#I’m on such a Galvatron kick

[blueikeproductions]

Some more CyberWorld listings leaked out the same time Megbull’s prototype did.

As much as I do like Bumblebee and Starscream (RiD and TFA specifically, G1 too but that’s too easy), I’m kind of annoyed they’re still here. I was kinda hoping we’d take a break from for a series after having them used so often, so we could slot in someone else for a change, like Hot Shot or Crumplezone…

It seems both Optimus and Bumblebee assume off road vehicle modes here, which again calls back to RotB, where both had toys and concept art of them being off road vehicles.

A “classic” Optimus Prime was mentioned in another listing, so that MIGHT suggest Optimus (among others) appear in their more traditional designs before taking on new forms?

Skybound has done something similar so it’s possible:

Elita-1 returning for another go as the token female Autobot I think has solidified Hasbro now viewing her as the defacto rep over Arcee and their mostly failed experiment with Windblade who’s, as of typing, largely been benched.

Elita has enjoyed far more prominence than Arcee or Windblade and I’m wondering if some of the Cyberverse staff are kicking themselves for not bringing her into their show first over WFC, because the one good thing WFC did was bring back the one pink female Autobot people actually liked besides Arcee.

The reoccurring mention of Armor heavily suggests this is probably CyberWorld’s main gimmick or at least one of them.

Reminds me of Armor Digivolving a lot (the best Digivolving method besides DigiXros), but whether it’s Bumblebee or Sky-Byte BECOMING armor for someone else or it’s something akin to the Spark Armor and Energon Armor from Cyberverse we don’t know yet.

Chop Shop being one of the other Decepticons is a surprise, as he’s a weird one. The original Chop Shop in G1 had some jargon surrounding him and other Deluxe Decepticons that prevented them from being in the cartoon, but he’s enjoyed reappearing fairly often in toy form despite this.

However the more well known version of the character now is RiD15 Chop Shop, who did appear on TV, but never got a toy despite his cool spider Combiner concept.

Both versions are thieving kleptomaniacs though, that much is consistent, so it’s possible that aspect survives into CyberWorld, but which animal he turns into we don’t know yet… More than likely the G1 stag beetle, but I yearn for the spider Combiner.

Wheeljack also seems to have settled into being a mainstay Autobot like Elita, which I’m kind of mixed on because l do like Jackie, but it feels like he’s become an obligation vs having anything interesting for him to do.

Frankly I’d kinda prefer they bring back Perceptor, Mainframe or a geeky Izzy Izumi like new Autobot if we’re to have a Braniac on the team. Im starting to get bored of Jackie, but hopefully this version gets something cool to do this time.

As of typing, we now have among the CyberWorld Autobots:

Optimus, Bumblebee, Mirage, Wheeljack, Elita, Grimlock and Snarl

The CyberWorld Decepticons:

Galvatron, Scorponok, Starscream, Megabull, Sky-Byte and Chop Shop.

Aside from Galvatron and Starscream (because we don’t know yet), everyone else is usually an animal, which implies a possible return to RiD15’s mostly vehicular Autobots vs mostly animalistic Decepticons.

It’s been pointed out that both Hasbro and Takara seem to be returning to a Beast theme to Transformers, with Hasbro seemingly aiming for RiD15 while Takara has a Beast Wars meets RotB vibe for Wild King.

It kinda feels like we’re in a weird kinda over 90’s nostalgia but not quite settling into it either phase of reheated pop culture. Hasbro has been trying to give Beast Wars some more attention lately, and the IDW Beast Wars reboot comic sold much better than the G1 reboot ongoing so there’s definitely some desire for Beasts among fans… even though Kingdom, BW Reissues and RotB clogged Ollie’s unfortunately… it’s … confusing.

Still, Hasbro’s been pushing the Maximals as a proper faction again, RiD15 is being looked on more fondly after the disaster of the fan made Prime film Galvatron’s Revenge failed, and Takara had also been revisiting Beast Wars more extensively on their end, so perhaps both are feeling confident on staking it on Beasts once more in some capacity.

[cleverthylacine]

It's WIP Wednesday

from a fic with a working title of "child soldiers win stupid prizes":

“I just got kicked off Twitter.”

Jack stared at Raf. “Then why are you laughing so hard?”

“Because it’s funny. And misplaced revenge. Edison Muskrat got kicked off the Big Conversation and he thinks that I doxxed him because we have beef.”

“You didn’t, did you?”

“Are you kidding? My grandchildren will be senior citizens before the end of an Esmeral ban. I know who did it, though, and it’s funny as fuck.”

“Why?”

“Because his last act was to thoroughly antagonise Eucryphtid.” Raf giggled, which made them sound twelve again, because Raf would never risk their account by actually saying so, but they both knew Eucryphtid was Tarn.

“Anyhow, today he was making dumb noises about how sad it was that one of Earth’s greatest heroes had succumbed to the woke virus—which, by the way, some of his alt-right circle jerk buddies think is an actual virus and coded by Soundwave—and he told me he used to think I was cool.”

“And?”

“I told him I never thought he was cool, but I used to think he was useful.”

(Context: I'm pretty sure SpaceX--I used to know someone who worked there--would have been involved in the Resistance during the Occupation of Earth. I'm also sure they'd have taken very few 'unnecessary' risks....unless EM thought they were really really cool or something)

from Recovered Light, which I should have known would have more than one chapter:

I hadn’t spoken to Rodimus since I left his ship, of course—but a lot more had changed than the colours of his paint.

“I like the purple,” I said. “Does it mean something?”

Rodimus laughed, but there was a nervousness in it that I hadn’t expected. “I hadn’t considered that,” he said. “That makes this weird.”

“Rodimus,” I said, “what about any of our lives isn’t weird?”

He looked down at the ground and shifted his weight from one pede to the other, and I could see him doing it even though all I could see on the screen was his bust.

“Ravage. I said something silly to Minimus and Esmeral, and they told me it wasn’t silly. I’m not sure I want to do it, especially not with this paint, but…I’m also not sure I don’t have to.”

I cocked my head and looked at him from a couple of different angles, thinking.  “Okay, this has got to be good. Tell me more.”

Rodimus frowned. “You know Optimus commandeered my ship and made Megatron my co-captain…”

“I am, surprisingly, very aware of that fact.” I smiled. Hopefully in an encouraging way, and not just with all of my dentae.

“And then Getaway stole it.”

I nodded.

“I’m still an Autobot—”

“You’re from Nyon. Why the Pit are you an Autobot?” I clapped my hand across my muzzle, mortified that I’d said it out loud.

Roddy just sighed. “Sometimes I wonder these days.”

I nodded.

“I told people—and I was joking—that when we got to Sanctuary, I was gonna register this ship with the Station so that Autobots would stop stealing it from me. It was a present. From Drift. I didn’t even buy it myself. It was a gift to me from my amica.”

I nodded again. I knew that.

He looked up at me. “But then Esmeral said I should do it, and Minimus said it would work, and I wouldn’t have to change my badge, it could just be a flag of convenience.”

I frowned. “Sanctuary doesn’t grant flags to people who aren’t willing to help us defend ourselves if we are attacked,” I said. “As much as I’d like to help you—” I shrugged. “I mean. If you became a citizen you wouldn’t have to swear to Destron either, and while we take a portion of your wealth to buy in, we could classify your ship a personal transport because we don’t count them against your initial buy-in cost. But. Whether or not you joined Sanctuary, formally, if you carry our flag you have to defend us.”

Rodimus chewed his lower lip plate.

“I could,” he said. “I would, as long as you weren’t being gratuitously violent colonialist jackrods. Which uh, I know you’re not. But you know. I might enjoy helping you kick Galvatron’s skidplate, because he sure is.”

[doyourequirefirstaid]

(( i’m still keeping up with interactions on Getaway/Starscream/Galvatron, work just kicked my ass is all. likely see you tmr!! ))

[stormshot-prime]

purple

[thenamesblurrito]

Would Hellscream retain his immortality if he underwent a swap? Would his swap partner gain it? I’m imagining a deliberate swap later on to intentionally give it to someone else, like a heroic sacrifice or something.

i debated answering these until i had swap!Hellscream designed but lol who knows when THATS gonna be so i’ll do it now

the cool part and major problem of the relic swap is how all the heroes save one are now bound to two relics at the same time. this is, uh, fatal. that puts a major dampener on any potential swapping on purpose later, combined with the fact that this was a complete accident caused by transwarp energy from Cyclonus and Cheetor colliding. so they do in fact have their usual powers, now remixed and shuffled with additional powers from their new relic. Hellscream does retain his immortality, and also gains aerokinesis from Elita 1′s portion of the Enigma of Combination he’s now bonded to. although, that energokinesis description is freaky cool and made me seriously reconsider for a minute. but a spark without a containment unit cannot retain its form, and liquid energon alone wouldn’t cut it, so he’d still need a spark chamber

i don’t think i’ve ever really specified how Optimus’s and Hellscream’s immortality differ? but you’re right in that being twice as immortal would be a good failsafe if something went wrong with one method, as unlikely as that is. Optimus dies, actually literally properly dies, which affects even Orion, and it’s Orion’s spark that gets kicked down to the lip of the Well of Sparks. but the Matrix of Leadership seems to not mesh well with the afterlife, and the figure haunting the place doesn’t move aside, so he gets rebuffed from entering and rocketed back into Optimus’s frame as it repairs itself. the same thing applies to anyone with the Matrix of Leadership, including Sentinel Zeta and Rodimus as an acolyte sharing Optimus’s power, Elita 1′s brief stint with it during this swap episode, and even Galvatron for a hot second as Guiltaur. Hellscream on the other hand doesn’t seem to properly die. there are times even grievous wounds don’t down him, but when his spark does flicker out on occasion, he’s still there. no one else notices him, which he’s grumpy about, but he’s still hovering around as a ghost. and he’s still Hellscream, not Starscream, which is a major difference from when Optimus dies. as a ghost, he’s very limited in what he can do or where he can move, and mostly has to wait the short time until the spark in his chest reignites. is it the same spark he’s always had or a different one every time? he doesn’t know, and he doesn’t care! just get him up and going again, he’s got a Mistress to fight! this is true of anyone else with an Allspark shard too, like Waspinator or Goldbug

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Transformers Siege (WFC) character review!(1/2)

Instead of separating from decepticons and autobots (mainly because of the Predacons and maximals), I’m going to put them in order of which bots I really feel like talking about the most! So, here we go!

*watch for swearing, spoilers, and possible thirst.

/Also, alt modes will NOT be available for this series. They kinda don’t transform too much, and when they do, they hardly let me get a shot, sooo/

Optimus Prime!!; 

This Optimus did a full 180 for not only my opinion, but for his own characterization. This Optimus started out as impulsive, reckless, ignorant of other’s opinions, and quite frankly, was just frustrating to deal with. He was the one who essentially sent the Cybertron into a total fuck storm, and as such, doomed MANY lives, including the one of his love, Elita one. Honestly, Optimus is kinda. Dumb, honestly? He literally sent the live source of Cybertron into the vastness of space, just to keep Megatron from winning the war. Literally, EVERYONE hated him at the start, from Bumblebee to Ratchet. Then, get this- he learned from his mistakes. From Skylynx, to the Optimus Primal, to the soul of Elita, to Optimus and Ratchet and even Megatron- he had so many influences telling him what he did wrong. Towards the end of the series, he became the classic, noble, somewhat self conscious mech we all grew to know and love. Honestly? 9/10. He isn’t perfect. Far from it, but damn Optimus KNOWS this, and that’s so great- I can go all day, you guys (also that one moment where he asked Megatron to forgive him at gunpoint, such a good fucking scene).

Elita one!!; 

I love her. SO much. She’s a QUEEN. She has been ignored, she has been held hostage, she’s been punched and kicked and shot at-my girl has been through hell. And she carries it WELL. Not only is she FINE, but she is bold, smart, and she is STUBBORN in her beliefs. She is also a natural born leader, and I honestly and really appreciate her. Her death was honestly one of the sadder moments, but her soul’s reunion with Optimus was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen. I wish we saw more of her, honestly and desperately (plus she has so many character interactions, there’s SO many ways you can go about her character, it’s incredible). 10/10 my girl is a fighter and she was so ride or die for Optimus (even though I lowkey ship her with those three little cons, ya’ll know the ones) 💕.

Megatron!!(Siege);

Every Megatron has something different about them. For example, this series has two Megatron’s (three because Galvatron), but we’re talking about the Megatron that we start the series with. The sort of ‘G1’ Megatron. This Megatron has a few...issues. Lips aside, this Megatron has a few things I’d change about him. He’s insane, he’s incredibly selfish, and honestly? His character interactions leave something to be desired, in my opinion. However, he does have a blend of good traits. You guys remember Prime Wars Megatron? How this man refused to go down without being ‘fuck you’ to his opponent? This Megatron had those moments, telling Galvatron right the fuck off when he tried to present him with a decision to join him. I love a Megatron that refuses to back down. I also appreciated the regret he clearly has for stuff he did (we all remember what happened to that one power plant), and I appreciate that In a Megatron. Couple that with the pompous villain aesthetic (he had his own pictures hung up on a wall for fucks sakes). However, he isn’t my favorite Megatron (that’s a tie between Prime/Prime Wars Megatron). 7/10. Fun in some cases, but not someone I think I’ll deem my favorite Megatron.

Megatron!!(beast wars);

This Megatron was kinda doomed from the start. From the issue with his VA (not everyone can be David Kaye, but still), to the odd way he simped over the other Megatron, kinda made me dislike seeing him on the screen. Don’t me wrong, he wasn’t AWFUL, and like everyone else on the show he LOOKED good and his VA did...okay. Listen, he had a REALLY good simp voice. But beast wars Megatron actually saw the old Megatron as an old fool. Now he suddenly worships him? It kinda makes this Megatron look pathetic, and I’m not really into it. 4/10. I’m sorry, but I appreciated him more when he wasn’t on screen.

Ironhide!!; 

He did like. Nothing in this series. He only really spoke to tell Optimus what he did. He’s just so cute and I liked hearing him speak. Not the same Ironhide voice, but still I love him terribly 10/10 he is but a baby waby.

Sideswipe!!;

He did like, two things in total in this series, and BOTH made me feel something. He also misses his brother Sunny and it honestly hurt me. Someone hold and support him, 8/10 this precious bundle of red-

Skyfire!!;

This Skyfire actually starts off as not only a decepticon, but a HIGH ranking decepticon, pretty much Megatron’s second hand. He was pretty decepticon motivated, up until Megatron decided the whole genocide of an entire race was too much for her. Honestly his role was a LOT like MTMTE Impactor in this series. A close believer changed to the opposite side, because Megatron’s dumbass got carried away. This Skyfire died, but up until that, he was determined to help the cause. He was literally willing to have a bomb implanted into him just to prove he was with the autobots. He was bold, stubborn, and everyone he interacted with was GREAT. 8/10. Tbh, probably my second favorite Skyfire (hard to compete with Cyberverse).

Impactor!!;

Pretty much the first time I’ve seen him in a show (at least noticeably) and I appreciated his little debut here. Impactor betrayed the decepticon, and in the best way possible. Not because he thought the cause was wrong, but because he got a super hot medic boyfriend, who JUST so happens to be an autobot. Seriously, ratchet fixed his booboos and Impactor just went ‘Listen I’d die for you’. Did anyone but Ratchet trust him? Nope. Did Mirage like him? Nope. Did we give a shit because he was very literally, ride or die for Ratchet? Also nope. Like this dude deadass was willing to go through the ‘we don’t trust decepticons’ bullshit, JUST because Ratchet swept him off his feet. 10/10, Impactor didn’t deserve to die, he deserved to be the hostile gay to suit the hostile lesbian that was Blackarachnia. 💜

Ratchet!!;

This Ratchet was like. The ONLY Ratchet I’ve ever seen, who just fucking hated Optimus. Seriously, this dude just wanted to be alone with his husband. Wanted NO part of Optimus, no part of Bumblebee, NO ONE. He’s sarcastic, bitter, and he WILL give you shit over Impactor or any of his patients. He’s a sour/sweet old man and even though I wish I saw him more, I love him and adore him with my big ol’ heart. 9/10, everyone can eat my ass I’m not over Impactor still.

Wheeljack!!;

Chaotic bastard. Smartass, dumbass, gay ass, and the first character to say ‘ass’, I love him. He doesn’t play much in terms of actual plot stuff (he’s like, a support character tbh) but the few times he was on screen, I loved him. It was like someone gave Danny Devito a PHD. 8/10, just needed to be able to give more one liners like he deserved.

[shychangling]

Oh. I do love the end bit with Optimus holding onto Megatron|Galvatron to keep him from falling into the black hole. There’s something really interesting about their enemies dynamic that really kicks me in the heart-

What.. WAit ... one second

Oh FUCK. Op you could of fucking had your ARM DESTROYED BUT ... he still... he still... I’m gona sob. No wonder you self exiled.....

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #32 - Nobody’s Ever Actually Dead in Comic Books

Our band of merry guys-who-weren’t-on-the-Lost-Light-in-issue-#1 approach the shattered husk of the Lost Light, in a gruesome scene that is only slightly marred by the graphic design.

Font doesn’t really suggest danger, does it? Here, for comparison, is something I slapped together in fifteen minutes (including recreation of background) using a font I got off a free font site.

Now, one could say that my version is rather derivative, flat, and arguably cliche, but you know what else it is? Appropriate for the fucking mood of having found a destroyed, hemorrhaging ship after everyone you knew disappeared.

I’m available, IDW! Hit me up.

Theorizing that this is the ship that the Coffin Rodimus came from- remember that? It was a few issues ago- the gang flies in for a closer look. The ship blood is actually something called quantum foam, which allows for quantum space travel to happen. It’s not supposed to be outside of the quantum quills, but the ship’s pretty junked up, so it is.

Because the ship is so very full of holes, the gang can set down for repairs pretty easy. They land in Swerve’s, finding it in less-than-pristine condition. They also find evidence of Crosscut having gotten creative, as a poster for the play he was working on is hung up in the room. Considering he was still writing it when he disappeared, this might seem a bit odd. But then you remember that this is a ship from the future, and it stops being so odd.

Because this is a future ship, with evidence that Crosscut did some stuff, it stands to reason that, at some point, everyone is going to come back from being disappeared.

Just to die.

Which is a bummer, but one crisis at a time.

Megatron disembarks the Rod Pod, with Ravage following, and everyone is just a touch put off by the duo. Everyone but Nautica, who proceeds to commit a microaggression.

Nautica, that’s Soundwave’s father you’re petting like a common animal.

Ravage, angered by this over-familiarity, swats at her. Skids questions letting an active Decepticon roam around, but Megatron brushes off these concerns, saying that finding any still-living crew members is more important. With that, the search begins.

The gang splits up to look for clues, despite Riptide thinking this is a horrible idea. They’re on the clock for this one- the quantum foam is liable to explode if it touches anything, and there’s an awful lot of the stuff floating around right now.

Nightbeat and Nautica leave the rest of the group to their own work, seeing as Nautica has the most appropriate alt-mode for traversing the gaps in the ship.

Man, that’s pretty cool. Wish Nautica hadn’t been regulated to being “girl best friend” for her character arcs, I would have loved to see her do some neat stuff for her own development. Guess that’s what happens when you get introduced as main cast late, and have to compete with all the faves who had dozens of issues to be established and who also don’t have to deal with the whole “token girl character” thing.

The rest of the gang- Megatron, Ravage, Riptide, Skids, and Getaway- start looking in the area they’re already in. Seems a little lopsided, but whatever.

Ravage finds someone almost immediately, identifying Ultra Magnus through smell alone. Only, it isn’t just Ultra Magnus.

The Magnus armor lays not terribly far away, having had its hands cut off to prevent the recall signal from being activated before being gut-murdered.

Gut-murdered wiTH A FUSION CANNON, MEGATRON

Of course, Megatron was forced to destroy his fusion canon after it was decided he would be joining the Lost Light, but you can buy these things off the black market like it’s nothing. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brainstorm had a few stashed in his lab.

As it currently stands, nobody can trust the guy who has a storied past of killing Autobots, on a future ship where the only folks who could stop him are dead. Megatron, at least, has the good sense to not argue this fact, and suggests that the boys lock both Ravage and himself up until they suss out exactly what happened.

Meanwhile, over with Nautica and Nightbeat, we run through all the weird shit that’s happened in the last day or so.

Nautica, you’ve been on this ship for months now. How did you miss the fact that the only couple within 800 miles got annihilated by way of Phase Sixer? I feel like that attack might have come up at some point.

Since they’re on the subject of spouses, Nightbeat asks Nautica if she’s married, or if she has friends. Though noting that such a direct line of questioning might get him slapped with someone else, Nautica reveals that she is single, though she does have a best friend. Nightbeat is also single, probably because he pulls shit like this.

While this conversation is going on, Nautica uses her Sonic Screwdriver wrench to open a door with the literal push of a button. Brainstorm tricked out her wrench so hard it turned into a magic wand, which is good, because they’re going to need all the help they can get now that space is literally warping around them thanks to the quantum foam.

Nautica kicks something on the elevator, and that something turns out to be Brainstorm’s mysterious briefcase. Too bad Swerve is gone, he was so invested in what it contained. Luckily, Nightbeat is just as interested.

Back over on the other side of the ship, it seems as though Megatron kept his word about not resisting, as both he and Ravage have been locked in a cabinet. Wonder how that’s going for them.

Oh, better than I expected.

Ravage is fucking pissed that Megatron joined the Autobots, thereby turning his back on everyone who supported his cause during the last four million years. Despite this grievous betrayal though, the Decepticons haven’t stopped moving. Turns out, Galvatron’s in charge now.

But only if Autobot Megatron isn’t some sort of ploy.

It’s at this point that we learn just why Ravage is here to begin with- to see if Megatron’s truly given up the Decepticons, and if he has, to murder him. But first he’d like to know why this is happening.

Megatron views himself as a monster, having perpetuated a war that ended the lives of billions, destroyed the Cybertronian way of life, ostracized his race from the rest of the universe, and killing just to have something to do. He doesn’t like feeling this way about himself, so he decided to walk away from that life by joining the other team.

Don’t think it’s quite that easy to do, but okay.

Ravage isn’t so sure that this change of heart is going to stick, still convinced that Megatron will snap back to his old self with just a bit more time. Problem is, Megatron may not have a ton of that resource left.

Didn’t they build that body in like an hour so you wouldn’t die? Yeah, no wonder it feels as ill-fitting as a twenty-dollar suit. Thing’s probably made out of pig iron and duct tape.

The lights come on before further self-reflection can be done, and the duo realize that they’ve had guests this whole time.

Someone put the kettle on.

Obviously some fucked up shit happened on this ship. Megatron isn’t so sure that it’s him who did these dirty deeds, however, as he reaches into Ratchet’s mouth and pulls out his brain. Which feels like something that doesn’t really absolve one of guilt, but okay.

Also, ew.

Back with Nautica and Nightbeat, things are getting weird.

Now, this sequence might seem confusing at first blush, but this is because the laws of reality are collapsing around them. Going by clues in the background, we can find the proper, linear progression of time, and thus is conversation. This is what is actually happening:

With the mystery of Brainstorm’s briefcase eluding us once again, we move on to see more graphic aftermaths of violence. Poor Tailgate has been nailed to the wall with a chunk of a metal beam that’s almost as big as he is. The mood lighting for this scene is gorgeous, but I’ve hit my limit for exposing y’all to gore for this issue, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Then they find something even more interesting.

Who’s ready for Under Cold Blue Stars… 2!

Back over on the opposite side of the ship, Riptide’s found something nasty. It’s a bunch of dead bodies!

Including, uh, Pipes.

Who already died a while ago.

Hm.

All the bodies in this room are in their alts, and it looks like they’ve all been shot and drilled into, for some reason. Skids brings up that he had a friend who could identify the placement of any robot’s brain module just by knowing what they turned into. Then he reaches into a corpse to see what the drill-hole’s all about. It makes him sick, though maybe not for the reason you might think. He gets on the phone with Nightbeat, who’s called to tell them that they’ve found Overlord.

Still locked in his weird body harness.

And decapitated.

Megatron is on the other line, calling because he’s figured out the same thing Skids has. Someone paid a visit to this ship. Someone nasty.

The gang regroups, and Nautica gets the basics on the DJD, because I guess nobody’s mentioned them even in passing in the last six months, either.

God, what do they even talk about on this ship? Certainly not their feelings.

The reason that one room was filled with alt-modes was because of Tarn’s addiction to transforming; t-cogs are easier to remove when they’ve been used recently.

We get a quick 4/5ths-page gore-fest, then it’s back to making it all about Megatron.

Maybe you should have thought about that before you FUCKING DEFECTED, YOU POOL NOODLE.

Nightbeat’s beginning to put two and two together. There’s an Overlord in the basement. That shouldn’t be, because Overlord got exploded by Chromedome when he mercy-killed Rewind. Something is off about the past of this ship.

Before he can establish his MTMTE everybody-lives-but-then-dies AU though, the quantum foam fucks with the ship. These sons of guns need to get the hell out of here, pronto.

Oh god, what now?

Ravage smells someone inside the Magnus armor, someone who isn’t a part of the usual nesting doll lineup. Megatron reaches into the Crackerjack box and pulls out one hell of a prize.

HE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES

Chromedome would be so thrilled, if he still existed.

[toaarcan]

Arright so 

I while back I made a post where I chronicled my disappointment with TFP Megatron upon learning that he was basically just the IDW version of Megatron without the nuance or depth.

Like take the IDW one, imagine that instead of gradually losing he way because of circumstance the corruption of power, he just got really salty that his boyfriend got bigger approval for saying “No murder” instead of “Yes murder”, add a space-coke addiction, and you’ve got TFP Megatron.

But then the other day I had a revelation that changed everything, and made me re-evaluate my stance on the Prime incarnation of Megatron from the ground up.

He’s not a poor man’s IDW Megatron.

He’s G1 Galvatron.

Seriously, this dumbass pops out of a portal, goes to Earth and within the span of, like, a year at most, completely fucks up the perfectly adequate operation that Starscream is running, runs through a bunch of hairbrained schemes where he keeps getting distracted by fights with his ex, and then dies.

Seems like a mediocre resume, especially considering for all the show treats Starscream’s bragging about killing Cliffjumper, that is a 100% increase on any of the other Decepticons in terms of killing Autobots.* Megatron gets zero Autobot kills.** So yes, Starscream should be in charge, because not only did Megatron’s return kick-start the chain of events that ended the war, but the only thing Megatron kills are Vehicons.

*Seaspray and Tailgate don’t count, they weren’t even characters.

**Bumblebee doesn’t count, he was dead for like three seconds and then got back up and put a sword bigger than he is through Megatron’s chest.

So yeah, that was disappointing, but then I worked it out. He comes back from wherever he fucked off to between the prequel books and Darkness Rising with his space-cocaine, and the space-cocaine is the Blood of Unicron. He’s a raving lunatic that keeps everyone in-line by fear instead of actually inspiring loyalty. He assaults and outright murders his own troops.

He’s Galvatron.

And, for a moment, I was happy. I’d cracked the code and I was now able to enjoy him as something unique.

But now I’m disappointed again because we don’t have an episode where Soundwave finally runs out of patience and teams up with Starscream and Knock-Out to send Megatron to the Therapy Planet. 

[vectorprime13]

CURRENT b643safeguard RIGHT NOW opened memo on board NO GALVATRONS ALLOWED. b643safeguard: okay I think it’s stable b643safeguard: whatever the G-man’s doing in here, seems it’s actually weakening the interdimensional membranes b643safeguard: giving us a backdoor around whatever the lockout is b643safeguard: ironically enough timeWarrior93: is that good?? oh b643safeguard: yea timeWarrior93: so now weve got access we can find out what hes up to b643safeguard: yeah and maybe send out a distress beacon b643safeguard: not sure it’ll reach anyone but tbh that might be for the best b643safeguard: the timeline is uhh b643safeguard: spannered? b643safeguard: like I’m not sure the phrase “present” even applies right now timeWarrior93: i am Studiously Ignoring my display rn timeWarrior93: seeings as its,, timeWarrior93: well if a stopped clocks right twice a day thats looking optimistic b643safeguard: best to assume fully synchronous communication is off the table I think b643safeguard: with luck if anyone sees this it’ll be after we’ve already saved the multiverse b643safeguard: and we can avoid kicking the timestream while it’s down b643safeguard: tl;dr this isn’t addressed to anyone specific but if you see an old ask sitting around with a question mark dangling there all provocative like then for primus’ sake keep the big brain demigod routine to yourself b643safeguard: operate as if all such questions are rhetorical b643safeguard: do NOT chomp that hook b643safeguard: everyone got that? FUTURE VectorPrime13 1:1:9:3:4 CYCLES FROM NOW responded to memo. VectorPrime13: DEAR SAFE GUARD, b643safeguard: vecky this is the cybernet you don’t need to do that VectorPrime13: THANK YOU FOR SETTING UP THIS FORUM. timeWarrior93: babe youve got caps lock on VectorPrime13: I HAVE A FEW TECHNICAL QUESTIONS. b643safeguard: shoot big man VectorPrime13: WHAT IS A CYBER NET CAPS LOCK. VectorPrime13: DO I NEED MY CYBER KEY.

[baebeyza]

Megatron’s rated by how much they seem like an old man

Youngest to oldest!

9. Beast Wars II Megastorm

Megastorm ain’t an adult, he’s a 17 year old bastard teenager who failed math class. Just really wants to put his adult older brother down, but is too stupid to function most of the time and only lives because Galvatron is too kind-hearted. Eventually grows out of his murder instinct and becomes a good younger bro, but remains idiot teenager. 

8. Beast Wars 

I dunno, he doesn’t really have the “old man” energy, he seems more like some goth in his late 20s-early 30s with some huge ego, mucho intelligence but initially lacking some experience. Just makes shit up as he goes and acts like it was all part of his plan all along. That fucking punk who always stirs chaos and who the Elders don't like and wanna put down. He got that youthful spirit ~

His Beast Machines version is just that, but I guess he had a funny crack in his ankle once and thats why he refuses to have a functional body

7. RiD01

He and Optimus were childhood friends, means they must be close in age and Optimus never seemed like an old dude here, so Megs cannot be too old either. Mid-30s at least. Also he cares about his image as if he were trying to get a role as best super-villain model, but fails. He doesnt have the spirit of the youth, he has the spirit of having joint pain and never leaving the house because of that.

6. Cyberverse

This guy should technically be old, but damn, he doesn’t actually behave like an adult! That is true for most characters in this show, but still. Idiot man in his 40s who acts like a toddler, despicable.

5. Transformers Animated

This is one old dude, but the silverfox and dilf kind of old! The one’s who aged like fine vine, getting sexier every year while still maintaining an air of youth to them. He be wearing his 50s like a 5000$ Gucci suit!

4. G1

Old fucker in his late 50s, but compared to the others still pretty youthful. The type of grandpa who said “fuck rules, I’m gonna go APESHIT!” and does that, but still needs to sit down every now and then. Will say “I still function” and get “sure gramps, whatever” as a response. His second in command swears he has Alzheimer, but his mind is still kicking and age just made him more creative

3. Prime Wars Trilogy

Older than G1, but still as strong, if not even stronger. Retired man who still got the spirit. The evil version of the mentor character, no one wants him to be the mentor, he doesn’t want to be the mentor, but he will take the role anyway. The fucking killer grandpa who deep down is actually the sweetheart grandpa, will he get the chance to fully live as one? Being the mentor figure says “no” x’D

2. Transformers Prime

Old ass shit in his late 60s, the one who has been angry all his life and now anger is all he is. Doesn’t fuck around, has no chill and just wants to kill his ex before he kicks the bucket. Will try the “moments before my death I decided to be good” trick to fool his enemies, just that he actually fucking believes it himself. He's the grandpa everyone (Soundwave mostly) prayed for and now he got too strong and won’t let himself be turned over to a retirment home. 

1. Armada

Man I watched only like 10 episodes of this show and know that this is some old ass crusty dude. Mid 70s, his driving force is spite and the desire for power, but damn, he’s surrounded by idiots who cannot shut up. He has no patience, no kindness, just wants the job to be done and go to sleep. And he hasn’t slept in 100 years. 

[libermachinae]

Fault Lines Under the Living Room

Part I: Listen - Chapter 1: A Commotion, Eager and Anxious (Previous)

Also available on AO3! Summary:  Arcee arrives on the Lost Light just as someone else is getting ready to leave. Chapter Word Count: 3010

---

“Hey, you’ve reached Captain Rodimus’ personal hailing frequency. If you’re calling to complain again about mandatory hab sweeps, please refer to recent events involving briefcases and the hereafter outlawed opening of. If you have news involving foolish, ridiculous, or nonsensical obstacles in our quest, input 1 to be transferred directly to Megatron’s personal comm line. If you have a complaint regarding sign placement, grammatically incorrect maintenance manuals, or that weird temperature difference between floors 7 and 8, input 2 for Ultra Magnus. If you’re lonely and want someone to talk to, input 3 for automatic directions to Swerve’s. Input 4 to be connected with me, provided I’m—”

Beep.

“Rodimus?”

“Blaster! Great timing, we just got back from Fortuna. Don’t talk too long, though, Magnus just handed me my prep for the hearing and these datapads are engraved with his personal insignia.”

“Sure, Rodimus. I’ve got incoming transmission from an unknown caller, not laying down any codes I’m familiar with. Tried pressing for details, but all they’re letting slip is they want to talk to you. Want me to patch them through?”

“Hm. On the one hand, unknown caller with mysterious intentions almost always means trouble, right?”

“We’ve ended up in some axel grease for it in the past, yeah.”

“And the reason we set down on Scarvix was to avoid creating more problems while we deal with the fallout from the last batch.”

“I thought it was to give the crew a day off?”

“And that’s why you’re our morale guy. Ratchet would probably tell me to ignore it, right?”

“I guess.”

“You don’t think he would?”

“Not really sure how the CMO’s opinion is relevant.”

Because Ratchet’s vote was the only one he knew.

“Yeah, never mind,” Rodimus said with a shrug, almost losing his balance in the process. “Ultra Magnus would say the same thing, anyway, and he’s counting on me to get to the hearing on time. He cares so much , he ‘summarized’ Brainstorm’s alleged code infringements himself.” He shifted the armload of datapads. The topmost pad was hanging off the edge, preparing for freefall, but trying to tilt it back to safety risked upsetting the rest of the pile.

“Nice of him,” Blaster said.

“Yep, super nice. He went to so much trouble. Really dug into the details, researched historical precedents, looked at the case from every angle. He probably buried his essay on the origins of Decepticon as an adjective somewhere in here.” The datapad tilted and dropped. Rodimus shifted his weight to one leg and kicked with the other, bouncing the pad off his knee and catching it with his teeth. “You know ‘at? Hure, ‘ut the comm hrough. ‘robably just a co’arketer, anyay.”

“Yes, sir.”

The familiar click and beat of a line being transferred. Rodimus deposited the datapad on top of his stack and started walking again, forgoing his office in favor of a detour to the middle decks. The view there was more impressive, the angle revealing the organic landscape that stretched between the Lost Light and Fortuna, a popular interstellar rest stop with enough mechanical business to make it worth the daytrip. Chomskians were their patrons of choice, but a hand over the faction insignia and most folks would let it slide. Walking the length of the Lost Light revealed a subtly changing view as the gleam of the mechanoid hub altered the silhouette of the city, and Rodimus busied himself tracking the shuttles, jets, and personal aircraft traveling in and out, letting it distract him until his comm came back.

“Am I speaking to Captain Rodimus?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Cybertronian, definitely, but otherwise unknown.

Cool .

“Yep, captain of the Lost Light and quester for the Knights of Cybertron,” he said. “What’s up?”

“This is Autobot Arcee, requesting permission to dock in the Lost Light’s shuttle bay.”

“Arcee?” Rodimus went through the list of all the Autobots he knew, ignoring the space where Arcee’s origin should have been. Some folks, MTOs especially, didn’t like to broadcast that information, and it wasn’t strictly necessary for a personal database search. Regardless, “Sorry, Arcee, I’m not remembering you. Who did you serve under?”

“New recruit. Was working with Prowl for a bit, now Optimus Prime. We’ve met.”

He had to hold himself back from shutting down the call. The datapads wobbled and he quickly righted himself.

“We have?” People who worked for Prowl were strategic about when they released that information. If she really was a new recruit, it was possible no one had explained to her yet that, ultimately, everything led back to him. It was the only justification he could find for staying on the line and not telling Ultra Magnus to initiate an immediate sweep for unauthorized listening devices.

“Well, no. But I crashed a shuttle for you. Into Galvatron.”

“You did?” And just like that he had forgotten Prowl entirely.

“I did. Me and a few others. It didn’t do much, but you and Optimus managed to take care of Vector Sigma anyway, so, bygones.”

Why couldn’t he remember this? It sounded awesome .

“Totally,” Rodimus said, feeling a swell of pride as he remembered the moment Optimus had set aside his doubts and trusted Rodimus’ word on the Matrix. Up until that point, his chosen name had felt ill-fitting, like the myriad of function tests that preceded a new harvest’s official classification. Or, in his darker moments, like the Primes of old, who claimed the Matrix’s blessing despite no legitimate connection to it. Optimus had put his faith in Rodimus, though, in his connection to the Matrix, and that faith had been rewarded , not punished . For once, his destiny hadn’t been priced in spilled energon.

Not that they hadn’t seen any.

“So you decided to get the brand and make it permanent?” he asked, pulling himself back to the present.

“Yes.”

“Then yeah, come aboard. ‘The more the merrier,’ as Megatron would never say. When do you estimate your arrival?”

“I’ve just breached atmosphere, should be there in an hour.”

“Perfect. I’ll send instructions along to open the shuttle bay doors and will be there to meet you.” He passed the news to Megatron and Ultra Magnus and was unsurprised when only the latter acknowledged the alert, as well as a bunch of forms that seemed incredibly tedious and not worth the bandwidth. Maybe once the hearing was over, he could sit down with his co-captain and remind him of the responsibilities he had agreed to as part of his deal. That would be a proper, leader-like thing to do.

Or he could let Megatron continue to wallow in whatever new misery he had concocted for himself. It certainly made his shifts easier.

He and Arcee exchanged farewells and his comm powered down, leaving Rodimus to strategize. Arcee’s arrival meant he did not have enough time to get back to his office, read through all of Magnus’ files, and make it to the shuttle bay, especially with all the effort it would take to even work himself up to unlocking the datapads. Better to make a good impression on their new guest and bump out the least pressing task. He could do his reading once Arcee was settled.

Walking around weighed down by the burden of knowledge was a drag, though, so he stuck to the part of the plan that involved getting rid of the datapads. He spent the remaining walk to his office (longer now after he had inadvertently walked in the opposite direction while on the comm) thinking about what he could do with the surprise free time. Maybe take a quick lap around the lower decks or make his first official visit to “Visages”. Something fun, carefree, and just barely skirting regulations; something normal , to start the work of convincing everyone, again, that things were going to be fine.

~*~

Ratchet was not stalling.

There was a chance he was overpreparing, but better that than the opposite. The galaxy was a big place, and if he was even slightly accurate in his guess of how far Drift would wander in his search for redemption, he would be touching corners of it even the war had never brought him to. So, an abundance of fuel was necessary, at least enough to last two bots a month plus about half that for the journey outward. Then medical supplies: wiremesh bandages, nanite gel, intravenous lines, sparkstarters, sorted boxes of nuts and screws, antiviral uploads, rust repellant, strut stabilizers, soldering wires… The shuttle was turning out better equipped than some of the mobile surgeries he had worked from during the war; even some hospitals had been dangerously low on materials he now found in abundance. For the first time, he had the resources to make sure nothing and no one would be lost to shortage, and he intended to take advantage of that new luxury.

Following that, the next logical step had been to make the rest of the shuttle comfortable as well. Two Morphy berths with recharge docks. A media library of music and movies to pass the time (the former Cyclonus’ recommendations, the latter, Swerve’s). A few selections from his private engex stash. A box of data blockers he had buried deep among the medical supplies and would claim were standard for any med kit if interrogated.

He nudged the box of Hex pieces against the wall with his foot. Was it alright there was nowhere to sit beside the naviconsole and the berths? He had though Drift would appreciate the economy of a smaller shuttle, but with the cargo loaded the atmosphere was shifting from cozy to cramped. Would Drift feel claustrophobic, reminded of squatters’ dens and Decepticon outposts? Drift was also a high-energy bot, who would probably itch for a chance to spin his wheels from time to time. Were the fuel reserves large enough to accommodate multiple planet stops?

Ratchet’s knuckle had worked its way between his teeth before he realized what he was doing. Dropping his hand, he forced himself to turn around and exit the small spacecraft. He was committed. Out of anyone on board, Drift had done the most to earn this home. If no one else was going to step up and do the right thing by returning it to him, Ratchet would resign to do it himself.

He heard a commotion, eager and anxious, as he stepped out into the shuttle bay. The hangar doors were opening, sunlight slipping through the growing crack, and several parked crafts were being taxied out of the way. Not wanting to get cut off by wandering shuttles, he hurried to the pedestrian entrance, where most of the voices were coming from: a small crowd, loiterers looking for the new source of intrigue. Whirl and Tailgate were among them, providing running commentary as the unwieldly ships skirted just shy of scraping each other’s paint off, so it was no surprise to find Cyclonus standing further off.

Perfect. Though Ratchet and Cyclonus were not on bad terms, neither had ever tried to expand their relationship past the occasional long-suffering glance. If it had been one of the bots who had his spark twisting every time he bumped into them in the hallways, Ratchet would have worried about giving his plan away, but he doubted Cyclonus cared whether the something-like-guilt was visible.

“Cyclonus,” he greeted.

“Ratchet.” The older of the two offered a polite nod, though his gaze returned to the door.

“What’s going on? Somebody forget something in Fortuna?” Ratchet kept his voice light, curiosity without investment. A change in routine could mean nothing, but by now everyone knew it could also be the start of something weird, dangerous, or a combination of the two. Either way, it would end up among Swerve’s stand-up material.

“New arrival,” Cyclonus said. “Arcee of the Darklands: a tested warrior with a spark that rivaled Galvatron’s.”

Might as well have called herself Foreboding of Doom and saved his declarative archives the search. Ratchet wondered if he should move his departure up.

“Is she here? Did I miss it?”

Rodimus’ panicked shouts preceded his stumble into the hangar. Ratchet greeted him with a pointed look, which he shouldered by simply not noticing it while his gaze darted around the room.

“Not yet, Rodimus,” Hoist announced over the loudspeaker. “We’re just getting the last shuttles cleared for landing.”

“Oh, thank Primus,” Rodimus said, tilting his head back as his fans released a cloud of warm air. “Fantastic.”

“You look like you gunned it to get here,” Ratchet said, waving away the smell of an overheated engine.

“No, that would be speeding, which is definitely against spacetime law,” Rodimus said, straightening to flash Ratchet a deeply unappreciated grin. “I ran. I told Arcee I would be here to meet her, and it would make for a pretty bad impression of the ship if the captain failed to live up to his promise.”

“Don’t you have a hearing to be getting ready for?” Ratchet asked, the question slipping past his censors. Slag. That was not the note he wanted to leave on. The stress of his impending departure was getting to him more than he had realized.

Rodimus shrugged, unaffected.

“Magnus gave me all the materials, just need to read them. Won’t take long.”

That stirred something in Ratchet’s spark.

“Good to know our justice system is under such attentive care.”

“Perhaps this is a conversation that would be better saved for when we are not moments from new introductions,” Cyclonus interjected, his deep bass distracting enough to halt those emotional processes of Ratchet’s that started to loop out of control whenever Rodimus opened his mouth. He set his vocalizer to standby, not trusting it to wait for his command, and wondered whether it would be better to get out sooner. Before his own smart mouth made his worries a reality.

The appearance of the approaching shuttle did not ease his concerns. Starting as a speck above the horizon, all optics were on it as it approached, a little blob of a spacecraft dangling over the city of Fortuna. Big, for a single occupant. Ratchet hoped he was wrong, but he noticed something further odd as it came nearer.

Whirl took care of that loose thread of optimism.

“It’s purple,” he said, with a coy look at Cyclonus, who ignored it with enviable steadiness.

“It’s a Decepticon vessel.” Ratchet had seen enough in his time. After the fall of Tyger Pax, Autobot regulations had outlawed all colors between navy and magenta for ships, and he could think of no other species brazen enough to steer a spacecraft directly into civilian airspace. “Rodimus?”

“Blaster confirmed Arcee’s ident after our call,” Rodimus said. “Bit of a garish choice for a ride, but it’s her.” He had maneuvered himself to the front of the group, standing at the front like he was putting himself on display for an honored guest.

“That is rich, coming from you.”

“Thanks, Ratch,” Rodimus said, casting over his shoulder a wink and a grin before he turned back to face the oncoming ship. Ratchet’s frown deepened and he ignored the way the gesture reminded him of Drift.

He never knew what the bot had seen in Rodimus. Short-sighted, selfish, and with an ego that could have powered the ship if he could have been bothered to contribute that much, Rodimus’ ability to perform feats no one else would attempt meant he was also prone to making mistakes they neither could have imagined. For all the time Ratchet had spent on the Lost Light , he still had no idea the limits of chaos Rodimus was capable of summoning to it, so he let triage and combat protocols idle in the background while they waited.

It was not a nice landing. The thrusters were still burning several hundred feet out, so they all heard the roar of wind buffeting ailerons as the shuttle struggled to slow itself down. It was only by the combined effects of the Lost Light ’s buffeting shield and the shuttle’s reverse engines that they did not suffer a catastrophic collision, and even then, the shuttle bounced as it finally touched down, coming within feet of kissing Huffer’s personal speeder. Ratchet still did not remember to vent as it struggled through taxiing, twice having to reattempt a maneuver as the combined efforts of Hoist, Rodimus, and a group of volunteers guided it to its designated space. Only when the engines finally shut down did Ratchet hear the collective sigh of multiple hydraulics systems releasing their tension.

“Guess Darkland warriors don’t need to know how to drive,” Ratchet muttered. He thought he heard Cyclonus huff, which was enough to get a chuckle out of him.

That was it, though, because in the next moment Rodimus was rushing to the lowering hatch, his spoiler flicking behind him like an insect wing. Ratchet caught a glimpse of a labyrinthine cargo hold before Arcee stepped forward, filling the space, and descended rapidly. He tensed, ready for something else to come charging out from behind her, but besides a look passed between her and Cyclonus nothing immediately hostile revealed itself.

“Welcome to the Lost Light,” Rodimus said, standing aside to let Arcee descend. The hatch raised as soon as she was standing on the Lost Light’s floor, blocking Ratchet’s view again.

“Yes, thank you.” Her tone was clipped, not the melodic veil of sophistication Ratchet had come to associate with Cyclonus, and she scanned the assembled bots with a look of blatant suspicion. Ratchet could relate to that, if nothing else.

He glanced at the purple ship once more while Rodimus led Arcee in the direction of the rec rooms while the rest of the crowd dispersed. Ratchet himself would never believe in anything as a sign or omen, but the sight of the purple plating made old welds ache, and he found his resolve. He would go get a drink. He would attend the hearing. And then, goodbyes or no, he was leaving that night.

[primadomina]

"So... You know that you don't have to stay on Chaar, right?" (primalxfire)

{ @primalxfire }

Galvatron squints as if she’s trying to puzzle that out before kicking at a larger chunk of debris to move it out of the way.

It scoots about a foot to the left.

“I’m not going to live full-time on the Dis! There’s nothing up there that deserves my wrath brought down upon it!”

[transformers-extrication]

What do you think it would be like if your transformers-verse was crossed with legendary pictures monsterverse? I'd imagine rumors of a "golden terror" would be floating around and Percy busting a circuit more than once (Grimlock when he sees godilla: "Me Grimlock feel puny")

Oh boy! I love kaiju movies!

Interesting question. I’ll put it under the cute in case any one isn’t interested in a general ramble.

Percy would indeed be absolutely beside himself to study such fantastical gargantuan organics. If a certain ‘Golden Terror’ does show up they absolutely would attempt to offer help in fighting them (’Cons too, ‘cos the golden turkey won’t distinguish between the teams). Metroplex and Trypticon would probably be “accepted” due to their size and the fact they too possess terraforming capabilities. However, they’d be immune to the Alpha’s call due to not really functioning the same so it’d more be an annoying sound. Regardless neither would really get into a fight with the Titans, I’d also imagine they wouldn’t fight each other either knowing full well if they caused a ruckus Goji and the bois would put a stop to it.

I also made many jokes/remarks to friends of Cyclonus in this AU being able to throw out a Godzilla-style roar so I’m also imagining Goji giving the classic roar only to have a real “DA FUQ!?!” moment when Cyc roars back at him ‘cos what the shit are you yelling about you little punk??

Though regarding those three, I imagine Goji would be wary of the trio, aware that they’re “unnatural” and probably follow them around being suspicious.

I’ve always sorta h/c that Galvatron would like Godzilla as a character, probably not totally the Legendary one though, on the basis that Godzilla is usually a monster against his will and lives a pained and rather tragic life and he’d feel a connection to that as he can relate.

Percy is still trying to talk to the Titans to learn about them and such and ends up making his own Orca.

Roddy tries riding on the back of Rodan becase he simply MUST.

Scourge ends up on Skull Island and is intent on sampling some of the creatures there. Kong is confused at him and unsure on how to kick him out because he’s not a Skullcrawler and he’s not outright destroying the ecosystem, just eating crap, usually off dead bodies. Kong changes his mind when Scourge attacks a Skullcrawler and is just “Alright, you can stay”.

Mothra is the one who actually makes some effort connecting to them because she’s wonderful and thinks these new visitors are super interesting, aso that they’re not there maliciously, merely displaced.

[sternerstufftoys]

It’s Overlord! Finishedlord!

Yesterday I called Straxus an indie hit in Japan. Well, here's an indie hit in America. Oh yeah, I've been into a lot of Overlord lately. Who? Oh well, he's pretty big overseas. Yeah, you've probably never heard of him.

(well, until IDW made him go mainstream. Sellout!)

Anyway, I'm not sure when I first became aware of Overlord. Before IDW, certainly, but not from Masterforce. Probably just an osmosis thing where he existed on the periphery of so much other Transformers arcana that he just snuck into my head that way. I was pleased to discover, years later, that my own personal theory had been correct, that the original G1 toy had originally been conceived as more of an Autobot than a Decepticon, and you can see why in the head sculpt, which is so passive and friendly-looking that I swear Nick Roche's full-lipped kiss-magnet design was totally a tribute to how hot Overlord had always been. Sadly you don't get such a smoochable face in this Titans Return toy. Disappointing.

But then there is a reason. This isn't the Overlord from the comics, nor is it the Overlord from the anime. And for that matter, not really the same Overlord as the G1 toy, not exactly. It's just Overlord, the meta-character brought into the world once more in luscious plastic and here to represent a handy middle ground for everyone's favourite version all in one. Or, if you prefer, inaccurate to every iteration of the character so as not to please anyone. But then that'd make you an unpleasable hobgoblin, and you don't want to be that, do you?

Being one of only a few Decepticon leaders that actually grace the increasingly-misnamed leader class, Overlord is something of a towering presence over the others. He makes for a tall, bulky pile of nasty that really does put the previous use of the base mould (Sky Shadow) in the shade (appropriately enough). As with most of TR, he makes a thousand and one nods to the original toy and doesn't deviate too far, with the jet nosecone still ending up on the arm, even though you can leave it on his back or even chomp it onto his chest for a whacking great extra piece of armour, which is a nice touch.

My favourite thing about him though is that the headmaster trick is entirely optional here. You can leave his head on during transformation with no ill effects whatsoever, handily freeing up the cockpits in tank and jet mode for two more titan or prime master figures. I've gone for the super-shiny Megatronus and Prima who came with Blast Off and Punch respectively, and a charming pair of powermasters as you could ever ask for. They can also stay in the cockpits while Overlord is in robot mode, or curl up inside his boob-holes to make for the proper powermaster experience. But remember kids, no-one should be curling up in your boob-holes without your full consent first. Also, see your doctor if you have boob-holes.

So yeah, not content with being a double powermaster, Overlord is also something of a duocon, splitting into a separate tank and jet alt mode. They're not too fancy, and don't do much due to the constraints of the transformation i.e. the tank turret doesn't turn, sadly. But most frustrating is that there's no real way to convincingly slap the two together into a daft tank-jet mega vehicle thingy, despite hints on the sides of the tank that something was once intended to grab hold there.

Of course there is a combined alt mode for the two halves - a base mode! Yes, as with all the TR leaders Overlord can twist himself into a sort of mini-battlestation, and it manages to be both a bit sloppy next to his other modes, and at the same time superior to the majority of other TR bases. It works in a similar way to the G1 toy, but the relative lack of size makes it just seem a bit weedy and pointless. If there was an interior, you'd barely fit a coffee table and a beanbag chair in there. And it's hard to see what else Overlord could do in this mode that he couldn't do as a robot, tank or jet. He's still only got the one gun, after all.

I think I like the idea of Overlord a lot, if not his comic or anime appearances. When his toy was released in Europe he was pushed as yet another in a long line of Decepticon leaders, but without any accompanying media this relied purely on the powah of imajinashun to get kids to recognise it. And then as now, his looming humungousness is enough to make any Megatrons or Galvatrons take a moment to carefully consider how best to deal with the big blue upstart. It would have been great to have had Overlord sneak into the last few issues of the G1 Marvel comic to kick Bludgeon to the kerb and leave the series on a cliffhanger with what Overlord's reign might bring, but it was not to be. His release in Europe was only part of a half-arsed spinning of the wheels while the brand wilted away over in America. Still, he's here now, and is finally getting his time in the sun.

[rorykillmore]

outside of the megatron and optimus conversation, what in pre-mtmte/exrid idw stood out to you? what did you really love?

i like. initially missed the “pre” part of that and i was like HOLD ON LET ME REREAD IT FIRST!!!!

okay but!! i forget what issues it was in (actually nvm i think it was 22/23 of the 2009 run, same as the megop conversation) where they do a little delving into megs’ past and you see the whole “whirl almost beating him to death in prison” thing and the fallout of that. you KNOW how much of a sucker i am for early decepticon flashbacks.

there’s also the “the last stand of the wreckers” 4 issue run which is. really, REALLY wonderful, in fact i think it’s the first time james roberts properly wrote for the series? if i’m not mistaken? anyway as much as i loved mtmte the first time around, i remember being so confused about having no context for the whole fort max/overlord situation and that sure. provided some.

i also loved the drift backstory stuff provided in his spotlight issue and in his own 4 issue run because you Know how much i love drift.

some of the regular one-off spotlight editions were really enjoyable too, and i love the set-up of taking these like... interludes to focus on & learn more about individual characters in what is normally such a ensemble series. i remember mirage’s spotlight particularly really stood out to me because its like this... haunting little one-off about mirror realities and it never really clarifies which one is the “real” one

for such early installments, i really liked “maximum dynobots”. unexpectedly because i never really cared about the dynobots before, but their focus here drove home that they’re such a disaster found family and you know i would die for that any place, any time.

ummmm “all hail megatron” is a really solid arc overall and it’s my new recommendation for where to start with the series if you want some early idw but you wanna skip over some of the earlier, campier stuff. it is DARK though. it kicks off with the autobots defeated and stranded on cybertron and the decepticons just kind of trying to genocide earth. but it hits some really hard emotional beats and has a lot of catharsis in the end, and is pretty crucial for understanding the 2009 run and why humans HATE CYBERTRONIANS SO MUCH

and speaking of the 2009 run, i found that really enjoyable as a whole and i’m really glad i took the time to sit down and read it!! particularly towards the end, the chaos arc, has a lot of epic, sweeping moments as the autobots and the decepticons both try to save the entire goddamn universe. thanks galvatron.

oh and this will interest you: the 2009 run also has some wonderful thundercracker stuff!!! im love him