slamdance is showing off how the general public is really into this whole “folks being held accountable for their actions” thing.

In the present, Chromedome and Nightbeat seem to have remembered they have alt-modes and are driving down the hall back to Nightbeat’s room- wonder what the speed limit for the Lost Light is?- and discuss just what the hell happened. The current theory is that the Rewind they saw was a Data Ghost- a collection of information so dense, it had a not-quite-physical presence that wasn’t 100% removed when he died.

Which is a little fucked up, but let’s see where this goes.

Nightbeat undoes the 40,000 locks on his door while Chromedome bleeds guilt all over the shag carpet over the fact that he hasn’t been looking for Dominus Ambus like he said he would.

C’mon James, gimme that Chromedominus endgame.

Nightbeat finally opens the door to find a small problem.

Hm. That’s… not normal.

Over in the Medibay, Trailcutter’s bubble has burst, allowing Megatron to slap him in the back of the head. This head-slapping induces his FIM chip permanently, making it so that he can never get drunk again.

Weird party trick, Megatron. Kinda shitty, really.

Megatron then gives Trailcutter the job of director of security, because he needs direction in his life. Trailcutter just sort of takes what he’s given, because I suppose you can’t really argue with a guy who can literally slap you sober, and also threatens to destroy you if you fuck up even once. Nice, Megs. Nice.

MEGATRON THAT’S BEEN SITTING LIKE THAT FOR OVER HALF AN HOUR YOU FUCKING WET NOODLE

So, since there’s mystery juice all over the floor and no one’s died, Megatron assumes that the coffin ought to be fine to crack open.

Please note that Megatron is not a medical professional, and his views are now peer reviewed by medical professionals. Megatron is in no way endorsed by the WHO.

Anyway, Rodimus is in there.

Pretty fucked up.

Back in the past, recess is over, and Ultra Magnus comes bearing bad news- Megatron wants to change his plea to “innocent.” This gets about the reaction one would expect from just about anyone.

Well, except Rodimus, who’s too busy reading that list that he wanted destroyed. He’s very sad about it.

I know, what a bummer!